Movie Capsules
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2012:Academic researcher Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) leads a group of people in a harrowing fight to survive the end of the world - an event that is supposedly going to occur in 2012, according to the ancient Mayan calendar and other historical documents. Directed by Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day"), the mega-special effects movie also stars Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson and Danny Glover. Rated PG-13.
ANTICHRIST:A couple lose their young son when he falls out the window while they are distracted in another room. Grief-stricken, the mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is admitted to the hospital, but her therapist husband (Willem Dafoe) brings her home intent on treating her depression himself. To confront her fears, they move to a remote cabin in the woods, "Eden," where something mysterious happened the previous summer. Not rated.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: The sequel to the 2000 crime drama "Boondock Saints" opens with the MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus) living a quiet life in Ireland with their father. But when they learn their beloved priest has been killed by mob forces, the duo return to Boston to bring justice to those responsible. Rated R.
The Box: Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a suburban couple with a young child, receive a wooden box as a gift. A mysterious stranger (Frank Langella) delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button - an act that will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don't know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma. Rated PG-13.
A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an old miser who must face Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-to-Come as they help to bring kindness to his otherwise cold heart. Jim Carrey plays Scrooge and the three ghosts in this computer-generated, performance-capture version directed by Robert Zemeckis. Also stars Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins and Gary Oldman, who does triple duty as Bob Cratchit, Marley and Tiny Tim. Rated PG.
Coco Before Chanel: Several years after leaving an orphanage where she had been deposited by her father, who never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel (Audrey Tautou) finds herself working in a bar as both a seamstress for the performers and a singer. It's there that she earns the nickname Coco. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing hats. When she falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel further opportunities open up, though life becomes more complicated. Rated PG-13.
The Fourth Kind: In 1972 a scale of measurement was established for alien encounters. When a UFO is sighted, it is called an encounter of the first kind. When evidence is collected, it is known as an encounter of the second kind. When contact is made with extraterrestrials, it is the third kind. The next level, abduction, is the fourth kind. The movie, based on actual accounts, takes place in Alaska, where since the 1960s a disproportionate number of the population has been reported missing every year. Despite multiple FBI investigations of the region, the truth has never been discovered. Psychologist Abigail Tyler began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered disturbing evidence of alien abduction. Rated PG-13.
The Men Who Stare at Goats: A reporter trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends. Stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. Rated R.
Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT: A behind-the-scenes look at Michael Jackson from April through June 2009 as he developed and rehearsed the sold-out concerts that were to have taken place last summer in London. It draws from more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage (whittled down to two hours) and features Jackson performing a number of his songs for the show. Kenny Ortega, Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show, directed the film. Rated PG.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: After a young, middle class couple moves into what seems like a typical suburban tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to. Rated R.
Paris: Pierre (Romain Duris), a professional dancer, suffers from a serious heart disease. While he is waiting for a transplant which may (or may not) save his life, he has nothing better to do than look at the people around him from the balcony of his Paris apartment. When his sister, Elise (Juliette Binoche), a single mother of three, moves in to care for him, Pierre does not change his new habits, continuing to indulge in the visions of Paris and Parisians who dance before his eyes. Rated R.
PIRATE RADIO: A band of rogue DJs in the 1960s decide to broadcast rock 'n' roll music from a boat in the middle of the North Sea rather than give in to the British government's airwave ban on their music. As the crew - The Count (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Quentin (Bill Nighy), the boss of Radio Rock; Gavin (Rhys Ifans), the greatest DJ in Britain, who has just returned from a drug tour of America; and Dave (Nick Frost), a cruelly funny broadcaster - defy the government ban, they captivate British listeners. The sound track includes music by Cat Stevens, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, The Box Tops, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, The Hollies, Smokey Robinson, The Seekers and Leonard Cohen. Rated R.
A Serious Man: Ethan and Joel Coen's latest black comedy, set in Minnesota in 1967, centers on Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Midwestern physics professor and family man who watches his life unravel: his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) smokes marijuana, listens to Jefferson Airplane, watches "F Troop" and lives in constant fear of a physically intimidating Hebrew school classmate named Mike (Jon Kaminski Jr.), to whom Danny owes $20 for marijuana; his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is shrill and demanding, and possibly stealing money; his brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch, hounded by the police for his gambling problems; his tenure application is in danger of being rejected, due to some anonymous, defamatory letters received by the committee; and, furthermore, his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) wants a divorce. Rated R.
YES MEN FIX THE WORLD:The film consists of a several pranks on major corporations and governmental agencies by a pair of men (Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos) who fancy themselves antiglobalization activists. Posing as executives from Exxon, Dow Chemical, Halliburton and HUD, they give faux corporate interviews to news media. Not rated.
COUPLES RETREAT: A comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional. Starring Vince Vaughn. Rated PG-13.
Bright Star: London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23-year-old English poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), an outspoken student of high fashion. This unlikely pair begin at odds; he thinks she's a stylish minx, she is unimpressed by his poetry. But when Fanny hears that Keats is nursing his ill younger brother, her efforts to help touch Keats. And when she asks him to teach her about poetry, he agrees. The poetry soon becomes a romantic remedy that works not only to sort their differences, but also to fuel an impassioned love affair. Rated PG.
Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak's classic book comes to the big screen in an adventure tale for every generation. Max (Max Records) is a mischievous young boy who is sent to his room after rebelling against his mother (Catherine Keener). Max's imagination is free to roam, and it soon transports him to a thriving forest bordering a vast sea. Delighted, he sets sail for the land of the wild things, where mischief reigns and Max rules. Rated PG.
