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Valkyrie

In a country in the grips of evil, in a police state where every move is being watched, in a world where justice and honor have been subverted, a group of men hidden inside the highest reaches of power decide to take action. Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and the daring and ingenious plot to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known.

A proud military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is a loyal officer who serves his country all the while hoping that someone will find a way to stop Hitler before Europe and Germany are destroyed. Realizing that time is running out, he decides that he must take action himself and joins the German resistance. Armed with a cunning strategy to use Hitler’s own emergency plan - known as Operation Valkyrie - these men plot to assassinate the dictator and overthrow his Nazi government from the inside.

With everything in place, with the future of the world, the fate of millions and the lives of his wife and children hanging in the balance, von Stauffenberg is thrust from being one of many who oppose Hitler to the one who must kill Hitler himself.

Also Known As:
Rubicon
Untitled (United Artists/Bryan Singer Thriller)

Production Status:
In Production

Logline:
Based on actual events, thriller depicts an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the height of World War II.

Genres:
Action/Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Biopic and War

Release Date:
December 26th, 2008 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.

Distributors:
MGM Distribution Company

Igor

Everyone wants to get into the potentially lucrative animation game, and “Igor” illustrates the intriguing internationalization of the genre. The often striking animation was designed at the Sparx Animation Studios in Paris, with a large staff of Vietnamese artists. Although the visuals tantalize and the actors providing the voices add a lot of sass, the result is only so-so. Boxoffice prospects look to be modest at best.

Screenwriter Chris McKenna says he was inspired more by Frankenstein movies than by sunnier Disney cartoons. The story takes place in the kingdom of Malaria, where evil scientists rule, aided by their hunchbacked servants, known as Igors. But one of these Igors (voiced by John Cusack) dreams of advancing beyond his rank. When his master dies, Igor decides to enter the annual Evil Science Fair himself and burst the bounds of servitude. Rivals try to foil his plans before the inevitable happy ending.

The animation style, drenched in darkness, owes more to “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas” than to recent Pixar hits. The visual style grows a bit monotonous, but a more serious problem is that the story is undernourished, and the wit erupts only in flashes. Although Molly Shannon does what she can with Eva, the monster who dreams of being an actress, the script could use more wickedly satirical touches.

Production Status:
Released

Logline:
A hunchbacked lab assistant has big dreams of becoming a mad scientist and winning the first place prize at the annual Evil Science Fair.

Genres:
Comedy and Animation

Release Date:
September 19th, 2008 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
PG for some thematic elements, scary images, action and mild language.

Distributors:
The Weinstein Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)

The Women

In New York City’s modern whirl of fashion and publishing, Mary Haines seems to have it all–a beautiful country home, a rich financier husband, an adorable 11-year-old daughter and a part-time career creating designs for her father’s venerable clothing company. Her best friend, Sylvie Fowler, leads another enviable life–as a happily single editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a possessor of a huge closet of designer clothes and a revered arbiter of taste and style poised on New York’s cutting edge. But when Mary’s husband enters into an affair with Crystal Allen, a sultry “spritzer girl” lurking behind the Saks Fifth Avenue perfume counter, all hell breaks loose. Mary and Sylvie’s relationship is tested to the breaking point while their tight-knit circle of friends, including mega-mommy Edie Cohen and author Alex Fisher, all start to question their own friendships and romantic relationships as well.

Also Known As:
The Women (Inferno)

Production Status:
Released

Logline:
The story centers around bickering, divorce and competition amongst a supposed group of friends.

Genres:
Comedy, Drama, Adaptation and Remake

Release Date:
September 12th, 2008 (wide)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking.

Distributors:
Picturehouse

Bangkok Dangerous

The life of Joe, an anonymous assassin, takes an unexpected turn when he travels to Thailand to complete a series of contract killings. Joe, a remorseless hitman, is in Bangkok to execute four enemies of a ruthless crime boss named Surat. He hires Kong, a street punk and pickpocket, to run errands for him with the intention of covering his tracks by killing him at the end of the assignment. Strangely, Joe, the ultimate lone wolf, finds himself mentoring the young man instead whilst simultaneously being drawn into a tentative romance with a local shop girl. As he falls further under the sway of Bangkok’s intoxicating beauty, Joe begins to question his isolated existence and let down his guard–just as Surat decides it’s time to clean house.

Also Known As:
A Time to Kill
Bangkok Dangerous (Remake)
Big Hit in Bangkok
Time to Kill

Production Status:
Released

Genres:
Action/Adventure, Thriller, Crime/Gangster and Remake

Release Date:
September 5th, 2008

MPAA Rating:
R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Distributors:
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Lionsgate

The Duchess

A vibrant beauty and celebrity of her time is trapped in an unhappy triangle with her husband and his live-in mistress. She falls passionately in love with an ambitious young politician, and the affair causes a bitter conflict with her husband and threatens to erupt into a scandal.

Also Known As:
Georgiana
Georgiana: Dutchess of Devonshire

Production Status:
Released

Genres:
Art/Foreign, Drama, Adaptation and Biopic

Release Date:
September 19th, 2008 (limited)

MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and thematic material.

Distributors:
Paramount Vantage