February 9

Hannibal Rising

Genre: Thriller

MPAA Rating: R (for strong grisly violent content and some language/sexual references)

Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li, Rhys Ifans, Richard Brake, Kevin McKidd

Story: In “Red Dragon” we learned who he was. In “Silence of the Lambs” we learned how he did it. Now comes the most chilling chapter in the life of Hannibal Lecternthe one that answers the most elusive question of all-why?

“Hannibal Rising” marks the first time in the award-winning series, best selling author Thomas Harris (“Red Dragon,” “Silence of the Lambs”) writes the screenplaynreaching back to explore the origins of Lecter’s rage, terror and savagery.

The story begins in Eastern Europe at the desperate end of World War II. For many it was no longer a conflict of nations but one of individual survivalnat any cost. A young Hannibal watches from only steps away as his parents’ violently die, leaving his cherished young sister in his care. This horrific moment will soon pale in comparison to the atrocities he is forced to witness and perhaps survive as a result of.

Director: Peter Webber

Studio: MGM

Website: WeinsteinCo.com/HannibalRising

Norbit

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: R (for some sex-related humor)

Cast: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Eddie Griffin, Terry Crews, Clifton Powell, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Story: Norbit (Eddie Murphy) has never had it easy. As a baby, he was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage and raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy). Things get worse when he’s forced into marriage by the mean, junk food-chugging queen, Rasputia (Eddie Murphy). Just when Norbit’s hanging by his last thread, his childhood sweetheart, Kate (Thandie Newton), moves back to town. In the comedy “Norbit,” he’ll find that nice guys sometimes finish first.

Director: Brian Robbins

Studio: DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)

Website: MeetNorbit.com

February 14

Music and Lyrics

Genre: Comedy, Romance

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for some sexual content)

Cast: Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Brad Garrett, Kristen Johnston, Campbell Scott, Haley Bennett

Story: Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) is a washed-up 80s pop star who’s been reduced to working the nostalgia circuit at county fairs and amusement parks. The charismatic and talented musician gets a chance at a comeback when reigning diva Cora Corman invites him to write and record a duet with her, but there’s a problem—Alex hasn’t written a song in years, he’s never written lyrics, and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days.

Director: Marc Lawrence

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Website: MusicandLyrics.com

Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls

Genre: Comedy, Drama

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic material, drug and sexual content, some violence and language)

Cast: Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Tasha Smith, Gary Sturgis, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lou Gossett, Jr., Malinda Williams, Terri J. Vaughn, Cassie Davis, Juanita Jennings, LaVan Davis

Story: A single father, Monty (Elba) is a garage mechanic who lives in a poor neighborhood and struggles to make ends meet as he raises his three young daughters on his own. But when the courts award custody of his daughters to his corrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife, Monty desperately tries to win them back, enlisting the help of Julia (Union), a beautiful-and hard-nosednattorney he meets during his short stint as a chauffeur. While Monty and the Ivy-League-educated Julia couldn’t be less alike, an unexpected romance blossoms…and it soon begins to feel like true love. But in order for their relationship to survive, the couple must reconcile their two very different worldsnand overcome the forces that threaten to tear Monty’s family apart.

Director: Tyler Perry

Studio: Lionsgate

Website: DaddysLittleGirlsmovie.com

February 16

Breach

Genre: Thriller

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for violence, sexual content and language)

Cast: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert, Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Cole, Caroline Dhavernas, Bruce Davison, Mary Jo Deschanel, Gary Cole

Story: Inspired by true events, “Breach” is a dramatic thriller set inside the halls of the FBI-the gatekeeper of the nation’s most sensitive and potentially volatile secrets.

When young Eric O’Neill (Phillippe) is promoted out of his low-level surveillance job and into the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, his dream of becoming a full-fledged agent is on the verge of becoming reality. Even more impressive, O’Neill is hand picked to work for renowned operative Robert Hanssen (Cooper) within “information assurance,” a new division created to protect all classified FBI Intelligence.

Director: Billy Ray

Studio: Universal Pictures

Website: Breachmovie.net

Bridge to Terabithia

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic elements including bullying, some peril and mild language)

Cast: Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, Robert Patrick, Zooey Deschanel

Story: Based on the popular Newbery Award-winning novel, “Bridge to Terabithia” is a fantasy/adventure story of friendship, family and the power of imagination from the producers of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.” Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is an outsider at school and even in his own family. Jess has trained all summer to become the fastest kid in his middle school class but his goal is unexpectedly thwarted by the new girl in school, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb) who competes in the “boys only” race and wins.

Director: Gabor Csupo

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media

Website: Disney.com/Terabithia

Ghost Rider

Genre: Action, Adventure

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for horror violence and disturbing images)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue, Peter Fonda

Story: From Marvel Comics, creators of “Spider-Man,” “Blade” and “X-Men,” comes a new hero… “Ghost Rider.” Long ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Now, the devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider… but at night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the devil’s bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Website: GhostRider-movie.com

February 23

The Astronaut Farmer

Genre: Adventure, Family

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic material, peril and language)

Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, Tim Blake Nelson, J.K. Simmons

Story: Dismissed from NASA’s space program, former astronaut-in-training Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) pursues his lifelong dream by building his own rocket in the Polish Brothers’ family film “The Astronaut Farmer.” On the eve of his launch, he must battle foreclosure on his ranch, a small-town community of disbelievers, the FAA, and FBI agents who want to shut him down in the name of Homeland Securitynbut remains determined to reach his goal and instill in his children the courage to pursue their own dreams, no matter the odds.

Director: Michael Polish

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Website: TheAstronautFarmermovie.com

Black Snake Moan

Genre: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: R (for strong sexual content, language, some violence and drug use)

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cothran Jr., Brandon Raines, Michael Raymond-James, Leonard L. Thomas

Story: Desire is a burning sickness for Rae (Ricci), a feverish need that eats at her soul, while making her the white-trash sexual target of every man and boy in her small Tennessee town. When her true love Ronnie (Timberlake) leaves for military service, Rae plunges into wild excess. Beaten, left for dead, she’s taken in by Laz (Jackson) a reformed bluesman, a private self-contained black man who nurses deep anger of his own. Fiercely committed to his task of keeping her alive, Laz makes Rae his prisoner to give her a chance at freedom, and finds his own way back to the full force of life in the bargain.

Director: Craig Brewer

Studio: Paramount Vantage

Website: Moanmovie.com

Gray Matters

Genre: Comedy, Romance

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

Cast: Sissy Spacek, Alan Cumming, Heather Graham, James Marsden, Saffron Burrows, Jane Krakowski

Story: They finish each other’s sentences, dance like Fred and Ginger, and share the same downtown loft—the perfect couple? Not exactly. Gray and Sam (Heather Graham and Tom Cavanagh), are a sister and brother so compatible and inseparable that people actually assume they are dating. Mortified, they both agree they must branch out and start searching for love. He’ll look for a guy for her and she’ll look for a gal for him. But when Sam finds his perfect mate in Charlie (Bridget Moynahan) Gray’s life turns inside out. A romantic comedy that sets sibling rivalry on its head, “Gray Matters” gives a whole new meaning to love… and destiny. With supporting roles played by Oscar Winner Sissy Spacek, Emmy nominated Molly Shannon, Tony Award winning Alan Cumming and Grammy award winning Gloria Gaynor.

Director: Sue Kramer

Studio: Yari Film Group

Website: GrayMattersmovie.com

The Number 23

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Cast: Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Danny Huston, Logan Lerman, Rhona Mitra, Maile Flanagan, Patricia Belcher, Lynn Collins, Mark Pellegrino, Tara Karsian

Story: The psychological thriller “The Number 23” stars Jim Carrey as a man whose life unravels after he comes into contact with an obscure book titled The Number 23. As he reads the book, he becomes increasingly convinced that it is based on his own life. His obsession with the number 23 starts to consume him, and he begins to realize the book forecasts far graver consequences for his life than he could have ever imagined.

Director: Joel Schumacher

Studio: New Line Cinema

Website: Number23movie.com

Reno 911!: Miami

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: R (for sexual content, nudity, crude humor, language and drug use)

Cast: Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough

Story: The brave men and women of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department—the thin khaki line that keeps Reno, Nevada on the straight and narrownstar in their first feature film, based on the hit Comedy Central television series. The deputies of the Reno Sheriffs Department attend a law enforcement convention in Miami Beach, where the motley crew is charged with protecting the city after bioterrorists attack the convention.

Director: Robert Ben Garant

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Website: Not Available