August 2006 | blackfilm.com | features

THE GUARDIAN

Release Date: September 29, 2006
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Andrew Davis
Screenwriter: Ron L. Brinkerhoff
Cast: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, Neal McDonough, Melissa Sagemiller, Clancy Brown, Brian Geraghty, Sela Ward

Website: http://www.theblackdahliamovie.net/

Synopsis: After losing his crew in a fatal crash, legendary Rescue Swimmer, Ben Randall (Kevin Costner), is sent to teach at "A" School, an elite training program for Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. Wrestling with the loss of his crew members, he throws himself into teaching, turning the program upside down with his unorthodox training methods.

While there, he encounters a young, cocky swim champ, Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher), who is driven to be the best. During training, Randall helps mold Jake's character, combining his raw talent with the heart and dedication required of a Rescue Swimmer.

Upon graduation, Jake follows Randall to Kodiak, Alaska, where they face the inherent dangers of the Bering Sea. In his initial solo rescue, Jake learns firsthand from Randall, the true meaning of heroism and sacrifice, echoing the Swimmer's motto..."So Others May Live!"

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060805/features/theguardian.shtml

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS

Release Date: September, 29, 2006
Distributor: First Look Picture
Director: Dito Montiel
Screenwriter: Dito Montiel
Cast: Chazz Palminteri, Shia LaBeouf, Rosario Dawson, Eric Roberts, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Synopsis: This big screen adaptation of Dito Montiel’s 2003 memoir of the same title, directed by Montiel from his own screenplay, is sure to leave Sundance hailed as one of the great New York movies. Every actor in its sprawling ensemble, from Robert Downey Jr. (playing the present-day Montiel) to Chazz Palminteri (Dito’s father) to Rosario Dawson to Eric Roberts, gets with this movie to fulfill the promise of their early work. But it is Shia LaBeouf who will come away from Sundance a star once audiences see him go off in the subway, hang out with his friends and fall in love during one hot Queens summer, then draw the wrath of a street gang and hold his own opposite Palminteri as Dito decides to leave his home behind. As the filmmakers play with the ideas and expectations of time and memory, friendship and loyalty, family and responsibility, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS becomes a classic, haunting and powerful coming-of-age story.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060106/features/agtrys.shtml

THE QUEEN

Release Date: September 30, 2006 (NY; limited release: October 6; wider release: October 13)
Studio: Miramax Films
Director: Stephen Frears
Screenwriter: Peter Morgan
Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms

Synopsis: Scripted by Peter Morgan, the film is set in the week between Diana's death and her funeral and explores the relationship between Tony Blair and the British Royal Family during that time. This stars Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II and chronicles the British royal family's response to Princess Diana's death in a car crash. James Cromwell appears as Prince Philip, Michael Sheen as Tony Blair, Alex Jennings as Prince Charles and Sylvia Syms as the Queen Mother.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060812/features/thequeen.shtml

SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS

Release Date: September 29, 2006
Distributor: The Weinstein Company
Director: Todd Phillips
Screenwriter: Scot Armstrong, Todd Phillips
Cast: Jon Heder, Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jacinda Barrett, Dan Fogler, Sarah Silverman

Synopsis: In this film loosely based on the 1960 British comedy, a shy young meter reader (Jon Heder) enrolls in a class to help build his confidence so he can win over his dream girl (Jacinda Barrett), only to find out that the teacher of the class (Billy Bob Thornton) also has his eyes on her.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060317/features/schoolforscoundrels.shtml

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING

Release Date: October 6, 2006
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Screenwriter: David Schow
Cast: R. Lee Ermey, Jordana Brewster, Andrew Bryniarski, Taylor Handley, Matthew Bomer, Diora Baird, Heather Kafka, Lee Tergesen, Marietta Marich, and Terrence Evans

Synopsis: On one last road trip before they're sent to serve in Vietnam, two friends (Handley and Bomer) and their girlfriends (Baird and Brewster) get into an accident that calls their local sheriff (Ermey) to the scene. Thus begins a terrifying experience where the teens are taken to a secluded house of horrors, where a young, would-be killer is being nurtured.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060120/features/texaschainsaw.shtml

THE DEPARTED

Release Date: October 6, 2006
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriter: William Monahan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Gerard McSorley, David O'Hara, James Badge Dale, Kristen Dalton
Website: http://www.thedeparted.com

Synopsis: "The Departed" is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy – and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060113/features/thedeparted.shtml

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

Release Date: October 6, 2006
Distributor: Lionsgate
Director: Greg Coolidge
Screenwriter: Greg Coolidge
Cast: Dane Cook, Jessica Simpson, Dax Shephard, Efren Ramirez, Tim Bagley, Andy Dick, Brian George, Marcello Thedford, Danny Woodburn, Sean Whalen, Harland Williams, Shirly Brener

Website: http://employeeofthemonthfilm.com/

Synopsis: For customers of Super Club, the largest high-volume, bulk-discount retailer in the country, membership has its privileges. For workers at the cavernous store, the most coveted honor is the "Employee of the Month" award, and having one's photo immortalized on the wall of fame in the staff lounge. Enter Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) and Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), two ultra competitive Super Club workers whose ten years of employment have resulted in drastically different career paths. While Vince – with the aid of his trusty sidekick Jorge (Efren Ramirez) -- has advanced to become head cashier and winner of 17 consecutive "E of M" awards, Zack is the ultimate slacker whose scruffy appearance and laid back attitude has made him popular with his colleagues, but kept him stuck in the lowly ranks of the store's box boys. The duo's longtime rivalry comes to a bitter head when Amy (Jessica Simpson) – a beautiful new cashier with a reputation of only dating "Employee of the Month" winners – transfers to the store, immediately becoming the object of both Zack and Vince's affection and often comical gamesmanship. While Vince instantly impresses Amy with his crowd pleasing, flamboyant style behind his checkstand register, Zack's feeble attempts to charm his beautiful new co-worker quickly backfire against him. With the race to win Amy's affections slipping away, Zack determines his only chance rests in winning the store's next "Employee of the Month" award. A battle to the end, "Employee of the Month" shows that the only failure in life is when one fails to try.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILER AND PHOTOS - http://www.blackfilm.com/20060630/features/employeeofthemonth.shtml