BIG BUDGET FILMS
"My Sister's Keeper" (PG-13 for profanity, sensuality, mature themes, disturbing images and underage alcohol consumption) Drama about a girl (Abigail Breslin), conceived as a bone marrow donor for her leukemia-stricken sister (Sofia Vassilieva) who sues her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) for medical emancipation when they want a kidney, too. With Alec Baldwin (brother of Stephen, William and Daniel), Joan Cusack (sister of John), Mary Jo and Emily Deschanel (mother and sister of Zooey, respectively), and Al Quinn (no relation to Anthony).
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (PG-13 for violence, profanity, crude behavior, sexuality and brief drug use) Sci-fi sequel features Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox who team with the Autobots for another epic battle against the Decepticons, a race of evil robots returning to Earth with revenge in mind. Cast includes John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Rainn Wilson, Anthony Anderson, Hugo Weaving and Isabel Lucas.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
"Afghan Star" (Unrated) Post-liberation concert flick chronicles the nationally-televised competition entered into by thousands of aspiring, Afghani pop stars including several women willing to risk incurring the wrath of the Taliban by appearing unveiled on their country's equivalent of American Idol. (In English, Pashtu and Dari)
"Cheri" (R for sexuality and brief drug use) Stephen Frears directs this romance drama set in Paris in the 1920s and revolving around a spoiled teenager (Rupert Friend) who embarks on a steamy affair with a considerably-older, retired courtesan (Michelle Pfeiffer) only to have his gold-digger of a mother (Kathy Bates) interfere by arranging his marriage to a virginal heiress (Felicity Jones).
"The Hurt Locker" (R for violence and profanity) Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty co-star in this Iraq War saga, set in the summer of 2004, as members of an elite bomb squad, assigned to defuse Improvised Explosive Devices, who are alarmed by their reckless new Staff Sergeant's (Jeremy Renner) utter disregard for military protocol. Support cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce and David Morse.
"New York" (Unrated) Bollywood-produced drama examines the effect of 9/11 on the lives of a foreign student (Neil Nitin Mukesh) and a couple of his friends (John Abraham and Katrina Kaif) also attending NYU at the time of the terrorist attack. (In Hindi and English with subtitles)
"Quiet Chaos" (Unrated) Romance drama about a grieving widower (Nanni Moretti) who mourns the sudden loss of his wife (Ester Cavallari) by hanging out all day in the park across from their ten year-old daughter's (Blu Yoshimi) school. With a cameo by fugitive pedophile Roman Polaski. (In Italian and French with subtitles)
"The Stoning of Soraya M." (R for brutal violence and brief profanity) Female empowerment flick, set in Iran in 1986, about an ill-fated mother of four (Mozhan Marno) falsely accused of adultery by her husband so he can marry a much younger woman. With Jim Caviezel as the curious French journalist who cracks the case. (In Persian and English with subtitles)
"Surveillance" (R for drug use, pervasive profanity, graphic violence and deviant sexuality) Crime thriller about a couple of FBI Agents (Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman) who try to track down a serial killer in Santa Fe with the help of three eyewitnesses (Pell James, Ryan Simpkins and Kent Harper).
