MOVIE REVIEWS

“Adventureland” (C): On the surface, director Greg Mottola’s follow-up to “Superbad” looks like another good-time, raunchy romp. And it certainly has healthy amounts of partying and pranks to go along with its gross-out gags. The 1987 amusement-park setting also allows Mottola to revel in dead-on period kitsch, from acid-washed jeans and teased-up bangs to the absurdly annoying strains of Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus,” which repeatedly blares over the loud speakers. But “Adventureland” has more on its mind — and its heart — than that, as its college-age characters struggle to figure out who they are and what they want in a time of flux. 107 mins. R for language, drug use and sexual references.

“Duplicity” (B): Tony Gilroy penetrated the world of corporate corruption with smarts, suspense and searing insight in his 2007 directing debut, “Michael Clayton.” Here, he revisits that territory, only he does it with plenty of sexual tension to go along with his usual crackling dialogue and complex plotting. The storytelling here is more dense, but the tone has a sly, sexy playfulness about it that significantly lightens things up. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen enjoy a delightful chemistry as former spies and on-again, off-again lovers who scheme to steal tens of millions of dollars from the dueling corporate behemoths that employ them. 118 mins. Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content.

“Fast & Furious” (D): Noise, noise, noise. Crunched metal and shattered glass. More noise. Revving engines. Vin Diesel’s giant head. Hot chicks in tight miniskirts. Even more noise. The end. That’s pretty much all there is to “Fast & Furious,” essentially a remake of the 2001 hit “The Fast and the Furious” with the same cast, except it seems to exist in some parallel universe where the word “the” no longer exists. 107 mins. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexual content, language and drug references.

“Hannah Montana: The Movie” (C): There’s no way to analyze this movie as an adult. The big-screen version of the Disney TV series is not made for us — it’s made for tween girls and no one else — and so we must consider how they’re going to respond to it. Now, this will come as no surprise at all, but they’re gonna love it. If you were a 10-year-old girl, you’d also want to be small-town sweetheart Miley Stewart and/or her secret pop-star alter ego, Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus makes both characters so likably harmless, so attractively accessible, it’s hard not to be charmed. Even when she gets a little carried away with her celebrity lifestyle in Los Angeles — which prompts a return to Tennessee for some hometown reprogramming — she still has a magnetism about her. “Hannah Montana: The Movie” drags us all back to the fictional Crowley Corners, Tenn., to bang us over the head with the message that big cities are bad and small towns are good. 106 mins. Rated G.

“The Haunting in Connecticut” (D): A sick boy staying in a rented house with his family as he gets medical treatment begins to see dead people. Turns out the house used to be a funeral home. “Haunting” has some serious creep-you-out moments, but you know how it’s going to end. 92 mins. Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of terror and disturbing images.

“I Love You, Man” (B): The newly minted “bromance” genre, with its now-familiar mix of the sweet, awkward and raunchy, has become a part of the cultural consciousness, but it reaches its zenith with this comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel as two completely different guys who form an unlikely friendship. The beauty of it lies both in the details of their relationship and the larger chemistry Rudd and Segel share. “I Love You, Man” dares to get to the heart of intimate male friendships — or even, as the title suggests, love — the kind of thing most guys don’t exactly feel comfortable discussing. 105 mins. Rated R for pervasive language, including crude and sexual references.

“Monsters vs. Aliens” (B): Classic creatures from the 1950s get a high-tech makeover with a healthy amount of attitude in this 3-D animated adventure. The Blob, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly — they’re are all here, led by The 50-Foot Woman, who’s now 49 feet, 11 inches as voiced by the diminutive Reese Witherspoon. Far from being menacing, they’re optimistic misfits who just want to be loved and understood. Rather than destroying one another, they’re loyal friends who’ve been trapped together as government test subjects, only to be unleashed on the world when an alien invasion requires their unique powers. 94 mins. Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language.

“Observe and Report” (D): The most charitable thing we can say about this otherwise insufferable comedy is that it shows Seth Rogen has some range. He’s not just the self-deprecating cutup, the stoner teddy bear we’ve come to know and love in movies like “Knocked Up,” “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express.” Apparently, he also has some pent-up rage in him, which he unleashes in spectacularly wild fashion as the head of security at a suburban shopping center. Rogen’s Ronnie Barnhardt takes his job far too seriously, of course, but he’s forced to spring into actual action when a flasher starts antagonizing the shoppers — and, more importantly, blond bimbo Brandi (Anna Faris), the cosmetics clerk he secretly adores. 86 mins. Rated R for pervasive language, graphic nudity, drug use, sexual content and violence.

“Race to Witch Mountain” (C): This remake of a 1975 action-adventure tale of an orphaned brother and sister with psychic powers still holds up for all ages. Dwayne Johnson stars as Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas cab driver. One day, alien brother and sister Seth and Sara (Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb) mysteriously appear in the back seat of his car, produce a wad of cash and ask him to take them to an indeterminate location. Their arrival there is crucial to the survival of their planet, they eventually explain in politely robotic English. 99 mins. Rated PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations and some thematic elements.

“17 Again” (C): This is one of those movies that requires you to suspend all disbelief and assume that someone who looks like Zac Efron could, in 20 years, turn into someone who looks like Matthew Perry. That detail is just about as implausible as the film’s premise itself: Mike O’Donnell (Perry), a miserable father of two on the brink of divorce, gets a chance to relive his high-school days and improve his future by becoming 17 in the present day, all thanks to the magical powers of a mystical janitor. Director Burr Steers takes you places you’ve been before in more charming movies such as “Big” and “Freaky Friday.” “Mike realizes his true purpose is to reconnect with his wife and teenage kids. Efron maintains the dreamy presence that made the tweens scream in the “High School Musical” series. 98 mins. PG-13 for language, some sexual material and teen partying.

“State of Play” (B-): It looks like a political thriller, and superficially it’s the murder of a young woman — a rising congressman’s mistress — that drives the narrative. But “State of Play” turns out to be a fond homage to old-school journalism, and it plays like a eulogy for a sadly dying industry. Russell Crowe’s Cal McAffrey represents one of the last vestiges of that way of life. But he also happens to be old friends with the politician in question, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), who’s chairman of the committee overseeing defense spending. Cal’s various conflicts of interest — and the congressman’s — are revealed as the police and the Washington Globe investigate the killing. Director Kevin Macdonald, who already showed a sure hand in navigating complex plots and intense intrigue with “The Last King of Scotland,” moves the story along smoothly through all its twists and turns. 118 mins. PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content.

“Watchmen” (C-): Director Zack Snyder’s rigid adaptation of this landmark superhero tale is hugely disappointing, faithful as it is to the 1988 graphic novel. Its reverence should please purists, but it also contributes to the film’s considerable bloat. If you haven’t read the book, you’ll be lost, especially during the opening titles that breeze through the story of the Watchmen’s predecessors. Now it’s 1985 — or, at least, a twisted version of it where Richard Nixon remains president — and members of a new generation of superheroes, the Watchmen, are caught in a murder mystery years after they disbanded. 161 minutes. Rated R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.