January 03, 2005 - The post-holiday weekend will be pretty quiet in terms of new releases, with the notable exception of White Noise, the new supernatural thriller starring Michael Keaton.  Additionally, we'll be covering the animated film Sky Blue and Sean Penn's The Assassination of Richard Nixon.

Here's an in-depth look at this weekend's new flicks...

White Noise
Cast: Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger, Chandra West, Ian McNeice
Director: Geoffrey Sax
Writer: Niall Johnson
Rated: PG-13 for Violence, Disturbing Images and Language

The Scoop:  Michael Keaton plays successful architect Jonathan Rivers, whose peaceful existence is shattered by the unexplained disappearance and death of his wife, Linda (Chandra West).  Jonathan is eventually contacted by a man (Ian McNeice), who claims to be receiving messages from Linda through Electronic Voice Phenomenon.  At first skeptical, Jonathan then becomes convinced of the messages' validity and is soon obsessed with trying to contact her on his own.  His further explorations into EVP and the accompanying supernatural messages unwittingly open a door to another world, allowing something uninvited into his life..

	Michael Keaton in White Noise

Sky Blue
Cast: Joo-ho Chung, Hye-jin Yu, Ji-tae Yu
Director: Moon Sang Kim
Writer: Moon Sang Kim, Jun Young Park, Sunmin Park
Rated: N/A

The Scoop:  Sky Blue is set in the year 2140, when humankind's reckless exploitation of the environment has sparked a planet-wide catastrophe that has shielded the sun from view and all but ended civilization on earth. Only a small number of elites possessing power and technology have been able to thrive, building a magnificent, organic city named Ecoban. Ecoban grows by itself like a living plant, transforming carbon compounds into useable energy. Jay is a 19-year-old female trooper of Ecoban who guards the city against the incursions of outsiders. Ultimately, she teams up with her childhood sweetheart Shua to lead a rebellion.

	A scene from Sky Blue

The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Cast: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson, Brad Henke
Director: Niels Mueller
Writer: Kevin Kennedy, Niels Mueller
Rated: R for Language and a Scene of Graphic Violence

The Scoop:  Penn plays Sam Bicke, a disillusioned "everyman" who, in 1974, was driven to plot the assassination of the 37th President of the United States.  Despite the fact that his marriage is breaking up and that he is trapped in a sales job he finds demeaning, Sam tries desperately to succeed both at home and in the workplace; all he wants is to win his family back and to start a business of his own. However, in a society worn down by political corruption and the Vietnam War, there is not much room left for dreamers. Sam's world unravels against the backdrop of the Watergate scandal, which exposes culpability at the highest levels of society. With images of Nixon – "the greatest salesman of them all" – flooding the airwaves, Sam believes he has found the person responsible for his, and America's, problems and makes his appointment with destiny.

	Sean Penn in The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Keep your browser set to IGN FilmForce this week for the latest on all these flicks and much more!