Movies opening in L.A. this week: ‘The Aeronauts’ and more

Dec. 5

Varda by Agnès
In her final film, the beloved director looks back on her 60-year career. In French and English with English subtitles. (2:00) NR.

Dec. 6

The Aeronauts
Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) reunite as a daring balloon pilot and a meteorologist conducting high-altitude research in the 1860s. With Vincent Perez, Tom Courtenay. Written by Jack Thorne; story by Tom Harper, Thorne. Directed by Harper. (1:40) PG-13.

After Class
Campus controversy shadows a NYC professor as he spends a week reconnecting with his family. With Justin Long, Kate Berlant, Fran Drescher, Richard Schiff. Written and directed by Daniel Schechter. (1:33) NR.

Beyond the Law
A former cop seeks vengeance for his son’s murder. With Steven Seagal, DMX, Johnny Messner. Written by Chad Law, Johnny Martin Walters. Directed by James Cullen Bressack. (1:30) NR.

Broken Dreams
Documentary about two talented Jewish sisters in Poland during the Nazi occupation. Written and directed by Tomasz Magierski. In English and Polish with English subtitles. (1:10) NR.

Code 8
A young man with super powers joins a criminal syndicate to pay for his mother’s medical care. With Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Kari Matchett, Sung Kang. Written by Chris Paré. Directed by Jeff Chan. (1:38) NR.

Daniel Isn’t Real
A traumatized college student summons his dangerous imaginary friend from childhood. With Patrick Schwarzenegger, Miles Robbins, Sasha Lane, Mary Stuart Masterson. Written by Brian DeLeeuw, Adam Egypt Mortimer; based on the novel by DeLeeuw. Directed by Mortimer. (1:36) NR.

Downtown 81
Revival of 1981 film about the New Wave music scene in NYC. With Jean Michel Basquiat, Debbie Harry, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, James White and the Blacks. Written by Glenn O’Brien. Directed by Edo Bertoglio. (1:12) NR.

Grand Isle
A young man is charged with murder after seeking shelter with a twisted married couple during a hurricane. With Nicolas Cage, Kelsey Grammer, Luke Benward, KaDee Strickland. Written by Iver William Jallah, Rich Ronat. Directed by Stephen S. Campanelli. (1:37) NR.

I See You
A small town detective and his family are plagued by supernatural occurrences as he probes the disappearance of a young boy. With Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague. Written by Devon Graye. Directed by Adam Randall. (1:36) NR.

In Fabric
A cursed dress brings misfortune to those who wear it. With Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Gwendoline Christie, Sidse Babett Knudsen. Written and directed by Peter Strickland. (1:58) R.

Knives and Skin
The disappearance of a teenage girl impacts the residents of a small Midwestern town in profound and unusual ways. With Marika Engelhardt, Audrey Francis, Tim Hopper. Written and directed by Jennifer Reeder. (1:51) NR.

Little Joe
A plant breeder brings a special flower with healing powers home to her son, unaware of its potential dangers. With Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox. Written by Géraldine Bajard, Jessica Hausner. Directed by Hausner. (1:45) NR.

The Mandela Effect
A man begins to question reality when he realizes he can recall facts and events that others can’t. With Charlie Hofheimer, Aleksa Palladino, Robin Lord Taylor, Clarke Peters. Written by David Guy Levy, Steffen Schlachtenhaufen. Directed by Levy. (1:20) NR.

A Million Little Pieces
A young man battling addiction checks himself into rehab in this adaptation of James Frey’s controversial novel. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Odessa Young, Giovanni Ribisi, Juliette Lewis, Charlie Hunnam, Ryan Hurst. Written by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Taylor-Johnson. Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. (1:53) R.

Most Likely to Succeed
Documentary follows four high school seniors from disparate backgrounds over the next decade of their lives. Directed by Pamela Littky. (1:37) NR.

My Home India
Documentary on Kira Banasinska, the wife of Poland’s Consul General for India, who helped settle 5,000 Polish refugees in India during and after WWII. Directed by Anjali Bhushan. (0:45) NR.

A New Christmas
A aspiring filmmaker from Kenya helps a lonely med student in NYC rediscovers the joy of the holiday season. With Prashantt Guptha, Preeti Gupta, Grace Wacuka. Written by Travis Hodgkins. Directed by Dani Tenenbaum. (1:19) NR.

Playmobil: The Movie
A sister and brother join a British secret agent to help stop a global conspiracy in this computer-animated action comedy based on the kids’ toy line. With the voices of Daniel Radcliffe, Anya Taylor Joy, Meghan Trainor, Kenan Thompson, Adam Lambert, Jim Gaffigan. Written by Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb, Jason Oremland; story by Lino DiSalvo. Directed by DiSalvo. (1:39) PG.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A painter and her subject, an unhappy bride-to-be, fall in love in 18th-century Brittany. With Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant, Valeria Golino. Written and directed by Céline Sciamma. In French and Italian with English subtitles. (2:01) R.

63 Up
The latest installment of Michael Apted’s “Up” documentary series that began with a cohort of British schoolchildren starting in 1964 and continued to check in with them every seven years. (3:00) NR.

Temblores
A husband and father from a conservative Christian family in Guatemala comes out as a gay man. With Juan Pablo Olyslager, Diane Bathen. Written and directed by Jayro Bustamante. In Spanish with English subtitles. (1:47) NR.

Trauma Center
A veteran cop tries to protect a hospitalized young woman from a pair of killers. With Bruce Willis, Nicky Whelan, Steven Guttenberg, Tito Ortiz. Written by Paul Da Silva. Directed by Matt Eskandari. (1:27) R.

The Wolf Hour
A former counterculture celebrity grows increasingly paranoid as she hunkers down in a stifling apartment in the Bronx in summer 1977. With Naomi Watts, Jennifer Ehle, Emory Cohen. Written and directed by Alistair Banks Griffin. (1:39) R.