BIG BUDGET FILMS
"Amelia" (PG for mature themes, smoking, sensuality and mild epithets) Mira Nair directed this bio-pic about the life of Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), the legendary aviation pioneer who disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 while circumnavigating the globe in a twin-engine propeller plane. Cast includes Richard Gere as her husband, Christopher Eccleston as her navigator, Cherry Jones as Eleanor Roosevelt, Ewan McGregor as her lover, Gene Vidal, and William cuddy, as his son, Gore.
"Astro Boy" (PG for action, peril and brief mild epithets) Animated sci-fi adventure, narrated by Charlize Theron, about a grieving scientist (Nicolas Cage) who creates a superhuman replica (Freddie Highmore) of his recently-deceased son. The boy robot strikes out on his own after being rejected by his inventor, and is eventually called upon to save the day when the planet is invaded by a race of menacing aliens. Voice cast includes Eugene Levy, Samuel L. Jackson, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Kristen Bell and Donald Sutherland.
"Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" (PG-13 for intense violence, disturbing images, profanity and mature themes) Horror comedy about a teenager (Chris Massoglia) who runs away from home in order to join a traveling freak show as a vampire's (John C. Reilly) protégé. With Josh Hutcherson, Salma Hayek, Orlando Jnes, Frankie Faison and Ken Watanabe.
"Saw VI" (R for profanity, graphic violence and torture) Latest installment of the gruesome horror franchise finds the FBI closing in on Lieutenant Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), the detective-turned apprentice continuing the grisly legacy of the infamous Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell). With Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston and Shawnee Smith.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
"Antichrist" (Unrated) Lars von Trier (Manderlay) directs this horror flick about a grieving couple (Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) who retreat to a cabin in the woods to mourn the loss of their son and to work on their marriage only to have things go from bad to worse.
"Eulogy for a Vampire" (Unrated) Homo-erotic horror flick about a handsome young drifter (Angelo Tursi) who is enlisted by a vengeful, evil spirit (Ryan G. Metzger) to seduce monks at a nearby monastery over to the dark side. With Wilson Hand, Sal Bardo and David McWeeney.
"Killing Kasztner" (Unrated) Holocaust documentary recounts the case of Rezso Kasztner, a Jewish lawyer who secretly negotiated a deal with Adolf Eichmann to save a trainload of 1,700 prominent Jews while simultaneously condemning the rest of his Hungarian brethren to Auschwitz where the Nazis would exterminate 12,000 a day. Kasztner emigrated to Israel after the war where he was convicted of collaborating with the enemy but assassinated on the street while appealing the sentence. (In English and Hebrew with subtitles)
"Motherhood" (PG-13 for profanity, and sexual and drug references) Uma Thurman stars in this very eventful day-in-the-life comedy, set in Greenwich Village, about an overburdened, stay-at-home mom's attempt to throw her 6 year-old daughter (Daisy Tahan) a birthday party while simultaneously writing a 500-word essay extolling the virtues of motherhood for a magazine contest. With Minnie Driver, Anthony Edwards and Jodie Foster.
"Night and Day" (Unrated) Intercontinental romance drama about a married, middle-aged, Korean artist (Yeong-ho Kim) wanted for drug possession who flees to France where he proceeds to pursue an illicit relationship with a beautiful, young expatriate (Min-jung Seo). (In Korean and French with subtitles)
"Ong Bak 2" (R for graphic violence) Tony Jaa reprises his role as a martial arts master, in this prequel about a young nobleman, orphaned at 10, bent on avenging the murder of his parents. (In Thai with subtitles)
"Rembrandt's J'accuse" (Unrated) Peter Greenaway ("8½ Women") directed this forensic documentary endeavoring to unlock clues to an unsolved murder mystery rumored to be depicted in Rembrandt's 1624 masterpiece, "The Night Watch.'
"Stan Helsing" (R for profanity, drug use, crude humor and sexuality) Horror comedy about a video store clerk (Steve Howey) called upon to save his hometown from a half-dozen movie monsters on Halloween night. Cast includes Kenan Thompson, Leslie Nielsen and Diora Baird.
"Untitled" (R for profanity and nude images) NYC sitcom revolving around the incestuous love triangle which evolves when a Chelsea art dealer (Marley Shelton) starts dating a couple of very competitive brothers, one (Eion Bailey), a commercially-successful painter, the other (Adam Goldberg), a struggling composer of eccentric, experimental music. With Vinnie Jones, Zak Orth and Lucy Punch.
"The Wedding Song" (Unrated) Character-driven, WWII drama about the lifelong friendship of a Muslim woman (Olympe Borval) and a Jewish woman (Lizzie Brochere) which becomes strained during the Nazi occupation. (In French and Arabic with subtitles)
