Moviecrazed

Star Turns--What You Should Know About The Current And Upcoming Projects Of Your Favorite Players

By Guy Flatley

ALEC BALDWIN

IT'S COMPLICATED

Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Kasinski, Hunter Parrish, Rita Wilson, Zoe Kazan, Mary Kay Place, Lake Bell (Written and directed by Nancy Meyers; Universal)

What could a couple of cool smoothies like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin possibly find to fight about? A woman, of course. But not just any woman. The femme fatale in this case is Meryl Streep, and anyone who’s seen “The Devil Wears Prada” or “Doubt” knows how hard-to-get La Streep can be. With luck, writer-director Nancy Meyers will work as well with her as she did with Diane Keaton in “Something’s Gotta Give,” which could easily pave the way to another Oscar nom for our Meryl--unless she gets tapped for "Julie & Julia" instead. P.S. Meryl was nominated for "Julie & Julia" Now Playing

CHRISTIAN BALE

THE FIGHTER

Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo (Directed by David O. Russell; Written by Paul Attanasio and Lewis Colick; Paramount)

Here come Micky and Dickie. And we do mean Micky Ward and Dickie Eklund. As an avid sports fan, you undoubtedly know that hard-punching “Irish” Micky Ward from Lowell, Massachusetts, played here by Mark Wahlberg, was a wow in the ring during the 1990s, thanks largely to the wise coaching of his half-brother Dickie, a former boxer who lost a battle with drugs, did time in the pen, and became an exemplary inmate before his release. The role of this tricky Dickie, originally assigned to Matt Damon and then to Brad Pitt, was eventually played by Christian Bale. Amy Adams portrays a spirited bartender who serves Irish Micky more than a brew or two, and Melissa Leo plays the fiercely domineering boss of a tangled brood. Now Playing

ERIC BANA

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Rue McClanahan (Directed by Justin Chadwick; Written by Peter Morgan; Sony)

Quick! Who was Mary Boleyn? You know, of course. She was the younger sister of Anne Boleyn, the regal mate of England’s King Henry VIII who literally lost her head in 1536 as a result of trumped-up charges that she was guilty of adultery, incest and witchcraft. Mary, who was married to William Carey at the ripe old age of 12, was by no means a stranger to the lascivious king herself, having served as his infamous mistress--and possibly the mother of his son--before Anne popped onto the scene. Why should you care about all this ancient history? Because Anne and Mary are being played by Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, respectively, in this adaptation of Phillipa Gregory’s fact-based novel. Eric Bana will undoubtedly have a romp as horny Henry. Now Playing

ANTONIO BANDERAS

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Gemma Jones, Freida Pinto, Lucy Punch, Naomi Watts, Anna Friel, Ewen Bremner, Carla Bruni, Pauline Collins, Christian McKay, Neil Jackson, Jim Piddock (Written and directed by Woody Allen; Sony Classics)

Woody’s latest flick, in which he does not appear, has its very own Facebook page. Here’s what it has to say about “Dark Stranger’s” story line. "A little romance, some sex, some treachery, and apart from that, a few laughs. The lives of a group of people, whose passions, ambitions and anxieties force them all into assorted troubles that run the gamut from ludicrous to dangerous.” Any questions? Now Playing

KNOCKOUT

Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Bill Angarano, Mathieu Kassovitz (Directed by Steven Soderbergh; Written by Lem Dobbs; Lionsgate)

Can a stunner celebrated for her Martial Arts achievements make the tricky jump to major movie stardom? We’ll find out when this globe-hopping thriller from ever-innovative Steven Soderbergh descends on our local cineplex. At the center of the intrigue and action is agile Gina Carano, playing secret agent Mallory Kane, a woman who thinks nothing at all about breaking local laws, sometimes lethally, as she flits from tight spot to tight spot, including dark alleys in Spain, Ireland and, yes, the USA.

But, wouldn’t you just know that Our Gal Mal is headed for a heap of deep trouble? It comes in the form of a nasty double-cross, one that is probably engineered by some villainous male. Among the suspects are the gents played by Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas. Opening date to be announced

JAVIER BARDEM

BIUTIFUL

Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Eduard Fernandez, Diaryatou Daff, Cheick Ndiaye, Taishheng Cheng, Luo Jin, Hanaa Bouchaib, Guillermo Estrella (Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; Written by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu, Armando Bo and Nicolas Giacobone; Focus Features)

When he’s bad, Javier Bardem is very bad, as he proved by scaring the bejeezus out of us in “No Country for Old Men.” But he is arguably best of all when he plays a man who is half bad and half good, as he does in “Biutiful,” the film for which he was voted Best Actor at the recent Cannes Festival.

Which is not to say you will have a jolly time viewing this nervous-making drama from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the gifted, unsparing Mexican director who jolted audiences with “Amores Perros,” “21 Grams” and “Babel.” Having split with Guillermo Arriaga, author of the screenplays for those three grim grippers, Inarritu himself had a hand in the writing of “Biutiful,” along with Argentina’s Armando Bo and Nicolas Giacobone.

What this trio came up with for the mercurial Bardem is the juicy role of Uxbal, conflicted small-time racketeer residing in a squalid, scary Barcelona that bares no resemblance to the luscious paradise so cherished by the serial lothario Bardem played in Woody Allen’s joyous “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

Uxbal’s daily routine entails close encounters with disgruntled sweatshop laborers, slimy drug dealers and other less than model citizens. But, unlike his sadistic brother Tito and his other criminal colleagues, Uxbal is essentially a compassionate man, kind to his impoverished friends and neighbors and loving with his two children, Ana and Mateo. On the other hand, he has zero patience with Marambra, the kids’ nasty, loose-cannon mom.

Between having to deal with his estranged wife and trying to outmaneuver the thugs with whom he does business, Uxbal figures things couldn’t get much worse. But he’s dead wrong, as he discovers during a medical check-up. His doctor makes it clear that Uxbal has reason to be concerned about his health (and if the sight of splashing blood disturbs you, be sure to look the other way during the graphic urination scenes). In short, the petty crook’s days are numbered, and he should waste no time in putting his affairs in order.

Not a pretty prognosis. And the pressure on Uxbal to quickly build a safe future for his precious children is overwhelming. You can be absolutely certain that, with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu at the helm, Uxbal’s last voyage will be dark, turbulent and virtually unendurable. With luck, this arduous trip will reward you with at least a glint of light and hope.

Let us pray too that Javier Bardem, one of the most extraordinary movie actors in the world today, will soon do an encore with Woody Allen in a sunny, story-book pretty Barcelona that is meant simply to entertain us. Now Playing

DREW BARRYMORE

GOING THE DISTANCE

Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Christina Applegate, Ron Livingston, Charlie Day, Jim Gaffigan, Kelli Garner, Rob Riggle, Jason Sudeikis (Directed by Nanette Burstein; Written by Geoff LaTulippe; Warner Bros.)

They’ve got looks, youth, brains, ambition and lots of sex appeal. It’s no wonder they can’t get enough of each other. Literally, they can't. That’s because each has landed a job in a different city. One is now tied to San Francisco; the other is stuck in New York. So how can they hope to find the time, not to mention the city, to keep their red-hot affair sizzling? And, by the way, exactly who are they?

They are Erin and Garrett, the crazy-in-love characters played by Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, who, as you probably learned from Extra or Access Hollywood, are a former crazy-in-love couple in real life. And unless screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe has dreamed up a downbeat ending for his feel-good romantic comedy, Erin and Garrett will surely arrive at a blissful solution to their reel-life problem.

So where does that leave Drew and Justin? Who knows? Perhaps this glam duo should give long-distance love a shot. Now Playing

JASON BATEMAN

THE SWITCH

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, Thomas Robinson (Directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon; Written by Allan Loeb; Miramax Films/Mandate Pictures)

At a madcap New York insemination party for a girl named Kassie, a drunken guy named Wally staggers into a bathroom and immediately overturns a crucial cup of sperm that’s been left there for Kassie’s use by a sober guy named Roland. What to do? Simple. To prevent Kassie from crying over Roland’s spilled sperm, Wally, impassioned by a magazine cover of Diane Sawyer, manages to fill the cup with his own seed before making a hasty, if unsteady, exit from the john. As you might imagine, complications ensue, some of them taking place in Minnesota and involving Kassie’s eccentric son Sebastian, and all of them aiming for the funny bone.

As you also might imagine, this mating-cute comedy is simply labeled “The Switch,” and Kassie, Wally and Roland are played by Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Patrick Wilson, each of whom would surely benefit from a switch to heavy drama as soon as possible. Now Playing

KATHY BATES

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni (Written and directed by Woody Allen)

In the oddball 1996 musical comedy “Everyone Says I Love You,” Woody Allen was a notably uncomfortable American in Paris. Indeed, none of his American fellow-travelers—including Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore and Natalie Portman—seemed to be having much fun in the City of Light. Now, in “Midnight in Paris,” Woody won’t have to worry about looking out of place. That’s because, as usual these days, the writer-director will not be performing in his own film.

And even though his latest comedy-drama already has a title—a rarity for an Allen project yet to go before the camera—we still know very little about the plot, except that it deals with various members of a family who discover some surprising truths about themselves while traveling abroad together.

Just imagine the epiphanies that chronically depressed clan in “Interiors” might have experienced on a trip to Gay Paree! Opening date to be announced

KATE BECKINSALE

EVERYONE'S FINE

Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell (Written and directed by Kirk Jones; Miramax)

A lonely, no-longer-young widower just doesn’t know what to do with himself. Then, one day, it strikes him that what he really needs to make his life meaningful is to hook up with each of his geographically scattered kids again. He could be dead wrong about that. De Niro is the wandering dad in this remake of "Stanno Tuti Bene," Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 Italian comedy-tearjerker starring Marcello Mastroianni. Barrymore, Beckinsale and Rockwell play his grown-up brats. Click here for Vincent Canby's 1991 review of the original "Everybody's Fine" in The New York Times; to read Guy Flatley's 1973 New York Times interview with Robert De Niro, click here. Opening date to be announced

MARIA BELLO

THE COMPANY MEN

Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson Rosemarie DeWitt, John Dorman, Liam Ferguson, Dana Eskelson, Tonye Patano, Scott Winters, Candy Huffman (Written and directed by John Wells)

How’s this for typecasting? Three first-rate actors who do not get as many gigs as they deserve are starring as a trio of macho, blithely confident employees abruptly sacked by the hot-to-downsize honchos of a Massachusetts shipbuilding firm.

Not that you should think of these wannabe careerists played here by Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper as the brethren of the low-level laborers so triumphantly terminated by George Clooney in “Up in the Air.” Ben, Tommy Lee and Chris are—make that were—lavishly paid executives thoroughly accustomed to a life of luxury. That's why having to make do without mansions, pools, Porsches, country clubs, sybaritic getaways and marketable resumes is such a bummer for them.

If the rapturous response to this ripped-from-the-headlines flick at the 2010 Sundance Festival is a sign of things to come, ace TV writer-director John Wells, making his big-screen debut, and his three key players (plus Kevin Costner as a savvy survivor of the economic storm), will soon find themselves at the top of the Hollywood job heap. Now Playing

ANNETTE BENING

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Zosia Mamet, Yaya Dacosta, Joaquin Garrido (Directed by Lisa Cholodenko; Written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg; Focus Features)

Jules (Julianne Moore) is a lovably flaky landscaper; Nic (Annette Bening), a distinguished doctor, is nice, too, but arguably more of a straight arrow. In many ways, they are a perfect pair. You could even say this affluent L.A. lesbian couple truly has it all, thanks, in large part, to Paul, a generous bachelor whose anonymous sperm donations, over the years, have made it possible for them to be the proud parents of a daughter and son, one of whom is about to become a college freshman.

So what could possibly go wrong? Simple. The kids have somehow managed to track down their biological pop and have decided to bring him home to finally meet his co-procreators. What follows is a wacky wave of shock, embarrassment, anger, frustration and fraternization, capped off with a totally unexpected burst of romance. Sounds like the perfect sitcom. But, in truth, these kids and their elders are serious, complicated individuals, well worth the time it takes to get to fully know them. Now Playing

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL

THE PAST (EL PASADO)

Gael Garcia Bernal, Analia Couceyro, Moro Anghileri, Ana Celentano, Betty Farias (Directed by Hector Babenco; Written by Alan Pauls)

Hector Babenco, who directed William Hurt in his Oscar-winning performance in 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” is now guiding Gael Garcia Bernal through some tricky paces. Based on screenwriter Alan Pauls’ acclaimed novel, "The Past" depicts the emotional and physical torment experienced by a young man who decides to end a lengthy, complicated relationship. He’s ready to plunge into the intoxicating world of multi-partnered mating, but, as it turns out, his ex has different plans for his future. And she knows precisely how to make life hell for him--and for any woman who succumbs to his charm. Opening date to be announced

HALLE BERRY

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alexis Llewellyn, Alison Lohman (Directed by Susanne Bier; Written by Allan Loeb; Paramount)

Halle Berry won an Oscar for “Monster’s Ball,” in which she played a widow who has a hot affair with a prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) who, unbeknownst to her, had executed her husband (Sean Combs). In “Things We Lost in the Fire,” she again plays a beautiful young widow who is perhaps a bit on the clueless side about the troubled man (Benicio Del Toro) she takes into her home after the untimely death of her husband (David Duchovny). The guy didn’t kill her hubby, but he certainly knew him. It doesn’t really matter, so long as Halle ends up with another Oscar for her efforts. Now Playing

PAUL BETTANY

THE TOURIST

Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Timothy Dalton, Steven Berkoff (Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Written by Julian Fellowes, Christopher McQuarrie and Jeffrey Nachmanoff; Columbia Pictures)

In “Salt,” CIA agent Angelina Jolie kicked plenty of butt—especially male butt--with a crazed disregard for subtlety. Now, in “The Tourist,” Jolie has been elevated to the role of an Interpol agent. Hopefully, this time out she will be a bit more ladylike, perhaps even cerebral and reflective. Maybe yes, maybe no. One thing’s certain: she will once again be irresistibly sexy.

During the unreeling of “The Tourist,” you may ask yourself, “Hey, where have I seen all this before?” The answer could be that back in 2005, you were teased and tricked by “Anthony Zimmer,” the French flick directed by Jerome Salle and starring Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal. Yes, this is still another American remake of a European movie.

But there’s a chance that “The Tourist” will amount to something more than a stylish recycling of a popular thriller, since the helmer in this case is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the young German director whose tough, intellectually probing “The Lives of Others” won a 2006 Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Whether von Donnersmarck, with his masterful cinematic style, can pump fresh life into a tale already told remains to be seen. But unless he decided to scrap the plot of “Anthony Zimmer,” here is the substance of what you will experience when you travel with his “Tourist.”

Elise (Angelina Jolie), an obsessively secret agent, is determined to pick up where she left off with a ruthless but charismatic con man who’s currently being pursued by the Russian mafia and the International Police. These lethal, no-nonsense forces, however, are severely hampered in their pursuit by the knowledge that, thanks to state-of-the-art plastic surgery, the villain is rumored to have a whole new look and sound. So now, as Elise well knows, they will be shadowing her in the hope she will lead them to their most wanted, dead or alive, man.

And that’s when she spots Frank (Johnny Depp), an American bachelor who is touring Venice solo in an effort to shake the bloody blues that have plagued him since he was dumped by his long-time squeeze. The thing Elise finds particularly grabby about Frank is that, in terms of physique and body language, he is a ringer for you know who—a fact that will not be lost on the ever-peeping Russkies and Interpols. Now, if only Elise can quickly maneuver this total stranger into a compromising position in plain view of the secret snoops, the heat will be on the clueless Frank and off her gone but not forgotten man.

Could Elise possibly succeed in her most Abrazen scheme yet? Look at it this way: Could Angelina possibly steal Brad from Jen? Now Playing

P.S. This flashy "Tourist" opened with a splash and quickly sank.

BROKEN LINES

Paul Bettany, Olivia Williams, Rita Tushingham, Dan Fredenburgh (Axiom Films)

Handsome Paul Bettany and beautiful Olivia Williams do not meet cute in this British indie. They meet tragic, each still reeling from traumatic events. Whatever trouble he finds himself in, we hope that Bettany, one of the most magnetic young actors around, is better behaved here than he was in “Firewall” and “The Da Vinci Code.” Opening date to be announced

FOR GUY FLATLEY'S 2002 INTERVIEW WITH PAUL BETTANY, click here.

JULIETTE BINOCHE

CERTIFIED COPY

Juliette Binoche, William Shimell, Jean-Claude Carriere, Agathe Natanson, Gianna Glachetti, Adrian Moore, Angelo Barbagallo (Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami; IFC Films)

He’s a cool, intensely self-satisfied Brit who’s been praised—perhaps over-praised--as an expert on cultural matters. She’s a vivacious, flakily opinionated French-born antique dealer whose shop is located in the picture-perfect Tuscan village where the trendy commentator has come to give a lecture based on his latest book, one which pushes the notion that certain copies of original paintings and sculpture deserve applause for the power and inspiration they provide. They are, in fact, true works of art.

But wait a second. The antique dealer has read this man’s book, and she is definitely not buying his facile revisionist theory. She even creates a weird disturbance in the middle of his slicker-than-slick lecture, mainly by shuffling about in the auditorium and making puzzling gestures—even passing notes and signaling to people she knows, one of whom is her endearingly rebellious adolescent son. Naturally, mother and son are out of the door and about their business before the lecturer has made his final claim for copycat art.

That does not mean the visiting celebrity, played with an amusing blend of macho vanity and vulnerability by English operatic baritone William Shimell, has seen the last of his spirited challenger, a complex role wisely entrusted to the endlessly intriguing Juliette Binoche. Within a matter of hours, the two are brought together in a somewhat mysterious fashion and are soon ardent traveling companions, apparently on the road to a fine romance, despite a series of artistic and emotional quibbles that shift, without warning, from amusing to borderline tragic.

And, as fans of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami have been persuaded on numerous cinematic occasions, appearances are seldom what they seem. When a stranger they encounter on their journey assumes she is meeting a long-married couple, they play along with her misperception, and before long, frame by illuminating frame, we too become convinced that the currents of this poignant, mysterious, haunting tale run far deeper than we had anticipated.

In truth, we must supply our own answers to Kiarostami’s teasing riddle. Were the guarded author and mercurial art enthusiast once man and wife? If so, which conflicts among the fleeting clues offered here finally shattered their marriage? We wonder too if the scampish son of the single mother ever figured out the true identity of his father. Most of all, we wonder if we should smile or shed a tear in response to the enigmatic jolt with which this certified miracle worker concludes his comic drama. I was torn between the two extremes, which is just one of the reasons I am eager to see this provocative film again. –Guy Flatley (Moviecrazed review) Now Playing

JACK BLACK

BERNIE

Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine (Written and directed by Richard Linklater; Castle Rock and Mandalay Pictures)

“Midnight in the Garden of East Texas” is what Skip Hollandsworth called his true-crime story published in Texas Monthly in 1998. And now Richard Linklater, the constantly surprising director of “Slacker,” “Dazed and Confused,” “Before Sunset,” “School of Rock,” “Fast Food Nation,” “A Scanner Darkly” and “Me and Orson Welles,” will bring his boldly sensitive touch to the off-center tale of Bernie Tiede, the playful Carthage, Texas undertaker who courted and, many say, murdered Marjorie Nugent, the town’s leading, drippingly wealthy citizen.

Bernie and Marjorie will undoubtedly make a smashing screen twosome, seeing as how they are being played by Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine. Black, of course, rolled into the positively big time with his mercurial, crazed performance as a musical guru to disadvantaged yet gifted kids in Linklater’s “School of Rock” (2003). As for MacLaine, she has been spotlighted as a flirty but soul-deep superstar under the direction of such Hollywood masters as Billy Wilder, Vincente Minnelli, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, Hal Ashby, Bob Fosse, Mike Nichols, James L. Brooks, Don Siegel, Robert Wise and George Marshall. So how could "Bernie" possibly bomb? Opening date to be announced.

CATE BLANCHETT

ROBIN HOOD

Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Addy, Scott Grimes, Oscar Isaac, Eileen Atkins, Lea Seydoux, Bronson Webb, Robert Pugh, Alan Doyle (Directed by Ridley Scott; Written by Brian Helgeland, Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris; Universal Pictures)

Is Russell Crowe the new Errol Flynn? Perhaps not. Still, nobody could stop the hot-tempered Australian from donning the duds of Robin Hood, the legendary bow-and-arrow hero so fondly identified with Flynn. Even if you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Michael Curtiz’ 1938 classic “Adventures of Robin Hood,” you undoubtedly know that it established Flynn, a gentle-tempered but seriously sexy Australian, as a major Hollywood draw and the definitive Bandit of Sherwood Forest.

In helping us forget Flynn, Crowe has had the good fortune of reteaming with Ridley Scott, the forceful director who pushed him into the arena and on to an Oscar as Best Actor of 2000 in “The Gladiator.” Which leaves us with question of who would dare to follow in the delicate, thoroughly proper British footsteps of Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian? Hint: one more Aussie.

That’s right, it’s Cate Blanchett, who will turn up the heat several notches in the role of the fiery blueblood who regards Robin Hood as just another out-of-control low-life--until that giddy moment when she discovers precisely how cool this straight-arrow rogue truly is. Now Playing

EMILY BLUNT

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp (Written and directed by George Nolfi; Universal)

For young, charismatic, squeaky-clean David Norris, played by Matt Damon, it was a strictly Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah time. Plenty of sunshine was coming his way every day. Not only did this charmed native of Brooklyn enjoy the lead in the New York race for Senate, but he had also glided into a relationship with a sizzling soulmate, a lovely and loving dancer named Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt).

That was then, but David’s now-time is definitely a downer. Who could have predicted that a secret from the wunderkind’s dark past would explode in the form of a disgusting photograph, dynamiting all White House daydreams, or that his twirling sweetie would inadvertently tango him into a trap that might well result in a double assassination?

George Nolfi, who wrote the screenplays for “Ocean’s Twelve” and “The Bourne Ultimatum,” makes his directorial bow with his own adaptation of “Adjustment Team,” an uncompromisingly sour sci-fi thriller by Philip K. Dick. But don’t bet on villainy triumphing over love in the last reel, despite the efforts of a slimy trio, played by Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and Terence Stamp, who insist that by hooking up with Elise, David has managed to jeopardize their precious, maniacal scheme to alter life as we know it on this planet. David and Elise may simply have to honeymoon in some other time and (outer) space. Now Playing

RUSSELL BRAND

GET HIM TO THE GREEK

Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney, Sean Combs (Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller; Universal Pictures)

The “Him” here is Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a stoned, crude, shamelessly horny British rock star suffering a breakdown over the catastrophic flop of “African Child,” his latest album. But who has been ordered to get Snow to the Greek, that storied Concert Hall in Los Angeles where the mercurial performer might stage a sensational comeback? It’s pudgy, super-excitable Aaron Green (Jonah Hill), a record company staffer assigned by his boss Sergio Roma (Sean Combs) to speed to London, collect the swirling Snow and bring him back alive and sedate as possible to L.A.

Will Brand and Hill emerge from this thinly plotted gross-out devised by Nicholas Stoller, a protégé of anything-for-a-laugh filmmaker Judd Apatow, as the 21st Century answer to Abbott and Costello? See “Get Him to the Greek” and judge for yourself. Now Playing

JEFF BRIDGES

TRON: LEGACY

Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Sheen, Michael Teigen, Beau Garrett, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain (Directed by Joseph Kosinski; Written by Adam Horowitz, Richard Jefferies and Edward Kitsis; Disney)

You may have thought that Kevin Flynn, the brilliant, exceedingly daring video-game creator played by Jeff Bridges in the 1982 mega-hit “Tron,” had by now retired to a serene, gated community on the Pacific coast. If so, you’d be dead wrong.

As we learn in this cinematic update, Flynn, acted once again by the irreplaceable Bridges, went missing a couple of decades ago, much to the sorrow of his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund), who was not much more than a toddler when his dad vanished into thin sci-fi air.

So, naturally, the young man’s spirits are lifted considerably when he receives a mysterious electronic signal that could only be coming from Kevin. Alas, in his frantic attempt to hook up with Dad again, Sam is sucked into a nightmarish digital world, the very same villain-packed ground upon which Kevin has been trapped all these years.

We firmly believe that father and son will eventually return, shoulder to shoulder, to peaceful turf. But you can bet that their homeward journey will be unsparingly traumatic, especially when gimmicked up with the flashiest, dizziest state-of-the-art 3-D effects. Now Playing

TRUE GRIT

Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper, Paul Rae, Ed Corbin (Written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen; Paramount)

Hey, if Jeff Bridges could win an Oscar for his performance as a boozy, warbling country-western survivor in “Crazy Heart,” why shouldn’t he nab another one for playing a boozy, wobbling Old West lawman named Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit”?

After all, John Wayne, approaching the sunset of his career, bagged his one and only Oscar for his bigger than life performance as the ornery old Rooster in the 1969 film adaptation of the popular Charles Portis novel. As the man chosen by 14-year-old Mattie Ross to round up the villains responsible for the murder of her dad, Duke wore a cowboy hat, an eye patch, duds that did not conceal his paunch, and a perpetual scowl. He weighed heavily on his horse and used tough, salty language to get his ideas across.

Under the guidance of Joel and Ethan Coen, the auteurs behind Bridges’ great turn in “The Big Lebowski,” the riding-high actor will be joined in his quest for a second statuette by Matt Damon as a Texas Ranger (a role played in the original film by singer Glen Campbell); Josh Brolin as a scumbag murderer; and Hailee Steinfeld as spunky Mattie, a colorful character that, sadly, did not turn out to be a starmaker for Kim Darby. Now Playing

JIM BROADBENT

ANOTHER YEAR

Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Martin Savage, Karina Fernandez, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Imelda Staunton (Written and directed by Mike Leigh; Sony Pictures Classics)

Over the past two decades, England’s Mike Leigh has firmly established himself as one of the contemporary cinema’s most gifted, probing, uncompromising yet compassionate writer-directors. His achievements include such gems as “High Hopes,” “Life Is Sweet,” “Naked,” “Secrets & Lies,” “Topsy-Turvy,” “All or Nothing,” “Vera Drake” and “Happy-Go-Lucky.” And, judging from the response to his latest film at this year’s Cannes Festival, Leigh has done it again.

This time, in “Another Year,” he focuses on one year in the lives of an elderly, uncommonly in-love West London couple named Tom and Gerri, their unmarried son Joe, and various friends of the family, most notably Mary, a no-longer-young and increasingly boozy divorcee.

Perhaps there is nothing earth-shattering—no emotional explosions or painful revisits to a nearly forgotten past--in store for Tom (Jim Broadbent), a geologist, and Gerri (Ruth Sheen), a physical counselor, as they advance tentatively toward forced retirement. Nor should we expect Joe (Oliver Maltman), an idealistic lawyer whose clients are lamentably low on cash, to spotlight his loss and loneliness with riveting exhibits of panic. As for Mary (Lesley Manville), it’s clear to us that her recurring daydreams of a passionate affair with Joe will never make it into the real world.

Substantial change—especially in the realm of self-awareness—may be beyond the grasp of these seemingly ordinary but truly complicated individuals. At least, not within the brief four seasons we spend with them. But, as is invariably the case in a film by Mike Leigh, viewers are apt to be deeply moved by the director’s ability to illuminate both the fragility and the strength, the grace and the grit, that dwell close to the dark center of the soul. Now Playing

ADRIEN BRODY

MANOLETE

Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz (Written and directed by Menno Meyjes; Lolafilms)

Adrien Brody, faced with monstrous competition for the attention of Naomi Watts in “King Kong,” will presumably have an easier time of it when he woos Penelope Cruz in this true-life romance. Brody plays magnetic bullfighter Manuel Rodriguez Sanchez, better known as Manolete, and Cruz takes on the role of sultry actress Lupe Sino. Opening date to be announced

JOSH BROLIN

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Charlie Sheen, Banessa Ferlito, Donald Trump (Directed by Oliver Stone; Written by Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff)

The fact that greedy Gordon Gekko—played here again by Michael Douglas--is finally out from behind bars doesn’t mean he’s a reformed man. Nor do his new pals, played by Shia LaBeouf and Josh Brolin, walk a straight and narrow line in their rabid quest for big bucks. Ditto for Gekko’s former colleague Bud Fox, acted once more by Charlie Sheen. Any similarity between the scheming depicted here and the recent real-life theft and deceit practiced on Wall Street is strictly intentional on the part of director Oliver Stone, the man responsible for the 1989 original. Click herefor a Critics Roundup on "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Now Playing

TRUE GRIT

Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper, Paul Rae, Ed Corbin (Written and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen; Paramount)

PIERCE BROSNAN

THE GHOST WRITER

Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, James Belushi, Robert Pugh, Eli Wallach, Jon Berthal (Directed by Roman Polanski; Written by Roman Polanski and Robert Harris; Summit Entertainment)

In Roman Polanski’s tricky political thriller, Irish-to-the-core actor Pierce Brosnan is cast as former British prime minister Adam Lang, a fictional character bearing a striking resemblance to the real-life Tony Blair. The toughest challenge facing Lang at this particular moment is finding a suitable writer to pen his memoirs, an assignment botched by a previous literary wannabe named Michael McAra.

So why can’t Lang be generous and simply give the bungler another chance to make good as a ghost writer? Because the poor sap’s watery corpse has just washed ashore at Martha’s Vineyard, the Massachusetts retreat favored by America’s rich and famous, and the current hideout of Lang himself, as well as his tart-tongued wife (Olivia Williams) and a sexy security expert (Kim Cattrall), whose job is to watch over the Langs and the remains of McAra’s amateurish, mysteriously dangerous manuscript.

Almost out of nowhere, a seemingly polished, hopefully commercial British wordsmith (Ewan McGregor) suddenly appears and signs up as the new ghostwriting kid on the block, thereby placing himself--and possibly the Lang gang, too—smack in the middle of what could be a ghastly terrorist plot.

Regrettably, Polanski was unable to attend the recent Berlin Film Festival, where the jury named him Best Director for his work on "The Ghost Writer." The reason for his absence, of course, was that he is still under house arrest in Switzerland and may soon be ordered to make an appearance in a U.S. courtroom, where the 1977 charge that he had "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a 13-year-old girl will be rehashed, eventually casting the director in a new real-life role. Will it be prisoner or free man? Now Playing

SANDRA BULLOCK

THE BLIND SIDE

Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates, Lily Collins, Jae Head, Ray McKinnon (Written and directed by John Lee Hancock; Warner Bros. Pictures)

Perpetually perky Sandra Bullock plays perpetually perky Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy white Memphis wife and mom who plucks Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a black high-school football player, from his drug-cluttered neighborhood, settles him into her spacious, if not quite palatial, abode and zeroes in on the challenge of making him a world-renowned star quarterback.

Sound a little hokey and studio-contrived? Can’t blame you for thinking so, but this scenario is ripped from real life. Leigh Anne Tuohy and Michael Oher did in fact form a warm, homey bond and continue to reap significant rewards on and off the playing field.

Does that mean “The Blind Side” will go down in cinematic history as another “Chariots of Fire”? See the movie and judge for yourself. One thing we do know for certain is that "The Blind Side" will go down in Hollywood history as the chariot that carried Sandra Bullock to her first Best Actress Oscar. Now Playing

ELLEN BURSTYN

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd, Thandie Newton, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Jeffrey Wright, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Rob Corddry, Toby Jones, Michael Gaston (Directed by Oliver Stone; Written by Stanley Weiser; Lionsgate)

In case you’re having trouble sorting through the merits and flaws of the Junior Bush administration, Oliver Stone will lend you a hand with “W.,” which is scheduled to open just before the 2008 presidential election. This inevitably absurdist extravaganza stars Josh Brolin, shown above, as George II--from hell-raising, booze-guzzling rogue to chatting-with-Jesus commander in chief. Richard Dreyfuss plays gun-toting, bunker-hugging VP Dick Cheney and Thandie Newton has been cast as the scholarly, vigorously inattentive Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Scott Glenn is the you-fight-with-the-army-you’ve-got Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; Elizabeth Banks is stand-by-your-cowboy Laura; and the senior Bushes are played by James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn. Since Stone is the rascal who zeroed in on “JFK”and “Nixon,” we can probably count on him to capture these history-making characters, warts and all. Now Playing

FOR A COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF STAR TURNS, CLICK HERE.