Movie Reviews: Broken City, The Last Stand, Mama, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables and More

Editor's Note: All reviews and information gleaned from Moviefone.

Broken City

• Run Time: 109min.
• Starring:  Mark Wahlberg , Russell Crowe , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Jeffrey Wright , Barry Pepper
• Director(s): Allen Hughes
• Trailer

"It's pretty trashy and sometimes stupid. But there was never a moment when I wasn't entertained on one level or another." Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times.

"In spite of some punchy scenes, crackling dialogue, and fine performances, Broken City is hopelessly overmatched. It has Academy Award dreams, but a detective-show heart." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club.

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The Last Stand

• Run Time: 107min.
• Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger , Peter Stormare , Rodrigo Santoro , Forest Whitaker , Zach Gilford
• Director: Kim Jee-Woon
• Trailer

"The Last Stand delivers -- up to a point. Keep those expectations reasonable and try not to be disappointed." Mark Zhuravsy of The Playlist.

"Despite his acknowledged age, creaking bones, and reduced nerve, Schwarzenegger still delivers quite a performance in this fun, straight-ahead action film." Louis Black of The Austin Chronicle.

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Mama

• Run Time: 100min.
• Starring: Jessica Chastain , Megan Charpentier , Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
• Director: Andy Muschietti
• Trailer

"Plenty of horror movies are willing to settle for making audiences jump. Mama is more ambitious by far: It makes sure viewers are emotionally committed even when they aren't clutching their armrests or covering their eyes." Tasha Robinson of The A.V. Club.

"Expertly conjured atmosphere only gets Muschietti so far, but there's enough genuine promise here that you're willing to cut this talented newcomer some slack." Keith Eulich of Time Out New York.

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Gangster Squad

• Run Time: 113min.
• Starring: Sean Penn , Ryan Gosling , Josh Brolin , Michael Pena , Anthony Mackie
• Director(s): Ruben Fleischer
• Trailer

"The cops play things as dirty as the crooks in Gangster Squad, an impressively pulpy underworld-plunger that embellishes on a 1949 showdown between a dedicated team of LAPD officers and Mob-connected Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) for control of the city." Peter Debruge of Variety. Full Review

"Typified by Penn's blustery performance, Gangster Squad is sleek, stylish but superficial. Easy on the eye, even easier on the brain, it doesn't last long in the memory." James Mottram of Total Film Full Review

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Zero Dark Thirty

• Run Time: 157min.
• Starring: Joel Edgerton , Jessica Chastain , Edgar Ramirez , Kyle Chandler , Mark Strong
• Director(s): Kathryn Bigelow
• Trailer

"Telling a nearly three-hour story with an ending everyone knows, Bigelow and Boal have managed to craft one of the most intense and intellectually challenging films of the year." The Guardian. Full Review

"Bigelow delivers an acute realization of the mission's execution that's eerily in sync with the way it played in the popular imagination. Visually, the events unfold as a mashup of shadowy movements with flashes of green night vision. It's simultaneously predictable and tense." Eric Kohn of indieWIRE. Full Review

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A Haunted House

• Run Time: 86min.
• Starring: Nick Swardson , Marlon Wayans , David Koechner , Essence Atkins , Cedric the Entertainer
• Director(s): Rick Alvarez , Marlon Wayans
• Trailer

"If the result features around 1,783 too many fart gags, to be fair, it also boasts a couple of genuine minor scares. Although there's no doubt that the film's most horrible sight is a way-too-long shot of Swardson's naked rump." Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly.

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This is 40

• Run Time: 134min.
• Starring: Paul Rudd , Leslie Mann , Megan Fox ,Albert Brooks , Chris O'Dowd
• Director(s): Judd Apatow
• Trailer

"This Is 40 isn't always hilarious, but it's ticklishly honest and droll about all the things being a parent can do to a relationship. And why it's still worth it." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly. Full Review.

"Judd Apatow's instincts have rarely been sharper, wiser or more relatable than in This Is 40, an acutely perceptive, emotionally generous laffer about the joys and frustrations of marriage and middle age." Justin Chang of Variety. Full Review.  

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Les Miserables

• Run Time: 157min.
• Starring: Hugh Jackman , Russell Crowe , Anne Hathaway , Helena Bonham Carter , Sacha Baron Cohen 
• Director(s): Tom Hooper
• Trailer

"Stirring and striking, Hooper's epic musical won't be wanting for awards and plaudits. Danny Cohen's cinematography is stunning and Hathaway's Oscar is guaranteed." Neil Smith of Total Film. Full Review.

"Russell Crowe's pained vocal stylings (they sound more like barks) as relentless Inspector Javert can be forgiven after hearing Hugh Jackman's old-pro fluidity in the central role of Jean Valjean, hiding a criminal past." Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York. Full Review.

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Parental Guidance

• Run Time: 104min.
• Starring: Billy Crystal , Bette Midler , Marisa Tomei ,Tom Everett Scott , Bailee Madison
• Director(s): Andy Fickman
• Trailer

"Parental Guidance is an engaging comedy that bridges multiple generation gaps, making it that rare movie that grandparents, their kids, and their kids can enjoy." Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Any of these spark your interest? Marcus Theaters in Iowa City and Coralville will be showing all or most of these movies. Showtimes here.