Film Clips: What’s in theaters?

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Daniel Radcliffe, in his first post-‘Harry Potter’ outing, sees dead people in the supernatural thriller “The Woman in Black.” Janet McTeer and Ciaran Hinds co-star in the film directed by James Watkins (“Eden Lake”).

Updated: February 7, 2012 11:16AM

OPENING FRIDAY

BIG MIRACLE

Rated: PG for language

Stars: John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore

A small-town Alaskan news reporter (Krasinski) enlists his Greenpeace volunteer ex-girlfriend (Barrymore) in a campaign to rescue a family of whales trapped by rapidly forming ice. Ken Kwapis (“He’s Just Not That into You”) directed the romantic adventure.

CHRONICLE

Rated: PG-13 for intense action and violence, thematic material, some language, sexual content and teen drinking

Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Alex Russell

When three high-school friends make a discovery that accidently gives them super powers, their new abilities spin their lives out of control. Josh Trank (TV’s “The Kill Point”) directed the action drama.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

Rated: PG-13 for thematic material and violence/disturbing images

Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds

When a young lawyer (Radcliffe) travels to a remote English village to settle an estate, he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman haunting the town. James Watkins (“Eden Lake”) directed the supernatural thriller.

STILL PLAYING

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN

Rated: PG for action-adventure violence, some drunkenness and brief smoking

Stars: Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis

A young adventurer (Bell) becomes involved in a race for maps leading to sunken treasure with the sea-captain descendant (Serkis) of a mariner who scuttled his ship to keep it from pirates. Steven Spielberg directed the motion-capture animated adventure based on stories by the Belgian comic-book artist Herge.

ALBERT NOBBS ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: R for some sexuality, brief nudity, and language

Stars: Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Mia Wasikowska

“I think you are the strangest man I have ever met,” says chambermaid Helen (Mia Wasikowska) to Mr. Nobbs while courting in 19th-century Dublin — and she has no idea how right she is. For one thing, Mr. Nobbs (Glenn Close) is a woman, disguised as a man for employment and safety; for another, he has spent so many years living a lie he has become a virtual non-entity — a cipher even to himself. In addition to her peculiar, exquisitely subtle, Oscar-nominated performance, Close produced and co-wrote the screenplay to this odd, painful, but ultimately moving indie drama, directed with quiet restraint by Rodrigo Garcia (“Mother and Child”). Two things conspire to lure Mr. Nobbs out of the safety of his self-effacing existence: Realizing he has finally saved enough money to buy a small shop and meeting another man like himself (Janet McTeer, also Oscar nominated for her scene-stealing performance) who has a beautiful wife and a loving home. It’s clear early on that things will not end well when he tries to follow suit, but the tragic developments don’t unfold in entirely predictable fashion or with grim heavy-handedness. Instead, there’s a sort of lightness and open-endedness at the conclusion that could almost pass for hope.

THE ARTIST

Rated: PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture

Stars: John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo

A silent-movie star (Dujardin) worried about the effect sound movies will have on his career falls in love with a young dancer (Bejo). Michel Hazanavicius (“OSS 117”) directed the romance. In French with subtitles.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Rated: G

Stars: Jerry Orbach, Angela Lansbury, Robby Benson

After conquering Broadway, Disney’s 1991 animated classic returns for a victory lap — in 3-D yet.

CARNA GE★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: R for language

Stars: Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz

Roman Polanski’s adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s savagely satirical Tony-winning dark comedy isn’t nearly as funny as the brilliant production mounted last year at the Goodman Theatre, but it’s got the savage thing down cold. That will probably please Reza, who intends her dissections of bourgeoise pretense (as in her 1998 Tony-winner “Art”) to be tragedies and is annoyed when her victims find them amusing. Essentially a comedy of inadequate manners, “Carnage” pits two sets of upper-middle-class parents against each other in an attempt to deal like civilized adults with a schoolyard fight between their two 11-year-old sons. Very soon, polite discussion devolves into open hostility, projectile vomiting, heavy drinking and generally appalling behavior that leaves no one unscathed. If you’re conflict-averse, this may not be for you, but it’s a wicked treat watching Reilly, Foster, Waltz and Winslet revel in Reza’s scathing dialogue — especially Foster, whose turn as a holier-than-thou liberal humanitarian gradually giving in to apoplectic rage must be seen to be believed.

CONTRABAND

Rated: R for violence, pervasive language and brief drug use

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale

After going straight, a former smuggler (Wahlberg) is drawn back into the trade to make good on a deal botched by his brother-in-law — and to protect his wife (Beckinsale). Icelandic actor/director Baltasar Kormakur (“The Sea”) directed the crime drama.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY C LOSE★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language

Stars: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Viola Davis

“Only humans can cry tears,” notes young Oscar (Horn), the precocious young protagonist of this fine-pedigreed yet frustratingly hit-and-miss 9/11 drama. The strange thing about “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” director Stephen Daldry’s (“Billy Elliot,” “The Reader”) adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s controversial 2005 novel, is that it can make you feel one way one moment and the other the next. You may ultimately wind up feeling more moved than unmoved, but there’s also a real possibility that the two extremes will merely cancel each other out. Gradually, Oscar’s encounters begin to appear as a sort of tapestry of shared loss, with a few simple moments, here and there, that ring true — despite the filter of whimsy. Especially when an old man who may or may not be his grandfather (Max von Sydow, excellent), joins him on his search. For every moment that works well, though, there are a couple that don’t quite make it — and for a subject like this one, not quite is not good enough.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Rated: R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language

Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard

A magazine publisher (Craig) joins forces with a computer hacker (Mara) to track down a serial murderer. David Fincher (“The Social Network”) directed.

THE GREY

Rated: R for violence/disturbing content, including bloody images, and for pervasive language

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo

The leader of a tough team of oil drillers (Neeson) tries to save his men after a plane crash in Alaska exposes them to the elements and marauding wolves. Joe Carnahan (“The A Team”) co-wrote and directed the adventure.

HUGO★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking

Stars: Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jude Law

The most flamboyantly cinematic film in director Martin Scorsese’s long career, “Hugo” is a gorgeous and dazzling movie to behold. “Hugo” is all about secrets and dreams and work and family and time and magic and movies, especially about movies.

THE IRON LADY

Rated: PG-13 for some violent images and brief nudity

Stars: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent

Years after being forced out of office, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reflects on her life and the sacrifices she made for power. Phyllida Lloyd (“Mamma Mia”) directed the bio-drama. Reviewed in this section.

JOYFUL NOISE

Rated: PG-13 for some language including a sexual reference

Stars: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer

The star performers (Latifah and Parton) of a small-town church choir have conflicting ideas about the best way to participate in a national competition. Todd Graff (“Bandslam”) wrote and directed the comedy.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Rated: R for brutal violent content including rape and torture, strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language

Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgard

A magazine publisher (Craig) joins forces with a computer hacker (Mara) to track down a serial murderer. David Fincher (“The Social Network”) directed this remake of the hit Swedish film based on the bestsellers of Stieg Larsson.

MAN ON A LEDGE

Rated: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language

Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell

A police psychologist (Banks) attempts to talk an ex-con (Worthington) down off a ledge, and eventually becomes involved in his tale of an about-to-occur diamond heist. Asger Leth (“Ghosts of Cite Soleil”) directed the crime drama.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — GHOST PROTOCOL

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton

When they are shut down after being falsely accused of an attack on the Kremlin, the IMF team goes rogue to restore its reputation. Brad Bird (“Up,” “The Incredibles”) directed.

W AR HORSE★ ★ ★

Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of war violence

Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan

Steven Spielberg’s epic World War I drama about the soul-connection between a farm boy and a thoroughbred stallion-turned-plowhorse-turned-wartime-beast-of-burden, is beautifully crafted, grand in scope and deeply moving at its best. Two things, though, prevent “War Horse” from achieving the sort of emotional impact Spielberg is famous for: A storyline that struggles to reconcile material best suited for young audiences, a la “E.T.,” with hard-hitting anti-war statements, a la “Saving Private Ryan”; and a detached point of view that makes it difficult to identify closely with any of the characters. That said, “War Horse” is never less than visually dazzling, and its pacifist message, along with the general idea that life is precious, regardless of class or nationality or species, are driven home by effective performances across the board.