- — In movies, there’s some time now between the recently released holiday epics and the summer blockbusters. This is that time between seeing Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean in this Christmas’ “Les Miserables” and as the superhero X-Man in this summer’s “The Wolverine.” The time between this holiday season’s James Bond “Skyfall” and this summer’s Superman “Man of Steel.”

But there are some interesting things coming between now and the opening of “Iron Man 3” in early May. The Times takes a tour of what’s expected to open in the coming weeks. Note: The listed scheduled dates may change, and some of the listed movies are slated for limited theatrical release.



JANUARY

9: “I Am Not A Hipster,” carefree singer-songwriter reconnects with his roots.

11: “Gangster Squad,” Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin in a 1940s mobster movie. “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow presents this dramatization of the hunt and killing of Osama bin Laden. “Promised Land,” Matt Damon stars in this story of a corporate salesman moved by the area he’s supposed acquire for drilling rights. ALSO: “A Haunted House,” a horror spoof; “The Baytown Outlaws,” Billy Bob Thornton, Eva Longoria in a modern, Southern take-off of “The Three Godfathers”; “Officer Down,” a doctor and security guard share their waking lives through one another’s dreams; “Storage 24,” horror; “Struck By Lightning,” comic, quirky, coming of age story; “Quartet,” Dustin Hoffman directs a strong cast that includes Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Albert Finney, Billy Connolly, Michael Gambon, in a story about a home for retired musicians.

18: “The Last Stand,” in his first leading role in years, following his stint as California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a small-town sheriff who must deal with a drug kingpin moving to his sleepy county. ALSO: “Broken City,” Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe thriller; “Guillermo del Toro Presents Mama,” horror; “Luv,” Common, Dennis Haysbert and Danny Glover star in this story of a bashful kid who bonds with his troubled uncle during one extraordinary day.

25: “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters,” starring “Avenger” and “Bourne” star Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the latest action-packed, remade fairy tale for the big screen. ALSO: “Movie 43,” comic shorts featuring cameos from several stars, with the tagline, “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it”; “Parker,” Jason Statham’s latest action film; “John Dies at the End,” comedy about a drug that takes users on a time-space trip but is a gateway for an alien invasion; “Noobz,” video-gamer comedy; “Knife Fight,” Rob Lowe plays a political strategist in this drama; “Supporting Characters,” comedy.



FEBRUARY

TBA: “Freeloaders,” comedy.

1: “Stand Up Guys,” Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies star in a comedy-drama about aging mobsters. Also: “Bullet to the Head,” Sylvester Stallone plays a hitman; “Warm Bodies,” zombified romantic comedy; “The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia,” horror sequel;

8: “Side Effects,” Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones star in this thriller about a man suffering unexpected side effects from a prescription drug. “Identity Thief,” Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy star in this comedy about a woman who steals a man’s identity. ALSO: “Top Gun,” the 1986 Tom Cruise blockbuster gets a limited 3D IMAX re-release; “The Playroom,” coming-of-age drama; “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charlie Swann III,” Charlie Sheen stars in the title role of this comedy drama.

13: “Beautiful Creatures,” a Southern supernatural love story.

14: “A Good Day to Die Hard,” Bruce Willis is back as “Die Hard’s” John McClane, this time in a foreign land, allied with his grown son to battle the bad guys. ALSO: “Escape from Planet Earth,” animated tale of a planet’s hero captured by earthlings with only his nerdy brother to save him; “Safe Haven,” romantic drama about a mysterious woman’s arrival to a small town and a widower’s attraction to her.

22: “Snitch,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson must save his son from wrongly going to prison in this action movie. ALSO: “Dark Skies,” thriller; “Inescapable,” thriller about a man whose reporter daughter is reported missing in Damascus.



MARCH

TBA: “The Girl,” story of a woman who helps a lost child of an illegal immigrant.

1: “Jack the Giant Slayer,” an adult look at the tale of the beanstalk. ALSO: “The Last Exorcism Part 2,” horror sequel; “21 & Over,” 21st birthday comedy; “Phantom,” Soviet submarine tale starring Ed Harris, David Duchovny; “Molly’s Theory of Relativity,” an astronomer makes an intriguing Halloween decision; “Stoker,” horror; “The End of Love,” drama of a father, son and the death of their wife and mother.

8: “Oz: The Great and Powerful,” Remember how the wizard also left Oz for home at the end of “The Wizard of Oz”? Here, audiences learn how a small-time magician named Oscar Diggs becomes the mighty wizard, played by James Franco. ALSO: “Dead Man Down,” Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace find a steamy rapport in this violent tale of vengeance; “Emperor,” Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur weighs prosecuting Japanese Emperor Hirohito as a war criminal after World War II; “Spring Breakers,” James Franco again in this comedy; “ABCs of Death,” 26 directors provide an alphabet of horror; “Admission,” Tina Fey and Paul Rudd comedy.

15: “Carrie,” remake of the Stephen King horror classic of a teen girl with a troubled past and troublesome powers. ALSO: “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” Steve Carell comedy about a Las Vegas illusionist; “Hummingbird,” another Jason Statham action movie; “Upside Down,” romance of a man caught between his world and the world of his love; “From Up On Poppy Hill,” anime romance featuring voices of famous American actors; “Welcome to the Punch,” James McAvoy stars in this crime adventure.

22: “Captain Phillips,” Tom Hanks plays real-life Capt. Richard Phillips who was taken prisoner by Somali pirates. ALSO: “Olympus Has Fallen,” Gerard Butler is a former Secret Service agent who must save the President from terrorists; “The Croods,” animated comedy of a prehistoric family seeking a new life; “Love and Honor,” Vietnam-era tale of a young soldier determined to win back his love after receiving a Dear John letter; “Gimme the Loot,” graffiti artists set their sights on leaving their mark on the New York Mets apple.

29: “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” Channing Tatum leads the Joes against arch-enemy Cobra in this sequel. ALSO: “Tyler Perry’s Temptation,” a marriage counselor finds it difficult to practice what she preaches; “The Host,” movie adaptation of “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer’s other book about young people surviving an alien invasion; “The Place Beyond the Pines,” crime drama starring Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta.



APRIL

TBA: “Long Time Gone,” a husband’s affair brings unexpected turmoil to a woman’s life; “Dead Man’s Burden,” frontier family struggles in post-Civil War New Mexico; “Not Today,” a young American helps a poor family in India.

5: “Jurassic Park 3D,” the 1993 Steven Spielberg hit of cloned dinosaurs gets the modern 3D treatment. “The Heat,” Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy star in this buddy-cop comedy. ALSO: “Odd Thomas,” Thomas is a fry-cook with vision; “The Company You Keep,” Robert Redford, Shia LeBeouf, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon star in this story of an underground political activist needled out of hiding, Redford also directs; “The Brass Teapot,” not all comic books are men in capes, this movie is based on a comic book series about a broke couple helped by a magical brass teapot; “Upstream Color,” a man and woman’s lives are entwined within the matrix of an immortal being.

12: “Scary Movie 5,” more comic horror movie parodies. ALSO: “The Evil Dead,” remake of the 1981 horror cult classic; “42,” the Jackie Robinson story told on film with Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey; “To the Wonder,” director Terrence Malick returns training his lens on love, starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem; “Disconnect,” three stories collide with help from the Internet.

19: “Oblivion,” Tom Cruise stars in this futuristic tale of an earth that has out-evolved mankind after humanity has moved to the stars.

24: “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” a Pakistani seeks corporate success on Wall Street in a clash of cultures.

26: “Pain and Gain,” Dwayne Johnson and Mark Wahlberg star in this crime drama of bodybuilders gone bad. ALSO: “The Lords of Salem,” director Rob Zombie’s latest graphic horror of ancient witches haunting modern Salem; “The Big Wedding,” Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Robin Williams star in this tale of a weekend wedding.