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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wednesday’s openings: A brief history of animated penguin movies

Nathan Weinbender

(Pictured above: Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman, being held at gunpoint by their agents)

Last week’s cinematic offerings were very nearly nonexistent, what with the newest “Hunger Games” installment scaring off any potential competition. This week isn’t much better – thanks a lot, Thanksgiving! – but AMC’s release schedule includes three new titles opening on Wednesday. The films are as follows:

“Horrible Bosses 2”: Most comedy sequels are exercises in diminishing returns – take a concept that’s proven to work, then copy it over and over again until all invention and spontaneity is beaten out of it. For every winner like “22 Jump Street,” there are a dozen or so duds – some not-so-esteemed examples from this year include “A Haunted House 2,” “Think Like a Man Too” and “Dumb and Dumber To.” Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day reprise their roles from the 2011 hit, and this time they’re embroiled in an O. Henry-ish plot to kidnap the grown son (Chris Pine) of their philandering boss (two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, obviously slumming). Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey also return, promising to be half as funny as they were last time.

“Penguins of Madagascar”: Here’s another sequel – or, to be more specific, a spin-off – this one of a popular animated franchise. The goofy penguin sidekicks from the “Madagascar” films take center stage in this fourth entry in the series, which proves that it’s only a matter of time before the Minions from “Despicable Me” get their own feature. (Edit: I guess I spoke too soon.) The voice cast includes all the kids’ favorites, including John Malkovich, Peter Stormare, Andy Richter and Werner Herzog.

“The Theory of Everything”: Director James Marsh specializes in nonfiction – his 2008 breakthrough “Man on Wire” won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature – so he seems a promising choice to helm this biopic of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, based on his wife Jane Hawking’s memoirs. Eddie Redmayne’s work as Hawking is already gaining significant award buzz, and this might prove to be the mainstream launching pad for actress Felicity Jones, an up-and-comer and critics’ favorite for so long. The trailer for “The Theory of Everything” is below.