August 2010

Date Night (PG-13: m, d, bl, bs, bv) Comedy/Action
Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire Foster (Tina Fey) are a married couple whose one break from tax consulting, selling real estate and raising their two young kids is their weekly “date night.” But dinner at the local tavern and a movie have become routine. To inject a little spice into their lives, Phil decides to take Claire into Manhattan to the city's hottest new restaurant. Unfortunately, they don't have reservations, but upon realizing the Tripplehorns are not answering their seating call, Phil decides to pretend that he and Claire are them. But a pair of thugs (Jimmi Simpson, Common) escort them outside. A gun is pulled, and they demand they give up a stolen computer thumb drive and the couple barely escape with their lives. They first try to get help from Det. Arroyo (Taraji P. Henson) but then learn the thugs are actually cops. Now they are on the run. With Mark Wahlberg, William Fichtner, Ray Liotta, James Franco and Mila Kunis. 88 min.

The Last Song (PG) Drama/Romance
Seventeen-year-old Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller (Miley Cyrus) remains as rebellious and distant as she was the day after her parents' ugly divorce three years ago. Once a classical piano prodigy under the tutelage of her Juilliard professor father, Steve (Greg Kinnear). Ronnie now rejects the instrument in favor of partying with her friends and has not spoken to him since he left. Steve is given the chance to reconnect with Ronnie when her mother (Kelly Preston) sends the rebellious teen and her younger brother (Bobby Coleman) to spend the summer with him in Tybee Island, Georgia, the small beach town where he grew up and now lives a quiet life. Ronnie arrives hostile and defensive toward all those around her, including handsome, popular Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth)... until both she and Will become involved in protecting a Loggerhead Sea Turtle nest. Ronnie softens her attitude and the ice between father and daughter begins to melt away. But Dad has a secret. Based on Nicholas Spark's novel. 107 min.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID PG) Comedy
Greg Heffley lives with his parents, Susan (Rachel Harris) and Frank (Steve Zahn), preschool brother and high school sibling Rodrick (Devon Bostick). He is starting sixth grade and attempting to navigate the middle-school social order with his chubby, sweet best friend Rowley (Robert Capron). To survive the never-ending ordeal and attain recognition and status, Greg devises an endless series of can't-miss schemes, all of which, of course, go awry. And he's getting it all down on paper, via a diary - "it's NOT a diary, it's a journal!" Greg insists, filled with his opinions, thoughts, tales of family trials and tribulations, and (would-be) schoolyard triumphs. Despite warnings from Angie (Chloe Grace Moretz), a precociously mature 7th grader, Greg continues to plot and scheme to make himself more well-liked, but in the process starts pushing Rowley to change the way he dresses, talks, and acts to fit in better,
putting his friendship with Rowley in jeopardy. Based on the books by Jeff Kinney. 120 min.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? (PG-13: m, bd, bs, bv) Comedy/Drama
Gathered together in the Bahamas for their annual one-week reunion, four close couples eagerly reconnect, sharing news about their lives and relationships. But their intimate week in paradise is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of Sheila's (Jill Scott) ex-husband, Mike (Richard T. Jones), who hopes to break up her new marriage with Troy (Lamman Rucker) and win her back. The others soon realize they too are not immune to the challenges of commitment and fidelity. Angela (Tasha Smith) doesn't believe her husband Marcus (Michael Jai White) can be faithful now that he's a celebrity television newscaster. Dianne (Sharon Leal) and Terry's (Tyler Perry) relationship is feeling the strain of raising children. Patricia (Janet Jackson), a successful self-help psychologist, must finally reveal the deep flaws in her seemingly perfect marriage to Gavin (Malik Yoba). Eventually, the nine meet an elderly couple (Louis Gossett Jr. and Cicely Tyson) who remind them why they are lucky (and unlucky) in love. 121 min.

Kick-Ass (R: m, bgd, gl, bs, gv) Action/Comedy
Average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is essentially invisible to Katie (Lyndsy Fonesca), the girl of his dreams, so he takes his obsession as a comic-book fanboy to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name... Kick-Ass... assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers. His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes... including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). That doesn't sit well with drug kingpin Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) who thinks this masked figure is responsible for thwarting the efforts of his goons. Frank's teenage son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) offers to pose as another superhero, Red Mist, and thus lure the fellow teen into a trap. With Clark Duke and Evan Peters. 117 min.

Death at a Funeral (R: m, bd, bpn, l) Comedy
When a dysfunctional clan reunites to mourn the passing of the family patriarch, a respectful funeral quickly turns into an all-out fiasco marked by bitter resentment, a blackmail attempt, and an accidentally ingested hallucinogen. Aaron (Chris Rock) the frustrated older son who lives with his wife Michelle (Regina Hall) at the parents house, has prepared a eulogy; younger son Ryan (Martin Lawrence), has flown in on his celebrity as a bestselling author; favorite niece Elaine (Zoe Saldana) has brought her fiancé Oscar (James Marsden),who her father (Ron Glass), doesn't like. He prefers her former boyfriend, Derek (Luke Wilson), who has arrived with his friend Norman (Tracy Morgan), who isn't pleased that they have to drive cantankerous Uncle Russell (Danny Glover) to the funeral. Then Frank (Peter Dinklage) arrives, a mysterious dwarf who nobody seems to know. With Columbus Short, Keith David and Loretta Devine. A re-imagining of the 2007 English film. Directed by Neil LaBute “Nurse Betty” “The Shape of Things,” “Lakeview Terrace.” 90 min.

The Back-up Plan (PG-13: m, d, bl, bs) Comedy/Romance
After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes an appointment to become artificially inseminated, and decides to go it alone. While waiting to see if that takes, she accidentally meets cheese producer Stan (Alex O'loughlin), who's instantly smitten with her. Although the feeling initially isn't mutual, he eventually wears down her defenses and they become an item. But she then discovers that she's pregnant from the earlier procedure. Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy creates confusing signals for Stan. When Zoe nervously reveals the reason for her unpredictable behavior, Stan commits fully. With the nine month clock ticking, the real pregnancy test comes when both of them realize they really don't know each other outside of hormonal chaos and birth preparations. With Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, Noureen DeWulf, Linda Lavin, Tom Bosley, Anthony Anderson, Robert Klein. 98 min.

FURRY VENGEANCE (PG) Comedy
Dan Sanders (Brendan Fraser) uproots his wife, Tammy (Brooke Shields), and teenage son, Tyler (Matt Prokop), from Chicago to take over management duties overseeing a new housing project that aims to clear away most of an Oregon forest.The same cunning, super-smart woodland animals that forced an executive (Rob Riggle) to quit the project, set their sights on driving Dan crazy. At every turn, they aim to do bodily harm to him, embarrass him, and generally make him look like a crazy man. Meanwhile, Dan comes under increased pressure from his greedy boss, Neal Lyman (Ken Jeong), and Lyman's equally corrupt assistant, Felder (Angela Kinsey), to speed up the project and expand it to build even more subdivisions and a "forest-themed" mall. But the woodland animals, led by a clever raccoon, communicate with each other to continue to terrorize Dan into stopping the destruction of their home habitat.With Jim Norton, Dick Van Dyke and Samantha Bee. 91 min.

The Ghost Writer (PG-13: m, bd, bl, bpn, bs, bv) Suspense/Mystery
Convinced by his agent that he's been granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, talented British ghostwriter "The Ghost" (Ewan McGregor) agrees to aide British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) in completing his memoirs after the leader's former aid dies under mysterious circumstances.
The Ghost arrives at a remote mansion in the U.S. where Lang is staying with his wife (Olivia Williams), and his personal assistant (Kim Cattrall), to begin working with the prime minister, who is almost immediately gets embroiled in a major scandal with international ramifications. Amidst a deluge of protestors and reporters, The Ghost delves into the unfinished manuscript and comes to the terrifying conclusion that his predecessor died because of what he discovered. The more information The Ghost uncovers, the more convinced he becomes that his life could be in danger as well. With Tom Wilkinson, Robert Pugh, James Belushi, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach. Directed by Roman Polanski from the Robert Harris novel. 128 min.

City Island (PG-13: m, bd, bl, bs) Comedy/Drama
The Rizzo family lives on City Island, a quaint fishing community on the outskirts of New York City. Vince (Andy Garcia), a correctional officer at a nearby prison has a dream: He wants to be an actor and is secretly taking acting classes on the side, and is a scene partner with the mysterious Molly (Emily Mortimer). His wife Joyce (Juliana Margulies) is convinced he's having an affair. That's not his only secret, either. A son (Tony Nardella) unaware Vince is his real father, is an inmate at the prison, and though he's ready to be paroled, he has no family to go home to, so he's still locked up. Stricken with guilt, Vince brings him home, introducing him as a friend. In the meantime, Vince's teenage son, Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller), is busy skipping school and viewing fetish websites, and his daughter (Dominik García-Lorido--real life daughter of Garcia), can't bear to tell them of her big problem, too. With Alan Arkin. 100 min.

The Joneses (R: m, bl, bd, bn, bs) Comedy/Drama
The Jones family moves into a upper middle class suburban community in a moving van full of luxury goods. Steve (David Duchovny) is the admired successful businessman who has an endless supply of high-tech toys. Kate (Demi Moore) is the ultimate trend setter... beautiful, sexy, dressed head-to-toe in designer labels. Jenn and Mick (Amber Heard, Ben Hollingsworth) rule their new school as they embody all that is hip and trendy. But all is not as it seems. The Joneses are really not a family at all, but a stealth marketing unit out to convince their friends and neighbors to buy everything they are "modeling." Their boss is KC (Lauren Hutton), who shows up from time to time to give each of the Joneses a progress report on their sales in the local community. Unfortunately next-door neighbors Larry and Summer (Gary Cole, Glenne Headly) become caught up in their high-stakes game of keeping up with the Joneses. 96 min.

 

Harry Brown (R: m, l, bs, gv) Suspense/Thriller
In England, the retired Harry Brown ( Michael Caine) spends his lonely life between the hospital, where his beloved wife is terminally ill, and playing chess with his only friend Leonard Attwell (David Bradley). Harry resides in a desolate public-housing apartment and in recent years barbarous drug dealers and gangsters have overtaken the dilapidated complex. Leonard tells Harry that the local gang is harassing him and he is carrying an old bayonet for self-defense and Harry suggests to him to go to the police. When Leonard is beaten to death in an underground passage, Inspector Alice Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and her partner Sergeant Terry Hicock (Charlie Creed-Miles) are sent to investigate. They have not found any other evidence, other than the bayonet. This means that should the case go to trial the gang would claim self-defense. Harry sees that justice will not be granted and decides to take matters into his own hands, and utilizes the skills he learned as a former Royal Marine. 97 min.