Jolie, Pacino, Wahlberg have just the right thrill

Car chases, mysterious deaths, and shootouts, oh my! If after seeing blockbusters like “The Hulk” and “Indiana Jones,” you still need an action fix, Hollywood has plenty of other contenders this spring. Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves check in with taut action flicks, while Al Pacino, Uma Thurman and Mark Walhberg are ready to tickle your brain with some thrills.

“The Happening”

20th Century Fox

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Spencer Breslin, Ashlyn Sanchez
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Story: Elliot (Wahlberg) and Alma Moore (Deschanel) go on the run when what seems to be a chemical attack starts killing people in major U.S. cities. Is it terrorism or something more sinister?
One to watch? Yes. This marks Shyamalan’s first R-rated film. He told Variety, “(He and Fox executive Tim Rothman) talked about trying to get the kind of intensity that is present in ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ and the kind that Guillermo del Toro got in ‘Pan's Labyrinth.’” That kind of freedom should serve Shyamalan well. His last two films (“Lady and the Water,” “The Village”) were the kind of failures of storytelling that can turn audiences against a director. This is your last chance, M. Night.
Coming: June 13
Web site: http://www.thehappeningmovie.com/

“Wanted”

Video   ‘Wanted’ An apathetic nobody (James McAvoy) is transformed into a hero when the mysterious Fox (Angelina Jolie) recruits him into a secret society and shows him his powers. Buena Vista Pictures

Starring: James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Terence Stamp, Thomas Kretschmann, Common, Angelina Jolie
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Story: Based on Mark Millar’s graphic-novel series, this film tells the story of Wes (McAvoy), a dissatisfied cubicle-dweller who meets a mysterious woman named Fox (Jolie) who gives him entre into a different world. She recruits him into the Fraternity to avenge his father’s death and teaches him, along with the group’s leader Sloan (Freeman), how to become an assassin.
One to watch? Yes. Berkmambetov is the Russian director responsible for “Night Watch” and “Day Watch,” which have become cult favorites. And the stars, including Jolie, were reportedly fans of the filmmaker, according to MTV.com. Berkmambetov described the film to MTV.com, “The hero will discover the whole world. It looks ordinary, but it’s not. It’s an industrial world filled with weaving machines, lots of traps, lot of looms flying back and forth and predicting the future... The weavers can read the fabric ... Then they know who has to be killed to keep the balance of the world.”
Coming: June 27
Web site: http://www.wantedmovie.com/

“88 Minutes”

Video   ‘88 Minutes’ When a college professor/FBI forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) gets a death threat telling him he has 88 minutes to live, he must narrow down the suspects quickly. Buena Vista Pictures

Starring: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, Deborah Kara Unger, Benjamin McKenzie, Neal McDonough
Director: Jon Avnet
Story: College professor and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) receives a phone call telling him he’s got 88 minutes to live. Among the suspects is a serial killer, the Seattle Slayer (McDonough), who Gramm’s testimony helped land on death row. Along the way, Gramm gets implicated in a murder that may put all the cases he’s testified for in jeopardy.
One to watch? No. Something fishy’s going on here. This film was wrapped back in 2005 and has sat on the studio’s shelf until now. Popsyndicate.com critic Stephen Halley wrote, “ ‘88 Minutes’ is the kind of movie that stars Michael Madison and goes straight to DVD not Al Pacino. It boggles the mind that director Jon Avent and Pacino read the script and thought this is a good movie.” 
Coming: April 18
Web site: http://www.88minutestolive.com/

“Street Kings”

Video   ‘Street Kings’ Keanu Reeves stars as a cop trying to get over the death of his wife who’s accused of executing a fellow officer. Buena Vista Pictures

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Naomie Harris, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, Cedric the Entertainer
Director: David Ayer
Story: Tom Ludlow (Reeves) is a Los Angeles cop, recovering from the death of his wife. Suspected in the death of a fellow officer, Ludlow is under the scrutiny of his boss (Whitaker) and an Internal Affairs officer (Laurie). He teams up with a young robbery homicide detective (Evans) to find the real killers, and both find themselves stepping over the legal boundaries in pursuit of justice.
One to watch? Probably not. C’mon, anything this movie can do, “The Shield’s” final season (coming in Sept.) can do better and with more depth. Back in 2005, Spike Lee was in talks to direct this thriller before Ayer (who also wrote “Training Day”) got the green light to direct it himself.
Coming: April 11
Web site: http://foxsearchlight.com/streetkings/

“The Life Before Her Eyes”

Magnolia Pictures

Starring: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri
Director: Vadim Perelman
Story: A Columbine-like school shooting changes the life of Diana (Wood as a girl, Thurman as an adult) when she survives but loses her best friend (Amurri). On the 15^th anniversary, now a wife and mother, Diana is haunted by memories of the days leading up the shooting and feels her present day life beginning to unravel as a mystery from the past is revealed.
One to watch? Maybe. Perelman doesn’t do himself any favors by trying to turn seemingly internal books (“House of Sand and Fog”) into movies. After seeing it at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, Cinematical.com’s Ryan Stewart wrote that the film is “structurally uneven at times, and definitely not as profound in its revelations as it wants to be, but with strong acting and a strong visual palette, it’s a success.”
Date: April 18
Web site: http://www.lifebeforehereyes.com/

Best of the rest: Action/thrillers — Jet Li and Jackie Chan share the screen in “The Forbidden Kingdom,” a film about a modern American teenager who is transported back to the world of ancient Chinese warriors. (April 18) — In “Anamorph,” a reclusive detective (Willem Dafoe) must investigate a series of murders in which the bodies are staged like pieces of art before he becomes the killer’s next victim. (April 18). — John Boorman directs “The Tiger’s Tail,” about an Irish property developer (Brendan Gleeson) who is horrified to discover his double. His wife (Kim Cattrall) treats his visions as hallucinations. (April 18) — Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman star in “Deception,” the story of an accountant who is introduced to a sex club by his lawyer friend, and then caught up in a woman’s murder. (April 25). — David Mamet wrote and directed “Redbelt,” the story of a Jiu-jitsu master (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who meets an actor (Tim Allen) who introduces him to the world of professional fight promoters, and decides to participate in his first professional fight. (May 2)

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