AMERICAN SNIPER 3 stars. Bradley Cooper delivers a powerful turn as Chris Kyle, the real-life Navy SEAL credited with the most kills of any sniper in U.S. military history. Clint Eastwood directs this taut Iraq War-era drama, although the sequences with Kyle returning stateside are diminished by textbook scenarios of family dysfunction and discord. 2 hrs. 12 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea

ANNIE 2 1/2 stars. Ho-hum remake, and update, of the movie musical about a plucky orphan and the moneyed patriarch whose icy heart is toasted like campfire marshmallows once he lets the girl into his life. Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Quvenzhané Wallis is a charmer in the title role, Jamie Foxx, as the Daddy Warbucks-ian Will Stacks, is a cell phone mogul who, sadly, appears to be phoning his performance in. 1 hr. 58 PG (adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE BABADOOK 3 stars. From Australian director Jennifer Kent, an effectively creepy, darkly amusing look at the challenges of single-parenting. A horror story about a mother and her son, haunted and taunted by a picture book bogeyman come to life. It (ital)is(end ital) imaginary, isn’t it? 1 hr. 33 No MPAA rating (blood, bugs, things that go bump in the night) — Steven Rea

THE BETTER ANGELS 2 stars. Less a historical biopic than a cinematic tone poem, about the childhood days of Abraham Lincoln, growing up in backwoods Indiana, with his stern pop, his forgiving mom, and with plainfolk dropping by and standing just so, better to let the low-slung light cast halos around their heads. From Terrence Malick editor and protégé, A.J. Edwards. 1 hr. 35 PG (adult themes) — Steven Rea

BIG EYES 3 1/2 stars. Director Tim Burton finds his dream subject: husband and wife Walter and Margaret Keane, whose paintings of saucer-eyed waifs and tearful clowns were the kitsch hit of the ‘60s. He claimed the images as his, but she really made them, locked away in a studio like some Grimm Brothers unfortunate. Christoph Waltz and a great Amy Adams bring the couple to life in this wondrously strange true story about art, heartbreak and intellectual property theft. 1 hr. 45 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea

BIG HERO 6 2 1/2 stars. Set in a wonderfully realized near future San Francisco, this animated feature follows an adolescent robotics inventor and his puffy, inflatable companion. Disconcertingly violent and mature for a Disney kids’ film. 1 hr. 48 PG (violence) — David Hiltbrand

BIRDMAN 4 stars. Michael Keaton is a faded Hollywood star trying to reclaim his career by mounting a Broadway drama in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s fierce, funny, breathless dive inside the head of a man in deep trouble. An exhilarating, out-of-the-blue masterwork that ranks as not just one of the best films of the year, but of the decade, the century. With Edward Norton, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts. 1 hr. 59 R (profanity, violence, sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea

BLACKHAT 2 stars. A moody cyber noir with not much on its mind but looking good, Michael Mann’s thriller is a must-see if you like your dialogue (romantic, dramatic, subtitled Cantonese) peppered with techspeak. When Chris Hemsworth _ yes, the mighty Thor, this time an ace hacker sprung from jail to help the Feds crack an internet terrorist ring _ incants stuff like “remote access tool,” “memory dump” and “externally firewalled,” you’re certain to swoon. Or not. 2 hrs. 13 R (violence, profanity, sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea

CITIZENFOUR 2 1/2 stars. Director Laura Poitras enjoyed remarkable accessibility to whistleblower Edward Snowden as he was leaking the documents that revealed just how much private information our government has been gathering on its citizens. A documentary with strong if limited appeal. 1 hr. 54 R (profanity) — David Hiltbrand

DIPLOMACY 3 1/2 stars. Niels Arestrup and André Dussollier are electrifying in Volker Schlöndorff’s tense, suspenseful adaptation of the WWII play by Cyril Gely. It’s a fact-based account of the Swedish diplomat (Dussollier) who on the morning of Aug. 25, 1944, persuaded Paris’ otherwise draconian Nazi governor, Général von Choltitz, to disobey Hitler’s direct order to use bombs and mines to grind the City of Light into rubble before the Allies capture it. 1 hr. 25 No MPAA rating (shocking subject matter, violence) — Tirdad Derakhshani

FORCE MAJEURE 3 1/2 stars. Sweden’s official entry in the foreign-language Oscar race finds a family vacationing in the French Alps, where husband and wife are put to the test following a jarring event. Cannes-winning filmmaker Ruben Ostlund shows us that sometimes there is an unbridgeable gap between image and reality. 1 hr. 58 R (profanity, brief nudity) — Tirdad Derakhshani

FOXCATCHER 4 stars. Steve Carell, sporting an aquiline nose and a marionette’s gait, morphs into Newtown Square multimillionaire John du Pont, a self-styled coach and sponsor of American wrestling. By inviting Olympic gold medalists Dave and Mark Schultz (Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum) to live and train on his estate, du Pont invited disaster, too. Bennett Miller directs this slow-burning, brilliant account of a real-life tragedy. 2 hrs. 14 R (violence, profanity, drugs, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE GAMBLER 2 1/2 stars. A disappointing if passable remake of James Caan’s 1974 gem, this existential thriller stars Mark Wahlberg as a fatalistic, self-destructive literature professor who dazzles students by day (especially a coed played by Brie Larson) while throwing his life away at shady gambling joints at night. Co-stars Jessica Lange, Michael K. Williams and John Goodman. 1 hr. 51 R (profanity, sexuality, some nudity) — Tirdad Derakhshani

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES 2 stars. The third and final installment in Peter Jackson’s bloated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s wondrous 1937 children’s book takes the climactic conflagration and turns it into a giant screen videogame of clashing CGI legions, of dialogue as hoary as it is hilarious. “We attack at dawn!” 2 hrs. 24 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE HOMESMAN 3 stars. Tommy Lee Jones stars with Hilary Swank, and directs, this strangely affecting western, about the wary partnership between a grizzled claim jumper and the farm woman, a spinster, who agrees to take three mentally disturbed women from Nebraska to Iowa — a rugged journey of many weeks across land occupied by Indians and thieves. 2 hrs. R (profanity, violence, sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE IMITATION GAME 3 stars. A gripping story, a sad story, a true story, about British mathematician Alan Turing, who led the team of Brits during World War II trying to crack the German’s daunting Enigma encryption machine. Secretly gay, this unsung hero’s life was brought to grievous conclusion. Benedict Cumberbatch stars (another remarkable performance), with Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea

INHERENT VICE 2 1/2 stars. Paul Thomas Anderson moves his hands through a cloud of cannabis smoke (figuratively speaking) to capture a psychedelic slice of stoner life in 1970 Southern California. The source material is Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 mashup of Ramond Chandler and Cheech and Chong, and the director goes at the book reverently — and still, somehow, it comes out wrong. Joaquin “Mumble” Phoenix stars as the fuzzy-headed private eye hero. 2 hrs. 28 R (drugs, sex, nudity, profanity, violence, adult themes) — Steven Rea

INTERSTELLAR 3 stars. Matthew McCoanughey leads an intergalactic expedition, searching for a new home for humankind, having turned our planet into a Dust Bowl of doom. Anne Hathaway is along for the ride, and Michael Caine, Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck figure into the equation back on Earth. A cinematic experience to be sure, but lofty queries about quantum physics and the human spirit are weighed down in sci-fi cliches, in default-mode dialogue and characters rendered in two-dimensions, never mind the fourth and fifth dimensions everyone is talking about. 2 hrs. 49 PG-13 (violence, intense space travel sequences, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE INTERVIEW 3 stars. Beyond the North Korean sponsored cyber attack and terroristic threats against theaters who screened it, Seth Rogen’s political satire is crazy funny. A supercharged, wonderfully super-freaky James Franco stars as the host of a celeb reporter who scores an interview with the supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un. Co-writer, co-director and co-star Rogen is terrific as Franco’s best friend and producer, while Masters of Sex’ Lizzy Caplan is scintillating and playful as the sexy CIA officer who preps them to assassinate Kim. Thoroughly crude, rude and profane, the film also is surprisingly well-written and clever. 1 hr. 52 R (profanity, sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use) — Tirdad Derakhshani

INTO THE WOODS 3 stars. A jolly mashup of symbol-laden, signature once-upon-a-time tales about lust, envy, greed, and misguided pursuits of happiness. Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick et al have fun with the rat-tat-tat rhymes and polygraphic melodies of the James Lapine/Stephen Sodheim musical from which this all sprung. 2 hrs. 04 PG (scary creatures, adult themes) — Steven Rea

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ 3 1/2 stars. This impressive documentary examines jazz legend Clark Terry and his mentorship of blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin. 1 hr. 26 R (profanity) — Dan DeLuca

MR. TURNER 4 stars. Mike Leigh’s meticulously observed chronicle of the last quarter in the life of the British artist J..M.W. Turner, with Timothy Spall grunting, grimacing and deeply moving as the son of a London barber who becomes one of the great painters of his time. Of any time. 2 hrs. 30 R (sex, adult themes) — Steven Rea

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB 2 1/2 stars. The third and promised final chapter in the hit franchise about a bunch of museum figures come-to-life and the adventures that ensue. Ben Stiller leads the cast, making a trip to London so new characters and new scenarios can transpire. Robin Williams is back as Teddy Roosevelt, and newcomers include Dan Stevens as Lancelot and Rebel Wilson as a museum guard. 1 hr. 37 PG (monkey urination, adult themes) — Steven Rea

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR 2 1/2 stars. Insistently antic and intermittently clever spinoff of the DreamWorks Animation Madagascar franchise, with feathered, flappered, flightless heroes Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private caught up in global intrigue and groaningly bad punnery involving a gigantically obnoxious purple octopus (the voice of John Malkovich) bent on revenge. 1 hr. 32 PG (cartoon mayhem, adult themes) — Steven Rea

POINT AND SHOOT 3 stars. Fascinating, far-reaching documentary about Matthew VanDyke, a Baltimore native who embarked on a “crash course in manhood,” taking a solo motorcycle trek across the Middle East and joining up with rebel fighters in the Libyan civil war. 1 hr. 23 No MPAA rating (war footage, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE PYRAMID An archaeological team finds trouble when they attempt to unlock the secrets of a mysterious pyramid. — Not Previewed

SELMA 3 1/2 stars. A powerful, poignant restaging of a crucial time in American history, and the figure at its center: Martin Luther King, Jr. David Oyelowo brings the Civil Rights leader to life with nuance and grace, and if director Ava DuVernay’s decision to portray LBJ (Tom Wilkinson) as an antagontistic force has drawn criticism and controversy, that’s almost beside the point. What matters is the depiction of King, and the portrait of a country in the throes of racial conflict. 2 hrs. 07 R (violence, profanity, racial epithets, adult themes) — Steven Rea

TAKEN 3 1 star. Liam Neeson returns in this superfluous action sequel. But this time he has no one to rescue but himself. The Taken formula isn’t the only thing that doesn’t work in this noisesome (let us hope) finale. 1 hr. 49 PG-13 (violence, profanity) — David Hiltbrand

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING 3 1/2 stars. The life, and loves, of British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking are given keen, poignant treatment in Oscar-winner James Marsh’s film, starring Eddie Redmayne as Hawking, and Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde, the student he meets at Cambridge and falls for (and visa versa). Then, the challenge of the disease that cripples Hawking’s body. 2 hrs. 03 PG-13 (adult themes) — Steven Rea

TOP FIVE 3 1/2 stars. Chris Rock proves he’s as brilliant a film auteur as a stand-up comic with this sharp romantic dramedy which he also wrote and directed. He plays a disillusioned comic who’s in NY to promote his first serious film, an earnest if terrible story about slavery. Rosario Dawson is terrific as a reporter who forces the self-indulgent star to face up to his demons. Gabrielle Union is wonderfully sleazy as Rock’s narcissistic reality star fiancée. 1 hr. 41 R (strong sexual content, nudity, crude humor, profanity, drug use) — Tirdad Derakhshani

UNBROKEN 1 1/2 stars. Based on the life of Louis Zamperini, an airman who suffered greatly in WWII. You’ll know how he felt after enduring this long, grim grinder directed by Angelina Jolie. 2 hrs. 17 PG-13 (violence, brutality, profanity) — David Hiltbrand

WHIPLASH 3 1/2 stars. Miles Teller (the student) and J.K. Simmons (the teacher) star in Damien Chazelle’s propulsive drama about an aspiring jazz musician’s torturous mentorship at a prestigious New York conservatory. It’s a hyperventilated nightmare about artistic struggle and ambition — as much a horror movie as it is a keenly realized indie about jazz, about art, about what it takes to claim greatness. 1 hr. 46 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) — Steven Rea

WILD 3 stars. Reese Witherspoon, wholly committed and wholly convincing, is Cheryl Strayed, the bestselling memoirist who hiked 1,100 miles, from the Mojave to the Cascades, to try to right a life gone terribly wrong. Blistered, bloodied feet were a sure thing; self-discovery less so. In the end, Strayed got both. 1 hr. 55 R (sex, nudity, profanity, drugs, adult themes) — Steven Rea

THE WOMAN IN BLACK 2: ANGEL OF DEATH Not Previewed. “She never forgives / She always comes back / And there’s no escaping / The woman in black.” A sequel to the British horror drama of 2012, about a spooky old house and the young lawyer (Daniel Radcliffe) who comes to put things in order (ha!). From the legendary Hammer Films, the follow-up takes place during World War II, and Harry Potter does not appear. Rising Brit star Phoebe Fox does. PG-13

THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT 3 stars. Set in the 1970s in a small Appalachian town in North Carolina still haunted by the Civil War, this lyrical, gorgeously-shot adaptation of the Ron Rash novel is a somber, tragic object lesson about how the most powerful stabilizing forces in our lives – our history, genealogy, family and land – can turn into deadly traps. Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) stars as Travis, a high school dropout poisoned by a despairing, bleak view beaten into him by his father. 1 hr. 59 R (profanity, violence, sexual violence, partial nudity) — Tirdad Derakhshani