Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

Plot: Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Basquiat over twenty years ago, this definitive documentary chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the young artist. In the crime-ridden NYC of the 1970s, he covers the city with the graffiti tag SAMO. In 1981 he puts paint on canvas for the first time, and by 1983 he is an artist with "rock star status." He achieves critical and commercial success, though he is constantly confronted by racism from his peers. In 1985 he and Andy Warhol become close friends and painting collaborators, but they part ways and Warhol dies suddenly in 1987. Basquiat’s heroin addiction worsens, and he dies of an overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. The artist was 25 years old at the height of his career, and today his canvases sell for more than a million dollars. With compassion and psychological insight, Tamra Davis details the mysteries that surround this charismatic young man, an artist of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the rollercoaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody.

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Ramona and Beezus

Plot: From the beloved classic series by Beverly Cleary.

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Life During Wartime

Plot: In writer/director Todd Solondz's part sequel/part variation on his acclaimed film "Happiness", three sisters and the people they love struggle to find their places in an unpredictable and volatile world where the past haunts the present and imperils the future. The question of forgiveness and its limits threads throughout a series of intersecting love stories, offering clarity and, perhaps, alternatives to the comforts of forgetting. Ten years have passed since a series of shocking and catastrophic revelations shattered the world of the Jordan family. Now, ghosts circle and loom, trouble and console as sisters Joy (Shirley Henderson), Trish (Allison Janney), and Helen (Ally Sheedy) are each embroiled in their own unique dilemmas. As these characters and storylines dovetail, expand and collide, they create an emotionally resonant portrait of prisoners of love and life. Alternately hilarious and tragic, outrageous and poignant, Life During Wartime is an audacious comedy with unexpected resonance.

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Spoken Word

Plot: From acclaimed director Victor Nunez (ULEE’S GOLD), SPOKEN WORD tells the story of Cruz Montoya (Kuno Becker, GOAL!, FROM MEXICO WITH LOVE), a rock star on the West Coast poetry circuit, where audiences from San Diego to Seattle gather to hear him perform. Just off the road from a successful tour, he gets an unexpected phone call alerting him that his father, Senior (Rubén Blades, PREDATOR 2, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO), is fatally ill. Cruz rushes home to his dying father, a reclusive former schoolteacher still leading a traditional life in their once bucolic mountain valley, now ravaged by poverty, drug abuse, and violence. After years away, Cruz quickly begins to retreat into his troubled former life, managing a Santa Fe hip-hop club owned by a local crime boss, Emilio (Miguel Sandoval, BOTTLE SHOCK, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER), who Senior used to run with back in the day. Seduced by the fast action and easy money, Cruz loses his poetic voice, his identity, and almost his life, before he finds a way to heal his relationships with his family, his community, and himself. A nuanced depiction of an evolving father-son relationship, SPOKEN WORD depicts the edgy collision of old and new worlds in a rare, authentic portrait of Latino culture in the Southwest, illustrating how cultural roles and machismo can give way when families can move beyond words, both spoken and unspoken, to share the language of their hearts.

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Salt

Plot: Angelina Jolie stars in Columbia Pictures' Salt, a contemporary espionage thriller. Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA.

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Countdown to Zero

Plot: COUNTDOWN TO ZERO traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs: nine nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities with others racing to join them, with the world held in a delicate balance that could be shattered by an act of terrorism, failed diplomacy, or a simple accident.

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Smash His Camera

Plot: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis sued him, Marlon Brando broke his jaw and Steve McQueen gave him a look that would have killed, if looks could kill. To the celebrities he pursued, photographer Ron Galella was the beast who threatened beauty. As it turned out, he gave them a strange and lasting beauty they might never have known without him. Inherent in the story of this notorious paparazzo are the complex issues of the right to privacy, freedom of the press and the ever-growing vortex of celebrity worship. He sneaked around and invaded and bribed and held up his camera and shot till he dropped (or someone dropped him). His was the artistry of the sniper. Yet Galella found something essential in his real-life subjects, and he gave it permanence.

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Dinner for Schmucks

Plot: "Dinner for Schmucks" tells the story ot Tim (Paul Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is to find the perfect guest to bring to his boss' annual Dinner for Extraordinary Dinner, an event where the winner of the evening brings the most eccentric character as his guest. Enter Barry (Steve Carrell), a guy with a passion for dressing mice up in tiny outfits to recreate great works of art. From Jay Roach, director of "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers" comes on unforgettable feast about two unlikely friends and one very memorable dinner.

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The Concert

Plot: THE CONCERT is the new film from Radu Mihaileanu, the acclaimed writer/director of Live and Become, starring Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds), François Berléand; (Transporter series), and Alexei Guskov. In this new comedy, Guskov stars as Andrei Filipov, a once celebrated Russian conductor of the Bolshoi who has hit rock bottom and is now working as a depressed custodian who drinks too much. But when he intercepts an invitation meant for this former orchestra to perform in Paris, Andrei masterminds a plan to pose as the leader of the group in order to make a triumphant return to the music scene. With a motley bunch of former musicians at his side, Andrei sets off for Paris to fulfill his destiny and return to his glory as a great conductor. Along the way, he will reunite with a young, beautiful violin virtuoso played by acclaimed actress Mélanie Laurent who holds the key to his past and to his future. With a message of hope and making the most of second chances, THE CONCERT promises to be one of the most uplifting and entertaining films of the year.

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Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Plot: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel takes an intimate look at the outspoken, flamboyant founder of the Playboy empire. When Hefner launched Playboy magazine in 1953, he became a champion of the sexual revolution and, immediately, the forces of Church and State initiated a war against him that raged over the decades. Hefner is revealed both as a hedonistic playboy, but, more importantly, as the man who’s been a groundbreaking advocate and catalyst for civil rights, the First Amendment, and human rights. With humor and insight, the film captures Hefner’s fierce battles with the government, the religious right, and militant feminists. Compelling interviews with a remarkable Who’s Who of the decades, and rare footage, present a brilliant and entertaining snapshot of the life of an extraordinary man and the controversies that surrounded him.

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Get Low

Plot: For years, townsfolk have been terrified of the backwoods recluse known as Felix Bush (Duvall). People say he's done all manner of unspeakable things - that he's killed in cold blood; that he's in league with the devil; that he has strange powers - and they avoid him like the plague. Then, one day, Felix rides to town with a shotgun and a wad of cash, saying he wants to buy a funeral. It's not your usual funeral for the dead Felix wants. On the contrary, he wants a "living funeral", in which anyone who ever had heard a story about him will come to tell it, while he takes it all in.

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The Extra Man

Plot: Dano stars as Louis Ives, a daydreaming writer who fashions himself a modern day F. Scott Fitzgerald, who sets out for New York to make a name for himself. He rents a room from the eccentric Henry Harrison (Kline), a failed but brilliant playwright who lately finds work as an "extra man", an escort for wealthy society widows. The two form an unexpected bond, and Henry introduces Louis to a fantastic cast of eccentric characters that could only be found in New York.

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Enemies of the People

Plot: Enemies Of The People movie trailer - Directed by Rob Lemkin. Theatrical Release Date: 7/30/2010 Genre: Documentary Rating: Not Rated

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CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE

Plot: In the age-old battle between cats and dogs, one crazed feline has taken things a paw too far. Kitty Galore, formerly an agent for cat spy organization MEOWS, has gone rogue and hatched a diabolical plan to not only bring her canine enemies to heel, but take down her former kitty comrades and make the world her scratching post. Faced with this unprecedented threat, cats and dogs will be forced to join forces for the first time in history in an unlikely alliance to save themselves - and their humans - in "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore," a comedy that blends live action with state-of-the-art puppetry and computer animation. It's time for the fur to fly.

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The Dry Land

Plot: James (Ryan O’Nan) returns from Iraq to face a new battle, reintegrating into his small-town life in Texas. His wife (America Ferrera), his mother (Melissa Leo), and his friend (Jason Ritter) provide support, but they can’t fully understand the pain and suffering he feels since his tour of duty ended. Lonely, James reconnects with an army buddy (Wilmer Valderrama), who provides him with compassion and camaraderie during his battle to process his experiences in Iraq. But their reunion also exposes the different ways that war affects people, at least on the surface. This moving, taut story of redemption and reconstruction extends beyond a post-traumatic-stress-disorder narrative. O’Nan is heartbreaking as he explores the depths of his internal struggle; Ferrera fearlessly tackles her role of a young wife in turmoil. The Dry Land is about one man’s fight within his own terrain—his country, home, and mind—and his journey to rebuild what he’s lost.

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Charlie St. Cloud

Plot: 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.

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Suck

Plot: After their bass player Jennifer (Jessica Paré) becomes a vampire, down and out rock band, The Winners are launched into the spotlight. But when they find themselves stalked by creepy producers, wild groupies and the legendary vampire hunter Eddie Van Helsig (Malcolm McDowell), The Winners soon find fame to be a fate worse than death.

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Colin Fitz Lives!

Plot: Colin Fitz Lives! movie trailer - starring William H. Macy, John C. McGinley, Julianne Phillips, Matt McGrath, Colin Fitz, Andy Fowle. Directed by Robert Bella. Theatrical Release Date: 8/4/2010 Genre: Comedy Rating: Not Rated

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Furry Vengeance

Plot: In a Hong Kong hospital, a French woman lies in critical condition after a gangland hit that killed her Chinese husband and two small children. Her father Costello (Johnny Hallyday) arrives from France and is immediately warned by police not to get involved, even as his daughter wordlessly pleads for his help. A stranger in a strange land and plagued by a failing memory, Costello sits stunned in his hotel room, scrawling the word “vengeance” over the bloody crime scene photos of his daughter’s family. He soon crosses paths with three professional killers (To regulars Anthony Wong, Lam Suet and Lam Ka Tung) who work for the crass and flamboyant mob boss Fung (Simon Yam), and asks them to help avenge his family. But as the men get to know their new client, they learn that his past may not be as innocent as they had assumed. As Costello’s memory problems worsen, the question becomes: what is the meaning of vengeance when you no longer remember either those who have wronged you or those you have lost? With his debonair yet rugged good looks and piercing, pale eyes, Hallyday, a pop icon who has sold over 100 million records during his decades-long career and is considered by some to be the French Elvis Presley, adds pathos and depth to the enigmatic Costello. The craggy, lived-in face of Hallyday is as riveting as To’s mad scenes of mayhem, which include a fierce nighttime shootout as clouds pass over the full moon and, shootouts being To’s stock in trade, an epic battle in a junkyard that has to be seen to be believed.

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Sicilian Girl

Plot: The true story of 17-year-old Sicilian Rita Atria (Veronica D’Agostino), who broke the Sicilian Mafia’s code of silence and testified against the "family business" after both her father and then her brother are both murdered, is brought to vivid life in Marco Amenta’s hard-hitting and wonderfully acted drama.

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