In one of the most remote places on earth, a bloodthirsty serial killer has claimed over 300 victims, and is still at large to this day. Now, inspired by the true story of the world’s most prolific killer, comes “Primeval,” a nail-biting horror-thriller that follows an American news crew determined to capture this terrifying murderer alive. The danger begins as producer Tim Freeman (DOMINIC PURCELL, “Prison Break”), cameraman Steven Johnson (ORLANDO JONES) and their rag-tag team set out on a journey up-river in search of their subject. But the deeper they probe into the mystery of this elusive assassin, the deadlier their trip becomes – “Primeval.”
STARRING: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jurgen Prochnow
DIRECTOR: Michael Katleman
STUDIO: Hollywood Pictures (Disney)
RATING: R (For graphic violence and strong language)
“You ever have that dream: the one where you did something… You don’t know why, but you can never go back?”
– Johnny Truelove
“Alpha Dog” – Versatile filmmaker NICK CASSAVETES (“The Notebook,” “John Q”) directs an impressive group of both young and veteran performers in “Alpha Dog” — inspired by actual events — a film that follows three fateful days when the lives of a group of Southern California teens suddenly dead-ended.
In “Alpha Dog” , Cocky and headstrong Johnny Truelove (EMILE HIRSCH) is living the thug wannabe’s American dream as a mid-level drug dealer in a comfortable sector of the sprawling, privileged neighborhoods in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley. For Johnny and his crew of bros, wannabes and suck-ups — landlocked in their suburban existence and burdened with too much time — their existence is a heady blur of partying and looking for the next thrill. The model of the good life they imitate comes to them from rap music, video games and movies, and they spend their conscious hours copying the thug existence they idolize. Johnny has a wad of cash, a beautiful girl on each arm, a thriving business and plenty of weed to keep all his friends stoned.
Young, flush with money and at the center of their self-created universe — life for Johnny and his friends doesn’t come with any consequences. Anything can happen. And over the course of three days under the hot California sun, something does.
Now, Cassavetes provides a startling and all-too-real look at contemporary youth culture with Alpha Dog, which tracks 72 hours in the lives of a group of Southern California teens — three days when everything suddenly spins out of control. The film features a powerful ensemble cast that includes BEN FOSTER (X-Men: The Last Stand, Phone Booth), SHAWN HATOSY (Little Athens, The Cooler), Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys), CHRISTOPHER MARQUETTE (Best Friends, American Gun), SHARON STONE (Bobby, Casino), JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE (Edison, upcoming Shrek the Third), ANTON YELCHIN (upcoming Charlie Bartlett, television’s Huff) and BRUCE WILLIS (16 Blocks, Sin City).
When raging hothead Jake (Foster) fails to come up with deal money he owes Truelove, the situation escalates into a battle for dominance that culminates with Johnny and his gang impulsively kidnapping Jake’s little brother, Zack (Yelchin). En route to Palm Springs, the group decides to keep the kid as a marker and slowly begins including him in their schedule, alternating between parties and slack time. With no parents in sight, they grow used to having him around. Under the temporary care of Johnny’s charismatic friend Frankie (Timberlake), Zack now enjoys an illicit summer fantasy of drinking, girls and new experiences.
Out in the desert, everyone soon begins to lose sight that Zack is a hostage, a “stolen boy,” and he can’t just be simply returned. As the hours turn into days, solutions to the Zack problem begin to dwindle. Bad decisions are followed by worse ones. Johnny’s dad (Willis) attempts to track down his son and convince him to return the hostage. With police called in by the boy’s distraught mother (Stone), the situation grows even more complex, and Johnny finds himself out of his league with no idea how to fix it. For Johnny, the line between playing a thug and becoming one soon blurs, and very real, very adult and very dire consequences result for everyone involved – “Alpha Dog.”
STARRING: Emile Hirsch, Bruce Willis, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, Dominique Swain, Justin Timberlake, Heather Wahlquist, Janet Jones, Lukas Haas, Vincent Kartheiser, Anton Yelchin, Chris Marquette, Olivia Wilde
DIRECTOR: Nick Cassavetes
STUDIO: New Line Cinema
RATING: R(For pervasive drug use and language, strong violence, sexuality and nudity)
May 20, 2008 at 10:05 pm
· Filed under January 2007
Thr3e
When a young seminary student is targeted by a psychopathic killer, he joins forces with a criminal psychologist whose brother was murdered by the same madman. Together, they must unravel the killer’s riddles and catch him before he strikes again, but the close they get, the more twisted the path becomes. Based on the best-selling novel by Ted Dekker.
STARRING: Marc Blucas, Justine Waddell, Laura Jordan, Max Ryan, Bill Mosely, Sherman Augustus, Priscilla Barnes, Tom Bower, Jeffrey Lee Hollis, Kevin Downes
DIRECTOR: Robby Henson
STUDIO: Fox Faith
RATING: PG-13 (For violence)
Tired of the status quo, an unholy alliance of bad guys led by Frieda, Cinderella’s evil stepmother, takes on the good guys. Cinderella (aka Ella) starts out as a damsel in distress (your typical Prince dreamer), but when her own fairy tale takes a radical left turn she is forced to form and eventually lead a resistance group without her Prince Charming.
Set against a backdrop of fractured fairy tales spinning wildly out of control, Ella and her unknown true love Rick, the palace dishwasher, ultimately must choose their own destinies in a world of happy endings gone wrong.
The race for control of the kingdom is on, and the power mad Frieda, fuelled by a total disdain for goodness, is set to change the age-old storyline to “Happily Never After”!
STARRING THE VOICES OF: Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., George Carlin, Michael McShane, Patrick Warburton, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn, Jon Polito
DIRECTOR: Paul J. Bolger
STUDIO: Lionsgate
RATING: PG (For some mild action and rude humor)
Fresh-faced, idealistic twenty-three-year-old Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) is ready to take on the world as she steps inside Wilson High School for her first day of teaching. Her class, a diverse group of racially charged teenagers from different walks of life – African Americans, Latinos, Asians, juvenile delinquents, gang members, and underprivileged students from poor neighborhoods – hope for nothing more than to make it through the day. On the surface, the only thing they share is their hatred for each other and the understanding that they are simply being warehoused in the educational system until they are old enough to disappear. Despite her students’ obstinate refusal to participate during class, Erin tries various means to engage them on a daily basis.
But then ghetto reality steps in to focus the picture. A racially motivated gang shooting witnessed by a Latina gang member in Erin’s class, and an an ugly racial cartoon that Erin intercepts during class, become the most unwittingly dynamic teaching aids. They spark a transformation in the classroom, compel them to listen and force her to take off her idealistic blinders and take in the kids’ survival stories of their undeclared war on the streets. Erin begins to connect with them. She brings in music from the ‘Hood, and literature from another kind of ghetto, The Diary of Anne Frank, and with these simple tools she opens her students’ eyes to the experiences of those suffering intolerance throughout the world and the struggles of those outside their own communities.
Knowing that every one of her students has a story to tell, Erin encourages them to keep a daily journal of their thoughts and experiences. After sharing their stories with one another, the students see their shared experience for the first time and open up to the idea that there are possibilities in life outside of making it to the age of eighteen. Based on a true story, “Freedom Writers” is an inspirational tale and testimony to courage, hope and the human spirit’s triumph over intolerance. As the students’ diaries transform from schoolwork into life preservers, Gruwell’s commitment to them grows and affects her in ways she did not imagine.
STARRING: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn, Mario
DIRECTOR: Richard LaGravenese
STUDIO: Paramount Pictures
RATING: PG-13 (For violent content, some thematic material and strong language)
“Code Name: The Cleaner” centers on an amnesiac janitor (Cedric The Entertainer) who is fooled into believing he’s an undercover agent on the trail of an international arms ring involving the CIA and FBI. Lucy Liu plays an agent who falls for the janitor, while Elizabeth Hurley adds intrigue as a femme fatale who uses the hapless worker for her Machiavellian devices.
STARRING: Lucy Liu, Elizabeth Hurley, Cedric The Entertainer, DeRay Davis, Nicollette Sheridan
DIRECTOR: Les Mayfield
STUDIO: New Line Cinema
RATING: PG-13 (For language and adult situations)
