Nationwide Releases

Pride and Glory
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Saw V

Pride & Glory
Directed: Gavin O’Connor
Starring: Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle
Trailer

Synopsis: Two cop brothers–one good and one bad–are at odds with each other over some other cops’ deaths and family loyalty.

My Take: I like Edward Norton, but it just doesn’t look good.

RT Score: 34%
RT Consensus: Formulaic in its plotting and cliched in its dialogue, Pride and Glory does little to distinguish itself from other police procedurals.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Directed: Kenny Ortega
Starring: Zac Efron, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel
Trailer

Synopsis: The Disney Channel tv-movie moves to the big screen with more singing and dancing.

My Take: It looks scarier than Saw V.

RT Score: 66%
RT Consensus: It won’t win many converts, but High School Musical 3 is bright, energetic, and well-crafted.

Saw V
Directed: David Hackl
Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Betsy Russell
Trailer

Synopsis: More people get caught in weird traps.

My Take: I don’t understand. The first one was so boring. Why is there a fifth one?

RT Score: 13%
RT Consensus: If its plot were as interesting as its torture devices, or its violence less painful than its performances, perhaps Saw V might not feel like it was running on fumes.

Limited Releases

Synecdoche, New York
Let the Right One In
I’ve Loved You So Long
Ben X
Fear(s) of the Dark
Passengers

Synecdoche, New York
Directed: Charlie Kaufman
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Weist, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Trailer

Synopsis: A playwright’s life falls apart while he is constructing a huge play of mundane life based on the city of Synedoche, New York, which is right outside the huge warehouse he is staging the play.

My Take: I really can’t tell what the movie is about, but I love Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malcovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). He’s like the next David Lynch is complete weirdness that doesn’t always make sense.

RT Score: 65%
RT Consensus: Charlie Kaufman’s ambitious directorial debut occasionally strains to connect, but ultimately provides fascinating insight into a writer’s mind.

Let the Right One In
Directed: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
Trailer

Synopsis: A young boy befriends a young girl who happens to be a vampire. oops!

My Take: It appears to be very disturbing and messed up, like a good vampire movie should be.

RT Score: 97%
RT Consensus: Let the Right One In reinvigorates the seemingly tired vampire genre by effectively mixing scares with intelligent storytelling.

I’ve Loved You So Long
Directed: Philippe Claudel
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill
Trailer

Synopsis: An older sister comes home after spending 15 years in prison for killing her six-year-old son.

My Take: It is supposed to be really good, but I would have to be in the mood for subtitles.

RT Score: 92%
RT Consensus: I’ve Loved You So Long is a sublimely acted family drama as well as a noteworthy directorial debut from Phillipe Claudel.

Ben X
Directed: Nic Balthazar
Starring: Greg Timmermans, Marijke Pinoy, Laura Verlinden, Greg Goossen
Trailer

Synopsis: An austic teenager gets sucked into online roleplaying games to help him deal with his real life bullies.

My Take: The online stuff looks laughable, but the austic stuff could be interesting.

RT Score: 60%
RT Consensus: Thoughtful and provocative Dutch film concerned with autism, online gaming and bullying, though loses steam in the final act.

Fear(s) of the Dark
Directed: Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire
Starring: Aure Atika, Arthur H, Francois Creton, Guillaume Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Louisa Pili
Trailer

Synopsis: Six graphic artists make animated short stories.

My Take: While it didn’t look scary, the various animations styles were very varied and looked pretty cool.

RT Score: 74%
RT Consensus: This French animated horror portmanteau is monochrome and minimalist, visually stunning, but light on scares.

Passengers
Directed: Rodrigo Garcia, Ronnie Christensen
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, David Morse, Clea DuVall
Trailer

Synopsis: One guy who survived a plane crash seems to have a connection to the other side that he didn’t have before.

My Take: Looks interesting, but based on the reviews, I guess it isn’t.

RT Score: 20%