For Greater Glory

The Cristeros War may be one of the “best kept secrets” of early twentieth century Mexican history. Touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government’s attempt to secularize the country, the Cristeros War was a battle for religious freedom that was fought by an impassioned group of men and women who risked everything for family, faith and the future of their country.

The Greater Glory brings the Cristeros War to the silver screen. Based on this long-hidden, true story, The Greater Glory chronicles the war and tells how General Enrique Gorostieta (Andy Garcia), a retired military man, transformed a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force that literally took on the Mexican army.

Facing impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government, Gorostieta was at the center of a violent civil war in which over 90,000 people lost their lives. From feisty renegades to youthful idealists and ordinary citizens, the cause was taken up by a brave group of people who understood that their freedom and way of lives was at stake.

Directed by Dean Wright and written by Michael Love, this ARC Entertainment drama is set for release on June 1, 2012. For Greater Glory also stars Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole, Oscar Isaac, Ruben Blades, Bruce Greenwood, Nestor Carbonell, Bruce McGill, Santiago Cabrera, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Eduardo Verastegui.

Trishna

This modern interpretation of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, “Tess of the D’Urbervilles,” tells the tragic story of Trishna (Freida Pinto), a woman whose life is destroyed by a combination of love and circumstances. Set in contemporary India, Trishna was directed by Michael Winterbottom and filmed in Jaipur and Mumbai.

Trishna, the daughter of an auto rickshaw owner, lives with her family in a village in Rajasthan, and works at a nearby resort to help the family make ends meet. Jay (Riz Ahmed) is the wealthy and privileged son of a British property developer who has come to India to work in his father’s hotel business.

After the two young people’s paths cross at a dance, Jay works hard to win Trishna’s affection. Eventually Trishna goes to work for Jay, they fall in love, and they move to Mumbai where they can live as a couple. Soon their paradise is shattered, as they face the pressures of family and societal bonds. A haunting exploration of emotional dependence, Trishna examines the tension between codes of urban and rural life, and of the disparities between privilege and poverty.

An IFC Film, Trishna is set for limited U.S. release on July 13, 2012. The drama is rated R, for sexuality, some violence, drug use and language.

Prometheus

It’s late in the 21st century, and archeologists have discovered identical star maps amidst the ruins of several ancient civilizations that were previously believed to be completely disconnected. Based on these star maps, the crew of the Prometheus, a highly-advanced, top of-the-line ISRV (Insterstellar Research Vessel), is dispatched on a scientific mission. Their goal: to follow the map to a distant planet, in the hopes of discovering the origins of mankind.

Led by Captain Jeremiah Janek (Idris Elba), the Prometheus’ mission is sponsored by the Weyland Corporation, which is actually hoping to use the mission’s findings for its own financial gain. What the crew discovers, though, is a distant world and advanced civilization that threatens mankind’s very existence. In the end, they’re forced to fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

With Prometheus, director Ridley Scott (“Alien” and “Blade Runner”) returns to the genre he helped define. Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, Prometheus is a science fiction adventure that will be coming to the big screen in Imax 3-D on June 8, 2012.

The film also stars Noomi Rapace as archeologist Elizabeth Shaw, Michael Fassbender as android David, Guy Pearce as Weyland Corp.’s multibillionaire founder and CEO, Logan Marshall-Green as scientist (and Shaw’s love interest) Charlie Holloway, and Charlize Theron as Meridith Vickers, the Weyland Corporation employee who is sent along to monitor the expedition.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

The beloved Madagascar gang is back! Following their escape from Africa, Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippopotamus (Jada Pinkett Smith) are determined to return to New York.

Of course, since they’re dependent on the mechanical know-how of the chimps and penguins, their plan inevitably runs into a snag. Instead of New York, the gang ends up in Monte Carlo! With animal control’s Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) in pursuit, they jump into a train and find themselves as the newest members of a traveling circus.

Led by a Siberian tiger named Vitaly (Bryan Cranston), the circus is in the midst of a European tour. Although the circus has seen better days, our heroes help Vitaly and the other circus animals rediscover their passion and reinvent the circus in true Madagascar style.

Madagascar 3 is the first installment of the animated Madagascar series to come out in both 3-D and 2-D. Directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Noah Baumbach, this Dreamworks Animation film is set for general release on June 8, 2012, with a world premiere at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in May 2012. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is rated PG, for some mild action and rude humor.

Cosmopolis

In Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg, the Canadian master of psychological drama, takes on the roles of both screenwriter and director to bring Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name to life. Starring Twilight’s Robert Pattinson as 28 year-old billionaire asset manager Eric Packer, Cosmopolis is set in New York City in the not-too-distant future. While being chauffeured across the city in a stretch limo in order to get a haircut, Packer’s day devolves into a surprising odyssey as his world begins to unravel.

The yuan’s exchange rate begins to rise unexpectedly, destroying Packer’s bet against it. A visit from the President of the United States paralyses Manhattan. He becomes convinced that his assassination is imminent. Petrified of what is going on around him, Packer’s paranoia runs wild as he lives the most decisive 24 hours of his life.

Cosmopolis also features Jay Baruchel as Shiner, Paul Giamatti as Benno Levin, Kevin Durand as Torval, Juliette Binoche as Didi Fancher, and Samantha Morton as Vija Kinsky.

Rise of the Guardians

As explained in the trailer for this upcoming animated action adventure film, the protagonists of Rise of the Guardians go by many names and take many forms. They bring wonder, hope, joy and dreams. And they take their job to protect the children of the world very, very seriously.

Who are they? They are the Sandman, Jack Frost (Chris Pine), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher) and Santa Claus (Alec Baldwin). Their powers are greater than we ever imagined. As long as children believe in them, these Guardians will guard the children with their own lives.

Which is a good thing, because when an evil spirit known as Pitch, the Nightmare King (Jude Law) throws down the gauntlet and brings the world into “total darkness,” the immortal Guardians must join forces against him. Offering a creative and original look at some very familiar childhood figures, Rise of the Guardians is a visually thrilling, epic adventure.

Directed by Peter Ramsey and written by David Lindsay-Abaire, this DreamWorks Animation production is set for release on November 21, 2012 in 3D and digital 2D. Also features Dakota Goyo as Jamie, a child whose belief in the guardians has faltered.

Jack and Diane

In what has been called a wholly unique film by Magnolia Pictures, Jack and Diane is a drama thriller that is essentially a teenage lesbian werewolf love story. Tomboy Jack (Riley Keough) and bubbly Diane (Juno Temple) are two teenage girls who meet in New York City. After spending the night ferociously kissing, the two fall head over heels in love. In fact, their first love feelings are so intense that neither is prepared for the joys and terrors that it brings.

When Diane reveals that she must leave the country in a week to head off to school in Europe, Jack tries to push her away. Unable to wrap her head around her feelings, Diane begins to be plagued by increasingly dark and violent werewolf-like visions – something she tries to conceal from Jack.

As the film progresses, it becomes clear that Diane is experiencing more than just visions. Her emotions have begun to cause unexplainable violent changes to her body. Diane struggles to keep the couple’s love alive while hiding the secret that her newly awakened sexual desire occasionally causes her to turn into a werewolf.

Writer and Director Bradley Rust Gray weaves horror elements into this distinctive first-love story. Rated R, the film is set for release on November 2, 2012.

Hyde Park on Hudson

In this upcoming biographical drama from Focus Features, Bill Murray is cast in the role of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). Set in June 1939, Hyde Park on Hudson focuses on a curious moment in FDR’s life and sheds light on his love affair with his distant cousin, Margaret Stuckley (Laura Linney).

Seen through Stuckley’s eyes, the movie recounts the story of a weekend visit by the British King (Samuel West) and Queen (Olivia Colman) to the Roosevelt’s vacation home, which was located at Hyde Park on Hudson in upstate New York.

At the time that this first-ever visit of a reigning English monarch to America took place, Britain was facing imminent war with Germany. The King and Queen arrived at Hyde Park on Hudson desperately hoping to secure FDR’s support in the inevitable war with the Nazis. The film mixes the political wrangling that this entails with domestic drama, as Roosevelt’s wife, mother and mistresses all conspire to make the royal weekend unforgettable. In the end, the weekend results in a special relationship between the U.S. and Great Britain.

Directed by Roger Michell and written by Richard Nelson as an adaptation of his own 2009 radio play, Hyde Park on Hudson is set for release on December 7, 2012 (i.e. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day). The movie also features Olivia Williams as Eleanor Roosevelt and Elizabeth Wilson as Mrs. Roosevelt.

Butter

In a comedy that many will view as a not-so-thinly-veiled political commentary, Butter is a story of cut-throat competition in a closely watched Iowa contest: the annual butter carving championship. After 15 years in the limelight as the beautiful assistant to her artistically gifted husband, Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell), Iowa’s long-reigning butter carving champ, Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner) is ready to tackle a new challenge. When her hubby is pressured to retire from the butter carving world, Laura decides to enter the championship herself.

Standing at the front of the line on sign-up day, Laura is determined to take the butter championship crown. Her odds of victory fall, however, with the arrival of some formidable contenders. First, there is Destiny (Yara Shahidi), the highly talented young African-American foster child of local couple Julie and Ethan (Alicia Silverstone and Rob Corddry). Then there’s Bob’s number one fan, Carol-Ann (Kristen Schaal). And to add insult to injury, Bob’s would-be mistress, bad-girl stripper Brooke (Olivia Wilde), enters the contest as well.

Angry with her husband and mocked by her stepdaughter Kaitlen (Ashley Greene), Laura will stop at nothing to win – including recruiting her dim-witted former boyfriend Boyd (Hugh Jackman) as a co-conspirator in her plans for sabotage.

The Weinstein Company plans an October 5, 2012 release for the R-rated film, which is directed by Jim Field Smith and written by Jason Micallef.

 

Wreck it Ralph

Life as a character in a video game can get old – especially when you’re playing the role of the bad guy. In fact, after decades of doing the same thing and always being overshadowed by “good guy” Fix-It Felix (voice of Jack McBrayer from “30 Rock”), Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly from “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Step Brothers”) decides to make matters into his own hands.

Leaving his own video game behind, Ralph takes off into the arcade on a game-hopping journey through every generation of video games. His mission: to prove that he’s not such a bad guy after all, and that in fact he’s got what it takes to be a hero.

On his quest, Ralph finds his way into a game called Hero’s Duty, where he meets tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch from TV’s “Glee”). Inside Hero’s Duty Ralph plays the hero to fight off oncoming bugs…and in the process accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy. Feisty misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman from “The Sarah Silverman Program”) from the candy-coated cart racing game Sugar Rush realizes that Ralph’s actions have threatened her world. Will Ralph realize his dream of becoming a hero, and save Vanellope’s world – as well as the entire arcade – from the deadly threat before it’s too late?

Wreck-It Ralph is the next animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures. Coming to theatres on November 2, 2012 in both 3D and 2D, Wreck-It Ralph was directed by Rich Moore.