A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

Advertise in In Focus

©

The Bridesmaid French-language thriller about a man who falls in love with a bridesmaid at his sister's wedding – and slowly comes to discover she is a very disturbed individual. Directed by Claude Chabrol (“Merci Pour le Chocolat,” “The Flower of Evil”) from a screenplay by Chabrol and Pierre Leccia. With Benoît Magimel (“The Flower of Evil”), Laura Smet (“Gilles' Wife”), Aurore Clément (“La Petite Jerusalem”), Suzanne Flon (“Joyeux Noel”) and Bernard Le Coq (“Joyeux Noel”). July 28 in New York. First Run.     House of Sand Portuguese-language drama, set in Northern Brazil between 1910 and 1969, about a young widow who finds herself trapped for decades in a desolate stretch of Northern Brazil. Directed by Andrucha Waddington from a screenplay by Elena Soarez. With Fernanda Montenegro (“Central Station”), Stênio Garcia, Fernanda Torres (“Four Days in September”), Luiz Melodia, Nelson Jacobina and Haroldo Costa. 115 min. July 28 in New York and Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics.     Lady in the Water Thriller about a building superintendent who begins to question his grasp on reality when he discovers a character from a bedtime story in the apartment complex’s swimming pool. Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan (“Signs,” “The Village”). With Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“Manderlay”), Jeffrey Wright (“Syriana”), Bob Balaban (“Capote”), Bill Irwin (“The Manchurian Candidate”), Freddy Rodriguez (“Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story,” “Poseidon”), Cindy Cheung (“Spider-Man 2”), Jared Harris (“Ocean’s Twelve”), Mary Beth Hurt (“Exorcism of Emily Rose”) and Sarita Choudhury (“She Hate Me”). Flat. July 21. Warner Bros.     Little Miss Sunshine Comedy about a dysfunctional family who set off on a road trip, determined to get their little girl into the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Veteran music-video directors Jonathan Dayton & Valeria Faris (The Offspring’s “She’s Got Issues,” Janet Jackson’s “Go Deep”) make their feature directorial debuts from a screenplay by Michael Arndt. With Steve Carell (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), Toni Colette (“In Her Shoes”), Greg Kinnear (“Bad News Bears”), Alan Arkin (“Firewall”), Abigail Breslin (“Keane”), Paul Dano (“The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” “The King”) and Beth Grant (“Daltry Calhoun”). 102 min. R: Language; some sex; drug content. July 28. Fox Searchlight.     Monster House “Performance-capture” animated thriller about three kids who are convinced a monster lives in the “vacant” house next door. Gil Kenan makes his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab. Featuring the voices and movements of Steve Buscemi (“The Island,” “Art School Confidential”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“Happy Endings”), Fred Willard (“Date Movie”) Jon Heder (“The Benchwarmers”), Kevin James (“Hitch”), Jason Lee (“Jersey Girl”), Sam Lerner (“Envy”), and Kathleen Turner (“Prince of Central Park”). Also in 3D. Scope. July 21. Sony.     Barnyard Computer-animated comedy about farm animals who decide to run things when the farmer is away. Written and directed by Steve Oedekerk (“Kung Pow: Enter the Fist”). Those lending their voices to the project include Kevin James, Danny Glover, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Andie MacDowell, David Koechner and Wanda Sykes. PG: Some mild peril; rude humor. July 28. Paramount.   Brothers of the Head Mockumentary, set partially in the 1970s, about a music promoter who decides to form a pop band around a pair of conjoined twins. Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (“Lost in La Mancha”) from a screenplay by Tony Grisoni (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”). With Tom Bower (“The Hills Have Eyes”), Bryan Dick (“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”), Will Kemp (“Mindhunters”), Sean Harris (“Asylum”) and Harry & Luke Treadaway. 88 min. July 28 in New York. IFC.   John Tucker Must Die Comedy about a trio of high school girls from different cliques who band together to seek revenge on the boy who broke each of their hearts – by setting him up to be romanced and dumped by a new girl at school. Directed by Betty Thomas (“28 Days,” “I Spy”) from a screenplay by TV writer Jeff Lowell (“Inside Schwartz”) and Larry Stuckey. With Brittany Snow (“The Pacifier”), Jesse Metcalfe (TV's “Desperate Housewives”), Arielle Kebbel (“Aquamarine”), Ashanti (“Coach Carter”), Sophia Bush (“Stay Alive”), Penn Badgley (“The Fluffer”), Fatso Fasano and Jenny McCarthy (“Scary Movie 3”). PG-13: Sexual content; language. July 28. Fox.     Little Man Comedy about a man who mistakes a very short fugitive for his newly adopted son. The “Scary Movie”-”Scary Movie 2”-”White Chicks” team of writer-director Keenan Ivory Wayans and screenwriter-actors Marlon and Shawn Wayans reunite. Also with Kerry Washington (“Fantastic Four”), Lochlyn Munro (“The Benchwarmers”), Brittany Daniel (“Dirty”), Dave Sheridan (“The Devil’s Rejects”), Alex Borstein (“Good Night, and Good Luck”) and Tracy Morgan (“The Longest Yard”). July 5. Sony.     Miami Vice Undercover Miami vice detective Sonny Crockett gets help from vengeance-driven New York counterpart Ricardo Tubbs in his quest to take down a murderous Cuban druglord. Written and directed by Michael Mann (“The Insider,” “Ali,” “Collateral”), who also wrote and produced the 1984-1989 NBC TV series on which this feature is based. With Colin Farrell (“Ask the Dust”) as Crockett, Jamie Foxx (“Jarhead”) as Tubbs, Naomie Harris (“28 Days Later”) as Tubbs’ Bronx-dwelling intel-analyst roommate, Ciaran Hinds (“Munich”) as FBI agent Fujima, Elizabeth Rodriguez (“Blow”) as detective Gina Calabrese, Domenick Lombardozzi (“Find Me Guilty”) as detective Stan Switek, Justin Theroux (“The Baxter”) as detective Larry Zito, and Barry Shabaka Henley (“Four Brothers,” TV’s “Close to Home”) as Lt. Martin Castillo. Also with Gong Li (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), Isaach De Bankolé (“Manderlay”), John Ortiz (“Ali”), John Hawkes (“Me and You and Everyone We Know”), Tom Towles (“The Devil’s Rejects”), Tony Curran (“Flight of the Phoenix”), Ana Cristina De Oliveira (“Taxi”), Pavel Lychnikoff (“Fun With Dick and Jane”) and Mario Ernesto Sanchez (“Proof of Life”). Scope. July 28. Universal.