For movies opening October 7, 2011
BIG BUDGET FILMS
The Ides of March (R for pervasive profanity) George Clooney wrote, directed and co-stars in this adaptation of the play “Farragut North,” a political potboiler about an idealistic press secretary (Ryan Gosling) who compromises a presidential candidate’s prospects by becoming embroiled in a scandal while on the campaign trail. With Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood.
Real Steel (PG-13 for violence, intense action and brief profanity) Futuristic sci-fi about a washed-up boxer-turned-fight promoter (Hugh Jackman) who, with the help of the young son he never knew (Dakota Goyo), trains a robot for a rock ’em-sock ’em championship bout. With Anthony Mackie, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand and Hope Davis.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
1911 (Unrated) Jackie Chan directed and stars in this historical drama recounting the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty which led to the founding of the Republic of China. Cast includes Joan Chen, Bingbing Li, Winston Chao and Jaycee Chan. (In Cantonese with subtitles)
Blackthorn (R for violence and profanity) Butch Cassidy sequel, set in Bolivia in 1908, finds the famed outlaw (Sam Shepard) teaming with a local criminal (Eduardo Noriega) as he tries to return to the States after having miraculously survived the ambush that brought down the curtain on his last adventure with the Sundance Kid. With Stephen Rea, Magaly Solier and Padraic Delaney.
Dirty Girl (R for profanity, graphic sexuality and frontal nudity) Coming-of-age road comedy, set in 1987, about an Oklahoma high school student with a bad reputation (Juno Temple) who runs away from home to L.A. to search for her long-lost father with the help of an equally-ostracized, gay classmate (Jeremy Dozier). Ensemble cast includes Milla Jovovich, William H. Macy, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam and Tim McGraw.
Hell and Back Again (Unrated) Afghan War documentary toggling back and forth between the daily grind of a platoon fighting on the frontlines and the rehabilitation back in North Carolina of the Marine unit’s 25 year-old seargeant who was evacuated after being shot in the hip. (In English and Pashtu with subtitles)
The Human Centipede 2 (Unrated) Howl-inducing horror sequel revolving around a mentally-disturbed loner (Laurence R. Harvey) who becomes obsessed with replicating the exploits of the diabolical doctor who created a human centipede in the original by sewing his helpless kidnap victims together, one behind the other on their knees, in mouth-to-anus fashion.
The Sons of Tennessee Williams (Unrated) Out-of-the-closet documentary about the emergence of New Orleans’ gay community which started staging flamboyant drag balls and challenging discriminatory laws back in the late Fifties.
The Way (PG-13 for mature themes, drug use and smoking ) Bittersweet tale of overwhelming regret about a grieving doctor (Martin Sheen) collecting the remains of his recently-deceased son (Emilio Estevez) in France who decides to honor his late offspring by completing the pilgrimage he had been making through the Pyrenees. Support cast includes Tcheky Karyo, Deborah Kara Unger and James Nesbitt.
The Woman on the Sixth Floor (Unrated) Class-conscious comedy, set in Paris in 1960, about a bourgeois stockbroker (Fabrice Luchini), married to a snobby, socialite (Sandrine Kiberlain), whose life is turned upside-down when he is befriended by their beautiful, new maid (Natalia Verbeke). With Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas and Berta Ojea. (In French and Spanish with subtitles)