Admission

An uptight, rules-following Princeton admissions officer (Tina Fey) faces a personal crisis after she meets a college-bound alternative high school kid who may be the son she gave up for adoption years ago. Also, she falls in love with his teacher (Paul Rudd). Ultimately predicatable but smartly written, this one's based on the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz. 107 minutes PG-13.

The Call

Halle Berry continues her poor post-Oscar career decisions (Die Another Day, Catwoman, Perfect Stranger, Frankie & Alice, New Year's Eve, Dark Tide, Movie 43), starring in this cliché-laden thriller. Berry plays a 911 operator who gets a panic-stricken cell phone call from a young woman (Abigail Breslin) who has been kidnapped and stuffed into a car trunk. For various extremely contrived reasons, Berry must step in and rescue the girl--as opposed to, say, the police. 94 minutes R.

The Host

Desperate Twilight lovers may or may not be mollified by this follow-up effort based on a different series by author Stephenie Meyer. Instead of supernatural romance, it's sci-fi romance. In the near future, Earth has been taken over by parasitic aliens who need humans to inhabit. Naturally there's a love triangle between a "special" alien girl (Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones) and a couple of rebellious, well-coiffed teens (Jake Abel from Percy Jackson & The Olympians and Max Irons from Red Riding Hood). Director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, The Truman Show) shot it here in New Mexico. 125 minutes PG-13.

Identity Thief

Jason Bateman is a mild-mannered businessman who decides to hunt down the deceptively harmless-looking woman (Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids) who's been living it up on his stolen identity. The result is a predictably wacky road trip. 112 minutes R.

Jack the Giant Slayer

Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men: First Class) directs Hollywood's latest fairy tale fantasy in which a young farmhand (Nicholas Hoult from X-Men: First Class and Warm Bodies) gets caught in a war between humans and giants. There's even a princess to rescue. The effects are cool, but the whole fairy tale thing (Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, "Once Upon a Time") is kinda played out. 114 minutes PG-13.

Monsters, Inc. 3D

Disney teamed with Pixar Animation (Toy Story, A Bug's Life) for this 2001 computer-animated hit. Now it's back in 3D. John Goodman and Billy Crystal are a couple of monsters employed at the biggest scare factory in Monstropolis. When a cute little girl crosses over from the real world, the not-so-frightening duo risk their professional careers to bring her home. 92 minutes

Silver Linings Playbook

David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees) directs this schizophrenic, seriocomic love story based on Matthew Quick's novel. Bradley Cooper plays a troubled Philly schoolteacher who moves in with his parents (Jacki Weaver and Robert De Niro) after spending time in a mental hospital. Our undermedicated protagonist tries to get his life in order and reunite with his estranged wife, but gets sidetracked by his relationship with an equally messed-up young widow (the always-wonderful Jennifer Lawrence). 122 minutes R.

Snitch

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's son gets arrested in a drug deal gone bad. Naturally, beefy super-dad volunteers to become an undercover agent for the DEA in order to free his son. Much punching, shooting and 'sploding follows. 112 minutes PG-13.

Warm Bodies

A young zombie kid (Nicholas Hoult from X-Men: First Class) falls in love with an uninfected human survivor (Teresa Palmer from The Sorcerer's Apprentice) in this cute, but not terribly inventive undead romance. Hoult and Plamer have as much chemistry as a dead guy and a girl with a shotgun can muster, and there are a few good chuckles to be had; but the script's just another rewrite of Romeo and Juliet. 97 minutes PG-13.