“A Mighty Heart”Starring: Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, Archie Panjabi, Sajid Hasan, Aly Khan, Irfan Khan, Denis O'Hare, Will PattonDirector: Michael WinterbottomStory: Based on Marianne Pearl’s (Jolie) memoir, this film tells the story of the 2002 kidnapping and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl (Futterman) in Pakistan from Marianne’s point of view. Patton plays an American security officer who helps Marianne through the Pakistani bureaucracy. Hasan co-stars as a Pakistani secret policeman who becomes Marianne’s ally. Buzz: Marianne Pearl was six months pregnant when the ordeal began, and wrote the book for her son Adam. This is Jolie’s most serious role in a long time — perhaps since her Oscar win for “Girl, Interrupted.” Winterbottom (“The Road to Guantanamo,” “In This World”) is a stickler for detail. He even shot part of the film in Karachi at some of the places Daniel Pearl visited before his kidnapping. “I was a little nervous” about shooting in Karachi, he told Entertainment Weekly. Web site: http://www.amightyheartmovie.com/ Release date: June 22 “Evening”Starring: Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Mamie Gummer, Eileen Atkins, Meryl Streep, Glenn CloseDirector: Lajos KoltaiStory: Based on the novel by Susan Minot, this film tells the story of Ann Grant Lord (Redgrave), a dying woman who reflects back on her life. She tells her two daughters (Richardson, Collette) a story of when she was young (Danes plays the young Anne) and torn between two men (Dancy and Wilson). Streep and Gummer play the older and younger versions of her best friend Lila. Buzz: Michael Cunningham (“The Hours”) adapted Minot’s book for the screen, while director Koltai is probably best known for his film “Being Julia.” You can’t argue with a cast this good. Gummer is Meryl Streep’s real-life daughter. Web site: NARelease date: June 29 “Talk To Me”Starring: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cedric The Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall, Martin SheenDirector: Kasi LemmonsStory: Based on a true story, Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene (Cheadle) is an outspoken ex-con who talks his way into becoming a radio personality in 1960s Washington, D.C., and gives black America a voice. Producer Dewey Hughes (Ejiofor) is his champion and the person who runs interference with the station owner (Sheen). Henson plays Green’s girlfriend, while Hall and Cedric The Entertainer co-star as fellow DJs. Buzz: If only we could learn to pronounce his name, Ejiofor (“Inside Man,” “Kinky Boots”) would be a huge star. Cheadle (“Hotel Rwanda,” “Crash”) has said that he doesn’t like doing biopics, but makes exceptions when the person isn’t that well known. This movie looks a lot more fun than your average biopic, thanks in no small part to Cheadle’s over-the-top performance. The man has no fear. Lemmons won acclaim for her 1997 writing and directing debut, “Eve’s Bayou,” but hasn’t gotten behind the camera much since. Web site: NARelease date: July 13 “Resurrecting the Champ”Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Teri Hatcher, Kathryn Morris, Dakota Goyo, Alan Alda, Rachel Nichols, Glenn Hunter, David PaymerDirector: Rod LurieStory: Based on a true story, this film tells the story of a sportswriter (Hartnett) who rescues a homeless man (Jackson). The old guy tells Hartnett that he’s an ex-boxing champion, believed to be dead. The writer thinks this will be his career-defining story, but what he doesn’t realize is that the homeless man is lying. Buzz: After seeing it at Sundance, the Hollywood Reporter’s Duane Byrge called it a “compelling story” that is “charged by a knockout performance by Samuel L. Jackson.” Film critic-turned director Lurie (“The Contender”) usually writes about politics (he also created the short-lived “Commander and Chief”), and is known for controversial subject matter — he should add a little fire to this story. Web site: NARelease date: August 3 “Goya’s Ghosts”Starring: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, Randy QuaidDirector: Milos FormanStory: Set during the Spanish Inquisition, this film tells the story of painter Goya’s (Skarsgård) model Ines (Portman), who is tortured into confessing to heresy by Brother Lorenzo (Bardem). When the film jumps ahead 15 years, Napoleon has declared the Inquisition illegal, and the prisoners, including Ines, are freed. Ines carries with her a secret.Buzz: The London Paper’s Neil Smith called the film “as dull as the proverbial dishwater.” While Variety’s Jonathan Holland wrote that it was “a magnificent folly.” This is director Forman’s (“Amadeus”) first film since 1999’s “Man on the Moon.” Web site: NARelease date: July 20 “El Cantante”Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Federico Castelluccio, Romi Dias, Vincent LarescaDirector: Leon IchasoStory: Based on the life of singer Hector Lavoe (Anthony), this film tells how he brought salsa to the U.S. in 1975 and became one of the biggest Latin singers. Then heroin use and personal tragedy left him penniless and dying from complications from AIDS. Real-life wife Lopez co-stars as Lavoe’s wife and biggest supporter, Puchi. Buzz: The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt wrote, “Unfortunately, the music is as irresistible as the tired story of a musician succumbing to substance abuse is resistible.” Co-star (Castelluccio) is best known to “Sopranos” fans as Carmela’s would-be lover Furio. Web site: http://www.elcantantemovie.com/ Release date: August 1
