Thursday, November 15, 2007

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 November 23, 2007


BIG BUDGET FILMS

August Rush (PG for slight violence, mild profanity and mature themes) Freddie Highmore stars as the title character in this escapist fantasy about a promising musical prodigy who runs away from an orphanage to New York City to find his parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Myers) only to end up living with a Fagin-like wizard (Robin Williams) and lots of other kids in a makeshift shelter in an abandoned theater which was once the Fillmore East. With Terrence Howard as the missing street urchin’s concerned social worker.

Enchanted (PG for scary images and sexual innuendo) Modern-day fairytale, mixing animation and live action, about a beautiful princess (Amy Adams) banished from her magical kingdom by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) to New York City where she finds herself charmed by a divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) despite the fact that she’s already been promised to a prince (James Marsden) back home.

Hitman (Unrated) Action-oriented political potboiler about a cold and calculated, genetically-engineered assassin (Timothy Oliphant) being pursued across Europe by Interpol and the Russian military who suddenly discovers that he not only has a conscience but feelings for a mysterious femme fatale (Olga Kurylenko).

The Mist (R for profanity, terror, gore and gruesome violence) Frank Darabont adapted and directed this Stephen King horror story about a thunderstorm which leaves a tiny town in Maine enshrouded in a thick fog and under attack by an army of unseen creatures. Cast includes Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher and Marcia Gay Harden.

This Christmas (Unrated) Family skeletons aplenty come popping out of the closet during this holiday drama set during a dysfunctional African-American family’s first reunion in years. Ensemble cast includes Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Lauren London, Idris Elba, Regina King, Columbus Short and Laz Alonso.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Christmas in Wonderland (PG for crude language) Holiday comedy about a couple of kids from L.A. who find a million dollars of fake money in a Canadian mall and go on a shopping spree while being chased by a hapless gang of counterfeiters and a Canadian Mountie. Cast includes Patrick Swayze, Chris Kattan, Carmen Electra and Tim Curry.

Everything’s Cool (Unrated) Cautionary documentary exposes the efforts of the fossil fuel industry lobby and conservative think tanks to manufacture an artificial debate about global warming in the face of irrefutable proof of the phenomenon provided by responsible members of the scientific community.

I’m Not There (R for nudity, sexuality and profanity) Experimental bio-pic employs a half-dozen different actors (Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw and Marcus Carl Franklin) to portray Bob Dylan at different stages of the enigmatic icon’s life. Cast includes Oscar-nominees Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.

It is Fine! Everything is Fine! (Unrated) The late Steven C. Stewart wrote and starred in this semi-autobiographical drama about a Cerebral Palsy victim’s struggle to reconcile his vivid sexual fantasies with his physical limitations caused by the disease.

Looking for Cheyenne (R for sexuality and profanity) Bittersweet romance about an unemployed journalist (Mila Dekker) who abandons Paris for the country, leaving behind a bi-sexual lover (Aurelia Petit) who then becomes involved in unsatisfactory relationships with an anarchist (Malik Zidi) and a lesbian (Guilaine Londez) till she realizes that her ex still owns her heart. (In French with subtitles)

Nina’s Heavenly Delights (PG-13 for sexuality) Cross-cultural comedy about an Indo-Scottish woman (Shelley Conn) who returns to Glasgow to run her recently-deceased father’s curry house with the help of his partner’s daughter (Laura Fraser) while reuniting with a childhood friend who’s now a flamboyant drag queen (Ronny Jhutti).

Starting Out in the evening (PG-13 for sex, expletives and brief nudity) Adapted from the novel of the same name by Brian Morton, this drama revolves around the May-December relationship of a 24 year-old grad student (Lauren Ambrose)
And the aging author (Frank Langella) whose works are the subject of her master’s thesis.

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