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Director: Rob Cohen
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures

The Plot: In the Far East, trouble-seeking father-and-son duo Rick (Fraser) and Alex O'Connell (Ford) unearth the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin (Li) -- a shape-shifting entity who was cursed by a wizard (Yeoh) centuries ago.

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THE BUZZ: We never thought we'd see Stephen Sommers as an artiste, but when you replace him with Rob Cohen, he starts looking a little like Coppola, don't you think? Even with Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh on board, this feels like one expensive pay-per-view flick (okay, okay, the first trailer looks cool). Rachel Weisz weisz-ly dropped out, leaving poor Maria Bello to replace her. We hope Ms. History of Violence gets a nice down payment and a call from David Cronenberg soon. As for Mr. Fraser -- doesn't he have a sitcom deal yet? His summer of love up on the big screen can't last.

Message Boards: Colonel Choi | One of the worst films ever

Swing Vote

Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Stars: Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer (Full Cast)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Plot: When Bud Johnson (Costner) goes to cast his vote for the next U.S. president, a glitch affects his ballot, and protocol allows him to make up his mind at his own discretion. With the entire nation focused on his every move -- and, of course, his pending decision -- will the admittedly lazy Bud make an informed choice?

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THE BUZZ: Kevin Costner recruits his famous friends for an aww-gee gander at the American political landscape which dramatically changed during the 2004 Presidential election, and moved into unprecedented territory this year. I don't need an Oscar winner to tune me up for November, though I think Swing Vote's trailer offers warm, fuzzy feelings which are pretty welcome. Less perplexing but definitely shocking is the notion that Disney cloned Abigail Breslin and cast her double in this movie.

Message Boards: A Question only for Americans | Greenleaf was severely miscasted

The Midnight Meat Train

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Stars: Vinnie Jones, Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate

The Plot: A photographer (Cooper) hunts down a serial killer (Jones) who preys upon travelers in the subways of New York City.

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THE BUZZ: At MMT's Comic-Con preview last year, we learned that Mr. Barker came up with this story (and, clearly, its title) while under the influence of a pot brownie. No joke. Poor Leslie Bibb, in girlfriend mode here, tried in earnest to keep the momentum going from there, but even the stoniest stoners began to walk out of the conference hall after gleaning all they needed to know about this one: Mahogany, the name of Jones's character, ain't looking to be anywhere near as iconic as Candyman or Hellraiser. In fact, as MMT's unveiling date finally draws near, Lionsgate is considering a major-cities only release to be quickly followed up by the DVD push.

Message Boards: WHAT WAS HE CUTTING OFF OF HIS CHEST?!!!!!1 | Terrible CGI effects

Frozen River [limited]

Director: Courtney Hunt
Stars: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

The Plot: A struggling single mom (Leo) reluctantly partners with a Mohawk Indian woman (Upham) to make money from running illegal immigrants across from Quebec into the U.S. While both women swear each trip will be their last, one particular run leads to an unexpected confrontation ...

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THE BUZZ: An immigration drama set north of the U.S. something you don't see everyday, but curious as to why this Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning chiller is being released in the middle of summer, especially as distributor Sony Pictures Classics must be busy turning The Wackness into an indie summer hit.

Message Boards: who played the guy who set up the smuggling? (spoiler) | Tang + Popcorn

In Search of a Midnight Kiss [NYC]

Director: Alex Holdridge
Stars: Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds (Full Cast)
Studio: IFC First Take

The Plot: Broke and alone on New Year's Eve, Wilson (McNairy) just wants to spend the rest of a very bad year in bed. But, when his best friend convinces him to post a personal ad, he meets a woman (Simmonds) bent on finding the right guy to be with at midnight.

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THE BUZZ: Releasing a Manhattan-set romance is a smart move this season, and filmmaker Alex Holdridge's black-and-white confection looks to conjure up a sense of contemporary innocence that could be a Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist for us slightly older folks. (Note to said older folks: If you watch the trailer and are reminded of 90s-era indie films that's because executive producer Anne Walker-McBay has had Richard Linklater's back since Slacker.)

Message Boards: The Ending (spoilers) | Canada,,?

Pineapple Express

Director: David Gordon Green
Stars: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole (Full Cast)
Studio: Columbia Pictures

The Plot: After mega-stoner Dale Denton (Rogen) witnesses a corrupt cop commit a murder, he and his dealer (Franco) hit the road in an attempt to outrun the squad of police officers who want them dead.

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THE BUZZ: M.I.A.'s incredible single "Paper Planes" is one of the many amazing components of P.E.'s redband trailer, an instant Internet phenomenon and the first testament we have to the rather brilliant bag of talent that is director David Gordon Green (making his big-studio debut), co-stars Seth Rogen (who co-wrote/exec-produced with his crony Evan Goldberg) and James Franco (taking a much-needed comedic turn), and producer Judd Apatow (who can safely put Walk Hard behind him). Add hottie Amber Heard, Bill Hader (who we think is playing a cop ... again), Gary Cole, and Rosie Perez to the mix, trim the leaves and stems, and keep the marketing on high until August, and you have Superbad's raunchier big brother ...

Message Boards: Funniest character besides Dale and Saul? | Why do you need weed?

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

Director: Sanaa Hamri
Stars: America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Best friends Lena (Bledel), Carmen (Ferrera), Bridget (Lively) and Tibby (Tamblyn) -- all of whom are having different experiences during their first year of college -- reunite in a Grecian seaside town in order to locate their missing pair of magical jeans.

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THE BUZZ: Hardcore fans will want to know this sequel is actually an adaptation of the fourth book in the amazingly popular series, not the second. And if you're wondering how the producers got Rory Gilmore, Joan of Arcadia, Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty to reteam, the answer's simple -- contractual requirements. The Emmy-bound Ferrera was none too pleased, we hear, and we can't imagine the rest relish playing youthful college freshmen; only Lively is age-appropriate, and she has a new CW series to focus on. Still, Sanaa Hamri, of the wildly underappreciated rom-com Something New, is at the helm, giving all those Trav-Pants-ers a glimmer of hope.

Message Boards: Who was Bridget's love interest?? | labor room with sum1 elses mom huh

Hell Ride [limited]

Director: Larry Bishop
Stars: Larry Bishop, Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen (Full Cast)
Studio: Dimension Extreme

The Plot: Pistolero (Bishop), leader of the Victors biker gang, looks to exact his revenge on the Six-Six-Sixers, a band of bikers led by the infamous Billy Wings (Jones) who recently offed a Victor in cold blood.

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THE BUZZ: While Harvey Weinstein tropes from runway to international runway, somewhere along the line he forgot about a spectacular failure called Grindhouse. As much as we love Larry Bishop's voyeuristic biker fantasies, whoever put the gears in motion for this one is clearly out of touch with the multitude of ways in which a cult movie can be re-routed around a theatrical release. Some writers loved the ride, but more of them know that QT could comb through his collection and put his stamp on a dozen better exploitation flicks than this one. And at least a quarter of them probably star Michael Madsen. Here's the redband trailer, in which Madsen appears to shoot up his residence from Kill Bill.

Message Boards: A movie living in its own world... | Black dude in a 1%'r gang.

Bottle Shock [8/6 -- limited]

Director: Randall Miller
Stars: Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman (Full Cast)
Studio: Consolidated Pictures Group

The Plot: Paris, 1976: A struggling California vineyard enters a blind wine-tasting test, hoping to pull off a surprise win in the typically French-dominated competition.

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THE BUZZ: I wonder for how much longer Randall Miller (Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School) will remain a truly independent filmmaker, since he is one of the better mainstream storytellers working without a major-studio connection. Perhaps Bottle Shock's predicted success holds the answer to his future endeavors. This Sundance hit (in a year where that festival failed to generate many buzz-worthy movies) should generate word-of-mouthfeel due to Miller's ability to deftly handle ensemble casts (supporting BS players include Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodríguez, and Eliza Dushku) and to build anticipation. Don't expect to be surprised by this one, but there should be an effective antidote to every comic-book adaptation and shoot-em-up we see during the summer ...

Message Boards: Gustavo, Sam, and the surfer boy idiot. WTF? | Bo + Bad Wig = Very Annoying

Elegy [limited]

Director: Isabel Coixet
Stars: Ben Kingsley, Penélope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson (Full Cast)
Studio: Red Envelope Entertainment

The Plot: Renown professor David Kepesh (Kingsley) finds his life thrown into disarray by Consuela Castillo (Cruz), a well-mannered student who awakens her teacher's sense of sexual possessiveness.

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THE BUZZ: We've never read the Phillip Roth novel, though we understand while Kingsley's life falls apart in the wake of his affair with Cruz, she returns years after the events with a whopper of a revelation. But with Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me) directing a Nicholas Meyer (The Human Stain) screenplay, this feels like way too much psychodrama for us ... We'd rather: (1) celebrate the fact that the film finally got a release date; (2) watch Kingsley smoke marijuana in The Wackness this summer; (3) look at photos of Cruz in, like, every issue of Vanity Fair.

Message Boards: Totally believable | Art imitating life

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Director: Dave Filoni
Stars: Matt Lanter, Nika Futterman, Tom Kane (Full Cast)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

The Plot: Filling the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this animated tale chronicles the on-going intragalactic battle involving the Jedis of the Republic and the battle droids of the Trade Federation.

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THE BUZZ: Warner Bros. releases this kid-friendly SW filler as the studio's Dark Knight prepares to eclipse the original Skywalker classic as the #2 box-office champ of all time. We love irony more than animation, but that doesn't mean diehards won't line up for some further Clone Wars backstory, no matter how much Harry Knowles hated it.

Message Boards: Why is everyone complaining? | George has gone too far...

Tropic Thunder [8/13]

Director: Ben Stiller
Stars: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. (Full Cast)
Studio: DreamWorks Home Entertainment

The Plot: While shooting a big-budget war movie, a group of actors (Stiller, Black, Downey Jr., and others) are forced to become soldiers in a real-life conflict.

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THE BUZZ: Want to get people to forget about Owen Wilson dropping out of this project? Easy, just put the formerly troubled Robert Downey Jr. in some eyebrow-raising make up, create a cameo that will potentially revive a star's career, spread around a now-standard red-band trailer, and generate some last-minute controversy and suddenly Pineapple Express seems so PG-13.

Message Boards: Song in 'Satan's Alley' trailer? | DELETE YOUR POST! Tropic Thunder style...

Mirrors

Director: Alexandre Aja
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Amy Smart (Full Cast)
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The Plot: An ex-cop (Sutherland) and his family are the target of a evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

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THE BUZZ: This unspeakable evil found a crack in Fox's summer schedule, and while I think Alexandre Aja's latest assault on the senses might come and go faster than an episode of "24," the movie's best bet for traction with late-season audiences might be this boundary-pushing red-band trailer. Click on it only if you want to see Amy Smart pull apart her face.

Message Boards: The daytime guard | Wife is a beeehotch.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem (Full Cast)
Studio: Weinstein Company, The

The Plot: Two girlfriends (Hall and Johansson) on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter (Bardem), fully unaware that his ex-wife (Cruz), with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.

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THE BUZZ: Hey, did you hear that Woody Allen has made a fun, breezy, holiday postcard of a movie, one in which Rebecca Hall reunites with her Prestige castmate, then outperforms her? That's the report from Cannes; however, all those stories you heard about a ménage a trois here and a sex scene between Scarlett J. and Penélope C. there turn out to be less frothy than for what you would hope (and, I have to say, more innocent than anything Allen would imagine privately). Though, as you would expect, Cruz owns the movie upon her entrance, one who eviscerates the Americans before bursting into tears, eyeliner streaming down her beautiful face ...

Message Boards: Worst Allen Film Ever! | WTF??!!!!

The Girl Cut in Two [LA/NY]

Director: Claude Chabrol
Stars: Ludivine Sagnier, Benoît Magimel, François Berléand (Full Cast)
Studio: IFC Films

The Plot: Gabrielle (Sagnier) is desired by two men, a popular novelist twice her age (Berleand) and an industrial heir unfamiliar with not getting what he wants (Magimel). When the former man tires of her, she marries the latter, setting into motion a tragic series of events.

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THE BUZZ: It's a fortuitous time for French cinema, with Tell No One (in which Girl's François Berléand co-stars), Roman de gare, and OSS 117 all making inroads at the art house this summer. Will Claude Chabrol's latest trump them all? No, according to most critics, though with a sumptuous trailer and a few beautiful, familiar faces, I think the French invasion has at least one more wave in it.

Message Boards: The Cutting at the End | ¿Anyone else find it a bland and pretentious movie?

Henry Poole Is Here [limited]

Director: Mark Pellington
Stars: Luke Wilson, , George Lopez (Full Cast)
Studio: Overture Films

The Plot: Henry Poole (Wilson) abandons his fiancée and family business to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone ... until the discovery of a "miracle" by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.

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THE BUZZ: Mark Pellington is excellent at making TV programs (The United States of Poetry, Cold Case) and decent when creating music videos (Pearl Jam and a host of other rockerz), but when it comes to his movies (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies), perhaps he needs more time perfecting his craft. Well good luck with Henry, an underdog comedy-drama hybrid starring was-I-ever-truly-a-movie-star Luke Wilson that yawned it's way through Sundance earlier this year, with most reviewers citing Pellington's heavy-handed handling of the themes of faith and redemption. And the trailer reveals yet another shameless attempt to Abigail Breslinize everything.

Message Boards: Scene 14 song | The Blood

Fly Me to the Moon 3D

Director: Ben Stassen
Stars: Trevor Gagnon, Philip Bolden, David Gore (Full Cast)
Studio: K2 Communications

The Plot: Three houseflies get launched into outer space when they sneak aboard Apollo 11's historical lunar mission.

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THE BUZZ: Flushed Away in space? This latest 3D offering hails from Europe where it was considered quite the success story…in Belgium. Getting a Desperate Housewife and an Apollo astronaut to ride along could help its chances to blast off Stateside. As for the buzz on Buzz? Anyone who gets away with punching a guy could only benefit from a cutesy cartoon to soften his image.

Message Boards: teaching our kids discrimination? | 3D Ride at Six Flags

Hamlet 2 [limited]

Director: Andrew Fleming
Stars: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener (Full Cast)
Studio:

The Plot: High school drama teacher Dana Marschz (Coogan) looks to bring his Shakesperian sequel to the stage despite the obstacles in his path -- namely, a classroom full of disinterested students, potential budget cuts, and his own lack of talent.

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THE BUZZ: One of few buzz-generating films at Sundance earlier this year, H2 grabbed headlines for its pricey acquisition and warmly received reviews. Having seen the film, I can assert that it's worth seeing as another example of Coogan's ability to rise above any material he's handed, but its by-the-numbers story arc and surprisingly unfunny songs (seeing that "South Park"'s Pam Brady is the co-writer) certainly don't add up to anything all that memorable. Coogan pushes the envelope; sadly, he's mostly alone in the endeavor, except for a ballsy turn by Elisabeth Shue, playing an alternate-future version of herself. However, something tells us this could be a hit with the younger generation.

Message Boards: Favorite Quote | Who is it?

Death Race

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Stars: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson (Full Cast)
Studio: Universal Pictures

The Plot: Former NASCAR champ Jensen Ames (Statham) is framed for the murder of his wife, and subsequently sent to a notorious prison overseen by a warden (Allen) who has created the country's most popular sport: a kill-or-be-killed car race in which her inmates compete for their freedom.

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THE BUZZ: Whoa, the Transporter faces off against Jason Bourne's oppressor? One good thing is: since this is set in a Paul W. S. Anderson universe, Jason Statham and Joan Allen will probably make out at some point. Here's another: At least Sly Stallone didn't lobby to star in this re-envisioning of his 1975 cult action flick. First Showing has a first look (actually, they just reprinted Empire Magazine's photospread) at the action, which we imagine Anderson is envisioning as a potential franchise. And check out the curiously sexy trailer, complete with a sequence that makes me realize how Anderson is getting to make his proposed Spy Hunter movie after all ...

Message Boards: Is there a video game | WOW!! What an action!!!

The House Bunny

Director: Fred Wolf
Stars: Anna Faris (Full Cast)
Studio: Columbia Pictures

The Plot: A Playboy bunny (Faris) who was recently booted from the mansion winds up becoming the new house mother for a sorority in jeopardy.

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THE BUZZ: Can you plagiarize yourself? That's the question that screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith seem to be positing with this comedy, which lifts so much from Legally Blonde that we wouldn't be surprised if Bruiser the dog made an appearance. This is even so much like LB that we bet it's the talented star who makes it watchable. And while we love Faris to pieces, and are glad she's getting the lead roles these days.... something a little different wouldn't hurt on the resume!

And total US Weekly babe alert: "American Idol"'s Katharine McPhee and celeb progeny Rumer Willis too?! OMG -- where do we pick up the free L'Oreal make-up bags?

Message Boards: Emma Stone and Lindsay Lohan | Busty redhead

The Longshots

Director: Fred Durst
Stars: Ice Cube, Keke Palmer (Full Cast)
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

The Plot: Eleven-year-old Jasmine Plummer (KeKe Palmer) looks to become the first female to play in the Pop Warner football tournament in its 56-year history.

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THE BUZZ: Fred Durst directs Ice Cube in a family comedy? That's fine, but Durst better never don a red ballcap and chinos again, and Ice Cube is fully aware that his street cred is long gone. So let's turn our attention to KeKe Palmer, the endearing star of Akkelah and the Bee who takes center stage here and is -- wait for this -- attached to portray Roxanne Shante, the legendary disser/rapper in the indie Vapors. Suddenly she's more bad-ass than her co-star and her director combined. Here's the trailer, which looks perfectly harmless and all, but still makes me wonder if girls will be attracted to this story.

Message Boards: who the *beep* votes this movie as a 10? | The Rating

The Rocker [8/20]

Director: Peter Cattaneo
Stars: Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad (Full Cast)
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The Plot: Two decades after he was kicked out of his famous rock 'n' roll group, Robert 'Fish' Fishman (Wilson), an over-the-hill drummer, pounces on a second chance at coercing his way into a garage band fronted by his newphew (Gad).

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THE BUZZ: Before seeing this movie's awesome trailer, I thought the concept would best be served by a digital short starring Andy Samberg. But then? Said trailer arrived, and I noticed the screenplay was co-written by one of the creative minds behind The Larry Sanders Show (Maya Forbes) and one of Wes Anderson's cronies (Wallace Wolodarsky). Maybe August isn't the summer dumping ground it used to be.

Message Boards: Best Line Ever | Best movie ever

I.O.U.S.A. [limited]

Director: Patrick Creadon
Stars: (Full Cast)
Studio: Roadside Attractions

The Plot: A documentary that outlines and examines the U.S.'s rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for America, its citizens, and its international alliances.

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THE BUZZ: Wordplay director Patrick Creadon is back, but this time he isn't playing games; he's looking at how our national debt numbers add to, well, doom. Call it Another Inconvenient Truth or whatever comes to mind, though we prefer Variety's label: "stat-studded geekfest for accountants and economics majors." Read their review here.

Message Boards: what's the song in the end credit? | Where's the DVD?

I Served the King of England [limited]

Director: Jirí Menzel
Stars: Ivan Barnev, Oldrich Kaiser, Julia Jentsch (Full Cast)
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

The Plot: After being released from his 15-year prison sentence, Jan Díte looks back on his life, and how he went from being a waiter at Prague's most-celebrated hotel with dreams of being as wealthy as his diners, to becoming a millionaire himself, only to watch his fate take a turn as Hitler's army began to break apart his native Czechoslovakia.

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THE BUZZ: Chances are you're reading about the winner of this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Director Jirí Menzel won said award 42 years ago with Closely Watched Trains, and with his first film in 12 years -- a WWII-set romantic comedy, no less -- one almost has to have sympathy for his competition. Especially when one considers that Menzel adapted the novel by his longtime friend Bohumil Hrabal, who passed away last year. P.S. Hrabal also wrote the novel Closely Watched Trains ...

Message Boards: Disappointing portrayal of women? | I really enjoyed this movie but...

Cirque du Soleil: Delirium

Director: David Mallet
Stars: (Full Cast)
Studio: Hot Ticket, The

The Plot: A live Cirque du Soleil performance featuring remixed music, visuals, musicians, singers, and dancers.

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THE BUZZ: Delirium is the first release from the Hot Ticket, Sony's new artsy distribution arm that has Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway on deck for September. To see if the Cirque is playing near you -- Delirium is a 4-days-only exclusive engagement -- check out the listings over at the official site.

Message Boards: Prices for tickets | THIS WAS SO COOL!!!

Disaster Movie

Director: Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer
Stars: Carmen Electra, Vanessa Minnillo, Nicole Parker (Full Cast)
Studio: Lionsgate

The Plot: Over the course of one evening, an unsuspecting group of twenty-somethings find themselves bombarded by a series of natural disasters and catastrophic events.

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THE BUZZ: Hey, who ordered another project from the Date Movie guys? I certainly didn't, and I thought Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's diminishing spoof returns (Date remains their most successful endeavor) might have reached their end with Meet the Spartans. Alas, the sophomoric-comedy duo have managed to churn out another 2008 mid-level hit that will probably double its investment after two weeks in general release. And I have to give them some sort of credit for making Carmen Electra a genuine movie star ... right? Take that, Nicole Kidman!

Message Boards: Top 10 worst movies ever made | Movies worse than Disaster movie

Babylon A.D.

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Stars: Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Mélanie Thierry (Full Cast)
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The Plot: Veteran-turned-mercenary Thoorop (Diesel) takes a high-risk assignment where he must escort a woman out of Russia. His client, however, is carrying a synthetic virus -- one that could bring about the end of humankind. Making his mission extra-difficult is the cult that has designs on what rests inside the young woman's body.

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THE BUZZ: Dudes, random casting abounds for Vin Diesel's return to the sci-fi genre. But if it wasn't for this Michelle Yeoh fansite, we would have known next to nothing about the project while it was in production. The best buzz we've heard about the project? District B13 star David Belle has choreographed parkour fight scenes for both Diesel and Yeoh! And the worst? Uncooperative weather and powerplays between Diesel and director Mathieu Kassovitz first caused a production delay, sending producer Ilan Goldman (the man behind the two Crimson Rivers movies) on the hunt for snowy locales and replacements for several vital crew slots. Then, Diesel's manager apparently had to go coax Kassovitz back from a reported nervous breakdown, only to watch the director distance himself from the entire mess come red-carpet time. Seriously! And while this level of drama used results in a hot pile of celluloid garbage, the trailer is looking hot, even if the awareness for this one is strangely low. P.S. We can overlook the Kronos Quartet composition that no one should ever have used after Requiem for a Dream ...

Message Boards: gorsky's women? | Theatrical Release versus Uncut DVD Edition?

Traitor [8/27]

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Stars: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, David Clark (Full Cast)
Studio: Overture Films

The Plot: FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) heads up a conspiracy investigation which initially susses out a prime suspect: Samir Horn (Cheadle), a former special ops officer with strong ties to Afghan rebels in the Middle East. As Clayton chases Horn around the world, however, a tangled web of contradictory evidence is revealed.

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THE BUZZ: Five fine actors guide this conspiracy thriller from The Day After Tomorrow writer Jeffrey Nachmanoff into theaters at the end of the summer-movie season. Oddly enough, Steve Martin came up with this premise back in 2002, when he was working on Bringing Down the House with producer David Hoberman, and even though it reminds me of Lennie James's character's arc on "Jericho," one interesting thing to chart here is the rise of Overture Films, the distributor that turned The Visitor into a hit this year and has optioned a handful of original screenplays for 2009/2010.

Message Boards: 30 bombs on the bus | Another piece of American propaganda garbage.....

College

Director: Deb Hagan
Stars: Drake Bell, Kevin Covais, Andrew Caldwell (Full Cast)
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

The Plot: A wild weekend is in store for three high school seniors who visit a local college campus as prospective freshmen.

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THE BUZZ: They took the word right off of Blutarsky's sweatshirt, and then they made (what we expect will be) an unmemorable, Superbad-lite comedy for Generation YouTube. The only person who might benefit from this road trip is star Drake Bell, who is beginning to dirty-up his Nickelodeon sheen -- even though Josh Peck out-cooled him with The Wackness. Short-film director Deb Hagan (Pee Shy) makes her feature debut, which gives us an idea: why not make this a story about three females instead of males? As Amy Poehler has said, all you need to do is change the names from female to male, and you've resolved the issue of how to write comedy for women.

Message Boards: song help | READ ALL YOU HATERS

Sukiyaki Western Django [limited]

Director: Takashi Miike
Stars: Hideaki Ito, Koichi Sato, Quentin Tarantino (Full Cast)
Studio: First Look International

The Plot: A revolver-wielding stranger (Tarantino) crosses paths with two warring clans who are both on the hunt for a hidden treasure in a remote western town. Knowing his services are valuable to either side, he offers himself to the clan who will offer up the largest share of the wealth.

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THE BUZZ: Takashi Miike serves up a Spaghetti Western parody co-starring one of his biggest supporters, who has been in the news lately as Inglorious Bastards heads toward its October start date. While I don't think the attention will translate into a crossover success for Miike's latest, his cult audience will either embrace or spit out his hyper-stylized comedy, which features a Japanese cast speaking phonetic English against painted backdrops.

Message Boards: What I don't understand...??? At the End.... SPOLIERS! | Did the Bloody Benten remind you of....

Ballet Shoes [8/26 -- limited]

Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Stars: Emma Watson, Yasmin Paige, Lucy Boynton (Full Cast)
Studio: Koch Vision

The Plot: In 1930s London, three orphans -- Pauline (Watson), Petrova (Paige), and Posy (Boynton) -- are adopted by an eccentric explorer and given the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.

Photos (see all 8 \| slideshow)	Videos (see all 2)

THE BUZZ: Just as the news hit about Hermione's next adventure being delayed until 2009, Emma Watson pops up in a 2007 made-for-BBC movie that's received a polish for an exclusive theatrical run in the U.S. You have to wonder, however, if Kit Kittredge's recent unspectacular run bodes well for this family drama. Note that the movie is set for an August 26th release in select cities; look here to see if it's heading your way.

Message Boards: Pauline, Petrova or Posy? | Australia

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