Oct 23, 2009 2:59 PM

Movies: Astro Boy Takes Flight Amid Hellish Horror Shows

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A Japananese anime idol gets reinvented for English-speaking audiences this weekend when Astro Boy lands in theaters. Freddy Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) voices the rocket-booted flyboy with Nicolas Cage as the kid’s Dr. Frankenstein-meets-Gepetto mastermind.

The movie’s bright-colored animation stands in stark contrast to the array of darker flicks that will turn theaters into houses of horror just in time for Halloween. Opening Friday are Saw VI, which brings Jigsaw flashing back for yet another round of butchery, and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, featuring John C. Reilly as a bloodsucking carnie.

Review: Low-Budget Paranormal Activity Thrills With High-Value Horror Review: Where the Wild Things Are Is Woolly, But Not Wild Enough <p

isirector Lars von Trier’s genital-mutilating psycho show Antist gelimited release after earning Charlotte Gainsbourg <a href=ress honors</a> at 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

dout the week’s new offerings is Amelem>, wstars Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart in the years leading up to the pioneering pilot’s doomed 1937 flight over the Pacific Ocean. It’s Swank’s first serious Oscar bid since MillDollar Baby.</>

the week: The <a href=y chilling Paraal Activity</aexpands into more theaters and spreads Blaitch-stcares throughout the land. Catch it and get a case of the creeps.

red to leave the house? Also worth watching is Sam Raimi’s much more traditional horror story <a h*to Hell</a></emcame out on DVD earlier this month. Most of the scary bits are cribbed from previous, better shriek flicks, but the gypsy crone preying on Alison Lohman’s loan officer finds fresh ways to sink her false teeth into this curse-of-the-damned script.)

e about this week’s theatrical offerings and watch trailers below.

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:</strongfuturistic Metro City, Toby (aka Astro Boy) comes to life after Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage) endows the robot hero with X-ray vision, speed and the ability to fly. Astro Boy fights corruption but faces disappointment upon learning that he’s not human. Additional voices include Kristen Bell, Charlize Theron and Samuel L. Jackson. Director David Bowers (Sharle) bthis adaptation on Osamu Tezuka’s 1951 Japanese manga and subsequent anime series. <st strong<p

e**</strong**=y Gets the Hollywood-Blockbuster Treatment</a>

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r>_a></em_t

:</strongdrama features <a href=wank</a> (<ellDollar Baby) aation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The film chronicle’s Earhart’s Depression-era adventures prior to 1937 disappearance over the Pacific during an attempted round-the-world flight. Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor co-star for director Mira Nair (MonsWedding).<st strong

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:</strongturous reign of terror wrought by the Jigsaw Killer (<a href=ll)</a> cones as FBI Agent Hoffman (<a href=andylor</a>) trto stop the madness. <st strongp>

r>_u Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant</a></em_t

:</strong=Reilly</a> stas a vampire who mentors a teenager (Chris Massoglia) en route to a traveling freak show. Paul Weitz (AbouBoy, American Pie) ds. <st strongp>

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:</strong=afoe</a> (<eidan) a href=e Gainsbourg</a> (<ee nce of Sleep) ss a married couple who deal with a personal tragedy in a forest hideaway. Lars von Trier directs. <st stronged <p

eiew:</strong deceiver, Antichrist shows initial promise as an exercise in art-house horror: Beautiful, slow-motion imagery set to an operatic soundtrack introduces a wildly copulating couple and reveals the incident that will drive their story of sex and sadness. After their loss, He (Willem Dafoe), a therapist, retreats with his grieving wife, She (Charlotte Gainsbourg), to a cabin in the woods. But once in “Satan’s church,” psychobabble gives way to occult mumbo jumbo, genital mutilation and surreal woodland creatures as the movie deteriorates into a mess of confused symbolism. Perhaps it makes sense on some level — one can imagine a dope-smoking student banging out a thesis about the film’s deep connections — but on the face of it, Danish director <a href= Trier</a> hasked up a hellish drama that is visually compelling, <a href=ly laughable</a> andimately disappointing. — LeWallace<br

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r>_e Wild Things Are</a></em_t

:</strong at home, Max (played by <a href=rds</a>) ess to an island inhabited by unpredictable Wild Things. There, Max rises to power before becoming entangled in nature’s rough-and-tumble realities. Catherine Keener and Mark Ruffalo star as humans. The costumed creatures are voiced by James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Forest Whitaker and Lauren Ambrose. Adapted from Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s picture book by director Spike Jonze (Beinhn Malkovich) a-scripter <a href=ers</a> (<eHereaking Work of Staggering Genius), ilm features a soundtrack by electronic music pioneer Carter Burwell and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O. Tom Hanks produces. <st strong<p

estrong=ays Wildngs Fi Feral as Book</a>

</strong=nes Melds F/X and Muppetry for Wildngs</a

r>_ing Citizen</a></em_t

:</stronghelton (<a href=utler</a>) seis wife and daughter killed in a home-invasion robbery, then methodically seeks revenge after prosecutor Nick Rice (<a href=xx</a>) sts a deal with the perpetrators. F. Gary Grey (The ian Job) ds. <st strongp>

r>*father</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongof the 1987 horror movie features Dylan Walsh (Nip/) atepfather who might be a lot more dangerous than he seems. Sela Ward co-stars. <st strongp>

r>_Retreat</a></em_t

:</strongn</em> ten Favreau and Vince Vaughn play a couple of Midwestern guys who join their wives and two other couples at a tropical island resort. The twist: Therapy sessions are part of the program. Directed by actor <a href=llingsley</a> (<ee ed Fire), omestic comedy co-stars Malin Ackerman, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Faizon Love. <st strongp>

r>*al Activity</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongban couple becomes increasingly freaked out when spooky phenomena captured on home security cameras suggests that their bedroom is co-occupied by demons. Writer-director Oren Peli made the film on an $11,000 budget. Cast includes Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong and Ashley Palmer. <st strongp

e**/strong**=et Paraal Activity Th With High-Value Horror</a>

r>*r</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongock’s docu-comedy delves into African-American hair culture from the vantage point of stylists and celebs including Ice-T, Nia Long, Raven Symone, Salt-N-Pepa, Maya Angelou and the Rev. Al Sharpton. TV comedy writer <a href=lson</a> dir the Sundance Special Jury Prize winner. <st strongp>

r>*tion</a></emd)</strongt

:</strong Oxford-bound 16-year-old (played by Carey Mulligan) visits Paris with her much older suitor (Peter Saarsgard), her parents and teachers disapprove. Scripted by Nick Hornby (Abo Boy, High Fidelity) tlm co-stars Dominic Cooper, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson. <st strongp>

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r>_nd</a></em_t

:</strong teen Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg) survives a zombie plague and teams up with fellow Twinkie-loving badass Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) on a bloody cross-country trip culminating in an amusement park showdown. Bill Murray, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone co-star for director <a href=eischer</a> (TVem>Jimmmmel Live).<st strongp

e**</strong**=em>Zombnd‘s me Ghoul-Killing Weapons</a>

r>_ntion of Lying</a></em_t

:</strongg co-writer/co-director Ricky Gervais, the story takes place in an alternative universe that resembles normal society in every regard except that nobody lies. When a down-on-his-luck loser (Gervais) stumbles upon a way to lie, he uses his newfound ability to woo the ladies. Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe and Tina Fey co-star. <st strongp>

r>*sm: A Love Story</a></emd)</strongt

:</strong Moore (Sickm>) a in his latest critique that free-market excesses have wreaked havoc on the lives of ordinary people. Along the way, Moore tries to interview powerbrokers, D.C. politicians and Wall Street money men. <st strongp>

r>*in Public</a></emd)</strongt

:</strongr Ondi Timoner’s documentary explores themes of surveillance, web-obsession and privacy through the rise and fall of internet pioneer Josh Harris, who burned through $80 million in less than a decade. The movie opens Friday in San Francisco and Saturday in Minneapolis before expanding next week. <st stronged <p

e**/strong**=m>We Lin Public PrWeb Genius’ Hubris</a>

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r>_es</a></em_t

:</strongn Robert Venditti’s graphic novel, the sci-fi detective tale follows FBI agent Greer (played by Bruce Willis) as he investigates troublemakers threatening to ruin a perfect world administered by robots. Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell and Ving Rhames co-star for director Jonathan Mostow (Termor 3).<st strongp> <p

eiew:</strongcarries the movie adequately, in large part by allowing himself to look bedragged and paunchy for the sake of the story. Operating as an effective metaphor for modern-day social networking, Surres pis a world in which blotchy, wrinkled human recluses present a perfect facade to the outside world through the manipulation of younger, better-looking surrogates. Cromwell delivers the humanistic goods in his brief appearance as a Bill Gates-in-a wheelchair ubergeek. Mitchell, playing Willis’ robot partner, only gets to be human for about five on-screen seconds. The rest of the time, she’s understandably stiff, as are most of the other cast members. Comes with the territory when you’re making a movie about robots. — Huart<br

/strongc</strong=es‘ S Crime Drama Stays True to Comic’s Roots</a>

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r>_</a></em_t

:</strongthriller stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster as a pair of spaceship commanders 500 million miles from Earth who wake up to find that 60,000 passengers have gone missing. In their place, something new is lurking aboard the ship. From the producers of the Resi Evil fithe space adventure is directed by German-born Christian Alvart (Anties).<st strongp>

r>_’s Body</a></em_t

:</strongox plays a cheerleader who becomes demon-possessed and begins feasting on lustful guys in her small town. Directed by <a href=sama</a> (<erlt), ark horror-comedy co-stars <a href=eyfried</a> (<ema!, Tem>Big ). t is by Oscar-winner <a href=ody</a> ( J United States of Tara). <st strongp

eiew:</stronghere be a better bitchy-hot boy-killer than Megan Fox? The Transformers babe uses sex as a weapon, smart-bombing unwitting males with her best attributes even before she turns into a succubus in Jennifer’s Body. After her possession, she seduces and eats infatuated teens, then barfs up black liquid before returning to snark duty in the classroom. The horror-comedy hybrid bounces between bloody killings, scenes of wailing mourners and <a href=</a> -sthigh school hi-jinks in a way that proves jarring and ultimately unfulfilling, as every scary scene is quickly defanged by a joke. The ever-clever dialogue churned out by Cody is so hip it’s distracting, and doesn’t do much to settle the ride: You’ll either love the zippy lipping or you’ll hate it. — Lewis Wallace <st

/strongc

r>_rmant!</a></em_t

:</strongmon stars in the true-story comic take on whistle-blower Marc Whitacre, a high-ranking exec who goes undercover to gather evidence of price-fixing and chemical contamination at Fortune 500 food giant Archers Daniels Midland. Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Ocea11, Che).<st strongp>

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r>_ith a Chance of Meatballs</a></em_t

:</strongcientist out to solve world hunger sees his experiment go awry when food that’s programmed into his latest invention starts falling from the sky. The animated 3-D comedy, based on Judi and Ron Barrett’s best-selling novel, is directed by Phil Lord (TV’s Clongh) aimation artist Chris Miller (Shrem>, <daar) woice work by Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg and Mr. T. <st strongp> <h3

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‘s ing Flora, Fauna Give Comic-Con an Eyeful</a></lih- Later, The Giant‘s nized Soul Still Stirs</a></lih- Mexican Sci-Fi Beams a Blast From the Past, con o</ah- 2 BlInto Comic-Con, More Badass Than Ever</a></li