Margin Call

Investment-firm analyst Peter Sullivan uncovers sensitive information that could easily plunge the entire business into peril, inadvertently destroying the lives and careers of his colleagues in this tense thriller set during the onset of the 2008 financial crisis. Over the course of the next 24 hours, Sullivan realizes that the decisions he makes will not only affect the employees of the firm, but the lives of everyday Americans from coast to coast as well. Director: J.C. Chandor. Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley and Demi Morre. Rated: R. Time: 1:46.

LOL

Starting a new year of high school, Lola, (or “Lol,” as her friends call her), works to find the right balance between family, school, friends and romance. Broken-hearted by her ex, Lol’s world is soon turned upside down when she realizes her best friend could possibly be the love of her life. In her quest towards independence, self-identity and young adulthood, Lol discovers that while Facebook “status” is easy to change; true relationships are worth the effort. Director: Lisa Azuelos. Cast: Miley Cyrus, Demi Moore, Ashley Greene, Douglas Booth, Adam G. Sevani. Rated: PG-13. Time: 1:47.

Looper

A hired gun from the future discovers that his greatest adversary is himself in this twisting sci-fi mindbender. In the year 2047 time travel has yet to be invented. Thirty years later, however, it has. Though immediately outlawed, time-travel technology is quickly appropriated by the mob, and used to cleanly dispose of anyone deemed a threat. The process is simple: When the mob wants someone to disappear, they simply send them back to the year 2047, where an assassin known as a “looper” quickly carries out the hit, and disposes of the body. Joe Simmons is one of the most respected loopers around. Each kill earns him a big payday, and he’s got big plans to retire to France. Then, one day, as Joe patiently awaits the appearance of his next target near the edge of a remote corn field, he’s shocked to come face-to-face with his future self. When the younger Joe hesitates, the older Joe makes a daring escape. Now, in order to avoid the wrath of his underworld boss, young Joe must “close the loop” and kill his older counterpart. Director: Rian Johnson. Cast: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan. Rated: R. Time: 1:59.

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

This apocalyptic comedy follows two neighbors who set out for one last road trip after learning that a massive asteroid will wipe out all life on Earth in just three weeks. Dodge and Penny are both having a very bad day. Shell-shocked after hearing that the last hope of destroying the massive asteroid on a collision course with Earth has failed, Dodge watches helplessly as his wife bounds out of their car and vanishes into the night. Later, as the now-reluctant loner ponders what to do with his remaining time on the doomed planet, sobbing waif Penny appears at his window lamenting her breakup with self-centered boyfriend Owen. When the sun rises the following morning, the two neighbors who had barely exchanged passing glances in the hallway have forged a tenuous yet very real connection. Tensions rise, however, when Dodge learns that Penny inadvertently received an inviting love letter from the ex he’s always loved, and that she failed to give it to him before all of mankind was doomed to a catastrophic fate. When Dodge announces a plan to reconnect with his ex while he still has the time, guilt-ridden Penny vows to help him accomplish his goal at all costs. But the more time this mismatched pair spend on the road together, the more their journey takes on a new meaning — one that neither could have ever seen coming, but which both sense was the way things were meant to be. Director: Lorene Scafaria. Cast: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Connie Britton, Adam Brody, Rob Corddry. Rated: R. Time: 1:41.

The Apparition

A tale of two young college students who are conducting a paranormal experiment when they unleash a terrifying supernatural force that thrives on fear. Director: Todd Lincoln. Cast: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill, Rick Gomez. PG-13.  Time: 1:22.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

A president who kicks butt. If only the debates featured this man. Abraham Lincoln is reinvented as a vampire-killing president. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” author Seth Grahame-Smith adapted his own book for 20th Century Fox.

The film follows Lincoln who as a boy lives with his parents on a plantation. His mother Nancy is killed by the plantation overseer, Barts, ­ who, unknown to Lincoln, is a vampire. Lincoln attacks the man nine years later and is almost killed, is rescued by Henry Sturgess, who teaches Lincoln to be a vampire hunter.

Years later, Lincoln marries Mary in Springfield, Illinois and begins his political career, campaigning to abolish slavery. Sturgess warns Lincoln that the slave trade keeps vampires under control, as vampires use slaves for food, and if Lincoln interferes, the vampires will retaliate. Once Lincoln is elected president and the war has begun, Confederate President Jefferson Davis convinces the south’s head vampire to deploy his gouls on the front lines, which is in his interest, as he plans to turn the United States into a nation of the undead.

Lincoln orders the confiscation of all the silverware in the area and has it melted to produce silver weapons, which can kill vampires.Confederate vampires stage a final, massive assault and are met head on by Union forces. Armed with their silver weapons, the Union soldiers destroy the vampires and win the war.

Director: Timur Bekmambetov. Cast:Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell. Rated: R. Time: 1:45.

House at the End of the Street

A teenager and her mother move to a new town and make a gruesome discovery about the house next door in this tale of terror. Shortly after learning that the neighboring house was recently the scene of a horrific double homicide, the curious teen forges a tender friendship with the boy who cheated death on that fateful night. Director: Mark Tonderai. Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, Gil Bellows, Nolan Funk. Rated: PG-13. Time: 1:41.

The Possession

Inspired by Los Angeles Times writer Leslie Gornstein’s article “A Jinx in a Box,” this film tells the tale of a broken family that comes under attack from a malevolent supernatural entity of Jewish folklore. Director: Ole Bornedal. Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Natasha Calis, Madison Davenport, Matisyahu. Rated: PG-13. Time: 1:31.