John August’s “The Nines” consists of three short films, each featuring the same actors in different — and sometimes overlapping — roles.
“The Prisoner” tells the story of a troubled television star (Ryan Reynolds) who finds himself under house arrest, with his chipper publicist (Melissa McCarthy) and disillusioned next door neighbor (Hope Davis) providing his only links to the outside world. Mysterious events lead him to question whether one or both women are deceiving him about the nature of his incarceration.
“Reality Television” is a half-hour episode of “Behind the Screen,” a Project Greenlight-style documentary series tracking the process of creating a network television drama. Having shot the pilot, creator/ showrunner Gavin Taylor (also Ryan Reynolds) faces post-production with the help of his best friend (and lead actress) Melissa McCarthy and development VP Susan Howard (Hope Davis).
“Knowing” finds an acclaimed videogame designer (also Ryan Reynolds) and his wife (Melissa McCarthy) facing car trouble deep in the woods. Their daughter (Elle Fanning) uncovers information which leads to a difficult and irrevocable choice.
Together, the three stories in “The Nines” form a single narrative that explores the relationships between author and character, actor and role, creator and creation. Alternately funny and unsettling, “The Nines” is like a riddle where the answer is the question: “How does it all add up?”
STARRING: Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Elle Fanning
DIRECTOR: John August
STUDIO: Newmarket Films
RATING: R (Adult situations, language, violence)
“Stardust,” based on the best-selling graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, takes audiences on an adventure that begins in a village in England and ends up in places that exist in an imaginary world. A young man named Tristan (Charlie Cox) tries to win the heart of Victoria (Sienna Miller), the beautiful but cold object of his desire, by going on a quest to retrieve a fallen star. His journey takes him to a mysterious and forbidden land beyond the walls of his village. On his odyssey, Tristan finds the star, which has transformed into a striking girl named Yvaine (Claire Danes). However, Tristan is not the only one seeking the star. A king’s (Peter O’Toole) four living sons – not to mention the ghosts of their three dead brothers – all need the star as they vie for the throne. Tristan must also overcome the evil witch, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer), who needs the star to make her young again. As Tristan battles to survive these threats, encountering a pirate named Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) and a shady trader named Ferdy the Fence (Ricky Gervais) along the way, his quest changes. He must now win the heart of the star for himself as he discovers the meaning of true love.
STARRING: Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Ben Barnes, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Ian McKellen (narrator)
DIRECTOR: Matthew Vaughn
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
RATING: PG-13 (For fantasy violence and risque humor)
n Manhattan, the aspirant writer Jabez Stone is a complete loser: he is not able to sell his novels, he lives in a lousy apartment and he does not have success with women. When one of his friends Julius Jenson sells his novel for US$ 190,000.00 to an editor, Jabez fells envy and promises to sell his soul to the devil for success and accidentally kills a woman with his typing machine. The Devil knocks on his door, fixes the situation and seals a contract with Jabez. His low quality novels have bad reviews but become best-sellers; Jabez enriches; has success with women, but has no time for his friends. Jabez meets with the publisher Daniel Webster who offers him a chance to break the contract with the devil
n “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts’ venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort’s return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge’s Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead – “Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix.”
STARRING: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Imelda Staunton, George Harris, Helena Bonham Carter, Natalia Tena, Kathryn Hunter, Evanna Lynch, Gary Oldman, Harry Melling, Richard Griffiths, Fiona Shaw, Sian Thomas, Jason Boyd, Richard Macklin, Charles Hughes, Susie Shinner, Auror Dawlish, Nick Shim, Ralph Fiennes, Apple Brook, James Walters, James Utechin, Alec Hopkins, Jason Piper
DIRECTOR: David Yates
STUDIO: Warner Bros.
RATING: PG-13 (For intense action sequences, mild language)
Grown angry about the fact that she must watch over her little brother Toby, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly, Oscar winner for “A Beautiful Mind”) wishes the child to the goblins. They translate this careless statement into action: The Goblin-King Jareth (David Bowie) announces that soon Toby will mutate into a goblin. There is only one hope: Sarah has to find the way to Jareth´s castle – through a dangerous labyrinth – where she will find strange creatures. “Labyrinth” was originally released in theaters during the summer of 1986.
STARRING: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud
DIRECTOR: Jim Henson
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures
RATING: PG (Creature violence, language)
After taking audiences on incredible journeys to the worlds of cars, superheroes, fish and toys, only the amazing storytellers at Pixar Animation Studios (”Cars,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles”) could create an entirely new and original world where the unthinkable combination of 5-star restaurants and rats come together for the ultimate fish-out-of-water tale.
In the new animated-adventure, “Ratatouille,” a rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family’s wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely – and certainly unwanted – visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy’s passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.
Remy finds himself torn between his calling and passion in life or returning forever to his previous existence as a rat. He learns the truth about friendship, family and having no choice but to be who he really is, a rat who wants to be a chef – “Ratatouille.”
STARRING The Voices of: Patton Oswalt, Brian Dennehy, Brad Garrett, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm
DIRECTOR: Brad Bird
STUDIO: Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios
RATING: G
Evan Almighty” – Steve Carell (”The 40-Year-Old Virgin”), reprising his role as the polished, preening newscaster Evan Baxter of “Bruce Almighty,” is the next one anointed by God to accomplish a holy mission in the hilarious new comedy “Evan Almighty.” Blockbuster comedy director Tom Shadyac (”The Nutty Professor,” “Liar Liar,” “Bruce Almighty”) returns behind the camera for this next episode of divine intervention. This time, however, his cast grows two-by-two. Newly elected to Congress, Evan leaves Buffalo behind and shepherds his family to suburban northern Virginia. Once there, his life gets turned upside-down when God (Morgan Freeman) appears and mysteriously commands him to build an ark. But his befuddled family just can’t decide whether Evan is having an extraordinary mid-life crisis or is truly onto something of Biblical proportions…
STARRING: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes
DIRECTOR: Tom Shadyac
STUDIO: Universal Pictures
their greatest challenge yet in “Fantastic Four 2 Rise of the Silver Surfer” as the enigmatic, intergalactic herald, The Silver Surfer, comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction. As the Silver Surfer races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must unravel the mystery of The Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom, before all hope is lost – “The Fantastic Four 2.”
STARRING: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Andre Braugher, Gonzalo Menendez
DIRECTOR: Tim Story
STUDIO: 20th Century Fox
RATING: PG (Comic book violence, language)
Featuring the cinematic vision of cutting-edge Director/Writer Timur Bekmambetov, “Day Watch” is the second installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled “Night Watch,” “Day Watch” and “Dusk Watch.” A dazzling mix of state-of-the-art visual effects, amazing action sequences, and nail-biting horror, when “Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)” was released in its native Russia in July 2004, it became an instant smash hit breaking all film gross records in post-Soviet history. Set in contemporary Moscow, “Day Watch” revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness — the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides.
STARRING: Konstantin Khabensky, Aleksei Chadov, Yuri Kutsenko, Igor Lifanov, Sergei Lukyanenko, Rimma Markova, Vladimir Menshov, Nikolai Olyalin, Mariya Poroshina, Galina Tyunina, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Valeri Zolotukhin
DIRECTOR: Timur Bekmambetov
STUDIO: Fox Searchlight
RATING: R (For violence and language)
LANGUAGE: Russian, with English subtitles
When Shrek married Princess Fiona, becoming the next King and Queen of Far, Far Away wasn’t part of the plan. So when his father-in-law, King Harold, falls ill, it is up to Shrek to find a suitable heir or he will be forced to give up his beloved swamp for the throne. Recruiting Donkey and Puss In Boots for a new quest, Shrek sets out to bring back the rightful heir to the throne, Fiona’s rebellious cousin Artie. Back in Far, Far Away, Fiona’s jilted Prince Charming storms the city with an army of fairy tale villains to seize the throne. But they have a surprise in store because Fiona, together with her mother, Queen Lillian, has drafted her fellow fairy tale heroines to defend their “happily ever afters.” As Shrek, Donkey and Puss work on changing Artie from a royal pain in the you-know-what into a future king, Fiona and her band of princesses must stop Prince Charming to ensure there will be a kingdom left to rule – “SHREK 3″
STARRING THE VOICES OF: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Justin Timberlake, Eric Idle, John Krasinski, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, Ian McShane
DIRECTORS: Raman Hui and Chris Miller
STUDIO: Dreamworks Animation
RATING: PG (For crude jokes and language)
