October 2003 Winter Preview

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HOLIDAY/WINTER PREVIEW Wilson Morales With the Holiday season just upon us with Thanksgiving and Christmas looming, it’s time to finish up the movie lineup we have coming our way. Earlier in September, we had the Fall Lineup, and now it’s time for the Oscar potentials and commercial blockbusters to come out. Picking up where they left off this summer is The Matrix Revolutions, the final chapter in Matrix trilogy. Many of the cast members who were featured in Matrix Reloaded return in this film. Kids are going to have plenty of films that will make them come back for more when they get a load of Will Ferrell in Elf, Mike Myers in Dr.Seuss’ The Cat in The Hat, Bugs Bunny in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Steve Martin in Cheaper By The Dozen, Eddie Murphy in The Haunted Mansion, and the live-action adaptation of Peter Pan. For those looking in the romance department, Anthony Hopkins woos Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain, Hugh Grant looks for love in Love Actually, and Nick Cannon tries to buy love in Love Don’t Cost a Thing. The truth comes to the screen in many ways with Hayden Christensen in Shattered Glass, as well as an in-depth look at the life of slain rapper Tupac in Tupac Resurrection, and the rise to fame for the Calendar Girls. Halle Berry tries to figure out what happened to her life in Gothika while Mekhi Phifer mixes it up with Jessica Alba in Honey. Oscar potentials includes The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King, the final chapter in the trilogy, 21 Grams with Sean Penn and Benecio Del Toro, and The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. THE HUMAN STAIN Miramax Opens Oct.31 Coleman Silk (Hopkins), a classics professor who holds onto a terrible secret in his small New England town, has an affair with a troubled young janitor (Kidman). When the affair is uncovered, the secret that he had harbored for over fifty years from his friends and family comes back to haunt him. Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise, Anna Deveare Smith, Harry Lennix       SHATTERED GLASS Lions Gate Films Opens Oct.31 The film is based on the true story of once highly respected journalist Stephen Glass, whose career was ruined after editors discovered over half of his sources had been fabricated. Cast: Hayden Christensen, Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny, & Rosario Dawson       ELF New Line Opens Nov.7 Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human raised as an elf in the North Pole. After wreaking havoc in the elf community due to his size, Buddy heads to New York City to find his place in the world, and to track down his father, as well as show everyone the true meaning of Christmas. Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, & Faizon Love       LOVE ACTUALLY Universal Opens Nov.7 This romantic comedy follows ten different (but intertwined) storylines about love in London, including one which features Hugh Grant as a newly elected Prime Minister who falls in love with the girl who makes his tea. Cast: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley     THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS Warner Bros. Opens Nov.7 The Matrix Revolutions marks the final explosive chapter in the Matrix trilogy. “Revolutions” will visit the scorched Earth, where biomechanical machines terrorize Zion. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, & Jada Pickett-Smith       LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION Warner Bros. Opens Nov.14 Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang are back in this comic adventure that mixes animation and live-action footage. Cast: Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, & Timothy Dalton       MASTER AND COMMANDER: FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD 20TH Century Fox Opens Nov.14 Based on the best-selling novels of Patrick O’Brian, the film stars Russell Crowe as “Lucky” Jack Aubrey, who pits his crew of the H.M.S Surprise against a ruthless and much better armed privateer, in a chase that takes him all the way to far side of the world. Cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, & James D’Arcy       TUPAC RESURRECTION Paramount Opens Nov.14 The first authorized documentary about the life and times of artist Tupac Amaru Shakur, produced by his mother, Afeni. Cast: Tupac Shakur       21 GRAMS Focus Features Opens Nov.21 This film tells the complex story of how a freak accident brings together the lives of a former drug addict and single mother, a terminally ill mathematics professor, and a spiritual ex-convict. Cast: Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, & Charlotte Gainsbourg       THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS Miramax Nov.21 The Barbarian Invasions is a sequel to Denys Arcands's 1986 "Decline of the American Empire" and centers on a college professor, Remy (Girard) who is lying in a hospital bed with a terminal illness. He spends the last days of his life making peace with his family and friends. Cast: Remy Girard, Stephanie Rousseau, Marie-Josee Croze, & Marina Hands     THE COOLER Lions Gate Films Opens Nov.21 The story centers on William H. Macy and Mario Bello, a couple of social misfits in Las Vegas. Macy plays a cooler, a professional loser the Casino pays to kill the high-rollers luck, until he falls in love with a waitress (Bello) and his luck changes for the better, much to the chagrin of the casino owner (Baldwin). Cast: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Mario Bello, & Shawn Hatosy     DR. SEUSS’ THE CAT IN THE HAT Universal Opens Nov.21 Mike Myers stars in the title role in this live-action production and film adaptation of the book by Dr. Seuss. Cast: Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, Alec Baldwin, & Dakota Fanning         GOTHIKA Warner Bros. Opens Nov.21 A clinical psychologist (Berry) awakens as a patient in her own mental institution, accused of a murder she can’t remember, and terrorized by an evil spirit. Cast: Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., & Jennifer Ehle       THE MISSING Sony Pictures Opens Nov.21 In 1885 New Mexico, a long-estranged father (Jones) and daughter (Blanchett) reunite to rescue her child, who has been kidnapped by a dangerous killer and his band of outlaws. Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Aaron Eckhart, & Evan Rachel Wood     BAD SANTA Miramax Opens Nov.26 This is the story of two conmen who disguise themselves as Santa Claus and his elf, and travels across the country to major malls, in order to rob the stores blind. The plan is going great until the two bad guys meet an introverted 8-year old who reminds them of the true meaning of Christmas. Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Cloris Leachman     THE HAUNTED MANSION Disney Opens Nov.26 When a workaholic real estate agent (Murphy) and his family are stranded in a haunted mansion, he meets a ghost that teaches him a lesson about the importance of the family that he has neglected. Cast: Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Jennifer Tilly, & Nathaniel Parker       IN AMERICA Fox Searchlight Opens Nov.28 The plot centers on Johnny and Sarah, who emigrate from Ireland to New York City with their two young daughters so he can pursue an acting career. The family uses ingenuity and sheer strength of will to make the most of their new life. Cast: Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, & Djimon Hounson     TIMELINE Paramount Opens Nov.28 The story centers on an archeological digging site at an ancient medieval French battle site. When a bunch of students find a hidden chamber sealed for hundreds of years, they find a letter written by their professor in the 14th century asking for help. They must travel back in time to rescue him. Cast: Paul Walker, Gerard Butler, Frances O’ Connor, & Ethan Embry     HONEY Universal Opens Dec.5 Jessica Alba stars as Honey Daniels, a dancer and choreographer working as a bartender and record store clerk until she gets that one break. When she finally succeeds, it feels too good too to be true. And it is, until Honey gets a new dream fueled by the exuberant energy of a group of neighborhood kids who bring her back to the sheer joy of letting it all out on the dance floor. Cast: Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, Joy Bryant, Lil’ Romeo, and Missy Elliot     THE LAST SAMURAI Warner Bros. Opens Dec.5 Set during the 1870s, Tom Cruise stars as Capt. Nathan Algren, a respected American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country’s first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate the ancient imperial Samurai warriors in preparations for more Westernized and trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense of honor to guide him. Cast: Tom Cruise, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, & Tony Goldwyn   BIG FISH Sony Pictures Opens Dec.5 While a father (Finney) lays dying of cancer, his long-estranges son (Crudup) tries to piece together the truth about the man from various stories he’s heard about him. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, & Jessica Lange       GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING Lions Gate Films Opens Dec.12 Griest (Johansson) is a peasant girl who is forced to work as a maid in the home of the painter Johannes Vermeer (Firth). She eventually becomes the model for what becomes one of his most famous works. Cast: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson, & Judy Parfitt       LOVE DON’T COST A THING Warner Bros. Opens Dec.12 As the remake to “Can’t Buy Me Love”, Nick Cannon stars as an unpopular teenage boy, tired of being invisible to the popular kids in school, makes a deal with a popular high school cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend for two weeks in exchange for fixing her mom’s car. Cast: Nick Cannon, Christina Milian, Steve Harvey, & Kal Penn       STUCK ON YOU 20TH Century Fox Opens Dec.12 This story is about conjoined twins (Kinnear, Damon), and what happens when one decides to pursue his dream of making it in Hollywood, forcing the other to go along for the ride. Cast: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Cher, & Eva Mendes       THE LORD OF THE RING: THE RETURN OF THE KING New Line Opens Dec.17 The conclusion to Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy based on J.R.R Tolkien classic will present the final confrontation between the forces of good and evil fighting for control of the future of Middle-earth. Cast: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Kate Blanchett, Ian McKellen & Dominic Monaghan     CALENDAR GIRLS Touchstone Pictures Opens Dec.19 The film is about a group of women who belong to the Rylstone Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire. This cancer charity has long sponsored a calendar. When one of their husbands became ill with leukemia, the women came up with a more commercial concept: discreet photos of these bare Women’s Institute lasses. Cast: Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton, & Linda Bassett     MONA LISA SMILE Sony Pictures Opens Dec.19 Set in 1953, the film revolves around a liberal and charismatic Berkeley graduate (Roberts) who arrives on the east coast to teach Art History to the young women at Wellesley College, and finds the institution drowning in outdated mores. Encouraging these women to strive for a more enlightened future, she challenges the administration and inspires her students to look beyond the image of what is, and consider the possibilities of what could be. Cast: Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, & Maggie Gyllenhaul   COLD MOUNTAIN Miramax Opens Dec.25 Based on Charles Frazier's best selling National Book Award winner, the story tells of Inman (Law), a wounded soldier who embarks on a journey home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina after the Civil War in hopes of reuniting with his sweetheart Ada (Kidman). In his absence, Ada struggles to survive and revive her father's farm with the help of an intrepid young drifter (Zellweger). Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, & Brendan Gleeson CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 20TH Century Fox Opens Dec.26 Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt star in this remake of the 1950 classic film as the parents of a dozen rambunctious kids, and detailed the problems encountered when the efficiency expert father tried to operate his family based on those same corporate principals. Cast: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, & Hilary Duff       HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG Dreamworks SKG Opens Dec.26 After the break-up of her marriage, Kathy Nicolo (Connelly) goes into a downward spiral and her house in San Francisco is sold at auction to Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley), a recent Iranian émigré who hopes the house will begin the revival of his family’s fortunes. Nicolo becomes obsessed with getting the house back, regardless of what she has to do. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard, & Frances Fisher     PETER PAN Universal Opens Dec.26 Live action adaptation of J.M Barrie’s beloved story about a boy who never grew up. Cast: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Ludivine Sagnier, & Olivia Williams