A family is haunted by a terrible force in 'Dark Skies,' starring Keri Russell. --Dimension Films
OPENS TODAY
‘Dark Skies’
A family’s peaceful suburban life is rocked by an escalating series of disturbing events as members come to learn that a terrifying and deadly force is after them. (PG-13, 98 minutes)
‘Snitch’ 
1/2
Dwayne Johnson plays a father who goes undercover for the DEA to free his son who is imprisoned after being set up in a drug deal. (PG-13, 112 minutes)
NOW PLAYING
‘Amour’
An elderly French couple’s bond of love is severely tested when the wife suffers a series of debilitating strokes. Michael Haneke’s film is a multiple Oscar nominee for best picture, director, original screenplay and actress (Emmanuelle Riva). A moving love story, the resulting interplay of ruthless restraint and unavoidable passion, plus the film’s refusal to shrink from depicting the inevitable horrors of physical deterioration, is devastating. (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) (PG-13, 127 minutes)
‘Argo’
Ben Affleck directs and stars in this Oscar nominee that is a seamless blend of detailed international drama and breathtaking suspense, as a CIA “exfiltration” specialist concocts a risky plan to get six Americans out of Iran as the revolution reaches a boiling point. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 120 minutes)
‘Beautiful Creatures’
A young man and woman uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their small Southern town. Consider this the thinking-person’s “Twilight,” and the leads Aiden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert are surrounded by heavyweights Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson and Emmy Rossum, who all do great character work. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 89 minutes)
‘The Berlin File’ 1/2
A North Korean “ghost” agent finds himself in the crosshairs of an international manhunt when he’s exposed during an illegal arms trade that goes wrong in Berlin. A twisting, fast-paced tale of spy craft and betrayal, the film is somehow both nimble and a bit lumbering as crack set pieces are placed against dense plotting and moments of languorous character development. (Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times) (NR, 120 minutes)
‘Bullet to the Head’ 1/2
After watching their respective partners die, a New Orleans hit man and a Washington, D.C., detective form an alliance to bring down their common enemy. Sylvester Stallone and director Walter Hill join forces for a hard-hitting exercise in beefy, brainless fun. (Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter) (R, 91 minutes)
‘Django Unchained’
With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. There’s something gleefully satisfying in watching evil people get what they have coming, but this Oscar-nominated film is Quentin Tarantino at his most puerile and least inventive. He always gets good actors who deliver, though, and performances by Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oscar nominee Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson make it all intermittently entertaining. (David Germain, Associated Press) (R, 165 minutes)
‘Escape from Planet Earth’ 1/2
In this animated feature, an astronaut finds himself caught in a trap when he responds to a distress signal from a notoriously dangerous alien planet. Feel-good but not cloying, zippy but not frenetic, and refreshingly free of snark — the default setting for a lot of kids’ fare these days — the feature takes a pleasingly retro-futuristic stace on matters of decor and attitude. (PG, 95 minutes)
‘A Good Day to Die Hard’
Bruce Willis returns as John McClane, who this time travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son and finds out instead he’s a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist. This off-the-shelf blend of car chases, fireballs and the rat-a-tat, thunk-a-thunk of automatic weapons fire is not likely to go out of style, but the handful of extended set pieces, linked by a simple-minded plot and a handful of half-clever lines, is definitely old news. (A.O. Scott, New York Times) (R, 97 minutes)
‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’ 1/2
Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in this unique spin on the fairy tale that is more Gatling guns and grenades than the Brothers Grimm. They play bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. High concept pitch or no, the movie doesn’t really work. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 88 minutes)
‘Identity Thief’
A mild-mannered businessman travels from Denver to Miami to confront the deceptively harmless-looking woman who has been living it up after stealing his identity. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy star in this unsalvageable wreck of a comedy, regardless of the moments of McCarthy’s hilarious bits of violent slapstick. (Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald) (R, 111 minutes)
‘Life of Pi’ 1/2
Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated film is about a young man who survives a disaster at sea and is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor, a fearsome Bengal tiger. This is gorgeous, ruminative, soulful, provocatively entertaining and the most artful use of digital 3-D technology to date. (David Germain, Associated Press) (PG, 127 minutes)
‘Lincoln’
As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. Steven Spielberg’s splendid, multi-Oscar nominated film stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, and is less a biopic than a political thriller, a civics lesson that is energetically staged and alive with moral energy. (A.O. Scott, New York Times) (PG-13, 149 minutes)
‘Mama’
Guillermo del Toro is the producer behind this horror story about a couple faced with the challenge of raising the husband’s young nieces who were supposedly left alone in the forest for 5 years. Del Toro and collaborator Andres Muschietti make this chilling ghost story work thanks to great performances by Jessica Chastain as the reluctant mother replacement and, as the feral girls, Isabelle Nilisse and Megan Charpentier. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 100 minutes)
‘Parker’ 1/2
Jason Statham plays a thief with a unique code of professional ethics who is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. This is a rather perfunctory action film (although it plays like the bloodiest promotional video ever made for Palm Beach tourism), and Statham’s on autopilot here, despite the obvious physical demands of the part. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 118 minutes)
‘Quartet’ 1/2
At a home for retired opera singers, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday is disrupted by the arrival of a diva and the former wife of one of the residents. The bursts of energy that accompany practices and performances woven throughout give the film much of its vigor. Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly star in the genteel comedy directed by Dustin Hoffman. (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times) (PG-13, 98 minutes)
‘A Royal Affair’ 1/2
The historical Danish drama — an Oscar nominee for best foreign language film — tells the story of a young queen, married to an insane king, who falls secretly in love with her physician. This powerfully understated film is brought to vivid life thanks to strong performances, taut direction by Nikolaj Arcel and cinematography through which the icy, muddy gloom almost sticks to your skin. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) (R, 137 minutes)
‘Safe Haven’
Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough star in Nicholas Sparks’ latest treacly romance. A mysterious woman arrives in a small town and falls in love with a widower, forcing both to confront her dark past. It’s a story that involves no heavy lifting for its actors and few surprises, so safe that there’s nothing anybody would consider edgy. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 115 minutes)
‘Side Effects’
The lives of a successful New York couple unravel when a new drug is prescribed by the wife’s psychiatrist to treat her anxiety. Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum star in what’s supposed to be Steven Soderbergh’s final film. It’s a gripping and entertaining genre exercise much like his trailblazing 1989 debut “sex, lies and videotape.” (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 90 minutes)
‘Silver Linings Playbook’
After a stint in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his parents and during his attempts to reconcile with his ex-wife meets a mysterious girl with problems of her own. This exuberant Oscar-nominated movie from director David O. Russell does almost everything right. An intensely focused Bradley Cooper gives a surprisingly effective performance and Jennifer Lawrence gives her character an aching, tender and lovely quality. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) (R, 122 minutes)
‘Sisterakas’
The Philippines’ highest grossing film of all time is a broad comedy that revolves around a couple of fashion-crazy half-siblings and stars popular celebrities Kris Aquino, Vice Ganda and Ai Ai delas Alas. (NR, 110 minutes)
‘The Sorcerer and the White Snake’
Jet Li plays a sorcerer who fights for the soul of a young physician who has fallen in love with a woman whose true identity is that of a thousand-year-old snake demon. The movie is a Chinese twist on the reliable sword-and-sorcery genre, a piece of effects-driven nonsense that is every bit as bad — in a fun way — as the blockbusters it references. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 100 minutes)
‘Warm Bodies’
A paranormal romantic comedy starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer about the relationship between a teenage girl and a zombie boy that may transform the entire lifeless world. The movie is a sweetly funny and touching riff on “Beauty and the Beast” and “Romeo & Juliet” — if the Beast feasted on flesh or Romeo came back from the dead. (Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram) (PG-13, 97 minutes)
‘Wreck-It Ralph’ 1/2
The latest Disney Oscar-nominated animated feature is about a video game villain who wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives. The studio takes a page out of Pixar’s well-worn playbook and ends up with a screwball farce with a novel setting and more edge than your average Disney ‘toon. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG, 108 minutes)
‘Zero Dark Thirty’
The Oscar-nominated drama of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy SEAL Team 6 in May, 2011. This is a cool, outwardly nonpartisan intelligence procedural that seamlessly weaves truth and drama, and Kathryn Bigelow’s direction here is unexpectedly stunning, at once bold and intimate. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) (R, 157 minutes)
SPECIAL
‘The Room’
Midnight today, Kahala 8
The second of three consecutive monthly screenings of Tommy Wiseau’s low-budget cult favorite from 2003, in which Wiseau plays a happy-go-lucky banker who sees his world fall apart as his friends begin to betray him one by one. (R, 99 minutes)
‘One Life’
2 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Kahala 8; $8.25 general ($10.50 Wednesday), $8 seniors and $7.50 children
From BBC Worldwide comes this documentary that focuses on the cyclical journey taken by all living creatures, from birth to having youngsters of their own. Narrated by Daniel Craig. (NR, 85 minutes)
'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' parts 1 & 2 screens at the Doris Duke Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday. --Aniplex of America
ARTHOUSE
DORIS DUKE THEATRE
Honolulu Museum of Art, 900 S. Beretania St., entry on Kinau Street (532-8768); $10 general and $8 museum members (tickets also available online at www.honolulumuseum.org)
Honolulu African American Film Festival: ‘The Last Fall’ with short ‘The Notorious C.R.’
1 and 7:30 p.m. today
The final festival offering features a short documentary about Carl Richie, a black businessman who was sentenced to 10 years for promoting prostitution and racketeering on Kauai, followed by a poignant coming-of-age tale about a young NFL journeyman facing life after football. (2012, 28 minutes/98 minutes)
Opera in Cinema: ‘Les Troyens’ from the Royal Opera House, London
1 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday ($25 general and $20 museum members)
This new production of Berlioz’s tour de force is from celebrated director David McVicar and stars Bryan Hymel, Eva-Marie Westbroek and Anna Caterina Antonacci. (2012, 330 minutes, including two intermissions)
‘Puella Magi Madoka Magica,’ parts 1 & 2
4 p.m. Wednesday and 5 p.m. Thursday ($20 general and $18 museum members)
A condensed retelling of the hit anime series of the same name, the film is about a girl who is offered the opportunity to gain magical powers if she agrees to make a contract with a strange little being known as Kyubey. (2012, 240 minutes, including one intermission)
MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave. (735-8771); $5 general and $4 members; reservations recommended
‘Rio’
Noon today and 7 p.m. Monday
From the creators of “Ice Age” comes this animated feature about a domesticated macaw who takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with the bird of his dreams. (2011, 96 minutes)
‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’
1:45, 7 and 8:45 p.m. today
The fantastical Oscar nominee is about a 6-year-old who must learn the ways of courage and love as she’s faced with both her hot-tempered father’s fading health and melting ice caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient beasts. (2012, 93 minutes)
‘Billo il Grand Dakhaar’
3:30 and 5:15 p.m. today; and noon, 1:45, 3:30, 5:15 and 8:45 p.m. Monday
A romantic comedy about the transformation of a young Islamic student in Senegal into one of the most successful fashion designers in Rome. (2007, 90 minutes)
‘Anna Karenina’
Noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45 and 9 p.m. Saturday
Keira Knightley and Jude Law star in this glittering adaptation of the Leo Tolstoy novel; the screenplay is by Tom Stoppard. (2012, 129 minutes)
‘My Last Day Without You’
Noon, 1:45 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday; and 2:15 and 6:15 p.m. Thursday
On a one-day business trip to New York, a young German business executive falls into a whirlwind romance with a black singer-songwriter from Brooklyn. (2011, 90 minutes)
‘No Country for Old Men’
Noon, 4 and 8 p.m. Thursday
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande. Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin star in this multiple Oscar winner from the Coen brothers. (2007, 122 minutes)
MONDAY MOVIE CAFE
TheVenue, 1146 Bethel St. (436-4326); $10, $5 students
‘Bran Nue Dae’
7 p.m. Monday
A lively musical comedy that follows an easygoing Aboriginal teenager who is sent by his mother to a Catholic boarding school for boys on the other side of the Australian continent, only for him to run away to try to get back home. (2009, 88 minutes)