The Back Space Theatre

(1120 Main Ave., 259-7940)

Margin Call.HHH½ A fictional but realistic look inside a Wall Street trading house during the 2008 meltdown. Rated R.

Submarine.HHH A teenager has two goals: to lose his virginity and to keep his parents together, which requires keeping Mom’s ex-flame out of the picture. Life is complicated. (See review this page.) Rated R.

Gaslight Cinema

(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133)

J. Edgar.HHH½ Leo DiCaprio channels the longtime nutso FBI chief in this biopic directed by Clint Eastwood. Rated R.

Martha Marcy May Marlene. HHH½ Four names, one very confused girl; it’s the story of her life before and after two years spent as a cult member. Rated R.

Durango Stadium 9

(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799)

Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. (No Ebert rating) A luxury cruise takes a turn for the worse when the famed trio and their pals are marooned on a deserted island. Something between “Lost” and “Gilligan’s Island,” but with chipmunks. Rated G.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.HHH½ The story is true to the classic tales if the action-blockbuster part isn’t; Robert Downey, Jr.’s Holmes matches wits with his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty. Watson helps. Rated PG-13.

New Year’s Eve.H There haven’t been this many stars on one screen since “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Looks to be just as baffling. Rated PG-13.

The Sitter.H Jonah Hill is a bad baby sitter, but the kids he’s charged with baby-sitting are worse. And they’re all loose in the Big Apple. Rated R.

Arthur Christmas. (In standard and digital 3-D with surcharge) Most notable in this animated holiday treat is that we learn the high-tech methodology that allows Santa to make all those deliveries in one night. Rated PG.

Hugo.HHHH (In digital 3-D with surcharge) An autobiographically influenced Scorsese fantasy about a young orphan who learns a lot from film pioneer Georges Milies. And they build an automaton named Hugo. Very well received by the critics. (See review this page.) Rated PG.

The Muppets.HHH A tycoon eyes the Muppets’ beloved theater for oil development, and they have to raise like $10 million to save it. Still better than dancing penguins, for my money. Rated PG.

Happy Feet Two.HH½ It’s happy, animated dancing penguins, and that’s all that need be said. Rated PG.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.HH½ Having missed the story to this point, a young girl marrying a vampire and having his kid is just as plausible as the talking penguins in the theater next door. Rated PG-13.

Immortals.H½ Mickey Rourke is the bloodthirsty King Hyperion in this ancient Greece period flick that promises a ton of gore. Rated R.

Ted holteen and roger ebert