Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
From Troy Duffy, writer and director of The Boondock Saints, comes the much anticipated sequel to the tough, stylized cutting edge saga of the MacManus brothers (Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery). The two have been in deep hiding with their father, Il Duce (Billy Connolly), in the quiet valleys of Ireland, far removed from their former vigilante lives. When word comes that a beloved priest has been killed by sinister forces from deep within the mob, the brothers return to Boston to mount a violent and bloody crusade to bring justice to those responsible. With a new partner in crime (Clifton Collins Jr., Star Trek) and a sexy FBI operative (Julie Benz, TV's Dexter) hot on their trail... the Saints are back!
Breaking Bad: The First Complete Season
Emmy ® Award winner Bryan Cranston stars as Walter White, a down-on-his-luck chemistry teacher struggling to make ends meet for his wife (Anna Gunn) and physically challenged son (RJ Mitte). Everything changes when Walter receives a startling diagnosis: terminal lung cancer. With only a few years to live and nothing to lose, Walter uses his training as a chemist to cook and sell crystal meth with one of his former students (Aaron Paul). As his status grows, so do his lies, but Walt will stop at nothing to make sure his family is taken care of after he's gone, even if it means putting all their lives on the line. Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson.
Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore is one of the few directors who knows how to consistently stir up controversy and fuel debate with each film he produces. Just the mere mention of his name and folks immediately pick sides to defend or lambaste the ideas expressed by the grandstanding documentarian. Probably more so than any other filmmaker working today, Moore possesses one of the largest love him or hate him relationships with the moviegoing audience. But no matter the political standpoint from which one approaches his documentaries, there is no denying he sheds light on important issues the public should consider and provokes discussion. With 'Capitalism: A Love Story', Moore has perhaps created his most significant and timely film yet, examining the failure of the banking industry and our current economic situation.
The film commences with an amusing political quip and satire comparing the fall of the Roman Empire with our own contemporary downturn. The unfortunate similarities are not meant to be laugh-out-loud funny as much as they are peculiar and ironic. We are immediately made to think that our country has perhaps reached such an apex of civil order as to weigh ourselves against one of the world's largest and most powerful empires in human history. They, too, saw the decline of their western kingdom during a political and financial crisis that began almost two hundred years before the last official emperor, Romulus Augustus, was finally overthrown. Is it possible we might be met with a similar fate in a few more years? Moore seems to imply that the parallels are already there. He's just trying to make us aware of them.
Old Dogs
Two best friends—one unlucky-in-love divorcé (Robin Williams) and the other a fun-loving bachelor (John Travolta)—have their lives turned upside down when they're unexpectedly charged with the care of six-year-old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The not-so-kidsavvy bachelors stumble in their efforts to take care of the twins (newcomers Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn), leading to one debacle after another, and perhaps to a new-found understanding of what's really important in life.
Planet 51
Sixteen-year-old Lem (Justin Long) lives on Planet 51, a white picket-fenced world reminiscent of a cheerfully innocent 1950s America. He is happy in his safe, predictable world and spends his time daydreaming about running the local planetarium and dating the girl next door, Neera (Jessica Biel).
One day out of the blue and millions of miles from his own planet, astronaut Captain Charles 'Chuck' Baker (Dwayne Johnson) lands his spaceship in Neera's backyard, right in the middle of a family barbecue! Unaware of his surroundings, he disembarks the ship reveling in his Big Moment. He plants his flag triumphantly and turns... only to find Planet 51's green-skinned inhabitants staring back at him bemused! He panics and flees, finding refuge quite by chance in the planetarium where Lem works.
When Lem and Chuck meet, they gradually overcome their mutual fear and strike up a friendship. Lem agrees to hide Chuck from the paranoid Planet 51 Army who are determined to capture the alien within their midst, convinced he is out to destroy them. But all Chuck wants to do is reach his spacecraft before it returns to Earth without him! So with the help of Lem and his friends, a pair of not-so-bright Planet 51 soldiers, and an excitable but trusty explorer robot, Rover, Chuck and the gang race to reach his spaceship before it's too late.
Up in the Air
"Like father, like son" is an old saying that often rings true, but not so much when you look at the movies of Ivan Reitman and his chip-off-the-old-block Jason. The two may share the same genes and a striking physical resemblance, but creatively they're worlds apart. I must admit, I've never been a huge fan of the elder Reitman. Oh sure, I enjoyed 'Ghostbusters,' got a kick out of 'Evolution,' and fell in love with arguably his best film, 'Dave.' (I even hold a soft spot for the endearing summer camp comedy, 'Meatballs.') But most of Ivan's film canon doesn't possess much depth, and some of it – like 'Legal Eagles' and 'Six Days Seven Nights' – is downright vapid.
Jason, on the other hand, though still young and certain to one day spawn his own share of turkeys, is steadily amassing a stellar body of work that's garnering well-deserved critical and popular acclaim…and sending many of his fellow budding directors into jealous conniptions. His maturity, keen insights, and adroit storytelling ability belie his tender age, as does his knack for finding nuggets of sober truth within a quirky comedic structure. Jason's films brim with heart and, more importantly, soul, and are populated by dimensional characters that both surprise and delight. 'Thank You for Smoking' proved to be an auspicious debut, and 'Juno,' buoyed by several Academy Award nominations including one for Best Director, quickly lofted the younger Reitman to A-level status. But instead of using his clout to court big-budget blockbusters, Jason has stayed true to himself and his craft, and continues to do what he does best – small-focus, character-driven comedy-dramas that make quiet but potent statements about the oh-so-fragile human condition.