In Theaters: 'Eat Pray Love,' 'The Expendables,' 'Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

We’ve got a packed lineup at the multiplex this weekend, with something for Mom, Dad, and even your strange Canadian-anime loving cousin. Sylvester Stallone‘s supreme sausage party “The Expendables” has been tracking well and should beat out the new-agey Julia Roberts travelogue “Eat Pray Love.” Sly must be banking on it considering he’s already got the sequel in mind and the soon-to-be-former Governator should have a lot more time on his hands in a few months. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” has deservedly won the best reviews this weekend, but it may struggle to break out of its cult destiny. But if ‘Scott Pilgrim’ is sold out, the Australian indie “Animal Kingdom” is a must-see and if it happens to be playing near you run out and support it.

In Wide Release: Based on the wildly popular memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, “Eat Pray Love” hits screens this weekend. The film stars Julia Roberts as a woman who, liberated from a stifling marriage, sets out on a voyage of self-discovery across the world. Bouncing her way from Rome to India to Bali she encounters various people (and meals) that open her eyes to riches that the larger world has to offer. Directed by Ryan Murphy (of “Nip/Tuck” and “Glee” fame), the film boasts a surprisingly strong supporting cast including Javier Bardem, James Franco, Viola Davis and Richard Jenkins. We posted our review yesterday finding it largely inoffensive if toothless, but with countless food-porn money shots, serene vistas, and Robert’s ever-likable presence it should have effortless appeal to its core audience. RT: 40% Metacritic: 50.
After resurrecting his “Rocky” and “Rambo” franchise in the last decade, Sylvester Stallone now attempts to reignite an entire genre with “The Expendables.” With its heavily muscled stars, cheesy music, hot women and big guns, the 80’s action movie seems like a relic in the age of superheroes and 3D special effects. Stallone, smart enough to realize this, has decided to throw everything he could onscreen, compiling an assassin’s row of action stars: Schwarzenegger, Willis, Statham, Li, etc. etc. Even ‘Stone ColdSteve Austin gets in on the fun. We weren’t huge fans of the film, which both mocks and embraces its cliches in equal measure, but as a piece of nostalgia it works decently. RT: 46% Metacritic: 40.
Based on the popular comic series by Bryan Lee O’Malley,Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” opens nationwide this weekend. Michael Cera plays the titular hero, bass guitarist for the band Sex Bob-Omb and all around aimless slacker. His life changes when he meets the girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends in order to win her. Yes, it’s a comic book movie, but in the hands of director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead,”Hot Fuzz“) our expectations were sky-high. We saw the movie last month at Comic-Con and certainly weren’t disappointed. Wright manages to blend kung-fu, video games and indie rock into an irresistible stew while also making us remember why we liked Cera in the first place. RT: 77% Metacritic: 59.
In Limited Release: Australian director David Michôd makes his feature debut this week with “Animal Kingdom.” The films tells the story of the Cody brothers, a Melbourne-based crime family that is thrown off its axis when one of the brothers comes out of hiding. Michôd breathes new life into the tired genre with his depiction of middle-class gangsters whose suspicions lie as much within as outside the inner circle. We were quite taken with the film, finding a drama that is surprisingly epic in scope and worthy to stand tall with classics of the genre like “The Godfather” and “Goodfellas.” Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, and Luke Ford star in the picture that we really encourage everyone to check out sooner rather than later. RT: 93% Metacritic: 73.
Also out: The 2006 Studio Ghibli production “Tales from Earthsea” (based on the work of Ursula K. Le Guin) comes to English-language audiences featuring the voices of Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe and Cheech Marin. The film is directed not by anime genius Hayao Miyazaki but by his son Gorō Miyazaki. The reviews haven’t been nearly up to par with the elder Miyazaki’s work, but could be worth a peek for die-hard fans of Ghibli or Le Guin. RT: 48% Meatcritic: 39.