We have synopses for Universal Pictures' Q1-early Q2 2012 releases Contraband, Everybody Loves Whales, and American Reunion. We already know that Contraband is a remake of the crime-thriller Reykjavik-Rotterdam; Everybody Loves Whales is about a reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who try to save trapped gray whales under the arctic circle in 1988; and American Reunion is the fourth theatrical American Pie and it reunites the cast from the first movie. Now we have more details on all of these films.
Hit the jump for the official synopses. Contraband opens January 13, 2012. Everybody Loves Whales opens February 3, 2012. American Reunion opens April 6, 2012.
Contraband (directed by Baltasar Kormákur; starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Haas, and Ben Foster)
Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of Contraband, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling -- full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs -- where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best -- running contraband -- to settle Andy’s debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), for one final run to Panama and back, hoping to return with millions in counterfeit bills. Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.
Everybody Loves Whales (directed by Ken Kwapis; starring John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Stephen Root, Rob Riggle, Vinessa Shaw, Tim Blake Nelson, and Ted Danson)
Based on the inspiring true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Everybody Loves Whales tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can’t wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend. With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.
American Reunion (directed by Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg; starring Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Jennifer Coolidge, and Eugene Levy)
In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago are returning to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship. It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.