At the Movies: ‘The Details,’ ‘Keep the Lights On,’ more

MI6 comes under attack in the newest "James Bond" movie, "Skyfall," with Daniel Craig returning. --Courtesy Columbia Pictures

OPENS TODAY

‘Skyfall’
In the latest James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, Bond’s loyalty to his boss M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, Agent 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris and Judi Dench co-star. (PG-13, 143 minutes)

LIMITED RELEASE

‘The Details’
Tobey Maguire and Elizabeth Banks star in this dark comedy about how a home’s pest problem sets off a wild chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity and murder. At Consolidated Koko Marina (R, 91 minutes)

‘Keep the Lights On’
The drama chronicles an emotionally and sexually charged journey of two men in New York City through love, friendship and addiction. At Consolidated Kahala (NR, 101 minutes)

‘Smashed’
The relationship of a married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of alcohol is put to the test when the wife decides to quit drinking. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and “Breaking Bad’s” Aaron Paul star. At Consolidated Kahala (R, 85 minutes)

NOW PLAYING

‘Alex Cross’
Based on the character from the best-selling novels by James Patterson, Tyler Perry plays the homicide detective/psychologist who meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). This movie is a good example of what a seriously talented director — in this case, Rob Cohen — can do with a terrible script. Cohen compensates by taking every bit of action and pumping it up, making something that could have been unwatchable into almost something worth seeing. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 101 minutes)

‘Argo’
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador. Ben Affleck directs and stars in this seamless blend of detailed international drama and breathtaking suspense, with just the right amount of dry humor to provide context and levity. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 120 minutes)

‘Chasing Mavericks’
When a young surfer discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his home, he enlists the help of a local legend to train him to survive it. The mentor-student relationship works here and the surfing footage is awe-inspiring, but the movie is a bit overlong. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG, 116 minutes)

‘Cloud Atlas’
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives affect one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry star in this bloated, pseudo-intellectual, self-indulgent slog through some notions that are really facile. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 172 minutes)

‘Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel’
This dizzily enjoyable documentary is a look at the life and work of the fabulous wit and influential fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) (PG-13, 86 minutes)

‘Flight’
Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation of the malfunctions reveals something troubling. This is a thrilling, engrossing and even darkly funny movie, anchored by a tremendous performance by Washington. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 138 minutes)

‘Here Comes the Boom’
Kevin James plays a high school biology teacher who tries to become a successful mixed martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to prevent extracurricular activities from being axed at his financially strapped school. The movie’s attempt to balance silliness and seriousness is undermined by the flat-out absurdity of the premise, and considering how inevitable the story is, the movie feels long. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG, 105 minutes)

‘Hotel Transylvania’
In this animated movie, Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count’s teenage daughter. Veteran Cartoon Network director Genndy Tartakovsky brings an undeniable visually zippy style to the movie, but the ghost of a script provides him with little substance. (Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter) (PG, 91 minutes)

‘The Man with the Iron Fists’
Wu-Tang Clan rap leader RZA makes his debut as a director-leading man in this epic story of warriors, assassins and a lone outsider hero in 19th-century China who must unite to destroy the clan traitor who would destroy them all. It’s a goofily entertaining movie, if also lunatic, slipshod, absurdly violent, horribly acted (despite the presence of Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu) and borderline incomprehensible. (Ty Burr, Boston Globe) (R, 96 minutes)

‘Paranormal Activity 4′
It’s been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter in the second sequel, and a suburban family witnesses strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in. This new installment adds little new information while playing out the inevitably unpleasant outcomes that await the characters, preferring to recycle plot elements from previous films. (Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter) (R, 88 minutes)

‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
An introvert high school freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller star in this funny and touching coming-of-age story that is principally a showcase for the pretty young cast, notably Miller, who brings texture to his witty if sensitive gay quipster. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) (PG, 87 minutes)

‘Pitch Perfect’
A college freshman is cajoled into joining her school’s all-girl singing group, where the Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. This is a frothy, funny, dizzy and derivative farce stuffed with comic caricatures, hilarious one-liners and blessed with a cast that’s up to a little song-and-dance. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 112 minutes)

‘Seven Psychopaths’
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken star in this profane, gruesome and hysterically over-the-top movie. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 109 minutes)

‘Silent Hill: Revelation 3D’
In this sequel to the popular horror video game, Heather Mason is drawn into a strange and terrifying alternate reality that holds answers to the horrific nightmares that have plagued her since childhood. The movie quickly devolves into a smorgasbord of sutured faces and blades poking the viewer in the eye. (Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe) (R, 94 minutes)

‘Sinister’
Found footage helps a true-crime novelist realize how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his entire family in the path of a supernatural entity. This modestly creepy blend of “The Ring” and “The Shining” whiffs on a horror film fundamental: Nobody seems that scared. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 110 minutes)

‘Tai Chi Zero’
A young man, who travels to a peaceful village to learn a powerful martial arts form, becomes the best hope for survival for the townsfolk when a man arrives with a plan to build a railroad through the village. This cross-cultural steampunk/martial arts/comic-book Sino-Anglo mash-up is visually entertaining, littered with in-jokes and references to other movies. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) (PG-13, 100 minutes)

‘Taken 2′
Liam Neeson stars in the sequel to the 2008 hit. In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter. The movie turns out to be a lethargic retread and is strikingly unoriginal. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) (PG-13, 91 minutes)

‘Wreck-It Ralph’
The latest Disney animated feature is about a video game villain who wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives. The studio takes a page out of Pixar’s well-worn playbook and ends up with a screwball farce with a novel setting and more edge than your average Disney ‘toon. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG, 108 minutes)

SPECIAL

The Met Live in HD:’The Tempest’
12:55 p.m. Saturday, Regal Dole Cannery, $24 general, $22 seniors, $18 children:
Composer Thomas Ades conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage re-creates the interior of 18th-century La Scala in this inventive staging. (190 minutes)

ARTHOUSE

DORIS DUKE THEATRE
Honolulu Museum of Art, 900 S. Beretania St., entry on Kinau Street (532-87680; $10 general, $8 museum members (tickets also available online at honolulumuseum.org):

Human Rights Festival: ‘The Age of Stupid’ with short ‘Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery’
1 and 7:30 p.m. today
The final festival entry stars Pete Postlewaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking back at archive footage and asks why wasn’t climate change stopped when humanity had the chance. (2009, 89 minutes)

‘Oiwi Film Festival: ‘The Hawaiian Room’ with short ‘Pa’ahana’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (opening-night reception starts at 6 p.m., $35 general, $30 museum members):
The film chronicles the experiences and legacy of the people who worked in the legendary Hawaiian Room in the Hotel Lexington in New York City in the late 1930s.

‘Under a Jarvis Moon’ with short ‘Huki Ulua’
1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
The story about a large group of Hawaiian men who were sent on a secret mission to colonize desert islands in the middle of the Pacific during the 1930s.

‘Papa Mau: The Wayfinder’ with short ‘The Sweepstakes’
1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
The documentary charts the journey of legendary navigator Mau Piailug in reviving the art of non-instrument navigation during the maiden voyage of the Hokule’a.

‘Kai Wahine’ and ‘Portraits of Al’
1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
The final day of the festival features two short films about the women of the Waimanalo Canoe Club as they prepare for the 2011 Na Wahine o ke Kai race and celebrated Samoan poet/author/artist Albert Wendt.

‘Last Call at the Oasis’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday
The documentary makes the argument of why the global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century. (105 minutes)

MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave. (735-8771): $5 general, $4 members; reservations recommended:

‘Greed in the Sun’
Noon, 2:15 and 4:30 p.m. today
Jean-Paul Belmondo stars in this adventure comedy set in Morocco about a truck loaded with valuable goods making its way across the Sahara. (1964, 130 minutes)

‘Ruby Sparks’
6:45 and 8:45 p.m. today; and 12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday
A novelist struggling with writer’s block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence. (104 minutes)

‘Taxi for Tobruk’
Noon and 1:45 p.m. Sunday, and 4 and 8 p.m. Monday
In this classic World War II drama, a band of French troops makes a perilous journey across a Libyan desert in a captured German truck along with its captain. (1960, 95 minutes)

‘The Brain’
3:30, 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
David Niven and Jean-Paul Belmondo star in this comic crime caper restored to its uncut and undubbed version. (1969, 115 minutes)

‘The Way Ahead’
Noon, 2 and 6 p.m. Monday
At the outset of World War II, a group of raw British recruits becomes a cohesive and effective fighting force when it lands in North Africa. The original uncut U.K. version starring David Niven and directed by Carol Reed. (1944, 115 minutes)

‘The Mourning Forest’
Noon and 8 p.m. Thursday
In this Japanese drama, a caregiver at a small retirement home takes one of her patients for a drive to the country, but the two wind up stranded in a forest where they embark on an exhausting and enlightening two-day journey. (2007, 97 minutes)

‘The Singer’
2, 4 and 6 p.m. Thursday
Gerard Depardieu plays an aging chanson singer who falls for a young and beautiful businesswoman (Cecile De France). (2006, 100 minutes)

BODY & SPIRIT DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES
Still & Moving Center, 1024 Queen St. (397-7678); $5.

‘Humanity Ascending’
6:30 p.m. Sunday
Futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard provides the unique perspective of viewing our history through what she terms as “evolutionary eyes” that will give birth to a new universal humanity.

MONDAY MOVIE CAFE
TheVenue, 1146 Bethel St. (436-4326); $10, $5 students.

‘Something Unknown is Doing We Don’t Know What!’
7 p.m. Monday
A look into psychic phenomena. (2008, 104 minutes)

KOREAN FAMILY AND GENDER IN FLUX
Center for Korean Studies, University of Hawaii-Manoa (956-7041), free.

‘We Are Not Defeated’
6:30 p.m. Tuesday
First-person narratives highlight this documentary of the struggle of young Korean female workers in the 1970s to win equitable treatment with their male counterparts at the Dong-il Textile Co. (2006, 105 minutes)