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 February 15, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Definitely, Maybe (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, smoking and frank dialogue) Flashback flick revolving around a Manhattanite (Ryan Reynolds) in the midst of a messy divorce who decides to reminisce about the three loves of his life so that his curious 11 year-old daughter (Abigail Breslin) can guess which was with her mother. Was she his college sweetheart (Elizabeth Banks), his best friend and confidante (Isla Fisher) or the tough-to-tame free spirit (Rachel Weisz)? Cast includes Derek Luke and Liane Balaban.

Jumper (PG-13 for intense violence, brief sexuality and some profanity) Time-travel sci-fi thriller, based on the Steven Gould novel of the same name, about a genetic anomaly (Hayden Christensen) able to teleport himself anywhere who finds himself embroiled in a war that has been raging for eons between “Jumpers” and their sworn enemies, the Paladins. With Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell, Diane Lane, Tom Hulce and AnnaSophia Robb.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (PG for peril, mature themes, frightening images and action violence) Escapist fantasy about twin brothers (Freddie Highmore) who, along with their sister (Sarah Bolger), discover a magical world filled with fairies and scary creatures soon after moving with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker) from New York City to their great, great Uncle Arthur’s (David Strathairn) secluded, rundown country estate.

Step Up 2 the Streets (PG-13 for profanity, suggestive material and brief violence) Foot-stomping sequel features Briana Evigan as an orphaned street-dancer who falls in love with a classmate (Robert Hoffman) from the other side of the tracks at the prestigious Maryland School for the Arts. With only a cameo by the star of the original, Channing Tatum.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

David & Layla (Unrated) Cross-cultural romantic comedy, set in NYC, about a Jewish relationship advice guru (David Moscow) who dumps his kickboxer fiancée (Callie Thorne) for the sensual Muslim dancer (Shiva Rose) he falls in lust with at first sight.

Diary of the Dead (R for pervasive profanity, gore and graphic violence) Latest George Romero screamfest features a motley crew of film students freaked out by real-life zombies while making a low-budget horror flick in rural Pennsylvania.
Cast includes Joshua Close and Michelle Morgan, with audio cameos by Quentin Tarantino, Simon Pegg and Guillermo del Toro..

Ezra (Unrated) Sierra Leone saga about the attempt of a former child soldier (Mamoudu Turay Kamara) to return to life following the civil war which had devastated his country.