A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

Advertise in In Focus

©

I Am David Drama, set in 1940s Europe, about a 12-year-old concentration camp escapee who makes a long journey to Denmark. Based on the novel “North to Freedom” by Anne Holm. Written and directed by Paul Feig (TV’s “Freaks & Geeks”). With Jim Caviezel (“Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius,” “The Final Cut”), Joan Plowright (“Bringing Down the House”), Ben Tibber, Paco Reconti (“The Passion of the Christ”), Maria Bonnevie (“The 13th Warrior,” “Reconstruction”), Silvia De Santis (“Artemisia”) and Paul Feig (“Stealing Harvard”). Flat. 95 min. PG: Thematic elements; violent content. Oct. 8. Lions Gate.       In My Country Drama – set against South Africa’s late-1990s Truth & Reconciliation Commission hearings delving into apartheid-era atrocities – about a love affair that blossoms between two journalists. Based on the novel by Antjie Krog. Directed by John Boorman (“The Tailor of Panama”) from a screenplay by Ann Peacock. With Samuel L. Jackson (“Kill Bill”), Juliette Binoche (“Jet Lag”), Brendan Gleeson (“Troy,” “The Village”), Nick Boraine (“I Dreamed of Africa”) and Menzi Ngubane. Also known as “Country of My Skull.” 100 min. R: Language; including descriptions of atrocities. Oct. 1. Sony Pictures Classics.       Kumbh Mela Hindi- and English-language documentary about the world’s largest spiritual festival, Kumbh Mela, which every 12 years attracts more than 70 million worshipers to Allahabad, India. Co-directed by Maurizio Benazzo & Nick Day. 85 min. Sept. 17. Avatar.     Last Life in the Universe Thai- and Japanese-language drama about an Japanese ex-mobster librarian hiding in Bangkok to escape his dangerous past. Directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang from a screenplay by Ratanaruang and Prabda Yoon. With Asano Tadanobu, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Matsushige Yutaka (“Godzilla 2000”) and Riki Takeuchi. Also known as “Ruang Rak Noi Nid Mahasan.” 112 min. Sept. 3. Palm.       Lightning in a Bottle Musical documentary about the February 2003 Radio City Music Hall “Tribute to the Blues” festival that kicked off the official “Year of the Blues.” Directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Tears of the Sun,” “King Arthur”). With Gregg Allman, James Blood Ulmer, Clarence Brown, Ruth Brown, Natalie Cole, Bill Cosby, Macy Gray, B.B. King, Aerosmith, Alison Krauss and more. 109 min. PG-13: Brief strong language. Oct. 15. Sony Pictures Classics.       Mr. 3000 Comedy about an aging, retired baseball player who has long believed he has hit 3,000 base hits in his career – then decides to come out of retirement when a record-keeper reveals that he’s actually a few short of the mark. Directed by Charles Stone III (“Paid in Full,” “Drumline”) from a screenplay by Eric Champnella & Keith Mitchell (“Eddie”). With Bernie Mac (“Bad Santa”), Angela Bassett (“Masked & Anonymous”), Earl Billings (“American Splendor”), Dondre T. Whitfield (“Two Can Play That Game”), Michael Rispoli (“Death to Smoochy”), Evan Jones (“8 Mile”) and Neil Brown Jr. (“Out of Time”). Flat. 104 min. PG-13: Sexual content; language. Sept. 24. Buena Vista.     The Motorcycle Diaries Spanish-language drama, based on a true story, about 23-year-old Argentine Ernesto Che Guevara’s year-long 1952 motorcycle trip across South America, which later inspired him to abandon medicine and become a communist revolutionary. Based on the memoir by Guevara. Directed by Walter Salles (“Central Station,” “Behind the Sun”) from a screenplay by Jose Rivera. With Gael García Bernal (“Don’t Tempt Me”) as Che Guevara, Mía Maestro (“Hotel”), Susana Lanteri (“Assassination Tango”), Mercedes Morán (“The Swamp”), Rodrigo de la Serna and Jorge Chiarella. Flat. 126 min. R: Language. Sept. 24 in New York and Los Angeles; wider Oct. 1; wider Oct. 8; wider Oct. 15. Focus.   Paparazzi Thriller about a popular movie star who seeks revenge after a group of four tabloid photographers causes his wife and son to get into a dangerous car accident. Directed by Paul Abascal from a screenplay by Forrest Smith. With Cole Hauser (“2 Fast 2 Furious”), Robin Tunney (“The In-Laws”), Tom Sizemore (“Dreamcatcher”), Dennis Farina (“Stealing Harvard”), Larry Cedar (“The Master of Disguise”), Tom Hollander (“Lawless Heart,” “Stage Beauty”) and Kevin Gage (“May”). Scope. Sept. 3. Fox. Raspberry Reich Contemporary English- and German-language drama about a group of young people who emulate the German Baader-Meinhoff gang, an extreme leftist terrorist group that operated in 1970s Germany. Written and directed by Bruce LaBruce (“Hustler White”). With Susanne Sachsse, Daniel Bätscher, Gerrit, Andreas Rupprecht, Dean Stathes and Anton Risan. 90 min. Sept. 24 in New York. Strand. Resident Evil: Apocalypse In a city overrun by zombies, elite military operative Alice finds herself teaming with cop Jill Valentine to combat the hulking monster Nemesis. Returnees from part one include screenwriter Paul W.S. Anderson (“Alien Vs. Predator”) and actors Milla Jovovich (“Dummy”) and Eric Mabius (“The Crow: Salvation”). Longtime second-unit director Alexander Witt (“Hollywood Homicide,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”) makes his feature directorial debut. Other newcomers to the series include Sienna Guillory (“Love Actually”), Oded Fehr (“The Mummy Returns”), Sandrine Holt (“Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever”), Mike Epps (“The Fighting Temptations”), Zack Ward (“Freddy Vs. Jason,” “L.A. Twister”), Thomas Kretschmann (“The Pianist,” “Head in the Clouds”) and Jared Harris (“Sylvia”). Scope. 94 min. Sept. 10. Sony. House of Wax Thriller about a group of young motorists who, while passing through a small town, encounter killers who like to coat their victims with wax. A remake of the 1953 horror classic “House of Wax 3-D.” Jaume Serra makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Carey & Chad Hayes. With Elisha Cuthbert (“The Girl Next Door”), Jared Padalecki (“New York Minute”), Chad Michael Murray (“Freaky Friday,” “A Cinderella Story”), Jon Abrahams (“My Boss’s Daughter”), Paris Hilton (“Raising Helen”) and Brian Van Holt (“S.W.A.T.”). Oct. 22. Warner Bros.     I Heart Huckabees Ensemble comedy centered around a married couple who solve various “existential crises” in people’s lives, and their encounters with employees of a popular retail chain. Directed by David O. Russell (“Flirting with Disaster,” “Three Kings”) from a screenplay by Russell and Jeff Baena. With Dustin Hoffman (“Runaway Jury,” “Finding Neverland”), Lily Tomlin (“Orange County”), Jason Schwartzman (“Spun”), Jude Law (“Cold Mountain,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”), Naomi Watts (“Ned Kelly,” “We Don’t Live Here Anymore”), Mark Wahlberg (“The Italian Job”), Isabelle Huppert (“Time of the Wolf”), Tippi Hedren (“Citizen Ruth”), Kamala Lopez-Dawson (“Clear and Present Danger,” “Wedding Bell Blues”), Kevin Dunn (“Stir of Echos”) and recording artist Shania Twain. R: Language; a sex scene. Oct. 15. Fox Searchlight.     Intimate Strangers French-language drama, set in Paris, about a woman who forms a relationship with a tax attorney after she mistakenly ends up in his office rather than a psychiatrist’s. Directed by Patrice Leconte (“The Widow of Saint-Pierre,” “The Man on the Train”) from a screenplay by Jerome Tonnerre (“A Heart in Winter,” “On Guard”). With Sandrine Bonnaire (“East/West”), Fabrice Luchini (“On Guard”), Michel Duchaussoy (“La Mentale The Code”), Anne Brochet (“All the Mornings of the World”), Gilbert Melki (“Monsieur Ibrahim”) and Laurent Gamelon (“The Closet”). 104 min. Sept. 10 limited. Paramount Classics.       Ladder 49 Drama about a fireman who, while trapped behind a deadly blaze and waiting for a rescue that may never come, flashes back to the life that brought him there. Directed by Jay Russell (“My Dog Skip,” “Tuck Everlasting”) from a screenplay by Lewis Colick (“Domestic Disturbance”). With John Travolta (“The Punisher”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Buffalo Soldiers,” “The Village”), Jacinda Barrett (“The Human Stain”), Morris Chestnut (“Breakin’ All the Rules,” “Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid”), Robert Patrick (“Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle”), Jay Hernandez (“Torque,” “Friday Night Lights”), Billy Burke (“Along Came a Spider”) and Balthazar Getty (“Deuces Wild”). Flat. PG-13: Intense fire and rescue situations; language. Oct. 8. Buena Vista.       The Last Shot Comedy, set in Providence, R.I., and based on a true story, about a pair of recent film-school grads who are given $3 million by a mysterious benefactor to make their first feature, only to see their shoot halted and discover that they were part of an FBI sting. Screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (“Catch Me if You Can,” “The Terminal”) makes his feature directorial debut from his own screenplay. With Matthew Broderick (“The Stepford Wives”), Alec Baldwin (“Along Came Polly”), Calista Flockhart (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), Tim Blake Nelson (“Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”), Toni Collette (“Connie & Carla”), Tony Shalhoub (“Against the Ropes”), W. Earl Brown (“The Alamo”), Kevin Chamberlin (“Road to Perdition,” “Suspect Zero”) and Ray Liotta (“Identity”). Also known as “Providence.” Flat. 93 min. R: Language; some sexual content. Sept. 24. Buena Vista.     The Machinist Thriller, set in Barcelona, about a machine worker who finds himself haunted by a ghost he encounters in his factory. Directed by Brad Anderson (“Happy Accidents,” “Session 9”) from a screenplay by Scott Kosar (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”). With Christian Bale (“Laurel Canyon”), Jennifer Jason Leigh (“In the Cut”), Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (“I’m Not Scared”), John Sharian (“Love Actually”), Michael Ironside (“The Perfect Storm”), Larry Gillard (“Gangs of New York”) and Reg E. Cathey (“S.W.A.T.”). 90 min. Oct. 15 limited. Paramount Classics.     Monsieur N French-language mystery thriller, set in the early 19th century, which explores the supposition that the exiled emperor Napoleon faked his own death and somehow escaped his exile on St. Helena Island. Directed by Antoine de Caunes from a screenplay by René Manzor (“Highlander III”). With Philippe Torreton (“It All Starts Today”), Richard Grant (“Gosford Park”), Jay Rodan (“The Triumph of Love”), Elsa Zylberstein (“Time Regained”) and Roschdy Zem (“My Wife is an Actress”). 120 min. Oct. 22. Empire.   P.S. Romantic comedy about a women who falls in love with someone 15 years her junior after she becomes convinced that he is her reincarnated high-school sweetheart. Based on the novel by Helen Schulman. Written and directed by Dylan Kidd (“Roger Dodger”). With Laura Linney (“Mystic River”), Topher Grace (“”Win A Date with Tad Hamilton!”), Gabriel Byrne (“Spider,” “Vanity Fair”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Welcome to Mooseport”), Paul Rudd (“Anchorman”) and Becki Newton (TV’s “Guiding Light”). Oct. 15. Newmarket. Primer Drama about four men who invent a device that gives them the power to create anything they want. Shane Carruth makes his feature directorial debut from his own screenplay. With Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford, Samantha Thompson and Chip Carruth. 78 min. PG-13: Brief language. Oct. 8. ThinkFilm. Ray Drama based on the life of the late recording artist Ray Charles, who lost his sight at the age of six and battled through years of racism, drug abuse and rocky relationships to become an enduring musical legend. Directed by Taylor Hackford (“The Devil’s Advocate,” “Proof of Life”) from a screenplay by James White. With Jamie Foxx (“Breakin’ All the Rules,” “Collateral”) in the title role, Regina King (“Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,” “A Cinderella Story”), Kerry Washington (“Against the Ropes,” “She Hate Me”), Larenz Tate (“A Man Apart”), Bokeem Woodbine (“3,000 Miles to Graceland”), Chris Thomas King (“O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?”) and Warwick Davis (the “Harry Potter” series). Oct. 29. Universal. Saw Horror thriller about a doctor who wakes to find himself imprisoned underground and given a mysterious ultimatum: if he doesn’t kill his fellow prisoner, both prisoners will die, along with the doctor’s family. James Wan makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell. With Whannell (“The Matrix Reloaded”), Cary Elwes (“Ella Enchanted”), Danny Glover (“The Royal Tenenbaums,” “The Cookout”), Tobin Bell (“Brown’s Requiem”), Ken Leung (“Red Dragon,” “Face”), Dina Meyer (“Star Trek: Nemesis”), Shawnee Smith (“Breakfast of Champions”) and Monica Potter (“Along Came a Spider”). Flat. 100 min. NC-17: Some graphic violence; gore. Sept. 17. Lions Gate.