Observer Standard Newspapers - Movie Guide 2008

>BEDTIME STORIES Release date: December 26		>GHOST TOWN Release date: October 24 Cert: 12A
The life of hotel handyman Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) changes virtually overnight whe the lavish bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to magically come true in this fantastical family comedy. Skeeter attempts to take advantage of the phenomenon, incorporating his own aspirations into one outlandish tale after another, but it’s the kids’ unexpected contributions that turn his life upside down. Also starring Russell Brand, Courteney Cox and Guy Pearce.		Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais) is a man whose people skills leave much to be desired in this new comedy. When he dies unexpectedly, and is miraculously revived after seven minutes, he wakes up to discover he now has the ability to see ghosts. Which is all rather annoying. Especially when the spirits want something from him. In particular, Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear) keeps pestering Pincus into breaking up the impending marriage of his widow Gwen (Téa Leoni). That puts Pincus squarely in the middle of a love triangle with spirited results.

Comedian Simon Pegg stars as Sidney Young, an aspirant celebrity man about town. But apart from the bouncers who throw him out of London’s VIP lounges, no one knows his name. This, however, is about to change. He has just been chosen to work at Sharps, the highly prestigious magazine in New York. Surely fame, success and beautiful women must follow? Based on Toby Young’s international best seller about his short-lived career at Vanity Fair, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People also stars Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges and Gillian Anderson.

Salesmen Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) trash their company truck during a drink-fuelled bender. The court gives them a choice: go to jail or spend 150 hours doing community service. So the pair enrol in a Big Brother-style scheme. Danny’s attempts to guide Augie through the trials of becoming a man falter when it seems he has only sarcasm to offer the shy 16-year-old obsessed with medieval role-play. Meanwhile, Wheeler tries to trade in his addiction to partying and women to help Ronnie redirect his foul-mouthed ways.

>MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA
Release date: December 5

>CITY OF EMBER
Release date: October 10

This adventure film is based on Jules Verne’s novel. Brendan Fraser is a science professor whose unconventional hypotheses have made him a laughing stock. When his nephew discovers Jules Verne’s original manuscript for his novel Journey To The Centre of the Earth, the pair realise Verne himself had taken the titular trip. Using the manuscript, they embark on the same thrilling journey, discovering a fantastic and dangerous lost world.

For as long as they can remember, the inhabitants of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But Ember’s generator is failing and the great lamps that have lit the city for aeons are starting to flicker. The food supplies are running out too. Teenagers Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) find themselves on a mission to save their dying city. In a race against time, They search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city’s existence and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever.

>INKHEART
Release date: December 12

>THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX
Release date: December 19

Based on the international best-selling novel by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart centres on Meggie, a young girl whose father has a magical (and secret) power to bring characters from books to life when he reads stories out loud. When a power-hungry villain from a rare children’s story kidnaps Meggie’s father and forces him to spring other wicked characters from storybook pages, she and her friends – both real and magic embark on an adventure to save him and put things right once more. Inkheart stars Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Andy Serkis.

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Dor there was magic in the air. Then a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, the princess filled with longing and the townsfolk crestfallen. All hope seemed lost. Until Despereaux Tilling was born... A brave and virtuous mouse, Despereaux is simply too big for his small world. Despereaux refuses to live a life of weakness and fear. From the highest turrets of the castle to the dankest of Dor’s sewers, he teaches the kingdom that what you look like doesn’t equal what you are.

>EAGLE EYE
Release date: October 17

>INCENDIARY
Release date: Oct 24

Eagle Eye is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a phone call from an unknown woman. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of dangerous situations. They become wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening.

When the family of an adulterous young mother (Michelle Williams) is killed in a terrorist attack, her life changes forever. She lives in London, home to journalist Jasper Black (Ewan McGregor), with whom she once had an affair. She finds herself drawn to her late husband’s boss Terrence (Matthew Macfadyen), the police officer in charge of the investigation. Everyone’s fate hangs on the real truth behind the explosions, a truth the authorities, including Terrence, will do their utmost to keep secret.

>LAKEVIEW TERRACE
Release date: December 5 Cert: 15

>MIRRORS
Release date: October 3

After moving into their dream home in California, a young couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) become the focus of their neighbour’s unwelcome attentions. It’s clear the stern, single father and LA police officer (Samuel L. Jackson) disapproves of their iterracial relationship. The up-tight policeman has appointed himself watchdog of the suburb, loooking out for all other residents. But his attitude to the newlyweds escalates into harassment and the persistent intrusion into their lives turns tragic when they decide to fight back.

After shooting dead a fellow New York police officer in a bungled undercover operation, Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) leaves his wife and children and slips into alcoholism. Desperate to pull his life together, he takes a night watchman’s job at the burned-out Mayflower department store. As Carson patrols the eerie remains, he starts seeing horrific images in the huge mirrors adorning the walls. Who will believe a malevolent, otherworldly force is using reflections as a gateway
into the lives of him and his family?

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