Glee Live! 3D! will feature highlights from the summer concert tour that 14 members of the Glee cast are slated to perform in during the television show’s hiatus. Expect to hear fan favorites like “I’m a Slave 4 U”, “Raise Your Glass”, “Teenage Dream”, “Hell to the No!” and of course, “Don’t Stop Believin’”.

I saw The Kids from ‘Fame’ live in concert at Jones Beach in New York many, many (many) years ago (with Janet Jackson!). So I’ll claim nostalgia as my rationale for checking out Glee! Live! In Concert! In 3D! – assuming I can find another gleek or two to go along. I’m cautiously optimistic that the movie’s content will be appropriate for gleeks of all ages, unlike the TV show, which has strayed into much more mature themes (good and bad) this year. Hopefully it hasn’t jumped the shark just yet.

Glee Live! 3D! hits movie theaters nationwide for a limited two-week engagement starting August 12, 2011.

In 2007, journalist/filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington spent 15 months on assignment for Vanity Fair, embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley aka “the deadliest place on Earth.” Restrepo is the intimate documentary that chronicles the soldiers’ lives from their giddy plane ride over to their trip home.

The film is conspicuously free of political judgment. These guys are here to do a job. And in this case the job is to build a staging ground for the battles that need to be waged in this no-man’s-land. But it isn’t all heroics and battles, as you see in most war films. What strikes you is that these men are surrounded by an unseen enemy that may shoot at them from their hidden redoubt at any time, and yet they build their camp and come in at night to joke around and dance together to disco music.

The men name the camp Restrepo after a fallen comrade, and the specter of death is ever present. They have firefights with their invisible enemy on a regular basis, but it only punctuates the boredom. There are scenes of them meeting with locals and trying to root out the bad guys, but it is difficult to know who is good and bad here. And there are instances where they make fatal mistakes and innocents are collateral damage. You get the feeling that our guys are nearly flying blind, but they are so earnest and so young and you just know they are doing the best they can.

There are interviews with the men cut in throughout the film that were shot after they made it home. Most of the guys have not and may never get over the experience. The film also includes a battle scene where one of the men is killed that is just plain heartbreaking.

Restrepo is probably the closest to being in a war that many of us will get (I hope), but it gives you a very raw first hand look at what we ask of our young men in uniform (there are no women in this platoon.) It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and is nominated for the 2011 Academy Award. It isn’t any easy film to watch, but it should be seen by all.

Oh no! As if getting sucked into the Angry Birds app wasn’t bad enough, now comes word that my avian addiction will be egged on during the Super Bowl – in the form of a commercial for an animated movie called Rio.

A commercial slated to air during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game will contain a frame that has an embedded code that will unlock a secret level of the insanely popular mobile app. Complete the level, and be entered into an official “Rio” sweepstakes, with the grand-prize winner getting a trip to Rio de Janiero for the movie’s March 22 premiere. Not so coincidentally, that’s also the launch date for a new “Angry Birds Rio” app.

Rio is a comedy adventure in 3D (isn’t everything these days?) from the makers of Ice Age. It’s about a domesticated Macaw from Minnesota who heads to Brazil in search of his female counterpart. Danger, mayhem, and comedy ensue, mostly because the Macaw never learned how to fly.

The movie features the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg and George Lopez, among others. Actually, I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but props for the mass marketing and cross promotion effort from 20th Century Fox and Rovio, the creative masterminds behind Angry Birds.

It’s hard to explain how or why the mobile app has taken off into the stratosphere. It’s a time-suck that can rival the likes of Facebook and Twitter. And it has no redeeming value whatsoever. You spend countless minutes (that can easily turn into countless hours) slinging and flinging an array of birds into ramshackle fortresses that seek to provide shelter to some green pigs that stole the birds’ eggs (making ‘em angry, angry birds). Got that? If so, prepare to hit the pause button on your DVR sometime during the fourth quarter. Or, if you’re too consumed by the game or happen to be at the mall instead, you’ll be able to watch the spot after the game at various places across the web including youtube.com/officialriomovie.

Fox isn’t the only studio shelling out big bucks to promote potential blockbusters to the Super Bowl XLV audience. Among the trailers you can expect to see on Sunday: Paramount’s Rango, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and DreamWorks’ Cowboys & Aliens.

September

Sept 1

The American

Academy Award winner George Clooney comes back to us (too few films George!) in the title role of this suspense thriller, filmed on location in (his backyard) Italy. Jack (Clooney) is a master assassin. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows that his next assignment will be his last. Jack reports to the Italian countryside, where he holes up in a small town and relishes being away from death for a spell. There Jack seeks out the friendship of local priest and pursues romance with local woman Clara. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

Sept 3

Machete

He looked like just another day laborer from the streets, and the perfect fall guy for a crooked political assassination. But he turned out to be Machete (Danny Trejo), a legendary ex-federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match. Spin-off of Grind House but will probably get a big audience because of the girls involved: Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Alba.

Going the Distance

When aspiring journalist Erin (Drew Barrymore) moves to San Francisco to finish her last year of school, boyfriend Garrett (Justin Long), an assistant music scout, stays in Manhattan to pursue his ambitions and wait on that promotion he’s been promised. With a webcam connection and frequent flier miles, the two gamely navigate the pitfalls and miscommunications of their bi-coastal romance, dodging bad advice from friends and some predatory singles who won’t take “taken” for an answer. But when it seems their wait is almost over, Erin scores her dream job in California just as Garrett’s career heats up in New York. The big breaks they’ve been hoping for could break them up for good…unless their love can truly go the distance.

We Are Family

We Are Family is a Bollywood remake of the Susan Sarandon-Julia Roberts starrer, Stepmom. The storyline revolves around a divorcee mother who is suffering from cancer and has to accept another woman in her husband’s and children’s lives. Maya’s life is all about her three children, who think nothing less than the world of her. Despite being divorced from her husband, Maya has ensured that everything runs smoothly in her house, under her watch, and that they continue to remain a happy family unit. However, when Aman introduces his girlfriend, Shreya, a career oriented woman, who has a lot to learn about children, to the family, the situation immediately takes an unexpected turn.

The Winning Season

Sam Rockwell plays a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he’s asked to run the local high school’s girls basketball team. Emma Roberts is cast as a player he befriends, and Rob Corddry will play the school’s principal. This film is listed as a 2009 film in IMDB, which isn’t usually a good sign for a movie, released a year later. Fingers crossed for a decent comedy.

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

Based on the 1985 film Blood Simple by the Coen Brothers, this historical thriller changes the Coens’ backdrop from a small Texas town to a small Chinese town in the Gansu province, but keeps the plot intact: a jealous husband hires a professional to kill his adulterous wife and her lover. Naturally, things go awry and get bloody fast.

Zhang Yimou’s version stars Sun Honglei and Ni Dahong, and also features a duo of heavily caricatured fools for comic relief. I was no fan of the original but somehow this remake is appealing. Watch the trailer.

Sept 10

Legendary

It starts with a picked upon teenager looking to reunite his family through high school wrestling, which previously tore his family apart resulting in a tragedy. Then there is the ne’er do well older brother who was the big high school wrestling champ and who is now called upon to step up to help. And there is the mom who just wants her family healed. Silly sounding premise, but good cast: Patricia Clarkson, Danny Glover, and WWE Wrestling star John Cena. This is from WWE Studios so they need it to do well. Hmmm. Good luck?

Cracks

Cracks follows an elite group of boarding school girls who compete for the attention of their freethinking and glamorous young teacher Miss G (Green). She encourages them to indulge their desires, flout the establishment and – suggesting a world of adventures in her own past – pursue a life of independence and travel. The girls are thrilled to have such an inspiring teacher, but the status quo is threatened when the arrival of an exotic and beautiful Spanish student (Maria Valverde) disturbs the girl’s rigid and remorseless power structure. Favored girl Di Radfield (Juno Temple) feels especially threatened and, as Ms G’s hold over the girls progresses from emancipation to obsession, there are tragic consequences for everyone. Watch the trailer.

I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix

A “documentary” about a year in Phoenix’s life after he publicly gave up acting and tried to establish himself as a rapper. Finally we get to the bottom of Joaquin Phoenix’s wacko year. Was it just one big joke, a bit of performance art, a nervous breakdown or something else? The film depicts Phoenix in various states of depravity. In one reported scene, Phoenix snorts cocaine off the breast of a stripper. You won’t be bored.

The Romantics

Over the course of one raucous night at a seaside wedding seven close friends, all members of a tight, eclectic college clique, reconvene to watch two of their own tie the knot. Laura (Katie Holmes) is maid of honor to Lila (Anna Paquin), her golden girl best friend. The two were previously rivals for the groom, Tom (Josh Duhamel). Friendships and alliances are tested and the love triangle comes to a head the night before the wedding, when the drunken friends frolic in the nearby surf and return to shore… without the groom. Based on the novel by Galt Niederhoffer. Watch the trailer.

Sept 15

Never Let Me Go

In this dystopian drama, Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) have grown up together at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. There have always been a lot of serious unanswered questions about their lives, but now it is time to leave the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them. They are forced to confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart. Adapted from the acclaimed novel by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro who also wrote Remains of the Day. Watch the trailer.

Sept 17

The Town

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage–bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name…and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug…not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path. Ben Affleck directed as well.

Easy A

After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in “The Scarlet Letter,” which she is currently studying in school – until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson play her 60s hippy mentality parents and it seems from the previews like a pleasant comedy, not too raunchy. I hear there are even John Hughes references. Other cast: Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Malcolm McDowell, and Lisa Kudrow. Watch the trailer.

Sept 22

You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger

This Woody Allen movie centers around different members of a family, their tangled love lives and their attempts to try to solve their problems. The film focuses on a pair of married couples, Alfie and Helena (Anthony Hopkins and Gemma Jones) and Sally and Roy (Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin). Alfie leaves Helena in exchange for an opportunity to find the youth that passed him by while Helena confides in a fortuneteller. Meanwhile, their daughter Sally starts to crush on her boss (Antonio Banderas) while her husband is smitten by the young Dia (Freida Pinto). (Good thing he didn’t spend too much on the poster, because this one sounds a lot like other Woody Allen stories.) Watch the trailer.

Sept 24

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf star in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street 2.” Douglas is back in his Oscar®-winning role as Gordon Gekko, whose iconic “Greed is good” mantra and daring corporate raids made him a rock star of financial titans. Emerging from a lengthy prison stint, Gekko finds himself on the outside of a world he once dominated. He now has to play catch-up and redefine himself in a different era. He has to become relevant again. But a young, idealistic investment banker (LaBeouf) learns the hard way that Gekko is still a master manipulator – and if there’s one place where you can redefine yourself, one place where your relevance is a deal away, it’s Wall Street.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

A clinically depressed 15-year-old checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward where he gains a new lease on life. In this New York City-set comedy-drama, 16-year-old Craig (Keir Gilchrist), stressed out from the demands of being a teenager, checks himself into a mental health clinic. There he learns that the youth ward is closed – and finds himself stuck in the adult ward. One of the patients, Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), soon becomes both Craig’s mentor and protégé. Craig is also drawn to another 16-year-old, Noelle (Emma Roberts). With a minimum five days’ stay imposed on him, Craig is sustained by friendships on both the inside and the outside as he learns more about life, love, and the pressures of growing up. Watch the trailer.

You Again

No matter how old you are, you never get over high school. Successful PR pro Marni (Kristen Bell) heads home for her older brother’s (Jimmy Wolk) wedding and discovers that he’s marrying her high school arch nemesis (Odette Yustman), who’s conveniently forgotten all the rotten things she did so many years ago. Then the bride’s jet-setting aunt (Sigourney Weaver) bursts in and Marni’s not-so-jet-setting mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) comes face to face with her own high school rival. The claws come out and old wounds are opened in this crazy comedy about what happens when you’re reunited with the one person you’d like to forget. Watch the trailer.

Buried

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), truck driver and family man, wakes up buried alive in an old wooden coffin. Not knowing who might have put him there or why, his only chance to escape from this nightmare is a mysterious cell phone. Poor reception, low battery and lack of oxygen are his worst enemies in a race against time: Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued. All I can think is: who put a camera and lights in the coffin? And isn’t it a forgone conclusion that he’ll get out? Then again, I was the one that pooh-poohed the premise of Speed.

October 2010

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

In the final part of the Millennium Trilogy, Lisbeth Salander is hospitalized after meeting nearly being killed by her father. Mikael Blomqvist continues to uncover the reasons why Lisbeth has been treated harshly by the Swedish authorities. The first two of the trilogy have been really good, and they were all shot at the same time, so I expect the final episode will be just as good. I will be sorry to have them end, but we have the Americanizations to look forward to. Daniel Craig is set to play the Mikael character and newcomer Rooney Mara is in the Lisbeth role. Watch the Trailer.

Oct 1

Let Me In

Let Me In is an American-British horror film directed by Matt Reeves based on the novel Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist and the Swedish film adaptation of the same name. It tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in a New Mexico town in the early 1980s. The Swedish film was very good. It took place in a bleak, cold landscape and wasn’t a Twilight or a True Blood kind of vampire tale. It was more about loner kids who despite one being a vampire help one another through tough times. Hope this remake strikes the same tone. Watch the trailer.

Freakonomics

Documentary based on the bestseller Freakonomics, where economist Steven D. Levitt uses statistics and theory to analyze pop culture. Freakonomics is one film broken up into its component parts each directed by a separate team made up of the dream team of documentary filmmakers. Overall there are 6 directors on board the film including Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side), Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp), Eugene Jarecki (The Trials of Henry Kissinger), and Seth Gordon (King of Kong). It will definitely mess with your head and I am all for it! Watch the trailer.

The Social Network

Jesse Eisenberg will play Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who became Facebook’s founding president; and Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo Saverin, the Facebook co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg over money.The film will focus on the evolution of Facebook, the online social network created in 2004 on the Harvard campus, and how overnight success and wealth changed the lives of the classmates who created it. Doesn’t sound like the most compelling story to me, but I hope it is more than it seems. Not that I have anything against Facebook.

Bagman

Disgraced Washington power broker Jack Abramoff’s bribery schemes and fraudulent dealings with Indian casinos ultimately land him in jail. But if there’s a silver lining out there for him, currently wrapping up a four-year stint in federal prison for a bevy of corruption and fraud charges, it’s this: Unlike so many notorious incidents eventually exploited by movie producers, his fall from grace was deemed interesting enough to spawn not one, but two major motion pictures. Following Alex Gibney’s documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money comes Bagman, the fictional account of Abramoff’s wheeling and dealing. So, does Jack actually deserve two movies? You decide.

Chain Letter

A serial killer targets teens that refuse to forward chain letters. Tagline: If you don’t forward it, you die! Ooooh! A group of six friends from Carlson High School who receive a mysterious chain letter that moves from their email accounts and text messaging to a creepy little icon that begins haunting their My Space pages. Who knew they should take the threats of these messages seriously? Or that chain letters can kill? As the friends battle the curse or a perpetrator targeting them-how can they know for sure? Friendships are tested. The ominous message begins killing them in the most gruesome ways imaginable, turning friend against friend with ”rules” that seem impossible to escape. Watch the trailer.

Oct 8

Life As We Know It

Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, the only thing they have in common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter, Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in the world, Holly and Messer are forced to put their differences aside. Juggling career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find some common ground while living under one roof. Sounds sleep-inducingly familiar.

Secretariat

Based on the remarkable true story, Secretariat chronicles the spectacular journey of the 1973 Triple Crown winner. Housewife and mother Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) agrees to take over her ailing father’s Virginia-based Meadow Stables, despite her lack of horseracing knowledge. Against all odds, Chenery–with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich)–manages to navigate the male-dominated business, ultimately fostering the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and what may be the greatest racehorse of all time.

Nowhere Boy

Imagine John Lennon’s childhood. A spirited teenager, curious, sharp and funny, growing up in the shattered city of Liverpool. Two extraordinary sisters tussle for his love – Mimi, the formidable aunt who raised him from the age of 5 and Julia, the spirited mother who gave him up to Mimi’s care. Yearning for a normal family, John escapes into art and the new music flooding in from the US. His fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the young Paul McCartney. But just as John’s new life begins, the truth about his past leads to a tragedy he would never escape. My favorite Beatle, too. Watch the trailer.

Tamara Drewe

Directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters), the story centers on an attractive young newspaper columnist who returns to the bucolic English country town of her youth to prepare her childhood home for sale. After a recent nose job transforms her into a seductive flirt, her presence in the hamlet sends ripples through a local writers retreat, awakening long dormant feelings with old friends and re-igniting former relationships. The comedy is based on Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel of the same name, that was itself inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd. Watch the trailer.

Oct 15

Red

Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA’s top agents – but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history. Watch the trailer.

Conviction

When Betty Anne Waters’ (Hilary Swank) older brother Kenny (Sam Rockwell) is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18-year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice (Minnie Driver), Betty Anne pours through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor (Melissa Leo), meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny’s arrest. Belief in her brother – and her quest for the truth – pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny. Watch the trailer.

Oct 22

The Company Men

The story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company – and how that affects them, their families, and their communities. Ben Affleck plays a white-collar corporate employee who, after losing his six-figure salary, is offered a job installing drywall from his blue-collar working brother-in-law, played by Kevin Costner. Also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson. Watch the trailer.

Hereafter

Clint Eastwood’s latest, Hereafter tells the story of three people who are touched by death in different ways. George (Matt Damon) is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. On the other side of the world, Marie (Cecile De France), a French journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. And when Marcus, a London schoolboy, loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers. Each on a path in search of the truth, their lives will intersect, forever changed by what they believe might–or must–exist in the hereafter.

Oct 29

Monsters

Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life form began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an INFECTED ZONE. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain “the creatures”…… Our story begins when a US journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. At SXSW they said,” It’s a clever little monster movie, kind of a cross between District 9 and War of the Worlds.” Might be worth a look Watch the trailer.

My Soul to Take

In the sleepy town of Riverton, legend tells of a serial killer who swore he would return to murder the seven children born the night he died. Now, 16 years later, people are disappearing again. Has the psychopath been reincarnated as one of the seven teens, or did he survive the night he was left for dead? Only one of the kids knows the answer. Adam “Bug” Heller (Max Thieriot) was supposed to die on the bloody night his father went insane. Unaware of his dad’s terrifying crimes, he has been plagued by nightmares since he was a baby. But if Bug hopes to save his friends from the monster that’s returned, he must face an evil that won’t rest…until it finishes the job it began the day he was born. Denzel Washington is in it, too.

Wild Target

A hit man tries to retire but a beautiful thief may change his plans. Bill Nighy is Victor Maynard, a middle-aged, solitary assassin, who lives to please his formidable mother, Louisa (Eileen Atkins), despite his own peerless reputation for lethal efficiency. His professional routine is interrupted when he finds himself drawn to one of his intended victims, Rose (Emily Blunt). He spares her life, unexpectedly acquiring a young apprentice in the process, Tony (Rupert Grint). Believing Victor to be a private detective, his two new companions tag along, while he attempts to thwart the murderous attentions of his unhappy client (Rupert Everett). Looks fun. Watch the trailer.

November

Knucklehead

This year’s Blind Side? The film centers on a fight promoter (Mark Feuerstein) deeply in debt to his crooked rival. Desperate for a new fighter that will help him win back everything he owes, the promoter catches a break when a 450-pound church handyman (Paul “Big Show” Wight) who has spent his entire life in an orphanage agrees to wrestle on behalf of his fellow orphans. I have to say, I’m rooting for this one because I met Big Show once and he seemed like a really nice guy, all 450 pounds of him. No idea if he can act, but he was a WWE Superstar for a long time.

Tree of Life

This one from Terrence Malick (Days of Heaven) has been kept under wraps. The description they’ve released is not a lot of help.

“Tree of Life is a period piece centered around three boys in the 1950s. The eldest son (Hunter McCracken) of two characters (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain) witnesses the loss of innocence. At first all seems marvelous to the child. He sees as his mother does, with the eyes of his soul. She represents the way of love and mercy, where the father tries to teach his son the world’s way, of putting oneself first. The picture darkens as he has his first glimpses of sickness, suffering and death. The world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth. Framing this story is that of adult Jack, a lost soul in a modern world.” Hmmm. Brad Pitt?

Nov 5

Megamind

Tina Fey, Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell voice the characters here. “Megamind” is the most brilliant supervillain the world has ever known. And the least successful. Over the years, he has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt, a colossal failure thanks to the caped superhero known as “Metro Man,” an invincible hero until the day Megamind actually kills him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, Megamind has no purpose. A supervillain without a superhero. He realizes that achieving his life’s ambition is the worst thing that ever happened to him. Megamind decides that the only way out of his rut is to create a new hero opponent called “Titan,” who promises to be bigger, better and stronger than Metro Man ever was. Pretty quickly Titan starts to think it’s much more fun to be a villain than a good guy. Except Titan doesn’t just want to rule the world, he wants to destroy it. Now, Megamind must decide: can he defeat his own diabolical creation? Can the world’s smartest man make the smart decision for once? Can the evil genius become the unlikely hero of his own story? Watch the trailer.

Due Date

Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is an expectant first-time father whose wife’s due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan–on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter’s last nerve. Watch the trailer.

Welcome to the Rileys

Once a happily married and loving couple, Doug and Lois Riley (James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo) have grown apart since losing their teenage daughter eight years prior. Leaving his agoraphobic wife behind to go on a business trip to New Orleans, Doug meets a 17-year-old runaway (Kristen Stewart) and the two form a platonic bond. For Lois and Doug, what initially appears to be the final straw that will derail their relationship, turns out to be the inspiration they need to renew their marriage. Watch the trailer.

127 Hours

The story of Aron Ralston, a mountain climber who, while hiking Utah’s back-country in 2003, had to self-amputate part of his arm with a dull knife when it was pinned by a boulder in an accident. From Danny Boyle of Slumdog Millionaire fame, and starring James Franco. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65-foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, and the two hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) he met before his accident. Will they be the last two people he ever had the chance to meet?

Fair Game

Fair Gameis a political drama about the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. Ambassador Joseph Wilson watched his wife’s CIA status become compromised after he wrote New York Times op-ed columns that accused the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq. Soon after, Valerie’s covert status is reported by a high-profile Washington journalist. With her cover blown and her overseas contacts placed in mortal danger, Valerie is pushed to the breaking point as her career and private life collapse. This one seems to be kicking off the Oscar season with a bang. Early word is very good. Directed by Doug Liman (Bourne Identity) Stars Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. Watch a clip.

Nov 12

Unstoppable

A massive unmanned locomotive, nicknamed “The Beast” and loaded with toxic cargo, roars through the countryside, vaporizing anything put in front of it. A veteran engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine), aboard another train in the runaway’s path, devise an incredible plan to try and stop it – and prevent certain disaster in a heavily populated area. Sounds like Speed on steroids. One reviewer thought it sounded like one of those math problems from middle school. “An unmanned train loaded with 8 freight cars of poisonous chemicals is headed south towards a heavily populated area at 80 mph. It is still 150 miles away, but should the train hit the city, the event radius is estimated to be between 20 to 45 miles. In addition, a different train, carrying 150 students, is heading northeast at a speed of 65 mph. Given that Chris Pine is shirtless for exactly 3 seconds in the trailer, and Unstoppable is set to come out on 11/12, what are the chances that it’ll be a decent movie?”

Morning Glory

When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at “Daybreak” (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts – let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who is more than happy covering morning “news.” As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky’s blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson) begins to unravel – and soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, her job and ultimately, the show itself. Watch the trailer.

Tangled

Walt Disney Pictures presents Tangled, an action-packed, swashbuckling, animated musical comedy about the girl behind 70 feet of magical, golden hair. A princess stolen from her parents’ castle as a baby, Rapunzel (voice of Mandy Moore) is locked in a hidden tower longing for adventure. Now an imaginative and determined teenager, she takes off on a hilarious, hair-raising escapade with the help of a dashing bandit (voice of Zachary Levi). With the secret of her royal heritage hanging in the balance and her captor in pursuit, Rapunzel and her cohort find adventure, heart, humor, and hair… lots of hair. With original music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater, this comedic re-imagining of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale comes to theaters in Disney Digital 3D™.

Skyline

Skyline takes place in a Los Angeles high-rise where a small group of survivors brave a mysterious attack of otherworldly origins. Donald Faison is playing an entrepreneur who lures his longtime friend (Eric Balfour) to the West Coast. After a night of partying, both wake to find a strange force is swallowing humanity off the face of the earth.

Helena From the Wedding

Very indie Helena from the Wedding is the debut feature film from writer/director Joseph Infantolino. Shot mostly in sequence in and around a small cabin in upstate New York, this nuanced and often funny portrait of marriage and anxiety in the late blooming professional class revolves around one dark night of the soul of Alex Javal (Lee Tergesen), who is feeling so out of sorts that he fails to appreciate his new wife, Alice (Melanie Lynskey), and the new life she represents and enables. The story takes place over the course of a weekend long New Year’s Eve party that the Javals host for their closest friends and one unexpected guest, the very beautiful and very young Helena (Gillian Jacobs). Watch the trailer.

Nov 19

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

The final chapter of the Harry Potter film series begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione leave Hogwarts behind and set out to find and destroy the Horcruxes–the secret to Voldemort’s power and immortality. This final book is split into two parts, so you’ll have to wait a bit for the real finale. Not much to say about this one. If you like the Harry Potter series, you’ll go. If not, you won’t. They’ve grown up well, I think. Watch the trailer.

The Next Three Days

Life seems perfect for John Brennan (Russell Crowe) until his wife, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), is arrested for a gruesome murder she says she didn’t commit. Three years into her sentence, John is struggling to hold his family together, raising their son and teaching at college while he pursues every means available to prove her innocence. With the rejection of their final appeal, Lara becomes suicidal and John decides there is only one possible, bearable solution: to break his wife out of prison. Refusing to be deterred by impossible odds or his own inexperience, John devises an elaborate escape plot and plunges into a dangerous and unfamiliar world, ultimately risking everything for the woman he loves. Watch the trailer.

Made in Dagenham

This comedy is based on the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant when 850 female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination in their job performance evaluations. The film stars Sally Hawkins, Miranda Richardson, Rosamund Pike and Jaime Winstone. It is directed by Nigel Cole who has made several other chick flick comedies, notably Saving Grace & Calendar Girls . I’m looking forward to it. Watch the trailer.

Nov 24

Burlesque

The Burlesque Lounge has its best days behind it. Tess (Cher), a retired dancer and owner of the venue, struggles to keep the aging theater alive, facing all kinds of financial and artistic challenges. With the Lounge’s troupe members becoming increasingly distracted by personal problems and a threat coming from a wealthy businessman’s quest to buy the spot from Tess, the good fortune seems to have abandoned the club altogether. Meanwhile, the life of Ali (Christina Aguilera) , a small-town girl from Iowa, is about to change dramatically. Hired by Tess as a waitress at the Lounge, Ali escapes a hollow past and quickly falls in love with the art of burlesque. Backed by newfound friends amongst the theater’s crew (Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming), she manages to fulfill her dreams of being on stage herself. Things take a dramatic turn though when Ali’s big voice makes her become the main attraction of the revue. Watch the trailer.

The King’s Speech

The King’s Speech tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ‘Bertie’ VI (Colin Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

Love and Other Drugs

Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway star in the rom-com which revolves around a Viagra salesman (Gyllenhaal) overcoming his history of sordid relationships so as to land a woman who suffers from Parkinson’s disease (Hathaway). Love and Other Drugs is based on Jamie Reidy’s nonfiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. Let’s hope the relationship doesn’t end like that other Gyllenhaal/Hathaway relationship, the one in Brokeback Mountain did. Watch the trailer.

This is by no means a full list of the movies that will be opening. I left off some that I can’t imagine us wanting to see, and no doubt, there will be some indies and foreign fare that will spark our interest.

What else have you heard of that you are looking forward to?

Ondine Opening: June 4

Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Stephen Rea

What It’s About: When Irish fisherman Syracuse (Farrell) finds a mysterious woman named Ondine (Bachleda) in his fishing net, he assumes she is dead before finding out she may in fact be a mermaid. With the help of his disabled daughter, Syracuse falls in love with the possible mythical creature before a series of dark events threaten to overshadow the relationship.

Splice Opening: June 4

Starring: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Cheneac

What It’s About: In Vincenzo Natali’s sci-fi thriller, Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are two scientists who mix human DNA with genetically engineered animal experiments to create Dren, a deformed female infant. Surprisingly, absolutely nothing goes wrong after that. Or Dren becomes a winged half-human monster hellbent on destroying all in her path.

The A-Team Opening: June 11

Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel

What It’s About: In the big-screen version of TV’s ‘The A-Team’ — the TV show about three wrongly accused escaped military fugitives (and one crazy pilot) — Bradley Cooper plays Face; Liam Neeson is Hannibal, the man who loves it when a plan comes together; and Sharlto Copley brings the crazy as Capt. “Howling Mad” Murdock. Apparently Dirk Benedict, the original Face, approves: He filmed a cameo for the film. Looks like a lot of fun.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work Opening: June 11

Starring: Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, Kathy Griffin

What It’s About: This documentary takes a look at the life and work of Joan Rivers, one of the most popular comediennes and television personalities in history. Starting her career in the early ’60s as a stand-up comic — no small feat for a female at the time — Rivers became a ‘Tonight Show’ staple and has hosted several talk shows. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg followed Rivers for a year as the comedian prepared for an one-woman show in the UK and became a participant on a reality TV show.

The Killer Inside Me Opening: June 18

Starring: Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, Simon Baker, Bill Pullman

What It’s About: Michael Winterbottom (’24 Hour Party People,’ ’9 Songs’) directs this neo-noir about small-town Sheriff Lou Ford (Affleck), who leads a double life as a serial killer. When his area becomes inundated with unsolved murders, Ford must deflect any suspicions about him toward other suspects. The film is based on author Jim Thompson’s acclaimed 1952 novel.

Knight and Day Opening: June 25

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano

What It’s About: Diaz plays June, an unsuspecting lonely girl who literally runs into a dangerous secret agent named Milner (Cruise) inside an airport, an encounter that starts the two on a whirlwind chase to avoid capture by a federal agent (Peter Sarsgaard).

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Opening: June 30

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Bryce Dallas Howard

What It’s About: In the third ‘Twilight’ film, Bella’s targeted by a vengeful vamp. And who — or what — is responsible for a string of mysterious slayings in Seattle? Bella’s still torn between Edward and Jacob, and her choice may be the spark that ignites an epic werewolf vs. vampire war. Plus, she’s got to study for finals: It’s her senior year! You know this will be huge!

The Last Airbender Opening: July 2

Starring: Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel, Cliff Curtis, Nicola Peltz

What It’s About: M. Night Shyamalan tries his hand at a children’s fantasy flick in this hero’s adventure following young Aang (Noah Ringer), the last in a long line of Avatars, or masters of all four elements. To restore peace to the four nations (Fire, Earth, Water and Air), Aang must fulfill his destiny of defeating the evil Fire Lord (Curtis) and freeing the other elements’ people from his tyrannical rule. Sounds horrid, but let’s hope M. has another The Sixth Sense in him.

The Kids Are All Right Opening: July 7

Starring: Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson

What It’s About: Committed couple Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) have raised two teenagers together, but are thrown for a loop when their children want to track down their biological father (Mark Ruffalo) — and they all learn what it really means to be a family.

Cyrus Opening: July 9

Starring: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, Catherine Keener

What It’s About: John (Reilly) has been divorced for seven years and has given up on meeting the perfect woman. When his ex-wife (Keener) invites him to a party, he meets Molly (Tomei), a beautiful, fun woman with only one downside: her weird son Cyrus (Hill). A 21-year-old New Age musician, Cyrus enjoys a bond with his mother that’s a bit closer than most, which means his displeasure with mom’s new boyfriend runs fast and deep, and Cyrus and John repeatedly — and comedically — lock horns.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Opening: July 16

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Monica Bellucci, Alfred Molina

What It’s About: Jerry Bruckheimer’s latest summer action epic is a live-action adaptation of an animated segment in Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ and Goethe’s 18th-century ballad. Baruchel plays the Mickey Mouse character — a college student who winds up the chosen apprentice of a sorcerer (Cage) preparing for a supernatural war. Expect huge explosions, eye-popping special effects and as always, Cage in a crazy hairstyle. Bring the kids!

Inception Opening: July 16

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard

What It’s About: Does anyone really know? Christopher Nolan, the director of ‘The Dark Knight,’ returns with ‘Inception,’ a film everyone wants to see — though, really, no one has any clue what it’s about. Nolan explains the film as “exploring the idea of people entering a dream space and sharing a dream.” Awesome. Thanks for clearing that up.

Salt Opening: July 23

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber

What It’s About: Jolie takes over for Tom Cruise — who declined the role for other commitments — as the title character, Evelyn Salt (we assume the character’s name was not “Evelyn” when Crusie was attached). Salt is a CIA agent who is accused of working for the KGB and has to clear her name. Come to think of it: Cruise already made this film — it was called ‘Mission: Impossible.’

Dinner For Schmucks Opening: July 23

Starring: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak, Zach Galifianakis, Ron Livingston

What It’s About: Director Jay Roach has stolen Chris Rock’s idea of stealing European comedies and remaking them for American audiences. This adaptation of the French film ‘The Dinner Game’ follows rising executive Tim (Rudd), who must decide whether or not to bring Barry (Carell) as the perfect guest to his boss’s competition of finding the dumbest dinner guest. Carell and Galifianakis have landed the roles they were meant to play — geeks trying out-dweeb each other. The French version was great, but most of these French/American adaptations have been really bad, so I don’t expect much. Surprise me, please.

Beastly Opening: July 30

Starring: Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, Peter Krause, Neil Patrick Harris

What It’s About: Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) has it all — wealth, looks, privilege — until he cruelly picks on the wrong girl, a Goth who casts a spell that transforms him into an unrecognizable freak. The only cure: He must find someone who will love him as he is. Will he find his true love in Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), an addict’s daughter whose life he saves, or is he doomed to stay a monster forever?

Get Low Opening: July 30

Starring: Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray

What It’s About: It’s the true story of Felix “Bush” Breazeale (Duvall) who, in the 1930s, came out of 40 years of seclusion to plan his own funeral party while still alive. “I want everybody to come who’s got a story to tell about me,” says Bush. The event became a national spectacle, with Bush selling lottery tickets to the funeral with his valuable plot of land as the prize. Twelve-thousand mourners reputedly arrived. Murray plays the funeral home owner in charge of arranging the event. Great cast, quirky story. Could be the sleeper hit.

Step Up 3D Opening: August 6

Starring: Rick Malambri, Sharni Vinson, Adam Sevani, Alyson Stoner

What It’s About: The third installment of the ‘Step Up’ series goes international — and 3-D. A tight-knit group of New York street dancers, including Luke (Rick Malambri) and Natalie (Sharni Vinson), team up with an NYU student (Adam Sevani) against the world’s best hip-hop dancers in a high-stakes showdown. Romance and eye-popping dance moves ensue.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Opening: August 13

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin

What It’s About: ‘Scott Pilgrim’ is a comic-book series about a bass-playing Canadian slacker; and of course, Michael Cera is playing the title role. Scott wants to date Ramona Flowers, but to do this, he must fight and defeat her seven evil exes, who now want to kill him. Think ‘Juno,’ only instead of a pregnancy and a hamburger phone, there are seven super-powered evil villains standing in the way of these two star-crossed lovers.

Mao’s Last Dancer Opening: August 6

Starring: Joan Chen, Kyle Maclachlan, Chi Cao, Chengwu Gao

What It’s About: Based on a true story, ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ looks at the life of Li Cunxin (Cao), a boy who worked his way up from an apprenticeship as a classical dancer in communist China to a heralded star in America. Bruce Beresford’s film explores the cultural and political differences and uncertainties between the two countries and looks into the effects, both positive and negative, of fame and celebrity. ‘Dancer’ was filmed in China, the U.S. and Australia.

The Other Guys Opening: August 6

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes

What’s it about: Ferrell plays Allen Gamble, a pencil-pushing NYPD detective whose partner, Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), has been confined to desk work as punishment for being a little too quick on the trigger in the field. When an opportunity arrives that will call for the two of them to step up, hijinks and hilarity appropriately ensue. Sounds typically Ferrell.

Eat, Pray, Love Opening: August 6

Starring: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup, James Franco

What It’s About: After a painful divorce, Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) finds her priorities shifting in this adaptation of the best-selling memoir. She sets out to explore the world and find her true destiny. Her travels take her from Italy to India to Bali, and she meets some unforgettable people — including herself — along the way. Lovely travelogue if nothing else.

The Switch Opening: August 20

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Jeff Goldbum, Patrick Wilson

What It’s About: Single Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) decides to use the turkey baster method to get pregnant, but doesn’t realize her friend Wally (Jason Bateman) has substituted his own sperm instead of her chosen donor. Seven years later, her son is the spitting image of Wally, and realizes he’s got to admit the truth — and how he really feels about Kassie.

The Tillman Story Opening: August 20

What It’s About: Pat Tillman was a former football player for the Arizona Cardinals before turning down a multi-million dollar contract to enlist in the U.S. Army. While serving in Afghanistan, Tillman was killed by friendly fire and became the center point of an alleged cover-up by the U.S. military and government to conceal the details of his death. Amir Bar-Lev (‘My Kid Could Paint That’) delves into Tillman’s life and investigates the circumstances behind his tragic and controversial death.

Going the Distance Opening: August 27

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston

What It’s About: On-again, off-again real-life couple Drew Barrymore and Justin Long star as lovers who find their long-distance relationship wearing thin. Temptation comes for Long in the form of Christina Applegate, who told the Belfast Telegraph, “It’s very dirty,” adding, “I saw a lot of Justin Long over the summer. See the movie and you’ll know why I said that.”

Happythankyoumoreplease Opening: August 27

Starring: Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara

What It’s About: The winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Josh Radnor’s directorial debut looks at life in New York for a group of late 20s/early 30s people struggling to keep up with the pace of the city. While riding the subway, Sam (Radnor) meets Rasheen, a young boy abandoned by his parents, and subsequently takes him in. Mississippi (Mara) is a bartender trying to make it as a musician. Annie (Akerman) is a pretty girl who suffers from alopecia, a rare condition that leaves the person with no hair. Relationships intersect and lessons, we assume, are learned.

Lebanon Opening: August 13

Starring: Yoav Donat, Itay Taran, Oshri Cohen

What It’s About: Israeli writer/director Samuel Moaz crafts this historical drama set amid the 1982 Israel/Lebanon battle that sees four Israeli soldiers assigned to take part in the first strike on Lebanon. While setting out towards the Lebanese border, the men experience many facets of the war experience before arriving at their destination, a town already bombed by the Israeli Air Force. When a group of Syrian resistance fighters overtake the group, the soldiers find themselves in very dangerous territory. ‘Lebanon’ was an Official Selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival.

The film is based on the inspiring and ultimately tragic true story of Kaiulani, a half-Hawaiian, half-Scottish princess whose life and royal destiny is jeopardized by civil unrest in the island nation in the late 1800s. When a rebel party with links to the American government threatens to overthrow the monarchy, the 13-year-old princess is sent to live with friends of her father in Victorian England. There, she transforms into a strong yet compassionate woman with a deep-rooted sense of pride and duty toward her homeland. She also falls in love with a spirited young Englishman who doesn’t quite grasp the enormity of Kaiulani’s devotion to Hawaii. Princess Kaiulani embarks on a personal mission to defend her people against charges of barbarism and encourage the United States to let Hawaii remain a sovereign nation. And once annexation by the U.S. becomes a foregone conclusion, she fights to secure the right to vote for Hawaii’s natives (just the men, of course, since the U.S. was still a few decades away from granting women the right to vote!).

I’m no historian (and sadly, I’ve never been to Hawaii), so I can’t attest to the historical accuracy of the film. But it doesn’t claim to be a documentary, so you’ve got to cut it some slack in the dramatic license department. Without it, the movie might have teetered on boring. Instead, it’s a bit slow in parts but generally satisfying, at least for the art-house crowd.

Princess Kaiulani was originally titled Barbarian Princess. The term apparently rubbed some folks the wrong way, even though it was surely meant to be ironic – a slam to the ignorant western media that sought to portray native Hawaiians as barbarians. The princess comes across as anything but barbaric. She’s beautiful, well educated and passionate about preserving the rights and culture of her homeland and its native peoples. The film actually reminds me a bit of Whale Rider. It’s not quite the complete package that Whale Rider was, but it’s nice to see a ‘princess’ movie that wasn’t made by Disney and is actually based on a true story. Girls rule. ☺

Princess Kaiulani opens in limited release on May 14, 2010. For a list of cast and crew credits, click here.

Forget Team Edward and Team Jacob. We’ve heard that director Tim Burton and star Johnny Depp are making a feature film version of the classic 1960s gothic TV soap opera Dark Shadows, and producer Graham King now confirms that the film will shoot in the fall, with Depp to play broody vampire Barnabas Collins.

“We’re actually going to shoot that film next September/October with Tim Burton and Johnny,” King said in a group interview Friday in Los Angeles, where he was promoting The Young Victoria.

Burton is still finishing post-production on Alice in Wonderland, which also stars Depp and opens March 5, 2010. King is already prepping production on Dark Shadows with screenwriters so that it is ready for Burton to shoot next fall.

“We’ve been working on the script a lot, even though he’s working on Alice,” King continued. “We’ve been given a script. John August wrote the first screenplay. We’re making some changes, but the film’s going to be in production, as I say, September or October of next year.”

Dark Shadows was a daytime soap opera on ABC from 1966 to 1971 featuring Jonathan Frid as Collins. NBC tried a weekly prime-time series reboot in 1991. The original was famous for its gothic tone and setting.

King said the Dark Shadows film would have something to say in the post-Twilight world of emo vampires, but wouldn’t spoil the new take. “This is going to be Tim Burton and Johnny doing a vampire movie, right?” King teased. Enough said.

Personally, I can’t wait.

In the meantime, you can catch up on the old ones. And boy are they fun! They’re so horrible, they’re great!

Dark Shadows: The Haunting of Collinwood

Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse

My choices as chickflix are marked with **. Others I would see are ***.

September 25

Fame — You know. I expect Mainstream chick to see this one. See the trailer.

**The Other Man – The story of a husband (Liam Neeson) who suspects his wife (Laura Linney) of adultery, and sets out to track down the other man (Antonio Banderas) in her life.

Pandorum -A pair of crew members (Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster) aboard a spaceship wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities.

***The Surrogates – A cop (Bruce Willis) through his surrogate robot, investigates the murders of others’ surrogates, and is forced to venture from his own home for the first time in years and unravels a conspiracy.

October 2

***Capitalism: a Love Story Michael Moore Documentary

The Invention of Lying – The film is set in an alternate world where there is no concept of lying or dishonesty – no one has ever said anything that wasn’t true. Mark Bellison (Rick Gervais) is a loser who can’t get a date, can’t hold a job, and is facing eviction from his apartment – until he tells the first lie. As the only person on the planet who can deceive others, he discovers that lying gives him enormous power to control people, advance himself, and shape the world to his liking. With Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe

**Whip It - Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut – An indie-rock loving misfit (Ellen Page) finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin. Watch the trailer.

Zombieland – The most frightened guy (Woody Harrelson) on earth leads a crew of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.

October 9

**Couples Retreat – The comedy follows four Midwestern couples (Includes Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau) who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. What follows is a hilarious look at real world problems faced by all couples.

October 16

Law Abiding Citizen – Revenge thriller with Gerard Butler as a sociopath.

The Stepfather (Remake) A seemingly normal guy (Dylan Walsh) wants the perfect family, but when his new wife (Seal Ward) and stepchild don’t measure up, he makes plans to eliminate them and move on to the next.

***Where the Wild Things Are – The Maurice Sendak Fantasy directed by Spike Jonze. I am thrilled about this one since it was my favorite kids’ book ever.

October 23

**Amelia –Amelia Earhart story with Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor – see my preview.

Astro Boy – Animation/ children’s story

Cirque Du Freak: the Vampire’s Assistant – Vampire movie.

Saw VI - Horror, cause we just need more and more of these, don’t we?

October 28

Michael Jackson This Is It

November 6

A Christmas Carol w/ Jim Carrey

**The Box –-A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a troubled married couple, who open it and become instantly wealthy. Little do they realize that opening the box also kills someone they do not know. Cameron Diaz

The Fourth Kind – Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up. Milla Jovovich. Looks kind of Blair Witch to me. What do you think?

***Men Who Stare at Goats – A story set amongst the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions. George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges,

November 13

***2012 – A global cataclysm brings about the end of the world in 2012. John Cusack

***The Boat That Rocked – A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960′s and a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz. With fantastic ensemble cast including Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

November 20

The Blind Side – The true story of football player Michael Oher, who is projected to be one of the first players selected in this year’s NFL draft. Oher was a homeless black teen from a broken home who was taken in by a well-to-do white family that saw extraordinary promise in him. Sandra Bullock, Kathy Bates, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron

Planet 51 The inhabitants of Planet 51 live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when an astronaut arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home. Animation

**The Twilight Saga: New Moon – The sequel to Twilight centers on Edward Cullen leaving Bella Swan in order to keep her safe from other vampires.

November 25

The Fantastic Mr. Fox – Clooney, Streep Animation

**Nine – Musical adaptation of Fellini – Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Marion Cotillard, Stacy Ferguson See my hopes.

Ninja Assassin – A young ninja turns his back on orphanage that raised him, leading to a confrontation with a fellow ninja from the clan.

Old Dogs - Best friends and business partners (Robin Williams, John Travolta) are seeing their lives turned upside down when they find themselves in the care of 7 years old twins. The trailer looks horribly bad.

***The Road – The post-apocalyptic nightmarish road trip of a man (Viggo Mortensen) who tries to transport his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) to safety while fending off starving stragglers and marauding packs of cannibals. , Charlize Theron, , Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall. It is a brilliant book. I just hope they do it well.

December 4

Armored – A guard for an armored truck company is coerced by his veteran coworkers to steal a truck containing $10 million. Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, Skeet Ulrich,

***Brothers – The powerful story of two siblings, thirty-something Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal), who are polar opposites. It is their compelling tale of coming to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood–and with the woman caught between them.

December 11

***Invictus – A look at life for Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when he campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen. Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

**The Lovely Bones – Adaptation, the story of a murder girl watching from heaven as her killer is caught and her family deals with her loss. Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Another good book I hope they’ve adapted well. You still have time to read it first.

The Princess and the Frog – Disney Animation – A fairy tale centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans’ French Quarter during the Jazz Age.

December 18

Avatar From James Cameron. Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Navi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture.

**Did You Hear About the Morgans? – An estranged high-powered New York couple witness a murder and are placed in a witness-protection program in a small Wyoming town. Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mary Steenburgen, Elisabeth Moss, Michael Kelly Watch this.

December 25

Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakuel

***The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – Heath Ledger’s last role. The film is about Dr. Parnassus and his extraordinary ‘Imaginarium’, a travelling show where members of the audience get an irresistible opportunity to choose between light and joy or darkness and gloom. Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer, Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law

**It’s Complicated – A romantic comedy in which two men (Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin) vie for the affection of a woman (Meryl Streep).

***Sherlock Holmes – In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, “Sherlock Holmes” sends Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.,) and his stalwart partner Watson (Jude Law) on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country. See my take.