Opened in Movie Theaters from August 24th (2)

Mr. Bean's Holiday

It is raining and dreary in London. The waterlogged Mr. Bean has fortunately won first prize in a church raffle: a train trip to the French Riviera and new video camera. After taking the Eurostar to Paris, Bean arrives at the Gare du Nord station and casually films Sabine (Emma de Caunes), who has stopped to give a street performer money. Comic confusion at the station's taxi stand results in Bean's arriving at the wrong next stop. He sets off for the correct station -- walking through traffic on the ChampsÉlysées -- only to find himself the angry object of the paparazzi when he obscures their intended target, the arrogant film director Carson Clay (Willem Dafoe). Finally arriving at Gare Du Lyon, Bean misses his train to Cannes. He passes time at a restaurant, where he is served a platter of langoustine (which he eats complete with shell) and oysters so repellant that he tips them into a woman's handbag.

On the platform, he asks a Russian named Emil (KAREL RODEN) to film him on holiday. Emil obliges, but is left standing on the platform as the train pulls away with his son, Stepan (Max Baldry), stuck on the shuttle with Bean.

At the next station, Stepan leaves the train with Bean's camera. Just as Bean follows him, however, the train departs with Bean's bag onboard. Emil passes on a fast train, holding a sign with a partially obscured number and his destination of "Cannes." Bean and Stepan board the next train south to catch him, but (of course) Bean realizes he has lost his wallet. The ticketless two are quickly ejected from the train.

The following morning, well-meaning Bean and mischievous Stepan turn to street performance at a local market to earn money. The audience loves their two-man show, and throws coins at the urchins. Things are finally looking up as Bean spots a bus to Cannes. Naturally, Bean's ticket flutters away while Stepan is driven away.

That night, Bean sleeps in a hay cart and wakes to find himself in a quaint French village. An explosion and soldiers in the square cause Bean to spring into action. Just as he wrestles a Nazi and "rescues" a café girl, Carson Clay -- shooting a commercial -- angrily shouts, "Cut!" Meanwhile, the clueless Bean unwittingly sets the director up to unleash an explosive that blows up the set. It's time to get out of there, "tout de suite." Sabine, on her way to Cannes, assumes the hitchhiking Bean is a filmmaker and explains she is going to attend the premiere of her new film. At a motorway café, they
meet up with Stepan. The three of them continue south in Sabine's Mini Cooper, with Sabine assuming Stepan is Bean's son and Stepan believing Sabine is Bean's girlfriend.

At a fuel station, Bean's photograph is broadcast on television as the suspected abductor of Stepan. As Sabine's picture also flashes on the screen, she makes an escape plan. On being stopped at a police roadblock, Bean and Stepan disguise themselves, and Sabine explains she is late for her premiere and the police offer an escort.

They arrive at the Palais des Festivals in time for the premiere of Sabine's film, and Bean and Stepan sneak into the auditorium -- where the film is playing to a fidgety, bored audience. Onscreen there is a flash of Sabine, but her part has been largely cut. The ingenious and gallant Bean slips into the projection box, plugs in his camera and projects his holiday video on screen. As guards enter the booth, Bean escapes through the window. While the guards race toward Bean, Stepan appears and is happily reunited with Emil.

The thrilled audience applauds, believing "Carson Clay's" new film a masterpiece. Amidst all the chaos (and Clay's undeserved bows), Bean glances out of a doorway and spies the beach. At last, his whimsical journey is complete.

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe, Emma de Caunes, Jean Rochefort

Directed by Steve Bendelack, Robin Driscoll, Hamish McColl

Rated: G, General Audiences-All Ages Admitted

Running Time - Not Availiable

Genre - Comedy



Illegal Tender


After the gangsters who killed his father come to settle a score, a teenage boy and his mother turn the tables on the killers. Producer John Singleton ("Four Brothers," "Hustle & Flow") and writer/director Franc. Reyes ("Empire") join forces to tell the story of one Latino family's quest for honor and revenge as the hunted become the hunters in the new thriller "Illegal Tender."

Wilson De Leon, Jr. (Rick Gonzalez) is an exceptional college student with an adoring girlfriend, doting mother and a future full of promise. He has never wanted for anything, and he has never been forced to stand his ground. But when ghosts from his mother's past come back to haunt his present, he must defend his family...and quickly turn into the strong man his father prayed he'd become.

Nothing could stop Wilson's mother, Millie (Wanda De Jesus), from protecting her two boys. Forced to flee her home after gangsters killed her husband, she made an oath to give her children only the best. But all that changes when an enemy from the past catches up with them. It's finally time to take action--and now, they're done running.

Weapons at the ready, Wilson, Jr. and Millie prepare for a final showdown with the murderer who robbed him of a father and her of a husband. Now, in a battle fueled by family ties and blood feuds, it will become very clear what happens when anyone tries to come between this son and his mother.

Starring: Rick Gonzalez, Wanda De Jesus, Dania Ramirez, Tego Calderon, Manny Perez, Gary Perez

Directed by Franc. Reyes

Rated: R for violence, language and some sexuality

Running Time - Not Availiable

Genre - Thriller

Opening in Theaters - Friday, August 24th, 2007 (NY, LA)



The Hottest State


Adapted by Ethan Hawke from his own novel of the same name, "The Hottest State" is a bittersweet romance that distills the joy, pain, erotic highs, and emotional lows of first love. Ethan Hawke directs and co-stars in the film along with Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Laura Linney.

Days before his 21st birthday, William (Mark Webber), an actor, meets and quickly falls madly in love with Sara (Oscar-nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno), a seductive yet elusive singer/songwriter. The film follows William from a Lower East Side tenement to a Mexican hotel room to a snowbound weekend in Connecticut to a sweltering homecoming in the hottest state of all - Texas - in the pursuit of Sara. His stubborn and sweetly innocent quest to find someone who loves him as much as he loves her may not lead to happiness, but surely leads to newfound maturity.


Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Laura Linney, Mark Webber, Michelle Williams, Sonia Braga, Ethan Hawke

Directed by Ethan Hawke

Rated: R for sexual content and language

Running Time - 117 min.

Genre - Drama

Opening in Theaters - Friday, August 24th, 2007 (NY, LA)



Dedication


Henry Roth is messed up. A New York children's book author who tells kids that Santa doesn't exist, he hates sleeping with- and next to- anyone, including his girlfriend and must lay on the floor, usually with heavy objects on top of him just to feel safe. His motto is "Life is nothing but the occasional burst of laughter rising above the interminable wail of grief." "Dedication," a modern love story in which a misanthropic, emotionally complex author of a hit children's book series (Billy Crudup) is forced to team with a beautiful illustrator (Mandy Moore) after his best friend and creative collaborator (Tom Wilkinson) passes away marks the directorial debut of Justin Theroux. As Henry struggles with letting go of the ghosts of love and life, he discovers that maybe all it takes is a little dedication.

Starring: Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, Martin Freeman, Bob Balaban, Dianne Wiest, Bobby Cannavale, Amy Sedaris, Peter Bogdanovich

Directed by Justin Theroux, David Bromberg

Rated: NONE

Running Time - Not Available

Genre - Comedy, Drama, Romance

Opening in Theaters - Friday, August 24th, 2007 (NY, LA; expands Sept. 14)