Friday, November 6, 2009

Arriving this week

"The Box." Thriller. PG13. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. The year is 1976. Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) is a teacher at a private high school and her husband, Arthur (James Marsden), is an engineer working at NASA. They are, by all accounts, an average couple living a normal life in the suburbs with their young son - until a mysterious man (Frank Langella) with a horribly disfigured face appears on their doorstep and presents Norma with a life-altering proposition. With only 24 hours to make their choice, Norma and Arthur face an impossible moral dilemma: Push a button inside a box and receive $1 million, but do so knowing that it will cost the life of another human being.

"Disney's A Christmas Carol."Fantasy. PG. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.

"The Fourth Kind." Thriller. PG13. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Since the 1960s, a disproportionate number of missing persons has been reported yearly from the population of Nome, Alaska, and the truth has never been discovered despite multiple FBI investigations. A psychologist named Abigail Tyler, played by Milla Jovovich, began videotaping sessions with traumatized patients and unwittingly discovered some of the most disturbing evidence of alien abduction ever documented.

"The Men Who Stare At Goats." Comedy. R. Shiloh 14. Down-on-his-luck reporter Bob Wilton, played by Ewan McGregor, gets more than he bargained for when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to use paranormal powers to end war as we know it.

Also playing

"Amelia." Drama. PG. Shiloh 14. After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart. The aviator, played by Hilary Swank, becomes an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (Cherry Jones) to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam (Richard Gere), and longtime friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). In 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world.

"Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." Horror-fantasy. PG-13. Shiloh 14. When a normal 14-year-old named Darren (Chris Massoglia) stumbles upon a traveling freak show, he encounters a vampire named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly), who turns Darren into something, well, bloodthirsty. Newly undead, Darren joins the "Cirque Du Freak," a touring sideshow filled with monstrous creatures from a snakeboy and a wolfman to a bearded lady (Salma Hayek) and a gigantic barker (Ken Watanabe). As Darren flexes his newfound powers in this dark world, he becomes a treasured pawn between the vampires and their deadlier counterparts. And while trying to survive, one boy will struggle to keep their brewing war from devouring what's left of his humanity.

"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." Animation. PG. Shiloh 14. Young inventor Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader) dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. His attempt at solving world hunger, however, leads to a world where giant pancakes and pasta fall from the sky like rain. Anna Faris voices the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior.

"Couples Retreat." Comedy. PG-13. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Four Midwestern couples who embark on a journey to a tropical island resort. While one of the couples is there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to jet ski, spa and enjoy some fun in the sun. They soon discover that participation in the resort's couples therapy is not optional. The cast includes Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love.

"Kidtoons - My Little Pony: Buttercup." Children's. G. Wynnsong 10. Children's feature plays Saturday-Sunday at 10 a.m. and Tuesday at 2 p.m.

"Law Abiding Citizen." Thriller. R. Shiloh 14. Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an upstanding family man whose wife and daughter are murdered during a home invasion. When the killers are caught, Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), a hotshot young Philadelphia prosecutor, is assigned to the case. Over his objections, Nick is forced by his boss to offer one of the suspects a light sentence in exchange for testifying against his accomplice. Ten years later, the man who made the plea bargain is found dead and Clyde coolly admits to killing him. Then he issues a warning to Nick: Either fix the flawed justice system that failed his family, or key players in the trial will die.

"Michael Jackson's This Is It." Documentary. PG. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Drawing from hundreds of hours of rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage, the iconic singer and dancer is captured preparing for a series of London concerts. The film, which will also offer select sequences in 3-D, will provide a unique career retrospective and feature interviews with some of Jackson's closest friends and creative collaborators.

"Paranormal Activity." Horror. R. Shiloh 14. Katie and Micah were enjoying a happy, carefree life. Their future looked promising until bizarre events began occurring at night. Katie was no stranger to paranormal phenomena - she had been stalked by a malevolent entity since childhood, and she feared that it had followed her to their new home. They purchase a video camera to find out what's happening while they sleep.

"Saw VI." Horror. R. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Detective Hoffman (Castos Mandylor) emerges as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.

"Surrogates." Sci-fi. PG-13. Wynnsong 10. People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates - sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Bruce Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.

"Where The Wild Things Are." Fantasy. PG. Shiloh 14 and Wynnsong 10. Max (Max Records) is a young boy who is sent to his room after rebelling against his mother (Catherine Keener). There, Max's imagination is free to roam, and it soon transports him to a thriving forest bordering a vast sea. Delighted, he sets sail for the land of the Wild Things, where mischief reigns and Max rules.

"Zombieland." Horror-comedy. R. Wynnsong 10. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is a big wuss - but when you're afraid of being eaten by zombies, fear can keep you alive. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is an AK-totin', zombie-slayin' badass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.