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Film clips

Opening

The Hitcher (R):
Music video director Dave Meyers remakes the 1986 suspense flick about college
sweethearts who pick up a hitchhiker, played by Lord of the Rings‘ Sean Bean, who is so clearly above this. Canandaigua, Tinseltown

Pan’s Labyrinth (R): Excellent Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy) wrote
and directed this fable about a girl who creates an enchanted world for herself
beyond the fascism of 1944 Spain.
Little

Volver (R): Pedro Almodóvar’s latest showcases a deft
ensemble cast, led by Golden Globe nominee Penélope
Cruz, in a sweetly funny melodrama about a family trying to make sense of death
and resurrection. Reviewed in this issue.Little

Continuing

Alpha Dog (R):
Filmmaker Nick Cassavetes follows up 2004’s The Notebook with this decidedly
different tale based on the true story of a young drug dealer who kidnaps the
little brother of his rival. Stars Emile Hirsch, Bruce Willis, Justin
Timberlake, and Sharon Stone. Tinseltown

Arthur and the
Invisibles (PG): Luc Besson adapts the children’s
book he wrote about a young boy who travels to a magical land to save his
grandpa’s home. With Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow, and the
voices of Madonna and Snoop Dogg.Brockport, Canandaigua, Geneseo, Tinseltown

Black Christmas (R): Is there a better way to celebrate the birth of Christ than with a remake
of the 1974 gorefest about a psycho terrorizing a
sorority? No; this is what He would have wanted.

Blood Diamond (PG-13): Leonardo DiCaprio, DjimonHounsou, and Jennifer Connelly star in director
Edward Zwick’s (The
Last Samurai) indictment of the Sierra Leone diamond trade.

Borat: Cultural Learnings
of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (R): Sacha Baron Cohen plays a Kazakh TV personality sent to
learn about “the U, S and A” in this heavily hyped flick that blurs the line
between fiction and reality.

Casino Royale (PG-13): The newest installment in the James Bond film franchise is this
adaptation of Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel. Daniel Craig stars as 007, Danish
actor MadsMikkelsen plays
the bad guy, and there are no doubt big guns, tiny guns, and double-crossing
sluts. Cinema

Charlotte’s Web (PG): The live-action version of E.B. White’s classic about the hog named
Wilbur and the spider named Charlotte stars Dakota Fanning and features the
voices of Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah
Winfrey, to name but a few. Canandaigua,
Geneseo, Tinseltown

Children of Men (R): Shapeshifter Alfonso Cuaron
(Y Tu Mama Tambien) follows up his Harry Potter installment with this sci-fi thriller about a human
race which has lost the ability to perpetuate itself. Stars Clive Owen and
Julianne Moore.Tinseltown

Code Name: The
Cleaner (PG-13): Cedric the Entertainer plays an amnesiac janitor who
believes he’s an undercover agent carrying a dangerous secret. Co-starring Lucy Liu, who presumably produced this on purpose.

Curse of the Golden
Flower (R): International mega-stars Chow Yun-Fat
and Gong Li lead the cast of this costumed epic about a murderously
dysfunctional family. From the director of Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Little, Tinseltown

Déjà Vu (PG-13):
Jerry Bruckheimer + Tony Scott + Denzel Washington = Crimson Tide as well as their new action movie, in which Washington plays an ATF
agent who harnesses the titular power.

Dreamgirls (PG-13): The screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical not-so-secretly
based on Diana Ross and the Supremes stars Beyoncé
Knowles, Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy, whose performance
is generating Oscar talk of his own. Brockport,
Canandaigua, Geneseo, Tinseltown

Employee of the Month
(PG-13): Overexposed comedian Dane Cook plays a store employee trying to
impress his new coworker, played by overexposed human Jessica Simpson.

Eragon (PG): Christopher Paolini’s bestselling
sword-and-sorcery epic about a boy and his dragon stars Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and DjimonHounsou. Canandaigua

Freedom Writers (PG-13):
Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as a Long Beach teacher who unifies her
disadvantaged kids by getting them to write about their troubled lives. Canandaigua, Geneseo, Tinseltown

The Good Shepherd (R): Robert DeNiro’s first directorial effort since
1993’s A Bronx Tale stars Matt Damon,
Angelina Jolie, and DeNiro
himself in a Cold War-era spy flick that takes a look at the early history of
the CIA. Canandaigua, Geneseo, Tinseltown

Happily N’EverAfter (PG): When the
wizard in charge of Fairy Tale World goes on holiday, Cinderella’s wicked
stepmother takes over in this animated tale featuring the voices of Sigourney
Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Andy Dick. Canandaigua, Tinseltown

Happy Feet (PG-13): Elijah Wood and Robin Williams provide a couple of the voices in this
CGI tale of a penguin looking for his soul mate.

The Holiday (PG-13): Writer-director Nancy Meyer’s appallingly titled follow-up to Something’s Gotta
Give features Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as
disillusioned singletons who house-swap in an effort to shake up their lives.
Jack Black ensues. Cinema

Little Children (R):
Kate Winslet stars as an unhappy housewife who turns
the playground upside-down when she embarks on an affair with a stay-at-home
dad in Todd Field’s (In the Bedroom)
adaptation of the novel by Tom Perrotta (Election).

Night at the Museum (PG):
Ben Stiller plays a security guard at the Museum of Natural History
who accidentally unleashes an ancient curse that causes the exhibits to come to
life. Also stars Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, as well as some people who aren’t
in every other movie. Brockport,
Canandaigua, Geneseo, IMAX, Tinseltown

Notes on a Scandal (R): CateBlanchett plays a
teacher having an affair with a much-younger student, and Dame Judi Dench plays the woman keeping her secret at an increasing
cost. Little

Open Season (PG):
More animated animals make humans look dumb. Featuring the voices of Ashton Kutcher (go away!) and Martin Lawrence (sane yet?).

The Painted Veil (R): Naomi Watts and Edward Norton star in this adaptation of W. Somerset
Maugham’s novel about a young English couple whose journey into the heart of China has a
profound effect on their shaky marriage. Reviewed this issue.Little

Perfume: The Story of
a Murderer (R): Patrick Süskind’s international
bestseller about an 18th century Parisian man whose obsession with scent drives
him to murder has been brought to the screen by German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run).

The Prestige (R):
Christopher Nolan pauses between Batman films for this tale of two Victorian-era magicians (played by Christian Bale
and Hugh Jackman) whose fierce rivalry turns
dangerous.

Primeval (R):
Dominic Purcell (TV’s Prison Break)
stars in this thriller about a news team hunting a deadly 25-foot crocodile in South Africa. Canandaigua, Geneseo, Tinseltown

The Pursuit of Happyness (PG-13): In Will Smith’s latest bid for Oscar
glory he flecks his hair with gray to portray a struggling salesman who gets
custody of his son (played by Smith’s son Jaden) just
as professional opportunity knocks. Brockport,
Canandaigua, Geneseo

The Queen (PG-13): Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth II in
this look at the days following the death of Princess Diana in which she
skirmished with Tony Blair over the proper way to honor the popular public
figure. Canandaigua, Little

Rocky Balboa (PG):
In this corner, weighing in at 60 years old, is
Sylvester Stallone, writing, directing, and starring in what has to be the
final Rocky movie. Right?Right?Canandaigua,
Tinseltown

The Santa Clause 3:
The Escape Clause (G): Santa Claus battles Jack Frost, and I run out of
ways to express my dislike for Tim Allen. Enjoy.

Stomp the Yard (PG-13): A troubled Los Angeleno attends college in Atlanta only to be wooed
by competing fraternities who both need his dance moves to win the national
step contest. Canandaigua, Tinseltown

Stranger Than Fiction (G): The increasingly prolific Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland) directs Will Ferrell in a
existential-y comedy about an IRS agent whose life is interrupted by the voice
of a narrator (Emma Thompson) who knows his every move. Also stars Queen Latifah, Dustin Hoffman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

We Are Marshall (PG): Matthew McConaughey
stars in the true story of how the football program at MarshallUniversity
decided to soldier on despite a plane crash that killed its entire team. Also
features Deadwood‘s Ian McShane.Tinseltown

This article appears in Jan 17-23, 2007.