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
“24 Exposures” — A fetish photographer who creates images of women in various stages of undress and death crosses paths with a disillusioned cop when one of his models actually turns up dead. With Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett and Sophia Takal. Written and directed by Joe Swanberg. (1:17) NR.
“Enemies Closer” — Two mortal enemies — a former Navy Seal turned forest ranger and a man with a vendetta against him — join forces when they run afoul of a drug cartel on the U.S.-Canada border. With Tom Everett Scott, Orlando Jones and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Written by Eric Bromberg and James Bromberg. Directed by Peter Hyams. (1:25) R.
“Gimme Shelter” — Forced to flee her abusive mother and turned away by her Wall Street father, a pregnant teenager meets a compassionate stranger who helps her find salvation in a suburban shelter for homeless teens. With Vanessa Hudgens, James Earl Jones and Rosario Dawson. Written and directed by Ronald Krauss. (1:41) PG-13.
“Gloria” — In Chile, a vivacious 58-year-old divorcee looking for love finds a potential new mate but grapples with emotional baggage and family ties. With Paulina Garcia, Sergio Hernandez and Marcial Tagle. Written by Sebastian Lelio and Gonzalo Maza. Directed by Lelio. In Spanish with English subtitles. (1:50) R.
“The Grounded” — A documentary exploring the notion that “grounding,” or touching the earth with bare skin, has miraculous healing properties. Directed by Steve Kroschel. (1:14) NR.
“I, Frankenstein” — Two centuries after his creation by Dr. Frankenstein, the creature Adam finds himself in the middle of a supernatural war over the fate of humanity. With Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski and Miranda Otto. Written and directed by Stuart Beattie. (1:32) PG-13.
“If You Build It” — A documentary following two designer-activists as they work with local high-school students to help transform their poor North Carolina community and their lives. Directed by Patrick Creadon. (1:25) NR.
“Knights of Badassdom” — Three friends who participate in live-action role playing take to the woods, accidentally summon a demon and must deal with the consequences. With Peter Dinklage, Ryan Kwanten and Steve Zahn. Written by Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall. Directed by Joe Lynch. (1:27) R.
“Like Father, Like Son” — A workaholic Tokyo architect and his family have their lives turned upside down upon learning that their 6-year-old son was switched at birth. With Fukuyama Masaharu, Ono Machiko and Maki Yoko. Written and directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu. In Japanese with English subtitles. (2 hrs.) NR.
“Run and Jump” — When her husband suffers a stroke that alters his personality, a spirited wife and mother tries to hold her family together while hosting a straitlaced American doctor who intends to study her spouse’s condition. With Maxine Peake, Edward MacLiam and Will Forte. Written by Ailbhe Keogan. Directed by Steph Green. (1:45) NR.
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.
“The Devil’s Due” — After a mysterious lost night on their honeymoon, a newlywed couple find themselves dealing with an earlier-than-planned pregnancy that begins to betray sinister origins. With Allison Miller and Zach Gilford. Written by Lindsay Devlin. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. (1:28) 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.
“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” — A young CIA analyst uncovers an international terrorist plot to collapse the U.S. economy and heads into the field to prevent it from happening. With Chris Pine, Kevin Costner, Kenneth Branagh and Keira Knightley. Written by Adam Cozad and David Koepp. Directed by Branagh. (1:46) PG-13.
“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.
“Lone Survivor” — Four Navy Seals on a cover mission to take down a high-level al-Qaida 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.
“The Nut Job” — In this animated film, a mischievous squirrel sets out to rob the town’s biggest nut shop in order to feed himself and his pals for the winter. With the voices of Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson and Katherine Heigl. Written by Lorne Cameron and Peter Lepeniotis. Directed by Lepeniotis. In 3-D. (1:26) PG.
“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.
“Ride Along” — In an effort to prove himself worthy, a fast-talking security guard goes for a ride-along with his girlfriend’s brother, a hot-headed Atlanta cop, and gets mixed up in his latest case. With Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo and Bruce McGill. Written by Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Directed by Tim Story. (1:40) PG-13.
“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.