• Starring: Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, Timothy Olyphant, Joe Anderson, Preston Bailey
• Release date: 26 February 2010
• Runtime: 103 mins
• Rating: NR
• Genre: action, drama, thriller

Synopsis:

George Romero’s The Crazies involves a biochemical warfare virus code-named “Trixie” that gets into the water supply of Evans City, Pennsylvania. It has two equally unpleasant effects, either killing its victims outright or driving them hopelessly insane. The military descends on the town like a plague of locusts, quarantining the area and dragging the frightened citizens from their homes to be corralled at the local high school while the “powers that be” figure out what to do. Human interest revolves around firefighting Nam vet David and his pregnant wife Judy, who try to escape the quarantine, the virus, and the militant redneck locals whom Romero portrays as even more fearsome than the soldiers. There’s also an infected father and daughter, played by Richard Liberty (Day of the Dead) and pretty Lynn Lowry (Shivers), who gives the film’s best performance as an innocent waif who mourns the passing of her own sanity. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

• Starring: Mel Gibson, Caterina Scorsone, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Shawn Roberts
• Release date: 29 January 2010
• Runtime: 108 mins
• Rating:  R
• Genre: drama, thriller

Synopsis:

Casino Royale’s Martin Campbell returns to familiar territory with this adaptation of his own 1985 BBC miniseries — a mystery starring Mel Gibson as a detective looking into his political-activist daughter’s death and uncovering layers of governmental conspiracies in the process. William Monahan (The Departed) provides the screenplay for the GK Films production, co-starring Ray Winstone and Danny Huston. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

• Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Missy Higgins, Ernie Dingo
• Release date:  14 January 2010
• Runtime: 88 mins
• Rating:  NR
• Genre: Musical, Comedy

Synopsis:

In this lively musical comedy-drama set in the late 1960s, Willie (Rocky McKenzie) is a sixteen-year-old living in Broome, an Aboriginal community on the western coast of Australia. Willie is an easy-going kid who doesn’t ask for much from life beyond enjoying time with his friends and getting a date with Rosie (Jessica Mauboy), a pretty girl who attends the same church. But Willie’s mother thinks he should be following a more responsible path, and convinces him to transfer to a Catholic boarding school for boys in Perth. It doesn’t take long for Willie to run afoul of Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush), the school’s iron-willed headmaster, and Willie runs away. Stranded in Perth, Willie is befriended by Uncle Tadpole (Ernie Dingo), a streetwise character who lived in Broome as a youngster. Uncle Tadpole offers to help Willie get back home, and they hit the highway, hitch-hiking back to Broome and catching rides with a handful of colorful strangers, including Teutonic tourist Slippery (Tom Budge) and flower child Annie (Missy Higgins). But as Willie and Uncle Tadpole make their way across the continent, Father Benedictus is in hot pursuit, determined not to let a truant slip from his grasp. Bran Nue Dae was adapted from the hit stage musical by Jimmy Chi that was a major box office success and multiple award winner in Australia during the early 1990s; the film version received its word premiere at the 2009 Melbourne Film Festival, was it received the Audience Award for Best Film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

• Starring: Julia Voth, Erin Cummings, America Olivo, Michael Hurst, Ron Melendez
• Release date: 8 January 2010
• Runtime: 104 mins
• Rating: R
• Genre: action

Synopsis:

‘Bitch Slap’ is a post-modern, thinking man’s throwback to the “B” Movie/Exploitation films of the 1950s – ’70s as well as a loving, sly parody of the same. Inspired by the likes of ‘Dragstrip Girl,’ ‘Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill,’ ‘Kung Fu Nun’ and the pantheon of Blaxploitation films, ‘Bitch Slap’ will mix girls, guns, outrageous action and jaw-dropping visuals with a message…don’t be naughty!

At its core, ‘Bitch Slap’ follows three bad girls (a down-and-out stripper, a drug-running killer and a corporate powerbroker) as they arrive at a remote desert hideaway to extort and steal $200 Million in diamonds from a ruthless underworld kingpin. Things quickly spin out of control as allegiances change, truths are revealed, other criminals arrive for the score, the fate of the world hangs in the balance and they are forced to confront a villain much worse than they ever expected… themselves. It’s the ultimate morality tale as, one by one, they realize the whole she-bang was a set-up and one of them may not even be human…

Review:

What do you get when you take a blender and add three busty, gorgeous, sweaty women, $200 million in stolen diamonds, swords, knives, blood, guns, rocket launchers and a slow motion three-way water fight? You get Bitch Slap, Rick Jacobson’s explosive, sexy, over-the-top, hilarious homage to the sexploitation films of the 60’s and 70’s.

The scene is set in a desert landscape and our three ladies have put a diamond heist into play. We meet Hel (Cummings), the brains , Trixie (Voth) the vulnerable stripper with a big heart and Camero (Oliva) the very pissed off man-hating bad ass and they’ve got a person in the trunk who knows where the diamonds are hidden. From here on, everything goes to Hell.

Because of the money that is at stake, nobody seems to trust anyone fully. As we move forward in the film, the past is explained through flashbacks and we learn how these three women came together to see through a plan to make themselves rich. We find out that two of them are involved sexually (naturally) and this plays out nicely on screen. The other girl catches the two of them and accuses them of ‘gash bashing’. This is the kind of dialogue that is throughout this movie. I learned so many euphemisms for male and female body parts. I learned so many new insults. I learned that it’s really hard to kill a smoking hot girl with big guns holding a…big gun.

The girls are never quite actually what they appear to be and every time they get close to scoring the diamonds, someone from their past interrupts and it turns into a Pier 6 brawl over and over. The fight scenes were choreographed by the legendary Zoe Bell, who starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof and was Uma Thurman’s stunt double in Kill Bill. I think that’s the best explanation why the fight scenes are really the only thing that doesn’t have a layer of cheese on it. Some might say it’s gruyere.

Luckily,Bitch Slap never takes itself too seriously. Every scene that doesn’t occur in the desert is very clearly shot in front of a green screen, the dialogue is hokey, vulgar and hilarious and the acting leaves something to be desired. You should know that director Rick Jacobson has directed over 100 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Baywatch. That should give you another idea of what to expect. This film is not The Godfather, heck, it’s not even The Godfather Part III, but what it is, is a hell of a lot of fun — Greg

Source: filmjunk.com

• Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Michael Gambon
• Release date: 15 January 2010
  
• Rating: R
• Genre: action, adventure, drama

Synopsis:

In a post-apocalyptic America where the once-picturesque countryside has become a desolate and violent wasteland, one man (Denzel Washington) fights to protect that sacred tome that could hold the key to the survival of the human race in this futuristic thriller from filmmaking duo Albert and Allen Hughes (From Hell and Dead Presidents). Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Ray Stevenson co-star in the Warner Bros. production. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

• Starring: Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Paul Giamatti, Anne-Marie Duff
• Release date: 15 January 2010
• Runtime: 112 mins
• Rating: R
• Genre: Drama

Synopsis:

The final year of Russian Socialist writer Leo Tolstoy comes to the screen with Christopher Plummer in the lead role and Helen Mirren portraying his wife, Sofia. Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff co-star in the Warner Bros. production, directed by Michael Hoffman from the novel by Jay Parini. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Review:

With awards season looking a little thin this year, a savvy distributor should snap up Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station,” which had its world premiere screenings during the weekend at Telluride. Three superb performances by Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer and James McAvoy should have Oscar handicappers drooling. Although this story of the last days of Leo Tolstoy is specialized material, it packs an emotional wallop that costume pictures often lack. “Station” has the potential to be a substantial art house hit. It also is the high-water mark in Hoffman’s 20-year career.

Adapted from Jay Parini’s novel, Hoffman’s screenplay begins in 1910, when Valentin Bulgakov (McAvoy), an earnest intellectual, is hired as Tolstoy’s secretary. When he arrives at the estate of the revered author (Plummer), Valentin finds himself caught in the middle of a power struggle between Tolstoy’s wife, Countess Sofya (Mirren), and Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), the weaselly leader of the utopian movement that Tolstoy founded. The innocent Valentin is startled by the tempestuous nature of the Tolstoys’ 48-year marriage, and he finds his loyalties tested more than once as he tries to navigate the passions — financial as well as emotional — that swirl around an author as celebrated as Tolstoy. (By this point, the film makes clear, the aging author of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina” was one of the first literary celebrities, with journalists and photographers camping out on his doorstep.)

The picture is far livelier than the standard literary biopic. Welcome bursts of rowdy humor and sensuality punctuate the intrigue. As Valentin begins a romance with a young woman living on Tolstoy’s farm, the flush of first love is played as counterpoint to the harder realities of a long-term relationship. “Station” will be remembered as one of the most riveting cinematic portraits of what George Eliot called the “murder” of marriage. The actors bring all the pain and longing to the surface. Mirren can explode with anger at one moment and fall into desperate neediness the next. Because of her eloquent performance, even during Sofya’s most operatic tirades, we always feel her abiding love for her husband.

Plummer has been shamefully overlooked by Oscar voters during his four-decade film career. This might finally be the time for the Academy to make amends. He looks remarkably like the familiar photographs of the aging author, and he has the stature to play genius convincingly. But Plummer also captures the great man’s frailties with self-deprecating humor. There is one moment when Tolstoy kneels on the ground to bid farewell to his beloved home that is a brilliant example of how much a great actor can convey through sheer physicality.

Playing against these two giants, it’s amazing that McAvoy holds his own. The opening scenes showing Valentin awestruck in the presence of his idol represent the height of high comedy. As he comes to recognize his hero’s feet of clay, McAvoy’s reactions deepen poignantly. This is the actor’s best performance to date.

Kerry Condon as his love interest has just the right skeptical, earthy spirit. Anne-Marie Duff as Tolstoy’s conflicted daughter also hits emotional high notes. Only Giamatti as the pompous antagonist seems a bit uncomfortable, but maybe that’s because his role is the least nuanced in the script.

Technical credits are splendid in this German-Russian co-production. Sebastian Edschmid’s handsome cinematography and Patrizia von Brandenstein’s impeccable production design add immeasurably to the movie’s impact. But more important than the fine craftsmanship is the unabashed emotional power that the film summons in its final scenes. Thanks to the fire of the acting as well as the shrewdness of the writing and direction, there is unlikely to be a dry eye in the house. ( hollywoodreporter.com)

• Starring:Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Isabel Luca
• Release date: 8 January 2010
• Runtime: 98 mins
• Rating: NR
• Genre: action, drama, horror

Synopsis:

Fresh off the success of their inventive take on the zombie genre, Undead masterminds Michael and Peter Spierig direct Ethan Hawke in an ambitious tale of a futuristic Earth populated entirely by vampires, and the efforts made by the creatures to ensure that their food supply doesn’t run out as humankind is faced with extinction. The year is 2017, and a vampire plague has turned most of the planet’s human population into bloodsucking ghouls. As the population of mortals fast begins to dwindle, a resourceful team of vampires sets out to capture and farm every remaining human while simultaneously researching a consumable blood substitute. Just when all hope seems lost, a secret is discovered that may provide the key o saving the human race. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

• Starring: Tim Allen, Ray Liotta, Carrie-Anne Moss, Julie Bowen, Kelsey Grammer
• Release date: 8 January 2010
• Runtime: 105 mins
• Rating: PG-13
• Genre: comedy

Synopsis:

An ex-con (Tim Allen) realizes that prison life is a lot less tough than the outside world in this comedy that finds the Home Improvement star in his feature-film-directing debut. Ray Liotta, Carrie-Anne Moss, Julie Bowen, and Kelsey Grammer co-star in the indie production, written by Judd Pillot and John Peaslee. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Starring: Matthew Broderick,  Sanaa Lathan, Philip Baker Hall,  Ally Walker

Release date: 8 January 2009

Runtime: 95 mins

Rating: R

Genre: drama, romance

Synopsis:

Could fish really fall from the sky? Ben Singer, the world’s most negative man, refuses to believe even the tiniest miracle is possible. He spends all his time fighting the corporate super organism, otherwise known as “The Man.” That fight becomes more personal when visions of “The Man” start to visit him in his small one bedroom apartment. ( themovieinsider.com)

• Starring: Amy Adams,  Matthew Goode,  Adam Scott,  Kaitlin Olson, Bill Nighy
• Release date: 8 January 2010
• Runtime:  91 mins
• Rating: PG
• Genre: Comedy, romance

Synopsis:

A woman (Amy Adams) heads to Ireland in order to force her boyfriend (Adam Scott) to accept her wedding proposal by scheduling it on leap day, the only time when he couldn’t refuse due to the country’s tradition in this Spyglass Entertainment romantic comedy. Shopgirl’s Anand Tucker directs from a script by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan. Matthew Goode co-stars as a handsome innkeeper who throws a wrench into the woman’s plans. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide