DRAG ME TO HELL (2009)

"Even nice people can go to hell."

Christine Brown is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton.
Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan.
Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break?
Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks, and get a leg-up on a promotion?
Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.
In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell.
Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas to save her soul from eternal damnation.
To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell.
As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: How far will she go to break free of the curse?

Fact : A likable, boyish-looking actor with thick eyebrows and a friendly smile, Justin Long is a native of Connecticut, and he was ranked #25 on Entertainment Weekly’s ‘30 Under 30′ the actors list (2008).

Note : Also known as “The Curse”, this thriller is written by Sam Raimi who returns to his lower-budget horror movie roots with the bloody thriller “Drag Me to Hell” starring Alison Lohman as a loan officer whose decision not to approve a loan has terrifying consequences.

Star(s) to watch : Justin Long (”Live Free or Die Hard”, “Jeepers Creepers”, “Herbie Fully Loaded”) as Clay Dalton, & Alison Lohman (”The Thirteenth Floor”) as Christine Brown.

Director(s) : Sam Raimi.
Producer(s) : Josh Donen, Nathan Kahane, Joe Drake, & Grant Curtis.
Genre : Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror.
Release date : May 29, 2009
Official website : http://www.DragMeToHell.net/

UP (2009)

“A great adventure with Carl Fredricksen, and he won’t even have to leave his house.”

Carl Fredricksen (Edward Asner) is 78 years old and walks like a hunchback with his tripod cane.
When Carl was a child, he met and eventually married a girl named Ellie who grew up in a small midwestern town.
Ellie always dreamed of exploring the mountains but passed away before she got a chance.
Now, when developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie.
To accomplish this, he befriends a chubby 9-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.
The two opposites match up for thrilling adventures as they encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains, and all the terrifying creatures that wait in the jungle.

Fact : Featuring the voices of Christopher Plummer & Delroy Lindo.

Note : Written and co-directed by Bob Peterson.

Director(s) : Pete Docter & Bob Peterson.
Producer(s) : Jonas Rivera.
Genre : Action, Adventure, Comedy, Kids, Family, Animation.
Release date : May 29, 2009
Official website : http://disney.com/UP

TERMINATOR SALVATION (2009)

“The end begins.”

Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators.
John Connor, now in his 30s, leads what is left of the human race against the machines.
But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row.
Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past.
As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.

Fact : Also known as “T4″ & “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”.

Note : “Premiere” lauded Christian Bale as one of the “Hottest Leading Men Under 30″. He is also the first non-American actor to portray Batman/Bruce Wayne in “Batman Begins” (2005).

Star(s) to watch : Christian Bale (”The Dark Knight”, “Equilibrium”) as John Connor, Moon Bloodgood (”Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”, “Eight Below”, “Pathfinder”) as Blair Williams, & Michael Ironside (”Starship Troopers”) as General Ashdown.

Director(s) : McG.
Producer(s) : Peter D. Graves, Dan Lin, Jeanne Allgood, Moritz Borman, Victor Kubicek, & Jeffrey Silver.

Genre : Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Sequel, Thriller.
Release date : May 22, 2009
Official website : http://www.terminatorsalvation.com/

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: Battle Of The Smithsonian (2009)

“When the lights go off, the battle is on.”

When the Museum of Natural History is closed for upgrades and renovations, the museum pieces are moved into federal storage at the famous Washington Museum.

The centrepiece of the film will be bringing to life the Smithsonian Institution, which houses the world’s largest museum complex with more than 136 million items in its collections, ranging from the plane Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) flew on her non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic and Al Capone’s rap sheet and mug shot to Dorothy’s ruby red slippers and Archie Bunker’s lounge chair.

Security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan), who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.

Fact : This movie is the sequel of “Night at the Museum” (2006).

Note : Ben Stiller is a major fan of Tom Cruise and has impersonated Tom for many years. He even portrayed Tom Cruise’s fictitious crazed stunt double, Tom Crooze, on 2000 MTV Movie Awards (2000) on a segment called “Mission: Improbable”. This segment is included on the “Mission: Impossible II” (2000) DVD. Tom and Ben have been friends ever since 1996.

Star(s) to watch : Amy Adams (”Serving Sara”, “Catch Me If You Can”, “Enchanted”) as Amelia Earhart, Owen Wilson (”Armageddon”, “Anaconda”, “Behind Enemy Lines”) as Jedediah, Ben Stiller (”The Heartbreak Kid”, “Envy”) as Larry Daley, Hank Azaria (”Godzilla”, “Heat”, “Run Fatboy Run”) as Kah Mun Rah, Eugene Levy (”Repli-Kate”, “American Pie”, “Multiplicity”, “The Man”) as Einstein, & Steve Coogan (”Hot Fuzz”, “Around the World in 80 Days”) as Octavius.

Director(s) : Shawn Levy.
Producer(s) : Shawn Levy, Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Thomas M. Hammel, Josh McLaglen, & Mark Radcliffe.
Genre : Action, Comedy.
Release date : May 22, 2009
Official website : http://www.NightAtTheMuseumMovie.com

ANGELS&DEMONS (2009)

"The holiest event of our time. Perfect for their return."

Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals.

Ron Howard again directs the film.

When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati — the most powerful underground organization in history — he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church.

When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist.

Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.

Star(s) to watch : Ewan McGregor (”Star Wars”, “Deception”, “The Island”) as Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca, Tom Hanks (”Forrest Gump”, “The Green Mile”, “Road to Perdition”, “The Ladykillers”, “Catch Me If You Can”, “Apollo 13″) as Robert Langdon, & Stellan Skarsgard (”Deep Blue Sea”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”) as Richter.

Fact : Based on source material from best-selling novel “Angels & Demons” by Dan Brown, the author of “The Da Vinci Code”.

Note : A showbiz veteran of over 40 years, Ron Howard also directed “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), “Ransom” (1996), & “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000).

Director(s) : Ron Howard.
Producer(s) : Brian Grazer & John Calley.
Genre : Thriller, Adaptation, Crime, Drama, Mystery.
Release date : May 15, 2009
Official website : http://www.angelsanddemons.com/

STAR TREK (2009)

“The wait is over. The future begins.”

A chronicle of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

The early days of James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and first outer space mission.

Star(s) to watch : Eric Bana (”Troy”, “Hulk”) as Nero, Karl Urban (”The Lord of the Rings”, “The Bourne Supremacy”) as Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, Jennifer Morrison (”Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, “Urban Legends: Final Cut”, “Big Stan”) as Winona Kirk, Winona Ryder (”Alien: Resurrection”) as Amanda Grayson, Bruce Greenwood (”The Core”, “Deja Vu”, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”, “Double Jeopardy”, “Passenger 57″, “Eight Below”, “Racing Stripes”) as Christopher Pike, Chris Pine (”Smokin’ Aces”, “Just My Luck”) as Kirk, John Cho (”Evolution”, “American Beauty”, “American Pie”, “Harold & Kumar”) as Hikaru Sulu, Simon Pegg (”Shaun of the Dead”, “Mission: Impossible III”) as Scotty, & Zachary Quinto as Spock.

Director(s) : J.J. Abrams.

Producer(s) : Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, & Bryan Burk.

Fact : Also known as “Star Trek XI”, “Star Trek: Corporate Headquarters”, and “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy”, “Star Trek” is one of the most popular entertainment franchises in the world.

Note : From director J.J. Abrams (“Mission: Impossible III,” “Lost”) and screenwriters Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (“Transformers,” “MI: III”) comes a new vision of the greatest space adventure of all time, “Star Trek,” featuring a young, new crew venturing boldly where no man has gone before.

Director(s) : J.J. Abrams.
Producer(s) : Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, & Bryan Burk.
Genre : Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Adaptation, Sequel, Drama.
Release date : May 8, 2009
Official website : http://startrekmovie.com/

NEXT DAY AIR (2009)

"It's all in the delivery."

When a misguided UPS driver inadvertently delivers a package containing concealed bricks of cocaine to the wrong address, it sets in motion a desperate search and battle for the coke between the furious dealer that sent it, the fearful intended recipients that missed it, and the conniving accidental recipients that plan to flip it.
Time is running out and everyone’s trying to get their hands on the package that’s been sent.
When an overnight shipment of drugs winds up in the hands of the wrong recipient, all parties involved embark on a break-neck quest to retreive the lost goods.

Fact : Donald Faison, a big “Star Wars” fan, is best friends with “Scrubs” co-star Zach Braff.

Note : Hip-hop artist’ name, Mos Def, is a slang term that means “most definitely”. His name is quite appropriate in regards to his character in “The Italian Job” (2003), who went deaf after blowing up a toilet.

Star(s) to watch : Yasmin Deliz as Chita, Donald Faison as Leo, & Mos Def (”The Italian Job”, “16 Blocks”) as Eric.

Director(s) : Benny Boom.
Producer(s) : Bryan Turner, Bruce McNall, Scott Aronson, Melina Kevorkian, & Wood Harris.
Genre : Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime.
Release date : May 8, 2009
Official website : http://www.NextDayAir-Movie.com

BATTLE FOR TERRA (2007)

"They are coming"

Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) is a precocious girl living on the beautiful planet Terra, a place where peace and tolerance are celebrated.
Unbeknownst to Mala and her fellow Terrians, the last inhabitants of Earth have exhausted the resources of their planet and those of three others, and are now searching for a new home.
This Earthforce has discovered that the use of a Terraformer will make Terra habitable for humans but poisonous for Terrians.
When the Earthlings embark on a hostile invasion of Terra, Mala’s father, Roven (Dennis Quaid), is kidnapped.
Hoping to save her father, Mala captures and hides a crashed human pilot named Jim (Luke Wilson).
While Mala nurses Jim back to health, the two forge a friendship and a plan that could save both the human race and the planet of Terra.
Soon, however, they realize that peace will not be secured unless they can combat both the Terraformer and dark political forces that will stop at nothing in their drive to achieve power for power’s sake.
While Terra’s message that peace is a question of free will and choice is a potent one, the exuberance of Mala and her young friends carries the film.
Director Aristomenis Tsirbas paints a landscape of pastoral pleasure, and our admiration for Terra’s idyllic vistas is only heightened when they are invaded.

Fact : Featuring the voices of Chris Evans (as the voice of Stewart Stanton), Dennis Quaid (as the voice of Roven), Justin Long (as the voice of Senn), Luke Wilson (as the voice of Lt. James Stanton), Brian Cox (as the voice of General Hemmer), Danny Glover (as the voice of President Chen), & Amanda Peet (as the voice of Maria).

Note : Also known as “Terra”, this 3-d adventure is written and directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas.

Director(s) : Aristomenis Tsirbas.
Producer(s) : Jessica Wu, Dane Allan Smith, Ryan Colucci, & Keith Calder.
Genre : Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Animation, Adventure.
Release date : May 1, 2009
Official website : http://www.BattleForTerra.com/