We know we're in for a different kind of family values right off the top, as we watch a teenager sitting next to his passed-out mother on the couch while some inane game show blares on the television in the background. It's only when the paramedics arrive at their shabby apartment that we realize she's dead from a heroin overdose, and yet the boy's expression remains stoic throughout. This development will force Joshua "J" Cody (James Frecheville) into a life with the relatives he never really knew — relatives his mother tried to keep him away from because they were even more screwed up than she was. Now, this 17-year-old must find his place among them, even though he's clearly in over his head from the start. Watching this small-time Melbourne crime family unravel under the weight of their overconfidence is riveting, as Australian writer-director David Michod takes his time methodically detailing their self-destruction. The combination of steady pacing, intimate cinematography and startling performances will leave you feeling tense throughout "Animal Kingdom" and probably for a while afterward. It's such a stripped-down, assured little thriller, you'd never know it was Michod's feature debut. Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn are among the excellent cast. R for violence, drug content and pervasive language. 112 minutes.

GRADE: 4 STARS (out of 5).Christy Lemire,

The Associated Press

'The Expendables'An exercise in nostalgia for the bygone era of muscly, macho action films, "The Expendables" is willfully out of date, like an aged hair band that can't pack away the spandex. Sylvester Stallone, the director, co-writer and star, has summoned a who's who of the remaining defenders of high body count, testosterone-fueled action: Jason Statham, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Dolph Lundgren, who collectively make up a band of beefy, tattooed mercenaries. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis make cameos, too: It's a reunion. Mickey Rourke comes along as a grizzled former warrior. The crew is hired to overthrow a corrupt general (David Zayas) and a villainous, rogue CIA agent (Eric Roberts) on the fictional island of Vilena. But the world of "The Expendables" has shockingly little connection to anything like the real world, and the military compound that will be the setting for much of the film could be that from any "Rambo" movie: cargo boxes, sand bags and watch towers, all ripe for explosions. The film is a time warp to a time before irony, to a low production value movieland where it's still OK to fade to a close-up of a full moon. But it's exactly the movie Stallone wanted to make; he loves this stuff. R for strong action and bloody violence throughout, and for some language. 103 minutes. GRADE: 2 STARS (out of 5).Jake Coyle,

The Associated Press