Movies Released July 22, 2005

Friday, July 22

Hustle & Flow R

Produced by John Singleton and the Winner of the Sundance Film Festival, "Hustle & Flow" is the redemptive story of a Memphis street hustler who struggles to break out of his gritty world to fulfill his life long dream of becoming a respected rap musician. He teams up with his middle class friend who is stuck in an office routine having missed the opportunity of becoming the music producer he always wanted to be. Together they have one last chance to follow their dream.
Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, John Singleton, Stephanie Allain, Craig Brewer, Isaac Hayes, DJ Qualls
Drama Music

The Devil's Rejects R

Sequel to "House of 1000 Corpses" is set some months later with the Texas State Police making a full-scale attack against the murderous Firefly family residence for the 1,000+ murders and disappearances of the past several years. But three of the family members escape, including Otis, Baby Firefly and Baby's father Captain Spaulding. The evil trio go on a road trip, leaving dozens of mangled bodies in their wake. Evading a massive Texas Rangers dragnet as well as a group of equally murderous bounty hunters led by Ken Dwyer (the brother of a policeman Mamma Firefly killed in 'House of...') who's obsessed with finding the deadly killers, the surviving Firefly clan gather at a run-down amusement park owned by Captain Spaulding's half-brother, Charlie Altamont, whom offers them shelter and a new base of operations for their killing spree as Sheriff Dwyer, the Texas Rangers, the FBI and others slowly close in.
Mike Elliott, Andy Gould, Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Danny Trejo, Brent Morris, Michael Ohoven, Rob Zombie
Sequel Fantasy Thriller Horror Sci-Fi

Last Days

"Last Days" is filmmaker Gus Van Sant's meditation on the inner turmoil that engulfs a brilliant, but troubled, musician in the final hours of his life. Michael Pitt stars as Blake, an introspective artist who is buckling under the weight of fame, professional obligations, and a mounting feeling of isolation. "Last Days" follows Blake through a handful of hours he spends in and near his wooded home, a fugitive from his own life. It is a period of random moments and fractured consciousness, fused by spontaneous bursts of rock & roll. Expanding on the elliptical style forged in his two previous films, "Gerry" and the Palme d'Or-winning "Elephant", Van Sant layers images and sounds to articulate an emotional landscape, creating a dynamic work about a soul in transition.
Gus Van Sant, Michael Pitt, Lukas Haas, Asia Argento, Kim Gordon, Harmony Korine, Ari Tomais
Drama Documentary Music
Advertisement

The Edukators

Jan, Peter and Jule are living out their rebellious youth. They are united by their passion to change the state of the world. Jan and Peter become "The Edukators," mysterious perpetrators who non-violently warn the local rich their "days of plenty are numbered." Complications follow when vulnerable Jule ends up falling for both young men. Reckless choices result in danger. An operation gone wrong and what was never intended to be a kidnapping brings the three young idealists face-to-face with the values of the generation in power.
Katharina Held, Hans Weingartner, Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaußner
Drama
89 mins

Bad News Bears PG-13

Morris Buttermaker, a former pro baseball player was ejected from the game for attacking an umpire, and now works as an exterminator. More interested in boozing and broads than baseball, Buttermaker is lured back into the game by Liz Whitewood, an attorney whose class action suit has forced the Little League to accept all players, regardless of their abilities. As the new coach of the Bears, the most losing team in Little League history, Buttermaker has his work cut out for him. Initially, he's only in it for the paycheck, but he and his inept players have a transformative effect on one another that is wholly unexpected, and completely remarkable.
Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, Billy Bob Thorton, Greg Kinnear, Marcia Gay Harden, Richard Linklater, Geyer Kosinski, Bruce Heller
Comedy Remake Sports
127 mins

The Island PG-13

Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island"—reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones whose only purpose is to provide "spare parts" for their original human counterparts. Realizing it is only a matter of time before he is "harvested," Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Bay, Ian Bryce, Laurie MacDonald, Roberto Orci, Shawnee Smith, Walter Parkes
Fantasy Thriller Suspense Sci-Fi
88 mins

November R

After a dinner out, photographer Sophie Jacobs and her boyfriend, Hugh, stop at a corner store for a late night snack. While Sophie waits unaware in the car, Hugh is murdered in a violent robbery. Haunted by guilt, Sophie goes on with her life as best she can: teaching photography at a local art college, meeting her mother for lunch, and visiting her therapist. But one day at school, a slide mysteriously appears in the projector's carousel—an image of what looks like her car in front of the corner store the night of the shooting. Are these paranoid visions stemming from her grief and guilt, or does someone know something about the murder? As her investigation deepens, more strange events start to occur, drawing into question exactly what happened the night of Hugh's death.
James LeGros, Michael Ealy, Nick Offerman, Greg Harrison, Danielle Renfrew, Gary Winick, Jake Abraham, Courteney Cox Arquette
Drama Crime

Friday, July 22