fall preview - OCTOBER
October Movie Listings
October 5
LUST, CAUTION
Who’s In It? Tony Leung, Tang Wei
Who Directed? Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
What’s It About? Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, this World War Two spy drama stars rising Chinese star Wei as a young woman who is assigned the task of seducing — then killing — a powerful Chinese businessman (Leung).
IT’S A BOY-GIRL THING
Who’s In It? Samaire Armstrong, Kevin Zegers
Who Directed? Nick Hurran (Little Black Book)
What’s It About? This latest in a long line of body-switching teen comedies sees brainy Nell (Armstrong) and jock Woody (Zegers) swap bods after having a fight in front of an Aztec statue.
THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING
Who’s In It? Alexander Ludwig, Ian McShane
Who Directed? David L. Cunningham (After…)
What’s It About? Young Will Stanton (Ludwig) doesn’t think there’s anything particularly special about himself — until the day he finds out he’s the last in a long line of immortal beings called the Old Ones. What do the Old Ones do? Just protect all of humanity from an evil force called The Dark, that’s all. Based on the book by Susan Cooper.
THE DARJEELING LIMITED
Who’s In It? Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman
Who Directed? Wes Anderson (Rushmore)
What’s It About? With a script co-written by Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola (Francis Ford’s son and Schwartzman’s cousin), this comedy revolves around three brothers (Wilson, Schwartzman, Adrien Brody) who have grown apart. After their dad dies and their mom disappears, the boys take an eventful train trip through India in the hopes it will strengthen their bond.
THE HEARTBREAK KID
Who’s In It? Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman
Who Directed? Peter and Bobby Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary)
What’s It About? Stiller plays aging bachelor Eddie Cantrow, who decides to marry his new girlfriend Lila (Akerman) because his friends convince him it’s the best he’ll ever do. But while on his honeymoon he a) discovers he can’t stand Lila, and b) falls in love with another woman (Michelle Monaghan). See Ben Stiller interview.
FEEL THE NOISE
Who’s In It? Omarion Grandberry, Giancarlo Esposito
Who Directed? Aljandro Chomski (Today and Tomorrow)
What’s It About? When a young man from the Bronx gets into trouble with some local thugs he flees to Puerto Rico to hide out with the father he hardly knows.
MICHAEL CLAYTON
Who’s In It? George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson
Who Directed? Tony Gilroy (debut)
What’s It About? Lawyer Michael Clayton (Clooney) is in charge of “fixing” the dirtiest and most difficult cases represented by his law firm, including a class-action suit against U-North, a pesticide company accused of poisoning people. But when one the firm’s partners (Wilkinson) is overcome by guilt from having represented the company for years, Clayton’s job gets a whole lot harder.
POOR BOY’S GAME
Who’s In It? Danny Glover, Rossif Sutherland
Who Directed? Clément Virgo (Lie With Me)
What’s It About? Donald Sutherland’s son Rossif plays Donnie, a white boxer who went to jail for nine years after beating Charlie, a black kid, so brutally it left him handicapped. Now that Donnie’s been released, the black community wants revenge in the form of a boxing match between Donnie and unbeatable black boxer Ossie Paris (Flex Alexander). But an unlikely bond develops between Donnie and Charlie’s father (Glover) that may help heal the deepest wounds.
October 7
WWE NO MERCY
Live Event 8-11 p.m. ET / 5-8 p.m. PT
Primal rage takes over as WWE Champion John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, Batista, Rey Mysterio and Undertaker collide. Check for a list of theatres where you can watch it live, and to buy tickets.
October 12
GRACE IS GONE
Who’s In It? John Cusack, Alessandro Nivola
Who Directed? James C. Strouse (debut)
What’s It About? Stanley’s (Cusack) wife Gracie is killed while serving in Iraq, leaving him to inform his two daughters that their mother is dead. But Stanley, never a touchy-feely kinda guy, can’t do it, and instead takes the girls on a road trip to their favourite amusement park hoping to work up the courage to tell them along the way.
WE OWN THE NIGHT
Who’s In It? Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg
Who Directed? James Gray (The Yards)
What’s It About? It’s 1988 and Bobby Green (Phoenix) manages a hot Manhattan nightclub owned by the Russian mafia, which doesn’t sit too well with his cop father (Robert Duvall) and cop brother (Wahlberg). It’s only a matter of time until Bobby is forced to choose between becoming a full-fledged baddie or working undercover to catch the criminals.
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
Who’s In It? Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen
Who Directed? Shekhar Kapur (The Four Feathers)
What’s It About? This sequel to Elizabeth once again stars the luminous Blanchett as Queen Elizabeth I. It’s been almost 30 years since we last saw the monarch, who now faces her greatest challenges as England’s ruler — the impending invasion of the Spanish Armada and a brewing assassination plot. Thank goodness she can count on trusted advisor Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush) and the hunky seafaring Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen) for advice.
DECEMBER BOYS
Who’s In It? Daniel Radcliffe, Teresa Palmer
Who Directed? Rod Hardy (Route 52)
What’s It About? Radcliffe plays the oldest of four orphan boys spending their summer holidays on the Australian coast with a young couple who may adopt one of them at season’s end.
October 19
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Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone
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SPOTLIGHT
GONE BABY, GONE
What does everyone have against Ben Affleck?
A
quick Google search for “Gone Baby Gone,” Affleck’s directorial debut,
reveals almost unanimous praise for the film’s gloomy and foreboding
trailer —but most of it is couched in phrases of disbelief that
Affleck’s first film behind the camera may actually be good.
Based
on a novel by Dennis Lehane (the author of Mystic River, as the film’s
website, trailer and official synopsis won’t let you forget), Gone Baby
Gone
revolves around two private investigators — Patrick Kenzie (Ben’s
brother Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) — who are
asked to help out when four-year-old Amanda McCready is abducted.
Patrick grew up in Dorchester, the tough part of Boston where the crime
took place, and the girl’s family hopes he may have better luck than
the cops convincing its tight-lipped residents to talk.
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It goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that one of the reasons Affleck chose this story for his directorial debut is that it takes place in his beloved Beantown. Aside from his brother, obviously also a Bostonian, Affleck cast Robert Wahlberg (brother to Donnie and Mark) as a police detective. The Wahlberg clan grew up right in Dorchester, where they were very well acquainted with both the cops and the robbers.
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RENDITION
Who’s In It? Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon
Who Directed? Gavin Hood (Tsotsi)
What’s It About? Gyllenhaal plays CIA analyst Douglas Freeman, who is unnerved after participating in a brutal interrogation of Egyptian-born chemical engineer and terror suspect Anwar El-Ibráhimi (Omar Metwalley) at a secret detention facility outside of the States. Back in the U.S., Anwar’s American wife Isabella (Witherspoon) desperately searches for her missing husband and eventually crosses paths with Douglas, whose conscience demands he tell her all he knows, including details about his own “hands-on” involvement.
RESERVATION ROAD
Who’s In It? Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo
Who Directed? Terry George (Hotel Rwanda)
What’s It About? Two fathers, Dwight (Ruffalo) and Ethan (Phoenix), have their lives tragically enmeshed when one is behind the wheel during an accident that takes the life of the other one’s son. Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz.
NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN 3D
Voices: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara
Who Directed? Henry Selick (Monkeybone)
What’s It About? For the second year in a row, those who live near a theatre with 3D capability (Colossus Toronto, SilverCity Mississauga, Coliseum Scarborough, Banque Scotia Montreal, Niagara Square) will be able to see the spooky story of Jack Skellington, King of Halloweentown, in eye-popping 3D.
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
Who’s In It? Josh Hartnett, Melissa George
Who Directed? David Slade (Hard Candy)
What’s It About? For one month each year there is absolutely no sunlight in Barrow, Alaska. What a great place for bloodthirsty vampires — what with their allergies to the sun — to wreak havoc! Only the sheriff (Hartnett) and his wife (George) can save their town from becoming the world’s Number One destination for fanged tourists.
MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
Who’s In It? Marla Olmstead, Mark Olmstead
Who Directed? Amir Bar-Lev (Fighter)
What’s It About? Imagine swirling patterns in vibrant hues composed with depth and, apparently, great thought. No, not the works of Kandinsky or Pollock, but of a four-year-old girl. Marla Olmstead is the barely-out-of-diapers painter featured in a skeptical 60 Minutes piece a couple of years ago. This documentary asks similar questions about the nature of modern art, the talent of our young artist, and the veracity of her parents’ claims.
October 26
RAILS & TIES
Who’s In It? Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden
Who Directed? Alison Eastwood (debut)
What’s It About? Clint’s 35-year-old daughter makes her directing debut with this drama about a mother who brings her son along when she parks her car on a railroad track with a train approaching. The crash kills the mother, but the son survives and forms a bond with the guilt-ridden conductor (Bacon) and his wife (Harden).
DAN IN REAL LIFE
Who’s In It? Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche
Who Directed? Peter Hedges (Pieces of April)
What’s It About? Widowed father of three Dan Burns (Carell) is ready to get back into the dating game, and wouldn’t ya know it, the woman he falls for happens to be his brother’s (Dane Cook) new girlfriend (Binoche).
SLEUTH
Who’s In It? Jude Law, Michael Caine
Who Directed? Kenneth Branagh (Henry V)
What’s It About? Twenty-five years ago Caine starred in the 1972 film version of the Broadway play, portraying hairdresser Milo Tindale, who engages in a game of cat and mouse with his lover’s jealous husband (then played by Laurence Olivier). In this remake, Caine stars as the scheming husband while Law plays Milo.
MARTIAN CHILD
Who’s In It? John Cusack, Bobby Coleman
Who Directed? Menno Meyjes (Max)
What’s It About? When his fiancée passes away, a sci-fi writer (Cusack) decides to fill the hole in his life by adopting a boy (Coleman) who believes he’s from Mars. Based on the book, and life, of sci-fi writer David Gerrold, a single parent who adopted a boy.
RUN, FAT BOY, RUN
Who’s In It? Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton
Who Directed? David Schwimmer (debut)
What’s It About? Friends alumni Schwimmer makes his big-screen directing debut with this comedy about chunky English bloke Dennis (Pegg), who leaves his fiancée at the altar. Years later he realizes his mistake, and in order to impress her vows to get in shape and run the New York City Marathon.
THE TRACEY FRAGMENTS
Who’s In It? Ellen Page, Slim Twig
Who Directed? Bruce McDonald (Picture Claire)
What’s It About? Fifteen-year-old Tracey Berkowitz (Page) is going nuts dealing with a horrible home life, a brother who thinks he’s a dog and an aspiring rock star boyfriend (Twig). Director McDonald employs multiple split screens and the music of Broken Social Scene to tell Tracey’s tale.
THE COMEBACKS
Who’s In It? David Koechner, Brooke Nevin
Who Directed? Tom Brady (The Hot Chick)
What’s It About? It’s about time someone parodied the cliché-ridden sports movie. Koechner stars as Lambeau Fields, a washed-up football coach who tries to turn a team of ragtag college players into a well-oiled machine. Canadian Nevin pops up as Coach Fields’ daughter, while former NFLers Eric Dickerson, Lawrence Taylor and Michael Irving make cameo appearances. See Brooke Nevin interview.
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
Who’s In It? Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro
Who Directed? Susanne Bier (Brothers)
What’s It About? After Audrey’s (Berry) husband is murdered, she asks her hubby’s best friend, Jerry (Del Toro), to move in with her and her two kids. The thing is, Jerry has some substance abuse issues that are not exactly under control.
SAW IV
Who’s In It? Tobin Bell, Lyriq Bent
Who Directed? Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw III)
What’s It About? Halloween is upon us, which means the latest installment from the gruesome Saw franchise. Yes, master torturer Jigsaw (Bell) is dead, but we get the feeling he’s left enough traps and games lying around to inflict some serious damage...even from the grave.
October 28
WWE CYBER SUNDAY
Live event 8-11 p.m. ET / 5-8 p.m. PT
Log on. Take over. WWE Cyber Sunday puts fans in control by basing the matches on write-in suggestions from folks like you. The result should be an unpredictable event featuring WWE Champion John Cena, Batista, Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Triple H, to name a few. Check www.cineplex.com for a list of theatres where you can watch it live, and to buy your tickets.