Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Opening October 3, 2008
Suburban white kids love mixtapes and their modern day equivalent (i.e. playlists). They also love love stories with indie rock soundtracks, trips to the city, and Michael Cera. Here, the checklist gets fulfilled as a heartbroken Nick (Cera) heads to New York, has a cute meeting with similarly spurned Nora (Kat Dennings), and sets out on a music inspired picaresque adventure. It sounds like a tween dream and it probably is, but appearances by Justin Rice (Mutual Appreciation) and his band, Bishop Allen, as well as Jay Baruchel (Undeclared, Million Dollar Baby) give it a hit of geek-cool appeal. Furthermore, director Peter Sollett helmed 2002's strong Raising Victor Vargas so he knows how to handle an adolescent romance. -S.T.



Pride and Glory
Opening October 24, 2008
The family/fraternity of cops thing has been done before (Striking Distance, the Departed, Cop Land), but never with a title that so strongly invoked sports films. Ed Norton, who's boundlessly capable but due for a hit (commercial or otherwise), stars as conflicted cop, Ray Tierney, whose investigation into misdeeds, murder, and corruption within the department could lead him dangerously close to his brother (Noah Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Colin Farrell). The strong cast should buoy the familiar material. Thanks to In Bruges, Farrell has hopefully shaken the good-actor-in-bad-films tag. Also, Jon Voight should spruce up the thankless patriarch roll - he plays Tierney Sr. - and I've never seen Emmerich in a film I didn't like (though, I've only seen Beautiful Girls, the Truman Show, and the aforementioned Cop Land). Will there be Mexican standoffs and bravado? There had better be. -S.T.