WEEK IN PREVIEW

MOVIES

In “The Big Hit,” Mark Wahlberg (right, with China Chow) plays a hired killer in a misfired kidnap plot who’s made vulnerable by his need to be liked by everybody. This latest U.S. production by Hong Kong action master John Woo opens Friday in general release. Lou Diamond Phillips co-stars.

MOVIES

Gwyneth Paltrow’s destiny is determined by whether or not she makes it aboard an about-to-depart London subway train in “Sliding Doors.” Writer-director Peter Howitt tells it both ways. The romantic comedy-fantasy, with John Hannah and John Lynch, opens Friday in general release.

THEATER

Set in a private mental institution staffed by oversexed doctors, “What the Butler Saw” is an anarchic, bawdy comedy by ‘60s bad boy of British theater Joe Orton. The play, an

exploration of sexual identity, religious repression and social hypocrisy, opens Friday at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

MUSIC

Flutist Eugenia Zukerman and actress Claire Bloom bring “Words & Music” back to the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Friday. They will be assisted by pianist Brian Zeger, offering music by Debussy, Messiaen, Mancini and others and diverse texts from Chinese, Japanese and Western authors.

POP MUSIC

The George Strait Country Music Festival, which has been playing to packed stadiums this spring, rolls into Edison International Field of Anaheim on Saturday. Sharing the bill with Strait: Tim McGraw, John Michael Montgomery, Faith Hill, Lee Ann Womack, Lila McCann and Asleep at the Wheel.

ART

“50 Years of Friendship: America & Israel” opens Thursday at the Skirball Cultural Center in Brentwood. Exhibitions honoring the birth of Israel present photographs, historical artifacts from the Truman Library and work by silversmith Moshe Zabari, including “Spice Container” (1993), above.

JAZZ

The fifth annual KLON-FM Spring Jazz Club Caravan makes stops at 14 venues Thursday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Among the participants: the Phil Norman Tentet (at Lunaria), Carl Saunders (Club Brasserie), Frank Capp’s Quintet (Moonlight) and Teddy Edwards (Hollywood Park Casino).

VIDEO

Dame Judi Dench gives a remarkable, Oscar-nominated portrayal of Queen Victoria in the engrossing historical drama “Mrs. Brown.” Scottish comic Billy Connolly is equally impressive as her confidant, Mr. Brown. The drama, for which Dench won the Golden Globe, arrives on video on Tuesday.

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Early Warning: James L. Brooks’ “As Good as It Gets” was an actor’s dream, netting Oscars for Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. The video arrives May 19.