Kam’s Kapsules by Kam Williams

1408 (PG-13 for horror, violence, disturbing images, terror, profanity and mature themes). Fright flick adapted from a Stephen King short story about a skeptic (John Cusack) who has built his career selling books debunking claims of paranormal phenomena. Everything changes the day he decides to spend a night in a haunted hotel room. With Samuel L. Jackson as the night manager.

Black Book (R for sexuality, profanity, gruesome violence, and graphic nudity). Paul Verhoeven directs this WWII fictional account of the exploits of a once-wealthy, Dutch Jewish singer (Carice van Houten) who joins the Resistance to track down and exact revenge on the Nazis responsible for the slaughter of her family in the Holocaust. (In Dutch, German, Hebrew and English with subtitles.)

Captivity (R for graphic violence, grisly images, profanity, sexuality and torture). Erotic thriller about a famous cover girl (Elisha Cuthbert) and a chauffeur (Daniel Gillies) who fall madly in love with each other while imprisoned in the dungeon of a sadistic serial killer.

Death at a Funeral (R for profanity and drug use). Offbeat British comedy about the relatives of a recently-deceased family patriarch who hope not only to bury the body but also a dark secret about the dysfunctional dearly departed.

DOA: Dead or Alive (PG-13 for nudity, sexuality and pervasive violence). Screen adaptation of the best-selling video game of the same name about four, scantily-clad, fearless females (Helena Carter, Holly Valance, Jaime Pressley and Devon Aoki) picked to compete against men in a martial arts tournament being staged on an exotic island in the middle of nowhere. With Eric Roberts, Brian J. White and Matthew Marsden.

Evan Almighty (PG for peril and crude humor). Sequel to Bruce Almighty sans Jim Carrey instead stars Steve Carrell in the title role as a newscaster-turned-congressman implored by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark in anticipation of another great flood. Cast includes Wanda Sykes, John Goodman and Molly Shannon, with a cameo by Jon Stewart.

Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer (Unrated). Sequel finds our intrepid team of superheroes, comprised of Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd), the Human Torch (Chris Evans), the Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba) and Thing (Michael Chiklis), squaring-off against an intergalactic foe (Doug Jones) bent on destruction while also dealing with the return of their archenemy, Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon). Cast includes Kerry Washington and Andre Braugher, with Laurence Fishburne as the voice of the Silver Surfer.

Hostel: Part II (R for nudity, profanity, sexuality, terror, torture, drug use and sadistic violence). Sadomasochistic snuff sequel about three American college coeds studying art in Rome who are lured under false pretenses by one of the models they're painting to a hostel in Slovakia where they end up as sex slaves to kinky perverts with a malevolent agenda. Cast includes Bijou Phillips, Heather Matarazzo, Lauren Graham and Vera Jordanova.

Knocked Up (R for sex, drugs and profanity). Romantic comedy about a 24 year-old slacker (Seth Rogen) who gets the surprise of his life when a reporter (Katherine Heigl) with whom he shared a drunken one-night stand turns-up to inform him she's two month's pregnant. Ensemble cast includes Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, American Idol's Ryan Seacrest, Dr. Ken Jeong, Debbie Matenopoulos and Charlyne Yi.

Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and intense violence). Bruce Willis is back to save Independence Day after a terrorist (Timothy Oliphant) tries to bring America to its knees by sabotaging the internet to shut down the nation's infrastructure.

A Mighty Heart (R for profanity). Adaptation of the memoir of Mariane Pearl (Angelina Jolie), widow of Daniel (Dan Futterman), the kidnapped Jewish Wall Street Journal reporter whose beheading in Pakistan in 2002 was videotaped by jihadists who then posted it on the internet.

Mr. Brooks (R for profanity, nudity, graphic sexuality and gory violence). Jekyll & Hyde crime thriller about a homicide detective (Demi Moore) on the trail of a mild-mannered philanthropist and family man (Kevin Costner) whose alter ego (William Hurt) is a sadistic serial killer. Cast includes Marg Helgenberger, Lindsay Crouse and Aisha Hinds.

Nancy Drew (PG for brief violence, mild epithets and mature themes). Emma Roberts stars as the heroine of this screen adaptation of the popular series of children's novels about an amateur teen detective with a knack for solving mysteries. This caper has her newly-arrived in L.A. where she starts investigating the unsolved murder of a famous movie star (Laura Harring).

Ocean's Thirteen (PG-13 for sensuality). Clooney and company reassemble to plan their most ambitious caper yet, the heist of a casino owned by a ruthless mobster (Al Pacino) who had double-crossed a member (Elliott Gould) of the gang. With Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, Casey Affleck, Carl Reiner and Ellen Barkin.

Once (R for profanity). Irish love story, set in Dublin, revolving around the whirlwind romance between a street musician (Glen Hansard) and the Czech immigrant (Marketa Irglova) who becomes his collaborator.

Paris, Je T'aime (R for profanity and drug use). 20 directors, including the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Tom Twyker, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron collaborated on these cinematic postcards from Paris, a tapestry woven from a score of five-minute vignettes set in the City of Light and starring Natalie Portman, Emily Mortimer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Willem Dafoe, Miranda Richardson, Nick Nolte, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood and Gena Rowlands. (In French and English with subtitles)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (PG-13 for intense violence and frightening images). Final chapter of the Disney trilogy revolves around the efforts of Will (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to free Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) who's trapped at the bottom of the ocean in Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy) locker.

Ratatouille (G). Animated adventure from Walt Disney about a rodent (Patton Oswalt) who dreams of becoming a famous French chef. With voiceover work by Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Peter O'Toole.

Sicko (PG-13 for brief profanity). The American healthcare system gets the Michael Moore treatment in this documentary which makes much of the fact that 45 million people living in the richest country on Earth have no medical insurance.

Shrek the Third (PG for crude humor, suggestive language and action). Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, John Cleese and Julie Andrews reprise their voice roles for this installment in which Prince Charming seeks to prevent the lovable ogre from ascending to the throne of Far, Far Away when Princess Fiona's father suddenly falls ill.

Surf's Up (PG for mild epithets and rude humor). CGI-animated mockumentary offers a behind-the-scenes peek at the action at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship. Voice cast includes Diedrich Bader, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods, Shia LaBeouf and Mario Cantone.

La Vie en Rose (PG-13 for nudity, profanity, sexuality, substance abuse and mature themes). Marion Cotillard portrays Edith Piaf (1915-1963) in this bittersweet bio-pic about the tragic life and times of the legendary chanteuse who started as a lowly street performer till she was discovered by the nightclub owner (Gerard Depardieu) who put her name up in lights. (In French with subtitles).

Waitress (PG-13 for sex, expletives and mature themes). Kooky cooking comedy about a pregnant pastry chef (Keri Russell) who hopes to escape her unhappy marriage to a control freak (Jeremy Sisto) by entering her special "Kick in the Pants" pie in a baking contest with a $25,000 grand prize. With Nathan Fillion as the town's tongue-tied, bachelor gynecologist who catches her wandering eye.

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