New in Theaters: Week of Nov. 24, 2014

This week in theaters, those zany “Penguins of Madagascar” get involved in a spy caper, Jason Bateman et al return for “Horrible Bosses 2,” and Benedict Cumberbatch turns in an Oscar-worthy performance in “The Imitation Game.” Here’s what’s opening wide in theaters this week.

PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR

PG for mild action and some rude humor | In Theaters 11/26 (2D/3D/IMAX 3D) | Ok for Kids 5+ | 20th Century Fox | Reel Preview: 4.5 of 5 Reels | DreamWorks.com/Penguins | Facebook

Those crazy penguins are back! And involved in a spy caper! Yes, now we can discover the secrets of the most entertaining and mysterious birds in the global espionage game.

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private must join forces with the chic spy organization, the North Wind, led by Agent Classified (I could tell you his name, but then … you know), voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch (yes!) to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine (John Malkovich), from taking over the world. Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Chris Knights, Ken Jeong, Annett Mahendru and Peter Stormare also lend their voices to this cute family movie directed by Simon J. Smith.

HORRIBLE BOSSES 2

R for strong crude sexual content and language throughout | In Theaters 11/26 | Ok for Kids 17+ | New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.) | Reel Preview: 4 of 5 Reels | Horrible Bosses 2 | Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter

Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick, Dale and Kurt decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business. But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed, desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three entrepreneur wannabees hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company. What could go wrong?

Directed by Sean Anders, this movie stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Christoph Waltz.

THE IMITATION GAME

PG-13 for some sexual references, mature thematic material and historical smoking | In Theaters 11/28 | Ok for Kids 13+ | The Weinstein Co. | Reel Preview: 5 of 5 Reels | The Imitation Game | Facebook | Twitter

This biographical drama follows the life of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.

Read Paula Schwartz’ report on the New York Q&A, in which Cumberbatch discussed the film and Turing, describing him as a “beautiful, brilliant, unique brave mind.” Directed by Morten Tyldum and based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges, this movie also stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong.

JANE’S REEL RATING SYSTEM
One Reel – Even the Force can’t save it.
Two Reels – Coulda been a contender
Three Reels – Something to talk about.
Four Reels – You want the truth? Great flick!
Five Reels – Wow! The stuff dreams are made of.

Images in this feature used courtesy of the studios and distributors.

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