Town Topics — Princeton's Weekly Community Newspaper Since 1946.
Vol. LXIV, No. 38
 
Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Kam’s Kapsules by Kam Williams

Alpha and Omega (PG for crude humor and mild action). Animated 3D road adventure about a wily female wolf (Hayden Panettiere) forced to embark on a perilous cross-country trek home with a trash-talking member of the pack (Justin Long) after they’re both trapped and shipped 1,000 miles away by park rangers. Voice cast includes Danny Glover, Christina Ricci, Larry Miller, and the late Dennis Hopper.

The American (R for violence, sexuality, and nudity). George Clooney stars in the title role of this international thriller as an assassin who reports to a tiny Italian town for his last assignment before retiring who befriends a priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and woos a local lass (Violante Placido) while awaiting further instructions from his Belgian contact (Thekla Reuten). In English and Italian with subtitles.

Animal Kingdom (Unrated). Australian crime drama about a detective (Guy Pearce) mourning the death of a colleague who endeavors to rescue a 17-year-old (James Frecheville) before he becomes a made man in a ruthless mob family. With Luke Ford, Joel Edgerton, and Jacki Weaver.

Buried (R for profanity and violence). Claustrophobic thriller, set in Iraq, about a private contractor (Ryan Reynolds) who finds himself in a desperate race against time upon awakening in a coffin after being attacked by insurgents. With Robert Paterson, Jose Luis Garcia Perez, and Samantha Mathis.

The Concert (Unrated). Bittersweet comedy about a former conductor of the Bolshoi, fired 30 years earlier for hiring Jews, who decides to try to reassemble musicians purged from the orchestra for a Paris concert. With Melanie Laurent, Dmitry Nazarov, and Valeriy Barinov. In French and Russian with subtitles.

Devil (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, violence, disturbing images, and mature themes). Horror film about five strangers (Bojana Novakovic, Logan Marshall-Green, Bokeem Woodbine, Jenny O’Hara, and Geoffrey Arend) trapped in an elevator who turn against each other when they realize that one of them is Satan. With Chris Messina, Matt Craven and Kim Roberts.

Easy A (PG-13 for profanity, mature themes, drug use, and teen sexuality). Romantic comedy loosely based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, about a pretty high school girl (Emma Stone) who develops a bad reputation when she starts charging classmates for letting them pretend she’s slept with them. With Amanda Bynes, Lisa Kudrow, Patricia Clarkson, Fred Armisen, Thomas Haden Church, Stanley Tucci, and Malcolm McDowell.

Eat, Pray, Love (PG-13 for brief profanity, sexual references, and male nudity). Julia Roberts stars in this screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestselling memoir about an unhappily married career woman who quits her job and divorces her husband (Billy Crudup) and embarks on a globetrotting journey of self-discovery financed by an advance from the publisher who purchased the rights to her book. With Javier Bardem, James Franco, Viola Davis, and Richard Jenkins.

The Expendables (R for profanity and graphic violence). Sly Stallone wrote, directed, and stars in this political potboiler about a team of mercenaries on a mission to overthrow an evil South American dictator (David Zayas) who discover that they’ve been double-crossed by a traitor in their midst. Cast includes Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Get Low (PG-13 for mature themes and brief violence). True tale which transpired in Tennessee in the 30s when a reclusive hermit (Robert Duvall) came out of the woods to throw himself a funeral party so he could attend his own wake while still alive. Cast includes Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black, Gerald McRaney, and Bill Cobbs.

Going the Distance (R for sexuality, profanity, drug use, and brief nudity). Bi-coastal romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of a journalist (Drew Barrymore) and a music scout (Justin Long) trying to maintain their relationship after she moves to San Francisco while he stays behind in New York City. With Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston, and Kelli Garner.

I’m Still Here (Unrated). Casey Affleck makes his directorial debut with this hip-hop documentary chronicling a turbulent year in the life of inscrutable, fellow- actor Joaquin Phoenix as he abandons the profession to try to make it as a rapper.

Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (PG for scary action sequences). Animated adventure about an intrepid barn owl (Jim Sturgess) who leads an escape of kidnapped owlets from an orphanage where they were being brainwashed to join an army led by their evil captors. Voice cast includes Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, and Abbie Cornish.

Machete (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity, and graphic violence). Revenge thriller about a renegade hit man (Danny Trejo) who embarks on a bloody rampage after being fleeced by a drug kingpin (Steven Seagal) and double-crossed by the Texas businessman (Jeff Fahey) who hired him to assassinate a Senator (Robert De Niro) who was sending illegal aliens back to Mexico. With Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba, Don Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, and Cheech Marin.

Mao’s Last Dancer (Unrated). Biopic recounts the acrobatic exploits of Li Cunxin (Chi Cao), a peasant plucked from poverty at the age of 11 to train at the prestigious Beijing Ballet Academy and who blossomed into one of the world’s elite dancers. With Joan Chen, Bruce Greenwood, and Suzie Steen. In English and Mandarin with subtitles.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Unrated). Biopic revisiting the exploits of France’s Public Enemy #1 Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) and sidekick Jeanne Schneider (Cecile de France), vicious mobsters dubbed the French Bonnie and Clyde by the gendarmes during their globetrotting reign of terror during the sixties and seventies. In French with subtitles.

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (PG for crude humor, mature themes, and mild epithets). Emma Thompson reprises the title role in this sequel set during World War II in the English countryside where the no-nonsense nanny with magical powers arrives in time to help an overwhelmed young mother (Maggie Gyllenhaal), saddled with the responsibility of raising her rambunctious kids and tending to the family farm alone, while her husband (Ewan McGregor) is fighting on the front lines. With Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, and Rhys Ifans.

The Other Guys (PG-13 for profanity, crude humor, sexuality, violence, and drug use). Comedy about a couple of grounded New York Police Department detectives, one (Will Ferrell), a dimwit, the other (Mark Wahlberg), a hothead with an itchy trigger finger, who do their best to measure up to their highly-decorated idols (Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) when finally assigned street duty again. With Eva Mendes, Paris Hilton, Michael Keaton, and Anne Heche.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (R for profanity and graphic violence). Milla Jovovich reprises the lead role in the fourth installment of the grisly zombie series now set in Los Angeles, that is ravaged by the virus infection, where she must again lead a hardy band of survivors in a battle against legions of the undead. Cast includes Boris Kodjoe, Ali Larter, and Kim Coates.

The Switch (PG-13 for nudity, sexuality, profanity, drug use, and mature themes). Comedy about an unmarried woman, desperate to have a baby who has no idea that her best friend (Jason Bateman) secretly supplied the sperm for her artificially inseminated child. Cast includes Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, and Victor Pagan.

Takers (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, partial nudity, and intense violence). Crime caper about a very successful gang of bank robbers (Chris Brown T.I., Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Michael Ealy, and Hayden Christensen) who decide to pull off one last heist before retiring only to come up against a hard-boiled detective (Matt Dillon) intent on cracking the case. With Zoe Saldana, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Jay Hernandez.

The Town (R for sexuality, drug use, graphic violence and pervasive profanity) Ben Affleck directs and stars in this Beantown crime caper, based on Chuck Hogan’s best seller Prince of Thieves, about the mastermind of a bank heist who finds himself falling for the pretty teller (Rebecca Hall) his gang took hostage during a recent robbery. With Jeremy Renner, Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite.

The Virginity Hit (R for nudity, sexuality, crude humor, profanity, and drug and alcohol abuse). Film about four best friends (Matt Bennett, Zack Pearlman, Jacob Davich, and Justin Kline) who decide not only to lose their virginity but to videotape each other in the midst of the rite of passage. With Krysta Rodriguez, Nicole Weaver, Savannah Welch, and Tina Parker as the objects of their attention.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (PG-13 for brief profanity and mature themes). Oliver Stone reunites with Michael Douglas who reprises his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko. Here, the disgraced corporate raider teams with his estranged daughter’s (Carey Milligan) fiancé (Shia LaBeouf) to take revenge on the hedge fund manager (Josh Brolin) responsible for the death of the young man’s mentor (Frank Langella). With Charlie Sheen, Susan Sarandon, Donald Trump and Eli Wallach.

You Again (PG for rude behavior and brief mild epithets). Comedy about a young woman (Kristen Bell) who decides to sabotage her brother’s (James Wolk) impending wedding after she realizes he’s about to marry the girl (Odette Yustman) who bullied her back in high school. With Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Cloris Leachman.

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