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Movies opening this weekend, still in theaters
"The Collection"
Updated: December 3, 2012 11:11AM
OPENING FRIDAY
THE COLLECTION
Rated
R for strong, bloody violence, grisly images, language and brief nudity
Stars
Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Christopher McDonald
A man who has escaped from the serial killer known as The Collector is blackmailed into returning to the killer’s booby-trapped warehouse to rescue an innocent girl. Marcus Dunstan wrote and directed the horror.
KILLING THEM SOFTLY
★★★
Ra ted
R for violence, sexual references, pervasive language and some drug use
Stars
Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta
When a couple of small-time crooks hold up a mob-backed card game in Philadelphia, a freelance enforcer (Pitt) is called to town to restore order — with extreme prejudice. Andrew Dominik (“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”) adapted and directed the crime drama.
STILL PLAYING
LIFE OF PI
★★★½
Rated
PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary actions sequences and peril
Stars
Irrfan Khan, Gérard Depardieu, Suraj Sharma
Yann Martel’s international best seller has been brought to the screen with breathtaking beauty thanks to recent advances in digital special effects. Director Ang Lee’s most sumptuous film since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” tells the story of a spiritually minded Indian teenager named Pi (Sharma) who finds himself adrift on a lifeboat after a shipwreck with only a hungry Bengal tiger for company. On one level, “Life of Pi” functions nicely as fairly standard of survival at sea. Its larger purpose, though, is to function allegorically as “a story that could make you believe in God,” celebrating the wonders of life with grand-scale visual splendor and its most severe challenges with the always threatening presence of the tiger.
RED DAWN
★★
Rated
PG-13 for sequences of intense war violence and action, and for language
Stars
Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck
If you can get over the fact that it’s entirely preposterous and you happen to be in desperate need of a macho fantasy fix, “Red Dawn” might not be a complete drag to sit through. But don’t count on it. There are two major problems with this weak remake of director John Milius’ 1984 Cold War-era hit. First, full-scale armed invasions probably don’t rank high any longer on most people’s lists of nail-biting anxieties. Second, the producers changed the attacking nation in the new “Red Dawn” from China to North Korea. Iraq vet Hemsworth and his commando squad of high schoolers confront the ambitious North Koreans.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
★★★½
Rated
R for language and some sexual content/nudity
Stars
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Writer/director David O. Russell has returned to the source of his early love-crazy successes with this heavily medicated screwball romance. “Silver Linings Playbook,” which does have its funny moments, is swept along by darker currents. After doing time in a mental institution, unnaturally optimistic Pat (Cooper) plots a campaign to regain his life and his wife. He makes the acquaintance of dark, glowering Tiffany (Lawrence). Despite their instant attraction, Pat stays away until Tiffany makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Though it’s occasionally uncomfortable and never a rosy-cozy depiction of mental illness, “Silver Linings” does work its way toward a fairly conventional, yet still satisfying, romantic-comedy conclusion.
HITCHCOCK
Rated
PG-13 for some violent images, sexual content and thematic material
Stars
Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson
At the height of his success, director Alfred Hitchcock (Hopkins) has to struggle, with the help of his wife Alma (Mirren), to film the alarming script for “Psycho.” Sacha Gervasi (“The Terminal”) directed the drama.
RISE OF THE GUARDIANS
Rated
PG for thematic elements and some mildly scary action
Stars
Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Jude Law
When an evil spirit (Law) attempts to take over the world, guardians including Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost join forces to defeat him. Veteran storyboard artist Peter Ramsey directed the animated adventure for his theatrical feature debut.
The TWILIGHT saga:
BREAKING DAWN - PART 2
Rated
PG-13 for sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sensuality and partial nudity
Stars
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
When Edward and Bella’s child is born, vampire clans gather to protect her from the governing Vulturi. Bill Condon (“Breaking Dawn - Part One,” “Kinsey”) directed the drama.
LINCOLN
★★★½
Rated
PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage and brief strong language
Stars
Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
During the last four months of his life, the 16th president (Day-Lewis) struggles to win the Civil War and bring an end to slavery. Steven Spielberg directed the drama.
SKYFALL
Rated
PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking
Stars
Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
When M (Dench) is discredited by a secret from her past and the British intelligence service comes under attack, James Bond (Craig) risks everything to track down the source of the threat. Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”) directed the action thriller.~.
