Kam's Movie Kapsules for 11-22-13

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening November 22, 2013

BIG BUDGET FILMS   

Delivery Man (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, drug use, mature themes and brief violence) Vince Vaughn plays the title character in this baby-daddy comedy as a slacker who finds himself the subject of a class-action paternity suit filed by dozens of the children he fathered anonymously years earlier through a sperm bank. With Chris Pratt, Bobby Moynihan and Cobie Smulders.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (PG-13 for profanity, intense violence, frightening images, mature themes and a suggestive situation) Second installment in the series based on the Suzanne Collins trilogy finds triumphant survivors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) enjoying a victory tour before being drafted to compete in another death match, this one comprised entirely of former Hunger Games winners. With Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland.   

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS 

Bettie Page Reveals All (R for pervasive graphic nudity and sexuality) Reverential retrospective recounting the meteoric rise and fall of Bettie Page (1923-2008), the scandalous Fifties pinup credited with launching America’s sexual revolution in the face of a Puritanical government witch hunt out to destroy her. Featuring commentary by Hugh Hefner, Perez Hilton and Mamie Van Doren.

Birth of the Living Dead (Unrated) “The Making of” documentary revisits the ragtag team assembled by George A. Romero to shoot Night of the Living Dead in rural Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

The Christmas Candle (PG for mature themes) Faith-based parable based on Max Lucado’s novel set in 1890 about a fictional British village visited by an angel with plans to bestow a miracle. Co-starring Hans Matheson, Samantha Barks and Lesley Manville. 

Cold Turkey (Unrated) Dysfunctional family dark comedy revolving around an eccentric clan’s Thanksgiving gathering hosted by the patriarch (Peter Bogdonavich) with the help of his second wife (Deborah Hines) and attended by his long-estranged (Alicia Witt) and inheritance-obsessed (Sonya Walger) daughters, and a gambling-addicted son (Ashton Holmes). Support cast includes Amy Ferguson, Victoria Tennant and Nicolas Coster.

Contracted (Unrated) Overwhelming regret horror flick about a young woman (Najarra Townsend) who assumes she’s caught an STD from a one-night stand only to learn it’s something far worse. Cast includes Caroline Williams, Alice Macdonald and Matt Mercer.

Detroit Unleaded (Unrated) Dreams deferred dramedy about a Lebanese-American youth (EJ Assi) forced to put his plans on hold in order to run the family gas station following his father’s death. With Steven Soro, Mary Assel and Nada Shouhayib. (In English and Arabic with subtitles)

Die Narbe (Unrated) Post Cold War documentary taking the viewer on a dizzying helicopter along the entire length of the Berlin Wall. (In German with subtitles)

Everyday (Unrated) Romance drama about the pressures exerted on the relationship of a couple when the husband (John Simm) is given a stiff prison sentence for drug smuggling, leaving his wife (Shirley Henderson) to raise their four children alone. Featuring Shaun Kirk, Katrina Kirk, Stephanie Kirk and Robert Kirk.   

Following the Ninth (Unrated) Classical music documentary examining the universal impact of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Narco Cultura (R for profanity, drug use, graphic violence and disturbing images) El Barrio documentary about the escalating number of young Latinos glorifying ruthless drug traffickers as outlaw heroes worth emulating.