Volume V No. 6

A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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The Beat My Heart Skipped
French-language drama about a young, gifted pianist who finds himself torn between following a musical career and following in the footsteps of his sleazy Parisian property-shark father. Directed by Jacques Audiard (“Read My Lips,” “Venus Beauty Institute”) from a screenplay by Audiard and Tonino Benacquista (“Read MY Lips”). With Romain Duris (“Le Divorce”), Niels Arestrup (“Meeting Venus”), Emmanuelle Devos (“It’s Easier for a Camel,” “Kings and Queen”), Jonathan Zaccaï (“Seaside”), Gilles Cohen (“Kings and Queen”), Linh Dan Pham (“Indochine”) and Aure Atika. Also known as “De battre mon coeur s’est arête.” July 1. Wellspring.

 

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Nonmusical dark comic fantasy about an impoverished boy who may inherit a truly strange chocolate factory after he and four other children are chosen to take the first tour of the facility in a decade. Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl (“Matilda”). The “Big Fish” team of director Tim Burton (“Planet of the Apes”) and screenwriter John August (the “Charlie’s Angels” series) reunite. With Johnny Depp (“Finding Neverland”), Helena Bonham Carter (“Big Fish”), James Fox (“The Prince & Me”), Noah Taylor (“Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”), Adam Godley (“Around the World in 80 Days”), Garrick Hagon (“In My Country”) and Freddie Highmore (“Finding Neverland”). July 15. Warner Bros.

 

 

Dark Water
Thriller about a woman who, in an attempt to escape the misery of a custody battle, moves with her young child into a dilapidated apartment that turns out to be haunted. An English-language remake of the 2002 thriller “Honogurai mizu no soko kara” written and directed by Hideo Nakata (the “Ringu” series). Directed by Walter Salles (“Behind the Sun,” “The Motorcycle Diaries”) from a screenplay by Rafael Yglesias (“Les Miserables,” “From Hell”). With Jennifer Connelly (“House of Sand and Fog”), John C. Reilly (“The Aviator”), Jennifer Baxter (“Land of the Dead”), Tim Roth (“Silver City”), Shelley Duvall (“Manna From Heaven”), Dougray Scott (“Enigma”), Ariel Gade (“Envy”) and Pete Postlethwaite (“The Shipping News”). PG-13: Mature thematic material; frightening sequences; disturbing images; brief language. July 8. Buena Vista.

 

 

The Edukators
German-language comedy-drama about young idealistic anti-globalization protestors who like to break into the homes of the wealthy to rearrange their furniture and leave mocking notes – and what happens when a girl comes between them. Directed by Hans Weingartner from a screenplay by Weingartner and Katharina Held. With Daniel Brühl (“Good Bye Lenin!”), Burghart Klaußner (“Good Bye Lenin!”), Hanns Zischler (“Taking Sides”), Laura Schmidt (“In the Mouth of Madness”), Julia Jentsch and Stipe Erceg. Also known as “Die Fetten Jahre sind vorbei.” 124 min. R: Language; a scene of sexuality; some drug use. July 22. IFC.

 

God’s Sandbox
Hebrew-language drama about a successful author who, in search of her free-spirited daughter, travels to the Sinai Desert coast, where she is inspired by the musings of a Bedouin storyteller. Directed by Doran Eran from a screenplay by Hanita Halevy and Yoav Halevy. With Razia Israeli (“Schindler’s List”), Juliano Mer (“Kedma”), Sami Samir (“Yellow Asphalt”), Meital Dohan and Orli Perl. Also known as “Tahara.” Flat. 86 min. July 1. Indican.

 

 

Hustle & Flow
Drama about a Memphis pimp whose midlife crisis inspires him to become a rap artist. Written and directed by Craig Brewer. With Terrence Dashon Howard (“Ray”), DJ Qualls (“The Core”), Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges (“Crash”), Taryn Manning (“Cold Mountain”), Anthony Anderson (“King’s Ransom”), Elise Neal (“Paid in Full”) and Paula Jai Parker (“She Hate Me”). 115 min. July 15. Paramount Classics.

The Bad News Bears
Remake of the 1976 comedy about an irritable, beer-swilling coach who transforms a misfit Little League team into a unit with a shot at the pennant. Richard Linklater (“School of Rock,” “Before Sunset”) directs from a screenplay by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa (“Cats & Dogs,” “Bad Santa”). With Billy Bob Thornton (“Friday Night Lights”), Marcia Gay Harden (“Welcome to Mooseport,” “P.S.”), Greg Kinnear (“Godsend”), Timmy Deters (“Kicking & Screaming”), Brandon Craggs (“Fever Pitch”), Tyler Patrick Jones (“Red Dragon”) and Ridge Canipe (TV’s “Lucky”). July 22. Paramount.

 

 

The Brothers Grimm
Period thriller about brothers who wander from town to town pretending to eradicate villages of “enchanted” creatures, and what happens when they run into the real thing. Directed by Terry Gilliam (“Twelve Monkeys,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”) from a screenplay by Ehren Kruger (“The Ring,” “The Ring Two”). With Matt Damon (“Ocean’s Twelve”), Heath Ledger (“The Order”), Jonathan Pryce (“De-Lovely”), Lena Headey (“Possession,” “The Cave”), Monica Bellucci (“She Hate Me”), Richard Ridings (“Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”), Mackenzie Crook (“Finding Neverland”) and Peter Stormare (“Constantine”). PG-13: Violence; frightening sequences; brief suggestive material. July 29. Miramax.

 

 

Cronicas
Spanish-language drama about a Miami-based aspiring journalist who, eager to land the story of his career, travels to a small village in Ecuador to investigate a series of brutal murders. Written and directed by Sebastián Cordero. With Damián Alcázar (“The Crime of Father Amaro”), John Leguizamo (“Assault on Precinct 13,” “The Honeymooners,” “Land of the Dead,”), Alfred Molina (“Spider-Man 2”), Leonor Watling, (“Bad Education”), José María Yazpik (“Nicotina”) and Gloria Leyton. Also known as “The Chronicles.” 98 min. R: Violence; a scene of sexuality; language. July 15. Palm.

 

 

The Devil’s Rejects
Sequel to the 2003 horror thriller “House of 1000 Corpses,” about the Firefly family and the vengeance they exact upon the local police department. Returnees from part one include writer-director Rob Zombie and actors Bill Moseley (“Mr. Jones”) and Sheri Moon. Newcomers to the franchise include Rosario Dawson (“Sin City” “Rent”), Danny Trejo (“Anchorman”), Brian Posehn (“Eulogy”), Dave Sheridan (“The Fighting Temptations”), Elizabeth Daily (“Dutch”), Ginger Lynn Allen (“The Independent”), Michael Berryman (“Spy Hard”), Natasha Lyonne (“Blade: Trinity”), Ken Foree (“Dawn of the Dead”), Deborah Van Valkenburgh (“Criminal”), Priscilla Barnes (“Mumford”), Mary Woronov (“Looney Tunes: Back in Action”), P.J. Soles (“Jawbreaker”), Leslie Easterbrook (“Police Academy 6”), Daniel Roebuck (“Agent Cody Banks 2”) Steve Railsback (“Storytelling”) and William Forsythe (“City by the Sea”). R: Sadistic violence; strong sexual content; language; drug use. July 22. Lions Gate.

 

 

Fantastic Four
A quartet of scientific adventurers find themselves transformed during a space mission into four super-powered beings – the highly elastic Mr. Fantastic, the force-field-generating Invisible Girl, the high-flying Human Torch, and the grotesque, super-strong Thing. Based on the characters introduced in the pages of Marvel Comics, which also gave us Spider-Man, the X-Men, Hulk, Blade, Daredevil, Elektra and The Punisher. Directed by Tim Story (“Barbershop,” “Taxi”) from a screenplay by Mark Frost (“The Believers,” “Storyville”), Michael France (“Hulk,” “The Punisher”) and Simon Kinberg (“XXX: State of the Union,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”). With Jessica Alba (“Sin City”) as The Invisible Girl, Michael Chiklis (“Soldier”) as The Thing, Chris Evans (“Cellular”) as The Human Torch, Ioan Gruffudd (“King Arthur”) as Mr. Fantastic, and Julian McMahon (TV’s “Nip/Tuck”) as Dr. Doom. Also with Kerry Washington (“Ray”). July 8. Fox.

 

 

Happy Endings
Episodic comedy, set in Los Angeles, about: a) A sexually manipulative young woman who sleeps with a young man in a complex plot to seduce his wealthy father; b) A homosexual man who believes his boyfriend’s sperm produced the son of a lesbian couple; and c) A woman who meets an opportunistic documentary filmmaker who knows the whereabouts of the child she long ago gave up for adoption. Written and directed by Don Roos (“The Opposite of Sex,” “Bounce”). With Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Criminal”), Lisa Kudrow (“Wonderland”), Jesse Bradford (“Eulogy,” “Heights”), Tom Arnold (“Soul Plane”), Bobby Cannavale (“Shall We Dance?”), Sarah Clarke (“Thirteen”), Steve Coogan (“Around the World in 80 Days”), Laura Dern (“We Don’t Live Here Anymore”), Amanda Foreman (“On The Line”), Johnny Galecki (“Vanilla Sky”), Jason Ritter (“Raise Your Voice”) and David Sutcliffe (“Under the Tuscan Sun”). July 15 in New York and Los Angeles; wider July 22; wider July 29. 132 min. R: Sexual content; language; some drug use. Lions Gate.

 

 

 

The Island
Science-fiction thriller about a young man who decides to stage an escape from his seemingly utopian city when he learns that he and everyone around him were created to provide “spare parts” for the people from whom they were cloned. Directed by Michael Bay (“Pearl Harbor,” “Bad Boys II”) from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (TV’s “Alias”) and Caspian Tredwell-Owen (“Beyond Borders”). With Ewan McGregor (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”), Scarlett Johansson (“In Good Company”), Steve Buscemi (“Coffee and Cigarettes”), Kevin Daniels (“Ladder 49”), Djimon Hounsou (“Beauty Shop”), Max Baker (“Constantine”) and Troy Blendell (“Collateral”). July 22. DreamWorks.

 

 

 

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