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 4, 2009

 

                    

BIG BUDGET FILMS

 

All about Steve (PG-13 for sexuality) Bradley Cooper stars in the title role of this road comedy as a CNN cameraman who thinks he’s being stalked across the country by a crossword puzzle designer (Sandra Bullock) convinced that they’re soul mates. Supporting cast includes Thomas Haden Church, Keith David, Dr. Ken Jeong, DJ. Qualls, Kerri Kenney and Howard Hesseman.

 

Carriers (PG-13 for violence, profanity and disturbing images) Horror flick about four friends (Piber Perabo, Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine and Emily Vancamp) who start driving across the desert  to escape a deadly virus pandemic threatening the human race with extinction only to discover that they are even more dangerous to each other.

 

Extract (R for profanity, drug use and sexual references) Jason Bateman stars in this ensemble comedy about a sexually-frustrated, flavoring factory owner trying to handle a host of personal and workplace woes ranging from incompetent employees to a frigid wife (Kristen Wiig). With Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Mila Kunis, David Koechner and Gene Simmons.

 

Gamer (R for nudity, sexuality, profanity and pervasive graphic violence) Sci-fi thriller, set in the near future, revolving around the attempt of a human gladiator (Gerard Butler) to free himself from the clutches of a deadly mind-control game invented by a voyeuristic, reclusive billionaire (Michael C. Hall) which pits people against each other. With Amber Valetta, Kyra Sedgwick, Terry Crews, Keith David, Ludacris and John Leguizamo.

 

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

 

American Casino (Unrated) The subprime mortgage meltdown is the subject of this documentary investigating the banking industry’s targeting of minority communities which led to the economic crisis and the foreclosure of millions of homes across America. 

 

Amreeka (PG-13 for profanity and teen drug use) Green card dramedy about a Palestinian single-mom (Nisreen Faour) with a teenage son (Melkar Muallem) adjustment to life in suburbia after they move to from the West Bank to a tiny town in Illinois. (In English and Arabic with subtitles)

 

 

Liverpool (Unrated) Meditative character study, set in the mountains outside Tierra del Fuego, about a solitary sailor (Juan Fernandez) who takes a shore leave from his cargo ship to return to his rural hometown for the first time in many years to see whether his estranged mother is still alive. (In Spanish with subtitles)

 

No Impact Man (Unrated) Eco-documentary chronicling the year-long effort of the members of a family living in lower Manhattan to minimize the size of their carbon footprint.

 

Tickling Leo (Unrated) Intergenerational drama, set in the Catskills, about a young Jewish man (Daniel Sauli) who learns of an unspeakable family sacrifice made to escape Hitler when he takes his pregnant girlfriend (Annie Parisse) to meet his Holocaust survivor grandfather (Eli Wallach). With Lawrence Pressman and Ronald Guttman as the geezer’s sons.

 

Unmade Beds (Unrated) Cross-cultural comedy, set in London, about a young Spanish immigrant (Fernando Tielve) who’s sharing a flat with a forlorn French expatriate (Deborah Francois) and about a half-dozen other bohemians while looking for the long-lost father he’s never known. (In English, French and Spanish with subtitles)