Here's a rundown of what's opening this weekend - as if anyone's going to go see anything other than 'Harry Potter.'
New and Noteworthy: 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I'
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes
Directed by: David Yates
What's It About? In the first half of the 'Potter' series' apocalyptic finale (Part II is due next summer), Harry, Ron and Hermione head toward a final confrontation with Voldemort while seeking the scattered fragments of the dark wizard's torn soul. Of course, they're still teenagers, so hormones do get in the way.
Why Should You See It? Uh, because everyone else you know will? Because the same writing/directing team behind the last couple of increasingly dark installments are behind this one? Because it's your (second-to-) last chance to see Harry Potter on the big screen?
You Might Like It If You Like: The first six 'Harry Potter' movies, Western civilization
•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•'Harry Potter' to Pass 'Star Wars' as Biggest Movie Franchise of All Time
•The Week in Geek: Five Great Things About 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I'
•'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I' NYC Premiere Red Carpet
•In Defense of Draco Malfoy
•Moviefone's Search for the Biggest Harry Potter Fan: Submit Your Video
•10 Things We Learned on the Set of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I'
•Reviews | Leonard Maltin's Review | Mr. Moviefone's Six Second Review
Also New: 'The Next Three Days' Starring: Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehy, Lennie James
Directed by: Paul Haggis
What's It About? Y'know, in the current real-life drama 'Conviction,' Hilary Swank gets her framed-for-murder brother out of jail by spending 18 years earning college and law degrees and working through the system. In this thriller, however, when Russell Crowe's wife (Banks) is convicted of murder, he gives up on the system after three years and plans to bust her out instead, with the help of a jailbreak expert (Neeson).
Why Should You See It? It's Russell Crowe and Liam Neeson in butt-kicking mode. It's directed and co-written by Paul Haggis, the screenwriter of the last two James Bond movies (and of course, the Oscar-winning 'Crash' and 'Million Dollar Baby'). Did we mention the part about Crowe and Neeson kicking butt?
You Might Like It If You Like: 'Taken,' 'Anything for Her' (the 2007 French film this one is adapted from), 'Proof of Life'
•Showtimes & Tickets
•Trailers & Clips
•Reviews
In Limited Release 'Made in Dagenham' is a drama loosely based on a real-life 1960s strike at a British auto plant that marked the first victory in the fight for equal pay for women. There's even been some Oscar talk for star Sally Hawkins ('Happy Go Lucky') .
Showtimes & Tickets
'Heartless' is a horror film starring Jim Sturgess ('21') as a loveless young man with a large facial birthmark who strikes a Faustian bargain after he discovers that his gritty London neighborhood really is hell on Earth, complete with thuggish demons.
Showtimes & Tickets
•'Unstoppable' - Runaway train loaded with explosives? Big deal. It's Denzel Washington, 55-year-old action hero, who's unstoppable. | Showtimes & Tickets
•'Morning Glory' - This backstage comedy set at a struggling morning news show seems to be pleasing audiences. Except, we'll bet, for Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson, who probably aren't too flattered by the mismatched, bickering anchors played by Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford. | Showtimes & Tickets
•'Fair Game' - Whether or not you agree with the movie's take that Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson were selfless public servants who endured a political firestorm for trying to unearth the the truth behind the stated rationales for the Iraq War, you'll appreciate the awards-worthy performances of Naomi Watts and Sean Penn as a couple undergoing an undeniably unique marital crisis. | Showtimes & Tickets
Staying In This Weekend?
New on DVD This Week: If you never bought Ebenezer Scrooge's yuletide conversion because you didn't find the ghosts scary enough to force a change of heart, then Disney's 'A Christmas Carol' is for you. Motion-capture animation allows director Robert Zemeckis to amp up the fantasy elements and icy chills of Charles Dickens' ghost story. If anything, it may be too scary for the youngest viewers, even with a full-of-humbug Jim Carrey as the voice of Scrooge. Buy or rent the DVD | More new DVD releases
Movie Homework: As 'Made in Dagenham' suggests, moviegoers like their labor heroes to be heroines. That includes such stand-up sisters as Meryl Streep in 'Silkwood' and Charlize Theron in 'North Country,' but most of all, Sally Field in 1979's 'Norma Rae.' Loosely inspired by the true story of a woman who fought abysmal working conditions in her local textile mill by unionizing it, the film contains an Oscar-winning performance by Field that's so iconic, even after three decades, that it was just parodied this week on 'Glee.' Only instead of standing on a table silently holding a sign that says, "UNION," Mercedes hoists one that says "TOTS," to protest the removal of the students' beloved potato puffs from the school cafeteria menu. Buy or rent the DVD
On My Netflix Queue: Since I can't afford a vacation at a French beach resort right now, I'll settle for a viewing of Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953), the sunniest and breeziest of all movie comedies, and the platonic ideal to which all other comedies about vacation mishaps aspire. Buy or rent the DVD
•Follow Gary Susman on Twitter @garysusman.
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