Friday’s openings: Cops, robbers and monsters

If this recent snowfall holds, many of us are going to be too busy shoveling free our driveways to spend much time in movie theaters. Which would be too bad, because so many of the holiday offerings are still playing locally. In addition, you can expect a few new films to open — some of which are among 2016's most critically acclaimed releases.

Anyway, here's an initial look at what Friday's openings could be (based on the national release schedule):

"Live By Night": Ben Affleck adapts (plus directs and stars in) Dennis Lehane's novel about a Boston mobster who, in the 1920s, tries to take over the rum-running business in Tampa, Florida. No Walt Disney, this guy.

"Monster Trucks": When a local kid builds his own monster truck, a strange presence imbues it with more power than he knows how to handle. Think "Transformers" meets "The Love Bug."

"The Bye Bye Man": College students movie into an old house, unleash an unholy presence and then struggle to survive. Never seen that storyline before, am I right?

"Sleepless": Jamie Foxx stars as a Las Vegas undercover cop who, caught up in a web of corruption, searches desperately for his kidnapped son. What happens in Vegas …

I'll update just as soon as the local theaters finalize their lineups.