New Movies This Week

A colorful team of former Special Forces soldiers were set up for a crime they did not commit. Going "rogue," they utilize their unique talents to try and clear their names and find the true culprit.

Her family home in danger of being repossessed after her meth-cooking dad skips bail and disappears, Ozark teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) breaks the local code of conduct by confronting her kin about their conspiracy of silence. Should she fail to track her father down, Ree Dolly, her younger siblings, and their disabled mother will soon be rendered homeless.

DOBERMANN’s Jan Kounen directs this drama that chronicles the romance between fashion designer Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis, MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT) and composer Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen, CASINO ROYALE). Though the unlikely pair meet in Paris in 1913, it isn’t until seven years later--after the death of Chanel’s lover Arthur "Boy" Capel and Stravinsky’s exile following the Russian Revolution--that they realize their attraction.

Joan Rivers launched her career as a standup comic in the early '60s, a time when female comedians were few and far between, and after several years of working nightclubs to unresponsive audiences, she was booked on THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON in 1965 and soon became one of the most successful comedy acts in the nation. Since then, Rivers has hosted several TV talk shows, written best-selling books, directed a feature film, launched a line of jewelry, and kept up a busy schedule of personal appearances, determined to hold on to her stardom regardless of the fickle winds of show business. Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg followed Rivers through a typically eventful year in her life, and in JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK, they offer a look at the woman behind the laughter as she struggles to stay in the spotlight, works on new material, launches a one-woman show in the United Kingdom that doesn't fare as well as she hopes, takes a chance as a participant on a reality TV show, and ponders her career in show business at the age of 75. JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

After the critical success of STREET FIGHT, which documented upstart Cory Booker's hard-fought effort to unseat embattled Newark mayor Sharpe James, filmmaker Marshall Curry switches gears with RACING DREAMS, a look at three adolescents who race in the World Karting Association. With racers driving karts that reach up to 70 mph, the World Karting Association has come to be seen as a sort of unofficial minor leagues for NASCAR, and Annabeth Barnes, Josh Hobson, and Brandon Warren -- all between 11 and 13 years old, are promising young stars of the circuit. Curry's film explores the dynamics of kart racing, and takes an intimate look at all three kids and the individual challenges they face. Hobson, who idolizes Jeff Gordon, is the slickest of the three. He does well in school, and practices his interview skills along with his driving. The brash Warren struggles to control his temper, which has gotten him into trouble on the track, while Barnes finds herself missing out on the ordinary pleasures of childhood, and wonders whether or not she's ready to commit her life to racing. Curry also shows how economic and gender issues impact the kids' ability to compete in the expensive sport. While Warren comes from a disadvantaged background and depends on finding a sponsor to be able to fulfill his dreams, Barnes is fortunate enough to be a top female competitor at a time when NASCAR is actively trying to promote diversity in its ranks. RACING DREAMS had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary Feature, and placed second for the Audience Award.

Canine comic strip star Marmaduke leaps to the big screen with this family-friendly comedy starring Owen Wilson as the voice of the Great Dane. Also lending their voices to the production are Steve Coogan, pop star Fergie, George Lopez, and the brotherly duo of Damon and Marlon Wayans, with William H. Macy and Judy Greer heading up the human cast.

Staten Island filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio reveal how an urban legend conjured up to keep kids from exploring abandoned buildings became a horrifying reality when a mysterious drifter began abducting children in their tight-knit, urban neighborhood. Growing up, Zeman and Brancaccio were deluged with terrifying tales of Cropsy, a murderous mental patient prone to snatching children off the streets and taking them to the derelict buildings that were once part of the Willowbrook Mental Institution. Some claimed Crospy had a hook for a hand; others claimed his weapon of choice was a large axe. In 1987, that legend crossed the boundary into reality when 13 year old Jennifer Schweiger vanished without a trace. Her disappearance sent shockwaves of fear through the community, but it was only the first. Before long Crospey had a name: Andre Rand. When a photo of a handcuffed Rand was released in the press, the public didn't need a conviction to know he was the man who had been preying on their children. In this film, Zeman and Brancaccio go back to the scene of the crimes to search for clues, and speak with the locals about how the case has haunted them for decades.

Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières) is a medical aid organization that since 1971 has been sending doctors and nurses all over the world, working in over 60 countries to bring badly needed treatment to people whose lives are threatened by either man-made or natural catastrophes. Working in some of the poorest and most devastated corners of the globe, the men and women of Doctors Without Borders are willing to travel wherever they are needed, remaining nonpartisan when working in a nation at war and providing care for all who need it regardless of religious, political, or national affiliation. Filmmaker Mark Hopkins has created a powerful look at this organization and the people who make it work in the documentary LIVING IN EMERGENCY: STORIES OF DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS. While a large number of medical professionals volunteer to work with DWB, the Paris-based organization accepts only a small percentage, having learned through experience that the demands of working in the midst of war, natural disaster, or an epidemic is more than many of them are able to deal with. And while the film documents the group's many successes around the world, Hopkins and the healers he profiles are clearly aware of the high stakes they deal with, and that doing the right thing is sometimes an uphill battle with fewer rewards than one might hope. LIVING IN EMERGENCY was an official selection at the 2009 Miami International Film Festival.

CUBE director Vincenzo Natali offers up another visual feast with this sci-fi thriller starring acclaimed actors Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. SPLICE follows a pair of scientists who have found success with creating genetic hybrids of various animals. When they attempt to add human DNA to the their formula, the results are both surprising and potentially destructive.

The Royal Ballet mounted this production of Sir Frederick Ashton and composer Hans Werner Henze's 1958 fantasy-themed ballet Ondine in 2009. The principal dancers in this production include Miyako Yoshida in the title role of the legendary water nymph, Edward Watson as Palemon, Genesia Rosato as Berta and Ricardo Cervera dancing as Tirrenio, supported by the Artists of the Royal Ballet. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House provides symphonic accompaniment, conducted by Barry Wordsworth; Christopher Carr and Grant Coyle did the staging.