MOVIES TO SEE THIS SEPTEMBER

Bachelorette

So it’s another raunchy bridal bash, but Terriers writer-turned-director Leslye Headland's biting comedy has nothing to do with the bride and everything to do with the bitches — namely Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, and Isla Fisher. The pack of bridesmaids who hate the bride spends the night before the big day indulging in debauchery.

For a Good Time, Call

As sweet as it is naughty, the 80s-style womance dials into Superbadand Bridesmaids. Indie doll Ari Graynor and newbie Lauren Miller (a.k.a. Mrs. Seth Rogen) are Katie and Lauren, college enemies turned best friends turned phone sex operators. Cue Justin Long as the gay BFF and Seth Rogen and Kevin Smith for dirty-talking cameos.

The Master

Depicting the creation of Scientology, Paul Thomas Anderson's 70mm wonder is inspiring followers across the nation. Already hailed as a triumph in American cinema and a solid contender for an Oscar, it’s graced only a handful of screens. When it hits yours, sit back and let Philip Seymour Hoffman and a De Niro-like Joaquin Phoenix deliver quite the religious experience. 

10 Years

Writer/director Jamie Linden's debut feature is an ensemble piece inspired by his own high school reunion and cast with his real-life pals: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Justin Long, Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, and Aubrey Plaza, to name a few. Relive the ’90s with the crew as they wax nostalgic — right to down to the sound track (hey there, Fatboy Slim).

Liberal Arts

Keg parties. Wearing pj’s to class. Take a more literary walk down memory lane with Josh Radnor's ode to higher education. Starring himself, his sophomore feature isn’t without drama: When Jesse returns to his alma mater, he falls for an advanced undergrad sixteen years his junior, played by Elizabeth Olsen. Find comic relief in Zac Efron’s wise and woolly weirdo. 

Arbitrage

Richard Gere's back, and it’s his turn to be unfaithful. He’s Robert Miller, a shady NYC tycoon balancing scandal with a pretty woman, corporate woes, and homicide. Cliff Martinez of Drive Fame tunes debut director Nicholas Jarecki’s thriller inspired by Bernie Madoff, and Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, Tim Roth, and breakout Nate Parker.

End of Watch

Put a BOLO out on writer/director David Ayer his cop drama premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival is straight-up criminal. Officers Taylor and Zavala (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña) giddily patrol South Central L.A.’s streets like they’re navigating Grand Theft Auto — until they land on the cartel’s hit list. Ayer’s shaky-cam technique makes you feel the need to dodge bullets, but keep your eyes peeled for America Ferrera (seriously).

Diana Vreeland

The festival documentary sheds light on the imperious Harper's Bazar/Vogue editor, whose buddy list included Jackie O. and Twiggy. You’ll want a front-row seat for the parade of industry giants: designers Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, and Manolo Blahnik; models Veruschka and China Machado; and photographers David Bailey and Richard Avedon. 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Emma Watson graduates from Hogwarts to yet another teenage drama with two awkward dudes, but this one’s no fantasy. Adapting his own dark novel about a lone wolf taken in by two seniors, Stephen Chbosky flips the book-is-always-better theory, thanks to Logan Lerman’s portrayal of protagonist Charlie and a Smiths-heavy sound track.

Looper

You held your breath as he maneuvered a ten-speed with no brakes through Manhattan’s gridlock. Now check your pulse as he jumps through time on a mission to kill his future self. The flick splits a role between Joseph Goron-Levitt and Bruce Willis, but the fact that Rian Johnson (the mind behind Brick andThe Brothers Bloom) writes and directs brings it full circle.

For Ellen

Paul Dano is a rock star. And he’s cast as one in director So Yong Kim's burner set against a snowy backdrop. His performance as Joby Taylor, a lead singer about to lose custody of his 6-year-old daughter, is reason enough to jangle through every human emotion. Jon Heder and Jena Malone playing backup justifies the ticket price.

MOVIES TO SEE THIS AUGUST

Celeste and Jesse Forever

She loves him, he loves her, and they’re divorcing. Director Lee Toland Krieger (The Vicious Kind) lightens up with the help of co-writer/star Rashida Jones. As a thriving trend forecaster, Celeste calls it quits because of unemployed Jesse’s cloudy future. Sad, yes, but the dirty jokes will cheer you up.

2 Days in New York

Marion’s French family circus invades Manhattan, their clashing cultures testing the limits of her relationship with boyfriend Mingus. Julie Delpey's follow up to 2007’s lampoon in Paris drops Adam Goldberg, adds Chris Rock, and deserves a first-class seat next to Woody Allen and Larry David.

Little Birds

Suffocated by their Salton Sea hometown, two Jr. Thelma and Louise's (Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker) hatch a plan to hightail it to L.A., where reality bites — a truth debut director Elgin James knows firsthand. (He found himself homeless and in a gang before landing at the Sundance Institute to produce a gem indie fans flocked to.)

Compliance

Warning: This one’s creepy, but it deserves your attention. Based on actual events, Craig Zobel's controversial film stars up-and-comer Dreama Walker as a ChickWich cashier whose manager receives a call from a strange duck claiming he’s a policeman. He asks her to comply with his every demented, supersize request. And she does.

Chicken with Plums

Locomotive, suffocation, revolver — violinist Nasser-Ali is starved for love and looking for a way to end it all (elegantly, like Socrates, of course). Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi serve up a French dish that’s as inventive as Amélie and Micmacs; we’d expect nothing less from the Oscar-nominated duo behind Persepolis.

Cosmopolis

So there’s this guy — wait, a Gordon Gekko billionaire type — in a car — wait, a white stretch limo — heading to the hair salon — wait, his death. Or something. Adapted from Don DeLillo’s novel, David Cronenberg's bizarre odyssey through Manhattan’s gridlock stars a stoic Robert Pattinson, premiered at Cannes, and is a dose of weird you have to see to understand.

Teddy Bear

Tatted up Dennis looks like a muscle-bound monkey but is really a tender beast searching for his beauty (while caged by an overbearing mother). Mads Matthiesen’s use of nonactors in Thailand’s real-life sexual tourism scene won him the World Cinema Directing Award at Sundance; Kim Kold’s juiced-up gentle giant looking for love won a place in our heart.

Sleepwalk with Me

We all have a nighttime ritual. Matt’s includes taking gold in the Dustbuster Olympics and getting it on with oodles of marinara. Is a true story about a funnyman with REM behavioral disorder, and it’s one snooze fest you’ll want to see.

Lawless

We reckon them French got an eyeful at Cannes this year during John Hillcoat's true story about Virginia moonshiners. Working with Nick Cave (on story and music), Hillcoat concocts a brew of two parts feuding-gangster drama to one part tenderhearted romance. Tom Hardy growls, Shia LaBeouf cries (a lot), and Jessica Chastain glows.

Who is the highest paid actress in Hollywood today?

Forbes Magazine released their annual list of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood this week and the 22-year-old TwilightSeries star topped the list. With last year's Breaking Dawn, Part 1 under Stewart's belt and this past month's well-performing Snow White and the Huntsman, the actress earned a total of $34.5 million, edging out Cameron Diaz and her earnings from Bad Teacher by half a million dollars. Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron rounded out the top five, earning $25, $20 and $18 million respectively.

Check out the the top ten below:

1. Kristen Stewart, $34.5 million
2. Cameron Diaz, $34 million
3. Sandra Bullock, $25 million
4. Angelina Jolie, $20 million
5. Charlize Theron, $18 million
6. Julia Roberts, $16 million
7. Sarah Jessica Parker, $15 million
8. Meryl Streep, $12 million
9. Kristen Wiig, $12 million
10. Jennifer Aniston, $11 million

MUST SEE SUMMER MOVIES

May 2012 
The Best  Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Avengers
Dark Shadows
What to Expect when your Expecting
Men in Black 3

June 2012 
Snow White and the Huntsman
Madagascar 3
Brave

July 2012 
Ted
The Dark Knight Rises
Savages

August 2012
The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Movies I Never Heard of but Want to See...

Wish You Were Here

The Gist: Four Aussies (including Joel Edgerton, who just wears conflict so well) head to Cambodia for a hedonistic tropical romp, but only three return home.
The Buzz: Animal Kingdom actor-turned-director Kieran Darcy-Smith shared script responsibility with his lead actress (and wife), Felicity Price. Their debut — told in nonlinear form and based on truth — made audiences gasp first, applaud later.

Arbitrage

The Gist: Richard Gere’s turn at playing unfaithful gets him into a pickle requiring help from a gone-straight criminal.
The Buzz: Gere’s celebrity factory may have drawn the masses, but it was Drive composer Cliff Martinez's score and Nate Parker’s performance (reminiscent of Friday Night Lights’s Vince) that stole the show.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

The Gist: Benh Zeitlin’s debut narrative composed of nonactors follows 6-year-old Hushpuppy, whose father, Wink, gets sick. With the apocalypse looming, she leaves her Southern delta known as the Bathtub to find her mother. Just go with it.
The Buzz: Audiences stood with roaring applause; several big-time buyers, including The Weinstein Company and Sony Pictures Classics, bid on rights to tame the beast. In the end, Fox Searchlight secured the reins.

Bachelorette

The Gist: Terriers writer Leslye Headland commands the lens with her hard-core comedy about three hot chicks (you know who they are) playing second fiddle to the fat girl from high school.
The Buzz: There wasn’t an empty seat up for grabs, and hundreds of wait-listers were turned away. Looks like the mean film already has a mean following.

Hello I Must Be Going

The Gist: Bit player Melanie Lynskey steps into the spotlight as Amy, a sad divorcee using sex with a teenager as a Band-Aid to cover the sting of having to move back in with her parents.
The Buzz: Todd Louiso’s comedy opened the fest, and said teenager, played by Christopher Abbott (you may remember him from last year’s Sundance success Martha Marcy May Marlene), has found his breakout role.

Three March Movies I Want to See

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Yes, it's a movie about fly fishing. What lured us: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, and the script, penned by Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy. Cast aside your to-dos for Fred and Harriet’s upstream battle to bring fishy fruition to the desert. It has elements of Charlie Wilson’s War— no explosions though, just lox of love.

Friends with Kids

Maya Rudolph burping babies, Kristen Wiig slapping Jon’s Hamm. Another walk down the Bridesmaids aisle, perhaps? Newbie director Jennifer Westfeldt's funny baby?mama drama is a grand debut that sticks with what works — but a sequel it is not. Just-friends Jason and Julie (Adam Scott and Westfeldt) skip the complicated “I do” and cruise straight to the Baby on Board bumper sticker. Caution: rocky road ahead.

The Hunger Games

Don’t act like you’re above it. Now that winter’s gone, we need a new bone to pick — who better than Kat and her beau and arrow in Seabiscuit director Gary Ross's fight-to0the-death thriller? You know the ingredients: a dystopian government and impending doom garnished with an impossible romance. We could go into more detail, but there’s no need to beat a dead (battle) horse.