Our critics recommend...

The ABCs of Death An anthology horror film, with 26 chapters.

Barbara In 1980s East Germany, a doctor runs into trouble with Communist authorities. German with subtitles.

Dead Man Down See Steven Rea's preview on this page.

Emperor See Steven Rea's preview on this page.

Greedy Lying Bastards The makers of this documentary place the blame for the planet's deteriorating condition on politicians and big business.

 Oz: The Great and Powerful See Steven Rea's preview on this page.

 Yossi In this sequel to Yossi & Jagger, Yossi, still a closeted gay man in Tel Aviv, struggles with the memory of his lost love. In Hebrew, with subtitles.

Reviewed by critics Steven Rea (S.R.) and Carrie Rickey (C.R.) and David Hiltbrand (D.H.). W.S. denotes a wire service review.

Amour Michael Haneke's remarkable and heartbreaking portrait of an elderly Parisian couple stars French New Wave icons Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva. When she falls ill, he must take care of her, throwing the quiet, comfortable lives of these two retired musicians into chaos. This sad and beautiful, and occasionally frightening, masterpiece won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. 2 hrs. 07 PG-13 (adult themes) - S.R.

Beasts of the Southern Wild Benh Zeitlin's intensely strange and wonderful film about a girl named Hushpuppy, her defiant but deathly ill father, and the ragged Louisiana delta community they inhabit is dreamlike and full of grand emotional swells. Moviemaking as outsider art. 1 hr. 31 PG-13 (intense imagery, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

The Gatekeepers Dror Moreh's Oscar-nominated documentary finds six former heads of Israel's counterterorism agency speaking with striking candor, and with no little regret, about the fdecisions that backfired, the iron-fisted policies that brought about more violence, more bloodshed, not less. If there's a way out of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, these men may have the answer. 1 hr. 37 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Silver Linings Playbook A head-spinning wonder of a movie about love, pain, reinvention, rehabilitation, and the totemic power of an NFL franchise, with Bradley Cooper as a guy dealing with bipolar disorder and heartbreak, best actress Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence as a young widow with her own troubles, and an amazing supporting cast. From director David O. Russell, based on Matthew Quick's novel, and about as Philly-centric as you can get. 2 hrs. 02 R (profanity, sex, drugs, violence, adult themes) - S.R.

Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow's slow-burning and brilliant account of the decade-long Osama bin Laden manhunt, with Jessica Chastain as the CIA officer determined to track down the al-Qaeda figure no matter what. With Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Joel Edgerton, and Mark Strong. 2 hrs. 37 R (intense violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Argo Ben Affleck stars in and directs the far-fetched but factual tale of a CIA plot to extricate six U.S. Embassy workers from Tehran as the 1979 Iran hostage crisis unfolds. The best-picture Oscar winner has Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, and crackling humor amid the white-knuckle suspense. 2 hrs. R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga Four seasons in one of the remotest quadrants of the Siberian forest, where hunters, trappers, and fishermen function pretty much exactly as their forebears did hundreds and even thousands of years ago. Werner Herzog, reediting and adding his lyrical narration to what was a four-hour Russian TV program, is our guide. 1 hr. 34 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - S.R.

The Impossible A family caught in the unbelievable carnage of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami - unbelievable, but true - with Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and remarkable young actor Tom Holland. A chilling but thrilling account of survival, visceral and inspiring. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Lincoln Best actor Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis in an act of human alchemy, delivering an extraordinary performance as the 16th president, campaigning to end the Civil War and abolish slavery. A film about America's unique political process, and the leader trying to bend it to his will. 2 hrs. 29 PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - S.R.

A Place at the Table A powerful and alarming documentary about hunger in America - and right here in Philadelphia. Advocacy journalism at its best, lining up its facts, illustrating the widespread problem with a few trenchant, compelling cases, and offering solutions, too. 1 hr. 24 PG (adult themes) - S.R.

Side Effects Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh's tightly coiled psychological thriller - with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo's Rooney Mara, Jude Law, and Catherine Zeta-Jones - would make James M. Cain proud. On one level, a dark take on the culture of pharmaceutical cure-alls; on another, a classic, twisting noir. R (violence, profanity, sex, nudity, drugs, adult themes) - S.R.

Escape From Planet Earth ** Animated family feature about an alien astronaut who needs to be bailed out by his nerdy brother when he falls into a trap on another planet. 1 hr. 32 PG (action and some mildly rude humor) - W.S.

A Good Day to Die Hard ** Bruce Willis, smooth-pated and smirky, is back as John McClane, the wisecracking New York cop, who wings it to Russia to get his estranged son (Jai Courtney) out of a jam - only he doesn't know his son is a CIA spy. The duo bond over bullets and bombs, but this fifth in the series is, despite all the well-orchestrated mayhem, kind of a dud. 1 hr. 37 R (violence, profanity, adult themes) - S.R.

Identity Thief **1/2 Jason Bateman is the mark whose identity, and credit line, are appropriated by a plus-size, potty-mouthed con artist, played with (literal) punch by Melissa McCarthy, in this cheesy comedy. When he uncharacteristically goes after her, an odd-couple slapstick road movie ensues. 1 hr. 52 R (profanity, violence, sex, adult themes) - S.R.

Jack the Giant Slayer **1/2 Bryan (X-Men) Singer tackles the old fairy tale about a land of human-eating giants and the beanstalk that gets the young hero up there. In this case, to rescue a beautiful princess. Nicholas Hoult and Eleanor Tomlinson are the teenage heroes, Ewan McGregor is a valiant knight, and Stanley Tucci is the trusted royal advisor who turns out to be, well, villainous and vile. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (slobbering ogres, violence, scares, adult themes) - S.R.

Safe Haven ** Lasse Hallström's adaptation of the eighth romantic drama by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, Dear John) is yet another pretty-looking, wonderfully facile bit of emotional froth. Julianne Hough is affecting as a woman with a dark, possibly murderous past, who escapes Boston to live the simple life in rural North Carolina, where she falls for widower Josh Duhamel. Not one of Sparks' best, it has too many pat Hallmark moments. 1 hr. 55 PG-13 (mature themes, some violence, sexuality) - T.D.

Snitch **1/2 Dwayne Johnson stars as a father who goes undercover to expose a drug cartel - to save his college-bound son from serving a mandatory 10 years behind bars - in what is essentially a B-movie action version of an advocacy doc. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws must go! Just as soon as The Rock runs some bad guys over with his truck. PG-13 (violence, profanity, drugs, adult themes) - S.R.

Phantom ** Cold War thriller about a battle for control of a Soviet submarine between its captain (Ed Harris) and a rogue CIA group led by David Duchovny. 1 hr. 38 R (violence) - W.S.

Reviewed by Wendy Rosenfield (W.R.), Jim Rutter (J.R.), David Patrick Stearns (D.P.S.), and Toby Zinman (T.Z.).

Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them (Theatre Confetti) A tribe of three young people make - and defend - their own world. Preview Thursday, opens Friday.

A Raisin in the Sun (Arden Theatre) With this Lorraine Hansberry classic, the Arden returns to the Chicago neighborhood it illuminated in last season's Clybourne Park. In previews, opens March 13.

Under the Whaleback (Wilma Theatre) The North American premiere of a sea play by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors). Previews Wednesday- March 12, opens March 13.

Othello (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre) The Bard's great tragedy of envy, jealousy, and ambition. Previews Friday-March 12, opens March 13.

An Ideal Husband (Walnut Street Theatre) Not an ideal production of Oscar Wilde's play, but then the play's message is that nothing is perfect. Ends Sunday. - D.P.S.

Assassin (Act II Playhouse) This coproduction with InterAct is a rare and powerful look at moral consequences in sports, based on a real gridiron tragedy. Through March 17. - J.R.

Cooking With the Calamari Sisters (Society Hill Playhouse) Mamma Mia! Two guys portray behavior-challenged Italian sisters in a spoof of cooking shows that gets wilder as it progresses. Extended through May 19. - H.S.

Diary of a Madman (Quintessence Theatre Group) Excellent production of Gogol updated to the age of Google. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

Endgame (Arden Theatre) Purists will cringe as Ed Sobel tosses out Samuel Beckett's famous stage instructions and goes for grim. Through next Sunday. - W.R.

Forever Plaid (Media Theatre) Four guys, close harmony, old tunes, and a dream deferred. Through March 31.

Hurlyburly (New City Stage) Drugs, alcohol, and Hollywood disconnection tangle in David Rabe's 1984 drama. Through March 24.

The North Plan (Theatre Exile) A funny/scary political satire with a great cast. Ends Sunday. - T.Z.

Paradise Park (Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium) Cloying and trite, this Charles Mee play gives us life as a theme park; a very long 85 minutes. Ends Sunday. - T.Z.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Academy of Music) Three friends in a bus, with lots of feathers, fun, and a great jukebox score. Ends Sunday. - T.Z.

Strictly Platonic (Hedgerow Theatre) A thirtysomething male chauvinist finds love eye-opening in this sweet Valentine. Ends Sunday. - J.R.

To Fool the Eye (1812 Productions) 1812's less-than-frothy French comedy about love and identity. Ends Sunday. - T.Z.

Vincent in Brixton (Walnut Street Theatre Independence Studio) Young Vincent van Gogh falls for his London landlady in a picture-perfect production. Through next Sunday. - T.Z.

Life of Pi *** Best director Oscar-winner Ang Lee's parable about a boy and a Bengal tiger adrift in a lifeboat (based on the bestseller by Yann Martel) is about the stories we tell to make peace with the incomprehensible. 2 hrs. 07 PG (themes of loss and loss of innocence are best not for children under 12) - C.R.