I've always loved movies that take place over a limited amount of time in a limited space, say over the course of a few hours or one day, in a specific neighborhood or building. Movies that take place over many years tend to skimp on the everyday details that really make a story, but when a filmmaker is forced to closely examine a specific space, those small things can come to life. (This excludes, of course, movies based on plays in which characters sit in a single room and talk.) These two extremes separate the men from the boys; anyone can blunder through an epic, lining up blocks of scenes one after the other like columns of marching ants, but it takes a real talent to find poetry in the mundane. While I can't say that the new thriller P2, which takes place entirely in a parking garage on Christmas Eve, is a shining example, it still has one or two worthwhile ideas, despite its clumsy flaws.

Newcomer director Franck Khalfoun, along with his more experienced co-writer and producer Alexandre Aja (director of High Tension and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes), makes wonderful use of the big New York City high rise with all its sinister safety precautions that eventually turn against our heroine. Angela (Rachel Nichols) is forced to work late into Christmas Eve, finishing up an important document. Late for a Christmas party at her sister's house, she heads down into the parking garage only to find that her car won't start. A friendly night watchman, Thomas (Wes Bentley), tries to help, but to no avail. She calls a cab, but finds that she can't actually exit the lobby of the building. The locks that are designed to keep people out over the holiday are actually keeping poor Angela inside.

Cinematical has just gotten an exclusive clip and photos for the upcoming Alexandre Aja and Franck Khalfoun garage horror film P2, which will finally bleed its way onto the big screen this week. Filmed in a particularly creepy garage around the corner from Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (pretending to be New York City), P2 is about a businesswoman named Angela (Rachel Nichols) whose Christmas Eve is anything but jolly. She finds herself to be the sadistic, lust-filled focus of Thomas (Wes Bentley), a psycho security guard, in a deserted parking garage.

Thomas doesn't take too kindly to Angela's sexual past, and this clip has him ready to give some ex-lover a taste of blood-filled horror medicine. Luckily, you don't even have to imagine what happens to the guy -- some extra clips over at JoBlo answer that question, and show you why Thomas is working as a security guard and not a makeup artist. The lipstick horror fest opens on Friday, so check out the trailer and more clips on the film's website. Additionally, stay tuned for Jeffrey M. Anderson's review tomorrow, and check out the gallery below -- featuring two new exclusive shots plus a bunch more creepy P2 images.

I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld and the other people involved with his latest film had hoped it would BEE number one (oh God, that joke was a cry for help, please call my parents), but the top spot went to Ridley Scott's American Gangster. Seinfeld and company still can't complain too much about second place as $39 million is hardly chump change. Last week's number one movie Saw IV hung in there as well, shearing the limbs off the competition for the second week. Here are the final numbers:

1. American Gangster: $46.3 million.
2. Bee Movie: $39.1 million.
3. Saw IV: $11 million.
4. Dan in Real Life: $8.1 million.
5. 30 Days of Night: $4 million.
5. The Game Plan: $3.9 million

The holiday box office season is truly upon us with high profile releases and Christmas themed movies hitting theaters. Here's what's coming out on Friday.

Fred Claus
What's It All About: Santa's black sheep brother Fred gets bailed out of prison and comes to the North Pole to help make toys for the Christmas holiday. Vince Vaughn stars as Fred and Paul Giamatti plays Santa.
Why It Might Do Well: The teaser trailer that came out last year with footage that probably isn't even in the movie was hilarious. Vaughn seems to be playing a variation on his characters from Wedding Crashers and Old School, and he was pretty funny in those roles, and I'm dying to see what Giamatti can do as Santa. If nothing else, the sheer number of theaters this one is opening in will put it in the number one spot.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I tend to bristle when Christmas displays start showing up in stores right after Halloween, and I'm probably not the only one. Might it just be too early for Christmas cheer?
Number of Theaters: 3,400
Prediction: $34 million

Lions For Lambs
What's It All About: Tom Cruise plays a Senator on the rise who crosses paths with an idealistic professor played by Robert Redford and a reporter played by Meryl Streep. Redford directs this film, which is the first drama for Cruise in six years.
Why It Might Do Well: A cast this stellar will definitely get people's attention.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Rottentomatoes.com is only giving this a 38% rating, with critics using words like "talky" and "clunky."
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $11 million

Once again, Hollywood's pattern reveals itself with each new trailer leading to another like a big ol' connect-the-dots picture ... and yes, the new trailer for The Mist is included after the jump.

Horton Hears a Who
My first thought was that this must be another concert/documentary flick like the Stones' film Shine a Light, but I guess if that were the case this would be Horton Hears THE Who. The beloved creation of Theodore Geisel, better known to the world at large as Dr. Seuss, gets a big CGI feature adaptation with Jim Carrey voicing Horton, an elephant who discovers a tiny civilization living in a dust speck, and Steve Carell as the Mayor of Who-ville. The story was previously adapted by master animator Chuck Jones for a 1970 TV special, and Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg was adapted in 1942 and then again in 1992. This new version looks like a lot of fun, and even if you find that a little of Jim Carrey's manic behavior goes a long way, he's perfect for an animated character. Here's Erik's take on the trailer.

Speaking of digital animation ...
Veggie Tales - The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
Being far older than the target demographic, judging the merits of kids' movies is tricky for me. I've watched a few episodes of the Veggie Tales TV shows with my nephews and since we were all laughing there must be something to recommend. The series uses humor to convey moral themes using animated anthropomorphic vegetable characters. The trailer starts off with a Pirates of the Caribbean flavor before we see turnips saying "Arrrrr!" It's pretty cute and obviously for younger kids. If your little buccaneers like the series or the previous film Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie, then this should work for them.

There's no lasting money in the beauty of plastic bags. American Beauty was Wes Bentley's lone gem among a handful of low-buzz releases. However, as an expert of the creepy stare, it's no surprise that he's diving into the darker films like the upcoming P2.

Under the eye of first-time director Franck Khalfoun, the creators of High Tension (Alexandre Aja and Gregory Levasseur) are turning their attention to the creep factor of parking garages. The main premise: a successful business woman (Rachel Nichols) spurns the advances of a security guard (Bentley). Not happy with her refusal, Bentley beats her unconscious and holds her captive. Nichols must not only escape his eerie stare, but also the scary parking garage.

The locale makes sense. I've been in the Toronto parking garage they filmed in, and it is quite creepy. Eerie stillness, the buzz of fluorescent lights, and strange, echoing noises are all mainstays of horror/suspense. That being said, I wonder if they can keep the tension in a relatively small and empty place. There is only so much running and hiding one girl can do. Or, will it really matter? Nichols obviously had to strip down to her camisol to grab an axe and hide amongst the pillars of P2, so it the plot goes slow, moviegoers will still have her sweaty, heaving bosom. Yes, the picture at the right is from the released still, which you can see in its full glory at Jo Blo's Arrow in the Head.

Because Americans have fallen totally in love with movies in which lots of violence -- sexual and otherwise -- is visited upon nubile young women, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur (the minds behind Haute Tension and the The Hills Have Eyes remake) are striking while the iron is hot. Their newest production is called P2 (as opposed to K2, a confusion that will only intensify when you see the word "climber" in the following quote), and will tell the story of "a corporate climber who gets stuck working late on Christmas Eve and finds herself the target of an unhinged security guard. With no help in sight, the woman must overcome physical and psychological challenges to survive." A sign that I will not be seeing this movie is that just reading the summary makes me feel a little sick with fear -- yes, the thought of psycho cops and security guards in isolated settings scares the crap out of me. That said, however, the bit about survival is hopeful -- maybe the woman will kick the guy's ass before he gets a chance to slash her face and fondle her boobs. Unlikely, I realize, but still.

The movie will star Wes Bentley, who has been under a rock (made of bad, little-seen movies) since American Beauty, and Rachel Nichols, and will mark the directorial debut of Hills Have Eyes editor Franck Khalfoun. Shooting begins next month.

In addition to being arguably the most important international film festival, Cannes is also the world's largest film market, where studios try like hell to line up world-wide distribution for their projects, both the finished ones and those only in the planning stages. Summit Entertainment revealed the list of films it's taking to Cannes over the weekend and, while a few of them are familiar (particularly the Mike Newell-directed adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera), we're hearing about most of their major offerings for the first time.

Included on the list are a pair of thrillers: The first called P2, which is about "a woman stranded in a parking garage on Christmas," and was written by the team behind the The Hills Have Eyes remake; it will be directed by Hills editor Frank Khalfoun. The second is The Tourist, which stars Hugh Jackman in a story about "identity theft, blackmail and sex" (attention, my fellow Cinematicalites: if anyone tries to claim this one for review, I will shiv you). Last but not least, however, is a hilarious romantic comedy called The Hottie and the Nottie, which centers on "an attractive woman who refuses to marry her longtime suitor until he has set up her ugly best friend with a partner." (How much do you want to bet that the "ugly" friend is going to be, like, Scarlett Johansson in glasses?) Who, you ask, is playing the hottie? Please -- something this mindless could only feature Paris Hilton. Yes, that's right: someone is actually going to let her star in a movie. If this ones gets overseas distribution, God is officially dead.