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 September 12, 2008

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Burn after Reading (R for sexuality, violence and pervasive profanity) Coen Brothers crime caper about a personal trainer (Brad Pitt) and a gym owner (Frances McDormand) who try to blackmail the CIA Agent (John Malkovich) whose computer disk they find. Ensemble cast includes George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, J.K. Simmons, Richard Jenkins and Dermot Mulroney.

The Family That Preys (PG-13 for mature themes, sexual references and brief violence) Tyler Perry wrote, directed and co-stars in this skeletons-in-the-closet drama cutting across color lines about a friendship between a wealthy white woman (Kathy Bates) and a working-class black woman (Alfre Woodard) which is tested by the revelation of incestuous family secrets involving infidelity, paternity and unethical business practices. With Sanaa Lathan, Taraji P. Henson, Cole Hauser, Rockmond Dunbar and Robin Givens.

Righteous Overkill (R for violence, sexuality, drug use and pervasive profanity) Robert De Niro and Al Pacino co-star in this high-octane thriller about a pair of veteran NYPD detectives who postpone their retirement to track down the vigilante serial killer targeting criminals never brought to justice. Cast includes 50 Cent, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy. Melissa Leo and Carla Gugino,

The Women (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, drug use and smoking) Remake of 1939 classic based on the Claire Booth Luce play about a NYC socialite (Meg Ryan) whose crumbling marriage becomes the subject of gossip when it comes to light that her husband is cheating on her with a shop girl (Eva Mendes). Cast includes Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Devbra Messing.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS


Able Danger (Unrated) International political potboiler about a 9-11 conspiracy theorist (Tom Nee) whose search for the truth about the terrorist attacks leads to a mysterious Eastern European femme fatale (Elina Lowensohn) with something to hide. (In English and German with subtitles)

Christmas on Mars (Unrated) Members of the rock group The Flaming Lips star in this sci-fi musical comedy about a compassionate Martian (Wayne Coyne) who comes to the rescue when oxygen and gravity generators fail, thereby imperiling the lives of American astronauts colonizing the Red Planet. With Fred Armisen, Adam Goldberg and Elijah Wood.

Forgiveness (Unrated) Psychological flashback flick about a 20 year-old Jewish-American (Itay Turan) who moves to the Middle East to join the Israeli Army only to end up committed to a mental institution located on the site of a Palestinian village where 100 townspeople had been slain during a battle back in 1948.

Greetings from the Shore (R for profanity) Bittersweet romantic comedy, about a college-bound teen (Kim Shaw) grieving the death of her father, who decides to spend the summer working at a posh yacht club on the Jersey Shore where she falls in love with a Cuban busboy (David Fumero).

Moving Midway (Unrated) Thumbs-up documentary about New York film critic Godfrey Cheshire’s controversial decision to research both the black and white sides of his family tree while moving the Raleigh, North Carolina mansion he’s inherited away from the site of the slave plantation on which it had been located since 1848.

Phoebe in Wonderland (PG-13 for mature themes and brief profanity) Elle Fanning stars in this modern fairy tale about a young girl with Tourette’s Syndrome who finds a constructive way to channel her destructive, obsessive-compulsive urges with the help of a drama teacher (Patricia Clarkson) who casts her in a school production as Alice in Wonderland.

Towelhead (R for profanity and for disturbing sexuality and abuse involving a young teen) Coming-of-age drama about a 13 year-old Arab-American freshman (Summer Bishil) who, after encountering racism and rejection at her new high school, finds comfort in a romantic relationship with a black upperclassman (Eugene Jones III).

The Tree of Life (Unrated) WWII-revisited documentary chronicles Hava Volterra’s trip taken with her octogenarian aunt from Los Angeles back to Europe to find their Jewish-Italian roots while retracing the family’s perilous path of survival during the Holocaust.