BIG BUDGET FILMS
Legendary (PG-13 for fight scenes, suggestive material and brief nudity) Overcoming-the-odds saga, set in Sallisaw Oklahoma, about a 15 year-old, 98-pound weakling (Devon Graye) who enlists the assistance of his long-estranged brother (John Cena) to train him as a wrestler as a way of reuniting the family a decade after the tragic car accident which claimed the life of their father. With Patricia Clarkson as their still-grieving mom and Danny Glover as a mysterious sage.
Resident Evil: Afterlife (R for profanity and graphic violence) Milla Jovovich reprises the lead role in 4th installment of the grisly zombie franchise now set in an L.A. ravaged by the virus infection where she must again lead a hardy band of survivors in a high body-count battle against legions of the undead. Cast includes Boris Kodjoe, Ali Larter and Kim Coates.
The Romantics (PG-13 for profanity, drug use, sexuality and partial nudity) Love triangle comedy revolving around the tensions reignited the night before the wedding when the bride (Anna Paquin) and her maid of honor (Katie Holmes) resume a fight over the groom (Josh Duhamel) they first started in college. Ensemble includes Candace Bergen, Elijah Wood, Malin Akerman and Adam Brody.
The Virginity Hit (R for nudity, sexuality, crude humor, pervasive profanity and drug and alcohol abuse) Titillating teensploit about four best friends (Matt Bennett, Zack Pearlman, Jacob Davich and Justin Kline) who decide not only to lose their virginity but to videotape each other in the midst of the rite of passage. With Krysta Rodriguez, Nicole Weaver, Savannah Welch and Tina Parker as the objects of their injection.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
Ahead of Time (Unrated) Profile of 93 year-old Ruth Gruber, trailblazing feminist, photojournalist and foreign correspondent. This Brooklyn-born daughter of Jewish immigrants earned a Ph.D. at the age of 20 in Germany, returning to America to kickstart her illustrious career by writing articles for the NY Herald Tribune warning about the horror of Hitler and the Nazi Party just over the horizon. (In English and Hebrew with subtitles)
Biker Fox (Unrated) Eco bio-pic about Frank P. Delarzelere, III, a controversial conservationist located in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he travels around by bicycle spreading his message about living in harmony with nature and leaving a light carbon footprint.
Bran Nue Dae (PG-13 for sexuality and drug use) Coming-of-age musical comedy, set in the summer of '69. Story revolves around an Aussie aborigine (Rocky McKenzie) who embarks on a very eventful journey of self discovery after running away from a mission boarding school in Perth with a strict headmaster (Jeffrey Rush). With Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo and Missy Higgins.
Heartbreaker (Unrated) French farce, set in Monaco, where we find a strapping young hunk (Romain Duris) being hired by an intermeddling father (Jacques Frantz) to sabotage his daughter's (Vanessa Paradis) impending wedding to a well-heeled British gent (Andrew Lincoln). With Julie Ferrier, Helena Noguerra, Jean-Yves Lafesse and Francois Damiens. (In French, English, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin)
Hideaway (Unrated) Cautionary tale, directed by Francois Ozon, about a spoiled-rotten Parisian junkie (Melvil Poupaud) who dies of an overdose leaving it to his gay brother (Luis-Ronan Choisy) to care for his equally-strung out, pregnant girlfriend (Isabelle Carre) desperate to beat her habit. (In French with subtitles)
I'm Still Here (Unrated) Casey Affleck makes his directorial debut with this hip-hop documentary chronicling a turbulent year in the life of inscrutable, fellow- actor Joaquin Phoenix as he abandons the profession to try to make it as a rapper.
Lovely, Still (PG for mature themes, brief smoking and mild epithets) Bittersweet romantic comedy about a lonely, lifelong bachelor (Martin Landau) who falls in love over the Christmas holidays with the elderly widow (Ellen Burstyn) moving in next-door. With Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott and Chris Wiig
Race to Nowhere (PG-13 mature themes) Attention-Deficit Generation documentary examining the emotional toll being exacted on kids nowadays by over-scheduling, hyper-stimulation and the pressure to achieve.
Sequestro (Unrated) Brazil's kidnapping for ransom crisis is the subject of this eye-opening expose' chronicling the Sao Paulo police's four-year effort to crack 1,500 cases of abduction. (In Portuguese with subtitles)
Who Is Harry Nilsson? (Unrated) Bio-pic endeavors to answer the title question via a combo of archival concert footage and interviews about the enigmatic, late singer/songwriter with Robin Williams, Yoko Ono, Randy Newman and others who knew him well.
