New Movies
Coming Soon
April 6
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American Reunion (2012)
Jim, Michelle, Stifler, and their friends reunite in East Great Falls, Michigan for their high school reunion.
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| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Looking at the poster for the first movie, we're feeling a bit sentimental: Tara Reid was untouched by cosmetic surgery, Natasha Lyonne was luminescent, and Chris Klein was an emerging comic actor (he was perfectly cast in Election). We're looking forward to this one because the premise is natural and unforced. Kudos to Universal relegating the spin-offs to the world of direct-to-DVD entertainment, though we imagine a full-on reboot will come next. And with the guys who made Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle in the director's chairs, this could be the filthiest chapter yet?
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Titanic (1997) - [Opens April 4th in 3D]
A boy and a girl from differing social backgrounds meet during the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.
Director:James Cameron |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Why DOES the heart go on, and on?
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Damsels in Distress (2011) - [LA/NYC]
A trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.
Director:Whit Stillman |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Metropolitan and Barcelona were the films some of us quoted throughout college as we fumbled our way through those pretentious years, unaware that Whit Stillman would make his best film at the end of the 1990s, The Last Days of Disco, which was criminally mishandled as a theatrical release. Stillman seemingly vanished during the following decade, and I think the story on his whereabouts would make for a great memoir, but in the meantime, we have a new film to celebrate - one that coaxes out Greta Gerwig's best performance to date, surprises with an array of musical numbers, and keeps the humor going through the end credits.
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We Have a Pope (2011) - [limited]- Comedy | Drama
A story centered on the relationship between the newly elected Pope and his therapist.
Director:Nanni Moretti |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Last time out, Nanni Moretti and his co-writers Francesco Piccolo and Federica Pontremoli laid into Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with The Caiman, and anyone familiar with that film might be taken aback by the trio's new work, a gentle satire of life inside the Vatican. Though I imagine lead actor Michel Piccoli, who at age 86 looks more alive than most men half his age, will sway audience favor, regardless of personal beliefs on the Catholic Church.
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The Hunter (2011) - [limited]
Martin, a mercenary, is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger.
Director:Daniel Nettheim |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The promise of a Willem Dafoe in adventure mode is what grounds this bonkers-sounding premise that recalls classic science-fiction (Alien) and cheesy contemporary television (The River) in equal doses. Though what pleases me the most is to see yet another serious-minded film coming out of Australia and making inroads elsewhere in the world.
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Keyhole (2011) - [limited]
Gangster and deadbeat dad, Ulysses Pick, embarks on an unusual journey through his home.
Director:Guy Maddin |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Truly independent filmmaker Guy Maddin's take on the gangster genre quickly turns into more of ghost story/family history; Maddin's best answer to what inspired his latest work: the Wikipedia page of The Odyssey.
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We the Party (2012) - [limited]
In Los Angeles, five high-school friends deal with romance, money, prom, college, sex, bullies, Facebook, fitting in, standing out, and finding themselves.
Director:Mario Van Peebles |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Sure, the poster looks like the cover of an old Usher record, but something tells me to ignore the marketing aesthetic and hone in on the notion that the latest from Mario Van Peebles might be a socially relevant and challenging look at youth culture. Check out this review from the wonderfully discerning Slant magazine.
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Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011) - [limited]
A behind-the-scenes look at the fans who gather by the thousands each year in San Diego, California to attend Comic-Con, the world's largest comic book convention.
Director:Morgan Spurlock |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Morgan Spurlock deserves heaps of credit for ushering in the era of the 'entertaining documentary,' and this time through, he aims straight for the hearts of fanboys and girls with his insider's look at the annual Comic-Con convention. What looks most intriguing to me are the profiles on two comic illustrators who head to San Diego with hopes of breaking into the industry. Perhaps wisely, Spurlock has mostly removed himself from his new work; gone is his narration and commentary, bringing fans and creative types alike into full focus.
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ATM (2012) - [limited]
On a late night visit to an ATM, three co-workers end up in a desperate fight for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.
Director:David Brooks |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The wimpiest horror movie title ever! But something tells me good humor powers this thriller with a fresh-faced cast that could launch its own CBS sitcom.
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Take Me Home (2011) - [limited]
Soon after Thom starts operating as an illegal taxi driver in New York City, Claire hires him to drive her to California after her estranged father suffers a heart attack.
Director:Sam Jaeger |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: "Parenthood"'s Sam Jaeger directs and co-stars in this romantic comedy that was shot in true road-trip style; "seven smelly guys in an RV," he's been quoted as saying. We'd love to hear what Jaeger's co-star and real-world spouse, Amber, has to say about this experience.
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The Assault (2010) - [limited]
Based on a true story, a SWAT team is tasked with storming a high-jacked Air France plane to save its passengers.
Director:Julien Leclercq |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The general critical consensus here says that Julien Leclercq has created a technically proficient action/drama, but his take on the real-life Air France Flight 8969 tragedy feels exploitative at best. On paper, it reads as though there's a lot going on here between the Algerian highjackers, crisis management at the French Interior Ministry, and family drama centered on the wife and child of the main National Gendarmerie soldier trying to foil the plot.
April 13
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The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
Director:Drew Goddard |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The collaboration between Joss Whedon and his best writer from the "Buffy" and "Angel" era has managed to stay veiled in mystery as it shifted studios from MGM to Lionsgate (in a deal that took way too long to ink, in my opinion), though it does make for a thoroughly Whedonesque 2012. And we're so much more aligned with this picture than the new Evil Dead project.
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The Three Stooges (2012)
While trying to save their childhood orphanage, Moe, Larry, and Curly inadvertently stumble into a murder plot and wind up starring in a reality TV show.
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| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: In real life, Moe, Larry, and Curly started at Fox, moved over MGM for a brief period, and then Columbia Pictures, where they were swindled by president Harry Cohn for over two decades. Now their legacy gets a shameful update by the in-decline Farrelly Brothers, and I sense that any sophistication that once attracted Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Paul Giamatti to the project is long gone.
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Lockout (2012)
A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president's daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates.
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| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Openly acknowledged as "Taken set in space" by producer Luc Besson, this is the sort of bonkers sci-fi premise that we can really start to anticipate -- especially when actual-real actors are in starring roles. Maggie Grace continues her run as the real survivor from "Lost" while Guy Pearce adds more range to one of the more diverse leading-man resumes around. Two questions: would it be cooler if their roles were reversed, and does it matter that we don't really know who these directors are?
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Monsieur Lazhar (2011) - [limited]
At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.
Director:Philippe Falardeau |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: With his earlier films, Philippe Falardeau has been noted for his ability to mine real-world issues of family and race for both their drama and comedy, without creating waves of false sentiment. Here, he expands the original one-act play into a feature, culling out ace performances from lead actor Mohamed Fellag and several of his young co-stars. Tipped by some as a shoe-in for the recent Best Foreign Language Oscar (that ultimately went to A Separation), the word-of-mouth should be strong here despite the seemingly heavy subject matter.
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Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day (2012) - [limited]
The Ames' seem to have built the perfect life until their six year old daughter is kidnapped; over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
Director:Neema Barnette |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: T.D. Jakes's big-screen success pre-dates Tyler Perry's by a year; back in 2004, Woman Thou Art Loosed stormed the top 10 upon its opening weekend, and studios took notice (picture Lionsgate execs with a pile of Perry DVDs and realizing their goldmine). A sequel in name only, the story and its thriller elements stand alone, though just like what Prometheus is to Ridley Scott, we're sure 7th Day contains Jake's DNA.
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Detention (2011) - [limited]
As a killer named Cinderhella stalks the student body at the high school in Grizzly Lake, a group of co-eds band together to survive while they're all serving detention.
Director:Joseph Kahn |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Fortunately for Josh Hutcherson, his back catalog of pre-Hunger Games unreleased movies is mercifully slim on pickings, and this horror comedy looks like it has a good sense of humor about itself with nods to Scream and The Breakfast Club. Director Joseph Kahn hasn't been on the big screen since his 2004 debut, Torque, an absurd action flick that seemed to help pave the way for the visual effect-heavy stylings of Crank duo Neveldine/Taylor.
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The Lady (2011) - [limited]
The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.
Director:Luc Besson |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The question mark here is Luc Besson's direction: can he reign in his penchant for action-movie histrionics and make a credible biography? Both Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis have received high marks for their work, and to his credit, Besson apparently shows the right level of restraint.
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Bad Ass (2012) - [limited]
A Vietnam veteran who becomes a local hero after saving a man from attackers on a city bus decides to take action when his best friend is murdered and the police show little interest in solving the crime.
Director:Craig Moss |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: We're behind Danny Trejo movies getting proper theatrical releases, especially one with a premise that sounds more pleasing than most studio fare. What gives us pause is the presence of director Craig Moss, who has a Twilight spoof and Judd Apatow knockoff to his credits thus far. But this movie will rake it in on VOD, and we won't be surprised if a sequel arrives within the year.
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Touchback (2011) - [limited]
A man looks back 15 years to the injury that ended his career as a promising high-school football player.
Director:Don Handfield |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Good hustle, Brian Presley. The actor/producer seems like main guy who coached this sports drama into existence with some marquee talent to bolster its indie chances. Presley's production company has Thunder Run, an Iraq War actioner with Sam Worthington, Gerard Butler, Matthew McConaughey (future Expendables?), coming next year.
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L!fe Happens (2011) - [limited]
A comedy centered on two best friends, Kim and Deena, who fight to maintain normalcy in their lives after Kim gets pregnant and has a baby.
Director:Kat Coiro |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: We can see the Bridesmaids effect on the small- and big-screen currently; from 2 Broke Girls to Girls, the glossy, credit-based fantasy that was Sex and the City seems like another lifestyle ago. Enter this Krysten Ritter comedy, in which she appears to be equal parts Ben and Alison from Knocked Up and is timed in conjunction with the debut of her TV series, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.
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Unraveled (2011) - [limited]- Documentary
A documentary on Marc Dreier, the once-prominent Manhattan attorney who was arrested for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that netted over 700 million dollars from hedge funds.
Director:Marc H. SimonStars:Marc Dreier |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: In case you need to be even more incensed by the calculated maneuvering that helped cause the global economy to collapse, wait until this disgraced attorney tells you it will continue to happen.
April 20
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The Lucky One (2012)
A Marine travels to Louisiana after serving three tours in Iraq and searches for the unknown woman he believes was his good luck charm during the war.
Director:Scott Hicks |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: We're all for the diversification of Zac Efron's roles, even if this sounds like a Channing Tatum movie.
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Think Like a Man (2012)
Four friends conspire to turn the tables on their women when they discover the ladies have been using Steve Harvey's relationship advice against them.
Director:Tim Story |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Fortunately, the initial casting of Chris Brown gave way to the welcome news that Kevin Hart -- who is loved by men and women, doesn't have a violent temper, but does have a hit stand-up comedy movie to his name -- has one of the male lead roles (whereas Brown's appearance is brief). And call us a player, but we'd rather see Hart carouse with Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, and Jerry Ferrara than watch the guys from What to Expect When You're Expecting mismanage fatherhood.
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Chimpanzee (2012)
A 3-year-old chimpanzee is separated from his troop and is then adopted by a fully-grown male.
Stars:Tim Allen |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Somehow, Disneynature's Earth Day documentaries maintain a tricky balance: the films are totally cute while keeping it incredibly real. And now the two dudes who made Planet Earth focus in on an orphan chimp and his adoptive father? Tearing up, seriously. Even though we could do without the Disney soundtrack.
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To the Arctic 3D (2012)
A journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.
Director:Greg MacGillivrayStars:Meryl Streep |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Fortunately for Warner Bros., Meryl Streep narrating the story of a polar bear family led by a single mom might help some people forget about the accident they had in the opposite hemisphere, Happy Feet Two.
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Darling Companion (2012) - [limited]
The story of a woman who loves her dog more than her husband. And then her husband loses the dog.
Director:Lawrence Kasdan |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Most people who have gone into screenings of Lawrence Kasdan's new drama have emerged with notices that the story doesn't live up to his best early work. That's not surprising given the current state of Hollywood-produced drama, and Kasdan shouldn't be looked at as its potential savoir. However, that's not to say I'm looking forward to what could be the troubled-marriage version of Wendy and Lucy.
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The Moth Diaries (2011) - [limited]
Rebecca is suspicious of Ernessa, the new arrival at her boarding school. But is Rebecca just jealous of Ernessa's bond with Lucie, or does the new girl truly possess a dark secret?
Director:Mary Harron |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: If you want to see the new movie by American Psycho director Mary Harron and you are not a fantasy-prone teenager, I suggest staying up for at least 24 hours before taking in her wan vampire thriller set at a boarding school for edgy girls. Enter fully drained. Heroine Rebecca comes across more like Cady in Mean Girls and less like Veronica from Heathers; you don't want to listen to her, never mind root for her. Re-edited, this could make a decent mini-series, but as a movie, it's purely for youths.
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Marley (2012) - [limited]
A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
Director:Kevin Macdonald |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Wink wink on the release date. Kevin Macdonald's Rita-approved documentary is longer than most highs last, though I imagine the presence of rare and unreleased songs will prove irresistible to diehards.
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Jesus Henry Christ (2012) - [limited]
At the age of ten, Henry James Hermin, a boy who was conceived in a petri-dish and raised by his feminist mother, follows a string of Post-It notes in hopes of finding his biological father.
Director:Dennis Lee |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Director Dennis Lee's Fireflies in the Garden came and went late last year after facing a long, upward climb to theatrical release, and his conception comedy has been hammered by reviewers for its bad writing -- pretty much the universal critical opinion Fireflies earned. However, with Julia Roberts in your corner (she produced Henry and of course starred in Fireflies, perhaps she can recruit some additional mentors (what about close pal Mike Nichols?) and give Lee's next screenplay some sheen.
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Goodbye First Love (2011) - [limited]- Drama | Romance
A chronicle of the romance between Camille and Sullivan, which begins during their adolescence and picks up after Sullivan's 8-year absence from exploring the world.
Director:Mia Hansen-Løve |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Mia Hansen-Löve got her start in film with a supporting role in Olivier Assayas's Late August, Early September. She and Assayas married soon after, then Hansen-Löve eased behind the camera to write and direct. Her third film uses the a similar story element, a long separation between two people, as her debut, Tout est pardonné.
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Fightville (2011) - [limited]- Documentary
A documentary that focuses on a group of young athletes in southern Louisiana as they work toward achieving their goals of becoming professional mixed martial arts fighters.
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| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker's increasingly stylized documentaries tend to do well on the festival circuit, and their latest secured theatrical, VOD, and TV distribution at Hot Docs last year. Personally, I've liked their work in Gunner Palace and How to Fold a Flag, and their commitment to underdog stories. That said, I'd love to see documentarian Frederick Wiseman's take on MMA's emergence as a metaphor for the American dream.
April 27
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The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
One year after meeting, Tom proposes to his girlfriend, Violet, but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.
Director:Nicholas Stoller |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: I keep confusing this one with Judd Apatow's Knocked Up spinoff, though my hard-R comedy senses indicate this reunion for Jason Segel and his Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller might be the superior picture? And no Russell Brand to be found!
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The Raven (2012)
When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.
Director:James McTeigue |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: First Anonymous, and now another revisionist take on a famed author's personal history. Have to admit it: an aging John Cusack is perfect casting and I'm looking forward to heading back to the past with future-minded director James McTeigue, finally out from under the shadow of the Wachowski siblings. Please, please, please keep this Goth and freakish.
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The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012)
Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.
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| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Initially uninterested, the first trailer hooked me with the undeniably appealing Hugh Grant as a hirsute animated pirate. Who has been reading my diary?
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Safe (2012)
Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail.
Director:Boaz Yakin |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: With every new action movie, Jason Statham asserts his dominance over the genre, even though his projects are becoming indistinguishable from one another. On the other manly hand, at least he hasn't yet made a Kindergarten Cop or Tooth Fairy.
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Sound of My Voice (2011) - [limited]
A journalist and his girlfriend get pulled in while they investigate a cult whose leader claims to be from the future.
Director:Zal Batmanglij |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Back when Another Earth had its Sundance breakthrough, I was thinking that the wrong film got the buzz, since Sound of My Voice, in which Brit Marling plays a cult leader who just might be from the future, delivers a truly captivating performance in a technically superior film. Marling and director Zal Batmanglij have re-teamed for The East, which we should see at some point later this year (or at Sundance 2013).
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Headhunters (2011) - [limited]
An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.
Director:Morten Tyldum |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Morten Tyldum's crime/thriller has been on the radar for about a year, as word-of-mouth spread on the film-festival circuit about a Norwegian thriller with a protagonist that's hard to like. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's character is the target of the crime that drives the story into some dark, messy places, and it will be cool to see Coster-Waldau play against his "Game of Thrones" villain, Jaime Lannister. Over at the studio Summit, a remake is in the works with Sacha Gervasi on script duties.
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Bernie (2011) - [limited]
In small-town Texas, the local mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when he kills her, he goes to great lengths to create the illusion that she's alive.
Director:Richard Linklater |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Has Richard Linklater forever freed himself from the bonds of studio filmmaking? His roster of projects finds him working independently, the highest profile idea being the potential for an endcap to the story of Before Sunrise's Jesse and Celine. It's unlikely that Bernie, Linklater's reunion with Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey, will ever play in more than a couple hundred theaters, but his dark comedy/courtroom drama has earned praise for being an enjoyable mess saved by the performances from its leads. Jack Black plays it creepy and fey; you root for MacLaine to be offed; McConaughey was born to play a laid back district attorney.
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Elles (2011) - [limited]
On her latest assignment, a journalist for Elle immerses herself in a prostitution ring run by university students.
Director:Malgorzata Szumowska |
| Watch Trailer |
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The Buzz: Juliette Binoche's performance clearly is the focus of Malgorzata Szumowska's drama, and I hear that both Anaïs Demoustier and Joanna Kulig are more than willing to match her intensity with their portrayals of two young women from modest backgrounds who pull Binoche into their world. Depictions of female sexuality in film tend to make me a bit leery, especially when it's reduced to a mere dichotomy - and then put in front of critics, who are, quelle surprise, mostly male. Looks like the veteran actress has another wildly carnal turn in David Cronenberg's upcoming movie, Cosmopolis.
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The Broken Tower (2011) - [limited]- Biography | Drama | History | War
A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.
Director:James Franco |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: One of James Franco's more arty endeavors, his Hart Crane biography features explicit man-on-man sexuality and surrealist flashes, indications of Franco's potential as a filmmaker as the mysterious dude continues to confound while redefining what it means to be a leading man in Hollywood.
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The Giant Mechanical Man (2012) - [limited]
An offbeat romantic comedy about a silver-painted street performer and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him.
Director:Lee Kirk |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: The steady torrent of quirk romantic comedies continues with another desperate love story starring Jenna Fischer, whose current TV outlook remains unclear as "The Office" faces a potential reboot at NBC. Fischer received good reviews in the recent A Little Help but the advance Mechanical word -- which she developed with her director/husband, Lee Kirk -- here hasn't been as supportive. These characterizations seem a bit 90s to me, and Topher Grace doesn't appear to be fully invested in his shaggy self-help guru.
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96 Minutes (2011) - [limited]
The story of 4 lives slammed together in a shocking moment. Intercutting between a carjacking and the separate stories of the 4 kids, we watch as they hurtle toward a life-changing end.
Director:Aimee Lagos |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: This real-time teen thriller has been described as -- you got it -- approximately 90 minutes too long. Evan Ross is one of many talented young actors in the cast, though I don't think indie-minded film has done right by him just yet.
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Citizen Gangster (2011) - [limited]- Crime | Drama
WWII vet Eddie Boyd is torn between providing for his young family and an unfulfilled dream of becoming a Hollywood star. He discovers a way to do both, but his dream leads him down a path of danger and tragedy.
Director:Nathan Morlando |
| Watch Trailer |
The Buzz: Formerly known as Edwin Boyd, Nathan Morlando's first film won an award at the Toronto Film Festival and scored its distribution deal soon after. More than one reviewer has noted Morlando's technical prowess, but I hear Speedman has to work extra hard to sell the script.
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