The Fall

The Fall” – From acclaimed visionary director, Tarsem Singh, comes a dazzlingly innovative epic that begins with an unlikely friendship between a little immigrant girl and an injured stunt man-turned-storyteller.

Circa 1920, California: After breaking her arm in an orange grove, young little immigrant Alexandria (Catinca Untaru) finds herself confined to a hospital ward. She passes the seemingly endless days by exploring the only frontier she thinks has left: the hospital. When she wanders into the room where Roy (Lee Pace) lies, uncertain if he will ever walk again, she is oblivious to his bitterness and blithely introduces herself. Disarmed by her innocence, he tells her a story from the life of her namesake, Alexander the Great. Alexandria is captivated, suddenly remembering the frontier she has neglected to explore: her imagination.

The next time she visits, Roy promises to tell her the most amazing story she has ever heard. And thus begins the sweeping, swashbuckling tale of the Black Masked Bandit, which unfolds before our eyes as Alexandria imagines it, populated with faces from the hospital ward around her. Roy tailors his story to her liking, even adding a young girl — the Black Masked Bandit’s long-lost daughter — whom Alexandria imagines as herself. Tarsem’s cinematic realization of this tale, which was filmed in twenty-three different countries over a period of four years, is an elaborate, visually stunning tribute to the power of imagination.

As you all know, if you’re Wild About Movies, Lee Pace is the hot star of “Pushing Daisies” on ABC, and the big screen fab fest “Miss Pettigrew Lives For Day.”

See “Lee Pace” photo below, from the movie “The Fall”

STARRING: Lee Pace, Justine Waddell
DIRECTOR: Tarsem Singh
STUDIO: Summit Entertainment
RATING: R (For Language, nudity, sexual situations, violence)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

The Fall – Trailer

Bloodline

If you saw or read “The Da Vinci Code,” you already may have some questions. But the movie “Bloodline” allows for more questions about Jesus Christ and the family he may or may not have produced on earth.

“Bloodline” investigates the popular belief that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, who fled to southern France with their child. In an adventure worthy of “Indiana Jones”, filmmaker Bruce Burgess and team crack the shadowy secret society, known as the Priory of Sion. Their investigation follows clues linking the Knights Templar and the legend of Mary Magdalene with messages embedded in the decor of the famed church at Rennes-le-Chateau in France, leading ultimately to stunning discoveries: a buried chest with artifacts dating to 1st century Jerusalem and a hidden tomb filled with treasure and a mummified corpse draped in a shroud bearing a distinctive red cross.

Do these discoveries finally provide the proof that the “Bloodline” exists?

STARRING: Documentary
DIRECTOR: Bruce Burgess
STUDIO: Cinema Libre
RATING: Not Rated
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

ThE BlooDLiNe TrAiLeR

The Battle For Haditha

Battle For Hiditha” – An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb.

STARRING: Elliot Ruiz, Falah Abraheem Flayeh, Yasmine Hanani, Duraid A. Ghaieb
DIRECTOR: Nick Broomfield
STUDIO: HanWay Films
RATING: R (For violence, language, adult situations)

Battle for Haditha (2008) movie trailer

America The Beautiful

America The Beautiful” - The United States of America is known for being one of the wealthiest nations on the planet with the most opportunities for its citizens. In 2004 alone, Americans spent $12.4 billion (yes, billion!) on cosmetic surgery. With such an abundance of wealth, why are Americans so discontent?

In almost 40,000 media messages a year, youthful Americas are being told that, unless you look like supermodels and rock stars, you’re not good enough for anyone to love. This is a message that too many people are buying.

Filmmaker Darryl Roberts goes on a two year journey to examine America’s new obsession; physical perfection. In “America the Beautiful,” we learn secrets, confessions, and strikingly harsh realities as Roberts unearths the origins and deadly risks of our nation’s quest for physical perfection.

Too much television and easy access to plastic surgery are conventional answers, but they do not fully explain this national psychosis. These same images are found all over Europe and Canada, yet their citizens do not have this same obsession.

Looking at models on glossy pages of supermarket magazines, Americans have found themselves wishing they looked more like ‘that’. The hope of achieving these ‘ideals’ has consumers purchasing cosmetics, toiletries, fashion and plastic surgeries at increasingly dramatic rates. Has the ‘American Dream’ changed so much that it can only be achieved once we can perfectly emulate the super thin and sexy images of Britney Spears or other pop icons?

In America the Beautiful we see how these increasingly unattainable images contribute greatly to the rise in low self-esteem, body dismorphia, and eating disorders for young women and girls who also happen to be the beauty industry’s largest consumers. Who actually benefits from this high-priced journey towards this ideal? Is corporate America’s bottom line so important that it justifies a nation’s psychosis? What are the true costs of our obsession with youth, beauty, and a slender physique?

At the heart of “America the Beautiful” is the story of Gerren Taylor, a teenager who went from being an innocent 12 year old girl to being one of America’s next top supermodels. As she and her mother head down the windy road to stardom, viewers watch the dichotomy between Gerren’s adolescent struggles and her adult “rights of passage” on the catwalks of Marc Jacobs, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger and other top designers. Her tumultuous quest acts as a mirror to the American psyche, and it becomes apparent how the same beauty that could jump-start her career could ultimately destroy her young life.

To find out what has America’s pre-teens standing in line for their turn on “I Want a Famous Face”, and it’s adults on “Extreme Makeover,” Roberts dives deep into America’s culture of fear, consumption, and idolatry for all things external; he seeks answers from celebrities, media, academia, as well as everyday Americans.

Follow Darryl Roberts in “America The Beautiful” as he asks Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Aisha Tyler, Anthony Kedis, Tisha Campbell, Julianne Moore, Michael Beach, Mena Suvari, Martin Short, as well as Ted Casablanca from the E! Channel and Susan Schulz, the Editor-in-Chief of CosmoGirl!, along with various other celebrities and experts in cosmetics, fashion, media, and self-esteem the major question at hand…

Does America have an unhealthy obsession with beauty?

Find out, if you dare or care, in the documentary “America The Beautiful.”

STARRING: Ted Casablanca, Eve Ensler, Paris Hilton, Chris Keefe, Anthony Kiedis, Darryl Roberts, Jessica Simpson, Gerren Taylor
DIRECTOR: Darryl Roberts
STUDIO: Arenas Group
RATING: R (For strong language)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): 1
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

America the Beautiful – Trailer

XXY

XXY” – Alex is not like other girls. She is a 15-year-old with a secret, one that no other can claim. Her parents keep her hidden away at a coastal town in amongst the dunes of the shoreline, buying time before they must decide on a life-threatening operation.

When old family friend and plastic surgeon Ramiro arrives with his teenage son Álvaro, Alex begins to realise that his visit could change her life forever. As the parents wrestle with the complications that will arise as Alex reaches adulthood, Alex and Alvaro become close, their relationship causing tensions amongst the locals. However, as the parents battle it out to instill a sense of open-mindedness amongst their society, it is the children who prove themselves to be flexible in understanding the sexual leanings and complexities of others.

STARRING: Inés Efron, Ricardo Darín, Martín Piroyansky
DIRECTOR: Lucía Puenzo
STUDIO: Film Movement
RATING: R (For language, nudity, sexual situations, adult situations involving teens)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: 86 minutes
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD
LANGUAGE: (Spanish with English subtitles)

XXY – Trailer

Son Of Rambow

Son Of Rambow” is a nostalgic trip back to the 1980s.

“Son of Rambow” is an inventive valentine to an era where, for the first time in history, young minds had access to technology that allowed them to create their own stories while paying homage to their larger-than-life heroes from the movies that inspired them.

Will, who isn’t allowed to watch TV or go to the movies, expresses himself through his drawings and illustrations until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and crafter of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirated copy of the first Rambo film, “First Blood,” which blows his mind wide open. Against his family’s orders, his imaginative little brain begins to flower in the world of filmmaking. Will and Lee become popular at school through their films, but when a French exchange student, Didier Revol, arrives on the scene, their unique friendship and precious film are pushed to the breaking point.

“Son Of Rambow” writer and director Garth Jennings utilize a vast array of visual techniques to perfectly capture the moment in time when anything was possible and dreams could be recreated with a home video camera, a few props, and a ton of imagination.

STARRING: Will Poulter, Bill Milner, Jules Sitruk, Charlie Thrift, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon
DIRECTOR: Garth Jennings
STUDIO: Paramount Vantage
RATING: R (For language, sexual situations, nudity)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

Son of Rambow trailer

Redbelt

Redbelt” – Set in the west-side of Los Angeles fight world, a world inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces types, “Redbelt”, is the story of Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who has avoided the prize fighting circuit, choosing instead to pursue an honorable life by operating a self-defense studio with a samurai’s code.

Terry and his wife Sondra (Alice Braga), struggle to keep the business running to make ends meet. An accident on a dark, rainy night at the Academy between an off duty officer (Max Martini) and a distraught lawyer (Emily Moritimer) puts in motion a series of events that will change Terry’s life dramatically introducing him to a world of promoters (Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna) and movie star Chet Frank (Tim Allen). Faced with this, in order to pay off his debts and regain his honor, Terry must step into the ring for the first time in his life.

STARRING: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alice Braga, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer, Rodrigo Santoro, Rebecca Pidgeon, Randy Couture
DIRECTOR: David Mamet
STUDIO: Sony Classics
RATING: R (For pervasive foul language)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

Redbelt Trailer

Mister Lonely

Mister Lonely,” according to Harmony Korine, director of “Mister Lonely,” (and an array of other unintelligible, insane films – “Kids,” “Julien Donkey Boy” and “Gummo”), is about a young American man lost in Paris. He scratches out a living as a Michael Jackson look-alike, dancing on the streets, public parks, tourist spots and trade shows. Different from everyone else, he feels as if he’s floating between two worlds. During a car show Michael Jackson meets Marilyn Monroe. Haunted by her angelic beauty he follows her to a commune in the Highlands, joining her husband Charlie Chaplin and her daughter Shirley Temple. A place where everyone is famous and no-one gets old. Here, The Pope, The Queen of England, Madonna, James Dean and other impersonators build a stage in the hope that the world will visit and watch them perform. Nuns fall out of airplanes and children ride pigs. Everything is beautiful. Until the world shifts, and reality intrudes on their utopian dream. OK. And you wonder why “Mister Lonely” has its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, for all the kooks in NYC that will undoubtedly rave about its ‘originality’ and the ‘genius’ of director Harmony (yeah, like that’s his real name) Korine!

STARRING: David Blaine, Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Werner Herzog
DIRECTOR: Harmony Korine
STUDIO: IFC Films
RATING: Unrated (Language, nudity, sexual situations, violence)

Mister Lonely – Trailer

Made Of Honor

Made Of Honor” – Tom Bailey (Patrick Dempsey) is in love with his best friend Claire (Michelle Monaghan). But Tom has a fear of commitment and refuses to admit the obvious – he should propose to Claire before she finds a less procrastinating suitor. When Colin, a rich Scotsman sweeps Claire off her feet and asks for her hand in marriage, Tom must witness her unquestioned happiness up close and personal – because she’s chosen him to be her “Maid Of Honor.”

STARRING: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Sydney Pollack, Kadeem Hardison, Beau Garrett, Richmond Arquette
DIRECTOR: Paul Weiland
STUDIO: Columbia Pictures
RATING: PG-13 (For sexual situations, language)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD
RUNNING TIME: TBD
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

MADE OF HONOR (OFFICIAL TRAILER)

Graduation

Graduation” – In the movie “Graduation,” four best friends, about to graduate from high school, must find a way to raise money to help a family member in need. When one of them discovers her banker father having an affair, the foursome plots to rob his bank during graduation ceremonies. When things don’t go according to plan, they end up learning more about themselves in one day than they ever did in school.

STARRING: Riley Smith, Shannon Lucio, Chris Marquette, Chris Lowell, Adam Arkin, Aimee Garcia
DIRECTOR: Michael Mayer
STUDIO: Magnolia
RATING: R (For violence, sexual situations, nudity, language, drug use)
THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): 2
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes
TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD
U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: May 13, 2008

The Graduation Trailer