This week's movie picks are 'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' and 'End of Watch'

It’s Wednesday, so today I give you my weekly list of movies that will open in theatres this week as well as a list of movies that will be released this week on DVD.


I hope this will serve as a useful guide as to what’s going on this week if you happen to be near a movie theatre or if you’re looking for something to drop into your NetFlix queue or pick up at the local Redbox.

Movies that are scheduled to hit theatres this week include:

- Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Action, Comedy): Directed by Tommy Wirkola and starring Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen, Thomas Mann and Zoe Bell.

- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (Documentary, Not Rated): Directed by Werner Herzog and Dmitry Vasyukov.

- John Dies at the End (Horror, Comedy, R): Directed by Don Coscarelli and starring Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown and Glynn Turman.

- Knife Fight (Comedy, Drama): Directed by Bill Guttentag and starring Rob Lowe, Carrie-Anne Moss, Richard Schiff, Jamie Chung and Eric McCormack.

- Movie 43 (Comedy, R): Starring Halle Berry, Kate Bosworth, Justin Long, Chris Pratt and Seann William Scott.

- Noobz (Comedy, Adventure, R): Directed by Blake Freeman and starring Blake Freeman, Jason Mewes, Matt Shively, Casper Van Dien and Moises Arias.

- Parker (Action, Crime, R): Directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Michael Chiklis and Clifton Collins Jr.

New DVD releases for the week of Jan. 22 include:

- Abel’s Field (Drama, Family, PG): Directed by Gordie Haakstad and starring Kevin Sorbo, Samuel Davis, Richard Dillard, Devin Bonnee and Luci Christian.

- Barrio Tales (Horror, R): Directed by Jarret Tarnol and starring Alexander Aguila, Carson Aune and Adam Beesely.

- Death Race 3: Inferno (Action, R): Directed by Roel Reine and starring Luke Gross, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Fred Keohler and Robin Shou.

- Derby Dogs (Family, Comedy, PG): Starring Tandi Wright, Vince Martin and Dai Henwood.

- End of Watch (Crime, Drama, R): Directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera and Frank Grillo.

- Fat Kid Rules the World (Comedy, R): Directed by Matthew Lillard and starring Jacob Wysocki, Matt O’Leary, Billy Campbell, Dylan Arnold and Megan Day.

- The Imposter (Suspense, Mystery, R): Directed by Bart Layton and starring Adam O’Brian, Anna Ruben and Alan Teichman.

- The Paperboy (Suspense, Drama, R): Directed by Lee Daniels and starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey and Scott Glenn.

- Pina (Documentary, PG): Directed by Wim Wenders and starring Regina Advento, Malou Airaudo, Ruth Amarante, Pina Bausch and Rainer Behr.

- Searching for Sugar Man (Documentary, Music, PG-13): Directed by Malik Bendjelloul.

If I could only watch one movie at the theatre this week, it would be “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” and if I had to pick just one DVD to rent this week, it would be “End of Watch.”

In the end, let me know if you get a chance to watch any of the new movies in theatres this week or if you’ve already seen any of the movies that have just been released on DVD. What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.