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LORDS OF DOGTOWN chronicles the rise of professional skateboarding, following the pioneers Stacy Peralta (John Robinson, ELEPHANT), Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch, IMAGINARY HEROES) and Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS). In the late 1970s, polyurethane wheels allowed surfers to copy the sharp turns and tricks they were use to doing on surfboards in the oceans off Venice Beach, California. Owner of the Zephyr Surf Shop Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN) sees the potential in pro skating and ponies up the money to sponsor some of the local kids.

At first Stacy is left off the team, because he has a part-time job, which conflicts with Skip’s desire for total dedication to training. Stacy is the clean-cut kid of the bunch, who has a thing for Tony’s sister Kathy (Nikki Reed, THIRTEEN). But she’s a bit wilder than Stacy and this leads to a love triangle between Stacy, Kathy and rebellious Jay, who gets caught up in gangs and drugs. Quietly, Jay tries to do his best to improve the situation of his flighty mother, Philaine (Rebecca DeMornay, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE). Tony is a hothead who basks in the spotlight of their increasing fame. He also has a hard time dealing with his tough father (Julio Oscar Mechoso, THE LEGEND OF ZORRO).

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This film is a dark satire of the gun running industry that tells a tightly written script even if parts seem obvious and reminiscent of other films.

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage, MATCHSTICK MEN) is an immigrant to New York City from the Ukraine, who believes that his family run restaurant is too small potatoes for him. This leads him into a career as an arms dealer. At first his younger brother Vitaly (Jared Leto, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) joins him, but Vitaly seems to have more of an emotional connection to the deaths he knows he is indirectly involved with than his older brother does.

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When any movie is really well written, it takes on the tension of a great mystery. There are no murders or secret plots in this film, but we are on the edge of our seats nonetheless. Director Phil Morrison and writer Angus MacLachlan’s film gets everything so right it’s scary.

George (Alessandro Nivola, MANSFIELD PARK) has moved from North Carolina to Chicago, where he meets art dealer named Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz, BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY). After a quick courtship, they marry. Madeleine falls in love with the folk art of David Wark (Frank Hoyt Taylor, 28 DAYS), so she travels to meet him. Because he lives close to George’s family, they make it a double visit.

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How could the tale of a rough talking Memphis pimp be so inspiring? HUSTLE & FLOW just goes to show you the power of cinema.

DJay (Terrence Howard, CRASH) is a low-rung pimp, who hustles for scrawny white prostitute Nola (Taryn Manning, 8 MILE), pregnant and shy Shug (Taraji P. Henson, FOUR BROTHERS) and cocky stripper/whore Lexus (Paula Jai Parker, PHONE BOOTH). DJay desperately wants a better hand than life has dealt him. He’s smart, but angry, and has a powerful need to be heard.

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The film is the story of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter, WHITE CHICKS), a 19-year-old college student who died after stopping her prescribed medication and enduring an exorcism. At the time of her death, she was under the care of Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson, IN THE BEDROOM), who advised her to stop taking the drugs that were prescribed to her for what doctors believed was epilepsy combined with psychosis. Because of this, Father Moore is put on trial for criminal neglect.

The archdiocese, which sanctioned the exorcism and is paying for Moore’s defense, still doesn’t want to have its name drug into the courts and tarnished. They hire hotshot lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME) to defend the priest. She is an agnostic, who is coming off a high-profile murder trial, and wants to make partner at her firm. In court, Bruner faces cool and cocky DA Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott, ROGER DODGER), who was specifically chosen because he is a man of deep faith. Father Moore’s chief concern in the case is not his acquittal, but his chance to tell Emily’s story.

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Enron has become a pseudonym for corporate corruption. Alex Gibney’s documentary based on Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind’s book delves into the personalities that created a perfect breeding ground for corruption.

Ken Lay, the top man at Enron, had been a risk taker from the start. This isn’t inherently bad, but when oil traders were virtually gambling away tens of million of dollars of the company’s money and then hid the fact from investors, there’s a major problem. Lay later hired Jeffery Skilling, who was the architect of Enron’s rise and fall.

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Cameron Crowe (SAY ANYTHING…, ALMOST FAMOUS, JERRY MAGUIRE) is a director of the uttermost caliber. Previously a darling of the critics, he was lambasted for this film after a longer, unfinished cut screened for the first time at the Toronto Film Festival. Many critics skipped viewing the theatrical cut, basing their reviews on their impressions from Toronto. This is a shame.

The film is certainly flawed, but it still contains some remarkable moments and finishes on a high note. Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom, LORD OF THE RINGS) is a shoe developer, who is seemingly responsible for losing his company nearly $1 billion. During an attempt at suicide, he receives a call from his sister Heather (Judy Greer, 13 GOING ON 30) that their father has died while visiting his family in Kentucky. Because his mother Hollie (Susan Sarandon, DEAD MAN WALKING) doesn’t get along with her husband’s family, she sends Drew as the family representative.

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This film is less a boxing movie than a film about a man who rises to the moment to provide for his family when their luck is down. The film kicks off right before the Great Depression when fighter Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe, THE INSIDER) was on top. When the Depression hits, Braddock loses all his wealth in the stock market, battles injuries and loses third-rate fights.

His wife Mae (Renee Zellweger, COLD MOUNTAIN) is very supportive throughout all their hardships. His manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti, SIDEWAYS) tries to do the best he can for him, but fight promoter Jimmy Johnston (Bruce McGill, RUNAWAY JURY) doesn’t like Braddock’s weak performances. Out of boxing, Braddock works the docks whenever he gets the chance, befriending Mike Wilson (Paddy Considine, IN AMERICA), a fiery union supporter. Then Braddock gets a second chance, when he becomes a last minute replacement to challenge a top contender for the world title, which is held by Max Baer (Craig Bierko, THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR).

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This film is a darkly satirical look at modern life in the suburbs. It deals with topics ranging from the over medication of our youth to suicide.

Dean Stiffle (Jamie Bell, UNDERTOW) is a high school student, who doesn’t have many friends and carries himself with a sarcastic detachment. After a death, his father, Bill (William Fichtner, CRASH), who is a famed psychiatrist, is worried that Dean isn’t expressing the right emotions and gives him medication, which Dean is happy to take. Dean’s mother (Allison Janney, TV’s THE WEST WING) sells herbal supplements and desperately wants her family to be together as a family. As the plot unfolds, Dean gets wrapped up with Billy (Justin Chatwin, WAR OF THE WORLDS), a tough kid who wants Dean to find some missing drugs for him. Billy’s plot involves Crystal (Camilla Belle, THE BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE), toadie Lee Parker (Lou Taylor Pucci, EMPIRE FALLS) and Charley Bratley (Thomas Curtis, RED DRAGON).

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This film will stand with the ranks of THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY where the right balance between raunchy and sweet is achieved to great comic effect.

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell, TV’s THE OFFICE) is a shy guy who works at an electronics store. A wild weekend for him includes spending three hours making egg salad sandwiches. One day when they’re short a player for poker, his co-workers — David (Paul Rudd, THE SHAPE OF THINGS), Jay (Romany Malco, TV’s WEEDS) and Cal (Seth Rogen, DONNIE DARKO) — invite Andy to play, where they discover that Andy is what the title states. This kicks off Andy’s new friends’ mission to get him laid.

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