Movie

Synopsis: A masterful new documentary from Jia Zhang-ke – "Not only is the 38-year-old director the most prominent Chinese filmmaker of his generation, he also has come to assume the role of witness and... A masterful new documentary from Jia Zhang-ke – "Not only is the 38-year-old director the most prominent Chinese filmmaker of his generation, he also has come to assume the role of witness and conscience in a society characterized by rapid modernization and a growing amnesia." (Dennis Lim, LA Times, 2008) – 24 City recounts the dramatic and thunderous fall of the state-owned Factory 420, exploring both its physical demolition and its powerful symbolic echo of a half-century of communist rule.

Given the name Factory 420 as an internal military security code, the Chengdu Engine Group was founded in 1958 to produce aviation engines, and saw years of prosperous activity. Now abandoned, the factory awaits its destiny. Sold for millions to real-estate developers, it will be transformed into an emblem of market economy: a complex of luxury apartment blocks called 24 City.

Constructed around eight dramatic interviews, punctuated by snippets of pop songs and poetry, along with beautifully-shot footage of the demolition, 24 City excavates the debris of collective memory and emphasizes the thin boundary between fact and fiction in post-revolutionary Chinese history. It does so by weaving into this oral history three fictional monologues delivered by professional actors. The interviewees represent three generations with ties to the factory: former factory workers, contemporary workers, and their children.

An absolutely mesmerizing experience, 24 City attempts to understand the complexity of the social changes sweeping across China by observing the impact a half-century of Socialism has had on the Chinese people. --© Cinema Guild

Synopsis: From "Old School" director Todd Phillips comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong. Two days before his wedding, Doug (JUSTIN BARTHA) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies... From "Old School" director Todd Phillips comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong.

Two days before his wedding, Doug (JUSTIN BARTHA) drives to Las Vegas with his best buddies Phil and Stu (BRADLEY COOPER and ED HELMS) and his future brother-in-law Alan (ZACH GALIFIANAKIS), for a blow-out bachelor party they vow they'll never forget.

But when the three groomsmen wake up the next morning with pounding headaches, they can't remember a thing. Their luxury hotel suite is beyond trashed and the groom is nowhere to be found.

With no clue about what happened and little time to spare, the trio must attempt to retrace their bad decisions from the night before in order to figure out where things went wrong in the hopes of finding Doug and getting him back to L.A. in time for his wedding.

But the more they begin to uncover, the more they realize just how much trouble they're really in.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Green Hat Films Production of a Todd Phillips Movie: "The Hangover," starring Bradley Cooper ("He's Just Not That Into You"), Ed Helms ("The Office"), Zach Galifianakis ("What Happens in Vegas"), Heather Graham ("Baby on Board"), Justin Bartha (the "National Treasure" films) and Jeffrey Tambor ("Arrested Development").

The film is directed by Todd Phillips ("Old School") from a screenplay by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore ("Four Christmases"). Todd Phillips and Dan Goldberg ("Old School") produce, with Thomas Tull ("Watchmen"), Jon Jashni ("Observe and Report"), William Fay ("Observe and Report"), Scott Budnick ("School for Scoundrels"), Chris Bender ("American Pie," TV's "Kyle XY") and J.C. Spink ("Kyle XY") serving as executive producers.

The creative team includes director of photography Lawrence Sher ("Dan in Real Life"), production designer Bill Brzeski ("The Bucket List"), and editor Debra Neil-Fisher ("Baby Mama"). Music is by Christophe Beck ("What Happens in Vegas"). Soundtrack album is available on New Line Records. --© Warner Bros.

Theatrical Release:Jun 5, 2009 Wide

Synopsis: Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me To Hell, an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to break an evil curse. Christine... Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me To Hell, an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to break an evil curse.

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.

In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse? --© Universal Pictures

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao

Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer, Jessica Lucas, Adriana Barraza

Director: Sam Raimi

Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi
Producer: Rob Tapert, Grant Curtis
Composer: Christopher Young
Studio: Universal Pictures

Synopsis: In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against... In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, Charlotte Gainsbourg as Kate Connor, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, Common as Barnes, and Jadagrace as Star. --© Warner Bros.

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood

Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Jane Alexander, Helena Bonham-Carter, Jadagrace

Director: McG

Director: McG
Screenwriter: Michael Ferris, John Brancato
Producer: Moritz Borman, Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek, Jeffrey Silver
Composer: Danny Elfman
Studio: Warner Bros.

Synopsis: Ushering in a new era of independent filmmaking in South Korea, DAYTIME DRINKING is a comedy in the spirit of STRANGER THAN PARADISE and SIDEWAYS- but with a distinctly Korean twist. When... Ushering in a new era of independent filmmaking in South Korea, DAYTIME DRINKING is a comedy in the spirit of STRANGER THAN PARADISE and SIDEWAYS- but with a distinctly Korean twist. When a broken-hearted city dweller goes to meet his friends in the countryside for a getaway, he finds that not only have none of them showed up for the trip, but the tiny seaside town is shuttered- no shops are open, no tourists are around, the beach is freezing, and there’s no cell phone signal. Unable (and unwilling) to return to Seoul, in the company of some very unusual locals, and subject to the rigid rules of Korean drinking culture (never decline the first drink, always accept a drink from an elder, etc.), he finds himself on an increasingly strange odyssey nursing a never-ending hangover. --© Variance Films

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Song Sam-Dong, Yuk Sang-Yeop, Kim Kang-Hee, Tak Sueng-Jun

Starring: Song Sam-Dong, Yuk Sang-Yeop, Kim Kang-Hee, Tak Sueng-Jun, Lee Lan-Hee, Sin Un-Seop

Director: Noh Young-seok

Director: Noh Young-seok
Screenwriter: Noh Young-seok
Producer: Moon Hay-Sook
Composer: Noh Young-seok
Studio: Variance Films

Starring : Hee Yeon Kim, Mi-hyang Kim

Starring: Hee Yeon Kim, Mi-hyang Kim

Director : So Yong Kim

Synopsis : For the follow-up to his critically lauded social-realist dramas MAN PUSH CART and CHOP SHOP, director Ramin Bahrani leaves New York City behind and returns to his home town of Winston-Salem, North... For the follow-up to his critically lauded social-realist dramas MAN PUSH CART and CHOP SHOP, director Ramin Bahrani leaves New York City behind and returns to his home town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Though the scenery has changed, Bahrani’s tender, humane vision remains. As with those previous films, Bahrani focuses his story on a cultural outsider, the type of person who usually gets relegated to a movie's background. Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane) is a Senegalese taxi driver whose latest fare, a weathered and despondent old Southerner named William (Red West), offers him big money to drive to a mountain peak, where it appears that William is going to commit suicide. A good-natured and kind-spirited man, Solo is disturbed by this revelation. Out of a deep sense of purpose, he embarks on a mission to save William. Working with his main creative collaborator, cinematographer Michael Simmonds, Bahrani casts a luminous spell over his deceptively simple tale. The director, who also edits his films, keeps the story moving forward while allowing it to breathe. He also extracts flawless, fully lived-in performances from Savane and West. Though Bahrani’s previous films have been deservedly praised, he has vaulted himself into the top ranks of American indie directors with GOODBYE SOLO. This masterfully realized story of life and death is destined to stand as one of 2009’s best.

Synopsis : The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in... The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.

But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers:

Why was the land sold to a wealthy developer for millions less than fair-market value? Why was the transaction done in a closed-door session of the LA City Council? Why has it never been made public?

And the powers-that-be have the same response: “The garden is wonderful, but there is nothing more we can do.”

If everyone told you nothing more could be done, would you give up?--© Official Site

Synopsis : Adoration speaks to our connections—with each other, with our family history, with technology and with the modern world. Sabine (ARSINÉE KHANJIAN), a high school French teacher, gives her class a... Adoration speaks to our connections—with each other, with our family history, with technology and with the modern world.

Sabine (ARSINÉE KHANJIAN), a high school French teacher, gives her class a translation exercise based on a real news story about a terrorist who plants a bomb in the airline luggage of his pregnant girlfriend.

The assignment has a profound effect on one student, Simon (DEVON BOSTICK), who lives with his uncle (SCOTT SPEEDMAN). In the course of translating, Simon re-imagines that the news item is his own family's story, with the terrorist standing in for his father.

Years ago, Simon's father (NOAM JENKINS) crashed the family car, killing both himself and his wife (RACHEL BLANCHARD), making Simon an orphan. Simon has always feared that the accident was intentional.

Simon reads his version to the class and then takes it to the Internet. In essence, he has created a false identity which allows him to probe his family secret. As Simon uses his new persona to journey deeper into his past, the public reaction is swift and strong.

Then an exotic woman reveals her true identity. The truth about Simon's family emerges. The mystery is solved and a new family is formed.

Written, Produced and Directed by Atom Egoyan, Starring Arsinée Khanjian, Rachel Blanchard, Scott Speedman, Devon Bostick, Kenneth Welsh, Produced by Simone Urdl,Jennifer Weiss, Executively Produced by Robert Lantos, Michele Halberstadt and Laurent Pétin.--© Sony Pictures Classics

Synopsis : For those obsessed with the critically acclaimed graphic novel (which would be almost anyone who has read it), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, WATCHMEN is worth--well--watching.... For those obsessed with the critically acclaimed graphic novel (which would be almost anyone who has read it), or for audiences looking for a stylish action film, WATCHMEN is worth--well--watching. But those who thought THE DARK KNIGHT was too gloomy should stay far away from Zack Snyder’s film. As far as superhero movies go, this graphic adaptation of the comic book series from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons makes even Christopher Nolan’s Batman films look like Saturday morning fare. Director Snyder and the screenwriters certainly deserve credit for crafting an adaptation of a work that has been deemed unfilmable since its 1986 release. Mammoth and mazelike, WATCHMEN follows a group of retired costumed heroes living in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is still president and fear of nuclear doomsday permeates the air. When a hero named the Comedian (an excellent Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is murdered, his former colleague--the unhinged, masked Rorschach (a perfectly creepy Jackie Earle Hayley)--begins investigating who is behind the death. The other masked crimefighters--Silk Spectre 2 (Malin Ackerman), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Nite Owl 2 (Patrick Wilson), and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), a godlike being who is the only one with actual superpowers--soon learn that there may be a plot to rid the world of their kind. Snyder’s previous work in action (300) and horror (DAWN OF THE DEAD) proves to be preparation for this visually stunning film. The fight sequences are fantastically shot by director of photography Larry Fong, and the action can alternately make viewers hold their breaths at its composition or gasp at the shocking violence. Most will agree that WATCHMEN is not a comic book movie for kids: there’s sex and violence aplenty, but it truly makes itself a film for adults with its smart, complex storytelling.

Starring : Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg

Starring: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Lou Ferrigno

Director : John Hamburg

Synopsis : After years of swiping scenes from the leading men in such movies as KNOCKED UP and THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, Paul Rudd finally headlines a star vehicle of his own. Unlike those Judd Apatow... After years of swiping scenes from the leading men in such movies as KNOCKED UP and THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, Paul Rudd finally headlines a star vehicle of his own. Unlike those Judd Apatow productions, it's John Hamburg (ALONG CAME POLLY) who directs I LOVE YOU, MAN, albeit with many of the touchstones of Apatow's highly successful freaks-and-geeks-with-heart aesthetic. In other words, this is not an Apatow film, but, with the male capacity for--and simultaneous inability to express--fraternal love as its core comic conceit (and emotional centerpiece), it may as well be. Rudd plays Peter Klaven, a real estate agent with a blossoming career and an imminent marriage to Zooey (THE OFFICE's Rashida Jones)--basically, he's lucky in all things except male bonding. The narrative arc centers on his quest for platonic man-love--as opposed to, say, finding the girl of his dreams--and follows the boilerplate dictates of a standard rom-com with a subversive wink. In this case, boy meets boy, boys bond over their common love of Rush and Andre the Giant, boys break up and make up, etc. Rudd and co-star Jason Segel (FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL), a fellow Apatow alum who plays Sydney Fife, the Type B object of Klaven's affection, imbue their roles with winning charisma and elevate the plot with real and nuanced chemistry. With a whip-smart pace, the film continually tills fresh comic ground as Hamburg finds punctuation points in every scene and never lets a gag overstay its welcome. While the supporting cast features many memorable turns by the likes of Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, and Andy Samberg, I LOVE YOU, MAN ultimately belongs to Rudd, who approaches insecurity and social awkwardness with the same dead-eye marksmanship that Peter Sellers did for slapstick.

Synopsis : Partially constructed from the groundbreaking BBC and Discovery Channel television series PLANET EARTH, EARTH is a ravishing and often gut-wrenching tale of natural survival and beauty. Five years... Partially constructed from the groundbreaking BBC and Discovery Channel television series PLANET EARTH, EARTH is a ravishing and often gut-wrenching tale of natural survival and beauty. Five years in the making (including 250 days of aerial footage shot from planes, helicopters, and two-man balloons) and narrated by actor James Earl Jones, EARTH follows the trials of three families of polar bears, elephants, and whales. Though separated by seasons and continents, each family will cross great lengths and confront numerous hardships: for the Arctic polar bears, it is an increasingly warming planet that melts the ice they need for a hunting platform; for the African elephants, hot desert conditions and hungry predators will stand in the way of reaching a lush delta; and for the Pacific humpback whales, their Antarctic migration will be fraught with rough waters and great white sharks. Along the way, EARTH takes us on a global tour of nature in all its colorful splendor and harrowing moments--from windswept tundra to teeming rainforests, from cheetahs running down their prey to ducklings taking first flight. And as each family struggles towards their much-needed feeding grounds, directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield ultimately show us that nature can be equally giving and unforgiving. Educational but never preachy, EARTH is an unprecedented invitation for adults and children alike to experience the everyday natural wonders that deserve our awe and safeguarding.

Synopsis: As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation... As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation tale of fractured dreams and families made whole. As the films opens, Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and her parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman) have moved into the Pink Palace, a once-vibrant boarding house that’s turned drab and dilapidated. As her parents work feverishly on a new gardening catalog, the bored and belligerent Coraline is admonished to explore her new world’s possibilities. Along the way she meets her fellow tenants, including two aging English showgirls and a mouse-training Russian acrobat, as well as an outcast neighborhood boy named Wybie. But it is a mysterious hidden door that most piques Coraline’s interest--a gateway to a parallel world where her "other" parents and neighbors live only to see Coraline well fed and endlessly entertained. All is not cakes and carnivals for Coraline, though, and the black buttons that have replaced the eyes of these otherworldly imitations hint at darker intentions. When these intentions are revealed, Cora and a friendly magical cat use their wits and willpower to defeat Coraline’s wicked "other mother" and restore balance in the real world. Based on Neil Gaiman’s beloved children’s novel, director Selick (THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) uses the stop-motion technique to bring CORALINE to life with amazing visual and emotional depth. The result is a frightfully magical adventure that will give the whole family plenty to shriek, cheer, and talk about.

Synopsis : In the 2006 action hit Crank, hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) spent twenty-four hours in over-drive: fighting, killing, and keeping his adrenaline flowing at full-force to combat a deadly... In the 2006 action hit Crank, hitman Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) spent twenty-four hours in over-drive: fighting, killing, and keeping his adrenaline flowing at full-force to combat a deadly poison injected into his body. Now, in the high-octane sequel Crank High Voltage, Chev has managed to survive -- and is about to face a brand new day.

Picking up immediately where the first movie left off, Crank High Voltage finds Chev surviving the climactic plunge to his most certain death on the streets of Los Angeles, only to be kidnapped by a mysterious Chinese mobster. Three months later, Chev wakes up to discover his nearly indestructible heart has been surgically removed and replaced with a battery-operated ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity in order to work.

After a dangerous escape from his captors, Chev is on the run again, this time from the charismatic Mexican gang boss El Huron (Clifton Collins, Jr.), and the Chinese Triads, headed by the dangerous 100 year-old elder Poon Dong (David Carradine). Once again turning to Doc Miles (Dwight Yoakam) for medical advice, receiving help from his friend Kaylo’s twin brother Venus (Efren Ramirez), and re-connecting with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart), who is no longer in the dark about what he does for a living, Chev is determined to get his real heart back and wreak vengeance on whoever stole it, embarking on an electrifying chase through Los Angeles where anything goes to stay alive.

Lakeshore Entertainment and Lionsgate present Crank High Voltage, a Lakeshore Entertainment / Lionsgate Production In Association with @radical.media; produced by Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Skip Williamson and Richard Wright. The film was written and directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor, the duo behind the 2006 original.--© Lionsgate

Synopsis : Capturing all at once the wistful emotions of early adulthood, the chaotic freedom of youth, and that uniquely wonderful boredom of summer, Greg Mottola’s coming-of-age comedy, ADVENTURELAND,... Capturing all at once the wistful emotions of early adulthood, the chaotic freedom of youth, and that uniquely wonderful boredom of summer, Greg Mottola’s coming-of-age comedy, ADVENTURELAND, splits the difference between his commercial breakthrough, SUPERBAD, and his underrated debut, THE DAYTRIPPERS. ADVENTURELAND follows recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) as he slogs his way through summer as a games attendant at a local amusement park, where he learns about the shady goings-on of the carny’s world and is introduced to an assortment of weirdos, stoners, goons, and other lost souls. Among that last group is the angsty Em (Kristen Stewart), who captures James’s heart despite her involvement with the park bad-boy, a rocker-turned-maintenance-man (Ryan Reynolds) who seduces women with a dubious story about jamming with Lou Reed. Though the movie has its share of vomit scenes and erection jokes, Mottola is surprisingly restrained in his use of gross-out humor (particularly given SUPERBAD’s near Shakespearean vulgarity), with much of the film’s more blatant hilarity coming courtesy of Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig as the park’s completely unhinged yet utterly in love managers. At its core, ADVENTURELAND is really nothing more than a coming-of-age story set in a colorful locale--the monotonous siren call to "Step right up!" compels after-work beer blasts, random make-out sessions, and drunken existential yearning. Yet what in any other film would be played for cheap laughs and easy smiles is here used to conjure the ineffable mystery of a summer romance. Through a mixture of pleasing performances, a nuanced script, and a brilliant soundtrack (featuring the Replacements, Husker Du, David Bowie, and, of course, Lou Reed), Mottola has created a bittersweet delight that will stay with the viewer long after the midway goes dark.