At the Movies: ‘Albert Nobbs,’ ‘All’s Well,’ ‘Dangerous Method’

Michael Fassbender, left, and Viggo Mortensen star in "A Dangerous Method" along with Keira Knightley. —Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

OPENING: WEEKEND OF FRIDAY, JAN. 27

‘Albert Nobbs’
Some 30 years after a woman passes herself as a man 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. Review on Page 19. (R, 113 mins.)

‘All’s Well Ends Well’
Released in Hong Kong in time for the Lunar New Year, it’s the latest installment of this popular romantic comedy franchise featuring an ensemble cast of popular stars like Donnie Yen, Louis Koo and Carina Lau. (NR, 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. Review on Page 18. (R, 99 mins.)

‘The Grey’
Liam Neeson stars in this thriller about an Alaskan oil drilling team who survive a plane crash in the wild only to be hunted down by a pack of wolves. Review on Page 17. (R, 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. Review on Page 16. (PG-13, 102 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. (PG-13, 106 mins.)

Liam Neeson stars in 'The Grey.' —Courtesy Open Road Films

NOW PLAYING

‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-Wrecked’
Playing around while aboard a cruise ship, the Chipmunks and Chipettes accidentally go overboard and end up marooned in a tropical paradise. The Chipmunks’ third digitally animated movie is as current as a Lady Gaga cover, if not quite as relevant. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (G, 87 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. It’s a gorgeously made curiosity that functions as a testament to its own obsession with other movies, specifically “Singin’ in the Rain” and “A Star is Born.” (Christopher Kelly, McClatchy Newspapers)(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, to protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills. This is a thriller with nail-biting moments. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (R, 110 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 kama’aina 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.)

‘The Devil Inside’
In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism. It’s a profoundly foolish script filmed with a shaky cam, and the ending is such a cheat that you’ll be fighting back the urge to boo the closing credits. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (R, 83 mins.)

‘Enteng ng Ina Mo’
The Filipino box office hit stars Vic Sotto and Ai-Ai delas Alas in this broad comedy that combines two popular fantasy franchises. (NR, 110 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 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. The Oscar nominated movie has a thin and uninvolving story, but 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 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 backlot melodrama. (Burl Burlingame, Star-Advertiser) (R, 145 mins.)

‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
David Fincher’s remake of the popular 2009 Swedish thriller as 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.)

NYPD negotiator Elizabeth Banks tries to talk down fugitive Sam Worthington in the caper "Man on a Ledge." —Courtesy Summit Entertainment

‘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. This sporadically entertaining, if surprisingly inert movie, stars former MMA fighter Gina Carano in the lead role. (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. It’s an uncanny turn by the screen’s greatest actress, an acting job with towering bombast and marvelous subtlety. (Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service) (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. Very few of the movie’s scenes ring true, especially the musical numbers that feel simultaneously overproduced and hollow. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press) (PG-13, 117 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. Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner star in Brad Bird’s live-action debut, and he brings his animation experience to make the action movie exuberant, elastic and eye-popping. (Christopher Kelly, McClatchy Newspapers) (PG-13, 133 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 semi-retirement 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. The film is a precisely detailed, retro-faded, well-acted mystery. (Christy Lemire, Associated Press)(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 re-open a struggling zoo. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson star in the latest film from Cameron Crowe. (PG, 124 mins.)

SPECIAL

At Regal Dole Cannery

The Goat Rodeo Sessions Live
8 p.m. Tuesday; $15:
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and bassist Edgar Meyer come together for this genre-challenging project that balances composition and improvisation, in concert from the House of Blues in Boston. (PG, 105 mins.)

Kevin Smith: Live from Behind
9:30 p.m. Thursday; $15:
Renegade director-writer Smith and his longtime friend Jason Mewes host their podcast, “Jay & Silent Bob Get Old,” from Toronto, followed by a live Q&A session with theater audiences via questions submitted through social media networks. (180 mins.)

"Miss South Pacific: Beauty and the Sea" will be shown at both Turtle Bay and Monday Movie Cafe. —Courtesy photo

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):

5th Annual Bollywood Film Festival: ‘Ra. One’
12:30 p.m. today
This superhero action-comedy is the most expensive Bollywood movie ever made. A video game developer’s world spirals out of control when his shape-shifting indestructible virtual creation becomes all too real. It’s up to his son and wife to create a superhero who can take on the villain. (2011, 156 mins.)

DORISafterDARK: ‘Enter the Dragon’
9 p.m. today
The screening of the Bruce Lee classic is part of Friday night’s ARTafterDARK Chinese New Year celebration. (1973, 98 mins.)

‘Don 2′
1 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Shahrukh Khan stars in an action sequel to the 2006 original about how the indisputable king of the Asian underworld is now set on taking over the European drug cartel. Final film of the Bollywood festival. (2011, 160 mins.)

‘Finding Joe’
1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday
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 is relevant and essential in today’s world. (2011, 80 mins.)

Movie Museum

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

‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’
Noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45 and 9 p.m. today
A middle-aged husband’s life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, learning to pick up women at bars. Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei and Kevin Bacon star. (2011, 118 mins.)

’50/50′
12:30, 2:30, 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star in this comedy inspired by a true story, about a young man who learns of his cancer diagnosis, and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease with the help of a friend. (2011, 100 mins.)

‘I Know Where I’m Going!’
Noon and 8 p.m. Sunday
Wendy Hiller stars in the Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger classic as an ambitious and stubborn middle-class Englishwoman who is determined to move forward since her childhood. (1945, 91 mins.)

‘Penguins in the Sky – Asahiyama Zoo’
1:45, 3:45 and 5:45 p.m. Sunday
Based on the true story of the northernmost zoo in Japan, a new keeper tries to save the zoo from closing down by using the method of behavioral exhibition. (2008, 112 mins.)

‘A Family’
12:30 and 7:45 p.m. Monday
A successful Danish family faces agonizing choices when its charismatic patriarch falls ill. (2010, 102 mins.)

‘Waterboys’
2:30, 4:15 and 6 p.m. Monday
Japanese comedy about five boys who start a synchronized swimming team at their high school. (2001, 91 mins.)

‘The Choir’
12:30, 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Documentary set in South Africa tells the story of prison inmate Jabulani Shabangu, who begins to transform his life when he joins Leeukwop Prison’s choir. (2007, 82 mins.)

‘Sisters in Law’
2, 5 and 8 p.m. Thursday
Documentary set in a small town in Cameroon, where strict Muslim faith is observed, and prosecutor Vera Ngassa is one of the only officials to provide a female voice of the law. (2005, 104 mins.)

Turtle Bay Hawaii Filmmakers Showcase

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

‘Miss South Pacific: Beauty and the Sea’ / ‘I Just Love to Paddle’
7 p.m. Sunday
A double-bill of documentaries, one on how the subject of climate change affected the 2009-10 Miss South Pacific Pageant in Fiji, and the other a portrait of paddler Nappy Napoleon. (2011, 45 mins. / 2010, 30 mins.)

Monday Movie Cafe

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

‘Miss South Pacific: Beauty and the Sea’ / ‘I Just Love to Paddle’
7 p.m. Monday