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 14, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Quantum of Silence (PG-13 for sexuality, violence, and intense action sequences) Daniel Craig returns for his second go-round as James Bond for a mission which pits 007 against a diabolical villain (Mathieu Amalric) bent on controling one of the world’s most critical natural resources. Cast includes Dame Judi Dench, Jesper Christensen, Jeffrey Wright, Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton.

Slumdog Millionaire (R for violence, profanity and disturbing images) Romantic comedy, set in Mumbai, about an 18 year-old street urchin (Dev Patel) who becomes a TV contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire not for the money but to win back the heart of the girl (Freida Pinto) of his dreams. (In English and Hindi with subtitles)


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

The Alphabet Killer (Unrated) Crime thriller, based on a real-life case from the Eighties, revolving around a female police officer (Eliza Dushku) whose obsession with tracking down the serial child killer terrorizing Rochester, New York ended up costing her not only her fiancé and job but her sanity, too. Cast includes Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes and Bill Moseley.

The Beautiful Truth (Unrated) Medical documentary by Garrett Kroschel suggesting that a cure for cancer might have been discovered in the 1920s by Dr. Max Gerson, an iconoclastic physician who came up with an unorthodox approach to treating the disease.

A Christmas Tale (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama about an aging mathematician (Jean-Paul Roussillon) married to a melancholy playwright (Catherine Deneuve) whose reunion over the Christmas holidays with their three adult children, in-laws and grandkids proves to be fraught with feuding, infidelity and overindulgence in holiday spirits. (In French with subtitles)

The Dukes (PG-13 for sexuality and drug use) Crime comedy about two down on their luck members (Chazz Palminteri and Robert Davi) of a once-famous doo-wop group whose desperate financial straits leads them to try to pull an ill-advised heist of a dentist’s safe rumored to be filled with gold. With Peter Bogdanovich, Bruce Weitz and Elya Baskin.

House of the Sleeping Beauties (Unrated) Viva Viagra drama about a recently-widowed senior citizen (Vadim Glowna) who visits a mysterious whorehouse which caters to a clientele of elderly men, offering them an opportunity to sleep with totally drugged young women. With Maximilian Schell, Isabelle Wackers and Mona Glass. (In German with subtitles)

How about You? (Unrated) Christmas comedy, set in Ireland, about a young woman (Hayley Atwell) who has her hands full trying to fill-in for her widowed sister (Orla Brady) as the caretaker of the four residents of an old folks’ home over the holidays. Cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Staunton, Brenda Fricker and Joan O’Hara.

Lake City (R for profanity and violence) Sissy Spacek and Troy Garity co-star in this Southern drama about the return home under trying circumstances of a Prodigal Son to the family farm where he confronts his estranged mother about a deep family secret. Ensemble includes Rebecca Romijn, Dave Matthews, Drea de Matteo and Keith Carradine.

We Are Wizards (Unrated) Harry Potter fans are the subject of this get-a-life documentary about the droves of geeks unhealthily obsessed with the fictional boy wizard at the center of the J.K. Rowling movie franchise and enchanting series of children’s books. Can anybody say “Trekkies.”