At the Movies: ‘Woman in Black,’ ‘Big Miracle,’ ‘Chronicle,’ more

Daniel Radcliffe stars in 'The Woman in Black.' —Courtesy CBS Films

OPENING, AS OF FRIDAY, FEB. 3

‘Big Miracle’
In small-town Alaska, a news reporter recruits his ex-girlfriend, a Greenpeace volunteer, on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. Review on Page 16. (PG, 107 mins.)

‘Chronicle’
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery. But soon they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides. (PG-13, 83 mins.)

‘Midnight in Paris’
The encore presentation of Woody Allen’s Oscar-nominated film. The romantic fantasy stars Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who travel to the City of Lights for business, only to have their lives profoundly transformed. (PG-13, 88 mins.)

‘The Woman in Black’
Daniel Radcliffe plays a young lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals. Review on Page 21. (PG-13, 95 mins.)

John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore star in "Big Miracle," a tale of three whales trapped under Alaska ice. —Courtesy Universal Pictures

NOW PLAYING

‘Albert Nobbs’
Some 30 years after a woman passes herself off as a man in order to work and survive in 19th-century Ireland, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making. Glenn Close and Janet McTeer are Oscar nominees for their roles. Close’s performance is a marvel of precision, but because she immerses herself so completely in the emotional restraint of this odd little man she creates, feeling a connection with the character, despite the difficult life she’s lived, is difficult. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (R, 113 mins.)

‘The Artist’
A multi-Oscar-nominated homage to Hollywood, 1927, as a silent movie star’s career is revitalized with the arrival of a young dancer set for a big break. (PG-13, 100 mins.)

‘Beauty and the Beast 3D’
The re-release of the 1991 Disney animated classic, now with 3-D effects. (G, 84 mins.)

‘Contraband’
Mark Wahlberg delivers the goods as a former smuggler who, in order to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills. (R, 110 mins.)

‘A Dangerous Method’
A look at how the intense relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud gave birth to psychoanalysis. Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender star in the latest film from David Cronenberg. His confident directing style is essential in making this kind of intellectually stimulating cinema look easy, but the critical component in the film’s success is Christopher Hampton’s classically well-written script. (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times) (R, 99 mins.)

‘The Descendants’
Oscar nominees George Clooney and Alexander Payne join forces in this adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel about a man from a longtime kamaaina family who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife slips into a coma after a boating accident and he has to reconnect with his two young daughters. This deceptively breezy Oscar-nominated film is a kind of wonderful journey through the shifting landscape of human emotion, ranging from deliciously awkward comedy to heartfelt, transformative tragedy and all points in between. (Burl Burlingame, Star-Advertiser) (R, 115 mins.)

‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’
A boy searches New York City for the lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The Oscar-nominated movie has a thin and uninvolving story but does contain strong performances by Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 129 mins.)

‘The Flowers of War’
Christian Bale is both corny and amusing as a boozy American mortician who pretends to be a priest in order to rescue a group of schoolgirls and prostitutes hiding in a church from Japanese soldiers in 1937 Nanking, China. Assembled by Chinese superstar director Zhang Yimou, the film pretends to be a massive and glorious heroic epic when it’s really a back-lot melodrama. (Burl Burlingame, Star-Advertiser) (R, 145 mins.)

‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
In David Fincher’s remake of the popular 2009 Swedish thriller, a journalist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for 40 years by a young computer hacker. The chemistry between leads Daniel Craig and Oscar nominee Rooney Mara is so spontaneous and sensational, it instantly elevates the movie beyond high-toned pulp into something far more affecting. (Rene Rodriguez, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 158 mins.)

‘The Grey’
Liam Neeson pumps up the volume in this movie about an Alaska oil drilling team who survive a plane crash in the wild only to be hunted down by a pack of wolves. This is an occasionally suspenseful if credibility-stretching thriller with a strong, emotional performance from Neeson at its core. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 117 mins.)

‘Haywire’
A highly trained covert ops specialist strikes back after being double-crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in the agency. It’s a sporadically entertaining if surprisingly inert movie with former MMA fighter Gina Carano in the lead role. (Cary Darling, McClatchy Newspapers) (R, 93 mins.)

‘The Iron Lady’
Oscar nominee Meryl Streep stars in this look into the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power. (PG-13, 105 mins.)

‘Joyful Noise’
Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton star as two choir members who have differing opinions on how to win the national gospel choir competition. (PG-13, 117 mins.)

‘Man on a Ledge’
An ex-con attempts to detract the police from a diamond heist currently in motion by threatening to jump from a Manhattan hotel ledge. This is a heist picture, a thriller, and a not-that-thrilling one at that. But the folks who made it have enough of a sense of humor to get how silly it is and run with that on occasion. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (PG-13, 102 mins.)

‘Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol’
The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear the organization’s name. (PG-13, 133 mins.)

‘One for the Money’
Katherine Heigl plays a neophyte bounty hunter whose first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past. It’s a malnourished exercise in star vanity, with bad screenplay structure, un-snappy “snappy” dialogue, bland character blandly played and flat, tedious direction. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (PG-13, 106 mins.)

‘Red Tails’
The true story of the African-American pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program, who took to the skies to fight during World War II. Despite stunning aerial scenes and good intentions, this George Lucas-produced movie is grounded by clumsy dialogue, a meandering plot and the occasional jarring anachronism. (Tish Wells, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 125 mins.)

‘Shame’
Michael Fassbender lays himself bare, literally and metaphorically, as a sex addict prowling an increasingly dark and dangerous New York City. His performance is riveting and haunting, but the cool precision of the film’s earlier scenes gives way to melodrama, leaving viewers feeling pummeled. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (NC-17, 101 mins.)

‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’
Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as the master detective and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, as the two join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, Professor Moriarty. (PG-13, 129 mins.)

‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semiretirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6′s echelons. Oscar nominee Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy star in the adaptation of the John le Carre novel, all of whom keep us guessing as to who the traitor might be among them. (R, 127 mins.)

‘Underworld: Awakening’
Kate Beckinsale returns as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in an all-out war by the humans to eradicate both Vampire and Lycan clans. It’s a humorless and perfunctory movie of chases and epic brawls. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (R, 88 mins.)

‘War Horse’
Steven Spielberg directs a tale of friendship between a boy and a horse whose fates intertwine over the course of World War I. There are enough extraordinary and beautiful things to make this episodic, Oscar-nominated movie a pleasure and a worthwhile experience, though not enough to trick the eye or get you believing it all hangs together. (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle) (PG-13, 146 mins.)

‘We Bought a Zoo’
A father moves his young family to the countryside to renovate and reopen a struggling zoo. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson star in the latest film from Cameron Crowe. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG, 124 mins.)

SPECIAL

Hana Hou Picture Show: ‘The Princess Bride’
7 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, Consolidated Ward Titan XC, $14.25 general and $11 seniors and children:
The beloved fairy tale-with-a-twist from 1987 and director Rob Reiner. Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright and Peter Falk star in the story with a dashing hero, a beautiful princess, an evil prince, a giant, swordplay and even some kissing. (PG, 98 mins.)

ARTHOUSE

DORIS DUKE THEATRE

Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St., entry on Kinau Street. (532-8768); $10 general and $8 academy members (tickets also available online at www.honoluluacademy.org):

‘Finding Joe’
1 p.m. today
Through interviews with visionaries from a variety of fields interwoven with enactments of classic tales, the film navigates the stages of what mythologist Joseph Campbell dubbed the Hero’s Journey, and how it’s relevant and essential in today’s world. (2011, 80 mins.)

Dangerously Romantic: ‘Chico & Rita’
7:30 p.m. today; 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
The European film showcase kicks off with this Oscar-nominated animated Spanish film steeped in Afro-Cuban and jazz music. A young pianist and a beautiful singer find love in Havana in the late 1940s. (2010, 94 mins.)

‘Headhunters’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday
A Danish thriller about a respected corporate headhunter who will do anything to maintain his wife’s affections and reputation — even if he has to moonlight as an art thief to preserve their lavish lifestyle. (2011, 108 mins.)

MOVIE MUSEUM

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

‘Drive’
Noon, 1:45, 3:30, 5:15, 7 and 8:45 p.m. today; and 6:15 and 8 p.m. Sunday
Ryan Gosling plays a Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman and discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist goes wrong. (2011, 100 mins.)

‘The Ides of March’
Noon, 1:45, 3:30, 5:15, 7 and 8:45 p.m. Saturday
George Clooney both stars in and directs this drama about an idealistic staffer (Ryan Gosling) for an untested presidential candidate who gets a crash course in dirty politics while on the campaign trail. (2011, 101 mins.)

‘If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front’
Noon, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday
An Oscar nominee for best documentary, it explores two of America’s most pressing issues — environmentalism and terrorism — by looking at the radical environmental group and focusing on one former member facing life in prison for arson against Oregon timber companies. (2011, 85 mins.)

‘Le Franc’ / ‘Soul Boy’
12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Monday
A double bill of two African short films, one about a Senegalese musician whose instrument is confiscated by his landlady for nonpayment of rent, and the other about a teenage Kenyan boy who tries to reclaim his father’s soul, which was stolen by a witch. (1994, 45 mins. / 2010, 60 mins.)

‘Warrior’
12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday
Two brothers face the fight of a lifetime — and the wreckage of their broken family — within the brutal, high-stakes world of mixed martial arts. Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton star. (2011, 140 mins.)

TURTLE BAY HAWAII FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE

Surfer, the Bar; Turtle Bay Resort (436-4326); $10 general, $8 kamaaina and $5 keiki under 16:

‘Na Kamalei: The Men of Hula’
7 p.m. Sunday
Director Lisette Marie Flanary will be in attendance for the screening of her documentary about Robert Cazimero and his hula halau as they celebrate their 30th anniversary and prepare to compete at the Merrie Monarch Festival. (2006, 56 mins.)

MONDAY MOVIE CAFE

theVenue, 1146 Bethel St. (528-1144); $10:

‘Get Real: Wise Women Speak’
7 p.m. Monday
Encore screening of a documentary that explores the value and meaning of women’s lives as they age. (2010, 79 mins.)