Kam’s Kapsules by Kam Williams

Alvin and the Chipmunks (PG for mild crude humor). Combination live-action and computer generated version of the animated TV series from the sixties about a trio of mischievous chipmunks who try to drive their human guardian (Jason Lee) crazy while he tries to turn them into the latest singing sensation.

Atonement (R for profanity, sexuality, and disturbing war images). Romance drama, opening in England in 1935, about the budding relationship between a rich girl (Keira Knightley) and the son (James McAvoy) of her family’s maid aborted when he is falsely accused of a crime by her jealous younger sister (Saoirse Ronan). Supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Blethyn, Romola Garai and Anthony Minghella. 

August Rush (PG for slight violence, mild profanity, and mature themes). Freddie Highmore stars as the title character in this escapist fantasy about a promising musical prodigy who runs away from an orphanage to New York City to find his parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Myers) only to end up living with a Fagin-like wizard (Robin Williams) and lots of other kids in a makeshift shelter in an abandoned theater which was once the Fillmore East. With Terrence Howard as the missing street urchin’s concerned social worker.

Awake (R for profanity, drug use, and a disturbing situation). Psychological thriller about a patient (Hayden Christiansen) who remains conscious while physically paralyzed during his heart surgery, and this condition called anesthetic awareness enables him to overhear people plotting his murder. Cast includes Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard, and Lena Olin.

Bee Movie (PG for suggestive humor and brief smoking). Animated family about a bumblebee (Jerry Seinfeld) in search of a new line of work who befriends a florist (Renée Zellweger) who helps him sue humanity for stealing his species’ honey for centuries. Voice cast includes Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, Kathy Bates, Ray Liotta, John Goodman, and Sting, plus talk show hosts Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (R for profanity, nudity, violence, drug use, and graphic sexuality). Legendary director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network, The Verdict) assembles a talented ensemble for this suspenseful crime thriller about two brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) whose perfectly planned heist of their parents’ (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris) jewelry store goes horribly wrong when their accomplice improvises with disastrous results during the botched robbery. Cast includes Marisa Tomei as one sibling’s spouse who’s secretly sleeping with the other, too.

Beowulf (PG-13 for nudity, sexuality, disturbing images, and intense violence). Animated adaptation of the anonymous epic poem (circa 700 AD) stars Ray Winstone in the title role as the mighty warrior who slays the legendary Grendel (Crispin Glover) on behalf of the King (Anthony Hopkins), only to find himself incurring the wrath of the beast’s ruthless mother (Angelina Jolie). Voice cast includes Alison Lohman, Brendan Gleeson, John Malkovich, Chris Coppola, and Robin Wright Penn.

Dan in Real Life (PG-13 for sexual innuendo). Steve Carrell assumes the titular role in this romantic sitcom about a widowed relationship advice columnist struggling to raise three daughters (Alison Pill, Brittany Robertson, and Marlene Lawston) alone who suddenly finds himself in a quandary after unknowingly falling in love with his brother’s (Dane Cook) gorgeous girlfriend (Juliette Binoche).

Enchanted (PG for scary images and sexual innuendo). Modern-day fairytale, mixing animation and live action, about a beautiful princess (Amy Adams) banished from her magical kingdom by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) to New York City where she finds herself charmed by a divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) despite the fact that she’s already been promised to a prince (James Marsden) back home.

Fred Claus (PG for mild epithets and crude humor). Holiday comedy about the zany antics which unfold after Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti) bails his down-on-his-luck big brother, Fred (Vince Vaughn), out of jail and gives him a job at the North Pole making toys with the elves. Cast includes Kevin Spacey, Miranda Richardson, Kathy Bates, Ludacris, and Elizabeth Banks.

The Golden Compass (PG-13 for fantasy violence). Epic escapist fantasy, based on Philip Pullman’s award-winning novel, about a precocious 12 year-old scholar (Dakota Blue Richards) already attending Oxford who ventures into a parallel universe to save her best friend and other children kidnapped by an evil organization known as the Gobblers. Ensemble cast includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates, Christopher Lee, Ian McShane, Sam Elliott, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Freddie Highmore.

Hitman (Unrated). Action oriented political potboiler about a genetically engineered assassin (Timothy Oliphant) being pursued across Europe by Interpol and the Russian military who suddenly discovers that he not only has a conscience but feelings for a mysterious femme fatale (Olga Kurylenko).

I Am Legend (PG-13 for intense action and violence). Will Smith stars in this apocalyptic sci-fi adventure, based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, about a brilliant scientist’s struggle to survive in New York City as he searches for an antidote to the man-made virus which has turned the rest of the human race into a horde of omnivorous flesh-eating mutants.

I’m Not There (R for nudity, sexuality, and profanity). Experimental biopic employs a half-dozen different actors (Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, and Marcus Carl Franklin) to portray Bob Dylan at different stages of the enigmatic music icon’s life. Cast includes Oscar-nominees Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.

The Kite Runner (PG-13 for violence, brief profanity, child rape, and mature themes). Adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best seller about the quest for redemption of a well-to-do Afghani-American immigrant (Khalid Abdalla) who returns to his native Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban to find the less fortunate childhood friend (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) he had betrayed and left behind 20 years earlier.

Lust, Caution (NC-17 for explicit sexuality). Ang Lee directs this World War II saga, set in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, about a beautiful young actress (Tang Wei) who joins the resistance movement and agrees to impersonate a rich heiress in order to seduce and assassinate a leading collaborator (Tony Leung) with the enemy.

Margot at the Wedding (R for sexuality and profanity). Nicole Kidman handles the titular role in this dramatic comedy about a narcissistic writer who causes quite a stir after showing up unexpectedly with her adolescent son (Zane Pais) for the impending wedding of her freewheeling sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to an unemployed artist (Jack Black). Cast includes John Turturro, Matthew Arkin (son of Alan), and Halley Feiffer (daughter of Jules).

The Mist (R for profanity, terror, gore, and gruesome violence). Frank Darabont adapted and directed this Stephen King horror story about a thunderstorm which leaves a tiny town in Maine enshrouded in a thick fog and under attack by an army of unseen creatures. Cast includes Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, and Marcia Gay Harden.

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (G). Natalie Portman stars in this escapist fantasy as the insecure manager of a magical toy store who inherits the business from her 243 year-old boss (Dustin Hoffman) and then realizes that she has the right stuff to run the place with the help of his accountant (Jason Bateman) and a precocious kid (Zach Mills).

No Country for Old Men (R for profanity and graphic violence). Coen Brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s modern-day Western about a Vietnam vet (Josh Brolin) on the run after stumbling upon several corpses, a stash of heroin, and $2 million left at the scene of a grisly gun battle near the Rio Grande. Cast includes Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald and Stephen Root.

The Perfect Holiday (PG for mild epithets and suggestive humor). Christmas comedy about an overburdened single-mom (Gabrielle Union) whose young daughter (Khail Bryant) asks an obliging mall Santa (Morris Chestnut) to find a man for her recently-divorced mother. With Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah, Katt Williams, Charlie Murphy, and Faizon Love.

Starting Out in the Evening (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and brief nudity). Adapted from the novel of the same name by Brian Morton, this drama revolves around the May-December relationship of a 24 year-old graduate student (Lauren Ambrose) and the aging author (Frank Langella) whose works are the subject of her master’s thesis.

This Christmas (Unrated). Family skeletons aplenty come popping out of the closet during this holiday drama set during a dysfunctional African-American family’s first reunion in years. Ensemble cast includes Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Lauren London, Idris Elba, Regina King, Columbus Short, and Laz Alonso.

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