Next Week in Tickets: Films playing Boston 31 December 2015 - 7 January 2016

New Year's Weekend is pretty much the most boring one of the year in terms of movie releases; there's a glut of stuff that came out on Christmas that people are still getting around to seeing, the limited releases are still waiting to see what gets awards traction, and no-one wants to mess with Star Wars this year

• Because it's such a quiet weekend, The Weinstein Company saw an opportunity to move the wide release of The Hateful Eight up (all the way to December 29th, it turns out), which seems like kind of a kick in the teeth to those places that made the effort to get 70mm with the idea that they would have it for a couple of weeks. Indeed, you should still see Quentin Tarantino's latest at the Somerville Theatre, the Coolidge, or even the "roadshow" screenings at Boston Common - it's longer, it's gorgeous, the intermission is part of the storytelling, there are programs handed out. But if you can't get there, (which I doubt), there are digital screenings at Apple Fresh Pond, the Embassy, Boston Common, Assembly Row,Revere, and the SuperLux. Just know the filmmakers are very disappointed in you.
  
  Boston Common also adds Devil and Angel to their Chinese offerings of Mr. Six and Mojin - The Lost Legend. The new one is a road-trip comedy with a top student and a hooligan who try to work out their issues together. Boston Common and Revere will also being showing rebroadcasts of the New Year's Day Sherlock: The Abominable Bride special on Tuesday and Wednesday. Featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman
• With The Hateful Eight fully camped out on screen #1, The Coolidge Corner Theatre doesn't mess with the schedule too much, most notably starting a weekend midnight series of Tarantino movies and one notable influence on Saturday with a 35mm print of Reservoir Dogs.
• The Brattle Theatre continues their run of Rocco & His Brothers, aldthough it gets reduced schedules on many days before its final matinee Thursday. On New Year's Eve, for instance, much of the schedule goes to Casablanca, and you might want to hit that 35mm print because Warner is pulling it for a while, meaning the Brattle won't have their usual Valentine's Day shows. New Year's Day, meanwhile, is given over to the annual Marx Brothers Marathon, with The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup all playing on 35mm.
  
  Tuesday, IFFBoston presents a free preview of Mustang, featuring five sisters in Turkey whose parents attempt to clamp down on their independence. It's one of the most acclaimed films of the year.
  
  On Wednesday, they kick off the next leg of 75 Years of Film Noir - Sex & Death & Venetian Blinds: Neo-Noir of the 1980s and 1990s. The first couple nights look pretty great, with a double feature of Body Heat (35mm) & Body Double on Wednesday and a twin bill of Against All Odds (35mm) & the Dennis Quaid D.O.A. on Thursday. And there's another week coming after that.
• A new month (and year) means a new calendar at The Museum of Fine Arts, which kicks off with Words in Motion: Graham Greene as Screenwriter. It's a great start including Brighton Rock (35mm, Saturday/Wednesday), The Third Man (DCP, Saturday/Sunday/Thursday), and The Fallen Idol (35mm, Sunday/Wednesday/Thursday).
• The Institute of Contemporary Art has another group of short films this weekend, with a selections from The Ottawa International Animation Festival, one of the world's most prestigious. 3pm Saturday and Sunday, with another show next Friday evening.

Not a lot new, but I'll catch Devil and Angel, get to some of the stuff I didn't manage last week, and maybe try for Mustang, Brighton Rock, and some noir. Maybe even seconds of Star Wars and Hateful Eight.