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here for the previous week's New Movies
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here for 2010 OVERVIEW!
NEW
MOVIES! MARCH 16 - MARCH 22, 2010
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ARMORED (dir: Nimrod
Antal, PG-13) – Matt Dillon and some other dudes like Jean Reno and Laurence Fishburne plan the heist of a bank truck filled with loads of dead presidents. Certainly at some point the plan goes awry, but I have hope for this one. It’s directed by that wacky Hungarian Nimrod
Antal, who made that great thriller set entirely in the Budapest subway system,
KONTROLL. |
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ASTRO BOY (dir: David Bowers, PG) – Nicolas Cage, Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson all lend their voices to this CGI version of the semi-beloved comic book and cartoon. |
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BANDSLAM (dir: Todd Graff, PG) – Some of those booger-eaters from Nickelodeon go to music camp. The Jonas Brothers are probably in this. And don’t worry, they’re still virgins. |
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^THE BEACHES OF AGNES (dir: Agnes
Varda, Not Rated) – As she hit 80 years old, Agnes Varda decided to make a documentary exploring her own memory using photographs, films she's made, and reenactments. Growing up in Belgium, her marriage to similarly renowned director Jacques Demy and the excitement of being part of the French New Wave all get ample analysis. |
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BILLY: THE EARLY YEARS (dir: Robby Benson, PG) – Admittedly, I don't get the appeal of these big time evangelist guys like Billy Graham. It was cool when he refused to speak to segregated audiences and bailed Martin Luther King Jr. out of jail. It was less cool when he and Nixon sat around talking about the Jews controlling the world and that God needed to destroy America or apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Regardless, this movie about his early years looks cheesy. |
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BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN (dir: John
Krasinski, Not Rated) – I would urge you to ignore this directorial debut by Jim from THE OFFICE and its source material written by David Foster Wallace. I would instead urge you to read DFW’s fascinating article Roger Federer As Religious Experience. It’s an
illuminating glimpse into the mechanics and brilliant mind of the greatest player to ever pick up a tennis racquet. Yeah, I said it. Pete Sampras what? Rod Laver who? Haters gonna hate, y’all. But you know the truth. |
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*BROKEN EMBRACES (dir: Pedro
Almodovar, R) – A blind writer looks back upon his tragic past in this strangely ignored Pedro Almodovar film. And since this is a Pedro Almodovar film, the man’s tragic past of course involves Penelope Cruz. |
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CAPTAIN ABU RAED (dir: Amin
Matalqa, Not Rated) –
In this heartwarming Jordanian film, an elderly airport janitor lights up the world of a bunch of poor kids with fantastical tales of adventure when they mistakenly come to believe he's a retired pilot. |
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DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? (dir: Marc Lawrence, PG-13) – Oh, man. I love a good dreary Hugh Grant romantic comedy as much as anybody. But teaming up with that ferret-faced Sarah Jessica Parker? This situation has become untenable. |
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EXAMINED LIFE (dir: Astra Taylor, Not Rated) – Filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's noted heavy thinkers like Cornell West, Peter Singer and Slavoj Zizek around as they talk a lot. |
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FALLING FOR GRACE (dir: Fay Ann Lee, Not Rated) – A young Chinese American woman who longs to be part of New York high society decides to roll with it when she is mistaken for a Hong Kong heiress. |
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THE FOURTH KIND (dir: Olatunde
Osunsanmi, PG-13) – Milla Jovovich faces some serious alien abduction problems in a small Alaskan town. Which seems like a better situation than the zombie holocausts she’s used to. But still
sucky. |
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NINJA ASSASSIN (dir: James
McTeigue, R) – You’ve got to love a movie that is very clear and direct in its intentions, to the degree where the title of the movie says everything you could possibly need to know about it. It sure makes my job easier. |
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PARIS (dir: Cedric
Klapisch, Not Rated) – The always lovely Juliette Binoche plays a mom with 3 kids, no man and a brother who’s dying of heart disease. She and her spawn move in with the bro to take care of him and that’s when things get really squishy. |
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THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (dir: Ron Clements / John
Musker, G) – Well, Disney gave hand drawn animation one last shot and it made less money than CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS. So that’s that. Au
revoir, hand drawn animation! |
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SHALL WE KISS? (dir: Emmanuel
Mouret, Not Rated) – The always adorable Virginie Ledoyen lights up this French romantic comedy about the dangers of love without consequence. |
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TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT (dir: Lance Bangs / Spike
Jonze, Not Rated) – Spike Jonze co-directed this documentary portrait of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE writer Maurice
Sendak. One thing I've already learned is that he hated being primarily known as the author of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. |
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WONDERFUL WORLD (dir: Joshua
Goldin, R) – Matthew Broderick stars as a cynical folk singer whose worldview brightens when he meets his Senegalese roommate’s sister. This seems a bit too close to THE VISITOR for comfort, but anything that gets Mateo out of the house and away from that ferret-faced Sarah Jessica Parker is a good thing. |
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= GREG's pick of the week! ^ = Bart's
pick of the week! |