November 2005 Movies

In the tradition of "National Lampoon's Animal House" and "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" comes this wildly hilarious comedy about a guy who wants to date a girl who wants to wait. Adam (Cameron Douglas) is a typical college-aged guy, which is to say he wants sex 24 hours a day. But when he meets, and falls for, Eve (Emmanuelle Chriqui) a scorchingly hot co-ed who's still very attached to her virginity, the waiting game is on! While his college buddies score right and left, and campus hotties make tempting passes, Adam ponders an explosive question: Will Eve say "it's the right time," before he goes completely out of his mind?

"Jarhead" (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows "Swoff" (Gyllenhaal), a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom.

Foxx portrays Sergeant Sykes, a Marine lifer who heads up Swofford's scout/sniper platoon, while Sarsgaard is Swoff's friend and mentor, Troy, a die-hard member of STA—their elite Marine Unit.

Next summer the sky really IS falling in Walt Disney Pictures' new computer-animated film "Chicken Little". This epic tale presents a new twist to the classic fable of a young chicken who causes widespread panic when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky. In this hilarious adventure, Chicken Little is determined to revive his ruined reputation. But just as things are starting to go his way, a real piece of the sky lands on his head! Suspense, chaos, and plenty of laughs ensue as Chicken Little and his band of misfit friends, Abby Mallard (a.k.a. Ugly Duckling), Runt of the Litter and Fish Out of Water, attempt to save the world without sending the town into a whole new panic. This time, when it comes to saving the world, it helps to be a little chicken.

Flipping back and forth between the 18th Century and the hapless efforts of the 21st Century filmakers, "A Cock and Bull Story" is the making of a movie adapted from the notoriously unfilmable English literature masterpiece, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Sahndy, Gentlemen," written by Laurence Sterne.

The story begins with Tristram Shandy (Steve Coogan) narrating his life story as he sees it. Crammed with literary jokes and dark humor, Shandy's warped childhood tales are constantly interrupted by his family and household, inadvertently revealing far more about himself than any conventional autobiography.

At the dramatic moment of Tristram's birth, the 1st Assistant Director calls cut, marking the end of a filming day on the set of Tristram Shandy. We then see Steve Coogan, the other actors and crew through the course of a chaotic evening on set. Steve Coogan's wife arrives with their six month old baby, a journalist is chasing him about a scandalous story, his agent has arrived with a load of Hollywood scripts and the film financiers are threatening to pull the plug.

The president of an elitist sorority at South Beach U presides over a group of unlikely freshman girls who are trying to gain entrance and acceptance into the sorority.

A melancholy, depressed and jaded television reporter assumes the identity of a dead man while at a hotel in a north African country, not knowing that the man was a renowned arms smuggler. The newsman sees this switch as a last desperate chance to escape his old life and start anew. However, as he begins to take on the characteristics of his new persona and understand his shady involvements, the decision becomes a risky one, which leads to an inevitable showdown.

A musician who is supposed to mend his ways ends up changing the habits of a group of fellow inmates. Wesley Benfield is a guitar player with a habit of walking on the wrong side of the law. One night, Benfield gets into a fistfight in a Missouri honky-tonk, and when police discover the car he drove to the club is stolen, it's not long before he finds himself standing before a judge. Benfield is ordered to move into a half-way house near a small Baptist college, and as part of his therapy he joins in a small gospel combo made up of the house's residents. However, Benfield is a lot more interested in playing the blues. With a bit of persuading, he convinces his bandmates to pursue a new musical direction, and they start sneaking out at night to play shows at a local nightspot.

From acclaimed "In America" director Jim Sheridan comes the first film starring mega-hit rapper 50 Cent. This tale follows an inner city drug dealer who turns away from a life of dangerous crime to pursue his true passion, rap music. The road to change isn't easy however.

Charles Schine is a New York businessman who meets a sexy woman on a train and ends up in a seedy hotel room with her. While there, he's beaten and she is raped by a man who also robs them. The robber then begins to blackmail Schine so that his wife and family don't find out about his infidelity with the woman. This drives Schine from his humdrum life into a world of fraud, betrayal, and murder.

Based on Jonathan Larson's award-winning Broadway musical, "Rent" chronicles a group of New York village artists struggling with identity and artistic integrity in an HIV-positive world. Roommates Roger and Mark, a songwriter-recovering addict and a guerrilla filmmaker, respectively, must find a way to pay their former roommate-turned-landlord when he decides to reneg on his promise to provide them rent-free living.

Two brothers discover an oblong box in the park, which they dismiss as just some dumb old game. The boys turn their attention away from the game's jungle adventure board to discover a second game board inside with an outer-space theme and a colored path leading to the purple planet, Zathura. Mayhem ensues each time one of the boys draws a game card or rolls the dice. Facing meteors and giant robots, the brothers begin to appreciate each other and their sibling rivalry dissolves.

Eliza Naumann (Flora Cross) has no reason to believe she is anything but ordinary. Her father Saul (Richard Gere), a beloved university professor, dotes on her talented elder brother Aaron (Max Minghella). Her scientist mother, Miriam (Juliette Binoche), seems consumed by her career. When a spelling bee threatens to reaffirm her mediocrity, Eliza amazes everyone: she wins. Her newfound gift garners an invitation not only to the national competition, but an entrée into the world of words and Jewish mysticism that have so long captivated her father's imagination. But Eliza's unexpected success hurls the Naumann family dynamic into a tailspin, long-held secrets emerge and she is forced to depend upon her own divination to hold the family together.

This comic tale, set in a small town in Wales, revolves around a funeral director (Alfred Molina) madly in love with a local woman (Brenda Blethyn), even as he's losing business to a flashy American funeral parlor rival (Christopher Walken).

The glorious world of Jane Austen is at last brought back to the big screen in all its romance, wit and emotional force in "Pride & Prejudice". Faithful to the setting and period of the beloved novel and filmed entirely on location in the U.K., this is the first movie version of the story in 65 years.

The classic tale of love and misunderstanding unfolds in class-conscious England near the close of the 18th century. The five Bennet sisters – Elizabeth, or Lizzie (Keira Knightley), Jane (Rosamund Pike), Lydia (Jena Malone), Mary (Talulah Riley) and Kitty (Carey Mulligan) – have been raised well aware of their mother's (two-time Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn) fixation on finding them husbands and securing set futures. The spirited and intelligent Elizabeth, however, strives to live her life with a broader perspective, as encouraged by her doting father (two-time Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland).

When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods) takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of London friends and the influx of young militia officers, surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. Eldest daughter Jane, serene and beautiful, seems poised to win Mr. Bingley's heart. For her part, Lizzie meet with the handsome and – it would seem – snobbish Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), and the battle of the sexes is joined.

Their encounters are frequent and spirited yet far from encouraging. Lizzie finds herself even less inclined to accept a marriage proposal from a distant cousin, Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander), and – supported by her father – stuns her mother and Mr. Collins by declining. When the heretofore good-natured Mr. Bingley abruptly departs for London, devastating Jane, Lizzie holds Mr. Darcy culpable for contributing to the heartbreak. But a crisis involving youngest sister Lydia soon opens Lizzie's eyes to the true nature of her relationship with Mr. Darcy.

The ensuing rush of feelings leaves no one unchanged, and inspires the Bennets and everyone around them to reaffirm what is most important in life.

Harry's fourth summer and the following year at Hogwarts are marked by the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament, in which student representatives from three different wizarding schools compete in a series of increasingly challenging contests. However, Voldemort's Death Eaters are gaining strength and even creating the Dark Mark giving evidence that the Dark Lord is ready to rise again. In the unsuspecting lives of the young wizard and witches at Hogwarts the competitors are selected by the goblet of fire, which this year makes a very surprising announcement: Hogwarts will have two representatives in the tournament, including Harry Potter! Will Harry be able to rise to the challenge for the Tri Wizard Tournament while keeping up with school or will the challenges along with Voldemort's rebirth be too much for the young hero?

The film comprises Silverman's performance before a live audience interwoven with stylish musical numbers and backstage intrigue. Comedians Bob Odenkirk and Brian Posehn make appearances along with Silverman's band, The Silver Men.

Silverman, who has been compared to the legendary Lenny Bruce, is known as one of the funniest and most provocative people in comedy. Despite the current political climate, in "Jesus is Magic" she takes on such pitch-black topics as September 11th, unwanted body hair, and the Holocaust, and spins them into decidedly un-PC comedic gold. As she says in the film, "When God gives you AIDS, (and God does give you AIDS, by the way) make LemonAIDS."

This biopic about Johnny Cash will star Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary country icon and focus on the singer's early career in Memphis, including his struggles with drug addiction. Reese Witherspoon is set to star as his wife and bandmate, June Carter Cash.

A dysfunctional family is at the core of the story that unfolds as the matriarch, Magda, attempts to cope with the aftermath of a deadly accident. She dotes on her 20-year old son while her daughter and her husband live upstairs. Seven characters struggle to survive against odds that become more complicated than any of them could have contemplated. Greed, betrayal, homosexual politics, manipulation, blackmail, and a ferocious race to take ownership of a family owned plot of land, all combine to make this a modern day Greek tragedy, However, as in most tragedies of this nature, farce is never far behind.

When New York's hottest nightclub deejay Darrell (Usher) saves a mob boss's life (Chazz Palminteri), he is rewarded for his bravery with the responsibilty of watching over the don's beautiful daughter Dolly (Emmanuelle Chriqui). The sparks soon begin to fly between this attractive couple from very different worlds, against her formidable father's wishes. Meanwhile, the don has other things on his mind—quashing a potential war with an arch-rival and controlling a young, ruthless challenger to his throne. In the end, all's fair in love and gangster warfare in this hip, romantic comedy, "In the Mix".

The story of "The Libertine" focuses on 17th-century womanizing poet John Wilmot (Johnny Depp), the Earl of Rochester, who befriended King Charles II (John Malkovich) and died at the young age of 33 after falling in love with aspiring actress Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton).

A widow and widower fall in love and get married, but the resulting combined eighteen children make for a hair-raising situation under one roof.

A womanizing music exec (Ryan Reynolds), who became a player after the girl he longed for in high school told him she just wanted to be friends, reconnects with the woman as an adult and is determined to win her over.

Based on Robert Baer's memoir "See No Evil: The True Story of a Foot Soldier in the CIA's War on Terror." A drama showing how the CIA lost funding and let its guard down in the Middle East after the end of the Cold War.

"The Ice Harvest" is a wickedly funny thriller about thick thieves and thin ice. It's Christmas Eve in rainy, icebound Wichita, Kansas, and this year Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) just might have something to celebrate. Charlie, an attorney for the sleazy businesses of Wichita, and his unsavory associate, the steely Vic Cavenaugh (Billy Bob Thornton), have just successfully embezzled $2,147,000 from Kansas City boss Bill Guerrard (Randy Quaid). Even so, the real prize for Charlie would be the stunning Renata (Connie Nielsen), who runs the Sweet Cage strip club. Charlie's fondest Christmas wish is to slip out of town with Renata. But, as daylight fades and a storm whirls, everyone from Charlie's drinking buddy Pete Van Heuten (Oliver Platt) to the local police begin to wonder just what exactly is in Charlie's Christmas stocking. For Charlie, the 12 hours of Christmas Eve are filled with nonstop twists and turns, both on the ice and off.

Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, it is the story of the relationship between a disillusioned former US diplomat and a refugee Russian countess reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars.

Todd Jackson (Ralph Feinnes), once an American diplomat filled with idealism, has become bitterly disillusioned by realpolitik and the seemingly unavoidable nature of war and conflict. Moreover, he is deeply bereaved by the deaths of his wife and children, who were victims of violent political events in 1930s China that also robbed Jackson of his sight.

Jackson is trying to retreat into a smaller, more controllable world by creating here, in one of the world's most licentious, glittering and sordid ports, the perfect bar. After countless hours spent critically examining dive after dive in the city's pleasure districts, Jackson has become a connoisseur of decadence. One day, after a chance meeting with Matsuda - a mysterious Japanese man who appears to share his refined eye for the beauty of low-life establishments - Jackson gambles his savings on a horse, wins, and sets about realizing his masterpiece: a bar that will achieve the exquisite balance of romance, tragedy, and political tension.

Matsuda is a decidedly shadowy figure, but that fails to worry Jackson, and they partner to create the perfect bar. When rumors circulate that Matsuda has come to Shanghai to oversee a Japanese invasion of the city, Jackson still willfully refuses to listen.

Sofia (Natasha Richardson) is a White Russian countess in her thirties who fled the Bolshevik Revolution as a child. Her immediate family have perished, and she now lives in a Shanghai slum with members of her late husband's aristocratic family and her ten-year-old daughter, Katya. The household's sole breadwinner, Sofia works as a taxi-dancer in dingy night spots, resorting to prostitution when times are hard. The rest of the household show their gratitude by endlessly ostracizing her for bringing disgrace to the family.

Jackson encounters Sofia one night working at her taxi-dance hall, decides she is the perfect blend of tragedy and sensuality and asks her to become the centerpiece of his perfect bar. Thus begins a relationship that will see Jackson - despite his best efforts - slowly coaxed out of his enclosed world. He gradually comes to concede that Sofia may be more than a beautiful picture, becomes drawn to the spirited young Katya, and ultimately, into the intrigues within the family to separate Sofia from her child.

The story ends as the Japanese invade Shanghai, with the entire world on the brink of World War II. Ironically, it is at this point that Jackson, in acknowledging his love for Sofia and her daughter, finds reawakened his own idealism for a world free from war.

In this suburban drama, a widower (played by Anthony LaPaglia) confronts his older son's (played by Aaron Stanford) decision to leave home and his younger son's self-destructive behavior.