Also Opening

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

Venerable director Sidney Lumet ("Serpico," "Network," "Dog Day Afternoon"), still going strong at 83, scores again with this acclaimed heist thriller of two bankrupt brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke) who conspire to rob a jewelry store -- owned by their parents (Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris). Marisa Tomei rounds out the starring cast. At the Suncoast. (116 minutes) R; strong graphic sexuality, nudity, violence, drug use, profanity.

BEOWULF

Director Robert Zemeckis uses 21st-century technology to revive this Old English epic (written about 700 A.D.) about a young hero (Ray Winstone) battling a monster (Crispin Glover), the monster's mother (Angelina Jolie) -- and a persistent dragon. Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Brendan Gleeson co-star (sort of). At multiple locations; in 3-D at selected theaters, in IMAX 3-D at the Palms. (114 minutes) PG-13; violence, sexual situations.

CONTROL

Newcomer Sam Riley's portrayal of Ian Curtis, ill-fated singer for the 1970s British rock band Joy Division, anchors this chronicle of Curtis' seven-year odyssey from obscurity to fame -- and, ultimately, to self- destruction. (If the story sounds familiar, 2001's "24 Hour Party People" covered some of the same ground.) At the Suncoast. (121 minutes) R; profanity, sexual situations.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA

Javier Bardem, alias "No Country for Old Men's" spectral villain, plays a very different character in this adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 1985 novel, about a humble telegraph clerk in 19th-century Cartagena, Colombia, who never stops yearning for his first love (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), even after she marries a handsome doctor (Benjamin Bratt). At multiple locations. (138 minutes) R; sexual situations, nudity, brief profanity.

MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM

As the proprietor (Dustin Hoffman) of the world's most magical toy store prepares to hand the reins to his protegée (Natalie Portman), an accountant (Jason Bateman) arrives to determine its value -- even though he can't see the magic around him. Screenwriter Zach Helm ("Stranger Than Fiction") makes his directorial debut with this family-friendly fantasy. At multiple locations. (94 minutes) G; all ages.

-- By CAROL CLING