the big picture
Now in Theatres
December 7
GRACE IS GONE (pictured above)
Who’s In It? John Cusack, Alessandro Nivola
Who Directed? James C. Strouse (debut)
What’s It About? Stanley (Cusack) doesn’t know how to tell his two daughters that his wife Grace, their mother, has been killed while serving in Iraq. He decides to postpone the painful deed and instead takes the girls on a road trip to their favourite amusement park to give them one final, joyful memory before he shares the sad news.
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Who’s In It? Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman
Who Directed? Chris Weitz (About a Boy)
What’s It About? Twelve-year-old Lyra (Richards) lives in a world much like ours, except each person has a daemon (an animal that embodies his/her spirit) and there are witches, talking polar bears and a mysterious substance known as Dust. Using a special compass that only she can read, Lyra embarks on a dangerous journey to the far north to find her missing friend Roger, who may have fallen into the clutches of the evil Mrs. Coulter (Kidman). Based on the first book of author Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. See Nicole Kidman interview.
ATONEMENT
Who’s In It? Keira Knightley, James McAvoy
Who Directed? Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice)
What’s It About? This adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel stars McAvoy as Robbie, who is in love with Cecilia (Knightley). When Cecilia’s younger sister, Briony, mistakenly accuses him of rape, Robbie is sent to prison and then off to war. See James McAvoy interview.
L’ÂGE DES TÉNÈBRES
Who’s In It? Marc Labrèche, Diane Kruger
Who Directed? Denys Arcand (Les Invasions barbares)
What’s It About? Arcand’s latest effort stars Labrèche as a government bureaucrat whose only way to deal with a boring job and a failed marriage is to daydream he’s a successful ladies man/activist/artist. However, it’s only a matter of time until even his fantasies start to disappoint him.
December 14
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
Who’s In It? Jason Lee, David Cross
Who Directed? Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties)
What’s It About? Squeaky-voiced chipmunks Alvin, Theodore and Simon are singing stars who drive their human manager (Lee) nuts.
JUNO
Who’s In It? Ellen Page, Michael Cera
Who Directed? Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking)
What’s It About? When eccentric teenager Juno MacGuff (Page) discovers she’s pregnant she sets out to find the perfect couple — Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman — to adopt her unborn child.
THE KITE RUNNER
Who’s In It? Khalid Abdalla, Säid Taghmaoui
Who Directed? Marc Forster (Stranger than Fiction)
What’s It About? The release of this adaptation of author Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel was delayed slightly so the filmmakers could relocate the film’s Afghani child stars and their families to the United Arab Emirates. The unprecedented move stems from the fact the film, about the friendship between two boys in Kabul during the 1970s, includes a rape scene (not shown on screen) involving one of the boys. It’s believed the boys will be targets of a violent backlash from upset countrymen once the film is released, even though it’s not scheduled to open in Afghanistan.
I AM LEGEND
Who’s In It? Will Smith, Salli Richardson
Who Directed? Francis Lawrence (Constantine)
What’s It About? A viral outbreak kills most people on Earth and turns the survivors into bloodsucking mutants. A lone scientist (Smith) spends his days searching for a way to reverse the infection and his nights fighting off the hungry fiends. Based on the book by writer Richard Matheson, which has been adapted for the big screen twice before, the latest being the 1971 cult hit The Omega Man, starring Chuck Heston.
December 15
THE METROPOLITAN OPERA
Roméo et Juliette 1 p.m. EST
Plácido Domingo conducts composer Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, starring Anna Netrebko and Roberto Alagna. Check www.cineplex.com for a list of theatres where you can watch it live, and to buy tickets
December 16
WWE-PAY-PER-VIEW
Armageddon
Countdown Show starts at 7 p.m. EST, live show at 8 p.m. EST
Some wars are fought over land, others over power, but the most devastating wars are fought over championship gold. Triple H, Batista, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and all your faves battle for glory. Check www.cineplex.com to buy tickets and for a list of theatres where you can watch it live.
|
|
December 21
WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY
Who’s In It? John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer
Who Directed? Jake Kasden (Orange County)
What’s It About?
Judd Apatow and Kasden co-wrote this spoof of musical bio-pics that
casts Reilly as Dewey Cox, a singer/songwriter who climbs to the top of
the music biz. Look for cameos from White Stripes’ Jack White (as
Elvis), and Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman as
the Beatles.
|
NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS
Who’s In It? Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger
Who Directed? Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure)
What’s It About? Treasure hunter Benjamin Gates (Cage) is proud of his family tree, so when he’s told that an ancestor helped plot Abraham Lincoln’s assassination he’ll do anything to clear the Gates name, including kidnapping the U.S. President (Bruce Greenwood) to get his hands on the Book of Secrets. The book, given to every U.S. President, contains the truth about the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations, the missing Watergate tapes and Area 51. See Nicolas Cage interview.
THE SAVAGES
Who’s In It? Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Who Directed? Tamara Jenkins (The Slums of Beverly Hills)
What’s It About? This dark comedy finds siblings Jon (Hoffman) and Wendy (Linney) Savage setting aside their personal lives so they can take care of their elderly father (Philip Bosco), whose worsening dementia means it’s time for a nursing home.
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Who’s In It? Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
Who Directed? Tim Burton (Corpse Bride)
What’s It About? Depp and Burton team up for the sixth time to film the 1979 Broadway show about a barber named Sweeney Todd (Depp), who murders his customers and sends their bodies to
Mrs. Lovett’s (Bonham Carter) pie shop.
P.S. I LOVE YOU
Who’s In It? Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler
Who Directed? Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers)
What’s It About? After Holly’s (Swank) husband Gerry (Butler) dies, she discovers he’s arranged to have messages sent to her, with each message containing a task she must complete in order to get on with her life. See Hilary Swank interview.
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH
Who’s In It? Tim Roth, Alexandra Marie Lara
Who Directed? Francis Ford Coppola (The Rainmaker)
What’s It About? Coppola puts wine-making aside to direct his first film in a decade. Set in World War Two Romania, this fantastical tale focuses on an aged professor (Roth) who is struck by lightning and wakes up 40 years younger. However, his transformation comes with a price as the Nazis hear of the miracle and come calling.
December 22
THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA
The Nutcracker 2 p.m. EST
A live HD simulcast of choreographer James Kudelka’s take on the Christmas classic. Check www.cineplex.com for a list of theatres where you can watch it live, and to buy tickets.
December 25
THE GREAT DEBATERS
Who’s In It? Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker
Who Directed? Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)
What’s It About? Based on a true story, Washington plays Melvin B. Tolson, an English professor at Texas’s Wiley College, who, in 1935, inspires his African-American students to form a debating team.
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Who’s In It? Mathieu Amalric, Marie-Josée Croze
Who Directed? Julian Schnabel (Basquiat)
What’s It About? The heartbreaking story of Elle France’s editor Jean-Dominique Bauby (Amalric), who at the age of 43 suffers a stroke that leaves him paralyzed everywhere except his left eye. By mastering a blinking pattern he dictates his memoirs to his therapist (Croze), which form the basis of the film.
ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM
Who’s In It? John Ortiz, David Paetkau
Who Directed? Colin and Greg Strause
What’s it About? In the sequel to AvP the creatures from Alien and Predator battle it out in a small Colorado town. See David Paetkau interview.
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR
Who’s In It? Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts
Who Directed? Mike Nichols (Closer)
What’s It About? Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars converge to tell the true story of Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks), a fun-lovin’ guy who masterminds the covert arming of Afghan’s mujahideen insurgency, who are battling the Soviet Red Army in the ’80s. Roberts is a socialite who introduces Wilson to the plight of the Afghan rebels.
THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP
Who’s In It? Emily Watson, Alex Etel
Who Directed? Jay Russell (Ladder 49)
What’s It About? Little Angus (Etel) stumbles across a big egg that hatches a rubbery sea monster. Keeping the water-loving critter happy becomes a problem as it grows larger, so Angus and his family hide it in a local lake named Loch Ness.
December 28
CASSANDRA’S DREAM
Who’s In It? Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor
Who Directed? Woody Allen (Scoop)
What’s It About? Two working-class brothers (McGregor, Farrell) repay their uncle’s (Tom Wilkinson) generosity by agreeing to kill a man for him. The resulting guilt sends one brother over the edge.
THE BUCKET LIST
Who’s In It? Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman
Who Directed? Rob Reiner (Rumor Has It)
What’s It About? A corporate billionaire (Nicholson) and a working-class mechanic (Freeman) are both dying of cancer. But instead of feeling sorry for themselves they create a “bucket list” — a list of things they want to do before “kicking the bucket” — and set out to cross off every item. See Morgan Freeman interview.