Kam's Movie Kapsules for 7-13-12

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening July 13, 2012

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Ice Age: Continental Drift (PG for rude humor, action and scenes of peril) Woolly mammoth Manny (Ray Romano), saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary) and sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) embark on latest prehistoric, animated adventure in the wake of a continental cataclysm triggered by squirrelly Scrat’s (Chris Wedge) pursuit of that ever-elusive acorn. Voice cast includes Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Seann William Scott, Keke Palmer and Drake.  

Red Lights (R for profanity and violence) Horror thriller about a couple of professional skeptics (Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy) who meet with frustration while trying to expose as a charlatan a blind psychic (Robert De Niro) performing paranormal feats. With Elizabeth Olsen, Toby Jones and Joely Richardson.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Alps (Unrated) Assumed identity drama about a macabre business specializing in helping clients cope with grief by offering them the company of impersonators bearing an uncanny resemblance to recently-deceased loved ones. Starring Stavros Psyllakis, Aris Servetalis and Johnny Vekris. (In English and Greek with subtitles)

Ballplayer: Pelotero (Unrated) Baseball dreams documentary, narrated by John Leguizamo, chronicling the efforts of Jean Carlos Batista and Miguel Angel Sano, two of the Dominican Republic’s top prospects, as they attempt to make it to the major leagues. (In Spanish with subtitles)

Deconstructing Dad (Unrated) Reverential retrospective directed by Stanley Warnow about his father, Raymond Scott (1908-1994), the prolific composer, pianist, bandleader, inventor, recording engineer and electronic music pioneer, perhaps best remembered for the catchy melodies on the score of over a hundred Looney Tunes cartoons, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. With appearances by John Williams, Mark Mothersbaugh and DJ Spooky.

Family Portrait in Black and White (Unrated) Ukraine documentary highlighting the effort of adoptive mom Olga Nenya’s to raise sixteen biracial children in an Eastern European town marked by racial intolerance where they are surrounded by skinheads and bigoted neighbors.   

Farewell, My Queen (R for profanity and brief graphic nudity) Homoerotic historical drama set at the outbreak of the French Revolution and revolving around the lesbian relationship of Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger) and a servant (Lea Seydoux) who became infatuated with the imperious monarch. Cast includes Virginie Ledoyen, Xavier Beauvois and Gregory Gadebois. (In French, German, Italian and English with subtitles)

Gei Oni (Unrated) Middle East drama interweaving a novel love story with a depiction of the first wave of Jewish European migration to the Ottoman-ruled Palestine of the 1880s. Starring Tamar Alkan, Zion Ashkenazi and Levana Finkelstein. (In Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Russian and Yiddish with subtitles)

The Imposter (Unrated) Fact-based docudrama about a con man (Adam O’Brian) who attempted to dupe the family of a Texas teenager into believing that he was their long-lost son, despite his being French and seven years older than the missing boy. With Anna Ruben, Cathy Dresbach and Alan Teichman.

Ponies (Unrated) Screen adaptation of Mike Batistick’s award-winning play, set inside a seamy, NYC Off-Track Betting parlor, where a trio of beleaguered patrons (Kevin Corrigan, John Ventimiglia and Babs Olusanmokun) enjoy exchanging colorful banter while wagering. Supporting cast includes Tonye Patano, Joe Caniano and Meital Dohan. 

Trishna (R for sexuality, drug use, profanity and some violence) Bittersweet romance drama, loosely based on Tess of the D’Urbervilles, about the star-crossed love affair between the daughter of a rickshaw driver (Freida Pinto) and a wealthy Brit (Riz Ahmed) who has moved to India to work at his father’s (Roshan Seth) hotel. Featuring Anurag Kashyap, Kalki Koechlin and Harish Khanna.

Union Square (R for profanity and drug use) Dysfunctional family comedy about a young woman (Tammy Blanchard) who moves to Manhattan with her fiancé (Mike Doyle) to escape her tumultuous, Bronx home life, only to have a mentally-unstable sister (Mira Sorvino) darken her doorstep. With Michael Rispoli, Patti LuPone and Daphne Rubin-Vega.