Crave (Unrated) Psychological thriller about a crime scene photographer (Josh Lawson) disturbed by wanton street violence who loses his tenuous grasp on reality when a romance with a beautiful woman (Emma Lung) goes sour. Support cast includes Ron Perlman, Edward Furlong and Christopher Stapleton.
Ernest & Celestine (Unrated) Anthropomorphic animated adventure about the unlikely friendship forged between a bear (Lambert Wilson) and a mouse Pauline Brunner). Voice cast includes Lauren Bacall, Anne-Marie Loop and Patrice Melennec. (In French with subtitles)
Expecting (Unrated) Adoption dramedy about a barren housewife (Radha Mitchell) who finally gets a chance to start a family when her pregnant best friend (Michelle Monaghan) offers to turn over the unplanned fruit of a one-night stand. With John Dore, Michael Weston and Mimi Kennedy.
Implanted (Unrated) Sci-fi thriller about an accident victim’s (Justin Leak) struggle to separate fact from fiction when an experimental, life-saving procedure performed by his neurologist father (Robert Prago) goes awry. Supporting cast includes Jason Turner, Deborah Childs and Jackie Goldston.
A Journey to Planet Sanity (Unrated) Wacky conspiracy theories are the subject of this investigative documentary chronicling a skeptic (Blake Freeman) and a gullible geezer’s (Leroy Tessina) cross-country quest for the truth about aliens, psychics and the paranormal.
Khumba (Unrated) Computer-animated adventure about a semi-striped zebra (Jake T. Austin) rejected by his own kind who embarks on a perilous trek in the company of several other species in search of a safe watering hole. Voice cast includes Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi and Laurence Fishburne.
The Last Days on Mars (PG-13 for brief profanity) High attrition-rate horror flick about a crew of astronauts who mysteriously perish one-by-one while collecting specimens on the surface of Mars. Co-starring Liev Schreiber, Romola Garai, Elias Koteas and Olivia Williams.
Lenny Cooke (Unrated) Diminished hoop dreams documentary about a Brooklyn-born, high school basketball phenom who never got a chance to play in the NBA after declaring himself eligible for the draft instead of attending college.
Live at the Foxes Den (Unrated) Midlife crisis drama about a jaded corporate attorney (Jackson Rathbone) who, after a night spent carousing, impulsively quits his job at a prestigious law firm to pursue a new career as a saloon singer. With Jocelin Donahue, Jack Holmes, Brian Doyle-Murray and Elliott Gould.
Merry Christmas (Unrated) Ensemble comedy about nine, cash-strapped New Yorkers who agree to forgo their annual holiday outing in Aspen in favor of participating in a murder mystery weekend in Pennsylvania. Co-starring Alexandra Stewart, Antony Langdon, Tibor Feldman, Wally Dunn and Angelique Cinelu.
S#x Acts (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama, set in Jaffa, about an ostracized teen (Sivan Levy) who naively tries to elevate her social status by sleeping with the most popular guys at her new high school. With Eviatar Mor, Roy Nik and Niv Zilberberg. (In Hebrew with subtitles)
Swerve (R for violence, profanity, sexuality and nudity) Aussie crime thriller about a Good Samaritan (David Lyons) who ends up on the run from a ruthless hit man (Travis Hitman) and a crooked cop (Jason Clarke) after stopping to help a gun moll (Emma Booth) with a suitcase of cash at the scene of a car accident which claimed the life of her mobster beau. Support cast features Roy Billing, Vince Colosimo and Andy Anderson.
Tim’s Vermeer (Unrated) Forgery documentary, directed by mute magician Raymond Joseph Teller, tracing inventor Tim Jenison’s attempt to duplicate the work of Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.
Twice Born (R for violence, rape, sexuality, nudity, profanity and drug use) Flashback drama about a widow’s (Penelope Cruz) reflections upon returning home to Bosnia with her teenage son (Pietro Castellitto) for the first time since barely escaping war-torn Sarajevo alive when he was an infant. With Emile Hirsch, Adnan Haskovic and Saadet Aksoy. (In Italian, English and Bosnian with subtitles).
White Reindeer (Unrated) Maudlin character study, set in suburban Virginia, where we find a grieving woman (Anna Margaret Hollyman) grappling to make sense of life in the wake of an unexpected tragedy at Christmastime. Cast includes Joe Swanberg, Lydia Hyslop and Laura Lemar-Goldsborough.
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Inside Llewyn Davis (R for profanity and some sexual references) Oscar Issac plays the title character in this Coen Bros musical dramedy, set in Greenwich Village in 1961, chronicling a week in the life of a struggling folk singer. With Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan and Max Casella.
Out of the Furnace (R for profanity, drug use and graphic violence) Vigilante crime thriller revolving around a just-paroled ex-con (Christian Bale) who ventures from the Rust Belt to the Northeast to rescue a younger brother (Case Affleck) who’s gotten mixed up with mobsters. Ensemble cast includes Forest Whitaker, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe and Sam Shepard.
