For Friday through October 20

REAL STEEL, 1 1⁄2 stars, rated PG-13. The world of boxing has gone high-tech with 8-foot-tall, 200-pound steel robots dominating the sport. Now washed-up fighter Charlie Kenton, who lost his shot at the title with the takeover of the bots, is relegated to the role of a small-time promoter. He earns just enough money to survive, piecing together low-end robots from scrap metal to travel from one venue ot the next. He has a last shot at a comeback when he teams up with his estranged son, Max, to build a robot contender. Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Hope Davis, Kevin Durand, Dakota Goyo.

THE THING, 2 stars, rated R. In Antarctica, home to an isolated outpost of scientists, a discovery holding enormous scientific possibiliiteis has just been made when an alien life form is unearthed. However, the shape-shifting being has just turned this scientific station into a marooned outpost where survival of its human inhabitants may be the biggest challenge. Joel Edgerton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen. NEW THIS WEEK

FOOTLOOSE, 2 stars, rated PG-13. Ren MacCormack is transplanted from Boston to the small Southern town of Bomont where he experiences a heavy dose of culture shock. Years prior, the rural community had experienced a tragedy resulting in the deaths of five local teens. As a result, the town council banned loud music and dance to prevent further incidents of that nature. Ren, not being one to conform, challenges the ban in an attempt to revitalize the town, and along the way falls into a relationship with the daughter of the local minister. Kenny Wormald, Dennis Quaid, Julianne Hough. NEW THIS WEEK DOLPHIN TALE standard and in 3D, 3 stars, rated PG. This is the story of Winter, a young dolphin that loses her tail in a crab trap, and Sawyer, the introverted 11-year-old boy who befriends her. Sawyer rallies friends and family together to save Winter, enlisting the help of a pioneering doctor to create a unique prosthetic attachment that will restore the dolphin’s ability to swim. Nathan Gamble, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Kris Kristofferson.

DREAM HOUSE, (NR), rated PG-13. Soon after moving into their seemingly idyllic new home, a couple and their two daughters learn of a brutal crime committed against former residents of the dwelling. Now it appears they may be the next target. As Will, the husband, invesigates the past happenings, the disturbing puzzle he finds indicates the present circumstances in which his family exists may be as horrifying as the dream house’s past residents. Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz.

50/50 4 stars, rated R. A comedic account of a 27-year-old guy’s cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston.

MONEYBALL, 3 stars, rated PG-13. Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, is forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget and compete with the richer clubs. The one-time jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand to recruit bargain players that the scouts have labeled as flawed. While they may be flawed, they do have the ability to get on base, score runs and win games. Challenging old-school traditions puts Beane in the crosshairs, and it has many people saying he is ripping the heart and soul from the game. Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

CONTAGION, 3 stars, rated PG-13. As a fast-moving and lethal airborne virus spreads through the population, the worldwide medical community struggles to find a cure. Meanwhile, panic spreads through the population faster than the virus itself and ordinary people struggle to survive as society unravels around them. Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elliott Gould.

Harvard Cinema: 3161 W. Harvard Ave., 673-6604

BIG YEAR, 2 stars, rated PG. Three men who couldn’t be more different from each other share one common passion about which they are extremely competitive — bird-watching. Now, they engage in a trek through North America in the biggest competition of their biggest year. Steve Martin, Owen wilson, Jack Balck, Brian Dennehy, Angelica Huston, Tim Blake Nelson, Anthony Anderson. NEW THIS WEEK

THE LION KING in 3D, 3 1/2 stars, rated G. A reissue of the classic Disney animated feature with newly added 3D effects. Tricked into believing he has killed his father, a young lion cub, Simba, flees into exile, abandoning his position as future king. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg.

ABUCTION, 1 1/2 stars, rated PG-13. Nathan Harper, a high school senior, discovers during a school sociology project that he looks eerily like a missing child from 1995. Investigating further, he finds that he is part of a deep cover protection plan. His questions, however, have renewed interest in a group of unknown individuals that have not only been seeking him, but want him dead. Now, Nathan finds himself on the run from the police, C.I.A., and Serbian agents. Taylor Lautner, Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs.

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?, 1 1/2 stars, rated R. Ally Darling panics after reading a magazine article that insists that if you have slept with 20 people, you have somehow missed “Mr. Right.” Now, Ally’s hunky new neighbor helps Ally track down her ex-boyfriends to see what she missed out on along the way. Anna Farris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Zachary Quinto.

THE HELP 3 1/2 stars, rated PG-13.This is the story of three very different but extraordinary women in Mississippi in the 1960s who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. Instilled with the courage to cross the very lines that define them as individuals, they learn that some lines are meant to be crossed, even if it means the world around them must change. Sissy Spacek, Bryce Dallas Howard, Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Allison Janney.

Star ratings: 4 stars – Excellent, 3 stars – Good, 2 stars – Fair, 1 star – Poor, (NR) – No rating available