One Day
August 1, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Twenty years…two people. Directed by Lone Scherfig (director of “An Education,” Academy Award-nominated for Best Picture), the motion picture “One Day” is adapted for the screen by David Nicholls from his beloved bestselling novel One Day. After one day together – July 15th, 1988, their college graduation – Emma Morley (Academy Award nominee Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess of “Across the Universe”) begin a friendship that will last a lifetime. She is a working-class girl of principle and ambition who dreams of making the world a better place. He is a wealthy charmer who dreams that the world will be his playground. For the next two decades, key moments of their relationship are experienced over several July 15ths in their lives. Together and apart, we see Dex and Em through their friendship and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. Somewhere along their journey, these two people realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along. As the true meaning of that one day back in 1988 is revealed, they come to terms with the nature of love and life itself.
Opens Friday, August 19th.
The Help
August 1, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling phenomenon, “The Help” stars Emma Stone (“Easy A”) as Skeeter, Academy Award®–nominated Viola Davis “(Doubt”) as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny—three very different, extraordinary women in Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed—even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times.
Opens Wednesday, August 10th.
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
June 27, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Inspired by the bestselling novel by Lisa See, SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN is a timeless portrait of female friendship.
In 19th-century China, seven year old girls Snow Flower and Lily are matched as laotong – or “old sames” – bound together for eternity. Isolated by their families, they furtively communicate by taking turns writing in a secret language, Nu Shu, between the folds of a white silk fan.
In a parallel story in present day Shanghai, the laotong’s descendants, Nina and Sophia, struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship. Drawing on the lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection, hidden from them in the folds of the antique white silk fan, or risk losing one another forever.
Opens in limited release July 15th.
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Monte Carlo
June 27, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Grace (Selena Gomez) is an ordinary girl who becomes an accidental princess when a family summer trip to Paris turns into the fantasy of a lifetime. Living like royalty, Grace, along with her two best friends, discovers who she really is – by assuming another person’s identity.
In theaters July 1st.
Something Borrowed
May 3, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
As she waits to enter her 30th birthday party, Rachel White (Ginnifer Goodwin) can’t escape the feeling that her life has not turned out like she thought it would. Sure, she has a good job at a prestigious Manhattan law firm, but she works long hours and her boss is a tyrant.
She has her childhood best friend, the beautiful and vivacious Darcy (Kate Hudson), but seeing her flirt with her handsome fiancé is just another reminder that at the end of the party―like every other night―she’ll be going home alone. Except this time…she doesn’t. Rachel wakes up the following morning next to Dex (Colin Egglesfield), her law school study partner…and Darcy’s fiancé. Both of them are horrified―how could they let this happen?
Rachel tries to move on with the support of school friend ETHAN (John Krasinski), but as the wedding approaches she begins to realize that it wasn’t a mistake after all, and maybe Darcy isn’t the friend she thought she was.
Now Rachel has to make a painful choice: her best friend or the love of her life?
Opens Friday, May 6.
Water for Elephants
April 18, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Based on the acclaimed number-one bestseller, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS presents an epic tale of forbidden love in a magical place filled with adventure, wonder and great danger. A veterinary student from the wrong side of the tracks, Jacob, meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in a circus of a bygone era. They discover beauty amidst the world of the Big Top, and come together through their compassion for a special elephant. Against all odds – including the wrath of Marlena’s charismatic but dangerous husband August – Jacob saves Marlena from an unhappy life and they find lifelong love.
Opens Friday, April 22.
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Review in 100 Words – The Princess of Montpensier
April 15, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under Reviews
A historic drama about a French princess in love with two men and duty bound to do the right thing is a hard-sell under the best of circumstances. But director Bertrand Tavernier takes a hot, young cast and an ages old story and comes up with a modern and watch-able albeit depressing, film. Luminous Mélanie Thierry is the object of desire with a mind of her own, dashing Gaspard Ulliel is her warrior lover and Lambert Wilson her besotted tutor. The setting of the French Religious Wars makes me want to pop in La Reine Margot (1994) for the “sequel”.
The Lincoln Lawyer
March 14, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
In the gripping thriller “The Lincoln Lawyer,” Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael “Mick” Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Continental sedan. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe) who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller.
Opens March 18, 2011
Jane Eyre (2011)
February 28, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”) and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”) star in the romantic drama based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, from acclaimed director Cary Fukunaga (“Sin Nombre”). In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. As she reflects upon the people and emotions that have defined her, it is clear that the isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned. She must now act decisively to secure her own future and come to terms with the past that haunts her – and the terrible secret that Mr. Rochester is hiding and that she has uncovered…
Also starring Dame Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell.
Opens March 11th.
Beastly
February 21, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Seventeen year old Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is the spoiled, shallow and incredibly popular prince of his high school kingdom. Entirely captivated and empowered by his own physical appearance, Kyle foolishly chooses Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), a witch masquerading as a high school student, as his latest target for humiliation. Unfazed by his cruel behavior, Kendra decides to teach him a lesson – she transforms him into someone as unattractive on the outside as he is on the inside. Now he has one year to find someone who can see past the surface and love him, or he will remain “Beastly” forever. His only hope, a quiet classmate he never noticed named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), may be his best chance to prove that love is never ugly.
Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) and Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) star in Beastly for CBS Films. Mary Kate-Olsen (New York Minute), Peter Krause (“Parenthood”), LisaGay Hamilton (“Men of a Certain Age”) and Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) co-star. Daniel Barnz (Phoebe In Wonderland) directed the project which will make its theatrical debut in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico on March 4, 2011.
Susan Cartsonis (No Reservations, What Women Want) produced through her company, Storefront Pictures. Roz Weisberg is co-producer and Michael Flynn is executive producer. In addition to his role as director, Barnz wrote the screenplay, which is based on the Alex Flinn novel of the same name.
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Barney’s Version
January 2, 2011 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2011 Releases
Based on Mordecai Richler’s prize-winning comic novel–his last and, arguably, best – BARNEY’S VERSION is the warm, wise, and witty story of Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti), a seemingly ordinary man who lives an extraordinary life. A candid confessional, told from Barney‘s point of view, the film spans four decades and two continents, taking us through the different ―acts of his unusual history. There is his first wife, Clara (Rachelle Lefevre), a flame-haired, flagrantly unfaithful free spirit with whom Barney briefly lives la vie de Boheme in Rome. The ―Second Mrs. P., (Minnie Driver), is a wealthy Jewish Princess who shops and talks incessantly, barely noticing that Barney is not listening. And it is at their lavish wedding that Barney meets, and starts pursuing, Miriam (Rosamund Pike), his third wife, the mother of his two children, and his true love. With his father, Izzy (Dustin Hoffman) as his sidekick, Barney takes us through the many highs, and a few too many lows, of his long and colorful life. Not only does Barney turn out to be a true romantic, he is also capable of all kinds of sneaky acts of gallantry, generosity, and goodness when we – and he – least expect it. His is a gloriously full life, played out on a grand scale. And, at its center stands an unlikely hero – the unforgettable Barney Panofsky.
Opens in limited release January 14, 2011.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
November 20, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Return to the magic and wonder of C.S. Lewis’ beloved world – via the fantastic Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. In this new installment of the blockbuster “The Chronicles of Narnia” motion picture franchise, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace, their royal friend King Caspian and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep find themselves swallowed into a painting and onto the Dawn Treader.
Their mission – on which lays the fate of Narnia itself – takes the courageous voyagers to mysterious islands and a river that turns to gold, to fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies, and to a reunion with their friend and protector the “Great Lion” Aslan.
Opens December 10th, 2010
Chronicles Of Narnia 3 Trailer 2
I Love You Phillip Morris
November 15, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS is the improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic conman’s journey from small-town businessman to flamboyant white-collar criminal, who repeatedly finds himself in trouble with the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping from the Texas prison system on four separate occasions – all in the name of love.
Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) leads a seemingly average life – an organ player in the local church, happily married to Debbie (Leslie Mann), and a member of the local police force. That is until he has a severe car accident that leads him to the ultimate epiphany: he’s gay and he’s going to live life to the fullest – even if he has to break the law to do it. Taking on an extravagant lifestyle, Steven turns to cons and fraud to make ends meet and is eventually sent to the State Penitentiary where he meets the love of his life, a sensitive, soft-spoken man named Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). His devotion to freeing Phillip from jail and building the perfect life together prompts him to attempt (and often succeed at) one impossible con after another. Told with an uncanny sense of humor and a lot of heart, “I Love You Phillip Morris” is an oddball tale of what can happen when the legal system, a daredevil spirit and undying love collide.
Opens December 3rd, 2010.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
October 12, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST is the third and final film adaptation of the best-selling Millennium trilogy written by the late Swedish author, Stieg Larsson (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire).
In this last installment, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge – against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST brings back Noomi Rapace in the starring role of the pierced and tattooed genius computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist, the crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium, and Lena Endre (Erika Berger) the editor of the magazine and Blomkvist’s occasional lover.
In U.S. Theaters October 29, 2010
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
September 13, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
World-premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. What’s a 16-year-old boy doing playing music and table tennis with adult psychiatric patients – on a school day? It’s kind of a funny story…It’s Kind of a Funny Story, adapted from Ned Vizzini’s 2006 novel of the same name, is the new comedy-drama from acclaimed writer/directors Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden.
It’s @5:00 AM on a Sunday in Brooklyn. Craig Gilner (played by Keir Gilchrist of “United States of Tara”) is bicycling up to the entrance of a mental health clinic; this bright 16-year-old is stressed out from the demands of being a teenager. Before his parents (Lauren Graham [of “Parenthood”] and Jim Gaffigan [of Away We Go]) and younger sister are even awake, Craig checks himself into Argenon Hospital and is admitted by a psychiatrist. But the youth ward is temporarily closed – so he finds himself stuck in the adult ward. One of the patients, Bobby (Zach Galifianakis of The Hangover), soon becomes both Craig’s mentor and protégé. Craig is also quickly drawn to another 16-year-old displaced to the adult ward, the sensitive Noelle (Emma Roberts of the upcoming Scream 4), who just might make him forget his longtime unrequited crush Nia (Zoë Kravitz of the upcoming Mad Max). With a minimum five days’ stay imposed on him by the adult ward’s staff psychiatrist Dr. Eden Minerva (Academy Award nominee Viola Davis), Craig is sustained by friendships on both the inside and the outside as he learns more about life, love, and the pressures of growing up.
Opens in limited release October 8th.
Let Me In
September 13, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
An alienated 12-year-old boy befriends a mysterious young newcomer to his small New Mexico town, and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood in Let Me In, a haunting and provocative thriller written and directed by filmmaker Matt Reeves (Cloverfield).
Twelve-year old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is viciously bullied by his classmates and neglected by his divorcing parents. Achingly lonely, Owen spends his days plotting revenge on his middle school tormentors and his evenings spying on the other inhabitants of his apartment complex. His only friend is his new neighbor Abby (Chloe Moretz), an eerily self-possessed young girl who lives next door with her silent father (Oscar®nominee Richard Jenkins). A frail, troubled child about Owens’s age, Abby emerges from her heavily curtained apartment only at night and always barefoot, seemingly immune to the bitter winter elements. Recognizing a fellow outcast, Owen opens up to her and before long, the two have formed a unique bond.
When a string of grisly murders puts the town on high alert, Abby’s father disappears, and the terrified girl is left to fend for herself. Still, she repeatedly rebuffs Owen’s efforts to help her and her increasingly bizarre behavior leads the imaginative Owen to suspect she’s hiding an unthinkable secret.
The gifted cast of Let Me In takes audiences straight to the troubled heart of adolescent longing and loneliness in an astonishing coming-of-age story based on the best-selling Swedish novel Lat den Ratte Komma In (Let the Right One In) by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and the highly-acclaimed film of the same name.
Open October 1st.
The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole
August 26, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Acclaimed filmmaker Zack Snyder makes his animation debut with “Guardians of Ga’Hoole,” based on the beloved books by Kathryn Lasky. The film follows Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Soren dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older brother, Kludd, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly and steal his father’s favor from his younger sibling. But Kludd’s jealousy has terrible consequences—causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Soren to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the sea and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians of Ga’Hoole—Soren’s only hope of defeating the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.
Opens September 24th.
The Town
August 26, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang’s latest job, when they briefly took a hostage bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.
Opens September 17th.
Never Let Me Go
August 26, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
In his highly acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day) created a remarkable story of love, loss and hidden truths. In it he posed the fundamental question: What makes us human? Now director Mark Romanek (ONE HOUR PHOTO), writer Alex Garland and DNA Films bring Ishiguro’s hauntingly poignant and emotional story to the screen.
Kathy (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION), Tommy (Andrew Garfield, BOY A, RED RIDING) and Ruth (Oscar nominee Keira Knightley, PRIDE & PREJUDICE, ATONEMENT) live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.
Opens September 17th.
Eat Pray Love
July 31, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) had everything a modern woman is supposed to dream of having – a husband, a house, a successful career – yet like so many others she found herself lost, confused and searching for what she really wanted in life. Newly divorced and at a crossroads, Gilbert steps out of her comfort zone, risking everything to change her life, embarking on a journey around the world that becomes a quest for self-discovery. In her travels, she discovers the true pleasure of nourishment by eating in Italy; the power of prayer in India, and finally and unexpectedly, the inner peace and balance of true love in Bali. Based upon the best-selling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, EAT PRAY LOVE proves that there is more than one way to let yourself go and see the world. The movie is directed by Ryan Murphy from a screenplay by Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt.
Opens August 13th.
Twelve
July 31, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Based on the controversial Nick McDonell novel, TWELVE follows high school dropout turned successful drug dealer White Mike (Chase Crawford) in New York’s Upper East Side. Business is booming when all of the kids are home from boarding school and everyone has money to blow. Mike leads a double life, concealing the truth from his childhood friend Molly (Emma Roberts) while his supplier Lionel (Curtis Jackson) pulls Mike further into the world of the Manhattan drug trade. Mike’s two lives begin to collide when his cousin is brutally murdered on an East Harlem playground and a new drug, twelve, emerges as the recreational drug of choice.
Opens August 6th.
Charlie St. Cloud
June 22, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
Based on an acclaimed novel, Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic drama starring Zac Efron as a young man who survives an accident that lets him see the world in a unique way. In this emotionally charged story, he begins a romantic journey in which he embraces the dark realities of the past while discovering the transformative power of love.
Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) has the adoration of mother Claire (Oscar® winner Kim Basinger) and little brother Sam (newcomer Charlie Tahan), as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when a tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it.
After his high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. And as he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.
Opens July 30th.
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
May 27, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
At the Theatre Des Champs-Elysées, Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen) premieres his The Rite Of Spring.
Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis) attends the premiere and is mesmerized…But the revolutionary work is too modern, too radical: the enraged audience boos and jeers. A near riot ensues. Stravinsky is inconsolable. Seven years later, now rich, respected and successful, Coco Chanel meets Stravinsky again – a penniless refugee living in exile in Paris after the Russian Revolution. The attraction between them is immediate and electric. Coco offers Stravinsky the use of her villa in Garches so that he will be able to work, and he moves in straight away, with his children and consumptive wife. And so a passionate, intense love affair between two creative giants begins…
The production of Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky had the support of Karl Lagerfeld and CHANEL who have generously made available their archives and collections. CHANEL lent several original garments and accessories to be worn by Mademoiselle Anna Mouglalis in the role of Mademoiselle Chanel, and Karl Lagerfeld specially created a ‘timeless’ suit and an embroidered evening dress for the scene recreating the legendary and scandalous 1913 performance of The Rite Of Spring. In order to recreate the world of Coco Chanel as faithfully as possible, CHANEL also granted the film makers full access to its archives and to Coco Chanel’s celebrated apartment at 31, rue Cambon, Paris.
Opens June 11th in NYC and LA.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
May 27, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
In Eclipse, Bella (Kristen Stewart) once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward (Robert Pattinson) and her friendship with Jacob (Taylor Lautner) – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.
Opens June 30th.
The Eclipse
March 6, 2010 by Maura Reilly
Filed under 2010 Releases
THE ECLIPSE tells the story of Michael Farr (Ciarán Hinds), a teacher raising his two kids alone since his wife died two years earlier. Lately he has been seeing and hearing strange things late at night in his house. He isn’t sure if he is simply having terrifying nightmares or if his house is haunted.
Each year, the seaside town where Michael lives hosts an international literary festival, attracting writers from all over the world. Michael works as a volunteer for the festival and is assigned the attractive Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle), an author of books about ghosts and the supernatural, to look after. They become friendly and he eagerly tells her of his experiences. For the first time he has met someone who can accept the reality of what has been happening to him.
However, Lena’s attention is pulled elsewhere. She has come to the festival at the bidding of world-renowned novelist Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn), with whom she had a brief affair the previous year. He has fallen in love with Lena and is going through a turbulent time, eager to leave his wife to be with her. But all Lena is trying to do is extricate herself from this mess and just get through the next few days.
As the festival progresses, the trajectories of these three people draw them into a life-altering collision.
Embellished by the supernatural, THE ECLIPSE is a film about the challenges of love, fear of the unknown and release from the burden of grief.
Opens March 26th in theaters, VOD, Amazon and XBox live.























