Crawl into My Head
Friday, January 26, 2007
Movie Release 1/26
Blood and Chocolate (PG-13); Nationwide
Ten years ago, in the remote mountains of Colorado, a young girl watched helplessly as her family was murdered by a pack of angry men for the secret they carried in their blood. She survived by running into the woods, and changing into something the hunters could never find--a wolf. Now, though she lives half a world away, Vivian Gandillon is still running. Living in relative safety in Bucharest, Vivian spends her days working at a chocolate shop and nights trawling the city's underground clubs, fending off the reckless antics of her cousin Rafe and his gang of delinquents he calls "The Five." Aiden Galvin is an artist researching Bucharest's ancient art and relics for his next graphic novel based on the mythology of the loup garoux--shapeshifters whose power to change effortlessly into the forms of both human and wolf was once considered holy among men. Wrestling demons of his own, Aiden hopes to explore the inner lives of these outsiders that he believes were persecuted to extinction--labeled monsters, murderers, werewolves. What he doesn't know is that the loup garoux are not only very real, they're far from extinct. During a chance encounter in an abandoned church celebrating the loup garoux, Aiden unknowingly comes face-to-face with the real thing, Vivian. Others may have secrets but none as extraordinary as hers, for Vivian is among the last of her kind, leading a tenuous existence under the protection and control of Gabriel, the powerful and enigmatic leader of one of the last packs of loup garoux on earth. After their brief exchange in the church, Aiden can't get Vivian out of his mind, nor can she forget him. He pursues her until she relents and begins to see him, but she can't bring herself to tell him the truth--and lives in fear of showing him what she really is. And what's worse: her future, and who she falls in love with, is already predetermined. To keep their kind from being hunted to extinction, Gabriel holds them to strict laws. One is that he must take a new bride every seven years, and Vivian has been prophesied to be his next.
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy, Olivier Martinez, Katja Riemann, Bryan Dick
Catch and Release (PG-13); Nationwide
After the sudden death of her fiancé, Gray Wheeler finds comfort in the company of his friends: lighthearted and comic Sam, hyper-responsible Dennis, and, oddly enough, his old childhood buddy Fritz, an irresponsible playboy whom she'd previously pegged as one of the least reliable people in the world. As secrets about her supposedly perfect fiancé emerge, Gray comes to see new sides of the men she thought she knew, and at the same time, finds herself drawn to the last man she ever expected to fall for.
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Sonja Bennett, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Sam Jaeger
Epic Movie (PG-13); Nationwide
Centers on four not-so-young orphans: one raised by a curator at the Louvre (where an albino assassin lurks), another a refugee from Mexican libre wrestling, the third a recent victim of snakes on her plane, and the fourth a normal resident of a mutant X community. The hapless quartet visits a chocolate factory, where they stumble into an enchanted wardrobe that transports them to the land of Gnamia (with a G). There they meet a flamboyant pirate captain and earnest students of wizardry--and join forces with, among others, a wise-but-horny lion to defeat the evil White Bitch of Gnarnia.
Starring: Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Faune A. Chambers, Jayma Mays, Mary Castro
Smokin' Aces (R); Nationwide
In these interlocking tales of high stakes and low lifes, Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy Aces Israel--a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout.When word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, smokin' hot vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Peter Berg, Brian Bloom, Sharon Bruneau, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta
Volver (R); Nationwide
Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. They are Raimunda, who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter; Sole, her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both, who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbor in the village, Agustina.
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Yohana Cobo, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo
Breaking and Entering (R); Limited
A young Muslim thief breaks into the office of a yuppie architect in London; afterwards the architect re-evaluates his life. A series of related events intersects the lives of the two men with a variety of other people in the seedy inner-city area of Kings Cross.
Starring: Jude Law, Vera Farmiga, Juliette Binoche, Martin Freeman, Ray Winstone
Notes on a Scandal (R); Limited
Barbara Covett, the keeper of an acerbic diary, is a domineering and solitary teacher who rules with an iron fist over her classroom at a decaying state-run secondary school in London. Save for her cat, Portia, Barbara lives alone, without friends or confidantes--but her world changes when she meets the school's new attractive art teacher, Sheba Hart. Sheba appears to be the kindred spirit and loyal friend Barbara has always been seeking. But when she discovers that Sheba is having an incendiary affair with one of her young students, their budding relationship takes an ominous turn. Now, as Barbara threatens to expose Sheba's terrible secret to both her husband and the world, Barbara's own secrets and dark obsessions come tumbling to the fore, exposing the deceptions at the core of each of the women's lives.
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Andrew Simpson, Phil Davis
Salaam-e-Ishq (NR); Limited
"Salaam-e-ishq" is the story of six groups of people. They are from different parts of the world and from different walks of life. They are ignorant about each other's existence, but they end up being brought together by destiny, fate and love.
Starring: Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna
Seraphim Falls (R); Limited
The Civil War has ended, but Colonel Morsman Carver is on one final mission: to kill Gideon no matter what it takes. Launched by a gunshot and propelled by rage, the relentless pursuit takes them both far from the comforts and codes of civilization, into the bloodiest recesses of their own souls.
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Angie Harmon, Jimmi Simpson
Coming Attractions
-----------------------
Because I Said So (PG-13); Nationwide
The Messengers (PG-13); Nationwide
__________________
There have been some new developments lately in my life....those details to come soon...... ¶ 1/26/2007 07:39:00 AM 1 comments
Ten years ago, in the remote mountains of Colorado, a young girl watched helplessly as her family was murdered by a pack of angry men for the secret they carried in their blood. She survived by running into the woods, and changing into something the hunters could never find--a wolf. Now, though she lives half a world away, Vivian Gandillon is still running. Living in relative safety in Bucharest, Vivian spends her days working at a chocolate shop and nights trawling the city's underground clubs, fending off the reckless antics of her cousin Rafe and his gang of delinquents he calls "The Five." Aiden Galvin is an artist researching Bucharest's ancient art and relics for his next graphic novel based on the mythology of the loup garoux--shapeshifters whose power to change effortlessly into the forms of both human and wolf was once considered holy among men. Wrestling demons of his own, Aiden hopes to explore the inner lives of these outsiders that he believes were persecuted to extinction--labeled monsters, murderers, werewolves. What he doesn't know is that the loup garoux are not only very real, they're far from extinct. During a chance encounter in an abandoned church celebrating the loup garoux, Aiden unknowingly comes face-to-face with the real thing, Vivian. Others may have secrets but none as extraordinary as hers, for Vivian is among the last of her kind, leading a tenuous existence under the protection and control of Gabriel, the powerful and enigmatic leader of one of the last packs of loup garoux on earth. After their brief exchange in the church, Aiden can't get Vivian out of his mind, nor can she forget him. He pursues her until she relents and begins to see him, but she can't bring herself to tell him the truth--and lives in fear of showing him what she really is. And what's worse: her future, and who she falls in love with, is already predetermined. To keep their kind from being hunted to extinction, Gabriel holds them to strict laws. One is that he must take a new bride every seven years, and Vivian has been prophesied to be his next.
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy, Olivier Martinez, Katja Riemann, Bryan Dick
Catch and Release (PG-13); Nationwide
After the sudden death of her fiancé, Gray Wheeler finds comfort in the company of his friends: lighthearted and comic Sam, hyper-responsible Dennis, and, oddly enough, his old childhood buddy Fritz, an irresponsible playboy whom she'd previously pegged as one of the least reliable people in the world. As secrets about her supposedly perfect fiancé emerge, Gray comes to see new sides of the men she thought she knew, and at the same time, finds herself drawn to the last man she ever expected to fall for.
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Sonja Bennett, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Sam Jaeger
Epic Movie (PG-13); Nationwide
Centers on four not-so-young orphans: one raised by a curator at the Louvre (where an albino assassin lurks), another a refugee from Mexican libre wrestling, the third a recent victim of snakes on her plane, and the fourth a normal resident of a mutant X community. The hapless quartet visits a chocolate factory, where they stumble into an enchanted wardrobe that transports them to the land of Gnamia (with a G). There they meet a flamboyant pirate captain and earnest students of wizardry--and join forces with, among others, a wise-but-horny lion to defeat the evil White Bitch of Gnarnia.
Starring: Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Faune A. Chambers, Jayma Mays, Mary Castro
Smokin' Aces (R); Nationwide
In these interlocking tales of high stakes and low lifes, Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy Aces Israel--a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout.When word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, smokin' hot vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Peter Berg, Brian Bloom, Sharon Bruneau, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta
Volver (R); Nationwide
Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. They are Raimunda, who is married to an unemployed labourer and has a teenage daughter; Sole, her sister, who makes a living as a hairdresser; and the mother of both, who died in a fire along with her husband. This character appears first to her sister and then to Sole, although the people with whom she has some unresolved matters are Raimunda and her neighbor in the village, Agustina.
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Yohana Cobo, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo
Breaking and Entering (R); Limited
A young Muslim thief breaks into the office of a yuppie architect in London; afterwards the architect re-evaluates his life. A series of related events intersects the lives of the two men with a variety of other people in the seedy inner-city area of Kings Cross.
Starring: Jude Law, Vera Farmiga, Juliette Binoche, Martin Freeman, Ray Winstone
Notes on a Scandal (R); Limited
Barbara Covett, the keeper of an acerbic diary, is a domineering and solitary teacher who rules with an iron fist over her classroom at a decaying state-run secondary school in London. Save for her cat, Portia, Barbara lives alone, without friends or confidantes--but her world changes when she meets the school's new attractive art teacher, Sheba Hart. Sheba appears to be the kindred spirit and loyal friend Barbara has always been seeking. But when she discovers that Sheba is having an incendiary affair with one of her young students, their budding relationship takes an ominous turn. Now, as Barbara threatens to expose Sheba's terrible secret to both her husband and the world, Barbara's own secrets and dark obsessions come tumbling to the fore, exposing the deceptions at the core of each of the women's lives.
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Andrew Simpson, Phil Davis
Salaam-e-Ishq (NR); Limited
"Salaam-e-ishq" is the story of six groups of people. They are from different parts of the world and from different walks of life. They are ignorant about each other's existence, but they end up being brought together by destiny, fate and love.
Starring: Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaye Khanna
Seraphim Falls (R); Limited
The Civil War has ended, but Colonel Morsman Carver is on one final mission: to kill Gideon no matter what it takes. Launched by a gunshot and propelled by rage, the relentless pursuit takes them both far from the comforts and codes of civilization, into the bloodiest recesses of their own souls.
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Angie Harmon, Jimmi Simpson
Coming Attractions
-----------------------
Because I Said So (PG-13); Nationwide
The Messengers (PG-13); Nationwide
__________________
There have been some new developments lately in my life....those details to come soon...... ¶ 1/26/2007 07:39:00 AM 1 comments
Friday, January 19, 2007
Movie Day...1/19
The Good German (R); Nationwide
Berlin, 1945. U.S. war correspondent Jake Geismer has just arrived to cover the upcoming Potsdam Peace Conference, where Allied leaders will meet to determine the fate of a vanquished Germany and a newly liberated Europe--and, in the process, carve up what's left of any value for themselves. It's not Jake's first visit to Berlin. He once managed a news bureau here. He once fell in love here. But that seems a lifetime ago as he takes in the staggering devastation on the jeep ride from the airport to his hotel in the American zone. Jake's driver, Corporal Tully, exudes small-town American charm--an eager, guileless, good-natured kid from the Midwest. In reality, he's corrupt to the core, bartering anything and anyone, and playing all sides for the highest price. But that's not unusual. Everyone in Berlin has a secret now. Everyone is working an angle to get what they need: money, power, survival--or just a way out. Tully's black market dealings don't interest Jake, but Tully's girlfriend does. She's Lena Brandt, Jake's former love, although somehow, now, not quite the person he once knew. She has been irrevocably changed by the war, the hardship of life in this ruined city and the burden of her own secrets. When Tully ends up in the Russian zone with 100,000 marks in his pocket and a bullet in his back, Jake finds himself drawn into the mystery of this murder, and the bigger mystery of why both the American and Russian authorities look the other way. The deeper his investigation takes him, the more it leads him back to Lena. Jake discovers that it is nearly impossible to unearth the truth in a time and place where people are still reeling from the horrors of the war and desperate to salvage their humanity in the shadow of the often unbearable knowledge of what they did to survive.
Starring: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Robin Weigert, Dave Power
The Hitcher (R); Nationwide
A thriller which tracks the terror-filled trajectory of Grace Andrews and Jim Halsey, a collegiate couple who are tormented by the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher. The young couple hit the road in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, en route to spring break. But their pleasure trip soon turns into a waking nightmare. The initial encounters with Ryder are increasingly off-putting for Grace and Jim, and they bravely fight back when he ambushes them. However, they are truly blindsided when he implicates them in a horrific slaying and continues to shadow them. The open road becomes a battleground of suspense and action, blood and metal as--in trying to elude not only Ryder but also New Mexico State Police Lieutenant Esteridge's officers--Grace and Jim must fight for their lives and face their fears head-on.
Starring: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Kyle Davis, Neal McDonough
Screamers (R); Nationwide
A documentary examining why genocides keep occurring--from the Armenian genocide in 1915, to the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda and now Darfur. With the contribution of the band 'System of a Down', whose members are all grandchildren of genocide survivors, the film traces the locations and stories of genocide in the last century. Through the arguments of Pulitzer prize-winning author Samantha Power, the personal stories of genocide survivors, policy critics and whistleblowers--the screamers--the film dissects the problem of genocide denial and, as well, Power's thesis that America's interest has always been to stay neutral, no matter how wide-scale the carnage, with successive Presidents conspiring to turn a blind eye to genocides as they are happening. After the Holocaust, we may say never again--but we don't mean it.
Starring: John Dolmayan, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, Serj Tankian
Babel (R); Limited
In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out--detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple's frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost--lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves--as they are pushed to the farthest edges of confusion and fear as well as to the very depths of connection and love.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Mahima Chaudhry
The Dead Girl (R); Limited
The murdered body of a young woman named Krista is found by Arden, a lonesome caretaker living with her irascible mother. This leads to Leah, a forensics graduate student whose sister went missing as a child, stumbling upon possible closure when Krista's body appears on her gurney. The story continues with Ruth, who in the midst of a long and intense love/hate relationship with her husband, discovers a disturbing connection between her husband and Krista's murder. Finally, Melora is a mother searching for answers about her runaway daughter Krista's troubled life and finds help in her quest from another troubled young woman.
Starring: Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy
God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan (PG); Limited
Orphaned by a tumultuous civil war and traveling barefoot across the sub-Saharan desert, John Bul Dau, Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Blor were among the 25,000 "Lost Boys" (ages 3 to 13) who fled villages, formed surrogate families and sought refuge from famine, disease, wild animals and attacks from rebel soldiers. The boys traveled together for five years and against all odds crossed into the UN's refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. A journey's end for some, it was only the beginning for John, Daniel and Panther, who along with 3,800 other young survivors, were selected by the International Rescue committee to re-settle in the United States. The cameras observe three resilient young men in a complex and confusing western world. illuminating all that has been gained and much that has been lost in the continuing immigrant experience of coming to America.
Starring: John Bul Dou, Peter Greneng, Mabouc Thon Mabouc, Paul Ding Nyuon, Daniel Abul Pach
The Last King of Scotland (R); Limited
A Scottish doctor on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin. Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin's savagery--and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Limited
Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that, in all probability, they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in America have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war, but have also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home.
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (R); Limited
Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
Starring: Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Venus (R); Limited
Maurice and Ian are a pair of veteran actors who never quite hit the big time. Now in their ‘golden years,' they continue to work, though the jobs are far from glamorous. But their comfortable routine and witty banter over breakfast in a favorite café is disrupted by the arrival of Ian's grand-niece, Jessie. Jessie quickly tries her great-uncle's patience; but Maurice is absolutely taken with the young woman and proceeds to show her the cultural sights of London. As Maurice tries to give Jessie the benefit of his experience, he is surprised to discover how very little he actually knows about himself now that his life is drawing to a close. Jessie, who had arrived with an enormous chip on her shoulders, slowly learns from Maurice the value of respect--for herself as well as others.
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths
Director(s): Roger Michell
Coming Attractions
-
Blood and Chocolate (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Catch and Release (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Epic Movie (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Smokin' Aces (R); Nationwide; opens 1/26 ¶ 1/19/2007 08:44:00 AM 0 comments
Berlin, 1945. U.S. war correspondent Jake Geismer has just arrived to cover the upcoming Potsdam Peace Conference, where Allied leaders will meet to determine the fate of a vanquished Germany and a newly liberated Europe--and, in the process, carve up what's left of any value for themselves. It's not Jake's first visit to Berlin. He once managed a news bureau here. He once fell in love here. But that seems a lifetime ago as he takes in the staggering devastation on the jeep ride from the airport to his hotel in the American zone. Jake's driver, Corporal Tully, exudes small-town American charm--an eager, guileless, good-natured kid from the Midwest. In reality, he's corrupt to the core, bartering anything and anyone, and playing all sides for the highest price. But that's not unusual. Everyone in Berlin has a secret now. Everyone is working an angle to get what they need: money, power, survival--or just a way out. Tully's black market dealings don't interest Jake, but Tully's girlfriend does. She's Lena Brandt, Jake's former love, although somehow, now, not quite the person he once knew. She has been irrevocably changed by the war, the hardship of life in this ruined city and the burden of her own secrets. When Tully ends up in the Russian zone with 100,000 marks in his pocket and a bullet in his back, Jake finds himself drawn into the mystery of this murder, and the bigger mystery of why both the American and Russian authorities look the other way. The deeper his investigation takes him, the more it leads him back to Lena. Jake discovers that it is nearly impossible to unearth the truth in a time and place where people are still reeling from the horrors of the war and desperate to salvage their humanity in the shadow of the often unbearable knowledge of what they did to survive.
Starring: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Robin Weigert, Dave Power
The Hitcher (R); Nationwide
A thriller which tracks the terror-filled trajectory of Grace Andrews and Jim Halsey, a collegiate couple who are tormented by the mysterious hitchhiker John Ryder, a.k.a. The Hitcher. The young couple hit the road in a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, en route to spring break. But their pleasure trip soon turns into a waking nightmare. The initial encounters with Ryder are increasingly off-putting for Grace and Jim, and they bravely fight back when he ambushes them. However, they are truly blindsided when he implicates them in a horrific slaying and continues to shadow them. The open road becomes a battleground of suspense and action, blood and metal as--in trying to elude not only Ryder but also New Mexico State Police Lieutenant Esteridge's officers--Grace and Jim must fight for their lives and face their fears head-on.
Starring: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Kyle Davis, Neal McDonough
Screamers (R); Nationwide
A documentary examining why genocides keep occurring--from the Armenian genocide in 1915, to the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda and now Darfur. With the contribution of the band 'System of a Down', whose members are all grandchildren of genocide survivors, the film traces the locations and stories of genocide in the last century. Through the arguments of Pulitzer prize-winning author Samantha Power, the personal stories of genocide survivors, policy critics and whistleblowers--the screamers--the film dissects the problem of genocide denial and, as well, Power's thesis that America's interest has always been to stay neutral, no matter how wide-scale the carnage, with successive Presidents conspiring to turn a blind eye to genocides as they are happening. After the Holocaust, we may say never again--but we don't mean it.
Starring: John Dolmayan, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, Serj Tankian
Babel (R); Limited
In the remote sands of the Moroccan desert, a rifle shot rings out--detonating a chain of events that will link an American tourist couple's frantic struggle to survive, two Moroccan boys involved in an accidental crime, a nanny illegally crossing into Mexico with two American children and a Japanese teen rebel whose father is sought by the police in Tokyo. Separated by clashing cultures and sprawling distances, each of these four disparate groups of people are nevertheless hurtling towards a shared destiny of isolation and grief. In the course of just a few days, they will each face the dizzying sensation of becoming profoundly lost--lost in the desert, lost to the world, lost to themselves--as they are pushed to the farthest edges of confusion and fear as well as to the very depths of connection and love.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Mahima Chaudhry
The Dead Girl (R); Limited
The murdered body of a young woman named Krista is found by Arden, a lonesome caretaker living with her irascible mother. This leads to Leah, a forensics graduate student whose sister went missing as a child, stumbling upon possible closure when Krista's body appears on her gurney. The story continues with Ruth, who in the midst of a long and intense love/hate relationship with her husband, discovers a disturbing connection between her husband and Krista's murder. Finally, Melora is a mother searching for answers about her runaway daughter Krista's troubled life and finds help in her quest from another troubled young woman.
Starring: Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy
God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of Lost Boys of Sudan (PG); Limited
Orphaned by a tumultuous civil war and traveling barefoot across the sub-Saharan desert, John Bul Dau, Daniel Abol Pach and Panther Blor were among the 25,000 "Lost Boys" (ages 3 to 13) who fled villages, formed surrogate families and sought refuge from famine, disease, wild animals and attacks from rebel soldiers. The boys traveled together for five years and against all odds crossed into the UN's refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya. A journey's end for some, it was only the beginning for John, Daniel and Panther, who along with 3,800 other young survivors, were selected by the International Rescue committee to re-settle in the United States. The cameras observe three resilient young men in a complex and confusing western world. illuminating all that has been gained and much that has been lost in the continuing immigrant experience of coming to America.
Starring: John Bul Dou, Peter Greneng, Mabouc Thon Mabouc, Paul Ding Nyuon, Daniel Abul Pach
The Last King of Scotland (R); Limited
A Scottish doctor on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin. Impressed by Dr. Garrigan's brazen attitude in a moment of crisis, the newly self-appointed Ugandan President Amin hand picks him as his personal physician and closest confidante. Though Garrigan is at first flattered and fascinated by his new position, he soon awakens to Amin's savagery--and his own complicity in it. Horror and betrayal ensue as Garrigan tries to right his wrongs and escape Uganda alive.
Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo, Kerry Washington
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Limited
Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that, in all probability, they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in America have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war, but have also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home.
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (R); Limited
Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
Starring: Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Venus (R); Limited
Maurice and Ian are a pair of veteran actors who never quite hit the big time. Now in their ‘golden years,' they continue to work, though the jobs are far from glamorous. But their comfortable routine and witty banter over breakfast in a favorite café is disrupted by the arrival of Ian's grand-niece, Jessie. Jessie quickly tries her great-uncle's patience; but Maurice is absolutely taken with the young woman and proceeds to show her the cultural sights of London. As Maurice tries to give Jessie the benefit of his experience, he is surprised to discover how very little he actually knows about himself now that his life is drawing to a close. Jessie, who had arrived with an enormous chip on her shoulders, slowly learns from Maurice the value of respect--for herself as well as others.
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Griffiths
Director(s): Roger Michell
Coming Attractions
-
Blood and Chocolate (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Catch and Release (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Epic Movie (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/26
Smokin' Aces (R); Nationwide; opens 1/26 ¶ 1/19/2007 08:44:00 AM 0 comments
Friday, January 12, 2007
Movies 1/12
Alpha Dog (R); Nationwide
In the sprawling, privileged neighborhoods around L.A., bored teenagers with too much time and too much money string one hazy day into another, looking for the next thrill--doing suburban imitations of the thug life they idolize from rap music, video games and movies. When you're living without any consequences, anything can happen. And in the hot California summer six years ago, something did. Johnny Truelove controls the drugs on the well-manicured streets of his neighborhood. Where Johnny goes, the party, the girls and his loyal gang follow. When he's double-crossed over missing deal money by raging hothead Jake, Johnny and his gang impulsively kidnap Jake's little brother, Zack, holding him as a marker and heading to Palm Springs. With no parents in sight, they grow used to having the kid around, and Zack enjoys an illicit summer fantasy of drinking, girls and new experiences. Out in the desert, Johnny and his boys lose sight that the kid is a hostage who can't just be neatly returned. As the days tick by, the options of how to get themselves out of their situation start to disappear. Good times turn bad and bad turns worse as Johnny finds himself out of his league and with no idea how to fix it.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Emile Hirsch, Dominique Swain
Arthur and the Invisibles (PG); Nationwide
Ten-year-old Arthur has a lot on his plate: a real estate developer is about to snap up his grandma's home... and there's no way Arthur's going to hang around for his parents or grandparents to sort out the problem. Maybe the solution lies in his grandpa's treasure, which is hidden somewhere on the other side in the land of the Minimoys. The creatures that inhabit this world are just a tenth of an inch tall and live in perfect harmony with their environment. Arthur ventures into this world of the Minimoys, where he meets Princess Selenia and her brother Betameche. Together they set off to look for the treasure that will save his grandma. An action-packed adventure ensues, full of pitfalls and intrigues, all the way up to the forbidden city ruled by the evil M the Malicious. Arthur's journey in the Minimoys universe reveals that sometimes the smallest heroes make the biggest difference.
Starring: Penny Balfour, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Mia Farrow, Freddie Highmore
Dreamgirls (PG-13); Nationwide
Set in the turbulent early 1960s to mid-70s, the tale follows the rise of a trio of women--Effie, Deena and Lorrell--who have formed a promising girl group called The Dreamettes. At a talent competition, they are discovered by an ambitious manager named Curtis Taylor, Jr., who offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the back-up singers for headliner James Thunder Early. Curtis gradually takes control of the girls' look and sound, eventually giving them their own shot in the spotlight as The Dreams. That spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing the less attractive Effie out altogether. Though the Dreams become a cross-over phenomenon, they soon realize that the cost of fame and fortune may be higher than they ever imagined.
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Keith Robinson
Freedom Writers (PG-13); Nationwide (looks pretty good)
Fresh-faced, idealistic twenty-three-year-old Erin Gruwell is ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life--African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods--hope for nothing more than to make it through the day. On the surface, the only thing they share is their hatred for each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students' obstinate refusal to participate during class, Erin tries various means to engage them on a daily basis. But then ghetto reality steps in to focus the picture. A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in Erin's class, and an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unwittingly dynamic teaching aids. They spark a transformation in the classroom, compel them to listen and force her to take off her idealistic blinders and take in the kids' survival stories of their undeclared war on the streets. Erin begins to connect with them. She brings in music from the ‘Hood, and literature from another kind of ghetto, The Diary of Anne Frank, and with these simple tools she opens her students' eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities. Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Erin encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imeldaa Staunton, April Lee Hernandez
Miss Potter (PG); Nationwide
Inspired by a true story set in Victorian England, a tale charting the life of Beatrix Potter--a literary phenomenon of the early 20th century. At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Beatrix became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude, against the tide. She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago, and since their publication they have never been out of print. She was also a distinguished painter and--had she been a man--her botanical drawings would have been snapped up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens. In addition, by the time she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter had purchased vast swathes of the Lake District that she left to the then fledgling British conservation trust, the National Trust. That so much of this glorious countryside that inspired her, remains as it was in Beatrix Potter's day for others to enjoy, is her bequest to the nation.
Starring: Jane How, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
Primeval (R); Nationwide
In one of the most remote places on earth, a bloodthirsty serial killer has claimed more than 300 victims and is still at large to this day. Now, inspired by the true story of the world's most prolific killer, comes "Primeval," a nail-biting horror-thriller that follows an American news crew determined to capture this terrifying murderer alive. The danger begins as producer Tim Freeman, cameraman Steven Johnson and their rag-tag team set out on a journey up-river in search of their subject. But the deeper they probe into the mystery of this elusive assassin, the deadlier their trip becomes.
Starring: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jurgen Prochnow, Kevin Otto
Stomp the Yard (PG-13); Nationwide
When DJ, a troubled youth from Los Angeles, moves to Atlanta to attend Truth University, he discovers stepping, the age-old style of dance traditionally done in African-American Fraternities, where teams demonstrate complex moves and create rhythmic sounds by using their bodies. DJ's raw talent and hip-hop inspired moves quickly place him at the center of a fierce rivalry between two fraternities, the winner of which will be determined in a front of a sold-out arena at the annual stepping championships. But before he can help his teammates, he must battle his own demons and learn the true meaning of brotherhood.
Starring: Columbus Short, Megan Good, Brian White, Darrin DeWitt Henson, Ne-Yo
Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (R); Limited (can't wait until it goes national)
China, Later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century. On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai. His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress, this seems disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan, her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan, the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down an ominous path? The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor's family from the Palace to a remote area. While they are en route, mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi are forced back to the palace. Their return sets off a tumultuous sequence of dark surprises. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the festival, ugly secrets are revealed. As the Imperial Family continues its elaborate charade in a palatial setting, thousands of golden armored warriors charge the palace. Who is behind this brutal rebellion? Where do Prince Jai's loyalties lie? Between love and desire, is there a final winner? Against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace.
Starring: Jay Chou, Chow Yun-Fat, Li Gong, Qin Junjie, Man Li
The Dead Girl (R); Limited
The murdered body of a young woman named Krista is found by Arden, a lonesome caretaker living with her irascible mother. This leads to Leah, a forensics graduate student whose sister went missing as a child, stumbling upon possible closure when Krista's body appears on her gurney. The story continues with Ruth, who in the midst of a long and intense love/hate relationship with her husband, discovers a disturbing connection between her husband and Krista's murder. Finally, Melora is a mother searching for answers about her runaway daughter Krista's troubled life and finds help in her quest from another troubled young woman.
Starring: Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Limited
Sixty-one years ago, US and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that, in all probability, they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in American have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war, but also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home.
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (R); Limited
Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
Starring: Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Coming Attractions
-
The Good German (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
The Hitcher (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
The Last King of Scotland (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
Screamers (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19 ¶ 1/12/2007 09:37:00 AM 0 comments
In the sprawling, privileged neighborhoods around L.A., bored teenagers with too much time and too much money string one hazy day into another, looking for the next thrill--doing suburban imitations of the thug life they idolize from rap music, video games and movies. When you're living without any consequences, anything can happen. And in the hot California summer six years ago, something did. Johnny Truelove controls the drugs on the well-manicured streets of his neighborhood. Where Johnny goes, the party, the girls and his loyal gang follow. When he's double-crossed over missing deal money by raging hothead Jake, Johnny and his gang impulsively kidnap Jake's little brother, Zack, holding him as a marker and heading to Palm Springs. With no parents in sight, they grow used to having the kid around, and Zack enjoys an illicit summer fantasy of drinking, girls and new experiences. Out in the desert, Johnny and his boys lose sight that the kid is a hostage who can't just be neatly returned. As the days tick by, the options of how to get themselves out of their situation start to disappear. Good times turn bad and bad turns worse as Johnny finds himself out of his league and with no idea how to fix it.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake, Emile Hirsch, Dominique Swain
Arthur and the Invisibles (PG); Nationwide
Ten-year-old Arthur has a lot on his plate: a real estate developer is about to snap up his grandma's home... and there's no way Arthur's going to hang around for his parents or grandparents to sort out the problem. Maybe the solution lies in his grandpa's treasure, which is hidden somewhere on the other side in the land of the Minimoys. The creatures that inhabit this world are just a tenth of an inch tall and live in perfect harmony with their environment. Arthur ventures into this world of the Minimoys, where he meets Princess Selenia and her brother Betameche. Together they set off to look for the treasure that will save his grandma. An action-packed adventure ensues, full of pitfalls and intrigues, all the way up to the forbidden city ruled by the evil M the Malicious. Arthur's journey in the Minimoys universe reveals that sometimes the smallest heroes make the biggest difference.
Starring: Penny Balfour, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Mia Farrow, Freddie Highmore
Dreamgirls (PG-13); Nationwide
Set in the turbulent early 1960s to mid-70s, the tale follows the rise of a trio of women--Effie, Deena and Lorrell--who have formed a promising girl group called The Dreamettes. At a talent competition, they are discovered by an ambitious manager named Curtis Taylor, Jr., who offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the back-up singers for headliner James Thunder Early. Curtis gradually takes control of the girls' look and sound, eventually giving them their own shot in the spotlight as The Dreams. That spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing the less attractive Effie out altogether. Though the Dreams become a cross-over phenomenon, they soon realize that the cost of fame and fortune may be higher than they ever imagined.
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Keith Robinson
Freedom Writers (PG-13); Nationwide (looks pretty good)
Fresh-faced, idealistic twenty-three-year-old Erin Gruwell is ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life--African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods--hope for nothing more than to make it through the day. On the surface, the only thing they share is their hatred for each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students' obstinate refusal to participate during class, Erin tries various means to engage them on a daily basis. But then ghetto reality steps in to focus the picture. A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in Erin's class, and an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unwittingly dynamic teaching aids. They spark a transformation in the classroom, compel them to listen and force her to take off her idealistic blinders and take in the kids' survival stories of their undeclared war on the streets. Erin begins to connect with them. She brings in music from the ‘Hood, and literature from another kind of ghetto, The Diary of Anne Frank, and with these simple tools she opens her students' eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities. Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Erin encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imeldaa Staunton, April Lee Hernandez
Miss Potter (PG); Nationwide
Inspired by a true story set in Victorian England, a tale charting the life of Beatrix Potter--a literary phenomenon of the early 20th century. At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Beatrix became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude, against the tide. She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago, and since their publication they have never been out of print. She was also a distinguished painter and--had she been a man--her botanical drawings would have been snapped up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens. In addition, by the time she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter had purchased vast swathes of the Lake District that she left to the then fledgling British conservation trust, the National Trust. That so much of this glorious countryside that inspired her, remains as it was in Beatrix Potter's day for others to enjoy, is her bequest to the nation.
Starring: Jane How, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
Primeval (R); Nationwide
In one of the most remote places on earth, a bloodthirsty serial killer has claimed more than 300 victims and is still at large to this day. Now, inspired by the true story of the world's most prolific killer, comes "Primeval," a nail-biting horror-thriller that follows an American news crew determined to capture this terrifying murderer alive. The danger begins as producer Tim Freeman, cameraman Steven Johnson and their rag-tag team set out on a journey up-river in search of their subject. But the deeper they probe into the mystery of this elusive assassin, the deadlier their trip becomes.
Starring: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jurgen Prochnow, Kevin Otto
Stomp the Yard (PG-13); Nationwide
When DJ, a troubled youth from Los Angeles, moves to Atlanta to attend Truth University, he discovers stepping, the age-old style of dance traditionally done in African-American Fraternities, where teams demonstrate complex moves and create rhythmic sounds by using their bodies. DJ's raw talent and hip-hop inspired moves quickly place him at the center of a fierce rivalry between two fraternities, the winner of which will be determined in a front of a sold-out arena at the annual stepping championships. But before he can help his teammates, he must battle his own demons and learn the true meaning of brotherhood.
Starring: Columbus Short, Megan Good, Brian White, Darrin DeWitt Henson, Ne-Yo
Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (R); Limited (can't wait until it goes national)
China, Later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century. On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai. His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress, this seems disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan, her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan, the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down an ominous path? The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor's family from the Palace to a remote area. While they are en route, mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi are forced back to the palace. Their return sets off a tumultuous sequence of dark surprises. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the festival, ugly secrets are revealed. As the Imperial Family continues its elaborate charade in a palatial setting, thousands of golden armored warriors charge the palace. Who is behind this brutal rebellion? Where do Prince Jai's loyalties lie? Between love and desire, is there a final winner? Against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace.
Starring: Jay Chou, Chow Yun-Fat, Li Gong, Qin Junjie, Man Li
The Dead Girl (R); Limited
The murdered body of a young woman named Krista is found by Arden, a lonesome caretaker living with her irascible mother. This leads to Leah, a forensics graduate student whose sister went missing as a child, stumbling upon possible closure when Krista's body appears on her gurney. The story continues with Ruth, who in the midst of a long and intense love/hate relationship with her husband, discovers a disturbing connection between her husband and Krista's murder. Finally, Melora is a mother searching for answers about her runaway daughter Krista's troubled life and finds help in her quest from another troubled young woman.
Starring: Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Mary Beth Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Brittany Murphy
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Limited
Sixty-one years ago, US and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them. The Japanese soldiers are sent to Iwo Jima knowing that, in all probability, they will not come back. Among them are Saigo, a baker who wants only to live see the face of his newborn daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic equestrian champion known around the world for his skill and his honor; Shimizu, a young former military policeman whose idealism has not yet been tested by war; and Lieutenant Ito, a strict military man who would rather accept suicide than surrender. Leading the defense is Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, whose travels in American have revealed to him the hopeless nature of the war, but also given him strategic insight into how to take on the vast American armada streaming in across the Pacific. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. Almost 7,000 American soldiers were killed on Iwo Jima; more than 20,000 Japanese troops perished. The black sands of Iwo Jima are stained with their blood, but their sacrifices, their struggles, their courage and their compassion live on in the letters they sent home.
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) (R); Limited
Set in 1940s Spain against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain, a fairy tale that centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, who is a military officer tasked with 'ridding the area' of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With Fascism at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.
Starring: Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Coming Attractions
-
The Good German (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
The Hitcher (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
The Last King of Scotland (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19
Screamers (R); Nationwide; opens 1/19 ¶ 1/12/2007 09:37:00 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Decisions and moves...
I have made mention to a few close friends that I am considering relocating cities and possibly jobs. Well, okay, now I guess I just told everyone else too. So much for THAT secret! LOL Sometimes I have to be my own worst enemy, huh?
Anyway, one of my friends told me last night that whatever I do, it should not be as a method of running away from all that I find bad here…that I should not be going expecting to be happy. That brought to mind a little scene from the latest Final Fantasy movie where Tifa and Cloud are in the house talking…..
Tifa Lockhart: Stop running! I know. Even if you find the kids you might not be able to help them. Maybe something will happen that can never unhappen, that scares you, doesn't it? But you need to think about it now, really take it in. Look at you, you think you've got it so damn hard. Well you hate being alone so let people in. Sure you might not answer the phone, but I don't see you throw it away either!
So many times I am accused by others of retreating from everything around me, which is probably true. I have a tendency to keep to myself half the time, internalizing any issues that I might have. I know that I keep to myself many a time, especially during this time period. But, it is hard to make other people realize that sometimes the alone time is what I need the most. I grew up separated from other people for so long that it sometimes get hard to mingle, much less open up about my issues. I know that is not a good excuse, but that is me. I have worked over the last years and became a little more open. But, there is only so much that I can do at one time. And there are times when I get home that the one thing I really need to do is just be alone and kick the hell out of someone on Soul Caliber or Prince of Persia. One of my other friends is the same way and understands where I come from and he doesn’t take offense to it.
But the same advice that Tifa gives Cloud can apply to a few of my other friends that want to live life as if there is never anything wrong, allowing the issues caused by their actions to grow worse and more entangling like a deadly weed. You can’t run away from your issues, and you can’t always be alone. If you have friends around you that care, then make sure that they know you know that. Talk to them about what might be wrong. And listen to their advice. (Hush to the peanut gallery that is right now saying, ‘Why can’t you do that?’)
So, yeah, this possible move isn’t to run away from problems. Hell, Raleigh was the start of half of my problems! But, I also know that I had been happy there. And I have a greater chance of getting back to school since I had started for the landscaping at State. Maybe you can see me in a speedo there, too. ;-)
So, thanks to the guys and gals that I can call friends here, that have helped me with pulling myself back out of the muck. It is time for me to start things on my own again…maybe with some minor help. And, if anyone tries to give me any more hell….
Sephiroth: Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.
Cloud: You just don't get it. There isn't a thing I don't cherish!
(I just don't always show it....) ¶ 1/10/2007 11:09:00 AM 1 comments
Anyway, one of my friends told me last night that whatever I do, it should not be as a method of running away from all that I find bad here…that I should not be going expecting to be happy. That brought to mind a little scene from the latest Final Fantasy movie where Tifa and Cloud are in the house talking…..
Tifa Lockhart: Stop running! I know. Even if you find the kids you might not be able to help them. Maybe something will happen that can never unhappen, that scares you, doesn't it? But you need to think about it now, really take it in. Look at you, you think you've got it so damn hard. Well you hate being alone so let people in. Sure you might not answer the phone, but I don't see you throw it away either!
So many times I am accused by others of retreating from everything around me, which is probably true. I have a tendency to keep to myself half the time, internalizing any issues that I might have. I know that I keep to myself many a time, especially during this time period. But, it is hard to make other people realize that sometimes the alone time is what I need the most. I grew up separated from other people for so long that it sometimes get hard to mingle, much less open up about my issues. I know that is not a good excuse, but that is me. I have worked over the last years and became a little more open. But, there is only so much that I can do at one time. And there are times when I get home that the one thing I really need to do is just be alone and kick the hell out of someone on Soul Caliber or Prince of Persia. One of my other friends is the same way and understands where I come from and he doesn’t take offense to it.
But the same advice that Tifa gives Cloud can apply to a few of my other friends that want to live life as if there is never anything wrong, allowing the issues caused by their actions to grow worse and more entangling like a deadly weed. You can’t run away from your issues, and you can’t always be alone. If you have friends around you that care, then make sure that they know you know that. Talk to them about what might be wrong. And listen to their advice. (Hush to the peanut gallery that is right now saying, ‘Why can’t you do that?’)
So, yeah, this possible move isn’t to run away from problems. Hell, Raleigh was the start of half of my problems! But, I also know that I had been happy there. And I have a greater chance of getting back to school since I had started for the landscaping at State. Maybe you can see me in a speedo there, too. ;-)
So, thanks to the guys and gals that I can call friends here, that have helped me with pulling myself back out of the muck. It is time for me to start things on my own again…maybe with some minor help. And, if anyone tries to give me any more hell….
Sephiroth: Tell me what you cherish most. Give me the pleasure of taking it away.
Cloud: You just don't get it. There isn't a thing I don't cherish!
(I just don't always show it....) ¶ 1/10/2007 11:09:00 AM 1 comments
Friday, January 05, 2007
Friday Movie Release 1/6
Happy New Year! Here are this week's scheduled movie releases...
Code Name: The Cleaner (PG-13); Nationwide
Jake is a seemingly regular guy who has no idea who he is after being hit over the head by mysterious assailants. When he finds himself unexpectedly entangled in a high-level government conspiracy, Jake and his pursuers begin to believe that he is an undercover agent who subconsciously holds a key piece of information that could expose an arms deal involving the CIA and FBI.
Starring: Cedric The Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Elizabeth Hurley, Nicollette Sheridan, Callum Keith Rennie
Freedom Writers (PG-13); Nationwide (Want to see)
Fresh-faced, idealistic twenty-three-year-old Erin Gruwell is ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life--African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods--hope for nothing more than to make it through the day. On the surface, the only thing they share is their hatred for each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students' obstinate refusal to participate during class, Erin tries various means to engage them on a daily basis. But then ghetto reality steps in to focus the picture. A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in Erin's class, and an an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unwittingly dynamic teaching aids. They spark a transformation in the classroom, compel them to listen and force her to take off her idealistic blinders and take in the kids' survival stories of their undeclared war on the streets. Erin begins to connect with them. She brings in music from the ‘Hood, and literature from another kind of ghetto, The Diary of Anne Frank, and with these simple tools she opens her students' eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities. Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Erin encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imeldaa Staunton, April Lee Hernandez
Happily N'Ever After (PG); Nationwide (Want to see)
Once upon a time in Fairy Tale Land, the age-old balance between good and evil has been thrown out of whack. Frieda, Cinderella's power-mad stepmother, has formed an unholy alliance of evil to take on the good guys. With her own fairy tale spinning wildly out of control, Cinderella (a/k/a Ella) is forced to shed her damsel-in-distress trappings in order to seize control of her own destiny and lead the resistance without her Prince Charming. In a world of happy endings gone wrong, the race for control of the kingdom is on, with the fate of the venerable storyline "Happily N'Ever After" hanging in the balance.
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn, Patrick Warburton
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (R); Limited
In 18th-century France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, orphaned as a newborn in the streets of Paris, is alone in the world. A peculiar child who rarely speaks, Grenouille is alienated from others but blessed with a remarkable gift. His sense of smell is so refined, so attuned to every blade of grass and blossoming flower, that it's tragic when he's sold into servitude to a tannery at the age of 13 and surrounded by the foul odors that accompany his labor. But there comes a day when Grenouille does an errand in town and discovers the object that will transform his life: perfume. Eager to learn the art of creating sophisticated fragrance, he apprentices himself to a once-renowned perfumer, and proves to be a savant whose almost mystical knowledge of scent surpasses anything that can be taught to him by masters of the craft. Ironically, he was born with no scent of his own, a distinction which colors his undistinguished life. But Grenouille is fearless when it comes to the pursuit of a perfect perfume. When he discovers the most intoxicating scent he has ever experienced--the natural fragrance of a beautiful young girl--he learns that the only method to preserve her innocence and fresh beauty will require murder. Plaguing the countryside with a series of gruesome killings, Grenouille must stay one step ahead of the authorities until he captures the final ingredient for his greatest perfume--the essence of a beautiful redheaded girl whose wealthy father earnestly protects her. Only then, he believes, will he earn the attention and adulation that his extraordinary talent deserves.
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Karoline Herfurth
Miss Potter (PG); Limited
Inspired by a true story set in Victorian England, a tale charting the life of Beatrix Potter--a literary phenomenon of the early 20th century. At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Beatrix became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude, against the tide. She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago, and since their publication they have never been out of print. She was also a distinguished painter and--had she been a man--her botanical drawings would have been snapped up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens. In addition, by the time she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter had purchased vast swathes of the Lake District that she left to the then fledgling British conservation trust, the National Trust. That so much of this glorious countryside that inspired her, remains as it was in Beatrix Potter's day for others to enjoy, is her bequest to the nation.
Starring: Jane How, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
The Painted Veil (PG-13); Limited
In the 1920s, a young English couple--Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman--get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.
Starring: Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
THR3E (PG-13); Limited
A police profiler and an insurance agent help a shy graduate student when the latter is targeted by a bomber who uses riddles to terrify his victims.
Starring: Marc Blucas, Justine Waddell, Laura Jordan, Bill Moseley, Max Ryan
Coming Attractions
-
Alpha Dog (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12 (Justin Timberlake acting as a tough guy??)
Arthur and the Invisibles (PG); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Dreamgirls (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Stomp the Yard (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/12 ¶ 1/05/2007 06:06:00 AM 0 comments
Code Name: The Cleaner (PG-13); Nationwide
Jake is a seemingly regular guy who has no idea who he is after being hit over the head by mysterious assailants. When he finds himself unexpectedly entangled in a high-level government conspiracy, Jake and his pursuers begin to believe that he is an undercover agent who subconsciously holds a key piece of information that could expose an arms deal involving the CIA and FBI.
Starring: Cedric The Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Elizabeth Hurley, Nicollette Sheridan, Callum Keith Rennie
Freedom Writers (PG-13); Nationwide (Want to see)
Fresh-faced, idealistic twenty-three-year-old Erin Gruwell is ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life--African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods--hope for nothing more than to make it through the day. On the surface, the only thing they share is their hatred for each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students' obstinate refusal to participate during class, Erin tries various means to engage them on a daily basis. But then ghetto reality steps in to focus the picture. A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in Erin's class, and an an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unwittingly dynamic teaching aids. They spark a transformation in the classroom, compel them to listen and force her to take off her idealistic blinders and take in the kids' survival stories of their undeclared war on the streets. Erin begins to connect with them. She brings in music from the ‘Hood, and literature from another kind of ghetto, The Diary of Anne Frank, and with these simple tools she opens her students' eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities. Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Erin encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Imeldaa Staunton, April Lee Hernandez
Happily N'Ever After (PG); Nationwide (Want to see)
Once upon a time in Fairy Tale Land, the age-old balance between good and evil has been thrown out of whack. Frieda, Cinderella's power-mad stepmother, has formed an unholy alliance of evil to take on the good guys. With her own fairy tale spinning wildly out of control, Cinderella (a/k/a Ella) is forced to shed her damsel-in-distress trappings in order to seize control of her own destiny and lead the resistance without her Prince Charming. In a world of happy endings gone wrong, the race for control of the kingdom is on, with the fate of the venerable storyline "Happily N'Ever After" hanging in the balance.
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn, Patrick Warburton
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (R); Limited
In 18th-century France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, orphaned as a newborn in the streets of Paris, is alone in the world. A peculiar child who rarely speaks, Grenouille is alienated from others but blessed with a remarkable gift. His sense of smell is so refined, so attuned to every blade of grass and blossoming flower, that it's tragic when he's sold into servitude to a tannery at the age of 13 and surrounded by the foul odors that accompany his labor. But there comes a day when Grenouille does an errand in town and discovers the object that will transform his life: perfume. Eager to learn the art of creating sophisticated fragrance, he apprentices himself to a once-renowned perfumer, and proves to be a savant whose almost mystical knowledge of scent surpasses anything that can be taught to him by masters of the craft. Ironically, he was born with no scent of his own, a distinction which colors his undistinguished life. But Grenouille is fearless when it comes to the pursuit of a perfect perfume. When he discovers the most intoxicating scent he has ever experienced--the natural fragrance of a beautiful young girl--he learns that the only method to preserve her innocence and fresh beauty will require murder. Plaguing the countryside with a series of gruesome killings, Grenouille must stay one step ahead of the authorities until he captures the final ingredient for his greatest perfume--the essence of a beautiful redheaded girl whose wealthy father earnestly protects her. Only then, he believes, will he earn the attention and adulation that his extraordinary talent deserves.
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Karoline Herfurth
Miss Potter (PG); Limited
Inspired by a true story set in Victorian England, a tale charting the life of Beatrix Potter--a literary phenomenon of the early 20th century. At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Beatrix became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude, against the tide. She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago, and since their publication they have never been out of print. She was also a distinguished painter and--had she been a man--her botanical drawings would have been snapped up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens. In addition, by the time she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter had purchased vast swathes of the Lake District that she left to the then fledgling British conservation trust, the National Trust. That so much of this glorious countryside that inspired her, remains as it was in Beatrix Potter's day for others to enjoy, is her bequest to the nation.
Starring: Jane How, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Renée Zellweger
The Painted Veil (PG-13); Limited
In the 1920s, a young English couple--Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman--get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.
Starring: Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
THR3E (PG-13); Limited
A police profiler and an insurance agent help a shy graduate student when the latter is targeted by a bomber who uses riddles to terrify his victims.
Starring: Marc Blucas, Justine Waddell, Laura Jordan, Bill Moseley, Max Ryan
Coming Attractions
-
Alpha Dog (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12 (Justin Timberlake acting as a tough guy??)
Arthur and the Invisibles (PG); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Curse of the Golden Flower (Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia) (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Dreamgirls (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Letters From Iwo Jima (R); Nationwide; opens 1/12
Stomp the Yard (PG-13); Nationwide; opens 1/12 ¶ 1/05/2007 06:06:00 AM 0 comments
Subscribe to My Feed