Dark Shadows

WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Johnny Depp is shown in a scene from "Dark Shadows."

"Dark Shadows," a daytime soap opera that aired from 1966 to 1971 on ABC, was popular in its time, adored by some (now forgotten by more) and unique in that after its run began, it introduced ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches and other sorts of supernatural happenings. It might seem a weird choice for a feature film in 2012—but not for director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp. For them, teaming together for the eighth time, it feels routine, safe.

After all, Burton has been mining "weird" at the movies for more than a quarter century, while Depp has become one of the world's most popular actors by disappearing into outrageous costumes, makeup and hair, and speaking in different variations of an English accent.

So there is a been-there-done-that feeling permeating all of "Dark Shadows," no matter how entertaining it might be at times.

The Avengers

DISNEY
Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) left, and Captain America (Chris Evans) are shown in a scene from "The Avengers."

Five films in four years, plus an even longer wait for legions of comic book lovers—and the payoff, "The Avengers" (or "Marvel's The Avengers," as the studio insists on calling it), delivers all anyone could hope for.

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) all are here, mostly ready to take on each other at first, then teaming up to battle Thor's brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and the army he intends to unleash upon the people of Earth.

More importantly, writer-director Joss Whedon makes sure the people behind the silly names and costumes always are present, as well [-] Tony Stark (Iron Man), Steve Rogers (Captain America), Bruce Banner (the Hulk), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) and Clint Barton (Hawkeye).

So while the sheer spectacle—this is a vividly shot and designed film, even in dreaded 3-D—is almost overwhelming, especially during the climactic smackdown in which seemingly half of New York City is reduced to rubble, it is the quieter character moments that give the movie its beating heart, that make us care about whether these superhumans (or demigod, in Thor's case) can come together and cause us to think there is a chance they could be unsuccessful once they do.

The Five-Year Engagement

UNIVERSAL PICTURES/GLEN WILSON
Emily Blunt, left, and Jason Segel are shown in a scene from "The Five-Year Engagement."

Collaborating again, director Nicholas Stoller and star Jason Segel have made in "The Five-Year Engagement" sort of the opposite of their first film together, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (2008).

"Sarah Marshall" is about a man's struggle to move on after a bad breakup; in "The Five-Year Engagement," a man puts his life and ambitions on hold to stay with the woman he loves.

Segel is Tom, a chef who dreams of opening his own restaurant and is on the fast track to becoming a head chef, which is almost as good. But his fiancée, Violet (Emily Blunt), lands a dream job of her own. So Tom leaves behind his beloved San Francisco, following her to snow-covered Ann Arbor, where she works in the psychology department at the University of Michigan.

While Violet strikes up a close friendship with her new boss (Rhys Ifans), Tom is floundering, settling for a job making sandwiches at a deli, taking up hunting and growing a scraggly beard. The initial two years in Michigan become more, and a wedding is nowhere in sight.

The Cabin in the Woods

LIONSGATE, DIYAH PERA
Fran Kranz is shown in a scene from "The Cabin in the Woods."

If you are a fan of horror movies, or have even a passing interest in the genre, you must see "The Cabin in the Woods."

We're not debating this.

I don't even care if you read to the end of this review first.

Pull up the Fandango app on your phone, figure out when (sooner is better) and where you want to see it--make it happen.

Then we'll talk.

...

Still here?

OK, I'll give you a little more.

American Reunion

UNIVERSAL PICTURES, HOPPER STONE
From left, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Chris Klein and Eddie Kaye Thomas are shown in a scene from "American Reunion."

The kids from "American Pie" are all grown up.

When we catch up with the gang at the start of "American Reunion,"#<\p>Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), married since 2003's "American Wedding," have a 2-year-old son and a dormant sex life.

Oz (Chris Klein) is a famous TV sportscaster with a supermodel girlfriend.

Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is a happily married architect. And he has a beard.

Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) returns to East Great Falls with the tales of a world traveler.

And then there's Stifler (Seann William Scott).

The Hunger Games

LIONSGATE, MURRAY CLOSE
Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen in a scene from "The Hunger Games."

Does anyone else find it really weird that "The Hunger Games" is the book and movie that has captured the imagination of so many readers and viewers, young and old alike?

Playing like a cross between "The Running Man," "Lord of the Flies" and "The Truman Show," the movie tells a brutal, bloody story. You can talk about its themes of government control and how we glorify violence, but what it comes down to is teenagers killing each other, sometimes with their bare hands.

For a scene in which up to a dozen kids die in a matter of seconds, Gary Ross ("Seabiscuit") employs a handheld camera and quick cutting, never lingering on the horrific acts and minimizing the blood on the screen.

I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

21 Jump Street

COLUMBIA PICTURES/SONY, SCOTT GARFIELD
Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum are shown in a scene from "21 Jump Street."

I have vague recollections of the late-1980s TV series "21 Jump Street." I know it starred Johnny Depp and involved police officers going undercover at high schools and colleges. I do not remember it being a comedy.

But that's what we get with the 2012 movie adaptation.

The bigger surprise? It doesn't just work, it works really well.

Star Jonah Hill and screenwriter Michael Bacall, who share the story credit, and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller ("Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs") run the basic scenario through the modern, R-rated comedy machine and give us a movie loaded with laughs, colored with a layer of self-awareness, peppered with action and built around a surprisingly sweet emotional core.

An even bigger surprise? Channing Tatum, whose acting in the past always has failed to be as interesting as his name, gives a fine comedic performance.

This Means War

20TH CENTURY FOX, KIMBERLEY FRENCH
Tom Hardy, left, Reese Witherspoon, center, and Chris Pine are shown in a scene from "This Means War."

"This Means War" must have been an easy sell.

Reese Witherspoon, a romantic comedy veteran who also is an accomplished, award-winning actress, is at its center.

The two leads are rising stars: Chris Pine of "Star Trek" (2009) fame, and Tom Hardy, who appeared in the blockbuster "Inception," gave acclaimed performances in "Bronson" and "Warrior," and is set to be the villain in the next Batman movie, this summer's "The Dark Knight Rises."

The director, McG ("Charlie's Angels"), has had success with this kind of slickly made action-comedy.

And the premise, pure fantasy though it may be, bursts with potential.

Safe House

UNIVERSAL PICTURES, JASIN BOLAND
Denzel Washington is shown in a scene from "Safe House."

You can watch "Safe House" and see the obvious influence of the "Bourne" movies on its many action scenes. You can see Denzel Washington synthesizing his various screen personas into what essentially is a greatest-hits performance. And even though characters talk about the hardships necessitated by a life spent in espionage, you can see a movie that doesn't really have anything meaningful to say.

It would be easy to think, "Been there, done that," and move on to the next disposable entertainment.

But almost in spite of itself, "Safe House" is an effective piece of genre filmmaking.

As Tobin Frost (one of those only-in-the-movies names), a CIA agent who turned traitor nine years earlier, Washington clearly is relishing the antihero role. He gets to be a bit of the bad guy, a bit of the do-gooder with a self-righteous streak. It's a role he could play in his sleep, but he still has fun with it. Frost has something a bunch of people will kill for, so with no other options, he turns himself in at the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa.

From there, he's taken to a CIA safe house manned by young Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds, quietly becoming a versatile leading man), who's been desperate for something—anything—to happen there.

The Woman in Black

CBS FILMS, NICK WALL
Daniel Radcliffe is shown in a scene from "The Woman in Black."

"I think I'll work through the night."

Many stupid things have been said in movies, horror movies in particular. But "I think I'll work through the night" from "The Woman in Black" has got to be near the top of the list.

The speaker is Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a young attorney sent from London to a remote coastal village to settle the affairs of the recently deceased Alice Drablow.

He already has spent some time at her home, the Eel Marsh House, a place where the locals, except the friendly, wealthy Sam Daily (Ciaran Hinds), are afraid to go. He already has seen the mysterious, black-clothed woman on the grounds. He already has learned of the violent deaths that occurred there in the past. And he already has seen how spooky the house can be in the daytime.

So when Sam tells him when he must return to pick him up before high tide makes the one road to and from the place impassable, Arthur, with all this knowledge, knowing he will be stranded there until the next day, doesn't hesitate a beat before saying, "Oh no, it's fine. I think I'll work through the night."