Alvin and The Chipmunks This live-action/computer-animated update of Ross Bagdasarian's squeaky-voiced cartoon characters finds the chipmunks (in CGI form) transported from their woodland habitat to the city, where they wind up in the home of Dave Seville (Jason Lee). Dave, a down-on-his-luck songwriter, realizes the potential of a singing chipmunk pop act, and becomes an unlikely mentor/father figure to feisty Alvin, brainy Simon, and dopey Theodore. Meanwhile, the threesome causes chaos in his life, leading to plenty of fun, frenetic scenarios. When a devious record executive (David Cross) enters the picture, however, Alvin and the Chipmunks must deal with both the trappings of fame and their loyalty to the amiable, hapless Dave. Street Date: 4/1/2008 Genre: Family Rating: PG
Starring: Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson
The Cutting Edge 3 After a competitive figure skater loses his partner to injury, he searches for a new one... only to find more than he expected. Street Date: 4/1/2008 Genre: Family Rating: PG13
Starring: Christy Romano, Matt Lanter, Francia Raisa
The Good Night Jake Paltrow directs his sister Gwyneth in this take on the midlife crisis. Gary (Martin Freeman) was once riding high as the member of a successful pop band. Now, seven years later, the band is no more and he pays the bills by composing mediocre music for commercials. To further add to his unhappiness, his relationship with his girlfriend, Dora (Paltrow), appears to be on its last legs. The only thing Gary looks forward to anymore is sleeping--so that he might have a reoccurring dream about a beautiful mystery woman he calls Anna (Penelope Cruz). He even goes so far as to take dream workshops taught by a scruffy eccentric named Mel (Danny Devito), in the hopes of prolonging his experiences in his subconscious. He soon becomes obsessed with escaping into his dreamworld, and his real life begins to fall apart. Street Date: 4/1/2008 Genre:Drama Rating: R
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Martin Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street Johnny Depp stars in the title role as a man unjustly sent to prison who vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again. Joining Depp is Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney's amorous accomplice, who creates diabolical meat pies. Street Date: 4/1/2008 Genre: Musical Rating: R
Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Lions For Lambs Robert Redford directs and stars in this provocative ode to political activism. Boasting a powerhouse cast that also includes Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, the film features three storylines centered on the Iraq war. Cruise is Jasper Irving, a rising Republican senator who has summoned Janine Roth (Streep), the head journalist at a large news corporation, to sell her on the government's new military strategy. It's his hope that she in turn will sell the public on the idea. Meanwhile, a history professor (Redford) is trying to convince one of his more promising students to strive to make a difference in the world. Malley tells him about two of his former students, Ernest and Arian (Michael Pena and Derek Luke), both of whom are currently serving in Iraq. Unbeknownst to Malley, at that very moment, Ernest and Arian are engaging in the exact military strategy that Senator Irving is discussing with Roth. Their mission has just gone terribly awry, and the men have fallen into enemy territory. So the senator and journalist argue, the professor and student debate, and all the while the wounded soldiers wait desperately for rescue. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Thriller Rating: R
Starring: Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep
Music Within Based on a true story, MUSIC WITHIN depicts how one man helped change policies and attitudes toward people with disabilities. Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingston) grew up with an emotionally unstable mother (Rebecca De Mornay) and lost his father in a freak accident, so he turns to public speaking in school to find direction in life and seek the approval and praise he needs. After receiving insightful advice from a public speaking mentor (Hector Elizondo), Richard enlists in the army and serves in Vietnam. He returns with impaired hearing and finds it difficult to get a job. Through friendships with Art (Michael Sheen), who has cerebral palsy, and fellow Vietnam vets with various ailments, Richard finds his calling as an employment placement advocate for those with disabilities. Catching the attention of the state governor, his innovative work leads to a breakthrough opportunity: to write the training program for employers and government agencies to improve conditions, hire, and retain employees with disabilities. His efforts ultimately result in the creation of the congressionally approved Americans with Disabilities Act. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: R
Starring: Ron Livingston, Melissa George
P2 The story centers on a corporate climber who gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard. With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Horror Rating: R
Starring: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley
Reservation Road A wrenching drama based on the novel by John Burhnam Schwartz, RESERVATION ROAD is the story of two men whose lives are torn apart by a tragic accident. Ethan Learner (Joaquin Phoenix) and his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly) are consumed with grief after their son Josh (Sean Curley) is struck by a hit and run driver. The man behind the wheel was Dwight Arno (Mark Ruffalo), a divorcee who was racing to get his own son back in time in accordance with a custody agreement. A lawyer himself, Dwight is all too familiar with the consequences of his actions. Unsure of what to do, he panics, then conceals his car in his garage. Lucky for him, the police can't find any leads, and the case quickly turns cold. Time passes, and Emma wants her family to heal and get on with their lives, but Ethan has become consumed with finding his son's killer. In a bizarre coincidence, he shows up at Dwight's office seeking legal advice about how to catch and prosecute the perpetrator. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: R
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly
Resurrecting The Champ In RESURRECTING THE CHAMP, Samuel L. Jackson sheds the cooler-than-thou persona he's perfected in films such as PULP FICTION. But even previous turns as the downtrodden characters in CHANGING LANES and BLACK SNAKE MOAN are nothing compared to the role of Champ in this film from director Rod Lurie (THE LAST CASTLE). Jackson transforms into a homeless man, completely changing his voice and carriage to reflect someone who has lived on the street for years. When the audience first meets Champ, he is being attacked by a group of 20-something men. A sports journalist named Erik Kernan (Josh Hartnett, THE BLACK DAHLIA) happens upon the scene and rescues Champ from a brutal beating. But it's Erik who needs rescuing as well: his job at the Denver Times is in jeopardy as a result of his pedestrian prose, and his marriage to a fellow journalist (Kathryn Morris, COLD CASE) is on equally shaky ground. In finding Champ, he's found his story. Champ isn't an average man living on the street. Instead, he boasts of being famed boxer Battling Bob Satterfield, and he hands Erik a Pulitzer-worthy story of a life gone wrong. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: PG13
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett
There Will Be Blood The story chronicles the life and times of one Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon. When Plainview gets a mysterious tip-off that there’s a little town out West where an ocean of oil is oozing out of the ground, he heads with his son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), to take their chances in dust-worn Little Boston. In this hardscrabble town, where the main excitement centers around the holy roller church of charismatic preacher Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), Plainview and H.W. make their lucky strike. But even as the well raises all of their fortunes, nothing will remain the same as conflicts escalate and every human value – love, hope, community, belief, ambition and even the bond between father and son – is imperiled by corruption, deception and the flow of oil. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: R
Starring: Daniel Day Lewis, Kevin J. OConnor, Paul Dano
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Somewhere between pitch-perfect parodies from Christopher Guest and Co. (such as THIS IS SPINAL TAP and A MIGHTY WIND) and slapstick spoofs (such as AIRPLANE and the NAKED GUN) resides the farcical biopic WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. Taking the critically lauded Johnny Cash biopic WALK THE LINE as its most obvious inspiration, WALK HARD plows its way through every rock star cliché--from drug use and rampant sex to artistic self-indulgence and spiritual redemption--laying waste to all of them with unremitting blasts of brilliantly lowbrow comedy. Written by Judd Apatow and starring John C. Reilly in the title role, WALK HARD is a deliciously basic synthesis of any number of ponderous biographical narratives with the poetic raunchiness of Apatow films, such as SUPERBAD and KNOCKED UP, and the most lovably inane aspects of Reilly's role as Cal Naughton Jr. in TALLEDEGA NIGHTS. In fact, fans will have a blast spotting the endless array of cameos by the gifted comic actors who pepper all of those films. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Comedy Rating: R/NR
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer
The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep Based on the novel by BABE author Dick King-Smith, THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP is set in Scotland during World War II, and focuses on Angus (Alex Etel), a young boy who discovers an unusual egg at Loch Ness. When the egg hatches to reveal a dinosaur-like creature, Angus finds that he has a unique pet--a mythical "water horse," which he names Crusoe. Complicating matters are Crusoe's fast growth rate and soldiers stationed near the lake, factors that make it very tricky to keep the friendly beastie a secret. Street Date: 4/8/2008 Genre: Family Rating: PG
Starring: Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem A little town in the hills of Colorado will become the battleground between two of the deadliest extra-terrestrial lifeforms - the Alien and the Predator. When a Predator scout ship crash-lands in the hills outside the town, Alien facehuggers are released in the crash, and an even more evil creature - a hybrid Alien/Predator - is also released. A man & his son hunting in the forests near the crash site soon become the first victims of the facehuggers, and when a Predator receives data about the crash on his home planet, he comes to Earth. One at a time, the inhabitants of the town become targets of the Aliens and the Predator, including the local sheriff, a young female soldier recently returned from Iraq, and several teens. Though the National Guard is called in, they are unable to stop the deadly creatures, and a plan is set in motion to destroy the town with a nuclear device... Street Date: 4/15/2008 Genre: Thriller Rating: R/NR
Starring: John Ortiz, Reiko Aylesworth
Before The Devil Knows You're Dead From the unexpectedly graphic opening shot, director Sidney Lumet proves he hasn't lost any of his bite with age. BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD is a riveting suspense thriller that retains the director's classic approach to storytelling while updating it at the same time. Working from an intense, expertly woven script by playwright-turned-screenwriter Kelly Masterson, Lumet establishes his tragic tone immediately. The story concerns a New York family with a roiling undercurrent of dysfunction. The eldest son, Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman), is a frustrated, drug-abusing stockbroker who is unable to satisfy his gorgeous wife (Marisa Tomei). The youngest son, Hank (Ethan Hawke), is passive and struggles to make alimony payments. Their parents (Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris) live in Westchester and operate a small jewelry store. Their lives begin to unravel when Andy approaches Hank about pulling off a heist that will seemingly solve all of their monetary problems. Everything about this idea is risky, yet Andy convinces his timid younger brother that this is his only way out of his current situation. Naturally, their plan falls apart, resulting in a series of tragedies that they never could have predicted. Street Date: 4/15/2008 Genre: Crime Rating: R
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke
In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Much like cult-favorites LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER and MORTAL KOMBAT, IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE is a fantasy-adventure based on a popular video game series, Dungeon Siege. The film follows the simple but heroic and fearless Farmer, portrayed by Jason Statham (THE TRANSPORTER, THE ITALIAN JOB), as he gets caught up in the brink-of-war tensions of King Konraid (Burt Reynolds), his back-stabbing nephew Duke Fallow (Matthew Lillard), and the evil wizard, Gallian (Ray Liotta). The film features similar plot-points to the critically acclaimed THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy (2001-2003), including a sinister beastly army parallel to LOTR's orcs of Mordor, called the Krugs, responsible for killing members of Farmer's family and kidnapping his wife, Solana (Claire Forlani). High- adventure follows, as Farmer, and his brother-in-law Bastian (Will Sanderson) and friend Norick (Ron Perlman) pursue the Krugs, which lead them to a vast underground lair of enslaved humans, orchestrated by Gallian, as he seeks to create and rule a hellish underworld with magic and mysticism. Street Date: 4/15/2008 Genre: Adventure Rating: PG13
Starring: Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Leelee Sobieski, Burt Reynolds
Juno A comedy about growing up... and the bumps along the way. Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. Street Date: 4/15/2008 Genre: Comedy Rating: PG13
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner
Lars And The Real Girl In this comedy, Lars Lindstrom is an awkwardly shy young man in a small northern town who finally brings home the girl of his dreams to his brother and sister-in-law's home. The only problem is that she's not real - she's a sex doll Lars ordered off the Internet. But sex is not what Lars has in mind, but rather a deep, meaningful relationship. His sister-in-law is worried for him, his brother thinks he's nuts, but eventually the entire town goes along with his delusion in support of this sweet natured boy that they've always loved. Street Date: 4/15/2008 Genre: Comedy Rating: PG13
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner, Particia Clarkson
Charlie Wilson's War In the early 1980s, Charlie Wilson is a womanizing US congressional representative from Texas who seemed to be in the minor leagues, except for the fact that he is a member of two major foreign policy and covert-ops committees. However, prodded by his major conservative supporter, Joanne Herring, Wilson learns about the plight of the people who are suffering in the brutal Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. With the help of the maverick CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos, Wilson dedicates his canny political efforts to supply the Afghan mujahideen with the weapons and support to defeat the Soviet Union. However, Charlie Wilson eventually learns that while military victory can be had, there are other consequences and prices of the fight that are ignored to everyone's sorrow. Street Date: 4/22/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: R
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages Jon and Wendy Savage are two siblings who have spent their adult years trying to recover from the abuse of their abusive father, Lenny Savage. Suddenly, a call comes in that his girlfriend has died, he cannot care for himself with his dementia and the family is dumping him on his children. Despite the fact Jon and Wendy have not spoken to Lenny for twenty years and he is even more loathsome than ever, the Savage siblings feel obligated to take care of him. Now together, brother and sister must come to terms with the new and painful responsibilities of caring for their father even as they struggle with their own personal demons that their father helped create. Street Date: 4/22/2008 Genre: Drama Rating: R
Starring: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman
27 Dresses KNOCKED UP's Katherine Heigl stars in this romantic comedy about a selfless young woman who is trapped in the role of perennial bridesmaid. Set in New York City, the film opens with Jane (Heigl) racing by cab to appear in two friends' weddings in the same night. She is the maid of honor for both fetes, and she rushes back and forth in time to shimmy to both electric slides. She meets Malcolm (James Marsden), a cynical young man who, unbeknownst to her, writes for a newspaper's wedding column. Malcolm is intrigued by the sheer number of times Jane has played bridesmaid, and he secretly decides to write a story about her. To further complicate Jane's life, her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) has just come to town and ensnared Jane's longtime crush, George (Edward Burns). When George and Tess become engaged, Jane faces the humiliating prospect of playing bridesmaid in the wedding of her sister and the man she loves. Meanwhile, Malcolm continues hounding Jane, and Jane's life and closet soon explode in a taffeta-tangled mess that forces her to make some big changes. Street Date: 4/29/2008 Genre: Comedy Rating: NR
Starring:Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns
Diamond Dogs Action-superstar Dolph Lundgren propels this hard-hitting adventure as a guide hired to lead a band of treasure hunters to locate a priceless Buddhist artifact. Owing large sums of money to the Mongolian mob, Xander Ronson (Lundgren), an ex-Special Forces officer, agrees to lead an obsessed fortune hunter and his men on a dangerous quest for a legendary relic Tangka Tapestry. But great dangers await, not only from a gang of ruthless Russian mercenaries bent on stealing the fabled treasure, but also a deadly curse said to protect the incredibly valuable relic from tomb raiders in this pulse-pounding martial arts-powered action-thriller. Street Date: 4/29/2008 Genre: Action Rating: R
Starring: Dolph Lundgren
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly The story about Elle France editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who, in 1995 at the age of 43, suffered a stroke that paralyzed his entire body, except his left eye. Using that eye to blink out his memoir, Bauby eloquently described the aspects of his interior world, from the psychological torment of being trapped inside his body to his imagined stories from lands he'd only visited in his mind. Street Date: 4/29/2008 Genre: Foreign Rating: PG13
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner
The Golden Compass THE GOLDEN COMPASS is an adaptation of the first book in the beloved but controversial fantasy series by Phillip Pullman. The story opens with Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) an orphan girl who lives in an alternate world that is similar to earth, but where people's souls exist outside of their bodies in animal form. The people are ruled by a shadowy and oppressive council known as the Magisterium, which is doing it's best to keep everyone from getting information about what is called "Dust." Lyra's Uncle Asriel (Daniel Craig) has been researching Dust, and he has seen to it that Lyra is given safe shelter at Jordan College. But when the visiting Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) arrives, she asks Lyra to accompany her on a trip to the North to meet the Panserbjorne, a race of armored bears. Before Lyra leaves, the Headmaster gives her a golden compass, a device which only she can read, and from which she can intuit the truth. Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter, but when she learns that her friends have been kidnapped by "Gobblers," she heads out to find them, and soon joins forces with the nomadic Gyptians, some witches, and an armored bear called Iorek Byrnison (voice by Ian McKellen). Lyra finds her friends, and so discovers the evil plans the Magisterium has cooked up for the world's children. By the film's end, she has vowed to track down her Uncle Asriel, and to discover the true power of Dust. Street Date: 4/29/2008 Genre: Fantasy Rating: PG13
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig
Hero Wanted Cuba Gooding, Jr. stars in this suspenseful crime thriller as a small town trash collector who stages a robbery so that he can impress a girl by being the hero, until the perfect plan takes an awful turn. After he awakens in a hospital, a man tracks down and murders the criminal that left him and a bank teller for dead during a robbery, only to end up having the slain thief's associates come after him in retaliation. Street Date: 4/29/2008 Genre: Action Rating: R
April 2008
