Volume IV No. 10

A publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners

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After the Sunset
Crime thriller about a professional thief who, upon retiring to a tropical island, meets his young and stunningly beautiful archenemy. Directed by Brett Ratner (“Red Dragon”) from a screenplay by Paul Zbyszewski and Craig Rosenberg (“Hotel de Love”). With Pierce Brosnan (“Laws of Attraction”), Salma Hayek (“Once Upon a Time in Mexico”), Woody Harrelson (“She Hate Me”), Don Cheadle (“The United States of Leland”), Alan Dale (“Hollywood Homicide”), Mykelti Williamson (“Ali”), Obba Babtunde (“The Manchurian Candidate”), Rex Linn (“Cheaper by the Dozen”), Frank Bruynbroek (“Red Dragon”) and Naomie Harris (“28 Days Later”). Scope. Nov. 12. New Line.

 

Beyond the Sea
Drama about pop singer, anti-war activist and Oscar-nominated actor Bobby Darin, who died at age 37 from a heart condition he contracted three decades earlier. Directed by Kevin Spacey (“Albino Alligator”) from a screenplay by Paul Attanasio (“The Sum of All Fears”), author Lorenzo Carcaterra (“Sleepers”), Jeffrey Meek and James Toback (“Harvard Man”). With Spacey (“The United States of Leland”), Kate Bosworth (“Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!”), John Goodman (“Masked and Anonymous”), Greta Scacchi (“Festival in Cannes”), Brenda Blethyn (“Sonny”), Caroline Aaron (“A Day Without A Mexican”), Nina Franoszek (“The Pianist”), David Westhead (“Wilde,” “Stage Beauty”) and Bob Hoskins (“Vanity Fair”). Scope. Nov. 24 in New York and Los Angeles; wider Dec. 10; wider Dec. 17. Lions Gate.

 

 

Bridget Jones:
The Edge
of Reason

Bridget endures a trying new boss, difficult renovations, a terrible vacation, and the discovery that her “perfect mate,” Mark Darcy, votes Conservative. A sequel to the 2001 romantic comedy “Bridget Jones’s Diary” based on the 2000 second novel in the “Bridget Jones” series authored by Helen Fielding (“Cause Celeb”). Returnees from “Diary” include screenwriters Fielding, Richard Curtis (“Love Actually”) and Andrew Davies (“The Tailor of Panama”), as well as actors Renée Zellweger (“Cold Mountain”), Hugh Grant (“Love Actually”), Colin Firth (“Love Actually”), James Callis (TV’s “Battlestar Galactica”), Shirley Henderson (“Hypnotic”), Gemma Jones (“Shanghai Knights”), Sally Phillips (“Birthday Girl”) and Jim Broadbent (“Vanity Fair,” “Vera Drake”). Newcomers to the franchise include director Beeban Kidron (“To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything!” “Swept From the Sea”), screenwriter Adam Brooks (“The Invisible Circus,” “Wimbledon”), and actors Jacinda Barrett (“The Human Stain,” “Ladder 49”), Catherine Russell (“Night and the City”) and Morne Botes. Scope. 101 min. R: Language; some sexual content. Nov. 19. Universal.

 

Christmas with the Kranks
Comedy about a middle-aged couple who must deal with resentful neighbors after their grown daughter’s unexpected return forces them to cancel their Christmas Caribbean cruise and return home for the holiday. Based on the novel “Skipping Christmas” by John Grisham (“Runaway Jury”). Directed by Joe Roth (“America’s Sweethearts”) from a screenplay by Chris Columbus (“Nine Months”). With Tim Allen (“The Santa Clause 2”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Freaky Friday”), Julie Gonzalo (“A Cinderella Story”), Dan Aykroyd (“50 First Dates”), Jake Busey (“Identity”), David Hornsby (“Minority Report”), Felicity Huffman (“Raising Helen”), Alan King (“Sunshine State”), Mark Christopher Lawrence (“Garfield”), Cheech Marin (“Once Upon A Time In Mexico”), Tom Poston (“Princess Diaries 2”), Caroline Rhea (“Ready to Rumble”), Erik Per Sullivan (“Unfaithful”) and M. Emmet Walsh (“Snow Dogs”). Nov. 24. Sony.

 

 

The Flight of the Phoenix
Action thriller, set in the Mongolian desert, about a group of plane-crash survivors who are doomed if they cannot build a flight-worthy vehicle from their plane’s wreckage. A remake of the 1966 action adventure. Directed by John Moore (“Behind Enemy Lines”) from a screenplay by Scott Frank (“Out of Sight,” “Minority Report”). With Dennis Quaid (“The Day After Tomorrow”), Giovanni Ribisi (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”), Jacob Vargas (“Dragonfly”), Tony Curran (“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”), Miranda Otto (“Close Your Eyes”) and Tyrese (“2 Fast 2 Furious”). Nov. 24. Fox.

 

 

The Green Butchers
Danish-language comedy about two friends whose meat-cutting venture is revitalized when they begin utilizing a new “secret ingredient.” Written and directed by screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen (“Open Hearts,” “Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself”). With Line Kruse (“Mifune”), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (“Open Hearts”), Mads Mikkelsen (“Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself”), Nicolas Bro (“Kira’s Reason: A Love Story”), Aksel Erhardtsen and Bodil Jorgensen (“The Idiots”). Also known as “De Gronne Slagtere.” 100 min. Nov. 5. Newmarket.

 

Kinsey
Drama about the life of famed Indiana University-based zoologist and pioneer sex researcher Alfred C. Kinsey, whose work in the 1940s and ‘50s was widely perceived as groundbreaking. Based on Kinsey’s autobiography. Written and directed by Bill Condon (“Candyman: Farewell to Flesh,” “Gods and Monsters”). With Liam Neeson (“Love Actually”), Laura Linney (“Love Actually,” “P.S.”), Chris O’Donnell (“Vertical Limit,” “Twentynine Palms”), Timothy Hutton (“Secret Window”), William Sadler (“The Battle of Shaker Heights”), John Lithgow (“Orange County”), Oliver Platt (“Pieces of April”), Peter Sarsgaard (“Garden State”), Arden Myrin (“Auto Focus”), Amy Wilson (“Kissing Jessica Stein”), Gore Vidal (“Gattaca”) and Tim Curry (“Scary Movie 2”). Scope. R: Pervasive sexual content; including some graphic images and descriptions. Nov. 12. Fox Searchlight.

Alexander
Epic actioner about the life of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, who traveled 22,000 miles in eight years and came to rule almost the entire “known world.” Written and directed by Oliver Stone (“U-Turn,” “Any Given Sunday”). With Colin Farrell (“A Home at the End of the World”), Anthony Hopkins (“The Human Stain”), Angelina Jolie (“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”), Rosario Dawson (“The Rundown”), Val Kilmer (“Stateside”), Jared Leto (“Panic Room”), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (“Vanity Fair”), Brian Blessed (“Hamlet”), Paul Hornsby (“Finding Neverland”), Laird Macintosh (“Rules of Engagement”), Rory McCann (“Young Adam”), Joseph Morgan (“Master and Commander”), James Ngamdee (“Bang Rajan”), Connor Paolo (“Mystic River”) and Christopher Plummer (“Cold Creek Manor,” “National Treasure”). Nov. 5. Warner Bros.

 

Bad Education
Spanish-language drama, set in Spain, about two men who meet as schoolchildren during General Francisco Franco’s regime, then find themselves reunited 20 years later. Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar (“All About My Mother,” “Talk to Her”). With Gael García Bernal (“Don’t Tempt Me,” “The Motorcycle Diaries”), Fele Martínez (“Talk to Her”), Daniel Giménez Cacho (“Nicotina”), Lluis Homar (“Valentin”) and Javier Camara (“Talk to Her”). Also known as “La Mala Educación.” Scope. 109 min. Nov. 19 in New York; Dec. 10 in Los Angeles. Sony Pictures Classics.

 

Birth
Drama, set in New York City, about a thirtysomething woman who encounters a 10-year-old boy claiming to be the reincarnation of her late husband. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast”) from a screenplay by Glazer, Milo Addica (“Monster’s Ball”) and Jean-Claude Carrière (“Chinese Box”). With Nicole Kidman (“The Stepford Wives”), Cameron Bright (“Godsend”), Danny Huston (“21 Grams,” “Silver City”), Lauren Bacall (“Dogville”), Anne Heche (“John Q”), Ted Levine (“The Manchurian Candidate”), Cara Seymour (“Adaptation”), Alison Elliott (“The Wings of the Dove”), Arliss Howard (“A Map of the World”), Novella Nelson (“Head of State”) and Peter Stormare (“Bad Boys II”). Flat. 100 min. R: Sexuality. Nov. 5. New Line.

 

 

Bright Future
Japanese-language drama about a young utility plant laborer entrusted with the care of an imprisoned ex-co-worker’s pet jellyfish and withdrawn son. Written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (“The Cure”). With Jo Okagiri, Tadanobu Asano (“Taboo,” “Zatoichi”), Tatsuya Fuji, Takashi Sasano, Marumi Shiraishi and Miyako Kawahara. Nov. 12 in New York and Los Angeles. Palm.

 

 

 

Finding Neverland
Drama based on the true story of how J.M. Barrie was inspired to write “Peter Pan” by the kids next door, whose father had left them and whose mother was dying. Based on the play “The Man Who Was Peter Pan” by Allan Knee. Directed by Marc Forster (“Monster’s Ball”) from a screenplay by David Magee. With Johnny Depp (“Secret Window”), Kate Winslet (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”), Julie Christie (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), Dustin Hoffman (“Runaway Jury,” “I Heart Huckabees”), Ian Hart (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), Kelly Macdonald (“Intermission”) and Radha Mitchell (“Man on Fire”). Flat. 101 min. PG: Mild thematic elements; brief language. Nov. 12 limited; wider Nov. 24. Miramax.

 

A Fond Kiss
Drama, set in Glasgow, Scotland, about an aspiring young DJ who must decide between the woman his devout Muslim parents have chosen for him and the charming Catholic schoolteacher he falls for. The “Carla’s Song”-”My Name is Joe”-”Bread and Roses”-”Sweet Sixteen” team of director Ken Loach (“The Navigators”) and screenwriter Paul Laverty reunite. With Atta Yaqub, Eva Birthistle (“Bloody Sunday”), Shabana Bakhsh, Shamshad Akhtar and Ahmad Riaz. Flat. 104 min. Nov. 26 limited. Castle Hill.

 

The Incredibles
Computer-animated action-comedy about a family of superheroes – a superstrong dad, an elastic mom, an invisible daughter and a superspeedy son – who find that the world will not let them lead everyday normal suburban lives under the federal witness protection program. Written and directed by Brad Bird (“The Iron Giant”). Featuring the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Jason Lee, Wallace Shawn and John Ratzenberger. Scope. 115 min. PG: Action violence. Nov. 5. Buena Vista.

 

 

 

 

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