Kam's Kapsules by Kam Williams

Appaloosa (R for violence and profanity). Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris co-star in this Western about a couple of gunslingers hired to rescue a lawless desert town being terrorized by a renegade rancher (Jeremy Irons).

Babylon A.D. (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, action sequences, and violence). Science fiction 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).

Burn after Reading (R for sexuality, violence, and profanity). Coen Brothers crime caper about a personal trainer (Brad Pitt) and a gym owner (Frances McDormand) who try to blackmail a CIA Agent (John Malkovich) whose computer disk they find. Cast includes George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, J.K. Simmons, Richard Jenkins, and Dermot Mulroney.

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 violence). Science fiction 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, televised game of kill or be killed. Cast includes Tyrese, Ian McShane, and Natalie Martinez.

Disaster Movie (PG-13 for profanity, drug references, violence, crude humor, and sex content). Disaster films get the same treatment already accorded horror movies (Scary Movie), teen films (Date Movie,) blockbusters (Epic Movie), and historical films (Meet the Spartans) in this zany spoof about a bunch of twenty-somethings who encounter a series of calamities over the course of one very eventful night. Cast includes Kim Kardashian, Carmen Electra, and Tony Cox.

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.

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 an affair with a Cuban student only to find himself uncharacteristically turning into a possessive, jealous stalker. With Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper, and Deborah “Blondie” Harry.

The Family That Preys (PG-13 for mature themes, sexual references, and brief violence). Tyler Perry wrote, directed, and co-stars in this drama cutting across color lines about a friendship between a wealthy white woman (Kathy Bates) and a working-class black woman (Alfre Woodard) which is tested by the revelation of incestuous family secrets involving infidelity, paternity, and unethical business practices. With Sanaa Lathan, Taraji P. Henson, Cole Hauser, Rockmond Dunbar, and Robin Givens.

Frozen River (R for profanity). Cross-cultural Christmas 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 mother (Misty Upham) to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Canadian border into the U.S. Cast includes Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone, Jr., and Charlie McDermott.

Ghost Town (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, and drug references). Romantic comedy starring Ricky Gervais as a nerdy dentist with the ability to see dead people who is pressured by a ghost (Greg Kinnear) to help sabotage his widow’s (Tea Leoni) impending remarriage.

The House Bunny (PG-13 for profanity, partial nudity, and sex-related humor). Movie about a Playboy bunny (Anna Faris) who is kicked out of the Playboy mansion by Hefner on her 27th birthday because she’s too old who takes a job as a sorority housemother and proceeds to make over some of the homeliest coeds on campus.

Igor (PG for scary images, mature themes, action, and mild epithets). John Cusack plays the title character in this animated comedy about a hunchbacked lab assistant to a mad scientist who has dreams of winning first prize in the annual Evil Science Fair. Voice cast includes John Cleese, Jennifer Coolidge, Jay Leno, Steve Buscemi, Arsenio Hall, Molly Shannon, Eddie Izzard, and Sean Hayes.

Lakeview Terrace (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, mature themes, violence, and drug references) Psychological thriller with Samuel L. Jackson as an LAPD cop who decides to harass the newlyweds (Kerry Washington and Patrick Wilson) next-door because he disapproves of their interracial marriage.

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), becomes the first girl to play Pop Warner football. Cast includes Tasha Smith, David Banner, and Earthquake.

My Best Friend’s Girl (R for nudity, graphic dialogue, and pervasive profanity and sexuality) Romantic comedy about a just-dumped loser (Jason Biggs) who hires his best friend (Dane Cook) to date his ex (Kate Hudson) with the hope that she’ll wise-up and realize what a big mistake she made. Cast includes Alec Baldwin and Lizzy Caplan.

Righteous Kill (R for violence, sexuality, drug use, and profanity). Robert De Niro and Al Pacino co-star in this thriller about a pair of veteran New York Police Department detectives who postpone their retirement to track down the vigilante serial killer targeting criminals never brought to justice. Cast includes 50 Cent, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, Melissa Leo, and Carla Gugino.

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 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.

The Women (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, drug use, and smoking). Remake of the 1939 classic based on the Claire Booth Luce play about a New York City socialite (Meg Ryan) whose crumbling marriage becomes the subject of gossip when it comes to light that her husband is cheating on her with a shop girl (Eva Mendes). Cast includes Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Debra Messing.

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