Friday means movies are opening! Though dreary January is a bleak time for cinema, there are a few prospects opening today. There's a crazy, mean old witch, plus some movies that don't star Gwyneth Paltrow.

Country Strong

Gwyneth Paltrow aims for the heartland with this country music redemption story that was, apparently, inspired by the tragic rollercoaster life of Britney Spears. Tim McGraw and Leighton Meester costar, blah blah, so what. All that matters is that Garrett Hedlund makes a mighty fine-lookin' cowboy. (Wide release)

Season of the Witch

Nicolas Cage's totally normal career continues to be totally normal with this regular-seeming movie about demons and witches in the olden times. It's too bad Nicolas Cage makes such regular, not-weird movies these days. (Wide release)

The Time That Remains

This visually intriguing movie tells a semi-autobiographical story of a group of Palestinians from 1948 to the present. So nothing bad ever happens and everyone's happy all the time, basically. (Limited release)

If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle

The current Romanian cinema boom continues apace with this award-winning story of a teenage boy facing his last two weeks in a juvenile detention center while on the outside his home life unravels. The hot new generation of Romanian filmmakers aren't exactly known for their sunny stories, it's true. (Opened in NY on Wed.)