In Theatres
Your monthly guide to new releases
By Ingrid Randoja
August 1
THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
The year is 1946 and explorer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) have retired from battling the undead, that is until their grown son Alex (Luke Ford) inadvertently opens the tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li), unleashing the evil ruler and his army of 10,000 soldiers.
SWING VOTE
Looking to cash in on U.S. election-year fever, this comedy stars Kevin Costner as Bud Johnson, a beer-swiggin’ good ol’ boy whose single vote will decide the Presidential election between incumbent President Boone (Kelsey Grammer) and his opponent Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper). Both politicians, their handlers and the media descend upon Bud’s small New Mexico town in the hopes of finding out which way he’s leaning, and to see if they can sway his vote. See Kevin Costner interview.
AMERICAN TEEN
Director Nanette Burstein’s heralded documentary focuses on five Indiana high school seniors. Like a documentary version of The Breakfast Club, the film follows The Jock, The Geek, The Rebel, The Princess and The Heartthrob as they transcend those labels.
AMAL
When an Indian billionaire dies, leaving his entire fortune to a poor rickshaw driver, his spoiled relatives are not amused. See Vik Sahay interview.
THE ROCKER
Drummer Robert “Fish” Fishman’s (Rainn Wilson) rock ’n’ roll dreams were cut short in the 1980s when he was kicked out of his band, Vesuvius. But 20 years later he gets a shot at redemption when his nephew Matt (Josh Gad) asks him to join his high school band. See Rainn Wilson interview.
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Fly Me to the Moon
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August 8
FLY ME TO THE MOON
This 3D animated feature finds three young
houseflies hitching a ride aboard the 1969 Apollo 11 space flight so
they can walk on the moon with astronaut Neil Armstrong.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
Whoa, a little weed proves dangerous for pothead Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) when he witnesses a murder while smoking up. Dale leaves behind a reefer that the killers (Rosie Perez, Gary Cole) can trace back to his dealer Saul (James Franco), meaning the dope-loving duo must pack up their munchies and run for their lives. Rogen co-wrote the script with Superbad pal Evan Goldberg.
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2
Best friends Carmen (America Ferrera), Bridget (Blake Lively), Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) and Lena (Alexis Bledel)
return in this sequel that sees them face very grown-up situations that
test their friendship. But once again, it’s that magical pair of jeans
(that somehow fits each of the different-sized women perfectly) that
helps keep these gal pals together.
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August 15
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA
Woody Allen’s latest has two young Americans (Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall) becoming romantically involved with a handsome artist (Javier Bardem) while spending the summer in Spain. Then his crazy wife (Penélope Cruz) comes home.
MIRRORS
Mirrors finds a French director (Alexandre Aja) teaming with a Canadian-raised star (Kiefer Sutherland) to remake a Korean horror flick (Into the Mirrors). Sutherland plays Ben Carson, a down-and-out police detective who takes a job guarding a burned-out department store. Inside the blackened store Ben finds mirrors that reflect back ugly truths about his life, and perhaps hint at a parallel world hidden behind the surface of the glass.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
George Lucas pumps up interest in his new animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series by releasing this feature film starring the characters from the show. The story takes place during the Clone Wars that occur between Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith when Anakin Skywalker is still a good Jedi Knight and Obi-Wan is still his mentor.
TROPIC THUNDER
Writer/director Ben Stiller takes a swipe at insufferable thespians with this comedy about a group of actors (played most notably by Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. impersonating an African-American character), shooting the most expensive Vietnam War movie ever made. But when the film’s director (Steve Coogan) has had enough of the whining cast, he dumps them in a real war zone to fend for themselves. See Robert Downey Jr. interview.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE
All Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) wants is to be left alone, but that becomes impossible when his religious neighbour sees the face of Jesus in a water stain on the side of his house.
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The House Bunny
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August 22
THE HOUSE BUNNY
When Playboy bunny Shelly (Anna Faris)
is kicked out of Hugh Hefner’s mansion with no place to go, she gets a
job as the house mother to the college sorority Zeta Alpha Zeta and
gives makeovers to the house’s female members, who are known more for
their brains and weird personalities than their looks.
THE LONGSHOTS
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst directs this based-on-a-true-story sports flick about 11-year-old Jasmine Plummer (Keke Palmer),
the first girl to play in a Pop Warner football league tournament. And
not only does she play, she’s her team’s quarterback, and gets some
extra coaching from her Uncle Curtis (Ice Cube), a former high school football star.
HAMLET 2
A failed actor turned high school drama teacher (Steve Coogan) gets the brilliant idea to stage a sequel to Hamlet (ignoring the fact most of the characters are killed off at the end of the original) that turns into a fiasco.
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DEATH RACE
This remake of the 1975 action pic Death Race 2000 was shot in Montreal and stars Jason Statham as an inmate who’s forced to compete in a deadly NASCAR-style car race inside a huge prison complex. But these race cars aren’t tricked out with sponsors’ names, instead they’re equipped with flamethrowers, machine guns and grenade launchers.
August 29
BABYLON A.D.
Set in a bleak, technocentric future, this sci-fi flick stars Vin Diesel as a mercenary who’s hired to escort a young woman (French actor Mélanie Thierry) from Russia to the U.S. What’s special about the woman? She carries a virus that is capable of altering human DNA. Let’s hope the heavily rumoured rift between star Diesel and French director Mathieu Kassovitz doesn’t manifest itself on screen. Gérard Depardieu and Michelle Yeoh round out the cast.
COLLEGE
Three high school seniors (Drake Bell, Kevin Covais and Andrew Caldwell) experience college life when they spend a wild weekend visiting the local college campus and hanging out with a fraternity.
TRAITOR
Guy Pearce plays FBI agent Roy Clayton, assigned the task of tracking former Special Ops agent Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), who may be responsible for terrorist attacks around the globe.
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SPECIAL EVENTS ON THE BIG SCREEN
WWE-Pay-Per-View
SUMMERSLAM
August 17: Temperatures inside the ring soar when the WWE’s premier summer event travels to Indianapolis’ famed Conseco Fieldhouse.
Go to Cineplex.com for participating theatres and to buy tickets.
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2008-2009 OPERA SCHEDULE
Opera lovers from across the nation flock to select Cineplex Entertainment theatres to immerse themselves in high-definition, live broadcasts from New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The Met’s 2008-2009 season looks enticing, below you’ll find a schedule of Cineplex Entertainment’s upcoming live and encore broadcasts. Tickets go on sale August 22nd at Cineplex.com.
OPENING NIGHT GALA
(Soprano Renée Fleming performs three of her most acclaimed roles)
Monday, September 22, 6:30 p.m. ET/PT
SALOME
(Strauss)
Saturday, October 11, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, November 15, 1 p.m. ET)
DOCTOR ATOMIC
(Adams)
Saturday, November 8, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Satruday, December 6, 1 p.m. ET)
LA DAMNATION DE FAUST
(Berlioz)
Saturday, November 22, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, January 17, 1 p.m. ET)
THAÏS
(Massenet)
Saturday, December 20, 12 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, February 14, 12 p.m. ET)
LA RONDINE
(Puccini)
Saturday, January 10, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, February 21, 1 p.m. ET)
ORFEO ED EURIDICE
(Gluck)
Saturday, January 24, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, March 14, 1 p.m. ET)
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
(Donizetti)
Saturday, February 7, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, April 4, 1 p.m. ET)
MADAMA BUTTERFLY
(Puccini)
Saturday, March 7, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, April 18, 1 p.m. ET)
LA SONNAMBULA
(Bellini)
Saturday, March 21, 1 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, April 25, 1 p.m. ET)
LA CENERENTOLA
(Rossini)
Saturday, May 9, 12:30 p.m. ET
(Encore: Saturday, May 23, 12:30 p.m. ET)