This week's movie picks are '300: Rise of an Empire' and '12 Years a Slave'

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:

- 300: Rise of an Empire (Action, Adventure, R): Directed by Noam Murro and starring Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson and Rodrigo Santoro.

- The Face of Love (Drama, Romance, PG-13): Directed by Arie Posin and starring Annette Bening, Ed Harris, Robin Williams, Amy Brenneman and Jess Weixler.

- A Farewell to Fools (Comedy, Drama, PG-13): Directed by Bogdan Dreyer and starring Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel, Laura Morante, Bogdan Iancu and Alexandru Bindea.

- The Grand Budapest Hotel (Comedy, Crime, Drama, R): Directed by Wes Anderson and starring Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Edward Norton and Willem Dafoe.

- Grand Piano (Suspense, Drama, R): Directed by Eugenio Mira and starring Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Allen Leech, Tamsin Egerton and Alex Winter.

- Haunt (Horror, R): Directed by Mac Carter and starring Liana Liberato, Jacki Weaver, Ione Skye, Harrison Gilbertson and Danielle Chuchran.

- In Fear (Suspense, R): Directed by Jeremy Lovering and starring Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert and Allen Leech.

- Journey to the West (Action, Fantasy, Comedy, PG-13): Directed by Stephen Chow and starring Shu Qi and Wen Zhang.

- Mr. Peabody and Sherman (Comedy, Family, PG): Directed by Rob Minkoff and starring the voices of Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Allison Janney, Ellie Kemper and Ariel Kemper.

- Special ID (Action, Crime): Directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-Leung and starring Donnie Yen, Collin Chou and Tain Jing.

New DVD releases this week include:

- 12 Years a Slave (Drama, R): Directed by Steve McQueen and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano and Paul Giamatti.

- Cold Comes the Night (Crime, Drama, R): Directed by Tze Chun and starring Alice Eve, Bryan Cranston, Logan Marshall-Green, Ursula Parker and Leo Fitzpatrick.

- Girl Rising (Documentary, PG-13): Directed by Richard Robbins and starring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway and Salma Hayek.

- The Grandmaster (Action, PG-13): Directed by Wong Kar Wai and starring Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang.

- Hours (Suspense, Drama, PG-13): Directed by Eric Heissere and starring Paul Walker, Genesis Rodriguez, Judd Lormand, Christopher Matthew Cook and Nick Gomez.

- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Adventure, Family, PG-13): Directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Willow Shields, Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson and Woody Harrelson.

- The Last Days on Mars (Science Fiction, Suspense, R): Directed by Ruairi Robinson and starring Live Schreiber, Romola Garai, Elias Koteas, Olivia Williams and Johnny Harris.

- Old Boy (Suspense, R): Directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Imperioli.

- Wicked Blood (Action, Suspense): Directed by Mark Young and starring Abigail Breslin, Alexa Vega, Sean Bean, James Purefoy and Lew Temple.

If I could only watch one movie at the theatre this week, it would be “300: Rise of an Empire,” and if I had to pick just one DVD to rent this week, it would be “12 Years a Slave.”

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.