SPOTLIGHT ON INDEPENDENT FILMS HITTING CINEMAS SOON: FANTASTIC "THE DIVIDE", DRAMATIC "YOUNG ADULT", ROMANTIC "NEWLYWEDS"

Ah, I know that after eating your Thanksgiving dinner you want a sweet little dessert in the form of some movie treats, but alas, holidays usually mean that there are zero film news out there, so I

will feed you today with some independent films which hit cinemas soon.

THE LUCKY ONES DIE IN THE BLAST

The film which will finally premiere, after quite a long wait (as far as I understood the film got its distributor only after it drew attention with its captivating and highly atmospheric trailer) is apocalyptic thriller THE DIVIDE. To open in early January, and starring Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Biehn and Rosanna Arquette, the film follows nine tenants of a New York building who escape a nuclear attack by hiding out in the building's bunker-like basement. Trapped for days underground with no hope

for rescue, and only unspeakable horrors awaiting them on the other side of the bunker door, the group begins to descend into madness, each turning on one another with physical and psycho-sexual torment. As supplies dwindle, and tensions flare, and they grow increasingly unhinged by their close quarters and hopelessness, each act against one another becomes more depraved than the next. While everyone in the bunker allows themselves to be overcome by desperation and lose their humanity, one survivor holds onto a thin chance for escape even with no promise of salvation on the outside. Check out the trailer, I don't think I've ever seen such an intense one.

NEWLYWEDS CRISES

One of the trailers freshly released today is the one for a comedy drama NEWLYWEDS which hits theaters this Christmas and is directed and produced by ever so charming Edward Burns.

The story follows Buzzy (Edward Burns) and Katie (Caitlin Fitzgerald)  a newly married couple living a seemingly conflict-free life. But when Buzzy's damaged and impulsive half-sister Linda (Kerry Bishé) arrives at their doorstep expecting to stay for an indefinite period in their Tribeca loft, her antics threaten to disrupt the couple's commitment to an "easy" marriage. Meanwhile, with Katie's sister Marsha projecting suspicions of her own husband's infidelity onto Buzzy, will the couple's formerly trusting and insulated life be able to withstand the dysfunctions of their respective siblings? We like Ed's New York films, don't we?

A BIT OF BAGGAGE

One of the films which might join the Oscar race next year is Diablo Cody's (JUNO, UNITED STATES OF TARA) bitter sweet drama YOUNG ADULT which hits cinemas December 9th.

The cast of the movie is lead by Academy Award winner Charlize Theron who plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either. Reviews of the film usually mention a powerful performance by Charlize Theron who is obviously returning from the dead with roles in PROMETHEUS and SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN and this awards contender.

And don't forget that you have one more day to join the giveaway of Samuel Park's THIS BURNS MY HEART novel, and you, who already did that, check the comments again because Sam has left you his comments today :)