Running with Scissors (2006)
Release Date: October 20, 2006 (limited; wide release: October 27)Studio: TriStar Pictures (Sony)Director: Ryan MurphyScreenwriter: Ryan MurphyStarring: Annette Bening, Joseph Cross, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh, Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin, Gabrielle Union, Kristin Chenoweth, Heather Clark, Beth Grant, Colleen CampGenre: Comedy, DramaMPAA Rating: R (for strong language and elements of sexuality, violence and substance abuse)Plot Summary: "Running with Scissors" is the hilarious and poignant feature film based on the personal memoirs of Augusten Burroughs. Growing up in the 1970's, young Augusten (Joseph Cross) was living a middle-class existence with an alcoholic father (Alec Baldwin) and a bipolar mother (Annette Bening), an unpublished poet with delusions of becoming famous. When his parents divorce, Augusten's mother sends him to live with her wildly unorthodox psychiatrist, Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) and his eccentric extended family. "Running with Scissors" chronicles Augusten's survival under the most extraordinary of circumstances.• video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • photos • cast and crew • production notes •
Flushed Away (2006)
Release Date: November 3, 2006Studio: DreamWorks AnimationDirector: Sam Fell, David BowersScreenwriter: Dick Clement, Ian LaFrenaisStarring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Shane Richie, Jean RenoGenre: Animation, ComedyMPAA Rating: PG (for crude humor and some language)From DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features, the teams behind the Oscar®-winning hits "Shrek" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," comes the computer-animated comedy "Flushed Away." Blending Aardman's trademark style and characterizations with DreamWorks' state-of-the-art computer animation, the film marks a unique new look for the artform.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Stranger Than FictionRelease Date: November 10, 2006Studio: Columbia PicturesDirector: Marc ForsterScreenwriter: Zach HelmStarring: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma ThompsonGenre: ComedyMPAA Rating: PG-13 (for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity)Synopsis:Columbia Pictures and Mandate Pictures' "Stranger Than Fiction" is an inventive comedy about a novelist (Emma Thompson) struggling to complete her latest, and potentially finest, book — she only has to find a way to kill off her main character, Harold Crick, and she'll be done. Little does she know that Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is inexplicably alive and well in the real world and suddenly aware of her words. Fiction and reality collide when the bewildered and hilariously resistant Harold hears what she has in mind and realizes he must find a way to change her (and his) ending. • video review • visual review • news • trailers • clips • photos • cast and crew • production notes •
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
Release Date: November 3, 2006Studio: Walt Disney PicturesDirector: Michael LembeckScreenwriter: Ed Decter, John J. StraussStarring: Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, Spencer Breslin, Liliana Mumy, Alan Arkin, Martin ShortGenre: Comedy, FamilyMPAA Rating: GPlot Summary: Holiday magic mixes with comical chaos at the North Pole in "Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause". Tim Allen reprises his role of Scott Calvin - AKA Santa - as he juggles a full house of family and the mischievous Jack Frost (Martin Short), who is trying to take over the "big guy's" holiday.At the risk of giving away the secret location of the North Pole, Scott invites his in-laws (Ann-Margret & Alan Arkin) to share in the holiday festivities, and upcoming birth of baby Claus with expectant wife, Carol, - AKA Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell).Along for the adventure are Scott's extended family, son Charlie (Eric Lloyd), ex-wife Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson), her husband, Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold) and their daughter, Lucy (Liliana Mumy) who, together with head elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin), foil Jack Frost's crafty scheme to control the North Pole.
Catch A Fire (2006)
Release Date: October 27, 2006Studio: Focus FeaturesDirector: Phillip NoyceScreenwriter: Shawn SlovoStarring: Tim Robbins, Derek Luke, Bonnie HennaGenre: Drama, ThrillerMPAA Rating: PG-13 (for thematic material involving torture and abuse, violence and brief language)Official Website: CatchaFiremovie.comPlot Summary: Powerfully telling the story of a South African hero's journey to freedom, "Catch a Fire" is the new film from director Phillip Noyce ("The Quiet American," "Rabbit-Proof Fence"). The political thriller takes place during the country's turbulent and divided times in the early 1980s, and in the new South Africa of today.
Saw III (2006)
Release Date: October 27, 2006
Studio: Lionsgate
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Tobin Bell, Shawnee Smith, Angus MacFadyen, Bahar Soomekh, Dina Meyer
Genre: Thriller
MPAA Rating: R (for strong grisly violence and gore, sequences of terror and torture, nudity and language)
Plot Summary: Jigsaw has disappeared.
With his new apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith), the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) is unaware that she is about to become the latest pawn on his vicious chessboard.
One night, after finishing a shift at her hospital, Lynn is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), bedridden and on the verge of death. She is told that she must keep the madman alive for as long as it takes Jeff (Angus Macfayden), another of his victims, to complete a game of his own. Racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw's own heartbeat, Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests, unaware that he has a much bigger plan for both of them...
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Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Release Date: October 20, 2006
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures (Paramount)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Paul Haggis, William Broyles Jr.
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, John Benjamin Hickey
Genre: Action, Drama, War
MPAA Rating: R (for sequences of graphic war violence and carnage, and for language)
"Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima," a picture taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945 depicts five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi. The image served as a counterpoint for one of the most vicious battles of the war: the fight to take Iwo Jima, a desolate island of black sand barely eight square miles that would prove a tipping point in the Pacific campaign. Lasting more than a month, the fight was a bloody, drawn-out conflict that might have turned the American public against the war entirely, had it not been for the photo, which was taken and published five days into the battle.
The photograph made heroes of the men in the picture as the three surviving flag-raisers were returned to the U.S. and made into props in the government's Seventh War Bond Tour. Uncomfortable with their new celebrity, the flag-raisers considered the real heroes to be the men who died on Iwo Jima; still, the American public held them up as the best America had to offer, the supermen who conquered the Japanese...
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The Prestige (2006)
Release Date: October 20, 2006
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Steve Coogan, Marianne Faithful, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo)
Official Website: SonyPictures.com
Plot Summary: Oscar®-winning Sofia Coppola brings to the screen an imaginative interpretation of the life of France's legendary teenage queen Marie Antoinette. When betrothed to King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), the naïve Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) enters the opulent French court which is steeped in conspiracy and scandal. Without guidance, adrift in a dangerous world, the young girl rebels against the isolated atmosphere at Versailles and becomes France’s most misunderstood monarch.
• video review • visual review • news • trailers • featurette & 5 clips 1 2 3 4 5 6 • 137 photos • cast and crew • production notes •
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Release Date: October 20, 2006
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Rip Torn, Rose Byrne, Asia Argento, Steve Coogan, Marianne Faithful, Molly Shannon, Shirley Henderson, Danny Huston
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for sexual content, partial nudity and innuendo)
Official Website: SonyPictures.com
Plot Summary: Oscar®-winning Sofia Coppola brings to the screen an imaginative interpretation of the life of France's legendary teenage queen Marie Antoinette. When betrothed to King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), the naïve Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) enters the opulent French court which is steeped in conspiracy and scandal. Without guidance, adrift in a dangerous world, the young girl rebels against the isolated atmosphere at Versailles and becomes France’s most misunderstood monarch.
Flicka (2006)
Release Date: October 20, 2006
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Michael Mayer
Screenwriter: Mark Rosenthal, Lawrence Konner
Starring: Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw, Maria Bello, Ryan Kwanten
Genre: Drama, Family
MPAA Rating: PG (for some mild language)
Official Website: Flickamovie.com
Plot Summary: In "Flicka," a contemporary motion picture adaptation of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel "My Friend Flicka," 16-year-old Katy McLaughlin (Alison Lohman) dreams of fulfilling her family legacy by working on her father's ranch in modern-day Wyoming. But Katy's father (Tim McGraw) wants more for her, insisting that Katy go to college. Katy finds a wild mustang, which she names Flicka, and sets out to make her a riding horse. But Flicka and Katy are more alike than she could have imagined. Like Katy, Flicka has a disdain for authority and is not about to give up her freedom without a fight.
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Aurora Borealis (2005)
Release Date: September 15, 2006 (limited)
Studio: Regent Releasing, Here! Films
Director: James C.E. Burke
Screenwriter: Brent Boyd
Starring: Joshua Jackson, Donald Sutherland, Juliette Lewis, Louise Fletcher, Steven Pasquale, Zack Ward, Timm Sharp
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R (for language)
Official Website: AuroraBorealis-themovie.com
Ever since the premature death of his father, 25-year-old Minneapolis slacker Duncan (Joshua Jackson) is content with shuffling aimlessly through life, hanging out with his lifelong friends, and ditching one dead-end job after another. Duncan takes a job as a handyman in a high-rise that allows him to be near his gravely ill grandfather Ronald (Donald Sutherland), who's more than a handful for his grandmother Ruth (Louise Fletcher).
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Man of the Year (2006)
Release Date: October 13, 2006
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Barry Levinson
Screenwriter: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence)
Official Website: ManoftheYearmovie.net | TomDobbs.com
Plot Summary: What would happen if one of the nation's funniest men became its leading one? Oscar® winner Robin Williams reunites with the director of "Good Morning, Vietnam" to answer just that question in the comic tale of an entertainer's accidental rise to power, "Man of the Year."
Acerbic performer Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) has made his career out of skewering politicians and speaking the mind of the exasperated nation on his talk show. He cracked scathing jokes at a fractured system night after night...until he came up with a really funny idea: why not run for president himself?
After a flip comment, Dobbs ignites a grassroots movement that puts him on the ballot. Hot on the campaign trail, he debates elected drones and says exactly what frustrated voters have often thought. Nov. 2nd later, the muckraker wins--only to learn that a computer voting error gave him the victory. With time ticking on the inaugural clock, Dobbs has a big decision to make: should he go back behind the mike or stay in the Oval Office?
This election season, comic actors including Laura Linney, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum and Lewis Black join Williams in a pulled-from-the-headlines comedy. Together with Oscar® winner Barry Levinson ("Rain Man," "Wag the Dog"), they'll show the world that--only in America--a comedian can become the country's next president and our "Man of the Year."
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The Marine (2006)
Release Date: October 13, 2006
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: John Bonito
Screenwriter: Michelle Gallagher, Alan McElroy
Starring: John Cena, Kelly Carlson, Robert Patrick, Jeff Chase, Jon Bennett, Abigail Bianca, Troy Brenna, Ashley Lyons, Anthony Ray Parker, Drew Powell, Kelly Steves
Genre: Action, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violent action, sensuality and language)
Official Website: TheMarinemovie.com
Plot Summary: WWE wrestling champion John Cena makes his motion picture debut in this rugged action thriller. Cena is John Triton, a heroic Marine who returns home after being discharged- against his will- from the Iraq War. Stateside, he finds himself back in action, when his wife (Kelly Carlson) is kidnapped by a murderous gang led by the merciless Rome (Robert Patrick). With everything on the line, the Marine will stop at nothing to carry out his toughest and most important mission.
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Driving Lessons
Release Date: October 13, 2006 (NY, LA)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Jeremy Brock
Screenwriter: Jeremy Brock
Starring: Rupert Grint, Laura Linney, Julie Walters, Nicholas Farrell, Oliver Milburn, Michelle Duncan, Tamsin Eggerton
Genre: Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for language, sexual content and some thematic material)
Official Website: SonyClassics.com/DrivingLessons
We first meet Ben (RUPERT GRINT), a shy, bookish 17-year-old, as he begins a very unpromising summer vacation. While the other kids are out having fun, Ben spends these precious few weeks attending bible classes, having driving lessons with his overbearing and overly religious mother (Laura Linney) and helping out at a local old people’s home.
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The Grudge 2
Release Date: October 13, 2006
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Screenwriter: Stephen Susco
Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Teresa Palmer, Takako Fuji, Ryo Ishibashi, Misako Uno, Shaun Sipos, Edison Chen
Genre: Horror, Thriller
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for mature thematic material, disturbing images/terror/violence, and some sensuality)
Plot Summary: From Columbia Pictures and Ghost House Pictures comes the much-anticipated sequel to the 2004 worldwide hit "The Grudge." The terrifying thriller "The Grudge 2" explores the dark secrets of the grudge as the terrifying supernatural curse is unleashed on a group of seemingly unrelated victims. One by one, they are infected by the grudge, which quickly moves from a burned-down house in Tokyo and spreads to everyone who crosses its path.
"The Grudge 2" stars Amber Tamblyn under the direction of Takashi Shimizu, from an original screenplay by Stephen Susco. The producers are Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise.
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The Departed
Release Date: October 6, 2006
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriter: William Monahan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, James Badge Dale, Kristen Dalton Gerard McSorley, David O'Hara, Mark Ralston
Genre: Crime, Drama
MPAA Rating: R (for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and drug material)
Plot Summary: "The Departed" is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy – and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.
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Employee of the Month
Release Date: October 6, 2006
Studio: Lionsgate
Director: Greg Coolidge
Screenwriter: Greg Coolidge
Starring: Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shephard, Efren Ramirez, Tim Bagley, Andy Dick, Brian George, Marcello Thedford, Danny Woodburn, Sean Whalen, Harland Williams, Shirly Brener
Genre: Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for crude sexual humor, and language)
Plot Summary: For customers of Super Club, the largest high-volume, bulk-discount retailer in the country, membership has its privileges. For workers at the cavernous store, the most coveted honor is the "Employee of the Month" award, and having one's photo immortalized on the wall of fame in the staff lounge.
Enter Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) and Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), two ultra competitive Super Club workers whose ten years of employment have resulted in drastically different career paths. While Vince – with the aid of his trusty sidekick Jorge (Efren Ramirez) -- has advanced to become head cashier and winner of 17 consecutive "E of M" awards, Zack is the ultimate slacker whose scruffy appearance and laid back attitude has made him popular with his colleagues, but kept him stuck in the lowly ranks of the store's box boys. The duo's longtime rivalry comes to a bitter head when Amy (Jessica Simpson) – a beautiful new cashier with a reputation of only dating "Employee of the Month" winners – transfers to the store, immediately becoming the object of both Zack and Vince's affection and often comical gamesmanship.
While Vince instantly impresses Amy with his crowd pleasing, flamboyant style behind his checkstand register, Zack's feeble attempts to charm his beautiful new co-worker quickly backfire against him. With the race to win Amy's affections slipping away, Zack determines his only chance rests in winning the store's next "Employee of the Month" award. A battle to the end, "Employee of the Month" shows that the only failure in life is when one fails to try.
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Release Date: October 6, 2006
Studio: New Line Cinema
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Screenwriter: Sheldon Turner
Starring: Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, Taylor Handley, Matthew Bomer, Diora Baird, Heather Kafka, Marietta Marich, Terrence Evans
Genre: Horror, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R (for strong horror violence/gore, language and some sexual content)
Plot Summary: The original 1974 film, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," shocked and stunned audiences with its bone-chilling realism. The horrifying story, drawn from a series of true events, is considered by many to be one of the greatest thrillers of all time and a landmark of terror that has influenced countless films in its wake. Iconic in popular culture, its menacing evil character, Leatherface, will forever be one of the most recognizable screen villains.
With 2003's remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," starring Jessica Biel, the filmmakers at Platinum Dunes brought new life and vigor to the horror movie genre, while also honoring its predecessor. Now the company continues on that path with a startling prequel, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," which details the beginnings of the Hewitt clan and exposes their psychotic idea of family fun.
It's 1969. The conflict in Viet Nam has exploded to immeasurable proportions, and 18-year-old Dean Hill's (Taylor Handley) number is up. Dean's brother Eric (Matthew Bomer), who has already seen his share of combat, plans to take Dean to enlist in his beloved Marine Corps in hopes of keeping an eye on him rather than letting him take his chances at the local induction center.
But Dean's plans do not coincide with his older brother's. Instead, he plans to confront Eric about dodging the draft after the boys and their respective girlfriends, Bailey (Diora Baird) and Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) head across Texas for a final fling of serious fun.
Soon after their journey begins, the spirited foursome are spooked by a menacing pair of bikers, Holden (Lee Tergesen) and his girlfriend, Alex (Cyia Batten). When Alex chases the group's jeep, propelling them into a serious accident, Chrissie is thrown from the vehicle. As Alex attempts to rob the injured trio, Sheriff Hoyt (R. Lee Ermey) arrives on the scene and turns the tables on their would-be assassin. While Chrissie hides in the nearby brush, she watches as the sheriff kills Alex in cold blood and then inexplicably taunts her friends before ordering them into the back of the patrol car.
Unbeknownst to Chrissie, Hoyt is headed back to the Hewitt family home where Thomas who is being groomed to become the terrifying monster known as Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) and the rest of the Hewitt clan await. In an effort to save her friends, she attempts to convince Holden to help her, but he is on a one-man rampage to avenge his girlfriend's death. As Chrissie witnesses the horrors inflicted by the Hewitt family upon the people she loves, she realizes she is their only hope of survival.
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