Archive for April, 2011

Fast Five

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 121

Language: English

Director: Justin Lin

Plot: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker lead a reunion of returning all-stars from every chapter of the explosive franchise built on speed in Fast Five. In this installment, former cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) partners with ex-con Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) on the opposite side of the law. Dwayne Johnson joins returning favorites Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Tego Calderon and Don Omar for this ultimate high-stakes race.

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they’ve blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he’s not the only one on their tail.

Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can’t separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey – before someone else runs them down first.

 

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 129

Language: English (International)

Director: Werner Herzog

Plot: CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS, a breathtaking new 3D documentary from the incomparable Werner Herzog (ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, GRIZZLY MAN) follows an exclusive expedition into the nearly inaccessible Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient visual art known to have been created by man. A hit at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS is an unforgettable cinematic experience that provides a unique glimpse of pristine artwork dating back to human hands over 30,000 years ago — almost twice as old as any previous discovery.

 

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Horror

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 144

Language: English

Director: Kevin Munroe

Plot: DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT is a new horror/comedy film based on one of the world’s most popular comics (60 million copies worldwide). Brandon Routh stars as Dylan Dog, world famous private investigator specializing in affairs of the undead. His PI business card reads “No Pulse? No Problem.” Armed with an edgy wit and carrying an arsenal of silver and wood-tipped bullets, Dylan must track down a dangerous artifact before a war ensues between his werewolf, vampire and zombie clients living undercover in the monster infested backstreets of New Orleans.

 

We Go Way Back

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 125

Language: English

Director: Lynn Shelton

Plot: A hard-working young actress with a small theater company, Kate lands her first leading role on her twenty-third birthday. When she reads a cheerfully inquisitive birthday letter from her thirteen-year-old self, it seems she might actually be fulfilling childhood aspirations. But the letter triggers mounting confusion for Kate, and her former self – in the form of a voice and the occasional fleeting vision – won’t seem to go away. As Kate bends to the whims of those around her with dwindling resistance, the protests of her adolescent self grow more hauntingly intrusive until, in a surrealistic turn, thirteen-year-old Katie appears in the flesh, primed for a confrontation. Beautifully shot and poetically edited, this resonant film explores the comedy and pain of finding the courage to face up to yourself.

 

THAT’S WHAT I AM

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 144

Language:

Director: Micheal Pavone

Plot: Set in California against the backdrop of the mid-sixties, “That’s What I Am” s a coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol (Chase Ellison), a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior high school peers.

Everyone’s favorite teacher, Mr. Simon (Ed Harris), pairs Andy with the school’s biggest outcast and social pariah, Stanley aka “Big G” (Alexander Walters), on a critical school project. Sporting thick orange hair, a head too big for his body and ears too big for his head, “Big G” has been the object of ridicule since grade school. Before long, Andy will learn that there was truly a method behind Mr. Simon’s madness as to why he teamed these two up.

After a dramatic incident in the schoolyard, teachers and parents rethink their roles in school and society. Principal Kelner (Amy Madigan) suspends a school bully for brutally beating up a female classmate. The vindictive father of the bully makes Mr. Simon the target of a malicious rumor about his sexuality, causing Mr. Simon to question his calling as an educator and mentor to his students.

When Andy watches “Big G” fearlessly confront the school bully about the incident, a series of events are triggered. Much to Andy’s surprise, he learns that “Big G” is a brilliant, kind, tolerant human being, who has more dignity than anyone Andy has ever encountered.

Big G personifies Mr. Simon’s four word answer on how to obtain world peace.

 

Exporting Raymond

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 144

Language: English

Director: Phil Rosenthal

Plot: EXPORTING RAYMOND tells the hilarious, warm and intimate journey of one man – considered an expert in his country having created one of the most popular television shows of all time – who travels to a foreign land to help people who don’t seem to want his help.

When Rosenthal joins forces with Hollywood studio Sony Pictures Television to recreate “Everybody Loves Raymond” for Russian TV audiences as “The Voronins,” he finds himself lost in Moscow, lost in his mission, lost in translation. Rosenthal tries to connect with his Russian colleagues but runs into unique characters and situations that conspire to drive him insane.

 

The Robber

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 109

Language: German

Director: Benjamin Heisenberg

Plot: A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away from police cavalcades) as many as three times a day. A lean, visceral study of pathological compulsion from Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg, featuring a riveting central performance by Andreas Lust (Revanche).

 

13 Assassins

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 151

Language: Japanese

Director: Takashi Miike

Plot: Set in 1844 Japan, and based on a 1963 film of the same name, 13 ASSASSINS stars Koji Yakusho (Tokyo Sonata and Babel), and brings together the cream of Japan’s acting talent. Yakusho plays a brave samurai who assembles an elite team of thirteen killers to assassinate the brother of the Shogun, a sadistic and well protected young lord who’s above the law, raping and killing innocents with impunity. The film culminates in a mind-blowing, forty-five minute battle sequence that rivals anything seen before in the genre.

 

Prom

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 138

Language: English

Director: Joe Nussbaum

Plot: At “Prom,” every couple has a story and no two are exactly alike. Several intersecting stories unfold at one high school as the big dance approaches; “Prom” portrays the precarious passage from high school to independence as some relationships unravel and others ignite. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it’s a battle of wills as she finds herself drawn to the guy (Thomas McDonell) who gets in the way of her perfect prom. Fellow seniors Mei (Yin Chang) and Tyler (De’Vaughn Nixon) harbor secrets, while others face all the insecurity and anticipation that surrounds one of high school’s most seminal events. There are hundreds of nights in high school, but there’s only one “Prom.” Featuring an emerging ensemble cast and a powerful soundtrack.

 

Hoodwinked Too! Hood VS. Evil

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Genre: Comedy

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 145

Language: English

Director: Mike Disa

Plot: From the team that brought you HOODWINKED, the comedic portrayal of the fairy tale Red Riding Hood, comes the all-new animated family comedy HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL in 3D. The sequel finds our heroine, Red (Hayden Panettiere), training with a mysterious covert group called the Sisters of the Hood. But Red is forced to cut her training short when she gets an urgent call from Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), who returns as head of the super-secret Happily Ever After Agency, aka the HEA. A wicked witch (Joan Cusack) has abducted two innocent children, Hansel (Bill Hader) and Gretel (Amy Poehler), and Nicky needs Red for the search-and-rescue mission. Of course, what is a sequel without guest stars from the original? Thankfully, Granny (Glenn Close) and the rest of the HOODWINKED gang—including the ever-clueless Wolf (Patrick Warburton) and his over-caffeinated little partner, Twitchy (Cory Edwards), join Red to solve the forest’s latest caper. Fracturing fairy tales and pop culture with good-natured glee, HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD vs. EVIL in 3D takes viewers on a rollicking rollercoaster ride combining edge-of-the-seat adventure with classic, zany cartoon antics.

 

The Arbor

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 99

Language:

Director: Clio Barnard

Plot: THE ARBOR traces the tormented life and legacy of British playwright Andrea Dunbar. While renown for her three plays – The Arbor; Rita, Sue and Bob Too; and Shirley – Dunbar’s life was plagued by chronic abuse and alcoholism. She died, tragically at the age of twenty-nine, leaving behind a brief, but illustrious career and three children from three different men. The documentary follows her eldest daughter Lorraine, as she comes to terms with her own struggles and those faced by her mother. Equal parts art and reportage, THE ARBOR is an unconventional and poignant piece of cinema.

 

Stake Land

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Horror

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 107

Language: English

Director: Jim Mickle

Plot: In the aftermath of a vampire epidemic, a teen is taken in by a grizzled vampire hunter on a road trip through a post-apocalyptic America, battling both the bloodsuckers and a fundamentalist militia that interprets the plague as the Lord’s work.

 

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 147

Language: English

Director: Morgan Spurlock

Plot: Boundary-pushing Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock explores the world of product placement, marketing and advertising in POM Wonderful Presents: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD, a film that was fully financed through product placement from various brands, all of which are integrated transparently into the film.

While using brands in film promotion is not new for Hollywood, it certainly is new territory for the documentary format. Spurlock exploits the phenomenon to new heights, with everything from branded pizza boxes and in-flight film promotions to branded-everything in-film.

With humor and insight, POM Wonderful Presents: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD unmasks the marketing process to bring audiences behind closed doors directly into the pitch meetings and marketing presentations which ultimately inform our everyday entertainment decisions. Sponsors were provided with brand category exclusivity. Each of the brands represented in the film have sponsorship arrangements with Spurlock, placing him front and center in their brand campaigns and advertisements, both on and off-line. Partners have the unique right to promote themselves in association with Spurlock and the film as “The Greatest.” The agreements also stipulate that Spurlock maintains creative control of the film’s content and final edit.

 

Apollo 18

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 149

Language: English

Director: Gonzalo Lopez

Plot: Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17th, 1972 was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. What you are about to see is the actual footage which the astronauts captured on that mission. While NASA denies its authenticity, others say it’s the real reason we’ve never gone back to the moon.

 

When Harry Tries to Marry

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Comedy

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 147

Language:

Director: Nayan Padrai

Plot: WHEN HARRY TRIES TO MARRY is a cross-cultural romantic comedy about a young Indian-born bachelor who lives in New York City. Harry’s handsome and charming, but he’s cynical about love. He’s never really gotten over his parents’ divorce — they were a modern Indian couple who married for love and it didn’t last. So to improve his odds of living “happily ever after,” Harry decides to have an arranged marriage, and asks his uncle back home in India to assist him in arranging the introduction to an appropriate Indian woman. To the dismay of his parents and friends, Harry finds the perfect girl and embarks on a long-distance courtship. But unexpectedly, Harry’s friendship with Theresa, a fun and sexy American student, becomes confusing, appealing — and maybe a little bit romantic. Once Harry, his friends and the entire wedding party converge in India, Harry’s plan to avoid romantic risk becomes a recipe for chaos. Can anyone protect themselves from a broken heart by leaving the passion out of marriage? And, when all is said and done, does Harry really want to?

 

Dumbstruck

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 148

Language: English

Director: Mark Goffman

Plot: DUMBSTRUCK takes us to the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Ft. Mitchell, KY — Ventriloquism Capital of the World — where Goffman discovers five extraordinary, real-life characters straight out of a Christopher Guest film. The ventriloquists’ career paths vary from one of bare subsistence to the meteoric rise of Terry Fator, who goes from struggling performer to million-dollar Vegas headliner during the making of the film.

 

Deep Gold

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 88

Language: English (International)

Director: Michael Gleissner

Plot: A government transport plane carrying a fortune in gold disappears without a trace over the Philippines, along with the pilot boyfriend of champion skin diver Amy Sanchez. Distraught at the government’s silence regarding the fate of her lost love, Amy takes matters into her own hands and goes searching for him and the sunken treasure. Soon however, she finds herself wrapped up in a deadly plot to steal the gold from the government.

 

Water For Elephants

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Drama

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 148

Language: English

Director: Francis Lawrence

Plot: Based on the acclaimed bestseller, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS presents an unexpected romance in a uniquely compelling setting. Veterinary school student Jacob meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in a circus of a bugone era. They discover beautry amidst the world of the Big Top, and come together through their compassion for a special elephant. Against all odds – including the wrath of Marlena’s charismatic by dangerous husband, August – Jacob and Marlena find lifelong love.

 

AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Documentary

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 127

Language: English (International)

Director: Matt Harlock

Plot: 15 years after his death, Bill Hicks is now more popular than ever, and is widely seen as one of the best comedian of the modern era. However, in America, where he challenged institutions and accepted ways of thinking, he suffered censorship and was never truly recognized by a wide audience. In the country which enshrines freedom of speech in its constitution his story is truly about what it means to be an American.

Now Bill’s remarkable story is brought to life in AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY, a feature-length documentary which combines live action with a stunning new animation technique manipulating 1,000s of photographs to uniquely immerse the audiences in his world, which is re-told from the point-of-view of the people who shared it with him.

Much more than a comedian, Bill Hicks has become an inspiration to millions. Developing a unique and fearless style that turned convention on it’s head, opening up new ways of thinking, Bill’s uncompromising approach met with conflict in America and it was instead on the international stage where he found fame. His early death in 1994 has not dimmed his timeless comedy, which still resonates today with ever growing numbers of people around the world.

Pushing documentary storytelling in a new direction, ‘AMERICAN’ uses a stunning new animation technique to bring the tale of one of modern culture’s most iconic heroes to the big screen.

 

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Genre: Action-Adventure

Release Year: 2011

Runtime: 138

Language: Cantonese

Director: Wai Keung Lau

Plot: Legendary Kung Fu hero Chen Zhen is an iconic cultural mainstay in China and Hong Kong, having spawned both record-breaking feature films and a TV series. Over the years, martial arts legends such as Bruce Lee (FIST OF FURY) and Jet Li (FIST OF LEGEND) have played the popular hero. In LEGEND OF THE FIST: THE RETURN OF CHEN ZHEN, Donnie Yen continues this rich historical legacy, but with a brand new take on the urban legend.

In 1920s China, the nation is divided by infighting. Japan has become the most powerful force in Asia, taking over Northern Shanghai. With the city torn in half by international conflict, the popular nightclub “Casablanca” has become a hotbed of spies, mobsters, English officials and the Japanese military- all looking to gain control of the country, with little regard for what happens to its citizens.

Into this den of intrigue enters Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen), who has returned to China after fighting alongside the Allied forces in Europe, bringing some dark secrets from his past along with him. During the day, he’s known as “Ku”, and appears to be just another wealthy playboy. But at night, he takes to the street as a masked warrior, determined to subvert the Japanese invasion while becoming entangled with the sultry Kiki (Played by Shu Qi), who has a dangerous secret of her own. When his past catches up to him, Zhen is faced with near impossible odds- but his skills are formidable, and he’s up to the challenge.

Combining the best of today’s martial arts and superhero action with the classic spy thrillers of the past (and a healthy dollop of film noir on top), LEGEND OF THE FIST is the rare action film that truly gives the audience something they’ve never seen before.