(128 E. College Drive, 799-2281, www.animascitytheatre.com)
(5:30 and 8 p.m. Dec. 6 only) A film about bipolar disorder and opioid addiction as seen through the life of three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons. Irons struggled with the same demons millions of people worldwide battle with daily. Irons was an incredible presence on the world stage as the “People’s Champion.” He was the pride of Hawaii and revered around the world for his blue-collar rise to fame and success. However, many were unaware of his internal battles that led to his demise. As the opioid crisis rises to a national emergency in the United States, the untold story of Irons’ life serves to tear down the myths associated with these two ferocious diseases. Not rated.
(11 a.m. Saturday only) Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, “King Lear” sees two aging fathers – one a king, one his courtier – reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. Rated PG-13.
(12:55 p.m. Sunday only) On his wedding day, the young Scotsman James is awakened with a kiss from an ethereal winged creature, a Sylph. Entranced by her beauty, James risks everything to pursue an unattainable love. “La Sylphide” is one of the world’s oldest surviving ballets, and a treasure in Danish ballet master August Bournonville’s style. Staged for the Bolshoi by Bournonville expert Johan Kobborg, this production is the ultimate romantic masterpiece. Not rated.
Lee Israel is the best-selling celebrity biographer (and cat lover) who made her living in the 1970s and ’80s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estée Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee found herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace, she turned her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant). Rated R.
(102 Fifth St. Next to the railroad depot, 247-8133, www.allentheatresinc.com)
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for and discover that nothing is more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history. Rated PG-13.
A blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption, this is the story of four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. Set in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. “Widows” also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry. Rated R.
(Next to Durango Mall, 247-9799, www.allentheatresinc.com)
A shocking exorcism spirals out of control, killing a young woman. Months later, Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is working the graveyard shift in the morgue when she takes delivery of a disfigured cadaver. Locked alone inside the basement corridors, Megan begins to experience horrifying visions and starts to suspect that the body may be possessed by a ruthless demonic force. Rated R.
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for and discover that nothing is more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history. Rated PG-13.
Video-game bad guy Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) and best friend Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) leave the comforts of Litwak’s arcade in an attempt to save her game, Sugar Rush. Their quest takes them to the vast, uncharted world of the internet, where they rely on the citizens of the internet – the Netizens – to help navigate their way. Lending a virtual hand are Yesss (voice of Taraji P. Henson), the head algorithm and the heart and soul of the trend-making site “BuzzzTube,” and Shank (voice of Gal Gadot), a tough-as-nails driver from a gritty online auto-racing game called Slaughter Race, a place Vanellope wholeheartedly embraces – so much so that Ralph worries he may lose the only friend he’s ever had. Rated PG.
Robin of Loxley (Taron Egerton), a war-hardened Crusader, and his Moorish commander (Jamie Foxx) mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in an action-adventure packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography and a timeless romance. Rated PG-13.
At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured by Magical Congress of the United States of America, with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists his former student Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world. Rated PG-13.
When Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) decide to start a family, they stumble into the world of foster-care adoption. They hope to take in one small child, but when they meet three siblings, including a rebellious 15-year-old girl (Isabela Moner), they find themselves speeding from zero to three kids overnight. Now, Pete and Ellie must hilariously try to learn the ropes of instant parenthood in the hopes of becoming a family. Rated PG-13.
Each year at Christmas they disrupt his tranquil solitude with their increasingly bigger, brighter and louder celebrations. When the Whos declare they are going to make Christmas three times bigger this year, the Grinch realizes there is only one way for him to gain some peace and quiet: He must steal Christmas. To do so, he decides he will pose as Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, even going so far as to trap a lackadaisical misfit reindeer to pull his sleigh. Meanwhile, down in Who-ville, Cindy-Lou Who – a young girl overflowing with holiday cheer – plots with her gang of friends to trap Santa Claus as he makes his Christmas Eve rounds so that she can thank him for help for her overworked single mother. As Christmas approaches, however, her good-natured scheme threatens to collide with the Grinch’s more nefarious one. Rated PG.
A celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer, Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and shattered convention to become one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, their near-implosion as Mercury’s lifestyle spirals out of control and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music. Rated PG-13.
