L.A. movie openings, Dec. 16-23: ‘Mary Poppins Returns,’ ‘Aquaman’ and more

Dec. 17

They Shall Not Grow Old

Filmmaker Peter Jackson takes a look back at World War I in this documentary featuring rare archival footage. (1:39) R.

Dec. 19

Mary Poppins Returns

Emily Blunt is the magical supercalifragilisticexpialidocious nanny in this musical sequel to the 1964 film. With Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Dick Van Dyke. Written by David Magee; story by Magee, Rob Marshall, John DeLuca, based on the stories by P.L. Travers. Directed by Marshall. (2:10) PG.

Dec. 21

All Is True

Kenneth Branagh directed and plays William Shakespeare in this drama about one of the darkest periods of the Bard’s life. With Judi Dench, Ian McKellen. Written by Ben Elton. (1:41) R.

American Renegades

Navy SEALs on assignment in Europe attempt to retrieve a fortune in gold from the bottom of a lake and return it to the rightful owners. With Sullivan Stapleton, J.K. Simmons, Sylvia Hoeks. Written by Richard Wenk, Luc Besson. Directed by Steven Quale. (1:46) PG-13.

Aquaman

The half-man, half-Atlantean is the latest D.C. superhero to get an origin story with this underwater adventure. With Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman. Written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall; story by James Wan, Geoff Johns, Beall; based on characters created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger. Directed by Wan. (2:23) PG-13.

Between Worlds

Nicolas Cage stars as a truck driver tormented by memories of his dead family as he tries to stop a woman’s comatose daughter from crossing over to the spirit realm. With Franka Potente, Penelope Mitchell. Written and directed by Maria Pulera. (1:30) R.

Bumblebee

In 1987, a young woman discovers that a broken down VW bug isn’t a prototypical junkyard heap — it’s a Transformer. With Hailee Steinfeld, Dylan O’Brien, Justin Theroux, John Cena, Pamela Adlon, Stephen Schneider. Written by Christina Hodson, Kelly Fremon Craig; story by Hodson. Directed by Travis Knight. (1:53) PG-13.

Cold War

A man and a woman from disparate backgrounds are fated to love and suffer with each other in writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski’s drama set in 1950s Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris. With Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot. In Polish, French, German, Russian, Italian and Croatian with English subtitles. (1:28) R.

Delaware Shore

A Holocaust survivor who made her way to America must raise her abandoned twin grandchildren. With Gail Wagner. Written and directed by Raghav Peri; based on a novel by Michaelangelo Rodriguez. (1:38) NR.

Second Act

Jennifer Lopez stars as a working-class woman who unexpectedly breaks into the corporate world. With Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia, Dave Foley, Larry Miller. Written by Justin Zackham, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. Directed by Peter Segal. (1:43) PG-13.

Swing Kids

Musical drama about a North Korean soldier who learns to tap dance while being held in a prison camp during the Korean War. With Do Kyung-soo, Park Hye-su, Jared Grimes. Written by Woo-Sung Jang, Hyeong-Cheol Kang. Directed by Hyeong-Cheol Kang. In Korean with English subtitles. (2:13) R.

Welcome to Marwen

A man seriously wounded in a vicious assault seeks healing through an elaborate art installation that pays tribute to the women in his life. With Steve Carell, Leslie Mann, Diane Kruger, Merritt Wever, Janelle Monáe, Gwendoline Christie. Written by Robert Zemeckis, Caroline Thompson. Directed by Zemeckis. (1:56) PG-13.