At the Movies: ‘Gangster Squad,’ ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ more

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star in the crime drama 'Gangster Squad.' --Warner Bros. Pictures

OPENS TODAY

‘Gangster Squad’ 1/2
A chronicle of the Los Angeles Police Department’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of the city in the 1940s and ’50s. Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Sean Penn and Emma Stone star. (R, 113 minutes)

‘A Haunted House’
In this found-footage horror spoof, a man turns to a priest, a psychic and a team of ghost-busters to help get a demon out of his possessed wife. Marlon Wayans and Cedric the Entertainer star. (R, 86 minutes)

‘Zero Dark Thirty’
“The Hurt Locker’s” Kathryn Bigelow directs the drama of the decadelong 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. (R, 157 minutes)

LIMITED RELEASE

‘One More Try’
A popular Filipino romantic drama about a single mother willing to sacrifice everything to save her ill son, even if it means reconnecting with his biological father. At Consolidated Pearlridge (NR, 100 minutes)

‘The Tower’
In this Korean disaster film, a Christmas Eve party at a luxury residential building takes a horrific turn when a fire breaks out. At Consolidated Pearlridge (NR, 121 minutes)

Hugh Jackman, left, and Anne Hathaway star in the Broadway classic turned movie, 'Les Miserables.' --Universal Pictures

NOW PLAYING

‘Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away’ 1/2
In this 3-D presentation, two young people journey through the dreamlike worlds of the extraordinary circus to find each other. While the world-famous and stylized circus is wonderful in a live setting, the spectacle is a little less spectacular on film. It’s all quite lovely, mesmerizing and right on the edge of sleep-inducing. (Roger Moore, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG, 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 film is Tarantino at his most puerile and least inventive. He always gets good actors who deliver, though, and performances by Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson make it all intermittently entertaining. (David Germain, Associated Press) (R, 165 minutes)

‘The Guilt Trip’
Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen star in this comedy about an inventor who is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, but a quick stop at his mom’s house turns into an unexpected cross-country journey with her along for the ride. This is a warm and delightful movie, and the interaction between the two actors are completely convincing as mother and son. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 95 minutes)

‘The Hobbit: An Unfinished Journey’ 1/2
A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. It’s both visually dazzling and utterly distracting, and at more than three hours, the movie is overstuffed with prologues, a sidestepping back story and boring, drawn-out scenes. The first of a trilogy, this may pay off by the time the finale arrives in the summer of 2014, but right now, it looks like something that would’ve been better told in one movie. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 169 minutes)

‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ 1/2
Bill Murray and Laura Linney star in this lightweight romance about the affair between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his distant cousin Margaret Suckley. It’s all rather cozy and insular amid the rolling hills and tasteful period trappings, and while Murray is subtly charming as FDR, Linney’s versatile and vibrant talents are wasted on the mousy bore that is Suckley. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 94 minutes)

‘The Impossible’ 1/2
Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor star in the true-life story of vacationers caught in the deadly tsunami that hit southern Thailand in 2004. The dramatic emphasis is on the anguish of a mother and her son (Watts and Tom Holland), who survive the waves and are separated from the rest of their family. Both actors are terrific in their roles, but the film is unfortunately less an examination of mass Asian destruction than the tale of a spoiled holiday for wealthy, entitled Western travelers. (A.O. Scott, New York Times) (PG-13, 114 minutes)

‘Jack Reacher’
This features one of those effortless badass performances from Tom Cruise that remind us that he is indeed a movie star, first and foremost. He plays the titular homicide investigator digging deep into a case involving a military sniper who shoots random victims. Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s film moves so fluidly and with such confidence, it’ll suck you in from the start. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 130 minutes)

The Bollywood Film Festival at Doris Duke Theatre begins with the Indian comedy 'English Vinglish,' about a quiet housewife who enrolls in an English class. --Eros International

‘Les Miserables’ 1/2
Director Tom Hooper’s sweeping adaptation of the hit Broadway musical is given an operetta treatment that can be soaring and glorious — or, when the lyrics slip into anachronistic vernacular, wincingly lame. This big-budget movie summons the mighty forces of CGI to create vast tableaux of castles and monasteries, shipyards and slums, found in France in the tumultuous first half of the 19th century. Stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and a scene-stealing Anne Hathaway. (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) (PG-13, 157 minutes)

‘Life of Pi’ 1/2
Ang Lee’s latest 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 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)

‘Parental Guidance’
It’s the collision of the generations as an old-school couple agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town to work. Billy Crystal plays it like “revenge of the geezer,” and the movie would be the worse for it if not for the counterbalancing performances of Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei. (Manohla Dargis, New York Times) (PG, 104 minutes)

‘Promised Land’
Matt Damon and director Gus Van Sant join forces again in this story about a salesman for a natural gas company who arrives in an impoverished farming town in hopes of persuading the local folk to allow the corporation to tap into its available resources. The film has its heart on its sleeve and its pro-environmental message is quite clear, but it’s saddled with some major and implausible plot twists. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 106 minutes)

‘Rise of the Guardians’
The latest project from DreamWorks Animation is about a group of immortal beings who team up to protect the innocence of children around the world when an evil spirit launches an assault on Earth. It’s an attractively designed but overly busy and derivative mishmash of kid-friendly elements. (Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter) (PG, 97 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 new 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)

‘Skyfall’
In the latest James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, Bond’s loyalty to his boss M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, Agent 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. This movie is a mixed bag. Some of it is terrific and some of it is spectacular. It succeeds in restoring the Bond saga to life, delivering all the kinetic satisfaction of a taut action thriller with a mature sophistication rare in blockbuster films. (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune) (PG-13, 143 minutes)

‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ Half a star
A sequel to the 1974 horror classic — now in “gore-ious” 3-D — where a young woman travels to Texas to collect an inheritance, little realizing that an encounter with the killer Leatherface is part of the reward. The original left audiences feeling hollowed out, dispirited and dissolute. This sequel is simply a bummer for being a big nothing. (Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times) (R, 95 minutes)

‘This is 40′ 1/2
Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their roles from Judd Apatow’s “Knocked Up” as a married couple with two daughters. It’s five years later and the movie follows their three-week navigation of sex and romance, career triumphs and financial hardships, aging parents and maturing children. This is a good-natured and warmhearted but only intermittently funny look at middle-age domesticity. There are few laugh-out-loud scenes, but maybe that’s the point — that life isn’t about the grand gesture, but the little day-to-day details that keep us grounded and human. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 134 minutes)

‘Wreck-It Ralph’ 1/2
The latest Disney 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)

SPECIAL

Nicholas Sparks’ ‘Safe Haven:’ Filmmakers, Author and Stars Bring the Book to Life
8 p.m. Thursday, Regal Dole Cannery, $12.50
A one-night event from Los Angeles featuring the best-selling author, the producers and director, and stars Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough in a discussion and Q&A session with fans about the film adaptation of his novel, in theaters Valentine’s Day. (PG, 90 minutes)

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)

‘Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters’
1 and 7:30 p.m. today
The acclaimed photographer creates surreal and elaborate portraits of suburban life. (2012, 79 minutes)

Sixth annual Bollywood Film Festival: ‘English Vinglish’
12:30 and 6 p.m. Saturday, and 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday
The Indian fest starts with a comedy starring the legendary actress Sridevi Kapoor, who returns to the screen after a 15-year absence to play a quiet housewife living in New York City who enrolls in an English language class to overcome her insecurities. (2012, 134 minutes)

‘Gattu’
12:30 p.m. Sunday
A kid-friendly film about an illiterate orphan in a kite-obsessed town who bluffs his way into a school so he can do battle from the building’s roof with a mysterious black kite. (2011, 79 minutes)

‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’
12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday
This popular romantic comedy made Shahrukh Khan a superstar, playing a rich playboy who falls for a prim and proper girl (Kajol) while on a European vacation. (1995, 192 minutes)

‘Barfi!’
12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday
India’s official Oscar entry is a heartwarming tale of a deaf and mute charmer who gets entangled with an autistic girl and a spoiled heiress. (2012, 151 minutes)

MOVIE MUSEUM

3566 Harding Ave. (735-8771); $5 general and $4 members; reservations recommended

‘Secret Reunion’
Noon, 2:15 and 8:30 p.m. today; and 4 and 8:30 p.m. Monday
Movie stars Song Kang-ho and Kang Dong-won combine forces in this box-office hit about a North Korean spy and a former South Korean agent who form a tense partnership. (2010, 116 minutes)

‘Silence’
4:30 and 6:30 p.m. today
At a body retrieval center in Finland during World War II, a group of people in a small community who work there find themselves in limbo between life and death. (2011, 107 minutes)

‘Archangel’
12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday
Daniel Craig plays a British college professor working in Russia who is investigating certain mysteries surrounding the life and death of Joseph Stalin. (2005, 133 minutes)

‘Arbitrage’
Noon, 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday
A troubled hedge fund magnate, desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire, makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help. Richard Gere, Brit Marling and Susan Sarandon star. (2012, 107 minutes)

‘Little Red Flowers’
4 and 8 p.m. Sunday
In post-revolutionary China, a rebellious kindergartner struggles to fit in with his class, though he wishes he could win awards for good behavior. (2006, 92 minutes)

‘Three Wives’
Noon, 2 and 6:30 p.m. Monday
Three Italian women from different backgrounds fly to Argentina in pursuit of their husbands, who left them on New Year’s Eve and who all happen to work at the same bank that is missing a large amount of cash. (2001, 105 minutes)

‘Woman in Witness Protection’
Noon, 2:15, 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday
Juzo Itami’s final film before his untimely death is a comic gangster movie about a self-centered actress living under police protection after she chooses to be a trial witness to a murder. (1997, 132 minutes)

‘Lapland Odyssey’
6:45 p.m. Thursday
A comedy about a Finnish man who has made a career out of living on welfare and his long-suffering wife who finally gives him an ultimatum, sending him on a journey to win back her affections. (2010, 92 minutes)

BODY & SPIRIT DOCUMENTARY FILM SERIES

Still & Moving Center, 1024 Queen St. (397-7678); $5

‘Get Real: Wise Women Speak’
6:30 p.m. Sunday
Interviews with Jane Fonda, Nikki Giovanni, Della Reese, Marianne Williamson, Susan L. Taylor and Jody Williams. (2010, 79 minutes)

MONDAY MOVIE CAFE

TheVenue, 1146 Bethel St. (436-4326); $10, $5 students

‘Kumare’
7 p.m. Monday
Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi impersonates being a guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, he must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all. (2011, 93 minutes)