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XXX: Return of Xander Cage, directed by D.J. Caruso (PG-13, 1 hour, 47 minutes) The third film in this silly yet entertaining super-speed spy action franchise again follows extreme athlete/government agent Xander Cage (Vin Diesel, the ultimate dryly wisecracking wise guy) who, along with a new bunch of living-on-the-edge sidekicks, battles against deadly warrior Xiang (Donnie Yen) to recover a troublesome weapon called Pandora’s Box, reputed to control each and every military satellite on earth.

As you might expect, a government conspiracy is the cause of all the intrigue. Don’t let logic get in the way of a noisy explosion fest. With Tony Jaa, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette.

A Mermaid’s Tale (G, 1 hour, 32 minutes) A live-action fantasy in which a 12-year-old named Ryan who’s sent to live in a fishing village with her long-absent father and ill-tempered grandfather finds a friend in a mermaid named Coral. With Caitlin Carmichael, Jerry O’Connell, Barry Bostwick, Nancy Stafford; directed by Dustin Rikert.

The Great Wall (PG-13, 1 hour, 43 minutes) Directed by renowned Chinese director Yimou Zhang

(Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers), this visually brilliant but unexpectedly dreary and dull adventure saga featuring Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe battling ancient monsters isn’t nearly the masterful epic it sets out to be.

Alpha and Omega: Journey to Bear Kingdom (not rated, 44 minutes) A simple, good-natured and extremely kid-friendly animated

adventure comedy in which wolf pups Stinky, Claudette and Runt must defend Bear Kingdom and their forest home from the evil Rogue Wolves. With the voices of Kate Higgins, Ben Diskin, Hunter Swan; directed by Tim Maltby. The eighth installment in the Alpha and Omega franchise.

The Age of Shadows (not rated, 2 hours, 20 minutes) Lengthy, yet worth nearly every minute of its hefty running time, this complicated, fascinating spy thriller, filled with elegance and action, is a moral quandary set in Japanese-occupied 1920 Seoul where clashes continually occur between revolutionaries, resistance

fighters, law enforcement types and a wide variety of double-crossing secret agents. With Song Kang-ho, Yoo Gong, Han Ji-min; directed by Jee-woon Kim. Subtitled.

Rings (PG-13, 1 hour, 42 minutes) Yet another repetitive, implausible and meandering sequel (the third) to 2002’s The Ring in which a cursed videotape causes the demise within seven days of all who watch it. This time, a member of a cult created around the video discovers there’s a movie within the movie. That can’t be good, but then neither is the movie. You’re better off watching 1998’s Ringu, the very scary Japanese original psychological horror film directed by Hideo Nakata. With Matilda Lutz, Vincent D’Onofrio, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki; directed by F. Javier Gutierrez.