Critics’ picks, January 24–February 6, 2013

1. Flight
Dir. Robert Zemeckis. 2012. R. 138mins. Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman.
Zemeckis wings it back to live-action filmmaking with this ballsy, morally thorny quasi-thriller. Washington stars as a pilot who makes a miraculous crash-landing—then has to navigate the resultant course of bureaucratic and personal culpability. Available on demand widely Tue 5.

2. The Awakening
Dir. Nick Murphy. 2011. R. 107mins. Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton.
A professional suspicion-debunker (Hall) travels to a countryside boarding school to solve the death of a student. Although Murphy’s twist-prone chiller cheats in its second half, it mostly charms as an old-fashioned, well-paced ghost story. Available on demand widely Tue 29.

3. Brooklyn Castle
Dir. Katie Dellamaggiore. 2012. PG. 101mins. Documentary.
Dellamaggiore tracks a Brooklyn junior high school’s top-ranked chess team through highs and lows as they defend their title. Available on demand widely Tue 5.