Ready to take a new year’s leap
The 2016 winterspring movie preview is a broad overview of films opening through late April. Release dates and other details, as compiled by Kevin Crust, are subject to change.
Friday
Anesthesia
The assault of a philosophy professor ties together the existential dilemmas of a disparate group of New Yorkers. With Sam Waterston, Kristen Stewart and Glenn Close. Written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson. IFC Films
The Benefactor
A young Philadelphia couple find their lives entwined with a secretive philanthropist. With Richard Gere, Dakota Fanning, Theo James. Written and directed by Andrew Renzi. Samuel Goldwyn
Films
400 Days
The mental states of four astronauts on a simulated mission begin to deteriorate when they lose contact with the rest of the world. With Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Ben Feldman. Written and directed by Matt Osterman.
Syfy Films
Intruders
A young woman turns the tables on three criminals who invade her home. With Beth Riesgraf, Jack Kesy, Martin Starr, Rory Culkin. Directed by Adam Schindler.
Momentum Pictures
Moonwalkers
Duped while trying to find Stanley Kubrick in 1969 London, an erratic CIA agent teams with a rock band manager to stage the moon landing. With Ron Perlman, Rupert Grint, Robert Sheehan. Directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet.
Alchemy
Norm of the North
Animated tale about a talkative polar bear who travels to New York City to stop a greedy developer from building condos in the Arctic. Voices of Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong. Directed by Trevor Wall. Lionsgate
A Perfect Day
War zone rescue workers battle bureaucracy and danger in the Balkans, circa 1995. With Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, Mélanie Thierry. Written by Fernando León de Aranoa and Diego Farias. Directed by De Aranoa. IFC Films
Ride Along 2
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube reunite for this sequel to the 2014 comedy. With Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Olivia Munn, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter. Written by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi. Directed by Tim Story.
Universal Pictures
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
During the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Libya, elite ex-military operatives bravely fight back when plans go awry. With James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini, Pablo Schreiber, Toby Stephens. Directed by Michael Bay. Paramount
Pictures
Unlucky Plaza
In Singapore, a desperate diner owner takes hostages while posting his exploits on YouTube creating a media frenzy and hysteria in the streets. With Adrian Pang, Judee Tan, Guo Liang. Directed by Ken Kwek. Kaya
Toast Pictures
Jan. 22
The Abandoned
Desperate for employment, a young single mom works as a night security guard at a sprawling and unfinished mansion in this psychological thriller. With Jason Patric and Louisa Krause. Written by Ido Fluk, story by Fluk and Eytan Rockaway. Directed by Rockaway. IFC
Midnight
Aferim!
In 1835 Eastern Europe, a gendarme and his son search for a runaway gyspy slave, encountering a variety of ethnicities, on their journey. Directed by Radu Jude.
Big World Pictures
All Mistakes Buried
Separated from his wife and battling drug addiction, a man ventures into the seedier side of his Louisiana town to retrieve a stolen necklace. With Sam Trammell, Vanessa Ferlito. Directed by Tim McCann. Breaking Glass Pictures
Band of Robbers
Modern-day twist on Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, reimagined as a recent parolee and a crooked cop. With Kyle Gallner, Adam Nee, Matthew Gray Gubler. Written and directed by Aaron Nee & Adam Nee.
Gravitas Ventures
The Boy
In an English village, a young American woman is hired to care for an 8-year-old, who appears to be a life-sized doll. With Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton. Written by Stacey Menear. Directed by William Brent Bell. STX Entertainment
Dirty Grandpa
Ambitious Zac Efron jeopardizes his upcoming marriage when he reluctantly takes troublemaking grandfather Robert De Niro to spring break in Florida. With Aubrey Plaza. Written by John Phillips. Directed by Dan Mazer. Lionsgate
Exposed
The mystery behind his partner’s death leads a police detective to corruption within the department and an enigmatic young woman. With Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Christopher McDonald, Mira Sorvino. Written by Gee Malik Linton. Directed by Declan Dale.
Lionsgate Premiere
The 5th Wave
Four deadly surges have left the world ravaged and a teen must trust a mysterious young man to save her brother. With Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson. Written by Susannah Grant and Akiva Goldsman & Jeff Pinkner. Directed by J Blakeson. Columbia Pictures
IP Man 3
Donnie Yen returns as the real-life grandmaster who mentored Bruce Lee, this time taking on gangsters led by Mike Tyson. Directed by Wilson Yip. WellGo USA Entertainment
Martyrs
After being tortured and imprisoned as a girl and growing up in orphange, a young woman tracks down the family that tormented her. With Troian Bellisario, Bailey Noble. Written by Mark L. Smith. Directed by Kevin Goetz and Michael Goetz. Anchor Bay Entertainment
Mojave
Garret Hedlund and Oscar Isaac square off as an L.A. artist and the dangerous drifter who threatens to destroy his life. With Louise Bourgoin, Walton Goggins. Written and directed by William Monahan. A24
Monster Hunt
A baby born to a human father and a monster queen is pursued by both mortals and creatures in this animated adventure from China.Written by Alan Yuen. Directed by Raman Hui.
FilmRise
Prescription Thugs
Big Pharma and its market techniques come under scrutiny in this documentary directed by Chris Bell.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Rabid Dogs
Three French criminals with three hostages make a violent run for the border after a botched bank robbery. With Lambert Wilson, Guillaume Gouix, Virginie Ledoyen. Directed by Éric Hannezo. IFC Midnight
Synchronicity
Sci-fi noir in which a physicist attempts to protect his time-bending invention from a ruthless corporate magnate. With Chad McKnight, AJ Bowen, Brianne Davis. Directed by Jacob Gentry. Magnet
Releasing
Yosemite
In 1985 Palo Alto, three fifth-graders navigate the treacherous world of preteen suburbia. With James Franco, Henry Hopper, Calum John. Written and directed by Gabrielle Demeestere. Monterey Media
Jan. 29
Fifty Shades of Black
Marlon Wayans spoofs a certain insanely popular erotic BDSM romance. With Kali Hawk, Mike Epps Written by Marlon Wayans and Rick Alvarez. Directed by Michael Tiddes. Open
Road Films
The Finest Hours
In 1952, the Coast Guard attempts a daring rescue of an oil tanker during a fierce Nor’easter in the frigid Atlantic waters. With Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster. Written by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Walt Disney
Pictures
Kung Fu Panda 3
Furry martial artist Po journeys with his long-lost father to a panda paradise where he must train his klutzy compadres to fight the evil Kai. Voices of Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie. Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni. DreamWorks Animation/20th Century Fox
Mountain Men
Two estranged brothers clash as they travel to evict a squatter from their family cabin in the Rocky Mountains. With Chace Crawford, Tyler Labine, Christine Willes. Written and directed by Cameron Labine. Level 33
Oscar Nominated Shorts
The finalists for the Academy Awards in live action, animated and documentary short subjects screen in separate programs. Nominees to be announced Jan. 14. ShortsHD
Feb. 5
The Choice
A medical student and a womanizer unexpectedly fall in love, marry and settle down until one is forced to make the decision of a lifetime in this adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel. With Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Maggie Grace. Written by Bryan Sipe. Directed by Ross Katz.
Lionsgate
Eisenstein in Gunajuato
Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein travels to Mexico in 1931 to make a movie and has life-changing experiences of sex and death. With Elmer Bäck, Luis Alberti, Maya Zapata. Written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Strand Releasing
Hail, Caesar!
Backlot comedy by the Coen brothers about a movie studio “fixer” during the twilight of Hollywood’s Golden Age. With Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson. Written and directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen. Universal
Pictures
Misconduct
A young attorney (Josh Duhamel) is caught between his firm’s senior partner (Al Pacino) and a pharmaceutical mogul (Anthony Hopkins). With Alice Eve. Written by Simon Boyes & Adam Mason. Directed by Shintaro Shimosawa. Lionsgate
Premiere
Of Mind and Music
A story about a beautiful street musician suffering from memory loss and a disheartened neuroscientist intent on helping her, bringing together New Orleans and the jazz that made it famous. With Aunjanue Ellis, Joaquim de Almeida, Bill Cobbs. Written by Richie Adams, Nicolas Bazan. Directed by Adams. Monterey Media
The Pack
An Australian family is terrorized when wild dogs attack their farmhouse. With Jack Campbell, Anna Lise Phillips, Katie Moore. Written by Evan Randall Green. Directed by Nick Robertson.
IFC Midnight
Rams
Two sheepherding brothers in Iceland who haven’t spoken in 40 years fight to save their flocks and livelihoods from a deadly outbreak. With Charlotte Boving, Gudrun Sigurbjornsdottir, Jon Benonysson. Directed by Grímur Hákonarson.
Cohen Media Group
Regression
A psychologist arrives in 1990 Minnesota to help a man access his memories after being accused by his daughter of an unspeakable crime. With Emma Watson, Ethan Hawke, David Thewlis. Written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Weinstein Co./Dimension
Southbound
Five tales set on a desert highway form this horror anthology from the filmmaking collective Radio Silence. With Kate Beahan, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Susan Burke. Directed by Roxanne
Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath and Radio Silence. The Orchard
Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art
Documentary on New York artists in the 1960s and 1970s who transcended the boundaries of painting and sculpture by creating epic earthworks in the American Southwest. With Michael Heizer, Robert Smithson, Walter De Maria. Directed by James Crump. First Run
Features
Tumbledown
The grieving widow of a well-known musician collaborates with a cocky New York writer on her husband’s biography. With Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Dianna Agron. Written by Desi Van Til and Sean Mewshaw. Directed by Mewshaw. Starz
Digital
Viva
A Havana hairdresser dreams of being a drag performer while struggling to reconcile with his estranged father. With Jorge Perugorría, Luis Alberto García, Héctor Medina. Directed by Paddy Breathnach. Magnolia Pictures
Feb. 12
Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong
Visiting on business for the first time, a Chinese American toy designer meets an American expat and they enjoy a romantic evening exploring the city’s street life. With Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg. Written and directed by Emily Ting.
Gravitas Ventures
Bad Hurt
A middle-aged Staten Island couple face serious challenges with their children. With Theo Rossi, Ashley Williams, Karen Allen. Written by Mark Kemble, Jamieson Stern. Directed by Kemble. Screen Media Films
Cabin Fever
Remake of Eli Roth’s 2002 horror film about friends terrorized at a remote getaway. Directed by Travis Zariwny. IFC Midnight
The Club
Four disgraced priests are exiled to a secluded house in Chile and tended to by a former nun while they atone for their sins. With Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farías, Antonia Zegers. Written by Guillermo Calderón, Daniel Villalobos, Pablo Larraín. Directed by Larraín. Music
Box Films
Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds stars as the former Special Forces operative-turned unconventional antihero in the Marvel Comics adaptation. With Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein. Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick. Directed by Tim Miller. 20th
Century Fox
Glassland
A young taxi driver is forced into the service of a petty criminal to pay for his alcoholic mother’s rehab. With Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter. Written and directed by Gerard Barrett.
Film Movement
How to Be Single
Young unmarrieds in New York City navigate the complex intersections of love and sex. With Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Damon Wayans Jr. Written by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein and Dana Fox, screen story by Abby Kohn & Marc Silverstein. Directed by Christian Ditter. Warner Bros.
National Parks Adventure
Imax documentary follows world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, adventure photographer Max Lowe and artist Rachel Pohl as they explore Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Yosemite and Arches. Narrated by Robert Redford. Written by Stephen Judson and Tim Cahill. Directed by Greg MacGillivray. MacGillivray Freeman Films
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Jane Austen’s classic heroine Elizabeth Bennet is now an expert at martial arts and weaponry and must team with zombie killer Mr. Darcy to eradicate the undead. With Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston. Written and directed by Burr Steers, based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. Screen
Gems
Standoff
A disturbed military veteran protects a 12-year-old girl from an assassin after she witnesses a murder. With Thomas Jane, Laurence Fishburne, Ella Ballentine. Written and directed by Adam Alleca. Saban Films
Touched With Fire
Two bipolar poets drive each other to new extremes — both high and low. With Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby, Griffin Dunne. Written and directed by Paul Dalio.
Roadside Attractions
Zoolander No. 2
Dense supermodels Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald return in this sequel to the 2001 highfashion spoof. With Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell. Directed by Ben Stiller. Paramount Pictures
Feb. 19
Embrace of the Serpent
Two scientists befriend an Amazonian shaman, one of his people’s last survivors, over a 40-year period. With Jan Bijvoet, Brionne Davis, Nilbio Torres. Written by Ciro Guerra, Jacques Toulemonde Vidal. Directed by Guerra. Oscilloscope Laboratories
Forsaken
Retired gunslinger returns home to Wyoming only to find his town terrorized by railroad thugs intimidating ranchers to sell their land. With Kiefer Sutherland, Donald Sutherland, Demi Moore. Written by Brad Mirman. Directed by Jon Cassar. Momentum Pictures
Race
Track star Jesse Owens competes in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a living affront to Adolf Hitler’s ideas of Aryan supremacy. With Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons. Written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse. Directed by Stephen Hopkins. Focus Features
Risen
Rome orders a military tribune to investigate Jesus’ final weeks and quell a potential uprising in Jerusalem. With Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis. Written by Kevin Reynolds and Paul Aiello. Directed by Kevin Reynolds.
Screen Gems
Rolling Papers
Documentary on the Denver Post’s appointment of a marijuana editor after 2014 legalization of marijuana by Colorado. With Ricardo Baca, Greg Moore, Ry Prichard, Brittany Driver, Jake Browne. Directed by Mitch Dickman. Alchemy
Snowtime!
Animated musical based on the 1984 French Canadian film “La Guerre des Tuques” about children in a small town who pick sides for an epic snowball fight. With Sandra Oh, Ross Lynch, Angela Galuppo. Directed by Jean-François Pouliot; co-directed by François Brisson. Shout! Factory
Films
Viral
Two sisters are trapped when a citywide quarantine is enacted to shut down a parasitic virus. With Sophia Black D’Elia, Analeigh Tipton. Written by Barbara Marshall, Christopher Landon. Directed by Henry Joost, Ariel Shulman. Weinstein Co./Dimension
Feb. 26
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
Follow-up to the Oscarwinning 2000 martial arts hit is another epic tale set in China’s Qing Dynasty. With Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Harry Shum Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Roger Yuan, Eugenia Yuan, Natasha Liu Bordizzo. Written by John Fusco. Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping.
Netflix
Eddie the Eagle
Inspirational story of Eddie Edwards, the unlikely British ski jumper who captivated the world at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. With Taron Egerton, Christopher Walken and Hugh Jackman. Written by Sean Macaulay. Directed by Dexter Fletcher. 20th Century
Fox
Gods of Egypt
To save his true love, mortal hero Bek teams with god Horus to battle Set, the god of darkness, who illegitimately occupies the throne of Egypt. With Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman. Written by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless. Directed by Alex Proyas. Summit Entertainment
Jack of the Red Hearts
A teenage runaway masquerades as a trained caregiver and brings together, then jeopardizes, the family of an autistic girl. With AnnaSophia Robb, Famke Janssen, Scott Cohen. Written by Jennifer Deaton. Directed by Janet Grillo.
ARC Entertainment
King Georges
Filmmaker Erika Frankel documents Philadelphia restaurateur Georges Perrier as he attempts to first sell, then reinvent, his land-