BIG BUDGET FILMS
Michael Jackson's "This Is It" (PG for suggestive choreography and scary images) Posthumously-produced bio-pic chronicles the Prince of Pop's final days as cobbled from interviews with close friends and colleagues and from footage shot while he rehearsed for his sold-out series of London comeback concerts.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
"Skin" (PG-13 for violence, sexuality and mature themes) Fact-based bio-pic about the childhood challenges faced by a black baby (Sophie Okonedo, left above) born to a White South African couple (Sam Neill and Alice Krige), during the days of Apartheid.
"The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" (R for profanity, nudity and graphic violence) Troy Duffy wrote and directed this revenge-themed sequel which has the reclusive McManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus) abandoning the seclusion of a quiet life in Ireland to return to Boston in search of retribution for the murder of their much-beloved parish priest (Martin O'Carrigan) by the mob.
"Gentlemen Broncos" (PG-13 for crude humor) Quirky comedy about a home-schooled loner (Michael Angarano) with an eccentric mother (Jennifer Coolidge) who discovers that his sci-fi fantasy has not only been ripped off by a famous novelist (Jemaine Clement) he met at a convention but that it's also being adapted into a feature film.
"The House of the Devil" (R for gory violence) Horror flick, set in the Eighties, about a financially-struggling college student (Jocelin Donahue) who takes a job as a nanny working for a childless couple (Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov) in a creepy Victorian mansion out in the country only to realize that her employers plan to sacrifice her in a satanic ritual.
"How to Seduce Difficult Women" (Unrated) NYC battle-of-the-sexes comedy about a Frenchman (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) teaching a course in womanizing to a class of romantically-challenged males. With Jackie Hoffman, Rachel Roberts, Stephanie Szostak and Ann Hu.
"Looking for Palladin" (Unrated) Self-discovery comedy about a Hollywood agent (David Moscow) in Guatemala to lure an aging star (Ben Gazzara) out of retirement who instead finds himself attracted to the region's slower-paced lifestyle. Cast includes Talia Shire, Vincent Pastore and Angelica Aragon.
"Turning Green" (Unrated) Cross-cultural comedy, set in the Seventies, about an American orphan (Donal Gallery), adopted by his three Irish aunts (Brid Ni Chionaola, Deirdre Monaghan and Billie Traynor) as a boy, who starts selling pornography as a teenager to raise enough money to move back to the U.S. With Timothy Hutton, Colm Meaney and Frank Kelly.
