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“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sascha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch
Director: Adam McKay
Story: NASCAR racers Ferrell and Reilly are known as “Thunder and Lightening” because they come in first and second so often — with Reilly always number two. Cohen (aka Ali Gi and Borat) plays a gay French Formula One racer who’s ready to steal Ferrell’s thunder. Bibb plays Ferrell’s hot blond wife, while Clarke Duncan plays his crew chief.
Buzz: McKay is the man behind “Anchorman,” so if you thought that film was funny, you’ll probably enjoy this one. Rumor has it that Ferrell got this story idea green-lit without so much as a full pitch, let alone a script. Now that’s power.
Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/talladeganights/index.html
“The Night Listener”
Starring: Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, Rory Culkin, Joe Morton, John Cullum, Bobby Cannavale
Director: Patrick Stettner
Story: Based on the book by Armistead Maupin, Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a radio talk-show host who develops a phone relationship with a terminal AIDS patient (Culkin) who claims to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of his birth parents. Williams decides to go in search of the boy, but instead encounters the social worker (Colette) who claims to have saved him from abuse. He finds himself wondering: Is the boy even real?
Buzz: When Williams goes dark (“One Hour Photo”) the results tend to be a lot more interesting than the actor’s recent forays into comedy (“RV” anyone?). Collette is one of the more dependable actresses around (“In Her Shoes,” “About a Boy”) and should give a meaty performance here. Stettner is also the man behind the creepy “Business of Strangers.”
Web site: NA
“Jet Li’s Fearless”
Starring: Jet Li, Betty Sun, Dong Yong, Nakamura Shidou
Director: Ronny Yu
Story: Li plays real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia in this film set in China at the turn of the 20th century. After a personal tragedy, he disappears for years, but then re-emerges to defend his country in an international martial-arts tournament.
Buzz: Jet Li claims this is his final martial-arts film. Hmm, that sounds about as believable as Barbra Streisand celebrating her farewell tour … again. Director Yu is the man behind both “Freddy vs. Jason” and “Bride of Chuckie,” which hopefully means he’s at least added a bit of humor to this film.
Web site: http://www.fearlessthemovie.com/
“The Descent”
Starring: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, Myanna Buring, Oliver Milburn, Molly Kayll
Director: Neil Marshall
Story: An all-female caving expedition goes array after rock falls and blocks their exit. At first the girls worry about being trapped, but then they realize that … they aren’t alone. A race of humanoid monsters dwells in those caves and there’s no escape.
Buzz: This film could be this year’s surprise, low-budget horror hit, a la “Blair Witch.” Director Marshall made a creepy fun werewolf film called “Dog Soldiers” (worth a rental on DVD). Dan Jolin of UK’s Empire magazine wrote of “The Descent,” “Marshall goes all-out to disturb, upset and downright terrify his audience for a relentless 100-odd minutes.”
Web site: http://www.thedescentfilm.com/
“The Science of Sleep”
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Jean-Michel Bernard, Emma de Caunes, Inigo Lezzi
Director: Michel Gondry
Story: Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Stephane, a shy graphic designer who moves back in with his mom after the death of his father. He takes an unsatisfying job and as his waking life becomes more and more dull, his sleep life intensifies. He finds himself drawn to his neighbor Stephanie (Gainsbourg) whose imagination matches his own. Soon his dream life begins to intersect with the real world.
Buzz: Gondry is the man behind “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” so expect the surreal with this film. This time, instead of relying on the imagination of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Gondry has penned his own screenplay. Gondry also added animation to this live-action film to create some of the dream sequences. When it screened at Sundance, Duane Berg of the Hollywood Reporter called the film “a textural mindblower and a lot of fun.”
Web site: NA
“Quinceañera”
Starring: Emily Rios, Chalo Gonzalez, Jesse Garcia, David W. Ross, Jason L. Wood
Director: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Story: Set in the Latino neighborhood of Echo Park, Calif., Magdalena is getting ready to celebrate her 15th birthday when she finds out she’s pregnant. Her religious father finds out and Magdalena is forced to move in with her great Uncle Tomas (Gonzalez). Her tough black-sheep cousin (Garcia) also lives with Tomas and the trio must deal with a white gay couple who want to gentrify the neighborhood.
Buzz: “Quinceañera” won both the dramatic grand jury prize and the audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. Variety’s James Greenberg wrote that the film is “life-affirming without being saccharine and enormously entertaining.” Gonzalez made his film debut in Sam Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch.”
Web site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/comingsoon.php?filmid=309&page=1
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“World Trade Center”
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jay Hernandez
Director: Oliver Stone
Story: True story of two Port Authority policemen, Will Jimeno (Pena) and John McLouglin (Cage), who got trapped in the crumbling World Trade Center on Sept. 11, when they attempted to go in and help evacuate the building. Gyllenhaal and Bello are Pena and Cage’s respective wives, and the film also follows their story as they wait to see if their husbands survived.
Buzz: “United 93” answered the old “Is it too soon?” with a resounding, “not if the movie’s as well made as ‘United 93.’” Stone’s foray into the same material is different because it uses big stars, a sweeping sentimental score and some potentially cornball dialogue. This film is probably more in danger of being overly reverential rather than controversial, which is surprising considering that once upon a time, Stone was the kind of director who courted controversy and did not shy away from politics. Could this be the kinder, gentler Oliver Stone? Let’s hope not. Pena is probably best known for his role as the Latino locksmith Sandra Bullock doesn’t trust in the Oscar-winning “Crash.”
Web site: http://www.wtcmovie.com/
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