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Happenings

film

Hot Summer Film Guide
by Angela Baldassarre


White ChicksWhite Chicks
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. Starring Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, James King, Lochlyn Munro, Anne Dudek, Busy Phillips, Maitland Ward
Two ambitious but unlucky FBI agents (Shawn and Marlon Wayans) go deep undercover as high society debutantes and infiltrate the sophisticated world of the Hamptons to investigate a kidnapping ring.


Carandiru
Directed by Hector Babenco. Starring Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Milton Gonçalves, Ivan de Almeida, Ailton Graça, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Rodrigo Santoro, Gero Camilo, Lázaro Ramos, Caio Blat, Wagner Moura
In São Paulo's House of Detention, prisoners welcome the Doctor, who has recently arrived, eager to begin an AIDS-prevention program. The Doctor is faced with extremely serious problems inside Latin America's largest jail: overcrowded cells, decaying facilities, diseases such as TB and the beginnings of an AIDS epidemic. The inmates have access to neither medical care nor legal assistance. Carandiru, housing 7,000 prisoners in a facility meant for 3,000, is a huge challenge for the newcomer. In his daily contacts with the prisoners, the Doctor witnesses solidarity, organization, and above all, a great will to live.


The Chronicles of RiddickThe Chronicles of Riddick
Directed by David Twohy. Starring Vin Diesel, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban, Colm Feore, Linus Roache, Keith David, Yorick Van Wageningen, Alexa Davalos, Judi Dench
Riddick (Vin Diesel) has spent the last five years on the move among the forgotten worlds on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding mercenaries bent on collecting the price on his head. Now, the fugitive finds himself on planet Helion, home to a progressive multicultural society that has been invaded by the Lord Marshal, a despot who targets humans for subjugation with his army of warriors known as Necromongers. Exiled to a subterranean prison where extremes of temperature range from arctic nights to volcanic days, Riddick encounters Kyra, the lone survivor from an earlier chapter in his life. His efforts to free himself and Kyra lead him to the Necromonger command ship, where he is pitted against the Lord Marshal in an apocalyptic battle with possibly the fate of all beings — both living and dead — hanging in the balance.


Baadasssss!Baadasssss!
Directed by Mario Van Peebles. Starring Mario Van Peebles, Joy Bryant, T.K. Carter, Terry Crews, Ossie Davis, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Schiavelli, Khleo Thomas, Rainn Wilson
Mario’s half–documentary homage to father Melvin Van Peebles who stunned the world with his debut feature. Filmed in France and selected as the French entry in the San Francisco Film Festival in 1968, Melvin's film was awarded the top prize. Melvin was determined to push Hollywood boundaries with the groundbreaking, controversial, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Turned down by every major studio, Melvin was forced to self-finance. Despite the fact that initially only two U.S. theatres would play his film, Sweetback became the top-grossing independent hit of 1971, spawning a decade of similar studio fare such as Shaft, Superfly and Foxy Brown.


King Arthur.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Starring Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen Dillane, Ray Winstone, Hugh Dancy, Til Schweiger, Ioan Gruffudd
Historians have thought for centuries that King Arthur was only a myth, but the legend was based on a real hero, torn between his private ambitions and his public sense of duty. A reluctant leader, Arthur (Clive Owen) wishes only to leave Britain and return to the peace and stability of Rome. Before he can, one final mission leads him and his Knights of the Round Table — Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Bors (Ray Winstone), Tristan, and Gawain — to the conclusion that when Rome is gone, Britain will need a leader to fill the vacuum. Under the guidance of Merlin (Stephen Dillane), a former enemy, and the beautiful, courageous Guinevere (Keira Knightley) by his side, Arthur will have to find the strength within himself to change the course of history.


Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, David Koechner, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Fred Willard, Chuck D, Kevin Corrigan, Maya Rudolph
Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the '70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), Ron is willing to play along at first — as long as Veronica stays in her place, covering cat fashion shows, cooking, and other “female” interests. But when Veronica refuses to settle for being eye candy and steps behind the news desk, it's more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons.


I, RobotI, Robot
Directed by Alex Proyas. Starring Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk
In the year 2035, robots are an everyday household item, and everyone trusts them, except one, slightly paranoid detective (Will Smith) investigating what he alone believes is a crime perpetrated by a robot. The case leads him to discover a far more frightening threat to the human race.


CatwomanCatwoman
Directed by Pitof. Starring Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, Sharon Stone, Lambert Wilson
Shy, sensitive artist Patience Philips (Halle Berry) works as a graphic designer for Hedare Beauty, a mammoth cosmetics company on the verge of releasing a revolutionary anti-aging product. When Patience inadvertently happens upon a dark secret her employer is hiding, she finds herself in the middle of a corporate conspiracy. What happens next changes Patience forever. In a mystical twist of fate, she is transformed into a woman with the strength, speed, agility and ultra-keen senses of a cat. With her newfound prowess and feline intuition, Patience becomes Catwoman, a sleek and stealthy creature balancing on the thin line between good and bad. Her adventures are complicated by a burgeoning relationship with Tom Lone (Benjamin Bratt), a cop who has fallen for Patience but cannot shake his fascination with the mysterious Catwoman


The Manchurian Candidate
Directed by Jonathan Demme. Starring Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine
Army Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington), a career soldier, grows suspicious about his experience in Desert Storm after Squad Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), son of the powerful Senator Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), becomes a candidate for Vice President.

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