BIG BUDGET FILMS
17 Again (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and teen partying) Time-travel comedy about a miserable, middle-aged man (Zac Efron) stuck in a bad marriage and going nowhere in a dead-end job who gets a new lease on life when he is miraculously turned into a teenager after falling into a river. Cast includes Matthew Perry, Thomas Lennon and Leslie Mann.
Crank: High Voltage (R for nudity, gory violence, graphic sexuality and pervasive profanity) Jason Statham reprises his role in this adrenaline-fueled sequel which finds the frantic hit man with heart disease on the run from Mexican and Chinese mobsters while trying to get some urgently-needed medical assistance. Returning cast members include Amy Smart, Dwight Yoakum, and Efren Ramirez, while among additions to the ensemble are David Carradine and Corey Haim.
State of Play (PG-13 for violence, profanity, sexual references and brief drug use) Screen adaptation of the BBC mini-series of the same name revolving around a team of reporters working in conjunction with the police to solve the murder of a congressman's (Ben Affleck) mistress. Talented cast includes Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, Robin Wright Penn, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
American Violet (PG-13 for profanity, violence, drug references and mature themes) Fact-based drama revisits the case of an African-American single-mom (Nicole Beharie) desperate to clear her name after being wrongly-arrested for drug dealing during a sweep of the black community in her tiny Texas hometown. Cast includes Alfre Woodard, Will Patton, Tim Blake Nelson and Michael O'Keefe.
Every Little Step (PG-13 for profanity and sexual references) Dance documentary takes a behind-the-scenes peek at the audition process involved in the casting of the Broadway revival of The Chorus Line. With appearances by composer Marvin Hamlisch and choreographer Bob Avian.
Is Anybody There? (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references and disturbing images) Unlikely-buddy drama, set in the Eighties at an old folks home on England's seacoast, about a lonely 10 year-old (Bill Milner) befriended by a recently-widowed, grieving magician (Michael Caine).
Lemon Tree (Unrated) Middle East drama recounts the real-life ordeal of a Palestinian widow living on the West Bank forced to fight to preserve her way of life when the Israeli Minister of Defense (Doron Tavory) moves in next-door and threatens to level the grove of lemon trees which has been in her family for generations. (In Hebrew, Arabic, French and English with subtitles)
Oblivion (Unrated) Compassionate documentary, set in Lima, Peru, chronicles the everyday lives of the city's Salt of the Earth, including a variety of working-class heroes like waitresses, bartenders and street performers. (In Spanish with subtitles)
Perestroika (Unrated) Glasnost drama, set in 1992, focuses on a Soviet astrophysicist (Sam Robards) who returns to Russia for the first time in 17 years when he's invited to address a scientific conference in Moscow. Cast includes F. Murray Abraham, Ally Sheedy and Jicky Schnee.
Sleep Dealer (PG-13 for violence and sexuality) Sci-fi adventure, set in Tijuana in the near future in a virtual reality dominated by militaristic drones, revolving around three strangers who join forces to make a break for the Mexican border to escape their oppressive society's tyrannical technology. (In Spanish and English with subtitles)
