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Title:
The American
Stars:
George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido
Studio:
Focus Entertainment
Plot:
An assassin hiding out in an Italian village while he anticipates his last-ever assignment tempts fate by seeking out the friendship of a priest (Bonacelli) as well as the affection of a local woman (Placido).
Buzz:
Renown music-video director Anton Corbijn created an art-scene frenzy with his Joy Division biography, Control, back in 2007/08. Without any intended irony, we love that this production is so non-American (Hollywood) in its casting. All of the players surrounding Clooney should vie for the spotlight here, especially Thekla Reuten (if you've seen In Bruges, you'll know who she is) and the sensation-causing Violante Placido. Meanwhile, screenwriter Rowan Joffe has our attention, but more so for another 2010 film, Brighton Rock, his adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, which also finds him making his debut as director.
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Title:
Machete
Stars:
Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez, Robert De Niro
Studio:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Plot:
After being betrayed by the organization who hired him, an ex-Federale (Trejo) launches a brutal rampage of revenge against the people who double-crossed him.
Buzz:
Historically, Labor Day tends to be a snoozefest in terms of new releases, but not this year, since Robert Rodriguez's long-awaited Planet Terror spin-off is finally set for release, in the wake of The Expendables' success, no less ... Danny Trejo's knife-wielding character was generating his own folklore, as it appeared the project was just another one of Rodriguez's great genre ideas, but everything came together in mid-2009 as cameras rolled that July in Austin. We're psyched for the Lindsay Lohanness, but really we're primed for more Cherry Darling and Jessica Alba playing opposing twin sisters. We hope the franchise talk -- both Rodriguez and Trejo have a trilogy in mind -- comes to fruition. Can we start to dream about Sin City 2 again?
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Title:
Takers
Stars:
Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon
Studio:
Screen Gems
Plot:
A hard-boiled detective (Dillon) gets in between a group of bank robbers and their plan to make away with a $20 million bounty.
Buzz:
Matt Dillon is back on the right side of the law after Armored, but the real question here is: How do you promote a movie featuring one currently incarcerated musician/actor (T.I.) and post-Rihanna Chris Brown, whose fame allotment has been nearly drained. Suddenly, heist movies don't seem fun anymore.
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Title:
The Last Exorcism
Stars:
Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr
Studio:
Lionsgate
Plot:
A troubled evangelical minister (Fabian) agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew, where a possessed young (Bell) brings him face to face with the devil himself.
Buzz:
Eli Roth (in producer mode here) and Lionsgate are testing the Paranormal Activity theorem here: can you turn a low-budget horror/thriller with no stars into a hit? Director Daniel Stamm caused a minor genre stir back in 2008/2009 with A Necessary Death; screenwriters Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland are back in theaters on September 10 (as co-directors) with a completely different project, The Virginity Hit, and we think they had something to do with this viral video. Funny or Dead?
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Title:
Going the Distance
Stars:
Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Ron Livingston
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot:
A romantic comedy centered on a guy (Long) and a gal (Barrymore) who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between Chicago and Los Angeles to see one another.
Buzz:
Drew Barrymore and Justin Long's on/off/on romance is like a real-life Paper Heart. Maybe that's what attracted documentarian Nanette Burstein (American Teen, The Kid Stays in the Picture) to make the jump to feature filmmaking.
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Title:
The Expendables
Stars:
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li
Studio:
Lionsgate
Plot:
The fearless Barney Ross (Stallone) leads a team of mercenaries on a mission to South America, where their objective -- to overthrow a ruthless dictator -- is more dangerous than the men realize.
Buzz:
Scott Pilgrim and Elizabeth Gilbert might find themselves defeated by a handful of old guys this weekend. My only questions here: Why did Sylvester Stallone not turn this screenplay into Rambo V? And who thought the name Barney Ross sounded tough?
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Title:
The Other Guys
Stars:
Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg
Studio:
Columbia Pictures
Plot:
Detectives Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) might not be New York City's finest, but when they discover a path that leads directly to one the city's biggest criminals, they seize the opportunity to become supercops.
Buzz:
Will Ferrell looks to put Land of the Lost behind him with a can't-miss late-summer comedy directed by his best handler, Adam McKay. Though New York City wasn't so kind to Ferrell the last time around. Funny that this will be the movie to topple Inception from its position atop the box-office.
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Title:
Eat Pray Love
Stars:
Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Viola Davis
Studio:
Columbia Pictures
Plot:
While trying to get pregnant, a happily married woman (Roberts) realizes her life needs to go in a different direction, and after a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey.
Buzz:
While Liz Gilbert liberates herself on her globe-spanning trip, Julia Roberts might be feeling the pressure to deliver a major box-office hit, since Sex and the City 2 derailed the momentum earned by Mamma Mia!, Julie & Julia, and other "women's films". Still wondering what attracted subversive writer/director Ryan Murphy ("Glee", "Nip/Tuck") to the project, but I'm more curious whether Ms. Robert's let actual mosquitoes feast on her in India.Will Murphy + Roberts reunite for a second movie? They are both attached to an untitled romantic comedy where an executive learns to readjust to life at home with her kids after losing her job -- sort of like if Danny Moder became the breadwinner of the Roberts household.P.S. Did you know you can purchase the aromas of Ms. Gilbert's reawakening?
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Title:
Inception
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page
Studio:
Warner Bros. Pictures
Plot:
Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is a thief who specializes in the art of extraction, the stealing of secrets from a target's subconscious. Though his profession cost him everything he has ever loved and has turned him into a fugitive, an offer for a final job -- one that requires him to plant an idea instead of pilfering it -- could be his chance at redemption.
Buzz:
Our founder has already called this "the movie of the decade".
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Title:
Nanny McPhee Returns
Stars:
Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ralph Fiennes
Studio:
Universal Pictures
Plot:
Nanny McPhee (Thompson) arrives to help a harried young mother, Mrs. Green (Gyllenhaal), with running the family farm while her husband is away at war. With Mrs. Green's children waging a personal war with their two spoiled cousins, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach the kids five important new lessons.
Buzz:
A sequel? Surely. While the original Nanny McPhee wasn't a textbook blockbuster, it earned over $100 million in theaters (worldwide) on a reported budget of $25 million. Maybe Nanny McPhee teaches economic lessons to the farm kids here.
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