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At the Movies: ‘Life of Pi,’ ‘Red Dawn,’ more

NOW PLAYING

‘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’ 1/2
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’ 1/2
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)

‘Dangerous Liaisons’
This new Chinese adaptation of the 18th-century classic about cruel sexual gamesmanship is a guilty pleasure — a gorgeous, big-scale film set in 1938 Shanghai, providing juicy roles for China’s Zhang Ziyi and Hong Kong’s Cecilia Cheung, two stars who have weathered big sex scandals in real life. (G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle) (NR, 110 minutes)

‘Flight’
Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who saves a flight from crashing, but an investigation into 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)

‘Life of Pi’ 1/2
Ang Lee’s latest film is about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor, a fearsome Bengal tiger. This is gorgeous, ruminative, soulful, provocatively entertaining and the most artful use of digital 3-D technology to date. (David Germain, Associated Press) (PG, 127 minutes)

‘Lincoln’
As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and in his fights with many inside his own Cabinet over the decision to emancipate slaves. Steven Spielberg’s splendid film stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role and is less a biopic than a political thriller, a civics lesson that is energetically staged and alive with moral energy. (A.O. Scott, New York Times) (PG-13, 149 minutes)

‘The Man with the Iron Fists’ 1/2
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 defeat 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)

‘Pitch Perfect’ 1/2
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 and hilarious one-liners, and it’s also blessed with a cast that’s up to a little song-and-dance. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 112 minutes)

‘Red Dawn’
A group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers. Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas and Josh Hutcherson star in this unnecessary remake of the 1984 original, a vigorous but pointless exercise. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 114 minutes)

‘Rise of the Guardians’
The latest project from DreamWorks Animation is about a group of immortal beings who team up to protect the innocence of children around the world when an evil spirit launches an assault on Earth. It’s an attractively designed but overly busy and derivative mishmash of kid-friendly elements. (Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter) (PG, 97 minutes)

‘The Sessions’
A man stricken with polio, who wishes to lose his virginity, contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy star in this life-affirming story about the goodness in people’s hearts and the humor, compassion and love we are capable of. (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) (R, 95 minutes)

‘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. This movie is a mixed bag: Some of it is terrific and some of it is spectacular. It succeeds in restoring the Bond saga to life, delivering all the kinetic satisfaction of a taut action thriller with a mature sophistication rare in blockbuster films. (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune) (PG-13, 143 minutes)

‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2′
It’s the final chapter of the Gothic tween fantasy/romance story, and the franchise finally embraces its own innate absurdity with a gleefully over-the-top conclusion. After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi. This movie is entertaining in a totally nutso way. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 115 minutes)

‘Wreck-It Ralph’ 1/2
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)

ARTHOUSE

DORIS DUKE THEATRE

Honolulu Museum of Art, 900 S. Beretania St., entry on Kinau Street (532-8768); $10 general, $8 museum members (tickets also available online at www.honolulumuseum.org):

‘Stars in Shorts’
1 and 7:30 p.m. today and 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
A collection of short films featuring some of the world’s biggest actors, including Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and Kenneth Branagh. (111 minutes)

Opera in Cinema: ‘Macbeth’ from the Royal Opera House, London
1 and 6 p.m. Sunday ($25, $20 museum members)
Verdi’s most evocative music brings Shakespeare’s drama to life onstage, and baritone Simon Keenlyside stars as the titular tormented ruler of Scotland. (161 minutes, including one intermission)

‘The Invisible War’
7:30 p.m. Monday
To mark the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the theater partners with the Hawai’i Institute for Human Rights to screen this acclaimed documentary about the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military. (93 minutes)

The Bard on the Big Screen: ‘Omkara’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
The first film in this series is an adaptation of “Othello,” set in modern India against the backdrop of political warfare in Uttar Pradesh. A misguided political candidate is torn by suspicion after a trusted lieutenant questions his wife’s fidelity. (2006, 155 minutes)

‘William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes star as the young lovers in Baz Luhrmann’s popular adaptation set in a postmodern Verona Beach. (1996, 120 minutes)

’10 Things I Hate About You’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday
A young Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Julia Stiles star in this version of “The Taming of the Shrew” set in high school. (1999, 97 minutes)

MOVIE MUSEUM

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

‘My Sassy Girl’
Noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45 and 9 p.m. today and 3 and 5:30 p.m. Monday
The Korean romantic comedy and box office hit tells of a man’s chance meeting with a drunk girl on the train that changes his life. (2001, 123 minutes)

‘Saidoweizu’
Noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45 and 9 p.m. Saturday
The Japanese remake of Alexander Payne’s “Sideways” has a man traveling to California to attend the wedding of his American-based friend when prior to the big event, they take one last trip to Napa Valley, where hilarious complications ensue. (2009, 124 minutes)

‘University of Laughs’
Noon, 4:15 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday
Set on the eve of World War II, this Japanese comedy concerns a young playwright and his battle with a humorless government censor. (2004, 121 minutes)

‘Tampopo’
2:15 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday
The stories in Juzo Itami’s popular comedy are intertwined with the love of food, as a truck driver and his sidekick decide to help a fledgling family-run noodle shop. (1985, 114 minutes)

‘The Classic’
12:30 and 8 p.m. Monday
From the director of “My Sassy Girl” comes a film that tells the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter. (2003, 133 minutes)

‘Lawless’
Noon, 4 and 6 p.m. Thursday
Set in Depression-era Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by a new deputy and other authorities who want a cut of their profits. Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain star. (116 minutes)

‘Cure’
2 and 8 p.m. Thursday
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterful horror film about a wave of gruesome murders sweeping Tokyo, distinguished by a bloody “X” carved into the neck of each of the victims. (1997, 111 minutes)

BODY & SPIRIT DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES

Still & Moving Center, 1024 Queen St. (397-7678); $5:

‘Transcendent Man’
6:30 p.m. Sunday
The documentary chronicles the life and controversial ideas of luminary Ray Kurzweil, who predicts that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, humanity is fast approaching an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and millions of times more powerful. (2009, 84 minutes)

MONDAY MOVIE CAFE

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

‘The Land of Eb’
6:30 p.m. Monday
Recently featured at the Hawaii International Film Festival, a Marshallese immigrant living in a remote community on Hawaii island documents his life on video when he’s diagnosed with cancer. (2011, 92 minutes)

KOREAN FAMILY AND GENDER IN FLUX

Center for Korean Studies Auditorium, University of Hawaii-Manoa; free:

‘Family Project: House of a Father’ and ‘Making Sun-Dried Red Peppers’
6:30 p.m. Tuesday
A double bill, the first about grown children confronting their father, fixated on his role as the head of the household, and their mother, regretting a life of self-sacrifice. The second is about three disgruntled women of different generations who clash while performing the ritual of drying red peppers. (2002, 52 minutes/1999, 54 minutes)