Weekly Previews for Movies Opening Oct. 29, 2010

BIG BUDGET FILMS

 

Saw 3D (R for profanity, torture and gruesome violence) This installment in the grisly franchise finds the survivors of the brutal killer's (Tobin Bell) reign of terror seeking help from a self-help guru (Sean Patrick Flannery) only to discover that he's hiding a dark secret of his own. Featuring Betsy Russell, Costas Mandylor, Dean Armstrong and Gina Holden. 

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Aftershock (Unrated) Historical drama recreating the events surrounding the Tangshan Earthquake which took a quarter-million lives in 1976. Cast includes Yi Lu, Chen Li, Fan Xu, Jingchu Zhang and Daoming Chen.(In Mandarin with subtitles)

Amer (Unrated) Daring primal fantasy, featuring three taut tales, each set in the same gothic mansion and revolving around the carnal temptations felt by a vulnerable female at critical stages in her life. Cast includes Marie Bos, Delphine Brual, Bianca Maria D'Amato and Harry Cleven. (In French with subtitles)

Eichmann (Unrated) Bio-pic based on the confession made to a young Israeli prison guard (Troy Garrity) by architect of the Holocaust Adolf Eichmann (Thomas Kretschmann) prior to his execution for crimes against humanity. With Franka Potente, Stephen Fry and Tilly O'Neil.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (R for sexuality, brief profanity and graphic violence) Final installment in the thriller trilogy, based on the posthumously-published novels by the late Stieg Larsson, finds the plucky protagonist (Noomi Rapace) recovering from her bullet wounds while awaiting trial for triple murder and plotting to take revenge on those responsible for her predicament. Cast includes Michael Nyqvist, Lena Endre and Annika Hallin. (In Swedish with subtitles)

Inspector Bellamy (Unrated) Crime caper, directed by the recently-deceased Claude Chabrol, revolving around Paris' Police Commissioner (Gerard Depardieu) whose quiet vacation with his wife (Marie Bunel) at their country home is disturbed by the arrival of his ne'er-do-well stepbrother (Clovis Cornillac) and a mysterious stranger (Jacques Gamblin) in need of protection. (In French with subtitles)

Jolene (R for nudity, profanity, violence, drug use and graphic sexuality) Jessica Chastain stars in the title role of this screen version of E.L. Doctorow's short story about the ordeals of an orphaned teen who spends a decade crisscrossing the country in a desperate search for love, sanity and some semblance of normalcy. Cast includes Chazz Palminteri, Dermot Mulroney and Denise Richards.

The Kids Grow Up (Unrated) Father-daughter documentary in which film director Doug Block (51 Birch Street) takes a fond look back at his well-documented relationship with his only child as she's about to head off to college.   

Monsters (Unrated) Apocalyptic sci-fi flick shot on a micro-budget of just $15,000 and set in Mexico six years after the arrival of giant alien octopuses on the planet. Plot involves the attempt of an intrepid photographer (Scoot McNairy) to escort his boss' daughter (Whitney Able) across the infected zone to the U.S. Border. (In English and Spanish with subtitles)

Night of the Demons (R for nudity, sexuality, drug use, pervasive profanity and gratuitous gore) High-body count remake of the 1988 horror flick about a group of friends whose Halloween party thrown at a notorious New Orleans mansion ends up crashed by a bunch of bloodthirsty creatures. Ensemble includes Edward Furlong, Shannon Elizabeth, Bobbi Sue Luther, John Beach, Tiffany Shepis, Michael Copon, Tiffany Billiot and Monica Keena.     

Shake Hands with the Devil (R for disturbing violence and brief profanity) Rwanda revisited in this bio-pic recounting the efforts of General Romeo Dallaire (Roy Dupuis) to stop the genocide in 1994 after the outbreak of his country's bloody civil war between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. With Owen Sejake, James Gallanders and Michel Mongeau.     

Strange Powers (Unrated) Musical bio-pic chronicling the 20-year career of songwriter Stephen Merritt, the self-professed Cole Porter of his generation and composer of such memorable melodies as "Scream and Run Away" and the gender-bending, gay anthem "When My Boy Walks down the Street."

 

Walkaway (Unrated) Cross-cultural comedy, set in New York City, examining the 21st Century dating habits of four yuppies of East Indian extraction questioning the continued relevance of such longstanding traditions as dowries and arranged marriages. Ensemble cast includes Manu Narayan, Samrat Chakrabarti, Manish Dayal, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Deepti Gupta, Carrie Anne James, Pallavi Sharda, and Ami Sheth. 

 

Welcome to the Rileys (R for graphic sexuality, brief drug use and pervasive profanity on the part of a teenager) Redemption drama about a grieving family man (James Gandolfini) mourning the death of his teenage daughter who decides to rescue the troubled runaway (Kristen Stewart) he finds working as a stripper while he's in New Orleans on business. With Melissa Leo, Eisa Davis, David Jensen and Kathy Lamkin.  

 

Wild Target (PG-13 for violence, sexuality and brief profanity) Mob comedy about a hit man (Bill Nighy) who finds himself falling for the beautiful con artist (Emily Blunt) he was hired to assassinate. With Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett and Eileen Atkins.