New Releases Movies

A popular novelist researches unlikely sources to find characters for her next bestseller.

Mia Goldman's psychological drama Open Window stars Joel Edgerton and Robbin Tunney as a husband and wife who have intense professional lives, but are able to rely on each other during their time together at home. One night the wife is raped, sending her into a depression that threatens to crumble the marriage. Elliott Gould and Cybil Shepherd portray the wife's parents. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An afternoon of winter fun turns out to be unexpectedly chilling in this thriller. Five friends head out for a weekend of snowboarding in the Norwegian Alps -- Eirik (Tomas Alf Larsen) and his longtime girlfriend Jannicke (Ingrid Bolso Berdal), Mikael (Endre Martin Midtstigen) and his new significant other Ingunn (Viktoria Winge), and Tobias (Rolf Kristian Larsen). Tobias already feels like the odd man out since he's currently without a girlfriend, and he becomes a lot more uncomfortable when he breaks his leg while taking advantage of a secluded ski spot. It's getting late in the day and injured Tobias needs to get out of the cold, so he and his friends take shelter in an abandoned ski lodge nearby, planning to head back into town in the morning. However, as the evening wears on Tobias and his pals realize that the lodge isn't as abandoned as they thought, and its sole inhabitant is a madman who is determined to see them dead. A major box office success in Norway, Fritt Vilt (aka Cold Prey) was the first feature film from director Roar Uthaug. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two guys dream of becoming the scourge of the seven seas but have to settle for paddling around a shallow lake in this independent comedy. Kirk Redgrave (Kirby Heyborne) is a well-meaning but overly imaginative teenager growing in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. Determined to remake himself into someone exciting and dangerous, Kirk dons a pirate's hat, gets a rowboat, and begins calling himself Cap'n Kirk, the scallywag of the Great Salt Lake. While Kirk's mom, a strict Mormon widow, is mortified by her son's new hobby, Kirk soon finds a kindred spirit in Flint Weaver (Trenton James), a wholesome guy who wants to seem more dangerous in order to attract the attention of cute waitress Ruby (Emily Tyndall). However, the guys move one step closer to being real pirates when they find a map that will supposedly lead them to real buried treasure, though Drake, the owner of a neighborhood second-hand shop, is already looking for the spoils. Pirates of the Great Salt Lake was the first feature film from writer and director E.R. Nelson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actor-turned-filmmaker Stuart Townsend makes his screenwriting and directorial debut with this ensemble film set during the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle and presenting the riots that swept through the streets during the five-day conference from the perspectives of police, protestors, and city officials. A typically laid-back Northwestern city, Seattle would erupt into violence when, for five days in 1999, tens of thousands of protestors flooded the streets to voice their disapproval of the high-profile World Trade Organization conference. Among that sea of protestors are Django (André Benjamin), Sam (Jennifer Carpenter), Jay (Martin Henderson), and Lou (Michelle Rodriguez) -- each convinced that the stakes go beyond politics and equally determined to make a difference by ensuring that their voice of dissent is heard by the masses. At first the demonstration is peaceful, but in an instant the streets explode and the WTO is paralyzed. As a full-scale riot commences and a state of emergency is declared, the residents of Seattle are caught in the crossfire between protestors and police. With beleaguered mayor Jim Tobin (Ray Liotta) scrambling to diffuse tensions and riot cop Dale Anderson (Woody Harrelson) racing to protect his pregnant wife, Ella (Charlize Theron), everyone involved is forced to make difficult decisions that are sure to change their lives forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Sarah Gavron and screenwriter Abi Morgan team to adapt author Monica Ali's award-winning novel about a young girl from Bangladesh who finds the spark in her soul slowly fading after traveling to London for an arranged marriage. As a child, Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) was always told that she was a survivor. Now, as a young adult, she is leaving behind her mother and sister to start a new life in London's East End. Married to a man she has never met and relocated from her quaint village to a working-class Brick Lane neighborhood, the newlywed Nazneen does her best to be a devoted wife and loving mother. It's a lonely life, and as Nazneen's pompous, ineffectual husband, Chanu (Satish Kaushik), does his best to fit into British society, the bored housewife finds herself increasingly drawn to hotheaded neighbor Karim (Christopher Simpson). It isn't long before the relationship between Nazneen and Karim turns romantic, and in the wake of 9/11, the pair realize that they are intimately bound together by their political beliefs as well. Karim is fast becoming a radical and so, perhaps, is Nazneen. Meanwhile, back in Bangladesh, Nazneen's beloved sister Hasina (Zafreen) embarks on a series of life-altering adventures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A television weatherwoman is pursued simultaneously by a spoiled pharmaceutical heir and a successful -- but much older -- writer in director Claude Chabrol's blackly comic tale of romance and class differences. Gabrielle Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier) has a high-profile job detailing the forecast on French TV. Yet despite Gabrielle's staunch work ethic, she values her privacy over her professional career and lives in a modest house with her aging mother (Marie Bunel). One day, renowned author Charles Saint-Denis (François Berléand) is interviewed at the television station where Gabrielle works, and the two feel an instant, powerful connection. Later, at a book signing, the pair continues to flirt despite the presence of entitled rich kid Paul Gaudens (Benoît Magimel) -- who openly despises the writer and longs to claim Gabrielle as his own. Despite the fact that Charles is still happily married to his wife of 25 years (Valeria Cavalli), with whom he has set up home in a posh ultra-modern estate in the countryside, he and Gabrielle share an intimate afternoon at the author's nearby pied-à-terre. Later, as the potentially psychotic Paul steps up his pursuit of Gabrielle, the girl begins to question whether either of her suitors is pure in his intentions. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When an ancient curse besets the small town of Gold Lick (population 339), the naïve young fans of B-movie icon Bruce Campbell kidnap their larger-than-life cinema idol in hopes that he will save the terrified residents from the vengeful Chinese God of War. As the rampaging demon sets out to collect as many heads as possible, the cowardly but egotistical actor has no other choice but to square off against a supernatural force so powerful it may just swallow every last soul in town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An aimless young Chinese-American finds his hoop dreams unexpectedly sidelined when his parents are injured in an accident and he is forced to give ping-pong lessons in the fiction feature debut of acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jessica Yu (In the Realms of the Unreal). Christopher "C-dub" Wang (Jimmy Tsai) may not be able to sink a lay-up to save his life, yet he longs to realize his lifelong goal of playing in the NBA. Add to this the fact that C-dub still lives at home and will likely never emerge from under the shadow of his successful older brother, Michael (Roger Fan), and it's beginning to look like this wannabe pro-athlete is going nowhere fast. C-dub's parents (Jim Lau and Elizabeth Sung) are a pair of former table tennis champs who now own a successful ping-pong supply shop and teach lessons on the side. Much like his parents were back in the day, C-dub's brother Michael (Roger Fan) is a ping-pong wizard who is championed by the Chinese community for taking top rank in the tournaments year after year. But now, Michael and C-dub's parents have both been injured in a car accident, forcing the ill-equipped -- and extremely reluctant -- family slacker to take over the ping-pong teaching duties. While at first C-dub doesn't take his new responsibility all too seriously, he quickly discovers that the future of his family rests in his hands after Michael is injured and rendered unable to compete in this year's championships. Soon, C-dub realizes that by stepping in for Michael and winning the championships, he may also be able to win the heart of the girl he has fallen head over heels in love with. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Wrong Turn director Rob Schmidt takes the helm for this thriller inspired by the grim true-life exploits of an alphabet-obsessed New York serial killer and starring Timothy Hutton, Cary Elwes, Eliza Dushku, and Michael Ironside. When Rochester, NY-based police investigator Megan Paige (Dushku) discovers that ten year old Carla Castillo was brutally raped and murdered in nearby Churchville, she becomes convinced that the department is dealing with a serial killer. Paige is a driven detective whose devotion to her job often crosses the border into obsession. Her fiancé, Kenneth Shine (Elwes), is a lieutenant with the Rochester Police Department, and as both jockey for the same promotion, the cracks in their relationship begin to show. Later, when Megan becomes haunted by visions of Carla and fails to solve the case, a concerned Captain Gullikson (Tom Noonan) takes her off of the case. Suffering a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter, Megan is diagnosed with adult onset of paranoid schizophrenia and placed in a psychiatric hospital, where she promptly breaks off her engagement to Kenneth.

Two years later, Megan has returned to the precinct as a records clerk, and Kenneth is now the head of the department. Over time, Megan begins developing a friendship with wheelchair-bound Richard Ledge (Hutton). When a local girl named Wendy Walsh is abducted, raped, and murdered in Webster, Megan convinces Kenneth to let her ride along with Detective Steven Harper (Tom Malloy) as an advisor to the case. But the gruesome nature of the case once again prompts strange visions for Megan. Now she is haunted by two murder victims, and to make matters worse, she's beginning to develop embarrassing involuntary ticks and stops taking her medication. As the hallucinations get worse and the case starts to run cold, Megan struggles to find the one piece of evidence that will lead them to the killer before her dark side takes over once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Six Feet Under creator and American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball makes his feature directorial debut with this screen adaptation of author Alicia Erian's controversial novel Towelhead. Jasira (Summer Bishil) is a 13-year-old Arab-American who's contending with the pains of adolescence when her life takes a sudden and unexpected turn. Sent to live with her stern Lebanese father, Rifat (Peter Macdissi), by her self-absorbed mother (Maria Bello), Jasira finds herself struggling to adjust to life in the suburbs while contending with racism and hypocrisy at every turn. Rifat lives in a modest, suburban Houston home next to racist reservist Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) and meddling expectant mother Melina (Toni Collette). Adjusting to life in the suburbs isn't easy for young Jasira, though she tries her hardest to adapt to the unfamiliar environment by striking up casual conversations with her curious new neighbors. In the process, Jasira finds herself increasingly attracted to hormone-driven African-American teen Thomas (Eugene Jones). When Rifat finds out that his daughter's new boyfriend is black, he vehemently condemns the relationship. As America launches its initial invasion of Iraq, Jasira finds herself caught up in a potentially explosive situation that is only compounded by her raging hormones and the snooping of her pregnant, busybody neighbor. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this biting cinéma vérité, director Nanette Burstein follows a group of five Indiana high-school seniors as they navigate the social mazes of adolescence, prepare for graduation, and generally deal with the often surprising and strange situations that arise simply from being 17. Incorporating intimate footage, interviews, and animation, Burstein reveals all the gritty details about life as a teenager in Midwestern America, from drugs, alcohol, and depression to cliques, first love, and heartbreak. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide