Welcome to the latest edition of the

BigScreen Weekly Newsletter

brought to you by The BigScreen Cinema Guide!

In This Issue

• Journal Articles
• Top Box Office Movies
• New Releases
• Movies Coming Soon

Journal Articles

Summit Entertainment announced this week that the teaser trailer for the Twilight sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, will debut in theaters tomorrow, August 14, 2009, ahead of another Summit release, Bandslam. The highly anticipated follow-up to... (more)

Check out the twelve new videos that we have for The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which opens in theaters on November 20th, 2009! The new videos are interviews with the cast at the Comic-Con convention, including Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson,... (more)

On Friday (August 7, 2009), my wife and I took four kids between the ages of 8 and 13 to visit the Harry Potter Exhibit that is currently at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, Illinois. Press Photo of the Harry Potter Exhibit ... (more)

Top Box Office Movies for the Weekend of August 7, 2009

1. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
2. Julie & Julia
3. G-Force
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
5. Funny People
6. The Ugly Truth
7. A Perfect Getaway
8. Aliens in the Attic
9. (500) Days of Summer
10. Orphan

For more details, see our Top Box Office Movies page.

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That's it for this week, so take a look at what's new in theaters and what's coming up in the next couple of weeks. Have a good weekend!

Scott Jentsch
Publisher, The BigScreen Cinema Guide

New Releases

The following are new releases opening in theaters in the next week.

American Casino “I don’t think most people really understood that they were in a casino” says award-winning financial reporter Mark Pittman. “When you’re in the Street’s casino, you’ve got to play by their rules.” This film finally explains how and why over $12 trillion of our money vanished into the American Casino. For chips, the casino used real people, like the ones we meet in Baltimore. These are not the heedless spendthrifts of Wall Street legend, but a high school teacher, a therapist, a minister of the church. They were sold on the American Dream as a safe investment. Too late, they discovered the truth. Cruelly, as African – Americans, they and other minorities were the prime targets for the subprime loans that powered the casino. According to the Federal Reserve, African-Americans were four times more likely than whites to be sold subprime loans. Genre - Documentary View trailers and video clips

Bandslam When gifted singer-songwriter Charlotte Barnes (Michalka) asks new kid in town Will Burton (Connell) to manage her fledgling rock band, she appears to have just one goal in mind: go head-to-head against her egotistical musician ex-boyfriend, Ben (Porter), at the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands. Against all odds, their band develops a sound all its own with a real shot at success in the contest. Meanwhile, romance brews between Will and Sa5m (Hudgens), who plays a mean guitar and has a voice to die for. When disaster strikes, it's time for the band to make a choice: Do they admit defeat, or face the music and stand up for what they believe in? Starring Alyson Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelen Connell, Lisa Kudrow, Scott Porter Genre - Comedy View trailers and video clips

some thematic elements and mild language

District 9 Over twenty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9. Starring Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young Genre - SciFi/Fantasy View trailers and video clips

bloody violence and pervasive language

Earth Days The history of our environmental undoing through the eyes of nine Americans whose work and actions launched the modern environmental movement. Genre - Documentary View trailers and video clips

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard Who is Don Ready? Salesman? Lover? Song Stylist? Semi-professional dolphin trainer? Ready is all of the above--except for a dolphin trainer. When he's asked to help save an ailing local car dealership from bankruptcy, Ready and his ragtag crew descend on the town of Temecula like a pack of coyotes on a basket full of burgers. Selling, drinking, selling and going to strip clubs is their stock and trade. And they do it well. What Don doesn't expect is to fall in love and find his soul (cue heartfelt piano). Starring Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn Genre - Comedy View trailers and video clips

sexual content, nudity, pervasive language and some drug material

Grace Eight months pregnant, and preoccupied with both a natural childbirth and a pure-body lifestyle, Madeline Matheson deflects her demanding mother-in-law's insistent pressure for standard hospital treatment, instead opting for the peaceful companionship of a trusted midwife. Though reluctantly compliant, her husband remains supportive of her choices until a sudden tragic accident leaves her unborn baby lifeless inside of her. Madeline remains determined to carry the stillborn baby to term, where she miraculously wills the delivered corpse into life. But it is not too long before the increasingly isolated mother realizes that something is not right with baby Grace, and she must make horrible sacrifices to keep her living. Starring Jordan Ladd, Gabrielle Rose, Samantha Ferris, Malcolm Stewart, Stephen Park Genre - Drama View trailers and video clips

bloody images, violence and some sexual content

It Might Get Loud Rarely can a film penetrate the glamorous surface of rock legends. It Might Get Loud tells the personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos--The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). It reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing favorite instruments, guitars both found and invented. Concentrating on the artist's musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations, provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays, this film lets you witness intimate moments and hear new music from each artist. The movie revolves around a day when Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge first met and sat down together to share their stories, teach and play. Starring Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White Genre - Documentary View trailers and video clips

mild thematic elements, brief language and smoking

Life Partner Companionship, togetherness, love… marriage; the phrase "Life Partner" has different connotations for different people. There is someone made for everyone, including Karan, Bhavesh and Jeet. Karan and Sanjana are madly in love with each other. Marriage is the next step to cement their relationship. But, is "love marriage" the right way to be? For Bhavesh, his life partner, Prachi comes with the approval of his family. But, is "arranged marriage" the way forward? Is it right to prioritize family over marriage? Does Prachi have to prove herself as a worthy daughter-in-law to qualify as an ideal wife? Jeet is an accomplished divorce lawyer who does not believe in the institution of marriage. He can't be monogamous and is often responsible for his getting his clients divorced. But, is "no marriage" the right policy? Will Jeet ever find a partner and accept matrimony? "Life Partner" is about three protagonists struggling on the marital marathon but on different tracks -- three good friends with three different approaches to life. Starring Govinda, Genelia D’Souza, Fardeen Khan, Tusshar Kapoor Genre - Drama View trailers and video clips

Ponyo A story inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" in which a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo seeks to become human. Starring Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White Genre - Animation View trailers and video clips

Spread Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) isn’t a gigolo. He’s a sexual grifter, a fun-loving, freeloading hipster who understands his greatest assets are his looks and sexual prowess, which he uses to charm his way into the hearts of the city’s richest women and enjoy their lifestyle. Nikki gets a free place to live, fantastic gifts, A-list access, and plenty of sex. The women get to feel young, beautiful… and utterly fulfilled in the bedroom. It’s a mutually beneficial set-up. Nikki’s latest conquest is Samantha (Anne Heche), a stunning middle-aged lawyer who gives him more than he’s ever had before. But then he meets a gorgeous waitress his own age named Heather (Margarita Levieva). She comes to visit Nikki at Samantha’s house while Samantha is out of town, sees what an incredible place it is… and comes to the mistaken conclusion it’s his. Unbeknownst to Nikki, Heather lives by playing the same game. When Samantha comes home, she discovers Nikki’s infidelity and he’s put out on the street. With nowhere else to turn, Nikki pulls out all the stops to win Heather over and they begin to form their own kind of bond. Sexually charged by a game of one-upsmanship, each shows the other their best grifts, and they unexpectedly begin falling in love – the one thing they can’t do in the life they lead. Soon, the truth of their unfolding relationship forces a choice between love and money, and Nikki has to decide whether he can live on his own once and for all in the hopes of finding something real. Starring Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche, Margarita Levieva, Sebastian Stan, Sonia Rockwell, Sarah Buxton, Hart Bochner, Maria Conchita Alonso Genre - Comedy View trailers and video clips

strong sexual content, nudity and language

Taxidermia "Taxideremia" contains three generational stories, about a grandfather, a father, and a son, linked together by recurring motifs. The dim grandfather, an orderly during World War Two, lives in his bizarre fantasies; he desires love. The huge father seeks success as a top athlete -- a speed eater -- in the post-war pro-Soviet era. The grandson, a meek, small-boned taxidermist, yearns for something greater: immortality. He wants to create the most perfect work of art of all time by stuffing his own torso. Historical facts and surrealism become intertwined as magical realism, like in the works of Gabriel García Marquez or the Hungarian writer Lajos Parti Nagy; the script is based on two of the latter's stories. Palfi added the third story, that of the grandson the taxidermist. Starring Csaba Czene, Gergely Trócsányi, Piroska Molnár, Adél Stanczel, Marc Bischoff Genre - Comedy View trailers and video clips

The Time Traveler's Wife Clare has been in love with Henry her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler--cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry's travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love. Starring Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston, Jane McLean Genre - Drama View trailers and video clips

thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality

For a complete list of recent movies playing in theaters, please see our "New Movies" page.

Coming Soon

Watch for these movies coming to a theater near you!

Friday, Aug 21st

• Five Minutes of Heaven
• Inglourious Basterds
• Post Grad
• Road to Fame (Casi divas)
• Shorts
• Still Walking (Aruitemo, aruitemo)
• World's Greatest Dad
• X Games 3D: The Movie

Friday, Aug 28th

• Big Fan
• The Final Destination 3D

For a complete list of movies coming soon to theaters, please see our "Coming Soon" page.

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