At area theaters
72 ANNABELLE, R This prequel to The Conjuring shows how the evil doll (now locked up in an occult museum in Connecticut and visited only by a priest who blesses it twice a month) became a conduit to the damned via an entity conjured up by satanic cultists who violently attack the couple who purchased it. With Annabelle Wallis, Ward Horton; directed by John Leonetti. (98 minutes)
81 THE BOXTROLLS, PG A community of quirky, mischievous underground creatures have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy (voice of Isaac Hempstead Wright), who must go above ground to save them from a villain (voice of Ben Kingsley) plotting to get rid of the Boxtrolls. Animated. (97 minutes)
89 DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, PG-13 A band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier face off against the growing nation of genetically evolved apes on the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species. (130 minutes)
78 DOLPHIN TALE 2, PG Another true story inspired by the life of Winter the dolphin (a resident of the Clearwater, Fla., Marine Aquarium who plays herself in the film), with a new baby dolphin named Hope who was rescued by the aquarium in 2010. (107 minutes)
77 THE EQUALIZER, R Denzel Washington plays a guy who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and begun a new, quiet life -- until he feels obligated to come out of self-imposed retirement and help a young girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters. (131 minutes)
78 THE EXPENDABLES 3, PG-13 Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and the rest of the team face off against the Expendables co-founder turned villain (Mel Gibson) by bringing in new blood: younger, faster and more tech-savvy. (126 minutes)
77 GET ON UP, PG-13 Chadwick Boseman plays James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," in this bio-pic. (138 minutes)
75 THE GIVER, PG-13 Based on Lois Lowry's young adult novel. Brenton Thwaites plays a young man who, when he begins to spend time with the sole keeper of all the community's memories (Jeff Bridges), begins to discover the dark and deadly truths of their seemingly ideal and contented secret past. (94 minutes)
85 GONE GIRL, R Ben Affleck plays a husband who reports his wife (Rosamund Pike) missing on their fifth wedding anniversary, but pressure from police and a growing media frenzy start to eat at his portrait of a blissful union and suspicions begin to arise that he may have done away with her. With Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Kim Dickens; directed by David Fincher. (149 minutes)
87 THE GOOD LIE, PG-13 A humanitarian brings to America 3,600 so-called "Lost Boys" (and girls) orphaned by the brutal civil war in Sudan that began in 1983. With Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll and Sudanese actors Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal; directed by Philippe Falardeau. (110 minutes)
90 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, PG-13 Another Marvel marvel: A brash human adventurer (Chris Pratt), after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe, joins up with a quartet of disparate misfits to sidestep an unrelenting bounty hunt and ... yep, you guessed it ... guard the galaxy. (121 minutes)
87 HERCULES, PG-13 In this revisionist take on the classic Greek myth, from the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, Hercules (Dwayne Johnson), having completed his 12 labors and haunted by a sin from his past, has become the leader of a band of mercenaries. But when the benevolent ruler of Thrace and his daughter seek his help to defeat a savage and terrifying warlord, he must once again become the hero he once was and embrace his own myth. (98 minutes)
80 IF I STAY, PG-13 Chloe Grace Moretz plays a young woman whose choice of whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or be with the love of her life (Jamie Blackley) changes in an instant; caught between life and death for one revealing day, she faces a completely different decision. (106 minutes)
79 INTO THE STORM, PG-13 A storm chaser goes to extremes for that once-in-a-lifetime shot while others seek shelter as a town is ravaged by an unprecedented onslaught of tornadoes. (89 minutes)
70 LEFT BEHIND, PG-13 Nicolas Cage plays an airline pilot who, just hours after the Rapture has caused millions of people around the globe to simply vanish, is 30,000 feet over the Atlantic with a damaged plane, terrified passengers and a desperate desire to get back to his family. With Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Whelan, Lea Thompson, Jordin Sparks, Quinton Aaron, Martin Klebba; directed by Vic Armstrong. (110 minutes)
68 LET'S BE COPS, R Two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party and become neighborhood sensations, but they'll have to put their fake badges on the line when they become entangled in a real-life web of mobsters and dirty detectives. (104 minutes)
90 LOVE IS STRANGE, R Ben and George finally marry after 39 years together; when the Catholic school where he's had a longtime job fires George, they can no longer afford their lower Manhattan apartment and finding temporary housing -- George with the two gay cops next door, Ben in Brooklyn with his nephew, the nephew's wife, Kate, and their teenage son -- tests the resilience and relationships of all involved. With Marisa Tomei, John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Cheyenne Jackson, Charlie Tahan; directed by Ira Sachs. (94 minutes)
75 LUCY, R Scarlett Johansson plays a woman who, when an experiment turns her into a merciless warrior beyond human logic, turns the tables on her captors. (90 minutes)
83 MALEFICENT, PG In this prequel/remake of Sleeping Beauty from the villain's point of view, Angelina Jolie plays the title role of a beautiful young woman who, after a ruthless betrayal begins to turn her pure heart to stone, becomes bent on revenge and places a curse upon the newborn infant of her persecutor's successor. (97 minutes)
78 THE MAZE RUNNER, PG-13 A young man (Dylan O'Brien) finds himself trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys. With no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization, he must piece together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape. (113 minutes)
83 MY OLD LADY, PG-13 A man inherits an apartment in Paris from his estranged father -- and also the apartment's feisty elderly tenant, who is not prepared to budge, and her daughter, who, it turns out, shares with him a common ground of childhood pain and neglect. (107 minutes)
68 NO GOOD DEED, PG-13 A charming stranger (Idris Elba) terrorizes and subsequently threatens the life of a devoted mother of two (Taraji P. Henson) and her family. (84 minutes)
71 PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE, PG World famous air racer Dusty (voice of Dane Cook) learns that his engine is damaged and he may never race again, shifts gears and enters the world of aerial firefighting, joining a dynamic crew of elite firefighting aircraft devoted to protecting historic Piston Peak National Park from raging wildfire -- including spirited super scooper Dipper (voice of Julie Bowen). (83 minutes)
83 THE SONG, PG-13 An aspiring singer-songwriter (Alan Powell), struggling to escape the long shadow of his country-music legend father, writes a breakout hit that leads to stardom and a world of temptation that endangers his new marriage. (112 minutes)
78 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, PG-13 Four outcast brothers rise from the sewers and work with a fearless reporter (Megan Fox) and her wisecracking cameraman (Will Arnett) to save New York and unravel the evil Shredder's (Tohoru Masamune) diabolical plan. (101 minutes)
83 THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, R After the death of their father, four grown siblings must return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother (Jane Fonda) and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. (103 minutes)
82 TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION, PG-13 As humanity picks up the pieces after an epic battle that destroyed a great city but saved the world, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history and an ancient, powerful new menace threatens Earth. (157 minutes)
77 A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, R Liam Neeson plays an ex-New York cop working as an unlicensed private investigator who reluctantly agrees to help a heroin trafficker (Dan Stevens) hunt down the men who kidnapped and brutally murdered his wife. (113 minutes)
78 WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL, PG Jim Caviezel plays the coach who took a high school football team from obscurity to a record-shattering 151-game winning streak. (115 minutes)
MovieStyle on 10/10/2014