January Film Releases - Portrait Magazine, January 2010 Issue

January Film Releases
Written Melissa (Age 25, USA)


It can be all too easy to spot the problem with January movies. The romantic movies aren’t out yet and Oscar deadlines have been reached. There are fairly slim pickings this month but still a few decent movies worth seeing.


January 8th:

Pick of the Week: Leap Year.

Crazy on the Outside
Tim Allen & Ray Liotta
Tommy is fresh out of prison and ready for a second chance in life. Enter his loving sister Vicky, her cynical husband Ed and their family. Tommy moves in with them, and when it comes to explaining to Grandma Tommy’s whereabouts for the last three years, the truth-challenged Vicky has the answer: “He’s been in France!”


Leap Year
Amy Adams & Matthew Goode
Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in "Leap Year", a romantic comedy that follows one woman’s determined quest to get married to the perfect guy…despite what fate has in store for her. When their four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna (Amy Adams) decides to take matters into her own hands. Investing in an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on February 29th, Anna decides to follow her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) to Dublin and get down on one knee herself. But airplanes, weather and fate leave Anna stranded on the other side of Ireland, and she must enlist the help of handsome and surly Declan (Matthew Goode) to get her across the country. As Anna and Declan bicker across the Emerald Isle, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places.


The Loss of a TearDrop Diamond
Chris Evans & Bryce Dallas Howard
A young and rebellious socialite Fisher Willow, tainted by a family scandal, boldly hires farm hand Jimmy Dobyne to be her escort for the elaborate party season. As her passion for Jimmy grows, Fisher defies social convention and the burden of history to risk everything for a chance at real love... until the loss of a priceless diamond sets off a series of accusations and betrayals that threaten to shatter their hopes for the future. With his indelible characters and breathtaking Southern backdrops, Williams paints a heartbreaking tale of seduction and loss.


Youth in Revolt
Michael Cera & Steve Buscemi
"Youth in Revolt" is the irreverent story about the wild adventures of a teenage boy named Nick Twisp who meets the girl of his dreams while on a family vacation and has to turn his life and the lives of all those around him upside down in order to be with her.


January 15th:

Pick of the Week: Let Me In.

Let Me In.
Kodi Smit-McPhee & Chloe Moretz
Let Me In is the remake of the Swedish film “Let The Right One In.” The vampire movie became a bit of a cult hit among vampire enthusiasts (those who agree that vampires don’t sparkle.) While not a horror movie, this one is dark and intense. It tells the story of a bullied young boy who befriends a young female vampire. I recommend first watching the original to truly capture the magic. Anyone who wants to know what a vampire movie looks like at its best should watch this movie.

The Spy Next Door
Jackie Chan & Billy Ray
Jackie Chan is set to star in "The Spy Next Door," an action-comedy which centers on a man (Chan) who is called to baby-sit his neighbor's children and winds up having to fight off secret agents after one of the kids inadvertently downloads a secret code.


January 22nd :

Pick of the Week:

Extraordinary Measures
Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser & Keri Russell
From his working class roots, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) has finally begun to taste success in corporate America. Supported by his beautiful wife Aileen (Keri Russell) and their three children, John is on the fast track. But just as his career is taking off, Crowley walks away from it all when his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with a fatal disease. With Aileen by his side, harnessing all of his skill and determination, Crowley teams up with a brilliant, but unappreciated and unconventional scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug. One driven to prove himself and his theories, the other by a chance to save his children, this unlikely alliance eventually develops into mutual respect as they battle the medical and business establishments in a fight against the system – and time.

But, at the last minute, when it appears that a solution has been found, the relationship between the two men faces a final test - the outcome of which will affect the fate of John's children.


Legion
Paul Bettany & Dennis Quaid
In the supernatural action thriller "Legion", an out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany).

Tooth Fairy
Dwayne Johnson & Julie Andrews
Dwayne Johnson is “The Tooth Fairy,” also known as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster’s hopes, he’s sentenced to one week’s hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek “can’t handle the tooth” – bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers’ homes…doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

January 29th:

Pick of the Week: When In Rome

When In Rome
Kristen Bell, Will Arnett & Josh Duhamel
An ambitious young New Yorker (Kristen Bell), disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a "foolish" fountain of love, inexplicably igniting the passion of an odd group of suitors: a sausage magnate (Danny DeVito), a street magician (Jon Heder), an adoring painter (Will Arnett) and a self-admiring model (Dax Shepard). But when a charming reporter (Josh Duhamel) pursues her with equal zest, how will she know if his love is the real thing?

Synopses from www.movieinsider.com