Moneyball (2011)
Biography, Drama, Sport, 2 hrs 13 mins
Plot Outline: Billy Beane , the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s more than baseball, it’s a revolution.
Cast: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Directed by: Bennett Miller
Written by: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
7.8 IMDb rating
8.0 Rottentomatoes.com rating
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Killer Elite (2011)
Action, Crime, Thriller, 1 hr 56 mins
Plot Outline: Based on a true story, Killer Elite races across the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East in the action-packed account of an ex-special ops agent who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor. To make the rescue, he must complete a near-impossible mission of killing three tough-as-nails assassins with a cunning leader.
Cast: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell
Directed by: Gary McKendry
Written by: Matt Sherring, Ranulph Fiennes
6.6 IMDb rating
4.7 Rottentomatoes.com rating
What’s Your Number? (2011)
Comedy, Romance, 1 hr 46 mins
Plot Outline: Ally Darling has been looking for Mr. Right for a long time. After reading a magazine article, she decides that the love of her life is someone she has already dated and discarded. Now, she just has to figure out which of the last twenty men in her life was the real thing.
Cast: Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner
Directed by: Mark Mylod
Written by: Gabrielle Allan, Jennifer Crittenden
5.6 IMDb rating
4.2 Rottentomatoes.com rating
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1911 (2011)
Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Plot Outline: At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is split into warring factions, the citizens are starving, and recent political reforms have made matters worse, not better. The ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a seven-year-old emperor, and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu is completely out of touch after her family’s 250 years of unquestioned power. Huang Xing has recently returned from Japan, where he has studied the art of modern warfare. When he finds his country falling apart, he feels he has no choice but to pick up the sword, leading an increasingly desperate series of violent rebellions against the powerful Qing Dynasty and the New Army- several with tragic consequences.
Cast: Jackie Chan, Bingbing Li, Winston Chao, Joan Chen
Directed by: Jackie Chan, Li Zhang
6.3 IMDb rating
4.0 Rottentomatoes.com rating
A Matter of Size (2009)
Comedy, Drama, Sport, 1 hr 30 mins
Plot Outline: A comedy about a “coming out” of a different kind – overweight people learning to accept themselves. A group of fat people from the Israeli city of Ramla is fed up with the sanctity of diets and the ‘Dictatorship of the Thinness’ of the diet workshop they participate in. They leave it and discover the world of sumo, where fat people like them are honored and appreciated. Through sumo they are connecting to themselves and to their fat body, each one in his own way.
Cast: Itzik Cohen, Dvir Benedek, Alon Dahan, Shmulik Cohen
Directed by: Sharon Maymon, Erez Tadmor
Written by: Sharon Maymon, Sharon Maymon
7.3 IMDb rating
6.7 Rottentomatoes.com rating
Le quattro volte (2010)
Drama, 1 hr 28 mins
Plot Outline: An old shepherd lives his last days in a quiet medieval village perched high on the hills of Calabria, at the southernmost tip of Italy. He herds goats under skies that most villagers have deserted long ago. He is sick, and believes to find his medicine in the dust he collects on the church floor, which he drinks in his water every day.
Cast: Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano
Directed by: Michelangelo Frammartino
Written by: Michelangelo Frammartino
7.1 IMDb rating
8.0 Rottentomatoes.com rating
Answer This! (2010)
Comedy
Plot Outline: Comedy set in the world of competitive bar trivia, centering around a group of frustrated academics who finally get a shot at beer, women and nerdy redemption when they enter a citywide trivia tournament.
Cast: Christopher Gorham, Arielle Kebbel, Chris Parnell, Kip Pardue
Directed by: Christopher Farah
Written by: Christopher Farah
6.7 IMDb rating
The Hills Have Eyes (2006)
Horror, Thriller, 1 hr 47 mins
Plot Outline: Wes Craven produces this remake of his 1977 classic of the same name, A family road trip goes terrifyingly awry when the travelers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carters soon realize the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family… and they are the prey.
Cast: Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd, Emilie de Ravin
Directed by: Alexandre Aja
Written by: Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur
6.5 IMDb rating
5.3 Rottentomatoes.com rating
Moby Dick (2010)
Adventure, Drama
Plot Outline: The sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain’s self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
Cast: William Hurt, Ethan Hawke, Charlie Cox, Eddie Marsan
Directed by: Mike Barker
Written by: Herman Melville, Nigel Williams
6.3 IMDb rating
Coyote County Loser (2009)
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Plot Outline: Can losers find love? Southwest desert radio station K-RAP is struggling to pay the bills when radio jock Jack Proctor (Beau Clark) zooms through Coyote County on his way to LA to take the gig of a lifetime. But the deal stalls, so Jack temps on-air work for K-RAP. Dr. Lauren Hartford (Nikki Boyer), local on-air relationship expert, gets under Jack’s skin by questioning his love advice — so Jack initiates a high stakes contest to find Coyote County’s biggest loser and help him woo the county’s most unattainable woman. Before this battle-of-the-sexes is over, Jack and Lauren will learn love is for losers after all.
Cast: Nikki Boyer, Beau Clark, Wayne Grace, K Callan
Directed by: Jason Naumann
Written by: Don Porter, Robert Bethke
5.9 IMDb rating
Brighton Rock (2010)
Crime, Drama, Thriller, 1 hr 51 mins
Plot Outline: In this adaptation of Graham Greene’s classic novel, Pinkie is a desperate youth who is hell bent on clawing his way up through the ranks of organized crime. When a young and very innocent waitress, Rose stumbles on evidence linking him to a revenge killing, he sets to seduce her to secure her silence.
Cast: Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, John HurtDirected by:Rowan Joffe
Written by: Graham Greene, Rowan Joffe
5.7 IMDb rating
5.7 Rottentomatoes.com rating
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Cafe (2010)
Drama, 1 hr 35 mins
Plot Outline: When tragedy strikes the community surrounding a cafe in West Philadelphia, the cafe’s regulars come to realize how intertwined their lives truly are.
Cast: Maria Armesto, Khan Baykal, Gavin Bellour, Brandon Milan Beston
Directed by:Marc Erlbaum
Written by: Marc Erlbaum
5.3 IMDb rating
The Tempest (2010)
Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, 1 hr 50 mins
Plot Outline: Shakespeare’s epic play is translated from page to screen, with the gender of the main character, Prospero, changed from male to female. Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge.
Cast: Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand
Directed by: Julie Taymor
Written by: Julie Taymor, William Shakespeare
5.3 IMDb rating
4.6 Rottentomatoes.com rating
The Chameleon (2010)
Biography, Drama, Thriller, 1 hr 46 mins
Plot Outline: Frédéric Bourdin, a French delinquent on the run from local authorities, passes himself off as Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old American who vanished three years ago. To his astonishment, Nicholas’s family welcomes him like their son. When the details of his sudden reappearance don’t quite add up, the suspicions of a determined FBI agent are raised. As pieces of a mysterious puzzle fall together, an unveiled past reveals deep and dark secrets.
Cast:Marc-André Grondin, Ellen Barkin, Famke Janssen, Emilie de Ravin
Directed by: Jean-Paul Salomé
Written by: Jean-Paul Salomé, Christophe d’Antonio
5.2 IMDb rating
5.5 Rottentomatoes.com rating
The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012)
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, 1 hr 44 mins,
Plot Outline: Since his triumphant rise to power, Mathayus’ kingdom has fallen and he’s lost his queen to plague. Now an assassin for hire, he must defend a kingdom from an evil tyrant and his ghost warriors for the chance to regain the power and glory he once knew. This is a straight-to-DVD release
Cast: Victor Webster, Ron Perlman, Billy Zane, Bostin Christopher
Directed by: Roel Reiné
Written by: Brendan Cowles, Shane Kuhn
Refuge (2010)
Comedy, Crime, Drama, 2 hrs 1 min
Plot Outline: After accidentally killing her abusive husband Jack, forty year old hospice nurse Amelia heads on the run in the family RV, with Jack’s body in the back and an unwanted passenger at the wheel: a sardonic high school English teacher and self-defined failed novelist, who, on the way to dump his novel in a landfill, takes refuge from a windstorm in what he mistakes for an empty RV. As Amelia and her passenger cross the state together, romance blossoms as Jack decomposes.
Cast: Linda Hamilton, Christopher McDonald, Amy Lanasa, Doyle Smith
Directed by: Mark Medoff
Written by: Mark Medoff
New On Demand Releases for week of Jan. 2
Here are the movies to keep you entertained now that the holidays are over:
American Teacher (2011)
Documentary, Biography, History, News, 1 hr 21 mins
Plot Outline: Weaving interviews of policy experts and startling facts with the lives and careers of four teachers, American Teacher tells the collective story by and about those closest to the issues in our educational system — the 3.2 million teachers who spend every day in classrooms across our country.
Cast: Erik Benner, Neil Cavuto, Matt Damon, Jonathan Dearman
Directed by: Vanessa Roth, Brian McGinn
5.2 IMDb rating
6.2 Rottentomatoes.com rating
Colin Quinn Long Story Short (2011)
Comedy, 1 hr 23 min
Plot Outline: Colin Quinn performs his one-man show about world history, which he originally presented on Broadway.
Cast: Colin Quinn
Directed by: John Moffitt
Written by: Colin Quinn
8.1 IMDb rating
Contagion (2011)
Drama, Thriller, 1 hr 46 mins
Plot Outline: Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.
Cast: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Scott Z. Burns
6.9 IMDb rating
Don’t Let Him In (2011)
Horror, Thriller
Plot Outline: What if you invited a serial killer on holiday? Heading off for a weekend in the country, Paige and Calvin reluctantly allow Calvin’s brash younger sister to bring along Tristan, an arrogant city trader she’s picked up in a one-night stand; but when the group learn a brutal serial killer is plaguing the area, Paige must confront the disturbing truth about Tristan.
Cast: Sophie Linfield, Sam Hazeldine, Gordon Alexander, Gemma Harvey
Directed by: Kelly Smith
Written by: Kelly Smith, Chris Andrews
3.7 IMDb rating
The Guard (2011)
Comedy, Crime, Thriller, 1 hr 36 mins
Plot Outline: The Guard is a comedic fish-out-of-water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption. Two policemen must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang – one, an unorthodox Irish policeman and the other, a straitlaced FBI agent.
Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham
Directed by: John Michael McDonagh
Written by: John Michael McDonagh
7.4 IMDb rating
7.6 Rottentomatoes.com rating
I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011)
Comedy, 1 hr 29 mins
Plot Outline: Kate Reddy is a wife, a mother, and the family’s sole breadwinner. How does she juggle family life and a demanding job, as well as the temptation presented by her sexy new boss?
Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Kelsey Grammer, Greg Kinnear
Directed by: Douglas McGrath
Written by: Aline Brosh McKenna, Allison Pearson
4.1 IMDb rating
4.0 Rottentomatoes.com rating
I’m Not Jesus Mommy (2010)
Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, 1 hr 29 mins
Plot Outline: Dr. Kimberly Gabriel, one of the nation’s top fertility specialists, is faced with the truth on her son’s origin, she must ask if David represents man’s last hope…or something else?
Cast: Charles Hubbell, Bridget McGrath, Joseph Andrew Schneider, Aaron Aoki
Directed by: Vaughn Juares
Written by: Vaughn Juares, Joseph Andrew Schneider
4.9 IMDb rating
Refugee (2000)
Drama, Musical, Romance, 3 hrs 27 mins
Plot Outline: Bihar-based Manzur Ahmed, his wife, his mother, and his daughter, decide to re-locate to East Pakistan after the partitioning of Hindustan during 1948 and the formation of Bangladesh.
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor
Directed by: J.P. Dutta
Written by: J.P. Dutta
6.0 IMDb rating
Terry (2011)
Crime, Drama, 1 hr 30 mins
Plot Outline: Terry follows a member of the British crime underworld for one year. Cameras roll as the body count and the crimes continue to pile up.
Cast: Nick Nevern, Ian Duck, Daniel Burten-Shaw, Manuel Atkinson
Directed by: Nick Nevern
Written by: Nick Nevern
4.8 IMDb rating
Shark Night 3D (2011)
Horror, Thriller, 1 hr 31 mins, [PG-13]
Plot Outline: Arriving by boat at her family’s Louisiana lake island cabin, Sara and her friends quickly strip down to their swimsuits for a weekend of fun in the sun. But when star football player Malik stumbles from the salt-water lake with his arm torn off, the party mood quickly evaporates. Assuming the injury was caused by a freak wake-boarding accident, the group realizes they have to get Malik to a hospital on the other side of the lake, and fast. But as they set out in a tiny speedboat, the college friends discover the lake has been stocked with hundreds of massive, flesh-eating sharks! As they face one grisly death after another, Sara and the others struggle desperately to fend off the sharks, get help and stay alive long enough to reach the safety of dry land.
Cast: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Written by: Will Hayes, Jesse Studenberg
4.0 IMDb rating
3.3 Rottentomatoes.com rating
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