Friday Flix: Oscar movies and more

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - eightWest movie reviewer Aaron "Laff at the Movies" Lafferty breaks down the movies you'll want to check out this weekend.  Here are some of his picks!

The Impossible
Action/Drama/Thriller
Plot: An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.  This film is based on the true story of a Spanish family who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland
Rated: PG-13 for intense realistic disaster sequences, including disturbing injury images and brief nudity.
Runs: 1 hr, 54 min
(1 Oscar nomination - Best Actress - Naomi Watts)

Moonrise Kingdom
Comedy / Drama/ Romance
Plot: A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them.
Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman  
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content and smoking
Runs: 1 hr, 34 min
(1 Oscar nomination - Original Screenplay)

Broken City
Crime / Drama / Thriller
Plot: In a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler
Rated:  R for pervasive language, some sexual content and violence.
RUNS: 1 hr, 49 min

The Last Stand
Action / Crime / Thriller
Plot: The leader of a drug cartel busts out of a courthouse and speeds to the Mexican border, where the only thing in his path is a sheriff and his inexperienced staff.
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro
Rated: R for strong bloody violence throughout, and language.
Runs: 1 hr, 47 min

Mama
Horror
Plot: Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years.... but how alone were they?
Stars: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse
Rated: PG-13 for violence and terror, some disturbing images and thematic elements.
Runs: 1 hr, 40 min

Rust and Bone
Drama / Romance
Plot: Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family.  Ali's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts and Armand Verdure
Rated: R for strong sexual content, brief graphic nudity, some violence and language.
Runs: 2 hours
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes - Best Foreign Language Film and Actress in a Drama - Marion Cotillard

I Wish
Family
Plot: I Wish is basically a story of doing the right thing. A man witnesses a meteor shower and one hits nearby and he suddenly has the ability to get whatever he wishes for.  This is a locally shot and produced film.
Stars: Spencer Tomlin, Rebekah Fuller, Benjamin Hanes, Tiffany Burns, Alisha Rose
Rated: Not rated
Runs: 1 hr, 30 min

For movie times and locations visit www.celebrationcinema.com.   Get more movie reviews and Oscar insights from Laff at the Movies here .