Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast

New Releases 9/11/09

9 (PG-13)
Starring the Voices of: Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover
Director: Shane Acker
Acker’s short version of this fable was done while he was a film student at UCLA. His incredibly innovative original vision about a rag doll fighting for survival against a red-eyed beast in a bleak, alien landscape was like nothing ever seen before, and was nominated for an animation Oscar in 2006. For the feature-length version, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov came onboard as producers, several new characters were added and talented voices cast. But the screenplay doesn’t match the visuals in originality, and the combined result is a dark and visually engrossing experience that is worth seeing despite the predictable story. 
3 pieces of original visuals toast

 
 
Sorority Row (R)
Starring: Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, Carrie Fisher, Jamie Chung
Director: Stewart Hendler
The press notes say: “Five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong so they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again.” But someone else knows, and after graduation, the murders of the five girls begins. 
Gil does not screen slasher films
 
 
Whiteout (R)
Starring: Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short
Director: Dominic Sena
The press notes ungrammatically say: “U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko has been sent to investigate Antarctica’s first homicide where she uncovers long buried secrets someone is still worth killing for.” 
Unavailable for preview
 
 
I Can Do Bad All By Myself (PG-13)
Starring: Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson, Adam Rodriguez, Brian White
Director: Tyler Perry
When Madea catches sixteen-year-old Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April, a heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of her married boyfriend Raymond.
Tyler Perry does not screen his films for critics, so this was unavailable for preview
 
 
The September Issue (PG-13)
Starring: Anna Wintour
Director: R.J. Cutler
Criticized because it doesn’t mention animal fur, sweatshop labor, or anorexia, this behind the scenes documentary about Vogue’s bitchy editor –in-chief, Anna Wintour, and the making of the four pound, September, 2007 issue,  provides an entertaining, (and now historic) look at the way magazines were put together (and may never be again).
3 pieces of In Vogue toast

 
It Might Get Loud (PG)
Starring: Jimmy Page, Edge, Jack White
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Les Paul’s amplified invention gets into the hands of a Detroit furniture upholsterer,  a London painter and a Dublin school boy and transforms them over time into superstars Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White. You are there to see (and hear) it happen, in this fascinating documentary filled with flashbacks, onstage performances and backstage evesdropping.  
3 and 1/2 pieces of “turns the amp to 11” toast
 
 
NEW ON DVD
 
Valentino: The Last Emperor (R)
Starring: Valentino Garavani, Giancarlo Giammetti
Director: Matt Tyrnauer
A couple years before he retired, legendary dress-designer Valentino let a documentary film crew follow him almost everywhere. This is, of course, the ultimate vanity,  but it is also a fascinating love story as the designer and his partner tackle their last season with the goal of going out before the conglomerate that has purchased his brand-name cheapens everything. 
3 pieces of glitzy and melancholic toast