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Volume
III No. 8
A
publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners
Advertise
in In Focus
©
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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