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

OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam's Kapsules:
Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening October 12, 2007


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (PG-13 for sexuality, nudity and violence) Cate Blanchett reprises her Oscar-nominated role as Queen Elizabeth I (1553-1603) in this sequel, set in the late 16th Century, where we find the monarch defending her empire while falling for Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). With Geoffrey Rush, Samantha Morton and Rhys Ifans.

Lars and the Real Girl (PG-13 for sexuality) Droll romantic comedy about a delusional loser (Ryan Gosling) whose friends and family don’t have the heart to tell him that the life-sized doll he fell in love with online and ordered over the internet isn’t a real woman. With Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Paul Schneider.

We Own the Night (R for nudity, profanity, sexuality, drug use and grahic violence) Set in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in 1988, this crime saga pits the manager (Joaquin Phoenix) of a nightclub owned by Russian mobsters against his brother (Mark Wahlberg) and father (Robert Duvall), both of whom are with the NYPD. With Eva Mendes as the gangster’s gun moll.

Why Did I Get Married? (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references and mature themes) Tyler Perry directs and co-stars in this adaptation of his play about four married couples, friends since college, who find their marriages tested with fidelity issues during a very eventful week-long reunion at a picturesque retreat in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Ensemble cast includes Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Tasha Smith, Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal, Denise Boutte and Lamann Rucker.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Berkeley (Unrated) Coming-of-age flick, set on Berkeley’s campus in 1968, revisits that turbulent era as seen through the eyes of a straitlaced freshman (Nick Roth) about to be introduced to free love, mind-expanding drugs and progressive politics. With Henry “The Fonz” Winkler.

Canvas (PG-13 for mature themes) Dysfunctional family drama about a ten year-old (Devon Gearheart) dealing with a schizophrenic mother (Marcia Gay Harden) and an emotionally-distant father (Joe Pantoliano) who handles the crisis by building a boat in the driveway.

Control (R for profanity and brief sexuality) Bittersweet docudrama revisits the aborted life of Ian Curtis, suicidal lead singer of the post-punk rock group Joy Division, who hung himself in 1980 at the age of 23 due to a depression triggered by epilepsy and a failed marriage.

The Final Season (PG for mild epithets, teen smoking and mature themes) Inspirational sports flick about the efforts of a new coach (Sean Astin) to motivate members of his baseball team over the course of the last season before the Iowa high school merges with another. Cast includes Tom Arnold, Rachael Leigh Cook and Michael Angarano.

Golda’s Balcony (unrated) Valerie “Rhoda” Harper takes the titular role in this adaptation of William Gibson’s Tony-nominated, one-woman Broadway play chronicles the career of the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (1898-1978).

House (Unrated) Horror flick, set in rural Alabama, about two couples chased by a maniacal Tin Man into the woods where they unwittingly take refuge in a house already outfitted by their tormentor with a deadly surprise. Cast includes Allana Bale, Leslie Easterbrook, J.P. Davis and Jeffrey de Graft-Johnson.

Naked Boys Singing! (Unrated) Screen adaptation of the long-running Off-Broadway musical celebration of the male form featuring a gratuitously nude review of dangling dudes belting out 16 gay-themed tunes. With Joe Souza, Phong Truong and Vincent Zamora.

Sleuth (R for profanity) Michael Caine returns in Sir Laurence Olivier’s role for this remake of their 1972 cat-and-mouse thriller set on the sprawling estate of a wealthy mystery writer matching wits with the aspiring actor (Jude Law) who’s having an affair with his wife.

Terror’s Advocate (Unrated) Jurisprudence bio-pic examines the controversial career of attorney Jacques Verges who has represented such infamous defendants as Nazi Klaus Barbie, terrorist Carlos the Jackal and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy. (In French, English, German and Khmer with subtitles)