Ratings by the Motion Picture Association of America are: (G) for general audiences; (PG) parental guidance urged because of material possibly unsuitable for children; (PG-13) parents are strongly cautioned to give guidance for attendance of children younger than 13; (R) restricted, younger than 17 admitted only with parent or adult guardian; (NC-17) no one younger than 17 admitted.
Opening in Hollywood this week
“Banshee Chapter” — On the trail of a missing friend who had been experimenting with mind-altering drugs, a young journalist is drawn into a dangerous world of covert government chemical-research programs. With Katia Winter, Ted Levine and Michael McMillian. Written and directed by Blair Erickson. (1:27) R.
“The Best Offer” — A solitary antiques dealer becomes obsessed with a mysterious heiress who has hired him to evaluate her late parents’ estate. With Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess and Donald Sutherland. Written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. (2:11) R.
“Cold Comes the Night” — A struggling motel owner and her daughter try to survive being taken hostage by a career criminal and forced to help retrive a cash package from a crooked cop. With Alice Eve, Bryan Cranston and Logan Marshall-Green. Written by Tze Chun, Oz Perkins and Nick Simon. Directed by Chun. (1:30) R.
“Divorce Corp” — A documentary exploring abuses in the increasingly profitable divorce industry. Narrated by Drew Pinsky. Directed by Joe Sorge. (1:33) NR.
“Dumbbells” — A former college sports star turned trainer finds new purpose when his gym’s new owner tries to turn the neglected business into a reality show. With Brian Drolet, Hoyt Richards and Nic Nicotera. Written by Drolet and Richards. Directed by Chris Livingston. (1:40) NR.
“Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo” — Awakening to a devastated world, the young Eva pilot Shinji Ikari tries to prevent the destruction of all mankind in this third entry in the “Evangelion” anime series. With the voices of Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant and Brina Palenci. Written and directed by Hideaki Anno. (1:46) NR.
“The Legend of Hercules” — Betrayed by his stepfather, the mythical Greek hero Hercules is sold into slavery because of a forbidden love and must fight for his life and his kingdom. With Kellan Lutz, Scott Adkins and Liam McIntyre. Written by Sean Hood and Daniel Giat. Directed by Renny Harlin. (1:38) PG-13.
“Raze” — After being mysteriously abducted, a woman finds herself trapped in an underground lair and forced to battle with other innocents for the amusement of unseen spectators. With Zoe Bell, Rachel Nichols and Tracie Thoms. Written by Robert Beaucage. Directed by Josh Waller. (1:27) NR.
“The Saratov Approach” — Two Mormon missionaries in Russia fight for survival after being kidnapped, beaten and held for ransom in this film based on true events in 1998. With Corbin Allred, Maclain Nelson and Nikita Bogolyubov. Written and directed by Garrett Batty. (1:47) PG-13.
“The Suspect” — After being abadoned during a mission, a top secret agent in North Korea sets out to find his missing wife and daughter, uncover the truth and exact his revenge. With Gong Yoo, Park Hee-soon and Cho Seong-ha. Written by Lim Sang-yun. Directed by Won Shin-yun. In Korean with English subtitles. (2:17) NR.
“The Truth About Emanuel” — A trouble teenage girl becomes preoccupied with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a strikingly resemblance to her dead mother. With Jessica Biel, Kaya Scodelario, Alfred Molina and Frances O’Connor. Written and directed by Francesca Gregorini. (1:36) NR.
“The Wait” — An engimatic phone call from a psychic catapults the lives of two sisters grieving over their mother’s death into chaos. With Jena Malone, Chloe Sevigny and Luke Grimes. Written and directed by M. Blash. (1:36) R.
Also in theaters
“American Hustle” — Two con men are compelled to work with a wild federal agent to concoct a sting targeting New Jersey power brokers and the mafia in this drama based on the FBI’s Abscam operation of the 1970s. With Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell. Directed by Russell. (2:17) R.
“Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” — The bumbling news anchor Ron Burgundy and his cohorts join the nation’s first 24-hour news channel in this 1980s-set sequel to the 2004 comedy “Anchorman.” With Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and Christina Applegate. Written by Ferrell and Adam McKay. Directed by McKay. (1:59) PG-13.
“August: Osage County” — When a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, three sisters confront the dysfunctional woman who raised them. With Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor and Chris Cooper. Written by Tracy Letts. Directed by John Wells. (2:10) R.
“47 Ronin” — After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, a band of leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and restore honor to their people. With Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano. Written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini. Directed by Carl Rinsch. (1:58) PG-13.
“Frozen” — An optimistic princess sets off on a journey with a rugged mountain man to find her sister, whose icy powers have trapped their kindgom in an eternal winter. With the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad. Written by Jennifer Lee. Directed by Lee and Chris Buck. In 3-D. (1:48) PG.
“Grudge Match” — Two old boxing rivals come out of retirement after 30 years to finally settle the score. With Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin. Written by Tim Kelleher and Rodney Rothman. Directed by Peter Segal. (1:53) PG-13.
“Her” — In near-future Los Angeles, a lonely writer trying to recover from a failed relationship downloads an advanced new operating system and begins to fall in love with his virtual companion. With Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and Scarlett Johansson. Written and directed by Spike Jonze. (2:06) R.
“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” — The reluctant hero Bilbo Baggins continues his quest to face the fearsome dragon Smaug and help 13 dwarves reclaim their lost kingdom in this second installment of a film trilogy adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” With Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Benedict Cumberbatch. Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson. Directed by Jackson. In 3-D, HFR and Imax. (2:41) PG-13.
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” — The young warrior and reluctant revolutionary Katniss Everdeen returns to the arena for another battle to the death in this second film of a series adapting Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” book trilogy. With Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson. Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn. Directed by Francis Lawrence. (2:26) PG-13.
“Inside Llewyn Davis” — Amid the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961 New York, an aspiring musician navigates a series of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, some of which are of his own making. With Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund. Written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. (1:45) R.
“Justin Bieber’s Believe” — A documentary following pop singer Justin Bieber on and off stage during his Believe tour. Directed by Jon M. Chu. (1:31) PG.
“Lone Survivor” — Four Navy SEALS on a covert mission to take down a high-level al Qaeda operative are ambushed in the mountains of Afghanistan and face insurmountable odds. With Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster. Written and directed by Peter Berg. (2:01) R.
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” — A biopic chronicling the life, struggles and work of South African President Nelson Mandela, based on his autobiography of the same name. With Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge and Riaad Moosa. Written by William Nicholson. Directed by Justin Chadwick. (2:32) PG-13.
“Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones” — A family is tormented by supernatural forces in this fourth installment of the “Paranormal Activity” series. Written and directed by Christopher Landon. (1:24) R.
“Philomena” — An Irish woman enlists a journalist to help her track down the out-of-wedlock son she was forced by her Catholic community to give away for adoption in this drama based on Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee.” With Steve Coogan and Judi Dench. Written by Coogan and Jeff Pope. Directed by Stephen Frears. (1:35) R.
“Saving Mr. Banks” — A biographical drama about Walt Disney’s attempts to acquire the screen rights to “Mary Poppins” from the reluctant novelist P.L. Travers. With Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti and Jason Schwartzman. Written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Directed by John Lee Hancock. (2:00.) PG-13.
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” — Displeased with his mundane existence, a daydream-prone Life magazine photo editor gets out from behind his desk and travels across the globe in search of a missing negative. With Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine and Adam Scott. Written by Steven Conrad. Directed by Stiller. (1:54) PG.
“Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas” — Coaxed into helping a friend pay her daughter a surprise holiday visit, the stern, sassy matriarch Madea shakes up a small rural town preparing for its annual Christmas Jubilee. With Tyler Perry, Kathy Najimy, Chad Michael Murray and Anna Maria Horsford. Written and directed by Perry. (1:40) PG-13.
“Walking With Dinosaurs” — A young pachyrhinosaurus comes of age and tries to protect his herd on a great migration in this animated film. With the voices of John Leguizamo, Justin Long and Tiya Sircar. Written by John Collee. Directed by Barry Cook and Neil Nightingale. In 3-D. (1:27) PG.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” — A biopic charting the rise and fall of the hard-living New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who founded the infamous boiler-room brokerage Stratton Oakmont and cheated investors out of as much as $200 million in the early 1990s. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie and Matthew McConaughey. Written by Terence Winter. Directed by Martin Scorsese. (2:59) R.