A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

Advertise in In Focus

©

Seducing Dr. Lewis French-language comedy about the citizens of a tiny fishing village who, aware that they need a physician in residence to make their town eligible for a new factory, resort to subterfuge designed to lure an M.D. Directed by Jean-François Pouliot from a screenplay by Ken Scott (“Life After Love”). With Raymond Bouchard (“Laura Cadieux ... La Suite”), David Boutin (“Hochelaga”), Benoît Brière (“Stardom”), Bruno Blanchet, Pierre Collin (“How My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause”) and Lucie Laurier (“How My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause”). Also known as “La Grande Seduction.” Flat. 109 min. July 2 in New York and Los Angeles; wider July 16. Wellspring.     Sleepover Comedy about rival 8th-grade slumber parties, and a scavenger hunt that determines which group of girls gets dibs on a primo school lunch table. Directed by Joe Nussbaum (the short “George Lucas in Love”) from a screenplay by Elisa Bell (“Vegas Vacation”). With Alexa Vega (the “Spy Kids” series), Mika Boorem (“Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights”), Sara Paxton (“Soldier”), Steven Carell (“Bruce Almighty,” “Anchorman”), Kallie Flynn Childress, Jane Lynch (“A Mighty Wind”), Jeff Garlin (“Daddy Day Care”), Sam Huntington (“Not Another Teen Movie”), Summer Glau (TV’s “Firefly”), Brie Larson (“13 Going on 30”), Douglas Smith (“Blast From The Past”), Ryan Slattery (“Cecil B. DeMented”) and Sean Faris (“Pearl Harbor”). Flat. PG: Thematic elements involving teen dating; some sensuality; language. July 9. MGM. Time of the Wolf Post-apocalyptic French-language drama about a refugee mother and her two children, who wait for a train they hope will rescue them from lives of deprivation and adversity. Written and directed by Michael Haneke (“The Piano Teacher”). With Isabelle Huppert (“The Piano Teacher,” “8 Women”), Béatrice Dalle (“Trouble Every Day”), Patrice Chéreau (“Time Regained”), Rona Hartner (“Le Divorce”), Maurice Bénichou (“Amelie”) and Olivier Gourmet (“The Son”). Also known as “Le Temps du Loup.” Scope. 113 min. June 25 in New York; July 2 in Los Angeles. Palm.     Transfixed French-language thriller, set in Brussels, Belgium, about a beautiful transsexual who becomes involved with a police chief as a series of mysterious killings rock the city’s underworld. Based on the French novel by Brigitte Aubert. Directed by Francis Girod from a screenplay by Girod and Philippe Cougrand. With Richard Bohringer (“The Cat’s Meow”), Robinson Stévenin, Stéphane Metzger (“Girl on the Bridge”), William Nadylam, Frédéric Pellegeay (“The Statement”) and Ginette Garcin. Also known as “Mauvais Genres.” Scope. 110 min. July 30 in New York. Picture This!   The Village Thriller, set in 1897, about a close-knit rural community with a shared awareness of a mysterious race of beings living in the adjacent forest. Written and directed by M. Night Shymalan (“Unbreakable,” “Signs”). With William Hurt (“Tuck Everlasting”), Sigourney Weaver (“Holes”), Adrien Brody (“Dummy”), Bryce Howard (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Buffalo Soldiers”), Judy Greer (“13 Going On 30”), Jesse Eisenberg (“Roger Dodger”), Brendan Gleeson (“Cold Mountain,” “Troy”) and Michael Pitt (“The Dreamers”). Flat. July 30. Buena Vista. She Hate Me Comedy about a Harvard-educated biotech executive who, after getting fired for snitching on his bosses, begins providing his “services” to lesbians desiring motherhood. Directed by Spike Lee (“Bamboozled,” “25th Hour”) from a screenplay by Lee and Michael Genet. With Anthony Mackie (“Hollywood Homicide,” “The Manchurian Candidate”), Bai Ling (“My Baby’s Daddy”), Ellen Barkin (“Someone Like You”), Monica Bellucci (“The Passion of the Christ”), Jim Brown (“Any Given Sunday”), Sarita Choudhury (“It Runs in the Family”), Ossie Davis (“Baadasssss!”), Brian Dennehy (“Stolen Summer”), Kim Director (“Bamboozled”), Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Love Actually”), Gary Evans (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), Woody Harrelson (“Anger Management”), Lonette McKee (“Honey”), Paula Jai Parker (“My Baby’s Daddy”), Q-Tip (“Poetic Justice”), John Turturro (“Secret Window”) and Kerry Washington (“Against the Ropes”). Flat. R: Strong graphic sexuality/nudity; language; a scene of violence. July 30. Sony Pictures Classics.     Thunderbirds When a former astronaut sees his secret, cutting-edge international rescue vehicles commandeered by a ruthless criminal, it’s up to the ex-astronaut’s youngest son to effect a rescue. Based on the British comic book and marionette TV series. Directed by Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek: Insurrection,” “Clockstoppers”) from a screenplay by William Osborne (“The Scorpion King”) and Michael McCullers (“Austin Powers in Goldmember”). With Brady Corbet (“Thirteen”), Bill Paxton (“Broken Lizard’s Club Dread”), Ben Kingsley (“House of Sand and Fog”), Lex Shrapnel (“K-19: The Widowmaker”), Philip Winchester (“The Patriot”), Dominic Colenso, Ben Togersen, Soren Fulton (“Van Wilder”), Sophia Myles (“Underworld”), Ron Cook (“24 Hour Party People”), Vanessa Anne Hudgens (“Thirteen”) and Anthony Edwards (“Northfork”) as Brains. Flat. 91 min. PG: Intense action sequences; language. July 30. Universal.     Touch of Pink Comedy, set in Canada, about a homosexual who finds his life in chaos after his ardent Muslim mother announces she’s coming for a visit. Written and directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid. With Jimi Mistry (“Ella Enchanted”), Kyle MacLachlan (“Northfork”), Sue Mathew (“Life or Something Like It”), Kristen Holden-Reid (“K-19: The Widowmaker”), Veena Sood (“Connie & Carla”), Raoul Bhaneja (“Godsend”) and Brian George (“Bubble Boy”). Flat. 92 min. R: Sexual content; brief language. July 16. Sony Pictures Classics.     Undertaking Betty Comedy, set in a rural Wales, about a funeral director who confesses his love for a local woman just as his livelihood becomes threatened by the arrival of more modern and stylish American competitors. Directed by Nick Hurran (“Virtual Sexuality”) from a screenplay by Frederick Ponzlov. With Alfred Molina (“Identity,” “Coffee and Cigarettes,” “Spider-Man 2”), Naomi Watts (“Ned Kelly”), Christopher Walken (“Man on Fire,” “Envy,” “The Stepford Wives”), Brenda Blethyn (“Sonny”), Robert Pugh (“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”) and Lee Evans (“The Medallion”). Also known as “Plots With a View.” July 2 in New York and Los Angeles. Miramax.     Zhou Yu’s Train Mandarin-language drama about a painter whose passionate love affair with a shy poet is disrupted when, on a train, she encounters a charming veterinarian. Directed by Sun Zhou from a screenplay by Zhou, Bei Cun and Zhang Mei. With Gong Li (“The Emperor and the Assassin”), Tony Leung Ka Fai (“The Lover,” “A Touch of Evil”), Honglei Sun (“The Road Home”) and Zhixiong Li. Flat. 97 min. PG-13: Sexuality. July 2 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics. Bukowski: Born Into This Documentary about the deceased beat poet and author Charles Bukowski, whose use of shockingly frank layman’s language has garnered cult status for novels such as “Love is a Dog from Hell” and “Notes of a Dirty Old Man.” Directed by John Dullaghan. Featuring archival footage as well as interviews with U2 frontman Bono, actors Harry Dean Stanton and Sean Penn, and director Taylor Hackford. Flat. 113 min. June 18. Magnolia.     Deserted Station Persian-language drama, set in Iran, about a local teacher who agrees to help a stranded motorist fix his car while the motorist’s wife supervises the teacher’s students. Directed by Alireza Raisian from a screenplay by Kambuzia Partovi (“The Circle”). With Leila Hatami (“Leila”), Nezam Manouchehri, Mehran Rajabi and Mahmoud Pak Neeyat. Also known as “Istgah-Matrouk.” Flat. 88 min. June 11 in New York. First Run.   Two Brothers Epic wildlife adventure, set in 1920s Cambodia, about two juvenile tigers who embark on two very different career paths after they’re taken into captivity: one becomes a circus performer, the other a trained killer. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud (“Seven Years in Tibet,” “Enemy at the Gates”) from a screenplay by Annaud and Alain Godard (“Wings of Courage,” “Enemy at the Gates”). With Guy Pearce (“The Hard Word,” “A Slipping Down Life”), Jean-Claude Dreyfus (“The Lady and the Duke”), Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Vatel”), Freddie Highmore and Le Mai Anh. Flat. 105 min. PG: Mild violence. June 25. Universal. Control Room Arabic- and English-language documentary about the coverage of Al Jazeera, the most widely-viewed Arabic news network, during the United States’ war with Iraq. Directed by Jehane Noujaim (“Startup.com”). 84 min. June 11. Magnolia.       Spider-Man 2 As former neighbor Mary Jane Watson pursues a successful modelling career and dates an astronaut, Peter Parker must use his bizarre superpowers to combat the freakish, multi-armed supervillain Dr. Otto Octavius. Based on the Marvel Comics characters created by Stan Lee (“X-Men,” “Daredevil,” “Hulk”). Returnees from part one include director Sam Raimi (“The Gift”) as well as actors Tobey Maguire (“Seabiscuit”) as Parker, Kirsten Dunst (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) as Mary Jane, James Franco (“The Company”) as Harry Osborne, J.K. Simmons (“The Ladykillers,” “Off the Map”) as J. Jonah Jameson, Ted Raimi (“For Love of the Game”) as Ted Hoffman, Rosemary Harris (“The Gift”) as Aunt May, Elizabeth Banks (“Catch Me If You Can”) as Betty Brandt, and Bruce Campbell (“The Majestic”) as the snooty usher. Newcomers to the series include screenwriters Michael Chabon (the novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay”) and Alvin Sargent (“Anywhere But Here,” “Unfaithful”) as well as actors Alfred Molina (“Identity,” “Coffee and Cigarettes,” “Undertaking Betty”) as Doc Ock, Dylan Baker (“How To Deal”) as Curt Connors, Daniel Gillies (TV’s “Jeremiah”) as astronaut John Jameson, Daniel Dae Kim (“Hulk”) as Raymond, and Donna Murphy (“Center Stage,” “Door in the Floor”) as Rosalie Octavius. PG-13: Stylized action violence. June 30. Sony.