‘Cropsey’

(Bill Goodykoontz) Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman investigate the disappearance of several children, and the man suspected of taking them, a former employee of a notorious mental institution. The crimes echo the urban legend the filmmakers passed around as kids. Creepy and heartbreaking. (Not rated - 84 minutes.)

‘Love Ranch’

(Kerry Lengel) Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci give gripping performances in this portrait of a couple living the grimy end of the American dream at a Nevada bordello. But director Taylor Hackford loses control of the inspired-by-facts story, forcing it off the rails and teetering toward melodramatic disaster. (R - 117 minutes) P, S, V.

‘Restrepo’

(Bill Goodykoontz) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger's film follows the U.S. Army's Second Platoon for a year in the Korengal Valley, one of the most-dangerous assignments in the war in Afghanistan. Their film is harrowing and affecting, showing us the day-to-day lives of the men stationed there. (R - 93 minutes) P, V.

‘Wild Grass’

(Kerry Lengel) A stolen wallet brings together middle-age enigmas Georges and Margueritte in this elegant commentary on meaninglessness by cinematic elder statesman Alain Resnais. In French with subtitles. (PG - 104 minutes) P.

‘Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore’

'Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore' Surprisingly good story of secret agent dogs and cats working together to save the world from a nefarious plan hatched by an evil feline. It's like a decent James Bond movie acted out by dogs and cats (and Roger Moore is on hand, in a nice touch). Voice talent includes James Marsden, Nick Nolte and Christina Applegate. (PG - 82 minutes.)

‘Charlie St. Cloud’

'Charlie St. Cloud' 1/2 (Kerry Lengel) Zac Efron plays catch with the ghost of his kid brother in a supernatural soap opera. There are plenty of picturesque sailing shots, not to mention close-ups of Efron, usually either shirtless or weeping beatifically, but the characters and their supernatural love triangle are developed with a businesslike efficiency that makes it almost impossible to invest in them emotionally. (PG-13 - 99 minutes)

‘Dinner for Schmucks’

'Dinner for Schmucks' Steve Carell elevates director Jay Roach's take on the French film ''Le Diner de Cons'' far above what it might have been otherwise. The idiot guest at a tacky dinner hosted by executives, Carell gives his character a wounded sort of humanity that is still pathetic, but really funny. (PG-13 - 114 minutes)

‘Winter’s Bone’

Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant as a 17-year-old girl in the Ozarks searching for her on-the-lam, meth-cooking father in "Winter's Bone."

‘Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky’

Cinematic cliches and a pair of unsympathetic protagonists - narcissists joining loins - sink this boggy biopic more than the laughable historical and musical inaccuracies.

‘Ramona and Beezus,’

'Ramona and Beezus' Director Elizabeth Allen's take on the popular Beverly Cleary books is shot down by the unending parade of disasters caused by Ramona (Joey King). It's a sweet-enough movie, but the constant screw-ups and tacked-on redemption gets old fast. (G - 104 minutes.)

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