Volume V No. 2

A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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Millions
Comedy, set in Manchester, England, about a pair of pre-teen brothers who have difficulty agreeing on a plan of action after they stumble across a huge sum of British pounds just days before the Bank of England switches over to the euro. Directed by Danny Boyle (“The Beach,” “28 Days Later”) from a screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce (“24 Hour Party People,” “Code 46”). With James Nesbitt (“Bloody Sunday”), Enzo Cilenti (“24 Hour Party People”), Daisy Donovan (“Still Crazy”), Pearce Quigley (“The House of Mirth”), Nasser Memarzia, Alexander Nathan Etel and Lewis Owen McGibbon. Flat. PG-13: Thematic elements; language; some peril; mild sensuality. March 11 limited. Fox Searchlight.

 

 

Mondovino
Documentary about the growing rivalry developing between winemakers in France and their upstart counterparts in the United States, focusing on two key vintners: the Mondavi family of Napa Valley, Calif., and the Montille family of Burgundy, France. Written and directed by Jonathan Nossiter (“Sunday,” “Signs & Wonders”). Flat. 131 min. March 23 in New York. ThinkFilm.

 

 

The Pacifier
Action-comedy about a Navy SEAL who, having failed to prevent the assassination of a key government scientist, agrees to protect the scientist’s five children. Directed by Adam Shankman (“A Walk to Remember,” “Bringing Down the House”) from a screenplay by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon (“Taxi”). With Vin Diesel (“The Chronicles of Riddick”), Lauren Graham (“Seeing Other People”), Faith Ford (“North”), Max Thieriot (“Catch That Kid”), Morgan York (“Cheaper By The Dozen”), Brad Garrett (“Stuart Little 2”), Carol Kane (“Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen”) and Brittany Snow (TV’s “American Dreams”). March 4. Buena Vista.

 

 

Robots
Animated comedy, set in a world populated entirely by robots, about a metal man who finds himself at odds with a corporate tyrant when he sets out to improve the planet. Directed by Chris Wedge (“Ice Age”) from a screenplay by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (“Ed TV,” “Where the Heart Is”). Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Mel Brooks, Drew Carey, Robin Williams, Greg Kinnear, Jim Broadbent, Paul Giamatti, Stanley Tucci, Amanda Bynes, Dianne Wiest, D.L. Hughley, Jennifer Coolidge, Dan Hedaya, Harland Williams and Sofia Vergara. March 11. Fox.

A Sound of Thunder
Fantasy actioner about a game hunter who, while on a time-traveling dinosaur safari, accidentally sets off a chain of events destined to erase humanity from the face of the planet. Directed by Peter Hyams (“End of Days,” “The Musketeer”) from a screenplay by Gregory Poirier (“See Spot Run,” “Tomcats”) and Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer (“Sahara”). With Ben Kingsley (“Suspect Zero”), Edward Burns (“Confidence”), Catherine McCormack (“Spy Game”), Jemima Rooper (TV’s “As If”), Corey Johnson (“Hellboy”), Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually”), Scott Bellefeville (“A Knight’s Tale”) and August Zirner (“Eyewitness”). PG-13: Sci-fi violence; partial nudity; language. March 11. Warner Bros.

Wild Side
French-language drama about a transsexual prostitute who, having returned home from Paris to nurse her dying mother, contemplates the events of her own life. The “Come Undone” team of writer-director Sébastien Lifshitz and screenwriter Stéphane Bouquet reteam. With Yasmine Belmadi (“Who Killed Bambi?”), Stephanie Michelini, Edouard Nikitine and Josiane Stoléru (“Cyrano de Bergerac”). Scope. March 4. Wellspring.

Miss Congeniality 2
When her friends – pageant winner Cheryl Frasier and pageant emcee Stan Fields – are kidnapped in Las Vegas, FBI special agent Gracie Hart has to go undercover again, this time as a casino showgirl. A sequel to the 2000 comedy blockbuster. Returnees from part one include screenwriter Marc Lawrence (“Two Weeks Notice”) and actors Sandra Bullock (“Two Weeks Notice”), Heather Burns (“Two Weeks Notice”), William Shatner (“Dodgeball”) and Ernie Hudson (“The Watcher”). Newcomers to the franchise include director John Pasquin (“Jungle 2 Jungle,” “Joe Somebody”) and actors Regina King (“Ray”), Enrique Murciano (“Black Hawk Down”), Elisabeth Rohm (TV’s “Law and Order”), Lusia Strus (“50 First Dates”), Leslie Erin Grossman (“Can’t Hardly Wait”), Susan Chuang (“Simone”), John DiResta (“How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days”), William O’Leary (“Terminator 3”), Diedrich Bader (“EuroTrip”), Nick Offerman (“Murder By Numbers”), Abraham Benrubi (“Without a Paddle”) and Treat Williams (“Hollywood Ending”). March 25. Warner Bros.

 

 

Nowhere Man
Comic thriller about a young man who calls off his wedding, then must embark upon a desperate search for his ex-fiancee, who sliced off and absconded with his penis. Written and directed by Tim McCann. With Michael Rodrick (“Under Hellgate Bridge”), Debbie Rochon (“Terror Firmer”) Rachel Haynes (“Robot Stories”) Lloyd Kaufman (“Orgazmo”), Michael Risley (“Two if By Sea”), and Frank Olivier. 92 min. March 11. First Run.

 

 

The Ring 2
When more fall victim to the “7-days” curse, Rachel Keller finds herself returning to Seattle and learning more of how Samara Morgan acquired her extraordinary abilities. A sequel to the blockbuster 2002 supernatural thriller. Returnees from part one include screenwriter Ehren Kruger (“Impostor”) as well as actors Naomi Watts (“I Heart Huckabees,” “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”) as Rachel and David Dorfman (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”) as her son. Hideo Nakata, who directed “Ringu” (which was remade in the United States as “The Ring”), directs. Kelly Stables (“Pride and Prejudice”) inherits the role of Samara. Other newcomers to the franchise include Simon Baker (“The Affair of the Necklace”), Emily VanCamp (“Lost and Delirious”), Elizabeth Perkins (“Cats & Dogs”), Sissy Spacek (“A Home at the End of the World”), Ryan Merriman (“Halloween: Resurrection”), Gary Cole (“Dodgeball”), Kelly Overton (“It Runs in the Family”), Adrienne Smith (“Evolution”), Mary Joy (“Secretary”), James Lesure (“Crimson Tide”) and Willis Van Dusen (“Free Willy”). March 18. DreamWorks.

 

 

Sahara
Drama about an agent with the National Underwater and Marine Agency who teams with a beautiful U.N. medical advisor to uncover a source of nuclear waste dumping that could destroy all sea life on the planet. Based on the 11th Dirk Pitt adventure-series novel by Clive Cussler (“Raise the Titanic”). Directed by Breck Eisner (TV’s “Taken” miniseries) from a screenplay by Joshua Oppenheimer & Thomas Dean Donnelly (“A Sound of Thunder”), John C. Richards (“Nurse Betty”) and Jim V. Hart (“Contact,” “Tuck Everlasting”). With Matthew McConaughey (“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”), Penélope Cruz (“Head in the Clouds”), William H. Macy (“Cellular”), Steve Zahn (“Shattered Glass”), Delroy Lindo (“The Core”), Lennie James (“24 Hour Party People”), Nathan Osgood (“Velvet Goldmine”), Glynn Turman (“Men of Honor”), Ranin Wilson (“Baadasssss!”), Mark Wells (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”), Billy Seymour (“Vera Drake”) and Dayna Cussler. PG-13: Action violence. March 25. Paramount.

 

 

The Upside of Anger
Drama about a mother and her four grown daughters, all of whom get support from an old ex-ballplayer friend when the family patriarch dies. Written and directed by Mike Binder (“Blankman,” “Indian Summer”). With Joan Allen (“The Bourne Supremacy”), Kevin Costner (“Open Range”), Alicia Witt (“Two Weeks Notice”), Erika Christensen (“Stephen King’s Riding the Bullet”), Keri Russell (“We Were Soldiers”), Evan Rachel Wood (“The Missing”) and Mike Binder (“Minority Report”). R: Language; sexual situations; brief comic violence; some drug use. March 11. Fine Line.

Inside Deep Throat
Documentary about the lasting cultural impact of “Deep Throat” (1972), the $25,000 porn feature widely hailed as the most profitable motion picture ever made. Written and directed by Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato. (“Party Monster,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”). Feb. 11. Universal.

 

 

Man of the House
Comedy about a militant Texas Ranger who goes undercover as a cheerleading coach to protect a squad of murder-witness cheerleaders. Directed by Stephen Herek (“Rock Star,” “Life, or Something Like It”) from a screenplay by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone (“Intolerable Cruelty”) and John J. McLaughlin. With Tommy Lee Jones (“The Missing”), Monica Keena (“Freddy Vs. Jason”), Paula Garces (“Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle”), Christina Milian (“Torque,” “Be Cool”), Vanessa Ferlito (“Spider-Man 2”), Kelli Garner (“The Aviator”), Liz Vassey (“Calendar Girl”), Paget Brewster (“Eulogy”), Anne Archer (“The Art of War”), Brian Van Holt (“S.W.A.T.”), Tom Reynolds (“House of Sand and Fog”), Shea Whigham (“All the Real Girls”), Ash Christian (“Serving Sara”) and Curtis Armstrong (“Ray”). Feb. 25. Sony.

 

 

 

 

 

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