This Week's Releases...

Releasing Wednesday August 13th

In Wide Release:
Based on an original script by Stiller, Etan Cohen and Justin Theroux, this is about the making of a big-budget war movie where everything that can go wrong does, and where the actors end up becoming the commandos they are playing. Black will play Jeff "Fats" Portnoy, an overweight gross-out comedian, who's forced to kick his drug addiction while filming on location in the jungle. Downey Jr. will play Kirk Lazarus, the greatest actor of his generation and a four-time Oscar winner. Baruchel will play Kevin Sandusky, an unknown actor on the set and Stiller plays Speedman.


Releasing Friday August 15th

In Wide Release:
As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army. Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side


Written by by Jim Uhls and Joe Gangemi that just got a polish by Kieran and Michelle Mulroneyand which was reworked by Aja and Levesseur, this is described as in the vein of The Ring, wherein spirits from a different plane terrify shoppers in a mall. Sutherland will play an ex-cop who works security at a mall and discovers something awry in the mirrors of a department store. He tries to discover the origin of the evil.


Penned by Domonic Paris, this is about three young flies set off on a courageous mission to become the first insects on the moon by hitching a ride on the historic Apollo 11 space flight. Based on the actual transcripts and the original blueprints from NASA, the film’s stunning visuals and meticulous attention to detail introduce a whole new generation to the awe-inspiring achievements of the space program’s most momentous mission. The year is 1969 and like everyone else in the world, Nat (Trevor Gagnon) and his pals IQ (Philip Daniel Bolden) and Scooter (David Gore) are abuzz over the upcoming launch of the first manned mission to the moon. Inspired by his Grandpa’s (Christopher Lloyd) oft-told tale of hiding aboard Amelia Earhart’s plane during her famed solo cross-Atlantic flight, Nat hatches a secret plan for the three young flies to stow away on the Apollo 11 rocket.


In Limited Release:
Just as New York City was the backdrop in Woody Allen's Manhattan, the stunning city of Barcelona is the setting for the romantic adventures of Vicky and Cristina. These two young Americans spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist (Bardem) and his beautiful but insane ex-wife (Cruz). Vicky (Hall) is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina (Johansson) is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, the results are both hilarious and harrowing.


Gabrielle Deneige (Sagnier) is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl who finds herself courted by two wildly different rivals for her affection. Charles Saint-Denis (Francois Berléand) is an older, highly successful novelist whose free-spirited marriage allows him to pursue a second life as an insatiable ladies man, and before long he has seduced Gabrielle into a steamy affair. Tugging at her other arm is young Paul Gaudens (Benoit Magimel), a cute but dangerously unpredictable scion of a pharmaceutical magnate. An unspoken past between the two men heightens tensions, and though she’s initially certain of her love for one of them, the see-saw demands and whims of both men keep confusing – and darkening – matters. Before long she’s encountering emotional and societal forces well beyond her control, inexorably leading to a shocking clash of violence and passion.


The film is an intimate portrait of the maverick jazz vocalist Anita O’Day, a self-professed "song-stylist" and rightly known as one of the greatest jazz divas of all time. Filmmakers Robbie Cavolina and Ian McCrudden have devoted four years in order to perfectly capture O’Day’s seven decade career. "Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer" documents her wild ride; following her career from the early days singing alongside the likes of Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge, Stan Kenton, Louis Armstrong and Hoagy Carmichael through her many great adversities which she fought to overcome; a 20-year heroin and alcohol addiction, several failed marriages, abortions and arrests and finally, her last-hurrah album, completed just before the singer’s 2006 death at age 87.


Based on an original screenplay by Albert Torres, this centers on Henry Poole (Wilson) who just wants to disappear. Shattered by circumstances beyond his control, he offers full price on a cookie cutter house in a drab, middle-class, L.A. neighborhood through his perky realtor Meg (Cheryl Hines). But just as he settles in to his indulgent isolation with a case of vodka and all the junk food he can eat, his neighbor, a well-meaning busybody named Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), drops by with a plate of homemade tamales and a whole lot of questions. Despite his desire for solitude, Henry can’t help noticing Dawn (Radha Mitchell), the beautiful young divorcée next door and her daughter Millie (Morgan Lily), an eight-year-old amateur spy who hasn’t spoken a word since her parents’ break-up. Henry’s self-imposed exile is shattered when Esperanza discovers a mysterious stain on Henry’s stucco wall that is seen to have miraculous powers. She begins leading pilgrimages to the “holy site” and invites church officials, including her pastor, Father Salizar (George Lopez), to inspect the apparition.



What are you seeing this weekend? Will Thunder knock the Dark Knight out of #1?