Kam's Movie Kapsules for 7-20-12

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening July 20, 2012

BIG BUDGET FILMS

The Dark Knight Rises (PG-13 for sensuality, profanity and intense violence) Latest Batman adventure, again directed by Chris Nolan, has the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) coming out of exile to match wits with a mysterious cat burglar (Anne Hathaway) and with a masked terrorist (Tom Hardy) determined to destroy Gotham City. Ensemble cast includes Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard.                                   

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

30 Beats (R for nudity, profanity and sexuality) Romantic comedy, set in the midst of a summer heat wave, about ten New Yorkers ensnared, due to forces beyond their control, in a web of desire woven by a chain reaction of seduction and self-discovery. Starring Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Jason Day and Vahina Giocante.

Grassroots (R for pervasive profanity and brief drug use) Unlikely-buddy dramedy about a just-fired journalist (Jason Biggs) who grudgingly agrees to campaign for an eccentric pal (Joel David Moore) running for a seat on the Seattle City Council. With Tom Arnold, Cedric the Entertainer, Christopher McDonald and Lauren Ambrose.

Hari-Kiri: The Death of a Samurai (Unrated) 3-D remake of the 1962 revenge saga of the same name revolving around a struggling samurai warrior (Ebizo Ichikawa) who decides to even the score with the feudal lord (Koji Yakusho) responsible for his son-in-law’s (Eita) suicide. With Goro Daimon, Takashi Sasano and Hikari Mitsushima. (In Japanese with subtitles)

The Queen of Versailles (PG for mature themes and mild epithets) McMansion documentary about music mogul David Siegel’s two-year effort to build the biggest and most expensive single-family home in the United States for his wife, Jackie.

Wagner’s Dream (Unrated) “The Show Ain’t Over ‘til the Fat Lady Sings” documentary chronicling the daunting host of challenges encountered by Manhattan’s Metropolitan Opera in the process of mounting a very ambitious production of Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle.  Featuring appearances by James Levine, Carl Fillion and Peter Gelb. (In English and French with subtitles)

The Well-Digger’s Daughter (Unrated) Faithful remake of the 1940 classic based upon the Marcel Pagnol romance novel about a working-class widower (Daniel Auteuil) who finds himself emotionally-conflicted when one (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) of his six daughters is left pregnant by a wealthy Air Force pilot (Jaques Mazel) fighting in the First World War . With Kad Merad, Jeanne-Pierre Darroussin and Nicolas Duvauchelle. (In French with subtitles)