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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

moviediscuss — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:53:07 +0000

Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to unlock Voldemort’s defenses and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend and colleague, the well-connected and unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial information. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas. And Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her, only she hadn’t counted on Romilda Vane’s chocolates! And then there’s Hermione, simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings. As romance blossoms, one student remains aloof. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Also Known As: Harry Potter 6
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Production Status: Released

Genres: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Adaptation and Sequel

Running Time: 2 hr. 33 min.

Release Date: July 15th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.

Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.: 1492 Pictures, Heyday Films

Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures

U.S. Box Office: $221,295,818

Produced in: United States

Watchmen

moviediscuss — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:34:22 +0000

In an alternate 1985 America, costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the “Doomsday Clock” – which charts the USA’s tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed-up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity…but who is watching the watchmen?


Production Status:	Released

Logline:	After a law is passed to thwart the efforts of group of crimefighters, one of them is mysteriously murdered.

Genres:	Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Adaptation

Running Time:	163 min.

Release Date:	March 6th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	R for strong graphic violence, sexuality, nudity and language.

Distributors:	Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.:	Legendary Pictures, Inc., Lawrence Gordon Productions

Studios:	Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures

U.S. Box Office:	$85,751,993

Filming Locations:	Vancouver, Canada

Produced in:	United States

Fired Up!

moviediscuss — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:43:12 +0000

Shawn Colfax and Nick Brady, the stars of the Gerald R. Ford High School football team, are dreading the prospect of another summer at football camp. When Nick hatches a scheme for the two to join their school’s cheerleaders at cheer camp instead, they find themselves awash in a sea of gorgeous young women. It all goes great until Shawn falls for Carly, the beautiful head cheerleader who sees right through them.


Also Known As:	FU Fired Up

Production Status:	In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline:	The two most popular guys in high school decide to ditch football camp for cheerleader camp. For the girls and for the glory.

Genres:	Comedy and Teen

Running Time:	1 hr. 34 min.

Release Date:	February 20th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, partial nudity, language and some teen partying.

Distributors:	Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Co.:	Gross Entertainment

Studios:	Screen Gems

Filming Locations:	Los Angeles, California USA Los Angeles, California, USA

Produced in:	United States

Two Lovers

moviediscuss — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:33:16 +0000

Leonard, a charismatic but troubled young man, moves back into his childhood home following a recent heartbreak. While recovering under the watchful eye of his parents, Leonard meets two women in quick succession: Michelle, a mysterious and beautiful neighbor who is exotic and out-of-place in Leonard’s staid world, and Sandra, the lovely and caring daughter of a businessman who is buying out his family’s dry-cleaning business. Leonard becomes deeply infatuated by Michelle, who seems poised to fall for him, but is having a self-destructive affair with a married man. At the same time, mounting pressure from his family pushes him towards committing to Sandra. Leonard is forced to make an impossible decision – between the impetuousness of desire and the comfort of love – or risk falling back into the darkness that nearly killed him.


Also Known As:	2 Lovers

Production Status:	In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline:	A Brooklyn man is torn between a family friend his parents wish he would marry and the beautiful but volatile new neighbor with whom he falls in love.

Genres:	Drama and Romance

Running Time:	1 hr. 48 min.

Release Date:	February 13th, 2009 (limited)

MPAA Rating:	R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Distributors:	Magnolia Pictures

Production Co.:	2929 Productions, Wild Bunch, Tempesta Films

Filming Locations:	New York, USA New York, USA New Jersey, USA New Jersey, USA

Produced in:	United States

Push

moviediscuss — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:07:38 +0000

The Division, a shadowy government agency, is genetically transforming citizens into an army of psychic warriors–and brutally disposing of those unwilling to participate. Nick Gant, a second-generation telekinetic or “mover,” has been in hiding since the Division murdered his father more than a decade earlier. He has found sanctuary in densely populated Hong Kong–the last safe place on earth for fugitive psychics like him–but only if he can keep his gift a secret. Nick is forced out of hiding when Cassie Holmes, a 13-year-old clairvoyant or “watcher,” seeks his help in finding Kira, an escaped “pusher” who may hold the key to ending the Division’s program. Pushers possess the most dangerous of all psychic powers: the ability to influence others’ actions by implanting thoughts in their minds. But Cassie’s presence soon attracts the attention of the Division’s human bloodhounds, forcing Nick and Cassie to flee for their lives. With the help of a team of rogue psychics, the unlikely duo traverses the seedy underbelly of the city, trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities as they search for Kira. But they find themselves square in the crosshairs of Division Agent Henry Carver, a pusher who will stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal.


Production Status:	In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline:	A group of young American expats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities hide from a U.S. government agency in Hong Kong, using their different talents to band together for a final job to escape the agency forever.

Genres:	Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller

Running Time:	2 hrs. 1 min.

Release Date:	February 6th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, brief strong language, smoking a scene of teen drinking.

Distributors:	Summit Entertainment, LLC

Production Co.:	Infinity Media, Inc., Icon Productions, Infinity Features

Financiers:	Co-Financier: Summit Entertainment, LLC, Icon Entertainment International

Filming Locations:	Hong Kong

Produced in:	United States

Taken

moviediscuss — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 06:31:55 +0000

Former government operative Bryan Mills begins the longest 96-hours of his life–and the hunt for the fearsome organization that has taken his daughter Kim. Mills had only recently given up his government career as what he calls a âpreventerâ to be near Kim, who lives with Bryanâs ex-wife Lenore and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details (like guarding a pop diva), but most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim. Bryanâs familial goal is nearly derailed when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with a friend. All too aware of the dangers that could lie ahead for Kim in a foreign land, Bryan says no, but Kimâs disappointment leads him to very reluctantly relent. Bryanâs worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted–in broad daylight–from the Paris apartment at which theyâve just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone Bryan, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Parisâs underworld, and to the City of Lightâs plushest mansions. He will face nightmares worse than anything he experienced in black ops–and let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter.


Production Status:	Released

Genres:	Action/Adventure, Art/Foreign, Drama and Thriller

Running Time:	1 hr. 34 min.

Release Date:	January 30th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language.

Distributors:	20th Century Fox Distribution

Production Co.:	EuropaCorp, M6 Films, Grive Productions

Financiers:	Studio Canal, TPS Star

U.S. Box Office:	$24,625,000

Filming Locations:	Paris, France

Produced in:	France

The Class

moviediscuss — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:02:40 +0000

Based on an autobiographical novel by Francois Begaudeau, a drama that follows the year in the life of a French schoolteacher working at a high-school in a tough neighborhood of Paris. Ethnicities, cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom. As amusing and inspiring as the teenage students can be, their difficult behavior can still jeopardize any teacher’s enthusiasm for the low-paying job. Francois insists on an atmosphere of respect and diligence. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. But his classroom ethics are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods.


Also Known As:	Entre les murs

Production Status:	Released

Logline:	About a young high-school teacher in a rough Parisian neighborhood who does not hesitate to push his students in order to motivate them.

Genres:	Art/Foreign, Drama and Adaptation

Running Time:	2 hr. 9 min.

Release Date:	January 30th, 2009 (limited)

MPAA Rating:	PG-13 for language.

Distributors:	Sony Pictures Classics

Production Co.:	Haut et Court, France 2 Cinema

Financiers:	France 2, Studio Canal, CineCinema, Cofinova 4, Sofica Soficinema, Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC), Fonds Images de la Diversite, La Region Ile de France

Produced in:	France

Gran Torino

moviediscuss — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:10:26 +0000

Walt Kowalski is a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them form the gangs that foul their neighborhood.


Production Status:	Released

Genres:	Action/Adventure, Drama and Thriller

Running Time:	1 hr. 56 min.

Release Date:	December 12th, 2008 (limited), January 16th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	R for language throughout and some violence.

Distributors:	Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Production Co.:	Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment, Gerber Pictures, Malpaso Productions, Double Nickel Entertainment

Studios:	Warner Bros. Pictures

U.S. Box Office:	$73,232,000

Filming Locations:	Michigan, United States

Produced in:	United States

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

moviediscuss — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:25:12 +0000

A single, suburban dad tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It’s a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa’s helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul’s daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey’s most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.


Also Known As:	Mall Cop Mall Cop (Sony) Untitled (Columbia Pictures/Kevin James Comedy)

Production Status:	Released

Genres:	Comedy and Crime/Gangster

Running Time:	1 hr. 31 min.

Release Date:	January 16th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	PG for some violence, mild crude and suggestive humor, and language.

Distributors:	Sony Pictures Releasing

Production Co.:	Happy Madison Productions, Relativity Media

Studios:	Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group

Filming Locations:	Massachusetts, USA

Produced in:	United States

My Bloody Valentine 3D

moviediscuss — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:06:40 +0000

Ten years ago, a tragedy changed the town of Harmony forever. Tom Hanniger, an inexperienced coal miner, caused an accident in the tunnels that trapped and killed five men and sent the only survivor, Harry Warden, into a permanent coma. Then, exactly one year later, on Valentine’s Day, Harry Warden woke up–and brutally murdered twenty-two people with a pickaxe before being killed. Ten years later, Tom Hanniger returns to Harmony on Valentine’s Day, still haunted by the deaths he caused. Struggling to make amends with his past, he grapples with unresolved feelings for his ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is now married to his best friend Axel, the town sheriff. But tonight, after years of peace, something from Harmony’s dark past has returned. Wearing a miner’s mask and armed with a pickaxe, an unstoppable killer is on the loose. And as his footsteps come ever closer, Tom, Sarah and Axel realize in terror it just might be Harry Warden who’s come back to claim them.


Also Known As:	My Bloody Valentine 3-D

Production Status:	In Production/Awaiting Release

Genres:	Suspense/Horror and Remake

Running Time:	1 hr. 41 min.

Release Date:	January 16th, 2009 (wide)

MPAA Rating:	R for graphic brutal horror violence and grisly images throughout, some strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language.

Distributors:	Lionsgate

Studios:	Lionsgate

Filming Locations:	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Produced in:	United States