The Savages
Opening December 26, 2007
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play the titular Savages: siblings dealing with the decline of an ageing, laissez faire father. What more do you need to know? Linney and Hoffman could sit around playing bridge for three hours and I'd go see it. Written and directed by Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills), the Savages is Buffalo-set, snowbound, and bleakly comic. With such strong leads, it promises sparring of early Rocky quality. -S.T.



Cassandra's Dream
Opening December 28, 2007

Cassandra’s Dream represents the third installment in Woody Allen's “London Trilogy”. Thankfully, he’s gone back to Matchpoint-style drama after the relative disappointment of Scoop. Woody Allen making stronger dramas then comedies; has the world turned upside down? Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor star as brothers who compete for the love of a young Eve-like archetype (played by Hayley Atwell), who places them in a dangerous rivalry. -R.T.



Grace is Gone
Opening January 11, 2008
Writer/director, James C. Strouse, penned the undervalued Lonesome Jim, and he has a deft touch with unconventional melancholy. His directorial debut stars proverbial everyman, John Cusack, as Stanley Phillips, a recent widower that opts to take his two daughters on a road-tip to an amusement park rather than tell them of their soldier mother's demise. It's like Vacation with pathos rather than Randy Quaid. Trading his typical assuredness and comic erudition for sorrowful awkwardness, Cusack should get plenty of attention come awards season. Marissa Tomei and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug) have supporting roles while Clint Eastwood provides the musical score (seriously). -S.T.



City of Men
Opening January 18, 2008
I could never live in the city in question (i.e. Rio de Janeiro); it's not my Portuguese, which is fantastic (i.e. eu não posso falar uma palavra); I'm just not very manly; I'll admit it. On the other hand, best friends Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha) are almost men (closer than me, anyways). Growing up in the slums of Rio, the two are torn apart and struggle to get back together without getting killed or sunburned. Based on the hugely popular Brazilian television show of the same name, City of Men should boast some of the same sun-drenched violence as City of God, which shares its producers. -S.T.