Movie Releases, 10/13

For October 13:

Seems like these damn ghosts can never forgive--they're back for Takashi Shimizu's The Grudge 2. They appear everywhere, according to the relentless trailer that gets to the point of parody. Shimizu's fourth Grudge film--he did the original Ju-On and its sequel in Japan before remaking the original for American audiences in 2004. Amber Tamblyn plays Sarah Michelle Gellar's sister and takes over the screaming duties.

L & N Liner Jonathan's favorite director Barry Levinson (please note sarcasm) and Robin Williams team up for the third time (Good Morning, Vietnam and Toys) in Man of the Year, in which we imagine what it would be like if Jon Stewart ran for President and won. Laura Linney co-stars--she's the one the various trailers have edited to say "Wow" after a hundred different Williams clips. Lewis Black also stars, as if you didn't already get the Jon Stewart reference already. Could be funny, could suck--where do you lean?

And are you ready for some RAW action? In The Marine, John Cena plays what Matt Damon would look like if he took a trip through a BALCO warehouse as he tries to save his wife (Nip/Tuck's Kelly Carlson) from baddie Robert Patrick. B-action pictures are always welcome if they don't take themselves too seriously--and this looks like those classic Seagal or Van Damme beat-em-ups that we can't wait to see on cable now and then.

In semi-wide release is One Night with the King, starring Tiffany Dupont as the Hebrew Bible's Queen Esther, who saves the Jewish people from getting wiped out at the hands of Haman the Agatite. The main sell of this movie appears to be Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif re-teaming from their Lawrence of Arabia days.

In Limited Release:

The work is cut out for the new Truman Capote biopic Infamous, directed by actor Douglas McGrath. It stars a whole slew of name actors--Sandra Bullock (as Harper Lee), Daniel Craig (as Perry Smith), Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, Sigourney Weaver, and director Peter Bogdanovich. Toby Jones plays Capote at the time of his book In Cold Blood in what appears to be a case of a project that got launched at the same time as Capote but got beaten to the punch--by a year.

Terry Gilliam's Tideland opens. It concerns a woman who has lost her mother to drug overdose and gets increasingly weird as time goes on. So expect Gilliam to follow suit.

And did Agent Cody Banks get reincarnated as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker? More kiddie spy stuff, this coming from the series of novels by Anthony Horowitz. There's a load of recognizable actors in it--Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Mickey Rourke, Alicia Silverstone, Andy Serkis, and Missi Pyle.

And if you can't get enough Laura Linney after Man of the Year, she stars in Driving Lessons, a title that can only mean coming-of-age. And in this, it's Harry Potter's Ron Weasley--Rupert Grint. Linney plays mom while Harry Potter's Julie Walters, who normally plays Ron's mom Molly Weasley plays a retired actress that Grint befriends.

And those are the select few limited releases for October 13.

Also, if anyone enjoys my reviews at all, and after my somewhat risky take on The Departed I wonder if anyone ever will again (I promise I liked it! Don't hurt me!), I have launched a new site at www.nymoviereviews.com. Right now, it is a site in its infancy and there are things I need to clean up in the next week or so. I'm having trouble with the comments on the individual reviews right now (one of the things I need to clean up), but the main page is ready for comment if you want to drop by. I haven't done my last review for L & N--I'll likely reproduce reviews for this site while the other gets the bulk.