Vol. LXII, No. 44
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua (PG for mature themes). Animated family comedy from Walt Disney about a pampered pet (Drew Barrymore) on vacation in Mexico City who finds herself separated from her owner and having to rely on the help of a street smart German Shepherd (Andy Garcia) and an amorous pup (George Lopez) to find her way back to California.
Body of Lies (R for pervasive profanity and graphic violence, including torture). Ridley Scott directs this international thriller about a CIA operative (Leonardo DiCaprio) who attempts to infiltrate a Middle East terrorist network with the help of a veteran agent (Russell Crowe) and Jordan’s chief of intelligence (Mark Strong). In English and Arabic with subtitles.
Changeling (R for profanity, violence, and disturbing content). Clint Eastwood directs this psychological thriller, set in Los Angeles, inspired by events arising in 1928 during a real life case involving a single mother (Angelina Jolie) whose hopes for the safe return of her kidnapped nine-year-old (Gattlin Griffith) were seemingly answered but then dashed when she realized that the boy brought to her was not her son. Cast includes John Malkovich, Amy Ryan, and Morgan Eastwood.
The Duchess (PG-13 for sexuality, nudity, and mature themes). Keira Knightley handles the title role in this costume drama chronicling the life and times of 18th Century British aristocrat, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, whose unhappy marriage to a flagrant philanderer (Ralph Fiennes) became the subject of public scandal. Cast includes Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, and Hayley Atwell.
Eagle Eye (PG-13 for profanity, intense violence, and action sequences). Action thriller about a couple of strangers (Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monahan) who find themselves both fugitives on the FBI’s Most Wanted List after being manipulated into becoming members of a terrorist cell planning a political assassination. Cast includes Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, and Rosario Dawson.
The Express (PG for violence, mature themes, ethnic slurs, and brief sensuality). Rob Brown handles the title role in this bittersweet biopic about college football great and first African American Heisman trophy-winner Ernie Davis who succumbed to leukemia before having a chance to play in the N.F.L. Cast includes Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton, and Omar Benson Miller.
The Haunting of Molly Hartley (PG-13 for violence, terror, teen drinking, brief profanity, and mature themes). Haley Bennett handles the title role in this horror film about a 17-year-old’s desperate effort to escape from Satan after she learns that her parents once entered into a pact with the Devil in order to save her life.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (G). Disney song and dance extravaganza revolves around a couple of high school sweethearts (Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens) and their friends as they face the prospect of graduating and going their separate ways. With Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman.
Max Payne (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, intense violence, and drug use). Mark Wahlberg stars in the title role of this revenge thriller about a DEA agent and an assassin (Mila Kunis) who join forces to find the killers responsible for the murder of his family and her sister. Cast includes Ludacris, Beau Bridges, Nelly Furtado, Chris O’Donnell, Donal Logue, and Kate Burton.
Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist (PG-13 for mature themes, sexuality, teen drinking, profanity, and crude behavior). Romantic comedy about a high school senior (Michael Cera) who asks a college-bound coed (Kat Jennings) to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to make his ex-girlfriend (Alexis Dziena) jealous. Cast includes Jay Baruchel, Frankie Faison, Kevin Corrigan, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, and John “Harold” Cho.
Nights in Rodanthe (PG-13 for sensuality). Richard Gere and Diane Lane co-star in this romance drama about an unhappily married woman and a physician dealing with an emotional crisis who make the most of a weekend when they meet at a seaside retreat located in a tiny coastal town on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
The Other End of the Line (PG-13 for suggestive material). Romantic drama about a credit card company operator (Shriya) from India who travels from Mumbai to San Francisco to rendezvous with a customer (Jesse Metcalfe) she fell in love with on the telephone. Catch is, he thinks she’s American.
Passengers (PG-13 for mature themes, sensuality, and scary images). Horror film starring Anne Hathaway as a grief counselor to survivors of a plane crash who falls in love with one of her patients (Patrick Wilson) just before the others start disappearing mysteriously, one by one. Cast includes Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall, and Dianne Wiest.
Pride and Glory (R for profanity, graphic violence, and brief drug use). New York City crime saga about a detective (Edward Norton) investigating the murders of four police officers in a routine drug bust gone bad who opens a Pandora’s Box when the trail leads to a couple of cops close to him: his brother (Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Colin Farrell). With Jon Voight, Rick Gonzalez, and Wayne Duvall.
Quarantine (R for profanity, terror, gory violence, and disturbing images). Horror film about a Los Angeles apartment building sealed shut by the Center for Disease Control after blood-curdling screams emanate from inside. When the quarantine is lifted, the only evidence of what transpired is contained on a videotape shot by a TV reporter (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris).
Rachel Getting Married (R for profanity and brief sexuality). Anne Hathaway stars in this dysfunctional family drama about a substance abuser who checks out of rehab for the weekend to attend her sister’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) very eventful wedding. With Debra Winger, Bill Irwin, and Anna Deavere Smith.
Religulous (R for profanity and sexuality). Anti dogma documentary starring agnostic Bill Maher who indicts faith in organized religions as beliefs in fairy tales which are to blame for many of the world’s woes. With commentary by Steve Burg, Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, and Andrew Newberg.
RocknRolla (R for violence, drug use, brief sexuality, and profanity). Campy crime caper, directed by Guy Ritchie, about a shady Russian billionaire (Tom Wilkinson) whose attempt to corner the London real estate market leads to lots of other mobsters muscling in on the get rich quick scam. Ensemble cast includes Thandie Newton, Jeremy Piven, Ludacris, Idris Elba, and Gerard Butler.
Saw V (R for nudity, profanity, torture, and graphic violence). Latest installment of the slasher series finds a forensics expert (Costas Mandylor) hunting for humans during a deadly rampage aimed at protecting the secret that he has been tapped to carry on the grisly legacy of the infamous Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). With Meagan Good, Julie Benz and Betsey Russell.
The Secret Life of Bees (PG-13 for violence and mature themes). Dakota Fanning stars in this Southern saga, set in the Sixties at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, about a motherless teen who runs away with her surrogate mom (Jennifer Hudson) from her abusive father (Paul Bettany) to a tiny South Carolina town where they are taken in by an eccentric trio of beekeeping sisters (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo, and Alicia Keys).
Sex Drive (R for crude humor, sexuality, nudity, and drug and alcohol use, all involving teens). Road comedy about an 18-year-old virgin (Josh Zuckerman) who steals his big brother’s (James Marsden) classic Pontiac GTO in order to drive with a couple of friends (Amanda Crew and Clark Duke) from Chicago to Knoxville where he expects to rendezvous with a temptress (Katrina Bowden) he met over the internet.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (PG-13 for sexuality, smoking, and mature themes). Woody Allen directs this romantic comedy about two girlfriends (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) spending the summer in Spain, who fall in love with the same artist (Javier Bardem), unaware that his unstable ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) is about to reenter the picture. In Catalan, English, and Spanish with subtitles.
W. (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, smoking, alcohol abuse, and disturbing war images). Josh Brolin plays the President in this biopic directed by Oliver Stone recounting the checkered career of George W. Bush. With Elizabeth Banks as his wife, Laura, Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice, Jeffrey Wright as Colin Powell, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, and Toby Jones as Karl Rove.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (R for nudity, profanity, sexuality, and crude humor). Kevin Smith directs this romantic comedy about a couple of cash-strapped platonic friends (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who make a pornographic film to solve their money woes only to find themselves falling in love with each other. Cast includes Justin Long, Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson, and Traci Lords.