"Looper" and more new movies Joseph Gordon-Levitt as "Joe" in the action thriller "Looper." (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment) The Post movie critics had largely positive things to say about this week's nine new movies. In fact, they awarded three stars each to "Pitch Perfect," "Stars in Shorts" and "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel." Leading the pack with a rating of three and a half stars is "Looper," the time travel thriller with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. Here's what the critics had to say: "Looper" (R) "Rian Johnson, "Looper's" writer-director, revisits territory well tilled by such hands as Philip K. Dick and comes up with a movie that's far more ambitious than a mere genre exercise. As both an elaboration of the sci-fi form and an engaging, philosophically provocative drama, "Looper" turns out to be as substantive as it is stylish." - Ann Hornaday "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (PG-13) "The familiar material in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" will be especially recognizable to those who have read the revered young-adult novel on which it's based. Despite that, this somewhat disjointed but refreshingly earnest movie ultimately establishes itself as a charmer." - Jen Chaney "Pitch Perfect" (PG-13) "[Kay] Cannon's script combines the obvious elements of "Glee" with the plot and snark of the 2000 competitive-cheerleading comedy "Bring It On." Running through it all is the surreal DNA of "30 Rock," coupled with that show's satirical plausibility. For the most part, it works brilliantly. Michael O'Sullivan "Won't Back Down" (PG) "Based loosely on the "parent trigger" laws that have passed in California enabling citizens to take control of failing schools, the film blithely passes over the questionable results from those takeovers, just as it glibly ignores the uneven track record of charter schools and the effects of poverty on childhood education..." - Ann Hornaday "Hotel Transylvania" (PG) "As Count Dracula, Sandler turns in a blandly unobjectionable - if toothless - performance, channeling Bram Stoker's Carpathian bloodsucker as something closer to a kvetching Jewish butcher on the Lower East Side. As Jonathan... Samberg does his best to animate his innocuous persona." - Michael O'Sullivan "Stars in Shorts" (Unrated) "In "Stars in Shorts" - an anthology of seven films ranging in length from eight to 25 minutes and featuring performances by such big names as Kenneth Branagh and Keira Knightley - the payoff varies widely." - Michael O'Sullivan "Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel" (PG-13) "The film, written and directed by Vreeland's granddaughter-in-law, mainly rests on the strength of its subject. Fortunately for her, Lisa Immordino Vreeland doesn't need much more in her first film outing." - Stephanie Merry "Backwards" (PG) ""Eat, sleep, row. In the life of a competitive rower, it's all about focus. Focus or you won't make it. That quote gets to the root of the problem with "Backwards," which does a much better job portraying athletics than people. The best sports movies are about more than sports, because the characters are worth more than the sum of their medals." - Stephanie Merry "Vulgaria" (Unrated) "The movie "Vulgaria" is not one for the kiddies. Then again, the description "for mature audiences" doesn't seem right either. The Hong Kong comedy, a broad, cartoonish - and decidedly filthy - satire of moviemaking is as sophomoric as they come. It's also pretty funny, in an unapologetically over-the-top way.