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NEW MOVIES!  JULY 13 - JULY 19, 2010

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (dir: Andy Tennant, PG-13) – What is Jennifer Aniston's deal? Remember when Brad Pitt dumped her for Angelina and you felt bad for her for about a second before you realized it was because she was frigid and couldn't make a baby? Well, my sympathy reservoir has long since dried up, mostly because she continues to make THE WORST MOVIES ON EARTH.

CHLOE (dir: Atom Egoyan, R) – Amanda Seyfried, Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson in a sexy menage a trois. Sounds good, right? Then you glumly realize it's directed by Atom Egoyan, the least fun filmmaker on Earth.

DIARY OF A NYMPHOMANIAC (dir: Christian Molina, Not Rated) – The box claims that this movie "scandalized Europe," which I don't really buy in 2010. A polite drama about a middle-class girl with a college degree who really likes sex might scandalize Saudi Arabia, but that's about it.
DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME (dir: Matt Austin, R) – Look, everybody likes the films of John Hughes. They defined an era and are still watched by teenagers of today looking for a glimmer of authenticity in a medium that usually just panders to them. But that doesn't mean we need a documentary about five Canadian nerds standing in a field talking about the first time they saw THE BREAKFAST CLUB.

FORMOSA BETRAYED (dir: Adam Kane, R) – James Van Der Beek stars in this fact-based thriller about an FBI agent trying to sort out some international intrigue that takes him all the way to Chinese Taipei or, if you prefer, Taiwan. I still don't think anyone's going to take Dawson too seriously as an adult actor, but at least it's not a VARSITY BLUES sequel.

*THE GIRL BY THE LAKE (dir: Andrea Molaioli, Not Rated) – This classy, quiet Italian thriller took home 10 of whatever they call Academy Awards in Italy. When a beautiful young woman is found dead, a veteran cop must sort through the suspects in a seemingly motiveless crime.
THE GREATEST (dir: Shana Feste, R) – Carey Mulligan, Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon star as family members grieving for a lost son and trying to get on with their lives in this well-written drama that made a big splash at Sundance before vanishing and just now bobbing up on DVD.

^GREENBERG (dir: Noah Baumbach, R) – Noah Baumbach follows up THE SQUID AND THE WHALE and MARGOT AT THE WEDDING with another awkwardly funny, touching and true look at modern neuroses. Ben Stiller plays Roger Greenberg, who returns from self-imposed exile in New York to Los Angeles to housesit for his brother as well as sort out his life. Easier said than done as he reconnects with old friends he's hurt as well as trying halfheartedly to romance his brother's assistant and take care of the family's ailing dog.

HEY HEY IT'S ESTHER BLUEBURGER (dir: Cathy Randall, PG-13) – An Australian girl tries to escape her rigid upbringing when she meets a cool older girl and starts secretly attending her school under the guise of being a Swedish exchange student.
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (dir: John Stockwell, R) – I don't know much about this teen comedy except that it's directed by the same guy that made BLUE CRUSH, the best female surfing movie of all time, and INTO THE BLUE, the best underwater Paul Walker movie of all time.

OUR FAMILY WEDDING (dir: Rick Famuyiwa, PG-13) – It's GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER? if you replace the White people with Chicano people. It probably has a lot more in common with Ashton Kutcher's GUESS WHO? actually.

PARASOMNIA (dir: William Malone, R) – A serial killer is controlling a young woman's nightmares and it's up to her creepy stalker to set her free in this ridiculous horror movie.
SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS (dir: Hue Rhodes, R) – Steve Buscemi plays an ex-gambler sucked back in for one last big score in this comedy filled with interesting people like Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage and Tim Blake Nelson.

SOUNDLESS WIND CHIME (dir: Wing Kit Hung, Not Rated) – Without a doubt the best gay-themed Chinese-Swiss co-production in years, SOUNDLESS WIND CHIME follows Ricky on a journey from Hong Kong to find his dead lover's lost soul in the Alps.

2:37 (dir: Murali K. Thalluri, Not Rated) – Troubled teenagers are the focus of this Australian indie that can't decide whether to be a serious drama or sleazy exploitation flick. Maybe it can be both.

ZIFT (dir: Javor Gardev, Not Rated) – A Bulgarian criminal is released from jail into the now communist world of Sofia in the 1960s where, over the course of one night, he tries to learn to live in a world that is now alien to him.

* = GREG's PICK OF THE week!         ^ = Bart's pick of the week!

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