“Fracture”

New Line Cinema

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Billy Burke, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davitz, Valerie Dillman
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Story: An assistant DA (Gosling) whose career is on the rise has one last case to close before he can move on to his cushy new job. Unfortunately, that job involves a slippery would-be killer (Hopkins) who was released on a technicality after murdering his wife. The two engage in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. 
Buzz: Director Hoblit is the man behind the very good courtroom thriller “Primal Fear”; let’s hope he can hit a similar balance of intelligence and thrills with this film. Hopkins and Gosling both radiate smarts and should prove a fun pair to watch if the script has the snappy dialogue they both require.
Web site: http://www.fracturemovie.com/

“Next”

Paramount Pictures

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Tory Kittles, Michael Trucco
Director: Lee Tamahori
Story: Based on the Philip K. Dick story “The Golden Man,” Cage plays Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas magician who can see into the future. The FBI wants to use his abilities to prevent a global terrorist threat, while he just wants to save the woman (Biel) that he loves.
Buzz: Director Tamahori is helmed “Die Another Day” and “XXX: State of the Union,” so definitely expect some big explosions. Movies based on Dick stories include “Minority Report,” “Blade Runner,” “Total Recall,” “A Scanner Darkly” and “Paycheck.” And if you’ve see “Paycheck,” you know what can go wrong when a Dick story falls into the wrong hands.
Web site: NA

“The Condemned”

Lionsgate

Starring: Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone, Victoria Mussett, Rick Hoffman, Christopher Baker, Samantha Healy, Madeline West, Luke Pegler
Director: Scott Wiper
Story: A group of 10 death-row prisoners are sent to a remote island to play the ultimate reality game: A fight to the death as America watches via the Internet. The last prisoner left alive will go free.
Buzz: This admittedly interesting premise gets a bit less compelling when you add a leading man who’s a wrestler, three screenwriters and a director known for “The Last Marshall.” Despite all that, this could be an excellent mindless popcorn movie, which is all it’s probably meant to be.
Web site: http://lionsgate.com/thecondemned/

“The Invisible”

Hollywood Pictures / Spyglass En

Starring: Justin Chatwin, Marcia Gay Harden, Margarita Levieva, Chris Marquette
Director: David S. Goyer
Story: Nick (Chatwin) is brutally attacked and left for dead in the woods. Now in limbo, no one else can see or hear him, but in order to live he must somehow lead his friends and family to his body and solve the mystery of what happened to him. Annie (Levieva) is the troubled girl who may have the answers behind why Nick was attacked.
Buzz: If Hollywood was to take Alice Sebold’s “Lovely Bones” and make it into a somewhat cheesy thriller (and change the gender of the main character), this is what might pop out. Chatwin played the son who miraculously made it to the end of “War of the Worlds.”
Web site: http://www.myspace.com/theinvisiblemovie

“Kickin’ It Old Skool”

Yari Film Group

Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Christopher McDonald, Miguel Nuñez, Aris Alvarado, Bobby Lee, Debra Jo Rupp, Alan Ruck
Director: Harvey Glazer
Story: A 12-year-old break dancer hits his head and goes into a coma in 1986, and comes out of it 20 years later. Still possessing the somewhat innocent mind of a 12-year-old, he (Kennedy) hopes to revive his dance team and help save his parents’ failing frozen yogurt shop.
Buzz: All you need to know about Kennedy is that he starred in “Malibu’s Most Wanted” and “Son of Mask.” Do you really want to spend your hard earned money on a movie starring this guy? His talents are most definitely more suited to the small screen. Glazer makes his directorial debut. How auspicious!
Web site: NA

“Jindabyne”

Sony Picture Classics

Starring: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Deborra-Lee Furness, John Howard, Leah Purcell, Stelios Yiakmis, Alice Garner
Director: Ray Lawrence
Story: Based on the Raymond Carver story “So Much Water, So Close to Home,” this film tells the story of a group of fisherman (Byrne, Howard, Yiakmis, Stone) who discover the dead body of a local Aboriginal girl. Instead of doing anything about the girl’s body, they spend their day fishing. When Byrne tells his wife (Linney) what happened, she’s completely unnerved by her husband’s callousness. Public opinion begins to build against the men, who feel haunted by spirits.
Buzz: Variety’s Robert Koehler wrote that the film “never obtains the full impact of its potentially powerful inner core.” But on the other hand, Lawrence helmed the very provocative “Lantana” (worth a rental) and this is only his third film in 20 years (so well worth a look).
Web site: http://www.april.com.au/

“Diggers”

Magnolia Pictures

Starring: Lauren Ambrose, Shannon Barry, Andrew Cherry, Ron Eldard, Django Gilligan, Josh Hamilton, Ken Marino, Sarah Paulson, Alex Pickett, Jonny Pickett, Paul Rudd, Scott Sowers, Maura Tierney
Director: Katherine Dieckmann
Story: Set in the ‘70s, a group of thirtysomething townies watch as the clam-digging livelihood that has been in their families forever is threatened by corporate interests. They also deal with romance, marriage and coming-of-age in an era that seems to be passing them by.
Buzz: Variety’s Dennis Harvey called the film “basically ‘Diner’ in wading boots, it feels very familiar in conceit and unadventurous in execution, but offers the undeniable pleasures of a well-observed, well-played modest seriocomedy.”
Web site: NA

MORE FROM MOVIE OPINIONS

Oscar season nears, but where’s the buzz?

Oscar season nears, but where’s the buzz? Hollywood’s vampire obsession may bleed out Does ‘Precious’ stereotype big black women? Newsweek: The problem with ‘Precious’ When it comes to stardom, Clooney has smarts ‘Saw’ franchise creates buzz, but is it any good? Remembering concert documentaries that rock theGrio: ‘This Is It’ a final act fit for a king Best actress category looks slim for Oscars theGrio: Tyler Perry can’t do bad all by himself   Add Movie opinions headlines to your news reader: