Reel cool: January movie openings

Movies being released to start the New Year include “Bastards,” “Underworld: Blood Wars,” “Patriots Day,” and “Split.”

Underworld: Blood Wars

Every bloodline must end.

Action | Horror

Director: Anna Foerster

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Tobias Menzies

In theaters: Jan. 6

A vampiric Death Dealer comes face-to-face with a frightening new foe as she continues her battle against the werewolves of the Lycan clan.

Monster Trucks

Action | Adventure

Director: Chris Wedge

Starring: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Rob Lowe

In theaters: Jan. 13

While a high school senior attempts to build a souped-up truck from junkyard scraps, an uncanny creature emerges from underground and finds a new home inside the kid’s hoopty.

Patriots Day

Drama | Thriller

Director: Peter Berg

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman

In theaters: Jan. 13

Based on actual events, a heroic cop works with the city’s police commissioner to capture the ruthless terrorists responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Live By Night

The American Dream has a price.

Crime | Drama

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana

In theaters: Jan. 13

A Prohibition Era outlaw works his way into an organized crime family, then creates a powerful enemy when he steals the boss’s money - and his main squeeze.

The Bye, Bye Man

Don’t say it. Don’t think it.

Thriller | Horror

Director: Stacy Title

Starring: Douglas Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lucien Laviscount

In theaters: Jan. 13

When three college students start living in an old off-campus house, they inadvertently emancipate a pestilential presence that preys on everyone who utters - or merely thinks - its name.

Sleepless

Don’t judge a cop by his cover.

Action | Thriller

Director: Baran bo Odar

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Gabrielle Union, T.I.

In theaters: Jan. 13

In this fast-paced thriller set in Sin City, an undercover cop must save his teenage son from the vicious kidnappers who abducted him in broad daylight.

xXx 3: The Return of Xander Cage

Action | Adventure

Director: D.J. Caruso

Starring: Vin Diesel, Deepika Padukone, Nina Dobrev

In theaters: Jan. 20

A fearless government agent long believed to be dead comes out of hiding after enemy forces gain access to the mother of all weapons.

The Founder

He took someone else’s idea and ate it up.

Biography | Drama

Director: John Lee Hancock

Starring: Michael Keaton, Laura Dern, Nick Offerman

In theaters: Jan. 20

An ambitious salesman meets a pair of brothers with a brilliant restaurant concept and, after helping them expand the McDonald’s brand, assumes control of the company from under their noses.

Split

Thriller | Horror

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson

In theaters: Jan. 20

A disturbed man with 23 distinct personalities kidnaps three young girls and prepares them to meet the one insidious identity he’s thus far kept hidden.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

Evil will end.

Action | Horror

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose

In theaters: Jan. 27

The ultimate installment of this post-apocalyptic franchise pits the protagonist and her fellow survivors against a relentless throng of zombies hell-bent on eradicating humanity.

Bastards

Are you our daddy?

Comedy

Director: Lawrence Sher

Starring: Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons

In theaters: Jan. 27

When a well-intentioned mother tells her adult sons that their father isn’t really dead - she simply doesn’t know who he is - the fraternal twins embark on a far-flung quest to discover their dad’s identity while learning all about their mom’s promiscuous past.

A Dog’s Purpose

Every dog happens for a reason.

Drama | Comedy

Director: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, Josh Gad

In theaters: Jan. 27

An inquisitive canine experiences an existential awakening after a series of reincarnations shows him what he truly means to his many masters.