Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
Big Budget Films
Dead Silence (R for gruesome violence) Horror flick about a grieving widower (Ryan Kwanten) intent on unraveling the mystery surrounding the grisly murder of his newlywed wife (Laura Regan) who returns to his hometown where he discovers that the solution to the crime might lie with the ghastly ventriloquist dummies missing from the grave of a legendary local woman (Judith Roberts) reportedly lynched by vigilantes long ago for the killing of a young boy.
I Think I Love My Wife (R for sexuality and pervasive profanity) Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in this romantic comedy as a businessman daydreaming about cheating on his wife (Gina Torres) who suddenly gets his chance to cheat when a stunning seductress (Kerry Washington) shows up at his office.
Premonition (PG-13 for mature themes, disturbing images, brief profanity, and violence) Psychological thriller about a housewife (Sandra Bullock) who comes to question reality when her husband (Julian McMahon) dies in a car accident only to reappear alive and well the next day. Cast includes Nia Long and Amber Valletta.
Shooter (R for profanity and graphic violence) Mark Wahlberg takes the title role in this political potboiler based on Point of Impact, the best seller by Stephen Hunter about an Army sniper who is coaxed out of retirement by his former superior (Danny Glover) to protect the President only to end up the subject of a nationwide manhunt as the prime suspect in an assassination attempt.
Independent & Foreign Films
Adam’s Apple (R for violence and profanity) Neo-Nazi comedy about the efforts of a priest (Mads Mikkelsen) to get a Hitler-loving, white supremacist (Ulrich Thomsen) sentenced to perform community at his church to see the error of his ways. (In Danish with subtitles)
Amateur Photographer (Unrated) WWII memoir, reconstructed from KGB archives, based on a Nazi soldier’s diary entries and photos taken while he participated in an ill-fated Eastern Front assault on the Soviet Union.
American Cannibal (Unrated) Desperate-for-success documentary revisits the production of Darwinian American Cannibal, an ill-conceived reality show, set on a desert island, where the contestants were starved till they got hungry enough to eat each other.
Blockade (Unrated) Russian documentary revisits the bloody Battle of Stalingrad, a 900-day, WWII engagement which claimed over a million lives, via reams of recently-unearthed, silent archival footage now augmented with realistic sound effects.
My Brother (PG-13 for violence, profanity, and disturbing images) A touching melodrama, set in Brooklyn, about the desperate efforts of a young man (Nashawn Kearse) to care for his retarded brother (Christopher Scott) after they are both abandoned by their seriously-ill mother (Vanessa Williams). Cast includes Tatum O’Neal and Fredro Starr.
Nomad (R for violence) Epic costume drama, set in 18th Century Kazakhstan, relates the efforts of a young warrior (Jay Hernandez) to unite a number of neighboring nomadic tribes into one country. (In Kazakh with subtitles)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Unrated) Historical epic, set in Ireland in 1920, sympathetically chronicles the rise of the IRA as seen through the eyes of a couple of Catholic brothers (Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney) who enlist in the outlawed group’s bid for independence from Britain. (In Gaelic and English with subtitles)
