New In Theaters - November 23, 2012

LIFE OF PI

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irffan Khan,

Gerard Depardieu, Adil Hussain & Rafe Spall

Directed by Ang Lee for distribution by 20^th Century Fox

The Plot: Following an accident at sea, a teenager and a tiger must depend on each other to survive until helps reaches them.

The Final Word: “Pi” is heavily favored as a lock for a Best Picture nomination, with a corresponding nod for Lee in the Best Director race. After going through numerous directors (including M. Night Shyamalan, Alfonso Cuarón and Jean-Pierre Jeunet), Lee was the one to right the ship and make this 3D drama a Oscar frontrunner.

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS

Starring (voices): Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher & Jude Law

Directed by Peter Ramsey for distribution by DreamWorks Animation

The Plot: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost team up and disrupt the plans of a evil spirit named Pitch, who’s bent on taking over the world.

The Final Word: If “The Avengers” was an animated film starring some of today’s most renowned legends then this would be it! This 3D holiday film should do well enough to win over audiences during the Christmas season, but DreamWorks is hoping it will do well enough to become its next franchise.

RED DAWN

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson,

Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Connor Cruise & Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Directed by Dan Bradley for distribution by FilmDistrict

The Plot: A group of teenagers fight back when there city comes under siege from a North Korea army.

The Final Word: In 1984, “Red Dawn” made more sense as the Soviet Union was front and center in the news and audiences could buy into the premise. Fast forward to 2012 and the Soviet Union is no more and the Russians have been replaced with North Koreans. While North Korea was the logical choice to act as the film’s villain, it’s still a little illogical why Spokane, Washington would serve as their initial target. However that’s only one of the strings critics will be pulling at when this hit theaters after sitting on the shelf for years.

New In Theaters - November 16, 2012

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner,

Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone,

Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Billy Burke, Rami Malek & Maggie Grace

Directed by Bill Condon for distribution by Summit

The Plot: Edward and Bella put everything on the line to save their daughter and their lineage.

The Final Word: People of all ages have at one time or another attempted to get into the franchise and become a fan.  The saga’s success has even led to Lionsgate paying over $400 million to acquire franchise distributor Summit, in a deal ensuring they’d control the film rights (and residuals) to both “Twilight” and its box office successor “The Hunger Games.”

LINCOLN

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn,

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook & Tommy Lee Jones

Directed by Steven Spielberg for distribution by DreamWorks

The Plot: The final days of America’s 16^th President are recounted as Abraham Lincoln battles to end slavery.

The Final Word: With Spielberg attached to direct and Day-Lewis signed as the star, “Lincoln” became a surefire Oscar contender from day one. Along with Oscar winners Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, along with the incomparable David Strathairn and rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the movie has slowly been gaining buzz in its early limited release. This week’s expansion is set to bring in a whole new audience eager to see the bio-pic inspired by the material of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” novel.

New In Theaters - November 9, 2012

SKYFALL

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris,

Berenice Marlohe, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney & Ben Whishaw,

Directed by Sam Mendes for distribution by Sony/MGM

The Plot: Following a devastating attack on his own turf, James Bond takes on his most personal mission yet.

The Final Word: After 50 years and (now) 23 films, the 007 series remains one of the most iconic in cinematic history, however it wears its age well and always returns to theaters with a must-see feel. Skyfall” (which incidentally refers to a particular place from Bond’s past), continues to fill in certain holes from the superspy’s past while at the same time delivering a deeply emotional storyline that sends the franchise in a exciting new direction.

New In Theaters - November 2, 2012

WRECK-IT RALPH

Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch,

Ed O’Neill, Mindy Kaling, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz & Dennis Haysbert,

 Directed by Rich Moore for distribution by Disney

The Plot: A video-game villain decides he wants to be the good guy for a change and abandons his world in search of others where can be a hero.

The Final Word: “Wreck-It Ralph” will do for videogames what “Toy Story” did for children’s toys. It’s a genius idea and one that should get a warm reception at the box office.

FLIGHT

Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly, Don Cheadle,

Bruce Greenwood, Brian Geraghty, John Goodman & Tamara Tunie

 Directed by Robert Zemeckis for distribution by Paramount

The Plot: A pilot sees his life come apart at the seams after initially being called a hero for the way he (crash) landed a flight and saved the lives of nearly everyone on board.

The Final Word: Essentially this is the story of what probably would have happened had Sully Sulleberger not been the selfless and upstanding citizen we all know him to be; in other words its pure Oscar bait. It’s also a movie that relies heavily on the strength of its lead actor and when that actor is Denzel Washington, it should do just fine!

New In Theaters - October 26 2012

CLOUD ATLAS

Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving,

Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy,

Xun Zhou, Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon & Hugh Grant

 Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski for distribution

by Warner Brothers

The Plot: Six inter-related group stories portray an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future.

The Final Word: Opening day reviews show the critics are very evenly split with some believing this is a new classic that should be an automatic Oscar contender, while others believe it’s a self-important train wreck. However everyone seems to respect what the Wachowskis and co-director Tom Tykwer attempted to pull off as this was a book that many deemed “un-filmable.” It just seems like in order to get everything on screen they had to take a few creative avenues that didn’t necessarily work.

FUN SIZE

Starring: Victoria Justice, Thomas Mann, Jane Levy,

Thomas McDonell, Thomas Middleditch & Chelsea Handler

 Directed by Josh Schwartz for distribution by Paramount

The Plot: A high school senior loses her little brother while trick-or-treating and enlists her friends to help track him down.

The Final Word: Did anyone over the age of 18 even know this was coming out? This is a teen comedy aimed at a the younger side of the spectrum with the hope the appeal of Nickelodeon’s Victoria Justice and “Suburgatory’s” Jane Levy; still entirely sure that will translate to box office success.

SILENT HILL: REVELATION 3D

Starring: Adelaide Clemens, Sean Bean, Kit Harington, Radha Mitchell,

Deborah Kara Unger, Carrie-Ann Moss, Malcolm McDowell,

Martin Donovan & Heather Marks

 Directed by Michael J. Bassett for distribution by Open Road Films

The Plot: On the eve of her 18^th birthday a teenager learns a shocking secret about her past that may hold the key to her father’s recent disappearance.

The Final Word: The original “Silent Hill” wasn’t exactly a massive success but it did have a very solid $20 million opening weekend back in 2006. For any film to pull off that type of haul means that a sequel is always in the cards; this one just took a little longer than expected. Incidentally the original did that big business in April so imagine what it may be able to pull off Halloween weekend.

New In Theaters - October 19, 2012

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4

 Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman for distribution by Paramount Pictures

The Plot: Yeah, like they are going to reveal this!

The Final Word: Ever since the original “Paranormal Activity” debuted back in 2007, Paramount hasn’t really that much detail about its horror franchise; including its cast. The bottom line is this is a hugely successful film series for the studio and should once again scare up some serious profits. It’s also worth noting that this time the film is directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who are responsible for the controversial “documentary” “Catfish,” which hit theaters in 2010.

ALEX CROSS

Starring: Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns,

Rachel Nichols & Jean Reno

 Directed by Rob Cohen for distribution by Summit Entertainment (Liongate)

The Plot: A cat and mouse game between a detective and a serial killer quickly gets personal when the killer targets the detective’s wife.

The Final Word: Originated on screen in 1997 by Morgan Freeman in “Kiss The Girls,” the character of Alex Cross has long been a successful box office fixture. Created by noted author James Patterson, “Alex Cross,” represents the return of the cunning detective to cinemas across the country with Tyler Perry now paying the role. Perry is actually already receiving rave reviews for his performance and is rumored to be “this close” to agreeing to terms for a sequel. 

New In Theaters - October 12, 2012

ARGO

Starring: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston & John Goodman

Directed by Ben Affleck for distribution by Warner Brothers

The Plot: Using a fake move as cover, a CIA extraction expert enters into Iran to rescue six Americans seeking refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador following the start of the Iranian hostage crisis.

The Final Word: Fundamentally “Argo” is a movie about a military operation that is so absurd in nature and over the top in execution that if it wasn’t based on actual events it probably would be getting a much chillier reception from audiences and critics. Yet it is based on actual events and as a result it is being taken seriously (and rightfully so).

HERE COMES THE BOOM

Starring: Kevin James, Salma Hayek & Henry Winkler

Directed by Frank Coraci for distribution by Columbia (Sony)

The Plot: A teacher turns to mixed martial arts competition to raise money to save the arts program at his school.

The Final Word: Kevin James had a major hit with his CBS series “The King Of Queens,” since then he’s a had a fairly healthy run at the box office. Although James’ comedies seem to get over better with fans when he’s paired with a fellow comedian and here he’s shouldering the load mostly solo. “Boom” should do okay, but it won’t be to the levels frequent co-star Adam Sandler used to command early in his career.

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

Starring: Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson,

Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko &  Zeljko Ivanek

Directed by Martin McDonagh for distribution by CBS Films

The Plot: A struggling screenwriter gets entangled in a scheme to kidnap a gangster’s dog.

The Final Word: Read the plot line again and then tell me your expecting more out of this film than action and dark humor. CBS Films was designed to make small budget movies with big name casts and hopefully turn a profit; not sure how much of one this one will turn, no matter the pedigree of its cast and crew.

SINISTER

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, 
James Ransone & Fred Dalton Thompson

 Directed by Scott Derrickson for distribution by Summit Entertainment

The Plot: A crime novelist and his family are plunged into a state of terror following his discovery of a box of mysterious and disturbing home movies.

The Final Word: It’s October and this is a horror film. You do the math! “Sinister” came out of nowhere and has slowly built up buzz which should translate into a solid return.