Film Clips: What’s in theaters?

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Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender, right) treats a damaged young woman (Keira Knightley) in David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method.”

Updated: January 3, 2012 1:46PM

STILL PLAYING

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Rated: PG for action-adventure violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking

Stars: Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis

A young adventurer (Bell) becomes involved in a race for maps leading to sunken treasure with the sea-captain descendant (Serkis) of a mariner who scuttled his ship to keep it from pirates. Steven Spielberg directed the motion-capture animated adventure based on stories by the Belgian comic-book artist Herge.

THE ARTIST

Rated: PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture

Stars: John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo

A silent-movie star (Dujardin) worried about the effect sound movies will have on his career falls in love with a young dancer (Bejo). Michel Hazanavicius (“OSS 117”) directed the romance. In French with subtitles.

A DANGEROUS METH OD★ ★ ★

Rated: R for sexual content and brief language

Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley

It’s all about the complex relationship and eventual feud between Sigmund Freud and his one-time heir-apparent Carl Gustav Jung, but the real selling point is kinky sex. “A Dangerous Method” gets under way when severely and psychically damaged young Sabina Spielrein (Knightley) is brought to the Swiss sanitarium where young Dr. Jung (Fassbender) has been waiting for the chance to try out the “method” of the title, Freud’s “talking cure.” Based on a stage play by Christopher Hampton, “A Dangerous Method” speculates on the rumored affair between Jung and Spielrein and the extent to which her case drew Jung and the aging Freud (Mortensen) together and eventually contributed to their estrangement. Worth a look for its historical interest and the important ideas being bandied about, though Jung’s own theories are given short shrift.

THE DARKEST HOUR

Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some action

Stars: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella

In Moscow, five young friends lead the attack against an invisible alien race targeting Earth’s water supply. Chris Gorak (“Right at Your Door”) directed the sci-fi adventure.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Rated: R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language

Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard

A magazine publisher (Craig) joins forces with a computer hacker (Mara) to track down a serial murderer. David Fincher (“The Social Network”) directed this remake of the hit Swedish film based on the bestsellers of Stieg Larsson.

HUGO★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking

Stars: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jude Law

The most flamboyantly cinematic film in director Martin Scorsese’s long career, “Hugo” is a gorgeous and dazzling film to behold. Based on a celebrated children’s book by author/illustrator Brian Selznick, “Hugo” is a fantasy adventure about an orphaned boy who lives inside a giant clock in a 1930s Paris train station, where he runs the station’s time-keeping machinery and tries to repair an antique, sad-eyed magician’s automaton, which he believes will send him a message from his beloved father (Law). “Hugo” is all about secrets and dreams and work and family and time and magic and movies, especially about movies.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton

When they are shut down after being falsely accused of an attack on the Kremlin, the IMF team goes rogue to restore its reputation. Brad Bird (“Up,” “The Incredibles”) directed the action adventure.

SHERLOCK HO LMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some drug material

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams

Holmes and Watson (Downey Jr. and Law) meet their greatest challenge from the evil Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), the only criminal who is the detective’s intellectual equal. Guy Ritchie returns to direct the sequel to his 2009 hit.

THE SITTER

Rated: R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and some violence

Stars: Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Sam Rockwell

After being suspended from college, a student is forced by his mother to babysit some neighborhood children, with disastrous results. David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express”) directed.

W AR HORSE★ ★ ★

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence

Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan

Steven Spielberg’s epic World War I drama about the soul-connection between a farm boy and a thoroughbred stallion-turned-plowhorse-turned-wartime-beast-of-burden, is beautifully crafted, grand in scope and deeply moving at its best. Two things, though, prevent “War Horse” from achieving the sort of emotional impact Spielberg is famous for: A storyline that struggles to reconcile material best suited for young audiences, a la “E.T.,” with hard-hitting anti-war statements a la “Saving Private Ryan,” and a detached point of view that makes it difficult to identify closely with any of the characters, including the equine star.That said, “War Horse” is never less that visually dazzling, it’s generously stocked with grand, dramatic set pieces and its pacifist message, along with the general idea that life is precious, regardless of class or nationality or species, are driven home by effective performances across the board.