July 2012 Movies

Released Thursday, July 5th

Katy Perry: Part of Me

A documentary-style 3D film including performance footage of the singer-songwriter.

Brian Grazer, Katy Perry, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Craig Brewer

PG Documentary Music 1 hr, 31 mins

64% WILL SEE

Released Friday, July 6th

The Magic of Belle Isle

Morgan Freeman plays Monte Wildhorn, a famous Western novelist whose struggle with alcoholism has sapped his passion for writing. He takes a lakeside cabin for the summer in picturesque Belle Isle, and befriends the family next door—an attractive single mom (Virginia Madsen) and her young daughters—who help him find inspiration again.

Morgan Freeman, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Guy Thomas, Virginia Madsen, Madeline Carroll, Fred Willard, Jessica Hecht

PG Drama Comedy 1 hr, 49 mins

61% WILL SEE

Savages

The story centers on two pals from Laguna Beach who share the same girlfriend and a thriving business growing and distributing the best-quality pot on the planet. When they resist being muscled by a Mexican drug cartel , the girl is kidnapped and the ransom is every cent they’ve made for the last five years. They agree to pay but hatch an alternate plan to get her back, get revenge, and then get lost.

Salma Hayek, Blake Lively, Uma Thurman, Taylor Kitsch, Benicio Del Toro, Aaron Johnson, Joel David Moore, Fernando Sulichin

R Drama Thriller 2 hrs, 11 mins

80% WILL SEE

Collaborator

Robert Longfellow (Martin Donovan) is a famous playwright who can't seem to catch a break. His recent Broadway play was met with horrible reviews and an early cancellation, and his marriage is being tested as an old flame (Olivia Williams) has reentered his life during a particular moment of weakness. Retreating back to his childhood home to visit his mother (Katherine Helmond), Robert crosses paths with his childhood neighbor, Gus (David Morse). A right-wing, ex-con who still lives at home with his mother, Gus is Robert's polar opposite in every possible way. When Gus holds Robert hostage at gunpoint during a drunken reunion gone terribly wrong.

Olivia Williams, Vivian Lanko, Martin Donovan, David Morse, Eileen Ryan, Katherine Helmond

NR Drama Comedy 1 hr, 27 mins

33% WILL SEE

The Pact

A ghost story centered on two sisters' return to their childhood home after their mother dies.

Ross Dinerstein, Caity Lotz, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Nicolas McCarthy, Haley Hudson, Sam Ball, Agnes Bruckner, Casper Van Dien

NR Thriller Suspense 1 hr, 29 mins

59% WILL SEE

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon

Centers on two grown brothers who rekindle their uber-competitive childhood sporting event, the Do-Deca Pentathlon, over a weekend family reunion to determine an ultimate winner. When the rest of the family is disrupted by their competitive unfinished business, the brothers must hide their efforts in order to complete the event once and for all.

Mark Kelly, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Stephanie Langhoff, Steve Zissis, Jennifer Lafleur

R Comedy

15% WILL SEE

Crazy Eyes

With too much money and time on his hands, Zach(Lukas Haas) looks like he's living the dream. There's a steady stream ofbeautiful women and the party never ends. He meets a girl he calls "CrazyEyes" (Madeline Zima), and she's unlike anyone he's ever met before. She'sthe one woman Zach can't have, so naturally he wants her. While Zach'shard-partying lifestyle threatens to go off the rails, family concerns begin toplay a major role in Zach's life. Will the quest for love and theresponsibilities of family life help this poor little rich boy become a man?

Tania Raymonde, Adam Sherman, Dave Reeves, Lukas Haas, Madeline Zima, Jake Busey

Comedy

15% WILL SEE

China Heavyweight

In central China, a Master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions. Through hard work and discipline, these boys and girls come of age, trained in the art of boxing and the game of life. They are filled with Olympic dreams, hoping to become China's next amateur heroes. But the pull of professionalism also weighs upon their shoulders. Their coach hopes to show them the way. The top student boxers face dramatic choices as they graduate--should they fight for the collective good as amateurs or for themselves and their own personal gain as professionals? It's a metaphor for the choices that everyone faces now, in the New China.

Yung Chang

NR Documentary 1 hr, 34 mins

43% WILL SEE

Released Wednesday, July 11th

Easy Money

A young man becomes a runner for a coke dealer.

Joel Kinnaman, Lisa Henni, Daniel Espinosa, Maria Karlssom, Matias Varela, Dragomir Mrsic

R Drama Thriller 2 hrs, 5 mins

53% WILL SEE

Released Friday, July 13th

Ice Age: Continental Drift

The 4th installment of the "Ice Age" franchise sees Manny, Sid, Diego, Ellie and Scrat frozen solid and accidentally defrosted in a museum in present day.

Chris Wedge, Keke Palmer, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, John Leguizamo, Jeremy Renner, Kunal Nayyar, Joy Behar

PG Adventure Sequel 1 hr, 34 mins

82% WILL SEE

Red Lights

A para-psychologist and his mentor try to debunk a reputed psychic when he returns to the limelight after thirty years in seclusion.

Elizabeth Olsen, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Cindy Cowan, Rodrigo Cortés, Adrian Guerra, Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones

R Suspense Supernatural 1 hr, 53 mins

71% WILL SEE

The Obama Effect

A serious health scare ignites John Thomas, an insurance salesman in his 50's (played by writer/director Charles S. Dutton) to take a closer look at his life. Motivated by a misguided obsession with getting Barack Obama elected, John takes an overwhelming involvement in the Presidential campaign. While John becomes obsessed with the ideal of change that Obama represents for Americans, he has in turn neglected to create positive change in his own life, particularly with regard to his health and familial relationships. John hides his health problems from his strong, yet supportive wife, Molly (Vanessa Bell Calloway), creating a strain on their marriage. John seeks the support of a Republican relative, MLK (Katt Williams), who initially starkly resists supporting a Democratic candidate. John's son, Kalil (Wesley Jonathan), rebels against his father's avid support of Obama by supporting the Republican candidate as well. John neglects to support his daughter, Tamika (Megan Good) at a crucial moment in her life, as she has recently fallen in love and become engaged to be married. John faces additional discord with his other son, Jamel, an up-and-coming boxer (Zab Judah), who gets mixed up with a shady manager, Slim (Glynn Turman), as he rises toward a professional boxing career. Joshua, John's recently-paroled brother (C.J. Mack), also struggles as he attempts to find work in a tough economy and to maintain his new marriage. When Molly discovers that John has been hiding his health scares from her, she urges him to take positive action to improve his bad habits. John works to get back on the right path with his health and family as Obama soars to success in the campaign.

Katt Williams, Charles S. Dutton, Meagan Good, Emilio Rivera, Vanessa Bell Calloway

PG-13 Comedy Political

35% WILL SEE

Ballplayer: Pelotero

A look inside the world of Major League Baseball (MLB) training camps in the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel and Jean Carlos are two of the top prospects at an MLB training camp, and they are both about to turn 16, which means they can be signed to an MLB farm team and ultimately move up to the majors.

John Leguizamo, Jon Paley, Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin

NR Sports Documentary 1 hr, 12 mins

30% WILL SEE

Farewell, My Queen

Based on the best-selling novel by Chantal Thomas, the film stars Lea Seydoux as one of Marie Antoinette's ladies-in-waiting, seemingly an innocent but quietly working her way into her mistress's special favors, until history tosses her fate onto a decidedly different path (in the final days before the full-scale outbreak of the Revolution).

Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, Virginie Ledoyen, Benoit Jacquot

Drama Historical 1 hr, 40 mins

43% WILL SEE

Union Square

The reluctant reunion between two estranged sisters.

Nancy Savoca, Mary Tobler, Mira Sorvino, Tammy Blanchard, Michael Rispoli, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Patti LuPone

Drama

31% WILL SEE

Trishna

A contemporary adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles".

Freida Pinto, Michael Winterbottom, Riz Ahmed

PG-13 Drama Adaptation 1 hr, 48 mins

40% WILL SEE

Released Wednesday, July 18th

Shut Up and Play the Hits

On April 2nd, 2011, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM played its final show at Madison Square Garden. LCD frontman James Murphy had made the conscious decision to disband one of the most celebrated and influential bands of its generation at the peak of its popularity, ensuring that the band would go out on top with the biggest and most ambitious concert of its career. Shut Up and Play the Hits is simultaneously a document of a once-in-a-lifetime performance and an intimate portrait of Murphy as he navigates both the personal and professional ramifications of his decision.

Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern

NR Documentary Music 1 hr, 45 mins

23% WILL SEE

Released Friday, July 20th

The Dark Knight Rises

Christian Bale returns as Batman. No additional plot details have been announced.

Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer

PG-13 Action Adventure 2 hrs, 45 mins

90% WILL SEE

Hara-Kiri

A samurai seeks vengeance after his son is forced to kill himself with his sword.

Takashi Miike, Ebizo Ichikawa

Drama Action 2 hrs, 6 mins

35% WILL SEE

The Queen of Versailles

With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff.

Lauren Greenfield

PG Documentary 1 hr, 40 mins

29% WILL SEE

The Well-Digger's Daughter

Daniel Auteuil stars as the eponymous well-digger Pascal, a widower living with his six daughters in the Provence countryside at the start of World War I. His eldest, Patricia (the luminous Astrid Berges-Frisbey), has returned home from Paris to help raise her sisters, and Pascal dreams of marrying her off to his loyal friend Felipe (Kad Merad). But when she's impregnated by a wealthy young pilot (Nicolas Duvauchelle) who promptly abandons her for the frontlines, Pascale is left to contend with the consequences.

Kad Merad, Sabine Azema, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Nicolas Duvauchelle

NR Drama Romance 1 hr, 47 mins

58% WILL SEE

Grassroots

Story centers on a recently fired journalist who reluctantly agrees to spearhead the Seattle City Council campaign of his eccentric friend, a former pedicab driver with a burning passion for the Monorail.

Jason Biggs, Joel David Moore, Christopher McDonald, Peggy Case, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Peggy Rajski, Cobie Smulders, Lauren Ambrose

R Comedy Political

23% WILL SEE

Released Wednesday, July 25th

Iron Sky

In 1945, on a secret base built in the Antarctic, Nazis launched spaceships to establish the military base Schwarze Sonne on the dark side of the Moon. They built a powerful invasion fleet in order to take over the Earth once the time was right. Now it’s 2018, the Nazi invasion is on its way and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom.

Timo Vuorensola, Udo Kier

Action Comedy

86% WILL SEE

Ruby Sparks

A young novelist achieves success early in his career, but then struggles. In a bid to overcome his writer's block, he writes about a woman he thinks will love him, and wills her into existence.

Paul Dano, Alia Shawkat, Ron Yerxa, Steve Coogan, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Albert Berger, Zoe Kazan

R Comedy Fantasy

51% WILL SEE

Released Friday, July 27th

The Watch

A city-guy moves to a suburban community, joins the neighborhood watch and uncovers a large conspiracy.

Akiva Schaffer, Ben Stiller, Shawn Levy, Rosemarie DeWitt, Doug Jones, Tom McNulty, Seth Rogen, Billy Crudup

R Comedy Sci-Fi 1 hr, 33 mins

86% WILL SEE

Step Up Revolution

Set in Miami and revolves around street dancers.

Jon M. Chu, Ryan Guzman, Tommy Dewey, Scott Speer, Jennifer Gibgot, Adam Shankman, Erik Feig, Patrick Wachsberger

PG-13 Drama Sequel 1 hr, 39 mins

63% WILL SEE

Killer Joe

The story follows a Dallas detective who is also a hired killer.

Matthew McConaughey, Christopher Woodrow, Tracy Letts, Thomas Haden Church, Juno Temple, William Friedkin, Nicolas Chartier, Scott Einbinder

R Dark Comedy

61% WILL SEE

Klown

Follows two wildly inappropriate friends as they run amok through the Danish countryside plowing through social taboos and unspeakable debaucheries.

Mikkel Nørgaard, Casper Christensen, Frank Hvam, Marcuz Jess Petersen, Mia Lyhne

R Comedy 1 hr, 29 mins

26% WILL SEE

Sacrifice

Focuses on a power hungry general who wipes out his rival along with his entire family, save for one newborn. The infant is protected by the doctor who delivered him and raises him as his own, hoping to mold him into his own instrument of retribution.

Ge You, Chen Kaige, Wang Xueqi

NR Drama Historical 2 hrs, 2 mins

51% WILL SEE

Searching for Sugar Man

NYC/LA +

In 1968, two producers went to a downtown Detroit bar to see an unknown recording artist – a charismatic Mexican-American singer/songwriter named Rodriguez who had attracted a local following with his mysterious presence, soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics. They were immediately bewitched by the singer, and thought they had found a musical folk hero in the purest sense – an artist who reminded them of a Chicano Bob Dylan, perhaps even greater. They had worked with the likes of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, but they believed the album they subsequently produced with Rodriguez – Cold Fact – was the masterpiece of their producing careers.

Malik Bendjelloul

Documentary 1 hr, 25 mins

6% WILL SEE

Home Run Showdown

Two little league teams take on their coaches sibling rivalry, and end up doing battle in a place the baseball world never expected it: in the outfield of the Home Run Derby.

Dean Cain, Oz Scott, Joe Gressis, Dena Hysell, John Bella, Tim Cavanaugh, Matthew Lillard, Barry Bostwick

Sports Family

92% WILL SEE

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Named by ArtReview as the most powerful artist in the world, Ai Weiwei is China's most celebrated contemporary artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. In April 2011, when Ai disappeared into police custody for three months, he quickly became China's most famous missing person. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to the charismatic artist, as well as his family and others close to him, while working as a journalist in Beijing. In the years she filmed, government authorities shut down Ai's blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention--while Time magazine named him a runner-up for 2011's Person of the Year.

Alison Klayman

R Documentary 1 hr, 31 mins

19% WILL SEE

Falling Overnight

NYC Only

Falling Overnight tells the story of twenty-two year old Elliot Carson (Parker Croft) on the day before he has risky surgery to remove a brain tumor. Facing what could be his last night, Elliot's path intersects with Chloe Webb (Emilia Zoryan), a young photographer who invites him to her art show. Elliot welcomes the distraction and as the night descends, Chloe takes him on an intimate and exhilarating journey through the city. But as morning approaches, and Chloe learns of Elliot's condition, the magic of the evening unravels, and they must together face the uncertainty of Elliot's future.

Conrad Jackson, Parker Croft, Emilia Zoryan

Drama 1 hr, 28 mins

26% WILL SEE