Editor’s note; 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.
The following are capsule listing of current releases.
Opening in Hollywood this week
“7 Boxes” — In Paraguay, a 17-year-old wheelbarrow courier who dreams of fame takes on a delivery job promising a quick $100, only to get mixed up with thieves, rival gangs and the police. With Celso Franco, Victor Sosa and Lali Gonzalez. Written by Juan Carlos Maneglia. Directed by Maneglia and Tana Schembori. In Spanish with English subtitles. (1:40) NR.
“After the Dark” — Faced with an impending nuclear apocalypse, 20 college students must determine which 10 of them will take shelter underground to restart the human race, and their decision process quickly turns deadly. With James D’Arcy, Bonnie Wright and Sophie Lowe. Written and directed by John Huddles. (1:47) R.
“The Attorney” — A materialistic tax lawyer takes up the case of a local teenager falsely accused of a political crime in 1980s South Korea. With Song Kang-ho, Kim Young-ae and Oh Dal-su. Written by Yang Woo-seok and Yoon Hyun-ho. Directed by Yang. In Korean with English subtitles. (2:07) NR.
“Cavemen” — Fed up with one-night stands and empty relationships, a Los Angeles playboy tries to find real love for the first time, with help from his 9-year-old nephew and his best friend. With Skylar Astin, Camilla Belle and Alexis Knapp. Written and directed by Herschel Faber. (1:35) NR.
“A Field in England” — During the English Civil War, a group of deserters are captured by an alchemist and forced to aid him in his search for a hidden treasure. Written and directed by Ben Wheatley. (1:31) NR.
“In Bloom” — Two 14-year-old girls come of age in Tbilisi, the capital of the newly independent Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With Lika Babluani and Mariam Bokeria. Written by Nana Ekvtimishvili. Directed by Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross. In Georgian with English subtitles. (1:42) NR.
“The Last of the Unjust” — A documentary about Benjamin Murmelstein, the last president of the Jewish Council in the Theresienstadt ghetto in Czechoslovakia, featuring interviews filmed in 1975 and 2012. Directed by Claude Lanzmann. In French and German, with English subtitles. (3:38) PG-13.
“The Lego Movie” — In this animated film, an ordinary Lego figure is mistaken for the person meant to save the world and drafted into a quest to stop an evil tyrant. With the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett. Written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. In 3-D. (1:41) PG.
“The Monuments Men” — A fact-based drama about an unlikely World War II platoon tasked by FDR with going to Germany to save rare antiques, art and architecture from theft and destruction by the Nazis. With George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman. Written by Clooney and Grant Heslov. Directed by Clooney. (1:58) PG-13.
“Nurse 3D” — A nurse by day who prowls nightclubs after hours takes an unhealthy interest in a new co-worker. With Paz de la Huerta, Katrina Bowden and Corbin Bleu. Written by Douglas Aarniokoski and David Loughery. Directed by Aarniokoski. In 3-D. (1:24) R.
“The Outsider” — A British mercenary is called from Afghanistan to Los Angeles to identify his deceased daughter, but when the body isn’t hers, he goes on a mission to find her. With Jason Patric, James Caan and Craig Fairbrass. Written by Fairbrass and Brian A. Miller. Directed by Fairbrass. (1:34) NR.
“Welcome to the Jungle” — Office workers are stranded on a desert island when a corporate retreat led by an unhinged former Marine goes horribly wrong. With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adam Brody and Kristen Schaal. Written by Jeff Kauffmann. Directed by Rob Meltzer. (1:35) 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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“Labor Day” — On a back-to-school shopping trip, a reclusive single mother and her 13-year-old son encounter and take in a man in need, who turns out to be an escaped convict but also bonds with them both. With Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith and Tobey Maguire. Written and directed by Jason Reitman. (1:51) PG-13.
“Lone Survivor” — Four Navy Seals on a cover 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.
“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.
“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.
“That Awkward Moment” — Three best friends simultaneously find themselves questioning where their recent relationships are headed. With Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Imogen Poots. Written and directed by Tom Gormican. (1:45) R.
“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.