Big screen

Opening Friday

Jack the Giant Slayer (PG-13) This riff on the old Jack and the Beanstalk fable stars Nicholas Hoult ( Warm Bodies) as a young man battling hordes of CGI giants. Directed by Bryan Singer ( The Usual Suspects, X-Men), which gives us hope there’s more here than dull, Clash of the Titans-style crash and bang.

21 & Over (R) Raunchy comedy about a young man (Miles Teller) celebrating his 21st birthday with his friends during a wild night of debauchery. We’ve all been there.

The Sweeney (R) Film adaptation of the 1970s U.K. TV series, starring Ray Winstone as a seen-it-all police officer patrolling the mean streets of London.

The Last Exorcism Part II (R): Ashley Bell returns as a young woman who has a knack for attracting demons and shaky handheld camerawork.

Rene Rodriguez

Small screen

Argo: Inside Story (12 p.m. Sunday, Discovery) Ben Affleck’s film about how a couple of Hollywood producers helped the CIA sneak American diplomats out of Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis is expected to win a bunch of Oscars. This documentary tells the real story of the operation, which is less James Bondish than the movie, though just as interesting.

Golden Boy (10 p.m. Tuesday, CBS) In the latest CBS cop drama, Theo James plays an ambitious New York City policeman who will do just about anything to make his way to the top of the department.

Parade’s End (9 p.m. Tuesday, HBO) Oh, do shut up about how your miserable, insipid life isn’t worth living now that Downton Abbey’s season has ended. Here’s another talky Edwardian costume drama, a three-part miniseries written by Tom Stoppard. Tune in, turn on, be quiet.

Evil Twins (9 p.m. Wednesday, Identification Discovery) A true-crime series in which all the culprits and most of the victims are twins. The first episode revolves around my evil twin Ebenezer, who was supposed to have finished this column hours ago, damn him!

Glenn Garvin