Also Known As: The Curse of the Dragon
The Mummy 3
The Mummy III
The Mummy Returns sequel
Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release
Genres: Action/Adventure and Sequel
Release Date: August 1st, 2008 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for adventure action and violence.
Distributors: Universal Pictures Distribution
Production Co.: The Sean Daniel Company, Sommers Company
Studios: Universal Pictures,
Filming Locations: China, Montreal, Quebec Canada
Produced in: United States
Actors Brendan Fraser Rick O’Connell Jet Li Emperor Han Maria Bello Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell Michelle Yeoh Zijuan John Hannah Jonathan Carnahan Luke Ford Alex O’Connell Liam Cunningham Mad Dog Maguire Isabella Leong Lin
Rick O’Connell was essentially a bland version of Indiana Jones for the turn of the millennium. Back then, the lack of a Spielberg/Lucas movie for ten years and big-budget CGI were its main attractions – it was easy to sell a popular imitation when the real thing was not forthcoming. This year we are being treated to both, and the third helping of The Mummy franchise looks to be lacking the careful consideration of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’s lengthy pre-production schedule, probably in the hope it can piggyback off its more illustrious predecessor on the way to box office glory late in the summer. Should we retain some of our appetite for adventuring tomb raiders for August? It’s quite hard to tell…
Genres: Comedy
Release Date: August 1st, 2008 (wide)
Distributors: Walt Disney Pictures
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci
Directed by: Joshua Michael Stern
Produced by: Ted Field, Terry Dougas, Kevin Costner
Ashirley Temple movie camouflaged as political Capra-corn, Swing Vote has one lively satiric idea in its midsection: With a presidential election to be decided by a lone, unbathed New Mexico redneck (Kevin Costner, starting out with a Billy Bob Thornton impression and gradually assuming his familiar persona), the candidates produce TV spots with content dictated solely by the media-besieged drunk’s ill-informed, tentative interviews. The Republican incumbent (Kelsey Grammer) pledges support for gay marriage, surrounded by a gaggle of queer cops, firemen and soldiers; the Democratic challenger (Dennis Hopper), convinced the swing voter is pro-life, walks through a playground as kids disappear in puffs of smoke, vowing to curb abortions. Then the movie goes right back to its timid, colorless approximation of an electoral pageant that serves as mere backdrop to its trailer-home domestic treacle.
Twelve-year old Molly (proficient, automaton-like Madeline Carroll) is caretaker, mother and spouse to Costner’s laid-off, lazy dad Bud Johnson. A civic-minded monomaniac, she warns him on Election Day to vote “or I’m leaving you”; he doesn’t, she tries to cast a ballot in his place, and the subsequent contrivances find her using the 10-day run-up to Bud’s “revote” as a battle to complete his rehabilitation as citizen and father. Partying through the shower of perks (poker on Air Force One, a white-trash banquet featuring his newly-paroled Willie Nelson cover band) lavished on him by rival campaign Machiavellis (Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane), Bud—whose name is the most shameless of the movie’s product placements—is bound, after 110 minutes of moronic indulgence, to make a sobering reassessment of his failures and fateful choice before a national debate audience in the penultimate scene. Cynics of all stripes crumble before the tears and perorations of all-powerful Molly, including the local news reporter (Paula Patton) whose ambition and sinister tactics will be chucked at the 11th hour.
It’s a hard call as to whether Swing Vote’s mirthlessness is more oppressive than its insulting idea of Costner’s loser as the working-class salt of the earth, or if its dishonesty takes the prize. Bud professes great “respect” for the two whorish pols who’ve been lying to procure his decisive vote; Costner’s Field of Dreams Everyman would’ve told them to fuck off, voted third party and let the House of Representatives decide the election. (Molly has a throwaway line during the opening credits about the major parties’ abandonment of the poor, and that’s the last note hit in that key by Jason Richman and director Joshua Michael Stern’s script.) An inflated, dumbed-down variation on the 1939 John Barrymore vehicle The Great Man Votes, Swing Vote is as tired as its stunt of casting a dozen cable-news blowhards as themselves. Replacing its father-love syrup with genuine election-year vinegar would be change you could believe in, or at least stay awake through.
Main CastBradley Cooper, Brooke Shields, Vinnie Jones
Supporting Cast Leslie Bibb, Roger Bart, Peter Jacobson, Barbara Eve Harris Director Ryuhei Kitamura Screenwriter Jeff Buhler
Distributor Lionsgate
Official Site http://www.lionsgate.com/midnightmeattrain
Easily the best Clive Barker adaptation since the first Hellraiser film, Ryuhei Kitamura’s The Midnight Meat Train is so absolutely a “horror fans only” experience that I’m not surprised that Lionsgate wants to give it only a cursory theatrical release before dumping it into DVD. I do not mean that as a knock on the film. As a matter of fact, this is certainly one of the most effective horror films of the year — but man, oh man… it would be a really tough sell on 1,200 screens. It’s kind of an unfair catch-22 where certain horror movies are concerned: if you “go dark,” dabble in grimness, and don’t cater to the under-18 crowd, then there’s a good chance your “hardcore” horror movie will debut on DVD (at best) or, like The Mist and The Ruins, arrive in theaters very quietly.
A woman on New York’s Mohawk Reservation takes up illegal-immigrant smuggling to survive.
Genres: Drama and Crime/Gangster
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Release Date: August 1st, 2008 (limited)
Distributors: Sony Pictures Classics
Starring: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Mark Boone Jr., Jay Klaitz
Directed by: Courtney Hunt
Produced by: Chip Hourihan, Heather Rae, Alfonso Trinidad
A desperate single mother living in upstate New York resorts to smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States as a means of making ends meet in first-time feature director/screenwriter Courtney Hunt’s emotionally wrenching drama, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Ray Eddy is in an impossible position; it’s two days before Christmas and her husband has suddenly disappeared with all of the family savings. Now, as the newly single mother of two realizes the futility of attempting to cover the house payments on her meager Yankee One Dollar Store wages, her children are forced to exist on a nutritionally devoid diet of popcorn and Tang.
Deciding that her only hope for survival is to find a man who will support her and her children, Ray sets out to find a husband but instead makes the acquaintance of street-smart Mohawk Lila Littlewolf. Lila, too, has been struggling to keep her head above water amidst economic despair, and has recently stumbled across a rather unconventional solution to her dire financial situation.
Lately, Lila has been earning a living by smuggling illegal immigrants into the U.S., but her tribal elders vehemently disapprove of the scheme and have recently attempted to stop it by forbidding the local auto dealers from selling her a car. As fate would have it, Ray’s Dodge Spirit may just be the only thing the destitute mother can count on anymore, and as this unlikely pair gas up the tank for a daring dash across the iced-over St. Lawrence River, their fates become forever intertwined in ways that neither could have ever anticipated.
Release Date:August 1, 2008 (NY; LA release: August 22)
Studio: First Independent Pictures
Director: Darryl Roberts
Starring: Gerren Taylor, Eve Ensler, Julianne Moore, Anthony Kiedis, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton
Genre: Documentary
Official Website: AmericaTheBeautifulDoc.com
The United States of America is known for being one of the wealthiest nations on the planet with the most opportunities for its citizens. In 2004 alone, Americans spent $12.4 billion (yes, billion!) on cosmetic surgery. With such an abundance of wealth, why are Americans so discontent?
In almost 40,000 media messages a year, youthful Americas are being told that, unless you look like supermodels and rock stars, you’re not good enough for anyone to love. This is a message that too many people are buying.
At the heart of “America the Beautiful” is the story of Gerren Taylor, a teenager who went from being an innocent 12 year old girl to being one of America’s next top supermodels. As she and her mother head down the windy road to stardom, viewers watch the dichotomy between Gerren’s adolescent struggles and her adult “rights of passage” on the catwalks of Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger and other top designers. Her tumultuous quest acts as a mirror to the American psyche, and it becomes apparent how the same beauty that could jump-start her career could ultimately destroy her young life.
A recluse, two lazy middle-aged step-brothers, and a couple of special agents will be a great company for the July 25 Friday night. These are main heroes of Friday big movie premieres. Pick the one you like most and get ready for the show time!
The truth is still out there though it’s been 6 years since we saw Mulder and Scully last. The X-Files: I Want to Believe is the second full-length movie about FBI special agents fighting against the governmental conspiracy and the world of paranormal activity around.
Besides Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, the sequel includes Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, and rapper Xzibit as an FBI agent. The main plot secret is whether Mulder and Scully are finally together. There are mysteries that cannot be solved…
The rest of the flicks are not that spooky.
Henry Poole is Here is a comedic drama about a disillusioned man who goes hiding in placid suburbia only to discover he cannot escape the forces of hope.
Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) returns to the middleclass neighborhood where he grew up to live in indulgent isolation. But his neighbors don’t leave him along, and the whole thing gets even worse when his stucco wall is seen to have miraculous powers.
The flick looks into the unexpected wonders of the everyday: faithless man finds hope, a hopeless man finds love.
Step Brothers shows us equally lazy and spoiled, rich feuding middle-aged step-siblings (Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly) in this summer comedy about how these guys don’t get along after their parents tie the knot.
They’re forced to live under the same roof and share each other’s lives, and eventually they tear the family apart. Now it’s up to these immature, overgrown boys to bring their parents back together again.
Starring: Hannah Bailey, Megan Krizmanich, Jake Tusing, Colin Clemens, Mitch Reinholt
Director: Nanette Burstein
Studio: Paramount Vantage
Rating: PG-13 (For some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens.)
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: July 25, 2008 (Limited)
AMERICAN TEEN is the touching and hilarious Sundance hit that follows the lives of four teenagers – a jock, the popular girl, the artsy girl and the geek – in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future.
Filming daily for ten months, filmmaker Nanette Burstein (ON THE ROPES, THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE) developed a deep understanding of her subjects. The result is a film that goes beyond the enduring stereotypes of high school to render complex young people trying to find their way into adulthood.
