Volume VI No. 8/9

A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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Aurora Borealis
Drama about a young man struggling to overcome the death of his father. Directed by James Burke from a screenplay by Brent Boyd. With Joshua Jackson (“Cursed”), Donald Sutherland (“An American Haunting”), Louise Fletcher (“Manna From Heaven”), Juliette Lewis (“Starsky & Hutch”) and Steven Pasquale (FX’s “Rescue Me”). Sept 15. Regent.

 

 

 

 

The Black Dahlia
Crime drama, set in 1940s Los Angeles, about a hardened cop who investigates the death of a 22-year-old actress and finds himself falling in love with the dead woman. Based on the novel by James Ellroy (“L.A. Confidential”). Directed by Brian De Palma (“Mission to Mars,” “Femme Fatale”) from a screenplay by Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”). With Josh Hartnett (“Lucky Number Slevin”), Scarlett Johansson (“Match Point,” “Scoop,” “The Prestige”), Aaron Eckhart (“Thank You for Smoking”), Mia Kirshner (“Party Monster”), Gregg Henry (“United 93”), Rose McGowan (“Monkeybone”), Fiona Shaw (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), Laura Kightlinger (“The Shaggy Dog”) and Hilary Swank (“Million Dollar Baby”). Scope. R: Strong violence; some grisly images; sexual content; language. Sept. 15. Universal.

 

 

Captain Sabertooth
Animated adventure about a pirate crew on the hunt for treasure. Directed by Stig Bergqvist (“Rugrats II”) and Rasmus A. Sivertsen. Also known as “Kaptein Sabeltann.” Flat. Sept. 22. Indican.

 

 

 

The Covenant
Supernatural thriller about a mysterious stranger who infiltrates an exclusive prep school. Directed by Renny Harlin (“Exorcist: The Beginning,” “Mindhunters”) from a screenplay by J.S. Cardone. With Taylor Kitsch (“John Tucker Must Die,” “Snakes on a Plane”), Laura Ramsey (“She’s the Man,” “Cruel World”), Steven Strait (“Undiscovered”), Kyle Schmid (“Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”), Jessica Lucas (“She’s The Man”), Neil Napier, Sarah Smyth, Chace Crawford, Sebastian Stan, and Toby Hemingway. Scope. Sept. 8. Sony.

 

 

Crossover
Drama about a high-school basketball superstar trying to decide between a UCLA scholarship and an NBA contract. Written and directed by Preston Whitmore (“The Walking Dead”). With Anthony Mackie (“Freedomland”), Wesley Jonathan (“Roll Bounce”), Kristen Wilson (“Walking Tall”), Wayne Brady (“Roll Bounce”), Eva Pigford (TV’s “America’s Next Top Model”), Little JJ (“Yours, Mine and Ours”), Michael Bivins (“Friday After Next”) and Allen Payne (“The Perfect Storm”). Flat. PG-13: Sexual content; some language. Sony.

 

 

The Departed
Thriller about a mobster who has infiltrated the police and a cop who has infiltrated the Mob, and their race to discover each other’s identity. Adapted from the Hong Kong film “Infernal Affairs.” Directed by Martin Scorsese (“Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator”) from a screenplay by William Monahan (“Kingdom of Heaven”). With Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Aviator”), Matt Damon (“Syriana”), Jack Nicholson (“Something’s Gotta Give”), Mark Wahlberg (“Four Brothers,” “Invincible”), Alec Baldwin (“Fun With Dick and Jane,” “Running With Scissors”), Ray Winstone (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe,” “Breaking and Entering”), Gerard McSorley (“Rory O’Shea Was Here”) and Vera Farmiga (“Running Scared,” “Breaking and Entering”). Oct. 6. Warner Bros.

 

Everybody's Hero
Animated comedy, set in 1932, about a boy who sets out on a cross-country mission to return Babe Ruth’s baseball bat before the deciding game of the World Series. Directed by the late Christopher Reeve (the TV-movie “The Brooke Ellison Story”), veteran animator Colin Brady (“Toy Story.” “A Bug’s Life”) and veteran layout artist Dan St. Pierre (“The Lion King,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”) from a screenplay by Jeff Hand and Rob Kurtz (TV’s “Cosby”). Featuring the voices of Jake T. Austin, William H. Macy, Brian Dennehy, Mandy Patinkin, Rob Reiner, Raven-Symone, Dana Reeve, Whoopi Goldberg and Robert Wagner. Formerly known as “Yankee Irving.” Sept. 15. Fox.

 

Flicka
Family drama about a girl who, while working on her family’s Wyoming ranch, claims a wild horse as her own, vowing to raise it herself. Based on the Mary O’Hara novel “My Friend Flicka.” Directed by Michael Mayer (“A Home at the End of the World”) from a screenplay by Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal (“Planet of the Apes,” “Mona Lisa Smile”). With Alison Lohman (“Where the Truth Lies”), Maria Bello (“Thank You for Smoking,” “World Trade Center”), Tim McGraw (“Friday Night Lights”), Kaylee DeFer (“Underclassman”), Dallas Roberts (“Walk the Line”), Nick Searcy (“The Assassination of Richard Nixon”), Dey Young (“Red Eye”) and John O’Brien (“Enough”). PG: Some mild language. Oct. 20. Fox.

 

49 Up
Sequel to the documentaries “7 Up,” “14 Up,” “21 Up,” “28 Up,” “35 Up” and “42 Up,” which collectively followed one group of 14 British schoolchildren, all born around 1957, as they grew to adulthood and into middle age. Michael Apted (“Enigma,” “Enough”), who directed all but the first film in the series, returns. Twelve of the original 14 subjects appear in new footage, including one who declined to participate in 1999’s “42 Up.” Oct. 6 limited. First Run.

All the King's Men
Remake of the 1949 drama about a working-class citizen whose ascent from a blue-collar laborer to influential Southern governor ends in corruption, scandal and political downfall. Based on the 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. Written and directed by Steven Zaillian (“Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “A Civil Action”). With Sean Penn (“The Interpreter”), Jude Law (“The Aviator,” “Breaking and Entering”), Anthony Hopkins (“The World’s Fastest Indian”), Kate Winslet (“Finding Neverland”), Mark Ruffalo (“Rumor Has It”), Patricia Clarkson (“Good Night, and Good Luck”), Kathy Baker (“Nine Lives”) and James Gandolfini (“Surviving Christmas”). Flat. Sept 22. Sony.

 

Babel
Multinational episodic drama, set in Japan, Morocco, Southern California and Mexico, about: 1) an international incident that erupts when an American is accidentally shot by the young son of a Moroccan goat herder; 2) a San Diego nanny who finds herself forced to take her young charges to her son’s wedding in Mexico; and 3) a deaf-mute Japanese girl having difficulty coming to grips with her mother’s suicide. The “Amores Perros”-”21 Grams” team of director Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (“The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”) reunite. With Brad Pitt (“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”), Cate Blanchett (“The Aviator”), Gael García Bernal (“The King,” “The Science of Sleep”), Elle Fanning (“Because of Winn-Dixie”), Kôji Yakusho (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), Jamie McBride (“The Island”), Clifton Collins Jr. (“Dirty”), Adriana Barraza (“Amores Perros”) and James Melody (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”). 142 min. R: Violence; some graphic nudity; sexual content; language; some drug use. Oct. 27. Paramount Classics.

 

Breaking and Entering
Drama about an architect who reevaluates his life after a young Muslim thief breaks into his office. Written and directed by Anthony Minghella (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”). With Juliette Binoche (“Bee Season”), Jude Law (“The Aviator,” “All the King’s Men”), Martin Freeman (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”), Ray Winstone (“The Proposition,” “The Departed”), Poppy Rogers (“Nicholas Nickleby”), Roberto Purvis (“Exorcist: The Beginning”), Robin Wright Penn (“Nine Lives”) and Vera Farmiga (“Running Scared,” “The Departed”). Oct. 6. Weinstein.

 

 

The Children Of Men
Science fiction thriller, set in a near-future dictatorship, about a world where people have lost the ability to reproduce and a history professor is charged with protecting the first pregnant woman anyone has seen in 25 years. Based on the novel by P.D. James (“The Lighthouse”). Directed by Alfonso Cuarón (“Y Tu Mamá También,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) from a screenplay by Cuarón (“Y Tu Mamá También”), David Arata (“Brokedown Palace,” “Spy Game”) and Timothy J. Sexton (TV’s “Live from Baghdad”). With Clive Owen (“Inside Man”), Julianne Moore (“Freedomland,” “Trust the Man”), Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Kinky Boots”), Charlie Hunnam (“Rumor Has It”), Oana Pellea (“High Tension”), Danny Huston (“The Proposition”), Peter Mullan (“On a Clear Day”) and Michael Caine (“The Weather Man,” “The Prestige”). Flat. R: Strong violence; language; some drug use; brief nudity. Sept. 29. Universal.

 

 

Crank
Actioner about a hit man who goes on a vengeful rampage after he discovers he’s been poisoned and will die if he allows his heart rate to drop. Written and directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor. With Jason Statham (“Transporter 2”), Amy Smart (“Peaceful Warrior”), Efren Ramirez (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Employee of the Month”), Dwight Yoakam (“Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”), Michael J. Gonzalez (“Domino”), Ted Garcia (“First Daughter”), Glenn Howerton (“Serenity”) and Jose Cantillo (“Manchurian Candidate”). R: Strong violence; pervasive language; sexuality; nudity; drug use. Sept. 1. Lionsgate.

 

 

Cruel World
Comedy-thriller about a reality show loser who snaps and creates a “show” on which losing contestants are executed. Directed by Kelsey T. Howard from a screenplay by Eugene Hess, Paul Lawrence and Paul T. Murray. With Edward Furlong (“Detroit Rock City”), Jaime Pressly (“Torque,” “DOA: Dead or Alive”), Sanoe Lake (“Blue Crush”), Susan Ward (“Two for the Money”), Aimee Garcia (“Dirty”), Andrew Keegan (“O”), Brian Geraghty (“When A Stranger Calls,” “The Guardian,” “We Are Marshall”), Daniel Franzese (“War of the Worlds”) and Laura Ramsey (“She’s the Man,” “The Covenant”). Flat. R: Strong sadistic violence and gore; language; some sexuality. Oct. 13. Indican.

 

Employee of the Month
Comedy about two best friends who work together in a big-box warehouse store and find themselves competing to impress the attractive new cashier who fancies ambitious men. Screenwriter Greg Coolidge (“Sorority Boys”) makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Coolidge and Don Calame & Chris Conroy. With Jessica Simpson (“The Dukes of Hazzard”), Dax Shepard (“Zathura,” “Idiocracy”), Dane Cook (“Waiting”), Efren Ramirez (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Crank”), Sean Whalen (“The Last Shot”), Andy Dick (“Hebrew Hammer”), Tim Bagley (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “Accepted”), Harland Williams (“Because of Winn-Dixie”) and Danny Woodburn (“Death to Smoochy”). Sept. 15. Lionsgate.

 

Flags Of Our Fathers
Drama based on the true stories of the six soldiers in the famous photograph depicting the erection of an American flag on Iwo Jima. Based on the book by James Bradley and Ron Powers. Directed by Clint Eastwood (“Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby”) from a screenplay by Paul Haggis (“Million Dollar Baby,” “Crash,” “The Last Kiss”) and William Broyles, Jr. (“The Polar Express,” “Jarhead”). With Paul Walker (“Eight Below”), Ryan Phillippe (“Crash”), Adam Beach (“Windalkers”), Jesse Bradford (“Happy Endings”), Jamie Bell (“King Kong”), Neal McDonough (“Walking Tall,” “The Guardian”), Robert Patrick (“Firewall,” “The Marine,” “We Are Marshall”) and Joseph Cross (“Jack Frost,” “Running with Scissors”). Oct. 20. DreamWorks.

 

Flyboys
Period drama about young American fighter pilots who joined the French military prior to the United States’ entry into World War I. Directed by Tony Bill (“Untamed Heart,” “A Home of Our Own”) from a screenplay by Phil Sears & Blake T. Evans and David Ward (“Down Periscope,” “The Best Man”). With James Franco (“Annapolis”), David Ellison (“The Chumscrubber”), Jean Reno (“The Da Vinci Code”), Martin Henderson (“Bride and Prejudice”), Jennifer Decker (“Cobb”), Abdul Salis (“Sahara”), Philip Winchester (“Thunderbirds”) and Tcheky Karyo (“A Very Long Engagement”). PG-13: War action violence; some sexual content. Sept. 29. MGM.

 

 

 

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