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Volume
V No. 6
A
publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners
Advertise
in In Focus
©
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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