Publications & Sites 
FILM CLIPS
Benjamin Walker plays Honest Abe in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” in theaters Friday.
Article Extras
Updated: June 25, 2012 7:54PM
OPENING FRIDAY
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER
Rated: R for violence throughout and brief sexuality
Stars: Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anthony Mackie
The 16th president spends his early years slaughtering vampires in this action-fantasy adventure. Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) directed the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s somewhat revisionist historical novel.
BRAVE
★ ★ ★
Rated: PG for some scary action and rude humor
Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters
A young Scottish princess (Macdonald) rebels when her mother (Thompson) tries to force her to marry — until a witch’s spell endangers the queen. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell co-directed the Pixar fantasy adventure.
SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
Rated: R for language including sexual references, some drug use and brief violence
Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley
As a planet-destroying asteroid hurtles toward the Earth, a man (Carell) takes a road trip in search of his high-school sweetheart. Screenwriter Lorene Stafaria (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”) makes her writing/directing debut with the apocalyptic romance.
STILL PLAYING:
ROCK OF AGES
★ ★ 1/2
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, suggestive dancing, some heavy drinking and language
Stars: Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand
The best argument to come along in a long time that rock is indeed dead, Adam “Hairspray” Shankman’s bland adaptation of the Broadway musical is way too long and remarkably tedious, considering that it’s all about the wild and crazy heyday of ’80s hair-metal. Juianne Hough and Diego Boneta give their all as the small-town girl and big-city boy who fall in love while dreaming of rock stardom on the sunset strip — but nothing makes much of an impression except Cruise as decadent superstar Stacee Jaxx. And the most memorable thing about his performance is his devil’s-head codpiece. Fortunately Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand are on hand to supply much-needed comic relief.
SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
★ ★ ★
Rated: R for language including some sexual references
Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake M. Johnson
The only thing potentially disappointing about this quirky, warm-hearted and generally satisfying indie romance is the ending. Though while its radical shift in tone seems likely to annoy some people (me included), it’s likely to strike others as just right. Aubrey Plaza of TV’s “Parks and Recreation” (in a star-making performance) is perfect as Darius, a prematurely world-weary magazine intern dragooned into a team-assignment to track down and profile a local looney (Duplass) who has placed a classified ad for time-travel companions. “Safety not Guaranteed” is as much about love, loss and regret as it is about time travel, but it also does a nice job, until the last few scenes, of keeping us guessing about whether or not our sweet, damaged, eccentric hero is as crazy as he seems. Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
THAT’S MY BOY
Rated: R for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, pervasive language and some drug use
Stars: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Vanilla Ice
After raising his son (Samberg) as a teenage single father, a man (Sandler) disappears on the boy’s 18th birthday, only to reappear and raise havoc later in life. Sean Anders (“Hot Tub Time Machine”) directed the comedy.
YOUR SISTER’S SISTER
Rated: R for language and some sexual content
Stars: Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt
When a woman (Blunt) invites a friend (Duplass) to stay at her family’s getaway cabin while he recovers from a tragedy, a drunken encounter with her sister (DeWitt) sets off romantic repercussions. Lynn Shelton (“Humpday”) wrote and directed the romance.
MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED
★ ★
Rated: PG for some mild action and rude humor
Stars: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith
In the “Madagascar”-verse, it’s energy and oomph that matter, and enough general silliness to keep youngsters giggling, even during the de rigeur moral lessons — and there’s enough of all three in this third installment to power “M3” to another half-billion-dollar box office take. Even though inspiration is more sadly lacking than ever and the whole enterprise has an air of frantic desperation. This outing has the four Central Park zoo refugees fleeing across Europe from a demented animal control officer (voiced by Frances McDormand), while hiding in a down-and-out circus.
PROMETHEUS
Rated: R for sci-fi violence including some intense images, and brief language
Stars: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce
The discovery of a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth leads a group of scientific explorers on a journey to the darkest corner of the universe — where they must fight for the future of humanity. Ridley Scott (“Alien”) directed the sci-fi adventure.
MOONRISE KINGDOM
★ ★ ★ 1/2
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content and smoking
Stars: Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand
Instead of his usual whimsical (and somewhat bitter) tales of adults who haven’t quite left childhood behind, idiosyncratic auteur Wes Anderson’s (“The Royal Tenenbaums,” “The Darjeeling Express”) “Moonrise Kingdom” is a tale of two runaway love-struck ’tweens who literally can’t wait to grow up — and whose passion for romance generates considerable quirky charm. Newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward strike just the right note of intensely serious grand passion while a search party of desperately disillusioned grown-ups (Willis, Norton, McDormand and Murray) provide poignant emotional contrast.
SNOW WHIT E AND THE HUNTSMAN
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sensuality
Stars: Kristin Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron
In this revisionist fairy tale, the Huntsman (Hemsworth) assigned to kill Snow White (Stewart) instead becomes her protector and helps lead a revolt against the evil queen (Theron). Director Rupert Sanders makes his feature debut with the fantasy adventure.
