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 May 22, 2009


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Dance Flick (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and crude humor) The Wayans Brothers parody plenty of popular dance films in this series of sketches revolving around the romantic relationship of a rich girl from the suburbs (Shoshana Bush) and a streetwise kid (Damon Wayans, Jr.) from the other side of the tracks. Cast includes Amy Sedaris, Chris Elliott, David Alan Grier, and Marlon, Shawn, Kim, Craig and Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Night at the Museum II (PG for action, crude humor and mild epithets) Ben Stiller is back for another round of hijinks with historical figures as a hapless night watchman Larry Daley, with the slapstick taking place this time at the Smithsonian. Star-studded ensemble includes Robin Williams, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill, Hank Azaria, Eugene Levy, Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke, Ricky Gervais and Thomas Lennon.

Terminator Salvation (PG-13 for profanity and intense violence) Fourth installment in the fabled sci-fi franchise unfolds in a post-apocalyptic scenario where the fate of what’s left of humanity is dependent upon a chivalrous soldier’s (Christian Bale) efforts to organize the resistance against an army of invading cyborgs bent on annihilation. Cast includes Sam Worthington, Helena Bonham Carter, Common and Bryce Dallas Howard. And Arnold Schwarzenegger is back, but courtesy of a body double and computer-generated imagery.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Burma VJ (Unrated) Question authority documentary recounting the valiant effort of an outlawed association of underground photojournalists who risked their lives to show the rest of the world Burma’s military regime’s ruthless repression of political protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007. (In Burmese and English with subtitles)

Easy Virtue (PG-13 for smoking, sexuality and brief partial nudity) Remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s silent classic adapted from the Noel Coward play of the same name. Set during the Roaring Twenties, this class-conscious comedy chronicles the challenges faced by a proper British aristocrat (Ben Barnes) when he brings his free-spirited American bride (Jessica Biel) home to meet his stuffy, aristocratic parents (Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth).

The Girlfriend Experience (R for nudity, profanity and sexuality) Steven Soderbergh directs this revealing, erotic drama examining five, fun-filled days in the life of a high-priced call girl (Sasha Grey) during the period leading up to the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election.

Kabei: Our Mother (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama based on Teruyo Nogami’s childhood memoir about coming-of-age in Japan during the turbulent times of the late1930s. Cast includes Sayuri Yoshinaga, Mirai Shida and Rei Dan. (In Japanese with subtitles)

Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight (Unrated) Bio-pic revisits the illustrious career of venerable, native New Yorker Milton Glaser, founder of New York Magazine and designer of the ubiquitous I Love New York logo.

O’Horten (Unrated) Droll Norwegian dramedy about a melancholy, 67 year-old train engineer’s (Baard Owe) attempt to adjust to a solitary existence after being forced to retire because of his age from the only job he has held for the past four decades. (In Norwegian with subtitles)