OPENING THIS WEEK

BODY OF LIES Review on 8

THE DUCHESS Review on 10

THE EXPRESS Review on 9

ALSO OPENING

CITY OF EMBER (1 hr., 36 min.; Rated PG for mild peril and some thematic elements) Smart and thoughtful, this futuristic, animated sci-fi film finds the human race trapped underground at the end 200 years' self-imposed exile from the surface of the planet. The city where they live is falling apart, but only two bright teens are very interested in fixing any problems. [A-]

QUARANTINE (1 hr., 30 min.; Rated R for bloody violent and disturbing content, terror and language) A news crew and firefighters are trapped in a crumbling apartment building after government officials seal the area to contain a dangerous plague. Which will get them first? The disease, or its grotesquely mutated victims? This film was not screened for critics.

FIREPROOF (2 hrs., 2 min.; Rated PG for thematic material and some peril) A firefighter is good at his job, but bad at his marriage -- can he keep his home life from going up in flames? The film hammers its pro-matrimonial message clumsily and relentlessy, but there's some charm to its characters and their dilemma is engaging. [C+]

LARGE FORMAT FILMS

Cricket Imax Theater at Jordan Commons

EAGLE EYE (1 hr., 48 min.; PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language) Shia LaBeouf vs. The Man in IMAX widescreen!

Showtimes daily. 9355 S. State St., Sandy. (801) 304-INFO.

Xango Mammoth Screen Theater at Thanksgiving Point

DINOSAURS: GIANTS OF PATAGONIA (40 min.; No MPAA rating) Learn about the discovery of super-large dino in South America.

WILD OCEAN 3D (45 min.; No MPAA rating) Massive aquatic feeding frenzies off the coast of Africa in 3D!

SEA MONSTERS: A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE (40 min.; No MPAA rating) Learn about the humongous beasts that used to swim in the sea.

Showtimes daily. 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way, Lehi. 768-2300.

CONTINUING

AN AMERICAN CAROL (1 hr., 23 min.; Rated PG-13 for rude and irreverent content, and for language and brief drug material) Noted lowbrow satirist David Zucker ("Airplane!") retells Dicken's "A Christmas Carol," only with a Michael Moore-esque liberal filmmaker learning from the ghosts of conservatives past. Fifully funny, but mostly dour and uneven. [C]

APPALOOSA (1 hr., 54 min.; Rated R for some violence and language) Two hired guns are called in by a New Mexico town to keep the peace. Directing only his second film, actor Ed Harris nails the rhythms and low-key folksy energy of Hollywood's best Westerns from bygone years. Harris and Viggo Mortensen have a fine rapport as the law-and-order-dispensing duo. [A-]

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA (1 hr., 31 min.; Rated PG for some mild thematic elements) What's a delicate, ladylike "she-huahua" to do when inadvertently abandoned in Mexico City? Hope that she meets a "warrior" and "lover" like poochy keen Papi, of course. This live-action "Lady and the Tramp," south-of-the-border style, is doggedly earnest, but funnier than you might think. [B-]

BLINDNESS (2 hrs.; Rated R for violence including sexual assaults, language and sexuality/nudity) Victims of a vision-degrading plague, possibly caused by government malfeasance, are confined and abandoned in a near-future city in this preachy, dour sci-fi shambles. The sightless sufferers gradually evolve their own society, and it's not pretty. Neither is the movie. [D+]

BURN AFTER READING (1 hr., 36 min.; Rated R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence) This lightweight spy spoof, written and directed by filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, is almost Shakespearean (admirably so) in the clockwork complexity of its plotting, but the characters and situations fail to engage our sympathies, or our interest. [C+]

EAGLE EYE (1 hr., 48 min.; Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and for language) Big Brother (who talks like Big Sister, at least in this movie) is either out to harm or help a callow youth who's mistaken for a secret agent man in this slick, surface-level reworking of "North by Northwest." The action is crisp, though true paranoia never really seeps in. [B-]

FLASH OF GENIUS (1 hr., 58 min.; Rated PG-13 for brief strong language) You wouldn't think there'd be high drama in the story of a man's fight to protect his patent on the intermittent windshield wiper, and you'd mostly be right. Greg Kinnear's lead performance is more nuanced and interesting than the boilerplate, fact-inspired movie around him. [C-]

FOREVER STRONG (1 hr., 52 min.; Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving teen drug and alcohol use, and for some disturbing images) There's an excellent true story to be told about Highland Rugby and local legend Larry Gelwix, so it's a shame that the club and coach are largely bystanders in a crisp, well-intentioned and ultimately superficial tale of teenage rebellion. [B]

GET SMART (1 hr., 50 min.; PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language) Steve Carell is all Ca-wrong for the Ca-role of secret agent man and '60s TV icon Maxwell Smart. The spy games that Carell and Anne Hathaway (taking over for Barbara Feldon as Agent 99) get up to aren't enjoyable either as action or as comedy. The Rock is wasted in a supporting role. [D+]

GHOST TOWN (1 hr., 42 min.; Rated PG-13 for some strong language, sexual humor and drug references) After discovering that he can see dead people, Bertram Pincus, D.D.S. (Ricky Gervais) finds himself falling for a sweet widow -- against her late husband's wishes. British comedy icon Gervais brings his "A" game to this snarky, sweetly romantic comedy. [A-]

HANCOCK (1 hr., 32 min.; PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and language) There's a train wreck in "Hancock," and the movie itself is a bit of a train wreck. Will Smith is especially engaging as a loutish, indifferent superhero, however, and the movie gets off to a solid start before an intriguing different, yet cumbersome twist puts a kink in the movie's style. [B-]

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE (1 hr., 50 min.; Rated R for language, some graphic nudity and brief drug material) A slobby Brit (Simon Pegg) is an embarrassment to the world of tabloid journalism in this trenchant comedy inspired by the memoirs of Toby Young. Pegg is funny, but the rest of the movie is too nice for its own good. [C-]

IGOR (1 hr., 20 min.; Rated PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language) Mad scientists are the rock stars of Malaria, and humble hunchback Igor dreams of trading the back-hunching labor of stealing brains and throwing the switch for a taste of scientific glory. The concept is clever, but the film fumbles away its early momentum. [C+]

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (1 hr., 32 min.; PG for intense adventure action and some scary moments) It's Jules Verne for Dummies! Brendan Fraser deploys his exaperated action hero persona from the "Mummy" movies as a geologist who, after being trapped with his nephew in the bowels of the Earth, discovers that deeply silly action gimmicks are what lies beneath. [D+]

KUNG FU PANDA (1 hr., 30 min.; PG for sequences of martial arts action) With gorgeous animation and excellent kung fu action, this heroic saga of humor and adventure, in which a tubby panda with a love of kung fu discovers an unlikely destiny, more than delivers on its marketers' promise of "awesomeness." Distinguished by its sharp characters, gentle wisdom and excellent acting. [A]

LAKEVIEW TERRACE (1 hr., 46 min.; Rated PG-13 for intense thematic material, violence, sexuality, language and some drug references) Bad, bad Leroy Brow -- er, make that Abel Turner is a man on the edge. On the edge of homicidal harrassment of his new neighbors, that is. Obvious, silly scenes chug toward an obvious, silly resolution. [D+]

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (1 hr., 52 min.; PG-13 for adventure action and violence) It's a good thing that the "Mummy" movies are a trilogy, because that means that the brazenly mindless, loud, sloppy, lifeless "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is the last of them. Trust me, they're a trilogy. That goes for you, too, Hollywood. [D]

NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (1 hr., 30 min.; Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, language and crude behavior) Teenagers fall in love in this blandly familiar, John Hughes-esque romantic comedy. Kat Dennings's lead performance as Norah is warmly inspired, but too much of the movie is wasted on pointless digressions. [C-]

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE (1 hr., 37 min.; Rated PG-13 for some sensuality) Another of the sweetly sentimental novels of Nicholas Sparks makes its way to the silver screen, this time with lonelyhearts Richard Gere and Diane Lane discovering love (and each other) in the Outer Banks. Pure fluff, with a sheen of cozy professionalism. [C+]

WALL-E (1 hr., 43 min.; G) The newest film from Disney and Pixar has an electrifying beginning that stakes an instant claim to full recognition among the classics of science fiction cinema. But what start brilliantly slides into sometimes inspired mediocrity when the story of a lonely litterbot following his programming on a gutted future Earth blasts into deep space. [B-]

SALT LAKE COUNTY

These films are playing exclusively in Salt Lake County at the theaters indicated.

Broadway Centre at 111 E. 300 South, Salt Lake City -- (801) 321-0310

Carmike 12 at 1600 W. Fox Park Drive, West Jordan -- (801) 562-5760

Carmike Ritz Hollywood Connection at 3217 S. Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City -- (801) 973-4386

Century 16 Salt Lake at 125 E. 3300 South, Salt Lake City -- (801) 486-9652

Century 16 Union Heights at 7670 S. Union Park Ave., Sandy -- (801) 568-3456

Cinemark 24 at 7301 S. Jordan Landing, West Jordan -- (801) 282-9722

Cinemark Movies 9 at 9359 S. 700 East, Sandy -- (801) 571-0601

Cinemark Movies 10 at 2227 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City -- (801) 466-3797

Cinemark Valley Fair Movies 9 at 3601 S. 2700 West, West Valley City -- (801) 969-7281

Megaplex 12 at 200 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City -- (801) 304-INFO

Megaplex 17 at 9355 S. State St., Sandy -- (801) 304-INFO

Megaplex 20 at 11400 S. Bangerter Hwy., South Jordan -- (801) 304-INFO

Tower Theatre at 876 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City -- (801) 321-0310

THE DARK KNIGHT (2 hrs., 32 min.; PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace) With crisp, comprehensible action scenes, stellar acting and a dense, thoughtful script, this dark, hard-egded chapter would be the high point of the long-running Batman saga even without the amazing, chilling performance of the late Heath Ledger as Joker. [A] Cinemark 24

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (1 hr., 50 min.; PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence and some language) Ron Perlman is as watchable as ever as the spawn of Satan, a friendly demon with a fondness for cats, who defends humanity against weird stuff. The glorious visual effects are only half the fun of this witty, street-smart superhero film. [A-] Valley Fair 9

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2 hrs., 2 min.; PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images) He's back! Indiana Jones's famous fedora fits Harrison Ford as well as it ever has. A lot of the plotting of Dr. J's latest adventure has a logic-defying, seat-of-the-pants heedlessness, but the movie is fast, fun and funny, with great interaction between its stars. [A] Cinemark 9, Cinemark 10

IRON MAN (2 hrs.; PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content) Giving the freshest superhero performance in many a moon, Robert Downey Jr. electrifies this fast, funny chronicle of the Marvel Comics cover boy who fights injustice with the power of heavy metal (and some cool weapons technology). [B+] Cinemark 10

MAMMA MIA! (1 hr., 48 min.; PG-13 for some sex-related comments) Meryl Streep can sing! Meryl can dance! Meryl Streep is having the time of her life. You may not have the time of your life, however, unless you really, really dig ABBA songs. The movie slavishly adheres to the empty-headed Broadway fluff it's based on. [C+] Cinemark 24

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (1 hr., 41 min.; Rated R for strong language and sexual content throughout, including graphic dialogue and some nudity) Continuing the long tradition of stark realism in lame romantic comedy movie professions, Dane Cook is a "bad date for hire" who makes Kate Hudson long to be with Jason Biggs again. Or does he?! It's not worth your time to find out. [D] Megaplex 20

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (1 hr., 51 min.; R for pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence) It's the "Gone with the Wind" of cannabis comedies! Seth Rogen plays a weed lovin' process server who goes on the lam with his herb-addled dealer (a very funny James Franco) after witnessing a murder. Funny, but wastes a lot of time on a useless girlfriend subplot. [B] Cinemark 10, Valley Fair 9

RIGHTEOUS KILL (1 hr., 41 min.; Rated R for violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and brief drug use) Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are definitely together in the same scenes, at the same time, as NYPD detectives who find that the book may be open again on a case long thought solved. The admittedly engaging all-star team up is the only real reason to see the movie. [C] Cinemark 24

SPACE CHIMPS (1 hr., 21 min.; G) A chimp descended from original space monkey Ham blasts into space to explore a wormhole for Uncle Sam. Pixar and DreamWorks don't need to be looking over their shoulders quite yet, but the latest offering from the makers of "Valiant" and "Happily N'ever After" shows considerable improvement. [B-] Cinemark 9

STEP BROTHERS (1 hr., 38 min.; R for crude and sexual content and pervasive language) The idea of 40-year-old, live-at-home slackers moving in together as brothers after their parents wed is funny, but not for very long. For most of its running time, "Step Brothers" is merely a herky-jerky spew of vulgarity, profanity and childish destructiveness. [D-] Cinemark 10, Valley Fair 9