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 April 11, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

College (R for pervasive sexuality and crude humor, nudity, profanity, and drug and alcohol abuse) End-of-innocence comedy revolving around three high school seniors (Drake Bell, Kevin Covais and Andrew Caldwell) who enjoy a wild weekend at a raucous fraternity house during their visit to a prospective college.

Prom Night (PG-13 for violence, terror, sexuality, profanity and underage drinking) Remake of 1980 slasher flick about a group of teenagers who share a dark, childhood secret which comes back to haunt them when a sadistic killer bent on revenge starts stalking them on during their senior prom. Cast includes Brittany Snow, Johnathon Schaech and Jessica Stroup.

Smart People (R for profanity, sexuality, and brief teen drug and alcohol abuse) Dysfunctional family comedy about a widowed professor (Dennis Quaid), raising an emotionally-distant son (Ashton Holmes) and a wisecracking daughter (Ellen Page) alone, whose fortunes change when he crosses paths with a seductive former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) at about the same time his down-on-his-luck brother (Thomas Haden Church) arrives in town unannounced and needing a place to stay.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Body of War (Unrated) Former TV talk show host Phil Donahue makes his directorial debut with this sobering documentary contrasting America’s pre-war patriotic fervor with the ongoing challenges of rehabilitation facing Tomas Young, a 27 year-old soldier paralyzed by a bullet three years ago while fighting over in Iraq.

Bra Boys (R for profanity, violence and reckless behavior) Russell Crowe narrates this Australian documentary about a gang of misunderstood Sydney surfers from a beachside ‘hood unfairly associated with drugs, tattoos, partying, lawlessness and murder.

Dark Matter (R for profanity, brief sexuality and a scene of violence) Meryl Streep stars in this real-life, psychological drama, set at a U.S. university in the Nineties, as the wealthy benefactor of a promising Ph.D. candidate (Liu Ye) from China whose quest for a Nobel Prize is sabotaged by the Astrophysics Department because his controversial discovery is at odds with the conventional wisdom established by his mentor (Aidan Quinn).

Stalags (Unrated) Holocaust documentary explores the eroticized-violence contained in a curious genre of graphic pornography, set in concentration camps during World War II, which became popular in Israel in the Sixties.

Street Kings (R for graphic violence and pervasive profanity) Keanu Reeves stars in this whodunit about a vice cop implicated in the murder of his own partner (Terry Crews) who teams up with a young homicide detective (Chris Evans) to catch the real killers. Cast includes Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Common, Naomie Harris and Cedric the Entertainer.

The Take (R for violence, sexuality, profanity and drug use) Revenge-driven crime drama about an armored car driver (John Leguizamo) obsessed with tracking down the sadistic creep (Tyrese Gibson) who shot him during a holdup. Ensemble includes Rosie Perez, Bobby Cannavale and Roger Guenveur Smith.

Young@Heart (PG for mild epithets and mature themes) Musical documentary chronicles the concerts of a traveling chorus of senior citizens from New England as they entertain audiences all over the world with an eclectic repertoire of songs which ranges from Coldplay to James Brown.

Young and Restless in China (Unrated) Behind the Bamboo Curtain Documentary chronicles four years in the lives of nine young adults affected by the introduction of capitalism to their rapidly changing society. (In English and Mandarin with subtitles)