Volume III No. 8

A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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My Life
Without Me

Drama about a trailer-dwelling 24-year-old mother of two who, determined to get the most out of her last three months of life, hides her terminal cancer from friends and family. Based on the short story “Pretending the Bed is a Raft” by Nanci Kincaid. Written and directed by Isabel Coixet. With Sarah Polley (“No Such Thing,” “The Event”), Scott Speedman (“Dark Blue,” “Underworld”), Mark Ruffalo (“View From the Top”), Deborah Harry (“Spun”), Leonor Watling (“Talk to Her”) and Alfred Molina (“Identity”). 106 min. R: Language. Sept. 26 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics.

 

The Order
Supernatural thriller about a Catholic priest who teams with an escaped mental patient to track down a serial killer who preys on excommunicated Catholics. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland (“Payback,” “A Knights Tale”). With Heath Ledger (“A Knight’s Tale,” “The Four Feathers”), Shannyn Sossamon (“A Knight’s Tale,” “The Rules of Attraction”), Benno Fürmann (“The Princess and the Warrior”), Peter Weller (“Ivans xtc.”) and Mark Addy (“The Time Machine”). Also known as “Sin Eater.” Flat. R: Violent images; sexuality; language. Sept. 5. Fox.

 

Prey For Rock and Roll
Drama about an all-girl punk band trying, despite turbulent personal lives, to find breakthrough success in the Los Angeles music world. Based on musician Cheri Lovedog’s autobiographical rock musical. Alex Steyermark makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Lovedog and Robin Whitehouse. With Gina Gershon (“Driven”), Drea de Matteo (“Deuces Wild”), Lori Petty (“Clubland”), Shelly Cole (TV’s “Gilmore Girls”), Marc Blucas (“View From the Top,” “I Capture the Castle”), Ivan Martin (“People I Know”), Sandra Seacat (“Crazy in Alabama”) and Nancy Pimental (“Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd”). Also known as “My Favorite Sin.” 104 min. Sept. 12 in Los Angeles and San Francisco; Oct. 3 in New York. MAC.

 

Secondhand Lions
Drama, set in the 1960s, about a boy forced to spend his summer in Texas with his two great-uncles – eccentric strangers with mysterious pasts. Written and directed by Tim McCanlies (“Dancer, Texas Pop. 81”). With Haley Joel Osment (“A.I. Artificial Intelligence”), Robert Duvall (“Assassination Tango,” “Open Range”), Michael Caine (“The Quiet American”), Kyra Sedgwick (“Personal Velocity”), Nikky Katt (“Insomnia,” “Full Frontal”), Emmanuelle Vaugier (“40 Days and 40 Nights,” TV’s “Smallville”), Michael O’Neill (“Dreamcatcher,” “Seabiscuit”) and Bo Brinkman (“Gods and Generals”). Flat. 107 min. PG: Thematic material; language; action violence. Sept. 26. New Line.

 

Under the Tuscan Sun
Comedy about a thirtysomething American lawyer who decides to buy and restore a rural, abandoned Italian villa. Based on the book by Frances Mayes (“Bella Tuscany”). Written and directed by Audrey Wells (“Guinevere”). With Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”), Raoul Bova, Kristoffer Ryan Winters (“The Sweetest Thing”), Sandra Oh (“Full Frontal”), Kate Walsh (“The Family Man”), Dan Bucatinsky (“All Over the Guy”), Vincenzo Ricotta (“Heaven”), Lindsay Duncan (“Mansfield Park”), Valentine Pelka (“The Pianist”) and Raoul Bova. Flat. Sept. 12. Buena Vista.

Matchstick Men
Comedy-drama about an obsessive-compulsive con-man who finds his life complicated by the arrival of a daughter he never knew he had. Based on the 2002 novel by Eric Garcia (“Anonymous Rex”). Directed by Ridley Scott (“Hannibal,” “Black Hawk Down”) from a screenplay by Ted Griffin (“Best Laid Plans,” “Oceans Eleven”) and Nick Griffin. With Nicolas Cage (“Adaptation”), Sam Rockwell (“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”), Alison Lohman (“White Oleander”), Bruce McGill (“Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”), Lynn Ann Leveridge (“Deliver Us From Eva”) and Bruce Altman (“Changing Lanes”). PG-13: Thematic elements; violence; some sexual content; language. Sept. 12. Warner Bros.

 

Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Sequel to “El Mariachi” and “Desperado,” this time about the Mariachi’s efforts (at the behest of a CIA agent) to stop a drug lord bent on assassinating Mexico’s president. Returnees from the two previous “Mariachi” sagas include writer-director Robert Rodriguez (the “Spy Kids” series). Returnees from “Desperado” include Antonio Banderas (“Frida”), Salma Hayek (“Frida,” “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over”), Cheech Marin (the “Spy Kids” series, “Masked & Anonymous”), and Danny Trejo (the “Spy Kids” series). Newcomers to the franchise include Mickey Rourke (“Spun,” “Masked & Anonymous”), Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”), Willem Dafoe (“Auto Focus”), Rubén Blades (“Assassination Tango”), Eva Mendes (“2 Fast 2 Furious”), Rodolfo De Alexandre (“Medicine Man”), Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (“Herod’s Law,” “Casa de Los Babys”), Julio Oscar Mechoso (“Assassination Tango”), Marco Leonardi (“Texas Rangers”) and pop star Enrique Iglesias. Also known as “Desperado II.” R: Strong violence; language. Sept. 12. Sony.

Party Monster
The true story of homosexual New York party promoter Michael Alig, who was convicted in 1996 of killing a drug dealer, an act he had earlier boasted of on television. Based on the book “Disco Bloodbath” by James St. James as well as the 1998 documentary “Party Monster” by the “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” team of Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato. Written and directed by Bailey and Barbato. With Macaulay Culkin (“Richie Rich”) as Alig and Seth Green (“The Italian Job”) as St. James. Also with Chloë Sevigny (“American Psycho”), Natasha Lyonne (“The Grey Zone”), Dylan McDermott (“Texas Rangers,” “Wonderland”), Wilson Cruz (“Supernova”) and singer-actor Marilyn Manson (“Lost Highway”). Flat. 98 min. Sept. 5 in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Strand.

The Rundown
Action comedy, set in the Amazon jungle, about a bounty hunter who joins a presumed “escaped convict” on a search for a mine full of gold. Directed by Peter Berg (“Very Bad Things”) from a screenplay by Kario Salem (“The Score”), James Vanderbilt (“Darkness Falls,” “Basic”) and R.J. Stewart (“Major League II”). With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (“The Scorpion King”), Seann William Scott (“Bulletproof Monk,” “American Wedding”), Christopher Walken (“Kangaroo Jack,” “Gigli,” “Envy”), Rosario Dawson (“25th Hour”), Ewen Bremner (“Black Hawk Down”) and Jon Gries (“Northfork”). 100 min. Sept. 26. Universal.

 

So Close
Cantonese- and Mandarin-language action thriller, set in Hong Kong, about two beautiful assassin sisters on the run from a savvy female cop. Directed by Corey Yuen (“The Transporter”) from a screenplay by Jeff Lau. With Shu Qi (“The Transporter”), Zhao Wei (“Shaolin Soccer”), Karen Mok (“Shaolin Soccer”), Michael Wei, Song Seung-Heon and Sau Shek (“Pavilion of Women”). Also known as “Chik Yeung Tin Sai.” Flat. 110 min. Sept. 12 in New York and Los Angeles. Strand.

 

 

 

 

"Bubba Ho-tep"- "Lost in Translation"

"Underworld" - Late Additions to August

 

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