Three intense new movies guaranteed to get your heart rate up—and snap you out of the winter doldrums. —J.R. Sullivan
A Survival Saga
Arctic
In this beautifully shot epic, a downed pilot (Mads Mikkelsen, above), stranded somewhere in the Arctic, tries to wave down a passing helicopter—with disastrous results. For a shot at rescue, he realizes that he must face the ultimate challenge: abandon his makeshift camp and cross the tundra. (2/1)
A Criminal Education
Birds of Passage
This brutal drama traces the origins of the Colombian drug trade back nearly a decade before Pablo Escobar rises to power. At the center of the blossoming business is not a flashy kingpin but a small indigenous clan that quickly, and tragically, gets in way too deep—jump-starting an industry still thriving today. (2/13)
A Fetish Foiled
Piercing
A clean-cut closet psychopath (Christopher Abbott) makes meticulous plans to indulge his fantasy: dismember a sex worker. But the woman thwarts his efforts, and it quickly becomes unclear who’s in control—or more deranged. (2/1)
