Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK

by Kam Williams

For movies opening September 21, 2007

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Good Luck Chuck (R for nudity, profanity, sexuality and drug use) Based on the Steve Glenn short story of the same name, this romantic comedy revolves around the lengths to which a successful dentist/perennial loser at love (Dane Cook) will go to land the accident-prone penguin expert/girl of his dreams (Jessica Alba).

Resident Evil: Extinction (R for profanity, nudity and pervasive graphic violence) Third installment of the fright franchise based on the popular video game finds Milla Jovovich reprising her lead role as the two-fisted heroine at the center of another harrowing, high body-count horror flick, this one featuring her leading survivors of the last zombie attack across the desert to the ruins of Las Vegas. Cast includes Mike Epps, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter and Ashanti.

Sydney White (PG-13 for profanity, partying and sexual humor) Teensploit putting a twist on the Snow White fairy tale features Amanda Bynes as a college freshman who opts to live with seven social zeros instead of pledging her late mother’s sorority.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Antonia (PG-13 for profanity, violence and mature themes) Brazilian barrio provides the backdrop for this drama about four poor girls (Leilah Moreno, Cindy Mendes, Negra Li and Jacqueline Simao) who form a hip-hop quartet to rap their way out of the slums. (In Portuguese with subtitles)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (R for violence and sexual references) Screen adaptation of the Ron Hansen Wild West novel of the same name stars Casey Affleck as the trusted traitor who, in 1882, shot the legendary, most wanted outlaw (Brad Pitt) in the back. With Zooey Deschanel, Pat Healy, Sam Shepard and Mary-Louise Parker.

Beauty Remains (Unrated) Set in Qing Dao during the rise to power of Chairman Mao, this Chinese Cinderella tale examines the fate of a spoiled-rotten heiress (Vivian Wu) after the arrival of an illegitimate half-sister (Zhou Xun) who has her eye not only her sibling’s handsome fiancĂ© (Wang Zhi Wen) but also on their recently-deceased father’s fortune. (In Mandarin with subtitles)

Into the Wild (R for profanity and nudity) Sean Penn directs this back-to-nature adventure, based on the real-life exploits of Christopher McCandless, a student-athlete (Emile Hirsch) who gave away all his money and earthly possessions to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness after graduating from Emory College in 1992.

The Jane Austen Book Club (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, drug use and mature themes) Romance drama about a half-dozen females who form a book club only to find parallels between their lives in California and that of the characters in the 19th Century British novels they’ve been reading. Ensemble includes Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker and Hugh Dancy.

The Last Winter (Unrated) Atmospheric horror flick, set in the Arctic, about mysterious deaths among members of an oil company’s drilling team after global warming unleashes an unspeakable force which wreaks havoc upon their expedition. Cast includes Ron Perlman, James LeGros and Connie Britton.

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