Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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 March 20, 2009


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Duplicity (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality) Clive Owen and Julia Roberts co-star in this espionage thriller as corporate spies working for competing companies who decide to double-cross their respective bosses (Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti) when their mutual attraction blossoms into love.

I Love You, Man (R for pervasive profanity and crude sexual references) Raunchy romantic comedy about a bride-to-be (Rashida Jones) whose friendless fiancé (Paul Rudd) goes on a series of man-dates in search of a buddy (Jason Segel) to serve as Best Man at their impending wedding. With Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressley, J.K. Simmons, Andy Samberg and Jane Curtin.



INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Bob Funk (R for profanity and sexuality) Romantic comedy about a dysfunctional alcoholic (Michael Leydon Campbell) who gets dumped by his wife and demoted to janitor by his mother (Grace Zabriskie) only to find himself falling in love with the attractive executive (Rachel Leigh Cook) hired to replace him in the family business.

The Edge of Love (Unrated) Fact-based romance drama set in Wales during World War II chronicles how poet Dylan Thomas’ (Matthew Rhys) cozy ménage-a-trois with his wife (Sienna Miller) and mistress (Keira Knightley) was spoiled when the latter’s husband (Cillian Murphy) returned home to the countryside after being discharged from the army.

The Feature (Unrated) Hedonistic, filmmaker Michael Auder stars in this fictionalized self-portrait cobbled from 45 years spent self-indulgently documenting his life in New York City. The French expatriate includes footage of contemporaries Andy Warhol, Alice Neel, Larry Rivers and of both of his ex-wives, photographer Cindy Sherman and Warhol ingenue Viva. (In English and French with subtitles)

The Great Buck Howard (PG for suggestive language and a drug reference) Road comedy about a law school dropout (Colin Hanks) who takes a job as the assistant to an over-the-hill mentalist (John Malkovich), much to the chagrin of his mortified father (Tom Hanks). Cast includes Tom Arnold, Griffin Dunne, Steve Zahn and Ricky Jay with cameos by Conan O’Brien, George Takei and Martha and Jon Stewart.

Hunger (Unrated) Bittersweet bio-pic about the last six weeks in the life of Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), the Irish Republican Army leader who starved himself to death behind bars in 1981 by going on a hunger strike for political prisoner status.

Knowing (PG-13 for disaster sequences, disturbing images and brief profanity) Nicolas Cage stars in this sci-fi thriller about a professor whose son (Chandler Canterbury) digs up a time capsule buried in 1958 containing a coded scroll accurately predicting not only every disaster for the past 50 years but also an imminent cataclysmic event.

The New Twenty (Unrated) Ensemble drama focusing on the disintegrating friendship of a tight-knit group of five, former college classmates, living in New York City as they approach their thirties seven years after graduation. Principal cast includes Thomas Sadoski, Nicole Bilderback, Colin Fickes, Ryan Locke and Andrew Wei Lin.

Sin Nombre (R for violence, profanity and sexuality) “I want to be in America” saga revolving around the attempt of a Honduran family to sneak across the Mexican border into the U.S. by riding atop a freight train in the middle of the night. Cast includes Paulina Gaitan, Kristian Ferrer, Diana Garcia and Edgar Flores.

Skills Like This (Unrated) Crime comedy about a frustrated 25 year-old writer (Spencer Berger) looking for a new line of work who discovers his true calling when he impulsively pulls off a brazen bank heist in broad daylight. With Gabriel Tigerman, Brian D. Phelan and Kerry Knuppe.

Valentino: The Last Emperor (Unrated) Matt Tyrnauer makes his directorial debut with this intimate bio-pic about the life of the legendary designer, including reflections by Valentino himself as well as interviews with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, model Claudia Schiffer, Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley and fellow fashion icons Karl Lagerfeld, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg and Giorgio Armani.

We Pedal Uphill (Unrated) Peripatetic dramedy, comprised of 13 vignettes, crisscrosses the country to take a lighthearted look at how life in America has changed since the events of 9/11. Ensemble cast includes Polly Adams, Molly Powell and Ellen Cotton.

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