OPENING THIS WEEK

“300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE” (R) (1:42) Stars Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey and Hans Matheson. Directed by Noam Murro. Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, the commander of the Persian navy. Based on Frank Miller’s novel “Xerxes.”

Opening at: Brunswick 10 (also in 3D); Nickelodeon (Portland); Nordica (Freeport) (also in 3D); Cinemagic Grand (South Portland); Cinemagic (Saco) (also in IMAX 3D); Cinemagic (Westbrook) (also in 3D); Smitty’s (Biddeford); Smitty’s (Sanford); Smitty’s (Windham)

“MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN” (PG) (1:32) Animated. Stars Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert and Leslie Mann. Directed by Rob Minkoff. The time-travelling adventures of the world’s the most accomplished dog and his adopted son continue when Sherman accidentally rips a hole in the universe and it must be fixed before all history is altered.

Opening at: Brunswick 10 (also in 3D); Nordica (Freeport) (also in 3D); Cinemagic Grand (South Portland); Cinemagic (Saco) (also in 3D); Cinemagic (Westbrook); Smitty’s (Biddeford); Smitty’s (Sanford); Smitty’s (Windham)

“THE INVISIBLE WOMAN” (R) (1:51) Stars Ralph Fiennes, Felicity Jones and Kristin Scott Thomas. Directed by Ralph Fiennes. At the height of his literary career, Charles Dickens meets Ellen Ternan, a younger, minimally talented actress who becomes his lover, enduring emotional cruelty and his determination to keep her secret during their stormy relationship.

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Opening at: Eveningstar (Brunswick)

“LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON” (Soshite Chichi Ni Naru) (NR) (2:00) Stars Masaharu Fukuyama, Yôko Maki, Jun Kunimura and Kirin Kiki. Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. Received the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival; with English subtitles. Businessman Ryota Nonomiya is forced to make a major decision when he learns his biological son was switched with another child at birth.

Opening at: Nickelodeon (Portland)

SPECIAL SHOWINGS

“THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: PRINCE IGOR” (NR) (4:30) Stars Ildar Abdrazakov. Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Borodin’s epic story of the founding of the Russian nation and the psychological journey through the mind of its conflicted hero.

Showing Thursday only at: Brunswick 10 (encore performance)

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“GIRL ON A BICYCLE” (R) (1:41) Stars Nora Tschirner aned Vincenzo Amato.

Showing Thursday only at: Cinemagic Grand (South Portland); Cinemagic (Saco)

“LAMB OF GOD’S AS THE PALACES BURN” (NR) (2:00) Stars Randy Blythe and Mark Morton. Band documentary.

Showing Tuesday only at: Cinemagic (Westbrook)

“THE BEST OF KEANE: LIVE FROM BERLIN” (NR) ( 1:40)

Showing Tuesday only at: Cinemagic Grand (South Portland); Cinemagic (Saco)

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ALSO SHOWING

“3 DAYS TO KILL” (PG 13) (1:53) Stars Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Connie Nielsen and Amber Heard. Directed by McG. While trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter, a dying Secret Service agent is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in return for one last assignment.

“12 YEARS A SLAVE” (R) (2:14) Stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael K. Williams, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. Directed by Steve McQueen. In upstate New York before the Civil War, Solomon Northup, a free black man, is abducted, sold into slavery and struggles to stay alive. Based on a true story.

“AMERICAN HUSTLE” (R) (2:18) Stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Directed by David Russell. A con man, along with his seductive British partner, work with a wild FBI agent who pushes them into a world of power brokers and mafia.

“ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES” (PG 13) (1:59) Stars Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and Christina Applegate. Directed by Adam McKay. Ron Burgundy returns to the news desk with his co-anchor and wife Veronica Corningstone, weatherman Brick Tamland, man on the street Brian Fantana and sports guy Champ Kind, ready to take the nation’s first 24-hour news channel by storm.

Also showing: “ANCHORMAN 2: SUPERSIZED”

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“ENDLESS LOVE” (PG 13) (1:43) Stars Gabriella Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Bruce Greenwood and Robert Patrick. Directed by Shana Feste. A young couple’s love affair becomes more reckless when her parents try to keep them apart.

“FROZEN” (PG) (1:42) Animated with the voices of Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff and Idina Menzel. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in a race to find Anna’s sister, Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter. Along the way they encounter severe conditions and the zany snowman, Olaf.

“HER” (R) (2:06) Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson. Directed by Spike Jonze. A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need.

“THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG” (PG-13) (2:41) Stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Ken Stott. Directed by Peter Jackson. The longstanding quest to reclaim their homeland, Erebor, has the dwarves, Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey continuing their adventure, and Bilbo is in possession of a mysterious magical ring.

“THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE” (PG 13) (2:26) Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games starts a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.

“IN SECRET (THERESE)” (R) (1:41) Stars Jessica Lange, Tom Felton and Elizabeth Olsen. Directed by Charlie Stratton. Paris in the 1860s finds Therese Raquin, a sexually repressed young woman, trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin.

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“THE LEGO MOVIE” (PG) (1:40) Stars Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Berry and Alison Brie. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Mistakenly thought to be the MasterBuilder, an ordinary LEGO minifigure joins a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together.

“LONE SURVIVOR” (R) (2:01) Stars Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch and Emile Hirsch. Directed by Peter Berg. Four members of SEAL Team 10 were assigned to capture or kill the notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shahd. Based on the failed 2005 mission “Operation Red Wings.”

“THE MONUMENTS MEN” (PG-13) (1:58) Stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett. Directed by George Clooney. A World War II platoon must rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.

“NON-STOP” (PG 13) (1:46) Stars Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Lupita Nyong’o and Anson Mount. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. After receiving a series of text messages that puts those on a trans-Atlantic flight in danger, an air marshal springs into action when demands are made to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account.

“THE NUT JOB” (PG) (1:25) Animated with the voices of stars Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Liam Neeson and Katherine Heigl. Directed by Peter Lepeniotis. Surly, the curmudgeonly squirrel, is banished from his park and forced to survive in the city, where he discovers Maury’s Nut Store just as winter approaches.

“PHILOMENA” (R) (1:34) Stars Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark and Mare Winningham. Directed by Stephen Frears. A journalist picks up the story of a woman’s search for her son, who was taken away from her decades earlier.

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“POMPEII” (PG 13) (1:45) Stars Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. As if it isn’t enough that Mount Vesuvius is erupting and destroying Pompeii, a former slave who has become a gladiator races to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman senator.

“RIDE ALONG” (PG-13) (1:39) Stars Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter and John Leguizamo. Directed by Tim Story. Ben, a fast-talking security guard, goes on police patrol in Atlanta with his brother-in-law James, all to prove himself worthy of marrying James’ sister.

“ROBOCOP” (PG 13) (2:01) Stars Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman. Directed by José Padilha. When good cop Alex Murphy is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp takes the opportunity to create a part-man, part-robot police officer.

“SON OF GOD” (PG 13) (2:18) Stars Diogo Morgado, Amber Rose Revah, Sebastian Knapp and Paul Knops. Directed by Christopher Spencer. The life story of Jesus is told from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

”STALINGRAD: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE” (R) (2:15) Stars Thomas Kretschmann and Pyotr Fyodorov. Directed by: Fyodor Bondarchuk. A band of determined Russian soldiers fight the German army to hold a strategic building in their devastated city in a battle that turned the tide of World War II.

“THE WIND RISES” (PG 13) (2:06) Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (Original title: “Kaze tachinu”). An animated look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II.

“WINTER’S TALE” (PG 13) (1:58) Stars Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. Directed by Akiva Goldsman. A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.

“THE WOLF OF WALL STREET” (R) ( 3:00) Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, P.J. Byrne and Jon Favreau. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise as a stockbroker to his fall involving crime, corruption and the government.


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