“Now Playing” provides you with a quick and easy breakdown of all the new movies opening each and every weekend!
(Note – films featured represent new openings in the Seattle area…regional, limited, and platformed national releases are featured below…).
Six New Films This Week
A controversial new film questioning whether William Shakespeare was truly the writer of his classic works arrives, the spinoff of a beloved animated character from the “Shrek” franchise debuts, and Justin Timberlake’s bid to become an action movie leading man takes center stage.
Also this weekend we find Johnny Depp returning to the works of Hunter S. Thompson, a romantic comedy set during a Renaissance Faire play production finally premieres after more than two years on the shelf, and a much anticipated Oscar hopeful, featuring a debut breakthrough performance from Elizabeth Olsen not to be missed. All this and other national releases after the cut!
ALL’S FAIRE IN LOVE…
(PG-13 for some sexual content, including references)
Starring: Christina Ricci, Owen Benjamin, Cedric The Entertainer, Chris Wylde
Directed by: Scott Marshall
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Distributor: Hannover House/Regal Entertainment
Tagline: Romance has a Renaissance.
Synopsis: College football star Will (Owen Benjamin) arrives at “All’s Faire in Love… Renaissance Faire” to work off his class non-attendance obligation to Prof. Shockworthy (Cedric the Entertainer) by joining the rag-tag peasant Greenbriar Theater Troupe. The same is true for Kate (Christina Ricci), a performer who left her investment banking opportunities to join her cousin Jo (Louise Griffiths) to blossom on stage and in Will’s heart. Will and Kate get the chance to prove themselves when the Faire’s chief benefactress create the ultimate competition to determine who will be a “Royal” and who a “Common Peasant” threatening to hand over the Troupe’s most coveted Shakespearean stage at the Faire – to a the treacherous and devious Troupe of Royal lead by Rank (Chris Wylde). (Courtesy of the film’s website)
Trailer:
Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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ANONYMOUS
(PG-13 for some violence and sexual content)
Starring: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis, Rafe Spall, Joely Richardson, Derek Jacobi.
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Running Time: 130 Minutes
Distributor: Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures
Tagline: Was Shakespeare a fraud?
Synopsis: Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage. (Courtesy of Sony Pictures)
Trailer:
Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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IN TIME
(PG-13 for violence, some sexuality and partial nudity, and brief strong language)
Starring: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Wilde, Cillian Murphy
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Tagline: Live forever or die trying.
Synopsis: When Will Salas is falsely accused of murder, he must figure out a way to bring down a system where time is money – literally – enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day. (Courtesy of 20th Century Fox)
Trailer:
Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
(R for disturbing violent and sexual content, nudity, and language.)
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, Brady Corbet
Directed by: Sean Durkin
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Tagline: N/A
Synopsis: Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powerful psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Martha, a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader (John Hawkes). Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy), Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be pursuing her, the line between Martha’s reality and delusion begins to blur (Courtesy of Fox Searchlight)
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Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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PUSS IN BOOTS
(PG for some adventure action and mild rude humor)
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris
Directed by: Chris Miller
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Tagline: Looking good never looked so good.
Synopsis: Long before he even met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots becomes a hero when he sets off on an adventure with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town. This is the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend… The Boots. (Courtesy of DreamWorks/Paramount)
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Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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THE RUM DIARY
(R for language, brief drug use, and sexuality)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Distributor: FilmDistrict
Tagline: Absolutely nothing in moderation.
Synopsis: Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson. Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen’s financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down. (Courtesy of FilmDistrict)
Trailer:
Additional content here:
Film Website
IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
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ADDITIONAL OPENINGS (may not be playing in your area):
And They’re Off (Kinobild Releasing)
The Double (Image Entertainment)
Inkubus (Screen Media Films)
Inni (Cinema Purgatorio)
Janie Jones (Tribeca Film)
Like Crazy (Paramount Vantage)
My Reincarnation (Long Shot Factory)
RA. One / RA. One 3D (Eros International)
Sidewalls (IFC Films)
