Admit One 1/13

Contraband

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas, Caleb Jones

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur

Plot: An infamous smuggler has to come out of retirement to help settle the debt of his brother in law, who botched a job for a ruthless drug dealer.

Rotten Tomatoes Freshness: 45%

Critic Consensus: “It’s more entertaining than your average January action thriller, but that isn’t enough to excuse Contraband’s lack of originality and unnecessarily convoluted plot”

Beauty and the Beast 3D

Starring: Paige O’Hara, Robbie Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury

Directed by: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Plot: A young woman takes the place of her father at the castle of the monstrous Beast but slowly befriends the castle’s magical furniture servants and sees the softer side of the Beast, which could help finally break the curse of the castle.

RT Freshness: 90%

Critic Consensus: “Enchanting, sweepingly romantic, and featuring plenty of wonderful musical numbers, Beauty and the Beast is one of Disney’s most elegant animated offerings”

Joyful Noise

Starring: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Courtney B. Vance

Directed by: Todd Graff

Plot: A pair of church rivals must come together to help their church’s choir win the huge National Joyful Noise Competition.

RT Freshness: 41%

Critic Consensus: “Joyful Noise’s musical numbers are solidly entertaining, and it benefits from Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton’s sizable chemistry; unfortunately, they aren’t enough to make up for the rest of the film”

The Iron Lady

Starring: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Harry Lloyd, Anthony Head, Roger Allam

Directed by: Phyllida Lloyd

Plot: The rise to power of Margaret Thatcher, the first and only Prime Minister of Britain.

RT Freshness: 55%

Critic Consensus: “Meryl Streep’s performance as The Iron Lady is reliably perfect, but it’s mired in bland, self-important storytelling”