Space Chimps
FOX Street: Nov. 25 Prebook: Oct. 29 > Animated adventure will keep tykes entertained through the holidays and beyond. In this CGI takeoff of The Right Stuff, narcissistic circus ape Ham III (voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Andy Samberg), a relative of the first simian in space, finds himself rocketed into the galaxy with a primate crew (with characters voiced by Patrick Warburton and...
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When Did You Last See Your Father?
SONY Street: Nov. 4 Prebook: now > British father-son drama showcases dynamic acting and solemn tone. Colin Firth stars in this true, sometimes austere tale as Blake, a writer who discovers his physician father Arthur (Jim Broadbent) is dying of cancer. While caring for him, Blake recalls moments in his early ’60s childhood when his father’s womanizing streak became apparent and...
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Sukiyaki Western Django
FIRST LOOK Street: Nov. 11 Prebook: Oct. 7 > Japan’s Takeshi Miike gets extreme with this blood-splattered spaghetti western homage. Rebel filmmaker Takeshi Miike (Audition) turns his attention to spaghetti westerns in this outlandish salute to Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci (Django) and Akira Kurosawa.
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Mister Lonely
IFC/GENIUS Street: Nov. 18 Prebook: Oct. 14 > Harmony Korine’s weird mélange about celebrity lookalikes. Writer of Kids and director of Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy, Harmony Korine has made a career over the past decade of delivering highly idiosyncratic independent films that are either admired or loathed.
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Moscow Zero
Sony Street: Nov. 4 Prebook: Oct. 2 >Supernatural thriller gets by on eerie atmosphere and known cast. Brooding, deadly serious and reminiscent in some ways of the Russian Nightwatch, Daywatch and Twilight Watch trilogy, Moscow Zero is an international supernatural suspenser spiked with recognizable names, ambitious intentions and physically impressive production values.
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Priceless
FIRST LOOK Street: Nov. 18 Prebook: Oct. 18 > French romantic farce has lovely Audrey Tautou as a selling point. A frothy comedy with a surprising edge, Priceless offers Audrey Tautou as Irene, a woman who sleeps with older wealthy men in order to enjoy the good life. By accident, she has a fling with Jean (Gad Elmaleh of The Valet), a hotel bartender she believes is rich.
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Transsiberian
FIRST LOOK Street: Nov. 4 Prebook: Sept. 30 > Memories of Hitchcock are culled in this tension-filled story. A trek on the famous Transsiberian train line is rife with danger and surprises in this well-crafted suspenser from chameleon-like indie director Brad Anderson (Next Stop, Wonderland; Session 9).
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Vice
GENIUS Street: Oct. 21 Prebook: now > Police grungefest will appeal to those who like their cop stories down and dirty. Borrowing a few tricks from such films as Abel Ferrara’s The Bad Lieutenant and Joe Carnahan’s Narc, Vice offers enough seedy sensationalism to keep followers of gritty police dramas riveted or, at the very least, satisfied.
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The Lazarus Project
SONY Street: Oct. 21 Prebook: now > Mix of crime thriller and psychological drama is compelling throughout. With films such as Eight Below and The Fast and the Furious series, Paul Walker has garnered a solid following that should help this DVD premiere. Filled with nifty twists and turns, the film features Walker as an ex-con trying to resurrect his life with his wife (Piper Perabo) and yo...
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Birds of America
FIRST LOOK Street: Oct. 21 Prebook: Sept. 16 > Dysfunctional family comedy has recognizable cast but little advance fanfare. It’s hard to believe a film with multiple-Oscar-winner Hilary Swank, Matthew Perry, Lauren Graham and Ben Foster and directed by playwright Craig Lucas (Prelude to a Kiss) would hardly warrant a blip on the pre-DVD radar screen, but that’s the case with th...
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YPF
IMAGE Street: Oct. 14 Prebook: Sept. 16 > Funny indie sex comedy dissects relations between various couples. Originally titled Young People Fuc*ing (and still bearing that title on its credits), this Canadian-made independent effort is as provocative as its moniker suggests, as well as funny, surprisingly sweet and insightful.
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Stuck
THINKFILM/IMAGE Street: Oct. 14 Prebook: Sept. 9 > Grisly thriller from cult fave Stuart Gordon delivers gore and dark comic goods. Stuart Gordon of Re-Animator and From Beyond fame proves he can still mix outrageously bloody moments with tongue-in-cheek humor in this perverse parable about today’s insensitive society.
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CSNY: Déjà Vu
LIONSGATE Street: Sept. 30 Prebook: Sept. 3 > Neil Young chronicles his turbulent 2006 tour with Crosby, Stills and Nash. Using his longtime nom de plume Bernard Shakey, Neil Young steps behind the camera to capture the sentiments fostered by people attending the 2006 Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young U.
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Finding Amanda
MAGNOLIA Street: Sept. 16 Prebook: now > Two attitudes are better than one in this oddball addiction farce. Witty and wry, even in the face of serious issues, the feature directing debut of A-list writer Peter Tolan (TV’s Rescue Me, Analyze This) will leave some uncomfortable with its approach to addiction, sex and moral values.
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I Want Candy
MAGNOLIA Street: Sept. 9 Prebook: now > Zippy British film chronicles a carnal production. A couple of neophytes gets involved in making a porno movie—a concept that has certainly been done before (The Amateurs) and is due again very soon (Kevin Smith’s upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno).
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Tortured
SONY Street: Sept. 16 Prebook: now > No-nonsense crime drama offers fine cast in not-for-the-squeamish scenario. In this DVD premiere thriller, an FBI agent (Cole Hauser) goes undercover to find the truth behind the world’s most dangerous crime syndicate. His job for the Mob entails torturing an accountant (Laurence Fishburne) who has information that could lead to millions in stolen ...
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Heckler
ECHO BRIDGE Street: Sept. 9 Prebook: Aug. 12 > Spirited film on embittered audiences and critics is both funny and uncomfortable. Jamie Kennedy produced and appears in this look at people who loathe people—hecklers who scream remarks at comedians at comedy clubs, movie critics who pan films and bloggers who espouse their negative views to whomever they please.
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The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
DISNEY Street: Aug. 26 Prebook: now > New entry in Little Mermaid series is just what the parents of ’tween girls ordered. Ariel (voiced once again by Jodi Benson) and pals return to animated life in this direct-to-DVD prequel that finds King Triton (Jim Cummings), Ariel’s father, banning music from the undersea kingdom of Atlantica after a tragic event occurs.
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Kabluey
Sony Street: Sept. 16 Prebook: Aug. 14 > Off-the-wall farce destined for cult status with the Napoleon Dynamite crowd. Quirk is king in Kabluey, an indie farce with moments of darkness and social commentary. Writer/director/star Scott Prendergast plays Salman, a naïve young man who helps his sister-in-law, Leslie (Lisa Kudrow), when her husband’s service in Iraq is extended.
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The Art of Travel
FIRST LOOK Street: Sept. 3 Prebook: now > Travelogue adventure with romance makes for an unusual indie mix. Into the Wild meets Romancing the Stone in this gorgeous indie effort, which belies its low budget. Christopher Masterson plays Conner Layne, a young man who leaves his fiancée at the altar after he discovers her sleeping with his best man.
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