PLUS SALMA HAYEK, TOM HANKS AND OTHER STARS SAY SWEET THINGS ABOUT CHOCOLATE

the | big | picture |
now in theatres
I BY INGRID RANDOJA
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
WHO’S IN IT? Camilla Belle,
Tessa Thompson
WHO DIRECTED? Simon West
(Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? In 1979 babysitters
everywhere were traumatized by this
nail-biter about a sitter who is harassed by
a mysterious caller who keeps asking her,
“Have you checked the children?” Now, a
whole new generation of kiddie keepers
will be freaked out by the remake that
looks as if it still packs a scary punch.
• HITS THEATRES FEBRUARY 3
FEBRUARY 3
SPYMATE
WHO’S IN IT? Chris Potter, Emma Roberts
WHO DIRECTED? Robert Vince (MVP: Most
Valuable Primate)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? The daughter (Roberts) of a
retired spy (Potter) is kidnapped by an evil
scientist, requiring dad to enlist the help of
his pal, Minky the monkey, to help save her.
FEBRUARY 10
FINAL DESTINATION 3
WHO’S IN IT? Mary Elizabeth Winstead
WHO DIRECTED? James Wong (The One)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Death doesn’t take a holiday
in Hollywood as studio execs continue to
greenlight flicks for this unkillable series.
High school senior Wendy Christensen
(Winstead) has a premonition a roller
coaster will crash and convinces her friends
to get off. It does crash, but death doesn’t
like cheaters, and the teens spend the rest
of the movie trying to avoid the Grim Reaper.
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
WHO’S IN IT? Matthew McConaughey,
Sarah Jessica Parker
WHO DIRECTED? Tom Dey (Showtime)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? The parents (Kathy Bates,
Terry Bradshaw) of a 35-year-old man
(McConaughey) who still lives at home hire
a professional motivator (Parker) to woo
him out of the nest.
famous 14 | february 2006
CURIOUS GEORGE
VOICES: Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore
WHO DIRECTED? Matthew O’Callaghan (debut)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? The Man in the Yellow Hat
(Ferrell) returns from Africa with a little
monkey named George who just can’t stay
out of trouble. Laid-back rocker and
surfing fiend Jack Johnson penned the
soundtrack for this animated film based on
the series of classic kids books.
FIREWALL
WHO’S IN IT? Harrison Ford,
Virginia Madsen
WHO DIRECTED? Richard Loncraine
(Wimbledon)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? When his wife (Madsen)
and kids are kidnapped, hi-tech security
expert Jack Stanfield (Ford) is forced to
break into the bank where he designed
state-of-the-art safeguards, and steal the
ransom money. Paul Bettany steps in as
the nefarious bank robber. See Virginia
Madsen interview, page 32.