Kam’s Kapsules by Kam Williams

21 (PG-13 for violence, sexuality, and partial nudity). Vegas casino caper recalls the real-life exploits of a quintet of card-counting MIT students who, with the help of their math professor (Kevin Spacey), beat the house for millions in winnings. Cast includes Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Jim Sturgess, and Aaron Yoo.

88 Minutes (R for profanity, disturbing violence, and brief nudity). Al Pacino stars in this revenge thriller, set in Seattle, as a forensic psychiatrist with only 88 minutes to find out who’s behind the death threat leveled at him on the eve of the execution of a serial killer (Neal McDonough) he helped convict. Cast includes Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, and Alicia Witt.

Baby Mama (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, crude humor, and a drug reference). Comedy about a single career woman (Tina Fey) who wants to have a baby but ends up hiring a surrogate mother (Amy Poehler) from the other side of the tracks after learning that she only has a one-in-a-million chance of getting pregnant herself. Supporting ensemble includes Greg Kinnear, Sigourney Weaver, Maura Tierney, Romany Malco, and Dax Shepard.

The Counterfeiters (R for sexuality, nudity, profanity, and violence). True World War II tale of survival, set in a Nazi concentration camp, about a master counterfeiter (Karl Markovics) forced to ply his trade to flood the market with the currency of the countries fighting Hitler and thereby devalue their money. In German with subtitles.

Deception (R for sexuality, profanity, brief violence, and drug use). Ewan McGregor stars in this whodunit about an accountant who finds himself the prime suspect in both a woman’s disappearance and multi-million dollar heist after he frequents a kinky sex club at the suggestion of his attorney pal (Hugh Jackman). With Maggie Q, Natasha Henstridge, and Michelle Williams.

The Flight of the Red Balloon (Unrated). Fanciful fairy tale about a 7 year-old boy (Simon Iteanu) who escapes to an imaginary world with his Taiwanese babysitter (Fang Song) while his overwhelmed single-mom (Juliette Binoche) attends to a variety of snowballing obligations. (In French with subtitles).

The Forbidden Kingdom (PG-13 for martial arts action). Jet Li and Jackie Chan co-star in this time travel fantasy about an American teenager (Michael Angarano) who finds an Oriental artifact which teleports him back to ancient China where he embarks on an adventure with a kung fu master (Chan) to free a fabled king (Li) unfairly imprisoned by an evil warlord (Collin Chou).

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (R for profanity, sexuality, and graphic nudity). Romantic comedy about a depressed slacker (Jason Segel) who goes to Hawaii to get over being dumped by a famous actress (Kristen Bell) only to discover that she’s staying at the same resort with her new rock star boyfriend (Russell Brand). Supporting cast includes Mila Kunis, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, and Steve Landesberg.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo (R for profanity, sexuality, crude humor, and drug references). John Cho and Kal Penn reunite to reprise their title roles for another politically-incorrect adventure. This go-round, the nerdy stoners find themselves on the run after being mistaken for terrorists while aboard an airplane. Cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Roger Bart, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Beverly D’Angelo.

Horton Hears a Who (G). Jim Carrey provides the voiceover for the title character in this animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic about an elephant determined to come to the assistance of the inhabitants of a tiny planet when he hears cries for help coming from a speck of dust floating through the air. Voice cast includes Steve Carrell, Carol Burnett, Jonah Hill, Jamie Pressly, SNL’s Amy Poehler, Isla Fisher, Will Arnett, and Seth Rogen.

Iron Man (PG-13 for intense violence and brief suggestive content). Screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics series features Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role as a billionaire industrialist/genius inventor turned crime-fighting superhero intent on saving the planet from evil villains bent on world domination. Cast includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Hilary Swank, with a cameo by the character’s creator, the legendary Stan Lee.

Made of Honor (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality). Romantic comedy about the predicament of a womanizing bachelor (Patrick Dempsey) who decides to propose to his platonic best friend and confidante (Michelle Monaghan) only to have her return from a European business trip already engaged to a rich Scotsman (Kevin McKidd). With Kelly Clarkson, Sydney Pollack, and Kadeem Hardison.

Married Life (Unrated). Romantic triangle thriller, set in the forties, revolving around a middle-aged adulterer (Chris Cooper) impatient to be with his mistress (Rachel McAdams) who opts to murder rather than divorce his wife (Patricia Clarkson). With Pierce Brosnan as the pal with possibly less than honorable intentions.

My Blueberry Nights (PG-13 for violence, smoking, drinking and mature themes). Grammy-winner Norah Jones makes her screen debut as the star of this road flick about a broken-hearted woman who muses about modern romance while roaming around the country. Cast includes Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz and Natalie Portman.

Nim’s Island (PG for mild action and brief epithets). Fanciful family adventure about a young girl (Abigail Breslin) with an active imagination who enlists the assistance of her favorite author (Jodie Foster) and fictional hero (Gerard Butler) in finding her father, a scientist who is missing on a magical island.

Prom Night (PG-13 for violence, terror, sexuality, profanity, and underage drinking). Remake of 1980 slasher film about a group of teenagers who share a dark, childhood secret which comes back to haunt them when a sadistic killer bent on revenge starts stalking them during their senior prom. Cast includes Brittany Snow, Johnathon Schaech, and Jessica Stroup.

Smart People (R for profanity, sexuality, and brief teen drug and alcohol abuse). Comedy about a widowed professor (Dennis Quaid), raising an emotionally distant son (Ashton Holmes) and a wisecracking daughter (Ellen Page) alone, whose fortune changes when he crosses paths with a seductive former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) at about the same time his down-on-his-luck brother (Thomas Haden Church) arrives in town unannounced needing a place to stay.

Speed Racer (PG for action, violence and epithets). The Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix) wrote and directed this live-action adaptation of the animated, Japanese TV-series from the Sixties. Big-screen version features the car racing phenom (Emile Hirsch) teaming with an ex-rival (Matthew Fox) to take on the ruthless, corporate-sponsored favorite in a big cross-country rally called The Crucible. With Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Richard Roundtree.

Street Kings (R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity). Keanu Reeves stars in this whodunit about a vice-cop implicated in the murder of his own partner (Terry Crews) who teams up with a young homicide detective (Chris Evans) to catch the real killers. Cast includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Common, Naomie Harris, and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Visitor (PG-13 for brief profanity). Sophomore offering from actor-turned-director Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent), a quirky ensemble drama revolving around a jaded professor (Richard Jenkins) at a college in Connecticut who heads to New York to attend a conference only to find a young couple from Senegal (Danai Jekesai Gurira) and Syria (Haaz Sleiman) living in his pied-a-terre.

What Happens in Vegas (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, crude humor and a drug reference). Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz co-star in this romantic comedy about a couple of losers who meet and marry after a night of debauchery in Las Vegas. Their decision to divorce immediately is complicated when greed sets in after he wins a multi-million dollar jackpot with one of her coins.

Young@Heart (PG for mild epithets and mature themes). Musical documentary chronicles the concerts of a traveling chorus of senior citizens from New England as they entertain audiences all over the world with an eclectic repertoire of songs which ranges from Coldplay to James Brown.

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