“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked”

A group of talking chipmunks and their human companions get shipwrecked on a remote island. G.

“Beauty and the Beast 3D”

A 3-D version of the classic animated tale about a princess taken captive by a monster who may be more than meets the eye. G.

“Contraband”

A former international smuggler is forced to re-enter the criminal underground to settle his brother-in-law’s debt and protect his own family. R.

“The Descendants”

George Clooney in one of the most satisfying performances of his career -- angry, sad, vulnerable, loving, foolish, comically discombobulated -- as a Hawaiian lawyer coping with a family crisis and a daunting inheritance. From Alexander Payne, of “Sideways” and “About Schmidt” fame. Satisfying on every level. R.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

Stephen Daldry (“The Hours”) directs this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel about a young boy (Thomas Horn) trying to make sense of the world after his father (Tom Hanks) is killed in the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Sandra Bullock plays his mother and Max Von Sydow is the mysterious neighbor who lives across the street. PG-13.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Director David Fincher’s brooding, stylish adaptation of the Stieg Larsson novel stars Rooney Mara (“The Social Network”) as the rebellious computer hacker who helps a journalist (Daniel Craig) investigate a 40-year-old crime. R.

“Haywire”

Steven Soderbergh (“Contagion”) directs this action picture about a former Black Ops agent (MMA superstar Gina Carano) kicking the butts of the men who betrayed her. R.

“Joyful Noise”

The two leading ladies of a small-town Georgia choir butt heads while trying to win a national singing competition. With Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer and Courtney B. Vance. PG-13.

“Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol”

Tom Cruise returns as IMF super-agent Ethan Hunt. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are two of the new spies trying to help him clear his agency’s name. PG-13.

“Red Tails”

Producer George Lucas labored for years to make this film about the crew of black pilots (including Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard and Method Man) in the Tuskegee training program who were called into action in World War II. PG-13.

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as the world-famous detective and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson for director Guy Ritchie. Jared Harris joins the cast as Holmes’ most nefarious adversary, Professor Moriarty. PG-13.

“Underworld: Awakening”

After skipping the previous film, Kate Beckinsale returns to the werewolf-versus-vampire franchise she helped make famous, this time joining forces with her lycanthrope pals to bag the most dangerous game of all: humans. R.

“War Horse”

Steven Spielberg’s unashamedly old-fashioned adaptation of the popular children’s novel and hit stage play -- a horse and his boy story set against the big, bloody backdrop of World War I. Heart-tugging, tear-jerking, hooves-thundering. PG-13.

“We Bought A Zoo”

Writer-director Cameron Crowe’s first feature since the flop “Elizabethtown” stars Matt Damon as a widower who takes on the restoration of a crumbling zoo for the sake of his two children. Scarlett Johansson is the veterinarian helping him with the animals. PG.