افلام

Mongol [limited] Director: Sergei Bodrov Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Amadu Mamadakov, Khulan Chuluun (Full Cast) Studio: Picturehouse Entertainment The Plot: Temudgin, a young Mongol boy, endures years of poverty and torment before forming one of the most powerful empires in human history; as Genghis Khan, the leader extends the Mongol Empire from East Asia to Central Europe -- creating a legacy that lasts for over 150 years. THE BUZZ: Naw, this isn't a rehash of Nomad, that strange, Jay Hernandez-starring confection Sergei Bodrov co-directed a couple years ago; Mongol is an entirely new curiosity. Already called out by watchdogs who aren't cool with Bodrov's revisionist take on Genghis Khan's rise to power, this is the first chapter of a planned trilogy -- though we imagine the financiers here will wait until the worldwide receipts are tallied before shelling out for a second installment, but if the release date change (December 2007 --> March 2008 --> August 2008) is any indication of investor confidence. But how awesome is this trailer? I love the Yimou Zhang influence.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan You Don't Mess with the Zohan Director: Dennis Dugan Stars: Adam Sandler (Full Cast) Studio: Columbia Pictures The Plot: A Mossad agent (Sandler) orchestrates a scenario that will allow him to move to New York City and reinvent himself as a hairstylist. THE BUZZ: Sounds like a Sacha Baron Cohen concept to us, but really this is a comedy triangle formed by Sandler, his go-to director Dennis Dugan, and He Who Makes It Funny, Judd Apatow, who wrote Zohan with Sandler and Robert Smigel. Sure, the premise sounds wafer thin and potentially offensive to both secret agents and hair stylists, but, hey, is that a Mariah Carey sighting? Expect the comedy here to go from gross-out to soft-and-matured in three acts.

Director: Chris Bell Stars: Chris Bell, Mike Bell (Full Cast) Studio: HD Net The Plot: A documentary filmmaker examines the popularity of steroids in American culture by focusing on his two brothers and their experiences with different performance-enhancing drugs. THE BUZZ: First-time filmmaker Chris Bell had one of the strongest films at Sundance this year, and now BSF is shaping up (all these fitness references!) to be a blockbuster antidote this summer. Guided by producers Kurt Engfehr and Jim Czarnecki -- both associates of Michael Moore -- and employing some Morgan Spurlock-style techniques, the doc has engaged reviewers at SXSW, Tribeca, the aforementioned Sundance, etc. Head on over to the film's official site for the trailer, playdates, reviews, and curiously sexy photos.

Savage Grace Savage Grace [LA/NY] Director: Tom Kalin Stars: Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Stephen Dillane (Full Cast) Studio: IFC Films The Plot: An account of the life of Barbara Daly (Moore), from her marriage to the heir of the Bakelite plastics fortune, the too-close relationship she formed with her son Tony (Redmayne), and her shocking death in 1972. THE BUZZ: Director Tom Kalin's first feature since 1992's Swoon, looks as though it plays a similar kind of psychosexual game, with decidely mixed critical results. (My go-to reviewer rips it.) Meanwhile, I find it either (a) shocking or (b) indicative of the lack of interest in the film that no one is talking about its wicked-racy trailer. Earmuffs if you are under 18.

The Foot Fist Way The Foot Fist Way [limited] Director: Jody Hill Stars: Danny R. McBride, Ben Best (Full Cast) Studio: Paramount Vantage The Plot: A down-and-out Tae Kwon Do instructor looks to turn his life around by going on a pilgrimage with his buddy (Hill) and two of his students to see his hero, the martial arts legend Chuck "The Truck" Wallace (Best), at a kung-fu convention. THE BUZZ: It looks like Judd Apatow and his crew might have some competition this year in the form of dynamic writing/acting duo Danny McBride and Ben Best, and their director pal Jody Hill. The trio is being nursed by Will Ferrell and his development partner Adam McKay; their Gary Sanchez Productions is behind the team's HBO pilot East Bound and Down, a sports comedy (Will Ferrel? Sports? Comedy? Go figure.) that should hit the air later this year. Back to Foot Fist ... the indie was shot in 19 days and reportedly has a home-video feel at times, and taste-making reviewers dug it at last year's Sundance Film Festival, though we're unsure why the marketing plan for this one is slow to roll out. It should have been on FunnyOrDie months ago. All reviewers question whether audiences will embrace McBride's caustic, in-your-face performance as a Tae Kwon Do instructor who isn't afraid to attack a 7-year-old kid.

The Strangers The Strangers Director: Bryan Bertino Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward (Full Cast) Studio: Rogue Pictures The Plot: A couple (Speedman and Tyler) cozied up in a vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants. THE BUZZ: The problem here, aside from the lack-of-confidence-instilling release date shuffles? Supermodel Gemma Ward playing one of three "masked assailants". Gemma Ward: Sexy, not scary. Unless Naomi Campbell trained her. Also, no one went to see Funny Games, so it's easy to see why this one is getting slipped into theaters after a lengthy delay.

Sex and the City: The Movie Director: Michael Patrick King Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon (Full Cast) Studio: New Line Cinema The Plot: Set four years after we last saw the ladies, Carrie (Parker), Samantha (Cattrall), Miranda (Nixon), and Charlotte (Davis) negotiate their friendships, romances, and careers in New York City. At the center of it all is Carrie's pending nuptials to Mr. Big (Noth) ... THE BUZZ: Sorry if this is obscure (or annoying) but if there's one thing Strangers with Candy the movie taught me, it's this: Don't watch the big-screen versions of your favorite television shows in theaters; experience them at home on DVD, either alone or with your pals ... essentially, however you watched the show when it was on TV. There's something in a transfer such as this that numbs the overall experience. Yes, we're excited for Carrie & Co. to strut the streets of NYC again (and we're glad that SJP and KC are BFFs, or at least acting like it), but we see no reason to pick out a cute theater-going outfit when you can relax at home in your matched separates by Bitten, surrounded by your own personal Stanford Blatches and/or Steve Bradys, sipping on a Fanta Orange and cough syrup cocktail, waiting to see how the gals look in close-ups. Speaking of close-ups, we didn't think that Cynthia Nixon would be the one to appear as though she had the most work done since 2004 ...

Postal Director: Uwe Boll Stars: , Dave Foley, Verne Troyer (Full Cast) Studio: Vivendi Visual Entertainment The Plot: In the ironically named city of Paradise, a recently laid-off loser (Ward) teams up with his cult-leading uncle (Foley) to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park; somehow, the recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent. THE BUZZ: Uwe, meet Indy; Indy, this is Uwe ... You almost have to hand it to Uwe Boll for his ability to withstand petitions to get him to stop making movies while somehow raising the funds to shoot 2-3 films a year. While we think the surprising 3-picture deal he made with indie distributor Freestyle Releasing quietly vaporized after In the Name of the King's dismal performance back in January, the people who take a perverse pleasure in screening Mr. Boll's works should know he has no fewer than four movies in production at this time, with an unending slate of projects -- including a third BloodRayne installment and an Alone in the Dark sequel -- in development.

War, Inc. [LA/NY] Director: Joshua Seftel Stars: John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff (Full Cast) Studio: First Look International The Plot: Hit man Brand Hauser (Cusack) is deployed to the nation of Turaqistan to off an oil minister who is interfering in U.S. interests in the region. Keeping his eyes on his target proves difficult for Hauser since he has to work undercover planning the nuptials of an Turaqi pop star (Duff) and contending with the affections of a left-wing journalist (Tomei). THE BUZZ: Few reviewers have anything polite to say about this John Cusack pet project that finds the star taking his first screenplay credit since High Fidelity. I have to admit I'm surprised at the story's apparent lack of subtlety in its attempt to satirize U.S. interests in the Middle East (Dan Aykroyd riffs on the Vice President) and celebrity obsession (Ms. Duff's character's name is the cringe inducing "Yonica Babyyeah"). Didn't someone suggest a less hammy approach here? Try to endure the trailer while keeping in mind the nearly two-hour run time. Distributor First Look, which recently went through an exec shuffle, just fumbled Bill several weeks ago, and their luck probably won't turn around this time; maybe they should rush an Aqua Teen Hunger Force sequel into production.

The Children of Huang Shi The Children of Huang Shi [limited] Director: Roger Spottiswoode Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Yun-Fat Chow (Full Cast) Studio: Sony Pictures Classics The Plot: An account of the true story of a British reporter (Rhys Meyers) who spearheads the effort to lead 60 war orphans on a thousand-mile journey to safety during Japan's invasion of China in 1937. THE BUZZ: A historical drama in which co-stars Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh do not engage in any action sequences is a tough sell -- even to art-house types, to which the latest from the still-working director Roger Spottiswoode is being marketed. Distributor Sony Pictures Classics seems to have let this one go unsupported while they work on getting The Wackness into theaters ...