November Movies

Opening November 2

American Gangster

Genre: Crime, Drama

MPAA Rating: R (for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality)

Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, RZA, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, Ted Levine

Story: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Brian Grazer, Steve Zaillian and Ridley Scott team to tell the true juggernaut success story of a cult hero from the streets of 1970s Harlem in “American Gangster.”

Director: Ridley Scott

Studio: Universal Pictures

Web site: AmericanGangster.net

Bee Movie

Genre: Animation, Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG (for mild suggestive humor)

Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Alan Arkin, Patrick Warburton

Story: “Bee Movie” is a comedy that will change everything you think you know about bees. Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice – honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger). He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees’ honey for centuries, and ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing their precious honey.

Director: Simon J. Smith, Steve Hickner

Studio: DreamWorks Animation

Website: BeeMovie.com

The Kite Runner

Genre: Drama

Cast: Wali Razaqi, Saïd Taghmaoui, Shaun Toub, Nasser Memarzia

Story: An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the Taliban reign. This unforgettable story of redemption is based on the best selling phenomena “The Kite Runner.”

Director: Marc Forster

Studio: Paramount Vantage

Web site: KiteRunnermovie.com

Martian Child

Genre: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic elements and mild language)

Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Sophie Okonedo, Bobby Coleman, Joan Cusack

Story: The romantic drama “Martian Child” stars John Cusack as a recently widowed science fiction writer who forms an unlikely family with a close friend (Amanda Peet) and a young boy he adopts that claims to be from Mars. The new couple ignores some sage parenting advice from the widower’s sister (Joan Cusack) and gets more than they bargained for when a series of strange occurrences lead them to believe that the child’s claim may be true.

Director: Menno Meyjes

Studio: New Line Cinema

Web site: MartianChild.com

November 9

Fred Claus

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG (for mild language and some rude humor)

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Kevin Spacey

Story: Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) has lived almost his entire life in his little brother’s very large shadow. Fred tried, but he could never live up to the example set by the younger Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), who was just a perfect… well… Saint. True to form, Nicholas grew up to be the model of giving, while Fred became the polar opposite: a repo man who then steals what he repossesses. Now Fred’s dirty dealings have landed him in jail. Over Mrs. Claus’s objections, Nicholas agrees to bail his big brother out on one condition: that he come to the North Pole and work off his debt making toys. The trouble is that Fred isn’t exactly elf material and, with Christmas fast approaching, this one bad seed could jeopardize the jolliest holiday of the year. Has Fred finally pushed his little brother to the brink? This time, what Fred may have stolen is Christmas itself, and it is going to take more than Rudolph to set things right.

Director: David Dobkin

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Web site: FredClaus.net

Lions for Lambs

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: R (for some war violence and language)

Cast: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Michael Pena, Derek Luke, Andrew Garfield

Story: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise star in “Lions for Lambs,” a powerful and gripping story that digs behind the news, the politics and a nation divided to explore the human consequences of a complicated war.

Director: Robert Redford

Studio: MGM

Web site: LionsforLambs.UnitedArtists.com

National Lampoon

Presents Electric Apricot

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Bob Weir, Mike Gordon, Warren Haynes, Matt Abts, Seth Green, Matt Stone

Story: From legendary Primus bassist Les Claypool comes “National Lampoon presents Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo,” a spoof about jam bands told in the style of “This Is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind.” In the spring of 2005, Les Claypool set forth to make a documentary reflecting an element of contemporary music culture which had yet to be fully examined. The notion was to capture something raw and original. Les searched for something unpretentious and genuine and he yearned to make a film that would stand out from other music documentaries. Who he found was Electric Apricot and what he achieved was enlightenment. Unexpectedly, while searching for enlightenment the duality of existence was unveiled.

Director: Les Claypool

Studio: National Lampoon

Web site: not available

P2

Genre: Horror, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence/gore, terror and language)

Cast: Rachel Nichols, Wes Bentley, Simon Reynolds, Grace Lynn Kung, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee

Story: It’s Christmas Eve. Angela Bridges (Rachel Nichols – “Alias” and “Charlie Wilson’s War”), an ambitious young executive, works late before she leaves for her family’s holiday party. When she gets down to the parking garage, she discovers that her car won’t start. The garage is deserted and her cell phone doesn’t get a signal underground. When Thomas (Wes Bentley- “American Beauty”), a friendly security guard, comes along and offers to help, Angela nervously accepts his gesture of good will. Soon after a failed attempt to start her car, he invites her to stay and share a small Christmas dinner he’s preparing in the parking office, but she laughs it off. Angela doesn’t realize this is no laughing matter – Thomas has been watching her closely…for months. His dinner invitation is not optional. If Angela wants to live to see Christmas morning, she must find a way to escape from level P2 of the parking garage.

Director: Franck Khalfoun

Studio: Summit Entertainment

Web site: P2themovie.com

Southland Tales

Genre: Comedy, Musical, Sci-Fi, Thriller

MPAA Rating: R (for language, violence, sexual material and some drug content)

Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Jill Ritchie, Miranda Richardson, John Larroquette, Jon Lovitz, Will Sasso, Wood Harris, Bai Ling, Joe Campana, Wallace Shawn

Story: “Southland Tales” is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Johnson will star as Boxer Santaros, an action star stricken with amnesia whose life intertwines with Krysta Now (Gellar), an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and David Clark (Scott), a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy.

Director: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Studio: 20th Century Fox Distribution

Web site: SouthlandTales.com

November 16

Love in the Time of Cholera

Genre: Drama, Romance

MPAA Rating: R (for sex content/nudity and brief language)

Cast: Javier Bardem, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Benjamin Bratt, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Hector Elizondo, Liev Schreiber, Fernanda Motenegro, Laura Harring, John Leguizamo

Story: Based on Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel and adapted by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood (“The Pianist”), “Love in the Time of Cholera” is one of the world’s most romantic stories. The drama traces the Job-like vigil of Florentino Ariza, who waits for more than half a century to claim the hand of Fermina Daza, the woman he loves. Directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), and featuring a talented cast that includes Javier Bardem, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Hector Elizondo and Liev Schreiber, “Love in the Time of Cholera” is scheduled for a November 16th, 2007 release.

Director: Mike Newell

Studio: New Line Cinema

Web site: Not Available

Mr. Magorium’s

Wonder Emporium

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Jason Bateman

Story: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is the strangest, most fantastic, most wonderful toy store in the world. In fact, it’s a magic toy store and everything in it comes to life – including the store itself. The Emporium only asks one thing of its customers; you must believe it to see it.

Director: Zach Helm

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Web site: Magorium.com

November 21

August Rush

Genre: Drama, Music

MPAA Rating: PG (for some thematic elements, mild violence and language)

Cast: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams

Story: A charismatic young Irish guitarist (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and a sheltered young cellist (Keri Russell) have a chance encounter one magical night above New York’s Washington Square, but are soon torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, orphaned by circumstance. Years later, performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger (Robin Williams) who gives him the name August Rush, the child (Freddie Highmore) uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth.

Director: Kirsten Sheridan

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Web site: AugustRushmovie.com

Christmas in Wonderland

Genre: Comedy, Family

Cast: Patrick Swayze, Chris Kattan, Carmen Electra, Tim Curry

Story: Three kids and their dad move from L.A to Edmonton. When they go shopping at West Edmonton Mall they find counterfeit cash. They inadvertently help catch the crooks, and later make a discovery about Santa.

Director: James Orr

Studio: Yari Film Group

Web site: Not Available

Enchanted

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Romance

MPAA Rating: PG (for some scary images and mild innuendo)

Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, Susan Sarandon

Story: A classic Disney animated fairy tale meets with the modern, live-action romantic comedy in Walt Disney Pictures’ “Enchanted.” Featuring an all-star cast, the film follows the beautiful princess Giselle (Amy Adams) as she is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a “happily ever after” basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid – even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home – she has to wonder: can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

Director: Kevin Lima

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Web site: Enchantedmovie.com

Hitman

Genre: Action, Thriller

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko, Robert Knepper, Ulrich Thomsen, Michael Offei

Story: Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) has been educated to become a professional assassin for hire, whose most powerful weapons are his nerve and a resolute pride in his work. 47 is both the last two digits of the barcode tattooed on the nape of his neck, and his only name.

Director: Xavier Gens

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Web site: Hitmanmovie.com

Stephen King’s The Mist

Genre: Horror

Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Jeffrey DeMunn

Story: Three-time Oscar(r)-nominee Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile,” “The Shawshank Redemption”) reunites with horror-master Stephen King to write and direct this chilling adaptation of the author’s original short story. Following a violent thunderstorm, artist David Drayton and a small town community come under vicious attack from creatures prowling in a thick and unnatural mist. Local rumors point to an experiment called the ‘The Arrowhead Project’ conducted at a nearby top-secret military base, but questions as to the origins of the deadly vapor are secondary to the group’s overall chances for survival. Retreating to a local supermarket, Drayton and the survivors must face-off against each other before taking a united stand against an enemy they cannot even see!

Director: Frank Darabont

Studio: MGM

Web site: TheMist-movie.com

This Christmas

Genre: Drama

Cast: Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, Keith Robinson, Laz Alonso, Columbus Short, Sharon Leal, Lauren London, Mekhi Phifer, Regina King

Story: This year, Christmas with the Whitfield’s promises to be one they will never forget. All the siblings have come home for the first time in years and they’ve brought plenty of baggage with them. As the Christmas tree is trimmed and the lights are hung, secrets are revealed and family bonds are tested. As their lives converge, they join together and help each other discover the true meaning of family.

Director: Preston A. Whitmore, II

Studio: Columbia Pictures

Web site: Sony.com/ThisChristmas

November 30

Pathology

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, Alyssa Milano, Lauren Lee Smith, Johnny Whitworth, Keir O’Donnell, Dan Callahan, Mei Melancon

Story: Some say that Pathology is a window to God. As doctors, they see the perversion and corruption of the flesh by all means unnatural… by violence… by toxin… by madness… to determine the cause of death. As a result they are the experts in all signs of foul play and the best in the field can uncover all means of killing, even those that are seemingly undetectable.

Director: Marc Schoelermann

Studio: MGM

Web site: EnterPathologyLab.com