Animas City Theatre
(128 E. College Drive, 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
(Wednesday only) This is the third in the “National Lampoon” series about the Griswold family. In this sequel, the Griswolds must deal with a holiday with their in-laws. Rated PG-13.
Room
Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, “Room” is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his Ma (Brie Larson) escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all – his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma Rated R.
Suffragette
Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep, lead the cast of a powerful drama about the women who were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality in early 20th-century Britain. The stirring story centers on Maud (Mulligan), a working wife and mother whose life is forever changed when she is secretly recruited to join the U.K.’s growing suffragette movement. Galvanized by the outlaw fugitive Emmeline Pankhurst (Streep), Maud becomes an activist for the cause alongside women from all walks of life. When increasingly aggressive police action forces Maud and her dedicated fellow suffragettes underground, they engage in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the authorities, who are shocked as the women’s civil disobedience escalates and sparks debate across the nation. Rated PG-13.
Gaslight Theatre
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Mediterranea
(Wednesday only) This remarkably timely, eye-opening film charts the death-defying struggle of African migrants as they risk everything to start a new life in Europe. Ayiva (first-time actor Koudous Seihon in a revelatory performance) and Abas (Alassane Sy) are close friends from Burkina Faso determined to make it to Italy in order to find work and provide for their families back home. But even after surviving the harrowing journey – desert bandits, a treacherous sea voyage, arrest – nothing can prepare the two men for the hostility and violence that awaits them. A gripping tale of survival told with vivid realism, “Mediterranea” immerses viewers in the heart of a humanitarian crisis that for far too many is a lived reality. Not rated.
Spotlight
The riveting true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation that would rock the city and cause a crisis in one of the world’s oldest and most trusted institutions. When the newspaper’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delve into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their yearlong investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world. Rated R.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
The rebels are close to winning the war. Peeta has been freed, but he’s been brainwashed by the Capitol into believing Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is a mutt, whom he must kill. This puts Katniss in danger and the two are separated as the rebels try to take over the Capitol. President Coin (Julianne Moore) and most of the surviving tributes, with the exception of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), decide collectively to let the Capitol have a taste of their own medicine by holding a final Hunger Games in which the children of Capitol leaders will be the tributes. Katniss still wants the right to personally kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland) once he is captured, but when the moment comes, she makes a surprising decision, one for which she may pay the ultimate price. Rated PG-13.
Durango Stadium 9
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresi nc.com)
In the Heart of the Sea
(Also available in 3-D with surcharge) In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. “Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down. Rated PG-13.
Krampus
When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus, a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing non-believers. All hell breaks loose as beloved holiday icons take on a monstrous life of their own, laying siege to the fractured family’s home and forcing them to fight for each other if they hope to survive. PG-13.
Creed
Exploring a new chapter in the “Rocky” story and stars Sylvester Stallone in his iconic role. Also stars Michael B. Jordan as the son of Apollo Creed. Rated PG-13.
The Good Dinosaur
(Also available in 3-D with surcharge) What if the asteroid that forever changed life on Earth missed the planet completely and giant dinosaurs never became extinct? Pixar Animation Studios takes you on an epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend. While traveling through a harsh and mysterious landscape, Arlo learns the power of confronting his fears and discovers what he is truly capable of. Rated PG .
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
The rebels are close to winning the war. Peeta has been freed, but he’s been brainwashed by the Capitol into believing Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is a mutt, whom he must kill. This puts Katniss in danger and the two are separated as the rebels try to take over the Capitol. President Coin (Julianne Moore) and most of the surviving tributes, with the exception of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), decide collectively to let the Capitol have a taste of their own medicine by holding a final Hunger Games in which the children of Capitol leaders will be the tributes. Katniss still wants the right to personally kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland) once he is captured, but when the moment comes, she makes a surprising decision, one for which she may pay the ultimate price. Rated PG-13.
The Night Before
Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have been friends since childhood, and for a decade, their yearly Christmas Eve reunion has been an annual night of debauchery and hilarity. Now that they’re entering adulthood, the tradition is coming to an end, and to make it as memorable as possible, they set out to find the Nutcracka Ball – the Holy Grail of Christmas parties. Rated R.
Spectre
A cryptic message from James Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre. Rated PG-13.
The Peanuts Movie
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the beloved “Peanuts” gang make their big-screen debut, like they’ve never been seen before, in state-of-the-art 3-D animation. Snoopy, the world’s most lovable beagle – and flying ace – embarks upon his greatest mission as he takes to the skies to pursue his arch-nemesis The Red Baron, while his best pal, Charlie Brown, begins his own epic quest. Rated PG.
