Published: June 29, 2007
Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening June 29, 2007
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and intense violence) Bruce Willis is back to save Independence Day after a terrorist (Timothy Oliphant) tries to bring America to its knees by sabotaging the internet to shut down the nation's infrastructure.
Ratatouille (G) Animated adventure from Walt Disney about a rodent (Patton Oswalt) who dreams of becoming a famous French chef. With voiceover work by Brad Garrett, Brian Dennehy, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Peter O'Toole.
Sicko (PG-13 for brief profanity) The American healthcare system gets the Michael Moore treatment in this documentary which makes much of the fact that 45 million people living in the richest country on Earth have no medical insurance.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
Evening (PG-13 for sex, expletives, mature themes, and an accident) Star-studded flashback flick based on the bittersweet Susan Minot best seller revolving around the morphine-induced reminiscences of an ailing dowager (Vanessa Redgrave) who shares a long-hidden secret with her daughters (Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson) on her deathbed. With Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson and Hugh Dancy.
Falling (Unrated) Female bonding is the theme of this very eventful melodrama about a clique of female friends (Nina Proll, Birgit Minichmayr, Gabriela Hegedus, Kathrin Resetarits and Ursula Strauss) reunited by the funeral of a beloved teacher. (In German with subtitles)
Ghosts of Cite Soleil (Unrated) Ghetto gang life examined in this portrait about the toll that poverty and violence are taking on the people of Haiti. (In Haitian, French and English with subtitles)
In Between Days (Unrated) Coming-of-age romantic tale of unrequited love, set in Toronto, about a newly-arrived teenage immigrant (Jiseon Kim) from Korea who develops crush on her only friend (Taegu Andy Kang) but encounters stiff competition when a prettier, more Westernized girl (Gina Kim) starts to turn his head. (In Korean and English with subtitles)
Vitus (PG for mature themes and mild epithets) Coming-of-age drama about a 12 year-old piano prodigy (Teo Gheorghiu) who gets fed up with his overbearing parents' (Julika Jenkins and Urs Jucker) incessant pressure to practice and runs away to the home of his grandfather (Bruno Ganz) for a chance to enjoy a normal childhood. (In German and English with subtitles)
You Kill Me (R for profanity and violence) Yetta nudda mobster comedy, this about an alcoholic hit man (Ben Kingsley) from Buffalo who finds a gun moll (Tea Leoni) while attending AA meetings in San Francisco. The two return to his hometown to take on the Irish gang that's been muscling-in on his turf.
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