Town Topics — Princeton's Weekly Community Newspaper Since 1946.
Vol. LXIII, No. 19
 
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Kam’s Kapsules by Kam Williams

17 Again (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, and teen partying). Time-travel comedy about a middleaged man (Zac Efron) stuck in a bad marriage and a dead end job who gets a new lease on life when he is miraculously turned into a teenager after falling into a river. Cast includes Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon, and Leslie Mann.

Angels & Demons (PG-13 for violence, mature themes, and disturbing images). Tom Hanks reprises his lead role as Dr. Robert Langdon in this sequel to The Da Vinci Code which has the Harvard symbologist traveling to Rome where, with the help of an attractive, Italian scientist (Ayelet Zurer) he unearths clues to the identity of the assassin terrorizing the Vatican. Cast includes Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. (In English, Italian and Latin with subtitles).

Earth (G). Disney nature film, narrated by James Earl Jones and Patrick Stewart, chronicles the efforts of several families of wild animals, including polar bears, ducks, and cranes, not only to elude predators but to adjust to atmospheric warming trends.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, and drug use). Romantic comedy about a confirmed bachelor (Matthew McConaughey) who, on the eve of his brother’s (Breckin Meyer) wedding, finds himself confronted by the disembodied spirits of the women he’s seduced and abandoned. Cast includes Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Lacy Chabert, Robert Forster, Emma Stone, and Anne Archer.

Goodbye Solo (Unrated). Bittersweet drama, set in Winston-Salem, South Carolina, revolving around the unlikely friendship forged between a cheery Senegalese cab driver (Souleymane Sy Savane) searching for the American Dream and the suicidal senior citizen (Red West) he picks up as a passenger.

Hannah Montana: The Movie (G). Musical adventure about a teenage pop star (Miley Cyrus) overwhelmed by sudden fame who follows her father’s (Billy Ray Cyrus) advice by retreating to her tiny Tennessee hometown in order to get a fresh perspective about what really matters most in life. With Vanessa Williams, Barry Bostwick, and Emily Osment.

Is Anybody There? (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, and disturbing images). Drama set in the eighties at an old folks home on England’s seacoast, about a lonely 10-year-old (Bill Milner) befriended by a recently-widowed, grieving magician (Michael Caine).

Lymelife (R for profanity, sexuality, violence, and drug use). Coming-of-age drama set during an outbreak of Lyme disease in the late Seventies in a Connecticut town where an innocent 15 year-old’s (Rory Culkin) life is turned upside-down when he falls in love with the girl next-door (Emma Roberts) at the same time his parents (Alec Baldwin and Jill Hennessy) separate and his soldier brother (Kieran Culkin) receives orders to ship out overseas. With Cynthia Nixon and Timothy Hutton.

Monsters vs. Aliens (PG for science fiction action, crude humor, and mild epithets). Animated adventure about a young woman (Reese Witherspoon) turned into a 50 foot giant by a meteorite, who is called upon by the President of the United States (Stephen Colbert) to defend the planet against an army of invading aliens with the help of a rag-tag team of monsters. Voice cast includes Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, and Renée Zellweger.

Next Day Air (R for violence, drug use, pervasive profanity, and brief sexuality). Crime caper about the comedy of errors which ensue after a couple of hapless hoodlums (Mike Epps and Wood Harris) are mistakenly delivered a large package filled with bricks of pure cocaine. Cast includes Donald Faison, Mos Def, Debbie Allen, Darius McCrary, and Lauren London.

Obsessed (PG-13 for sexuality, violence, suggestive dialogue, and mature themes). Psychological thriller about a happily married asset manager (Idris Elba) whose tranquil life is turned upside down when a mentally unstable temp worker (Ali Larter) starts stalking him. With Beyoncé, Jerry O’Connell and Christine Lahti.

Paris 36 (PG-13 for violence, sexuality, nudity, and brief profanity). Historical drama, set in Paris in 1936, about a stage manager (Gerard Jugnot), a union organizer (Clovis Cornillac), and an impressionist (Kad Merad) who enlist the help of recently unemployed friends in staging a show at a boarded-up theatre where they had all worked just a few months earlier. In French with subtitles.

The Soloist (PG-13 for mature themes, drug use, and profanity). Jamie Foxx stars in this moving biopic about a Los Angeles Times reporter (Robert Downey, Jr.) who is stunned to discover that the homeless man he befriends in the park, who plays the violin, is a Juilliard trained former child prodigy. With Catherine Keener, Stephen Root, and Lisa Gay Hamilton.

Star Trek (PG-13 for action, violence, and brief sexuality). Eleventh installment of the much-beloved, science-fiction series features a prequel plotline chronicling the younger years of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and crew, and the maiden voyage of the Starship Enterprise. Co-starring Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Karl Urban as Bones and Simon Pegg as Scotty.

State of Play (PG-13 for violence, profanity, sexual references, and brief drug use). Screen adaptation of the B.B.C. mini-series of the same name revolving around a team of reporters who work with the police to solve the murder of a congressman’s (Ben Affleck) mistress. Cast includes Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, Robin Wright Penn, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Daniels.

Sugar (R for profanity, sexuality, and drug use). Sports saga about a promising baseball player (Algenis Perez Soto) from the Dominican Republic and his struggle to make it to the major leagues. In English and Spanish with subtitles.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (PG-13 for intense violence and partial nudity). Latest installment in the Marvel Comics franchise focuses on Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) search for Sabertooth (Live Schreiber) in order to exact a measure of revenge for the death of his girlfriend, Silver Fox (Lynn Collins). With will.i.am, Ryan Reynolds, and Danny Huston.

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