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Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross’s father has been shot in cold blood by the coward Tom Chaney, and she is determined to bring him to justice. Enlisting the help of a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, she sets out with him — over his objections — to hunt down Chaney. Her father’s blood demands that she pursue the criminal into Indian territory and find him before a Texas Ranger named LeBoeuf catches him and brings him back to Texas for the murder of another man.

The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

“I Love You Phillip Morris” is the improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman’s journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions — all in the name of love.

A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, Black Swan follows the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. Artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel, Mesrine) seems ready to cast her in the lead for his new production of Swan Lake, but she has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), impresses him as well. Thomas’ concept requires one dancer to play both the White Swan, with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her. Co-starring Barbara Hershey as Nina’s retired ballerina mother Erica, who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. Directed by visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Pi).

Life for John and Lara Brennan (Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks) is miserable after she is convicted of a murder she says she did not commit. Three years later while struggling with the demands of work and raising his son alone, John is still trying to establish her innocence. When her final appeal is rejected, Lara becomes suicidal, forcing John to exercise the only option he has left: Break her out of prison.

The first installment of the two-film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they search for the pieces of Voldemort’s (Ralph Fiennes) soul that he extracted from his being and hid in obscure locations both far and wide. If the trio is unable to locate and destroy them all, Voldemort will remain immortal. Despite their long friendship, a combination of dark forces, romantic tensions, and long-held secrets threaten to sabotage the mission.

Chris Morris’ Four Lions is a funny, thrilling comedy that illuminates modern jihadism through the prism of farce. What This Is Spinal Tap did for heavy metal and Dr. Strangelove the Cold War, Four Lions does for the modern face of terrorism. In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar is disillusioned about the treatment of Muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj has ever heard. Better still it’s a no-brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white Islamic convert Barry. He”d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism – if he had half the self-knowledge of a duck. Faisal is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now ‘cuz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper.” Instead, he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face? Crackling with wit and tension, Four Lions is the essential response to our failure to engage with reality and a high toast to the idea that laughter is better than killing.

Young Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) recounts in his famously confessional, leave-nothing-out style the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to the most timeless and electrifying work of his career, the poem “Howl.” Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, “Howl” is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while defense attorney Jake Ehrlich argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the fervently passionate. “Howl” mashes up genres and rides wild emotions as it reveals all the ways a fearless work of art impacted its creator and the world. Directed by Jeffrey Friedman. Starring James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Treat Williams, Bob Balaban.

Please note: this is West End Cinema’s opening weekend, as well as the opening weekend and only venue for Howl in the district; you should plan your ticket purchase accordingly.

Stanley Kubrick was 27 when he directed his third feature, creating one of film noir’s most influential works. This film marked a key transition between the end of the classic noir cycle of the ’40s and ’50s and the neonoir period of the ’60s and ’70s. Ex-con hard case Sterling Hayden assembles a crew of colorful lowlifes to pull off a daring daytime racetrack heist. Poor judgment, bad luck and a faithless wife conspire to undo their big score, and as things fall apart, this time-fractured puzzle of a story comes together. The screenplay was co-written by Kubrick and pulp great Jim Thompson; the sharp cinematography is by Lucien Ballard.

DIR/SCR Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel Clean Break by Lionel White; PROD James B. Harris. US, 1956, b&w, 85 min. NOT RATED

This film is being screened as part of the 2010 Film Noir Festival. Appearing in person will be Foster Hirsch of The Film Noir Foundation.

When a 20-something New York City photographer is contacted on Facebook by an 8-year-old painting prodigy from rural Michigan, he becomes deeply enmeshed in her life. He starts to correspond with her family and ends up having a cyber-romance with her older sister. That is, until a crack appears in her older sister’s story. Documentary.