New At The Movies: ‘The Break-Up’ & More

Starring: Amy Smart, Nick Nolte, Ray Wise

Arrogant, talented Dan Millman seems to have the perfect college life: a stunning gymnast’s body of incredible strength, handsome looks, good grades, plenty of money and a shot at the Olympic qualifiers in men’s gymnastics. Still, Dan wakes up almost nightly from terrifying nightmares and odd visions he can’t explain or dismiss. One night, awakened by yet another nightmare, Dan goes for a run through his foggy neighborhood and comes upon a well-lit service station. Behind the counter, an old man seemingly moves without regard for space or time. One moment, Dan is paying for his snacks, the next the old man is on the roof of the station. Stunned by the impossibility, Dan begs the old man, whom he instinctually names Socrates, to share the secret of his abilities in order to achieve his goal of Olympic gold. The old man puts him through a regimen that changes his diet, training and lifestyle. Before long, his life is ruined, and he loses his friends, his girl and is almost thrown off his gymnastics squad. Thus begins a journey of discovery for Dan that will shatter every preconceived notion he has about academics, athletics and achievement. Guided by Socrates, Dan will consider a whole new ideology — one that values consciousness over intelligence, strength in spirit over strength in body. But in order to succeed, Dan must somehow let go of all of his expectations — and simply live in the now.

Paris, 2010. An isolation wall surrounds the ghetto cities. Without rules or laws, gangs reign here as absolute masters, and he who does not die first wins a reprieve, while awaiting his turn. Damien is a member of the police elite task force. Special intervention unit officer and expert in martial arts, he is a past master in the field on infiltration, and well versed in successfully completing his operations through rapid, precise and often strong-arm actions. This time the government has assigned him the most extreme expedition of his entire career: finding a weapon of mass destruction that has been stolen by the most powerful gang of District B13. Assigned to infiltrate the sector to defuse the bomb, Damien must join hands with Leito, whose sole goal is to save his sister, who has fallen into the hands of the same gang. He is, moreover, the only one who knows District B13 like the back of his hand. But the story is not so simple. Who exactly works for whom? Where are those who really pull the strings hiding? And above all, who profits from the use of this bomb?

?The Omen? (opens Tuesday)

Starring: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Seamus Davey Fitzpatrick, Michael Gambon, Pete Postlethwaite

Many believe the prophecy from the Book of Revelation provides a map to a terrifying future — or it presents fragments of history that have come to life in our time. The signs, they claim, are all around us: terrorist attacks, extreme weather?the list goes on. The passage specifically points to the arrival of the Antichrist, who is branded with the numerical sequence “666”: the mark of the Beast. The Antichrist will receive his power directly from Satan to establish a counterfeit kingdom on earth, signaling the beginning of Armageddon. Robert Thorn is unaware of such dark prophecies. Thorn, a senior American diplomat, has other things on his mind. His wife, Katherine, has endured a difficult delivery and she’s as yet unaware their newborn child has died. Devastated by the loss, Thorn’s concern turns to Katherine, who had suffered two previous miscarriages. The news will surely devastate her. The hospital priest, Father Spiletto, presents Thorn with another child born that night, whose mother died in childbirth. The priest compels Thorn to take the infant boy as his own; Katherine will never know the truth, and their son, which they name Damien, will be raised as their flesh and blood. Katherine embraces the child as her own, blossoming in motherhood. Thorn’s career ascends — he becomes the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain — and the family settles into an estate outside London. But certain events, all seeming to revolve around the new 5-year-old Damien, are deeply disturbing: Damien’s nanny hangs herself at the youngster’s birthday party; a strange priest brings dire warnings to Thorn; a children’s trip to the zoo results in a panicked frenzy; Damien becomes hysterical during a drive to church; and blurred movements in a series of photographs portend shocking deaths. Enter Mrs. Blaylock, Damien’s new nanny, who seems to have a preordained devotion to the child. Then tragedy strikes closer to home. Damien is no ordinary child; he is the long-prophesized Antichrist. Now, Thorn must make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the unspeakable terror that awaits the world. The prophecy is clear, the signs unmistakable: Armageddon is upon us.