Truman and Cole Smithey

AT THE MOVIES

Big Miracles (In Theaters: Feb. 3)

John Krasinski plays Adam Carlson, a news reporter in Barrow, Alaska — a town at its northern tip. Just when it seems like there’s nothing much to report, a group of majestic gray whales appear trapped in ice forming from the Arctic Circle. As the local community tries to figure out a way to help the giant sea creatures, Adam’s past girlfriend, and Greenpeace volunteer, Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore) takes up the whales’cause as her own personal rescue mission. Big Miracle is based on a true story and gives audiences a rare opportunity to see some of the most amazing whales you could ever imagine. Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson and Ted Danson also star in this family-friendly nature-adventure film.
Rated PG for language. 101 mins. (Universal Pictures)

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (In Theaters: Feb. 10)

Since visiting the center of the earth back in 2008, Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) is now ready for an adventure to the “Mysterious Island” of Jules Verne fame. Sean’s grandpa (Michael Caine) has been sending coded distress signals from the mysterious island where strange creatures roam free. Along with his stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson), Sean takes helicopter pilot Gabato (Luis Guzman) and the pilot’s daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) on the adventure of a lifetime. The Mysterious Island is the home of the lost city of Atlantis. It also has a mountain of gold and bees so big you can fly on them. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is going to be one very wild ride of a movie for kids and their parents to go on. Rated PG for some adventure action and brief mild language. 94 mins. (New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Secret World of Arrietty (In Theaters: Feb. 17)

Inspired by Mary Norton’s celebrated children’s book series “The Borrowers,” The Secret World of Arrietty is an animated film from the same movie company that created Spirited Away and Ponyo. Arrietty (voiced by Bridgit Mendler) is a tiny 14-year-old girl who lives with her parents (voiced Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) hidden beneath a suburban garden home. The home’s housekeeper (voiced by Carol Burnett) has no idea about the tiny family that lives beneath her feet.

Daring Arrietty has great dreams for her future. She gets quite a surprise when a visiting 12-year-old human boy named Shawn discovers her and they become fast friends. The trouble is that if anyone else finds out, it could spell disaster for Arrietty and her parents.

MOVIES ON DVD

Johnny English Reborn (Available Feb. 28)

This follow-up to Rowan Atkinson’s 2003 spy spoof is a worthy PG rated comedy for kids. Atkinson’s James Bond knock-off finds himself pulled back into the service of Britain’s MI7 after spending five soul searching years in a Tibetan monastery. A nod to the Pink Panther films occurs whenever Mozambique comes up in conversation, sending Atkinson’s rubbery face into a fit of eye-twitching spasms. Gillian Anderson takes over as MI7’s leader, code-named Pegasus. A window ledge incident involving a kitty cat gives rise to one of the movie’s sillier moments when Jonny English mimes holding a kitty that may have met with a tragic end. A chemical weapon called Vortex is the stuff Johnny English must find. Vortex can only be enabled with the use of three keys, each held by a different person whom English must track down before the keys fall into the hands of a MI7 mole. There’s a mish-mash of spy movie gags for a funny comedy that children will appreciate.

Cole Smithey, also known as “the smartest film critic in the world,” has been a film critic for 11 years and writes for over 50 publications, in print and on-line. Truman loves to watch movies and has the highest appreciation for great popcorn.