New Movies: Friday, January 6, 2012

Post holidays is a depressing time for some people. I'm depressed because the movie releases are so dismal this time of year. There are four movies coming out tomorrow. I'm familiar with one of them. The other three are a mystery.

All four choices are questionable.

Plot synopses garnered from the good folks at comingsoon.net

Beneath the Darkness (Limited Release)

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Aimee Teegarden, Tony Oller, Devon Werkheiser, Brett Cullen, Stephen Lunsford
Genre: Thriller
MPAA Rating: R (for some violence and language)
Official Website: BeneaththeDarknessmovie.com

Plot Summary: In "Beneath the Darkness," Ely Vaughn (Quaid) is a pillar of the community in tiny Smithville, Texas. The town's mortician, Ely has been revered since his days as the high school's star quarterback. But since the tragic death of his wife two years earlier, Ely has withdrawn from his neighbors, while local teens spread stories of supernatural goings on at Ely's mansion - which is also the funeral home. When high school friends Travis (Oller), Abby (Teegarden), Brian (Lunsford) and Danny (Werkheiser) decide to check out the rumors, they are shocked to see the supposedly grieving widower dancing with a mysterious woman behind the curtains of his bedroom window. Their curiosity aroused, the four teens wait for Ely to leave the house before breaking in to investigate. But instead of finding clues to the woman's identity, they stumble on a grotesque, long-hidden secret. The sadistic mortician next door will now stop at nothing to literally bury his past.

Norwegian Wood (NY Only)

Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama, Rinko Kikuchi, Kiko Mizuhara
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: NorwegianWoodmovie.com

Plot Summary: "Norwegian Wood" is a moving story of loss and sexuality set in Tokyo in the late 1960s against a time of global instability. Watanabe (Japanese rising star Kenichi Matsuyama, "Death Note," "Detroit Metal City") looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo. Through his reminiscences, we see him develop relationships with two very different women, the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko (Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"), and the outgoing, lively Midori (Japanese-Korean model-actress Kiko Mizuhara.) The film's gorgeous cinematography is by Mark Lee Ping Bin ("In the Mood for Love," "Devils on the Doorstep"). Originally published in 1987, Murakami's novel has since been translated into 33 languages and published in 36 countries. Vietnam-born and Paris-based writer-director Tran Anh Hung was nominated for an Academy Award for "The Scent of the Green Papaya" and won a Golden Lion in the Venice Film Festival for "Cyclo." "Norwegian Wood" is his fifth feature.

Roadie (NY Only)

Starring: Ron Eldard, Jill Hennessy, Bobby Cannavale, Lois Smith, David Marguiles, Catherine Wolf, Suzette Gunn
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: Roadiemovie.com

Plot Summary: Canned from a 20-year job as roadie for Blue Oyster Cult, Jimmy is broke and desperate. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to Forest Hills, Queens to visit his aging mother, where a wild night with some hard-partying high school friends shows him that some things never change. From director Michael Cuesta, "Roadie" features powerful performances from Ron Eldard, Bobby Cannavale, Jill Hennessy and a refreshingly eclectic 70s hard rock soundtrack.

The only wide release film this week, and the one most folks will be familiar with because of it's pant-wettingly scary trailer:

The Devil Inside

Starring: Fernanda Andrade, Isabella Rossi, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama, Suzan Crowley, Bonnie Morgan, Brian Johnson, Preston James Hillier, D.T. Carney
Genre: Horror
MPAA Rating: R (for disturbing violent content and grisly images, and for language including some sexual references)
Official Website: DevilInsidemovie.com | Facebook

Plot Summary: In 1989, emergency responders received a 9-1-1 call from Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley) confessing that she had brutally killed three people. 20 years later, her daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) seeks to understand the truth about what happened that night. She travels to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy where her mother has been locked away to determine if her mother is mentally ill or demonically possessed. When she recruits two young exorcists (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth) to cure her mom using unconventional methods combining both science and religion, they come face-to-face with pure evil in the form of four powerful demons possessing Maria.

Many have been possessed by one; only one has been possessed by many.

All right! I'm going to leave you with one thing to remember: I do not make these movies. I just relay the information. It's not my fault if they suck monkey balls!