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 July 25, 2008





BIG BUDGET FILMS



American Teen (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, smoking and alcohol consumption, all involving teens) Coming-of-age documentary traces ten months in the lives of four high school seniors, a popular jock (Colin Clemens), a nerdy band geek (Jake Tusing), a spoiled prom queen (Megan Krizmanich) and an artsy bohemian (Hannah Bailey) in the tiny town of Warsaw, Indiana.



Brideshead Revisited (PG-13 for sexuality) Emma Thompson stars in this WWII era tale of forbidden love set in England and based on Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel about a Protestant of humble birth (Matthew Goode) who becomes infatuated with the sister (Hayley Atwell) of a college classmate (Ben Whishaw) from an aristocratic Catholic family when brought home to their palatial castle over vacation.



The Longshots (Unrated) Overcoming-the-odds sports saga chronicles the real-life tale of a pigtailed, 11 year-old tomboy (Keke Palmer) who, with the help of her uncle (Ice Cube), became the first girl in league history to play Pop Warner football. Cast includes Tasha Smith, David Banner and Earthquake.



Step Brothers (R for crude humor, sexuality and pervasive profanity) Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly co-star in this dysfunctional family comedy about a couple of immature slackers still living at home with a single parent who suddenly find themselves forced to coexist under the same roof when one’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) marries the other’s father (Richard Jenkins).



The X-Files: I Want to Believe (PG-13 for mature themes, violence and disturbing content) David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their lead roles as FBI Agents Mulder and skeptic Scully in second screen adaptation of their hit TV-show about paranormal phenomena. This installment, a sci-fi thriller set six years after the end of the series, co-stars Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly and Xzibit.





INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS



Back to Normandy (Unrated) Nicolas Philibert directed this documentary chronicling his return to the village of La Faucterie in Normandy to find out what became of the local peasants who had starred in the historical crime drama which he had shot there thirty years earlier. (In French with subtitles)



Baghead (R for nudity, profanity and sexuality) Horror farce abut four struggling actors (Ross Partridge, Elise Muller, Greta Gerwig and Steve Zissis) who retreat to a cabin in the woods to collaborate on a screenplay about a stalker wearing a bag over his head only to find themselves on the run from a madman with the same modus operandi.



Boy A (Unrated) Flashback flick about the frustrations encountered by an ex-con (Andrew Garfield) who paid his debt to society as he tries to make a new life for himself after having served a 14-year sentence for a monstrous murder he committed as a minor. Principal cast includes Siobhan Finneran, Peter Mullan Shaun Evans and Katie Lyons. .



Bustin’ Down the Door (Unrated) Edward Norton narrates this “Hang Ten” documentary recounting how the sport of surfing was revolutionized, popularized and corporatized in the Seventies in the wake of the arrival in Hawaii of a half-dozen, brash young beach boys from Australia and South Africa.



Canary (Unrated) Docudrama revisits the events surrounding the release of a deadly gas in the Tokyo subway system by members of a religious cult. Fact-based plot revolves around the friendship forged between a 12 year-old refugee (Hoshi Ishida) from the apocalyptic sect and a young runaway (Mitsuki Tanimura) escaping an abusive father. (In Japanese with subtitles)



CSNY: Déjà Vu (R for profanity and brief war images) Combination concert flick and anti Iraq War polemic shot during Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s 2006 “Freedom of Speech Tour.” Featuring an appearance by Comedy Central talk show host Steven Colbert.



Late Bloomer (Unrated) Gruesome horror flick, shot in black & white, about a severely disabled man (Sumida Masakiyo) who goes berserk after an unrequited crush on his caregiver (Mari Torii) turns him into a maniacal misanthrope. (In Japanese with subtitles)



Man on Wire (PG-13 for sexuality, nudity and drug references) Don’t look down documentary revisits Frenchman Philippe Petit’s daring, death-defying and illegal high-wire walk at 1368 feet in the air between the roofs of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers back in 1974. (In English and French with subtitles)



The Order of Myths (Unrated) Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama is the subject of this documentary about a still segregated city which stages two annual celebrations, one black, one white.



Red 71 (Unrated) Neo-noir, set in an Arizona desert town where a private eye (Nathan Ginn) develops a crush on a mysterious woman (Michelle Belegrin) whose husband (Ted Parks) has just been killed. Plot thickens when the femme fatale’s lover (Justin Kreinbrink) is murdered, too.



A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (Unrated) cross-cultural drama about a retired, widowed rocket scientist (Henry O) who travels to America from Beijing to be with his small town librarian daughter (Feihong Yu) as she recovers from the trauma of her recent divorce. (In Mandarin, Persian and English with subtitles)