“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End”

Walt Disney Pictures

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Chow Yun-Fat, Stellan Skarsgard, Bill Nighy
Director: Gore Verbinski
Story: Will Turner (Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and Captain Barbossa (Rush) unite to save Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) from Davy Jones’ (Nighy) locker. On their journey to the ends of the earth, they must head through exotic Singapore and team up with Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Yun-Fat). Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards appears as Jack Sparrow’s father.
Buzz:  The last film was criticized for its length and repetitiveness but that didn’t stop hordes of people from making it the top grossing film of 2006. Director Verbinski told Entertainment Weekly that in this film “piracy itself is at stake. It's like the railroad coming to the West. There will be a conference of the world's pirate leaders and a treacherous journey to the literal ‘World's End.’”
Web site: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/pirates/

“Bug”

Lionsgate

Starring: Ashley Judd, Harry Connick, Jr., Lynn Collins, Brian O'Byrne, Michael Shannon
Director: William Friedkin
Story: Based on the play by Tracy Letts, this film tells the story of a lonely waitress (Judd) who lives in fear of her recently paroled ex-husband (Connick Jr.). After embarking on an affair with an eccentric stranger (Shannon), she starts to feel hopeful again. The stranger is a war victim who believes there are bugs under his skin, soon Judd and the returning Connick Jr. are drawn into his paranoia. But could the bugs be real?
Buzz: Friedkin’s made some great films (“The Exorcist,” “The French Connection”) and some real stinkers (“Jade,” “Deal of the Century”), so he’s hardly a sure thing either way. The Hollywood Reporter’s Duane Byrge wrote, “Friedkin swirls the formulaic story to its most intense inner dimension.” While Variety’s Todd McCarthy had a more negative take, calling the film “intensely alienating.”
Web site: http://www.bugthemovie.com/

“Angel-A”

Sony Pictures Classics

Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Olivier Claverie, Gilbert Melki, Kate Nauta, Serge Riaboukine
Director: Luc Besson
Story: Director Besson (“The Fifth Element”) goes back to his native French with this film about a debt-ridden Parisian hustler (Debbouze) who decides to end it all. But as he goes to jump from the Pont-Neuf, a beautiful blonde (Rasmussen) leaps first. He pulls her to safety and slowly realizes that there’s something different about this woman.
Buzz: Variety’s Lisa Neeson calls Besson’s most talky film “an achingly sincere but protracted effort to trade mostly action for mostly dialogue.” Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Rechtshaffen concurs, calling the film “far from heaven-sent.”
Web site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/angel-a/

“Rescue Dawn”

Mgm

Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Marshall Bell, François Chau
Director: Werner Herzog
Story: The film is based on the true story of American pilot Dieter Dengler (Bale) who was shot down during a top-secret mission to fly into Laos during the Vietnam War. Captured and placed in a prison camp, he organizes the escape of a group of captives (including Zahn). The only problem: the prison is surrounded by endless jungle.
Buzz: This film had a notoriously tough shoot; the New Yorker reported that some crew members were ready to mutiny. Herzog (“Fitzcarraldo,” “Aguirre: The Wrath of God”) is a classic maverick, and liked to shoot and run rather than plan difficult sequences. He already made a documentary on the same subject (“Little Dieter Needs to Fly”). Variety’s Leslie Felperin wrote that the film “packs a wrenching emotional punch.”
Web site: http://www.gibraltarfilms.com/projects/rescuedawn/

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