Kam's Movie Kapsules for 6-15-12

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening June 15, 2012

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Rock of Ages (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, heavy drinking and suggestive dancing) Screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, set in L.A. in 1987, revolving around a waitress (Julianne Hough) and busboy (Diego Boneta) who fall in love at first sight while pursuing their dreams of superstardom. A-list cast includes Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones, nominees Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin and Paul Giamatti, along with Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige and Will Forte.

That’s My Boy (R for nudity, sexuality, drug use, crude humor and pervasive profanity) Prodigal father comedy about a groom-to-be (Andy Samberg) whose life is turned upside-down when his estranged father (Adam Sandler) crashes the wedding, hoping to make up for lost time. With Leighton Meester, Vanilla Ice, James Caan, Tony Orlando, Luenell and Ciara.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Extraterrestrial (Unrated) Screwball, sci-fi comedy, set in Madrid, about two strangers (Julian Villagran and Michelle Jenner) who awaken in bed together the morning after a drunken one-night stand to find a horde of UFOs hovering above an evacuated city. With Miguel Noguera, Raul Cimas and Carlos Areces. (In Spanish with subtitles)

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (Unrated) Bittersweet biopic about the brother of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Lieutenant Colonel who died leading the 1976 raid in Entebbe, Uganda which resulted in the successful rescue of 103 hijacked airplane passengers being held hostage by Palestinian terrorists.

The Girl from the Naked Eye (R for violence, sexuality and pervasive profanity) Vigilante thriller about a chauffeur (Jason Yee) for a seedy escort service who embarks on a manhunt after the murder of a call girl (Samantha Streets) he had a crush on. With Gary Stretch, Dominique Swain, Ron Yuan and Sasha Grey.

Ikland (Unrated) Anthropological adventure chronicling the present-day quest to locate the Ik people, a lost African tribe long-rumored to be sadists who torture their own children and practical jokers who defecate in front of each others’ huts for fun.

The Kite (Unrated) Ensemble drama revolving around a half-dozen tales of transformation unfolding during Uttarayan, India’s annual kite festival staged in the ancient city of Ahmadabad. Cast includes Mukkund Shukla, Seema Biswas and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. (In Hindi with subtitles)

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (Unrated) Reverential biopic about Marina Abramovic, chronicling the Serbian performance artist’s preparations for a retrospective at Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art. 

Rowdy Rathore (Unrated) Romantic comedy about a con man (Akshay Kumar) on the run from a gang of criminals who goes gaga over a girl (Sonakshi Sinha) he meets at a wedding he wasn’t even invited to. With Yashpal Sharma, Paresh Ganatra and Nassar. (In Hindi with subtitles)

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (R for sexual references, drug content and pervasive profanity) Hip-Hop documentary, directed and narrated by Ice-T, tracing the evolution of rap music from ghetto kids’ form of experimental expressions into a global phenomenon. With appearances by Chuck D, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Mos Def.  

The Tortured (Unrated) Revenge thriller about a couple (Jesse Metcalfe and Erika Christensen) who decide to even the score with the psychopathic serial killer (Bill Moseley) who’d abducted and murdered their 6 year-old son (Thomas Greenwood. With Bill Lippincott, Aaron Pearl and Viv Leacock.   

The Woman in the Fifth (R for sexuality, profanity and violent images) Adaptation of the Pawel Pawlikowski novel about a disgraced professor (Ethan Hawke) who emigrates to Paris to reconcile with his ex-wife (Delphine Chuillot) and estranged daughter (Julie Papillon) only to instead be seduced by a beautiful widow (Kristin Scott Thomas) implicated in a string of mysterious slayings. (In English and French with subtitles)

Your Sister’s Sister (R for profanity and sexuality) Character-driven drama, set on a scenic island on Puget Sound, where a woman (Emily Blunt) offers a grieving friend (Mark Duplass) use of her family’s cabin for solitude only to have the emotionally-fragile ingrate put the moves on her vulnerable sister (Rosemarie DeWitt) during a drinking binge. With Mel Eslyn, Jeanette Maus and Mike Birbiglia.