For movies opening Thanksgiving, 2011
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Arthur Christmas (PG for rude humor) Animated, 3-D adventure revolving around the effort of Santa Claus’ (Hugh Laurie) kind-hearted, clumsy son (James McAvoy) to deliver a bicycle to a little girl (Ramona Marquez) his father accidentally forgot to leave any presents. Voice cast includes Bill Nighy, Joan Cusack, Jim Broadbent and Imelda Staunton.
Hugo (PG for mature themes, action, peril and smoking) Martin Scorsese directed this 3-D fantasy, set in the Thirties, about a 12 year-old orphan (Asa Butterfield) befriended by a toymaker (Ben Kingsley) and a fellow street urchin (Chloe Grace Moretz) while living in the walls of a Paris train station. With Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Jude Law, Christopher Lee and Richard Griffiths.
The Muppets (PG for mild crude humor) Miss Piggy (Eric Jacobson) and her puppet pals reunite to stage a telethon with the help of three fans (Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Peter Linz) in order to save their old theater from a greedy oil tycoon’s (Chris Cooper) wrecking ball. Cast includes Dr. Ken Jeong, Rashida Jones, Zach Galifianakis and Alan Arkin.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
The Artist (PG-13 for a crude gesture and a disturbing image) Black & white film, set in Hollywood in 1927, chronicling the contrasting fortunes of a fading, silent movie star (Jean Dujardin) and an emerging ingenue (Berenice Bejo) positioned to leverage her big break in the talkies. With John Goodman, James Cromwell, Malcolm McDowell and Penelope Ann Miller.
A Dangerous Method (R for sexuality and brief profanity) Historical drama highlighting how psychiatrist Carl Jung’s (Michael Fassbender) iconoclastic protege Sigmund Freud’s (Viggo Mortensen) unorthodox approach to treatment of a troubled young woman (Keira Knightley) led to both a complicated love triangle and the birth of psychoanalysis. With Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon and Andre Hennicke.
House of Tolerance (Unrated) Atmospheric adventure set in a bordello and revolving around a passive prostitute (Alice Barnole) who lets herself be disfigured by a regular client (Laurent Lacotte). With Hafsia Herzi, Celine Sallette and Jasmine Trinca. (In French with subtitles)
Romantics Anonymous (Unrated) 12-step comedy about a painfully-shy chocolatier (Benoit Poelvoorde) who falls in love with a new assistant (Isabelle Carre) suffering from the same affliction. Support cast includes Swann Arlaud, Pierre Niney and Lise Lametrie.
My Week with Marilyn (R for profanity) Strange bedfellows adventure about the unlikely set romance which blossomed between newlywed Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) and a star-struck crew member (Eddie Redmayne) during the filming of The Prince and the Showgirl in September of 1956. With Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh and Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller.
