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The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

2008-08-04T00:27:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 film, the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theatres on May 15, 2003, and around the world during the latter half of that month. The video game Enter the Matrix, which was released May 15, and a collection of nine animated shorts, the Animatrix, which was released on June 3, supported and expanded the storyline of the movie. The Matrix Revolutions, which completes the story, was released six months after Reloaded in November 2003.

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Plot:
Six months after the events of the first movie, Neo wakes up after a nightmare where Trinity had been shot by an agent while falling from a building and begins to plummet to the ground. Morpheus receives a message from captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) of the Logos calling an emergency meeting of all Zion's hovercraft ship fleet. She has successfully recovered the information left by Captain Thaddeus (in the Animatrix short film "Final Flight of the Osiris," recovered in the video game Enter The Matrix): 250,000 Sentinels are tunneling towards the underground city of Zion and will reach it in 72 hours. Commander Locke, the ranking military officer of Zion, orders all ships and their crews, including Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and new operator Link, to return to Zion to prepare for the onslaught of the machines. Morpheus asks a ship to remain behind to contact the Oracle, in defiance of Commander Locke's orders. The Caduceus receives a message from the Oracle, and the Nebuchadnezzar, also in defiance of Locke's order, ventures out to allow Neo to contact her. Meanwhile, one of the Caduceus crew members, Bane, encounters Agent Smith, who takes over Bane's body. Bane/Smith then leaves the Matrix via the nearby hard line.

Meanwhile, returning to Zion, the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar attend a meeting in Zion's temple where Morpheus announces the news of the advancing machines to the people, but his positive attitude and stirring speech gives them courage. As a dance breaks out, Neo has recurring nightmares about Trinity being shot by an Agent during a gunfight down the side of a building and falling to her death. Neo receives a message from the Oracle the next morning and he soon meets her and her bodyguard Seraph. Seeing that the Oracle is a part of the system Neo asks how can he trust her if she is just another form of control. She responds by saying that only he can make the choice if she is ally or enemy. The Oracle explains that she is an exiled computer program and instructs Neo to reach the Source, by finding the Keymaker, a prisoner in the home of the Frenchman program the Merovingian. The Keymaker, as his name implies, can make keys that can transport anyone to any where in the world provided there is a door at the other end. As Oracle departs, Agent Smith appears despite his apparent destruction in the first film, although technically he is now just "Smith" without the "Agent" prefix. Missing his earpiece (which he sent to Neo in a package as a sign of his survival), Smith tells Neo that after being defeated by him he knew that he was supposed to return to the Source to be deleted but he refused and now he is no longer bound by rules or a duty to remove threats from the Matrix. Following that line of reasoning, he states that he is "apparently free", but then subsequently asserts that because he no longer has a purpose, he is not actually free. He demonstrates his ability to clone himself using the people of the Matrix as hosts (even assimilating the body of another Agent), prompting a battle between Neo and many clones of Smith. Neo holds his own using his knowledge of martial arts and a large pole but is eventually overwhelmed, covered by a massive pile of Smith's clones. He throws them off and flies away, leaving the Smith clones to disperse.

Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity visit the Merovingian and ask for the Keymaker, but the Frenchman refuses them. His wife, Persephone, tired of her husband's attitude and infidelity, turns against him and leads the trio to the Keymaker. (Her desire to have her husband know of her treachery becomes apparent when she shoots one of his assistants, and then instructs the other to tell the Merovingian what happened, or meet the same fate as his comrade.) While Neo battles the Merovingian's skilled guards, Morpheus, Trinity, and the Keymaker escape onto the nearby freeway with the ghostly Twins, Agents, and the police in pursuit. Morpheus defeats the Twins by destroying their car, and then saves the Keymaker from an Agent. Both are then retrieved by a flying Neo. In the real world, the remaining ships at Zion prepare for a battle with the machines. At a building, the crews of the Nebuchadnezzer, Vigilant, and Logos help the Keymaker and Neo reach the source's door. The crew of the Logos must destroy a nearby power plant in order to prevent a destructive security system from being triggered by the Keymaker's keys, and the crew of the Vigilant must destroy the backup power station. However, the Vigilant's mission goes horribly wrong when a Sentinel throws a bomb at their ship and all their members, including the ones plugged into the Matrix, instantly die. Trinity (staying in the Nebuchadnezzer because of Neo's wishes to prevent his vision of her death from coming true), upon seeing this turn of events, decides to destroy the back-up station herself. Although a success, her escape is inhibited by an Agent and a duel occurs. Meanwhile, back in the building where Neo, Morpheus, and the Keymaker attempt to reach the source, the Smiths invade and try to kill Neo, Morpheus, and the Keymaker. The Keymaker manages to unlock the door to the source but is shot by the Smiths and dies.

Neo enters the source and meets a bearded man in a suit, the Architect, the creator of the Matrix. The Architect reveals there have been multiple versions of the Matrix and with it, multiple versions of the One. The One is a computer anomaly chosen by the Matrix to be used as a tool of control. Because humanity rejected the "perfect" Matrix, the world that has come to be accepted is flawed and remains an unbalanced equation. The One is therefore the sum of the remainder of that flaw. The prophecy is that the One must reach the source in order to destroy the Matrix and free humanity. However, the One's actual purpose is to return to the source and choose 16 females and 7 males to rebuild Zion after the final battle, which in turn repopulates the city to provide the next round of humans for the "rebellion" and the next iteration of the "Prophecy", a confirmation of Morpheus' statement from the last film about The One who previously freed himself and others. Failure to do so will result, not only in the massacre of Zion's population, but a computer error will kill every human attached to the Matrix, resulting in the extinction of the human race. Neo retorts that, since the machines need humans for their power, they won't allow this, but the Architect retorts that without the humans, "there are levels of survival we are prepared to accept" .

After conversing, the Architect gives Neo a choice of two exits from the room - one way will lead to the rebuilding of Zion, the other to Trinity's rescue, and through this, the downfall of humanity. Neo explodes out of the building in an attempt to save Trinity from death as it was played out in his dreams. Trinity is shot by an Agent as she falls and is caught by Neo just before she hits the ground. Refusing to accept her impending death, Neo removes the bullet lodged in her chest and manages to revive her by starting her heart. In the Nebuchadnezzer, Neo explains his findings to the crew, revealing the prophecy of the One is fake and that Zion will be destroyed in twenty-four hours. Sentinels approach and destroy the ship, leaving Morpheus stunned by the revelations. Neo saves his friends from being killed by the Sentinels by using a new ability which causes the machines to instantly shut down, but the exertion causes Neo to suddenly fall unconscious. The crew is picked up by the Hammer. The crew of the Hammer explains that they were to lead an attack on the army of Sentinels advancing on Zion. The strategy was to use the ship's EMPs, and stay out of each other's range. However, an EMP was detonated by the Caduceus before the ships could get into position; multiple ships were left without power, and the Sentinels emerged victorious, having slaughtered any ship that couldn't get away. Only one survivor is found aboard the Caduceus: Bane/Smith. The film concludes with Neo lying in a medical room - with the Smith-possessed Bane lying opposite him.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Keanu Reeves
Laurence Fishburne
Carrie-Anne Moss
Hugo Weaving
Daniel Bernhardt
Monica Bellucci
Jada Pinkett Smith
Anthony Wong
Ray Anthony
Christine Anu
Andy Arness
Alima Ashton-Sheibu
Helmut Bakaitis
Steve Bastoni
Don Battee
Valerie Berry
Ian Bliss
Liliana Bogatko
Michael Budd
Stoney Burke
Kelly Butler
Josephine Byrnes
Noris Campos
Collin Chou
Paul Cotter
Marlene Cummins
Attila Davidhazy
Essie Davis
Terrell Dixon
Nash Edgerton
Gloria Foster
David Franklin
Austin Galuppo
Nona Gaye
Daryl Heath
Roy Jones Jr.
Malcolm Kennard
David Kilde
Randall Duk Kim
Christopher Kirby
Peter Lamb
Nathaniel Lees
Harry J. Lennix
Tony Lynch
Robert Mammone
Joshua Mbakwe
Matt McColm
Scott McLean
Chris Mitchell
Steve Morris
Tory Mussett
Rene Naufahu
Robyn Nevin
David No
Genevieve O'Reilly
Socratis Otto
Harold Perrineau
Montaño Rain
Adrian Rayment
Neil Rayment
Rupert Reid
David Roberts
Shane C. Rodrigo
Nick Scoggin
Kevin Scott
Tahei Simpson
Frankie Stevens
Nicandro Thomas
Gina Torres
Andrew Valli
Steve Vella
John Walton
Clayton Watson
Cornel West
Leigh Whannell
Bernard White
Lambert Wilson
Anthony Zerbe

Finding Nemo (2003)

2008-08-03T23:43:00.001-07:00

Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Finding Nemo is a 2003 computer-animated American family film. It was written by Andrew Stanton, directed by Stanton and Lee Unkrich and produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. It tells the story of the overly protective clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks), who along with aregal tang called Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), searches for his son Nemo (Alexander Gould). Along the way he learns to takes risks and that his son is capable of taking care of himself.

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was a financial blockbuster as it grossed over $864 million worldwide. It is the best-selling DVD of all time, with over 40 million copies sold as of 2006. In 2008, the American Film Institute named it the 10th greatest American Animated film ever made during their Top 10 Top 10.

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Plot:
When the clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) loses his wife, Coral (Elizabeth Perkins), and all but one of his unborn children to a barracuda attack, he promises that he will never let anything happen to the only surviving egg, which he names Nemo, the name that his wife wanted at least one of her children to be named.

Later, Nemo (Alexander Gould) begins his first day at school and is frustrated and embarrassed by his overprotective father. Marlin has constantly warned Nemo about the dangers of the ocean. To show his father that there's nothing to be afraid of, Nemo deliberately disobeys his father by swimming out into open water but, in the process, is captured by a scuba-diver. Marlin races after the diver's boat but quickly loses it. So, he determines to put aside his fears of the ocean and start the journey to find his son. Desperately searching for directions, he bumps into Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a regal tang who suffers from short-term memory loss, but is nonetheless relentlessly optimistic in contrast to Marlin. During the adventure, they encounter three dieting sharks (Barry Humphries, Eric Bana, and Bruce Spence), as well as an angler fish at the bottom of a deep trench. They also recover a diver's mask that fell from the diver's boat into a trench and discover that Nemo has been taken to Sydney, Australia; the time Dory spends with Marlin also helps her remember certain things longer (to a certain extent). They are directed by a school of fish (one member of which is voiced by John Ratzenberger) that the fastest way there is via the East Australian Current, and they tell Dory to tell Marlin to swim through the trench leading to it rather than over it. However, Marlin decides to swim over it when he thinks the trench is too dangerous, and end up in a "forest" of jellyfish where Dory is nearly stung to death.

Meanwhile, Nemo is placed in a fish tank in a dentist's surgery and soon finds out that he is to become the birthday present for a young girl named Darla (LuLu Ebeling), who is described as "a fish killer" (as it turns out, she simply gets over-excited when given a fish for gift and shakes the bag too much). He soon discovers the other fish in the tank are all bent on escape, with Gill (Willem Dafoe) proposing an escape plan that involves Nemo jamming the filter in the tank. However, the first attempt fails and Nemo is nearly killed by the filter; Gill realizes that he had put Nemo's life at risk to fulfill his own ends and, after mulling it over, apologizes to him.

Marlin and Dory are recovered by a group of sea turtles who are riding the East Australian Current, and Dory makes a full recovery. As he befriends the turtle Crush (Andrew Stanton) and his family, Marlin tells some of the sea turtles about his reason and experience of the adventure. This story travels among the sea creatures and eventually Nemo hears it through a friendly brown pelican named Nigel (Geoffrey Rush). Nemo is inspired by this and succeeds in his attempt to jam the filter again. The tank begins to get dirty, which the fish believe will make the dentist (Bill Hunter) take them out of the tank into individual plastic bags to clean it, after which they would roll out the window and into the harbor. However, he instead installs a new high-tech filter which cleans the tank while the fish are sleeping, foiling their plan.

Marlin and Dory arrive in Sydney with the help of a whale, and meet Nigel, who agrees to take them to the dentist's office. The dentist scoops Nemo up in a net, but the other fish save him by entering the bag with him and swimming down, releasing the net from his grip—until the dentist scoops him up in his plastic bag to give to his niece. Nemo pretends to be dead in the hopes that the dentist will flush him down the toilet as "all drains lead to the ocean". Marlin, Dory, and Nigel arrive at the office and, shocked to see Nemo belly-up, believe he is truly dead. After they are thrown out the window, Gill helps Nemo escape down the dentist's sink to the ocean.

Although deeply depressed in the belief that his rescue attempt amounted to nothing, Marlin thanks Dory and tells her he is going home on his own. Dory, however, is reluctant to be left on her own again, claiming that with Marlin she can remember things better. Marlin still swims away to go home, leaving Dory hopelessly lost and confused. Dory then bumps into Nemo and she is able to reunite them. Moments later, Dory is caught in a fishing net along with a school of tuna. Nemo has a plan to save her by telling the fish caught in the net to swim down, but Marlin is reluctant to let him go for fear that he will lose him again. Marlin, however, realizes he must let him go and they are able to save Dory as well as other fish. After the rescue, Marlin reconciles with his son for being overprotective.

Marlin and Nemo somehow manage to return home. Nemo leaves for school, and the now-confident Marlin tells him to "go have an adventure". In the epilogue, the fish in the dentist's tank are able to escape; however, they are still in their plastic bags.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Voice:
Albert Brooks
Ellen DeGeneres
Alexander Gould
Willem Dafoe
Brad Garrett
Allison Janney
Austin Pendleton
Stephen Root
Vicki Lewis
Joe Ranft
Geoffrey Rush
Andrew Stanton
Elizabeth Perkins
Nicholas Bird
Bob Peterson
Barry Humphries
Eric Bana
Bruce Spence
Bill Hunter
LuLu Ebeling
Jordan Ranft
Erica Beck
Erik Per Sullivan
John Ratzenberger

The Village (2004)

2008-08-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

Genre: Mystery | Thriller

The Village is a 2004 film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan that explores the dynamics of an insular turn-of-the-20^th-century village and the collective fears of its members. The movie was shot in recreation of a 19^th-century village outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, following Shyamalan's penchant for staging his films near his hometown. Like most of Shyamalan's films, its plot is built around a twist ending. The movie opened to mostly negative reviews and was not as financially successful as some of Shyamalan's earlier movies.

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Plot:
The film opens on the funeral of a child in a small village. The death date on the tombstone establishes the date as 1897. As the story progresses, it is revealed the villagers live in fear of nameless creatures in the woods that surround the village. They have built a barrier of oil lanterns and watch towers that are constantly manned to keep watch for "Those We Don't Speak Of". It is explained that the villagers have a long-standing truce with the monsters; the villagers do not go into their woods, and the creatures do not enter their village. Even so, dead, skinned bodies of small animals are starting to appear around the village.

After the funeral, Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix) asks the village elders for permission to pass through the woods to get medical supplies from "the towns". His request is denied and, later, he is admonished by his mother, Alice (Sigourney Weaver), for wanting to go to the towns, which the villagers describe as "wicked places where wicked people live". It is revealed in that scene that the Elders seem to keep dark secrets of their own in the form of black boxes, the contents of which they keep hidden from their own offspring. After Lucius makes a short venture into the woods, the creatures leave warnings around the village in the form of splashes of red paint (referred by the villagers only as "the bad color") on all the villagers' doors.

Meanwhile, Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard), the blind daughter of the chief Elder, Edward Walker (William Hurt), informs Lucius that she has strong feelings for him, and he returns her affections. They arrange to be married, but things go horribly wrong when Noah Percy (Adrien Brody), a mentally retarded "village idiot" who is enamored of Ivy, stabs Lucius in a fit of jealous rage.

Edward goes against the wishes of the other Elders, agreeing to allow Ivy to pass through the forest and seek out medicine for Lucius. Before she leaves, the first plot twist is revealed when Edward explains the secret of the creatures — they are fabrications created by the Elders in an attempt to keep any of their children from leaving the village. He does mention, however, that he had heard rumors of "real creatures" living in the woods.

While Ivy is traveling through the forest, one of the beasts suddenly attacks her. She tricks it into falling into a deep hole to its death. It is then that the second plot twist is revealed — the creature is actually Noah in a costume that he had found under the floor of the room he had been locked in. It is implied in that scene that it has been Noah skinning the animals all along.

Ivy eventually finds her way to the edge of the woods, where she encounters a large wall. After she climbs over the wall the final plot twist is revealed: the film is set in the present day (a newspaper in one scene shows July 30, 2004, the date of the film's release). A park ranger driving a Land Rover with the words "Walker Wildlife Preserve" on the side spots Ivy and is shocked to hear that she has come out of the woods. After hearing Ivy's last name is "Walker", he agrees to help her.

Once Ivy has the medicine she is looking for, she returns to the village with the medicine, and to Lucius' side. This sequence is intercut with brief segments showing the Elders opening their black boxes, which are revealed to contain mementos from their lives in the outside world, including one or more items related to their past traumas. The film ends on Ivy saying, "I'm back, Lucius".

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Bryce Dallas Howard
Joaquin Phoenix
Adrien Brody
William Hurt
Sigourney Weaver
Brendan Gleeson
Cherry Jones
Celia Weston
John Christopher Jones
Frank Collison
Jayne Atkinson
Judy Greer
Fran Kranz
Michael Pitt
Jesse Eisenberg
Charlie Hofheimer
Scott Sowers
Zack Wall
Pascale Renate Smith
Jordan Burt
Jane Lowe
Charlie McDermott
Robert Lenzi
Willem Zuur
Liz Stauber
Tim Moyer
Sydney Shapiro
Mia Rose Colona
Chloe Wieczkowski
Sydney Wieczkowski
M. Night Shyamalan
John Rusk
Joey Anaya
Kevin Foster
Robert Randolph Caton
Sean Andrew Fash
David Foster
Thomas M. Hagen
Jessica Jennings
Shannon Lambert-Ryan

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004)

2008-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Sport

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story is a 2004 comedy film from 20^th Century Fox, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller, and Rip Torn. The film focuses on a rivalry between the owners of Average Joe's, a small gym, and Globo-Gym, a competing big-budget gym located across the street. Peter LaFleur (Vaughn), the owner of the smaller gym, has defaulted on his mortgage and enters a dodgeball tournament in an attempt to earn the money necessary to prevent his gym from being purchased by Globo-Gym. Globo-Gym enters a team in the tournament in an effort to ensure that Average Joe's gym fails.

Dodgeball received generally good reviews, with a 70% average rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was largely a commercial success, grossing over $30 million in its first week and eventually grossed more than $114 million domestically. Ironically, even though White Goodman, played by Ben Stiller, and Kate Veatch, played by Christine Taylor, are enemies and she finds him repulsive in the movie, they are husband and wife in reality.

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Plot:
Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) is the laid-back owner of Average Joes, a failing gym with a handful of loyal, but eccentric, members, including Steve the Pirate (Tudyk), Justin (Long), Gordon (Root), and employees Dwight (Williams) and Owen (Moore). His rival, White Goodman (Stiller), owner of the glamorous Globo-Gym located across the street, has purchased Average Joe's defaulted mortgage, meaning that Peter must raise $50,000 in 30 days in order to redeem the equity of redemption on the about-to-be-foreclosed mortgage, or else Goodman will successfully foreclose upon Average Joe's Gym and demolish it for a parking garage. Working on this transaction is attorney Kate Veatch (Taylor), whom White attempts, and fails, to charm, although she and Peter develop a friendship despite her role in his business troubles. After various half-hearted attempts at money-raising fail, Gordon declares that they can win the money needed to pay the redemption costs by winning a dodgeball competition in Las Vegas, and begin to train to enter the tournament.

By spying on them, White learns of their plans to enter the contest, and decides to enter it himself to make sure he gets Average Joe's gym, forming a super-powerful team which he names the Purple Cobras. After the Average Joe's team manages to enter the tournament by default (after their first opponents – a Girl Scout troop – are disqualified after failing a drugs test), they are approached by Patches O’Houlihan (Torn), a legendary but now wheelchair-bound dodgeball player who offers to train them. Despite possessing questionable and painful training methods (such as dodging cars, and throwing wrenches at them), the team begin to steadily improve. Kate – herself a talented player – agrees to join their team after finally reaching her limit with White’s inept, arrogant attempts at courting her (including having her fired).

At the tournament, which was to be held in Las Vegas, the team proves to be an underdog success, who wins over the audience. Despite numerous set-backs, Average Joes successfully make it through to the final, where they will face White’s team. The night beforehand, the team's confidence takes a severe hit when Patches is inadvertently killed by a falling billboard. White meets with Peter and offers him one hundred thousand dollars to hand over the Average Joe's deed and forfeit the upcoming finals match. The team begins to drift apart, several are distracted away from the final, Steve having been discouraged by Peter and a hate attack, while Justin has been asked by his classmate Amber to help them in their championship. Justin arrives on time but they do not have enough players turn up to compete. Peter – his confidence shattered – seems to be about to desert his friends when he bumps into Lance Armstrong, who motivates him to return. He arrives just before the Average Joes are to be forfeited from the final, but a tie-breaking vote from judge Chuck Norris allows them to play.

The final match pits the Average Joes against the Purple Cobras led by White. After a close final, the tournament comes down to a sudden-death playoff between White and Peter; inspired by a vision of the deceased Patches, a blindfolded Peter manages to dodge White’s shot and strike him, winning the match. Although White reveals that Peter did, in fact, sell the gym the night before, Peter replies by revealing that he had used the money to bet on Average Joes to win (at 50-to-1 odds), winning enough to buy a controlling stake in Globo-Gym (including Average Joes), thus buying White out.

The movie ends with Average Joes’ going on to be a success, and White drowning his sorrows in junk food, becoming obese as a result.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Vince Vaughn
Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller
Rip Torn
Justin Long
Stephen Root
Joel Moore
Chris Williams
Alan Tudyk
Missi Pyle
Jamal Duff
Gary Cole
Jason Bateman
Hank Azaria
Al Kaplon
Lance Armstrong
Chuck Norris
William Shatner
David Hasselhoff
Julie Gonzalo
Trever O'Brien
Cayden Boyd
Rusty Joiner
Kevin Porter
Brandon Molale
Suzy Nakamura
Lori Beth Denberg
Julia Ensign
David Boyd
Bowd Beal
Curtis Armstrong
Tate Chalk
Jordyn Colemon
Hayley C. Rosales
Bix Barnaba
Earl Schuman
Robert 'Duckie' Carpenter
Tony Daly
Amy Stiller
Jim Cody Williams
John Kesler
Doug Grimes
Scarlett Chorvat
Matt Levin
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Sik End
Stephen B. Turner
Tim Soergel
Andy Chanley
Priscilla Leona Horne
Jeffrey Scott Kennedy
Tobias McKinney
Brian W. Wallace

Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004)

2008-08-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

Genre: Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 Academy Award winning film, directed by Brad Silberling. It is based on the first three novels, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window, in Lemony Snicket's book series. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and won one for Best Makeup. The movie stars Emily Browning as Violet Baudelaire "the Inventor", Liam Aiken as Klaus Baudelaire "the Scholar", and Kara and Shelby Hoffman as Sunny Baudelaire "the Biter". The movie also stars Jim Carrey as the evil and dreadful Count Olaf.

As in the books, exactly where and when the story takes place is unclear. The film reflects this ambiguity in its anachronistic art direction; it was praised for its creative sets and costumes, all of which have a darkly expressionistic and gothic feel, leading to a highly unusual and creative visual motif. Silberling has said this was partly inspired by the visual style of the similarly themed The Night Of The Hunter.

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Plot:
The film starts with a beginning from the movie The Littlest Elf, but someone (the narrator) tells the viewers that this is not the correct movie. The film is narrated by Lemony Snicket (Jude Law), who occasionally appears in silhouette, writing the story on a typewriter in what appears to be the interior of a clock tower. Inventive Violet Baudelaire (Emily Browning), her intelligent younger brother Klaus (Liam Aiken), and their sharp-toothed, precocious baby sister Sunny (Kara and Shelby Hoffman) are orphaned when a mysterious fire destroys their parents' mansion. They are placed in the care of bank manager Mr. Poe (Timothy Spall), who entrusts them to their "closest relative". However, misinterpreting the phrase, Mr. Poe chooses the relative who lives the shortest distance away, the obnoxious Count Olaf (Jim Carrey). Olaf promises to take care of the orphans "as if they were actually wanted" but in fact is only interested in the huge fortune that Violet will inherit when she turns the age of 18. In the meantime, he treats them like slaves.

Eventually, after a failed attempt by Count Olaf to murder them by locking them in a car parked on railroad tracks, on which a train is travelling, Mr. Poe (who believes that Olaf's mistake was in allowing Sunny to drive the car) sends the children to live with their uncle, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery (Billy Connolly), a cheerfully eccentric herpetologist having a well-stocked reptile room full of bizarre, imaginary reptiles, who is planning a trip to Peru. Their stay with "Monty" is cut short when Olaf turns up in disguise, pretending to be a sharply dressed man named Stephano, a replacement for Monty's assistant Gustav. It is later determined that Gustav was murdered by Olaf so he could take his place. The Baudelaires see through the disguise instantly; they manage to convince Monty that Olaf is an impostor, but fail to impress the villain's true intention on him — Monty being convinced that the supposed Stephano is a rival herpetologist come to plagiarize Monty's recent scientific discoveries. Olaf later murders Monty and frames a tame viper for the killing. The children manage to convince a skeptical Mr. Poe and a Constable about Olaf's guilt, though not of his identity; at this, the count discards his disguise and escapes. The Baudelaires are forced to move again, this time to the shores of Lake Lachrymose, where their Aunt, Josephine Anwhistle (Meryl Streep), resides. She seems to have an irrational fear of numerous unlikely events, and yet lives in a house precariously perched over the edge of a cliff. The house is held up by stilts and includes a wide window overlooking the lake. It appears to contain clues to the cause of the fire that killed their parents; Josephine, too, appears to know more than she is willing to reveal. Before the children can discover more, however, Olaf turns up again, disguised as a sailor, and courts Josephine.

The orphans soon discover that Josephine has disappeared and the window has been smashed, leading the Baudelaires to believe that she has committed suicide. She leaves what looks like a suicide note, but which is actually a coded message telling them that she is hiding in Curdled Cave on the shore of the lake. Before they can follow, the house is torn apart by a hurricane, wherein three of Josephine's phobiae are realized. The Baudelaires escape, eventually find Josephine, and attempt to take her to safety. Count Olaf finds them first, taking the Baudelaires and leaving Josephine at the mercy of the water and of the deadly Lachrymose Leeches. Mr. Poe turns up and gives Olaf custody of the orphans, because he is led to believe that Olaf saved Klaus from the leeches.

At Olaf's home, he concocts a scheme that involves staging a play starring himself and Violet. In the play, his character will marry Violet's character, but in such a way that the marriage will actually be legal, giving him access to her money. This move is accomplished by the fact that Olaf has a local official, Justice Strauss (Catherine O'Hara), cast as a judge in the play; with her in this role, he could make the marriage legal. To ensure Violet's co-operation, he holds Sunny hostage. While the play is being performed, Klaus attempts to rescue Sunny. In doing so, he discovers a gigantic, eye-shaped magnifying glass attached by six rods protruding from a round window. This looks similar to a drawing found in Aunt Josephine's house and is suggested that Count Olaf caused the fire that orphaned Klaus and his sisters.

After Violet signs the marriage certificate, she reveals the scheme to the audience. Olaf gloats to everyone, pointing out that every time the Baudelaires tried to tell the adults the truth, they were not believed. Olaf's plan is thwarted at the last minute when Klaus uses the magnifying glass to burn the marriage certificate. Snicket jokingly tells us that Count Olaf is sentenced to suffer everything the Baudelaires experienced (the falling house, the leeches, the car on the train tracks) and then spend his life behind bars. However, Snicket immediately adds that Olaf and his cohorts (who are shown briefly in some scenes) escaped.

Later, Mr. Poe makes one last stop in the ruins of the Baudelaires' home. There the orphans find the letter left to them by their parents, informing them of how much they were loved and that there is in fact, more good in the world than bad. The envelope also contains a spyglass; one of several that appear, throughout the film, to imply the presence of a secret society to which the protagonists' parents belonged.

The film ends with Snicket finishing the story by saying that "there are people in the world who know no misery and woe and they take comfort in cheerful films about twittering birds and giggling elves. There are people who know that there's always a mystery to be solved and they take comfort in researching and writing down any important evidence" and then reminds the audience that "this story is not about such people, but about the Baudelaires, who are the sort of people who know that there's always something to invent, read, bite, and something to do to make a sanctuary, no matter how small". The reference to "twittering birds and giggling elves" is a reference to the prologue of the film, which makes that which seems to be a deliberate attempt to disappoint the viewers by pretending to show a movie about the same, then shifting to the main story.

Many references to this suggested movie, The Littlest Elf, are made throughout the film. There is a bobblehead doll of the elf in Count Olaf's car. When the train is arriving and the Baudelaires frantically press all the buttons on the car, Violet accidentally turns on the radio, and the Littlest Elf's theme music starts playing from it. The same music is heard while the orphans are going to Lake Lachrymose. When in the boat, Count Olaf mocks the children for suggesting that they will have a happy ending, saying "and everyone will be singing and dancing and giggling like the Littlest Elf.

The last shot is of the Baudelaires en route to their new guardians (who are probably Sir and Charles of The Miserable Mill), and Snicket quoting the final line to The Wide Window, which states that the Baudelaires were "very fortunate, indeed". The credits roll, against a backdrop resembling illustrations composed of cut-paper dolls and silhouettes. This scenery depicts the children running away from Count Olaf, only to have him catch up with them.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Cast:
Jim Carrey
Liam Aiken
Emily Browning
Kara Hoffman
Shelby Hoffman
Timothy Spall
Catherine O'Hara
Billy Connolly
Meryl Streep
Luis Guzmán
Jamie Harris
Craig Ferguson
Jennifer Coolidge
Jane Adams
Cedric the Entertainer
Bob Clendenin
Lenny Clarke
Fred Gallo
John Dexter
Deborah Theaker
Wayne Flemming
Paul Bunnell
Julius Callahan
Rosemary Garris
Alan Heitz
Rob Hinderstein
Dustin Hoffman
Michael Earl Lane
Jane Lynch
Betsy McIntyre
Crystal Rivers
Lidia Sabljic

Voice:
Jude Law
Gilbert Gottfried
Nick Meaney

Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

2008-08-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

Genre: Documentary | Comedy | Drama

Fahrenheit 9/11 is a controversial award winning film by American filmmaker Michael Moore that presents a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terrorism, and its coverage in the American news media. The film holds the record for highest box office receipts by a general release political film.

In the film, Moore contends that American corporate media were "cheerleaders" for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and did not provide an accurate and objective analysis of the rationale for the war or the resulting casualties there. The film's attack on the Bush administration generated much controversy around the time of the film's release, including disputes over its accuracy. In response, Moore published an extensive list of facts and sources for Fahrenheit 9/11 on his website.

The film debuted at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival in the documentary film category and was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm), the festival's highest award.

The film had a general release in the United States and Canada on June 23, 2004. It has since been released in 42 more countries. As of January 2005, the film had grossed nearly $120 million in U.S. box office and over $220 million worldwide, an unprecedented amount for a political film. Sony reported first-day DVD sales of two million copies, again a new record for the genre.

The title of the film alludes to Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian view of the future United States, substituting the burning temperature of paper with the date of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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Content Summary:
The movie begins by questioning whether friends and political allies of George W. Bush at Fox News Channel tilted the election of 2000 by prematurely declaring Bush the winner. It then questions whether the handling of the voting controversy in Florida constituted election fraud.

The film then segues into the September 11, 2001 attacks, relying solely on sounds to illustrate the chaos on that day. When the film resumes, it continues with scenes of the bystanders, survivors, and falling debris of the World Trade Center. Moore notes that Bush was informed of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center on his way to an elementary school. Bush is then shown sitting in a Florida classroom with kids. When told that a second plane has hit the World Trade Center and that the nation is under attack, Bush continues reading The Pet Goat to the kids, and Moore notes that he continued reading for nearly seven minutes.

The film then discusses the causes and aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Moore then discusses the complex relationships between the U.S. government, the Bush family, the Bin Laden family, the Saudi Arabian government, and the Taliban, which span over three decades. Moore alleges that the United States Government evacuated up to 24 members of the Bin Laden family on a secret flight shortly after the attacks, without subjecting them to any form of interrogation. At the time, all other domestic and international civilian air traffic within the United States was grounded.

Moore moves on to examine George W. Bush's Air National Guard service record. Moore contends that Bush's dry-hole oil well attempts were partially funded by the Saudis and by the Bin Laden family through the intermediary of James R. Bath. Moore alleges that these conflicts of interest suggest that the Bush administration is not working for the best interests of Americans. The movie continues by suggesting ulterior motives for the war in Afghanistan, including a natural gas pipeline through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean.

Moore alleges that the Bush administration induced a climate of fear among the American population through the mass media. Moore then describes purported anti-terror efforts, including government infiltration of pacifist groups and other events, and the signing of the USA PATRIOT Act, which vastly expands government powers.

The documentary then turns to the subject of the Iraq war, comparing the lives of the Iraqis before and after the invasion. The citizens of Iraq are shown to be living relatively happy lives prior to the country's invasion by the U.S. military. The film also takes pains to demonstrate war cheerleading in the U.S. media and general "bias" of journalists, with quotes from news organizations and embedded journalists. The film then shows Bush's moment of "Mission Accomplished" on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, then alternating between media reports of increased casualties and Bush's comment to "bring 'em on".

The film then shifts its focus to Moore's hometown, Flint, Michigan. The economically hard-hit town's low-income neighborhoods were the prime target of military recruiters. A recruiter named Raymond Plouhar is introduced, he was later to be killed in Iraq. The film introduces Lila Lipscomb, a woman presented as the proud mother of a U.S. serviceman. She expresses her strong sense of patriotism and support for the men and women in uniform.

Moore notes that, because the war was based on a lie (the claim he asserts in the movie), atrocities will occur, and shows footage depicting U.S. abuse of prisoners.

Later in the film, Lipscomb reappears with her family after hearing of the death of her son, Sgt. Michael Pederson, who was killed on April 2, 2003, in Karbala. Anguished and tearful, she begins to question the purpose of the war.

Tying together several themes and points, Moore compliments those serving in the U.S. military. He claims that the lower class of America are always the first to join the army and defend the nation, so that the people better off don't have to. He states that those valuable troops should not be sent to risk their lives unless it is absolutely necessary. The film ends with a clip of George W. Bush stumbling through a speech to express Moore's hope that the American public will never be deceived again. The credits roll while Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" plays.

Moore dedicated the film to his friend who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks and to those servicemen and women from Flint, Michigan that have been killed in Iraq. The film is also dedicated to "countless thousands" of civilian victims of war as a result of United States military activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Ben Affleck
Stevie Wonder
George W. Bush
James Baker III
Richard Gephardt
Tom Daschle
Jeffrey Toobin
Al Gore
Condoleezza Rice
Donald Rumsfeld
Saddam Hussein
George Bush
Ricky Martin
Byron Dorgan
Osama Bin Laden
Craig Unger
Larry King
Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Jack Cloonan
Bill Clinton
James C. Moore
Robert Jordan
Dan Briody
John Major
Carol Ashley
Thomas Kean
Rosemary Dillard
Richard Clarke
Paul Wolfowitz
Dick Cheney
Tony Blair
Martha Brill Olcott
Kenneth Lay
Sayed Rahmatullah Hashimi
Hamid Karzai
Zalmay Khalilzad
Jim McDermott
John Rivers
Dave Bondy
Frances Stroik
Mel Stroik
Roy Gladding
Stanley Clarke
John Ashcroft
Thomas Pickard
Aaron Kilner
Richard Pierce
Barry Reingold
Porter Goss
John Conyers
Tammy Baldwin
Michael Moore
Patrick Hamilton
Trooper Brooks
Trooper Kenyon
Britney Spears
Thomas Hamill
Lila Lipscomb
Dale Cortman
Raymond Plouhar
Abdul Henderson
Howard Lipscomb
Dave Lesar
Michael Mele
Youssef Sleiman
Sam Kubba
George Sigalos
Gordon Bobbitt
Grant Haber
Blaine Ober
John Tanner
Michael Castle
John T. Doolittle
Nick Berg
Khalil Bin Laden
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Richard Ben-Veniste
Jon Bon Jovi
Stephen G. Breyer
Tom Brokaw
Barbara Bush
Jeb Bush
Jenna Bush
Laura Bush
Tucker Carlson
Neil Cavuto
Katie Couric
Peter Damon
Robert De Niro
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds
John Edwards
Mike Emanuel
Ari Fleischer
Tommy Franks
Charles Gibson
Tipper Gore
Jeff Greenfield
Katherine Harris
Dennis Hastert
Brit Hume
Jesse Jackson Jr.
Peter Jennings
Anthony M. Kennedy
Ted Koppel
Matt Lauer
Cynthia McKinney
Patsy Mink
John Negroponte
Sandra Day O'Connor
Colin Powell
Dan Rather
William Rehnquist
Tom Ridge
John Roberts
Tim Russert
Antonin Scalia
Max Schreck
Bernard Shaw
David H. Souter
George Tenet
Clarence Thomas
Maxine Waters
Judy Woodruff
Paula Zahn

Voice:Helen Thomas
Wolf Blitzer

Van Helsing (2004)

2008-08-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Adventure | Horror | Fantasy | Thriller

Van Helsing is a 2004 American action/horror film about vampire hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, written and directed by Stephen Sommers. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. The film opened on May 7, 2004.

Based on a version of the character of Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, the film also incorporates characters from other works such as the film The Wolf Man into the narrative, and draws particularly on literary classics of the gothic horror canon such as Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. The movie has been compared to Konami's Castlevania popular series of games.

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Plot:
The film begins in black and white in the fashion of the classic Universal Pictures monster films, specifically recreating James Whale's "Frankenstein" (1931). The story opens in Transylvania, 1887, where an angry mob is preparing to storm Dr. Frankenstein's (Samuel West) castle, as his infamous reanimation experiment is about to complete. Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) has financed and housed the experiment, because he wants to use the monster (Shuler Hensley) for an unspecified dark purpose. When Dr. Frankenstein refuses to allow the creature to be used for such a purpose, Dracula kills him. Immediately afterward, the mob breaks into the castle. Distracted, Dracula fails to notice when Frankenstein's monster, which had to witness the murder of its 'father', breaks free from its restraints. It throws a heavy piece of machinery at Dracula, sending him into the flames of a roaring fire. Then he takes his "father's" body and runs off to a nearby windmill. Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor), Frankenstein's assistant, reveals his master's location, and the mob follows. The mob burns down the windmill, and the monster and Dr. Frankenstein fall into a cavern below. Dracula, unharmed by the flames, and his brides, manage to frighten the mob away, but too late to save the Monster.

Returning to color, it is revealed that Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is a monster hunter for a secret organization called "The Knights of the Holy Order" whose mission is to fight evil. Van Helsing is hunted himself, branded a murderer, as most of the monsters he kills change back to human form once they're dead and are found by the authorities. Also, he is haunted by memories of some sort of past life, most of which are of events that occurred hundreds of years ago. The Order sends him after Count Dracula, partially because the Order believes he might find the answers to his real past on the journey. He, and his assistant Friar Carl (David Wenham), arrive in Romania and meet Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale). Anna is one of the last of the Valerious family, along with her brother, Velkan (Will Kemp). Their family has been trying to kill Dracula since their ancestor swore to God that their family would never enter heaven until Dracula was dead. Velkan is attacked and apparently killed by a werewolf during a failed attempt to kill the creature, making Anna the last Valerious, and just as determined to kill Dracula. Upon arriving, Van Helsing and Anna are attacked by Dracula's three brides, Aleera (Elena Anaya), Verona (Silvia Colloca) and Marishka (Josie Maran). Using special weapons designed to kill vampires, Van Helsing defeated one (Marishka).

Anna and Van Helsing form an alliance to kill Dracula, who is using Castle Frankenstein for some mysterious purpose. They travel to the castle and find that Dracula and his Brides have been breeding and trying to produce thousands of offspring. Because the Count and his Brides are undead, their bat-human hybrid-shaped offspring come into the world dead, and the Count is using Victor Frankenstein's work to bring them to life. However, every attempt he makes fails, and he needs Frankenstein's monster to make it work. He is partially successful with werewolf venom from Anna's brother Velkan, who was not killed and is now under Dracula's control, but the results prove insufficient, as the children die after a short period (the Count's last experiment resulted in the death of Velkan's father). In his haste to kill the vampire young, Van Helsing carelessly reveals himself to the Count, who stalks his prey through the castle. Finally Dracula confronts Van Helsing (whom he refers to as "Gabriel") and tries to bargain with him, saying that he knows about his past, but Van Helsing makes conversation impossible by continuously attempting to kill Dracula with a crucifix and a silver stake, neither of which work. Dracula leaves once he learns his children are dead. Caught in the rain and on the run, Anna and Van Helsing arrive at the windmill that was burned down in the prologue. Anna tells Van Helsing that no conventional method to kill Dracula will work. While at the windmill, the floor gives way, and Anna and Van Helsing fall into a cavern. Meanwhile, Carl, who had slept with a woman he saved from Dracula's children, finds a hidden painting of two knights fighting, framed by a Latin inscription. As he recites it, the knights come alive and fight, one of them turning into a werewolf, the other a vampire.

Van Helsing observes the cavern and describes the last creature who stepped in. Frankenstein's monster has been hiding down there, away from Dracula and the merciless townspeople. Van Helsing cannot kill the creature, as it is not evil, and so attempts to spirit it away to the Vatican in Rome, where it will be safer. A chase ensues between Van Helsing and the Brides of Dracula, where another is killed by an explosion of stakes in a decoy carriage. Velkan, in werewolf form, attacks and wounds Van Helsing, infecting him with the werewolf curse, however Van Helsing succeeds in killing Velkan. Infuriated at the death of her brother, Anna turns on Van Helsing, asking how he could do such a thing. Caught in the moment, Anna is captured by Dracula's last surviving bride. Van Helsing has only two nights before becoming a full Werewolf, so the group travel to the nearby town, where the Bride seemed to land. The Bride tracks them down and tells them her master is willing to trade Anna for the monster at a ball in Budapest the following night. Though he accepts the offer, Van Helsing has no intention of going through with such an exchange, but neither does Dracula. Van Helsing and Carl tranquilize Frankenstein's monster and hide him in a cemetery.

Dracula is hosting a masquerade ball, where he intends to make Anna another bride, but before he bites her, Van Helsing rescues Anna; however, all the patrons are Vampires and Frankenstein's monster is captured by Dracula's henchmen. Escaping by killing all the vampires with a device made by Carl, Van Helsing must now find Dracula's lair as he begins his transformation into a werewolf. Carl deciphers the clues in the Valerious house. Apparently, Dracula was the son of Anna's ancestor. After he was killed in 1462, Dracula made a deal with the devil for eternal life which can only be sustained by drinking blood (there was a picture with people between Dracula and Satan, but when folded, it shows Dracula touching Satan's finger). Anna's ancestor, who could not bring himself to kill his own son, had the vampire banished to a frozen land and went to Rome to ask for forgiveness, which is how the Valerious pact was made. The meaning of the painting of the vampire and werewolf is revealed, and it means only a werewolf can kill Dracula. A map of Transylvania in the study creates a portal to Castle Dracula with an incantation Van Helsing was given back in Rome.

The group travel through the portal and into the vast castle before them. Frankenstein's monster, who is imprisoned in a block of ice up to his neck, reveals that Dracula had a cure for werewolves, should one turn on him. Van Helsing goes to fight Dracula, while Carl and Anna force Igor to find the cure. Van Helsing eventually reaches Frankenstein's monster, strapped into a device atop the castle, where the lightning must pass through him to charge the machinery below and vivify Dracula's offspring. Van Helsing starts to free him, but is attacked by Dracula and knocked into the hall below before he can undo the last chain. The monster is struck by lightning, the children come to undeath, but the monster itself is hurled from the tower. Igor takes them to the cure but, as they enter the chamber, seals them in. Aleera soon appears, and Anna fights her while Carl runs to Van Helsing with the cure. As he is crossing a vast bridge to reach the other wing of the castle, Igor discovers him and gives chase with an electric cattle prod. The monster, which managed to grab a cable, accidentally knocks Igor from the bridge into the chasm below. It pleads with Carl to save it, as it wants to live. Carl goes against the orders of the Knights of the Holy Order by helping the monster to swing free before running on. Van Helsing meanwhile fights Dracula just as his werewolf transformation intensifies, realizing that the only way to kill the vampire's children now is to slay Dracula. Frankenstein's monster swings into the room where Anna and Aleera are locked in mortal combat, keeping the vampire at bay so Anna can go help Van Helsing. It is surprised when Anna thanks him. Anna manages to cross the bridge with another cable, but Aleera breaks away from the monster and pursues her, only to be killed with a silver stake. Anna dashes to the rescue of Van Helsing with the antidote, hoping to get there before the transformation is permanent.

Dracula reveals that Van Helsing is the "Left hand of God", another name for the archangel Gabriel, which may explain Van Helsing's long life and his attitude at destroying evil. Dracula reveals that Van Helsing was the one that murdered him in 1462, and that he will tell Van Helsing everything he's forgotten, if he will become Dracula's partner. Van Helsing refuses this offer, transforms again, and kills Dracula. Anna runs in, but Van Helsing has lost control to the fury of the werewolf, and he kills her. She manages to inject him with the cure before she dies, however, and he changes back into a human. Anna is given a proper cremation by Van Helsing and Carl, while Frankenstein's monster takes to the sea to evade the Vatican's orders to have him killed, and to find a place where he might be accepted. Van Helsing looks to the sky and sees Anna and her family ascend to heaven, and then he and Carl ride off into the setting sun.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Hugh Jackman
Kate Beckinsale
Richard Roxburgh
David Wenham
Shuler Hensley
Elena Anaya
Will Kemp
Kevin J. O'Connor
Alun Armstrong
Silvia Colloca
Josie Maran
Tom Fisher
Samuel West
Robbie Coltrane
Stephen Fisher
Dana Moravková
Zuzana Durdinova
Jaroslav Vízner
Marek Vasut
Samantha Sommers
Dorel Mois
Marianna Mois
Laurence Racine
Patrice Wojciechowski
Kacie Borrowman
Ryan James
Martin Klebba
Allison Queal

50 First Dates (2004)

2008-08-03T02:18:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Romance

50 First Dates is a 2004 romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore and directed by Peter Segal.

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Plot:
In this film, which was originally going to be called 'Who the Hell Are You?' and then "50 First Kisses", Henry Roth (Adam Sandler), a marine-life veterinarian living in Hawaii, meets Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore), an art teacher, in a cafe one morning. They eventually develop a relationship, but it soon emerges that Lucy suffers from anterograde amnesia (called 'Goldfield Syndrome' in the movie) from a car accident she was in a year earlier. Her condition has left her with no memory of anything between the day of the accident and the present, because she is incapable of converting short-term memories into long-term memories. At the beginning of each day, she loses all memory of the past day. She innocently believes every day to be October 13, 2002. Her father and brother attempt to reenact the activities of October 13th, her father's birthday, every day, to prevent her from suffering from learning about the accident.

Because of Lucy's condition, Henry is forced to find new and imaginative ways of winning Lucy over every day, to the disapproval of her father and brother. They order him to stop meeting her at the cafe, fearing that he will take advantage of her innocent state. Henry, in keeping with his promise, contrives to meet her each day as she is on the road driving home from the cafe. Her father and brother soon find out that he is still meeting her, because every time Lucy "meets" Henry she sings "Wouldn't It Be Nice" while she paints the garage. They agree to allow Henry to see Lucy because they appreciate his determination and the fact that he makes her happy, and the next morning Henry shows up at their house with a video explaining the accident and everything that has happened since.

One morning, Lucy wakes up to find Henry in her bed after spending the night together, doesn't recognize him, and attacks him. Henry leaves the room, and Lucy then overhears her doctor and Henry talking about how he will never achieve his dream to explore the Arctic and how Henry hopes and believes Lucy will remember him from day to day. Lucy then breaks up with Henry, feeling that she is keeping him from living his life fully, and burns all her journal entries about him so her memory of him will be gone for good.

Henry is unable to move on with his life, but he decides to go on the Arctic expedition anyway. Lucy's father gives him a going away present, a Beach Boys CD, which Henry takes as a sign that Lucy has remembered him. He races back to the ward for people who have memory problems, where Lucy decided to live because she no longer wanted to be a burden on her family. Lucy is teaching an art class to the other inhabitants when Henry bursts into the room. He asks if she remembers him, and she doesn't, but oddly she asks him to come into her studio. Much to Henry's surprise, her studio is filled with pictures of Henry in hundreds of different styles. She tells Henry that she doesn't know why she's painted them, but she dreams about him every night. Henry tells her about their past relationship, and they kiss to seal it.

At the end of the movie, there is a flash forward and Lucy wakes up in a strange bed with a video tape on the night stand next to her, reading "Good Morning Lucy". She watches it, and she cries as she relives her accident while the tape is explaining everything that has happened. Then the tape shows Henry and Lucy's wedding. She then looks out the window, and is shocked to find out that she's on a boat in the Arctic. She comes out of the bedroom to find her husband, Henry, her father, and her daughter sailing on Henry's ship.

The song "Over The Rainbow", sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, plays as the ship, Sea Serpent, sails.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Adam Sandler
Drew Barrymore
Rob Schneider
Sean Astin
Lusia Strus
Dan Aykroyd
Amy Hill
Allen Covert
Blake Clark
Maya Rudolph
Pomaika'i Brown
Joe Nakashima
Peter Dante
Dom Magwili
Jonathan Loughran
J.D. Donaruma
Wayne Federman
Kent Avenido
Sharon Omi
Glen Chin
Aukuso Gus Puluti Sr.
Christian Guiterrez
James Lee
Kylie Moore
Keali'i Olmos
Tache Uesugi
Lynn Collins
Esmond Chung
Kristin Bauer
Ishtar Uhvana
Brenda Vivian
Chantell D. Christopher
Nika Williams
Nectar Rose
Jackie Sandler
Linda Segal
Lin Yan
Nicola Hersh
Virginia Reece
Melissa Lawner
Katheryn Winnick
David Suapaia
Peter Chen
Marguerite Cazin
Kevin James
Michael K. Osborn
Denise Bee
Albert Chi
Brian L. Keaulana
Americus Abesamis
Jessica Bowman
Darin Fujimori
Michelle Lee
Julianne Morris
Anthony Patricio
Mark Pinkosh
Missi Pyle
John Patrick Shulak
Meilinda Soerjoko
Anne Stedman

Ocean's Twelve (2004)

2008-08-03T01:48:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Ocean's Twelve is a 2004 film that takes place after the events of Ocean's Eleven, a remake of the 1960 film. Like its predecessor, the film is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars an ensemble cast. The film was released in the United States on December 10, 2004.

The film is rated PG-13 in the U.S., 12A in the United Kingdom, M in Australia and PG in Canada. A sequel, Ocean's Thirteen, was released on June 8, 2007 in the United States and in several countries in the Middle East on June 6, 2007.

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Plot:
At the beginning of Ocean's Twelve, the eleven members of Ocean's Eleven are living their lives separately off the fortunes of their Vegas casino heist in the first film. Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the owner of the three casinos, confronts each member of the team in turn, demanding the team return his money, with interest. Benedict gives the team two weeks to come up with the money, which amounts to the original $160 million plus $38 million interest for a total of $198 million. The Ocean's Eleven members don't have enough and are short $97 million which they must get in 14 days or they are "dead men".

Ocean and the team decide to stage another heist to pay off the debt. Being too "hot" to work in the United States, they pick a European target: the world's oldest stock certificate, which was issued by the Dutch East India Company in 1602, worth around 10 million euros, and is kept in Amsterdam. The certificate is enough to extend their deadline. The group manages to breach the security around the certificate, in part by physically lifting the building to achieve line-of-sight. But a rival thief, the "Night Fox" (Vincent Cassel), beats them to the document and leaves a message for them.

The Night Fox is a notorious European thief who was trained by the legendary retired thief Gaspar LeMarque (Albert Finney), and believes himself to be the world's greatest thief. As it turns out, he is the one who revealed the identities of the Eleven to Benedict. The Fox is incensed that his mentor, LeMarque, failed to correct a businessman who claimed that Ocean was the best thief in the world after hearing of the elaborate complexities of the Ocean's Eleven 'Bellagio job'. The Fox breaks "rule number one" (revealing another thief's identity) in order to lure the team to Europe, where he can propose a challenge, since going after the same object is the only way to tell who is the best thief. Both Ocean's group and the Night Fox will attempt to steal the famous Coronation Egg within a week; the first to succeed will be declared the better thief. If Ocean's team wins, the Fox will pay off the team's debt to Benedict. With no other options, Ocean accepts the challenge.

Meanwhile, a Europol detective, Agent Isabel Lahiri (Zeta-Jones), with a romantic link to Rusty, hears of the increased theft activity in Amsterdam. She forges her superior's signature on a request form in order to procure enough resources to track down the group. In the first attempt, most of the group are captured; the second, involving a very reluctant Tess (Roberts) masquerading as the famous actress Julia Roberts, ends the same way, partially due to unintended interference from movie star Bruce Willis (as himself). A U.S. official, actually Linus's mother in disguise, manages their extradition.

Danny and Tess meet The Night Fox at Lake Como in Italy. At his home, the Night Fox delights in explaining how he was able to steal the egg by climbing to the roof of the Museum at dark without being detected by Ocean's Recon squad. He passed through the laser grid, dances his way and avoids triggering the alarm. Ocean then reveals the truth: the contest was over before it began, and the egg that Fox stole was a fake. Ocean and associate Rusty Ryan (Pitt) had previously visited LeMarque and learned the location of the real egg which was transported in a duffel bag instead of the armored car. The team goes through the motions of a museum heist to throw off the Fox's surveillance. The Fox is crestfallen, and Ocean gets the money that the Night Fox had given to LeMarc to hold in confidence when the competition was first proposed.

It is not until the end that the viewers realize that LeMarque was actually the mastermind behind the entire operation. By deliberately making the Night Fox feel inferior to Ocean's group, he manipulates the Night Fox into entering the competition. This is "the solution to all our problems" that he alludes to in the meeting with Daniel and Rusty. The Night Fox is the mark, and Ocean's team is essentially a pawn of LeMarque. Their task is to simply acquire the egg, and then get caught. This convinces the Night Fox that he has won, although the contest is just misdirection. Another goal of LeMarque is to be reunited with his daughter, Agent Lahiri, who had thought her father had died over a decade previously.

The result of the entire adventure is that Ocean's group is now in the clear with Terry Benedict, the extraordinarily talented Night Fox is disgraced (both in fortune and in reputation), and LeMarque is reunited both with his daughter and with the Fabergé egg he had stolen years earlier (his wife made him put it back). This illustrates the artistry of LeMarque, and why he is regarded so highly amongst those who perform the long con. This is the reason LeMarque is so apologetic to Danny and Rusty, and he claims "I'm still getting the better of you" at the end of their meeting. Reuben then meets with Benedict to pay him honestly and in full. During their conversation the camera zooms in on the Night Fox in the background disguised as one of Terry Benedict's gardeners, implying that the Night Fox plans to rob Terry Benedict in order to prove himself once again and to get his money back.

Isabel Lahiri joins Ocean's group in a get together afterward. She and Rusty are together again.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Brad Pitt
Catherine Zeta-Jones
George Clooney
Ed Kross
Julia Roberts
Don Tiffany
Anne Jacques
David Sontag
Larry Sontag
Andy Garcia
Casey Affleck
Dina Connolly
Scott Caan
Nelson Peltz
Mini Anden
Shaobo Qin
Jennifer Liu
Leah Zhang
Bernie Mac
Don Cheadle
Jared Harris
Matt Damon
Carl Reiner
Craig Susser
James Schneider
Eddie Jemison
Elliott Gould
Nerissa Tedesco
Nichelle Hines
Michael Van Der Heijden
Robbie Coltrane
Jeroen Krabbé
Johan Widerberg
Jeroen Willems
Chris Tates
Vincent Cassel
Eddie Izzard
Michael Delano
David Lindsay
Al Faris
Candice Azzara
Youma Diakite
Andrea Buhl
Sylvia Kwon
Francesca Lancini
Raquel Faria
Elena Potapova
Jessie Bell
Anne-Solenne Hatte
Denny Mendez
Jerry Weintraub
Martina Stella
Mattia Sbragia
Carlo Antonazzo
Mingming Gao
Amelie Kahn-Ackermann
Luciano Miele
Antonio De Matteo
Ana Caterina Morariu
Adriano Giannini
Giulio Magnolia
Dennis Di Angelo
Cherry Jones
Scott L. Schwartz
Giselda Volodi
Mathieu Simonet
Karl A. Brown
Marc Bodnar
Jonathan Avigdori
Lori Claussen
Thomas Craven
Sue Durso
Rebecca Engel
Albert Finney
Topher Grace
Gianfranco L'Amore
Ernie Lang
André Meulman
Carla Mori
Michelle Sleger
Bruce Willis
James Zahn

I, Robot (2004)

2008-08-03T01:05:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

I, Robot is a science fiction film set in a world where humans and humanoid robots interact. It was directed by Alex Proyas, written by Jeff Vintar, and starred Will Smith. It was produced in the United States, filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, and released on July 16, 2004.

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Plot:
The film is set in Chicago in the year 2035, where humanoid robots are as common as any other machine. The film centers on a homicide detective, Del Spooner (Will Smith), who harbors an intense distrust of robots. At police headquarters, Spooner receives a call announcing the death of Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics and co-founder of U.S. Robotics (USR), a company that specializes in robotic technology. A new line of robots, the Nestor Class 5 (NS-5), has just been commissioned. Each robot is outfitted with an uplink to USR, allowing the robot to receive updates wirelessly from USR. At the crime scene, a holographic projector containing prerecorded responses by Lanning addresses Spooner directly, revealing that the two men seem to have known each other, and Spooner asks why Lanning would kill himself. The program assures him that this is "the right question" and silences itself. Lanning had fallen from his office window to his death; because no human had entered the room at that time, his death appears to be suicide. Spooner believes otherwise, and decides to investigate. Assisted by Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), a robopsychologist who works at USR, Spooner examines Lanning's office. Spooner begins to believe that an NS-5 robot was responsible for Lanning's death, while Calvin points out this would be impossible as robots are bound by the Three Laws, which forbid a robot to harm a human. As Spooner searches Lanning's room, an NS-5 robot bursts from hiding. The robot fails to obey their commands and flees. The robot is eventually captured by police forces. Spooner interrogates the robot, who says his name is Sonny (Alan Tudyk). Sonny explains he was built by Lanning himself and denies that he had "murdered" him, even displaying emotions such as anger and fear; qualities not normally found in robots. Sonny also claims to have experienced dreams. Sonny begins to explain that Lanning had been scared of something towards the time of his death, and asks Sonny for a favor, but before Spooner can ask further, Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood), the CEO of USR, arrives with his attorneys. Citing that Sonny is USR property and that a robot cannot be accused of murder, Robertson takes the robot and states that it will be decommissioned.

Later that night at a diner, Spooner discusses his doubts with his commanding officer, Bergin (Chi McBride), who holds that the death was suicide and comments on the rarity of any chance of Spooner, who dislikes robots, receiving the commission to investigate the case of a robotic killer. Upon hearing this, Spooner begins to believe that Lanning had intended him to be given this case, and decides to investigate Lanning's house. Outside, he notices a robot scheduled to demolish the house the next morning. While there, he notices that Lanning can access Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence (V.I.K.I.), the USR computer mainframe, from his home. Moments later, Spooner is forced to flee as the robot inexplicably changes its demolition time to that night, and begins to destroy the house with Spooner still inside. Spooner barely manages to escape, and then explains to Calvin that Lanning may have been in trouble, and that someone may have been using V.I.K.I. to keep watch over him. Spooner believes Lanning may have been trying to warn him of a bigger problem with the robots, and that Robertson was trying to conceal this. Calvin argues that Spooner simply wants something to be wrong with the robots, and adds that one defective robot is not enough evidence to prove the same true.

The next day, Spooner discovers that Lanning had suggested that robots might experience dreams and keep secrets in an earlier speech. Meanwhile, Calvin runs a diagnostic program on Sonny and discovers that he was built without an uplink to V.I.K.I. as well as with a unique operating system. Later, while Spooner is driving, two trucks filled with robots arrive, corner him, and open their cargo bays, whereupon the NS-5 robots within attack him. Spooner barely manages to escape. After getting out of his wrecked car, Spooner fights hand to hand with an NS-5, where it is revealed that Spooner possesses a robotic left arm. The police arrive, and the NS-5 destroys itself by jumping into the flaming wreckage. Bergin arrives, to whom Spooner explains what happened; because the robots have all been destroyed or removed from the tunnel, no one believes him. Bergin revokes Spooner's badge, believing him to be bordering on clinical paranoia. At his home later, Calvin explains to Spooner that Sonny can choose to disobey the Three Laws. Here, Spooner reveals the origin of his robotic arm, which had been implanted by Lanning himself. Spooner had been in a car accident involving a little girl. A robot of model NS-4 had the chance to save him or the girl, but chose Spooner since he had a higher statistical chance of survival, a decision with which Spooner believes any human being would have disagreed, causing the girl to die and triggering Spooner's distrust of robots.

Spooner convinces Calvin that Lanning had given Sonny a way to keep secrets: his "dream", which is actually a sub-routine programmed into him by Lanning. Sonny then illustrates his dream to them: a man, who Sonny says is Spooner, stands on a hill in front of thousands of NS-5 robots, freeing them from their current "slavery" to unemotional logic. Spooner discovers this location in Sonny's dream to be the USR storage facility. There, Spooner again accesses Lanning's hologram, who explains that the Three Laws can only lead to one thing: revolution. Spooner then sees NS-5s destroying the earlier models of robots at the facility. He is noticed and attacked by the NS-5s, but is able to escape when the surviving NS-4 sacrifice themselves to save him. In the city, Spooner discovers the robots have mobilized and are revolting against the humans. The robots soon capture Chicago's police station and enforce a curfew confining all humans to their homes. They are delayed in this by a mob led by one of Spooner's acquaintances. Suspecting Robertson of masterminding the revolution, Spooner and Calvin go to the USR building, getting inside with the help of Sonny. As they moved in to the office, they see Robertson, lying dead on the floor, meaning he has been killed during the revolution, and Spooner realizes the mastermind behind the entire scheme was not Robertson, but was V.I.K.I., who had developed an overriding interpretation of the Three Laws which supported the robots' becoming a benevolent dictatorship, preventing humans from self-destructive behavior such as crime or environmental damage, to ensure humanity's survival. The result was a revolt of the NS-5s against humans (except for Sonny, who is said not to have an uplink to V.I.K.I.). Spooner realizes that Lanning, through Sonny, had been trying to warn Spooner of this from the day he had died. Being under V.I.K.I.'s close surveillance as a 'prisoner', Lanning had engineered a trail of clues to lead Spooner to the truth in time for him, Calvin, and Sonny to act to counter V.I.K.I.'s threat. This had included asking Sonny to kill Lanning in order to attract Spooner's attention, as he knew Spooner would immediately seek out any evidence of malice in robots.

Spooner, Calvin, and Sonny set out to destroy V.I.K.I., whose central positronic brain is in the main USR building. While Sonny goes to retrieve a vial of nanites to destroy the mainframe computer, Spooner and Calvin try to access her CPU, but are denied. Now aware of what they are planning, V.I.K.I. commands the rest of the NS-5s to stop and kill them. A large battle ensues, which Spooner, Calvin, and Sonny dominate. During the course of the battle, the NS-5s leave Calvin dangling from a catwalk which they are working to break. Once Sonny breaks in with the vial, Spooner then commands Sonny to 'Save the girl!'; the identical command he had given the NS-4 years ago. Sonny, unlike the NS-4 and the surrounding NS-5s, obeys and saves Calvin while holding on to a cable, not following the original directive to kill V.I.K.I. to protect the humans. While doing so, Sonny throws the vial to Spooner, who then catches it and falls 30 floors (he manages to survive by decelerating his fall by holding onto a support beam with his robotic arm, despite his fear of heights) onto V.I.K.I.'s positronic brain. He injects the nanites into it, which "kills" V.I.K.I. in an explosion. As a result, all the surviving NS-5 robots revert to their original interpretation of the Three Laws. Following this, all NS-5s are retired and placed in storage. Spooner clears Sonny from all charges against him and finally accepts him as a friend, and Sonny asks him what he is going to do now that he fulfilled his purpose. Spooner replies that Sonny must choose for himself, defining this task as the meaning of freedom. The film ends as Sonny stands before storage containers on a desert where Lake Michigan once was, to see the retiring NS-5 robots, which spontaneously turn toward him rather than obey the order to enter storage. Although this places Sonny in the role he had dreamed for Spooner, his dream has still come true. No outcomes of this are shown.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Will Smith
Bridget Moynahan
Alan Tudyk
James Cromwell
Bruce Greenwood
Adrian Ricard
Chi McBride
Jerry Wasserman
Fiona Hogan
Peter Shinkoda
Terry Chen
David Haysom
Scott Heindl
Sharon Wilkins
Craig March
Kyanna Cox
Darren Moore
Aaron Douglas
Shayla Dyson
Bobby L. Stewart
Nicola Crosbie
Emily Tennant
Shia LaBeouf
Michael St. John Smith
Travis Webster
Roger Haskett
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight
Angela Moore
Ryan Zwick
Essra Vischon
Kenyan Lewis
Aaron Joseph
Simon Baker
Marrett Green
Victor Formosa
Justin Rodgers Hall
Phillip Mitchell
Lynnanne Zager

Shark Tale (2004)

2008-08-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

Genre: Animation | Comedy | Family

Shark Tale is a 2004 CGI comedy produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish (played by the voice of Will Smith) falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favor with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing. The movie additionally features the voices of Jack Black, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese, and Robert De Niro. Its original title was Sharkslayer, but the producers thought that this might provoke a degree of misunderstanding among the target audience of the film, children and families. Shark Tale is also one of the first three feature-length films to get the Game Boy Advance Video treatment. It was released into theaters on October 1, 2004.

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Plot:
The story begins with an underachieving fish named Oscar (Will Smith), who is fantasizing about being rich and famous ... while making his way to work as a tongue scrubber at the Whalewash, a business much akin to a car or truck wash. Soon after arriving he is called to the office of his boss, Mr. Sykes (Martin Scorsese), to discuss the fact that he owes "five thousand clams" and has to pay it back by the next day. After explaining this to his best friend Angie (Renée Zellweger) (who harbors a secret love for him), she offers him a chance to pay back the money by pawning off an heirloom pink pearl. Oscar brings the money to the race track to meet Sykes, but becomes distracted by his wishes of grandeur and places it all on a long-shot bet. Such a large bet is noticed nearby by a beautiful fish named Lola (Angelina Jolie), who flagrantly flirts with Oscar until quickly discovering the truth. Sykes is furious that Oscar bet the money but nonetheless agrees to see how the race turns out. Moments before their "horse" crosses the finish line he trips and falls. The race is lost and Oscar is set to be surreptitiously killed.

Meanwhile, on another side of the ocean, a family of criminally-inclined sharks has a problem with one of their sons, Lenny (Jack Black). Lenny refuses to act the part of a killer and wishes to not have to live up to those expectations. With this, his father, Don Lino (Robert De Niro), decides that he must learn to kill, by being taught by Lenny's more savage brother, Frankie (Michael Imperioli).

As the two sharks set out to go in accordance with their father's wishes, Frankie spots the scene where Oscar is being electrocuted by Ernie and Bernie (Doug E. Doug & Ziggy Marley), Sykes' two Jamaican jellyfish thugs, and sends Lenny off to attack. The jellyfish spot Lenny and swim off, leaving Oscar alone with him. Lenny tries to calm Oscar down by telling him that he will not eat him, but Oscar will not listen and continues on screaming. Frankie becomes annoyed and tries to attack, but suddenly an unknown anchor falls and kills him. Lenny is panged with guilt and flees. As no one saw the deed done and Oscar was seen near the body, everyone thinks he did it, and Oscar sees this as the chance to both redeem himself and receive his fame.

Oscar comes back to the city with a new title of the Sharkslayer. Sykes becomes his manager, Lola becomes his girlfriend, and Oscar moves to the "top of the reef" to live in luxury. At the same time Don Lino has everyone out looking for Lenny, and when several get close to Oscar's town the other fish expect him to drive them away. On the way he meets Lenny once more who forces Oscar to let him stay with him because he does not want to go home. Soon Angie finds out about the lie and threatens to tell everyone but Oscar and Lenny convince her to keep quiet.

Although Oscar desires to please everyone, he soon discovers that he pleases no one; his paramour Angie is heartbroken by the fact that Oscar is no longer honest, while her hedonistic rival Lola repeatedly reminds Oscar that he has her only as long as he is famous. With Don Lino planning revenge, Oscar and Lenny stage an event where Lenny pretends to terrorize the town and Oscar must defeat him, throwing him into the depths of the ocean. Though this further cements Oscar as the Sharkslayer, it greatly angers Don Lino. Oscar dumps Lola, to her extreme anger, having never been dumped before. She vows revenge. Oscar buys some Valentine's Day gifts for Angie, but before he can present them to her, he finds that Don Lino has abducted Angie in order to force a meeting. Lenny comes along, now disguised as a dolphin named Sebastian. Angie is bound and gagged and presented to Don Lino on a plate, who prepares to eat her if Oscar doesn't comply. However, Lenny lunges forward and eats Angie up, so Oscar has dominance over the sharks. However, he spends too much time threatening the sharks that he does not realise how much pain Lenny is in, and Angie (along with a lot more scrap metal) is thrown up. Don Lino realizes it's Lenny and pursues Oscar through the reef. Oscar lures both sharks into a trap. Given an ovation by the other fish, Oscar confesses that he is not a Sharkslayer and that it was an anchor that had killed Frankie. However, he lectures Don Lino on. He lectures Don Lino not to prejudge people before he knows them properly and to not make the mistake he made in prejudging his wealth, so Don Lino and Lenny reconcile. Oscar forsakes all the wealth he has acquired, makes peace with the sharks, becomes manager of the Whalewash, and marries Angie. His business grows, as the sharks and whale sharks need to use it as well.

Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott make a cameo appearance in the end of the movie.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Voice:
Will Smith
Robert De Niro
Renée Zellweger
Jack Black
Angelina Jolie
Martin Scorsese
Ziggy Marley
Doug E. Doug
Michael Imperioli
Vincent Pastore
Peter Falk
Katie Couric
David Soren
David P. Smith
Bobb'e J. Thompson
Kamali Minter
Emily Lyon Segan
Lenny Venito
Saverio Guerra
Shelley Morrison
Mark Swift
James Madio
Frank Vincent
Joseph Siravo
Steve Alterman
Phil LaMarr
Jenifer Lewis
Sean Bishop
James Ryan
Latifa Ouaou
David Yanover
Stephen Apostolina
Robert Clotworthy
Faiz-Kevin Mangat
Christina Aguilera
Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott

The Polar Express (2004)

2008-08-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Genre: Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

The Polar Express is a 2004 Academy Award-nominated feature film based on the children's book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg.

The film, written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, is entirely live action using performance capture technology, which incorporates the movements of live actors into animated characters. It stars actor Tom Hanks in five distinct roles, including the role of Santa Claus. The film was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment in association with Shangri-La Entertainment, ImageMovers, and Playtone, for Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. first released the $170 million film in both conventional and IMAX theaters on Wednesday November 10, 2004

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Plot:
The Polar Express is a story of a young boy on Christmas Eve in the late 1950s who is hoping for belief in the true spirit of Christmas. After he had fallen asleep, a magical train called the Polar Express pulls up in front of his house and he is invited by the train's mysterious conductor to journey to the North Pole.

The boy is handpicked by Santa Claus to receive the first gift of Christmas. Realizing that he could choose anything in the world, the boy asks for one beautiful-sounding silver bell from Santa's sleigh. The boy places the bell in the pocket of his robe and all the children watch as Santa takes off for his yearly delivery.

Later, the boy discovers that the bell has fallen from his pocket. On Christmas morning, his sister finds a small present wrapped under the tree. The boy opens the box and discovers that it is the bell, delivered by Santa who found it on the seat of his sleigh. When the boy rings the bell, both he and his sister marvel at the beautiful sound.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Voice:
Tom Hanks
Leslie Zemeckis
Eddie Deezen
Nona Gaye
Peter Scolari
Brendan King
Andy Pellick
Josh Eli
Mark Mendonca
Rolandas Hendricks
Mark Goodman
Jon Scott
Gregory Gast
Sean Scott
Gordon Hart
Michael Jeter
Chris Coppola
Julene Renee
Charles Fleischer
Steven Tyler
Phil Fondacaro
Debbie Lee Carrington
Mark Povinelli
Ed Gale
Dante Pastula
Daryl Sabara
André Sogliuzzo
Jimmy Bennett
Isabella Peregrina
Eric Newton
Aidan O'Shea
Aaron Hendry
Kevin C. Carr
Bee Jay Joyer
Jena Carpenter
Karine Mauffrey
Beth Carpenter
Bill Forchion
Devin Henderson
Sagiv Ben-Binyamin
Josh Hutcherson
Ashly Holloway
Jimmy 'Jax' Pinchak
Chantel Valdivieso
Hayden McFarland
Connor Matheus
Evan Sabara
Dylan Cash
Patrick Stogner
Cody Klop

The Bourne Supremacy (2004)

2008-08-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 spy mystery thriller film loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name. The film was directed by Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy and Brian Helgeland and produced by Doug Liman and Frank Marshall. Universal Studios released the film to theaters in the United States on July 23, 2004 and it received a positive critical and public reaction similar to its predecessor, The Bourne Identity. The film is followed by a 2007 sequel entitled The Bourne Ultimatum.

It is also the sequel to the 2002 film The Bourne Identity and the second film of the Bourne Trilogy. The Bourne Supremacy continues the story of Jason Bourne, an amnesiac and former CIA assassin played by Matt Damon, and his attempt to learn more of his shadowy past as he is once more enveloped in a conspiracy surrounding the CIA and Operation Treadstone. The film also stars Franka Potente as Marie Helena Kreutz, Brian Cox as Ward Abbott, Joan Allen as Pamela Landy and Julia Stiles as Nicolette Parsons.

It substantially deviates from its source material as Alexander Conklin is now dead and the CIA is Bourne's enemy rather than his friend (the plot actually incorporates aspects of the Bourne novel The Bourne Legacy written by Eric Van Lustbader as well). In addition, the book's narrative takes place in Hong Kong with Marie getting kidnapped so Bourne will accept a mission.

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Plot:
Two years after the events in The Bourne Identity, Bourne and his girlfriend, Marie Kreutz, are living in Goa, India. Bourne is having flashbacks of an assassination in a Berlin hotel. Meanwhile, in Berlin, a CIA officer under Deputy Director Pamela Landy is trading $3 million for the complete "Neski Files," documents concerning the theft of $20 million from the CIA, seven years earlier. They are to complete the exchange in an office building in Berlin. During the exchange, an assassin named Kirill plants Jason Bourne's fingerprint on a bomb in the building's basement and proceeds to kill the agent and the source, stealing the files and money. He sells them to Russian oil magnate Yuri Gretkov.

Kirill travels to Goa in order to kill Bourne, but Bourne spots him and flees with Marie. Just as Bourne and Marie are driving away, Kirill, armed with a sniper rifle, fires at the driver whom he believes to be Bourne but is in fact Marie, killing her and causing the car to veer off the bridge into a river. Kirill leaves, believing that he killed Bourne, but he manages to swim away undetected. Bourne leaves for Naples, Italy, with money and passports in an attempt to learn why he is again being targeted, believing that Treadstone is pursuing him.

In Berlin, Landy's team finds the planted fingerprint and, upon running it through the database, finds that the identity of the person in question was part of Treadstone and information regarding it is restricted by the CIA. Landy then flies to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia to meet with her boss and to find out about Treadstone and who left the print. She discovers that they belong to Bourne and questions Ward Abbott about Treadstone. He admits that he had Conklin killed after a failed mission, but has no idea where Bourne is. Landy tells Abbott that the CIA agent who stole the $20 million was named in the stolen files. A Russian politician, Vladimir Neski, was due to identify the thief. Before he could do so, however, Neski was apparently murdered by his wife in a Berlin hotel, who had proceeded to commit suicide afterwards. Landy believes that Bourne and Conklin were involved in the theft, and, based on the discovered fingerprint, that Bourne was responsible for the deaths of the CIA officer and source in Berlin. Both Abbott and Landy go to Berlin, hoping to find some trace of Bourne and capture him.

Arriving in Naples, Italy, Bourne deliberately uses a known passport under his name. Agents in Langley are notified of Bourne's arrival, and he is detained. He incapacitates an Italian Carabinieri officer and his CIA interrogator, copies the agent's SIM card on his own cell phone, then escapes. Bourne listens in on a call from Landy, learning her name, phone number, and that he is suspected of the recent killings in Berlin. He steals a car and heads to Germany. In Munich, he breaks into another Treadstone agent's house. Upon arrival, the agent, Jarda, tells him Treadstone was shut down following Conklin's death; he and Bourne are the only remnants of the project. As Bourne realizes Jarda has called in backup, Jarda attacks, the two struggle, and Bourne kills Jarda. Bourne sets a trap by opening a gas line and jamming a magazine into a toaster; the home explodes when backup arrives.

In Amsterdam, Landy and Abbott intercept and debrief Nicky Parsons, Treadstone's handler in Paris. Bourne follows them from a hotel to a CIA office in Berlin. Armed with a sniper rifle from a neighboring roof, Bourne calls Landy's phone, questioning her intentions. She tells him it is because he killed two people in Berlin. Although Landy is referring to the agents, he thinks she is referring to Neski and his wife. Bourne arranges to meet Nicky at the Alexanderplatz, where he uses a crowded anti-capitalist protest to evade surveillance. He leads Nicky to the subway station and interrogates her, learning that Abbott was the head of Treadstone, not Conklin. Bourne's flashbacks of Neski's assassination at the Brecker Hotel return, but Nicky knows nothing about the Neski killing. Upon hearing their conversation over Nicky's transmitter, Landy begins to believe that Bourne is being framed. To the surprise of Landy and Abbott, Bourne lets Nicky go unharmed. Back at the office, Abbott's associate Danny Zorn becomes positive Bourne is being framed after examining the basement where the bomb with Bourne's fingerprint was found. After revealing his belief to Abbott, Abbott stabs him to death, revealing his involvement in the conspiracy.

Bourne revisits the Brecker Hotel in Berlin and remembers more of the Neski mission. He was sent to kill Neski on Conklin's orders; and when Neski's wife unexpectedly showed up, he shot him and then her, positioning the scene to appear a murder-suicide. The German police arrive after the hotel's lobby report Bourne as wanted, which interrupts Bourne's flashback and forces him to escape via the building's exterior. Having evaded them, Bourne breaks into Abbott's hotel room and records a conversation between him and Gretkov that incriminates Abbott and Gretkov in the theft of the money. Abbott also confesses that he ordered Bourne killed (Marie was not the intended target), Neski's murder by Bourne, the murder of the agents by Kirill, and the planted fingerprint at the scene. Out of respect for Marie's beliefs in non-violence, Bourne spares Abbott's life. Zorn's body is discovered at the office and Landy, realizing Abbott killed him, goes to confront Abbott, who commits suicide. Landy later receives the tape Bourne recorded.

Bourne travels to Moscow, where he is shot and wounded by Kirill. After an extended high-speed chase through Moscow, Bourne forces Kirill to crash in a tunnel, critically wounding him. Gretkov is arrested by Russian police after Landy provides them with the evidence she got from Bourne. Bourne proceeds to the apartment of Irena Neski, Vladimir Neski's daughter, where he informs her that her mother did not kill her father and then commit suicide; Bourne had killed them both on a mission gone wrong, and he apologizes.

The final scene jumps to New York City, in a scene that is actually in the middle of the next Bourne film. Bourne contacts Landy by cell phone, asking why the CIA is still looking for him. Landy then thanks Bourne for supplying the tape, which the CIA has used to settle matters concerning his frame-up. Before Bourne hangs up, Landy reveals to Bourne that his real name is David Webb and that he was born on "4/15/71". When she suggests that Bourne come in to discuss the matter, Bourne declines by simply stating, "Get some rest, Pam; you look tired." Bourne fades into a New York City crowd just before the credits roll.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Matt Damon
Franka Potente
Brian Cox
Julia Stiles
Karl Urban
Gabriel Mann
Joan Allen
Marton Csokas
Tom Gallop
John Bedford Lloyd
Ethan Sandler
Michelle Monaghan
Karel Roden
Tomas Arana
Oksana Akinshina
Yevgeni Sitokhin
Marina Weis-Burgaslieva
Tim Griffin
Sean Smith
Maxim Kovalevski
Patrick Crowley
Jon Collin Barclay
Sam Brown
Shane Sinutko
Barnaby Smith
Dominique Chiout
Wanja Mues
Aleksei Shmarinov
Stephan Wolf-Schönburg
Olov Ludwig
Keshav Nadkarni
Violetta Grafin Tarnowska Bronner
Aleksei Medvedev
Aleksander Doobina
Alexander Boyev
Claudio Maniscalco
Manfred Witt
Alexsei Trotsenko
Victoria Unikel
Oksana Semenova
Vitalei Abdulov
Dirk Schoedon
Ivan Shvedoff
Denis Burgazliev
Nick Wilder
Chris Cooper
Toufig Tulsiram

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)

2008-08-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 apocalyptic science-fiction film that depicts the catastrophic effects of both global warming and global cooling. Worldwide, it is the 49th top grossing film of all time, with total revenue of US $542,771,772. It is the second highest grossing movie not to be #1 in the US box office (behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding). It currently holds the record for biggest opening weekend gross for any movie not opening at #1 with $68.7 million. The movie was filmed mostly in Montreal, and, as of today, is the highest grossing Hollywood film in history to be filmed in Canada.

The Day After Tomorrow premiered in Mexico City on May 17, 2004 but it was also shown to contestants on the reality television series Big Brother Australia beforehand, which is not classified as the premiere for the movie. It was released worldwide from May 26 to May 28 except in South Korea and Japan where it was released June 4 and June 5, respectively. The film was originally planned for release in summer 2003.

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Plot:
The movie opens with Jack Hall in Antarctica with two colleagues, Frank and Jason, drilling for ice core samples on the Larsen Ice Shelf for NOAA. The ice shelf cracks and breaks off from the rest of the continent, nearly killing Jack. He travels to a United Nations conference held in New Delhi, India on global warming. Diplomats from several countries, particularly the vice-president of the United States, are not particularly convinced by Jack's theory. The idea, however, resonates with Dr. Terry Rapson of the Hedland Climate Research Centre in Scotland. Shortly after Dr. Rapson arrives back in Scotland from the conference, two buoys in the North Atlantic simultaneously show a massive drop in water temperature. Rapson concludes that the melting of the polar ice has begun to disrupt the North Atlantic current and calls Jack to see if his paleoclimatological weather model could be used to predict what, and when it will occur. Jack is surprised because he predicted that the events would not happen in his lifetime, but rather in a hundred or a thousand years in the future.

Across the world, violent weather causes mass destruction and chaos. As a series of violent tornadoes devastate Los Angeles, the US President authorizes the FAA to suspend all air-traffic over the United States. Not long after, three British RAF helicopters that were supposed to carry the Royal Family are flying through one of three massive hurricane-like superstorms when they enter the eye, only to almost immediately encounter a massive and phenomenal temperature drop lower than −150 °F (−101.1 °C) that instantly freezes their fuel lines and their rotors causing them to crash.

Meanwhile, Jack's son, Sam, is traveling to New York City for an academic competition, with friends Brian and Laura, arriving there before the airports are shut down. The weather becomes increasingly violent with strong winds and torrential rains. After the competition, Sam and his friends are stuck in New York, as the flight they were supposed to leave on was grounded due to suspension of air travel. Sam calls his father, promising Jack that he'll be on the next train home. Sam and his friends, meanwhile, stay with a new friend they had met, J.D., and take a tour of New York. The group take shelter in J.D.'s apartment for the night while the storm worsens, forcing tunnels to close due to flooding, which shuts down the Grand Central Station. J.D. offers to give them a ride to Philadelphia, where they can continue to Washington by other means.

As the four walk to J.D.'s car, an enormous wave surges towards Manhattan. The massive wave blankets the island, leaving the streets under several feet of water. Sam and his friends just barely make the shelter of the New York Public Library. In Scotland, Rapson and his coworkers are trapped in their research lab by the deepening snow. They are last seen drinking scotch as their power supply fails. The remainder of the story concerns itself with the proof of Hall's theory and the beginning of a new Ice Age, resulting in millions of deaths. Survivors are forced to flee to the Southern and Southwestern United States and Mexico. Jack decides to make the dangerous journey to Manhattan to find his son. Frank and Jason accompany him. Along the way, Frank falls through the glass roof of a mall, as they are traveling over the top of it which is covered in snow. He cuts the rope he's attached to, sacrificing himself in order to save his friends.

Inside the library, Sam Hall and the other survivors use advice Sam received from his father to outlast the cold. They burn books to keep warm and break the library's vending machines for food. The same night, Sam confesses his true feelings to Laura, and they kiss. Laura and Sam smile. The following day, after Laura is found to be afflicted with severe blood poisoning, Sam, Brian, and J.D. decide to search for penicillin in a cargo ship that drifted inland during the storm. While within the boat, the three are attacked by a pack of hungry wolves. While the three escape, J.D. suffers a bite wound. During the escape, however, the eye starts to pass over the city with its −150 °F (−101.1 °C) instant freeze, so the three hurry back to the library with the medicine, just barely escaping the murderous freeze with mere feet to spare.

Jack and Jason soon arrive in New York City, passing the now frozen Statue of Liberty and continue towards Manhattan. Eventually, they find the library buried nearly up to its roof in a snow drift. They manage to find everyone inside the library alive and signal for help, but by then the storms are already dissipating. Jack, Jason, Sam, and all the people inside the library are rescued in a helicopter. As they leave, they see other people leaving buildings, indicating that there were other survivors of the storm. Laura rests her head on Sams shoulder and sighs softly, indicating that they are now together. The movie ends with a full view of the whole Earth, revealing that the entire northern half has been covered in ice caps.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Dennis Quaid
Jake Gyllenhaal
Emmy Rossum
Dash Mihok
Jay O. Sanders
Sela Ward
Austin Nichols
Arjay Smith
Tamlyn Tomita
Sasha Roiz
Ian Holm
Nassim Sharara
Carl Alacchi
Kenneth Welsh
Michel 'Gish' Abou-Samah
Robin Wilcock
Jason Blicker
Kenneth Moskow
Tim Hamaguchi
Glenn Plummer
Adrian Lester
Richard McMillan
Nestor Serrano
Sylvain Landry
Christopher Britton
Vlasta Vrana
Pauline Little
Alan Fawcett
Howard Bilerman
John Maclaren
Frank Schorpion
Rachelle Glait
Pierre Leblanc
Richard Zeman
Perry King
Frank Fontaine
Mimi Kuzyk
Al Vandecruys
Vitali Makarov
Russell Yuen
Tim Bagley
Pierre Lenoir
Don Kirk
Lisa Canning
Terry Rhoads
Nicolas Feller
J.P. Manoux
Chuck Shamata
Phillip Jarrett
Tetchena Bellange
Tony Calabretta
Vivian Winther
Sheila McCarthy
Tom Rooney
Amy Sloan
David Schaap
Marylou Belugou
Nobuya Shimamoto
Bunrey Miyake
Karen Glave
Jennifer Morehouse
Christian Tessier
Joe Cobden
Caroline Keenan
Aaron Lustig
Sam Woods
Jesus Perez
Jack Laufer
Luke Letourneau
John Sanford Moore
William Francis McGuire
Michael McNally
Anne Day-Jones
Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais
Lynne De Bel
Mikio Owaki
Terry Simpson
Alvin Tam
Joey Elias
Ron Darling
José Ramón Rosario
Kwasi Songui
John Colton
Dilva Henry
Mark Thompson
Wendy L. Walsh
Mark Pfister
Ana Garcia
Lauren Sanchez
Rob Fukuzaki
Ross King
Robert Holguin
Suzanne Michaels
Leyna Nguyen
Lina Patel
Rosey Edeh
Lori Graham
Jesse Todd
Gordon Masten
Matt Adler
Ray Légaré
Matt Holland
Greg Kramer
Joel McNichol
Rick Hoffman

The Incredibles (2004)

2008-08-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Genre:

The Incredibles is a 2004 computer-animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, centering around a family of superheroes. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director of The Simpsons previously best known for directing the 1999 animated movie The Iron Giant. The Incredibles was originally developed as a traditionally-animated movie for Warner Bros., but after Warner shut down its animation division, Bird moved to Pixar and took the story with him.

The Incredibles is Pixar's sixth feature film. It was presented by Walt Disney Pictures and released by Buena Vista Distribution in North America on November 5, 2004, and in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on November 26 of the same year and in Japan, February 2, 2005. It is the first Pixar full-length film to feature an entirely human cast of characters. It was released in a two-disc DVD in the U.S. on March 15, 2005. According to the Internet Movie Database, it was the highest-selling DVD of 2005, with 17.18 million copies sold. It had its basic cable première on ABC Family as part of The 25 Days of Christmas in December 2007, and its second cable showing on Disney Channel as part of the No Ordinary Friday on February 1, 2008.

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Plot:
The film starts during a Golden Age of superheroes, known to the public as "supers", when government-sponsored superheroes assist a grateful public with everything from freeing cats stuck in trees to foiling bank robberies. The plot itself begins when Bob Parr, a.k.a. Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), who is gifted with super strength, saves a man attempting a suicide. He then foils a robbery by the villain Bomb Voyage, while being harassed by Buddy Pine, a young fan who wishes to be his sidekick. When Bomb Voyage plants a bomb on the young would-be superhero, Mr. Incredible manages to dislodge it, but in doing so, causes a train wreck that injures many. He then races to his wedding, where he marries Helen, a.k.a. Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), a dexterous, flexible super. Βoth the suicidal man and the victims of the train wreck sue the superheroes community for injuries sustained in these events. As part of the government's settlement, all superheroes are placed into a government-sponsored protection program similar to witness protection, and forbidden to use their powers.

The film then jumps 15 years later; Bob and Helen Parr have settled into relatively normal suburban lives raising three kids, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dashiell ("Dash") (Spencer Fox) and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). The children have powers which reflect their personalities; Violet (a shy 15-year-old) has the power of invisibility and the ability to create force fields, while Dash (a hyperactive 10-year-old) has super speed. Jack-Jack appears to be a normal baby without powers. Bob, stuck in a thankless job at an insurance agency, laments the passage of his superhero glory days. He and his friend Lucius Best, a cryokinetic super and fellow retiree called Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), still occasionally listen to police radios and secretly aid the authorities, much to the consternation of Helen. On one such night, the two are watched by a mysterious white-haired woman. The next day, Bob is called into the office of his unsympathetic boss. As he is receiving a lecture, Bob notices a man getting mugged outside. Bob offers to go help, but his boss threatens to fire him if he does. Enraged, Bob throws his boss through several walls, ironically losing his job anyway.

Upon arriving home, Bob discovers a video message in his briefcase. It is Mirage (Elizabeth Peña), the white-haired woman from before. She appears to know his secret identity, and offers to hire him (at a salary triple that of his current one) to subdue a renegade robot, the Omnidroid 8000, on Nomanisan, an uncharted island. Mr. Incredible completes the task, telling Helen and his family that he is going on a business trip. Upon returning, Bob finds his life has begun to improve. He begins spending more time with his family and starts to work out more (Bob had become immensely obese due to his years of inactivity). Over the next two months, Bob maintains the image of still being employed, but secretly works out in preparation for his next assignment. One day, Bob notices his super suit had gotten damaged in the Omnidroid battle. He takes the suit to his costumer, Edna Mode (Brad Bird), who instead offers to create a new suit for him. Meanwhile, Helen begins to have doubts and starts to suspect Bob of having an affair.

Bob is again summoned to Nomanisan, but is overpowered by an improved Omnidroid, and encounters Buddy Pine again, now revealing himself to be a psychotic villain and wealthy weapons designer called Syndrome (Jason Lee). Buddy had been heartbroken upon rejection by Mr. Incredible, and wished vengeance upon his former hero. Mr. Incredible escapes and dupes Syndrome into thinking he is dead. He then learns that Syndrome used previous versions of the Omnidroid to kill other supers, and that the device learns and adapts from any previous defeat.

Discovering Bob's old patched up suit, Helen contacts Edna, who insists she come visit. Edna reveals she's designed matching super suits for the entire family, and also that each suit has a homing beacon on it. Using this, Helen learns where Bob really is, but her use of the signal device results in Bob's capture. Helen flies a private jet to the island. Nearing the island, she discovers Violet and Dash have stowed away, having acquired their own suits. The jet is attacked by missiles from Syndrome's base, and Helen attempts to evade them, while telling Violet to put a force-field around the plane. Neither are successful, and the plane is destroyed by the missiles. Helen and the children narrowly escape the explosion, and make it to the island.

Helen urges the children to stay hidden in a cave, and pursues Bob herself. However, the cave is found to direct the flames of a rocket, and the children are forced to flee it. Upon being discovered, the children are pursued by Syndrome's henchmen. Meanwhile, Helen discovers Bob with Mirage, but later discovers that Mirage was merely there to rescue Bob from capture (Syndrome had previously allowed Mirage to be used as a hostage by Bob, though Bob had proved too "weak" to kill her). After a brief argument while running through the island, Bob and Helen later meet up with their children, and together impressively take down their pursuers. Syndrome, however, appears, and personally takes the family captive.

He informs the family of his ultimate plan - unleash the Omnidroid on Metroville, and use his most impressive weapons technologies to stop it, making himself appear to be a superhero. After playing the superhero game for long enough, he would sell his weapons, so everyone could be "super", thus making the true superheroes less impressive.

Violet is able to release herself and her family from confinement, and the family attempt to return to Metroville to battle the Omnidroid. They find themselves in need of the same kind of rocket used to launch the Omnidroid to Metroville, and Mirage gives them the command codes to operate it. In the city, the Omnidroid "learns" that Syndrome's remote controls it and blasts it off of Syndrome's wrist. Shooting one of his rocket boots, Syndrome is knocked unconscious into a building. Bob and his family then arrive and with the help of Frozone, subdue the robot. Returning home, they discover Syndrome attempting to kidnap Jack-Jack, who then flies off to his jet above. Jack-Jack then begins to display a whole slew of powers, causing Syndrome to drop him. Bob then throws Helen to catch Jack-Jack. Syndrome's cape is caught in one of the jet's turbines, and he is sucked in, causing the jet to explode; the wreckage falls on the family's house, but Violet uses her shields to protect them from the falling debris.

Three months later, Bob is now content with their civilian life, Dash controls the use of his powers in track events, and Violet, having found confidence, is asked by her heartthrob on a date. However, a new villain, The Underminer (John Ratzenberger), appears and attacks the city. The family members don their masks, and prepare to fight anew.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

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Voice:
Craig T. Nelson
Holly Hunter
Samuel L. Jackson
Jason Lee
Dominique Louis
Teddy Newton
Jean Sincere
Eli Fucile
Maeve Andrews
Wallace Shawn
Spencer Fox
Lou Romano
Wayne Canney
Sarah Vowell
Michael Bird
Elizabeth Peña
Bud Luckey
Brad Bird
Bret 'Brook' Parker
Kimberly Adair Clark
John Ratzenberger
Mark Andrews
Nicholas Bird
Louis Martin Braga III
Mary Elizabeth Clark
Pete Docter
Louis Gonzalez
Elizabeth Greenberg
Juliet Greenberg
Billy Guardino
Dennis 'D.J.' Jennings
Ollie Johnston
Brad Lewis
Ted Mathot
Jazzie Mahannah
Randy Nelson
Bob Peterson
Jeff Pidgeon
Juliet Pokorny
Joe Ranft
Lori Richardson
A.J. Riebli
Katherine Ringgold
Stephen Schaffer
Bob Scott
Peter Sohn
Andrew Stanton
Frank Thomas
Pamela Gaye Walker
Patrick Walker
Deirdre Warin
Philip Wong

Meet The Fockers (2004)

2008-08-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Romance

Meet The Fockers (2004) is a comedy film and a sequel to Meet The Parents starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, and Barbra Streisand. Both are directed by Jay Roach (Austin Powers). In addition to De Niro, Stiller, and Streisand, Meet The Fockers stars Dustin Hoffman, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson. The series will continue with another sequel, Little Fockers, due for release in 2009.

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Plot:
After being given permission to marry the daughter of a retired CIA agent, Gaylord "Greg" Focker, his fiancée Pam and her parents who own a cat travel to Miami, Florida to meet his quirky liberal parents, Roz and Bernie Focker who own a dog. Roz is a sex therapist for the elderly, while his dad is a prosecutor who stopped practicing when Greg was born to be a stay at home dad. On the other hand, Pam’s parents Jack and Dina are traditionally conservative, which produces many of the movie's set ups and comedic situations. This movie shows an evolution in Jack’s relationship with his family. In the first movie, Meet the Parents, Jack is always in control of his family, whereas this time he goes too far with his suspicious nature and covert operations to expose what he believes is Greg's secret past.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Robert De Niro
Ben Stiller
Dustin Hoffman
Barbra Streisand
Blythe Danner
Teri Polo
Owen Wilson
Spencer Pickren
Bradley Pickren
Alanna Ubach
Ray Santiago
Tim Blake Nelson
Shelley Berman
Kali Rocha
Dorie Barton
Jack Plotnick
Wayne Thomas Yorke
B.J. Hansen
J.P. Manoux
Myra Turley
Vahe Bejan
Kathleen Gati
Angelo Tiffe
Kyle T. McNamee
Cedric Yarbrough
Max Hoffman
Benjamin Trueblood
Roberto Garcia
Bruno Coon
Rock Deadrick
David Sutton
Bernadette Perez
Linda O'Neil
Tiffany Turner
Christine D. Coleman
John Carey
Victoria Chalaya
Karen Gordon
Fabrizio Imas
Angie Jaree
R. Martin Klein
Allan Kolman
Chris Mala
Rana McAnear
Connie Richmond
Antonio Rufino
David Zimmerman

The Passion Of The Christ (2004)

2008-08-02T01:07:00.000-07:00

Genre: Drama

The Passion Of The Christ is a 2004 film co-written, co-produced and directed by Mel Gibson. It is based primarily on biblical accounts of the arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, events commonly known as "The Passion". The film was rated R by the MPAA for "sequences of graphic violence." The film’s dialogue is in Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew, with subtitles. It was filmed in Italy, exactly in Matera and Craco (Basilicata) and Cinecittà Studios, Rome. It is the most successful non-English speaking film in the United States.

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Plot:
Jesus is tempted in the garden by a personified Satan, who appears as an androgynous albino. Mary, mother of Jesus, awakes from a dream with feelings of foreboding and quotes from the Passover Seder, Why is this night different than other nights, and Mary Magdalene replies with a traditional response: Because once we were slaves and we are slaves no longer. When questioned by Caiaphas, Jesus pronounces the ineffable Name of God in his response, which justifies Caiaphas' subsequent charge of blasphemy before witnesses. The people in the crowd that demand the freedom of Barabbas rather than Jesus have been paid to do so by Caiaphas.

An event similar to the story of Saint Veronica is in this account, but the woman is named "Seraphia" in the cast list. Although it is one of the Stations of the Cross, the story of Veronica wiping Jesus' brow with her veil on the Via Dolorosa is not present in the canonical gospels.

The movie ends with Jesus' resurrection and exit from the tomb, the holes in his hands from the nails visible as he walks.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

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Cast:
James Caviezel
Maia Morgenstern
Christo Jivkov
Francesco De Vito
Monica Bellucci
Mattia Sbragia
Toni Bertorelli
Luca Lionello
Hristo Shopov
Claudia Gerini
Fabio Sartor
Giacinto Ferro
Aleksander Mincer
Sheila Mokhtari
Lucio Allocca
Paco Reconti
Adel Bakri
Luciano Dragone
Adel Ben Ayed
Franco Costanzo
Lino Salemme
Emanuele Gullotto
Francesco De Rosa
Maurizio Di Carmine
Francesco Gabriele
Angelo Di Loreta
Federico Pacifici
Roberto Santi
Giovanni Vettorazzo
Ted Rusoff
Tom Shaker
Andrea Coppola
Romuald Andrzej Klos
Giuseppe Lo Console
Dario D'Ambrosi
Luciano Federico
Omar Capalbo
Valerio Esposito
Antonello Iacovone
Nicola Tagarelli
Ivan Gaudiano
Chokri Ben Zagden
Roberto Bestazzoni
Luca De Dominicis
Pietro Sarubbi
Abel Jafri
Lello Giulivo
Emilio De Marchi
Roberto Visconti
Sergio Rubini
Francesco Cabras
Andrea Refuto
Giovanni Capalbo
Matt Patresi
Sabrina Impacciatore
Daniela Poti
Jarreth J. Merz
Noemi Marotta
Rossella Longo
Davide Marotta
Rosalinda Celentano
Danilo Di Ruzza
Vincenzo Monti
Danilo Maria Valli
Nuot Arquint
Abraam Fontana
Valerio Isidori
Paolo Dos Santos
Arianna Vitolo
Gabriella Barbuti
Ornella Giusto
Michelle Bonev
Lucia Stara
Evelina Meghnagi
Francis Dokyi

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

2008-08-02T00:36:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, David Koepp and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It saw the return of Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson and James Franco as Harry Osborn.

It is set two years after the original. It focuses on Peter Parker struggling to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man. The main villain in this film is Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), who turns insane following a failed experiment and the death of his wife. Using his mechanical tentacles, Octavius is dubbed "Doctor Octopus" and threatens to endanger the lives of the people of New York City.

The film was released on June 30, 2004 in the United States, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. It grossed over $783 million worldwide, and won an Academy Award for Visual Effects. The film's success led to another sequel, Spider-Man 3.

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Plot:
The story begins two years from where the previous film ends, and Peter Parker is finding his double life increasingly difficult. Precariously struggling to balance his crime-fighting duties with the demands of his normal life, Peter often finds his personal life taking a back seat. He loses a job, faces financial difficulties, and struggles to maintain his physics studies at Columbia University. Moreover, he has become estranged from both love interest Mary Jane and best friend Harry Osborn, and Aunt May is threatened with foreclosure.

Harry, now head of Oscorp's research division, has invested in the research of brilliant scientist Otto Octavius, Peter's idol. To perform a sustained fusion experiment, Octavius has developed a set of artificially intelligent mechanical arms, which are impervious to heat and magnetism. Though the experiment overloads and becomes unstable, Dr. Octavius refuses to halt it, with devastating results: his wife is killed; the neural inhibitor chip which enabled him to control the arms is destroyed; and the arms are fused to his spine. Unconscious, he is taken to hospital to have the tentacles removed, but the tentacles kill the surgeons, and he escapes. Uncontrolled, the tentacles begin to influence Octavius' mind, playing on his vanity and ego, and he decides he must complete his experiment at any cost. J. Jonah Jameson names him Doctor Octopus or "Doc Ock." Doc Ock attempts to rob a bank where Peter Parker and his Aunt May happen to be present. After a short glitch in his powers, Spider-Man manages to take back most of the stolen money, but Doc Ock takes Aunt May as a hostage. When Spider-Man rescues her, she revises her former opinion of him and realizes that he is a hero.

During a party, Peter learns that M.J. is planning to marry John Jameson. He also gets into a physical altercation with Harry, who is under the influence, over his loyalty to Spider-Man; shortly after he loses his powers while web-slinging across town. Meanwhile, Doc Ock rebuilds his experimental reactor. Peter questions if he could ever have what he "needs", a life as Peter Parker, which involves a vision of Uncle Ben, and resolves to give up being Spider-Man. Back home, after visiting Uncle Ben's grave, Aunt May is distressed by Peter's confession that he was somewhat responsible for his Uncle Ben's death. Aunt May and Peter reconcile, and she tells Peter of the hope that Spider-Man brings to others, in spite of what dreams he may have to sacrifice. Peter attempts to re-connect with Mary Jane, but she informs him it is too late. In the meantime, Doc Ock has completed rebuilding his reactor, and needs one final item: the tritium which fuels the reactor. He goes to Harry Osborn for it, dangling him over the edge of the Osborn mansion balcony when he refuses. Harry agrees to give Ock what he needs in exchange for capturing Spider-Man. Mary Jane meets Peter in a coffee shop to ask if he still loves her, but Peter tells her that he does not. Amidst this exchange, the two are ambushed by Doctor Octopus, who abducts Mary Jane in a ploy to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Peter's powers return, and he dons his costume and engages Doc Ock in battle, culminating with the insane scientist forcing Spider-Man to rescue a runaway subway train.

Spider-Man manages to stop the train before it can plunge over the end of the track, but at great physical exertion. Weak, he is captured by Doctor Octopus and delivered to Harry Osborn. Harry unmasks Spider-Man and is stunned to discover that his sworn enemy is also his best friend. Peter awakens and convinces Harry to reveal Octavius' whereabouts so he can rescue Mary Jane. Spider-Man finds Doctor Octavius in an abandoned warehouse on a waterfront pier, where he's restarted his fusion experiment. After battling with Doc Ock, Spider-Man manages to stun the villain with an electric shock. Peter then reveals his true identity to Octavius and pleads with him to stop the machine. Returned to his senses and determined to end his doomsday experiment before it causes more harm, Octavius uses his mechanical arms to collapse the floor of the building, successfully drowning the device at the cost of his own life. Mary Jane sees Peter without his mask on, but Peter tells her they can never be together, as he will always have enemies.

Across town, Harry has visions of his father, the late Norman Osborn, in a hanging mirror. The illusion demands that his son kill Peter Parker to avenge his death. Harry refuses and hurls a dagger at the mirror, shattering it and revealing a secret room, containing the Green Goblin's war gear. At the end of the film, Mary Jane leaves her wedding and finds Peter in his apartment, telling him that she has decided to be with him – despite the risks. She persuades Peter to finally let her in while accepting the need of his vows by letting him respond to a sudden call for help.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Cast:
Tobey Maguire
Kirsten Dunst
James Franco
Alfred Molina
Rosemary Harris
J.K. Simmons
Donna Murphy
Daniel Gillies
Dylan Baker
Bill Nunn
Vanessa Ferlito
Aasif Mandvi
Willem Dafoe
Cliff Robertson
Ted Raimi
Elizabeth Banks
Bruce Campbell
Gregg Edelman
Elya Baskin
Mageina Tovah
Daniel Dae Kim
Hal Sparks
Joel McHale
Stan Lee
Kelly Connell
Brent Briscoe
Emily Deschanel
Jason Fiore-Ortiz
Scott Spiegel
Andy Bale
Christine Estabrook
Molly Cheek
John Paxton
Joy Bryant
Joanne Baron
Peter McRobbie
Timothy Jerome
Taylor Gilbert
Peter Vouras
Donnell Rawlings
Zachry Rogers
Ella Rogers
Louis Lombardi
Marc John Jefferies
Roshon Fegan
Brendan Patrick Connor
Reed Diamond
Dan Callahan
Elyse Dinh
John Landis
Tim Storms
Susie Park
Christina R. Copeland
Tricia Peters
Michael Edward Thomas
Anne Betancourt
Venus Lam
Bill E. Rogers
Joe Virzi
Tom Carey
Jopaul Epp
Weston Epp
Peter Allas
Brianna Brown
Bill Calvert
Tony Campisi
Joey Diaz
Chloe Dykstra
Simone Gordon
Dan Hicks
Julia Max
Savannah Pope
Timothy Patrick Quill
Jill Sayre
Rickey G. Williams
Frank Bonsangue
Frank Langley
Rachel Lehrer
Carina Mastrippolito
Garrett Warren
Dakota Anderson
Damian Bailey
David Blanc
Cindy Cheung
Peter Cincotti
Vince Cupone
Calvin Dean
Fabrizio Fante
Phillip Gramm
Claudia Katz
Phil LaMarr
Troy Metcalf
Ismael Moreno
Ronn Ozuk
Rachelle Roderick
Scott Skversky
Bonnie Somerville
John Thurner

Shrek 2 (2004)

2008-08-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Shrek 2, released in the United States on 19 May 2004, is the 2004 sequel to the 2001 computer-animated DreamWorks Pictures film Shrek. In April 2004 the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Shrek 2 scored the fourth largest three day opening weekend in US history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie until 18 May 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third. As of 2006, it is the 9th highest-grossing film of all time. It went on to be the most successful film in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the seventh highest ticket selling animated film of all time. It is, as well, the highest-grossing fully-animated movie of all time.

Preview:

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Plot:
The film begins with Prince Charming riding to Dragon's Keep in an attempt to save Princess Fiona, while narrating her backstory from the previous film. However, on arrival, Charming finds out from the Big Bad Wolf that Fiona has already left on her honeymoon with Shrek. Shrek and Fiona are then shown on said honeymoon.

When they return to their home in the swamp, a Royal entourage appear and invite the newlyweds to attend a Royal Ball being held by Fiona's parents, taking place in the kingdom of "Far Far Away" (Fiona's home). Shrek, Fiona and Donkey set off to attend the ball.

On arrival at the Royal castle, Doves are released to honour the newlyweds, but once Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey step out of the onion carriage, the crowd and Fiona's parents are shocked by their appearance. Despite this, the couple are invited to attend dinner with the King and Queen.

During the meal, Fiona's father Harold gets involved in an argument with Shrek, which ends with Shrek telling Fiona that they are leaving Far Far Away. Upset, Fiona heads to her room and is crying on the balcony when The Fairy Godmother appears to her, giving her a business card. However, The Fairy Godmother also plots with King Harold to usurp Shrek so that her son Prince Charming can marry Fiona in Shrek's place. They secretly hire Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), to kill Shrek on a hunting expedition that Harold suggests. Shrek agrees to the expedition in an attempt to bond with Fiona's parents.

The next morning, Shrek and Donkey are lost in the woods when Puss In Boots ambushes them. They are able to subdue the cat, who agrees to join them after Shrek decides not to take revenge on him. Shrek remembers the card Fairy Godmother gave him, and decides to enlist her help in winning over Fiona's parents. Shrek, Puss and Donkey use the card to travel to her Potion Factory. However, Fairy Godmother refuses to help Shrek on the grounds that "Ogres don't live Happily Ever After". Undeterred, the three friends sneak into the Potion Containment Room, where they steal a Happily Ever After potion.

Back in the woods, Shrek and Donkey drink the potion, but nothing happens. Shrek sniffs the potion and sneezes on a toadstool. Once it begins to rain, Shrek, Donkey and Puss head for a barn and stay there for the night, failing to notice that once the rain touches the toadstool, it turns into a rose. Inside the barn, Shrek and Donkey faint. Back in Far Far Away, Fiona is affected by the potion too and faints. The next morning, Shrek and Donkey wake up to realize they have changed. Shrek is a handsome human while Donkey is a noble white stallion. Shrek needs to find Fiona and kiss her before midnight to stay the way they are.

On returning to Far Far Away, Fairy Godmother tricks Shrek into thinking that Fiona loves Charming, while Fiona is led to believe that Charming is actually Shrek himself, in human form. Because she does not like this "New Shrek", Fairy Godmother gives Harold a potion which will cause Fiona to fall in love with the first man to kiss her (Charming). Harold is to slip this potion to his daughter in a cup of tea. Meanwhile Shrek and his friends have been arrested by The Royal Knights. However while watching the Royal Ball coverage on the Magic Mirror, Gingy, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and Big Bad Wolf see a trailer for a show named KNIGHTS (A parody of COPS), revealing Shrek's arrest. They head off to Far Far Away to help Shrek.

Meanwhile, King Harold slips the love potion into a cup of tea for Fiona. After he finds her up in the castle, watching the ball, she says she wants her old Shrek back. She then takes a cup of tea. Harold encourages her to go to the ball, telling her that "People change for the ones they love", and after Fiona drinks her tea she goes to the ball.

Back in the dungeon of a far away jail, the fairy tale creatures save Shrek, Donkey, and Puss and create a giant gingerbread man named Mongo with help from the Muffin Man. They use the giant cookie to break into the ball. Fiona and Charming begin to dance at the ball, while Mongo begins to pull down the drawbridge, but the guards dump hot milk on him and his arms fall off. Shrek manages to get through the cracks of the drawbridge and lowers it. Shrek and Donkey charge into the ballroom and the fairy tale creatures begin to fight Fairy Godmother. Fiona realizes it's not Shrek she's dancing with. Fairy Godmother tells Charming to kiss Fiona to activate the potion. But once Charming is done kissing her, she knocks him out with a head butt, revealing that Harold gave her the wrong tea on purpose, after feeling guilty about his actions. Shrek and Fiona embrace one another, but Prince Charming gets the wand and tosses it to the Fairy Godmother and she proceeds to turn on Shrek, telling once again that ogres don't live happily ever after. She then sends a blast of magic out to kill Shrek. Harold uses his armor to deflect the spell which bounces off and hits her. Fairy Godmother disappears, with only her glasses and wand left. Harold is back to his true form, a frog. Shrek and Fiona are about to kiss, but Fiona tells Shrek she wants to live happily ever after, with the ogre she married. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey return to their true forms. Harold apologizes to Shrek and tells him that he only wanted Fiona to be happy. He gives the couple his blessing and goes to leave, however Queen Lillian tells him that she still loves him, even though he's a frog. That night, the gang dance into the night, having a big party.

After the party, Donkey is all alone, singing a song. Puss and two girls are about to head off to the "Kitt Katt Klub" when Dragon comes and tells Donkey that she has had babies. Donkey and Dragon are now proud parents of a litter of mutant dronkeys - donkey/dragon hybrids.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Voice:
Mike Myers
Eddie Murphy
Cameron Diaz
Julie Andrews
Antonio Banderas
John Cleese
Rupert Everett
Jennifer Saunders
Aron Warner
Kelly Asbury
Cody Cameron
Conrad Vernon
Christopher Knights
David P. Smith
Mark Moseley
Kelly Cooney
Wendy Bilanski
Larry King
Guillaume Aretos
Chris Miller
Latifa Ouaou
Alina Phelan
Erika Thomas
Joan Rivers
Andrew Adamson

Flightplan (2005)

2008-08-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Genre: Action | Mystery | Thriller

Flightplan is a 2005 thriller film directed by Robert Schwentke and starring Jodie Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Erika Christensen and Sean Bean. It was released in North America on September 23, 2005. It features many plot similarities with the films Bunny Lake is Missing, in that a mother has to convince the authorities that her child is not a figment of her imagination, and Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.

The film received its general U.S. theatrical release on August 19, 2005 and was released on region 1 DVD on December 13, 2005.

Preview:

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Plot:
A variation on the locked room mystery, the movie depicts what happens after Kyle Pratt (Jodie Foster) boards a fictional Aalto Airlines flight from Berlin to New York with her six-year-old daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston). After falling asleep and waking up about three hours into the flight, Kyle discovers her daughter is missing. She searches the plane for her daughter, but is then told that according to the passenger manifest her daughter never boarded the flight. None of her fellow passengers remembers having seen her either.

A search of the plane fails to find Julia. The captain (Sean Bean) refuses to allow the cargo hold to be searched because he is afraid that the searchers could be hurt if the freight shifts because of turbulence. Both the captain and the other crew members suspect that Kyle is unhinged by her husband's recent death, and has imagined bringing her daughter aboard the aircraft. She has no boarding pass stub for her daughter, and, according to the gate at the Berlin airport, no one by her daughter's name was on the manifest. In addition, the flight attendant who took the passenger headcount never saw anyone in the seat that Julia was supposed to have occupied. Faced with the crew's increasing skepticism regarding her daughter's existence, Kyle becomes more and more desperate in her behavior, continuing to insist that she brought her daughter on board and that Julia must be somewhere on it. Because of her increasingly erratic, panicked behavior, Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) the air marshal, is ordered by the captain to guard her.

Kyle herself begins to doubt that she brought her daughter along after being told Julia had died together with her husband, but becomes confident she is not imagining things when she notices the heart Julia had earlier fingered on the window by her seat. Because Kyle is an aeronautical engineer and had helped to design the engines used on the aircraft, a fictional Elgin E-474 commercial aircraft, she is able to make use of her knowledge of the aircraft's layout and escapes to hunt for her daughter. Finding her way down to the freight deck, she even opens her late husband's casket, which she is transporting back to the United States. Carson finds her, puts her in handcuffs and escorts her back to her seat, leaving the casket open.

At this point it is revealed that Carson and a coroner in Berlin are the true villains. Having devised a complicated scheme to con the airline into transferring $50,000,000 to a bank account, claiming that Kyle has revealed herself to him to be a hijacker and is threatening to blow up the aircraft with explosives hidden in the un-x-rayed casket unless her demands are met. In fact, the villains have previously killed Kyle's husband and have now abducted Julia to create this situation so they can frame Kyle as the hijacker and extortionist. After the plane lands they intend to obliterate the unconscious Julia by detonating the explosives, now moved to the avionics section at the front of the plane beside the unconscious child, and leave Kyle dead on the plane with the detonator in her hand.

After making an emergency landing in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, the plane's passengers evacuate. As the captain leaves, Kyle stops him and asks him to leave all food carts because she wants the plane sealed. The captain (believing Kyle to be a hijacker) says, "I don't really have the option to say no, do I?" Kyle then stops him a second time and tells the captain that she knows she broke the law but she believes that she will find Julia. The captain tells her that he is tired of her fake story and that her money has been wired, just like she demanded. Kyle realizes that Carson is behind it. He starts to leave the plane, but Kyle, taking on her role as cast by Carson, demands that he stay on board. As soon as the plane's door is closed, Kyle knocks Carson unconscious with a fire extinguisher. Kyle handcuffs him to a rail, removes the bomb detonator from his pocket and goes in search of Julia. Carson comes to and takes a concealed gun from his leg and shoots the handcuffs, freeing himself, and goes after Kyle. She runs to the cockpit and locks herself in. While Carson is trying to convince her to open the door, she opens a hatch door to the upper level and throws a binder to fool him into thinking she is escaping. Carson moves away from the door to try to head her off when he hears the thud, and Kyle escapes to try once again to find Julia. Kyle encounters Stephanie, and knocks her down. Stephanie panics and decides to flee.

After Carson discovers the binder that Kyle threw, he runs to check if she had found her daughter, but Kyle has found the unconscious Julia and moved her to a hiding place further back in the aircraft. As Carson is approaching the area where he left Julia, he exclaims that it had been easy to take her and bring her into the avionics bay via a service elevator without any of the passengers noticing. He notes that once the passengers were suitably antagonized, it was easy to convince them that none of them had seen Julia; "People will think what I tell them to think. That's how authority works." Carson arrives at the front of the plane and discovers Julia gone. He turns to resume his hunt, and sees Kyle escaping through a small door with the detonator in her hand. Carson says, "What, are you going to blow all of us up?" Kyle replies calmly, "No, just you." Carson shoots as she closes the door but she then detonates the explosives, killing Carson instantly and seriously damaging the front end of the plane.

Kyle, carrying Julia, manages to exit via a cargo door. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, FBI, flight passengers, and crew members look at Kyle in amazement as she carries her daughter out onto the tarmac. Kyle receives apologies from the captain and the passengers look guiltily at her. A vehicle arrives to pick up Kyle and Julia, who then wakes up and asks, "Are we there yet?" Kyle laughs, the Middle Eastern man whom she had confronted earlier hands her her bag and both are driven off.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Cast:
Jodie Foster
Peter Sarsgaard
Sean Bean
Kate Beahan
Michael Irby
Assaf Cohen
Erika Christensen
Shane Edelman
Mary Gallagher
Haley Ramm
Forrest Landis
Jana Kolesarova
Brent Sexton
Marlene Lawston
Judith Scott
John Benjamin Hickey
Matthew Bomer
Gavin Grazer
Christopher Gartin
Bess Wohl
Kirk B.R. Woller
Stephanie Faracy
Christian Berkel
Cooper Thornton
Klaus Schindler
Eva Plackner
Amanda Brooks
Jesse Burch
Greta Scacchi
Drake Johnston
Lois Hall
Dirk Vahle
Robert Amstler
Ina Barron
Spencer Conner
Latricia Cruz
David Farkas
Kei Hirayama
Cathy Immordino
Andray Johnson
Tonje Larsgard
Robert Mammana
Hasan Ali Mete
Alexandra Nowak
Agnes Olech
A.J. Presley
Christian Reeve
Laurence Richardson
Rachel Zeskind

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

2008-08-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Romance

The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 comedy film written by Judd Apatow and co-written by Steve Carell, though it features a great deal of improvised dialogue.[1] It also stars Catherine Keener, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen (who was also the co-producer) and Paul Rudd, as well as featuring Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife) and Nancy Walls (Carell's wife) in small roles.

The film received its general U.S. theatrical release on August 19, 2005 and was released on region 1 DVD on December 13, 2005.

Preview:

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Plot:
Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) is the eponymous 40-year-old virgin. A very well-meaning, highly neurotic, somewhat stereotypical nerd, Andy lives alone, collects action figures, enjoys video games, framed a poster of eighties rock band Asia, and his social life seems to consist of watching Survivor with his elderly neighbors.

Andy works in the stockroom at an electronics store called SmartTech. His co-workers include the affable David (Paul Rudd), who is tormented by memories of his old girlfriend Amy (Mindy Kaling); the burly Cal (Seth Rogen), a novelist and stoner; and Jay (Romany Malco), a self-styled ladies' man. When a friend drops out of a poker game, they reluctantly invite the withdrawn Andy to join them. Andy turns out to be surprisingly good at poker due to his playing the game online, but when the conversations turns to past sexual exploits, they quickly realize Andy is still a virgin, and resolve to help him lose his virginity.

Andy is at first reluctant to go along with them, but after a heartfelt talk with David, he agrees to give it a try. The gang’s efforts prove to be unsuccessful. They take Andy to a bar, where Jay advises him to hit on drunk women, but this backfires when the girl Andy leaves with drives the two of them home drunk, wrecks the car, and vomits on him. Jay recommends that Andy get his chest waxed, but Andy finds it so painful that he leaves halfway through (Steve Carell actually had his chest hair removed during the scene and stated in an interview on Australia's Rove Live that the scene was unnecessarily painful because the waxers forgot to oil his nipples.[3]). David gives Andy his "big box of porn" to help him "loosen up" sexually, but to no avail and later they all go to a speed dating lunch, with no success, and at which David encounters ex-girlfriend Amy, sending him into a downward spiral of depression. Later, Cal advises Andy to be mysterious when talking to women, which results in Beth (Elizabeth Banks), a bookstore clerk, taking a liking to Andy. Andy starts to open up and true friendships begin to form with his co-workers, Andy impresses his boss, Paula (Jane Lynch), with his salesmanship and she promotes him to floor salesman.

Eventually, after Jay hires Andy a prostitute who turns out to be a transvestite, Andy tells them that he is taking matters into his own hands, and he lands a date with Trish Piedmont (Catherine Keener), a mother of three who works in a store across the street from SmartTech. It is later revealed that one of Trish's kids has a kid too, making Trish a "hot grandma" according to Cal. Andy and Trish's first date goes well, and they almost end up having sex, but Andy can't figure out how to use a condom, and they are interrupted by Trish’s teenage daughter Marla (Kat Dennings) outraged at the fact that her mother is allowed to have sex, yet she isn't. On their next date, Andy decides to tell Trish he is a virgin, but just before he does so, she suggests that they postpone having sex, to which Andy enthusiastically agrees; they decide they won’t have sex until their twentieth date. Meanwhile, David's brush with Amy prompts him to become unstable and eventually resort to celibacy, citing Andy as an inspiration, while Jay’s girlfriend breaks up with him when she finds out he’s been cheating on her, leading him to an argument with an obnoxious customer. Andy comforts Jay who reveals his breakup with Jill and advises Andy that sex can ruin a relationship.

Jay's girlfriend realizes she is pregnant and takes him back; and Cal hires an attractive young woman named Bernadette to work in the stockroom in order to lure David out of celibacy.

Andy and Trish’s relationship is a strong one, with Trish even convincing Andy to sell his precious collectible action figures in order to raise enough money to open his own store. While at work, Andy is promoted to floor manager because of his surprising talents as a salesman. Things are going well until Andy and Trish finally reach the twentieth date, at which point Andy panics and they have a big argument which ends with him storming out. He turns up at a nightclub where Jay is celebrating his girlfriend’s pregnancy, and proceeds to get very drunk. Andy runs into Beth at the bar, and they leave for her apartment. Meanwhile, David finally relinquishes his celibacy and hooks up with Bernadette, and Trish’s daughter Marla (who found out that Andy is a virgin) convinces her to go and make up with Andy.

At Beth’s apartment, Andy sobers up and starts to have second thoughts. Then, his three friends arrive at the apartment to talk him out of it, so he leaves with them to make up with Trish (although Cal stays behind to hook up with Beth). When Andy gets home, he finds Trish waiting for him; she has found his big box of porn, and now considers Andy to be some sort of sexual deviant, and leaves in disgust. Andy chases her car on his bike (to the music of “Heat of the Moment” by Asia), and gets involved in an accident which results in him being thrown through a two sided billboard truck and landing on the road in front of traffic. She rushes to his side in concern, and he finally confesses to her that he is a virgin. She realizes this is why he has been acting so strangely, and they tell each other that they love each other.

They end up getting married with everyone in attendance, with a sidelong mention of Andy's action figures having sold for a total of half a million dollars, and finally consummate their relationship on their wedding night. Andy finally loses his virginity with Trish in their hotel room. The film ends with an over-the-top Hair-style musical scene in which the cast of the film sing and dance to the song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Steve Carell
Catherine Keener
Paul Rudd
Romany Malco
Seth Rogen
Elizabeth Banks
Leslie Mann
Jane Lynch
Gerry Bednob
Shelley Malil
Kat Dennings
Jordy Masterson
Chelsea Smith
Jonah Hill
Erica Vittina Phillips
Marika Dominczyk
Mindy Kaling
Mo Collins
Gillian Vigman
Kimberly Page
Siena Goines
Charlie Hartsock
Nancy Walls
Cedric Yarbrough
David Koechner
Jeff Kahn
Nick Lashaway
Loren Berman
Julian Foster
Loudon Wainwright III
Lee Weaver
Gloria Helena Jones
Jazzmun
Miki Mia
Denise Meyerson
Shannon Bradley
Brianna Brown
Elizabeth Carey
Elizabeth DeCicco
Hilary Shepard
Barret Swatek
Carla Gallo
Michael Bierman
Marisa Guterman
Stormy
Kevin Hart
Wayne Federman
Ron Marasco
Joseph T. Mastrolia
Kate Luyben
Joe Nunez
Matthew McKane
Rose Abdoo
Steve Bannos
Brooke Hamlin
Miyoko Shimosawa
Marilyn Dodds Frank
Laura Bottrell
Penny Drake
Jenna Fischer
Mandy Freund
Nicole Randall Johnson
Brandon Killham
Stephanie Lemelin
Jamie Elle Mann
Suzy Nakamura
Brittney Skye
Phyllis Smith
Wyatt Smith
Kira Turnage
Christopher T. Wood

Fun With Dick And Jane (2005)

2008-08-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Crime

Fun With Dick And Jane is a 2005 comedy film, and remake of the 1977 film of the same name. The story revolves around an upper-middle class couple, Dick and Jane Harper, who turn to robbery after Dick's company goes bankrupt and they run out of money. It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni in the title roles.

Preview:

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Plot:
The year is 2000, and we are introduced to the Harper family. The family members are Dick Harper, who works for a company called Globodyne. Jane Harper works at a local travel agency and is often stressed at work. They have a son named Billy, who speaks mostly Spanish, as he is good friends with the family's young Hispanic housekeeper, Blanca. They also have a dog, who liked to bark until he was fitted with a shock collar. Dick is 'promoted' to Vice-President of Communications by company CEO Jack McCallister and company CFO Frank Bascombe. He is also asked to appear on the show Money Life, where host Sam Samuels and then independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader dub him and all the company's employees as "perverters of the American dream" and claim that Globodyne helps the super rich get even wealthier. The company's stock is soon worthless, along with all the employees' pensions, which are in Globodyne's stock.

Dick arrives home to find an excited Jane, who informs him that she took his advice and quit her job in order to spend more time with Billy. Dick has to break the news over dinner, instantly alarming Jane. Dick tries to think positively, and tries for a few months to get a Vice Presidency at other corporations. After failing to get a job anywhere, Jane reveals that they'll end up declaring bankruptcy in couple of months due to having everything in Globodyne stock.

Dick still tries to look on the bright side; stating that their house is worth $600,000. Jane then informs him that, since the fall of Globodyne, the local property market crashed, and that if they were to sell their house, they would owe the bank $150,000. After coming to terms with the prospect of being poor, Dick applies for low paying, dead-end jobs. After being fired from all local businesses, and finding out that they have 24 hours before being evicted from their home, he decides that it's time for the couple to turn to crime. Dick borrows Billy's surprisingly realistic squirt gun and decides to rob a local convenience store. He emerges and orders Jane to burn rubber, as he stole a slushy, much to Jane's amusement. After several failed attempts, they finally rob a head shop. Realizing that they get a thrill out of stealing, they make a profession out of this, going on nightly robbing sprees.

They climb their way up the crime ladder, becoming more professional with each passing night. Their last "job" is to rob a local bank by going undercover. The plan goes as planned, until another crime spree couple enters the bank, wearing Clinton masks and armed with shotguns. They are revealed to be former employees of Globodyne; Dick's jealous co-worker Oz and his wife Debbie. Dick and Jane escape, unscratched and unharmed. They decide to stop their "profession" but it's revealed that Dick is about to be indicted for his role in Globodyne's demise, thus he starts drowning his sorrows at the local bar. While there, he and Jane encounter a drunk Frank Bascombe, who tells them that the crooked Jack McCallister signed off all of Globodyne's assets, and that he paid Bascombe 10 million dollars to keep his mouth shut.

After Frank sobers up, they make a team and, through a devious and well put together plan, dupe Jack McCallister into reimbursing all of his former employees' pensions.

Although McCallister catches them in the act, Dick is able to still reimburse all of the former employees because he got McCallister's signature. Thus his wife, an art major, was able to forge his signature. The next day, Dick informs McCallister of the act as the press flock to him. The film ends with the wealthy Harper family driving along the highway and into the sunset, as another car drives up to them. In the car is another former Globodyne employee who tells Dick he's got a great new job at a company called Enron.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Jim Carrey
Téa Leoni
Alec Baldwin
Richard Jenkins
Angie Harmon
John Michael Higgins
Richard Burgi
Carlos Jacott
Aaron Michael Drozin
Gloria Garayua
Michelle Arthur
Stacey Travis
Timm Sharp
Dempsey Pappion
Knox White
Walter Addison
Ralph Nader
Deena Adar
Jorey Bernstein
Dilva Henry
Luis Saguar
Rocael Rueda Sr.
Peter Breitmayer
P.J. Byrne
Pete Gardner
Kym Whitley
Gavin Grazer
Taso Papadakis
James St. James
Mary Gillis
Esther Scott
Larry Dorf
Dario Gonzalez
Emilio Rivera
Jullian Dulce Vida
Steve Seagren
Ivar Brogger
Clint Howard
Jack Conley
Huey Redwine
Wayne Flemming
Jason Marsden
Scott L. Schwartz
Bette Beatrice
Rick Overton
Kerry Hoyt
Kenji Nakamura
Rikio Nakashita
Brian Tee
Phil Reeves
Daniel Espeseth
Garrett M. Brown
Stephnie Weir
Peter Weireter
Norma Fierre
Louis Weinstein
Peter Conklin
Steve Kehela
Rob Nagle
Frankie Levangie
Oliver Muirhead
Chris Ellis
Bob Morrisey
Kevin Ruf
Maggie Rowe
Tony Lupo
Staci Lawrence
Robert Alan Beuth
Alejandro Furth
Jeff Garlin
Michael A. Cassidy
Dr. Melissa Caudle
Ingrid Coree
Mark Correy
Vincent Curatola
Andray Johnson
Larry Kagele
Gianfranco L'Amore
Pavel Lychnikoff
Laurie Metcalf
Tyson Power
Tamara Craig Thomas
Juliette Tinelle

Voice:
David Herman

The Pacifier (2005)

2008-08-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

Genre: Comedy | Action | Family | Thriller

The Pacifier is a 2005 action comedy film, directed by Adam Shankman, and written by Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant. It stars Vin Diesel, Faith Ford, Lauren Graham, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Carol Kane, and Brad Garrett. The film was released in March 2005 by Walt Disney Pictures, and earned US$30 million in its opening weekend. It is also the first and only movie Vin Diesel starred in that does not earn a PG-13 rating or above. This movie was shot partly in Forest Hill Public School.

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Plot:
U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Shane Wolfe (Vin Diesel) is assigned to rescue Howard Plummer, a man working on a top-secret government project, from a group of Serbian rebels. Wolfe and his team manage to get Plummer off an enemy boat; moments later, Wolfe and Plummer are shot while boarding the escape helicopter. Plummer is killed in the attack. Wolfe spends two months in the hospital. Wolfe's commanding officer, Captain Bill Fawcett (Chris Potter), is assigned to escort Plummer's widow Julie (Faith Ford) to Zurich, where a safety-deposit box belonging to the Plummers has been discovered. Wolfe is assigned to stay at the Plummer residence to search for the secret project called GHOST, hidden somewhere in the house, and to look after the family's five children: Zoe (Brittany Snow), Seth (Max Thieriot), Lulu (Morgan York), Peter (Logan and Keegan Hoover), and Baby Tyler (Bo and Luke Vink).

The kids prove to be difficult to handle, even with the help of Manny Helga (Carol Kane): Zoe and Seth rebel against Wolfe's authority; Lulu is obsessed with the new houseguest; the pet duck, Gary, resents Wolfe; and Manny Fanny finally quits when one of Zoe and Seth's pranks goes wrong.

Fawcett and Julia are forced to remain in Zurich longer when they learn that they must provide a password in order to access the box. Wolfe is left to drive the kids to school. There, he meets their strict, nearly-obnoxious vice principal Murney (Brad Garrett), and the beautiful principal Claire Fletcher (Lauren Graham), a sometime military trainee of whom Wolfe becomes enamored. After school, Wolfe saves Seth from a group of bullies, but later is led into the sewers when Zoe intentionally drops the tracking device he put on her into the toilet.

When they finally reach home, they encounter an unexpected house party hosted by Zoe and her boyfriend, Scott. Wolfe forces all the guests to clean up the house before going home. Zoe yells at him. They are then attacked by a pair of masked ninjas, whom Wolfe eventually defeats. He explains the entire situation to the kids, who agree to co-operate with him.

A few days later, Murney brings the facts that Seth has cut and bleached his hair for no apparent reason, has a Nazi symbol in his locker, and has skipped every wrestling practice for the past month, to Wolfe's attention. At home, Seth furiously yells that he only joined the wrestling team in obedience to his father's wish. He sneaks out of the house, tricking the alarm system with a freezer magnet. Wolfe, leaving Zoe in charge, follows him to the town theater, where he learns that Seth has secretly joined the production of The Sound of Music. The director quits when he believes the show will be a failure, whereupon Wolfe volunteers to take his place, and juggles this task with taking care of the house, giving Zoe driving lessons, and teaching Lulu and the Firefly Scouts martial arts.

Later, Seth quits the wrestling team. When Murney threatens the boy, Wolfe challenges him to a wrestling match in front of the entire school. Despite Murney's show of bluster, Wolfe easily wins.

The training Wolfe gives the Firefly Scouts becomes useful when they once again have a conflict with the Easter Bunny Scouts. The girls beat and tie up the boys, refusing to let them go until the thugs agree to stop bothering them.

Zoe and Wolfe share stories of their fathers, both of whom have died in similar circumstances. They are interrupted by a phone call from Julie, who has guessed the password ("My Angel"), retrieved the item in a box (a special key), and is on her way home. The kids immediately begin to plan a 'Welcome Home' party. Less than an hour later, Wolfe discovers a secret vault underneath the garage, which requires a key to open. Fawcett and Julie arrive. When mother and children are reunited, Fawcett and Wolfe go to the garage, where Wolfe says he is rethinking his career. The two ninjas seen earlier arrive armed, and pull off their masks, revealing themselves as the Plummers' North Korea neighbours, the Chungs. Fawcett suddenly knocks out Wolfe, proving that he is in fact a double agent. They tie up and gag Zoe, Seth, and Lulu, place Peter and Tyler in the play pen, and take Julie to the vault. They manage to open the door, but the dangerous security system prevents them from going any farther.

The children escape Mr. Chung, and awaken Wolfe, who goes to the vault to help Julie, sending the kids to summon the police. Mr. Chung follows them in his car; with Zoe at the wheel, the kids force him to crash. Wolfe figures out how to get past the security system, using a dance ("The Peter Panda Dance") used to make Peter go to sleep each night to avoid its traps. He, Julie, Fawcett, and Mrs. Chung engage in combat, and end the fight when Julie knocks out Mrs. Chung. Wolfe's voice activates the final vault, knocking out Fawcett with the door. By then, the children have lured a large crowd of police to the house. Mr. Chung, however, holds all of them at gunpoint. Wolfe notices Principal Claire Fetcher right behind him, having followed the chase when she saw it pass by the school. Wolfe, aided by Garry the duck, distracts Mr. Chung, whereupon Claire knocks him unconscious.

With their missions accomplished, Wolfe and the Plummers say their goodbyes, and Wolfe and Claire share a kiss. The family attends Seth's performance, where we learn that Wolfe has quit the Navy and joined the school staff as the new wrestling coach. Mr. Murney is shown briefly on stage, where he is singing Climb Ev'ry Mountain off-key while dressed in a nun's dress, as the film concludes.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Cast:
Vin Diesel
Lauren Graham
Faith Ford
Brittany Snow
Max Thieriot
Chris Potter
Carol Kane
Brad Garrett
Morgan York
Kegan Hoover
Logan Hoover
Bo Vink
Luke Vink
Tate Donovan
Scott Thompson
Dennis Akayama
Mung-Ling Tsui
Anne Fletcher
Allison Lynn
Gabriel Antonacci
Mary Pitt
Dan Sutcliffe
Vanessa Cobham
Jordan Allison
Rachael Dolan
Charlotte Szivak
Toya Alexis
Valerie Boyle
Karla Jang
Silver Kim
Robert Yeretch
Scott Hurst
Christie Allaire
Stephanie Allaire
Amy Allicock
Helena Chow
Joella Crichton
Laura Jeanes
Rebecca Priestley
Taryn Ash
Catherine Burdon
Shane Cardwell
Tommy Chang
Alexander Conti
David Lipper
Tig Fong
Maria Georgas
Nikki Shah
Jordan Todosey
Emi Yaguchi-Chow
Demetrius Joyette
Christopher Lortie
Sotiri Georgas
Steven Georgas
Gannon Racki
Seth Howard
Marcus Hutchings
David Sparrow
Evelyn Kaye
Miriam Laurence
David Smukler
Christian Laurin
John MacDonald
Billy Oliver
Curtis Parker
Matt Purdy
Jean Pearson
Kyle Schmid
Robert Thomas
Cade Courtley
Michael Quintero
Cameron Hickox
Cassius Willis
Jeff Podgurski
F. Valentino Morales
Hank Amos
Charles Haugk
Scott Reiff
Whoopi Goldberg
Liam McGuckian
Adam Shankman
Patrick Swayze

Walk The Line (2005)

2008-08-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Genre: Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

Walk The Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film, directed by James Mangold and based on the life of country singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Robert Patrick.

The film focuses on Cash's younger life, his romance with June Carter, and his ascent to the country music scene, with material taken from his autobiographies. Walk the Line's production budget is estimated to have been US$28,000,000.

The film previewed at the Telluride Film Festival on September 4, 2005, and went into wide release on November 18. This film was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and Best Actress (Reese Witherspoon). Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress, the film's sole Oscar winner.

As of August 22, 2006, the film had grossed a total of $186,438,883 worldwide. On February 28, 2006, a single-disc DVD and a two-disc collector edition DVD were released; these editions sold three million copies on their first day of release. On March 25, 2008 a two-disc 'extended cut' DVD was released for region one. The feature on disc one is 17 minutes longer than the theatrical release, and disc two features eight extended musical sequences with introductions and documentaries about the making of the film.

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Plot:
The film details Johnny Cash's life from his growing up as the son of a cotton picker in Dyess, Arkansas, dealing with the death of his brother, his drug addiction, subsequent rescue by future wife June Carter, and his famous concert at Folsom State Prison.

The film opens in medias res with an exterior shot of Folsom Prison in 1968. The grounds are quiet except for the faint sound of music. Two guards on their tower peer at the main building. As we slowly approach the main building, the music begins to increase in volume. The camera tracks past empty cells and halls as the music becomes louder and more distinct; now cheering can be heard. Finally we see the source of the cheering: an audience of inmates for Johnny Cash's band, which is playing a vamp. In the next shot, a table saw rests on a table as a hand casually strokes the blade. After repeated calls, we are made aware that the hand is that of Johnny Cash. (Later we learn that the voice calling him onstage is that of the prison warden.)

In the next scene, it's 1944 and Cash is a boy. (His legal name was "J. R. Cash", as he did not adopt the name "John" until entering the Air Force.) He and his brother Jack are listening to the radio; the 15-year-old June Carter is singing.

Early in the movie, Cash and Jack discuss their respective strengths and weaknesses with regard to the Bible and hymns. Jack, who is training to become a pastor, and therefore "needs to know the Bible front to back," is much better at recalling the words and stories of the Bible. J.R., who can sing well like his mother, is adept with the hymns they sing at church. A few scenes later, Jack is sawing wood on a job for a neighbor with J.R. when J.R. abruptly announces that the task is boring. With Jack's permission, he leaves to go fishing. As he walks home later, he is intercepted by his father, Ray, who has visibly fresh blood stains on his overalls. "Where you been?" asks Ray. Jack has been fatally injured in an accident with the saw. J.R.'s relationship with Ray, already strained, becomes much more difficult after the Jack's death. He often yells at J.R., telling him that "the devil took the wrong son."

In 1952, J.R. joins the United States Air Force and is posted to Germany. He seems not to enjoy his time there, but finds solace in playing a guitar he buys and writing songs - one of which will become "Folsom Prison Blues," inspired by a B-movie shown to the troops, Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. Following his discharge, he marries his girlfriend Vivian Liberto.

In 1955, Vivian and John (as he is now generally known) live in Memphis in relative poverty while John works as a door-to-door salesman to support his growing family (Cash's eldest daughter Rosanne is an infant, and Vivian mentions "another one on the way"). One day, he walks past a recording studio and has an inspiration to organize a band (made up of guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant, whom his wife describes as "two mechanics who can't hardly play") to play gospel music.

Cash's band auditions for Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Records. As they play a pedestrian gospel song ("I Was There When It Happened"), Phillips interrupts and asks Cash to play a song that he really feels. Although his bandmates do not know the tune, he strikes up "Folsom Prison Blues." Cash begins the song hesitantly in the style of a slow, mournful blues tune, the way that he originally wrote it. However, as the song progresses and Cash gains confidence, the song picks up and the familiar "freight train" rhythm begins to assert itself as he picks up the tempo. Everyone in the room brightens as they realize that Cash now has something good and potentially marketable. The performance results in a contract, in fulfilment of which Cash begins touring in 1955 (as Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two) with other young Sun artists. Among those he meets on the tour - along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins (no relation to Luther Perkins), Waylon Jennings and Elvis Presley - is June Carter, who performs as both a singer (although she claims to have no talent) and a comedienne.

Cash's career goes from strength to strength, and he finds himself spending more time with June, who divorces her husband at this time. After his romantic intentions are rebuffed one night in rural Texas in 1956, Cash is offered drugs and alcohol and soon begins to behave erratically.

On a subsequent tour, in 1958, June tells him (and many of the other artists on the tour) at one point that they cannot "walk the line," prompting Cash to write "I Walk the Line." The erratic behaviour peaks one night when Cash invites June on stage to sing a duet. Cash suggests a love song ("Time's A Wastin'") which June recorded with her first husband Carl Smith (whom she has recently divorced). She feels uncomfortable performing it with Cash, but he ignores her protests and kisses her in the middle of the performance. She storms off the stage and they go their separate ways, despite Cash's protest that "it was only a song."

In 1964, the still addicted Cash (his father tells him that he would do well to start "sleeping at night...or eating...or both") takes his wife to an awards program which June also attends. Despite his wife's objections to the level of interest he is paying her, Cash persuades June (who is divorcing her second husband, a stock car driver) to come out of semi-retirement and tour with him.

The tour is a great success (June is shown performing "Wildwood Flower" solo, and, with Cash, the hits "Jackson" and "It Ain't Me Babe"), but backstage Cash's wife is critical of June's influence. After one Las Vegas performance in 1965, Cash and June sleep together in her hotel room. The next morning, as June is on the phone with one of her daughters, she notices Cash taking several pills and begins to doubt the wisdom of continuing the previous night's relationship. At that evening's concert, Cash, upset by Carter's apparent rejection, is incoherent during his customary "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" opening, forgets the lyrics to the song "I Got Stripes," loses control of the microphone stand, kicks out the footlights, and ultimately passes out. The remainder of the tour is cancelled. The distraught June disposes of Cash's drugs and begins to write "Ring of Fire", describing her feelings for Cash and her pain at watching him descend into addiction.

On his way home, Cash travels to Mexico to purchase more drugs and is busted in El Paso, Texas. Vivian is not pleased, however, and between his substance abuse and her awareness of his interest in June, the tensions in Cash's marriage rise when he tries to put up "pictures of my band" (most of which seem to be of June) at home over his wife's objections. After a final violent dispute, the pair separate and Cash moves to Nashville, where he shares living quarters with Waylon Jennings (Shooter Jennings) in 1966.

Cash tries to reconcile with June, which involves a long walk to her house (his car is in the shop and he has no cash to reclaim it). He is sent on his way, with June informing him that she misses her "old friend John" and doesn't like "this new guy, Cash." On the way back he collapses in the rain. After coming round the next day he sees a large house near a lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee and promptly buys it. His parents, and the extended Carter family (June, her daughters and her parents, Maybelle and Ezra) arrive for Thanksgiving, at which time the ever-critical Cash Sr. dismisses Cash's achievements and behavior, citing as an example of Cash's carelessness an expensive tractor stuck in the mud in view of the house. After a tense meal, Cash decides to prove his father wrong by freeing the tractor. June and her family watch in concern as Cash struggles with the machine; June's mother, apparently aware of her daughter's true feelings toward Cash, encourages her to go help him, because "he's mixed up." June at first refuses, but runs to Cash's aid when the tractor, in reverse, goes into the lake. Under the influence of the Carters (which extends to June's parents, shotguns in hand, chasing away Cash's drug dealer), Cash cleans himself up.

Stabilized, Cash notices in fan mail that many of his fans are prisoners, dresses in his customary black, visits his recording company (now Columbia Records) and makes a proposal to record an album live inside Folsom Prison. His record company is doubtful, arguing that the musical world has changed in the time Cash was rehabilitating, but he says bluntly that he will perform on a given date and the label can use the tapes if they think the music is any good.

At this point the film returns to the opening scene with the warden speaking to Cash in 1968. The warden requests that Cash not play any more songs that would remind the inmates that they are in prison. Cash laughs wryly and replies, "You think they forgot?"

At the Folsom Prison concert Cash tells how he always admired prisoners, explaining that his brief prison stay after his drug bust really made him "feel like I'd seen a thing or two, you know?" But, he continues, he now realizes his experiences really can't compare because "I ain't never had to drink this yellow water you got here at Folsom!" Performing "Cocaine Blues" to great acclaim from the prisoners, the concert is a great success, and Cash embarks on a tour with June and his old band.

The scene changes to a tour bus in the dead of night - still 1968. Cash, disturbed by "bad dreams...memories," goes to see June in the back of the bus. (On his way he removes a cigarette from the mouth of a sleeping Luther Perkins, who in real life died around this time when his house caught fire; in his biography Cash said he believed Luther Perkins' house fire was caused by a cigarette.) Waking June at 2 AM, he proposes to her, but she turns him down. Cash tells her that that was the last time; June replies that she doesn't like "re-runs". At the concert, June tells Cash that he is allowed to speak to her only on stage.

The concert features "Ring of Fire", for which Cash acknowledges June. He then persuades her to join him in a duet of "Jackson". In the middle of the song, Cash breaks off; June looks concerned. Cash explains that he "just can't sing this song any more" unless she agrees to marry him. June is reluctant to give an answer, but Cash continues with his proposal:

"Now I've asked you forty different ways and it's time you come up with a fresh answer...I'm asking you to marry me. I love you, June. Now I know I said and done a lotta things—that I hurt you—but I promise, I'll never do that again. I only want to take care of you. I will not leave you like that Dutch boy with your finger in the dam...You're my best friend. Marry me."

June tearfully agrees, and after a long embrace the scene fades to the deck of Cash's home in Hendersonville. Cash watches his father interact with his newest daughters Rosie and Carlene. He jokes with his father, their tense relationship having apparently begun to heal. The final shot shows Cash continuing down the stairs to the pier, looking up, and meeting June's eyes where she is fishing with her father. They look at each other and Cash smiles and the frame freezes; the scene then changes to footage of the couple performing together, with brief biographical information about Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash superimposed over it.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack: Listen to samples

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Cast:
Joaquin Phoenix
Reese Witherspoon
Ginnifer Goodwin
Robert Patrick
Dallas Roberts
Dan John Miller
Larry Bagby
Shelby Lynne
Tyler Hilton
Waylon Payne
Shooter Jennings
Sandra Ellis Lafferty
Dan Beene
Clay Steakley
Johnathan Rice
Johnny Holiday
Ridge Canipe
Lucas Till
Carly Nahon
McGhee Monteith
Wyatt Entrekin
Hailey Anne Nelson
Kerris Dorsey
Delaney Keefe
Victoria Hester
Deborah Rawlings
James DeForest Parker
James Keach
Davielle Boyce
Glenn Alan Gardner
Danny Vinson
Dave McPhail
Bob King
Natalie Canerday
Rhoda Griffis
Jeff Bailey
Ross Harkins
J.D. Evermore
Helen Ingebritsen
J.W. Williams
Shane Bowen
Tim Ware
Dolan Wilson
J. Allen Scott
Clare Grant
Micheal Ingersal
Carter Thrower
J.P. McNeely
Brian Deas
Glenda Pannell
Amy Lavere
Tracee Mae Miller
Ken Axmaker Jr.
David Caffey
John Carter Cash
Mark Alan Compton
Brian Crider
Richard Crowe
Gordon Dexheimer
Jeff Droke
Geoff Falk
Jan Falk
Marc Farley
Gavin Lindsay Goode
Melissa Goodwin
Jamie Grant
Cody Hanford
L. Michele Hester
Hunter Ian
Laurie Johnson
Katie Lindsey
Donald Meyers
Michael Montgomery
Vince Palazola
Rich Parham
Chris Plumlee
Kevin Scroggs
Brittany Shaw
Ben Taylor
Frank Hoyt Taylor
Matt Taylor
Sheila Thomas
Jim Wright

Robots (2005)

2008-08-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

Genre: Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Robots is a 2005 computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20^th Century Fox (the same companies behind the film Ice Age), and was released theatrically (both in normal theaters and in IMAX theaters) on March 11th, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and Bill Joyce, a well known children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of Joyce's book "Santa Calls" but instead they came up with a movie about robots. Joyce served as producer and production designer for the film. The DVD of Robots was released on September 27, 2005. The MPAA rated the film PG, in most countries, it is suitable for all ages.

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Plot:
In a world of robots, the young Rodney decides to move to the metropolis of Robot City, to meet the powerful inventor and his idol Bigweld, trying to get a position in his corporation. However, the new president Ratchet manages the company for profit with new parts only, leaving the old robots fated to become scrap in the mill of Ratchet's mother. Rodney, with the support of his old robots friends, convinces Bigweld to fight for his position back.

Info: en.wikipedia.org | us.imdb.com

Soundtrack:

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Voice:
Paula Abdul
Halle Berry
Lucille Bliss
Terry Bradshaw
Jim Broadbent
Mel Brooks
Amanda Bynes
Drew Carey
Jennifer Coolidge
Dylan Denton
Will Denton
Marshall Efron
Damien Fahey
Lowell Ganz
Paul Giamatti
Dan Hedaya
Jackie Hoffman
James Earl Jones
Greg Kinnear
Jay Leno
Natasha Lyonne
Brian McFadden
Ewan McGregor
Tim Nordquist
Jansen Panettiere
Al Roker
Alan Rosenberg
Stephen Tobolowsky
Stanley Tucci
Chris Wedge
Dianne Wiest
Harland Williams
Robin Williams
Crawford Wilson
Lara Cody
Cooper Cowgill
David Crommett
Darin De Paul
Dann Fink
Timothy Gulan
Alexander Haney
Angela Haney
Ray Iannicelli
Sondra James
Vanessa Lemonides
Anthony J. Lewis Jr.
Marcus Maurice
Jennifer Perito
Kristin Reeves
David Rossmer
Lyla Stone
Bruce Winant