‘Nymphomaniac’ eeee

Lars von Trier means to shock with his film about a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) recounting her tales of sex. But the story is intense and surprisingly funny in places. (Not rated — 118 minutes) (Barbara VanDenburgh) The big-screen adaptation of Markus Zusak’s bestselling book, about a book-obsessed girl coming of age in Nazi Germany, is solid and well-acted, and made especially moving thanks to marvelous performances by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. The film falls prey to some cheap sentimentality, but not enough to rob the tale of its potency. (PG-13 — 131 minutes) V.

‘Dallas Buyers Club’

This was unexpected: This is an actual good movie. Having Jennifer Lawrence back at its center helps immeasurably, of course, but new director Francis Lawrence is a big improvement, too. (PG-13 — 146 minutes) P, V.

‘The Jewish Cardinal’

Kevin Hart is a funny guy, but in Tim Story’s “Ride Along” he doesn’t often get the chance to be. He plays a security guard trying to win the approval of Ice Cube, a tough cop, so that he might ask the cop’s sister (Tika Sumpter) to marry him. Predictable, and not very funny. (PG-13 — 100 minutes) P, S, V.

‘RoboCop’ eee

Noam Murro takes over the director’s chair from Zack Snyder (who contributes to the script) for the sequel to “300.” Like the original, it’s a wishfulfillment fantasy for the juiced-up bodybuilder set, long on violence and short on brains. Only Eva Green as an evil Persian general has any fun. With Sullivan Stapleton. (R — 102 minutes) N, P, S, V.

‘Tim’s Vermeer’ eeeeg