For movies opening October 14, 2011
BIG BUDGET FILMS
The Big Year (PG for profanity and some sensuality) Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson co-star in this buddy comedy, set in 1998, about a trio of avid ornithologists competing against each other to spot rare species in an annual bird-watching contest. Ensemble cast includes Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Anthony Anderson, Brian Dennehy, Corbin Bernsen, Tim Blake Nelson and Dianne Wiest.
Footloose (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, violence and teen drug and alcohol abuse) Remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic about a city kid who moves from Boston to a small town in Georgia where he falls in love with the preacher’s (Dennis Quaid) daughter (Julianne Hough) while leading a rebellion against a local ordinance banning loud music and dancing. With Andie MacDowell, Miles Teller and Ser’Darius Blain.
The Thing (R for profanity, gore, graphic violence and disturbing images) Prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi suspense flick revolving around a paleontologist (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and a Norwegian scientist (Ulrich Thomsen) who unwittingly unleash a dormant, deadly alien parasite when their Antarctic expedition discovers an extraterrestrial spaceship buried in the ice. With Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Kim Bubbs.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
America the Beautiful 2 (Unrated) Filmmaker Darryl Roberts directs another thought-provoking expose’ examining the cultural pressures which lead to eating disorders and an unhealthy obsession with thinness.
Bombay Beach (Unrated) Dream deferred documentary presenting portraits of three members of an impoverished, Southern California community located in the desert: a retired oil worker, a boy with a bipolar disorder, and a teenager in search of safe refuge from the slums of L.A. in the wake of his cousin’s murder by a gang.
The Chalet Girl (Unrated) Class-conscious, romantic comedy about a teenage tomboy (Felicity Jones) in a dead-end job who gets a new lease on life when she lands a gig in a glamorous getaway in the Alps where she soon falls in love with the boss’ (Bill Nighy) son (Ed Westwick). Cast includes Brooke Shields, Tamsin Egerton, Bill Bailey and Sophia Bush. (In English and German with subtitles)
Father of Invention (PG-13 for sexuality and profanity) Kevin Spacey handles the title role in this tale of redemption about a disgraced entrepreneur’s attempt to restore both his reputation and his billion-dollar empire. With Heather Graham, Camilla Belle, Virginia Madsen, John Stamos and Johnny Knoxville.
Fireflies in the Garden (R for profanity and sexuality) Melancholic, intergenerational drama, inspired by the Robert Frost poem of the same name, about a family torn apart by the untimely death of a mother of two (Julie Roberts) in a car driven recklessly by her domineering husband (Willem Dafoe). With Ryan Reynolds, Emily Watson, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hayden Panettiere.
The Skin I Live in (R for rape, profanity, graphic sexuality, frontal nudity, disturbing violence and drug use) Pedro Almodovar directed and wrote this twisted thriller adapted from “Tarantula,” the Thierry Jonquet novel about a revenge-minded plastic surgeon (Antonio Banderas) who gives his daughter’s (Blanca Suarez) rapist (Jan Comet) an involuntary sex-change operation, only to find himself falling in love with the creep. Cast includes Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes and Barbara Lennie. (In Spanish with subtitles)
Texas Killing Fields (R for violence, profanity and sexuality) Fact-based crime drama about a sheriff (Sam Worthington) who enlists the assistance of a former NYC cop (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to solve a series of grisly murders by a sadistic killer who has been dumping his female victims’ mutilated bodies in an abandoned oil swamp. With Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Chastain and Annabeth Gish.
Trespass (R for violence, terror, drug use and pervasive profanity) Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman co-star in this crime thriller about a husband and wife who hatch a plan with the help of their teenage daughter (Liana Liberato) to escape from the gang of cold-blooded kidnappers holding them for ransom in their own home. Cast includes Cam Gigandet, Dash Mihok and Jordana Spiro.
The Woman (R for profanity, torture, rape, gruesome violence, frontal nudity and disturbing behavior) Graphic crime thriller about a country lawyer (Sean Bridgers) who puts the lives of his family in jeopardy when he tries to civilize the last surviving member (Pollyanna McIntosh) of a cannibalistic clan. With Angela Bettis, Carlee Baker and Lauren Ashley Carter.