By Annie Wen
Staff Writer

With midterms getting closer and closer a movie is a good way to relieve any stress and to just relax and take a break from all that cramming and studying.

On Friday January 13 three new movies will be opening in wide release: Beauty and the Beast in 3D, Contraband, and Joyful Noise.

Beauty and the Beast is a timeless Disney classic. It tells the story of Belle, a girl who goes to live in a mansion with a Beast and how she falls in love with him. Originally released in 1991 the movie has been remade and is now available in 3D.

Contraband is an action/adventure and thriller film. Former smuggler Chris Farraday, played by Mark Wahlberg, is forced back into the business after his brother-in-law botches a deal. In order to set things right Chris must smuggle millions of dollars in counterfeit bills from Panama into the United States. And if anything goes wrong the drug lords will target his entire family for death. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, and Giovanni Ribisi.

Joyful Noise is a musical/performing arts film starring Queen Latifa, Dolly Parton, and Keke Palmer. The movie is about the church choir of a small Georgia town. The choir has entered a national competition but the two leading women, Vi Rose (Queen Latifa) and G.G. (Dolly Parton) are disagreeing about everything. The two must pull it together and work things out for the sake of the choir or they could lose everything.

For movie times and theaters click here.