No new releases, as distributors take a rare week off, presenting a fine opportunity to catch up with one of our recommended choices. Personally, I expect to spend the weekend fine-tuning the site and adding content, or else I might spend a day at the Angelika Dallas.

Two repertory films of note tonight:

The African Queen. Bogie and Hepburn in John Huston’s rousing, if distractingly sentimental, adventure. 7:30 p.m. at the Palace in Grapevine.

Purple Rain. Celebrate the new year by smirking at the 80s as Prince sings and dances his way into your heart, and Apollonia risks catching a cold by taking a quick topless dip in a bone-chilling lake. Midnight Madness at the Inwood Theatre in Dallas.

* CRITIC’S CHOICES *

Armored. Smart, tight thriller from Nimrod Antal (the great Kontroll) squeezes an old formula for highly-coiled tension.  –> Read full review. (Check showtimes.)

Broken Embraces. Pedro Almodovar’s mesmerizing melodrama brims over with bittersweet, tragic romance. Penelope Cruz is scary good. (Landmark Magnolia and Angelika Plano; check showtimes.)