THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Kevin Costner stars in the title-says-it-all 3 Days to Kill. 1970s con man and his partner, who are forced into working for a loose-cannon FBI agent. Russell’s latest film takes its place in the ranks of conning-the-conner cinema lorded over by greats like The Grifters and Catch Me If You Can in which wits and kitsch prevail even as violence lurks around every corner. (JW) Arlington
✯ August: Osage County (121 mins.; R: language including sexual references, drug material) Three strong-willed sisters converge on their childhood home following a family crisis. Even as the sometimes too-overthe-top film tests our patience, the continuing saving grace comes in the form of Meryl Streep, again confirming our suspicions that she may be the reigning queen of living American film actresses. (JW) Plaza de Oro
✯ Frozen (108 mins.; PG: some action, mild rude humor) Anna and Kristoff unite on an epic journey to find Anna’s sister Elsa and rescue their kingdom from an endless winter. Besides its long-overdue bow to feminist hopes, Frozen strikes a nice balance between expectation and surprise; we’re on safe (if frigid) terrain, but the plot keeps you guessing. (DJP) Camino Real (2- D)
Gloria (110 mins.; R: sexual content, some graphic nudity, drug use, language)
A spirited middle-aged Chilean woman meets and falls for a former naval officer she meets in a club. Plaza de Oro
ish from the outset, akin to an embossed paperback romance novel, but with actors who should know better than to sign on. (JW) Arlington
✯ Lone Survivor (121 mins.; R: strong bloody war violence, pervasive language) Peter Berg writes and directs this truelife tale of the four Navy SEALs who were tasked to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shahd. The underlying sense of contemporary, unresolved conflict makes the visceral gunplay of these action figures all the more painful and poignant. (JW) Fairview/Metro 4
✯ Philomena (98 mins.; PG-13: some strong language, thematic elements, sexual references) A journalist picks up a story about an older woman searching for her son, who was taken from her decades ago after she was forced into a convent. Steve Coogan abandons his smart hipster shtick to play reporter Martin Sixsmith, and the results are surprisingly moving. Paseo Nuevo Ride Along (100 mins.; PG-13: sequences of violence, sexual content, brief strong language)
A security guard (Kevin Hart) accompanies his girlfriend’s cop brother (Ice Cube) on a ride-along in an attempt to prove himself. The movie doesn’t exactly waste your time so much as it fails to improve it, thanks in part to its Beverly Hills Cop clone feel. (DJP) Fiesta 5 That Awkward Moment (94 mins.; R: sexual content, language throughout)
✯ Her
(126 mins.; R: language, sexual content, brief graphic nudity)
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a lonely writer who develops an unusual relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need. Spike Jonze writes and directs. Jonze manages a magical and empathetic feat with this film, where insanity meets dream logic meets love magnetism. (JW) Riviera (Starts Mon., Feb. 17)
✯ Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (105 mins.; PG-13: sequences of violence and intense action, brief strong language)
As a young CIA analyst, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) discovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy. For those nostalgic for the good old days of Russian-accented villainy, proceed to your nearest theater for the energizing Shadow Recruit. (JW) Metro 4
Labor Day (111 mins.; PG-13: thematic material, brief violence, sexuality)
A single mom (Kate Winslet) and her son pick up a hitchhiker (Josh Brolin) who they later learn is a convict on the run. Labor Day feels labored and mawk-
Three best friends find themselves at the same inevitable turning point in their respective romantic relationships. The “awkward” of the title really refers to the writers, producers, and directors who tried to patch together a boyish romp within a wedding-bell-blues story about unlikable characters. (DJP) Metro 4 Vampire Academy (104 mins.; PG-13: violence, bloody images, sexual content, language)
A human-vampire hybrid named Rose is charged with protecting peaceful, mortal vampires from the bloodthirsty, immortal ones. Camino Real/Fiesta 5 The Wolf of Wall Street (180 mins.; R: sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, language throughout, some violence)
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jordan Belfort, a real-life stockbroker who falls from grace in a plot involving crime, corruption, and the U.S. government. Wolf has absolutely fabulous levels of fun, black humor, beauty, and vice, but in the end, it all seems a long, loud, ultimately empty howl. (DJP) Metro 4 february 13, 2014
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