Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

By Kam Williams

For movies opening May 8, 2009

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Next Day Air (R for violence, drug use, pervasive profanity and brief sexuality) Action-oriented crime caper about the comedy of errors which ensue after a couple of hapless hoodlums (Mike Epps and Wood Harris) are mistakenly delivered a large package filled with bricks of pure cocaine. Cast includes Donald Faison, Mos Def, Debbie Allen, Darius McCrary and Lauren London.

Star Trek (PG-13 for action, violence and brief sexuality) 11th installment of the much-beloved, sci-fi franchise features a prequel plotline chronicling the younger years of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and crew, and the maiden voyage of the Starship Enterprise. Co-starring Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Karl Urban as Bones and Simon Pegg as Scotty.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Adoration (R for profanity) Atom Egoyan directs this coming-of-age tale about an orphan (Devon Bostick) being raised by his uncle (Scott Speedman) who finds far more than he bargained for when searching the internet for the truth about the mysterious circumstances of his parents' (Rachel Blanchard and Noam Jenkins) fatal car crash.

Audience of One (Unrated) Faith-based documentary recounting divinely-inspired, Pentecostal preacher-turned-film producer Richard Gazowsky's ill-fated attempt to shoot a Biblical epic, a sci-fi version of the story of Joseph.

The Garden (Unrated) Oscar-nominated documentary about the ugly legal battle being waged over a 14-acre plot in a South Central L.A. ghetto sold by the City to a real estate developer over the objections of the hundreds of local residents who had turned the blighted piece of property into a productive farmland. With Daryl Hannah, Danny Glover and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Julia (R for violence, pervasive profanity and brief nudity) Tilda Swinton stars in the titular role of this thriller about a down-and-out alcoholic desperate enough to be talked into kidnapping an 11 year-old boy (Aidan Gould) by a troubled, Mexican woman (Kate del Castillo) she meets at an AA meeting.

Little Ashes (R for profanity, sexuality and a disturbing image) Historical bio-pic, set in Spain in 1922, and revolving around the relationship forged by aspiring art student Salvador Dali (Robert Pattinson) with a couple of his professors at the University of Madrid: filmmaker Luis Bunuel (Matthew McNulty) and writer Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltran).

Love N' Dancing (PG-13 for sexual references) Romance drama about a deaf Swing Dance Champion (Tom Malloy) who finds himself falling for his new student (Amy Smart) despite the fact that she's engaged to a workaholic (Billy Zane) and his ex-girlfriend (Nicola Royston) is rethinking her decision to dump him. With SNL alum Rachel Dratch, Leila Arcieri and Golden Girl Betty White.

Objectified (Unrated) Industrial arts documentary takes an in-depth look at mass-produced items from the perspective of their designers.

Outrage (Unrated) Sci-fi horror flick about a young woman (Katie Fountain) forced to face her fears when she has to return to the site of a childhood trauma in a remote region of rural Georgia in order to sell her family's hunting lodge. Cast includes Michael Madsen, Natasha Lyonne and Ace Cruz.

Powder Blue (R for nudity, sexuality, profanity and drug use) Ensemble drama, set in L.A., chronicles the fate of four strangers-a stripper (Jessica Biel), a mortician (Eddie Redmayne), a revenge-minded mobster (Ray Liotta) and a suicidal ex-priest (Forest Whitaker) whose paths cross on Christmas Eve. With Sanaa Lathan, Kris Kristofferson, Lisa Kudrow and Patrick Swayze.

Rudo y Cursi (R for sexuality, pervasive profanity and brief drug use) Sports comedy, set in Mexico City, about a couple of soccer-playing half-brothers (Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna) whose sibling rivalry is exacerbated when they're informed by a pro scout that the two of them must compete for one spot on his team. (In Spanish with subtitles)

The Window (Unrated) Intergenerational drama, set in Argentina, about a bed-ridden, elderly country gentleman (Antonio Larreta) with heart disease who escapes from his nurses (Maria del Carmen Jimenez and Emilse Roldan) into the fields surrounding his hacienda to reminisce rather than follow his doctor's orders and enter the hospital. (In Spanish with subtitles)


Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the African-American Film Critics Association, and the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee. Contact him through NewsBlaze.