THE INFORMANT! (2009) (****)

17 09 2009
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Check Out the Trailer

Steven Soderbergh has made a fascinating character study of a compulsive liar. Based on a true story, this film shows how someone’s motivations for “doing the right thing” might not always be based on solely catching the bad guys.

Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon, THE GOOD SHEPHERD) was the youngest vice president at ADM, where he was in charge of producing Lysine from corn. He tells his boss Mick Andreas (Tom Papa, BEE MOVIE) that the reason there is a destructive bug in the Lysine processing plant is because the Japanese have a mole in the company and are demanding millions to stop sabotaging the production. The company calls in the FBI, which gets Mark very agitated. When FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula, TV’s QUANTUM LEAP) comes to his house to tap his line in his investigation of the blackmail, his wife Ginger (Melanie Lynskey, HEAVENLY CREATURES) pushes Mark to reveal a price-fixing scheme between ADM and the competition.
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JENNIFER’S BODY (2009) (***)

17 09 2009
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Check Out the Trailer

Here’s the pitch – a Satanic rock band turns the most beautiful girl in school into a demon that eats boys, written by Oscar-winning JUNO scribe Diablo Cody. Directed by GIRLFIGHT director Karyn Kusama, this horror/comedy possesses Cody’s signature dialogue style and an EVIL DEAD sense of gallows humor.

Jennifer (Megan Fox, TRANSFORMERS) is the prettiest girl in school. She has her BFF Needy (Amanda Seyfried, MAMMA MIA!) wrapped around her finger. Whatever Jennifer wants she gets. This irritates Needy’s boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons, HOTEL FOR DOGS). Jennifer convinces Needy to attend the concert of Low Shoulder at a local dive bar. She thinks the lead singer Nikolai (Adam Brody, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING) is salty. But when the bar goes up in flames and the band kidnaps Jennifer, Needy knows some evil is afoot.
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CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009) (***)

17 09 2009
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Check Out the Trailer

Based on Judi & Ron Barrett’s children’s book, this animated adventure takes the tried and true tale of a misunderstood scientist and gives it a twist… of lime. Adapted by directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, this 3D concoction is pure comfort food. If RATATOUILLE is lobster, this animated entrée is like a good ole plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I mean it says so in the title.

Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader, ADVENTURELAND) has been dreaming up wild inventions since he was a kid. None have really panned out though. His father Tim (James Caan, THE GODFATHER) wants him to come work at the tackle and bait shop, but Flint has bigger plans. They live on the island town of Shallow Falls, where all there is to eat is sardines. Flint has invented a machine that will turn water into all kinds of fun foods. But during a big town unveiling by Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell, EVIL DEAD), Flint’s new machine goes haywire and wrecks the town’s new amusement park attractions, which where meant to bring the island tourists.
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