This holiday weekend brings out a variety of new films, including two featuring Liam Neeson. Life-changing situations alter many of the characters in this week’s new releases. A star-studded cast lends their voices to a new animated musical comedy from the makers of the Minions.

A struggling theater owner hopes to bring in some money with a singing competition in Sing. The contest brings out a variety of animals, all hoping that it will be the big break that will take them away from their troubles. The PG animated comedy features the voices of Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly and Tori Kelly. The musical film plays for one hour and fifty minutes.

A group of people, looking to escape their life, take a chance at something new by heading into space in Passengers. They board a spaceship with the expectation to be hibernating for 120 years and wake up on another planet. Something goes wrong when a man and a woman find themselves cognizant 90 years too soon. While everyone else remains asleep, they try to figure out a way to survive as their spacecraft faces danger. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in the PG-13 adventure. The film plays for one hour and fifty-six minutes.

A young woman introduces her parents to her boyfriend in Why Him. Unfortunately, the love of her life is everything but what her parents have hoped. Wanting to marry her, he goes to great lengths to change their view of him. James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mullally and Zoey Deutch star in the one hour and fifty-one minute comedy. It’s rated R for language and sex.

The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing is the focus of Patriots Day. The terrorist attack destroyed lives but it also showed how people come together amid tragedy. The two hour and ten minute drama is based on the real stories of people that lived through the devastation. First responders, investigators, law enforcement and government officials stepped up in the face of danger. Mark Wahlberg stars in the film alongside John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, J.K. Simmons and Michelle Monaghan. It’s rated R for violence, language and drugs.

Set in the 1950’s, a family deals with the racial tensions in America in Fences. A father, who is frustrated with how his life turned out, projects his grievances on his family. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis reprise their award-winning Broadway roles on the big screen in this PG-13 drama. The two hour and thirteen minute film is currently in limited release but expands wide on Christmas Day.

When their mentor goes missing in Japan, two Christian missionaries go on a dangerous mission to find him in Silence. Since Christianity is illegal in the country, just entering into the Land of the Rising Sun puts their lives as risk. The two hour and forty-one minute drama is directed by Martin Scorsese and is based on Shusaku Endo’s novel of the same name. Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver star in the film. It’s rated R for violence.

A soldier returns home from war with vengeance on his mind in Live By Night. Despite his law abiding upbringing, the son of the Boston Police Department Superintendent enters into a life of crime. With each move he makes, he straddles the line of his morality. Ben Affeck wrote, directed and stars in the two hour and eight minute thriller based on Dennis Lehane’s crime novel. Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana and Chris Cooper costar in the film. The crime drama opens in limited theaters on Christmas Day and expands to wide release on Jan. 13. It’s rated R for violence, language, sex and nudity.

A man discovers that he is a descendant of skilled fighters in Assassin’s Creed. Through special technology, he learns about his ancestors firsthand as he travels back in time to 15th century Spain. There, he uncovers that his family’s abilities can help him fight in present day. The PG-13 action film stars Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons. The adventure runs for one hour and fifty-five minutes.

A troubled young boy calls on a monster for help in A Monster Calls. The monster helps him gain confidence, overcome his struggles with his classmates and helps him cope with his mom’s illness. The PG-13 drama stars Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver. It’s playing in limited theaters for one hour and forty-eight minutes and expands into wide release on Jan. 6.

Liam Neeson had two films out this weekend, but next week Elle Fanning and Adam Driver add another to their credits with the comedic dramas 20th Century Women and Paterson.

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