![]() |
Vol. LXII, No. 36
|
|
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
|
Babylon A.D. (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, action sequences and intense violence). Sci-fi thriller about a mercenary (Vin Diesel) escorting a young woman (Melanie Thierry) from Russia to Canada unaware that her body is host to an organism from which a cult plans to produce a genetically-engineered Messiah. Cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling, and Gerard Depardieu.
Bangkok Dangerous (R for violence, profanity, and sexuality). Action thriller about an anonymous assassin (Nicolas Cage) sent to Thailand to execute four contract killings who ends up both bonding with a local street urchin (Shahkrit Yamnarm) and being intoxicated by the beguiling beauty of a young deaf girl (Charlie Yeung).
College (R for pervasive sexuality and crude humor, nudity, profanity, and drug and alcohol abuse). End-of-innocence comedy revolving around three high school seniors (Drake Bell, Kevin Covais and Andrew Caldwell) who enjoy a wild weekend at a raucous fraternity house during their visit to a prospective college.
The Dark Knight (PG-13 for menacing and intense violence). Christian Bale returns as the Caped Crusader in an action thriller co-starring the late Heath Ledger as Batman’s archenemy, a psychopathic clown known as the Joker. Cast includes Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, and Michael Jai White.
Death Race (R for profanity and graphic violence). High-adrenaline, sci-fi thriller, set in 2020, revolving around a NASCAR champion (Jason Statham) imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit who is forced by the warden (Joan Allen) to drive a monster car equipped with machine guns and flamethrowers through a gauntlet of bloodthirsty inmates in a grisly, nationally-televised game of kill or be killed. Cast includes Tyrese, Ian McShane, and Natalie Martinez.
Disaster Movie (PG-13 for profanity, drug references, slapstick violence, crude humor, and sex content). Disaster flicks gets the same treatment already accorded the horror (Scary Movie), teen (Date Movie) blockbuster (Epic Movie) and historical (Meet the Spartans) genres in this zany spoof about a bunch of twenty-somethings who encounter a series of calamities over the course of one very eventful night. Ensemble cast includes Kim Kardashian, Carmen Electra, and Tony Cox.
Elegy (R for nudity, sexuality, and profanity). Romance drama starring Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz, based on The Dying Animal, the Philip Roth novella about a freewheeling college professor who initiates a no-strings affair with a cute Cuban student only to find himself uncharacteristically turning into a possessive, jealous stalker. With Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper and Deborah “Blondie” Harry.
Frozen River (R for profanity). Cross-cultural, Christmastime tale about a recently-abandoned, white housewife (Melissa Leo), struggling to support her sons on a Mohawk reservation in upstate New York, who is pressured by a Native American single-mom (Misty Upham) to start smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian border into the U.S. Cast includes Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone, Jr. and Charlie McDermott.
Hamlet 2 (R for profanity, nudity, sexual references, and drug content). Comedy, set in Tucson, about the efforts of a failed actor-turned-drama teacher (Steve Coogan) to stage a politically-incorrect sequel to Hamlet over the objection of the high school’s administration. Cast includes Catherine Keener, Melonie Diaz, Elisabeth Shue, David Arquette and Amy Poehler.
Henry Poole Is Here (PG for mature themes and mild epithets). Luke Wilson plays the title character in this bittersweet comedy about a depressed loner with a dire medical prognosis whose desire for isolation is frustrated by the arrival of strangers who start flocking to his property to pray to the image of Christ which has miraculously appeared on the side of his house. With Radha Mitchell, George Lopez, and Morgan Lilly.
The House Bunny (PG-13 for profanity, partial nudity, and sex-related humor). Movie about a Playboy bunny (Anna Faris) kicked out of the mansion by Hefner on her 27th birthday for being too old who takes a job as a sorority housemother before proceeding to makeover some of the homeliest coeds on campus.
The Longshots (Unrated). Sports saga chronicles the real life tale of a pigtailed, 11 year-old tomboy (Keke Palmer) who, with the help of her uncle (Ice Cube), became the first girl in league history to play Pop Warner football. Cast includes Tasha Smith, David Banner, and Earthquake.
Mamma Mia! (PG-13 for sex-related material). Screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, set on an enchanting Greek island, where an 18-year-old bride-to-be (Amanda Seyfried) has invited all three of her mother’s (Meryl Streep) ex-lovers to her wedding, hoping to determine which one is her father: the businessman (Pierce Brosnan), the adventurer (Stellan Skarsgard), or the banker (Colin Firth).
Mirrors (R for nudity, profanity, violence, and disturbing images). Kiefer Sutherland stars in this remake of a Korean horror film (Into the Mirror) about a night watchman who finds himself confronting a malevolent force which is using mirrors to terrorize his family. With Paula Patton, Amy Smart, and Frank Mayers.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (PG-13 for adventure and action violence). Brendan Fraser returns for a third go-round as intrepid explorer Rick O’Connell, who is now joined by his son (Luke Ford), his wife (Maria Bello), and her brother (John Hannah) in an epic adventure to the Far East to combat a recently-resurrected 2,000-year-old shape-shifting entity (Jet Li) bent on world domination. With Michelle Yeoh, Isabella Leong, and Russell Wong.
Passengers (PG-13 for mature themes, sensuality, and scary images). Horror flick starring Anne Hathaway as a grief counselor to survivors of a plane crash who falls in love with one (Patrick Wilson) of her patients just before the others start disappearing mysteriously, one by one. Ensemble cast includes Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall and Dianne Wiest.
Pineapple Express (R for violence, drug use, sexual references, and pervasive profanity). Teen film about a lazy stoner (Seth Rogen) who purchases a new strain of weed from his drug dealer (James Franco) only to find himself on the run from sadistic mobsters after he witnesses a murder by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez). Cast includes Dr. Ken Jeong, Nora Dunn, Bill Hader, and Amber Heard.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (PG for smoking, mild epithets, and non-stop sci-fi violence). Animated adventure chronicling the heroic exploits of the Jedi Knights in another epic, intergalactic battle between good and evil. Voice cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and Ian Abercrombie.
Tell No One (Unrated). Crime thriller about a grieving pediatrician (Francois Cluzet) who suddenly finds himself a suspect in his wife’s (Marie-Josee Croze) murder when the police decide to reopen the case at the same time that he receives an anonymous email warning him to “tell no one” that she’s still alive. In French with subtitles.
Traitor (PG-13 for brief profanity, mature themes, and intense violence). International political potboiler about a former U.S. Special Operations Officer (Don Cheadle) who finds himself subjected to close scrutiny by both FBI (Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough) and CIA (Jeff Daniels) Agents after being implicated in a series of terrorist attacks.
Tropic Thunder (R for violence, drug use, sexual references, and pervasive profanity). Ben Stiller wrote, directed, and co-stars opposite Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. in this action comedy about actors shooting a war movie on location in the jungles of Southeast Asia who suddenly find themselves in a battle with live bullets after they are mistaken for real soldiers by guerillas.
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.