| Title | Movie Release Year | Running Time | Genre | Plot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Fast 2 Furious | 2003 | 107 mins | Action | Brian O’Connor (Paul walker), now is a disgraced cop, fell victim to it and he’s now paying the price. |
| The 6th Day | 2000 | 123 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Futuristic action about a man who meets a clone of himself and stumbles into a grand conspiracy about clones taking over the world. |
| 7 Seconds | 2005 | 101 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | Timing is Everything. Action star Wesley Snipes (the Blade trilogy, U.S. Marshals, Passenger 57) is a professional thief whose high-stakes caper goes murderously wrong in this explosive, brilliantly unpredictable crime thriller. Captain Jack Tolliver (Snipes) is an ex-Delta Force commando leading what should have been a clockwork-perfect armored car heist. Instead, he ends up with a priceless Van Gogh painting - and one of his crew ends up held hostage by the sadistic Russian gangsters who muscled in on the heist. Tolliver's only option: a suicidal rescue mission where enemies become allies, your best friend can be your worst nightmare, and survival is the deadliest art of all. |
| 8 Mile | 2002 | 110 mins | Drama | No matter where we live, no matter who we are, we’re all bound by borders…some real, some imagined. Many of us are content to live within these borders. Others are forced to. But some of us need to break out, burst through, even if what lies on the other side is both frightening and unknown. 8 Mile is a story about these boundaries that define our lives, and a young man’s struggle to find the strength and courage to transcend them. |
| 8MM | 1999 | 123 mins | Mystery; Thriller | A private investigator is hired to discover if a "snuff film" is authentic or not. |
| 11:14 | 2003 | 85 mins | Drama; Thriller; Comedy; Crime | The events leading up to an 11:14 PM car crash, from five very different perspectives. |
| 13 Going On 30 | 2004 | 98 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance; Fantasy | A 13 year old girl plays a game on her 13th birthday and wakes up the next day as a 30 year old woman. |
| 16 Blocks | 2006 | 110 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | An aging cop (Willis) is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness (Def) from police custody to a courthouse. There are however forces at work trying to stop prevent them from making it. |
| 21 Grams | 2003 | 124 mins | Drama; Crime; Thriller | A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician (Penn), a grieving mother (Watts) and a born-again ex-con (Del Toro). |
| 40 Days and 40 Nights | 2002 | 96 mins | Comedy; Romance | After a brutal breakup, a young man vows to stay celibate during the 40 days of Lent, but finds the girl of his dreams and is unable to do anything about it. |
| The 40 Year Old Virgin | 2005 | 116 mins | Comedy; Romance | Goaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother. |
| 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out | 2003 | 120 mins | Crime; Drama; Action | After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes. |
| 48 Hrs. | 1982 | 96 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer. |
| 50 First Dates | 2004 | 95 mins | Comedy | If true love means never having to say “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?”, then Henry Roth has a big problem. After years of playing the field, he’s finally found his perfect match .. but Lucy has no short-term memory and now Henry has to make her fall in love with him, day after day after day…!Back together again for the first time since THE WEDDING SINGER, ADAM SANDLER and DREW BARRYMORE star in the hilarious hit 50 FIRST DATES. With “amazing on-screen chemistry*” and an awesome supporting cast (including ROB SCHNEIDER, SEAN ASTIN and DAN AYKROYD), they deliver great fun and big laughs in a comedy smash that you will never forget! |
| 100 Girls | 2000 | 94 mins | Comedy | This sexy, teen-comedy is about a freshman, Matthew (played by Jonathan Tucker), at college who meets... |
| 100 Mile Rule | 2002 | 98 mins | Comedy | A dark comedy about three salesmen from Detroit who come to Los Angeles for a two week seminar and get... |
| A Bug's Life | 1998 | 95 mins | Animation; Family | There was such a magic on the screen in 1995 when the people at Pixar came up with the first fully computer-animated film, Toy Story. Their second feature film, A Bug's Life, may miss the bull's-eye but Pixar's target is so lofty, it's hard to find the film anything less than irresistible. Brighter and more colorful than the other animated insect movie of 1998 (Antz), A Bug's Life is the sweetly told story of Flik (voiced by David Foley), an ant searching for better ways to be a bug. His colony unfortunately revolves around feeding and fearing the local grasshoppers (lead by Hopper, voiced with gleeful menace by Kevin Spacey). When Flik accidentally destroys the seasonal food supply for the grasshoppers he decides to look for help ("We need bigger bugs!"). The ants, led by Princess Atta (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), are eager to dispose of the troublesome Flik. Yet he finds help--a hearty bunch of bug warriors--and brings them back to the colony. Unfortunately they are just traveling performers afraid of conflict. As with Toy Story, the ensemble of creatures and voices is remarkable and often inspired. Highlights include wiseacre comedian Denis Leary as an un-ladylike ladybug, Joe Ranft as the German-accented caterpillar, David Hyde Pierce as a stick bug, and Michael McShane as a pair of unintelligible pillbugs. The scene-stealer is Atta's squeaky-voiced sister, baby Dot (Hayden Panettiere), who has a big sweet spot for Flik. More gentle and kid-friendly than Antz, A Bug Life's still has some good suspense and a wonderful demise of the villain. However, the film--a giant worldwide hit--will be remembered for its most creative touch: "outtakes" over the end credits à la many live-action comedy films. These dozen or so scenes (both "editions" of outtakes are contained here) are brilliant and deserve a special place in film history right along with 1998's other most talked-about sequence: the opening Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan. The video and DVD also contain Pixar's delightful Oscar-winning short, Geri's Game. --Doug Thomas |
| A.I. Artificial Intelligence | 2000 | 145 mins | History will place an asterisk next to A.I. as the film Stanley Kubrick might have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of Pinocchio, claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home. Echoes of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun are clearly heard as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to Pinocchio intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels A.I. into even deeper realms of wonder, even as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's A.I. (complete with one of John Williams's finest scores), a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon |
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| Above the Rim | 1994 | 96 mins | Crime; Drama; Sport | Story of a promising high school basketball player and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star now working as a security guard and dating his mother. |
| Accidental Spy, The | 2001 | 87 mins | Action; Comedy; Espionnage | Ordinary Guy, Extraordinary Spy! Coming right of the explosive success of Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon… action superstar Jackie Chan now delivers even more big-screen thrills! This time, Jackie Chan rises to the occasion in a fun filled story about an ordinary guy about to kick into an action packed adventure! Jackie plays a bored and unsuccessful salesman who never thought his life would amount to anything. All that changes one day when he becomes an instant here by foiling an attempted bank robbery! But this newfound fame uncovers an even bigger surprise: Jackie is actually the latest in a long line of professional spies! Then, as he travels to Turkey to meet the father he's never known, Jackie becomes entangled in a web of mystery and deceit that only he can unravel! Hilarious and endlessly thrilling, The Accidental Spy delivers everything you expect from big screen favorite Jackie Chan! |
| Ace Ventura: Pet Detective | 1994 | 87 mins | Comedy; Family | A goofy detective specializing in animals goes in search of a missing dolphin mascot of a football team. |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | 1995 | 87 mins | Comedy; Family | He's the best there is! (Actually, he's the only one there is.) He's the best there is. In fact, he's the only one there is! He's Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Jim Carrey (The Mask. Dumb and Dumber, Liar Liar) is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man…or beast! |
| Adam and Paul | 2004 | 82 mins | ||
| Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights | 2002 | 86 mins | Animation; Comedy; Musical | Come celebrate the joy and togetherness of the Hanukah season with Adam Sandler - yeah, that Adam Sandler — in this raucous animated comedy written and produced in collaboration with the noted funnyman. Davey Stone (voice of Adam Sandler) is a twenty-something man with a short temper and a reputation for causing trouble who lives in the small New England town of Dukesberry. Davey has a particularly bad attitude about the holiday season, and on the first night of Hanukah, he goes on a tear which lands him in front of a judge (voice of Norm Crosby). The judge, who has dealt with Davey before, is prepared to send him to prison, but Whitey (also voiced by Sandler), an eccentric but kindly old man, persuades the judge to give him a chance to turn Davey into a more responsible citizen. Davey doesn't think much of Whitey's charitable nature, but when his trailer home burns down, he's forced to move in with Whitey and his perpetually nervous sister, Eleanore (also voiced by Sandler . . . spotting a trend here?). Between Whitey and Eleanore's non-stop kvetching and the reappearance of his old girlfriend Jennifer (voice of Jackie Titone), Davey is being driven to distraction by the Hanukah season, but in time Whitey learns the truth about why Davey has such a problem with the Festival of Lights. Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights also includes eight new songs co-written by Sandler; he duets with bluegrass star Alison Krauss on "Long Ago". — Mark Deming |
| The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | 1960 | 107 mins | Family | The original full-color classic from the director of Casablanca. Mark Twain's then, now and forever classic about Huck Finn's runaway journey down the Mississippi and into manhood enjoys one of its best screen adaptations here. Michael Curtiz, legendary director of Casablanca and some 170 more films, pilots this all-family movie whose stars include 1960s era child actor Eddie Hodges (as irrepressible Huck) and savvy veterans Tony Randall (as snake-oil smooth King), Andy Devine (as a circus huckster) and Buster Keaton as a circus sideman). And Archie Moore, long time light-heavyweight boxing champ who holds the record for most career knockouts, scores an acting KO as Jim, the fugitive slave who's Huck's rafting companion... and this appealing film's timeless conscience. |
| Adventures Of Sharkboy And Lavagirl | 2005 | 94 mins | Adventure; Family | Coming Soon! |
| Æon Flux | 2005 | 93 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Aeon Flux is a mysterious assassin working for the Monicans, a group of rebels trying to overthrow the government. When she is a sent on a mission to kill the "chairman" a whole new mystery is found. |
| After the Sunset | 2004 | 97 mins | Crime; Thriller; Action; Adventure; Comedy | The story of what happens after a master thief achieves his last big score, when the FBI agent who promised he'd capture him is about to do just that. |
| Air Force One | 1997 | 124 mins | Action; Thriller; Drama | Hijackers seize the plane carrying the President of the United States and his family, but he (an ex-soldier) works from hiding to defeat them. |
| Airheads | 1994 | 88 mins | Comedy | Sie sind frei, sie sind jung - und sie sind eine Band: Sänger Chazz, Rex und Pip nennen sich die "Lone Rangers". Ihre Sound ist pures Heavy Metal und ihre Musik ist das Nonplusultra - davon sind sie jedenfalls felsenfest überzeugt. Doch Outfit und Sound sind nicht alles im harten Rockbusiness der 90er - man muss auch eine Plattenfirma von sich überzeugen. Doch da gibt's Schwierigkeiten für die Rangers: alle Manager schmeißen sie kurzerhand wieder aus dem Büro, ohne auch nur einen Beat des Demos anzuhören. Und obendrauf erhält Chazz von seiner Freundin auch noch den Laufpass! Als letzte Chance besetzen die "Lone Rangers" kurzerhand die Rebel-Radio-Station KPPX. Mit vorgehaltener Spielzeugpistole zwingen sie Star-DJ Ian, ihren Song über den Sender gehen zu lassen. Doch aus dieser kuriosen Geiselnahme wird für die Musiker schnell ein ganz, ganz ernstes Problem... |
| Akeelah and the Bee | 2006 | 112 mins | Drama | A young girl from South Los Angeles tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee. |
| Aladdin | 1992 | 90 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family | |
| Aladdin - The Return of Jafar | 1994 | 66 mins | Action; Adventure; Animation; Family | Return of Jafar is a spin-off from the television Aladdin cartoon series, which was a spin-off of the hit Disney animated movie. — All Movie Guide |
| Aladdin and the King of Thieves | 1996 | Adventure; Animation; Family | Robin Williams returns as the voice of the hyperactive genie in this, the second direct-to-video sequel to Disney's hit animated feature. Aladdin, the street beggar turned Prince, risks all to find his father among the cutthroat 40 thieves and joins his quest to find a Midas-like stone that turns everything it touches into gold. A significant cut above most made-for-video animation, this energetic adventure largely leaves Princess Jasmine and the genie behind for a father-and-son quest. Guest voice Jerry Orbach suggests Sean Connery with his thick-as-molasses delivery as the master thief Sa'luk and, despite his limited screen time, Williams once again delights with his wild flights of fantasy as the big blue Genie. A rousing tale full of last-minute escapes and spectacular, kid-sized thrills that even parents will find entertaining. --Sean Axmaker | |
| The Alamo | 2004 | 137 mins | Action; Drama; Adventure; War; Western | Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. |
| Alexander | 2004 | 175 mins | Adventure; Drama; War | Alexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world. |
| Alfie | 2004 | 103 mins | Comedy; Drama | This remake of Lewis Gilbert's 1966 film of the same name features Jude Law filling the shoes Michael Caine once wore in the title role of Alfie. As with the original, Law occasionally speaks directly to the camera while his character talks of the opposite sex. Under the direction of Charles Shyer, Alfie follows a charming, if morally lacking, womanizer from one bed to the next. While his actions arise more from nonchalance than malice, Alfie nonetheless faces a moral dilemma when considering that he's impregnated one of his latest girlfriends. Alfie also includes performances from Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, and Nia Long. — Tracie Cooper |
| Alien | 1979 | 124 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi | "In space, no one can hear you scream." A close encounter of the third kind becomes a Jaws-style nightmare when an alien invades a spacecraft in Ridley Scott's sci-fi/horror classic. On the way home from a mission for the Company, the Nostromo's crew is woken up from hibernation by the ship's Mother computer to answer a distress signal from a nearby planet. Capt. Dallas (Tom Skerritt)'s rescue team discovers a bizarre pod field, but things get even stranger when a face-hugging creature bursts out of a pod and attaches itself to Kane (John Hurt). Over the objections of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), science officer Ash (Ian Holm) lets Kane back on the ship. The acid-blooded incubus detaches itself from an apparently recovered Kane, but an alien erupts from Kane's stomach and escapes. The alien starts stalking the humans, pitting Dallas and his crew (and cat) against a malevolent killing machine that also has a protector in the nefarious Company. — Lucia Bozzola |
| Alien Resurrection | 1997 | 108 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi | The fourth film in the Alien series, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) at a cost of $70 million, takes place aboard an immense ship, the Auriga, where General Perez (Dan Hedaya) heads a staff of seven science officers and 42 enlisted, all employed by United Systems Military (replacing the Company of the earlier films). The time is 200 years after the events of Alien 3. Scientists researching the aliens need hosts, and they rely on space mercenaries who make spacecraft raids to acquire bodies for the scientists. The research requires an Alien Queen specimen, so Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been cloned from preserved blood samples. The scientific team then removes the baby Alien Queen from Ripley's chest. Since the Ripley clone has alien DNA mixed into her genetic structure, she is not totally human. Later, a commercial freighter, the Betty, arrives with a crew of mercenaries — Elgyn (Michael Wincott), pilot Hillard (Kim Flowers), paralyzed mechanic Vriess (Dominique Pinon), space jock Johner (Ron Perlman), and junior mechanic Annalee Call (Winona Ryder) — who deliver a load of human hosts with alien eggs. Problems begin when the mercenaries take over the Auriga, and aliens escape to massacre humans. As the aliens attack, Ripley and the mercenaries try to reach the Betty in order to escape. Cinematography by Darius Khondji features the same ENR process he used on Seven, adding silver to the printing process to heighten contrasts, making the dark colors richer. An electric blue tint was employed during the underwater firefight between the mercenaries and the aliens. For the more physical aspects of her role, Ryder got in shape with six hours of daily workouts. Although all previous films in the series were shot at London's Pinewood Studios, filming of Alien Resurrection took place West Los Angeles soundstages with special effects in California and Paris. — Bhob Stewart |
| Alien Resurrection | 1997 | 108 mins | Perhaps these films are like the Star Trek movies: The even-numbered episodes are the best ones. Certainly this film (directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet) is an improvement over Alien 3, with a script that breathes exciting new life into the franchise. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power (and a bad attitude). A band of smugglers comes aboard only to discover the new race of aliens--and when the multi-mouthed melonheads get loose, no place is safe. But, on the plus side, they have Ripley as a guide to help them get out. Winona Ryder is on hand as the smugglers' most unlikely crew member (with a secret of her own), but this one is Sigourney's all the way. --Marshall Fine | |
| Alien Vs. Predator | 2004 | 101 mins | Action; Horror; Science-Fiction | |
| All About the Benjamins | 2002 | 95 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime | A bounty hunter is on the trail of a conman who skipped bail. The two wind up in a deserted warehouse where they witness a diamond scam in action... |
| Alone in the Dark | 2005 | 96 mins | Horror; Thriller; Action | Based on the video game, Alone in the Dark focuses on Edward Carnby, a detective of the paranormal, who slowly unravels a mysterious events with deadly results. |
| Along Came a Spider | 2001 | 104 mins | Thriller; Crime; Mystery; Drama | A congressman's daughter under Secret Service protection is kidnapped from a private school by an insider who calls Det. Alex Cross, sucking him into the case even though he's recovering from the loss of his partner. |
| Along Came Polly | 2004 | 90 mins | Comedy; Romance | A buttoned up newlywed finds his too organized life falling into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate. |
| American Beauty | 1999 | 122 mins | Drama | A man tells his tale of how he turned his miserable life around and turned everyone else's upside down as a result. |
| American Dreamz | 2006 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama | The new season of "American Dreamz," the wildly popular television singing contest, has captured the country's attention, as the competition looks to be between a young Midwestern gal (Moore) and a showtunes-loving young man from Orange County (Golzari). Recently awakened President Staton (Quaid) even wants in on the craze, as he signs up for the potential explosive season finale. |
| American History X | 1998 | 119 mins | Crime; Drama | A former neo-nazi skinhead (Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Furlong) from going down the same wrong path that he did. |
| American Pie | 1996 | 96 mins | Comedy | Anyone who's watched just about any teenage film knows that the greatest evil in this world isn't chemical warfare, ethnic cleansing, or even the nuclear bomb. The worst crime known to man? Why, virginity, of course. As we've learned from countless films--from Summer of '42 to Risky Business--virginity is a criminal burden that one must shed oneself of as quickly as possible. And while many of these films have given the topic a bad name, American Pie quietly sweeps in and gives sex some of its dignity back. Dignity, you may say? How can a film that highlights intercourse with fruit pies, premature ejaculation broadcasted across the Internet, and the gratuitous "gross-out" shots restore the dignity of a genre that's been encumbered with such heavyweights as Porky's and Losin' It? The plot may be typical, with four high school friends swearing to "score" by prom, yet the film rises above the muck with its superior cast, successful and sweet humor, and some actually rather retro values about the meaning and importance of sex. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas make up the odd quartet of pals determined to woo, lie, and beg their way to manhood. The young women they pursue are wary girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), choir girl Heather (Mena Suvari), band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and just about any other female who is willing and able. Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, playing a similar role as in Slums of Beverly Hills, is the general adviser to the crowd (when Vicky tells her "I want it to be the right time, the right place," Jessica responds, "It's not a space shuttle launch, it's sex"). The comedic timing hits the mark--especially in the deliberately awkward scenes between Jim (Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). And, of course, lessons are learned in this genuinely funny film, which will probably please the adult crowd even more than it will the teenage one. --Jenny Brown |
| American Pie 2 | 2001 | 108 mins | Comedy | The continuing bawdy adventures of a group of friends reuniting after their first year of college. |
| American Pie: Band Camp | 2005 | 87 mins | Comedy | Matt Stifler is sentenced to Band Camp where he plans on playing a series of practical jokes on the kids there. Instead, he falls for a young woman and tries to change his ways. |
| American Psycho | 2000 | 101 mins | Horror; Drama; Thriller | A young, well-to-do man isn't quite as normal as he seems....once you notice all the body parts of women he keeps in his apartment. |
| American Wedding | 2003 | 96 mins | Comedy; Romance | The third film in the American Pie series deals with the wedding of Jim and Michelle and the gathering of their families and friends, including Jim's old friends from high school and Michelle's little sister. |
| The Amityville Horror | 2005 | 90 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller | A family is terrorized by demonic forces after moving into a home that was the site of a grisly mass-murder. |
| An American Haunting | 2005 | 91 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller; Mystery | Based on the true events of the only case in US History where a spirit caused the death of a man. |
| An Ideal Husband | 1999 | 96 mins | Comedy; Family | For truly clever dialogue and a smartly structured plot, you can't go wrong with Oscar Wilde. Wilde's play An Ideal Husband is not his best known, but this film adaptation has all the wit you could ask for and a cast with the chops to deliver it: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, Oscar and Lucinda), Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights, Short Cuts), Minnie Driver (Grosse Pointe Blank, Big Night), Jeremy Northam (The Winslow Boy, Emma), and especially Rupert Everett (My Best Friend's Wedding, A Midsummer Night's Dream), who tosses off perfect epigrams with unflappable aplomb. The plot hinges on Northam, a member of Parliament (the British governing body, not the funk band) with a skeleton in his closet who is blackmailed into a shady business deal by a lady of mystery (Moore), who turns out to be a loathed school chum of the parliamentarian's wife (Blanchett). Everything is resolved happily, but not until after some devious twists of fate, several mistaken identities, lots of comic banter, and much social skewering. Wilde, whose troubled life and public exposure of his homosexuality is chronicled in the movie Wilde (1997), has a sharp eye for hypocrisy and the artificial poses demanded by society--but political commentary never gets in the way of a smart laugh. Visually sumptuous and briskly paced, An Ideal Husband will satisfy anyone looking for social satire or romantic comedy. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com |
| Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid | 2004 | 97 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | Coming soon! |
| Anchorman | 2004 | 91 mins | Comedy; Family | Marking the directorial debut of Adam McKay, former head writer for Saturday Night Live and founder of the Upright Citizen's Brigade, Anchorman is set during the 1970s and stars Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, San Diego's top-rated news anchorman. While Burgundy is outwardly willing to adjust to the idea of females in the workplace — even outside of secretarial positions — he certainly doesn't want his own job challenged. Keeping that in mind, it's no wonder that the arrival of Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), an aspiring newswoman, is, in Ron's eyes, not the studio's most welcome addition. After Veronica pays her dues covering so-called female-oriented fluff pieces (think cat fashion shows and cooking segments), the ambitious Veronica sets her eyes on the news desk; more specifically, on Ron's seat behind it. Not unpredictably, Ron doesn't take the threat lightly, and it isn't long before the rival newscasters are engaged in a very personal battle of the sexes. Anchorman was co-written by Ferrell, and features supporting performances from David Koechner, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Tara Subkoff, and Maya Rudolph. — Tracie Cooper |
| And1 Mixtape, Vol. 7 | 2005 | Sport | ||
| Anger Management | 2003 | 106 mins | Comedy | A man comes face to face with the rage he didn't know he had in this comedy. Dave Buznick (Adam Sandler) is an even-tempered businessman who, after a series of strange misunderstandings on an airline flight, finds himself accused of air rage. A judge sentences Dave to undergo anger management therapy, and he soon finds himself in the care of Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), a celebrated therapist. However, Dave's group therapy sessions with a handful of truly disturbed individuals — among them jumpy ex-con Chuck (John Turturro), obsessive sports fan Nate (Jonathan Loughran), slow-burning Lou (Luis Guzman), egocentric Andrew (Allen Covert), and bisexual porn stars Gina and Stacy (Krista Allen and January Jones) — leave him far more unsettled than when he arrived. Later, when Buddy decides to move into Dave's home for intensive therapy, he soon discovers Buddy has more than a bit of his own anger to resolve, and that no one brings out Dave's deeply buried inner rage quite like Buddy. Anger Management also stars Marisa Tomei as Dave's girlfriend, Linda; in addition, the film features a number of notable actors in cameos, including Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Ray Liotta, Heather Graham, and Harry Dean Stanton. — Mark Deming |
| Animatrix, The | 2003 | 89 mins | Action; Animation; Drama; Sci-Fi | 9 Short Films Exploring the Incredible World of The Matrix Welcome to The Animatrix, a visionary fusion of CG-animation and Japanese anime from the world's most revered anime directors. Experience the prequel to The Matrix and learn about the last cities of mankind, the war with the machines and humanity's ultimate downfall. Witness the Final Flight of the Osiris, which sets the stage for The Matrix Reloaded movie and Enter the Matrix video game. Grasp a more complete understanding of The Matrix available nowhere else. Expand your mind even further as you unlock a dazzling arsenal of Bonus Materials. It's time to plug in. The films: Final Flight of the Osiris The Second Renaissance Parts I & II Kid's Story Program World Record Beyond A Detective Story Matriculated |
| Annapolis | 2006 | 108 mins | Drama | Set against the backdrop of boxing at the Naval Academy, centers on a young man from the wrong side of the tracks whose dream of attending Annapolis becomes a reality. (view trailer) |
| Another 48 Hrs. | 1990 | 95 mins | Action; Adventure | The boys are back in town, but they're wearing their carbon-paper suits in this frantic but not nearly as funny sequel to the action-comedy hit. The first time around, the combination of Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte had the element of surprise going for it: Who expected these two to have chemistry? This time, chemistry is virtually all they have in a veritable rehash of the first film. What plot there is has to do with Nolte's needing Murphy (who is just out of jail) to help him clear his own name and save his job on the police force. Director Walter Hill is back in place, but this time the script is the work of action hack Jeb Stuart and the movie barely gives Murphy room to unleash his comic riffs; when he does, we're expecting them (though he's still entertaining). --Marshall Fine |
| Antitrust: WS, Special Edition | 2000 | 108 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | |
| Antz | 1998 | 83 mins | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Fantasy; Family | A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves. |
| Any Given Sunday | 1999 | 150 mins | Drama; Sport | "Any Given Sunday" is a behind the scenes look at the life and death struggles of modern day gladiators and those who lead them. |
| Anything Else | 2003 | 108 mins | Comedy; Romance | A contemporary romantic comedy set in New York city about the relationship between an older guy and his younger protege. The older guy guides the younger through a messy and hilarious love story. |
| Are We There Yet? | 2005 | 95 mins | Comedy; Family | The fledgling romance between Nick, a playboy bachelor, and Suzanne, a divorced mother of two, is threatened... |
| The Aristocats | 1970 | 78 mins | Animation; Family; Musical; Romance | Upon Madame Adelaide Bonfamille's passing her cat Duchess and 3 kittens stand to inherit her fortune. But not if Edgar the butler can help it. |
| Arlington Road | 1999 | 117 mins | Thriller; Drama; Mystery | A college professor begins to suspect that his neighbour is a terrorist. |
| Armageddon | 1998 | 150 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Michael Bay directed this $150 million science fiction action thriller about an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, sending fireballs down on Manhattan, prompting a plan to split the asteroid into two sections before it arrives and causes human extinction. NASA executive director Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) brings in the world's number-one oil driller, Harry S. Stamper (Bruce Willis), who assembles his team that is trained for the task. The group includes top crew hand A.J. Frost (Ben Affleck), who is involved in a relationship with Stamper's daughter Grace (Liv Tyler). With only days remaining, two shuttles head into space to drill 800 feet into the asteroid and nuke the rock. Back on Earth, as mini-asteroids pelt Paris and Shanghai, humanity hopes and prays for a successful mission. — Bhob Stewart |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 2004 | 120 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Action; Romance | This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout (Chan), a Chinese thief who steals... |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 2005 | 109 mins | Action; Drama; Crime; Thriller | A police sergeant must rally the cops and prisoners together to protect themselves on New Year's Eve, just as corrupt policeman surround the station with the intent of killing all to keep their deception in the ranks. |
| ATL | 2006 | 105 mins | Comedy; Drama | As four friends prepare for life after high school, different challenges bring about turning points in each of their lives. The dramas unfold and resolve at their local rollerskating rink, Cascade. (view trailer) |
| Atlantis: Milo's Return | 2003 | 70 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family; Action; Comedy | Milo and Kida reunite with their friends to investigate strange occurances around the world that seem to have links to the secrets of Atlantis. |
| Atlantis: The Lost Empire | 2001 | 95 mins | Animation; Sci-Fi; Fantasy; Adventure; Action | A young adventurer named Milo Thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis. |
| Austin Powers | 1997 | 89 mins | Comedy; Action; Music; Adventure | Less a parody of the early James Bond film than a parody of the films that parodied the early James Bond films, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery stars Mike Myers as Austin Powers, by day a hipster fashion photographer in mid-'60s swingin' London and by night a crime-fighting secret agent. Austin's wardrobe is pure Carnaby Street at its most outrageous, his vocabulary is crowded by the cool lingo of the day ("Groovy, baby! Yeah!!"), and he's irresistible to women, despite the fact that he can be charitably described as "stocky" and has teeth that strike fear into any practicing dentist. When his nemesis, the arch-enemy Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), has himself cryogenically frozen and sent into space, Powers also has himself put on ice so he can be thawed out when Dr. Evil returns. Come 1997, Dr. Evil returns to Earth and is back to his old tricks, so Austin is thawed out and returned to active service — though he soon discovers his style doesn't play so well 30 years on. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Hurley as Austin's sidekick, Vanessa Kensington; Michael York as his boss, Basil Exposition; Robert Wagner as Dr. Evil's assistant, Number Two; and Seth Green as Dr. Evil's troubled son, Scott Evil. Ming Tea, the swingin' pop band that periodically backs up Austin, includes real life pop-rockers Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was a mild box-office hit but an even bigger success on home video, which led to the 1999 sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. — Mark Deming |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | 2002 | 94 mins | Action; Comedy; Adventure; Music | Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly-named villain Goldmember - who is working with Dr. Evil. |
| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 1999 | 95 mins | Comedy; Action; Music; Adventure | Dr. Evil is back...and has invented a new time machine that allows him to go back to the 60's and steal Austin Powers's mojo, inadvertently leaving him "shagless". |
| The Aviator | 2004 | 170 mins | Biography; Drama | A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career, from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s. |
| Aviator, The | 2004 | 166 mins | Drama | Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the 20th century, Howard Hughes. The Aviator follows Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) as the twentysomething millionaire, having already made a fortune improving the design of oil-drilling bits, comes to Hollywood with an interest in getting into the picture business. It doesn't take long for Hughes, with his passion for airplanes, to jump from producer to director of his first major film project, a World War I air epic called Hell's Angels, which took three years to complete thanks to the shift from silent to sound filming and Hughes' relentless perfectionism. However, the film was a massive hit, and the eccentric inventor became a mogul in Hollywood, making Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani) a star and enjoying a romance with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). But Hollywood's old-boy network never fully accepted Hughes, and in time his passion for flying began to reclaim his attentions as he began designing new planes, setting air speed records, flying around the world, and risking his life testing aircraft. Hughes also found time to romance Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and founded his own airline, Trans-World Airlines, though as his ideas became bolder, his approach became more eccentric, and he gained many powerful enemies, including the head of Pan-American Airlines, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), who attempted to prove that Hughes' radical design ideas were actually part of an effort to bilk taxpayers for millions of dollars through government contracts. The Aviator's star-studded cast also includes John C. Reilly, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, and Frances Conroy. — Mark Deming |
| Azumi | 2003 | 128 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; War | In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords... |
| B*A*P*S | 1997 | 91 mins | Comedy | Two tacky homegirls move to L.A. to become dancers; instead they scam a dying millionaire but learn to become B*A*P*S Black American Princesses. |
| Bad Boys | 1995 | 118 mins | Action; Comedy; Thriller; Crime | Former video director Michael Bay had his first big hit with this action comedy, which also returned producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson to the big-budget, high-violence movies that they successfully churned out in the Eighties. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are two Miami cops who watch as $100 million in heroin, from the biggest drug bust of their careers, is stolen out of the basement of police headquarters. This puts them hot on the trail of French drug lord Fouchet (Tcheky Karyo), who leaves a trail of bodies in his wake and only one witness, Julie Mott (Tea Leoni), who quickly teams up with our heroes. Comic hijinks ensue when plot complications force Mike to impersonate the married Marcus, to the point of moving in with his wife and children, while Marcus takes over Mike's bachelor pad and lifestyle. Car chases, snappy one-liners, and nonstop pacing fuel this umpteenth variation on the cop "buddy" formula. — Don Kaye |
| Bad Boys II | 2003 | 147 mins | Action; Comedy; Thriller; Crime | Two loose-cannon narcotics cops investigate the flow of Ecstacy into Florida. |
| Bad News Bears | 2005 | 113 mins | Comedy; Sport | A grizzled little league coach (Thornton) tries to turn his team of misfits into champs. |
| Bad Santa | 2004 | 91 mins | Comedy; Crime | Instantly qualifying as a perennial cult favorite, Bad Santa is as nasty as it wants to be, and there's something to be said for comedy without compromise. The Coen brothers conceived the basic idea and served as executive producers, but it's director Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World) who brings his unique affinity for losers and outcasts to the twisted tale of Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a hard-drinking, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed sexaholic safe-cracker who targets a different department store every holiday season, playing Santa while he cases the joint with his dwarf elf-partner Marcus (Tony Cox). With comedic support from Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Cloris Leachman, and John Ritter in his final film, Thornton milks the lowbrow laughs with a slovenly lack of sentiment, warming Bad Santa's pickled heart just enough to please a chubby misfit (Brett Kelly, hilariously deadpan) who may or may not be mentally challenged. As dry as an arid martini and blacker than morning-after coffee, Bad Santa is an instant cure for yuletide schmaltz, and if you think this appropriately R-rated comedy is suitable for kids, your parenting skills are no better than Willie's. --Jeff Shannon |
| Bait | 2000 | 119 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | An ex-con is used by police to lure a criminal out of hiding. |
| Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever | 2002 | 82 mins | Action | This is a story of two spies, who are lifelong adversaries, engaged in a cat-and-mouse hunt. Jonathan Ecks (Banderas) is an FBI agent hunting the other, Sever (Liu) a rogue NSA agent. What they learn, however, while trying to kill each other... is that they might be on the same side, and faced with a threat greater to each other than themselves. |
| Bambi | 1942 | 70 mins | Animation; Family; Drama | Animated film about a young deer, Bambi, growing up in the wild after his mother is shot by hunters. |
| Bambi II | 2006 | 75 mins | Family; Animation | Bambi's austere father raises him after his mother is killed by hunters, teaching the fawn how to survive in the wild. |
| Barbershop | 2002 | 102 mins | Drama; Comedy | Calvin (Ice Cube) never wanted to take over the family business, a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Disgusted with the shop's crime-ridden neighborhood, and caught up in his moneymaking schemes, one morning Calvin decides to sell the shop to the shady Lester (Keith David). Chastised by his pregnant wife, Jennifer (Jazsmin Lewis) for his rash decision, Calvin spends the day cutting heads at the shop, and starts to understand the importance of the legacy his grandfather and father have left to him. The bickering barbers include Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), the old-timer with his own unique perspective on black life, Terri (rapper Eve in her film debut), a hot-tempered woman with a trifling boyfriend, Jimmy (Sean Patrick Thomas), a college educated snob, Ricky (Michael Ealy) a reformed criminal, Isaac (Troy Garity, the son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden), a white B-Boy, whom no one is ready to let cut their hair, and Dinka (Leonard Howze), a recent African immigrant who's too shy to express his feelings for Terri. Calvin learns to appreciate them all, and discovers that the place where they work is more than just a place to get a haircut—it's a meeting place for the neighborhood, a place where folks can speak their minds and find out what's happening. Calvin gradually changes his mind about selling the shop, but it may be too late. Meanwhile, a bumbling thief, J.D (Anthony Anderson) spends a painful day trying to crack open the ATM he's stolen from the grocery store across the street. Barbershop was directed by Tim Story and produced by George Tillman, Jr. and Robert Teitel, the producers of Soul Food. Barbershop had its world premiere at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. — Josh Ralske |
| Barbershop 2 | 2004 | 106 mins | Comedy | Kevin Rodney Sullivan steps in to direct the urban comedy sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business. The whole gang — Eddie (Cedric the Entertainer), Jimmy James (Sean Patrick Thomas), Terri (Eve), Isaac (Troy Garity), Ricky (Michael Ealy), and Dinka (Leonard Earl Howze) — are still there in the same old barbershop in the south side of Chicago. Owner Calvin Palmer (Ice Cube) tries to keep his family business alive in order to pass it on to his own son one day. However, the beloved neighborhood barber shop is threatened by a hair salon franchise called Nappy Cuts. This time around, the old friends are joined by Gina (Queen Latifah) from the beauty shop next door. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Barbie Mermaidia | 2006 | 85 mins | Animation; Family | Journey Under The Sea In A Magical Adventure Follow the underwater journey of Elina in the sequel to Fairytopia. In this follow-up to Fiarytopia, Elina (played by Barbie) travels to Mermaidia to save her friend Nalu, the mermaid Prince. Prince Nalu has been kidnapped in an attempt to learn the whereabouts of a special berry that will make Laverna the most powerful fairy in Fairytopia-even more powerful than the Enchantress! It's up to Elina to stop them, but she can't do it alone. She'll need the help of Nori, a headstrong mermaid who doesn't trust outsiders and wants nothing to do with Elina. Winning Nori over isn't easy, but Elina will have more challenges yet to come. Saving Nalu could require the greatest sacrifice of her life: her wings. Can she do it or will Fairytopia fall into the hands of Laverna forever? |
| BASEketball | 1998 | 103 mins | Comedy | Two childhood friends are pro athletes of a national sport called BASEketball, a hybrid of baseball and basketball, and must deal with a greedy businessman scheming against their team. |
| Basic | 2003 | 98 mins | Thriller; Drama; Mystery | The disappearance of a military leader and the death of four of his men leads two investigators to wade through a morass of deceptions and half-truths in search of the facts in this thriller. Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) is the leader of an elite team of U.S. Army Special Forces operatives known as the Army Rangers; West is known as a highly effective officer, but one with a short temper and aggressive attitude who is not well liked by his soldiers. During a seemingly routine training exercise in Panama, a hurricane sweeps in, and four of West's six men are dead, while West himself seems to have vanished. Eager to get the facts behind what happened, Col. Bill Styles (Tim Daly) assigns Capt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen) to investigate. However, Osborne is having a hard time getting the two survivors to talk, so Styles brings in Tom Hardy (John Travolta), a former Army Ranger who served under West and became a first-class interrogator; Hardy later became a DEA agent, but left law enforcement after allegations of corruption. Hardy interviews Dunbar (Brian Van Holt), who claims that the four soldiers had been murdered, and West was killed in retaliation. Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi), the other survivor (whose father is a powerful officer) has a very different story of how the five men turned up dead, and it's up to Hardy and Osborne to determine who is telling the truth — or if anyone is saying exactly what happened. Basic marked the first time John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson appeared in the same film together since their breakthrough roles in Pulp Fiction. — Mark Deming |
| Basic Instinct | 1992 | 123 mins | Crime; Drama; Mystery; Thriller | A detective investigating a series of vicious sex murders encounters a seductive woman who seems too obvious as a suspect perhaps by her own choice? |
| Basic Instinct 2 | 2006 | 114 mins | Drama; Thriller | Despite its inevitable fate as a critically reviled box-office flop, Basic Instinct 2 sure has a funny way of holding your attention. It's not just Sharon Stone's trash-talk and occasional nudity that keeps you watching, but also the way she gamely earns every cent of her $14 million paycheck, vamping like a real pro in her second outing as mystery novelist and alleged serial killer Catherine Tramell. Now living in London, Catherine sets her lethal sights on Michael Glass (David Morrissey), the control-freak psychiatrist assigned to evaluate her as a risk-addicted suspect in the "accidental" killing of a star soccer player. Turns out Catherine's just getting started (or is she?), and that's bad news for Glass's ex-wife, a tabloid journalist, and the Scotland Yard detective (David Thewlis) who's desperate to put Catherine in jail. With plenty of sex, murder and salacious dialogue, BI2 is certainly never boring, especially with the morbid fascination of seeing the once formidable Stone torpedo her career in a sequel that took 14 years (and countless drafts of screenplays and at least one high-profile lawsuit) to bring to the screen. She's still impressively hot at age 47, prompting critic Roger Ebert to observe, "the Catherine Tramell role cannot be played well, but Sharon Stone can play it badly better than any other actress alive." So, while this ill-fated sequel falls just short of being a guilty pleasure (if only because Morrissey is no match for Michael Douglas in the 1992 original), it's enjoyably absurd and slickly produced, and the hot-tub scene is guaranteed to wear out the freeze-frame function on a lot of DVD players. For some viewers, that's reason enough for multiple viewings.--Jeff Shannon |
| Batman Begins | 2005 | 141 mins | Action; Adventure; Crime; Fantasy; Thriller | The story of how Bruce Wayne became what he was destined to be: Batman. |
| Batman Returns | 1992 | 126 mins | Action; Crime; Fantasy; Romance; Thriller | When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda. |
| Batman The Animated Series | 1992 | Action; Animation | The Dark Knight Defends And Delivers In This Ultimate Crimefighting Collection! This fantastic four disc set packs 28 awesome adventures of the World's Greatest Detective taking down an array of criminal masterminds plus exclusive extras also worthy of investigation. Experience the thrills of vigilante justice as millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne and alter-ego Batman protect the streets of Gotham City from a host of villains. Intelligent, dramatic stories, unique characters and sharp dialog shaped this edgy TV series into an Emmy-winning powerhouse that brought the Caped Crusader out of the dark alleys of TV history and into the present for fans of all ages. |
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| Be Cool | 2005 | 118 mins | Comedy; Crime; Music | Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer (John Travolta) tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music exec (Uma Thurman) on the way. |
| Beauty and the Beast | 1991 | 84 mins | Animation; Family | Beauty And The Beast is widely considered the best animated Disney feature of the studio's 1980s/1990s renewal of the form. Based on the classic French fairy tale, it tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara), an intelligent young woman scorned by her townspeople for being a bookworm, weary of fighting off the advances of the arrogant Gaston (Richard White), and dreaming of escape. When her father gets lost in the woods and captured by the forbidding Beast (Robby Benson), a once-handsome prince turned into a monster by a witch, Belle goes off to rescue him. Taken with her, the Beast agrees to release Belle's father if she agrees to stay with him forever. Initially repulsed, Belle soon finds much to appreciate in the Beast's hidden, tender nature. The Beast's servants — a clock (David Ogden Stiers), a teapot (Angela Lansbury), and a candlestick (Jerry Orbach) — see Belle as their salvation: if the Beast and a woman fall in love before his 21st birthday, he will be free from the curse. The songs are first-class, the tale is told with sincerity but not sentimentality, and the characters of Belle and the Beast, complex individuals who defy stereotyping and change over the course of the story, are more three-dimensional than in most live-action movies. The eye-popping animation is beautifully rendered, and Beauty And The Beast certainly deserves its place amongst Disney's animated classics. In 2002, a special 89-minute edition of the film was released in IMAX theaters with the addition of a newly animated song, "Human Again." — Don Kaye |
| Beauty Shop | 2005 | 105 mins | Comedy | Gina is a hairstylist who opens up a beauty shop full of employees and customers more interested in speaking their minds than getting a cut. |
| Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | 1996 | 80 mins | Animation; Comedy | Mike Judge, the creator and voice of MTV's insouciant Beavis and Butt-head characters, made his feature film directorial debut with this full-length B&B misadventure, which finds the boys going on a cross-country adventure after their all-important television set is stolen. Fans of the now-defunct TV show will obviously enjoy this film the most, though almost anyone with a passing awareness of the characters will find something to chuckle about. (The funniest recurring gag finds beleaguered B&B neighbor Tom Anderson constantly sabotaged by the guys while on vacation.) Celebrity voices are fun to pick out, particularly that of David Letterman, who rather appropriately plays Butt-head's long-lost father. --Tom Keogh |
| Because of Winn-Dixie | 2005 | 106 mins | Family; Comedy; Drama | A 10-year-old girl, abandoned by her mother when she was three, moves to a small town in Florida with her father... |
| Beef | 2003 | 103 mins | Documentary | A documentary on the evolution of MC battles from verbal one-upmanship to street warfare. |
| Beef III | 2005 | 84 mins | Documentary | RESPECT...In hip-hop it's the name of the game. Some rappers will do anything to get it, even starting a BEEF with another rapper or crew...and that can lead to raw, brutal conflict in the streets. In fact BEEF has become so common that it is quickly becoming the fifth element of Hip-hop, right beside MCs, DJs, graffiti and breakdancing. "Beef 3" is about the high-profile Beefs in the hip-hop culture. Beefs are started when one rapper disses another for whatever reason, usually to get the upper hand with the fans or to show their machismo. This program features Beefs between 50 Cent and Game, Lil Flip and TI, Nelly and Chingy, Twista and Bone Thugz, Lil Scrappy and the Orlando Police and many more. |
| Before Sunset | 2004 | 80 mins | Drama; Romance | It's nine years after Jesse and Celine first met; now, they encounter one another on the French leg of Jesse's book tour. |
| Before They Were Kings Vol 1 | 2004 | 72 mins | Comedy | Classic Performances From America's Funniest Comics With nothing more than a punch line and a dream, these struggling young artists transformed themselves into comedy legends. Here is a rare opportunity to see some of today's greatest stars perform the routines that would someday make them kings of comedy. Featuring Chris Rock, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Arsenio Hall, A.J. Jamal, Happy Cole, George Wallace, Charles Cozart, Michael Winslow, Special K. McCray, Kal Clarke |
| Behind Enemy Lines | 2000 | 101 mins | Action | His only weapon is his will to survive. |
| Belly | 1998 | 96 mins | Crime; Drama | A pair of vicious black gangsters have spiritual awakenings. |
| Bend It Like Beckham | 2002 | 108 mins | Comedy | Trotz all seiner unbeschwert-komischen Einlagen, setzt sich Kick it like Beckham ernsthaft mit den aktuellen Fragen Kulturkonflikt, weibliche Unabhängigkeit und Bedeutung der Familie auseinander. Regisseurin Gurinder Chaddha erzählt die Geschichte von Jess Bhamra (Parminder K. Nagra), eines Mädchens, das innerhalb der traditionellen Grenzen einer indischen Sikh-Familie in England aufwächst und dem es gelingt, seine Fantasien auf ganz besondere Weise auszuleben. Trotz der konservativen Haltung ihrer Eltern schließt sich die längst anglisierte Jess dem Fußballklub Hounslow Harriers an und schleicht sich -- unterstützt von ihrer Freundin Jules (Keira Knightley) -- aus dem Haus, um ihren Traum zu verfolgen, eines Tages neben Fußball-Superstar David Beckham zu spielen. Der Film zieht interessante Parallelen zwischen dem britischen Mädchen Jules auf der einen und dem indischen Einwandererkind Jess auf der anderen Seite und hebt ganz besonders hervor, dass die beiden trotz unterschiedlicher Hautfarbe viele Ideale teilen. Jules' Mutter ist um keinen Deut weniger entsetzt über das natürliche Fußballtalent ihrer Tochter als Mrs. Bhamra, und einmal sieht sie in einer freundschaftlichen Umarmung der beiden Mädchen sogar Anzeichen einer lesbischen Beziehung. Sehr erfrischend ist jedoch die Tatsache, dass die Eltern ausnahmsweise mal nicht als unvernünftig dargestellt werden. Ihre ablehnende Haltung gegenüber Jess' Entscheidung ist Folge ihrer Sorge um sie, und am Ende bleibt ihnen nichts anderes übrig, als sich den Träumen ihrer Tochter zu beugen. Alles in allem ist Kick it like Beckham ein Film, der zeigt, was es bedeutet, in der heutigen Zeit Brite asiatischer Abstammung zu sein, und wie es möglich sein kann, dass indischstämmige Mädchen perfekt runde Chapattis machen und gleichzeitig den Ball wie David Beckham ins Tor lenken können. --Anika Puri |
| Better Luck Tomorrow | 2002 | 101 mins | Crime; Drama | Justin Lin's well-received 2002 independent feature, Better Luck Tomorrow, is a strangely appealing story of the mysterious, somehow inexorable drift of an ultra-conscientious, Southern California high school senior, Ben (Parry Shen), toward a fateful interlude with crime. Though highly focused on impressing colleges with his thoughtful balance of excellent grades, energized volunteer work (as a translator), and varsity sports (warming the bench during basketball games), something about Ben appears to be unraveling. Perhaps it is an attraction to his out-of-reach lab partner (Karin Anna Cheung), or his growing attachment to hard cash, or simply the malaise that coats his every act of self-denial. In any case, he and a brood of fellow Asian American overachievers metamorphose into the local go-to gang of black-market thievery--all while keeping up their classes. Lin brings a fresh angle to the exhausted youth-crime genre, and clarifies, with no small wisdom, the distinction between building a future and living one's destiny. --Tom Keogh |
| Beverly Hills Cop | 1984 | 105 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills. |
| Beverly Hills Cop II | 1987 | 102 mins | Comedy; Familie; Family | The heat's back on! Eddie Murphy is cool as ever in this sizzling, smash-hit sequel to Beverly Hills Cop. Axel Foley (Murphy) is back -- back where he doesn't belong! He's going "deep, deep, deep undercover" into the chic wilds of Southern California, unleashing his arsenal of blazing gunfire and rapid-fire gags against a gang of international munitions smugglers. Back, too, are Judge Reinhold and John Ashton as Murphy's crime-busting sidekicks. And Top Gun's director Tony Scott keeps the pace fast, furious and funny. |
| Beverly Hills Cop III | 1994 | 104 mins | Action; Comedy | Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) journeys back to Beverly Hills for a real roller coaster thrill ride at the Wonderworld amusement park! Joined by old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Serge (Bronson Pinchot), Axel becomes the hottest new attraction as he chases down the bad guys on the rides, through the shows and in the underground maze beneath the park. Beverly Hills Cop III is "a wild, funny action comedy" that will have you hooked for the whole ride! |
| Bewitched | 2005 | 102 mins | Comedy; Fantasy; Romance | A producer remaking the classic sitcom "Bewitched" unknowingly casts an actual witch for the lead role. |
| Beyond the Sea | 2004 | 118 mins | Drama | The chameleon-like actor Kevin Spacey is best known for playing pyschopaths (in Seven and The Usual Suspects) and capturing a creepy mid-life crisis in American Beauty--but surprisingly, playing crooner Bobby Darin, Spacey does some snappy dancing and top-notch singing. Beyond the Sea puts Darin's life through a bit of a kaleidoscope: While singing Darin's most memorable hit, "Mack the Knife," Darin suddenly stops the show, revealing that he's not at a nightclub, but in the middle of a shooting a scene about his life as a nightclub performer. Why has he stopped? Because he's just seen himself as a young boy, peering from behind a curtain. Such self-conscious narrative twists recur throughout the movie, turning Darin's fight for fame and respect into a love story between his adult and childhood selves. Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!), a hugely popular movie star in her own right, was supposedly the love of Darin's life, but she never holds his attention as does his childhood self (played by newcomer William Ullrich). It's a striking metaphor for the narcissism that drives such success-hungry entertainers. But despite (or perhaps because of) the complexity of the telling, the events never grip your emotions; though Darin's life featured hits galore and a few soap opera twists, his story lacks the seductive charm of his nighclub show. Also featuring Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Brenda Blethyn, and Greta Scacchi. --Bret Fetzer |
| The Big Bounce | 2004 | 84 mins | Comedy | In The Big Bounce, a comedy caper starring Owen Wilson and Morgan Freeman based on the novel by legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out Of Sight, Jackie Brown), Owen Wilson plays Jack Ryan, a likeable drifter whose talents lie just outside the law. Hoping a change of scenery will bring him luck, Jack heads for Hawaii. There on the exotic North Shore of Oahu, he soon discovers that whether he is looking for a new con or a little romance, temptation is everywhere. |
| Big Daddy | 1999 | 93 mins | Comedy | Adam Sandler plays a 30 year old who, after his friend gets married and leaves him alone, begins looking for fulfillment. He decides to adopt a five year old boy, but ends up with a lot more than he bargained for. |
| The Big Empty | 2004 | 94 mins | Drama | John Person, an out of work actor, faces mounting debts and eviction from his apartment. If he agrees to carry a blue suitcase to the desert town of Baker and deliver it to a man named Cowboy, his friend Neely will pay John $27,000 - enough to erase all of his debts. He takes the job, but it doesn’t turn out as simple as it first seemed… Stars John Favreau, Kelsey Grammar, Rachel Leigh Cook, Daryl Hannah, Joey Lauren Adams, Sean Bean and Melora Walters. If any film is destined for a cult DVD audience, it’s The Big Empty. |
| Big Fish | 2004 | 125 mins | Fantastique; Conte | An Adventure As Big As Life Itself. Throughout his life, Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor) has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, portrayed by five-time Best Actor Oscar nominee Albert Finney (Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Erin Brockovich, 2000), he remains a huge mystery to his son, William (Billy Crudup). Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures in this marvel of a movie. |
| Big Momma's House | 2000 | 98 mins | Comedy; Crime | An FBI agent disguises himself as an old lady to protect a beautiful federal witness and her son. |
| Big Momma's House 2 | 2006 | 99 mins | Action; Comedy; Thriller | On his latest assignment, FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Lawrence) goes undercover as Big Momma, and works as a nanny for an unhappy woman (Procter) who is under investigation for murder. |
| Biker Boyz | 2003 | 110 mins | Action; Drama; Crime | A son of the leader of a legendary group of an urban biker gang tries to retain his championship title. |
| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure | 1989 | 90 mins | Comedy | Like, radical, dude--but not nearly as funny as it should be, even though it was a box-office hit. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are a pair of dim Valley boys, whose life is made heinous by a school history project. Enter George Carlin as a futuristic dude with a time-traveling phone booth. So Bill and Ted go back in time to round up a gang of historical figures (Socrates, Joan of Arc) to bring back for their presentation. Abe Lincoln at the mall? That's about as witty as it gets, rendering this the kind of comedy that gives teenaged audiences a bad name. --Marshall Fine |
| Billy Madison | 1995 | 89 mins | Comedy; Adventure | In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again. |
| Black Ball | 2003 | 80 mins | Drama | |
| Black Hawk Down | 2001 | 144 mins | Action; Drama; War | A quickly forgotten chapter in United States military history is relived in this harrowing war drama from director Ridley Scott, based on a series of Philadelphia Inquirer articles and subsequent book by reporter Mark Bowden. On October 3rd, 1993, an elite team of more than 100 Delta Force soldiers and Army Rangers, part of a larger United Nations peacekeeping force, are dropped into civil war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia, in an effort to kidnap two of local crime lord Mohamed Farah Aidid's top lieutenants. Among the team: Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann (Josh Hartnett), Ranger Lt. Col. Danny McKnight (Tom Sizemore), the resourceful Delta Sgt. First Class Jeff Sanderson (William Fichtner), and Ranger Spec. Grimes (Ewan McGregor), a desk-bound clerk getting his first taste of live combat. When two of the mission's Black Hawk helicopters are shot down by enemy forces, the Americans — committed to recovering every man, dead or alive — stay in the area too long and are quickly surrounded. The ensuing firefight is a merciless 15-hour ordeal and the longest ground battle involving American soldiers since the Vietnam War. In the end, 70 soldiers are injured and 18 are dead, along with hundreds of Somalians. Black Hawk Down was voted one of the top ten films of the year by the National Board of Review prior to its limited Oscar-qualifying release. On the basis of his work in this film, co-star Eric Bana, a relatively unknown Australian actor playing Delta Sgt. First Class "Hoot" Gibson, won the lead in director Ang Lee's version of The Hulk (2003). — Karl Williams |
| Black River | 2001 | 100 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | |
| Blade | 1998 | 120 mins | Action; Horror | The recipe for Blade is quite simple; you take one part Batman, one part horror flick, and two parts kung fu and frost it all over with some truly campy acting. What do you get? An action flick that will reaffirm your belief that the superhero action genre did not die in the fluorescent hands of Joel Schumacher. Blade is the story of a ruthless and supreme vampire slayer (Wesley Snipes) who makes other contemporary slayers (Buffy et al.) look like amateurs. Armed with a samurai sword made of silver and guns that shoot silver bullets, he lives to hunt and kill "Sucker Heads." Pitted against our hero is a cast of villains led by Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a crafty and charismatic vampire who believes that his people should be ruling the world, and that the human race is merely the food source they prey on. Born half-human and half-vampire after his mother had been attacked by a blood-sucker, Blade is brought to life by a very buff-looking Snipes in his best action performance to date. Apparent throughout the film is the fluid grace and admirable skill that Snipes brings to the many breathtaking action sequences that lift this movie into a league of its own. The influence of Hong Kong action cinema is clear, and you may even notice vague impressions of Japanese anime sprinkled innovatively throughout. Dorff holds his own against Snipes as the menacing nemesis Frost, and the grizzly Kris Kristofferson brings a tough, cynical edge to his role as Whistler, Blade's mentor and friend. Ample credit should also go to director Stephen Norrington and screenwriter David S. Goyer, who prove it is possible to adapt comic book characters to the big screen without making them look absurd. Indeed, quite the reverse happens here: Blade comes vividly to life from the moment you first see him, in an outstanding opening sequence that sets the tone for the action-packed film that follows. From that moment onward you are pulled into the world of Blade and his perpetual battle against the vampire race. --Jeremy Storey |
| Blade II | 2002 | 117 mins | Action; Thriller; Horror | Blade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire council in order to combat the Reapers vampires who feed on vampires. |
| Blade: Trinity | 2004 | 113 mins | Action; Adventure; Horror; Thriller; Fantasy | Blade, now a wanted man by the FBI, must join forces with the Nightstalkers to face his most challenging enemy yet: Dracula |
| Blast! | 2004 | 91 mins | Action; Thriller | A terrorist posing as environmentalist hijacks an oil rig off the coast of California with the intent of detonating an electromagnetic bomb over the US. |
| Blessed | 2004 | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | A woman anticipating a blessed event suspects the forces of darkness might be involved in this tale of terror. Heather Graham and James Purefoy play a couple who desperately want to have a baby; unfortunately, she has been diagnosed as infertile, and the couple can't afford the medical treatments that might allow her top conceive. Good fortune appears to be smiling on the couple when they are given an opportunity to receive free treatments at a mysterious fertility clinic. The woman is soon the expectant mother of twins, but as her due date draws nearer, she begins to suspect something is wrong, and that she has become the unwilling victim of a pact with evil. Blessed also stars Andy Serkis, Stella Stevens, and David Hemmings. — Mark Deming | |
| Blizzard | 2003 | Family | ||
| Blood In Blood Out | 1993 | 180 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | This movie depicts the gang wars in Californian jails during the 1980s. The half-brothers Paco and Cruz... |
| BloodRayne | 2005 | 95 mins | Action; Fantasy; Horror | In eighteenth century Romania, Rayne, a dhampir (half-human, half-vampire), prone to fits of blind blood... |
| Blow | 2001 | 124 mins | Crime; Drama | The story of George Jung, the man who established the American cocaine market in the 1970's. |
| Boat Trip | 2002 | 94 mins | Comedy | Two straight men mistakenly end up on a "gays only" cruise. |
| Bob Marley - Spiritual Journey | 2004 | Documentary; Music | ||
| Bob Marley and the Wailers: The Bob Marley Story | 1986 | 100 mins | Documentary; Music | A biographical documentary of Bob Marley and the Wailers and the times in which they lived. |
| Bob Marley: The Legend Live | 2003 | 92 mins | Documentary; Music | |
| The Bodyguard | 1992 | 130 mins | Romance; Drama; Thriller; Music | A former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to a pop singer, whose lifestyle is most unlike a President's. |
| The Bone Collector | 1999 | 118 mins | Mystery; Drama; Thriller | Denzel Washington plays a quadriplegic homicide detective. He and his female partner track down a serial killer. |
| Boogeyman | 2005 | 88 mins | Horror | A man learns his past was more truth than imagination in this horror story. Tim (Barry Watson) is a man who is still haunted by traumatic memories of his past, many linked to the death of his father. Desperate to resolve his issues, Tim returns to his old hometown so he can pay a visit to the house where he grew up. But while Tim wants to convince himself the ghostly memories he carries are just a figment of his imagination, circumstances lead him to believe that there may be a kernel of truth to them. Boogeyman also features Emily Deschanel, Lucy Lawless, and Skye McCole Bartusiak. — Mark Deming |
| Boomerang | 1992 | 117 mins | Comedy; Romance | Marcus is a successful advertising executive who woos and beds women almost at will. After a company merger he finds that his new boss... |
| The Boondock Saints | 1999 | 110 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Fraternal twins set out to rid Boston of the evil men operating there while being tracked down by an FBI agent. |
| The Bourne Identity | 2002 | 119 mins | Action; Thriller; Mystery; Drama; Adventure | A man washes ashore, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia. |
| The Bourne Supremacy | 2004 | 108 mins | Adventure; Mystery; Thriller; Action; Drama | When Jason Bourne is framed for a botched CIA operation he is forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin to survive. |
| Bowling for Columbine | 2002 | 120 mins | Comedy; Documentary; Drama | Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence. |
| Boys Don't Cry | 1999 | 116 mins | Drama | Based on a true story, this drama was adapted from the life of Brandon Teena, born Teena Brandon, a woman who chose to live her life as a man and suffered tragic consequences as a result. In 1993, 20-year-old Brandon (Hilary Swank) leaves Lincoln, Nebraska for the nearby community of Falls City, where she sports a crew cut, favors jeans and boots, and is regarded as a man by most of the people in town. While Brandon's friend Lonny (Matt McGrath) warns her that sexual outsiders aren't looked upon kindly in Falls City, she develops a reputation for being something of a ladies' man, and is soon living with a single mother named Candace (Alicia Goranson). But when Brandon meets teenage Lana (Chloe Sevigny), the two become romantically involved almost immediately. Brandon makes friends with Lana's mother (Jeanetta Arnette) and a burly ex-con named John (Peter Sarsgaard). John and his buddy Tom (Brendan Sexton) run with a rough group of men who like to drink and carouse, and they accept Brandon as one of their own. However, when Brandon ends up in jail on a traffic violation, her secret comes out, and, while Lana stands by Brandon's side, John and Tom feel betrayed — and their anger soon boils over into violence. A distinguished feature debut for director Kimberly Peirce, Boys Don't Cry was enthusiastically received in its showings at 1999 film festivals in Venice, Toronto, and New York. — Mark Deming |
| Boyz N the Hood | 1991 | 107 mins | Crime; Drama | Saga of a group of childhood friends growing up in a Los Angeles ghetto. |
| Breakin' All the Rules | 2004 | Comedy; Romance | Inspired by his fiancée (who dumped him), a man publishes a break-up handbook for men, becoming a bestselling author in the process. | |
| The Break-Up | 2006 | 105 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | After Brooke (Aniston) calls it quits with her boyfriend Gary (Vaughn), neither person is willing to move out of the condo they share. Taking the advice of their repsective friends and confidants (and a few total strangers), they both engage in mental warfare designed to force the other person to flee the premises -- until they both realize they might be fighting to keep their relationship alive. (view trailer) |
| Bride and Prejudice | 2004 | 110 mins | Romantic Comedy | |
| Bridget Jones' Diary | 2001 | 97 mins | Comedy; Romance | A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary. |
| Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | 2004 | 108 mins | Drama; Comedy; Romance | The story picks up four weeks after the first film, and already Bridget Jones is becoming uncomfortable in her relationship with Mark Darcy... |
| Bring It On | 2000 | 98 mins | Comedy | The hard work, dedication, and personal politics behind "rah rah rah!" and "sis boom bah!" go under the microscope in this engaging teen comedy. Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) discovers that being captain of her San Diego high school's six-time championship-winning cheerleading squad is more complicated than she had imagined. Torrance's parents want her to spend more time on her homework, her boyfriend wants her to spend more time with him, and she learns that the squad's former captain stole some of their best routines from other teams — and that Isis (Gabrielle Union), captain of a top squad at a crosstown, inner-city high school, plans to fight back this year. To make things worse, when one of the cheerleaders is injured, Torrance is forced to replace her with Missy (Eliza Dushku), a cynical new kid who is involved only because the school doesn't offer gymnastics. In the midst of this chaos, with the national championship around the corner, Torrance couldn't have picked a worse time to fall in love with Cliff (Jesse Bradford), a classmate who cares a lot more about punk rock than school spirit. Dunst trained with a cheerleading squad for her role, though a double performed the more complicated stunts. — Mark Deming |
| Bring It On Again | 2004 | 90 mins | Comedy | When new students can't get onto their college cheerleading team, they form their own squad and prepare for a cheer off. |
| Bringing Down The House | 2003 | 101 mins | Comedy | The hilarious Steve Martin (Father Of The Bride) and Academy Award®-nominated Queen Latifah* (Chicago) star in the blockbuster, laugh-out-loud comedy BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE. Peter Sanderson (Martin), a divorced, straitlaced, uptight workaholic attorney, meets a brainy, bombshell barrister in an online chat room and they make a date. Expecting his soul mate, he opens the door and finds himself face-to-face with Charlene (Latifah) - a wild and crazy soul sister who's just escaped from prison and wants Peter to clear her name. But Peter wants absolutely nothing to do with her, and that prompts Charlene to turn Peter's perfectly ordered life totally upside down. Hysterical complications abound and Peter soon finds out he may need Charlene just as much as she needs him. |
| Brokeback Mountain | 2005 | 134 mins | Drama; Romance | Based on the E. Annie Proulx story about a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years. |
| Brother Bear | 2003 | 82 mins | Animation; Family | Disney proudly presents Brother Bear an epic animated adventure full of comedy and heart. With five great new songs from Academy Award® winner* Phil Collins, it's an entertainment experience the whole family will enjoy! In this spectacular coming-of-age story based on ancient myths, an impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear. He has no choice but to see the world through another's eyes while he learns some valuable life lessons and strives to regain his human form. Unable to communicate with his human brother, Kenai teams up with Koda, an irrepressible bear cub, and sets out on a courageous journey of selfdiscovery. |
| The Brothers Grimm | 2005 | 118 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Fantasy; Horror; Thriller | Will and Jake Grimm are travelling con-artists who encounter a genuine fairy-tale curse which requires genuine courage instead of their usual bogus exorcisms. |
| Brothers, The | 2001 | 106 mins | Comedy; Drama | Four friends begin to question women and relationships when one of them announces impending nuptials. |
| Brown Sugar | 2002 | 109 mins | Drama; Romance | Things heat up when Dre (Taye Diggs), and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan), who have known each other since childhood are faced with their sudden attraction to each other. The problem is Dre is engaged to Reese (Nicole Ari Parker), and Sidney is dating handsome basketball player Kelby (Boris Kodjoe). Will they be friends forever or longtime lovers? |
| Bruce Almighty | 2003 | 101 mins | Comedy; Fantasy; Romance | A guy who complains about God too often is given almighty powers to teach him how difficult it is to run the world. |
| Bruce Lee: Legend Lives On | 2002 | Action | ||
| Buffalo Soldiers | 2003 | 99 mins | Drama; Comedy | Steal All That You Can Steal. Joaquin Phoenix (Signs, Gladiator) leads an all-star cast in a wickedly funny comedy that entertains in the edgy tradition of Pulp Fiction! A U.S. soldier with nothing to fight but boredom as the Cold War winds down, Ray Elwood (Phoenix) enjoys the rush of trading anything he can get his hands on in West Germany's booming black-market... while his inept commander (Ed Harris - The Hours) is none the wiser. Everything is perfect... until he starts dating the new sergeant's daughter (Anna Paquin - X-Men 1&2)! But before he can pull off one last big score, Elwood's escalating personal war with Sergeant Lee (Scott Glenn - Training Day) will send him deeper into a deadly mess... that may not have a way out! |
| A Bug's Life | 1998 | 96 mins | Family; Animation; Comedy; Adventure | A misfit ant, looking for warriors to save his colony from grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troup. |
| Bulletproof | 1996 | 84 mins | Action; Comedy | This post-modern comic variation on The Defiant Ones concerns Keats (Damon Wayans), an undercover police detective trying to get the goods on crime kingpin Frank Colton (James Caan). Keats poses as a crook to make friends with one of Colton's underlings, a drug dealer and car thief named Archie Moses (Adam Sandler). Keats is using Archie as part of a sting operation to put Colton away; however, Archie doesn't care for this, and when he finds out Keats's true plan and actual identity, it leads to an altercation that ends with Archie shooting Keats in the head. Several months later, Keats emerges from the hospital with a metal plate in his skull, and he has to bring Archie in. However, now Archie and Keats are both on Colton's enemies list, and the two find themselves on the run in Arizona, trying to outwit Colton's team of assassins, but having Archie on hand doesn't do much good in the outwitting department. Bulletproof was directed by Ernest Dickerson, who got his start as a cinematographer for Spike Lee. — Mark Deming |
| Bulletproof Monk | 2003 | 104 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi | Based on the very underground comic book, a Tibetan monk (Chow) becomes a mentor to a young street kid (Scott) whom he can teach to protect a scroll. |
| Bush's Brain | 2004 | Documentary | A late bloomer among the rich harvest of political documentaries released in 2004, Bush's Brain is potently revealing yet maddeningly pedestrian in its attack on Karl Rove, the powerful presidential advisor nicknamed "Bush's Brain" for serving in effect as co-president in the George W. Bush administration. Slapped together for the sake of an expedient pre-election release, the film makes a convincing case (while offering no tangible proof) that Rove conducts ruthlessly effective Republican campaigns on the belief that "the ends justify the means." Based on the book by James C. Moore and James Slater (both featured prominently in abundant talking-head interviews), the film lacks the coherent structure that would've made it truly effective, assumes considerable foreknowledge on the part of the viewer, and regrettably includes a tear-jerking, non sequitur digression about the grieving family of a beloved Marine who was killed in Iraq. But the film's shattering allegations and heartbreaking testimonies suggest, in no uncertain terms, that Rove is pulling the Presidential strings, remaining virtually untouchable while winning elections by any means necessary. As a fascinating study of alleged corruption and unchecked ambition, Bush's Brain is anything but balanced, but it's an important film that invites viewers to draw their own conclusions. --Jeff Shannon | |
| Butterfly Effect, The | 2004 | 114 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | Change One Thing. Change Everything. A young man struggling to get over disturbing memories from his childhood discovers that he is able to travel back in time and alter events in the past. However, every change he makes transforms his life and that to those around him, often to unexpected and disastrous consequences. |
| Cabin Fever | 2002 | 92 mins | Horror; Thriller | Five college buddies retreat to the woods for a little R &sR and end up getting a horrific lesson in infectious disease in this low-budget shocker. Cabin Fever stars Rider Strong as the geeky Paul, who hopes to settle in around the campfire with his brash buds Jeff (Joey Kern) and Bert (James DeBello), and make the moves on the nubile-but-shy Karen (Jordan Ladd). Unfortunately, a wayward, forest-dwelling vagrant (Arie Verveen) stumbles into their lives, his skin badly desiccated by a mysterious virus. Fearing for their own lives, the quintet decide to do away with the man, with little success: He stumbles away from the campsite and into a nearby stream, where his disease quickly infects the local water supply. It isn't long before the oblivious co-eds get a taste of the man's illness, and in their desperation, each learns that he or she will stop at nothing to survive. Cabin Fever premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, where it was snapped up by Lions Gate for a fall 2003 release. — Michael Hastings |
| Candyman | 1992 | 98 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller | Bernard Rose followed his moody fantasy-thriller Paperhouse (1988) with this modern horror tale, based on Clive Barker's short story "The Forbidden". Compiling a thesis on urban legends, University of Illinois in Chicago graduate student Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen) becomes aware of the prevalent superstition surrounding the legend of "Candyman" (Tony Todd)—a hook-wielding phantom who will appear if his name is recited five times into a mirror—among the tenants of Chicago's Cabrini Green project. A senior professor, hearing of Helen's research, explains the historical basis for the legend, detailing how Candyman is believed to be the vengeful spirit of a former slave who, though initially respected in academia, was set upon and mutilated by an angry mob when accused of taking a white mistress. When the clinically-detached Helen flaunts her intellectual confidence by reciting Candyman's name five times, she sets in motion an inevitable series of supernatural events — culminating in a series of grisly killings, after which Helen is invariably found holding the bloody murder weapon. Though she is captured by the police, it becomes evident to Helen that Candyman is guiding her fate every step of the way. — Cavett Binion |
| Capote | 2005 | 114 mins | Biography; Drama | Truman Capote (Hoffman), during his research for his book In Cold Blood, an account of the murder of a Kansas family, the writer develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers. |
| Carlito's Way | 1993 | 145 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | Al Pacino cuts a noble figure in this very enjoyable drama by director Brian De Palma (Scarface), based on a pair of books by Edwin Torres. Pacino plays a Puerto Rican ex-con trying hard to go straight, but his loyalty to his lowlife attorney (a virtually unrecognizable Sean Penn) and enemies on the street make that choice difficult. Penelope Ann Miller plays, somewhat unlikely, a stripper who has a romance with Pacino's character. The film finds De Palma tempering his more outlandish moves (think of Body Double or Snake Eyes) just as he did with the popular Untouchables and Mission: Impossible. But while Carlito's Way was not commercially successful and never rises to the level of greatness, it is a genuinely compelling movie graced with a fine performance by Pacino and a surprising one from Penn. --Tom Keogh |
| Carlito's Way: Rise to Power | 2005 | 100 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | In the late 1960s, Carlito Brigante (Hernandez) emerges as the heroin czar of Harlem. (view trailer) |
| Carlos Mencia: Not for the Easily Offended | 2005 | Comedy | ||
| Casablanca | 1955 | 60 mins | Drama | Die Zeit: Der zweite Weltkrieg. Der Ort: Marokko. Der Film: CASABLANCA. In dem 45. Film seiner bedeutenden Karriere spielt Humphrey Bogart zum ersten Mal einen romantischen Helden, der seine grosse Liebe in den Wirren des Krieges wiederfindet. Bogart, der coole Nachtclubbesitzer Rick, würde seinen Kopf für niemanden hinhalten. Die bezaubernde Ingrid Bergman spielt Ilsa, Ricks grosse Liebe, die ihren Ehemann und Resistance-Kämpfer aus Casablanca bringen muss. Nur Rick kann die beiden retten... Die berühmte Schlussszene am Flughafen wurde genauso zur Legende wie Bogarts "Schau mir in die Augen Kleines". Ein Meisterwerk der Filmgeschichte, das für acht Oscars nominiert wurde, und je einen für den besten Film, die beste Regie und das beste Drehbuch erhielt. |
| Cast Away | 2000 | 143 mins | Adventure; Drama | A FedEx executive must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island. |
| Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat | 2003 | 78 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Fantasy; Family | Following up on the success of 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Imagine Entertainment presents The Cat in the Hat, their second live-action adaptation of a classic Dr. Seuss book. Starring Mike Myers, the film follows the adventures of Conrad (Spencer Breslin) and Sally Walden (Dakota Fanning), a young brother and sister who find themselves visited by the titular mischievous cat (Meyers) and his entourage when their mother (Kelly Preston) leaves them home alone. Also starring Alec Baldwin and the voice of Sean Hayes, The Cat in the Hat is the directorial debut of Oscar-nominated art director Bo Welch. — Matthew Tobey |
| Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | 140 mins | Crime; Thriller; Drama | A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) — who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. — Mark Deming |
| Catch That Kid | 2003 | 92 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy; Crime; Family | Bart Freundlich directs Catch That Kid, a Fox-financed U.S. remake of the Danish family action film Klatretøsen (2002). Adventurous 12-year-old Maddy Phillips (Kristen Stewart) is an excellent mountain climber. Unfortunately, her father, Tom (Sam Robards), was severely injured on Mount Everest and requires a costly surgery to repair his spine. With the help of her friends (Max Thieriot and Corbin Bleu) and her climbing skills, Maddy develops a plan to rob a bank in order to finance her father's medical bills. Also starring Jennifer Beals as Maddy's mother, Molly, who happens to be the security chief at the bank. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Cats and Dogs | 2001 | 87 mins | Family; Comedy | This talking-animal action comedy from Lawrence Guterman, the co-director of Antz (1998), follows on the heels of the Babe and Dr. Dolittle films. Unknown to humans, a secret war has been raging between cats and dogs for eons, but a fragile truce has long held the order of the animal kingdom in place. Now the balance of power has tipped, as a researcher, Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum), is about to invent a vaccine that will erase all human allergies to dogs. This is too much for the autocratic Mr. Tinkles (Sean Hayes), a white Persian kitty bent on world domination. The Brody home becomes ground zero for the renewed conflict between feline and canine, with a young Beagle puppy named Lou (Tobey Maguire) caught in the middle as the new point man for his species' cause. Cats and Dogs co-stars Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, as well as the vocal talents of Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Joe Pantoliano. — Karl Williams |
| Catwoman | 2004 | 100 mins | Action; Comic | Die schüchterne Grafikerin Patience Philips (HALLE BERRY) gerät im Kosmetikkonzern des despotischen George Hedare (LAMBERT WILSON) und seiner Frau, das kaltblütige Supermodel Laurel (SHARON STONE), zwischen die Fronten eines tödlichen Komplotts. Wie durch ein Wunder wird Patience gerettet – und neu geboren: mit der extremen Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit und Agilität einer Katze. Ein kompliziertes Doppelleben beginnt: Als übermenschlich starke Catwoman beginnt sie ihren Rachefeldzug... Oscar® -Preisträgerin Halle Berry schnurrt verführerisch und lässt ihre Peitsche knallen. Die ebenso Schlag-fertige wie elegante Catwoman landet mit katzenhafter Gewandtheit immer wieder auf ihren Pfoten, sie liebt Sushi und hasst Hunde – und auch ihre Gegner sollten sich vor ihr in Acht nehmen: Sie ist pure Action: Sie ist Catwoman! |
| Cellular | 2004 | 92 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | A thin thread of electronic data may be the only thing that can save a women and her family in this thriller. Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger) is a biology teacher who is kidnapped by Greer (Jason Statham), a vicious criminal who has threatened to murder her husband and son if he doesn't get what he wants. Greer destroys the only working telephone in the cabin where she's held, but Jessica manages to put enough of the pieces together to send out a call that's picked up by Ryan (Chris Evans), a college student, on his cellular phone. Jessica manages to convince Ryan of the gravity of her situation, but she has no idea of where she's being held, leaving his cell phone as the only link to her whereabouts — and his batteries are starting to wear out. Cellular was scripted by Larry Cohen, the exploitation film auteur who enjoyed a major comeback with his script for another telephone-based story, Phone Booth. — Mark Deming |
| Changing Lanes | 2002 | 98 mins | Drama; Thriller | Director Roger Michell follows up the hit romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) with this thought-provoking thriller. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star, respectively, as Gavin Banek and Doyle Gibson, two New York men whose lives become accidentally intertwined in a Good Friday fender bender on the FDR Drive. Late for a crucial appointment, hotshot lawyer Gavin tosses Doyle a blank check and leaves the scene, while Doyle, whose car is inoperable, is late for a court-appointed custody hearing. A recovering alcoholic, Doyle's tardiness doesn't sit well with the judge, and his situation worsens when it becomes evident that a file containing crucial information about his purchase of a home for his family has ended up in Gavin's possession, while Doyle has an equally important file belonging to Gavin. The judge grants custody to Doyle's ex-wife, and so begins an escalating war of words and deeds between the two men. Soon, egged on by an associate (Toni Collette), Gavin hires a "fixer" (Dylan Baker) to destroy Doyle's credit, forcing Doyle to fire back with some cunning moves of his own. Changing Lanes co-stars William Hurt, Sydney Pollack, and Toni Collette. — Karl Williams |
| Chappelle's Show - The Lost Episodes | 2003 | 68 mins | Comedy | Chappelle's Show is back!...Sort of. The long-awaited lost episodes are finally here. With the success of the first two seasons, Dave finally gets to meet Show Business, spend some time in his new crib, and show what happens when Lil' Jon goes Hollywood. Outrageous, intelligent, and provocative, Chappelle's Show - The Lost Episodes proves that Dave Chappelle is now and forever one of the funniest, most boundary-pushing comedians ever to appear on television. |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | 2005 | Family | Mixed reviews and creepy comparisons to Michael Jackson notwithstanding, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would almost surely meet with Roald Dahl's approval. The celebrated author of darkly offbeat children's books vehemently disapproved of 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (hence the change in title), so it's only fitting that Burton and his frequent star/collaborator, Johnny Depp, should have another go, infusing the enigmatic candyman's tale with their own unique brand of imaginative oddity. Depp's pale, androgynous Wonka led some to suspect a partial riff on that most controversial of eternal children, Michael Jackson, but Burton's film is too expansively magnificent to be so narrowly defined. While preserving Dahl's morality tale on the hazards of indulgent excess, Burton's riotous explosion of color provides a wondrous setting for the lessons learned by Charlie Bucket (played by Freddie Highmore, Depp's delightful costar in Finding Neverland), as he and other, less admirable children enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime tour of Wonka's confectionary wonderland. Elaborate visual effects make this an eye-candy overdose (including digitally multiplied Oompa-Loompas, all played by diminutive actor Deep Roy), and the film's underlying weirdness is exaggerated by Depp's admirably risky but ultimately off-putting performance. Of course, none of this stops Burton's Charlie from being the must-own family DVD of 2005's holiday season, perhaps even for those who staunchly defend Gene Wilder's portrayal of Wonka from 34 years earlier. --Jeff Shannon | |
| Charlie's Angels | 2000 | 98 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy; Mystery | They're beautiful, they're brilliant, and they can kick your butt — the most glamorous private eyes in the world are back in action in this big-screen adaptation of the popular '70s television series. Natalie (Cameron Diaz) is the smart but silly one, Dylan (Drew Barrymore) is the tough but fun-loving one, and Alex (Lucy Liu) is the classy but hard-as-nails one, and they work for a man named Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), who never meets his employees face to face. Along with their helper Bosley (Bill Murray), the Angels are sent into action when electronics genius Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell) is kidnapped, with the nefarious Roger Corwin (Tim Curry) as the prime suspect. But they soon learn even bigger danger is afoot — the kidnappers have gotten their hands on Knox's latest invention, a system that can monitor voice communication from anywhere in the world, virtually ending the notion of private conversation. Charlie's Angels also stars Crispin Glover, Luke Wilson, Kelly Lynch, and Tom Green. — Mark Deming |
| Charlie's Angels | 2003 | 106 mins | Action; Comedy; Adventure; Mystery | The three most glamorous and butt-kicking private detectives in the business are back and ready to take on bad guys in this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster screen adaptation of the once-popular television series. Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are once again summoned to the office of their boss Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), where they're introduced to his new right-hand man Jimmy Bosley (Bernie Mac) and given their latest assignment. It seems a pair of rings have gone missing and need to be recovered, but this was no ordinary jewel heist — the rings have been coded with special information that can be used to access a list of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program, and when a handful of protected informants are murdered, the Angels are brought in to help crack the case. As the women search for the culprits, they encounter Madison Lee (Demi Moore), one of Charlie's former agents who decided that the wrong side of the law pays better, and Seamus (Justin Theroux), who once dated Dylan and wants revenge for her decision to turn him over to the police. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as (respectively) Natalie and Alex's love interests, as does Crispin Glover as the Thin Man; John Cleese, Robert Forster, and Eric Bogosian also appear in supporting roles. — Mark Deming |
| Cheaper by the Dozen | 2003 | 98 mins | Comedy; Drama | Shawn Levy directs the family-oriented comedy Cheaper by the Dozen, a loose remake of the 1950 film starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy, which was itself based on a novel. Tom (Steve Martin) and Kate Baker (Bonnie Hunt) have made many sacrifices in their professional lives in order to raise their 12 children. When Tom is offered a job as a Division I college football coach, he moves the entire pack to a suburb of Chicago. This move shakes up the whole family, especially when Kate's memoirs get published and she takes off on a book tour. The lack of parental guidance creates problems for all the Baker kids, particularly handsome jock Charlie (Tom Welling), fashion plate Lorraine (Hilary Duff), and grown child Nora (Piper Perabo). Ashton Kucher stars in a cameo role as Nora's actor boyfriend, Hank. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | 2005 | 94 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Family | Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt return as heads of the Baker family who, while on vacation, find themselves in competition with a rival family of eight children, headed by Eugene Levy (view trailer) |
| Chicago | 2002 | 113 mins | Musical; Comedy; Crime; Drama | Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together)and Roxie Hart (Who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago. |
| Chicken Little | 2005 | 81 mins | Adventure | Coming Soon! |
| Chicken Run | 2000 | 84 mins | Animation; Family; Comedy | Chicken Run is a comedy escape drama with a touch of passion set on a sinister Yorks chicken farm in 1950's England |
| Chris Rock: Bring the Pain | 2004 | Familie; Comedy | | |
| A Christmas Story | 1983 | 95 mins | Comedy; Family | Nine years after the Yuletide slasher flick Black Christmas, Porky's director Bob Clark once again took on the holiday genre, switching from gasps to laughs with A Christmas Story. Adapted from a memoir by humorist Jean Shepherd (who narrates), the film centers on Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), a young boy living in 1940s Indiana, desperately yearning for a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Despite protests from his mother (Melinda Dillon) that he'll shoot his eye out, Ralphie persists, unsuccessfully trying to enlist the assistance of both his teacher and Santa Claus. All the while, Ralphie finds himself dealing with the constant taunts of a pair of bullies and trying to not get in the middle of a feud between his mother and father (Darren McGavin) regarding a sexy lamp. — Matthew Tobey |
| Christmas with the Kranks | 2004 | 98 mins | Comedy; Family | With their daughter away, her parents decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate the holidays at the last minute. |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 2005 | 140 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; Family; Fantasy | Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a lion messiah. |
| The Chronicles of Riddick | 2004 | 119 mins | Adventure; Sci-Fi; Action; Thriller | The wanted criminal Riddick arrives in Helion Prime and finds himself against the invading Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans. |
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | 144 mins | Biography; Drama; Sport | The story of Depression-era fighter and folk hero Jim Braddock, who defeated heavyweight champ Max Baer in a 15-round slugfest in 1935. |
| A Cinderella Story | 2004 | 97 mins | Comedy; Romance | Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Sam Martin is excited about the prospect... |
| City by the Sea | 2002 | 108 mins | Crime; Drama | A man struggling to come to terms with the sins of his father makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime in a drama based on a true story. Vincent LaMarca (Robert DeNiro) is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past; four decades earlier, Vincent's father Angelo killed a young child, and since then Vincent has carried emotional scars from this incident that he refuses to show to the world. Vincent lives alone in a small apartment building, though he has nurtured a close if tentative relationship with his downstairs neighbor, Michelle (Frances McDormand). One day, Vincent and his partner, Reg Duffy (George Dzundza), are assigned to investigate a murder when the body of a young man is found dead in a dumpster. It turns out the body was that of a drug dealer, and the dealer's partner in crime, Spyder (William Forsythe), believes the killer was one of his regular customers — a junkie would-be musician who calls himself Snake (Brian Tarantina). City By the Sea was adapted from a piece by journalist Mike McAlary which first appeared in Esquire magazine; the cast also includes Eliza Dushku and Anson Mount. — Mark Deming |
| City of God | 2004 | 130 mins | Crime; Drama | Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion. The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers, drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor), self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund tackle their subject head on, creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away. --Jeff Shannon |
| Civil Brand | 2002 | 95 mins | Drama | Television director Neema Barnette directs the forceful drama Civil Brand, based on a story by Preston A. Whitmore II. Shot with a micro-budget of 500,000 dollars, the film stars confrontational rap and hip-hop artists Mos Def, MC Lyte, and Da Brat. The story concerns a women's prison that exploits its largely African-American inmate population as cheap labor to manufacture products for a corporation. Mostly incarcerated due to domestic violence situations, the inmates also face sexual abuse as the hands of the prison staff, headed by Captain Deese (Clifton Powell) and Warden Nelson (Reed McCants). Accused of murder, Frances Shepard (Lisa Rae) joins forces with inmates Little Momma (Lark Voorhies), Wet (Monica Calhoun), and Nikki Barnes (N'Bushe Wright), as well as law student Michael (Mos Def), in order to start an uprising. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| The Clearing | 2004 | 91 mins | Drama; Thriller | As an executive is held captive by an employee, it's up to his wife to deliver the ransom. |
| Click | 2006 | 108 mins | Comedy; Drama; Fantasy | A harried workaholic, Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) doesn't have time for his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and children, not if he's to impress his ungrateful boss and earn a well-deserved promotion. So when he meets Morty (Christopher Walken), a loopy sales clerk, he gets him to bypass life's little distractions with increasingly hysterical results. But as Michael gleefully mutes, skips and scans past his family and his friends, the remote gradually takes over his life and begins to program him, in this fast, funny and out-of-control comedy adventure. |
| Clifford's Really Big Movie | 2004 | 73 mins | Animation; Family | Worried that he costs too much to feed, Clifford runs away to join a carnival act and help win a lifetime supply of Tummy Yummies. |
| Closer | 2004 | 101 mins | Drama | Patrick Marber's acclaimed stage drama about the romantic interactions of four people has been given a reverent screen adaptation by director and producer Mike Nichols. Dan (Jude Law) is a writer in London who wants to finish a novel, but in the meantime supports himself by writing obituaries. One day he chances upon Alice (Natalie Portman), a beautiful young American expatriate, when he sees her get hit by a car. Alice immediately falls for Dan, and gives him her love without reservation. Dan is initially enchanted with Alice, and returns her affection, but while she inspires him to write his novel (based on her life), her neediness begins to wear on him. Anna (Julia Roberts) is a photographer who is hired to take a portrait of Dan for the dust jacket of his book; Dan is attracted to her easy confidence, and while the two of them flirt, Anna soon (inadvertently through Dan's playful machinations) meets Larry (Clive Owen), a dermatologist, and marries him. Dan can't get Anna out of his mind even though she's married, and the two become lovers, but Dan is frustrated by the fact that Anna is reluctant to leave Larry for him. Patrick Marber wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of Closer; it was the playwright's first feature-film credit. — Mark Deming |
| Club Dread | 2004 | 103 mins | Comedy; Thriller; Horror | Following up their breakthrough film, 2001's Super Troopers, the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, comprised of Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske, took aim at the horror genre and delivered Club Dread. Starring the five members of the troupe along with Bill Paxton, the film is set at an anything-goes tropical resort for swingers. When a psychotic killer starts offing the guests with a razor sharp machete, it's up to the staff to hide the carnage, lest they lose the business of the unsuspecting surviving guests. As with Super Troopers and the first Broken Lizard film Puddle Cruiser, Chandrasekhar directs. — Matthew Tobey |
| Clueless | 1995 | 97 mins | Comedy; Romance | Jane Austen's Emma meets Beverley Hills 90210 in US West Coast teen lifestyle parody. |
| Coach Carter | 2005 | 136 mins | Drama | Samuel L. Jackson plays the controversial high school basketball coach who benched his undefeated team due to their collective poor academic record in 1999. |
| Cold Creek Manor | 2003 | 119 mins | Drama; Thriller | New Yorkers get a crash course in the more dangerous aspects of moving to the country and buying a "handyman's special" in this thriller from award-winning director Mike Figgis. Cooper and Leah Tilson (Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone) are a wealthy couple who have grown tired of the high stress of life in New York City and are looking to move to someplace with more breathing room. Upstate, they find a mansion in the village of Cold Creek which has fallen into disrepair after it was repossessed. Convinced the house has great possibilities, The Tilsons buy it, and with a little hard work Cooper, Leah, and their two children are soon living in their dream home. Unknown to The Tilsons, the house used to belong to a lifelong Cold Creek resident named Dale Massie (Stephen Dorff), a ne'er-do-well who ended up behind bars. After he's released from prison, Massie makes it clear to the new owners that he wants his home back, and before long Cooper and Leah begin learning the disturbing truth about the history of the mansion — and that many Cold Creek residents don't take kindly to new arrivals. Cold Creek Manor also stars Juliette Lewis and Christopher Plummer. — Mark Deming |
| Cold Mountain | 2003 | 155 mins | Drama; War; Romance | Based on the novel by Charles Frazier, Anthony Minghella's star-studded Cold Mountain is a sweeping tale set in the final days of the American Civil War. Jude Law stars as Inman, a young soldier who, despite an injury, is struggling to make his way home to Cold Mountain, NC, where his beloved Ada (Nicole Kidman) awaits. In Inman's absence, Ada befriends Ruby (Renée Zellweger), who helps her keep up her late father's farm. Meanwhile, in his travels, Inman encounters a menagerie of interesting folks. Also starring Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Donald Sutherland, and Philip Seymore Hoffman, Cold Mountain features original music by Jack White of the White Stripes. — Matthew Tobey |
| Collateral | 2004 | Thriller | | |
| Coming to America | 1988 | 116 mins | Comedy; Romance | An African prince goes to Queens, New York City to find a wife whom he can respect for her intelligence and will. |
| Con Air | 1997 | 115 mins | Action; Thriller | Former war hero Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is sentenced to eight years in prison when he accidentally kills a man in a barroom brawl while defending his pregnant wife. When his release comes through, he's eager to see the daughter he's never met. However, Poe's original flight is delayed, so he's put aboard a flight transporting ten of the most dangerous men in the American penal system to a new high-security facility. One of the criminals, Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich), is a serial killer and insane genius who has hatched a diabolical plot: with the help of several other hoods, including Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), Johnny 23 (Daniel Trejo), and Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), Cyrus and his men will hijack the plane and fly to a neutral nation where they can live as free men. Poe finds himself stuck in the middle; he has to find a way to get home, keep himself alive, look after his cellmate Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson), who will die without proper medicine, and try to help the cops on the ground, including agent Vince Larkin (John Cusack). Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's first film after the death of his partner Don Simpson, Con Air shows he learned well how to assemble the formula all by himself, with plenty of action, stunts, and special effects and not a lot of story to get in the way. — Mark Deming |
| Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen | 2004 | 89 mins | Comedy | British actress/director Sara Sugarman makes her U.S. feature debut with the Disney-produced comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, based on the young-adult novel by Dyan Sheldon and adapted for the screen by Gail Parent. The story concerns a popular urban teenager named Mary Elizabeth Cep (Lindsay Lohan), who is convinced her real name is Lola. Unfortunately, her family moves from fashionable New York City to a small suburb in New Jersey. Disturbed by her environment, Lola is quick to wage war against the popular Carla Santini (Megan Fox). She's also pursued by high school hunk Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), but chooses to focus her attention on winning back her title of Most Popular Girl in School. With the help of a frumpy drama teacher (Carol Kane) and shy new friend Ella (Alison Pill), Lola creates a dramatic performance to earn her coveted high status. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Confidence | 2003 | 98 mins | Crime; Drama | James Foley directs the slick crime caper Confidence, written by first-time screenwriter Doug Jung. Told in flashback, smooth-talking con man Jake Vig (Edward Burns) relates an elaborate scheme orchestrated by his gang :Gordo (Paul Giamatti), Miles (Brian Van Holt), and Big Al (Louis Lombardi). The crew pulls off a swindling job stealing money from a guy named Lionel (Leland Orser), who turns out to be a mob accountant for the crazy crime boss known as the King (Dustin Hoffman). After the damage has been done, Jake and his crew attempt to pull off an even bigger scam to make up for their mistake. This time the con involves the King's enemy, the mob-connected banker Morgan Price (Robert Forster). Two corrupt cops (Donal Logue and Luis Guzman) join Jake's team while the King appoints his henchman, Lupus (Frankie G.) to oversee the operation. Rachel Weisz plays Lily, Jake's love interest who is also in on the scam. Eventually, Andy Garcia shows up as FBI Agent Gunther Butan, who has been perpetually chasing after Jake. Confidence premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Connie and Carla | 2004 | 98 mins | Comedy | Actress and writer Nia Vardalos, who became an overnight sensation with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, returns to the big screen with this gender-bending comedy. Connie (Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) are best friends who've shared the same dream ever since they were teenagers — making a name for themselves in the musical theater. However, after years of treading water on Chicago's dinner theater circuit and playing bottom-of-the-barrel nightclubs, the two are facing middle age with minimal career success. One evening after a performance, Connie and Carla have the misfortune of witnessing the murder of nightclub owner Frank (Michael Roberds) by low-level Mafiosi; the gals are seen by the shooters, and they hit the road in fear for their lives. Connie and Carla end up in Los Angeles, where they struggle to create new identities for themselves. After witnessing a drag review at a nightclub, they realize that even they have more talent than most of the men performing that evening, and they decide to pose as female impersonators in hopes of landing a gig. Connie and Carla's new act is an immediate hit, and soon they're the toast of L.A.'s gay community. But the women discover it's difficult to keep on fooling people into believing they're men, and things become even more complicated when the Mobsters discover that Connie and Carla are in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Connie finds herself falling for Jeff (David Duchovny), a regular guy looking for his cross-dressing brother who can't understand why he's developing a crush on a drag queen. — Mark Deming |
| The Constant Gardener | 2005 | 129 mins | Drama; Thriller | Based on the best-selling John le Carré novel and from the Academy Award-nominated director of "City of God." In a remote area of Northern Kenya... |
| Constantine | 2005 | 121 mins | Action; Thriller; Fantasy; Drama; Horror | Based on the DC/Vertigo comic book Hellblazer and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello, Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back. |
| Cookout, The | 2004 | 97 mins | Comedy | Todd Anderson's life changes overnight when he signs a $30 million contract with the NBA. Determined not to forget where he's from, he throws a cookout for his family and friends from the hood, in his new neighborhood. As old and new friends arrive, a series of mix-ups occur-and things are about to get wild! |
| The Core | 2003 | 136 mins | Drama; Sci-Fi; Action; Thriller | An unlikely band of scientists and soldiers join forces to save the world from certain destruction in this action-drama. As the world is struck with a variety of inexplicable phenomena — attacks by enormous swarms of birds in London, the explosion of the Colosseum in Rome, a potentially deadly malfunction which forces the Space Shuttle into a Los Angeles riverbed, and the simultaneous deaths of 32 people with pacemakers in Boston — a team of top scientific minds from around the globe is assembled to determine what has thrown the world into such a frenzy. Dr. John Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) makes the startling discovery that the Earth's electromagnetic forces have begun to collapse, thanks to a sudden lack of movement of the molten ore at the center of the Earth. If the planet is to be saved, the core of the Earth needs a jump start, and Keyes assembles a team to burrow to the center of the planet and bomb the insides back into action. Joining Keyes on this dangerous, last-chance mission are the brilliant but arrogant Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), French arms expert Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo, maverick researcher "Brazz" Brazzleton (Delroy Lindo), geeky computer genius Rat (DJ Qualls), and two no-nonsense military types, Commander Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca Childs (Hilary Swank). However, as the crew digs deeper into the Earth, the more they discover what they haven't been told about their mission and what's really been causing the worldwide chaos. The Core was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2002, but the movie didn't reach theaters until the spring of 2003 as special-effects experts perfected the film's more spectacular scenes. — Mark Deming |
| Corky Romano | 2001 | 85 mins | Comedy; Crime | Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Kattan stars in this mob comedy as Corky Romano, a veterinarian with a penchant for pop music from the '80s. As a youth, Corky was kicked out of his Mafia-connected family for being an oddball. Now his long-lost father (Peter Falk) has been indicted and needs Corky to infiltrate the FBI and steal the government's evidence against him. Corky is willing to aid the relatives who so long ago turned their backs on him, but his brothers go overboard when intimidating the computer hacker who gets Corky's bogus application into the FBI academy, presenting him as a super agent named Pissant. Now Corky must live up to his reputation for an eminently qualified top cop while simultaneously trying to get the goods on his dad. Corky Romano co-stars Peter Berg, Chris Penn, Vincent Pastore, Vinessa Shaw, Fred Ward, and Richard Roundtree. — Karl Williams |
| Corpse Bride | 2005 | 76 mins | Animation; Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Musical; Romance | When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her. |
| Count Of Monte Cristo, The | 2002 | 131 mins | Prepare For Adventure. Count On Revenge. Jim Caviezel (High Crimes) and Guy Pearce (The Time Machine) give sizzling performances in The Count Of Monte Cristo - the greatest tale of betrayal, adventure and revenge the world has never known. When the dashing and guileless Edmond Dantes (Caviezel) is betrayed by his best friend (Pearce) and wrongly imprisoned, he becomes consumed by thoughts of vengeance. After a miraculous escape, he transforms himself into the mysterious and wealthy Count of Monte Cristo, insinuates himself into the French Nobility and puts his cunning plan of revenge into action. This swashbuckling thriller will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the last ounce of revenge is exacted. |
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| Coyote Ugly | 2000 | 100 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance; Music | Aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford, after getting a job at a women-run NYC bar that teases its male patrons, comes out of her shell. |
| Cradle 2 the Grave | 2003 | 99 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | A thief and a lawman join forces to hunt down a common enemy in this action thriller. Tony Fait (DMX) is a master thief who, along with his crew (Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Drag-On), pulls off a major score when they steal a cache of highly valuable black diamonds. However, the hard-as-nails Tony has a soft spot for his young daughter Vanessa (Paige Hurd), and Ling (Mark Dacascos), a former detective turned ruthless criminal, kidnaps Vanessa, demanding a ransom from Tony for her return — the stash of black diamonds. The jewels have already been stolen, however, from Tony's fence Archie (Tom Arnold), and are now in the hands of a powerful underworld boss (Chi McBride). Determined to get back his daughter whatever the cost, Tony and his gang set out to find both Ling and the diamonds, but he soon gets some invaluable help from an unlikely corner — Su (Jet Li), a government agent from Taiwan who was once Ling's partner, and has an old score to settle with him. Cradle 2 the Grave also features Kelly Hu and Roxana Brusso. — Mark Deming |
| Crash | 2004 | 113 mins | Drama; Crime; Mystery | A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. |
| The Crocodile Hunter | 2002 | 90 mins | Adventure; Comedy | Crikey! Following a brief cameo in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), hyperactive, high-energy cable television star and native Australian naturalist Steve Irwin parlays his success as a confronter of all things scaly, fanged, and venomous into this feature-film adventure. Irwin and his wife Terri Irwin play themselves as animal activists who rescue an endangered crocodile, not realizing that the critter has swallowed a downed top-secret satellite beacon that's the subject of an intense search by CIA personnel. Believing that the spies are poachers out to steal the animal's precious hide, the Irwins evade their pursuers while attempting to get the crocodile to safety in a remote area of the Outback, adopting an orphaned joey (a baby kangaroo), and grappling with bird-eating spiders and poisonous snakes along the way. In the meantime, the secret agents mistakenly believe the Irwins are enemy operatives trying to steal their highly valuable technology. The real-life Irwins donated all of their fees from The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) to wildlife conservation efforts. — Karl Williams |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | 2000 | 120 mins | Adventure; Drama; Action; Fantasy; Romance | Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee took a break from making Western period dramas to fashion this wild and woolly martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences courtesy of the choreographer of The Matrix (1999), Yuen Woo Ping. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). He gives his sword, a fabled 400-year-old weapon known as Green Destiny, to his friend, fellow martial arts wizard and secret love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), so that she may deliver it to Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Upon arrival in Peking, Yu happens upon Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a vivacious, willful politician's daughter. That night, a mysterious masked thief swipes Green Destiny, with Yu in hot pursuit — resulting in the first of several martial arts action set pieces during the film. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. In spite of this, Li sees great talent in Jen as a fighter and offers to school her in the finer points of martial arts and selflessness, an offer that Jen promptly rebukes. This film was first screened to much acclaim at the 2000 Cannes, Toronto, and New York film festivals and became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001: Tiger snagged ten nods and later secured four wins for Best Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. — Jonathan Crow |
| Cry_Wolf | 2005 | 91 mins | Horror; Suspense | In Cry_Wolf, a group of students at a snooty prep school conjure a serial killer when someone takes a hoax a little too seriously. Owen (Julian Morris, Whirlygirl), who's just transferred to Westlake Academy, quickly becomes enamored of Dodger (Lindy Booth, Wrong Turn), a smart and sultry redhead who masterminds a game based on lying and manipulating the other players. After a murder in the nearby woods, Owen escalates the game by concocting a hoax about a serial killer called the Wolf--a hoax that swiftly turns into reality when the not-so-imaginary Wolf sends threatening e-mails to Owen. Cry_Wolf mixes your standard slasher movie with your standard secret-twist movie to no particularly effect. The Wolf--who wears an orange ski-mask and wields a hunting knife--is a generic boogeyman; text messages just aren't scary; and all the characters combined couldn't muster up an engaging personality. This movie was obviously made to fit a market niche, not because a writer or director had any genuine inspiration or had to exorcise a personal fear--but even for a b-movie this is meager stuff. Also featuring Jon Bon Jovi (Vampires: Los Muertos), Gary Cole (Office Space), and Anna Deavere Smith (The West Wing). --Bret Fetzer |
| Curious George | 2006 | 86 mins | Animation; Adventure; Comedy; Family | Will Ferrell stars as The Man in the Yellow Hat, a gentleman who looks after his pet monkey - an inquisitive and wonderful creature whose enthusiasm often gets the best of him. (view trailer) |
| Cursed | 2005 | 97 mins | Horror; Thriller | When you consider its unfortunate production history, Cursed turned out surprisingly well as a werewolf thriller that horror buffs will appreciate. It's hardly the disaster critics made it out to be, but extensive rewriting, reshooting, recasting, and lengthy delays in production and release (including the elimination of R-rated gore to earn a PG-13 rating) clearly took their toll. The result is a fun but flawed monster-show that begins when a young talk-show producer (Christina Ricci) and her teenaged brother (Jesse Eisenberg) are bitten by a werewolf, setting the stage for a horror-in-Hollywood scenario that reunites director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson, creators of the Scream franchise. What could have been a classic horror comedy is instead a fairly solid, if unremarkable, exercise in Los Angeles lycanthropy, featuring werewolf makeup by Rick Baker (combined with CGI transformation effects, of course) and some of Williamson's snappy dialogue and trademark pop-culture references. The title of Cursed doubles as a description of this movie's ultimate fate, but in a market filled with straight-to-video horror fodder, it's anything but a lost cause. The supporting cast includes Shannon Elizabeth, Portia de Rossi and Joshua Jackson, so genre aficionados should definitely check it out. --Jeff Shannon |
| Cypher | 2002 | 97 mins | Action; Thriller; Fantasy; Sci-Fi | An unsuspecting, disenchanted man finds himself working as a spy in the dangerous, high-stakes world of corporate espionage. Quickly getting way over-his-head, he teams up with a mysterious femme fatale. |
| The Da Vinci Code | 2006 | 149 mins | Drama; Thriller; Mystery | A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity. |
| Daddy Day Care | 2003 | 92 mins | Comedy; Family | Two fathers get a crash course in caring for kids other than their own in this family-friendly comedy. Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) is an advertising executive whose job monopolizes his time, making it difficult for him to stay in touch with his young son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). However, after Charlie and his partner, Phil (Jeff Garlin), are given their pink slips in the wake of a disastrous campaign for a new breakfast cereal, Charlie's wife, Kim (Regina King), goes back to work, and with the family budget tighter than before, Charlie becomes a stay-at-home dad. After pulling Ben out of an expensive and exclusive daycare center run by the humorless Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston), Charlie comes up with a brainstorm — since he and Phil watch their own children every day, how much harder could it be to watch a few more kids and open their own day care center? Charlie and Phil discover there's much more to running a daycare center than they ever imagined, but after a very rough start, with the help of likable slacker Marvin (Steve Zahn) their new business becomes a success — so much so that Harridan finds herself losing customers to the upstart fathers, and she starts searching for a way to shut them down. — Mark Deming |
| Damon Wayans: Still Standing | 2006 | 57 mins | Comedy | Comedic Genius Damon Wayans breaks the mold in Damon Wayans Still Standing, his critically acclaimed HBO special - now on DVD for the first time ever! The hilarious star of In Living Color and My Wife And Kids will knock you off your feet with a stand-up routine that's irreverent, controversial - and outrageously funny! What if Gandhi's wife was a nag? Would the U.S. be better run if our National Advisor was a pimp? Whether he's riffing on celebrities, sex, the government, or even his own kids, nothing is sacred for this master comedian and Still Standing will leave you still laughing long after his final bow! |
| Dancehall Queen | 1997 | 98 mins | Drama | |
| Daredevil | 2003 | 104 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime; Fantasy | One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters comes to the screen for the first time in this sci-fi action-thriller. Matthew Murdock (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer whose father, a prizefighter, was killed by gangsters when Murdock was just a boy. Since then, Murdock has devoted his life to bringing wrongdoers to justice and is willing to help others by taking on cases no other attorney will touch. Murdock is also blind, after being struck down by a truck while trying to save a man from being hit. What no one knows is that Murdock was also doused with an unusual radioactive isotope which had a strange effect on him — while Murdock's sight may be gone, his other senses have been raised to such a keen pitch that they act like radar, allowing him to tell where he's going and what happens around him, both near and far away. Murdock puts his gifts to use at night as the costumed crime-fighter Daredevil, whose pursuit of justice has earned him the wrath of underworld leader Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Kingpin wants Daredevil out of his way once and for all, and hires Bullseye (Colin Farrell), a super-assassin with an uncanny ability to throw blades, to do the job. Daredevil also makes the acquaintance of Elektra Natchios (Jennifer Garner), a woman with super-heroic talents who is also on Kingpin's bad side, though it remains to be seen if she has aligned herself with the forces of good as Daredevil has done. Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, and David Keith highlight Daredevil's supporting cast. — Mark Deming |
| Dark Water | 2005 | Drama; Horror; Thriller | A mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of former resident. | |
| Dave Chappelle - Killin' Them Softly | 2003 | 60 mins | Comedy | Killin' Them Softly Dave Chappelle is a successful comedian, screenwriter, and actor. Chappelle's laid-back yet socially attuned style of comedy has made him a favorite among all ages and races. As an actor he's appeared alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names in films such as The Nutty Professor, Con-Air, You've Got Mail, Undercover Brother and Blue Streak. Chappelle co-wrote and starred in the sidesplitting prison caper Half Baked. In 2003, Dave partnered with Comedy Central to launch his own sketch-comedy series called "Chappelle Show," where he takes on American culture from the streets to the 'burbs and all things in between. Laugh out loud as you spend 60 hilarious and intimate minutes with Dave as he sounds off on everyone within earshot. Originally aired on HBO in 2000, Killin' Them Softly is without a doubt one of the funniest standup specials available. You'll never laugh more than you will here. Dave's fearless commentary focuses on issues about the Police, Racism, Sesame Street, Kids, and the Government. It's hilarious! Comedy doesn't get any better than this! Welcome Dave Chappelle's Killin' Them Softly to the prestigious Platinum Comedy Series. Bringing you the funniest comedians in America! |
| Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth | 2005 | 58 mins | Comedy | This is a UMD title that is currently only playable on the Sony PSP portable system. Coming Soon! |
| Dawn of the Dead | 2004 | 100 mins | Action; Horror; Drama; Thriller | The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1979 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star. — Matthew Tobey |
| The Day After Tomorrow | 2004 | 124 mins | Action; Drama; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A climatologist tries to figure out a way to save the world from abrupt global warming. He must get to his young son in New York, which is being taken over by a new ice age. |
| Dead Man on Campus | 1998 | 96 mins | Comedy | Two college roommates go out and party, resulting in bad grades. They learn of the clause that says, "If your roommate dies, you get an A," and decide to find someone who is on the verge, so to speak, to move in with them. |
| Dead Presidents | 1995 | 119 mins | Action; Crime; Drama | A Vietnam vet adjusts to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed. |
| Death to Smoochy | 2002 | 109 mins | Comedy; Crime | Danny DeVito steps behind the camera for this darkly funny satire that combines elements of Barney and Friends with the real-life Pee-Wee Herman scandal while recalling the director's previously twisted black comedies Throw Momma From the Train (1987) and The War of the Roses (1989). Robin Williams stars as Randolph Smiley, a popular children's show host known professionally as "Rainbow Randolph." Dismissed from his beloved job when he's caught taking payola, Randolph becomes increasingly mentally unhinged and the target of his delusional revenge fantasies is Sheldon Mopes (Edward Norton), otherwise known as Smoochy, the fuchsia rhino character that has replaced him and soared to national popularity. Randolph soon learns that his ex-girlfriend and network executive Nora Wells (Catherine Keener) is sleeping with Sheldon, so he sets out to kill Smoochy, egged on by an unexpected ally: corporate president M. Frank Stokes (Jon Stewart), who should be profiting from Smoochy's rise to fame, except for the fact that he and his cronies are unable to control the idealistic Sheldon's on-air agenda. Death to Smoochy (2002) co-stars Harvey Fierstein, Vincent Shiavelli, and Michael Rispoli. — Karl Williams |
| The Debut | 2001 | 88 mins | Comedy; Drama | Ben Mercado (Dante Basco) is an 18-year-old from a Filipino-American family who is soon to graduate from high school and plans to go to art school — though he's trying to keep this a secret from his father Roland (Tirso Cruz III), who is determined his son will become a doctor. Right now, most of the Mercado family is preoccupied with an elaborate coming-out party being thrown for Ben's sister Rose (Bernadette Balagtas), which seems to have less to do with Rose and more with Roland's desire to impress his father Lolo (Eddie Garcia). Ben isn't too thrilled about having to attend, so he invites his best friends Rick (Brandon Martin) and Doug (Jason Schaal) to fight off monotony until they can slip out unnoticed. To their surprise, Rick and Doug find themselves having a great time getting a glimpse of Filipino culture, and Ben (who is enjoying himself more than he lets on) meets Annabelle (Gina Alajar), a pretty girl who is friends with Rose. However, Ben soon discovers that Annabelle recently parted ways with her boyfriend Augusto (Darion Basco), and Augusto is still very, very jealous — and willing to start a fight with anyone who makes a move toward "his girl." The Debut was, appropriately, the debut feature for writer and director Gene Cajayon and was enthusiastically received at the 2001 San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival. — Mark Deming |
| Deep Blue Sea | 1999 | 105 mins | Action; Horror; Thriller | Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the bait as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back. |
| Deliver Us From Eva | 2002 | 105 mins | Comedy; Romance | Three men discover that meddling in their sister-in-law's love life only makes their own lives more complicated in this romantic comedy. Eva Dandridge (Gabrielle Union) developed a sense of responsibility early on in life, when after the death of her parents she was left to care for her three younger sisters, Kareenah (Essence Atkins), Bethany (Robinne Lee), and Jacqui (Meagan Good). All four of the Dandridge sisters have grown up to be attractive, intelligent, and successful; Kareenah is happily married to Tim (Mel Jackson), while Bethany is engaged to Michael (Duane Martin), and Jacqui is going steady with Darrell (Dartanyan Edmonds). However, Eva still watches over her siblings like a hawk, and while her sisters love Eva dearly, Tim, Michael, and Darrell wish their sister-in-law would stay out of their business. The guys decide that if Eva had a boyfriend, she might be less interested in running other people's lives, and they turn to Ray (LL Cool J), a notorious ladies' man, for help. Ray is short on cash, so the guys make him a deal — they'll give him 5,000 dollars to romance Eva, sweep her off her feet, and then dump her a few weeks later. Ray agrees, and while getting past her no-nonsense demeanor takes some doing, before long she's head over heels for him. However, Ray unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with Eva, and Eva, when offered a job in another town, decides to stay on to be with Ray. Even worse, the other Dandridge sisters are so impressed with the romantic Ray that they start demanding a bit more TLC from their own men. — Mark Deming |
| De-Lovely | 2004 | 125 mins | Musical | The public and private lives of famed songwriter Cole Porter are both explored in this musical drama, in which the aging Porter (played by Kevin Kline) looks back on his life while watching a rehearsal of a stage musical based on his story. As Porter compares notes on the play with director Gabe (Jonathan Pryce), he shares thoughts on his rise to fame in the mid-'20s, writing witty and sophisticated tunes for a string of successful Broadway musicals. Porter seemed to be living a charmed life when he met Linda Thomas (Ashley Judd), a beautiful American woman who, like Porter, was enjoying a sojourn in Paris following the collapse of her first marriage. Thomas is immediately taken with Porter, whose intelligence and charm is a welcome change after her brutal first husband, and the two discover they share a remarkable understanding of one another. Porter and Thomas marry, even though she's aware that her new husband is gay; Thomas is willing to forgive Porter's indiscretions with other men in favor of the emotional support he brings her. However, as the years wear on and the couple takes up residence in Hollywood as Porter begins writing tunes for motion pictures, Thomas finds Porter drifting away from her as his liaisons become more frequent and more serious. Then tragedy enters their life when Porter loses the use of his legs in a riding accident and Thomas is diagnosed with cancer. De-Lovely features a number of noted pop singers interpreting classic songs from Porter's catalog, including Diana Krall, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Elvis Costello, Robbie Williams, Mick Hucknall, and others. — Mark Deming |
| Demolition Man | 1993 | 114 mins | Action | The plot of this action film begins in 1996, with Los Angeles in a violence-crazed conflagration. One of the LAPD's most notorious cops, John Spartan (Sylvester Stallone), known as "the demolition man," is in hot pursuit of blonde-haired psychopath Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), who is so nasty he even kills sometimes just because he feels cranky. John captures Simon, but not before Simon kills innocent hostages. John is blamed for the deaths of the hostages, and both he and Simon are cryogenically frozen to remove their brand of ultra-violence from a society that is simply just violent. The film shifts to the future world of 2032, where Los Angeles has become a megalopolis called San Angeles. There is no poverty, Arnold Schwarzenegger was (at one time) President of the United States, and Taco Bell is the sole survivor of the Franchise Wars. Into this peaceful and bland society, Simon is summarily defrosted by reigning benevolent dictator Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) to have Simon murder Edgar Friendly (Denis Leary), the leader of a group of underground rebels. But Cocteau bites off more than he can chew when the melted down Simon proceeds to go on a murder and looting spree. Reluctantly, Cocteau defrosts John to hunt down his old adversary. As John adjusts to self-driving cars and having sex wearing helmets, he pairs up with Lenina Huxley (Sandra Bullock), a bored cop with a nostalgic fascination for 20th-century culture. — Paul Brenner |
| Derailed | 2005 | 107 mins | Drama; Thriller | When two married business executives (Owen and Aniston) having an affair are blackmailed by a violent criminal, the two must turn the tables on him to save their families (view trailer) |
| Deuce Bigalow - European Gigolo | 2005 | 83 mins | Comedy | If the repeated use of the phrase "man-whore" is your recipe for hilarity, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is your movie. Rob Schneider (The Hot Chick, The Animal) returns as the hapless male prostitute, in this case lured back into the man-whore lifestyle in order to investigate the killings of European man-whores. His former pimp T.J. (Eddie Griffin, Undercover Brother) has set up shop in Amsterdam, where he finds himself accused of both the man-whore murders and of being a homosexual. From this slender, ridiculous premise springs dozens of gags about flatulence, breasts, and male sexual organs--in fact, the number of phallus stand-ins (noses, swords, man-whore of the year awards) would seem excessive to Aristophanes. And yet, despite all things crass and tawdry, Schneider remains bizarrely innocent, and this movie, like the first one, feels inexplicably sweet. The fundamental ethos of Deuce Bigalow is that everyone, no matter how they look, deserves to be loved. Such a downright Christian sentiment is rarely packaged in a movie featuring a cat biting a man's testicles or a woman gushing wine out of her tracheotomy hole, yet that's all part of the ineffable mystery of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. Also featuring Jeroen Krabbe (The 4th Man, The Living Daylights). --Bret Fetzer |
| Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo | 1999 | 88 mins | Comedy | A man becomes a male gigolo after being mistaken for one while housesitting a male gigolo's house. |
| The Devil's Rejects | 2005 | 109 mins | Action; Crime; Horror | Sequel to 'House of 1000 Corpses' is set some months later with the Texas State Police making a full-scale... |
| Diary of a Mad Black Woman | 2005 | 116 mins | Drama; Comedy | A couple with a good marriage that seemed solid, actually begins to crumble when she discovers her husband's intentions for divorce. |
| Dickie Roberts | 2003 | 99 mins | Comedy | In keeping with his background in television sitcoms, Sam Weisman directs the cameo-filled comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. Dickie Roberts (David Spade) was a child actor on the hit TV show "The Glimmer Gang" and remains remembered for a particular catch phrase. Now in his thirties, he finds work as a parking valet and spends time with other nominal child stars (enter cameos by Danny Bonaduce, Corey Feldman, and the like). Wanting to make a comeback, he manages to get an audition with director Rob Reiner. When the role requires him to be normal, he decides to hire a normal family in order to relive the childhood he missed out on. He ends up with sleazy salesman George Finney (Craig Bierko) and his loving wife, Grace (Mary McCormack). Dickie shares a room with their two kids: sunny daughter Sally (Jenna Boyd) and impressionable son Sam (Scott Terra). Former child star Alyssa Milano appears as Dickie's girlfriend, Cyndi. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Die Hard | 1988 | 131 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | New York cop John McClane gives terrorists a dose of their own medicine as they hold hostages in an LA office building. |
| Die Hard 2 | 1990 | 124 mins | Action; Thriller | "Another basement, another elevator...how can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" asks John McClane (Bruce Willis), in what is doubtless the key question of this film. A year after foiling the terrorist takeover of a high-rise office building in the first movie, McClane is waiting to pick up his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington D.C. on Christmas Eve. Scheduled to arrive the same evening is Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), a South American political figure who is being brought to the United States to stand trial for his role in a drug smuggling ring. However, a group of terrorists, led by renegade American military officer Col. Stuart (William Sadler), take control of the airport, scuttling radio transmissions and placing their own men in the control tower. Stuart and his men ensure that Esperanza's plane lands safely, and then demand that Stuart and his men be given a fully-fueled 747 and free passage wherever they choose to go. Otherwise, they will guide the many circling jets waiting for landing instructions into definite crash landings, killing the many passengers on board. Not willing to stand aside as terrorists once again threaten his wife's life, the wise-cracking McClane once again leaps into action to foil Stuart's plans and bring the passenger jets safely to the ground. William Atherton, John Amos, Dennis Franz, and John Leguizamo highlight the supporting cast. — Mark Deming |
| Die Hard With a Vengeance | 1995 | 128 mins | Action; Thriller; Adventure; Crime | Bruce Willis returns as misfit cop John McClane in the third film in the Die Hard series. McClane has fallen on hard times; after moving to New York City and breaking up with his wife, he's developed a drinking problem and has been suspended from the N.Y.P.D. However, his past comes back to haunt him in the form of Simon (Jeremy Irons), a terrorist bomber who has been using McClane as his contact as he plants a series of bombs in public places and gives McClane inane "clues" to their whereabouts in the form of riddles and bizarre games. McClane soon discovers he's been involved in Simon's scheme as part of a personal grudge; while associated with an international terrorist group, Simon is also the brother of the man McClane threw off the side of a skyscraper several years back (in the original Die Hard). Now McClane, with the help of a Harlem shopkeeper named Zeus (Samuel L. Jackson) has to find out where Simon has planted the bombs, guess where he'll strike next, and try to find his base of operations before more bombs go off and thousands of people die. The supporting cast features Graham Greene and Colleen Camp; singer Sam Phillips made her acting debut as a member of Simon's terrorist group (Phillips never speaks, so as to not to reveal her Texas accent). — Mark Deming |
| Die Harder | 1995 | 124 mins | Action; Thriller | John McClane is forced to battle mercenaries who sieze control of an airport's communications and threaten to cause plane crashes if their demands are not met. |
| District B-13 | 2004 | 85 mins | Action; Comedy | Paris, 2010. An isolation wall surrounds the ghetto cities of District B13. Within these walls, without effective law enforcement, gang rule is absolute. Damien is a member of an elite police squadron, highly trained in martial arts. He goes undercover to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb and save District B13 from annihilation. Damien recruits the help of a criminal named Leïto - whose only goal is to save his sister from the clutches of the same gang. |
| Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story | 2004 | 92 mins | Comedy | A group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain. |
| Doing Hard Time | 2004 | 95 mins | Drama; Action | A father's eight year old son is murdered in a gangland shooting. The father (Boris Kodjoe) gets himself thrown into prison to avenge his son's death. |
| Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist | 2005 | 117 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller | Years before Father Lancaster Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil's soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. Merrin's initial battle with Pazuzu leads to the rediscovery of his faith. |
| Domino | 2005 | 127 mins | Action; Biography; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A recounting of Domino Harvey's life story. The daughter of actor Laurence Harvey turned away from her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter. |
| Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in The Hood | 1996 | Comedy | Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in The Hood wants desperately to be an Airplane-like parody of inner-city African American gangsta movies. Instead, it offers us more turkey than we would find at any Thanksgiving spread. Unfunny, stereotypical, stupid, and crass, it was cowritten by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, both of whom should have known better. The two fare better as actors than writers, as they are almost amusing as hardened, dimwitted homeboys. As Ashtray, Shawn returns to his 'hood and hooks up with his best buddy (Marlon) before the two embark on a series of oh-so-wacky adventures. Siblings Keenen Ivory, Kim, and Craig Wayans also make appearances. If you really want a laugh, watch Booty Call. --Rochelle O'Gorman | |
| Don't Try This at Home | 2001 | 32 mins | Comedy; Short | Jackass alumni and former circus clown Stephen Glover continues to redefine gross-out humor with self-injury in the name of comedy for the uncensored torture-fest Don't Try This at Home: The Steve-O Video. Collecting footage deemed too extreme for television, he incorporates the usual brand of disgusting talents for segments like "Windshield Dive," "Human Dartboard," and "Vodka I.V." The frequently nude Steve-O is joined by fellow Jackass boys Johnny Knoxville, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn, and Preston Lacy. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Doom | 2005 | 100 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Based on the hit computer game about Marines sent to investigate what went wrong on a space station, only to face a far greater evil unlike any other. |
| Door in the Floor, The | 2004 | Drama | | |
| Double Jeopardy | 1999 | 105 mins | Thriller; Drama; Mystery; Crime | A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him. |
| Down to Earth | 2001 | 87 mins | Romance; Comedy | Comic Chris Rock co-scripted and stars in this remake of 1941's Here Comes Mr. Jordan, which was also remade with Warren Beatty in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait. Comedian Lance Barton (Rock) is struggling to get his career off the ground when he dies in an untimely bus accident; arriving at the Pearly Gates, he discovers that he's not supposed to have passed on for another 50 years. Barton is not happy with this turn of events, and eventually the Powers That Be send his spirit back to Earth, but for the time being he has to make do with the body of a middle-aged, closed-minded millionaire, Charles Wellington. Lance falls in love with a young community activist (Regina King), but he soon finds he has bigger problems at home: the millionaire's wife and her lover are both trying to kill him. The supporting cast includes Mark Addy as an actor passing himself off as an English manservant, Chazz Palminteri as Mr. King, Heaven's no-nonsense manager, and Eugene Levy as Mr. Keyes, the angel who accidentally ends Barton's life. — Mark Deming |
| Down With Love | 2003 | 94 mins | Comedy; Romance | Director Peyton Reed and screenwriters Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake pay homage to the frothy romantic comedies of the early '60s — in particular the Doris Day/Rock Hudson vehicles — in this light-hearted and affectionate spoof. Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) is a sweet but savvy small-town librarian who has arrived in New York City with big plans to take on the town. Embracing a feminist philosophy years before it becomes common or fashionable, Novak writes a book called "Down With Love," in which she presents her theory that romantic relationships cause more problems than they solve for women, and urges women to focus instead on what will truly make them happy — self-reliance, a solid career, and a healthy sex life (or chocolate if the latter is unavailable at the moment). Almost overnight, "Down With Love" becomes a minor scandal and a major bestseller, but not every man is America is happy with the new breed of liberated (and demanding) women spawned by the book's success, and Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), a lady-killing bachelor who writes for Know Magazine, decides to put Novak to the test. Posing as a shy, retiring type, Block is determined to make Novak fall in love with him, and then share the details with the world through an article in Know. Block's editor Peter MacMannus (David Hyde-Pierce) thinks this is a splendid idea, but to Block's distress, he discovers himself developing real feelings for Novak. Down With Love also features Tony Randall, who significantly appeared in three films with Rock Hudson and Doris Day. — Mark Deming |
| Dr. Dolittle 3 | 2006 | 93 mins | Comedy; Family | Lisa Dolittle sends her daughter to 'Durango', a Dude Ranch, to find herself. While there, she uses her talent to talk to the animals in order to save Durango from being taken over by a neighboring Ranch. (view trailer) |
| Dreamer - Inspired By a True Story | 2005 | 106 mins | Action; Animation | The title is a mouthful, but Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story hits the winner's circle as a warm and inspiring family film. Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is a Kentucky horse trainer who watches in horror as a championship filly breaks its leg during a practice run. Ordinarily that means curtains, but today Ben's daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), is at the track, and Ben impulsively buys the horse and loses his job in one fell swoop. The rehabilitation process is almost too much for a farm that's already struggling to survive in a modern economy, but the horse turns out to be a much-needed salve to the nearly broken family, including Ben's wife (Elisabeth Shue) and father (Kris Kristofferson). The cast is excellent, especially Fanning (who at age 11 has become a major star and was branded by Entertainment Weekly as the most powerful actress in Hollywood), and the film is well-paced by director-writer John Gatins and beautifully shot by cinematographer Fred Murphy. Surely the ultimate fate of the horse and the family won't surprise anyone, but young girls who love horses often don't need a surprise ending. They need a reason to cheer, and Dreamer delivers all the way. (Ages 6 and older: moments of horse peril) --David Horiuchi |
| The Dreamers | 2003 | 116 mins | Drama | Veteran Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci directs the erotic drama The Dreamers, adapted from the novel The Holy Innocents: A Romance by Gilbert Adair. American student Matthew (Michael Pitt) is studying in Paris during the politically turbulent late '60s. The story begins in 1968 with the firing of Henri Langlois, the founder of the French Cinémathèque. At a protest demonstration, Matthew meets cinema-obsessed Isabelle (Eva Green) and her twin brother, Theo (Louis Garrel). When their Bohemian parents (Robin Renucci and Anna Chancellor) leave for the summer, the twins invite Matthew to live with them. While the revolution rages on outside, the three young people stay in the comfortable flat playing decadent sexual games. Bertolucci incorporates clips from classic films like Queen Christina, Band of Outsiders, and Breathless. After showing at several European film festivals, The Dreamers made its U.S. premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Driven | 2001 | 116 mins | Action; Thriller; Drama | A young hot shot driver is in the middle of a championship season and is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion is called in to give him guidance. |
| Drumline | 2002 | 118 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance; Music | A band director recruits a Harlem street drummer to play at a Southern university. |
| Dude, Where's My Car? | 2000 | 83 mins | Comedy; Sci-Fi | Two potheads wake up from a night of partying and can't remember where they parked their car. |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | 2005 | 106 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy | Cousins Bo (Scott) and Luke (Knoxville) Duke, with a little help from their cousin Daisy (Simpson) and Uncle Jesse (Willie Nelson), egg on the authorities of Hazzard County, Boss Hogg and Sheriff Coltrane. |
| Duma | 2005 | 100 mins | Drama; Adventure | |
| Dumb and Dumber | 1994 | 106 mins | Animation; Comedy | Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play the title roles (though viewers may find themselves debating which is which) in this genially low-brow comedy. Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are two intellectually-challenged best friends who share an apartment so messy that gangsters aren't sure how to trash the place; the guys also have a certain problem (not difficult to understand) holding on to jobs. Lloyd is working as a limo driver in Rhode Island when he picks up a beautiful and wealthy woman named Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) who is being taken to the airport. Lloyd immediately falls head over heels in love with Mary, and when she leaves a briefcase at the airport, he's determined to return it in hopes of impressing her. Lloyd isn't able to get aboard Mary's flight (though not for lack of trying). Harry has a van decorated to look like a dog (to promote his failing dog-grooming business), and the pair hop in the Poochmobile to find Mary in Aspen. What Lloyd and Harry don't know is that the briefcase is full of money, which Mary deliberately left at the airport as a ransom payment to save the life of her kidnapped husband. Incidentally, Lloyd's chipped front tooth happens to be real; while Jim Carrey had the injured tooth capped many years ago, he thought a broken smile would suit Lloyd's character and had the cap removed for the duration of filming. — Mark Deming |
| Dumb and Dumberer | 2003 | 85 mins | Comedy | Director Troy Miller follows up the little-seen Mr. Show movie Run Ronnie Run! with this prequel to Dumb and Dumber, the 1994 box-office smash that starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and launched the careers of writer/directors Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. For the follow-up, we're taken back to 1986 when Lloyd Christmas (Eric Christian Olsen) and Harry Dunn (Derek Richardson) first met while in high school. Dissatisfied with their being stuck in remedial classes, the dense duo sets out to prove that they can attend classes with their peers of normal intelligence. Along the way, they encounter a greedy principal played by Eugene Levy and a friendly janitor played by Luis Guzman who takes Lloyd under his wing. Along with Mimi Rogers as Harry's mom, Dumb and Dumberer also features performances by Rachel Nichols and Cheri Oteri. — Matthew Tobey |
| Duplex | 2003 | 89 mins | Comedy | Just how far would you go to have the home of your dreams all to yourself? A couple start asking themselves that very question in this dark comedy directed by Danny DeVito. Alex (Ben Stiller) and Nancy (Drew Barrymore) are a young couple who are happy and successful, but lack one thing that they truly want — the perfect home in Manhattan. Alex and Nancy think they may have found just the place they've been looking for when they discover the bottom half of a beautiful old duplex has opened up. While the couple are delighted with their new flat, they discover it has one major disadvantage they hadn't counted on — their upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essel), an elderly woman who soon makes their lives a living hell. Persuading Mrs. Connelly to move is fruitless, since she has a long term rent-controlled lease, and as things become more and more difficult, Alex and Nancy begin to wonder if she won't go away on her own, perhaps a more drastic (and permanent) solution may be in order. Duplex also stars Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux, James Remar, and Swoosie Kurtz. — Mark Deming |
| Eddie Griffin: Voodoo Child | 1997 | 57 mins | Comedy | |
| Eddie Griggin: DysFunKtional Family | 2003 | 84 mins | Comedy | The Outrageous Comedy You Have To See To Believe! The always outrageous comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother, Double Take) brings the funk to his thoroughly hilarious family reunion in this revealing and wildly entertaining comedy gem! The cameras are rolling and the laughs don't stop as we follow Griffin on his journey home to the Kansas City neighborhood he grew up in! There we meet his anything-but-average family-including two totally off-the-wall uncles-and get to join in one very lively and interesting family gathering! If you've ever wondered how your favorite comedians got so funny, don't miss this fascinating look at Eddie Griffin and the one-of-a-kind characters who shaped his life and inspired his comedy! |
| Eddie Murphy Raw | 1987 | 93 mins | Comedy | Eddie Murphy in a stand-up performance recorded live. For an hour and a half he talks about his favourite subjects: sex and women. |
| Edison Force | 2005 | 97 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Upon discovering a den of corrupt policemen, a fresh-faced journalist makes a shaky allies in a jaded reporter and investigator for a powerful district attorney. (view trailer) |
| Edward Scissorhands | 1990 | 105 mins | Comedy; Drama; Fantasy; Romance | An artificial man with scissors for hands lives completely alone until a local woman befriends him and brings him home. |
| Eight Below | 2006 | 120 mins | Adventure; Drama; Family | Brutal cold forces two Antarctic explorers to leave their team of sled dogs behind as they fend for their survival. (view trailer) |
| Elektra | 2005 | 96 mins | Action; Adventure; Crime; Fantasy; Thriller | Daredevil's main squeeze gets resurrected in her own flick with this spin-off martial arts actioner from director Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, The X-Files: Fight the Future). Jennifer Garner returns to the role of Elektra Natchios, a hired assassin whose origins are finally revealed after her old ninja clan the Hand brings her back from the dead to serve their evil purposes. Reunited with her old sensei, Stick (Terence Stamp), Elektra leaves the past behind her and is eventually given an assignment to kill Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Kristin Prout). When her conscience gets the best of her and she decides to protect them instead, it's up to the Hand's top assassins to track her down and finish the job. Fans of Marvel Comics might recognize Natassia Malthe as Typhoid Mary, another nemesis of Daredevil that joins in the hunt, along with other masters of the dark mystic arts, Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Stone (Bob Sapp), and the Hand's fearsome leader, Kirigi (Will Yun Lee). — Jeremy Wheeler |
| Elephant | 2003 | 81 mins | Drama; Thriller | Director Gus Van Sant returned to the low-key style of his early independent efforts with this semi-improvised exploration of how violence makes its way into a typical American high school. Eric (Eric Deulen) and Alex (Alex Frost) are two close friends who are students in a well-to-do suburb of Portland, OR. Eric and Alex are at once ordinary and misfits; while they seem to be confined to the edges of the clique-oriented social strata of high school, little about their behavior draws attention to itself. Or at least not during a typical school day; on their own time, the two boys are fascinated by Nazi iconography, enjoy violent video games, tentatively explore homoerotic desires, and coolly begin to make plans for an armed ambush of the school, drawing up working diagrams of the lunch room during study hall and buying rifles over the Internet. Drawing an expected degree of controversy, Elephant had its world premiere when it was screened in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, where it won both Best Director for Van Sant and the Golden Palm award. — Mark Deming |
| Elf | 2003 | 97 mins | Comedy; Family; Fantasy | For his sophomore stab at directing, actor/writer/director Jon Favreau (Swingers, Made), took on this holiday comedy starring Saturday Night Live-alum Will Ferrell. Ferrell stars as Buddy, a regular-sized man who was raised as an elf by Santa Claus (Edward Asner). When the news is finally broken to Buddy that he's not a real elf, he decides to head back to his place of birth, New York City, in search of his biological family. Elf also stars James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Zooey Deschanel, and Bob Newhart. — Matthew Tobey |
| Elizabethtown | 2005 | 123 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | During an outrageous memorial for a Southern patriarch, an unexpected romance blooms between a young woman and man. |
| Ella Enchanted | 2004 | 101 mins | Comedy; Fantasy; Romance; Adventure | Ella is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new step-family in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she's falling. |
| The Emperor's Club | 2002 | 109 mins | Drama | A dedicated teacher learns some important lessons about himself years after he retired from the classroom in this drama. William Hundert (Kevin Kline) is an instructor at St. Benedict's School for Boys, an exclusive private academy on the East Coast where Hundert drills his charges on the moral lessons to be learned through the study of Greek and Roman philosophers. Hundert is fond of telling his students, "A man's character is his fate," and he strives to impress upon them the importance of the ordered and examined life. In 1976, however, Hundert finds himself with an especially challenging group of students — party-minded Louis Masoudi (Jesse Eisenberg) , introverted Martin Blythe (Paul Dano), bright but mischievous Deepak Math (Rishi Mehta), and most notably, openly rebellious Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch). The son of a powerful politician, Bell pointedly runs against the current of Hundert's example, questioning the importance of the material, flouting the school's rules, talking out of turn in class, and devoting as much time to his interest in girls as in his studies. However, Hundert sees the possibility of great things in Bell, and encourages him to take part in the school's annual academic competition for the title of Mr. Julius Caesar. Hundert even goes so far as to bend the rules in scoring to favor Bell in the early stages of the contest, but his faith is betrayed when Bell is discovered cheating during the contest finals. Years later, Hundert is reunited with his students, where they learn the years have taught them all a great deal about their virtues and weaknesses. The Emperor's Club also features Harris Yulin, Rob Morrow, and Edward Herrmann. — Mark Deming |
| The Emperor's New Groove | 2000 | 78 mins | Comedy; Family; Animation; Adventure | Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder. |
| End of the Spear | 2006 | 108 mins | Drama | "End of the Spear" is the story of Mincayani, a Waodani tribesman from the jungles of Ecuador. When five young missionaries... |
| Enemy of the State | 1998 | 131 mins | Drama; Action; Thriller | A lawyer becomes a target by a corrupt politician and his NSA goons when he accidently receives key evidence to a serious politically motivated crime. |
| Entrapment | 1999 | 113 mins | Comedy; Crime; Thriller; Romance | Catherine Zeta-Jones works for an insurance agency that sends her to track down and help capture an art thief, played by Sean Connery. |
| Envy | 2004 | 99 mins | Comedy | A man becomes increasingly jealous of his friend's newfound success. |
| Equilibrium | 2002 | 107 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A man who dares to feel finds his life in danger in this cautionary science fiction drama. In the future, after a Third World War has decimated much of the Earth's population, a new nation known as Libria rises up under the unquestioned leadership of The Father (Angus MacFadyen). Believing human emotions and their expression were to blame for the failings of past societies, The Father has decreed that all citizens must take a daily dose of Prozia II, a drug which levels out the emotional landscape, and that all forms of creative expression are against the law; violating either regulation can be punished by death. Clerick John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer who tracks down and punishes "sense offenders." One day, Preston accidentally fails to take his Prozia II, and for the first time begins experiencing emotions himself. Preston becomes aware of an underground of rebels who refuse to take their medication and have embraced art and literature, and he finds himself becoming infatuated with one of their number, Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson). Equilibrium is the second feature-length directorial effort from Kurt Wimmer, whose screenwriting credits include The Thomas Crown Affair and Sphere. — Mark Deming |
| Eraser | 1996 | 115 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | A Witness Protection specialist becomes suspicious of his co-workers when dealing with a case involving high-tech weapons. |
| Erin Brockovich | 2000 | 132 mins | Drama | She brought a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees. A real woman. A real story. A real triumph. Julia Roberts stars as Erin Brockovich, a feisty young mother who fought for justice any way she knew how. Desperate for a job to support herself and her three children, she convinces attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney) to hire her, and promptly stumbles upon a monumental law case against a giant corporation. Now, Erin's determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before. And while Ed doesn't want anything to do with the case, Erin won't take "no" for an answer. So the two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees. |
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | 108 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance; Sci-Fi | A couple (Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet) undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with. |
| Eurotrip | 2004 | 89 mins | Comedy | Written and directed by Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer, Eurotrip is a teen comedy from the Montecito Picture Company (makers of similar movies Old School and Road Trip). Mainstream teenager Scott (Scott Mechlowicz) forms an online friendship with German student Mieke in order to get a passing grade in his high school German class. When he finds out Mieke is a buxom blonde girl (Jessica Böhrs), he travels to meet her with his pals Cooper (Jacob Pitts), Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg), and Jamie (Travis Wester). The group of randy teens head to Berlin by way of London, Paris, and Amsterdam. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Everyday People | 2005 | Drama | | |
| Exit Wounds | 2001 | 103 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | Returning to his action feature terrain after a short hiatus, Steven Seagal plays Orin Boyd, a maverick Detroit detective with an unconventional way of taking down foes. After a failed intervention in a terrorist kidnapping case that humiliates his superiors, Boyd — who is hailed as a top-drawer investigator but frowned upon for his tactics — is forced to do time in a tough downtown precinct. After discovering the covert drug operation performed by several corrupt cops at his new assignment, he decides to break the rules yet again. While the cops are planning a massive heroin deal with big-time gangster Latrell Walker (DMX), Boyd finds that Latrell is not who he once was, and Boyd persuades him to assist in bringing an end to the amoral police influence that helped ruin him. Exit Wounds is the second film from cinematographer-turned-director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die) and also features Tom Arnold, Isaiah Washington, and Jill Hennessy. — Jason Clark |
| Exorcism of Emily Rose , The | 2005 | 121 mins | Horror; Suspense | A surprise hit when it was released in September 2005, The Exorcism of Emily Rose tells a riveting horror story while tackling substantial issues of religious and spiritual belief. It's based on the true story of Anneliese Michel, a German student who believed she was possessed by demons, and whose death during an attempted exorcism in 1976 led to the conviction of two priests on charges of negligent manslaughter. As director and cowriter (with Paul Harris Boardman), filmmaker Scott Derrickson adapts this factual case into a riveting courtroom drama in which questions of faith, and the possibility of demonic possession, take the place of provable facts in the case of Father Moore (superbly played by Tom Wilkinson). A small-town Catholic priest, Moore has been put on trial for the post-exorcism death of Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter), a college student who, like her real-life inspiration, believed she was suffering from demonic possession. As an agnostic defense attorney (Laura Linney) argues the father's case against a Methodist prosecutor (Campbell Scott), flashbacks reveal the exorcism ritual and Emily's ultimately fatal ordeal, and Carpenter's performance is so frighteningly effective that it's almost painful to watch. From here, the film remains deliberately ambiguous, leaving viewers to ponder their own belief (or lack of it) in the supernatural. It lacks the extreme shock value of The Exorcist, but by leaving room for doubt and belief in a legal context, The Exorcism of Emily Rose gains depth and resonance in a way that guarantees similar long-term appeal. --Jeff Shannon |
| The Exorcist | 1973 | 122 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller | Landmark of horror films, based on an enormously popular novel: A troubled cleric sees a means of redemption in helping a psychologically damaged teen. |
| Exorcist The Beginning | 2004 | 114 mins | Horror; Thriller | Planned for years, but plagued by problems such as the death of director John Frankenheimer before production had even begun and the exiting of star Liam Neeson, the fourth installment of the Exorcist saga finally got off the ground with Paul Schrader (Affliction, Auto Focus) behind the camera and Stellan Skarsgård filling the shoes left empty by Neeson. But the pitfalls didn't stop there, as Morgan Creek decided against their initial approach assigned to Schrader after seeing his finished cut, and hired Renny Harlin to reshoot the film with extra gore and head-spinning nastiness. The first prequel in the series, Exorcist: The Beginning is based upon events occurring before the first film. Playing the character made famous by Max von Sydow in the earlier films, this entry finds Skarsgård as a young Father Merrin facing true evil for the first time in Africa in the wake of World War II. When a young local boy begins to behave strangely, it becomes more and more apparent to Merrin that the child is a victim of demonic possession. Boasting a first-time screenplay by best-selling novelist Caleb Carr (The Alienist), Exorcist: The Beginning features a supporting cast headed by Izabella Scorupco (GoldenEye) and James D'Arcy (Master And Commander). — Matthew Tobey |
| Face/Off | 1997 | 138 mins | Action; Thriller; Drama | The third of John Woo's American-made feature films, Face/Off stars John Travolta as Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a criminal genius who years before killed Archer's son while trying to assassinate the agent. Archer's single-minded pursuit of Troy has caused serious harm to his marriage, but Archer thinks the light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when a seriously wounded Troy is captured in a bloody shootout. However, it turns out that Troy has planted a time bomb, with a biological payload that could destroy the entire city of Los Angeles — and Troy isn't about to say where it is. The only other person who knows the bomb's location is Troy's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), who is no more helpful than Castor. FBI scientists hatch a plan: they have developed an experimental surgery which would allow them to graft Troy's face temporarily on Archer's head and allow him to question Pollux as if he were his brother. But after Archer has taken Troy's face, Troy regains consciousness and forces the doctors to give him Archer's face. Now the criminal mastermind has the FBI at his disposal, and the lawman is underground with few places to turn. Along with Woo's usual elaborately choreographed action scenes, Face/Off features a number of notable supporting performances, including Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Colm Feore and C.C.H. Pounder as FBI scientists, and Gina Gershon as Troy's loyal but long-suffering girlfriend. — Mark Deming |
| Fade to Black | 2004 | 109 mins | Documentary | Filmed during his "Black Album" era, Jay-Z looks back on his career as one of rap music's most successful emcees and entrepreneurs. |
| Fahrenheit 9/11 | 2004 | 122 mins | Documentary; War | Michael Moore's take on what happened to the United States after September 11; and how the Bush Administration used the tragic event to push its agenda. |
| Fahrenhype 9/11 | 2004 | 75 mins | Documentary | "Somebody has to tell the country the truth about terrorism..." -Dick Morris One controversial film deserves another. Heading a search party for the truth is Dick Morris, the man Time has called "the most influential private citizen in America." His insider insight into the real motivation for making Fahrenheit 9/11 is election year dynamite. |
| Failure to Launch | 2006 | 97 mins | Comedy; Romance | A thirtysomething slacker suspects his parents of setting him up with his dream girl so he'll finally vacate their home. (view trailer) |
| Family Guy - The Freakin' Sweet Collection | 1999 | Animation; Comedy | The unprecedented resurrection of Family Guy disproves Neil Young's maxim that "Once you're gone, you can never come back." Unceremoniously canceled in 2002, the irreverent animated series proved to be a phenomenal seller on DVD, prompting not only a rerun revival on basic cable, but also a new season. For those who have only recently made the acquaintance of the dysfunctional Griffins, this five-episode sampler is representative of the series' "nothing is sacred" comic universe. Creator Seth MacFarlane chose well: "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," which was banned during the series' original run; "Lethal Weapons"; "To Live and Die in Dixie"; "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar"; and "Road to Rhode Island." In addition to the restoration of a previously censored gag involving Osama Bin Laden in "Rhode Island," what does this collection bring to the party for the Family Guy fan who has everything? Four new episode commentaries, the best of which features MacFarlane in character as chain-smoking, martini swilling, talking dog Brian, and megalomaniacal infant Stewie for "Rhode Island." There is also an interview with MacFarlane about why he chose these episodes, and a fitfully amusing sneak peak at MacFarlane's new series, American Dad. But as this collection reminds us, Family Guy is a tough act to follow. --Donald Liebenson | |
| The Family Man | 2000 | 121 mins | Comedy; Romance | Nick, a high-powered, high-living Wall Street bachelor finally gets to experience on of life’s big questions…What If? What if he had married his college sweetheart? What if he had become a father? What if he had never moved out of the suburbs? What if he had chosen love instead of power? It’s Christmas Eve and as usual, Nick is working late. Alone in his clinical Manhattan penthouse, he falls asleep….and wakes up the next morning in a chaotic, suburban New Jersey house with a wife and two children. It’s the life he had always feared and dreaded, but in his attempts to fathom the mystery and escape from this seismic shift, Nick makes the biggest discovery of all – maybe he chose the wrong path in life. But it might just be too late to alter the destiny that awaits him. Featuring a stellar cast including Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), Tea Leoni (Deep Impact), and Don Cheadle (Traffic), The Family Man is “A warm, funny romantic comedy which leaves the audience glowing with appreciation.” -Movie Parables |
| Family Stone, The | 2005 | 102 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | Far too uptight, a woman accompanies her boyfriend to his family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their way of life. |
| Fantastic Four | 2005 | 106 mins | Action; Adventure; Fantasy; Sci-Fi | A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom |
| Fast and Furious | 2001 | 107 mins | Action | A magazine article about real-life car racing gangs for Vibe becomes this fast-paced automotive thriller from director Rob Cohen. Paul Walker stars as Brian Spindler, a youthful FBI agent investigating a series of hijackings by going undercover with a street gang led by charismatic Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Caught up in Toretto's world of gang conflict that is resolved in late-night car races, Spindler starts to sympathize with his chief suspect and falls in love with Toretto's younger sister Mia (Jordana Brewster). In the meantime, Spindler initially suspects the wrong gang of complicity in the crimes he's probing, while Toretto remains involved in a forbidden romance, à la Romeo and Juliet, with his girlfriend Letty (Michelle Rodriguez). The Fast and the Furious co-stars Ted Levine, Rick Yune, and Matt Schulze. — Karl Williams |
| The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift | 2006 | 104 mins | Thriller; Crime; Action | In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Shaun gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing. |
| Fast Times at Ridgemont High | 1982 | 90 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | A story of a group of California teenagers who enjoy malls, sex and rock n' roll. |
| Fat Albert | 2004 | 93 mins | Comedy; Family; Fantasy | Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids come to life and step out of their animated, inner-city Philadelphia world. |
| fear dot com | 2002 | 101 mins | Horror; Thriller; Crime | Terror is lurking online in this thriller directed by William Malone, who also helmed the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill. Mike Reilly (Stephen Dorff) is a NYPD detective who has been assigned to look into a string of murders which have taken place in Manhattan, with Terry Houston (Natascha McElhone), a researcher from the city Department of Health, lending her assistance whether Reilly likes it or not. Reilly discovers that all four victims have one thing in common — they were all men who logged on to the same Internet website exactly 48 hours before they were killed. It seems the website features a sexy woman offering kinky fun to those who enter her domain, but clicking the wrong icon takes users on a journey into fear. Reilly decides the only way to find out the truth is to head into the website and find out what follows for the next two days — if he can make it out alive. Fear dot com also stars Stephen Rea, Jeffrey Combs, and Udo Kier. — Mark Deming |
| Fear X | 2003 | 91 mins | Thriller | |
| Fever Pitch | 2005 | 103 mins | Comedy; Romance; Sport | Lindsay (Barrymore) is stuck in the middle of her relationship with Ben (Fallon) and his passion for the Boston Red Sox. |
| The Fifth Element | 1997 | 126 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay. |
| Fight Club | 1999 | 139 mins | Action | In this darkly comic drama, Edward Norton stars as a depressed young man (named in the credits only as "Narrator") who has become a small cog in the world of big business. He doesn't like his work and gets no sense of reward from it, attempting instead to drown his sorrows by putting together the "perfect" apartment. He can't sleep and feels alienated from the world at large; he's become so desperate to relate to others that he's taken to visiting support groups for patients with terminal diseases so that he'll have people to talk to. One day on a business flight, he discovers Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a charming iconoclast who sells soap. Tyler doesn't put much stock in the materialistic world, and he believes that one can learn a great deal through pain, misfortune, and chaos. Tyler cheerfully challenges his new friend to a fight. Our Narrator finds that bare-knuckle brawling makes him feel more alive than he has in years, and soon the two become friends and roommates, meeting informally to fight once a week. As more men join in, the "fight club" becomes an underground sensation, even though it's a closely guarded secret among the participants. (First rule: Don't talk about fight club. Second rule: Don't talk about fight club.) But as our Narrator and Tyler bond through violence, a strange situation becomes more complicated when Tyler becomes involved with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), whom our Narrator became infatuated with when they were both crashing the support-group circuit. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club was directed by David Fincher, who previously directed Pitt in the thriller Seven. — Mark Deming |
| The Fighting Temptations | 2003 | 122 mins | Comedy; Music | Director Jonathan Lynn followed up the surprise hit The Whole Nine Yards with this musical comedy starring Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding plays Darren, a shallow New York advertising executive, who travels to a small town in the deep south upon receiving word that his aunt has passed away and left him a sizable inheritance. But once Darren gets into town, he is informed that he will only receive the money if he successfully leads a local gospel group to victory at an upcoming competition. Reluctant but strapped for cash, Darren takes on the task of finding the best singers in town and shaping the group up. Along the way, he becomes acclimated to the town with the help of his cousin Lucius (Mike Epps) and meets Lilly (Beyoncé Knowles), a single mother who not only possesses an incredible voice but also the ability to warm Darren's cold heart. Along with Knowles, the supporting cast features a number of other real musicians, including Faith Evans, Melba Moore, Angie Stone, Montell Jordan, and The O'Jays. — Matthew Tobey |
| Final Destination | 2000 | 95 mins | Horror; Thriller; Drama; Mystery | In this teenage horror film, a young man avoids the hand of death, only to find that he can't get away from it so easily. On the way to France with his high-school French club, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a vivid premonition of the plane crashing and killing all its passengers. After Alex and some other passengers demand to be let off the flight, his premonition turns out to be true, and the jet explodes during takeoff. While the FBI is convinced that Alex was involved in some kind of foul play, the passengers who got off the flight are all dying in horrible ways, as if whoever determined that the passengers would perish is punishing those who cheated death. Final Destination marked the feature directorial debut of James Wong, a producer and director for the TV series The X Files. — Mark Deming |
| Final Destination 2 | 2003 | 90 mins | Horror; Thriller | Death lurks, and two teenage girls try to figure out where he's heading, in this sequel to the unexpected teen horror hit Final Destination. As Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), the only surviving passenger of the ill-fated Flight 180, waits in a mental institution, certain Death will claim her, Kim (A.J. Cook), who has begun to display precognitive powers, is driving along the highway when she sees a terrible accident in which several cars crash into a logging truck. Moments later, the horrible vision is gone, but Kim is certain she saw an accident that was supposed to happen but didn't...and now Death will track down the souls he meant to take that day who slipped through his fingers. A police officer, Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), believes there's a germ of truth in Kim's story, and teams her up with Clear in hopes that together they can help prevent Death from snuffing out any more of the people involves in the accident that wasn't. Tony Todd also returns from the first film as Mr. Bludworth. — Mark Deming |
| Final Destination 3 | 2006 | 93 mins | Drama; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | In this third installment of the Final Destination series, a student's premonition of a deadly rollercoaster ride saves her life and a lucky few, but not from death itself which seeks out those who escaped their fate. |
| Final Fantasy | 2001 | 106 mins | Animation; Fantasy; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Action | The first feature-length motion picture to use computer-generated imagery to create not only effects, props, and environments but also the human cast members themselves, this lavish science-fiction adventure follows closely on the heels of another video game-based film, Tomb Raider (2001). Ming-Na provides the voice of Dr. Aki Ross, a female scientist in the year 2065, a time when Earth has been overrun by extraterrestrial phantoms borne of a crashed meteor. Humans have been pushed back to cities protected by barriers that keep the marauding space monsters away, but time is running out. Fatally infected by one of the ghostly beasts, Ross seeks information about their purpose and physiology, assisted by her mentor Dr. Sid (voice of Donald Sutherland) and the Deep Eyes military squad of courageous Captain Gray Edwards (voice of Alec Baldwin). Tension develops between Aki's quest to stop the alien onslaught through study and the more extreme solution favored by the vengeful, saber-rattling General Hein (voice of James Woods), who would destroy both the aliens and the Earth itself. Aki ultimately comes to realize that the key to unlocking the mystery of the invaders lies within her own dreams. — Karl Williams |
| Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children | 2004 | 101 mins | Animation | 2 Discs - All New Feature Film Based On The Hit Playstation® Game This CG-animated action-packed feature film continues the storyline based on the PlayStation™ hit Final Fantasy VII. Two years have passed and the ruins of Midgar stand as a testament to the sacrifices made in order to bring peace. However, the world will soon face a new menace. A mysterious illness is spreading fast. Old enemies are astir. And Cloud, who walked away from the life of a hero to live in solitude, must step forward yet again... |
| Finding Nemo | 2003 | 100 mins | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family | Andrew Stanton, who helped write Toy Story and Monsters, Inc., co-wrote and directed this computer-animated comedy-adventure about finding a very small fish in a very large ocean. Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) is a more-than-slightly paranoid Clown Fish who is extremely devoted to his young son, Nemo (voice of Alexander Gould), the only survivor after a hungry shark swallowed up Nemo's mother and her other offspring. It's not Marlin's nature to explore unfamiliar waters, but when he and Nemo are accidentally separated near the Great Barrier Reef en route to Nemo's first day of fish school, Marlin gathers his courage and sets out to find his son. What Marlin doesn't know, however, is that while Nemo was looking at a boat passing on the surface, he was caught in a net and given a new home in a dentist's aquarium. As Marlin searches for his son, he makes friends with a friendly but absent-minded Regal Blue Tang named Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), a Great White Shark named Bruce (voice of Barry Humphries) who is trying to cut fish out of his diet, a beach-rat Sea Tortoise named Crush (voice of Andrew Stanton), and Nigel (voice of Geoffrey Rush), a Pelican who can take Marlin's search from the ocean to dry land. Finding Nemo's impressive voice cast also includes Willem Dafoe, Allison Janney, Eric Bana, Stephen Root, and Brad Garrett. — Mark Deming |
| Finding Neverland | 2004 | 106 mins | Drama | The story of J.M. Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to create Peter Pan. |
| Firewall | 2006 | 105 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | A security specialist is forced into robbing the bank that he's protecting, as a bid to pay off his family's ransom. |
| Fist of Legend | 1994 | 103 mins | Action | Jet Li stars in this historical Hong Kong action film, as Chen Zhen, a Chinese student in Japan in the 1920s. When his master is killed during the Japanese occupation of China, he returns to avenge his teacher's death. Back in China, he finds himself caught in the escalating racial tensions between the Chinese and the Japanese. The martial arts sequences in this 1994 film are handled more seriously than flashy acrobatics of other kung fu epics of the time and are perhaps a better showcase for Li's awe-inspiring fighting abilities. This story is inspired heavily by Bruce Lee's classic Fists of Fury. — Jonathan E. Laxamana |
| Five Children and It | 2004 | 89 mins | Adventure; Family; Fantasy | 'It' is a Psammead (voiced by Eddie Izzard), an ancient, ugly and irritable sand fairy the children find one day in a gravel pit... |
| Flight of the Phoenix | 2004 | 112 mins | Action | Based on a novel by Elleston Trevor, director John Moore's The Flight of the Phoenix is a remake of a 1965 film of the same name starring film icon James Stewart. The story revolves around the plight of Captain Frank Towns (Dennis Quaid), a pilot whose C-119 cargo plane full of oil workers could not withstand the violent winds of a desert sandstorm. Stranded in the harsh terrain of Mongolia's Gobi Desert (a departure from the original, in which the plane crashed in the Sahara), Frank and his navigator face an equal challenge in maintaining order among the survivors. The group of oilmen had planned on an uneventful trip to shut off a group of rigs falling below their productivity expectations — not fending for their very lives. Before long, some men are revealed as cowards, while others exhibit a surprising show of strength, all the while hoping that the wreckage of the original plane can be salvaged before a Lord of the Flies situation occurs. Miranda Otto is featured in a supporting role, as well as Giovanni Ribisi and Tyrese Gibson. — Tracie Cooper |
| Flightplan | 2005 | 98 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | A claustrophobic, Hitchcockian thriller. A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet the child vanishes and nobody admits she was ever on that plane. |
| The Fog | 2005 | 100 mins | Action; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | A quiet seaside town is engulfed by a thick fog precisely one century after a boat sunk just off the coast under mysterious circumstances. |
| Foolproof | 2003 | 90 mins | Action; Thriller | A harmless game among friends escalates into a dangerous game of wits against a master criminal in writer/director William Phillips' taut sophomore thriller. For seven years, Kevin (Ryan Reynolds), Samantha (Kristin Booth), and Rob (Joris Jarsky) have mastered the homespun game Foolproof, in which they plan — but never actually execute — a series of elaborate, high-tech heists. When ruthless British gangster Leo arrives in town to case an upcoming diamond heist, his suspicions of the three harmless role-players soon lead him to believe he has some competition. Stealing their plans for the heist and pulling off the crime without a hitch, Leo subsequently threatens to implicate the trio with the crime lest they pull off an exceptionally tricky heist for him. As the three friends fall prey to the seasoned criminal and police soon begin to catch their scent, Kevin, Samantha, and Rob must use all of their resources to make it out of the daring heist alive. — Jason Buchanan |
| The Football Factory | 2004 | 93 mins | Drama | The Football Factory is more than just a study of the English obsession with football violence, its about men looking for armies to join... |
| The Forgotten | 2004 | 91 mins | Thriller; Sci-Fi; Drama; Mystery | Told that their children never existed, a man and woman soon discover that there's a much bigger enemy at work. |
| Forgotten, The | 2004 | 91 mins | Drama | A grieving woman must make a journey into her past in this psychological thriller. Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) is a mother who is struggling to put her life back together after the unexpected death of her eight-year-old son. Telly begins seeing a therapist (Gary Sinise) who offers a startling diagnosis — that her son never really existed, and all her memories of the child are products of her imagination. When Telly meets a man with a strangely similar story to tell about his lost child (Dominic West), she becomes convinced that her doctor is wrong, and sets out to prove the existence of her child — and that she isn't insane. The Forgotten also feature Alfre Woodard and Anthony Edwards. — Mark Deming |
| Forrest Gump | 1994 | 141 mins | The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor Tom Hanks, this unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the 20th century is a funny and heartwarming epic. Hanks plays the title character, a shy Southern boy in love with his childhood best friend (Robin Wright) who finds that his ability to run fast takes him places. As an All-Star football player he meets John F. Kennedy; as a soldier in Vietnam he's a war hero; and as a world champion Ping-Pong player he's hailed by Richard Nixon. Becoming a successful shrimp-boat captain, he still yearns for the love of his life, who takes a quite different and much sadder path in life. The visual effects incorporating Hanks into existing newsreel footage is both funny and impressive, but the heart of the film lies in its sweet love story and in the triumphant performance of Hanks as an unassuming soul who savors the most from his life and times. --Robert Lane | |
| Four Brothers | 2005 | 109 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Mystery; Thriller | Four brothers look to avenge their mother's death. |
| Freaky Friday | 2003 | 96 mins | Comedy; Drama; Fantasy | A high-strung mom and her punky daughter learn what it's like to walk in each other's shoes — literally — in Disney's second update of their 1977 teen fantasy comedy. The new-millennium Freaky Friday has disgruntled teen Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) living, sans father, with her uptight therapist-author mom Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) and bratty brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini). The angst between the two reaches a fever pitch on the eve of Tess' wedding rehearsal: Anna wants to ditch the proceedings for an all-important band audition, but Tess sees the conflict as a show of resentment toward imminent step-dad Ryan (Mark Harmon). When the whole clan goes out to dinner at their favorite Chinese restaurant, their sage waitress (Lucille Soong) picks up on the tension between the mother and daughter and casts a spell on them via two magic fortune cookies. The next day, Tess and Anna must put up with life in each other's bodies — until, as the fortune says, they can come to a greater understanding of one another. Freaky Friday was previously remade for TV in 1995 with Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffman in the leads. — Michael Hastings |
| Freddy Vs. Jason | 2003 | 97 mins | Horror; Action; Fantasy | Rumored and anticipated for years, the two biggest icons of the slasher genre finally meet in Freddy Vs. Jason, the eighth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street saga and the 11th film in the Friday the 13th series, though with Jason X taking place in the future, it should be noted that the events of this film take place after the ninth film Jason Goes to Hell. And it is hell where Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund) and Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, donning the hockey mask for the first time in a controversial snub against series veteran Kane Hodder) finally become acquainted. Banished there for eternity, Freddy devises a plan to manipulate Jason into continuing his work, hacking up the teenagers of Elm Street. All goes well at first until Jason realizes he's been duped by "the dream master" and is none too pleased. Coaxed by surviving teenagers Will (Jason Ritter), Lori (Monica Keena), and Kia (Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland), Jason and Freddy descend upon Crystal Lake for a mano a mano battle royal. Helmed by Hong Kong director Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky, The Bride With the White Hair), Freddy Vs. Jason features the director of the first Friday film, Sean S. Cunningham serving as producer. — Matthew Tobey |
| Freedomland | 2006 | 113 mins | Crime; Drama; Mystery; Thriller | A black police detective must solve a strange case of a kidnapped boy and deal with a big racial protest. |
| Freeze Frame | 2004 | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | | |
| Fresh | 1994 | 114 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Michael (or Fresh as he's well known) is a 12-year-old drug pusher who lives in a half-way house for children without their parents... |
| Friday | 1995 | 91 mins | Comedy; Drama | Craig and Smokey are two guys in Los Angeles hanging out on their porch on a Friday afternoon, smoking and drinking... |
| Friday After Next | 2002 | 85 mins | Comedy | Craig and Day Day have finally moved out of their parents houses and into their own crib. The cousins work nights at a local mall as security guards... |
| Friday Night Lights | 2004 | 117 mins | Action; Drama | H.G. Bissinger's best-selling true-life account of a few months in the life of a high-school football team comes to the screen in this adaptation written and directed by Peter Berg. Odessa, TX, is an oil town in the western part of the state that's home to the Permian High School Panthers, the football team with the best winning record in the state. Odessa is a town with more than its share of problems; the decline of the oil business in Texas has set the city's economy into a tailspin, and racial tensions still erupt into violence on occasion. But football is the one thing that brings all the people of Odessa together, and on Friday nights every fall, as many as 20,000 people fill Permian's football stadium to watch Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) and his boys try to lead the team to victory. As Gaines works to build a winning team in a town where victory is prized above all else, however, his players struggle through the emotional trials common to any teenager and ponder the fact that there is little future in their hometown...and that a championship season can be as much a burden as a triumph. Friday Night Lights also stars Lucas Black, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, and country singer-turned-actor Tim McGraw. — Mark Deming |
| Friends with Money | 2006 | 88 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | A drama about three married women, their husbands, and their lone single friend. (view trailer) |
| From Dusk Till Dawn | 1996 | 108 mins | Comedy; Horror; Action; Thriller | Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in an establishment populated by vampires, with chaotic results. |
| From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money | 1999 | 88 mins | Horror; Action; Thriller; Comedy | More people are turned into vampires as they go around spreading their evil satanic hate. |
| From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter | 2000 | 94 mins | Horror; Thriller; Western; Action; Comedy | Set 100 years ago in Mexico, this horror/western is the story of the birth of the vampire princess Santanico Pandemonium. |
| Frostbite | 2005 | 83 mins | Comedy | If "American Pie" and "Animal House" cracked you up, FROSTBITE will knock you on your butt. Slacker... |
| Full Metal Jacket | 1987 | 116 mins | Drama; War | Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England. — Hal Erickson |
| Fun with Dick and Jane | 2005 | 90 mins | Comedy; Crime | An update of the 1977 comedy, where a married couple turn to robbery to pay the bills. (view trailer) |
| Garfield - The Movie | 2004 | Comedy; Family | ||
| Garfield Holiday Celebrations | 2005 | Animation; Family | ||
| Garfield Travel Adventures | Animation; Family | |||
| George Carlin - Personal Favorites | 2005 | Comedy | After starring in a dozen or so HBO Special Presentations, comedian George Carlin has amassed a substantial body of work in the cable channel's vaults. Personal Favorites is a greatest-hits package, a selection of some of Carlin's best moments on HBO from 1977 to 1998 and, not coincidentally, some of his most enduring comic routines from any medium. Among the highlights is the satirist's classic "A Place for My Stuff" ("Your house is a pile of stuff with a cover on it"), stupid rules for kids ("The first sign of a dumb rule is 'Because I said so'"), and updating sports rules for fun and profit ("Let the Red Cross pick up the injured"). If some of the bits aren't quite up to par ("Earrings"), others border on folk wisdom (Carlin's brilliant "Baseball vs. Football" monologue) and political rage ("This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free"). All in all, this is a very fine anthology of Carlin's two decades of life on cable. --Tom Keogh | |
| George Carlin: Complaints and Grievances | 2001 | 56 mins | Comedy | In this hourlong made-for-cable comedy special, taped live at the Beacon Theater in New York City, veteran comic George Carlin combines his typically dirty-mouthed observational humor — including material from his book Napalm &sSilly Putty — with jokes and anecdotes of a decidedly splenetic nature. An extended introduction establishes Carlin's New York credentials and addresses the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of September 11, 2001 (which occurred after most of the set's material was written). Carlin then lightens the mood, poking fun at a wide range of subjects, from farts and "lip crud" to traffic accidents and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Once he's warmed up, though, the meat of his performance consists of a list of "People Who Ought To Be Killed." These include readers of self-help books, parents who display bumper stickers about their kids' "minor academic achievements," men who use hands-free cellular telephones on the street, people who wear visors, singers without surnames, folks who state the obvious on their answering machines, hot air balloonists, consumers who buy gum and other small-ticket items with their charge cards, gun enthusiasts and would-be space colonists. Over-the-top profanity and oblique social commentary lace each of these extended complaints and grievances. The final piece of material — an explanation of why the Ten Commandments should have been reduced down to the Two Commandments — brings the set full circle as Carlin vents his political and religious beliefs and makes pointed barbs at religious fanatics who kill in the name of god. George Carlin: Complaints and Grievances was broadcast live on HBO on Nov. 17, 2001. The comic's longstanding relationship with HBO stretches back to 1977; Complaints and Grievances is his 13th special for the premium cable network. — Brian J. Dillard |
| George Lopez - Why You Crying? | 2005 | 79 mins | Comedy | George Lopez, from the hit TV comedy series The George Lopez Show, returns to his roots in this live stand-up concert performance! |
| Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 2005 | 116 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Music | In Get Rich or Die Tryin', rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson presents himself as a rap superhero, encased in muscular flesh like armor, his face impassive as a mask, reaching out to destroy his enemies with his unique talent. The plot, though based on Jackson's life, is standard--a gangster breaks from his youthful life of crime to triumph as a rapper--but there's vitality in the details: Jackson's girlfriend helps him pull free the wires holding his jaw shut when he's recovered from being shot in the face; a startling, brutal fight by naked men in a prison shower. Jackson even has his comic-book moment of transformation when a razor blade is thrown into his cell, encouraging him to kill himself; instead, he uses it to carve his rhymes into the walls. Unfortunately, as an actor Jackson only has two sides, gangster hard or oddly childlike and vulnerable. This second aspect falls away from the movie as Jackson assumes power, leaving only the cold, impassive face of a tough guy. That's the fate of superheroes too--they become the mask they present to the world, which is both their dream and their fate. Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle & Flow) livens things up as a volatile prison friend. Also featuring Bill Duke (Predator) as a raspy ganglord and Joy Bryant (Honey) as Jackson's girlfriend. Capably directed by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In America). --Bret Fetzer |
| Getting Played | 2005 | 79 mins | Comedy; Romance | Three beautiful women decide, on a bet, to select and seduce a total stranger. |
| Ghost Lake | 2004 | Horror | ||
| Gigli | 2003 | 124 mins | Crime; Comedy; Romance | Larry Gigli (Ben Affleck) is a low-level Los Angeles mob enforcer. His volatile boss, Louis (Lenny Venito), hires Gigli to kidnap Brian (newcomer Justin Bartha), the mentally handicapped younger brother of a federal prosecutor who's about to bring Louis' boss to trial in New York. Gigli gets the kid home without a hitch. Then a beautiful woman (Jennifer Lopez) shows up at his door. She says her name is Ricki, and Gigli soon learns that the nervous Louis has hired her to keep an eye on him. "In every relationship," Gigli soon finds himself expounding to his unwanted partner, "there's a bull and a cow." His efforts to maintain control of the situation are further hampered by the brief appearance of the insane Detective Stanley Jacobellis (Christopher Walken) and a forced visit to his overbearing mother's (Lainie Kazan) house. To make matters worse, when Gigli expresses his attraction to Ricki, he learns that she's a lesbian. She, meanwhile, proves herself considerably more capable than the lunkheaded Gigli, winning their war of words and even scaring off a rowdy group of high school kids. As Gigli and Ricky continue to look after the young, innocent Brian, they find themselves increasingly attracted to one another. But their potential budding romance is put on hold when Starkman (Al Pacino) arrives from New York, angry about how his affairs are being handled. Director Martin Brest, in his first film since 1998's Meet Joe Black, returns to the crime comedy genre that made his reputation. Brest also wrote the script for Gigli, his first since 1979's Going in Style. Stars Affleck and Lopez began a well-publicized romantic relationship on the set of the film. — Josh Ralske |
| Girl Next Door | 2003 | 100 mins | Comedy; Romance | A teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love. |
| Girl With a Pearl Earring | 2003 | 99 mins | Drama | The subject of one of Johannes Vermeer's most enduring portraits becomes the focus of this biographical period piece from director Peter Webber. Girl With a Pearl Earring is told from the point of view of Griet (Scarlett Johansson), a teenaged girl who leaves her family's care in the country to become a servant for the Vermeer household in the comparatively bustling, canal-laden burgh of Delft. When she arrives, she finds herself at the low end of the servant totem pole, until she's allowed to clean "the master's" painting quarters. There, she quite literally catches the eye of the taciturn, reclusive Vermeer (Colin Firth), and over a period of time, he begins to craft her portrait. Of course, this does little to further his relationship with his jealous, pregnant wife, Catharina (Essie Davis), or with his most vocal benefactor, van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson), who often dictates what portraits Vermeer should paint. Meanwhile, Griet navigates a sweet, tentative relationship with a peasant boy her age (Cillian Murphy). Girl With a Pearl Earring had its North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. — Michael Hastings |
| Gladiator | 2000 | 155 mins | Drama; Action | When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge. |
| Glory Road | 2006 | 106 mins | Drama; Sport | In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship. |
| Go | 1999 | 103 mins | Director/cinematographer Doug Liman's third feature links together three edgy stories, all beginning in the same Los Angeles supermarket with an interconnected group of characters. Ronna (Sarah Polley) is a down-on-her-luck checkout girl who is sweet talked into taking an extra shift from her friend Simon (Desmond Askew) so he can go to Las Vegas. Ronna is then approached by two good-looking actors, Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr), who want to buy drugs. Ronna, who needs money, plans to act as a go-between between the actors and a dealer friend of Simon's, Todd (Timothy Olyphant), until a cop named Burke (William Fichtner) enters the picture. Meanwhile, Simon is living it up in Vegas; in the course of a very wild night on the town, he manages to bed two women, accidentally steal a car with his good friend Marcus (Taye Diggs), and get thrown out of the best strip club in town, with more than a few people after him, especially when he leaves behind a credit card he borrowed from Todd. Once again back at the supermarket, Adam and Zack turn out to not be quite what they seemed, and their relationship with Burke and his wife Irene (Jane Krakowski) takes an unexpected turn as their evening becomes very, very complicated. Go, Liman's long-awaited follow-up to his indie hit Swingers, received its World Premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. — Mark Deming | |
| Goal! | 2005 | 118 mins | Drama; Sports | Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer... |
| The Godfather | 1972 | 175 mins | Crime; Drama | The epic saga of how a younger son rises to take over the family business, his father's paternalistic, but violent and illegal empire. |
| The Gods Must Be Crazy II | 1989 | 98 mins | Comedy; Drama | Xixo is back again. This time, his children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers' truck... |
| Godsend | 2004 | 102 mins | Drama; Fantasy; Horror; Thriller | A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor but bizarre things start to happen years after his rebirth. |
| Going the Distance | 2004 | Comedy | He may have just graduated but Nick (Christopher Jacot) has it all figured out - marriage, a lucrative... | |
| Gone In 60 Seconds | 2000 | 117 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. — Mark Deming |
| Good Boy! | 2003 | 89 mins | Horror; Short; Fantasy | For his debut feature, John Robert Hoffman wrote and directed this effects-heavy family film based on the story Dogs from Outer Space by Zeke Richardson. Produced by Jim Henson Productions, Good Boy! presents the idea that dogs are actually an intelligent alien species sent to earth thousands of years ago to spy on humans in preparation for a full-scale invasion and takeover. But when the spies stop reporting back to the home planet, Canid 3942 (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is sent to earth to investigate. Once there, Canid 3942 encounters Owen Baker (Liam Aiken), a young boy who runs a dog-walking service. Owen befriends the space-dog, renaming him Hubble. When it becomes obvious that the dogs of earth have forgotten their mission, Hubble enlists the help of Owen to get them all into shape before The Great Dane arrives to inspect. If they fail, all of earth's dogs will be recalled to their home planet of Sirius. With Kevin Nealon and Molly Shannon as Owen's parents, Good Boy! also features the voice talents of Brittany Murphy, Carl Reiner, Megan Mullally, and Donald Faison. — Matthew Tobey |
| The Good Girl | 2002 | 93 mins | Drama | A discount store clerk strikes up an affair with a stock boy who considers himself the incarnation of Holden Caulfield. |
| Good Night, and Good Luck. | 2005 | 93 mins | Drama; History | Broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow looks to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy. |
| Good Will Hunting | 1997 | 126 mins | Drama | Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics which is discovered, and a psychiatrist tries to help him with his gift and the rest of his life. |
| Goodfellas | 1990 | 145 mins | Crime; Drama | Henry Hill and his friends work their way up through the mob hierarchy. |
| The Gospel | 2005 | 105 mins | Drama; Music | This is a story about a successful young R&B singer that has an unlikely homecoming when his father, the bishop, becomes ill. |
| Gothika | 2003 | 96 mins | Horror; Thriller; Mystery | A woman is taken on a voyage to the other side of sanity in this moody thriller. Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a clinical psychologist who works alongside her husband, Dr. Doug Grey (Charles S. Dutton), in the mental ward of a top security prison, where Miranda has been devoting much of her attention to a clever but deeply disturbed murderer named Chloe (Penélope Cruz), who shares gruesome tales of torture and violence that may or may not be based in fact. One night, Miranda has a hideous nightmare in which a chance meeting with a strange young girl leads to a terrifying journey into madness. Once she wakes, however, Miranda discovers that the real horror has just begun — Doug has been brutally murdered, and the evidence points to Miranda as the prime suspect. She soon finds herself a patient in the same facility where she once treated others, and finds that her claims of innocence and sanity do little to convince Dr. Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.), the psychologist assigned to her case. Gothika marked the American debut of acclaimed and controversial French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz. — Mark Deming |
| Grease | 1978 | 110 mins | Comedy; Musical; Romance | "Grease," said the poster and the Barry Gibb song, "is the word." Transferring its setting from Chicago to sunny California, and adding a dash of disco to the ersatz '50s score, producer Allan Carr and director Randal Kleiser turned this long-running Jim Jacobs - Warren Casey Broadway smash into the biggest blockbuster of 1978. 1950s teens Danny (John Travolta) and Australian transfer Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) spend their "Summer Nights" falling in love, but once fall comes, it's back to Rydell High and its cliques. As one of the bad boy T-Birds, Danny has to act cool for best pal Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) and their leather-clad mates Sonny (Michael Tucci) and Doody (Barry Pearl, in the role Travolta played on stage). Despite befriending Frenchy (Didi Conn), one of the rebel Pink Ladies, virginal Sandy is "too pure to be Pink," as the Ladies' leader Rizzo (Stockard Channing) acidly observes. Declaring their devotion in such ballads as "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy," Sandy and Danny split, reconcile, and split again amidst a pep rally, dances, drive-ins, and a drag race, before deciding "You're the One That I Want" at the climactic carnival. With Travolta white-hot from Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease soundtrack singles climbed the charts and summer movie crowds poured in. With the presence of Joan Blondell, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes and Frankie Avalon appealing to grown-up memories, Grease became the highest grossing film of 1978, the highest grossing movie musical ever, and the third most popular film of the new blockbuster '70s after Star Wars (1977) and Jaws (1975). Its sequel, Grease 2, did not exactly set the world on fire in 1982. — Lucia Bozzola |
| Great Raid, The | 2005 | 133 mins | Action; Drama | Nearly three years after it was filmed, The Great Raid finally appeared as a welcome reminder that good old-fashioned World War II movies never go out of style. While lacking the scale, prestige, and pulse-pounding momentum of Saving Private Ryan, this fact-based war drama benefits from a back-to-basics approach to realism and a rousing rescue climax that more than compensates for the slower passages that precede it. Adapted from the books The Great Raid on Cabanatuan and Ghost Soldiers, it chronicles the five-day mission (in late January 1945) to rescue 511 American prisoners of war held by the Japanese at Cabanatuan POW camp in the Philippines. Under the direction of neo-noir specialist John Dahl (The Last Seduction), the film's three-part structure follows the raid mission led by Lt. Col. Mucci (Benjamin Bratt); the plight of the POWs at Cabanatuan, including malaria-stricken Maj. Gibson (Joseph Fiennes); and civilian resistance in Manila as carried out by real-life hero and Gibson's (fictional) would-be lover Margaret Utinsky (Connie Nielsen), whose effort to aid the POWs is vigilantly monitored by the enemy Japanese. In keeping with war-movie traditions, Dahl handles character and action with no-nonsense intelligence, favoring a slow build over pumped-up adrenalin. By the time the miraculous rescue is executed with critical assistance by Filpino guerillas, The Great Raid has earned its stripes, honoring the brave men who carried out the most successful rescue mission in U.S. military history. --Jeff Shannon |
| The Greatest Game Ever Played | 2005 | 120 mins | Drama; History; Sport | A golf drama based on the true story of the 1913 US Open, where 20-year-old Francis Ouimet defeated reigning champion Harry Vardon. (view trailer) |
| The Green Mile | 1999 | 188 mins | Drama; Fantasy | The story about the lives of guards on death row leading up to the execution of a wrongly accused man who has the power of faith healing. |
| Gremlins | 1984 | 106 mins | Comedy; Fantasy; Horror | A boy inadvertantly breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town. |
| Gremlins 2: The New Batch | 1990 | 106 mins | Comedy; Horror; Fantasy | The Gremlins are back, and this time, they've taken total control over the building of a media mogul. |
| Gridlock'd | 1997 | 91 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama | After a friend overdoses, Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program... |
| Guess Who | 2005 | 106 mins | Comedy; Romance | Taken on its own terms as a big-screen sitcom, Guess Who offers plenty of humor with just enough social commentary to make its point without being preachy. Of course, we've come along way since interracial romance was such a hot-button issue in Stanley Kramer's earnest 1967 drama Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, and nobody's going to mistake Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac (in this updated semi-remake) with the original film's Sidney Poitier and Spencer Tracy. And that's fine, because Guess Who--from the director of Barbershop 2--doesn't pretend to be anything more than a slick, entertaining vehicle for domestic farce with the racial roles reversed. Kutcher's romance with an African-American beauty (Zoë Sandaña) causes sparks to fly when he's introduced to her father (Bernie Mac). What ensues is basically an interracial buddy comedy that's as uninspired as it is easy to watch, and there's a dinner-table scene that's refreshingly provocative in this movie's otherwise tamely cautious context. We can all be thankful that humanity has matured a little since the racial tensions of the late '60s, but Hollywood's progress (and Kutcher's career) remains subject to debate. --Jeff Shannon |
| The Guru | 2002 | 91 mins | Comedy; Romance | A visitor from the mysterious East arrives in New York — not to offer the wisdom of the ages, but to make it big as a dancer in this "fish-out-of-water" comedy. Raimu Chandra Gupta (Jimi Mistry) grew up in India on a steady diet of movie musicals, particularly local Bollywood spectaculars and vintage American song-and-dance films. Raimu grew up with the dream of one day making it big as a dancer, and in time he found a job as a dance instructor. However, Raimu believes his destiny lies in the United States, and he leaves India behind to relocate to New York City. Unfortunately, Raimu's bright new future isn't exactly awaiting him, and he's soon sharing an overstuffed apartment with distant relatives in Queens while working in an Indian restaurant. An audition for a film director named Dwain (Michael McKean) turns out to be a tryout for a porno movie — a role Raimu does not get when he fails to rise to the occasion. However, he does make the acquaintance of one of Dwain's "starlets," Sharona (Heather Graham), with whom he soon finds himself infatuated. Raimu gets a job entertaining guests at a party catered by his relatives when the performer originally booked is incapacitated. While Raimu's Bollywood-style dancing goes over well enough, he makes a deeper impression on Lexi (Marisa Tomei), an enthusiastic but half-bright student of Eastern philosophy who regards Raimu a font of wisdom as well as a hot date. Raimu quickly becomes the toast of New York's upper crust, and scores an agent, Josh (Rob Morrow), but how long will it be before folks realize Raimu is rather low on the enlightenment scale? And can he find happiness with Sharona while Lexi is still in the picture? The Guru also features Christine Baranski and Malachy McCourt. — Mark Deming |
| The Guys | 2002 | 98 mins | Drama | In the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C., of September 11, 2001, Jim Simpson, the creative director of New York City's Flea Theater Company, wanted to stage a theater piece which would deal with the human impact of this tragedy. When Simpson met journalist Anne Nelson, he discovered a true life story which dealt with the September 11 incidents in an intimate but affecting manner, and he encouraged her to adapt her story into a play; the drama quickly became a major critical success, and Simpson made his screen directorial debut with this film adaptation. Joan (Sigourney Weaver) is a veteran journalist who through a friend finds herself taking on an unusual assignment: Nick is a captain in the New York Fire Department who lost eight of the 12 men in his company while attempting to evacuate the World Trade Center towers following the terrorist attacks. Nick has been given the responsibility of delivering their eulogies at a series of memorial services, but Nick has no experience with such things and isn't sure of what to say. Joan volunteers to help, and over the course of several days she interviews Nick, finding out how much (or how little) he knew about the men under his command, and together they try to find the words to honor each man's memory, and pay tribute to their sacrifices in the larger picture of a national tragedy. Sigourney Weaver, who appeared in the initial Flea Theater Company production of The Guys, is also the wife of director Jim Simpson; Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Amy Irving are among the actors who have also lent their talents to the show. — Mark Deming |
| Hackers | 1995 | 104 mins | Thriller | In this high-tech thriller, Dade Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller) has been fascinated with computers all his life; at the age of 11, he was able to break into the computer network of several top Wall Street investment and banking firms, and he nearly caused a major stock market crash in the process. As punishment, Dade was forbidden to use a computer until his 18th birthday, but now that he's of age, he's diving back into his PC head first. Dade meets up with a group of fellow hackers: tough-talking cyber gamer Kate, aka Acid Burn (Angelina Jolie), junior hacker Jesse Bradford, born prankster Cereal Killer (Matthew Lillard), Nikon (Lawrence Mason), named for his photographic memory, and telephone expert Phantom Phreak (Renoly Santiago). Dade and his pals aren't out to destroy systems or do cybercrime for profit; they simply want to know more about the systems they encounter, and they like raising some good-natured havoc. But in their travels through cyberspace, they discover The Plague (Fisher Stevens), a former hacker turned computer security expert with a huge multinational corporation. The Plague has not only done the unthinkable and gone into anti-hacker enforcement, he's secretly allied himself with a group of criminals and is using his expertise to drain funds from corporate bank accounts and transfer them to himself and his mistress, Margo (Lorraine Bracco). The Plague is also smart enough to leave clues that would lead investigators to someone else — in this case, Dade and his friends — and has a secret weapon at his disposal, a computer virus that could wipe out the entire world wide web in a matter of minutes. Several sequences for Hackers were shot at New York City's Stuyvesant High School, where coincidentally several months after filming, several students were arrested by F.B.I. agents for their involvement in computer hacking. — Mark Deming |
| Hair Show | 2004 | 105 mins | Comedy; Romance | Peaches (Mo'Nique), a hair stylist from Baltimore, and her estranged sister, Angela (Bernie Mac Show's Kellitta Smith)... |
| Half Baked | 1998 | 84 mins | Comedy | Returning from a food run, kindly kindergarten teacher Kenny (Harland Williams) makes the mistake of feeding a massive amount of junk food to a tired-looking, diabetic NYPD horse, which drops dead. Tossed in jail, Kenny relies on his totally stoned roommates (Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Jim Breuer) to devise a way to raise the 100,000-dollar bail. Their solution? Sell marijuana stolen from a government research lab. Cameos in this comedy include Stephen Wright, Janeane Garofalo, Stephen Baldwin, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Willie Nelson, and Jon Stewart. — Bhob Stewart |
| Half Light | 2006 | 102 mins | Thriller; Romance | Rachel Carlson, a successful novelist moves to a small Scottish village to move on with her life after the death of her son. Strange things start to happen when she is haunted by ghosts and real life terror. |
| Half Past Dead | 2002 | 98 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | Action hero Steven Seagal goes behind bars — though don't worry, he isn't really a bad guy — in this action thriller. Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal) is an FBI agent working undercover to infiltrate a gangland kingpin's operations. While Petrosevitch is able to gain the trust of one of the gangster's lieutenants, Nick Frazier (Ja Rule), things go haywire during an FBI raid, and Petrosevitch takes several slugs in the back as he struggles to maintain his cover. Eight months later, Petrosevitch and Frazier are serving time together in the newly refurbished Alcatraz Penitentiary, as Petrosevitch secretly continues his investigation. Prison warden Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) is arranging for the execution of convicted killer and thief Lester (Bruce Weitz), and U.S. Supreme Court justice Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson) has announced she will attend as a witness. But Hubbard's assistant Donny (Morris Chestnut) has devised a secret plan — it seems Lester stole and stashed away 200 million dollars in gold before he was arrested, and Donny, along with an underground SWAT team, takes control of the prison and takes Hubbard, McPherson, and the other assembled dignitaries hostage, demanding to be told where Lester has hidden his fortune. Now Petrosevitch must drop his cover and persuade his allies within the prison — including Frazier and Little Joe (Michael "Bear" Taliferro) — to join him in a desperate bid to foil Donny and free the hostages. Half Past Dead also features Nia Peeples, Kurupt, Tony Plana, and Claudia Christian. — Mark Deming |
| Happy Gilmore | 1996 | 88 mins | Comedy | Adam Sandler spielt die Hauptrolle in dieser ausgelassenen Komödie voller Witz und zwerchfellerschütternder Slapstick-Szenen. Happy, ehemals ein rauhbeiniger Hockeyspieler, versucht sich nun als Golfer. Er sorgt für Schwung in diesem eigentlich so ruhigen Sport und avanciert dank seines exzentrischen Stils innerhalb kürzester Zeit zum Medienstar. Christopher McDonald, Carl Weathers und Kevin Nealon in weiteren Hauptrollen stehen ihm dabei um nichts nach. |
| Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle | 2004 | 88 mins | Comedy | In the year's funniest comedy, two guys on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers find themselves on a hilarious all-night adventure as they run into one screwy obstacle after another. |
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | 2002 | 161 mins | Adventure; Family; Fantasy; Mystery | Harry ignores warnings not to return to Hogwarts, only to find the school plagued by a series of mysterious attacks and a strange voice haunting him. |
| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | 2005 | 157 mins | Adventure; Fantasy; Mystery; Thriller | Harry finds himself selected as an underaged competitor in a dangerous multi-wizardary school competition. |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | 2004 | 141 mins | Adventure; Family; Fantasy | It's Harry's third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he learns that a convicted murderer, Sirius Black has escaped Azkaban prison, and could be coming after him next. |
| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | 2001 | 152 mins | Adventure; Family; Fantasy | Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. |
| The Haunted Mansion | 2003 | 88 mins | Comedy; Horror; Family; Fantasy | After the blockbuster success of Pirates of the Caribbean, another Disney theme park ride is adapted for the big screen in this family-friendly mix of comedy and chills. Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) is a real estate agent whose latest project is to find a buyer for a huge but dilapidated old house in New Orleans. However, when Evers visits the property with his family, he discovers it's already inhabited by 999 ghosts, none of whom are interested in sharing the space. As the spirits make their displeasure known, Evers and his family try to shoo them away with the help of an eccentric medium named Madame Leota (Jennifer Tilly). The Haunted Mansion also stars Terence Stamp, Don Knotts, and Wallace Shawn. — Mark Deming |
| Head of State | 2003 | 95 mins | Comedy | Can a high-attitude African-American politician who says what he thinks stand a chance in a presidential campaign? Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is a straight-talking alderman representing a inner-city neighborhood in Washington, D.C. In the midst of a hard-fought race for the White House, the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates are killed in an airline crash, and with little time to prepare a new campaign, the Republican candidate, Vice President Brian Lewis (Nick Searcy), seems all but guaranteed to win. With practically nothing to loose, party head Martin Geller (Dylan Baker) approaches Gilliam and asks him to stand as the Democrat's presidential candidate. While Gilliam is dubious at first, before long his streetwise style and willingness to face the issues head-on earns him surprising figures in the polls, especially after he persuades his short-fused older brother, Mitch Gilliam (Bernie Mac), to join the ticket as vice presidential candidate — a big jump for a bail bondsman. Gilliam's love life also becomes more complicated as his ex-girlfriend Kim (Robin Givens) decides she wants him back now that he has a shot at the White House, even though Gilliam only has eyes for Lisa (Tamala Jones). Head of State marked the directorial debut for comic and actor Chris Rock, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. — Mark Deming |
| Headrush | 2004 | 85 mins | ||
| Hearts in Atlantis | 2001 | 101 mins | Drama; Mystery | One of the short stories in a best-selling collection by author Stephen King becomes this mystery adapted for director Scott Hicks by screenwriter William Goldman, who previously transformed a King story into a box-office hit (Misery, 1990). In the summer of 1960, young Bobby Garfield (Anton Yelchin) is sharing adventures with his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully (Will Rothhaar) when an enigmatic lodger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) rents a room in his family's boarding house. Bobby's self-absorbed, widowed mother Liz (Hope Davis) couldn't care less about her son, so Bobby, who is being tormented by local bullies, quickly befriends the otherworldly Ted, becoming his confidante, and reading the paper to him to save the aging man's failing eyesight. Soon, Bobby learns that Ted possesses supernatural gifts, has a haunted past, and is being pursued by sinister men whose intentions are unclear. Hearts in Atlantis co-stars David Morse, who appeared in the previous King adaptation The Green Mile (1999), as the adult Bobby. — Karl Williams |
| Heat | 1995 | 171 mins | Crime; Drama | A Los Angeles crime saga, "Heat" focuses on the lives of two men on opposite sides of the law - one a detective; the other a thief. |
| Helen of Troy | 2003 | 175 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; Romance | The abduction of beautiful Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, by Paris of Troy triggers a long war. (view trailer) |
| Hellbound | 2004 | 108 mins | Horror; Thriller | For Kirsty Cotton, the nightmares never end. Still fresh in her fervered memory are her father's skinned corpse, the evil machinations of her Uncle Frank's reanimated body, and the unspeakable perversity of the Cenobites. But for Kirsty, the worst is yet to come. From beyond the Outer Darkness, from the darkest regions of the imagination comes Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Between this world and the next, between extreme pleasure and excrutiating pain, between salvationand utter horror there is Hellbound: Hellraiser II. |
| Hellboy | 2004 | 125 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi | Mike Mignola's acclaimed comic book series about a creature from Hades who joins the battle against evil arrives on the screen in vivid form in this adaptation directed by distinctive horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. During World War II, the Third Reich has joined forces with the evil Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden), who has used his occult powers to summon up a young demon from the depth of Hell to be used as the ultimate Axis weapon. However, the demonic creature is captured by American forces, and put in the care of Professor Broom (John Hurt), the founder of a top-secret organization called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Under Broom's tutelage, the creature develops empathy and a desire to do good while his physical powers and paranormal talents are honed to a fine point. Sixty years later, the demon, now known as Hellboy (Ron Perlman), is part of an elite secret defense team alongside Liz Sherman (Selma Blair), a beautiful young woman who can create fire with her mind, and Abe Sapian (Doug Jones), an aquatic humanoid with the power of telepathy. Despite his many years of fighting for right, Hellboy finds himself facing his greatest challenge when the powerful Rasputin returns, determined to bring the demon back to the forces of darkness so that evil may finally rule the world. Hellboy's supporting cast also includes Jeffrey Tambor, Rupert Evans, and Brian Steele. — Mark Deming |
| Herbie: Fully Loaded | 2005 | 101 mins | Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Sport | Maggie Peyton (Lohan), the new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor. |
| Hidalgo | 2004 | 136 mins | Action; Drama; Adventure; Western | Actor Viggo Mortensen made his first starring appearance in a film after his breakthrough performance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy with this period adventure. Frank T. Hopkins (Mortensen) is a U.S. Cavalry officer who earned a reputation as one of the fastest and most daring riders in the West; however, after taking part in the bloody massacre at Wounded Knee, Hopkins becomes disenchanted with the Cavalry, and once his hitch is up, he takes a job as a rider with a seedy touring Wild West show. During an engagement in New York, Hopkins meets Aziz (Adam Alexi-Malle), an associate of wealthy Bedouin Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif), who knows of Hopkins' talents and wants him to take part in "The Ocean of Fire," an annual 3,000-mile desert horse race running from Arabia to Iraq. Hopkins accepts the invitation and sails to the Middle East with his trusty mustang Hidalgo without knowing just what he's getting himself into. Once he arrives, Hopkins learns that the punishing race course claims the lives of nearly half its contestants, and that most of his competitors ride pure-bred Arabian stallions and do not regard Hidalgo and his master as worthy adversaries. Temporarily exiled to a land where freedom eludes the multitudes and class and wealth define one's fate, Hopkins finds himself riding for both honor and principle, with the support of Riyadh and his beautiful, headstrong daughter, Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson), though the Sheikh's nephew Katib (Silas Carson) is equally determined to see Hopkins go down in defeat. Hidalgo was directed by Joe Johnston, who previously worked with animals on the run in Jumanji and Jurassic Park III. — Mark Deming |
| Hide and Seek | 2005 | 101 mins | Thriller; Drama; Horror | As a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace -- at first -- in her imaginary friend. |
| The Hills Have Eyes | 2006 | 107 mins | Horror; Thriller | A suburban American family is being stalked by a group of psychotic people who live in the desert, far away from civilization. |
| A History of Violence | 2005 | 96 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | A bloody self defense incident involving a mild mannered man brings his hidden past back to haunt him and his family. |
| Hitch | 2005 | 118 mins | Comedy; Romance | Coming Soon! |
| Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The | 2005 | 109 mins | Adventure; Comedy | Don't panic! After twenty years stuck in development (a mere blink compared to how long it takes to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has finally been turned into a movie. Following the radio play, TV series, commemorative towel, and books, this latest installment in the sci-fi-comedy franchise is based on the screenplay and detailed notes by Douglas Adams. For those unfamiliar with the story, everyman Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up one morning to discover that his house is set to be demolished to make room for a bypass. Little does he know the entire planet Earth is also set to be destroyed for an interplanetary bypass by the Vogons, a hideous and bureaucratic race of aliens realized in the film by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Whisked off the planet by his best friend, alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect (Mos Def), Dent embarks on a goofy jaunt across the galaxy accompanied by his trusty Hitchhiker's Guide, which looks like a really fancy PDA. The guide itself provides some of the funniest bits of the movie, little animated shorts that explain the ludicrous life forms and extraterrestrial phenomena our heroes encounter. Along the way Arthur meets the two-headed party animal/president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and develops an unrequited crush on fellow earthling Trillian (Zooey Deschanel). The creatures and sets are inspired and answer to the sci-fi fan's primal need to see lots and lots of cool stuff. Where the story stumbles is in the telling--as books, the Hitchhiker's Guide was foremost about goofy and brilliant ideas that raised questions about our place in the universe while getting a laugh. The movie has enough trouble figuring out how to get the characters from one fantastical location to the next that Adams's funniest concepts often feel left in the dust. While the reverence the filmmakers felt toward Adams's legacy is apparent, one wonders what we could have expected had the creator of this science fiction universe lived to see it with his own eyes. -- Ryan Boudinot |
| Home Alone | 1990 | 105 mins | Family; Comedy | Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macauley Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they've left him "home alone," he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern) who are planning to rob every house in Kevin's suburban Chicago neighborhood. Though the film's slapstick ending may be somewhat violent, Culkin's charming presence helped the film become one of the most successful ever at the time of its release. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
| Home Alone 3 | 1997 | 102 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Family | Alex Pruitt, a young boy of nine living in Chicago, fend off thieves who seek a top-secret chip in his toy car to support a North Korean terrorist organization's next deed. |
| Home on the Range | 2004 | 76 mins | Animation; Musical; Family; Western; Comedy | To save their farm, the resident animals go bounty hunting for a notorious outlaw. |
| Home Room | 2003 | 132 mins | Drama | American independent filmmaker Paul F. Ryan makes his feature debut with the psychological drama Home Room. The students of Valley High School try to get on with their lives in the aftermath of a traumatic school shooting in which nine students were killed. Even though the perpetrator took his own life after committing the crimes, the townspeople still want to find some answers. Detective Martin Van Zandt (Victor Garber) decides to interrogate high school student Alicia Browning (Busy Philipps), who was present during the attack. Because of her cynical attitude and dark fashion choices, she is viewed as a possible threat. Principal Robbins (James Pickens Jr.) sentences her to regular hospital visits with the pretty and popular Deanna Cartwright (Erika Christensen), who was seriously injured in the attack. Alicia and Deanna overcome their initial differences and develop a nurturing friendship with psychological help from Dr. Hollander (Holland Taylor). — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Honey | 2003 | 94 mins | Drama; Romance | Dark Angel-lead Jessica Alba stars in the title role of this film, the feature debut from music-video director Bille Woodruff. Honey is a girl from the streets who works in a record store, teaches the occasional dance class at a community center, and treks downtown every weekend to hit the clubs and try out some new moves. There, she meets a music video producer (David Moscow) who offers her a chance to be a choreographer — but at a price she eventually learns she's unwilling to pay. Determined to pick herself back up, Honey goes back to the inner-city of her youth with plans of starting a dance school. Lil' Romeo co-stars as Honey's protege; other real-life musicians (including Missy Elliott, Tweet, Jay-Z, and Ginuwine) appear as themselves. — Matthew Tobey |
| The Honeymooners | 2005 | 90 mins | Comedy | Working class New York bus driver Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is always coming up with get-rich-quick schemes for him and his best friend, Ed Norton (Epps), who's always around to help him get in (and out of) trouble. |
| Hoodwinked | 2005 | 80 mins | Animation; Comedy; Family; Mystery | Little Red Riding Hood: A classic story, but there's more to every tale than meets the eye. Before you judge a book by its cover... |
| Hooligans | 2005 | 109 mins | Crime; Drama | A wrongfully expelled Harvard undergrad moves to London, where he is introduced to the violent undeworld of soccer hooliganism. |
| Hoot | 2006 | 91 mins | Comedy; Family | A young man (Lerman) moves from Montana to Florida with his family, where he's compelled to engage in a fight to protect a population of endangered owls. (view trailer) |
| Hope Floats | 1998 | 114 mins | Drama; Romance; Comedy | Actor-director Forest Whitaker (Waiting to Exhale) helmed this romantic drama about a one-time high-school beauty queen who returns to her hometown of Smithville, Texas. The Steven Rogers screenplay begins in Chicago where blonde Connie (Rosanna Arquette, uncredited) appears on a trashy daytime talk show and tells a nationwide TV audience about her affair with the husband of her best friend, Birdie Pruitt (Sandra Bullock). Walking into the ambush, Birdie is paraded forth for a public humiliation as Connie's claim is confirmed by husband Bill (Michael Pare). Birdie and her young daughter Bernice (Mae Whitman) then move back to Texas to live with Birdie's eccentric mother, Ramona (Gena Rowlands), a taxidermist who has stuffed the house with stuffed animals. Since most of Smithville saw the TV show, embarrassment keeps Birdie sitting around the house in her pajamas. However, her moment of glory as the homecoming "Queen of Corn" has not been forgotten by handyman Justin Matisse (Harry Connick Jr.), the first guy who kissed her back in high school, so a romance soon begins. "Just give hope a chance to float up, and it will," says Birdie. — Bhob Stewart |
| Hostage | 2005 | 113 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | A failed police negotiator turned small town cop, must save the lives of a family held hostage, which draws him into a much more dangerous situation. |
| Hostel | 2005 | 95 mins | Horror | Three backpackers head to a Slovakian city that promises to meet their hedonistic expectations, with no idea of the hell that awaits them. |
| The Hot Chick | 2002 | 101 mins | Comedy | A carefree young woman wakes up to discover her greatest nightmare is a reality — she's become trapped in the body of Rob Schneider — in this shape-shifting comedy. Jessica (Rachel McAdams) is a beautiful teenager whose life would be the envy of any high school student — she's head of the cheerleading squad, her boyfriend, Billy (Matthew Lawrence), is the quarterback of the football team, and she's pretty and popular enough to get nearly anyone to do what she wants. However, Jessica is soon to find out how the other half lives, in more ways than she counted upon; she shoplifts a pair of earrings from an shop specializing in African curios run by Mambuza (Angie Stone), unaware that they carry the curse of Princess Nawa. Thanks to the curse, the next morning Jessica awakes to find that her spirit has entered the body of Clive (Rob Schneider), a sweaty and hirsute small-time crook. As Jessica tries to figure out how she can return to her old body, she has to lead the cheerleading squad to victory and attend her senior prom while looking like a less-than-handsome 30-year-old man. Billy is understandably puzzled by the changes in Jessica, while her best friend, April (Anna Faris), finds her feelings about Jessica change a bit once she volunteers to be her prom date. The Hot Chick is the first theatrical feature for director Tom Brady; Brady co-wrote an earlier Schneider vehicle, The Animal, and was on the writing staff for his television series Men Behaving Badly. — Mark Deming |
| Hot Shots! | 1991 | 83 mins | Action; Comedy; War; Romance | From director Jim Abrahams, one of the minds behind the Airplane! and Naked Gun films, comes another parody. This time around, Abrahams has his sights set on the action-adventure genre, specifically Top Gun. Charlie Sheen stars as Topper Harley, a maverick air force pilot who constantly lives in the shadow of his father's legacy. Unable to handle the pressure, Harley has left the Air Force to live among a tribe of Native Americans. But when the United States seeks to destroy some Iraqi nuclear facilities, there's only one man for the job. After being coaxed back into service, Harley soon realizes that in addition to Saddam Hussein, he'll have to contend with a rival pilot, played by Cary Elwes, and a devious aerospace executive. Among the many films lampooned are Dances With Wolves, 9 1/2 Weeks, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Gone With the Wind. — Matthew Tobey |
| Hotel Rwanda | 2004 | 121 mins | Drama; War | Hotel Rwanda tackles one of the most horrifically ugly events in recent history, when the Hutus of Rwanda rose up against the minority Tutsis (who were empowered by the departed Belgian colonists) and massacred them, while the rest of the world looked on and did nothing. Don Cheadle stars as Paul Rusesabagina, the hotel manager at the fancy Les Milles Collines hotel in Kigali. Paul is a Hutu, and a very successful businessman who smoothly greases the wheels, making powerful connections in all strata of Rwandan life. His wife, Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo of Aeon Flux), is a Tutsi. She urges Paul to use his influence to help local Tutsis, who are being harassed and beaten with increasing frequency, but Paul will only use the political capital he's built up to help his own family, if and when they need it. Soon enough, the violence escalates, and the Hutus begin their genocide of the Tutsis. European guests and staff at the hotel are flown out of the country, and Paul is left in charge. He finds that his conscience won't allow him to watch as the innocent are slaughtered, and before long, the hotel has become a well-appointed refugee camp. Paul is seen as a traitor by some, putting his life in danger, and the predicament of his "guests" grows more precarious every day, but despite good intentions on the part of a journalist (Joaquin Phoenix) and a UN peacekeeping colonel (Nick Nolte), the rest of the world is not eager to intervene and stop the massacre. Hotel Rwanda was directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George (Some Mother's Son), who co-wrote the script with Keir Pearson. — Josh Ralske |
| House of 1000 Corpses | 2002 | 88 mins | Horror | Taking his cue from such 1970s horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977), animated rocker Rob Zombie goes celluloid with the throwback shocker House of 1000 Corpses. Running low on gas as they travel the highways of America in search of the ultimate roadside attraction, a group of teens pull into Captain Spaulding's (Sid Haig) museum of oddities (which also offers fried chicken and gasoline) only to become obsessed with uncovering the mystery of a legendary local maniac known only as Dr. Satan. When an attractive and mysterious hitchhiker subsequently offers to give the thrill seekers a personal tour of Dr. Satan's old stabbing grounds, a breakdown forces them to take refuge with a group of menacing oddballs as a fearsome storm rages outside. As the evening progresses and the backwoods hosts' Halloween festivities become ever more threatening, the teens soon realize that the legend of Dr. Satan may hold a bit more contemporary weight than any of them had previously thought. — Jason Buchanan |
| House Of Flying Daggers | 2004 | 119 mins | Drama; Mystery | "Prepare your eyes for popping," in this "martial-arts fireball that throws in a lyrical love story, head-spinning fights and dazzling entertainment" (A.O. Scott, New York Times). Mei is an exotic, beautiful blind dancer, associated with a dangerous revolutionary gang, known as The House Of Flying Daggers. Captured by officers of the decadent Targ Dynasty, Mei finds herself both threatened - and attracted - to the most unusual circumstances. Here, her heart and loyalties battle each other, amid warriors in the treetops and dazzling combat - the likes of which have never before been seen! |
| House of Sand and Fog | 2003 | 126 mins | Drama | An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her home's new owners. |
| House of the Dead | 2003 | 90 mins | Horror; Thriller; Action; Mystery | A group of teens arrive on an island for a rave--only to discover the island has been taken over by zombies. The group takes refuge in a house where they try to survive the night. |
| House of Wax | 2005 | 113 mins | Horror | Car troubles lead a group of college students to wander into a museum overseen by a sadistic curator. |
| House Party | 1990 | 100 mins | Comedy | Young Kid has been invited to a party at his friend Play's house. But after a fight at school, Kid's father grounds him... |
| House Party 2 | 1991 | 94 mins | Comedy | The Pajama Jam! Hip-hop heroes Kid 'N Play are back in action -- with a plan to turn a college campus into the ultimate party zone -- in this music powered, funk-filled comedy free-for-all. Original stars Kid N' Play (Christopher Reid and Christopher Martin), Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell return to break it down, rap it up…and boldly party where no movie has partied before! Kid's dreams of higher education go up in smoke when Play "lends" his buddy's stash of college cash to a gorgeous - and crooked! - music promoter (Iman). On top of that, Kid's girl Sidney has discovered "Sister's Lib" thanks to a consciousness-raising friend (Queen latifah). And the muscle -headed FULL FORCE brothers are dishing Kid 'N Play some serious trouble. What's the solution? Stage the Mother of All Pajama Parties...and unleash the freshest, funniest, non-stop hip-hop bash since the invention of cool. Kid's dreams of higher education go up in smoke when Play "lends" his buddy's stash of college cash to a gorgeous -- and crooked! -- music promoter (Iman). On top of that, Kid's girl Sidney has discovered "Sister's Liv," thanks to a consciousness-raising friend (Queen Latifah). And the muscle-headed Full Force brothers are dishing Kid 'N Play some serious trouble. What's the solution? Stage the Mother Of All Pajama Parties…and unleash the freshest, funniest, non-stop hip-hop bash since the invention of cool! |
| House Party 3 | 1994 | 100 mins | Comedy | Come to a new House Party, where Kid, after a lifetime 'playing the field', falls in love and is about to get married... |
| House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute | 2001 | 79 mins | Comedy | Down To The Last Minute House-sitter Jon Jon Harris is raising the roof… and asking for trouble! While his music mogul uncle's away, Jon Jon enlists his best buddies and girlfriend to plan a raging bash. With the entire school and music's biggest names on the guest list, Jon Jon plots a house party like no other! But his savvy sister is on to his game, and she'll stop at nothing to tell Mom. RSVP to comedy, chaos and music… all under one roof! |
| How Arnold Won the West | 2004 | 80 mins | Documentary | In 2003, as the state of California found itself in the midst of a fiscal crisis, a group of Republican activists launched a campaign to recall Governor Gray Davis, and a flock of candidates quickly came forward with hopes of taking over the Golden State's highest office in the event Davis was removed from office — most famous among them actor-turned-first-time candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger. British documentary filmmaker Alex Cooke came to California to cover the recall election, and How Arnold Won the West offers a look at the men and woman vying for office as well as the difference in their campaign styles — Davis running on issues and his record, and Schwarzenegger playing up his charisma and star power while offering little notion of what he'll do if elected. (The film also deals with the reporters covering the race, most of whom discover it's nearly impossible to directly ask Schwarzenegger a question.) How Arnold Won the West also includes profiles of several of the 133 other candidates who put their names on the ballot, among them actor Gary Coleman, performance artist Trek Thunder Kelly, and adult film star Mary Carey. — Mark Deming |
| How High | 2001 | 93 mins | Comedy | A pair of real-life multi-platinum rap artists star in this genial substance abuse comedy recalling the pro-marijuana work of Cheech and Chong and such films as Half Baked (1998). Silas (Method Man) and Jamal (Redman) are buddies who enjoy smoking voluminous amounts of the illegal plant. They end up in the possession of some magical weed that enhances their brainpower during college entrance exams, thus enabling them to enter that esteemed institution of learning, Harvard University. Once firmly ensconced in the halls of academia, however, the pals run out of their supernatural supply and are forced to get creative in the pursuit of an Ivy League degree. Included in their narcotic-addled plans: smoking the bones of dead president John Quincy Adams. Produced by Danny DeVito's Jersey Films, How High (2001) co-stars Obba Babatunde, Fred Willard, and Hector Elizondo. — Karl Williams |
| How to Be a Player | 1997 | 93 mins | Comedy | A playboy gets the tables turned on him when a party is arranged with all of the women he has been two-timing are in attendance. |
| How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days | 2003 | 116 mins | Comedy; Romance | Two New Yorkers fight the battle of the sexes to a standstill (without entirely realizing it) in this romantic comedy. Andie (Kate Hudson) is a young journalist who longs to cover political stories, but in the meantime she finds herself writing for a women's magazine called Composure, where her editor Lana Jong (Bebe Neuwirth) has her writing a fluffy advice column. After hearing of the latest dating laments of her relationship-challenged friend Michelle (Kathryn Hahn), Andie sells Lana on the idea of writing a piece on the things women do to alienate the men they love, which she'll demonstrate by winning and then driving away a man in a mere ten days. Meanwhile, Ben (Matthew McConaughey) is an advertising man who wants to land a prestige diamond account at his firm. Ben is competing with his pals, Spears (Michael Michele) and Green (Shalom Harlow), for the assignment, so Ben tells his boss Phillip Warren (Robert Klein) that he's the man for the job because he understands the fair sex so well he can make any woman fall for him in less than two weeks. As fate would have it, Andie and Ben end up choosing one another for their mutual assignments, with neither knowing about each other's secret agenda as Ben strives to hold on to Andie while she does everything in her power to annoy him. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was loosely based on the self-help book of the same name (subtitled The Universal Don't of Dating) written by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long. — Mark Deming |
| Hulk, The | 2003 | 138 mins | Action; Adventure; Comic | Ang Lee directs the live-action feature film The Hulk, based on the Marvel comic book created by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby. Emotionally stunted Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is part of a research team at the University of California at Berkeley. Corporate hustler Glenn Talbot (Josh Lucas) takes notice of the lab and makes plans to take it over. Then Bruce accidentally gets hit by an experimental ray and grows into a huge beast, destroying the lab in the process. A creepy janitor who claims to be his real father, Dr. David Banner (Nick Nolte), starts to secretly use the experimental ray on himself. He creates some mutant dogs and sends them after Bruce's lab mate and ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly). After Bruce saves her life in the form of the Hulk, she lets her distant father, General Ross (Sam Elliott), take him to an abandoned army base in the desert. However, Glenn Talbot takes over the operation and wants to patent the creature's superpowers for his own profit, so he holds Bruce unconscious in an isolation tank. When provoked, Bruce turns into the Hulk and makes a break for San Francisco, leading to a desert chase sequence involving military aircraft, tanks, and bombs. Only the sight of Betty can make him turn back to his human form. When he is eventually captured, Dr. David Banner shows up for a final confrontation with his son and his old adversary, General Ross. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| The Hunted | 2003 | 94 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | A rogue special-forces soldier is tracked down by his former mentor in this action thriller from director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist). In his first role since winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2001, Benicio del Toro stars as Aaron Hallam, one of the U.S. military's most skilled hand-to-hand combat operatives. In the years following his successful assassination of a Serbian warlord in late-'90s Kosovo, Hallam finds himself plagued by traumatic flashbacks of death and destruction, so much so that when he finally returns home, he regresses into a feral, survivalist state in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. There, he deliberately and elaborately hunts and kills poachers who happen to cross his path. When the FBI investigates the murders, they call in the man who taught Hallam everything he knows: retiree L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones). As the instructor pursues his unhinged former pupil, Bonham begins to learn about key events in Hallam's life that pushed him over the edge. — Michael Hastings |
| The Hurricane | 1999 | 145 mins | Biography; Drama; Sport | The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence. |
| Hustle & Flow | 2005 | 116 mins | Crime; Drama; Music | With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful rapper. |
| I Accuse | 2003 | 86 mins | Drama; Thriller | |
| I Heart Huckabees | 2004 | 106 mins | Comedy | A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means. |
| The I Inside | 2003 | Crime; Mystery; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A man (Phillipe) awakens in a hospital not recalling the last two years as he begins to find out things... | |
| I, Robot | 2004 | 115 mins | Sci-Fi; Thriller; Action | In the year 2035 a techno-phobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity. |
| Ice Age | 2002 | 81 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family; Comedy | Set during the Ice Age, a sabertooth tiger, a sloth, and a wooly mammoth find a lost human infant, and they try to return him to his tribe. |
| Ice Harvest, The | 2005 | 88 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A dim-bulb lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash. |
| Ice Princess | 2005 | 92 mins | Comedy; Drama; Family; Sport | With the help of her coach, her parents, and the boy who drives the Zamboni machine, nothing can stop Casey (Trachtenberg) from realizing her dream to be a champion figure skater. |
| Identity | 2003 | 90 mins | Horror; Mystery; Thriller | Ten strangers are brought together during a weather emergency, only to discover a far greater danger awaits them in this suspense-drama. A sudden rainstorm in a remote desert town strands a disparate variety of people at a rundown motel. A convict sentenced to death, Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince), is stuck in transit with his lawyer (Alfred Molina). Ginny and Lou (Clea DuVall and William Lee Scott) are a not-especially-happy pair of young marrieds on their honeymoon. Ed (John Cusack) is a bright and resourceful chauffeur working for actress Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay). George York (John C. McGinley) is a concerned husband trying to find help for his wife and son (Leila Kenzle and Bret Loeher), who have been hurt in an accident. Paris (Amanda Peet) is a prostitute who wants to move on to a better life. And Rhodes (Ray Liotta) is a police detective who has in his custody Robert Maine (Jake Busey), a dangerous and deranged criminal. As the rain pours down and motel manager Larry (John Hawkes) tries to care for his customers, one by one the unexpected guests begin losing their lives at the hands of a murderer. As the body count mounts, the stranded travelers struggle to find out who the killer is; however, they also learn each of them has a secret, and that their arrival at the motel has not been a matter of mere chance. — Mark Deming |
| In America | 2002 | 103 mins | Drama; Romance | After chronicling various chapters of Irish history in such films as In the Name of the Father and The Field, writer/director Jim Sheridan turns his lens upon his own family's experiences immigrating to the United States in the aptly titled In America. The loosely autobiographical script centers on Johnny (Paddy Considine), a young actor sneaking his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively), over the Canadian border in the hopes of jump-starting his career in New York City. They soon find that America is not the land of boundless opportunity, however, as they move into a dank, dilapidated apartment building populated by drug dealers, transients, and thugs. Johnny doesn't snag auditions as easily as he may have hoped, and he and Sarah are forced to take meager jobs after spending their savings on food, rent, and utilities. Still in grief over the untimely death of their toddler son back in Ireland, the couple find their relationship further strained by the pressures of life in the city. Little by little, however, things begin to look up for the fiercely protective family unit, especially when they befriend an eccentric artist neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou). In America saw its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and played to enthusiastic crowds at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival before its theatrical release in the fall of that year. — Michael Hastings |
| In Good Company | 2004 | 110 mins | Comedy; Drama | A middle-aged man finds a callow twentysomething usurping his professional life and worming his way into his family in this alternately funny and poignant comedy drama. Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) is a man in his mid-forties who has spent 20 years as the head of advertising sales for Sports America, a leading athletics magazine. Dan is happily married to Ann (Marg Helgenberger) and has a college-age daughter, Alex (Scarlett Johansson), whom he dotes on, but Dan's comfortable life is given a major shake-up when a large multimedia firm buys the magazine. Seen as a bit long in the tooth to be truly competitive, Dan is demoted to second in command of advertising, and his position is handed over to Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), a 26-year-old who talks a good game about sales but has no practical experience in the field. Dan's wounded ego makes working with the arrogant Carter an uphill battle, but when he learns that Ann is expecting another baby, Dan is in no position to quit. Before long, Dan becomes aware of Carter's intense insecurities about his new job as the younger man reaches out to him for guidance, but this doesn't make Dan any less angry when Carter begins a romance with Alex after his marriage to Kimberley (Selma Blair) crashes and burns. In Good Company marked the solo directorial debut of Paul Weitz; he previously worked in collaboration with his brother Chris Weitz, who serves as producer on this film. — Mark Deming |
| In Her Shoes | 2005 | 130 mins | Drama | Maggie, the consummate party girl, clashes with her head-on-straight sister, Rose. (view trailer) |
| In My Country | 2004 | 103 mins | Drama; Love Story | In 1996, the South African Government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses of human rights under apartheid. These hearings would serve as a forum for those accused of murder and torture to be confronted by their victims and, by admitting their guilt, be granted amnesty under Ubuntu, the native custom of forgiveness. Covering the sessions are Langston Whitfield (Academy Award nominee Samuel L. Jackson, Best Supporting Actor, Pulp Fiction, 1994) and Anna Malan (Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche, Best Supporting Actress, The English Patient, 1996), two journalists who, through their reporting, inspire both the world and themselves with these extraordinary stories about courage, compassion and the redeeming power of love. Directed by Academy Award nominee John Boorman (Deliverance, 1972; Hope and Glory, 1987) Based on the book "Country of My Skull" by Antjie Krog. |
| In the Mix | 2005 | 95 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama; Music; Romance | When the hottest DJ around (Usher) inadvertently saves the life of a Mafia princess (Chriqui), the reward for his bravery is a job protecting the woman from danger. (view trailer) |
| Incredibles, The | 2004 | 115 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family | Directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles revolves around former high-profile superhero Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible), who has not-so-successfully settled into suburban life along with his wife and kids under the watchful eye of the Superhero Protection Program. A far cry from the "glory days" during which "supers" were a welcome addition to society, the Parrs' living situation was brought on after a series of superhero-related lawsuits forced them into hiding. When not trying to fight small-time crime undercover with fellow former superhero Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), Parr (voice by Craig T. Nelson) is muddling through the corporate world as a paunchy, emotionally unsatisfied insurance claims adjuster. His family is like any other with some notable exceptions — his daughter has the uncanny ability to become invisible and create impenetrable force fields at will; his son, Dash, can run at incredible speeds; his wife, Helen (Holly Hunter), is known in super circles as Elastigirl, one of the most respected (and pliable) superwomen of her time. Just when it looks as if things can't get any worse for Bob, he gets a summons to show up at a remote island to receive instructions for a highly classified assignment, which he promptly accepts. Thrust back into the world of fighting crime, the Incredible family is back in familiar territory — saving the world from Syndrome, a jilted former fan of Mr. Incredible. — Tracie Cooper |
| Independence Day | 1996 | Action; Drama | ||
| The In-Laws | 2003 | 95 mins | Action; Comedy | When prospective fathers-in-law Steve Tobias (MICHAEL DOUGLAS) and Jerry Peyser (ALBERT BROOKS) meet for the first time to celebrate their children's upcoming marriage, the cake hits the fan. |
| Inside Man | 2006 | Thriller | Clive Owen wird in die Rolle des Verbrechers Dalton schlüpfen, der einen perfekten Bankraub durchführen will, Denzel Washington ist Polizist Detective Miller. Jodie Foster ist eine Anwältin, die zu Hilfe gerufen wird, als der Plan Daltons schiefgeht und es zu einer Geiselnahme kommt. | |
| Intermission | 2003 | 105 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama | Intermission is an urban love story about people adrift and their convoluted journeys in the search for some kind of love... |
| The Interpreter | 2005 | 128 mins | Drama; Thriller | Political intrigue and deception unfold inside the United Nations, where a US Secret Service agent (Penn) is assigned to investigate an interpreter (Kidman) who overhears an assassination plot. |
| Into the Blue | 2005 | 110 mins | Action; Adventure; Crime; Thriller | A group of divers find themselves in deep trouble with a drug lord after they come upon the illicit cargo of a sunken airplane. (view trailer) |
| Intolerable Cruelty | 2003 | 100 mins | Comedy; Romance | Joel and Ethan Coen take on the classic battle-of-the-sexes screwball comedy with Intolerable Cruelty. George Clooney plays Miles Massey, a high-powered Los Angeles divorce lawyer nearing a midlife crisis . While representing wealthy client Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann), Miles meets his match in Rex's gold-digging wife, Marilyn Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones). He's impressed by her similarly heartless ways of using marriage to fuel an expensive lifestyle, but he still defeats her in court. With Marilyn looking to get her revenge and Miles finding himself attracted to her, the two engage in a ruthless romantic pursuit to out-swindle each other. Billy Bob Thornton shows up in a small role as Texas oil tycoon Howard Doyle. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Intoxicating | 2003 | Drama | Dorian Shanley (Kirk Harris), is a heart surgeon who abuses alcohol and drugs. Dorian trades stolen pharmaceuticals for cocaine ... | |
| The Iron Giant | 1999 | 86 mins | Family; Animation; Sci-Fi | A boy's best friend is his robot in this animated adventure from Brad Bird, best known for his TV work on such series as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and The Critic. Set in 1957, The Iron Giant focuses on Hogarth (voice of Eli Marienthal), an imaginative nine-year-old boy who daydreams of alien invasions and doing battle with Communist agents. One day, Hogarth hears a local fisherman talk about something that surpasses anything he could dream up: a fifty-foot robot that fell from the sky into a nearby lake. Needless to say, Hogarth's mom, Annie (voice of Jennifer Aniston) finds this a little hard to swallow, but when Hogarth finds the robot (voice of Vin Diesel) and fishes him out of the water, his pal Dean (voice of Harry Connick Jr.), a beatnik sculptor who also runs a junkyard, offers to help by hiding the robot with his salvage. A government agent named Kent Mansley (voice of Christopher McDonald) soon gets wind that there's a mechanical invader of unknown origins in the neighborhood and wants to wipe out the potential threat. However, the robot (which loves to eat metal and is learning to talk) turns out to be friendly, and the boy in turn tries to teach his new pal the ways of humans. The Iron Giant is loosely based on the book The Iron Man by late British poet Ted Hughes, previously adapted for the stage by rock musician Pete Townshend, who executive produced the film. — Mark Deming |
| The Island | 2005 | 136 mins | Action; Drama; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A man (Ewan McGregor) goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a "harvested being", and is being kept along with others in a utopian facility. |
| The Italian Job | 2003 | 111 mins | Adventure; Action; Crime; Thriller | A team of high-class thieves avenge their mentor's death — with the help of his own daughter — in this big-budget remake of the 1969 British caper classic. The Italian Job stars Mark Wahlberg as Charlie, the mastermind of a daring Venice heist overseen by John (Donald Sutherland), a lifelong criminal who plans to retire from the fold with the earnings from his most recent take. Basking in the glow of a job well done at a secluded retreat in the Alps, the thieves — including the aptly-named Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), tech-geek Lyle (Seth Green), and hearing-impaired quipster Half Ear (Mos Def) — are ruthlessly double-crossed by one of their own, the taciturn, calculating Steve (Edward Norton). Time passes and each member of the group finds himself pursuing other opportunities in the States, until Charlie rallies them together for a revenge-motivated scheme designed to bilk Steve of all his misbegotten earnings. In order to cinch the deal, he even enlists John's reluctant safecracking-prodigy daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron), for an elaborate, incognito Los Angeles heist. But the paranoid Steve proves himself to be one step ahead of them at just about every turn, and Charlie finds that he'll have to make some daring last-minute changes to their plan if the team is to succeed. The Italian Job marked director F. Gary Gray's second 2003 release after the Vin Diesel vehicle A Man Apart. — Michael Hastings |
| It's All About Dancing: Jamaican Dancehall | 118 mins | Documentary | ||
| The Jacket | 2005 | 102 mins | Thriller | A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves. |
| Jackie Chan: The Young Master | 1978 | Action | ||
| Jamie Foxx Unleashed: Lost, Stolen and Leaked! | 2003 | 69 mins | Comedy | Unleashed Jamie Foxx goes back to his Texas roots where he's more outrageous than ever in this no-holds-barred performance! Star of television (In Living Color, The Jamie Foxx Show) and film (Booty call, Any Given Sunday) he's also one of America's hottest young stand-up comedians, telling it like it is on everything, from rap's angry lyrics to dating and sex. The master of physical humor combined with 100 percent real honesty and dead-on impersonations, Foxx is pure electricity onstage, driving the jam-packed audience over the edge with laughter! |
| Jamie Foxx: I Might Need Security | 2002 | 65 mins | Comedy | This is a UMD title that is currently only playable on the Sony PSP portable system. You know him as the hilarious television star from "Roc", "In Living Color", and "The Jamie Foxx Show". You know him as a tremendous movie star from Booty Call, Player's Club, Bait, Any Given Sunday, and Ali. And when you watch his sold-out performance at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California, you'll know him as one of the world's funniest comedians. Originally produced for HBO Television, this comedy special leaves no doubt that Jamie Foxx is at the top of his game! |
| Jamie Foxx: Straight From The Foxx Hole | 1993 | 58 mins | Comedy | The one-and-only Jamie Foxx does it all in his first comedy special - a must-have for every Foxx fan. Aired on HBO as his popularity began to soar on TV's In Living Color, Foxx is hilarious as that show's "ugliest woman" - the sex-starved Wanda - and delivers a slew of sidesplitting impersonations, including Michael Jackson, Prince, Mike Tyson and Bill Cosby. In his irresistible, high-energy style, Foxx gives a no-holds-bared performance, riffing all over the cultural landscape, and winds it up with a smooth medley of songs from his hit album Peep This. |
| Jarhead | 2005 | 123 mins | Drama; War | Based on former Marine Anthony Swofford's best-selling 2003 book about his pre-Desert Storm experiences in Saudi Arabia and about his experiences fighting in Kuwait. |
| Jaws | 1975 | 130 mins | Adventure; Horror; Thriller | Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel, Steven Spielberg's 1975 shark saga set the standard for the New Hollywood popcorn blockbuster while frightening millions of moviegoers out of the water. One early summer night on fictional Atlantic resort Amity Island, Chrissie decides to take a moonlight skinny dip while her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the ocean surface, she never returns. When pieces of her wash ashore, Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) suspects the worst, but Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), mindful of the lucrative tourist trade and the approaching July 4th holiday, refuses to put the island on a business-killing shark alert. After the shark dines on a few more victims, the Mayor orders the local fishermen to catch the culprit. Satisfied with the shark they find, the greedy Mayor reopens the beaches, despite the warning from visiting ichthyologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) that the attacks were probably caused by a far more formidable Great White. One more fatality later, Brody and Hooper join forces with flinty old salt Quint (Robert Shaw), the only local fisherman willing to take on a Great White—especially since the price is right. The three ride off on Quint's boat "The Orca," soon coming face to teeth with the enemy. — Lucia Bozzola |
| Jaws 2 | 1978 | 116 mins | Horror; Thriller; Adventure | Despite being a less well-regarded virtual remake of the original film, Jaws 2 earned a tidy sum at the box office by combining its predecessor's winning formula with the popular teen horror craze, helping to spawn the era of blockbuster sequels. Roy Scheider returns as Sheriff Martin Brody, whose small resort town of Amity is poised to bounce back from the economic hardship it encountered after becoming widely known as the site of vicious shark attacks. But at the same time that Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) is welcoming a real estate developer to Amity, two divers disappear and a party of waterskiers is consumed by a shark. The incidents are explained away as accidents, but Brody knows better, tipping his bullets with cyanide and forbidding his sons Mike (Mark Gruner) and Sean (Marc Gilpin) to participate in a teen sailing regatta. Everyone foolishly chalks up Brody's fears to trauma-induced paranoia, and the regatta goes forward, with a hungry great white trailing the youthful contestants and hungrily picking them off one by one. Director Jeannot Szwarc would later helm another sequel, Supergirl (1984). — Karl Williams |
| Jaws 3 | 1983 | 98 mins | Action; Horror; Thriller | An ocean-themed Florida amusement park comes under attack from an angry Great White shark in this third installment of the horror series. The film maintains only a loose relationship to the original Steven Spielberg hit, centering on Mike (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch), the sons of police chief Martin Brody (originally played by Roy Scheider). Mike works at Sea World, where a baby Great White shark has accidentially been let into the park. Soon, the baby's vicious and extremely powerful mother comes in search of her child. The film focuses most of its attention on the series of tense shark attacks that follow, as tourists run for their lives while the park workers struggle to destroy the sharp-toothed beast. The suspense sequences were made somewhat more memorable during the film's original release with 3-D photography, an attribute lost on video, thereby removing the most distinctive element of an otherwise run-of-the-mill sequel. — Judd Blaise |
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | 2001 | 104 mins | Adventure; Comedy | The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie's Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others. — Karl Williams |
| Jeepers Creepers | 2001 | 89 mins | Horror; Drama | Writer/director Victor Salva returns to his horror roots with this teen-slasher genre flick, one of several 2001 films produced by Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope studio. Gina Philips and Justin Long are siblings Trish and Darry, road tripping home from college across the U.S. and bickering all the way. Menaced by a truck on the highway, the travelers encounter the same vehicle later, and what they believe is a man dumping a human body into a drainage pipe. Investigating, Darry and Trish become the intended prey of an indestructible, supernatural creature hell-bent on eating them, a murderous local myth that is proving to be all too real. As they attempt to escape their bloodthirsty pursuer, the pair discovers that even the local police station is no refuge; they also receive some advice from a knowledgeable psychic (Patricia Belcher). Jeepers Creepers co-stars Eileen Brennan. — Karl Williams |
| Jeepers Creepers 2 | 2003 | 104 mins | Horror; Thriller | The Creeper is back, and he's brought his appetite with him in director Victor Salva's sequel to his popular 2001 sleeper. Stranded on the dreaded East 9 Highway while returning home from winning the championship game, a group of basketball players, cheerleaders, and coaches quickly realize that there's more to fear than a broken down bus when The Creeper descends mercilessly upon them. As his 23-day feeding frenzy draws to a close, The Creeper needs the sort of nourishment only a vital group of young athletes can provide, and to survive the night, the terrified teens will have to fight to their dying breaths. — Jason Buchanan |
| Jersey Girl | 2004 | 102 mins | Comedy; Drama | Writer and director Kevin Smith embraces his warm and fuzzy side with this comedy drama about a man who learns a lot about life and love in the wake of a personal tragedy. Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a guy who seemingly has it made — he has a great job as a music publicist with a major Manhattan public relations firm, and he's madly in love with his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez). Ollie is very much excited about the fact he and Gertrude are soon to become parents, but Ollie's joy turns to despair when Gertrude dies in childbirth. Emotionally shattered, Ollie isn't sure what to do next, and he and his newborn daughter, Gertie, soon move to New Jersey to live with his father, Bart (George Carlin), who grows tired of playing babysitter after several months. Juggling his career with single parenthood proves to be more than Ollie can manage, and one day he's fired after he bungles a major press event. Unable to find work, Ollie eventually takes a dead-end job in New Jersey's public works department, and devotes himself to his daughter as he retreats from his own life. But after frequent visits to the local video store, he strikes up a friendship with Maya (Liv Tyler), a pretty girl who works behind the counter. As Ollie finally begins to come out of his shell, he's offered a chance to move back into the music industry, but he realizes that would mean moving back to Manhattan — and Gertie (Raquel Castro), now seven years old, makes it clear she doesn't want to go. Jersey Girl also features cameo performances from Kevin Smith regulars Jason Lee and Matt Damon, and significantly is Smith's first feature not to include Jason Mewes and Smith himself as stoner archetypes Jay and Silent Bob. — Mark Deming |
| Jet Li: Born to Defend | 1988 | 91 mins | Action | Produced in Mainland China by Sil-Metropole, this action picture marked the first directorial work by international martial arts icon Jet Li. He also stars in the film as a young kung-fu expert who fights back against the heartless American soldiers routinely bullying the Chinese populace in the days after World War II (needless to say, the film's viewpoint is slanted in an extremely anti-Western direction bordering on agitprop). First beating one loud-mouthed sailor in a kickboxing contest, the valiant Li gives his prize money to the poor and becomes a rickshaw driver. The Americans destroy his rickshaw and trick Li into allowing himself to become a sparring partner for their fighting practice, a setup engineered with the aim of repeatedly beating the cocky Chinaman to a bloody pulp. The climax of the setup occurs in a driving torrential rain, as he is pitted against the huge Navy captain, and their battle results in a large-scale melee as Li improbably defeats his towering foe. To punish his impudence, the Americans then murder two of Li's friends and frame him for the slayings, setting up the hero's inevitable jailbreak and retaliatory triumph. The film's structure is aimed at portraying all the Americans as vicious sadists, so Li spends a majority of the 92-minute running time being savagely beaten, only to repeatedly come back for more and emerge victorious. Zhao Erkang co-stars with Song Jia and the hulking Kurt Roland Pettersson, whom one might suspect would get the better of Li in a real fight. — Robert Firsching |
| Jet Li: Hero | 2004 | Action | ||
| Jet Li's The Enforcer | 1995 | 105 mins | Action | The amazing Jet Li plays a cop whose job keeps him from attending his son's junior kung fu competitions. When sent undercover to infiltrate the gang of a brutal mob boss, his arrest--part of his cover story--exposes his son to humiliation in school. Meanwhile, his wife falls deeper into illness. The Enforcer is a classic Hong Kong blend of dazzling kung fu action and outrageously sentimental subplots. Yet as silly as some situations may seem (and let's be honest, they aren't any more ridiculous than your average Sly Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger movie), they're never boring, and when the spectacular fights begin it doesn't matter--Jet Li's stunning skill and natural charisma make him magnetic. Anita Mui, costarring as a police detective tracking Li down, gets to do her share of fighting as well. In the finale, father and son team up for a battle as funny as it is spectacular. If you only know Jet Li from Lethal Weapon 4, you owe it to yourself to check out his authentic Hong Kong work, where the stunts are jaw-dropping and the special effects, while not always perfectly realistic, are bursts of pure imagination. --Bret Fetzer |
| Jimmy Neutron | 2001 | 83 mins | Animation; Sci-Fi; Comedy; Family | This animated feature from Nickelodeon is the story of ten-year-old genius inventor Jimmy Neutron, whose penchant for gadget-creation gets him and his robot dog Goddard into trouble at home and school. However, when the parents of Jimmy's hometown are kidnapped by the gooey green aliens known as Yokians, it's up to Jimmy, his best friend Carl Wheezer, and his arch rival Cindy Vortex to rally their fellow kids for a rescue effort. Patching together a ragtag armada of interstellar spacecraft, the kid invasion force sets out to rescue the moms and dads who love them and get them home in time for dinner. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) features the vocal talents of Debi Derryberry, Carolyn Lawrence, Rob Paulsen, Martin Short, Andrea Martin, and Patrick Stewart. — Karl Williams |
| John Q. | 2002 | 118 mins | Drama; Thriller; Crime | A national health care crisis in the United States yields this tense drama from screenwriter James Kearns and director Nick Cassavetes, who experienced a real-life dilemma with his daughter's congenital heart disease that mirrors the one in this film. Denzel Washington stars as John Q. Archibald, a factory worker facing financial hardship as a result of reduced hours in his workplace. When his young son, Michael (Daniel E. Smith), is stricken during a baseball game, Smith and his wife, Denise (Kimberly Elise), discover that their child is in need of an emergency heart transplant. Although the Archibalds have health insurance, they are informed by hospital administrator Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche) that their policy doesn't cover such an expensive procedure. Unable to raise the money himself, John persuades the hospital's compassionate cardiac surgeon, Dr. Raymond Turner (James Woods), to waive his lofty fee, but is still left with too much of a financial burden to bear. With no recourse but to take his son home to die, John snaps and holds the staff and patients of the hospital's emergency room hostage at gunpoint. John is soon a media hero, the focus of intense news coverage, even as police chief Gus Monroe (Ray Liotta) and hostage negotiator Frank Grimes (Robert Duvall) try to resolve the situation before it leads to bloodshed. — Karl Williams |
| Johnny English | 2003 | 86 mins | Action; Comedy; Adventure; Family; Thriller | An unhinged parody of James Bond theatrics, Johnny English finds Mr. Bean himself suiting up as the eponymous super spy for a series of wild and silly adventures. A lowly pencil pusher working for the MI7 agency, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is suddenly promoted to super spy after Agent One is assassinated and every other agent is blown up at his funeral. When billionaire entrepreneur Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) sponsors the exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the valuable gems disappear on the opening night, and on the watch of English, the newly designated agent must jump into action to uncover the thief and procure the missing valuables. Tracking the thieves' underground escape route with sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), English locks in on Sauvage despite repeated assurances by boss Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith) that the respected entrepreneur has nothing to do with the crime. Could the mysterious Lorna (Natalie Imbruglia), who has an odd habit of turning up at the wrong place at the wrong time, hold the key to helping Johnny? A massive hit overseas, Johnny English held it's own at the box office in early April 2003, and was slated for wide release in the U.S. If the spoofing in Johnny English strikes especially close to home, that may be because the film was scripted by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who teamed to pen such Bond adventures as Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough. — Jason Buchanan |
| Johnson Family Vacation | 2004 | 97 mins | Comedy | Comedian Cedric the Entertainer serves as both producer and star of this comedy about a family who discovers just how much can go wrong en route to a family get-together. When Nate Johnson (Cedric the Entertainer) is invited to a big family reunion in Missouri, he sees it as an opportunity to reconnect with his estranged wife and growing children, as well as a chance to show up his wealthier know-it-all brother, Mack (Steve Harvey). Nate takes delivery on an expensive new SUV, persuades his recently separated wife, Dorothy (Vanessa L. Williams), to tag along, and packs up his three kids — nubile teenager Nikki (Solange Knowles), under-age wannabe rapper DJ (Bow Wow), and precocious seven-year-old Destiny (Gabby Soleil) — for what he imagines will be a leisurely drive from Los Angeles to St. Louis. However, between his wary wife, arguing kids, angry police officers, bizarre hitchhikers, bad diner food, and an unfortunate run-in with a cement mixer, getting from point A to point B proves to be just short of a nightmare. Johnson Family Vacation was the first feature film for director Christopher Erskin, who previously distinguished himself directing music videos for the likes of Missy Elliot, TLC, and Boyz II Men. — Mark Deming |
| Joy Ride | 2001 | 97 mins | Horror; Thriller; Action | Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychotic killer. |
| Judge Dredd | 1995 | 96 mins | Action; Crime; Sci-Fi | A violent, effects-heavy science fiction adventure, Judge Dredd depicts a nightmarish future in which overcrowded cities are terrorized by brutal gun battles and policed by "Judges," law officers who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Sylvester Stallone stars as Judge Dredd, a punishing enforcer with an unswerving dedication to law and order. Little does Dredd know that a nasty villain (Armand Assante) and a corrupt Judge (Jurgen Prochnow) are plotting to take over the city and plan to frame Dredd for murder in order to prevent him from interfering. Dredd winds up in prison, but he fights back with the help of Judge Hershey (Diane Lane), his partner and romantic interest, and Fergie (Rob Schneider), his friend and comic relief, developing a plan to clear his name and stop the bad guys. — Judd Blaise |
| Juice | 1992 | 95 mins | Drama; Action; Crime; Thriller | "Juice" is about 3 inner-city teens who get caught up in a double murder. |
| Junebug | 2005 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama | A dealer in "outsider" art travels from Chicago to North Carolina to meet her new in-laws, challenging the equilibrium of this middle class Southern home. |
| The Jungle Book | 1967 | 78 mins | Family; Animation; Comedy; Musical | Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization. |
| The Jungle Book 2 | 2003 | 72 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family; Musical | Mowgli the "man-cub" returns to the wilderness in this sequel to the Walt Disney Pictures animated favorite The Jungle Book. After leaving life in the jungle behind, Mowgli (voice of Haley Joel Osment) has been adopted, and now lives in the nearby village with his new parents and his younger brother, while becoming close friends with Shanti (voice of Mae Whitman), the girl who first lured him out of the wilds. However, adjusting to live among other humans hasn't been easy, and after Mowgli pays a visit to an old friend, happy-go-lucky bear Baloo (John Goodman), the boy considers staying for a while. Before long, both Shanti and Mowgli's new family notice he's missing, and Shanti goes into the jungle to look for him, despite her fear of wild animals. However, Mowgli and Baloo are soon reminded that life in the wilderness isn't always carefree when they learn Shere Khan (voice of Tony Jay) is looking for Mowgli, eager to settle an old score. The Jungle Book 2 also features voice work from Phil Collins and John Rhys-Davies; rock group Smash Mouth contribute a new version of "I Wanna Be Like You" to the soundtrack. — Mark Deming |
| Jurassic Park | 1993 | 127 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Director Steven Spielberg's Jurassic masterpiece is back in this Collector's Edition containing interviews and special behind-the-scenes footage. One of the most successful films in worldwide box office history, Jurassic Park remains a most compelling and spectacular experience. This thrilling adventure features Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. Featuring incredible special effects and action-packed drama, Jurassic Park takes you to a remote island where an amazing theme park with living dinosaurs is about to turn deadly, as five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators. Rediscover the breathtaking adventure you'll want to experience again and again. |
| Jurassic Park III | 2001 | 92 mins | Horror; Sci-Fi; Adventure; Thriller; Action | A decidedly odd couple with ulterior motives convince Dr. Alan Grant to go to Isla Sorna (the second InGen dinosaur lab.), resulting in an unexpected landing...and unexpected new inhabitants on the island. |
| Just Friends | 2005 | 96 mins | Comedy; Romance | A man comes face-to-face with old high school crush -- a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer. |
| Just Like Heaven | 2005 | 95 mins | Comedy; Fantasy; Romance | A lonely architect (Ruffalo) falls for the spirit of beautiful woman (Witherspoon) who used to live in his new apartment. |
| Just Married | 2003 | 94 mins | Comedy; Romance | Can a new marriage survive meddling friends, disapproving families, and some of the worst accommodations in Europe? That's the question posed in this broad comedy. Tom Leezak (Ashton Kutcher) is a regular guy who likes sports and beer and tries to make ends meet working as a nighttime radio traffic reporter. Sarah McNerney (Brittany Murphy) is a beautiful young woman from a wealthy and privileged family who is trying to make a name for herself as a writer. Tom and Sarah have seemingly nothing in common, but that doesn't stop them from falling in love. Sarah's family doesn't much care for Tom's boorish ways, and Tom's buddies think Sarah is too highbrow for him, but, if anything, this makes the couple all the more determined to be together, and they decide to get married and head off to Italy for a month-long honeymoon despite the pleas of those closest to them. However, even after the knot is tied, Sarah's former beau, Peter Prentiss (Christian Kane), is dead set upon breaking up the happy couple, though as it turns out, a seemingly endless stream of bad luck and post-marital jitters may do the job for him. Just Married was written by Sam Harper, who claims to have loosely based the script on his own experiences on an ill-starred European honeymoon with his wife; fortunately, the couple's marriage survived the experience. — Mark Deming |
| Just My Luck | 2006 | 103 mins | Comedy; Romance | Manhattanite Ashley (Lindsay Lohan) is known to many as the luckiest woman around. After a chance encounter with a down-and-out young man (Chris Pine), however, she realizes that she's swapped her fortune for his. |
| Karate Kid, The | 1986 | 113 mins | The price of honor. The power of friendship. The Karate Kid, Part II. Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita re-create the roles that brought them international acclaim in The Karate Kid, when karate student Daniel Larusso (Macchio) accompanies his wise and whimsical teacher Mr. Miyagi (Morita), to his ancestral home in Okinawa. For the boy, it's a journey to an exotic new world, offering new clues to his mentor's secret past. For Miyagi, it's an opportunity to see his father one last time and to rekindle a romance with his childhood sweetheart (Nobu McCarthy). But Miyagi's return also re-ignites a bitter feud with long-time enemy Sato (Danny Kamekona) - a feud that involves young Daniel in a brilliant collision of cultures and combat. Now, far away from the tournaments, the cheering crowds and the safety of home, Daniel will face his greatest challenge ever when teacher becomes student, and the price of honor is life itself. |
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| Kicking & Screaming | 2005 | 95 mins | Comedy; Family; Sport | Family man Phil Weston, a lifelong victim of his father's competitive nature, takes on the coaching duties of a kids' soccer team, and soon finds that he's also taking on his father's dysfunctional way of relating... (view trailer) |
| Kill Bill Vol. 1 | 2003 | 107 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | Perhaps the most highly anticipated film of 2003, Kill Bill Vol. 1 marked the return of renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino after a six-year hiatus. Re-teaming the director with Uma Thurman for the first time since 1994's Pulp Fiction, the film was originally the first half of what was to be a three-hour movie before being split into two 90-minute films. Thurman stars as The Bride, one-fifth of a team of assassins called DiVAS. When The Bride opts to leave the outfit for a life of marital bliss, it doesn't sit well with her boss, Bill (David Carradine), so he has her former cohorts, played by Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, and Michael Madsen, show up at the nuptials, leaving behind a blood bath. Miraculously, The Bride survives a bullet to the head and, four years later, she sets out for revenge against her four assassins and their employer. The story is concluded in Kill Bill Vol. 2, released four months later. — Matthew Tobey |
| Kill Bill Vol. 2 | 2004 | 137 mins | Action; Thriller; Drama | Quentin Tarantino's sprawling homage to action films of both the East and the West reaches its conclusion in this continuation of 2003's ultra-violent Kill Bill Vol. 1. Having dispatched several of her arch-enemies in the first film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on her deadly pursuit of her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who, in a furious assault, attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. As The Bride faces off against allies-turned-nemeses Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), she flashes back to the day of her deadly wedding, and we learn of how she was recruited to join the DiVAS, her training under unforgiving martial arts master Pai Mei (Liu Chia-hui), and her relationship with Squad leader Bill (David Carradine), which changed from love to violent hatred. Originally planned as a single film, Kill Bill grew into an epic-scale two-part project totaling more than four hours in length; as with the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 includes appearances by genre-film icons Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, and Sid Haig; Wu-Tang Clan producer and turntablist RZA and filmmaker and composer Robert Rodriguez both contributed to the musical score. — Mark Deming |
| Kim Possible: So the Drama | 2005 | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family; Fantasy | Kim's heart is quickly captured by the new boy, Eric, who soon becomes her boyfriend. Unknown to Kim, her best friend and sidekick, Ron has developed stronger feelings toward her. | |
| Kindergarten Cop | 1990 | 111 mins | Action; Comedy; Thriller; Crime | A tough cop is given his most difficult assignment: masquerade as a a kindergarten teacher in order to find a drug dealer. |
| King Arthur | 2004 | 130 mins | Action; Adventure | Coming soon! |
| King Kong | 2005 | 187 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; Thriller | In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow. |
| King of New York | 1990 | 103 mins | Action; Drama; Crime | A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the... |
| Kingdom of Heaven | 2005 | 145 mins | Action; Drama; War | Balian of Ibelin travels to Jerusalem during the crusades of the 12th century, and there he finds himself as the defender of the city and its people. |
| King's Ransom | 2005 | 98 mins | Comedy | Anthony Anderson has built a career by creating likable supporting performances in mediocre movies from Urban Legends: Final Cut to Kangaroo Jack to Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. So he probably leapt on King's Ransom as an opportunity to show his star potential, surrounded by a good cast, including Jay Mohr (Jerry Maguire), Nicole Parker (Soul Food), Loretta Devine (Woman Thou Art Loosed), and Regina Hall (Scary Movie). Regrettably, all King's Ransom shows is why Anderson ended up in so many mediocre movies in the first place: Poor judgment. This contrived comedy about a business mogul who has himself kidnapped to wriggle out of a divorce settlement--only, what a surprise, his plans go awry and hijinks ensue--is one long series of clumsy, unoriginal, and just unfunny scenes that barely connect into a plot. It's a movie that seems to have been made as a tax write-off. Also featuring Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show) and Donald Faison (Scrubs). --Bret Fetzer |
| Kinky Boots | 2005 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama | A man finds an unlikely ally in Lola, a brassy cabaret singer, in his effort to save his father's shoe factory. |
| Kinsey | 2004 | 118 mins | Drama | A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey (Neeson), a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior. |
| Kiss Kiss Bang Bang | 2005 | 103 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Mystery; Thriller | A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor. |
| Knight's Tale, A | 2001 | 132 mins | Action; Adventure | He Will Rock You The 14th century takes a rocking new twist in A Knight's Tale, a stylish, exciting, action-packed adventure starring Heath Ledger (The Patriot, 10 Things I Hate About You) from acclaimed director Brian Helgeland (Payback). With heroic performances from Mark Addy (The Full Monty, Down To Earth), Rufus Sewell (Dangerous Beauty, Dark City) and Alan Tudyk (28 Days, Wonder Boys) and introducing sensational newcomer Shannyn Sossamon. Heath Ledger is William Thatcher, a peasant squire who breaks all the rules when he passes himself off as a nobleman and takes the jousting world by storm. The only thing that stands between William and his dream of becoming the world champion of the extremest of sports is the bad boy of the sport Count Adhemar. And when the two rivals go lance to head at the world finals to determine who will be named the ultimate champion, you better arm yourself and hang on tight for the thrill ride of your life! |
| Knockaround Guys | 2001 | 93 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime; Drama | A big score goes wrong in a big way for a bunch of aspiring gangsters in this crime comedy. Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a mid-level Brooklyn mob boss, Benny "Chains" Demaret (Dennis Hopper). When Matty was 12 years old, Benny and Uncle Teddy (John Malkovich) decided to see if Matty had what it took to be in the mob; they gave the boy a gun and ordered him to shoot a longtime enemy of the family. Matty lacked the nerve to do it, and ever since, Benny has been convinced his son is a coward. As an adult, Matty is stuck between a rock and a hard place; he'd like to work as a sports agent, but his family's criminal ties make that all but impossible, and his dad won't give him a chance in the family's operations. Uncle Teddy decides to give Matty a chance to make good by asking him to pick up a payment of $500,000 in Spokane, WA. Matty puts together a crew of three friends, all sons of mob guys, to help him out: muscle bound Taylor (Vin Diesel), ladies' man Chris (Andrew Davoli), and cocaine-addled would-be pilot Johnny (Seth Green). Getting the money goes just fine, but during a refueling stop in Montana, Johnny has to hide the money to keep it from being discovered. It's then promptly stolen by a pair of burnouts. When Matty and his crew discover the money is missing, they head back to Montana, but before long, they find out that the sheriff (Tom Noonan) is onto them, and that he has his own plans for the cash; they also learn that Uncle Teddy has some plans he didn't tell them about. Knockaround Guys marked the directorial debut for the screenwriting team of Brian Koppelman and David Levien. — Mark Deming |
| Kronk's New Groove | 2005 | Animation; Family | Coming Soon! | |
| Kung Fu Hustle | 2004 | 99 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Fantasy | In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf. |
| Kung Pow! Enter the Fist | 2002 | 81 mins | Action; Comedy | Writer, director, and star Steve Oedekerk lampoons the martial arts genre with this action spoof that digitally mixes new scenes with poorly dubbed footage from the vintage 1976 film Savage Killers. Oedekerk stars as "the Chosen One," a kung-fu prodigy even from the womb, who grows up to seek vengeance on the evil, legendary "Master Pain" (aka Betty), who murdered his parents. Along the way, he is aided in his quest by the kindly, wizened Master Tang as well as Whoa (Jennifer Tung), a karate queen with a cleavage problem. The Chosen One is also called upon to employ his unique fighting styles, including the "gopher," and faces not only Master Pain, but a gay henchman and the lethal lactation of a deadly, karate-chopping cow. Originally entitled "The Dubbed Action Movie," this broad parody saw its release delayed several times, finally reaching theaters two years after it was shot. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist co-stars Tad Horino and Philip Tan. — Karl Williams |
| Ladder 49 | 2004 | 105 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | Under the watchful eye of his mentor Chief Mike Kennedy (Travolta), probationary firefighter Jack Morrison... |
| Lady and the Tramp | 1955 | 76 mins | Animation; Comedy; Drama; Family; Musical; Romance | It's still one of the sweetest kisses onscreen, up there with Bergman and Grant, Bogey and Bacall: the moment when pampered purebred Lady and streetwise mongrel Tramp, sharing a moonlit plate of spaghetti in an alley behind an Italian café, unknowingly slurp the same strand, and suddenly find their mouths meeting in surprise and tenderness. Ah, puppy love. Lady and the Tramp is a delight of animation and surprisingly deep character development, given that the stars are all dogs. Lady, an adorable Cocker Spaniel, feels neglected when her owners become distracted by the pending birth of a baby. But the last straw is clueless Aunt Sarah's appearance with her conniving Siamese cats (among Disney's most creatively evil villains), who wreak havoc on Lady's blissful home life. Soon Lady is off on an adventure in the streets, where the savvy Tramp takes her under his paw. The lessons of friendship and loyalty, of integrity--not to mention trusting in the kindness of strangers--ring true to delighted children and adults alike. And unlike many Disney films, there's no real violence, only challenges that smart dogs (including a tough-talking vamp named Peg, voiced sublimely by Peggy Lee, who also wrote the songs), banding together, can tackle. The animation is terrific; the scene where we first meet Tramp shows him rinsing off under a pipe, and his subsequent shaking-off of the water follows the detailed rippling up and down his back that any dog lover will recognize. And is there any song more romantic than "Bella Notte"? Bellissima! --A.T. Hurley |
| The Ladykillers | 2004 | 104 mins | Comedy; Crime | One of the best-loved films from the idiosyncratic British film studio Ealing Pictures gets an update from the equally idiosyncratic filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen in this offbeat comedy. Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall) is a spry, elderly woman who attends church regularly, doesn't care for loud noises or harsh language, and is looking for a tenant for the spare room in her house. Enter Goldthwait Higginson Dorr (Tom Hanks), a silver-tongued college professor who moves in and gains Munson's permission to use the basement for rehearsals with his "medieval music ensemble." What Munson doesn't know is that Dorr's latest project is not academic, but criminal. Dorr is masterminding the robbery of a riverboat casino, and the fellow musicians in his ensemble are actually the crew he's assembled to pull off the job: foul-mouthed "inside man" Gawain (Marlon Wayans), clumsy demolitions expert Pancake (J.K. Simmons), quiet strong-arm man Lump (Ryan Hurst), and logistical expert The General (Tzi Ma). Despite the best efforts of Dorr and his cohorts (which aren't very impressive), Munson finds out about their scheme, and when she refuses to accept a share of the take in exchange for her silence, Dorr decides the best solution is to silence her permanently. The gospel tunes which grace the soundtrack to The Ladykillers were coordinated by T-Bone Burnett, who also helped assemble the acclaimed song score for the Coen brothers' O Brother, Where Art Thou?. — Mark Deming |
| Laffapalooza 1 | 2003 | 53 mins | Comedy | Jamie Foxx presents Showtime's funny Laffapalooza program spotlighting the comic gifts of several of the host's peers and friends. While the show's format can get in the way of its purpose--there are too many testimonials between acts about the rough road of stand-up comedy--the performers generally fare well. One-name funnyman Speedy defines the difference between white and black behavior at expensive restaurants: White people fight over the right to pay the bill while black customers argue over who ate what. Alexis Thomas provides a wicked demonstration of how rap songs are cleaned up for music videos, and asks the audience to imagine the impossible: Yesterday's African American music stars (Billy Ocean, etc.) swearing. Rodney Perry explains why black men don't care about women's legs, and the mountainous Lavell Crawford gives a hysterical impression of his mother breaking into gospel songs upon hearing that he has diabetes. --Tom Keogh |
| Laffapalooza 2 | 2003 | 48 mins | Comedy | America's Urban International Comedy Arts Festival Jamie Foxx hosts this outrageous collection of comedy as seen on Showtime from the country's most popular urban comedy festival, featuring both major stars and today's freshest, funniest up-and-coming comedians. Now for the first time all of the festival's fun and excitement in captured on home video. See performances by the hilarious David Alan Grier ("In Living Color", "Life With Bonnie"), celebrity impersonator Chris Thomas, hip-hop concert favorite T.K. Kirkland and major player Corey Holcomb. Plus, Mike Epps (Friday After Next, The Honeymooners) and John Witherspoon (Soul Plane, "The Wayans Bros.") help to mix it up onstage. |
| Laffapalooza!, Vol. 3 | 2003 | 56 mins | Comedy | America's Urban International Comedy Arts Festival Some of today's freshest, funniest comedians are featured in Laffapalooza! 3 from the country's most popular urban comedy festival as seen on Showtime. Hosted by Jamie Foxx, performers include the popular Sheryl Underwood (host of Holla), top stand-up comedian Chris Spencer (Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood), the versatile Aries Spears (MAD TV) and the hilarious Kenny Howell (Def Comedy Jam) Political activist-comedian Dick Gregory and Hughley's star D.L. Hughley join in the fun. |
| Laffapalooza!, Vol. 4 | 56 mins | Comedy | ||
| The Lake House | 2006 | 110 mins | Drama; Fantasy; Romance; Mystery | A lonely doctor (Bullock) who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its newest resident, a frustrated architect (Reeves). They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late. (view trailer) |
| Lake Placid | 1999 | 82 mins | Comedy; Horror | So what's under the water in that lake deep in the Maine woods? No one is sure what it could be, but a dead and severely mutilated body was found near the shore, and the only clue is a large tooth which appears to be from a prehistoric animal resembling a huge crocodile. Jack Wells (Bill Pullman), the local Fish and Game warden, is investigating the case when he's assigned a helper, paleontologist Kelly Scott (Bridget Fonda). Kelly generally does office work since she hates the outdoors (a drawback in her line of work) and is recovering from a break-up with one of her co-workers. Jack would just as soon handle this matter without Kelly's help, but with time the two get used to each other, and something beyond a working relationship begins to develop. Meanwhile, Jack and Kelly also have to deal with Sheriff Hank Keogh (Brendan Gleeson), who would like to find the mystery creature and kill it; Hector Cyr (Oliver Platt), a quirky mythology expert who wants to capture and study the beast; and Mrs. Bickerman (Betty White), an eccentric older woman with dubious stories about her missing cattle — and missing husband. Blending suspense, humor, and romance, Lake Placid was written by David E. Kelley, creator of the popular TV shows Ally McBeal and The Practice, and directed by Steve Miner, whose credits range from TV's The Wonder Years to the films Forever Young and Halloween: H20. — Mark Deming |
| Lara Croft Tomb Raider | 2001 | 100 mins | Action; Adventure | A popular video game comes to the screen with this big-budget adventure starring Angelina Jolie as a buxom heroine recalling equal parts Indiana Jones and James Bond. Jolie is Lara Croft, a proper British aristocrat groomed at schools for the children of the elite. Croft leads a double life, however, as an acquirer of lost antiquities through questionable means, highly trained in combat skills with the help of a robotic opponent called Simon. Despite her exciting profession and a life of wealth and breeding, Lara pines for her father, Lord Croft (Jon Voight), whose passing left her orphaned. On the eve of a celestial event that will also mark the anniversary of Lord Croft's death, Lara comes up against an ancient organization called the Illuminati, represented by the sinister Powell (Iain Glen), who's in pursuit of an ancient relic with power over time and even death itself. With the aid of her high-tech support team, Lara travels to some exotic locales in search of the artifact, including a foray into a decrepit Asian temple guarded by lethal stone apes and other creatures that spring to life. Filmed at various locations in Great Britain as well as Iceland and the Angkor Wat temples of Cambodia, Tomb Raider co-stars Noah Taylor, Chris Barrie, Daniel Craig, Rachel Appleton, Leslie Phillips, Mark Collie, and Julian Rhind-Tutt. — Karl Williams |
| Lara Croft Tomb Raider The Cradle of Life | 2003 | 118 mins | Action; Adventure | This sequel to the 2001 hit video-game adaptation Lara Croft: Tomb Raider finds Jan de Bont stepping in for director Simon West, helming his first feature since 1999's The Haunting. From a script by first-time scribe Dean Georgaris, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life finds Angelina Jolie once again portraying the titular curvaceous adventurer. But where the first film saw Croft in a race against the Illuminati to acquire an elusive relic that offers control over life and death, this entry in the series follows the heroine as she ventures to an underwater temple in search of the mythological Pandora's Box. Unfortunately, once she secures the legendary artifact, it is promptly stolen by the villainous leader of a Chinese crime syndicate. It is then up to Lara to get the box back before an evil mastermind gets hold of it and uses it to construct a weapon of catastrophic capabilities. Gerard Butler, Djimon Hounsou, and Noah Taylor head up the supporting cast. — Matthew Tobey |
| Larry the Cable Guy: Git-R-Done | 2003 | 66 mins | Comedy | Known for his trademark cries of "Git-R-Done," and "What the hell is this, Russia?" Larry the Cable Guy has been a well-recognized champion of blue-collar humor since his role in Comedy Central's Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie, and has made appearances on Showtime, MTV, Evening at the Improv, and Comic Strip Live. In Larry the Cable Guy: Git-R-Done, Larry offers over an hour's worth of standup comedy for the workingman in front of a live audience. — Tracie Cooper |
| Larva | 2005 | 96 mins | Sci-Fi | Host, Missouri is a quiet ranching community where everyone knows everyone, and almost everyone earns their living from Host Tender Meats. This is where veterinarian Eli Rudkus decides to call home when his predecessor decides to retire. When Eli is called to the home of the local rancher Jacob Long, little does he know this routine house call will uncover a danger that could annihilate this small town... |
| Last Holiday | 2006 | 112 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Drama | After she's diagnosed with a terminal illness, a shy woman decides to take a European vacation. (view trailer) |
| The Last Ride | 2004 | 85 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | Fueled by Rebellion. Driven by revenge. Buckle up and hold on tight, because you're about to accelerate into high-speed action in the turbo-charged, full-throttle race for survival, The Last Ride. When notorious convict Ronnie Purnell (Dennis Hopper) is paroled from prison, he' s only got two things on his mind: revenge, and the missing 1969 Pontiac GTO that holds the clue to his innocence. In a "hot" 350-horespower 2004 Pontiac GTO, Ronnie's riding shotgun with his speed demon grandson, Matt (The O.C.'s Chris Carmack), and Matt's drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend, JJ (Biker Boyz's Nadine Velazquez), and they're not slowing down until justice is served. From director Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) comes a high octane thrill-ride tricked out with the most jaw-dropping racing sequences and mind-blowing stunts ever to speed on to DVD. |
| The Last Samurai | 2003 | 154 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; War | Edward Zwick returned to the director's chair for the first time since 1998's The Siege with this sweeping period drama set in 19th-century Japan. After centuries of relying on hired samurai for national defense, the Japanese monarchy has decided to do away with the warriors in favor of a more contemporary military. Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a veteran of the U.S. Civil War who is hired by the Emperor Meiji to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside. Billy Connelly, Tony Goldwyn, and Ken Watanabe co-star. — Matthew Tobey |
| The Last Shot | 2004 | 93 mins | Comedy | A movie director-screenwriter (Matthew Broderick) finds a man to finance his latest project but soon discovers that the producer is actually an undercover FBI agent working on a mob sting operation. |
| Laws of Attraction | 2004 | 87 mins | Comedy; Romance | Amidst a sea of litigation, two New York City divorce lawyers (Moore, Brosnan) find love. |
| Layer Cake | 2004 | 104 mins | Thriller; Crime; Action | A successful cocaine dealer planning an early retirement is lured back into business by a love interest and an international drug ring. |
| The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen | 2003 | 110 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Fantasy | Based on the comic book miniseries by Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen takes place in an alternate universe where the characters of several literary classics exist in reality. If that wasn't enough, they've been assembled together in 1900 by Queen Victoria as a team of evil-fighting heroes. Among them are Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery) from H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines; Mina Harker (Peta Wilson) from Bram Stoker's Dracula; Tom Sawyer (Shane West) from several works by Mark Twain; Dorian Grey (Stuart Townsend) from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey; Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah) from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; The Invisible Man (Tony Curran) from H.G. Wells book of the same name; and several others. Working together, the odd assortment of characters must combine their powers to defeat a mysterious villain and save the world from certain destruction. Directed by Stephen Norrington (Blade), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen also stars Jason Flemyng, Tom Goodman-Hill, and David Hemmings. — Matthew Tobey |
| Legally Blonde 2 | 2003 | 94 mins | Comedy | Taking home a paycheck that nearly rivals the budget of the first film, Reese Witherspoon reprises the role of Elle Woods in this sequel to 2001's surprise blockbuster Legally Blonde. When she's fired from her job at an upscale law firm for voicing her stance against the testing of cosmetics on animals, Elle heads to Capitol Hill to fight for her cause before Congress, leaving her boyfriend, Emmet (Luke Wilson, reprising his role from the film's predecessor), behind. Once there, she runs into plenty of adversity and red-tape and can't seem to find anyone who will listen to her proposals. While staying at the Watergate hotel though, she meets and befriends an elderly bellman (Bob Newhart in his first theatrical role since 1997's In &sOut) who's been around politicians long enough to know the ins and outs of the political machine. With his help, Elle attempts to convince disillusioned U.S. Representative Rudd (Sally Field) to help her get her voice heard in front of the stodgy old coots of the legislative branch. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld hot off the success of his critically acclaimed indie comedy Kissing Jessica Stein, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde boasts a supporting cast led by Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, American Pie) and Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Daddy Day Care). — Matthew Tobey |
| The Legend of Zorro | 2005 | 129 mins | Action; Adventure; Western | Despite trying to keep his swashbuckling to a minimum, a threat to California's pending statehood causes the adventure-loving Alejandro de la Vega (Banderas) -- and his wife, Elena (Zeta-Jones) -- to take action. |
| Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | 2004 | 108 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Family; Fantasy | Three wealthy children's parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune. |
| Lethal Weapon | 1993 | 110 mins | Animation; Action; Crime | |
| Lethal Weapon 2 | 1989 | 114 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Thriller | Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities. |
| Lethal Weapon 3 | 1992 | 118 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Thriller | Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh... |
| Lethal Weapon 4 | 1998 | 127 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Thriller | With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crimelord trying to get his brother out of prison. |
| The Libertine | 2005 | Short; Drama | ||
| Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The | 2004 | 118 mins | Adventure; Comedy | In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, director Wes Anderson takes his familiar stable of actors on a field trip to a fantasy aquarium, complete with stop-motion, candy-striped crabs and rainbow seahorses. And though Anderson does expand his horizons in terms of retro-special effects and a whimsical use of color, fans will otherwise find themselves in well-charted waters. As The Life Aquatic opens, Zissou (Bill Murray), a self-involved, Jacques Cousteau-like filmmaker, has just released a documentary depicting the death of his best friend Esteban, who was eaten by some sort of sea creature--possibly a jaguar shark. Zissou?s troubles also include his waning popularity with the public, and a nemesis (Jeff Goldblum) who hogs up all the grant money. Hope arrives in the form of Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), an amiable Kentuckian who may be Zissou?s son. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for fatherhood, Zissou welcomes Ned--and Ned in turn saves Zissou?s new documentary (in which he seeks revenge on the jaguar shark) in more ways than one. One of Wes Anderson?s greatest achievements as a director to date has been launching the autumnal melancholy phase of Bill Murray?s career, starting with Rushmore in 1998, and Murray delivers a similarly comedic yet low-key performance here. Unfortunately, Zissou is one of the few characters in this ensemble to achieve multi-dimensionality. Even co-star Wilson doesn?t get to develop Ned much beyond Noble Southerner, and he ends up seeming more like a prop for illustrating Zissou?s emotional development rather than his own man. The Life Aquatic probably won?t be remembered as a great film, but it is still one that no Anderson (or Murray) fan can afford to miss.--Leah Weathersby |
| Like Mike | 2002 | 99 mins | Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Sport | A 14-year-old orphan becomes an NBA superstar after trying on a pair of sneakers with the faded initials "M.J." inside. |
| Lilo & Stitch | 2002 | 85 mins | Animation | A lonely little girl makes a very unusual friend — a ukulele-playing alien who likes to toss around small automobiles — in this antic animated comedy from Walt Disney Studios. Lilo (voice of Daveigh Chase) is a young Hawaiian girl being raised by her teenaged sister Nani (voice of Tia Carrere) after the unexpected death of their parents in an auto accident. While Nani tries to hold their household together, Lilo is a child with unusual interests and a distinctive sense of humor, which makes it hard for her to bond with her peers, as well as her big sister. Nani decides Lilo might be happier if she had a pet, so the sisters go to the animal shelter to adopt a dog; however, the critter which catches Lilo's fancy is a fuzzy blue creature she names Stitch (voice of Chris Sanders). Nani isn't so sure Stitch is really a dog, and it turns out she's right; Stitch is actually "Genetic Experiment 626," a mutation created by extraterrestrial mad scientist Dr. Jumba (voice of David Ogden Stiers) to be used a weapon. Stitch is an intelligent but gleefully destructive little creature with superhuman strength who has escaped to Earth and crash-landed in the Hawaiian islands, but Lilo sees him simply as a fellow misfit and attempts to teach him to behave like her favorite American icon, Elvis Presley. Meanwhile, Nani struggles to keep Lilo and Stitch on their best behavior as stern social worker Cobra Bubbles (voice of Ving Rhames) tries to determine if Nani is fit to raise a child, while Dr. Jumba and Pleakley (voice of Kevin McDonald) attempt to capture "Experiment 626" and bring him back home. Chris Sanders, who provides the voice of Stitch, also co-wrote and co-directed the film, which features numerous Elvis Presley tunes on the soundtrack, as well as a new recording of "Burning Love" by country star Wynonna. — Mark Deming |
| The Lion King | 1994 | 87 mins | Family; Adventure; Animation; Musical; Comedy | One of the most popular Disney animated musicals, The Lion King presents the story of a lion cub's journey to adulthood and acceptance of his royal destiny. Simba (voiced first by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, then by Matthew Broderick) begins life as an honored prince, son of the powerful King Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones). The cub's happy childhood turns tragic when his evil uncle Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons) murders Mufasa and drives Simba away from the kingdom. In exile, the young lion befriends the comically bumbling pair of Pumbaa the warthog (voiced by Ernie Sabella) and Timon the meerkat (voiced by Nathan Lane) and lives a carefree jungle life. As he approaches adulthood, however, he is visited by the spirit of his father, who instructs him to defeat the nefarious Scar and reclaim his rightful throne. Borrowing elements from Hamlet, classical mythology, and African folk tales, The Lion King tells its mythic coming-of-age tale with a combination of spectacular visuals and lively music, featuring light, rhythmic songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score by Hans Zimmer. Embraced by children and adults alike, the film also spawned hit songs ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Circle of Life") and a hit Broadway musical. In late 2002, The Lion King was re-released in the large-screen IMAX format. — Judd Blaise |
| The Lion King 1½ | 2004 | 77 mins | Animation; Comedy; Family; Adventure | Ten years after The Lion King shot to the top at the box office and first introduced the characters of Simba (Matthew Broderick) and his pals Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella), Disney presented this retelling of the Academy Award-winning animated musical. Switching the perspective to that of meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, The Lion King 1 1/2 puts a new spin on the events of the original film. This time around, the comic duo are conveniently at the center of much of the story. Along with returning cast members Moira Kelly, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cheech Marin, The Simpsons' Julie Kavner and Seinfeld's Jerry Stiller lend their voices to newcomer characters Timon's Mom and Timon's Uncle Max, respectively. The straight-to-video film also features the never-before-heard song "That's All I Need." — Matthew Tobey |
| Little Black Book | 2004 | 106 mins | Comedy; Family | |
| The Little Mermaid | 1989 | 83 mins | Family; Animation; Comedy; Musical; Romance; Fantasy | A mermaid princess makes a faustian bargain with an unscrupulous seahag in order to meet a human prince on land. |
| The Lizzie McGuire Movie | 2003 | 93 mins | Comedy; Family; Adventure | Teen queen Lizzie McGuire grows up a bit and hits the big screen in this comedy drama, based on the popular Disney Network series. Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) and her best friends Kate (Ashlie Brillault), Gordo (Adam Lamberg), and Ethan (Clayton Snyder) have just graduated from middle school, and to celebrate, they're taking part in a class trip to Rome, Italy. Eager to celebrate their new maturity as high school students, Lizzie and her pals hope to live it up in one of Europe's most fabled cities, but fate has something more spectacular in store for Lizzie. Lizzie discovers that she bears a striking resemblance to Isabella, an Italian teen-pop idol famous for her duets with heart-throb Paolo (Yani Gellman) — so much so that when Paolo and Isabella have a falling out, he asks Lizzie to take Isabella's place for an upcoming concert. Lizzie, however, isn't sure she feels comfortable stepping into the spotlight, and is even less sure about the way she feels about Paolo, who makes no secret of his infatuation with her. Things don't get any simpler for Lizzie when her family gets wind of her newfound fame, and catch the next flight to Italy. The Lizzie McGuire Movie also features Robert Carradine and Hallie Todd as Lizzie's parents, and Jake Thomas as her younger brother Matt, all of whom reprise their roles from the television series. — Mark Deming |
| The Long Kiss Goodnight | 1996 | 120 mins | Action; Thriller; Drama | A women suffering from amnesia begins to recover her memories after trouble from her past finds her again. |
| The Longest Yard | 2005 | 113 mins | Comedy; Drama; Sport | Prison inmates form a football team to challenge the prison guards. |
| Look Who's Talking | 1989 | 90 mins | Romance; Comedy | Though its PG-13 rating is well earned, Look Who's Talking has some elements that might appeal to a family audience. Chief among them, of course, is the "talking baby" protagonist. The product of an extramarital affair, infant Mikey (played by several different babies, and given voice by Bruce Willis) is a cynical, sarcastic observer of his new world. Mikey's mother, Kirstie Alley, having been dumped by her married lover George Segal, searches high and low for a new father for her baby. Of course, the perfect daddy is right under her nose all the time: cab driver John Travolta, who was on the scene when she went into labor on the sidewalk. The best moments in Look Who's Talking include Ms. Alley's imaginary flights of fancy, and the misadventures of Mikey as he progresses from sperm to reluctant newborn (his violent vocal protests against being yanked from the womb are worth the admission price in themselves). Look Who's Talking has spawned two sequels, neither of which are as charming or disarming as the original. — Hal Erickson |
| Looney Tunes | 2003 | 91 mins | Action; Animation; Fantasy; Adventure; Comedy; Family | In a land where cartoon characters and flesh-and-blood people work side by side, one little black duck lands in a big pot of trouble in this comedy, which brings the beloved Looney Tunes characters into the real world. Daffy Duck (voice of Joe Alaskey) has grown tired of his status as Warner Bros.' leading avian second fiddle and demands that if he can't be given equal billing with his rival Bugs Bunny (also voiced by Alaskey), he wants to be released from his contract. Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), Warners' vice president in charge of comedy, is way ahead of Daffy and orders studio stuntman D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to kick the duck off the studio lot. D.J. soon discovers getting rid of Daffy is no easy task, and the duck is in tow when Drake makes a startling discovery — his father Damian Drake (Timothy Dalton), a movie star best know for playing ultra-suave secret agents, really is a secret agent, and he's been kidnapped by Mr. Chairman (Steve Martin), the evil leader of the monolithic Acme Corporation. Damian knows the secret hiding place of the priceless Blue Monkey Diamond and Mr. Chairman will stop at nothing to get it, so D.J. and Daffy set out to rescue Damian and save the diamond, one step behind Acme's musclemen and one step ahead of Kate and Bugs, who now realize how important Daffy is to the Looney Tunes franchise. Looney Tunes: Back in Action also stars Heather Locklear as a lounge singer working for Yosemite Sam (voice of Steve Babiar), Joan Cusack, John Cleese, Stan Freberg, and Roger Corman. — Mark Deming |
| Looney Tunes - Golden Collection | 2005 | 320 mins | Animation | For years, animation buffs have waited impatiently for the Warner Bros. cartoons to appear on DVD. The Warner shorts never commanded the budgets and prestige of the Disney and MGM films, and won fewer Oscars than they deserved. But decades after the best ones were created, they remain the quintessential Hollywood cartoons: brash, fast-paced, aggressively funny and uniquely American. Virtually everyone in the U.S. under the age of 60 grew up on these films, in theaters and on TV. The 56 cartoons in the set (out of a studio output of over 1,000) were transferred from good prints--which means the viewer can see dust, scratches, and occasional mistakes by the cel painters. The films are all presented uncut, in defiance of the killjoys who have insisted on censoring alleged "violence" in the versions shown on television. Warner Bros. is obviously testing consumer response with this set. Although the erratic selection includes many classics, purists will argue (correctly) that it offers neither a fair representation of the directors' oeuvres, nor anything approaching a coherent history of the characters or studio style. (Nearly half the films were directed by Chuck Jones; only three are by Bob Clampett, and there's nothing by Tex Avery or Frank Tashlin.) But it seems petty to carp about omissions and biases when the discs offer excellent, uncensored prints of some of the funniest films ever made in the U.S.--or anywhere else. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | 2002 | 179 mins | Adventure; Fantasy | The second film in Peter Jackson's series of screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's internationally popular Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers literally begins where The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ended, with the Fellowship splitting into three groups as they seek to return the Ring to Mordor, the forbidding land where the powerful talisman must be taken to be destroyed. Frodo (Elijah Wood), who carries the Ring, and his fellow Hobbit Sam (Sean Astin) are lost in the hills of Emyn Muil when they encounter Gollum (Andy Serkis), a strange creature who once carried the Ring and was twisted by its power. Gollum volunteers to guide the pair to Mordor; Frodo agrees, but Sam does not trust their new acquaintance. Elsewhere, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are attempting to navigate Fangorn Forrest where they discover a most unusual nemesis — Treebeard (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a walking and talking tree-shepherd who doesn't much care for Hobbits. Finally, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) arrive in Rohan to discover that the evil powers of Saruman (Christopher Lee) have robbed King Theoden (Bernard Hill) of his rule. The King's niece Éowyn (Miranda Otto) believes Aragorn and his men have the strength to defeat Saruman, his henchman Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and their minions. Éowyn soon becomes infatuated with Aragorn, while he struggles to stay faithful to the pledge of love he made to Arwen (Liv Tyler). Gandalf (Ian McKellen) offers his help and encouragement as the Rohans, under Aragorn's leadership, attempt to face down Saruman's armies, but they soon discover how great the task before them truly is when they learn that his troops consist of 10,000 bloodthirsty creatures specially bred to fight to the death. Most of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was shot in tandem with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King during a marathon 18-month shooting schedule, overseen by Peter Jackson. — Mark Deming |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 2003 | 201 mins | Fantasy; Adventure; Action | The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | 2001 | 165 mins | Action; Adventure; Fantasy | New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson fulfills his lifelong dream of transforming author J.R.R. Tolkien's best-selling fantasy epic into a three-part motion picture that begins with this holiday 2001 release. Elijah Wood stars as Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit resident of the medieval "Middle-earth" who discovers that a ring bequeathed to him by beloved relative and benefactor Bilbo (Ian Holm) is in fact the "One Ring," a device that will allow its master to manipulate dark powers and enslave the world. Frodo is charged by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to return the ring to Mount Doom, the evil site where it was forged millennia ago and the only place where it can be destroyed. Accompanying Frodo is a fellowship of eight others: his Hobbit friends Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd); plus Gandalf; the human warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean); Elf archer Legolas (Orlando Bloom); and Dwarf soldier Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). The band's odyssey to the dreaded land of Mordor, where Mount Doom lies, takes them through the Elfish domain of Rivendell and the forest of Lothlorien, where they receive aid and comfort from the Elf princess Arwen (Liv Tyler), her father, Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett). In pursuit of the travelers and their ring are Saruman (Christopher Lee) — a traitorous wizard and kin, of sorts, to Gandalf — and the Dark Riders, under the control of the evil, mysterious Sauron (Sala Baker). The Fellowship must also do battle with a troll, flying spies, Orcs, and other deadly obstacles both natural and otherwise as they draw closer to Mordor. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) was filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand, closely followed by its pair of sequels, The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). — Karl Williams |
| Lord of War | 2005 | 122 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | An arms dealer (Cage) confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol agent (Hawke). |
| Lost in Translation | 2003 | 102 mins | Drama; Comedy | After making a striking directorial debut with her screen adaptation of The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola offers a story of love and friendship blooming under unlikely circumstances in this comedy drama. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a well-known American actor whose career has gone into a tailspin; needing work, he takes a very large fee to appear in a commercial for Japanese whiskey to be shot in Tokyo. Feeling no small degree of culture shock in Japan, Bob spends most of his non-working hours at his hotel, where he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) at the bar. Twentysomething Charlotte is married to John (Giovanni Ribisi), a successful photographer who is in Tokyo on an assignment, leaving her to while away her time while he works. Beyond their shared bemusement and confusion with the sights and sounds of contemporary Tokyo, Bob and Charlotte share a similar dissatisfaction with their lives; the spark has gone out of Bob's marriage, and he's become disillusioned with his career. Meanwhile, Charlotte is puzzled with how much John has changed in their two years of marriage, while she's been unable to launch a creative career of her own. Bob and Charlotte become fast friends, and as they explore Tokyo, they begin to wonder if their sudden friendship might be growing into something more. — Mark Deming |
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park | 1997 | 129 mins | Action; Adventure; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda. |
| A Lot Like Love | 2005 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | On a flight from Los Angeles to New York, Oliver (Kutcher) and Emily (Peet) make a connection, only... |
| Love & Basketball | 2000 | 124 mins | Drama; Romance | In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They're 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy's dad... |
| Love Don't Cost a Thing | 2003 | 101 mins | Comedy; Romance | The sophomore outing for writer/director/actress Troy Beyer, Love Don't Cost a Thing is a romantic teen comedy based on the screenplay for the 1987 Partick Dempsey film Can't Buy Me Love. Nick Cannon stars as Alvin, a brilliant but awkward teenager — and budding engineer — who seizes a golden opportunity when popular cheerleader Paris (Christina Milian) wrecks her parents' SUV and is strapped for cash. They strike an agreement: Alvin will do the repairs for free if Paris pretend to be his girlfriend for two weeks, all in the hopes of elevating his social standing. Little does he know, being popular isn't all its cracked up to be. Kal Penn and Steve Harvey co-star. — Matthew Tobey |
| Love Jones | 1997 | 108 mins | Drama; Romance | What do you do after love at first sight? That's the question posed in this romantic comedy-drama set in Chicago. Darius Lovehall (Larenz Tate) is a novelist who is giving a reading at the Sanctuary, an upscale club presenting jazz and poetry to a bohemian clientele. Shortly before his set, he meets Nina Mosley (Nia Long), a woman who is a gifted photographer, despite the fact that she just lost her job. They exchange small talk, and Darius makes his interest clear when — on the spot — he retitles a love poem "A Blues For Nina." A mutual attraction is sparked between them, and Nina soon invites Darius back to her place for a photo session that soon turns seriously sexy. So far, so good, but neither Darius or Nina are sure where to go next after this promising start. She's just gotten out of a relationship and isn't sure if she still cares for her old boyfriend or not, while Darius' buddies read him the riot act for wanting to give up his freedom so early on in the game. Love Jones was the debut feature for African-American writer and director Theodore Witcher; Isaiah Washington, Bill Bellamy, and Lisa Nicole Carson lead the supporting cast. — Mark Deming |
| Lucky 13 | 2004 | 95 mins | Comedy; Romance | A guy takes one last shot at learning from his mistakes with women in this romantic comedy. Zach (Brad Hunt) has been in love with Abbey (Lauren Graham) as far back as he can remember. However, Zach is both shy and tragically inept around women, and has never had the nerve to tell her how he feels. When Zach learns that Abbey is moving away to pursue her career, he decides he has one last chance to win her over, so with the help of his even less romantically inclined buddy Bleckman (Harland Williams), Zach tracks down all of his former girlfriends to get a clearer picture of where he's gone wrong in the past, and how he might be able to win Abbey's heart. Lucky 13 also features John Doe, Debra Jo Rupp, and Brande Roderick. — Mark Deming |
| Lucky Number Slevin | 2006 | 109 mins | Drama; Thriller | A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin (Josh Hartnett) into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) and The Boss (Morgan Freeman). Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat (Bruce Willis) and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them before they get him. (view trailer) |
| Machinist, The | 2004 | 98 mins | Drama; Thriller | As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon |
| Mad Max | 1979 | 93 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | This stunning, post-apocalyptic action thriller from director George Miller stars Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a motorcycle policeman in the near future who is tired of his job. Since the apocalypse, the lengthy, desolate stretches of highway in the Australian outback have become bloodstained battlegrounds. Max has seen too many innocents and fellow officers murdered by the bomb's savage offspring, bestial marauding bikers for whom killing, rape, and looting is a way of life. He just wants to retire and spend time with his wife and son but lets his boss talk him into taking a peaceful vacation and starts to reconsider. Then his world is shattered as a gang led by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) murders his family in retaliation for the death of one of its members. Dead inside, Max straps on his helmet and climbs into a souped-up V-8 racing machine to seek his bloody revenge. Despite an obviously low budget and a plot reminiscent of many spaghetti westerns, Mad Max is tremendously exciting, thanks to some of the most spectacular road stunts ever put on film. Cinematographer David Eggby and stunt coordinator Grant Page did some of their best work under Miller's direction, and crafted a gritty, gripping thrill ride which spawned two sequels, numerous imitations, and made Mel Gibson an international star. One sequence, in which a man is chained to a car and must cut off a limb before the machine explodes is one of the most tense scenes of the decade. The American version dubbed all the voices — including Gibson's — in a particularly cartoonish manner. Trivia buffs should note that Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe with a 300bhp 351C V-8 engine, customized with the front end of a Ford Fairmont and other modifications. — Robert Firsching |
| Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior | 1981 | 91 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | In the post-apocolyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits. |
| Madagascar | 2005 | 86 mins | Adventure | From the studio that brought you Shrek and Shark Tale! Move it! Move it! for Madagascar, the #1 Family Comedy of the Year, from the studio that brought you Shrek and Shark Tale. When four pampered animals from the New York's Central Park Zoo accidentally find themselves shipwrecked on the exotic island of Madagascar, they discover it really IS a jungle out there! Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith headline an all-star cast of hilarious animals, including a quartet of mischievous penguins and legions of lemurs, led by the outrageous King Julien, Madagascar is a roaring good family film that you'll go wild for again and again! PLUS! Before the mission to Madagascar, those zany Penguins stirred up some holiday spirit back at the zoo. Check out the "cute and cuddly" foursome starring in their very own whacked-out film, A Christmas Caper! |
| Madea's Family Reunion | 2006 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama | While planning her family reunion, a pistol-packing grandma (Perry) must contend with the other dramas on her plate, including the runaway who has been placed under her care, and her love-troubled nieces. (view trailer) |
| Maid in Manhattan | 2002 | 105 mins | Comedy; Romance | Can a wealthy Republican politician find happiness with a chambermaid from the Bronx? One man is about to find out, though he hardly realizes it at first, in this romantic comedy from director Wayne Wang. Marisa Ventura (Jennifer Lopez) is a single mother who is raising her gifted but under-confident son Ty (Tyler Garcia Posey) on her own, with some help from her mother Veronica (Priscilla Lopez), after divorcing her husband. Marisa works as a housekeeper at the exclusive Beresford Hotel in Manhattan, where her boss Paula Burns (Frances Conroy) and chief butler Lionel Bloch (Bob Hoskins) urge Marisa and her best friend and fellow maid Stephanie (Marissa Matrone) to be as efficient and inconspicuous as possible. One day, while cleaning the room of noted socialite Caroline Lane (Natasha Richardson), Stephanie spies a beautiful designer gown and dares Marisa to try it on; against her better judgment, she does, and while all dolled up, she bumps into Chris Matthew (Ralph Fiennes), a wealthy and well-bred bachelor who is running for the Senate. Immediately charmed, Chris asks Marisa to join him for a walk in Central Park, assuming she's the blue-blooded Caroline. Marisa manages to join Chris for the afternoon, with Ty in tow, and Chris finds himself quite taken with Marisa's beauty and down-to-earth personality, as well as Ty's precocious interest in politics. Chris later calls Caroline's room to set up a lunch date, but soon discovers the stuffy Ms. Lane is not the woman he met before. Marisa is also attracted to Chris, but while her friends encourage her to pursue a romance, Veronica believes her daughter is asking for trouble by trying to win a man so far out of her social strata. The supporting cast also includes Stanley Tucci and Amy Sedaris. — Mark Deming |
| Major Payne | 1995 | 95 mins | Comedy | Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the... |
| Malibu's Most Wanted | 2003 | 86 mins | Comedy; Crime | A rich kid who likes to pretend he's from the wrong side of the tracks gets a taste of the real thing in this comedy. Brad Gluckman (Jamie Kennedy) is the son of a wealthy and socially prominent couple (Ryan O'Neal and Bo Derek) and grew up in the lap of luxury in Malibu, CA. However, Brad likes to imagine he's a street-smart gangsta from the mean streets of L.A., and he's been trying to launch a career as a hardcore rapper under the name "B-Rad." Mr. Gluckman is running for Governor of California, and both he and his campaign manager (Blair Underwood) are convinced Brad's antics could have a negative impact on the election, so they come up with a scheme to change his mind about the supposed glamour of street life. Mr. Gluckman hires a pair of African-American actors (Taye Diggs and Anthony Anderson) to impersonate a pair of gang-bangers from Compton who carjack Brad's SUV and take him to the 'hood, where he'll learn just how scary the thug life can be. However, it soon becomes obvious the actors don't know much more about life in Compton than Brad does, and as Brad gets used to his new surroundings, he falls for a girl from the neighborhood (Regina Hall) who has her own plans for moving up in the world. Malibu's Most Wanted was inspired by a character Jamie Kennedy created for his sketch comedy series The Jamie Kennedy Experiment. — Mark Deming |
| A Man Apart | 2003 | 109 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A cop teams up with the former head of a drug cartel to avenge the death of the woman he loved in this action-rama. Sean Vetter (Vin Diesel) and Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate) are a pair of DEA agents who think they've made the bust of a lifetime when they capture Guillermo "Memo" Lucero (Geno Silva), a multi-millionaire drug lord who controlled most of the narcotics traffic along the border of Mexico and the United States. However, with Lucereo behind bars, a new and decidedly more dangerous underworld kingpin rises to take his place, and Diablo (Timothy Olyphant), also known as Hollywood Jack Slayton, soon proves to be even more dangerous than Lucero when he orders his gunmen to assassinate Vetter. While Vetter escapes unharmed, his wife is killed, and Vetter is thrown deep into despair. Now Vetter is obsessed with bringing Diablo to justice, and he's willing to do anything to bring him down — even if it means teaming up with Lucero. — Mark Deming |
| Man of the House | 2005 | 97 mins | Action; Comedy | Tommy Lee Jones stars as a Texas Ranger who must protect a group of cheerleaders who have witnessed a murder. |
| Man on Fire | 2004 | 110 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller; Crime | A man whose ideals have been shattered for the last time is out for violent justice in this thriller. Creasy (Denzel Washington) is a former United State intelligence agent-turned-mercenary who has seen too much of the violence and corruption in the world and has become jaded and withdrawn. Creasy is hired to act as a bodyguard for Lupita ("Pita" (Dakota Fanning), a ten-year-old girl whose wealthy family (a Mexican father and American mother) currently lives in Mexico City, where kidnapping has become a near epidemic. While watching over Pita, Creasy becomes quite fond of the girl, and finds himself regaining some of his faith in humanity. But things take an ugly turn when Pita is abducted by gunmen who shoot Creasy and leave him to die in the streets. Enraged beyond reason, Creasy recovers and sets out to find the men responsible for kidnapping Pita, no matter who he has to kill along the way. Man on Fire is based on a novel by A.J. Quinnell, which was previously filmed in 1987 with Scott Glenn as Creasy. Christopher Walken, Radha Mitchell, Giancarlo Giannini, and Mickey Rourke highlight the supporting cast for this remake. — Mark Deming |
| Man, The | 2005 | 84 mins | Comedy | A case of mistaken identity forces a Federal agent (Jackson) and a dental supply salesman (Levy) to team up as they speed through the streets of Detroit to pull off a sting operation and solve the murder of the agent's former partner. |
| Manchurian Candidate, The | 2004 | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | | |
| Man-Thing | 2005 | 97 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi | Directed by Brett Leonard, Man-Thing is based on a comic book series of the same name. The Man-Thing himself was once a scientist, but after injecting himself with an untested serum in hopes of preventing it from falling into the wrong hands, he was unfortunately transformed into a mindless swamp beast who fatally burns those within whom he senses fear. The Man-Thing resembles a towering mound of algae and plant life, and lives in the Florida Everglades near a tribe of Seminole Indians. When one of real-estate tycoon F.A. Schist's crewmen is killed while developing the swamp for commercial use, it's the Seminoles who are blamed, though they know that the real culprit is the Man-Thing, who mirrors the emotion of any human that crosses his path and acts accordingly — unfortunately, most people subjected to the sight of him react in sheer terror and are unceremoniously set aflame. Man-Thing features performances from Rawiri Paratene, Alex O'Lachlan, Rachel Taylor, Jack Thompson, and William Zappa. — Tracie Cooper |
| March Of The Penguins | 2005 | 80 mins | Dokumentarfilm | A movie to amaze the eyes and astonish the heart. Every year, thousands of emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They are birds, but they do not fly. They are aquatic animals, but this time they will not swim. Instead, they walk - marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. Narrated by Morgan Freeman, March of the Penguins is an amazing, awe-inspiring, all-ages, true-life tale touched with humor and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering you-are-there drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the face of the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable, fuzzy chicks make it all worthwhile. So follow the leader...to adventure! |
| Marci X | 2003 | 73 mins | Comedy; Music | Paul Rudnick provides the script for the Scott Rudin-produced comedy Marci X, directed by Richard Benjamin. The new song "Shoot Ya' Teacha" by controversial hardcore rapper Dr. S. (short for Dr. Snatchcatcher, played by Damon Wayans) causes a public outcry. The stress causes a heart attack for the owner of the hardcore rap record label Felony Assault (played by director Benjamin). It's up to his stylishly sunny daughter Marci (Lisa Kudrow) to take over his business. She tries to rescue the record label by changing the negative image of Dr. S. in order to appeal to a youth-oriented crowd, which leads the pair into an unlikely romance. Actress Christine Baranski appears as a conservative senator who threatens to ban the rapper. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Maria Full of Grace | 2004 | Drama | When a movie can blend passionate social concern with good old-fashioned suspense, it must be doing something right. Maria Full of Grace scores high on both counts. Maria is a Colombian teenager who, for a large paycheck, agrees to be a mule for drug-runners: she has to swallow dozens of thumb-sized capsules of heroin and smuggle them into New York. This debilitating process is painstakingly described, and of course not everything goes as planned when Maria and her fellow mules land in America. Director Joshua Marston is working on a low budget, which explains the film's narrow, single-minded focus--but this may be a strength, not a weakness. The trump card is the lead performance of Catalina Sandrino Moreno, who won awards at the Seattle and Newport Film Festivals. Her empathetic face carries us along on Maria's journey, and humanizes a problem that is too easily relegated to a headline. --Robert Horton | |
| The Marksman | 2005 | 95 mins | Action | Chechen rebels take over a Russian nuclear plant and it's up to a mysterious agent(Snipes) to stop them. |
| Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat | 2002 | 99 mins | Comedy; Documentary | After undergoing a number of personal crises, a stand-up comic returns to the stage for a one-man show featuring stinging social commentary and very personal reflections about his life. |
| Martin Lawrence: You So Crazy | 1994 | 84 mins | Comedy | |
| Mary Poppins | 1964 | 140 mins | Family; Comedy; Musical; Fantasy; Drama; Animation | A magic nanny comes to work for a cold banker's unhappy family. |
| Master and Commander | 2003 | 139 mins | Action; Drama; Adventure; War | Director Peter Weir's first turn behind the camera since 1998's critically acclaimed The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on one of the 20 Napoleanic War-era adventure novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander series. Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, a high-seas adventurer who maintains a strong bond with ship-surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). After conquering much of Europe already, Napoleon's forces have set their sights on taking Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, take to the Pacific to intercept any attacking ships from the French fleet. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to an adrenaline-charged chase through the distant reaches of the sea. Edward Woodall, James D'Arcy, and Lee Ingleby also star as members of the Surprise's crew. — Matthew Tobey |
| Master of Disguise | 2002 | 80 mins | Comedy; Family | Dana Carvey ventures into the world of PG-rated, family-oriented entertainment as star and co-writer of this light adventure-comedy, which requires the actor to assume more than three dozen different identities. Carvey's primary role in Master of Disguise, however, is that of Pistachio Disguisey, an ordinary waiter with a hidden, mostly-untapped talent for transforming himself into any persona he wishes. When his kindly parents Mama (Edie McClurg) and Frabbrizio (James Brolin) are kidnapped by the evil thief Devlin (Brent Spiner), the usually-meek Pistachio is forced to rescue them. Enlisting the help of his grandfather (Harold Gould), Pistachio learns that he is one of a long line of family members to have the power of "Energico," a mystical means of changing one's identity to suit any given situation, and Pistachio learns to use these powers to their fullest to defeat Devlin and win back his folks. Carvey's original idea for Master of Disguise was helped to the screen by executive producer Adam Sandler, a buddy of his from their time on NBC's Saturday Night Live. — Michael Hastings |
| The Matador | 2005 | 96 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A globetrotting hitman and a crestfallen businessman meet in a hotel bar in Mexico City in an encounter that draws them together in a way neither expected. |
| Match Point | 2005 | 124 mins | Drama; Romance; Thriller | At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for a femme-fatal type who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law. |
| Matchstick Men | 2003 | 116 mins | Comedy; Drama; Crime; Thriller | Ridley Scott directs the crime comedy Matchstick Men, based on the novel of the same name by Eric Garcia. Neurotic con man Roy (Nicolas Cage) suffers from several emotional problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. He and his partner Frank (Sam Rockwell) swindle people out of money by posing as money collectors who promise things like tax refunds, package vacations, and other fabulous prizes (which they never get). Frank wants to pull a really big job, but Roy is too consumed with fear and panic attacks to join him. Only cigarettes and his trusty illegal prescription drugs seem to keep him going. When Roy finds himself in desperate need of more pills, he is forced to see legitimate psychotherapist Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman). Roy ends up talking about his emotional damage from a troubled marriage and divorce, which results in the discovery of a child whom he has never met. Dr. Klein suggests that he spend a weekend with the kid, so in walks teenaged Angela (played by twentysomething Alison Lohman). Reluctant to develop his role as a father, Roy also gets heavily involved in Frank's ambitious swindle. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| The Matrix | 1999 | 136 mins | Action; Thriller; Sci-Fi | What if virtual reality wasn't just for fun, but was being used to imprison you? That's the dilemma that faces mild-mannered computer jockey Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix. It's the year 1999, and Anderson (hacker alias: Neo) works in a cubicle, manning a computer and doing a little hacking on the side. It's through this latter activity that Thomas makes the acquaintance of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who has some interesting news for Mr. Anderson — none of what's going on around him is real. The year is actually closer to 2199, and it seems Thomas, like most people, is a victim of The Matrix, a massive artificial intelligence system that has tapped into people's minds and created the illusion of a real world, while using their brains and bodies for energy, tossing them away like spent batteries when they're through. Morpheus, however, is convinced Neo is "The One" who can crack open The Matrix and bring his people to both physical and psychological freedom. The Matrix is the second feature film from the sibling writer/director team of Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, who made an impressive debut with the stylish erotic crime thriller Bound. — Mark Deming |
| The Matrix Reloaded | 2003 | 138 mins | Sci-Fi; Action; Thriller | After creating an international sensation with the visually dazzling and intellectually challenging sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers returned with the first of two projected sequels that pick up where the first film left off. Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) have been summoned by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to join him on a voyage to Zion, the last outpost of free human beings on Earth. Neo and Trinity's work together has been complicated by the fact the two are involved in a serious romantic relationship. Upon their arrival in Zion, Morpheus locks horns with rival Commander Lock (Harry J. Lennix) and encounters his old flame Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). Meanwhile, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) has returned with some surprises for Neo, most notably the ability to replicate himself as many times as he pleases. Neo makes his way to The Oracle (Gloria Foster), who informs him that if he wishes to save humankind, he must unlock "The Source," which means having to release The Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim) from the clutches of Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). While Merovingian refuses to cooperate, his wife, Persephone (Monica Bellucci), angry at her husband's dalliances with other women, offers to help, but only in exchange for a taste of Neo's affections. With The Keymaker in tow, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus are chased by Merovingian's henchmen: a pair of deadly albino twins (Neil Rayment and Adrian Rayment). Filmed primarily in Australia and California (the extended chase scene was shot on a stretch of highway build specifically for the production outside of San Francisco), The Matrix Reloaded was produced in tandem with the third film in the series, The Matrix Revolutions, which is to be released in late 2003. — Mark Deming |
| The Matrix Revolutions | 2003 | 128 mins | Action; Thriller; Sci-Fi | Shot back-to-back with The Matrix Reloaded, the third and final installment of Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski's sci-fi action saga picks up where the second film left off. Neo (Keanu Reeves) remains unconscious in the real world, caught in a mysterious subway station that lies between the machine world and the Matrix, and Bane (Ian Bliss) is still a conduit for Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), who continues to grow out of control, threatening to destroy both worlds. Meanwhile, as the sentinels get closer and closer to Zion, the citizens of the earth's last inhabited city prepare for the inevitable onslaught. By bargaining with The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) are able to free Neo who, after meeting with The Oracle (Mary Alice stepping in for the late Gloria Foster), decides that he must leave Zion and head for the machine mainframe. As Neo and Trinity venture into the dangerous machine world, with hopes of stopping both the machines and Agent Smith, their comrades in Zion attempt to fight off the attacking sentinels with the odds stacked greatly against them. Other cast members returning include Monica Bellucci, Ngai Sing, and Harold Perrineau Jr. — Matthew Tobey |
| Me, Myself & Irene | 2000 | 117 mins | Comedy; Familie | Six years after Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey reunited with Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly for this anarchic comedy with a hint of romance. Charlie (Carrey) is a good-natured Rhode Island state trooper who likes helping people. But years of internalizing his frustrations about his work and his family have caused Charlie to develop an alter ego: Hank, an abusive, violent, sexually compulsive police officer. Charlie can keep Hank at bay with medication, but just barely. When Irene (Renee Zellweger) finds herself in legal trouble through a series of misunderstandings involving her ex-boyfriend, Charlie must escort her on a long drive to New York for questioning. After Charlie loses his medication, he and Hank wind up vying for her affections: Charlie wants Irene to marry him, while Hank has more brutal intentions. Me, Myself, and Irene also features Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, and Jessica Harper, as well as Anthony Anderson, Mongo Brownlee, and Jerod Mixon as Charlie's rotund, African-American sons. — Mark Deming |
| Mean Creek | 2004 | 87 mins | Drama | When a teen is bullied, his brother and friends lure the bully into the woods to seek revenge. |
| Mean Girls | 2004 | 97 mins | Comedy; Drama | Cady Heron (Lohan) is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels (Bennett), the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George (McAdams). |
| The Medallion | 2003 | 88 mins | Comedy; Action; Fantasy; Thriller | Though it's an English-language film, the fantasy action comedy The Medallion is one of the highest-budgeted movies to come out of Hong Kong. Cop Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) and his partner, Interpol agent Arthur Watson (Lee Evans), are in pursuit of international human-smuggling crimelord Snakehead (Julian Sands). The partners get seriously wounded and a mysterious ancient medallion transforms them into superpowered warriors called Highbinders. The two halves of the medallion are supposed to grant eternal life when joined together by a powerful young boy who was born during a specific time in the Year of the Snake. The villainous Snakehead wants to gets his hands on both the child and the medallion, and the heros try to stop him. Aided by special effects and action choreography by Sammo Hung, Chan fights his way toward a violent conclusion with Snakehead that takes place in mid-air.. Claire Forlani plays Jackie Chan's love interest, the Interpol agent Nicole. Also starring John Rhys-Davies as Commander Hammerstock-Smythe. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Meet Joe Black | 1998 | 178 mins | Fantasy; Mystery; Romance; Drama | A media mogul acts as a guide to Death, who takes the form of a young man to learn about life on Earth and in the process, fall in love with his guide's daughter. |
| Meet the Fockers | 2004 | 115 mins | Comedy | All hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time. |
| Meet The Parents | 2000 | 108 mins | Comedy | In this comedy from Austin Powers director Jay Roach, Ben Stiller plays a young man who endures a disastrous weekend at the home of his girlfriend's parents. Greg Focker (Stiller) is completely in love with Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), and views their upcoming trip to her parents' house on Long Island (where her sister is to be married during the weekend) as a perfect opportunity to ask her to marry him. Once Greg is introduced to Pam's parents, however, things stampede steadily downhill. Pam's father Jack (Robert De Niro) takes an instant and obvious dislike to his daughter's boyfriend, lambasting him for his job as a nurse and generally making Greg painfully aware of the differences between him and Pam's family. Where Greg is grubby, relatively unambitious, and Jewish, Pam comes from a long line of well-mannered, blue-blooded WASPs. Things go from bad to worse in less time than it takes to spin a dreidel, with Greg incurring the wrath of both Pam's father — who, it turns out, worked for the CIA for 34 years — and the rest of her family, and almost single-handedly destroying their house and the wedding in the process. — Rebecca Flint |
| Memento | 2000 | 113 mins | Crime; Drama; Mystery; Thriller | A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt down his wife's killer. |
| Memoirs of a Geisha | 2005 | 145 mins | Drama; Romance | Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. |
| Men in Black | 1997 | 98 mins | Action; Comedy; Sci-Fi | For his fifth effort as a feature-film director, one-time cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld brought his cartoonish visual style and darkly humorous sensibilities to this adaptation of, appropriately enough, a tongue-in-cheek sci-fi comic book. Will Smith stars as James Darrel Edwards, a New York City cop with an athletic physique and a flippant, anti-authoritarian attitude toward law enforcement. After chasing down a mysterious perpetrator one night who turns out to be an alien, James is recruited by "K" (Tommy Lee Jones), a veteran of a clandestine government agency secretly policing the comings and goings of aliens on planet Earth. Nicknamed the "men in black" for their nondescript uniform of black suit, shoes, tie, and sunglasses, the agents are assigned to recover a bauble that's been stolen by an intergalactic terrorist (Vincent D'Onofrio). It seems the item is none other than the galaxy itself, and its theft has plunged humanity into the center of what's shaping up to become an interstellar war, unless K and his new wisecracking partner, now renamed "J," can stop the bad guy. On their side but somewhat in the dark is a pretty, unflappable city medical examiner (Linda Fiorentino) who has been zapped one too many times by K's ingenious memory-sapping device. Men in Black was a box office smash, inspiring an animated children's television series and a hit soundtrack album that featured a performance by star (and rapper) Smith. — Karl Williams |
| Men in Black II | 2002 | 88 mins | Action; Comedy; Sci-Fi | Otherworldly villains are on the loose again, and it's up to Earth's interstellar police force to bring them to justice in this sequel to the sci-fi comedy blockbuster Men in Black. Agent Jay (Will Smith) has become a high-ranking member of the Men in Black, the secret government task force designed to deal with unruly visitors from other worlds, while his former cohort, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), had his memory wiped clean and now lives a simple but contented life as a mailman. However, an especially nasty alien threat has reared its not-so-ugly head; Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) is a shape-shifting Kylothian alien who is in pursuit of another escaped visitor who holds the key to powers that would allow her to destroy the world. Making Serleena all the more dangerous is the fact she's taken on the appearance of a lingerie model, making her irresistible to most men. When the rampaging Serleena takes control of the MIB offices, Jay is forced to turn to the only man who can help him save the world — the former Agent Kay. After restoring Kay's memory, the two remaining Men in Black set out to conquer Serleena with a motley band of friendly aliens, including a handful of worm creatures and a talking dog named Frank (voice of Tim Blaney). Jay, meanwhile, has his head turned by Laura (Rosario Dawson), an attractive waitress who was an unwitting witness to an alien attack. Men in Black 2 also features Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, David Cross, Patrick Warburton, and Johnny Knoxville. — Mark Deming |
| Men of Honor | 2000 | 129 mins | Biography; Drama | The story of Carl Brashear, the first African American, then also the first amputee, US Navy Diver and the man who trained him. |
| Menace II Society | 1993 | 97 mins | Action; Drama | This is the truth. This is what's real. This urban nightmare chronicles several days in the life of Caine Lawson, following his high-school graduation, as he attempts to escape his violent existence in the projects of Watts, CA. |
| The Merchant of Venice | 2004 | 138 mins | Comedy; Drama | In 16th century Venice, when a merchant must default on a large loan from an abused Jewish moneylender for a friend with romantic ambitions, the bitterly vengeful creditor demands a gruesome payment instead. |
| The Mexican | 2001 | 123 mins | Comedy; Romance; Crime | A clumsy criminal is put in a position where he not only has to save his own skin, but that of his girlfriend in this comedy with strong undercurrents of romance. Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) is a low-level Mafia "mechanic" whose ineptitude is countered by frequent (but unpredictable) bursts of dumb luck. Jerry's girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts) wants him to get out of the business, and after his latest blunder lands capo Arnold Margolese (Gene Hackman) in jail, so does mid-level crime kingpin Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). But Bernie insists that Jerry do one last errand for the mob before they let him find employment elsewhere — he has to go to Mexico and recover a rare and very valuable pistol, which is said to be cursed. While Samantha objects to Jerry taking the assignment, he isn't in much of a position to argue; Jerry heads south of the border, while Samantha, in a huff, sets out for Las Vegas. Once in Mexico, Jerry finds the pistol easily enough, but making his way back to the States proves to be an unexpected challenge. Meanwhile, Jerry's superiors want insurance that he'll return with the goods, so they hire Leroy (James Gandolfini), a hitman, to kidnap Samantha and hold her hostage until Jerry comes back. However, Samantha and Leroy quickly strike up a friendship, and she soon learns the gunman has a sensitive side he doesn't show to the world — along with a few other secrets. The Mexican marked the first screen pairing for mega-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt — though, given the film's narrative arc, they play only a handful of scenes together. The film was directed by Gore Verbinski, who won awards for his work in commercials before breaking through with the quirky family comedy Mouse Hunt. — Mark Deming |
| Mickey's 'The Three Musketeers' | 2004 | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family | Mickey, Donald and Goofy are the French three Musketeers. | |
| Micky's Twice Upon a Christmas | 2004 | 61 mins | Trickfilm | |
| The Mighty Ducks | 1992 | 100 mins | Action; Comedy; Drama; Family; Sport | Gordon Bombay, a hotshot lawyer, is haunted by memories of his childhood, when, as the star player in his champion hockey team... |
| Mighty Joe Young | 1998 | 114 mins | Family; Fantasy; Thriller; Adventure | After Mighty Joe Young is brought to America for safety reasons, he escapes and rampages through Hollywood, spurred by tormentors out for revenge. |
| Million Dollar Baby | 2004 | 137 mins | Drama | A hardened fighter-cum-trainer works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. |
| Millions | 2004 | 98 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama; Family | Ethics, being human and the soul all come to the forefront on this masterly-written, directed and acted, fun, very rare film when a 5-year old finds a bag of Pounds with a few days to spend before the currency is switched to Euros and learns what we are really made of. |
| Mindhunters | 2005 | 106 mins | Crime; Thriller; Action; Horror | Trainees in the FBI's psychological profiling program must put their training into practice when they discover a killer in their midst. |
| Minority Report | 2002 | 144 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller; Crime; Drama; Mystery | Based on a short story by the late Philip K. Dick, this science fiction-thriller reflects the writer's familiar preoccupation with themes of concealed identity and mind control. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, a Washington, D.C. detective in the year 2054. Anderton works for "Precrime," a special unit of the police department that arrests murderers before they have committed the actual crime. Precrime bases its work on the visions of three psychics or "precogs" whose prophecies of future events are never in error. When Anderton discovers that he has been identified as the future killer of a man he's never met, he is forced to become a fugitive from his own colleagues as he tries to uncover the mystery of the victim-to-be's identity. When he kidnaps Agatha (Samantha Morton), one of the precogs, he begins to formulate a theory about a possible frame-up from within his own department. Directed by Steven Spielberg, who hired a team of futurists to devise the film's numerous technologically advanced gadgets, Minority Report co-stars Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, and Neal McDonough. — Karl Williams |
| Mischief 3000 | 2002 | 90 mins | Sport | Illegal street racing and bikini contests coexist on Teckademics' Mischief 3000, the sequel to Mischief, the video that showed lots of girls, cars, and underground import auto racing. This video features footage of the 2002 cross country race called the Gumball Rally. Get titillated as finely tuned import cars outrun cops at top speeds down America's highways. Featuring skateboarder Josh Kalis and a soundtrack from DJ Benko. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Mischief V - Dynasty | 2005 | Sport | | |
| Miss Congeniality | 2000 | 111 mins | Familie; Comedy | Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI agent with a reputation for being aggressive and hard-nosed, who has long wanted to duplicate the career of her deceased mother, also an FBI agent, who died in the line of duty. Her cantankerous nature, though, has made her few friends, excepting her trusting, sensitive partner Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). However, her true abilities are put to the test when she is called upon to infiltrate a Miss United States pageant after a terrorist threatens to bomb it. Gracie, who prides herself on her toughness, must now feminize her behavior to effectively participate in the pageant with the aid of Victor Melling (Michael Caine), a pompous consultant who dreams of whisking away Gracie's past self and creating "Gracie Lou Freebush" for an appreciative, all-American audience. After her arduous conversion, Gracie must play the role of beauty queen and FBI agent, and try not to blow her undercover outfit. Miss Congeniality, which was produced by star Bullock, features television stalwarts William Shatner and Candice Bergen in supporting roles. — Jason Clark |
| Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous | 2005 | 115 mins | Comedy; Thriller | F.B.I. operative Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) famously went undercover in a beauty pageant a while back, and now she's supposedly so recognizable that her only use to the agency is as a pretty public representative. Dumped by her boyfriend (whom Benjamin Bratt wisely decided not to portray this time around), a gloomy Gracie goes along with the promo biz until her friend, Miss United States (Heather Burns), is kidnapped along with pageant official Stan Fields (William Shatner) in Las Vegas. Bullock still has perk to please her fans, but neither she nor her awkward alter-ego has any purpose in a sequel to a movie released five years prior. The result is a desperately unfunny, feature-length commercial for Las Vegas tourism, with outdated homosexual stereotypes (Diedrich Bader, as Gracie's stylist) and the usually terrific Regina King (of Ray and Jerry Maguire fame) stuck in a glum role as Bullock's butch bodyguard. Armed? Yes. Fabulous? No. --Steve Wiecking |
| The Missing | 2003 | 135 mins | Drama; Western; Action; Thriller | Director Ron Howard turns to the Western genre in this tale of a father and daughter who are brought together under difficult circumstances. Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) is a man living in New Mexico in the 1880s. He had abandoned his family years before to live and travel with a band of Apaches, but his conscience has finally gotten the better of him and he's decided to return home. Jones, however, does not receive a warm welcome upon arrival — his wife has died and his daughter Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), now grown and raising two children with her husband Brake (Aaron Eckhart), has no desire to see the man who left her mother to fend for herself. As Jones prepares to depart on a note of bitterness, a band of ruthless bandits, let by Army deserter Chidin (Eric Schweig), descends upon the homestead, murdering Brake and kidnapping his 15-year-old daughter Lily (Evan Rachel Wood). While Maggie feels no desire to forgive her father, she realizes he's her best hope to track down the criminals who took her child, and Jones and Maggie team up to find the bandits before they can disappear into Mexico. The Missing was based on the novel The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson. Val Kilmer and Jenna Boyd highlight the supporting cast. — Mark Deming |
| Mission Impossible 2 | 2000 | 124 mins | Action | Visually stunning, and a likely must for John Woo aficionados, the second Mission: Impossible outing from megastar Tom Cruise suffers from an inconsistent tone and tired plot devices--not only recycled from other films, but repeated throughout the film. Despite remarkable cinematography and awe-inspiring, trademark Woo photography, the movie offers a tepid story from legendary screenwriter-director Robert Towne (Chinatown, Without Limits) and a host of other writers, most uncredited. It is, regrettably, as forgettable as the first big-budget, big box-office MI in 1996, and it's clear (as Towne confirms) that the plot was developed around Woo- and Cruise-written action sequences. The film combines equal elements of romance and action, and is best when it features the stunning allure of Thandie Newton as Nyah, a master thief recruited by the sinewy charms of Ethan Hunt (a fit Cruise). Deeply in love after a passionate night, the couple must then combat MI nemesis (and Nyah's former lover) Sean Ambrose (Ever After's Dougray Scott). Ambrose holds hostage a virus and its cure, and offers them to the highest bidder. Woo's famed mythic filmmaking is far from subtle, with heroic Hunt frequently slow-motion walking through fire, smoke, or other similar devices, replete with a white dove among pigeons to signal his presence. The emphasis on romance is an attempt to develop character and a more human side to superspy Hunt, but still the dreary story proves a distraction from the exciting action sequences. John Polson (as an MI team member) is an Aussie talent to keep an eye on. --N.F. Mendoza |
| Mission Impossible II | 2000 | 123 mins | Action | Director John Woo brings Hong Kong-style martial arts action to this comic book-flavored sequel that eschews the complicated plot and political maneuverings of its predecessor in favor of pure, adrenaline-charged thrills. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, an operative for the top-secret government agency IMF (Impossible Missions Force). Fellow agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) has gone rogue, stealing a sample of a deadly synthetic virus named Chimera that could rapidly wipe out the world's population. Ambrose's plan is to sell Chimera to the highest bidder in exchange for shares of stock in the winner's company. Summoned by the new IMF chief (Anthony Hopkins in an uncredited cameo role), Ethan is assigned to recruit the help of Ambrose's former lover Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton), a gorgeous woman who left Ambrose broken-hearted and who may be able to quickly regain his confidence. Once he meets and spends a night with Nyah, however, Ethan is smitten, and now must both capture Ambrose and keep Nyah alive as she infiltrates a nest of vipers. Sophisticated disguises, gun battles, and high-speed chases are the order of the day, very much in the James Bond mold. Mission: Impossible 2 is based on a story by Star Trek: The Next Generation writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, with a script polish by Robert Towne. — Karl Williams |
| Mission: Impossible III | 2006 | 126 mins | Adventure; Thriller; Mystery; Action | Ethan Hunt comes face to face with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer while trying to keep his identity secret in order to protect his girlfriend. |
| Mississippi Burning | 1988 | 128 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Two FBI agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists. |
| Momentum | 2003 | 88 mins | Drama; Thriller; Action | |
| Money Talks | 1997 | 97 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Thriller | Sought by police and criminals, a small-time huckster makes a deal with a TV newsman for protection. |
| Monster | 2003 | 109 mins | Crime; Drama | Model-turned-actress Charlize Theron leaves her glamorous image behind for this gritty drama, in which she plays a disturbed prostitute who becomes a serial killer. Aileen Wuornos (Theron) was a woman who survived a brutal and abusive childhood in Michigan to become a thick-skinned but emotionally damaged adult. Homeless most of her life, Wuornos subsisted by working as a street prostitute; later, when she was in Florida, down to her last five dollars and pondering suicide, she stopped into a bar for a beer. There, Aileen met Selby Wall (Christina Ricci), a woman in her early twenties who had been sent to live with relatives after her Christian parents became aware of her lesbian lifestyle. Selby is immediately attracted to Aileen, and while Aileen tells Selby she's never been in a lesbian relationship, she soon finds herself equally infatuated with her. Selby runs away from her family and moves into a cheap hotel with Aileen, who initially pays the bills by hooking. However, as their money runs low and Aileen finds herself unable to land a regular job, tensions mount between the two. One night, after a john attacks her, Aileen pulls a gun and kills the man. Although her first murder can be categorized as self-defense, Aileen's loathing for the men who pay her for sex becomes so extreme that she begins killing her customers regardless of their behavior. Meanwhile, Selby slowly becomes aware of the full extent of her lover's instability and the bloody consequences of her actions. Monster was inspired by the true story of Aileen Wuornos, whose life and death was chronicled in two documentaries by filmmaker Nick Broomfield, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, and Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer. — Mark Deming |
| Monster-in-Law | 2005 | 101 mins | Comedy; Romance | The love life of Charlotte is reduced to an endless string of disastrous blind dates, until she meets the perfect man, Kevin. Unfortunately, his merciless mother will do anything to destroy their relationship. |
| Monsters, Inc. | 2001 | 92 mins | Animation; Family; Comedy; Fantasy | After exploring the worlds of toys and bugs in the two Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, the award-winning computer animation company Pixar delves into the realm of monsters with its fourth feature. Hulking, blue-furred behemoth James P. "Sully" Sullivan (John Goodman) and his one-eyed assistant Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) are employed by Monsters, Inc., a scream processing factory. It seems that the denizens of their realm thrive on the screams of kids spooked by monsters lurking under their beds and in their closets. It's the job of Sully, Mike, and their co-workers, including sarcastic Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), crab-like CEO Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn), and lovely snake-headed receptionist Celia (Jennifer Tilly) to keep the frights flowing. When Sully and Mike are followed back into the monster world by a very unafraid little human girl named Boo (Mary Gibbs), they are exiled to her universe, where they discover that such a modern-day mythological specimen as the Abominable Snowman is a fellow refugee. — Karl Williams |
| Mortal Kombat | 1992 | Action; Horror | ||
| The Mother | 2003 | 112 mins | Drama | A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter. |
| Motorcycle Diaries, The | 2003 | 128 mins | Brazilian director Walter Salles Jr. follows up the Golden Globe-nominated Behind the Sun with this filmed adaptation of Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara's journals of the same name. The Motorcycle Diaries stars Gael García Bernal (Y Tu Mamá También, Amores Perros) as a young, pre-revolution Guevara, a 23-year-old medical student in 1952 traveling across South America on a motorcycle with his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna), who co-wrote the source material. As they embark on their journey, both young men come of age and find their individual world views broadened farther than they ever expected. The Motorcycle Diaries premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. — Matthew Tobey | |
| Mr. & Mrs. Smith | 2005 | 120 mins | Action; Comedy; Romance; Thriller | A bored married couple is surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other. |
| Mr. 3000 | 2004 | 102 mins | Comedy; Sport | Directed by Charles Stone III, Mr. 3000 revolves around over-the-hill baseball star Stan Ross (Bernie Mac), who retired after making what he thought was his 3,000th base hit for the Milwaukee Brewers (i.e. the exact amount of hits it takes to qualify for the Hall of Fame). Though he shocked his teammates by quitting in the middle of the game, certain that his Hall of Fame position was in the bag, complications arise when he discovers that three of his hits during his ten-year career had been disqualified. Known as Mr. 3000, the 47-year-old, out-of-shape ball player returns to the game intending to stay only as long as it takes to get the hits he needs, but something unexpected happens along the way — he rediscovers his love for the game, and begins to serve as a mentor to one of the younger players. Mr. 3000 features Angela Bassett, Paul Sorvino, Michael Rispoli, and Evan Jones in supporting roles. — Tracie Cooper |
| Mr. Deeds | 2002 | 96 mins | Comedy; Romance | One of Frank Capra's best-loved stories gets a modernized and wildly slapstick reinterpretation in this romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler. When Preston Blake (Harve Presnell), a remarkably wealthy media magnate, dies with neither a wife nor children, the question on the lips of most of his associates is who will inherit the estate. The surprising answer turns out to be Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), a cheerful but half-bright proprietor of a small-town pizzeria, as well as part-time greeting card poet, who was a distant relative of Blake. In order to claim his 40-billion-dollar inheritance, Deeds heads to New York City, where Blake's former associates, Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher) and Cecil Anderson (Erick Avari), introduce him to the city while trying to figure out how to get their hands on his new fortune. Meanwhile, Mac McGrath (Jared Harris), the producer of a sleazy tabloid television show, wants to get the inside scoop on Deeds, and comes up with perfect way to get it: he sends beautiful but unscrupulous reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) to sweep Deeds off his feet while she's wired for sound. Convincing Deeds that she's from a small town just like himself, Bennett quickly wins his heart, but while his affection is sincere, hers is not. He also displays a curious eagerness to defend her good name with his fists which quickly gets him in trouble. Meanwhile, as Deeds becomes the new laughing stock of New York thanks to Bennett's stories, Deeds decides it's time he did something big with his money, while Cedar and Anderson think they've finally found a way to take control of Deeds' holdings. Mr. Deeds also features supporting performances from John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, and Conchata Ferrell. John McEnroe and Rev. Al Sharpton make cameo appearances as themselves. — Mark Deming |
| Mrs. Doubtfire | 1993 | 125 mins | Comedy; Drama | After a bitter divorce, an actor disguises himself as a female housekeeper to spend secret time with his children held in custody by his Ex. |
| Mulan | 1998 | 88 mins | Family; Animation; Comedy; Musical; Adventure | Inspired by a familiar Chinese folk tale, this $90 million animated Disney drama follows the adventures of a young woman in ancient China. Character animator Tony Bancroft and 17-year Disney veteran Barry Cook (Captain EO, Tron, Trail Mix-Up) formed the directing team with production design by Hans Bacher (Balto), and work on the film began 2 January 1995 under the working title The Legend of Mulan. While the merciless Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer) leads invading Huns over the Great Wall, young Mulan (Ming-Na Wen, with singing by Lea Salonga) sees a matchmaker about her matrimonial future. Mulan's views on accepted marriage traditions prompt the ballad, "Reflection," as she hopes for a recognition of her true self. To repel the Huns, a man from each family is required to join the Imperial Army. When Mulan's elderly father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) volunteers, she objects. He warns, "I know my place. It is time you learned yours." Mulan, however, cuts her hair, dresses as a man, and is ready for military camp, prompting the concern of her First Ancestor (George Takei), who converts an inanimate incense burner into the 18-inch high comedic dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy). With Mushu hidden in her clothing, she joins a group of raw recruits under the command of Captain Shang (B.D. Wong, singing by Donny Osmond). During an ambush by the Huns in a mountain pass, Mulan steps in to turn defeat into a victory. Mulan was the first Disney feature from the company's 200,000-square-foot Orlando facility (now known as Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida). — Bhob Stewart |
| Mulan II | 2004 | Family; Animation; Comedy; Musical | Preparing for their wedding Shang and Mulan are suddenly sent off on a secret mission Mushu starts to meddle and a surprise attack by Mongolians doesn't help either. | |
| The Mummy | 1999 | 124 mins | Adventure; Action; Fantasy; Horror; Comedy | Brendan Fraser stars as an American serving in the French Foreign Legion who, on an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Hamunaptra accidentally awakens the Mummy. |
| The Mummy Returns | 2001 | 130 mins | Adventure; Action; Fantasy; Horror | The mummified body of Imhotep is shipped to a museum in London, where he once again wakes and begins his campaign of rage and terror. |
| Munich | 2005 | 164 mins | Crime; Drama; History; Thriller | Based on the true story of the Black September aftermath, about the five men chosen to eliminate the ones responsible for that fateful day. |
| Must Love Dogs | 2005 | 98 mins | Comedy; Romance | A forty-something preschool teacher looks to the personals for a change of pace and a relationship, with hilarious results. |
| My Baby's Daddy | 2003 | 86 mins | Comedy | Independent filmmaker Cheryl Dunye moves toward mainstream urban comedy with My Baby's Daddy, whose screenplay was partly written by comedian Eddie Griffin. Lonnie (Eddie Griffin), G (Anthony Anderson), and Dominic (Michael Imperioli) are three slacker bachelors who aren't quite ready to grow up. Their lives basically revolve around smoking weed and trying to pick up women. By some stroke of luck, each of their respective girlfriends (Paula Jai Parker, Bai Ling, and Joanna Bacalso) get pregnant at the same time. As they stumble toward fatherhood with comic effect, the three men struggle with becoming adults themselves. My Baby's Daddy also stars Method Man and Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| My Boss's Daughter | 2003 | 86 mins | Comedy; Romance | Anarchic comedy veteran David Zucker directs hot young thing of 2003 Ashton Kutcher in the fast-paced romantic comedy My Boss's Daughter. Kutcher plays rookie executive Tom Stansfield, who wants to impress his demanding boss, Jack Taylor (Terence Stamp), and win the heart of said boss' conventionally attractive daughter Lisa (Tara Reid). In order to achieve these ends, he agrees to housesit at their palatial mansion for one night. Chaos ensues throughout the evening as rowdy houseguests show up with various means of disruption. Molly Shannon plays Jack's former employee Audrey and Andy Richter appears as Lisa's brother Kevin, who's on the run from nasty drug dealers. Cameos come from Carmen Electra, Ever Carradine, and the like. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| My Dog Skip | 2000 | 95 mins | Drama; Family | A shy boy grows up in 1940s Mississippi with the help of his beloved dog, Skip. |
| My Life Without Me | 2003 | 106 mins | Romance; Drama | Isabel Coixet's Mi Vida Sin Me (My Life Without Me) is a tale of a woman dying before her time. Sarah Polley plays Ann, a 24-year-old mother of two. Ann is married to Don (Scott Speedman), and they live near Ann's mother (Deborah Harry), who is bitter about the fact that Ann's father is serving a ten-year prison sentence. Ann learns that she has only a few months to live. She makes a series of goals to complete before her time on Earth comes to an end. Among her accomplishments are taking a lover (Mark Ruffalo), finding someone to care for Don, and recording birthday greetings for her two daughters. My Life Without Me was screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival. — Perry Seibert |
| Mystic River | 2003 | 137 mins | Drama; Crime; Mystery | With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men are reunited by circumstance when one loses a daughter. |
| Naked Weapon | 2000 | Action; Adventure | | |
| Nanny McPhee | 2006 | 99 mins | Comedy; Family; Fantasy | With hairy warts, a stern-looking unibrow and one extremely protruding buck-tooth, Nanny McPhee is a wonderfully comedic substitute for Mary Poppins in this entertaining family fantasy. By loosely adapting Christianna Brand's Nurse Matilda children's books of the 1960s, Oscar®-winning screenwriter Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) has also given herself the plum role of Nanny McPhee, who can tame even the most unruly children with a tap of her magic walking stick. Her latest challenge is the bratty brood of a recent widower Mr. Brown (Colin Firth), who's under pressure to find a new wife or lose his much-needed allowance from wealthy Aunt Adelaide (a tailor-made role for Angela Lansbury). His love for scullery maid Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald) remains unspoken as he wincingly woos the eagerly merry widow Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie), but Brown's raucous rugrats have a plan to make things right, especially after they've come under the benevolent influence of Nanny McPhee, whose peculiar brand of discipline works wonders for everyone involved. Both quintessentially British and universally appealing, this wildly colorful comedy (thanks to a bold palette of costume and production design) was capably directed by Kirk Jones, whose appreciation for comic actors was equally apparent in his critically acclaimed 1998 comedy Waking Ned Devine. With just a hint of darkness to offset the whimsy, Nanny McPhee offers a splendid match of director, cast and material, guaranteed to please Wallace & Gromit fans and anyone else with a taste for British zaniness. --Jeff Shannon |
| Napoleon Dynamite | 2004 | Comedy; Family | | |
| Narc | 2002 | 105 mins | Mystery; Thriller; Crime; Drama | Suspended from the police force following an undercover drug bust gone horribly awry, Detroit undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) is reluctantly goaded back into active duty in hopes that he can help to crack the case of a slain fellow officer. Promised reinstatement in the force in exchange for his efforts, Tellis is paired with the victim's volatile ex-partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) and soon begins to actively seek the killer in an increasingly complex case. A recent father whose wife fears for her husband's safety and begs him not to take back to the dangerous streets, Tellis struggles with his conscience as he navigates a twisting road of half-realized truths, shifting loyalties and questionable agendas. With every step closer to Tellis gets to solving the troubling murder, he grows farther away from his wife and newborn son, and edges ever closer to a resolution so complicated that it threatens to devour his soul and shatter every preconceived difference he has ever made between cop and criminal. — Jason Buchanan |
| National Geographic - Inside Mecca | 60 mins | Documentary | ||
| National Lampoon's Animal House | 1978 | 109 mins | Comedy | This is one of those movies that works for all the wrong reasons--disgusting, lowbrow, base humor that we are all far too sophisticated to find amusing. So, just don't tell anyone you still think it's a riot to watch John Belushi as the brutish Bluto slurp Jell-O or terrorize his less-aggressive fellow students. This crude parody of college life in the '60s spawned many imitations, but none could match the fresh-faced talent or bad taste of this huge box office success. (Remember all those toga parties in the '80s?) The first of the National Lampoon movies, this was originally released as National Lampoon's Animal House. Keep an eye out for a very young Kevin Bacon in his first credited screen appearance. --Rochelle O'Gorman |
| National Lampoon's Gold Diggers | 2004 | 87 mins | Comedy; Family | American independent filmmaker Gary Preisler makes his film debut as a writer/director with the black comedy National Lampoon's Gold Diggers. Twentysomethings Calvin Menhoffer (Will Friedle) and Leonard Smallwood (Chris Owen) get arrested for the robbery of two sixtysomething women, Doris (Louise Lasser) and Betty (Renee Taylor). The ladies decide to drop the charges and invite the crooks to their space-age mod Beverly Hills mansion. Cal and Lenny come up with a plan to marry the women for their money in hopes that they die within the year. It turns out that Doris and Betty are actually broke and they're planning to marry the boys, kill them, and cash in on their insurance money. After several unsuccessful murder attempts, all four characters end up robbing Doris and Betty's rich uncle. Originally titled Lady Killers but changed to avoid confusion with the Coen brothers' remake of the classic 1955 film, Gold Diggers was shown at the 2003 CineVegas Film Festival. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| National Security | 2003 | 88 mins | Action; Thriller; Comedy | Adversaries become wary allies in this free-wheeling action comedy. Hank Rafferty (Steve Zahn) is a Los Angeles Police Department officer who finds himself out of a job after he becomes involved in a violent altercation with police academy flunk-out Earl Montgomery (Martin Lawrence), escalating into a media event which brings the LAPD a wealth of bad publicity. Unable to find work, Hank finally takes a job as a "rent-a-cop" with a private security firm — and discovers to his annoyance that his new partner is Earl. While neither of them are thrilled to be working together on the lowest strata of the law enforcement community, the two find themselves dealing with bigger crime than they expected when they stumble across evidence of a elite smuggling network operated by criminal mastermind Nash (Eric Roberts). Hank and Earl want to put Nash out of business, and they try without success to persuade the police of the importance of the case. But before long they discover it's not just Nash's men who are after them, but two high-ranking LAPD officials, Lt. Washington (Bill Duke) and Detective McDuff (Colm Feore). National Security was directed by Dennis Dugan, who'd previously helmed antic comedies starring Adam Sandler and Chris Farley; this film also marked Martin Lawrence's entry into the elite of Hollywood's comedy stars, with Lawrence taking home a 20-million-dollar paycheck for his work on the picture. — Mark Deming |
| National Treasure | 2004 | 131 mins | Adventure; Action | A treasure hunter is in hot pursuit of a mythical treasure that has been passed down for centuries, while his employer turned enemy is onto the same path that he's on. |
| Natural Born Killers | 1994 | 118 mins | Action; Crime; Romance; Thriller | Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. |
| The Negotiator | 1998 | 139 mins | Drama; Thriller; Crime | In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth. |
| The Net | 1995 | 114 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | Angela Bennett's a software engineer type who works from home and has few friends outside of cyberspace... |
| Never Die Alone | 2004 | 82 mins | Thriller; Crime; Drama | From a script from first-time scribe James Gibson comes this filmed adaptation of ex-gangster Donald Goines' 1974 novel Never Die Alone. Directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Juice, Bones), the films stars David Arquette as Paul Pawlowski, a reporter who takes an interest in gang kingpin King David, played by rapper/actor DMX. When King David is killed, Pawlowski happens upon the criminal's journal and envelops himself in his story. From there, the rise and fall of King David is covered in flashbacks as Pawlowski makes his way through the diary. Aisha Tyler and Jennifer Sky co-star. — Matthew Tobey |
| The New Guy | 2002 | 88 mins | Comedy | Former Prada model and Road Trip co-star D.J. Qualls makes a bid for leading man status in this nerd-makeover comedy. Qualls stars as Dizzy, a dorky but delinquent high school student who's determined to get expelled from his hellish high school — but ends up landing in jail instead. There he meets the intimidating, street-smart Luther (Eddie Griffin), himself a former geek, who takes Dizzy under his wing to teach him the art of being cool. Soon Luther and his pals have broken Dizzy of his meek, maladroit ways, and Dizzy is ready to start a new life at a new high school under a new name: Gil Harris. When Gil arrives at East Highland High — his former inmate reputation known to all — he quickly ingratiates himself with the cool kids and lays to waste any jocks who stand in his way. He even manages to date the school's most coveted girl, Danielle (Eliza Dushku). But when a face from his past shows up, it seems that his facade as the big man on campus may be about to crumble. The New Guy also stars Zooey Deschanel and Lyle Lovett, and features cameos from rockers Henry Rollins, Gene Simmons, and Tommy Lee. — Michael Hastings |
| New Jack City | 1991 | 96 mins | Thriller | Some pundits called it a flawed, exploitative action film that glamorized drug dealing and the luxury of a lucrative criminal lifestyle, spawning a trend of films that attracted youth gangs and provoked violence in theaters. Others hailed it as a breakthrough movie that depicted drug dealers as ruthless, corrupt, and evil, leading dead-end lives that no rational youth would want to emulate. However you interpret it, New Jack City is still one of the first and best films of the 1990s to crack open the underworld of cocaine and peer inside with its eyes wide open. It's also the film that established Wesley Snipes as an actor to watch, with enough charisma to bring an insidious quality of seduction to his role as coke-lord Nino Brown, and enough intelligence to portray a character deluded by his own sense of indestructible power. Director Mario Van Peebles stretched his otherwise-limited talent to bring vivid authenticity and urgency to this crime story, and subplots involving a pair of tenacious cops (Ice-T, Judd Nelson) and a recovering coke addict (Chris Rock) provide additional dramatic tension. Although some critics may hesitate to admit it, New Jack City deserves mention in any serious discussion about African American filmmakers and influential films. --Jeff Shannon |
| The New World | 2005 | 135 mins | Adventure; Biography; Drama; History; Romance | A Terrence Malick-scripted drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century. (view trailer) |
| New York Minute | 2004 | 91 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy; Family | Marking their first theatrical-release feature since 1995's It Takes Two, the Olsen twins bring their adventures back to the big screen with New York Minute. Billed as a sort of Ferris Bueller's Day Off for tweens, the plot involves the escapades of two enterprising Long Island girls, Roxy (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Jane (Ashley Olsen), as they decide to dupe their parents and spend a day on the island of Manhattan. It seems the high-minded Jane has a speech to give to a scholarship committee, while the punky Roxy wants to meet her favorite rock band. When Jane's planner gets swiped, however, the girls find themselves embroiled in a political scandal involving a high-powered senator (Andrea Martin), as their high school's truant officer (Eugene Levy) doggedly pursues them. — Michael Hastings |
| Next Friday | 2000 | 98 mins | Comedy | Craig Jones moves from the ghetto to the suburbs to live with his lottery-winning uncle and cousins. |
| A Night at the Roxbury | 1998 | 81 mins | Comedy | Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan play the Roxbury Guys, Steve and Doug Butabi, who want to get into the best club in town... |
| Night Fangs | 2005 | 98 mins | Horror; Thriller | Two Art Teachers are obsessed with eternal youth. Somehow they manage to get Elizabeth Bathory's diary. Soon, they start to practice bloody rituals that end up unleashing hell on earth. (view trailer) |
| North Country | 2005 | 126 mins | Drama | A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States -- Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit. (view trailer) |
| Not Another Teen Movie | 2001 | 88 mins | Comedy | Former MTV executive Joel Gallen makes his feature directorial debut with this broad spoof of the popular teen comedy genre, lampooning dozens of movies including American Pie (1999), American Beauty (1999), Bring It On (2000), Clueless (1995), She's All That (1999), Road Trip (2000), Can't Hardly Wait (1998), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Never Been Kissed (1999), and even the teen films of an earlier era such as The Breakfast Club (1985). At the aptly titled "John Hughes High School," aspiring artist Janey Briggs (Chyler Leigh) is an outcast because of her plain, bespectacled looks and paint-splattered overalls. Football hero Jake Wyler (Chris Evans) makes a bet that he can transform Janey into a gorgeous prom queen, a wager he may come to regret as he discovers Janey's true inner beauty. As their relationship blossoms, several other characters are limned, including a Nasty Cheerleader (Jaime Pressly), a Token Black Guy (Deon Richmond), a Stupid Fat Guy (Ron Lester), an Obsessed Best Friend (Eric Jungmann), an Undercover Reporter (Beverly Polcyn), the Cruelest Girl in School (Mia Kirshner), a Cocky Blonde Guy (Eric Christian Olsen), and several others. A nod to the multiple films that inspired it, Not Another Teen Movie (2001) was originally to have been entitled "Ten Things I Hate About Clueless Road Trips When I Can't Hardly Wait to Be Kissed." — Karl Williams |
| The Notebook | 2004 | 123 mins | Drama; Romance | The movie focuses on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story he reads... |
| Nothing to Lose | 1997 | 98 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy; Crime | Nick Beam's life couldn't get any worse. He discovers he has been living a lie and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown... |
| The Nutty Professor | 1996 | 95 mins | Comedy; Romance; Sci-Fi | Grossly overweight Prof. Sherman Klump, desperate to lose weight takes a special chemical that turns him into the slim but obnoxious Buddy Love. |
| Nutty Professor II | 2000 | 107 mins | Comedy; Romance; Sci-Fi | America's funniest family is back for seconds! Eddie Murphy is hilarious when he stars as the entire Klump family in this enormous comedy blockbuster. The hilarity begins when professor Sherman Klump finds romance with fellow DNA specialist, Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson), and discovers a brilliant formula that reverses aging. But Sherman's thin and obnoxious alter ego, Buddy Love, wants out…and a big piece of the action. And when Buddy gets loose, things get seriously nutty. Now, it's up to Mama, Papa, Ernie and Granny Klump to throw their weight around and save the day in this whopping, gut-busting comedy Good Morning America calls an "incredible piece of filmmaking." Applauded by audiences and critics alike, Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper give Nutty Professor II: The Klumps "two thumbs up." |
| Ocean's Eleven | 2001 | 120 mins | Comedy; Thriller; Crime | A rag-tag group of con artists and ex-cons team up for the heist to end all heists in this high-profile remake of the 1960 Rat Pack favorite. As with its predecessor, Ocean's Eleven opens with its titular hero Danny Ocean (George Clooney stepping into the Frank Sinatra role) eager for a new challenge. The similarities to the original end there, as Ocean conspires with his old pal Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to rob 150 million dollars from an underground vault that serves three of Las Vegas' biggest casinos. Between the two of them, they recruit nine other men, each with his own criminal specialty, to assist in the mission: moneyman Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), card dealer Frank (Bernie Mac), pickpocket Linus (Matt Damon), aging con artist Saul (Carl Reiner), British explosives pro Basher (Don Cheadle), techie Dell (Eddie Jemison), rude-boy brothers Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan), and professional acrobat Yen (Shaobo Qin). What Ocean doesn't tell the group is that there's another reason he's coordinating the heist: the three casinos they're robbing are all owned by ruthless gambling mogul Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who just happens to be married to Ocean's former love Tess (Julia Roberts). Ocean's Eleven was updated by scribe Ted Griffin and marked the third feature shot by director Steven Soderbergh under the alias Peter Andrews. — Michael Hastings |
| Ocean's Twelve | 2004 | 125 mins | Comedy; Crime; Thriller | Daniel Ocean recruits one more team member so he can pull off three major European heists in this sequel to Ocean's 11. |
| Office Space | 1999 | 89 mins | Comedy | Comedic tale of company workers who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss. |
| Old School | 2003 | 90 mins | Comedy | Three men relive their carefree college years by killing off as many brain cells as possible in this over-the-top comedy. Mitch (Luke Wilson) returns home from a less-than-pleasant business trip one evening to discover his wife, Heidi (Juliette Lewis), involved in a ménage à trois with two blindfolded strangers. Feeling less than welcome at home after this, Mitch rents a house near the campus of a nearby college; two of Mitch's old college buddies, Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell), stop by to cheer him up. They soon become regular guests at Mitch's place, despite the fact that Frank only recently wed Marissa (Perrey Reeves), while Beanie and his wife, Lara (Leah Remini), are busy with two kids. Beanie decides to throw a housewarming party for Mitch, and since Beanie sells audio equipment for a living, he's able to trick out the big bash with a massive PA system and an appearance by Snoop Dogg. Mitch soon finds he's the not-entirely-willing proprietor of the school's leading party spot, which raises the ire of Pritchard (Jeremy Piven), a dean at the college who was the target of Mitch, Frank, and Beanie's abuse when they were all students. Pritchard arranges to have Mitch's neighborhood zoned into a student housing district, but Beanie and Frank respond by forming a fraternity and making Mitch's home their headquarters. Mitch, however, is not enthusiastic about the idea, especially as he's trying to impress Nicole (Ellen Pompeo), a beautiful divorcee who is less than enchanted with Frank and Beanie's "party hearty" lifestyle. Old School director Todd Phillips knows more than a bit about the seamy side of fraternity life as director of the infamous unreleased documentary Frat House. — Mark Deming |
| Oliver Twist | 2005 | 130 mins | Drama; Family | An adaptation of the classic Dickens tale, where an orphan meets a pickpocket on the streets of London. From there, he joins a household of boys who are trained to steal for their master. (view trailer) |
| Omega Code ,The | 1999 | 99 mins | Thriller | In this spiritual thriller, an ancient prophecy is about to be fulfilled as a secret code brings the world to the edge of Apocalypse. Gillen Lane (Casper Van Dien) is a expert on theology and mythology who has gained international fame as a motivational speaker. Lane is approached by Stone Alexander (Michael York), the owner and founder of a major media empire, who has been made chairman of the European Union and needs someone to help spread the word about his goal of a world united behind a single vision of peace. Lane begins to realize that there's something sinister behind Alexander's veneer of charity and benevolence: a secret code was embedded in the original texts of the Torah that will allow the person who cracks it to unlock the secret powers of the Christian scriptures; if it falls into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of Man's Reign on Earth. After the death of his mother, Lane lost his faith in God and embraced a New Age philosophy, but now he must confront his lost faith as he tries to discover both the all-powerful secret of the Omega Code and his own true identity. The Omega Code also stars Van Dien's wife Catherine Oxenberg as Cassandra Barris, a reporter working for Alexander's network, and Michael Ironside as Dominic, Alexander's thuggish underling. The Omega Code was produced in association with the Trinity Broadcasting Network, America's largest Christian broadcasting outlet. — Mark Deming |
| On the Corner | 2003 | 95 mins | Drama | Angel and Randy Henry are a sister and brother, caught on the mean streets of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside... |
| Once Upon a Time in China | 1991 | 112 mins | Action | Though generally unknown to Western audiences, Tsui Hark is considered a giant among Asian filmmakers and this exceptional epic, combining hard-hitting martial-arts action with romance, comedy, history, genuine poignance, and sharp insight into the effects of the century-long encroachment of Western civilization in Asia more than amply demonstrates why. The story centers on the exploits of Master Wong Fei-hung (a familiar figure in Hong Kong cinema) a 19th-century doctor, Confucian, and exceptional martial artist. As the film begins, he has just opened a new clinic in Canton Province. To help him with patients, he hires a few apprentices including Porky Lang (the comic relief) and Buck Teeth Sol, who was raised outside China and barely can speak the language. Wong is platonically involved with the lovely, worldly Aunt Yee, who has been abroad most of her life. Wong soon gets in trouble when he begins using his skills to protect and assist the poor and helpless in his community. As a result, someone torches his clinic, forcing Wong and his compadres to set off and get spectacularly staged revenge. They also try vainly to stop Western culture from changing traditional Chinese ways, but they soon find that they may as well be shoveling sand against a rising tide. — Sandra Brennan |
| Once Upon a Time in Mexico | 2003 | 101 mins | Crime; Action; Thriller | Director Robert Rodriguez returns to the characters of his breakthrough hits El Mariachi and Desperado in this grand scale south-of-the-border action-adventure saga. Sands (Johnny Depp) is a rogue CIA agent who is working in cahoots with Mexican officials who've caught wind of a plan by corrupt military leader General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil) and ruthless drug kingpin Barillo (Willem Dafoe) to assassinate Mexico's president (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.). Sands needs to recruit a gunman to take out Barillo's assassins before they can complete their mission, and through barman Belini (Cheech Marin), Sands learns of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), a fabled musician turned vigilante with a remarkable talent for violence, and a score to settle with Marquez. El Mariachi is living quietly in hiding after the death of the woman he loved, Carolina (Salma Hayek), but Sands lures him back into action through the promise of a final showdown with his nemesis Marquez, forcing El Mariachi to retrieve his guitar case (containing a mighty arsenal) and once again do battle against the lawless. Robert Rodriguez not only directed Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but he wrote the screenplay, handled the camera work, edited the film, and composed the musical score. — Mark Deming |
| One, The | 2001 | 80 mins | Action | Former X-Files writer James Wong makes his sophomore feature as a director at the helm of this science fiction thriller that's reminiscent of Timecop (1994). In the near future, a technology called "quantum tunneling" allows human beings to travel between parallel universes. The abuse of this ability by criminal elements has led to the formation of the Multi-Verse Authorities or "MVA," an agency of quantum traveling cops who apprehend violators of inter-dimensional laws. The MVA faces its greatest crisis when a former agent named Gabriel Yulaw (Jet Li) goes renegade, traveling between one universe and the next, murdering his own parallel selves and gaining enormous power with each slaying. It is believed that when Yulaw has become "the one," the only version of himself to exist, he will be omnipotent, but the final Gabriel Yulaw exists in our plane of existence (the "magna universe") and is also becoming stronger, though he doesn't understand why. Hot on the evil Yulaw's trail are his former partner Harry Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Harry's new colleague Evan Funsch (Jason Statham). Created with Wong's longtime writing and producing partner Glen Morgan, The One (2001) co-stars Carla Gugino. — Karl Williams |
| Ong-bak | 2003 | 105 mins | Action; Adventure | When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it. |
| Open Range | 2003 | 138 mins | Drama; Western | Kevin Costner stars in and directs the Western Open Range. Robert Duvall stars as Boss Spearman, a rugged old-timer who free-grazes cattle. He and Charley Waite (Costner) have been partners for ten years. As the film opens in the 1880s, the pair and their employees — the beefy, rugged, likable Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and the impetuous Mexican teenager Buttons (Diego Luna) — are driving cattle across the West. Mose is attacked and thrown in jail during a visit to a town. The local cattle rancher Baxter (Michael Gambon) wants the free grazers off his land and warns Charley and Boss when they retrieve Mose that they have until the next day to be out of the area. Boss decides to fight back, especially after Baxter's men do harm to the foursome. Charley confesses his past as a killer during the Civil War and strikes up a tentative romance with Sue Barlow — the sister of the town doctor. The film's centerpiece is an extended gunfight between the duo (with some assistance from sympathetic townsfolk) and Baxter's hired gunmen. — Perry Seibert |
| Open Water | 2004 | Thriller | | |
| Orange County | 2002 | 81 mins | Comedy | Some cast and crew from NBC's highly acclaimed, little-seen series Freaks and Geeks reunite for this teen comedy that also marks the first starring role for Tom Hanks' son, Colin. The younger Hanks plays Shaun Brumder, a high schooler eager to propel himself out of the land of surf bums and ranch homes to which the film's title refers. He's had his sights set on Stanford ever since he read the works of professor Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), and his transcript is stellar enough to gain him admission. Shaun is understandably furious, then, when he receives a rejection letter in the mail; after some detective work on his part, he realizes that his flaky counselor (Lily Tomlin) mistakenly sent the university the wrong papers. It's up to him to get to Stanford within 24 hours to set the record straight — literally — and he enlists the help of his slacker brother Lance (Jack Black) to do so. Orange County co-stars Catharine O'Hara and John Lithgow as Shaun and Lance's slightly unhinged parents; the film was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White, both of whom contributed to several episodes of Freaks and Geeks. — Michael Hastings |
| The Order | 2003 | 102 mins | Mystery; Thriller; Horror | Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland writes and directs the religious thriller The Order. Heath Ledger portrays a priest from a secret religious order called The Carolingians. He's sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of the head of the Carolingians, whose body was found with strange marks on its chest. While in Rome, he asks for help from an old friend (Mark Addy) and an elusive artist Shannyn Sossamon to help solve the murder. The priest ends up at the Vatican, where he learns of a sect that may be responsible for many mysterious deaths. Peter Weller and Benno Fürmann round out the cast. — Perry Seibert |
| Original Sin | 2001 | 116 mins | Thriller; Drama; Romance | A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp. |
| Osmosis Jones | 2001 | 98 mins | Animation; Comedy | Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, the impish impresarios of gross-out comedy, take their body function-inspired humor to new extremes in this mixture of live action and animation. Bill Murray stars as Frank, a zoo worker suffering from the effects of an unknown malady he contracted after eating an egg contaminated with simian saliva. Unknown to Frank, the inside of his body is actually a city (the City of Frank) teeming with cellular life, where the mysterious illness he's fighting is an invading enemy that must be defeated at all costs. It's up to Osmosis Jones (voice of Chris Rock), a white blood cell cop, and Drix (voice of David Hyde Pierce), a rookie over-the-counter medication, to hunt down and stop a lethal virus (Laurence Fishburne) who's got an inferiority complex. Along the way, the partners visit Frank's runny nostrils (Booger Dam) and a bar called, appropriately enough, the Zit. Osmosis Jones costars Molly Shannon and Chris Elliott, and features the vocal talents of William Shatner, producer Joel Silver, and singer Brandy Norwood. — Karl Williams |
| The Others | 2001 | 105 mins | Drama; Thriller; Horror | Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar's first English-language production is a creepy period ghost story that continues in the vein of his earlier art house hit Open Your Eyes (1997). Nicole Kidman stars as Grace, a devoutly religious mother of two ailing children who has moved with her family to a mansion on the English coast while awaiting her husband's return from World War II, though he has been declared missing. Their children, Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), both suffer from a rare photosensitivity disease that renders them extremely vulnerable to sunlight, prompting Grace's rule of having only one door open in the house at a time. When Anne begins claiming to see ghosts, Grace at first believes her newly arrived family of eccentric servants to be responsible, but chilling events and visions soon lead her to believe that something supernatural is indeed going on. The Others was released only a few months prior to Vanilla Sky (2001), the American remake of Alejandro's Open Your Eyes (1997), ironically starring Kidman's then-estranged husband Tom Cruise. — Karl Williams |
| Out Of Bounds | 2003 | 91 mins | She Was A Grade-A Student Until She Went... Louise (Sophia Myles) is an alienated boarding school student in the midst of a hot and heavy affair with the husband of her headmistress, Veronica (Sophie Ward). Suspicion and passion hang in the air of the isolated campus until Matthew (George Asprey) suddenly disappears. Fearing the worst, Louise struggles to uncover what happened to her lover, but is foiled at every turn by Veronica, who begins to take a sadistic glee in the psychological torment she inflicts upon her. When a mysterious woman appears around the campus, Louise becomes convinced that she is being framed for the murder of Matthew, or even worse, being set up to be the next victim. Alone and friendless, Louise must keep herself alive long enough to uncover the truth of Matthew's disappearance. |
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| Out of Reach | 2004 | Action; Adventure | | |
| Out of Time | 2003 | 114 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Director Carl Franklin and actor Denzel Washington team up again (following 1995's Devil in a Blue Dress) for the crime thriller Out of Time. Washington stars as Matt Lee Whitlock, the well-respected chief of police in a quiet Florida community. While in the process of getting a divorce from fellow detective Alexandra (Eva Mendez), Matt engages in an affair with his high school sweetheart Anne (Sanaa Lathan). Unfortunately, Anne is married to the extremely jealous Chris (Dean Cain), a former pro football player who works as a security guard. After a major murder occurs in the community, Matt finds himself the main suspect. With the help of his medical examiner pal Chae (John Billingsley), Matt must solve the case before he is found guilty himself. Out of Time premiered at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| The Pacifier | 2005 | 95 mins | Comedy; Action; Family; Thriller | Disgraced Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Diesel) is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scientist whose top-secret experiment remains in the kids' house. |
| Paid in Full | 2002 | 97 mins | Drama; Action; Crime | Paid in Full marks the feature debut of director Charles Stone III, who rose to fame after creating Budweiser's "Wassup" commercials. The urban gangster drama is loosely based on the true story of 1980s Harlem drug kingpins AZ, Rich Porter, and Alpo. (This story was also the basis for a documentary, Game Over (Part 1).) Ace (Wood Harris) works at a laundromat, struggling to get by, while his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) lives the high life selling heroin. His sister's boyfriend, Calvin (Kevin Carroll) also sells drugs, and looks down on Ace for struggling to earn a living. Out delivering laundry one day, Ace meets Lulu (Esai Morales), a big time coke dealer, who lives better than anyone Ace has ever known. When Lulu leaves some coke in the pocket of a coat he's having cleaned, Ace returns it to him, and Lulu rewards him for his honesty by letting him keep the drugs. When Calvin gets busted, Ace hesitantly takes his place in the neighborhood, and starts working for Lulu. As the crack business takes off, Ace finds himself making more money than he knows what to do with. Mitch goes to jail for a short time, where another inmate, Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his acting debut), defends him in a fight. By the time Mitch gets out of prison, Ace is running the neighborhood. Ace makes Mitch his right-hand man, and when Rico gets out of jail, he joins the crew. The drugs and money flow, and Ace tries to keep everyone happy, but there are some who want what's his, and will stop at nothing to get it. Paid in Full was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. — Josh Ralske |
| Panic Room | 2002 | 112 mins | Drama; Thriller; Crime | A well-regarded spec script by A-list screenwriter David Koepp became this stylish thriller from director David Fincher. Jodie Foster stars as Meg Altman, a single mother of an diabetic preteen daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart). Meg's going through an unhappy divorce that forces her and Sarah to move into a new home. They choose a deluxe New York brownstone that coincidentally boasts an unusual feature: a "panic room," a vault-like hidden space capable of literally sealing itself off from the rest of the building. With its thick steel door on springs, separate ventilation and communications systems, and video monitors linked to cameras mounted throughout the home, the room is an impregnable fortress. It quickly comes in handy when the Altmans' new residence is invaded by a trio of thieves: Junior (Jared Leto), Burnham (Forest Whitaker), and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam). Meg and Sarah are able to secure themselves in the panic room before the robbers can get to them, but it turns out that Sarah's medication is still on the outside, the phone's not yet connected, and the loot the gang's seeking is inside the panic room with them. A cat-and-mouse battle of wits ensues, with Meg trying to outwit their captors over the course of one very long night, as her daughter's health dissipates. Panic Room (2002) co-stars Ann Magnuson, Patrick Bauchau, and Koepp's fellow screenwriter, Andrew Kevin Walker, in a cameo role. — Karl Williams |
| Paparazzi | 2004 | 84 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | Directed by Paul Abascal, Paparazzi chronicles the aftermath of four paparazzi photographers whose search for the all-important "perfect shot" ends in a tragic car accident. Movie star Bo Laramie (Cole Hauser) is understandably furious when, thanks to the notorious celebrity chasers, his wife, Abby (Robin Tunney), is seriously injured, and his 8-year-old son is paralyzed. After the accident, Bo dedicates his life to putting a stop to a paparazzo's deadly overzealousness. Chris Rock, Matthew McConaughey, Mel Gibson, and Vince Vaughn are reported to be featured in cameo appearances. — Tracie Cooper |
| The Passion of The Christ | 2004 | 126 mins | Drama | Mel Gibson's well-publicized production The Passion of the Christ concerns the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The dialogue is spoken in the ancient Aramaic language, along with Latin and Hebrew. In the Garden of Gethsemane near the Mount of Olives, Jesus (James Caviezel) is betrayed by Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello). Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy and brought before Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), the Roman governor of Judea, for sentencing. The roaring crowd demand his death, so Pilate orders his crucifixion. Jesus is severely beaten and made to carry his cross up to Golgotha, the hill outside Jerusalem, where he is nailed to the cross. Romanian theatrical actress Maia Morgenstern plays Mary, Mother of God, and Italian superstar Monica Bellucci plays Mary Magdalene. Despite much controversy involving Gibson and various religious organizations, The Passion of the Christ received an international theatrical release in February of 2004. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Payback | 1999 | 110 mins | Crime; Thriller; Drama | Porter (Mel Gibson) is pulled into a heist by his old friend, Val (Brian De Palma regular, Gregg Henry). As they're stealing $130,000 in laundered drug money from Chinese Triads, no one is going to call the police. Everything goes smoothly until Porter's wife, Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger), shoots Porter in the back. After Val had shown Lynn a photo of Porter in the arms of another girl (Maria Bello), the two planned the double-cross together to pay off Val's mob debts so he could return to "The Syndicate." They didn't plan well enough, though, because five months later Porter's back, a complete sociopath who wants his $70,000. Brian Helgeland, the screenwriter for L.A. Confidential and Conspiracy Theory, makes his directing debut with this adaptation of the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake writing under the pseudonym, Richard Stark. The same novel served as the basis for John Boorman's Point Blank starring Lee Marvin. — Chris Gore |
| Paycheck | 2003 | 119 mins | Sci-Fi; Thriller; Action | John Woo directs the sci-fi action thriller Paycheck, based on a story written by Philip K. Dick in 1953. Waking up with his short-term memory erased, engineer Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) learns that he has been doing highly secretive work for the last three years in exchange for billions of dollars. But when he tries to get paid, he finds out that he himself had previously exchanged the money for an envelope of random clues to his life. Chased by an FBI agent (Michael C. Hall) and his old boss Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), Michael uses the clues to find out his identity and prove his innocence. Uma Thurman appears as his love interest and partner, Rachel. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Pearl Harbor | 2001 | 182 mins | Drama; Action; War; Romance | At the time of its release, this lavish period war drama from hyperkinetic director Michael Bay became the most expensive motion picture ever green-lighted by a studio. Ben Affleck stars as Rafe McCawley, a military pilot stationed under Jimmy Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) in New Jersey, along with his best friend from childhood, Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett). Rafe is chomping at the bit to get involved in World War II, but America has not entered the conflict, so he is forced to fight on loan to the Royal Air Force in Britain, leaving behind his beautiful girlfriend Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale). After Rafe goes overseas, both Danny and Evelyn are transferred to the naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where word arrives that Rafe has been killed in action. A grief-stricken Evelyn and Danny become romantically attached, a situation that becomes a lit powder keg when Rafe suddenly reappears, having survived his ordeal in the European war. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor puts the romantic triangle on hold, as the best friends are ordered to undertake a top-secret and highly dangerous retaliatory mission to bomb Tokyo, once again under the command of Doolittle. Although the trio of leads are entirely fictional, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Sizemore, and Jon Voight (as FDR) co-star in the roles of real-life historical figures. Pearl Harbor is based on a script by Randall Wallace, writer of Braveheart (1995) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1998). Taking a page from the production history of James Cameron's Titanic (1997), many of the actors and filmmakers involved with Pearl Harbor deferred their usual salaries until the film "broke even" at the box office. — Karl Williams |
| The Perfect Man | 2005 | 100 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | Teenager Holly Hamilton (Hilary Duff) is tired of moving every time her single mom Jean (Heather Locklear)... |
| The Perfect Score | 2003 | 93 mins | Comedy; Crime | Produced by MTV Films, The Perfect Score is a teen crime comedy about a group of high school students who decide to steal the answers to the SAT exam. Kyle (Chris Evans) wants to be an architect, but his scores are too low to get into the school of his choice. Matty (Bryan Greenberg) is heartbroken when he is rejected from the school to which his girlfriend goes. Good girl Anna (Erika Christensen) is pressured by her parents to excel in academics and remain innocent. Desmond (Darius Miles) is a basketball player who believes the SAT exam is racist. Rounding out the group is gutsy Francesca (Scarlett Johansson) and lonely Roy (Leonardo Nam). — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Peter Pan | 2003 | 113 mins | Adventure; Family; Action; Fantasy | Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding) helms this live-action retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic children's play Peter Pan. Starring Jeremy Sumpter (Frailty) in the title role, the film follows the adventures of the Darling children, Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell), as they are visited by the boy who never grows up and whisked away to Neverland, where they encounter The Lost Boys, Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier), and the evil Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs). — Matthew Tobey |
| The Phantom of the Opera | 2004 | 143 mins | Drama; Musical; Romance | A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorizes the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protege whom he trains and loves. |
| Phat Girlz | 2006 | 99 mins | Comedy | An aspiring plus size fashion designer struggles to find love and acceptance. (view trailer) |
| Phone Booth | 2003 | 80 mins | Thriller | One man's life is thrown into turmoil by picking up a telephone in this claustrophobic thriller. Stu Sheppard (Colin Farrell) is a brash, cynical, and self-centered public relations man who juggles a busy career with both a wife, Kelly (Radha Mitchell), and a mistress, Pamela (Katie Holmes). Stu steps into a phone booth on a busy New York street to make a call to Pamela without Kelly being the wiser, but as soon as Stu hangs up, the phone begins to ring. Curious, Stu picks it up — and a stranger on the other end (voice of Kiefer Sutherland) informs him that if he hangs up the phone, he'll be shot. The red dot of an infrared rifle scope convinces Stu that the caller means business, and when another man tries to make his way into the booth, he's shot mere inches from Stu, calling the attention of the police. Captain Ramey (Forest Whitaker) naturally assumes that Stu was the killer, as Stu struggles to find a way to convince the police of what's happening before more lives are lost, without leaving the booth and putting his own life on the line. At one time proposed as a vehicle for Jim Carrey, Phone Booth was directed by Joel Schumacher, from a screenplay by exploitation icon Larry Cohen. — Mark Deming |
| The Pink Panther | 2006 | 93 mins | Comedy; Mystery | Loosely based on the 1964 Peter Sellers original film, where the detective must solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and find out who stole the infamous Pink Panther diamond. (view trailer) |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | 2003 | 143 mins | Adventure; Fantasy; Horror | From producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) comes Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl, the thrilling, high-seas adventure with a mysterious twist. The roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) idyllic pirate life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), steals his ship the Black Pearl, and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the governor's beautiful daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley). In a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture the Black Pearl, Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) joins forces with Jack. What Will doesn't know is that a cursed treasure has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead. Rich in suspense-filled adventure, sword-clashing action, mystery, humor, unforgettable characters and never-before-seen special effects, Pirates is a must-have epic on the grandest scale ever. |
| Pitch Black | 2000 | 110 mins | Action; Adventure; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A group of marooned space travelers struggle for survival on a seemingly lifeless sun-scorched world. |
| Platinum Comedy Series - Cedric The Entertainer - Starting Lineup 2 | 2003 | 60 mins | Comedy | Cedric the Entertainer is a complete entertainer. He's won four NAACP Image Awards, co-starred on fellow Platinum Comedy King's The Steve Harvey Show, and won major accolades for his routine in the most successful throwback variety show, Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Cedric now bows the second edition to his wildly successful DVD comedy series Starting Lineup...Cedric the Entertainers Starting Lineup Part 2. Cedric showcases more of his natural comedic flair in front of his engaged audience at the Biloxi Grand Casino in Biloxi Mississippi. And once again, showcases some of the hottest new talent on the comedy circuit as they show off their skills along side one of the Original Kings of Comedy. Buckle up, y'all. It's about to get wild in here! UrbanWorks Entertainment and the Platinum Comedy Series presents Cedric the Entertainer...and his starting lineup! |
| Platinum Comedy Series - Mike Epps | 2006 | 75 mins | Deluxe Edition Mike Epps is the hottest, most covered and brightest new star in the world of comedy. He has already starred in numerous cult films including The Friday franchise and All About the Benjamins with Ice Cube, The Honeymooners with Cedric the Entertainer and Roll Bounce with Bow Wow and Nick Cannon. Now, Mike Epps is set to explode onto the scene with his very own HBO series entitled Unsuccessful Thug, while preparing to star as the lead role in Richard Pryor's life story. To see Mike Epps live is to experience laughter at its highest peak. You will be doubled over with stomach pains as Mike Epps gives you 75 minutes of brash, unapologetic comedy as only he can on his debut DVD Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior. UrbanWorks Entertainment is proud to welcome Mike Epps into the prestigious Platinum Comedy Series. Enjoy Mike Epps: Inappropriate Behavior and the Platinum Comedy Series at home on the television or in the car! Bringing you the funniest comedians in America! |
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| Platinum Comedy Series - The Torry Brothers | 2004 | Comedy | It is certainly a family affair for Joe & Guy Torry when it comes to generating non-stop laughs And as their collective credits demonstrate, these brothers can simply do it all! The former host of HBO's Def Comedy Jam, Joe Torry made his film debut in John Singleton's Poetic Justice. Since then Joe has starred in a wide range of roles including: Strictly Business, Fled, Tales from the Hood, Sprung, Lock Down and Back in Business. His television credits also include N.Y.P.D. Blue, Navy N.C.I.S., Girlfriends, and a recurring role on top rated ER. Guy Torry has numerous feature films to his credit including The Runaway Jury, Pearl Harbor, The Animal, Don't Be A Menace to South Central and American History X. Guy has also received critical acclaim for his work on the small screen, have starred in NBC's The 70's, HBO's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (with Halle Berry), The Shield, and X-Files Filmed at the popular Grand Casino in Biloxi Mississippi, the Torry Brothers deliver two laugh-out-loud standup performances. They will leave you begging for more! Get your laugh on! UrbanWorks Entertainment welcomes Joe & Guy Torry to the prestigious Platinum Comedy Series! Bringing you the funniest comedians in America! |
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| Platinum Comedy Series: Bruce Bruce | 2003 | 60 mins | Comedy | Get Your Laugh On! Bruce Bruce is a comedian's comedian. He's sharp, he's clever, and damn...he's just plain funny. He's the current hose of BET's wildly popular comedy review Comic View and he's packing venues nationwide, headlining A-list comedy concerts where he keeps them rollin' in the aisles. On this hilarious 1-hour stand-up comedy special, Bruce Bruce captivates his audience with his lightning wit, spontaneous snaps, and improvisation. The newest installment to UrbanWorks Entertainment's enormously successful Platinum Comedy Series. |
| Players Club, The | 1998 | 103 mins | Drama | Friday, we got down. Here, we get down and dirty. Writer and director Ice Cube (Anaconda, Friday) leads an all-star cast in The Players Club – a revealing, gritty and funny look at a gentlemen’s club through the eyes of a strong-willed co-ed. For gorgeous and smart Diana (newcomer LisaRaye), there is no choice but to work her way through college. So it’s difficult to resist the easy money that club owner Dollar Bill (Bernie Mac, How To Be A Player, Friday) offers her to strip at The Players club. She avoids the pitfalls of dancing by trusting no one except the respectable and funny DJ (Jamie Foxx, Booty Call, TV’s The Jamie Foxx Show). But when her naïve cousin joins the club and gets into all sorts of trouble, Diana has to figure a way out for both of them before they go down with the building. With a heavy-hittin’ soundtrack featuring Ice Cube, Master P and many more, The Players Club is a laugh-filled, music-backed, action packed ride through the sleaziest part of town! |
| Pocahontas | 1995 | 90 mins | Animation; Family; Musical; Romance | History gets the Disney kiddie treatment and a politically correct interpretation in the studio's 33rd feature-length animated movie, the first to be based on actual events and people. Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) is the daughter of Algonquin chief Powhatan (Russell Means), who promises her in marriage to Kocoum, a brave whom she doesn't love. Pocahontas would rather be paddling in her canoe or wandering in the forest, communing with nature and her animal pals, Meeko, a raccoon, and the hummingbird Flit. When European settlers arrive, she becomes enamored of handsome John Smith (Mel Gibson). Their attraction is encouraged by Grandmother Willow (Linda Hunt), a talking tree. The situation between their peoples is tense, however, as the settlers, led by Governor Ratcliffe (David Ogden Stiers) desperately want the gold that they're sure the natives are concealing. When a dutiful sentry, Thomas (Christian Bale) follows Smith into the woods on one of his secret meetings with Pocahontas, a tragic mistake leads both groups to the brink of war. Only the love of Pocahontas and Smith can prevent bloodshed. Pocahontas (1995) was awarded two Oscars, for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score and Best Original Song for "Colors of the Wind." — Karl Williams |
| Poetic Justice | 1993 | 105 mins | Drama | In POETIC JUSTICE, director John Singleton takes us back to South Central L.A. – the setting of his award-winning masterpiece BOYZ N THE HOOD – for this moving story about losing your fear and finding your way. Superstar JANET JACKSON and rapper TUPAC SHAKUR are electrifying as two people trying the escape the tragedy of the past, the violence that surrounds them and find hope for the future in the world’s toughest ‘hood. |
| The Polar Express | 2004 | 99 mins | Animation; Family; Fantasy; Adventure | Santa Claus does not exist. Or does he? For one doubting boy (voice of Daryl Sabara and Tom Hanks), an astonishing event occurs... |
| Poseidon | 2006 | 99 mins | Action; Adventure; Drama; Thriller | On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner, Poseidon, capsizes after being swamped by a rogue tidal wave. The survivors are left to fight for survival as they attempt to escape the sinking ship. |
| The Powerpuff Girls | 2002 | 73 mins | Animation; Action; Comedy; Family; Fantasy | The movie shows the origin of the Powerpuff Girls before the cartoon series. It explains why they were born and why they dedicated their lives to fighting crime and the forces of evil. |
| Predator | 1987 | 107 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has a code of honor which he will not violate, even when his life depends on it. Paradoxically, his code of honor gives him the backbone to survive as a military special forces operative when he is sent on a covert mission to rescue another group which was sent in to assist some nefarious U.S. government plan in a Latin American country. Once there, he encounters an old army buddy (Carl Weathers) who has gotten too deep in the CIA's good graces for Dutch's comfort. When he and his team go into the jungle to rescue the others, they get involved in a pitched battle with local guerillas, but they are more than capable of besting these vicious fighters. However, not long after that, they encounter signs that the equally capable men they were sent to rescue were all killed unawares and in an unusually gruesome fashion. Given their training, it should have been impossible for anyone to best all of these commando warriors. Soon, the men from Dutch's own team get picked off one by one, as they grow aware that they are up against something uncanny, not of this world, something that is hunting them for sport. Why? Because their skills make them worthy opponents for the perfectly camouflaged Predator. This carefully paced action movie was given poor reviews by many movie critics, but was sufficiently satisfying for its (largely male) audiences that a successful sequel (Predator 2) was released in 1990. — Clarke Fountain |
| Predator 2 | 1990 | 120 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller; Horror | This special effects-heavy science fiction sequel moves the action from the first film's Amazon forest to the urban jungle of L.A. Danny Glover stars as Lt. Mike Harrigan, an LAPD detective baffled by his latest case, the ritualistic slaughter of several drug dealers by a devastating killer who leaves no traces. As Harrigan and his partners, Danny Archuletta (Ruben Blades), Leona Cantrell (Maria Conchita Alonso), and Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), try to figure out who or what killed the criminals, FBI investigator Stephen Keyes (Gary Busey) attempts to warn the team away from investigating further. When two of his team are killed in a particularly grisly way, Harrigan uncovers the truth — their quarry is an alien creature that hunts humans for sport. Attracted to violence, its latest choice of prey is gun-toting Jamaican drug dealers. Keyes and his team know all about the nasty extraterrestrial and its bloody pastime because they've been studying it for ten years, and they've come up with a possible means of dispatching the beast. When that plan backfires, however, it comes down to Harrigan and an extremely irritated otherworldly foe, slugging it out in a rooftop confrontation. — Karl Williams |
| Pride and Prejudice | 2005 | 300 mins | Drama; Romance | Coming Soon! |
| Prime | 2005 | 106 mins | Romantic Comedy | Bolstered by an appealing cast and the comedic genius of Meryl Streep, Prime is an above-average "rom-com" that never stoops to compromise. The plot conceived by writer/director Ben Younger (Boiler Room) is a bit far-fetched, but once he's established that 37-year-old Gentile divorcee Rafi Gardet (Uma Thurman) is unknowingly dating the 23-year-old son (Bryan Greenberg) of her Jewish psychotherapist (played by Streep), the unlikely premise gets an intelligent workout, touching upon all of the issues that would realistically emerge as their dilemma is taken to its logical (or illogical) extremes. As a pair of genuinely devoted lovers in their sexual prime (hence the title), Thurman and Greenberg make this movie a constant joy to watch (and let's face it, Uma's utterly irresistible as an "older woman" who's looking for Mr. Right). But it's Streep's mastery of multi-layered expression and subtle comedic timing that makes Prime so engaging. Younger is also refreshingly resistant to easy solutions and conventional feel-good sentiment; he constantly steers Prime toward a sensible examination of a hazardous romance, never insulting the intelligence of his characters or his audience. The result is a mature, honest relationship comedy that never feels forced, but still offers plenty of good, solid laughs. --Jeff Shannon |
| Prince & Me, The | 2004 | 110 mins | Love Story | For the second time in her career, Julia Stiles plays a character romancing the Crown Prince of Denmark in The Prince &sMe, a romantic wish-fulfillment fantasy from director Martha Coolidge. Far from her role as Ophelia in 2000's Hamlet, however, Stiles plays Paige, a plucky, determined college student from the Midwest who's buried in her last few semesters of pre-med studies when she meets Eddie, a brash, impudent Danish foreign-exchange student who just happens to have a mysterious partner (Ben Miller) shadowing him in everything he does. What Paige doesn't know is that Eddie is in fact the spoiled son of the King (James Fox) and Queen (Miranda Richardson) of Denmark, on holiday in America hoping to find a nonstop keg party complete with buxom American babes. What he and his butler don't count on is squalid dorm life, final exams, and the possibility that Eddie might actually find his true soul mate in the sensible Paige. But when Eddie finally reveals his secret, will Paige want to give up her dreams of becoming a doctor for a playboy prince? — Michael Hastings |
| Prince and Me 2, The | 2006 | 96 mins | Romance | Coming Soon! |
| The Prince of Egypt | 1998 | 97 mins | Animation; Family; Musical; Drama | Dreamworks Pictures has taken the biblical story of Exodus, put it into cartoon form, and released it on the big screen as an epic animated feature. The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses releasing the Jews from Egyptian slavery under the hand of the evil pharaoh Rameses. Think of The Ten Commandments with songs and an all-star cast doing the voices. In the Charlton Heston role of Moses is Val Kilmer. Moses' brother Rameses, previously played by Yul Brynner, is now voiced by Ralph Fiennes. The story revolves around these two close brothers, Moses and Rameses. While Rameses is groomed to take over the land, his beloved brother Moses is a carefree prankster, until he learns the true secret of his past. His secret, of course, is that he is really a Jew and as a child was floated down the river to escape mass genocide. The pharaoh Seti (Patrick Stewart) raised Moses as his son. Upon learning the truth of his past from a burning bush, Moses returns to Egypt with God on his side and demands that the pharaoh (now his brother Rameses) must "Let my people go." With songs written by Oscar-winner Stephen Schwartz and sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, The Prince of Egypt covers all the classic story points of the story of Moses, including the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. — Arthur Borman |
| Princess Diaries 2 | 2004 | 113 mins | Comedy; Family | The Throne Is All Hers...But There's A Little Hitch Coming soon! |
| Pulp Fiction | 1994 | 154 mins | Crime; Drama | The stories of two mob hit men, a boxer and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. |
| The Punisher | 2004 | 124 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | The impressively muscular chest of Tom Jane is the focal point of The Punisher, a movie based on a Marvel Comics superhero. Frank Castle (Jane, Deep Blue Sea) retires from the FBI, which means--as any moviegoer expects--that his family is toast. Howard Saint (John Travolta, Face/Off), a shady Florida businessman whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit not only on Castle's wife and child, but also on his parents and a whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. The killers shoot Castle himself in the chest, but he inexplicably survives and--as any moviegoer expects--sets out to even the score. Implausibly, given his sometimes curious and roundabout methods, he succeeds. Also featuring Will Patton (Armageddon) as an oily thug, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Saint's fleshpot wife, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) as a waitress with bad taste in men. --Bret Fetzer |
| Pursued | 2004 | 95 mins | Action; Adventure | In this thriller, Ben Keats (Gil Bellows) is a top executive at a leading information technology firm. Ben is happy with his job and doesn't want to leave, but that isn't about to stop Vincent Palmer (Christian Slater) from trying to lure him away. Vincent is a head-hunter who recruits personnel for leading companies and earns a seven-figure salary for getting whoever his clients want, no matter what it takes. Vincent starts with the traditional offers of more money, more power, and better perks, but when Ben refuses to be swayed, Vince starts playing hardball with his tactics escalating into violence and death threats against Ben's family. Will Ben fight fire with fire or will he be forced to do Vincent's bidding? Pursued also stars Michael Clarke Duncan, Conchita Campbell, and Estella Warren. — Mark Deming |
| Queen of the Damned | 2002 | 101 mins | Horror; Music | The vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the queen of all vampires. |
| R.V. | 2006 | 98 mins | Comedy; Adventure; Family | Bob Munro (Williams) and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers. (view trailer) |
| Racing Stripes | 2005 | 84 mins | Family; Adventure; Animation; Comedy | An abandoned zebra (voice of Frankie Muniz) grows up believing he is a racehorse, and, with the help of his barnyard friends and a teenage girl (Hayden Panettiere), sets out to achieve his dream of racing with thoroughbreds. |
| Radio | 2003 | 109 mins | Drama | Hollywood filmmaker Michael Tollin directs the sports drama Radio, based on a true story and adapted for the screen by Mike Rich (The Rookie). Set in a small South Carolina town during the '60s, the film stars Ed Harris as Harold Jones, a high school football coach who barely has time to spend with his daughter, Mary Helen (Sarah Drew), or his wife, Linda (Debra Winger). When Coach Jones meets the mentally challenged student who goes by the name of Radio (Cuba Gooding Jr.), he allows him to help out with his football team. While the townsfolk just aren't sure about Radio hanging around the team, the star player Johnny Clay (Riley Smith) is downright mean about it. Nevertheless, Radio continues to support the team for the next three decades. Also starring Alfre Woodard as the principal. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Raincoat | 2004 | 112 mins | ||
| Rainmaker, The | 1997 | 130 mins | Thriller | Der Jurastudent Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) stößt zufällig auf einen millionenschweren Versicherungsskandal. Noch völlig unerfahren nimmt er den Kampf gegen einen der mächtigsten und skrupellosesten Konzerne Amerikas auf. Der wird vor Gericht vom erfolgreichsten Verteidiger Amerikas vertreten. David gegen Goliath: Rudy erzwingt einen der spektakulärsten Prozesse, die das Land je gesehen hat... |
| Raise Your Voice | 2004 | 103 mins | Drama; Romance; Music | A girl from a small town (Hilary Duff) heads to the big city of Los Angeles to spend the summer at a performing arts high school. |
| Raising Helen | 2004 | 119 mins | Comedy; Drama | After her sister and brother-in-law die in a car accident, a young woman becomes the guardian of their three children. |
| Ransom | 1996 | 121 mins | Action; Crime; Drama; Thriller | When a rich man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then tries a unique tactic against the criminals. |
| Ray | 2004 | 152 mins | Drama; Music | Ray Charles has the distinction of being both a national treasure and an international phenomenon. By... |
| The Real Cancun | 2003 | 96 mins | Documentary | Following the style of the reality-based programming on the FOX network, The Real Cancun is a feature-length effort to capture R-rated footage of a group of upper middle-class college students on spring break in Cancun, Mexico. Made by the Bunim/Murray production team (responsible for MTV's The Real World) and released in the vulgar wake of Jackass: The Movie, this 90-minute movie features 16 conventionally attractive 18- to 23-year-olds coming from different colleges across the country and encouraged to party like they never have before. There's Alan, the innocent boy from Texas; Casey, the would-be model from Florida; Jeremy, the ladies' man from Arizona; Brittany, the pretty girl from California; and so forth. Romantic pairs, best friends, twins, and other couples are also figured into the group in order to boost the likelihood of hooking-up and/or breaking-up theatrics. Six camera crews follow the group around 24 hours a day during the weeklong vacation in order to catch the highest possible amount of alcohol consumption, nudity, and sexual activity. Participants give interviews and provide relationship updates in-between the dancing, drinking, sunbathing, and general partying. The Real Cancun was filmed in March of 2003 and released theatrically only a month later. Directed by Rick de Oliveira, who made his directorial debut in 2002 with the straight-to-video title Who Wants to Be a Playboy Centerfold? — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Rebound | 2005 | 103 mins | Comedy; Family; Sport | An acclaimed college hoops coach is demoted to a junior varsity team after a public meltdown. |
| The Reckoning | 2004 | 110 mins | Drama | Scottish filmmaker Paul McGuigan directs The Reckoning, based on the award-winning novel Morality Play by Barry Unsworth. Set in 14th century England, the story involves a priest named Nicholas (Paul Bettany) who leaves the church after committing adultery. He falls in with a troupe of traveling actors led by Martin (Willem Dafoe). Nicholas joins them and attracts the attention of Martin's sister Sarah (Gina McKee). The group ends up in a small town where a mute woman (Elvira Minguez) is accused of witchcraft and murder. Drawn to the woman, Martin suggests that the troupe re-create the events in hopes of drawing a crowd and solving the crime. Also starring Brian Cox, Ewen Bremner, and Vincent Cassel. The Reckoning premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival in 2004. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Red Eye | 2005 | 85 mins | Thriller | A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician. |
| Redemption | 2004 | 108 mins | Drama | Five strangers arrive at a bus terminal, each carrying a dark secret. Unresolved issues including crimes of passion... |
| Remember the Titans | 2000 | 113 mins | Drama | The true story of an newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit. |
| Rent | 2005 | 135 mins | Drama; Musical; Romance | This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America. |
| The Replacement Killers | 1998 | 86 mins | Action; Thriller | Music video and TV commercials director Antoine Fuqua made his feature directorial debut with this action thriller starring Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat. Chinese immigrant John Lee (Yun-Fat) has a violent past as a professional killer. It brings him only remorse, but it makes him the ideal assassin. In exchange for his family's safety, Lee is forced to take a job with a powerful underworld figure, Asian crime kingpin Terence Wei (Kenneth Tsang), who wants Lee to settle a deadly vendetta against police detective Stan Zedlov (Michael Rooker) by killing Zedlov's seven-year-old son. At the last minute, with the boy in his sights, Lee chooses to face Wei's vengeance rather than go through with the killing. In addition to making Lee a target, the decision also endangers his mother and sister back in Shanghai. Planning a return to China, he visits document forger Meg Coburn (Mira Sorvino) to get a phony passport, but they are interrupted by Wei's army of killers, and a lengthy chase and gun battle is set in motion. Director Fuqua stressed to his team that the aim was to design a "Taxi Driver for the 1990s," with production beginning February 10, 1997 in downtown Los Angeles, and the first shoot at the historic Mayan Theater, refurbished into the trendy nightclub for the film's stylish opening scene with hundreds of extras carousing while Lee guns down Romero (Carlos Leon) at close range. The eight-story, nearly condemned Giant Penny building in the heart of L.A. served as locations for a police station interior, a hotel room, and Meg Coburn's office, and a chaotic gunfight was filmed amid the spray, brushes, and hoses of Joe's Car Wash in LA. The art department transformed one area into a Chinatown-like streetscape of damp, narrow alleys, and blinking red neon lights, site of a night filming where Yun-Fat shot off 546 rounds with two guns, one in each hand, while the repetitive action left his hands blistered and shaking. More gunplay was at a video arcade replicated at the original Lawry's center just north of downtown L.A., and Lee's tranquil Buddhist temple was fashioned under this same roof. In addition to physical training, Mira Sorvino, who had never handled a gun prior to this film, took weapons training to prepare for her role. Sorvino majored in Asian studies at Harvard, speaks Mandarin, and lived for eight months (1988-89) in Beijing, where she studied Chinese, taught English, and saw Chinese films, including Hong Kong action films. She felt The Replacement Killers brought her a step closer to her goal of making a film in Mandarin and working with a Chinese director. — Bhob Stewart |
| The Replacements | 2000 | 118 mins | Comedy | During a pro football strike, the owners hire substitute players. |
| Resident Evil | 2002 | 100 mins | Action; Thriller; Horror; Sci-Fi | The director of Mortal Kombat (1995) adapts another popular video game for the big screen with this gory action thriller. Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star as Alice and Rain, two members of a commando team assigned to infiltrate the Hive, an underground research laboratory owned by the faceless conglomerate known as the Umbrella Corporation. A bio-engineered virus has been released into the maze-like Hive, turning the facility's employees into mindless, flesh-eating zombies. A single scratch or bite from one of these rampaging ghouls dooms its victim, so the commandos have their work cut out for them as they attempt to reach the Red Queen, the lab's supercomputer — and their sole hope of halting the spread of the contagion. Before they can complete their mission, however, the soldiers must overcome a variety of deadly obstacles, including mutant dogs, lasers, and a genetically altered beast known as The Licker, whose strength increases with every victim it slays. Alice and Rain also discover that the release of the virus may not have been an accident, and that a cure may exist somewhere in the deadly Hive. Resident Evil co-stars Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes, and Colin Salmon. — Karl Williams |
| Resident Evil: Apocalypse | 2004 | 93 mins | Action; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller | One of the only survivors of a man-made plague joins forces with a team of private warriors in a bid to save what's left of the Earth in this sequel to Resident Evil, the big-screen adaptation of the popular video game. Picking up where the first film left off, Resident Evil: Apocalypse finds Alice (Milla Jovovich) still battling the living dead who are overtaking Raccoon City. She was immune to the contagion by treatments she unwittingly received from the nefarious and all-powerful Umbrella Corporation. Alice encounters Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), a former member of Umbrella's internal defense team who shares Alice's immunity to the zombie virus. Forming an uneasy alliance with Jill's one-time leader Carlos Oliveira (Oded Fehr) and his cohorts, this tiny band of survivors seeks out Dr. Charles Ashford (Jared Harris), Umbrella's top scientist and one of the only men with the know-how to find a solution to the zombie menace; however, they discover Ashford's cooperation comes with a price — the scientist's daughter Angie (Sophie Vavasseur) is missing, and he'll help Alice and her partners only if Angie is returned to him safe and sound. Resident Evil: Apocalypse was the first solo directorial credit for Alexander Witt, who previously distinguished himself as a cinematographer and second-unit director. — Mark Deming |
| Revenge of the Nerds | 1984 | 90 mins | Comedy | At a big campus, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self respect. |
| Richard Pryor Here and Now | 1983 | 95 mins | Comedy; Documentary | Part live stand-up performance, part documentary, this film is one of comedian Richard Pryor's later stand-up performances. As foul-mouthed as ever, Pryor touches on most of the same topics as in his previous live shows. |
| Richard Pryor Is Back Live in Concert | 1979 | Comedy | Watching Pryor go from imitating a drinking deer to a woman debating about going in the woods gives just a hint of the comedic genius of the man. Crude, foul, and real, this is the first and best of his concert films. Pryor does dead-on impersonations of the respective races, cussing, trying to act tough, getting kicked in personal spots. But it's his imagination that elevates him to a different level. He gives his impressions of what animals think, from his own animals (a monkey, a Doberman) to police dogs, and it seems so exact, so prescient. Not to mention the fact that he is self-deprecating in the extreme, and has as much fun skewering himself as any other subject. Still vibrant, still funny. --Keith Simanton | |
| Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin' | 1985 | 48 mins | Comedy; Documentary | You know and love him from his ground-breaking infamous stand-up films, Live!, Live on the Sunset Strip and Here and Now, as well as from his broad ranging movies, such as Lady Sings the Blues and Stir Crazy. But in Live & Smokin', you will see the ingenious Richard Pryor during his earliest stand-up days, filmed in a live performance at the New York Improvisation on April 29, 1971. Making frequent references to the fact that being filmed makes him nervous, the comic displays many of the traits that would eventually make his future work uniquely Richard Pryor's: interpretive voices and characterizations, material drawn from his upbringing in a house of prostitution and plenty of comments on racial differences, chemical substances and sex, sex and more sex. Live & Smokin' also includes the now famous "Wino Preacher & Willie the Junkie" sequence, in which Pryor carries on a conversation between the two characters that start out funnily but spirals into a sad and poignant routine, amply showcasing the comedian's ability to tackle serious acting jobs. |
| Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip | 1982 | 121 mins | Comedy | This is a UMD title that is currently only playable on the Sony PSP portable system. If Richard Pryor were accused of being the funniest man in America, this film of his incredible stage act would be Exhibit A. It is proof beyond the shadow of a doubt! Shot live at the Hollywood Palladium, the film captures all the excitement, lunacy and electric force of a Pryor performance. And though he's the only star of this hilarious show, he's never alone on stage. With him is his amazing array of characterizations as he talks about his trip to Africa in search of his roots, his early days playing one-night gigs in Mafia-owned clubs and strip joints, and numerous other outrageous topics. Finally, he talks about Pryor on Fire - a recounting of the accident which nearly took his life - an episode he relates with wit and a touch of poignancy. You'll laugh like you've never laughed before! |
| The Ring | 2002 | 109 mins | Drama; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; full of bizarre and haunting images, after watching it many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Nomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter, and travels West with her young son Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology who at first is convinced the story is a hoax, until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box office success in Asia and spawned two sequels. — Mark Deming |
| The Ring Two | 2005 | 110 mins | Drama; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | Six months after the incidents involving the lethal videotape, new clues prove that there is a new evil lurking in the darkness. |
| The Ringer | 2005 | 94 mins | Comedy; Sport | A young guy's only option to erase a really bad debt is to rig the Special Olympics by posing as a contestant. |
| The Road to El Dorado | 2000 | 89 mins | Animation; Adventure; Family; Action; Comedy | Dreamworks SKG's second feature-length animated film blends comedy and drama in an unusual historical adventure. Two genial swindlers working as stable hands stow away with Cortez, the legendary Spanish conquistador, as he searches for El Dorado, the lost City of Gold. Luck smiles on the two con men, and they happen to find a settlement in Mexico that they believe is El Dorado; however, while the two exotic strangers are at first embraced by the Mayan people, they've also arrived just in time to be offered up as the next human sacrifice. The Road to El Dorado was directed by Don Paul, who helmed the first DreamWorks animated feature, The Prince of Egypt; Will Finn, a featured animator on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin; Bibo Bergeron, who worked on Ferngully: The Last Rainforest; and David Silverman. It features new songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the voice cast includes Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Edward James Olmos, and Armand Assante. — Mark Deming |
| Road Trip | 2000 | 91 mins | Comedy; Adventure | In this raunchy comedy, Josh (Breckin Meyer), a student at a college in Ithaca, NY, videotapes his one-night stand with beautiful sorority girl Beth (Amy Smart). A few days later, Josh discovers that one of his friends accidentally mailed the homemade porn tape to his girlfriend Tiffany (Rachel Blanchard), who is spending some time with her family in Austin, TX. Josh and his friends Barry (Tom Green), Kyle (D.J. Qualls), E.L. (Seann William Scott), and Rubin (Paulo Costanzo) borrow a car and hit the road in a desperate bid to intercept the tape before Tiffany loads it into her VCR; Beth, however, wants Josh for herself and has her own plans to track down Tiffany. Road Trip is the first fiction feature from director Todd Phillips, noted for such edgy documentaries as Hated: G.G. Allin and the Murder Junkies, Screwed, and Frat House. The cast also includes Fred Ward and Andy Dick. — Mark Deming |
| Robin Hood - Men in Tights | 1993 | 105 mins | Comedy | Mel Brooks directed and co-wrote this satiric comedy which lampoons a number of cinematic treatments of the legend of Sherwood Forest, including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Adventures of Robin Hood. Robin Hood (Cary Elwes) comes home after fighting in the Crusades to learn that the noble King Richard (Patrick Stewart) is in exile and that the despotic King John (Richard Lewis) now rules England, with the help of the Sheriff of Rottingham (Roger Rees). Robin Hood assembles a band of fellow patriots to do battle with John and the Sheriff, including Asneeze (Isaac Hayes) and his son Ahchoo (Dave Chappelle), the blind watchman Blinkin (Mark Blankfield), Will Scarlet O'Hara (Matthew Porretta), and Rabbi Tuckman (Brooks). The Sheriff is eager to put Robin Hood out of business with the aid of criminal mastermind Don Giovanni (Dom DeLuise), but Robin soon has an ally in the royal palace when he falls for the lovely Maid Marian (Amy Yasbeck), whose minder Broomhilde (Megan Cavanagh) has uncooperatively outfitted Marian with a chastity belt. The cast also includes Tracy Ullman, Robert Ridgely, and Clive Revill. — Mark Deming |
| Robocop | 2001 | 94 mins | Adventure; Sci-Fi | Originally aired as a four-part miniseries on Canada's Space cable network, Robocop: Prime Directives picks up after the events of 1993's Robocop 3 and was released straight-to-video in the U.S. as four seperate features. The first in the series, Robocop: Prime Directives - Dark Justice, introduces fans to Page Fletcher, who takes over the role of Robocop from Robert John Burke who played the character when Peter Weller left the series after 1990's Robocop 2. Ten years after first acquiring his cyborg body, an aging Robocop must face the fact that his now-grown son is an executive for OCP. Meanwhile, a mysterious group called The Trust has plans to reprogram Robo to do their evil biddings. Robocop: Prime Directives - Dark Justice is followed by Robocop: Prime Directives - Meltdown, Robocop: Prime Directives - Resurrection, and Robocop: Prime Directives - Crash and Burn. — Matthew Tobey |
| Robots | 2005 | 91 mins | Animation; Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Sci-Fi | In a robot world, a young idealistic inventor travels to the big city to join his inspiration's company, only to find himself opposing its sinister new management. |
| Rocky | 1976 | Action; Drama | The only remaining evidence that Sylvester Stallone might have had a respectable career, this 1976 Oscar® winner (for Best Picture, Director, and Editing) is still the quintessential ode to an underdog and one of the best boxing movies ever made. After writing the script about a two-bit boxer who gets a "million-to-one shot" against the world heavyweight champion, Stallone insisted that he star in the title role, and his equally unknown status helped to catapult him (and this rousing film) to overnight success. The story is familiar, but it's handled with such vitality and emotional honesty that you can't help but leap and cheer for Rocky Balboa, the chump-turned-champ who stuns the boxing world with the support of his timid girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire) and grizzled trainer Gus (Burgess Meredith). Oscar nominations went to all the lead actors (including Burt Young as Adrian's hot-tempered brother), but four sequels could never top the universal appeal of this low-budget crowd pleaser. --Jeff Shannon | |
| Rocky II | 1979 | 119 mins | Action; Drama | Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch. |
| Rocky III | 1982 | 99 mins | Action; Drama | When Rocky is defeated by a brutal challenger, Apollo Creed offers to retrain him in order to regain his fighting spirit. |
| Rocky IV | 1985 | 91 mins | Action; Drama | When Apollo Creed is killed in a match against a powerful Soviet boxer, Rocky decides to challenge him himself. |
| Rocky V | 1990 | 104 mins | Action; Drama | Rocky Balboa is forced to retire after having permanent damage inflicted on him in the ring by the Russian boxer Ivan Drago... |
| Roll Bounce | 2005 | 112 mins | Comedy; Drama; Music; Romance | 1970s roller-skate jams fuel this coming-of-age comedy, as X (Bow Wow) and his friends, who rule their local rink... |
| Rollerball | 2002 | 98 mins | Action; Sci-Fi | This remake of the classic 1975 science fiction film follows the same basic story line but focuses far more on the sports action of the fictional game at its center. Chris Klein stars as all-American athlete Jonathan Cross, the most popular player of "Rollerball," a violent 21st century sport mixing elements of basketball, hockey, roller derby, and extreme sports, along with the development of live wagering that tracks each game's action. Along with his friends and teammates Marcus (L.L. Cool J) and Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Jonathan is living the life of a media celebrity and millionaire, enjoying the adoration of fans and all of the perks that his fame brings. When the creator of Rollerball, Alexi Petrovich (Jean Reno), realizes that the sport's ratings spike during the on-court accidents that are de rigueur for the game, he schemes to create the bloody incidents that are popular with viewers but put the athletes in mortal jeopardy. Soon, Jonathan and his friends find themselves pawns in a vast corporate conspiracy in which their lives are far less important than profits. Rollerball (2002) also stars pop singer Pink in her acting debut. — Karl Williams |
| Rounders | 1998 | 121 mins | Drama | A young man (Matt Damon) is a reformed gambler who must return to playing big stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks. |
| The Royal Tenenbaums | 2001 | 109 mins | Comedy; Drama | An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when one of their member announces he has a terminal illness. |
| Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don | 2003 | 90 mins | Action | U.S. Soil. Anybody's Rules. Featuring tracks by Snoop Dogg, Elephant Man, Sizzla and Buju Banton and starring Ninja Man and Beenie man - witness the biggest trade connect between the U.S. and Jamaica when a naive Jamaican becomes a mule for the deadliest Don on American soil. Julius St. John has big dreams of becoming the biggest reggae DJ in the U.S., but when his status in America is jeopardized, he makes a deal with the devil and agrees to carry a bag of contraband through customs in exchange for his papers. But what begins as a one time deal descends into a deadly spiral that Julius cannot escape-and murder is the only way to survive. |
| Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) | 2005 | Animation; Family | ||
| Rugrats Go Wild | 2003 | 80 mins | Animation; Family; Comedy; Fantasy | Two of the most popular animated series on the children's cable network Nickelodeon get wrapped up in one big-screen package in this comedy-adventure, featuring the characters from Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Drew and Didi Pickles (voices of Michael Bell and Melanie Chartoff) decide to take a special vacation with their children, Tommy (voice of Elizabeth Daily) and Angelica (voice of Cheryl Chase), with their friends (both grown-ups and toddlers) coming along for the ride. However, the ship Drew has chartered isn't especially seaworthy, and their party ends up stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific. The kids figure the day is saved when they discover that famous explorer and television personality Sir Nigel Tornberry (voice of Tim Curry) is also on the island with his family, but after he gets a world-class knock on the head from a coconut, Nigel's upper intellectual register gets knocked out of commission. The Rugrats are then forced to turn to Nigel's daughter, Eliza (voice of Lacey Chabert), who not only knows the wilds, but can talk to animals, which comes as quite a surprise to Spike (voice of Bruce Willis), the Pickles' family pooch. Rugrats Go Wild also features the voice talents of LL Cool J, Cree Summer, Nancy Cartwright, Jack Riley, and Flea. — Mark Deming |
| The Rules of Attraction | 2002 | 110 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance; Thriller | The incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate. |
| Rumble in the Bronx | 1995 | 105 mins | Action | After years as a major star in most of the rest of the world, Jackie Chan finally broke through to stardom in the United States with Rumble in the Bronx, a dubbed and re-edited version of Hung Fan Kui. Here Chan plays Keung, a police officer from Hong Kong who travels to New York to attend the wedding of his uncle, Bill (Bill Tung). Bill has just sold his grocery store to Elaine (Anita Mui), and Keung finds Elaine to be a pretty good reason to extend his visit to New York. However, a mean-spirited and fashion-challenged street gang has moved into the neighborhood and is demanding protection money from the local storekeepers. Elaine is ready to sell the store and move on, but Keung is determined to show the toughs that he's not about to be pushed around. Things get even more sticky when the hoods are on the trail of a lost cache of stolen jewels. — Mark Deming |
| Runaway Jury | 2003 | 127 mins | Drama; Thriller | Three people attempt to bend justice for their own purposes in this drama based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. After a man dies in a shooting incident, his wife files a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the gun, with her lawyer, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), arguing that the firm in question knew the shop which sold the weapon was not following federal regulations pertaining to the sale of firearms. As the case goes to trial, the firearm manufacturer is taking no chances on the outcome of a potentially devastating case, and they hire as part of their legal team Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), a "jury consultant" who makes it his business to see that he knows enough about the jurors to be able to guarantee the result of the trial. Fitch and his team have learned incriminating secrets about nearly everyone hearing the evidence, but Fitch discovers two factors he wasn't counting upon — Nick Easter (John Cusack), the jury foreman who appears to have an agenda all his own, and Marlee (Rachel Weisz), a mysterious woman who has her own plans regarding bending the jury to her will. Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven, and Bruce McGill round out the supporting cast. Incidentally, in John Grisham's original book, the case was filed against a cigarette manufacturer, but the producers opted to adjust the story after several real-life trials against tobacco companies. — Mark Deming |
| The Rundown | 2003 | 104 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy | Beck (The Rock) is a "retrieval specialist" in hock to a powerful and not particularly nice gentleman named Walker (William Lucking). Beck is anxious to retire from his dangerous work and open a small restaurant. Walker tells Beck he'll be free and clear with enough cash to fulfill his dream if he does one more job. He sends Beck into the Brazilian rainforest to bring back his wayward son, Travis (Seann William Scott). Travis is down there looking for a legendary idol, El Gato Diablo, which he could sell for millions if he found it. A pretty local, Mariana (Rosario Dawson), offers Travis the use of her boat in exchange for a cut of the take on the statue. But the powerful Hatcher (Christopher Walken) owns the area's huge mine, where locals work for slave wages, and feels that anything found in the area is his property. He refuses to let Beck take Travis back to the U.S. until the statue is in his hands. Using his estimable fighting prowess (he doesn't like guns), Beck manages to get Travis out of town, but Travis doesn't want to go home, and he ends up getting them stranded in the jungle, where they're confronted with horny monkeys and angry guerrillas. To make matters worse, Hatcher and his thugs are hot on their trail, and Mariana turns out to have her own motives for getting involved. The Rundown, the second film directed by actor Peter Berg (Very Bad Things), features a brief, uncredited cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger. — Josh Ralske |
| Running Scared | 2006 | 122 mins | Action; Thriller | Trying to explain the wildly accelerated plot of this non-stop action thriller would be like convincing Quentin Tarantino to retell the saga of The Sopranos in 15-minutes or less. Don't misunderstand, Running Scared wastes little time on the nuanced details that make the violent, narratively precise, and intricately characterized world of The Sopranos so stylish and compelling. But boy, does it have style to spare, not to mention plenty of violence, narrative, and a cast of characters that all engage in a heady battle for your attention. Paul Walker has the unenviable task of fleshing out the role of a low-level mob flunky who's assigned to get rid of a gun that was involved in a bloody drug deal gone bad. When he botches even that little job, it's not just his wife who gets mad at him. Creepily threatened kids, put-upon women who save the day, and an array of pimps, hookers, sleazy gangsters and dirty cops straight ouuta central casting are all part of the intricate jumble of the story (not to mention bullet-time close-ups and a nifty scene that imparts the inherent danger of hockey pucks in a whole new light). It's hard to believe this outlandish piece of ultraviolence came from writer/director Wayne Kramer, the same creative mind that gave us the smooth little caper flick The Cooler. Don't think about that too hard though. Considering the madcap rush of Running Scared's wicked fun and inspired lunacy, you won't have the time to anyway. --Ted Fry |
| Rush Hour | 1998 | 98 mins | Action; Comedy | Brett Ratner directed this action-comedy that found box-office success by teaming Chris Tucker with Jackie Chan — performing his own stunts as per his earlier films. As the story begins, Hong-Kong supercop Lee's (Chan), detective savvy leads to the confiscation of $500 million in weapons, drugs, and Chinese art. When Hong Kong Chinese Consul Han (Tzi Ma), is sent on a diplomatic mission to Los Angeles, his 11-year-old daughter, Soo Young (Julia Hsu), is abducted by an international criminal mastermind. The FBI assures Han they will find the kidnappers and return her safely, yet Han only trusts his longtime friend and ally (also his daughter's beloved martial arts teacher) Inspector Lee, who immediately flies in to help. Unwilling to have an outsider interfere in their investigation, the FBI assigns rogue LAPD detective (and buffoon) James Carter (Chris Tucker) to the case. Hoping to impress the FBI, Carter enthusiastically reports for work but is dismayed to discover his real mission is only to keep Lee away from the case (read b-a-b-y-s-i-t-t-e-r). The arrogant Carter reacts by embarking on a one-man crusade to solve the case, but he must first distract Lee. It doesn't take Carter long before he realizes he has greatly underestimated his Hong Kong counterpart, who sees what's going on and slips away. Impatient FBI agents try to cast off these unwanted misfit cops, but with an assist from LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Pena), Carter and Lee eventually confront the bad guys in a full-tilt action sequence. — Bhob Stewart |
| Rush Hour 2 | 2001 | 90 mins | Action; Comedy; Thriller; Crime | A surprise box-office smash spawns this inevitably action-packed buddy comedy follow-up that reunites director Brett Ratner with stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Chan is Chief Inspector Lee of the Royal Hong Kong Police, who travels back to China with his American colleague, Los Angeles detective James Carter (Tucker). The men intend to take some vacation time but are quickly pulled into the case of two murdered U.S. customs agents, who were investigating an illegal counterfeiting scam involving Ricky Tan (John Lone), one of the most powerful Triad gangsters in Asia and an old enemy of Lee's. Lee and Carter are soon embroiled in a dangerous mystery that also involves a sexy secret-service agent (Roselyn Sanchez), a billionaire hotel owner (Alan King), a dangerous femme fatale (Zhang Ziyi) and a finale set in a lavish Las Vegas casino. — Karl Williams |
| Rushmore | 1998 | 93 mins | Romance; Comedy | After the highly acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, director Wes Anderson followed up with a quirky Touchstone Studios film entitled Rushmore. Written by Anderson and friend Owen Wilson (an actor in Armageddon and Anaconda), they created the story of Max Fischer, a highly eccentric 15-year-old boy who attends the tenth grade at Rushmore Academy. Played by Jason Schwartzman (Talia Shire's son and Francis Ford Coppola's nephew), Max is a poor student with big dreams and a love of extracurricular activities. Max is editor of the school newspaper and yearbook, president of the chess, astronomy, French, and German clubs, captain of the fencing team, and director of the school play. Max is also a compulsive liar, telling everyone that his barber father (Seymour Cassel) is really a brain surgeon. Suddenly Max falls in love with Miss Cross (Olivia Williams), a first-grade teacher at the school. He also makes a new friend in business tycoon Mr. Blume (Bill Murray), an eccentric millionaire who also loves Miss Cross. The love triangle heats up as Max refuses to believe that his age has anything to do with Miss Cross refusing his romantic advances. Also Max's poor grades lead to his eventual dismissal from Rushmore Academy. As Max's life crumbles around him, he is forced to grow up and accept the consequences of his actions and his lies. He throws himself more into his extracurricular activities, hoping to redeem himself by staging the most ambitious school play ever attempted. — Arthur Borman |
| S.W.A.T. | 2003 | 116 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | Clark Johnson's big-screen adaptation of the 1970s television series S.W.A.T. stars Colin Farrell as Jim Street, a young special weapons and tactics team member who, in the film's opening sequence, is demoted after his hothead partner Jeremy Renner shoots a hostage while trying to kill her captor. In need of good press, the higher-ups call in SWAT expert Hondo Harrelson (Samuel L. Jackson) to put together an elite team that can bring some luster back to the badge. He chooses Street, veteran T.J. (Josh Charles), and tough single mother Chris Sanchez (Michelle Rodriguez). The new team survives a series of tests before hitting the streets. Their first big assignment involves transporting an international criminal (Olivier Martinez) to federal authorities. The criminal had offered a hundred million dollars to anyone who can bust him out. — Perry Seibert |
| The Sandlot | 1993 | 101 mins | Comedy; Drama; Family; Sport | Scotty Smalls moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and stepdad, and wants to learn to play baseball... |
| Saturday Night Live: The Best of Chris Rock | 1999 | 71 mins | Comedy | Before he was the HBO stand-up comedian we all know and love, Chris Rock was on Saturday Night Live doing stand up comedy... |
| Saved! | 2004 | 92 mins | Comedy; Drama | When a girl (Jena Malone) attending a Baptist high school becomes pregnant, she finds herself ostracized and demonized, as all of her former friends turn on her. |
| Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | 170 mins | Action; Drama; War | Based on a World War II drama. US soldiers try to save their comrade, paratrooper Private Ryan, who's stationed behind enemy lines. |
| Saw | 2004 | Drama; Thriller | Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realize that they've been chained and pitted against one another by an unseen but apparently omniscient maniac who's screwing with their psyches as payment for past sins. Director James Wan, who concocted this grimy distraction with screenwriter Whannell, has seen Seven and any number of other arty existential-psycho-cat-and-mouse thrillers, so he's provided Saw with a little flash, a little blood, and a lot of ways to distract you from the fact that it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. Wan and Whannell (who's not the most accomplished actor, either) pile on the plot twists, which after some initially novel ideas become increasingly juvenile. Elwes works hard but looks embarrassed, and the estimable Danny Glover suffers as the obsessed detective on the case. The denouement will probably surprise you, but it won't get you back the previous 98 minutes.--Steve Wiecking |
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| Saw II | 2005 | 93 mins | Crime; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | Jigsaw locks a few unlucky people in a booby trapped shelter and they must find a way out before they inhale too much of a lethal nerve gas and die. But they must watch out, for the traps Jigsaw has set in the shelter lead to death also. |
| Scarface | 1983 | 170 mins | Crime; Drama | In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug empire while succumbing to greed. |
| Scary Movie | 2000 | 88 mins | Comedy; Horror; Mystery | After parodying the blaxploitation films of the 1970s in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Keenen Ivory Wayans takes aim at slasher films of the 1980s and 1990s in this raunchy satire, which was produced under the clumsy but inarguably appropriate title Scream If You Know What I Did Last Halloween. As you might expect, a group of teenagers — not-terribly-bright Buffy (Shannon Elizabeth), her best friend Brenda (Regina Hall), stoner Shorty (Marlon Wayans), fey football player Ray (Shawn Wayans), loudmouthed Greg (Lochlyn Munro), sexually overexcited Bobby (Jon Abrahams), and his prim girlfriend Cindy (Anna Faris) — are on the run from a maniacal killer who is looking for revenge after the kids accidentally kill a man following an auto accident. They also find themselves having to contend with intrusive reporter Gail Hailstorm (Cheri Oteri) and eccentric high school principal Squiggly (David L. Lander). Incidentally, the title Scary Movie is something of an inside joke: it was the working title for Scream, the movie that kick-started the mid-'90s slasher film revival. — Mark Deming |
| Scary Movie 2 | 2001 | 82 mins | Comedy; Horror | This sequel to a box-office sleeper hit that spoofed teen slasher flicks takes its cues from haunted house and possession films, particularly The Haunting (1999) and The Exorcist (1973). Although many of the first film's main characters were homicide victims, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Anna Faris return anyway to "re-possess" their roles for this follow-up in which four students are invited by their professor (Tim Curry) to his haunted mansion, Hell House, for a weekend sleep-deprivation study. Providing the sleep deprivation, however, is a series of murderous, supernatural goings-on. Scary Movie 2 co-stars Tori Spelling, Andy Richter, Christopher Masterson, Kathleen Robertson, James Woods, Chris Elliott, and Natasha Lyonne. — Karl Williams |
| Scary Movie 3 | 2003 | 88 mins | Comedy; Horror | While star Anna Faris returns for the third film in the Scary Movie series, the power behind the camera has shifted from the Wayans brothers to one of the Zucker brothers. The Zucker in question is David Zucker, and he's brought along his partner in movie-parody crime, Leslie Nielsen. This time around, aim is taken at such horror blockbusters as Signs and The Ring, while films of other genres, including Independence Day, 8 Mile, and The Matrix, are also lampooned. The plot finds Cindy (Faris) trying to help the president (Nielsen) thwart an alien attack while also facing crop circles and a mysterious video tape. In the spirit of the two Matrix sequels, Scary Movie 3 was shot back-to-back with Scary Movie 4. Queen Latifah, Charlie Sheen, and Eddie Griffin also star. — Matthew Tobey |
| Scary Movie 4 | 2006 | 83 mins | Comedy; Horror | Cindy finds out the house she lives in is haunted by a little boy and goes on a quest to find out who killed him and why. Also, Alien "Tr-iPods" are invading the world and she has to uncover the secret in order to stop them. |
| School of Rock | 2003 | 108 mins | Comedy; Music | The world's least-employable heavy metal guitarist is entrusted with the minds of upstate New York's best and brightest in this fish-out-of-water comedy. Jack Black plays Dewey Finn, axe-bearer for a fitfully successful bar band determined to win a regional battle-of-the-bands competition. There's only one thing standing in their way: the self-indulgent solos and crowd-diving antics of their "embarrassing" lead guitarist. When his band votes him out in favor of a would-be rock god, Dewey has to make the rent somehow, and after intercepting a call for his substitute-teacher roomie Ned (Mike White), the pot-bellied slacker finds himself in front of a class of elite elementary school students. At a loss for a lesson plan, Dewey takes offense at the pre-teen prodigies' staid musical regimen and makes it his goal to preach them the gospel of the Who, Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC — with the ulterior motive of getting them to compete against his former band for a cash prize. But no matter how willing his pupils, Dewey runs up against the consternation of the school's stern headmistress Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack), the battle-of-the-bands' promoter (Frank Whaley), and not least, his identity-deprived roomie Ned. — Michael Hastings |
| Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | 2004 | 88 mins | Comedy; Mystery; Action; Adventure; Family | The Gang investigates the dastardly plans of a masked villain who is planning to take control of the... |
| The Scorpion King | 2002 | 91 mins | Action; Fantasy; Adventure | The Rock has his first starring role in this prequel to The Mummy films, which was developed while The Mummy Returns was still in production. The film takes place in ancient times, when a mighty swordsman, Memnon (Steven Brand, making his film debut) ruled over nearly all the known world. Memnon, a brutal tyrant, defeats his enemies in battle with the help of a beautiful sorceress, Cassandra (Kelly Hu), who can predict the future. The last of the "free tribes" form a fragile alliance to fight Memnon, and hire a trio of Akkadian assassins, led by Mathayus (pro wrestler The Rock, who made his big-screen debut as this character in The Mummy Returns), to kill the sorceress and thus remove Memnon's advantage. Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan of The Green Mile), the powerful leader of the Nubians, objects to hiring mercenaries, but the plan goes forward. The assassins are betrayed by Takmet (Peter Facinelli), the son of one of the tribal leaders, and Mathayus finds himself unable to kill Cassandra. Thanks to the unlikely machinations of Cassandra, and the aid of a horse thief, Arpid (Grant Heslov of True Lies), Mathayus escapes to the desert. He eventually abducts Cassandra, who explains that Memnon was holding her against her will. Mathayus thwarts Memnon's efforts to re-capture Cassandra, then uses his newfound sense of justice to convince the surviving tribal leaders to join forces again to defeat Memnon. The Scorpion King was directed by Chuck Russell. Jonathan Hales (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones) was credited with the story, and WWF owner Vince McMahon has an executive producer credit. The film, which was shot in the U.S. (very unusual for a big action film), reportedly underwent extensive re-shoots when the first cut came in with a running time of 70 minutes. — Josh Ralske |
| Scream | 1996 | 111 mins | Horror; Mystery; Thriller | A psychopathic serial killer is stalking a group of teens just like in the movies! |
| Scream 2 | 1997 | 120 mins | Horror; Mystery; Thriller | It has been two years since the tragic events at Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are trying to get on with their lives... |
| Scream 3 | 2000 | 116 mins | Horror; Mystery; Thriller | Sidney visits the set of "Stab 3," after pictures of her mother become the clue to a series of murders around Hollywood. |
| Screwed | 2000 | 81 mins | Comedy | A chauffeur kidnaps his rich boss's dog to hold it for ransom, but when she accidentally gets the dog back, she thinks that it's the chauffeur who's been kidnapped. (view trailer) |
| Secondhand Lions | 2003 | 109 mins | Drama; Comedy; Adventure | In this family-friendly comedy drama, Walter (Haley Joel Osment) is a shy and bookish boy just short of his teens whose mother impulsively decides to leave him for the summer with his eccentric grand-uncles, Hub (Robert Duvall) and Garth (Michael Caine). Walter isn't especially happy about being left in the middle of Texas with two old men, while Hub and Garth aren't too pleased to be stuck minding a boy, especially one who isn't accustomed to hunting, fishing, or firearms. When Walter starts hearing local gossip about his uncles' wild and wooly pasts, he begins asking a few questions, and while Hub and Garth don't enjoy having the boy poking into their pasts, as they start telling tales of their youthful adventures, they find themselves itching for some new adventures in their lives. Soon Walter is a semi-willing accomplice as his elderly guardians rediscover the wild, impulsive spirit of youth. Secondhand Lions was produced in part by the well-respected visual effects house Digital Domain, who also helped create the imagery for the film's flashback sequences. — Mark Deming |
| Secret Window | 2004 | 106 mins | Drama; Thriller; Horror | From writer/director David Koepp (Stir of Echoes) comes this filmed adaptation of Stephen King's novella Secret Window, Secret Garden, one of four stories in the collection Four Past Midnight. Johnny Depp stars as Mort Rainey, a recently divorced author who decides to take some time off at his cottage. Unfortunately for Rainey, John Shooter (John Turturro), an unbalanced wannabe writer, tracks him down, claiming that Rainey plagiarized his work. Also starring Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton, and Timothy Hutton, Secret Window is the second story from Four Past Midnight to be adapted as a film, the first being 1995's made-for-television The Langoliers. — Matthew Tobey |
| Seed of Chucky | 2004 | 87 mins | Horror; Comedy; Crime | Chuck (Brad Dourif) and Tiff (Jennifer Tilly) return, resurrected by their son (Billy Boyd), and hit Hollywood in the fifth film of the CHILD'S PLAY series. |
| The Sentinel | 2006 | 108 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | A disgraced special agent to the White House (Douglas) endeavors to foil a conspiracy to assassinate the U.S. President. |
| Serenity | 2005 | 119 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Captain Malcom Reynolds finds himself running from a skilled Alliance operative who wants River Tam, and who will stop at nothing to get her; meanwhile, River's capabilities become more clear to the crew of Serenity. |
| Serpico | 1973 | 130 mins | Drama; Crime | Serpico is based on the true story of a New York policeman who discovers that honesty is not expected to be part of his job. He endures scorn and mistreatment from his fellow cops while attempting to perform his job with integrity. The character of Serpico, combining the best elements of the Establishment and counter-culture, is a tour-de-force for Al Pacino. The film is a breathtaking suspense story and a fascinating character study as well as a memorable statement about government's inherent flaws. |
| Seven | 1995 | 125 mins | Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of New York, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain which can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) into moving into the big city so that he could tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent Gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for Greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about Lust, Sloth, Pride, Wrath, and Envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). — Robert Firsching | |
| Shaft | 2000 | 99 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | New York City police detective John Shaft (nephew of the original 1970s detective) goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder. |
| The Shaggy Dog | 2006 | 98 mins | Comedy; Adventure; Family; Fantasy | A man tries to live a normal life despite the fact that he sometimes turns into a sheepdog. (view trailer) |
| Shakespeare in Love | 1998 | 123 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays. |
| Shall We Dance? | 2004 | 106 mins | Comedy; Family | Directed by Peter Chelsom, this film is the English-language remake of Masayuki Suo's 1995 romantic comedy of the same name; the Japanese version earned a record-breaking 9.5 million dollars in United States box offices. Shall We Dance? revolves around John Clark (Richard Gere), a workaholic Chicago lawyer who, despite a respectable paycheck and loving family, is unable to shake the feeling that something in his life is missing. On a whim, John disrupts his normal evening commute to attend a dance class in hopes of meeting Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), a beautiful dance teacher he would occasionally spot gazing out of the studio windows. Though Paulina quickly lays to rest any preconceived romantic notions John may have had about her, she nonetheless forms a bond with him that goes beyond those normally held by a teacher and student. Invigorated with his new hobby, John focuses his newfound enthusiasm into training for an upcoming dance competition; however, he chooses not to let his wife (Susan Sarandon) in on his plans. Unaware that dance may be, in fact, saving her marriage, John's wife becomes suspicious of all the time he spends away from home and hires a private investigator to find out whether or not her husband is having an affair. Ultimately, John is forced to examine how his old dreams fit in to his new life. — Tracie Cooper |
| Shallow Hal | 2001 | 114 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | Jack Black continues his march to stardom with this typical Farrelly brothers blend of broad comedy and a heartfelt message. Black is Hal Larsen, a shallow man rapidly approaching middle age whose superficiality can be attributed to his father's deathbed admonition to only date young, beautiful women. Hal and his best friend, Mauricio (Jason Alexander), have taken the advice to heart, but Hal finds all of his physically impressive girlfriends consistently lacking in other qualities that would make them ideal mates. When he bumps into self-help guru Tony Robbins (playing himself), the motivational entrepreneur is intrigued by Hal's predicament and hypnotizes him so that he'll only see the inner beauty of women. Hal is quickly smitten with Rosemary Shanahan (Gwyneth Paltrow), a blonde Peace Corps volunteer who's tenderhearted, funny, and intelligent. She is also gorgeous and meets Hal's basic criteria of outer perfection, but what he doesn't realize is that Robbins' spell is working and he cannot see that Rosemary actually weights 300 pounds. When Mauricio is finally able to snap Hal out of his charmed state, Hal's in love with the inwardly perfect woman and must overcome his obsession with beauty. The script for Shallow Hal (2001) was developed when Peter Farrelly enjoyed the humorous letters written to a mutual friend by Sean Moynihan, a computer software executive who followed the filmmaker's advice to take up screenwriting. — Karl Williams |
| Shanghai Noon | 2000 | 110 mins | Action; Western; Comedy | After the celluloid debacle known as Wild Wild West, moviegoers might be wary of a big-screen bonanza set in the Old West. However, Shanghai Noon breathes fresh air into the seemingly tired genre. It is an amalgamation of the Western, the buddy movie, and the kung-fu film in which "East-meets-Western." This effort marks the first time Chan is truly able to show his comic persona instead of being the kind of supporting player he was in Rush Hour. Chan is no longer the stern "Asian cop," but a very charming and charismatic hero with physical routines that rival those of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. While the film displays the usual arsenal of backflips and karate chops, Chan also loosens up for his American audience. His character gets high and drunk, and Chan even sleeps with a woman for the first time on film. Owen Wilson, meanwhile, proves once again that he has a unique gift for comic timing. As in the typical buddy movie, the unlikely duo serve both as perfect foils and perfect complements to each other. The result is a highly entertaining and surprisingly comic thrill-ride with some truly unforgettable moments — most notably during a Chinese drinking game that occurs in a bubble bath. The film also captures the look and feel of the Westerns of yore, packed with everything from saloon fights to high noon showdowns. The script cleverly pokes fun at these classic clichés, however, paying tribute to such spaghetti Westerns as Butch Cassidy &sthe Sundance Kid. The average moviegoer will notice the obvious references (Jackie Chan plays a character name Chon Wang, often mistaken for John Wayne), while the Western devotee will have a field day trying to find the more obscure Wild West homages. — Adam Goldberg |
| Shaolin Soccer | 2004 | 201 mins | Asian Cinema | Get ready to kick some grass! With tons of action, eye-popping special effects and nonstop laughs, here's a hilarious martial arts comedy about a team of misfits who take their best shot at winning a championship! Sing is a skilled Shaolin kung fu devotee whose amazing "leg of steel" catches the eye of a soccer coach! Together they assemble a squad of Sing's former Shaolin brothers inspired by the big-money prize in a national soccer competition! Using an unlikely mix of martial arts and newfound soccer skills, it seems an unbeatable combination...until they must face the dreaded Team Evil in the ultimate battle for the title! |
| Shark Tale | 2004 | 90 mins | Comedy; Family | Oceanic wise guys meet up with a small fish who has a big attitude in this computer-animated comedy. Don Lino (voice of Robert De Niro) is the patriarch of a family of sharks who lord over a bustling aquatic community based along a massive underwater reef. Don Lino has two sons, Frankie (voice of Michael Imperioli) and Lenny (voice of Jack Black); Frankie is a carnivorous tough guy who takes after his father, but Lenny is, at heart, a kind soul who has earned the ire of his dad by becoming a vegetarian. One of Don Lino's cronies is Sykes (voice of Martin Scorsese), who runs a "whale wash" where Oscar (voice of Will Smith) scrubs aquatic mammals for a living. Oscar is a small but ambitious fish who dreams of making something of himself, and when a dropped anchor accidentally kills Frankie, Oscar is suddenly (if mistakenly) celebrated as "the shark killer." Oscar's overnight fame attracts the attentions of Lola (voice of Angelina Jolie), a slinky dragon fish who woos Oscar away from his steady date, Angie (voice of Renée Zellweger); however, Oscar strikes up a friendship with Lenny and has to decide what to do when Don Lino and Sykes decides it's time to "take care" of the "different" shark. Also popping up in Shark Tale's all-star voice cast are Peter Falk, Vincent Pastore, Ziggy Marley, and Katie Couric. — Mark Deming |
| Shaun of the Dead | 2004 | 99 mins | Action; Comedy; Horror; Romance | Gathered together at their local pub for a night of drinking and conversation, a group of friends find themselves thrown into a battle against hell-bent zombies. |
| The Shawshank Redemption | 1994 | 136 mins | Drama | When this popular prison drama was released in 1994, some critics complained that the movie was too long (142 minutes) to sustain its story. Those complaints miss the point, because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience, the squeaky wheels of justice, and the growth of a life-long friendship. Only when the film reaches its final, emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont (adapting a novella by Stephen King) allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace, and the effect is dramatically rewarding. Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy who's sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge, but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman), we realize there's reason to believe the banker's crime was justifiable. We also realize that Andy's calm, quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude, and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life. So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre (violence, brutality, riots) to illustrate its theme of faith, friendship, and survival. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay, it's a remarkable film that signaled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker--a film that many movie lovers count among their all-time favorites. --Jeff Shannon |
| She Hate Me | 2004 | 138 mins | Comedy; Drama | Fired from his job for exposing corrupt business practices, a former biotech executive turns to impregnating wealthy lesbians for profit. |
| She's All That | 1999 | 95 mins | Comedy; Romance | A high school jock makes a bet that he can turn an unattractive girl into the school's prom queen. |
| She's the Man | 2006 | 105 mins | Comedy; Family | Shakespearean comedy and American high school are a match made in heaven--or Hollywood, at any rate. Somehow the exaggerated emotions and budding hormones of adolescence are perfectly suited to Shakespeare's twisty plots, and She's the Man is a perfect example. Viola (Amanda Bynes, What a Girl Wants) is furious when she learns that her high school, Cornwall, has cut the girl's soccer team--so furious that she takes advantage of her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk, Final Destination 2) skipping town for a few weeks to take his place at his school, Illyria, so she can join the soccer team there. But her disguise as her brother leads to complications when she falls in love with her soccer-playing roommate and the girl he's in love with falls in love with "Sebastian"... Bynes may not be entirely persuasive as a high school boy, but she's got the charm and sprightliness to make the audience follow her anyway. The clever script walks a fine balance, treating the situation realistically enough to make Viola's efforts matter, but zipping along quickly enough that we don't worry too much about the details. As Duke and Olivia--the other two parts of the love triangle--Channing Tatum and Laura Ramsey combine sex appeal with engaging sweetness; the excellent supporting cast includes David Cross (Arrested Development), Julie Hagerty (Airplane!), and former British soccer star Vinnie Jones (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). All in all, a delightful bit of fun. --Bret Fetzer |
| Shopgirl | 2005 | 104 mins | Drama; Romance | A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man. |
| Shrek | 2001 | 89 mins | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family; Fantasy; Romance | In this fully computer-animated fantasy from the creators of Antz, we follow the travails of Shrek (Mike Myers), a green ogre who enjoys a life of solitude. Living in a far away swamp, he is suddenly invaded by a hoard of fairy tale characters, such as the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Three Blind Mice, all refugees of their homes who have been shunned by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). They want to save their homes from ruin, and enlist the help of Shrek, who is in the same situation. Shrek decides to offer Lord Farquaad a deal; he will rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who is intended to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying Shrek on his adventure is the faithful but loquacious Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who has a penchant for crooning pop songs. The two must face various obstacles in order to locate the Princess, but they find their world challenged when she reveals a dark secret that will affect the group. Shrek is based on the children's book by William Steig, and features additional voice-work by Vincent Cassel, Cody Cameron, and Kathleen Freeman. — Jason Clark |
| Shrek 2 | 2004 | 92 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family; Comedy; Fantasy | Princess Fiona's parents invite her and Shrek to dinner to celebrate her marriage. If only they knew the newlyweds were both ogres. |
| Shut Up and Kiss Me! | 2004 | Action; Comedy; Romance | Ryan and Pete are 27-year old best friends in Miami, born on the same day and each searching for the perfect woman... | |
| Sideways | 2004 | 123 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Drama | Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment, embark on a week long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the altar. |
| Signs | 2002 | 106 mins | Drama; Mystery; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come. |
| Silent Hill | 2006 | 127 mins | Drama; Horror; Thriller | After the continuous sleep walking episodes of Sharon, the young daughter of Rose Da Silva, the decision... |
| Silver City | 2004 | 133 mins | Drama | Celebrated writer and director John Sayles turns his eye to politics in America in this drama. The son of respected Colorado politician Senator Jud Pilager (Michael Murphy), Dicky Pilager (Chris Cooper) is a charming but half-bright man with a bad habit of mangling the English language and a decided lack of political correctness. Dicky is also in the midst of a hard-fought campaign to become governor of Colorado. Dicky's campaign manager, Chuck Raven (Richard Dreyfuss), is a ruthless sort who will leave no stone unturned to see that his candidate wins, so when Dicky snags a dead body while fishing during the shooting of a campaign commercial, Raven is determined to find out if his man has been set up. Raven hires Danny O'Brien (Danny Huston), a former journalist turned private investigator, to find out who the dead man is and if he might be connected to Pilager's enemies. But the deeper O'Brien digs into the matter, the more he finds out about the candidate and his family — and very little of it is flattering. John Sayles assembled a typically impressive cast for Silver City, with the supporting cast highlighted by Tim Roth, Kris Kristofferson, Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Daryl Hannah, Billy Zane, and Mary Kay Place. — Mark Deming |
| Sin City | 2005 | 124 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | An adaptation of Frank Miller's stories based in the fictional town of Sin City. Chief amongst the town's residents is Marv, who trawls the darkest areas of town looking for the person who killed his one true love, Goldie. |
| Sinbad | 2003 | 86 mins | Adventure; Fantasy; Animation; Family | The legendary rogue of the seven seas confronts a new assortment of dangers and thrills in this animated action-adventure tale. Sinbad (voice of Brad Pitt) and his crews of pirate adventurers are hoping to retire to Fiji, and they discover a treasure that could make that possible — the Book of Peace, which has kept the Twelve Cities in harmony for centuries. But Sinbad's plan to snatch the magic book is complicated when he learns it's on board a ship captained by his longtime friend Proteus (voice of Joseph Fiennes). While Sinbad still has his eye on the book, so does the mischievous goddess Eris (voice of Michelle Pfeifer), who sends a deadly sea monster into Sinbad's path to scuttle his plans. With the help of Proteus, Sinbad prevails over the beast, and determined Eris responds by snatching the book and framing Sinbad for the crime. Noble Proteus offers to step in for Sinbad and take his punishment, so now the adventurer has ten days to rescue the book from Eris or Proteus will pay with his life. While Sinbad is at first uncertain if he should take on such a dangerous assignment or simply high-tail it to Fiji, someone is on hand to persuade him — Marina (voice of Catherine Zeta-Jones), Proteus' lovely but hard-headed fiancée, who has stowed away on Sinbad's ship. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas was the first animated feature written by John Logan, who received an Oscar nomination for his script for Gladiator. — Mark Deming |
| Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants | 2005 | 119 mins | Drama | Coming of Age Adventure based on Ann Brashares' best-selling novel about a special 16th summer in the lives of four lifelong friends who are separated for the first time. On a shopping trip, the girls find a pair of thrift-shop jeans that fits each of them perfectly and they decide to use these "magic" pants as a way of keeping in touch over the months ahead, each girl wearing the jeans for a week to see what luck they bring her before sending them on to the next. Though miles apart, the four friends still experience life, love and loss together in a summer they'll never forget. |
| The Sixth Man | 1997 | 107 mins | Comedy; Drama; Fantasy | Antoine and Kenny Tyler are NCAA college basketball players, and Antoine is the star. Suddenly Antoine... |
| The Sixth Sense | 1999 | 105 mins | Drama; Mystery; Thriller | In this tense tale of psychological terror, Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a child psychologist whose new patient has a problem far outside his usual area of expertise. Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is six-years-old and claims to see the spirits of dead people all around him. It seems that Cole has psychic powers and can channel the ghosts of those who were troubled. Cole doesn't understand his powers, and he has little control over them; he's constantly terrified by what he sees, and Dr. Crowe is the only one with whom he feels he can share this secret. However, as the doctor digs deeper into Cole's strange powers, it leads to strange and unexpected consequences for both of them. M. Night Shyamalan, who wrote and directed the film, has a small role as Dr. Hill. — Mark Deming |
| The Skeleton Key | 2005 | 104 mins | Drama; Horror; Mystery; Thriller | A young woman helping care for an invalid in New Orleans finds herself caught in the middle of morbid... |
| Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow | 2004 | 106 mins | Sci-Fi; Thriller; Adventure; Action; Mystery | After New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots, a reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world. |
| Sky High | 2005 | 100 mins | Action; Family; Comedy; Adventure | Set in a world where superheroes are commonly known and accepted, young Will Stronghold, the son of the Commander and Jetstream, tries to find a balance between being a normal teenager and an extraordinary being. |
| Slackers | 2002 | 86 mins | Comedy | Three lifelong cheaters wise up in this gross-out college comedy, which marks the second feature role for Rushmore star Jason Schwartzman. It's the last semester of senior year for roomies Dave (Devon Sawa), Sam (Jason Segel), and Jeff (Michael C. Maronna), a trio of twenty-somethings whose enthusiasm for higher learning is matched only by their enthusiasm for root canals performed without the aid of anesthesia. As such, their entire collegiate existence has been an elaborate series of cons and scams designed to plagiarize essays, skip midterms, and covertly manipulate bell curves. When deranged geek Ethan (Schwartzman) — who harbors a psychotic fixation for a flaxen-haired co-ed named Angela (James King) — gets wind of their scheming, he blackmails Dave and the gang into contriving a date between him and his crush. But as Dave cozies up to Angela, he realizes that no amount of scheming can hide the fact that he's the one that's truly in love. Slackers went by a number of working titles while in production at the ill-fated upstart Destination Films; when Destination went belly-up, the film sat on the shelf for over a year before being picked up for release by Sony's Screen Gems division. — Michael Hastings |
| Sleepover | 2004 | 89 mins | Comedy; Family | Rules Will Be Broken Tonight! Alexa Vega (Spy Kids) stars in this irresistible comedy about four best friends who embark on a zany, all-night scavenger hunt against their "popular girl" rivals! Bursting with hilarious hijinks, glorious girl-power and true-blue friendship, Sleepover is a high-spirited, high-stakes romp that's "topped with sprinklings of Cinderella enchantment" (The Seattle Times)! |
| Slither | 2006 | 95 mins | Comedy; Horror; Science Fiction | A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters. |
| Smile | 2005 | 107 mins | Adventure; Drama | Introduced to a volunteer opportunity with the Doctor's Gift Program, Katie (Mika Boorem) signs up for a trip to China, where she meets Lin (Yi Ding), a girl with whom she shares a birthday. Lin has a facial deformity that discourages her from ever showing her face, but her friendship with Katie helps her start to see life in a new way. |
| Snatch | 2000 | 102 mins | Crime; Comedy | Guy Ritchie's sophomore follow-up to his 1998 sleeper hit Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch revisits the previous film's territory of London's crime-ridden underbelly, and does so with the same brand of humor and stylish direction that made Ritchie's first effort a surprise success. With a labyrinthine plot that is ostensibly oriented around a missing diamond, Snatch introduces viewers to three groups of characters intent on retrieving the elusive stone, which has been stolen from an Antwerp jeweler. In the first group are friends and business partners Turkish (Jason Statham, who also supplies the film's voice-over narration) and Tommy (Stephen Graham), who join up with Mickey (Brad Pitt), an Irish gypsy and boxer. Turkish and Tommy make arrangements with Mickey to take a fall in a match engineered by lunatic gang leader Brick Top (Alan Ford). In another corner resides equally loony Russian gangster Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia), who has asked Jewish gangster Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) to place a bet on the match for him. Boris is also scheming to have Sol (Lennie James), the owner of a pawn shop, rob the place with a couple of dim associates. Meanwhile, Avi (Dennis Farina), freshly arrived in London from New York, hires Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to find Franky when he goes missing; it seems that it was none other than Franky who was supposed to be transporting the purloined diamond to New York. — Rebecca Flint |
| SNL: Best of Eddie Murphy | 1989 | 78 mins | Comedy | |
| Something New | 2006 | 99 mins | Comedy; Drama; Romance | Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper. |
| Something's Gotta Give | 2003 | 128 mins | Comedy; Romance; Drama | In keeping with the light and slick tones of her earlier film What Women Want, Nancy Meyers writes and directs the romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give. Jack Nicholson plays Harry Langer, a swinging fiftysomething entertainment executive surrounded by plenty of young girlfriends. His latest romance is young petite sophisticate Marin (Amanda Peet), who takes him to her mother's beach house in the Hamptons for a weekend fling. However, Marin's successful Broadway playwright mother Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is already vacationing at the house with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand). Marin and Harry stay anyway, and Harry ends up having a heart attack. He goes to the hospital and is looked after by thirtysomething doctor Julian Mercer (Keanu Reeves). Impressed by her writing, Dr. Mercer finds himself pursuing a romance with Erica. Because of his serious health condition, he orders Harry to stay near the hospital. While Marin returns to Manhattan, Erica agrees to stay on and look after Harry. Of course they are repulsed by each other at first, but they end up falling in love throughout the recovery process. Also starring Jon Favreau as Harry's assistant. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Son of the Mask | 2005 | 94 mins | Comedy; Action; Adventure; Fantasy | Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist, finds himself in a predicament when his infant son stumbles upon the mask of Loki. |
| Sorority Boys | 2002 | 93 mins | Comedy | The time-honored "men in drag" concept gets a teen sex comedy makeover with this farce from director Wallace Wolodarsky. Dave (Barry Watson), Adam (Michael Rosenbaum), and Doofer (Harland Williams) are a trio of broke playboy misogynists who are accused of embezzlement by their frat brothers and kicked out. The friends quickly find themselves with only one option if they wish to remain on campus rent-free and nab the real culprits: the sorority known as Delta Omicron Gamma (D.O.G.), an institution widely known for its members' deficiency of physical beauty. After undergoing radical transformations thanks to wigs, makeup, and some serious depilatory efforts, the boys are soon passing themselves off as Daisy, Adena, and Roberta. It's not long before their past mistreatment of women has come back to haunt them, while Dave falls in love with Leah (Melissa Sagemiller), the head of the sorority, forcing him to consider when and where to confess the truth. In the meantime, the boys draw closer to learning the identity of the real thieves. Sorority Boys (2002) co-stars Heather Matarazzo. — Karl Williams |
| Soul Plane | 2004 | 86 mins | Comedy | After an excruciatingly humiliating in-flight experience that culminated in a messy breakup and the untimely death of a dog, Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) sues the airline for all it's worth. This turns out to be a more than profitable move on his part; the lawsuit brings him a settlement in the hefty amount of 600 million dollars. Eager to prevent his experience from happening to another — and perfectly willing to reap the financial benefits of the cash cow he believes his plan to be — Nashawn decides to launch NWA, an all African American airline complete with sensuous stewardesses, an onboard dance club, and a bathroom attendant. Far be it from giving "flying the friendly skies" a new meaning, however, chaos ensues in the form of a white family with the unfortunate last name of Hunkee. The Hunkee patriarch (as played by Tom Arnold) and his antics prevent the flight from going as smoothly as intended. The feature debut of music video director Jessy Tererro, urban comedy regulars Snoop Dogg and Method Man co-star. — Tracie Cooper |
| The Sound of Music | 1965 | 174 mins | Drama; Family; Musical | One of the most popular movie musicals of all time, The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the Trapp Family Singers. Julie Andrews stars as Maria, a young nun in an Austrian convent who regularly misses her morning prayers because she enjoys going to the hills to sing the title song. Deciding that Maria needs to learn something about the real world before she can take her vows, the Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends her off to be governess for the children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Arriving at the Trapp home, Maria discovers that her new boss is cold and aloof, and his seven children virtual automatons-at least, whenever the Captain is around. Otherwise, the kids are holy terrors, as evidenced by the fact that Maria is the latest in a long line of governesses. But Maria soon ingratiates herself with the children, especially oldest daughter Liesl (Charmian Carr), who is in love with teenaged messenger boy Rolf. As Maria herself begins to fall in love with the Captain, she rushes back to the Abbey so as not to complicate his impending marriage to a glamorous baroness (Eleanor Parker). But the children insist that Maria return, the Baroness steps out of the picture, and Maria and the Captain confirm their love in the song "Something Good." Unhappily, they return home from their honeymoon shortly after the Nazis march into Austria. Already, swastikas have been hung on the Von Trapp ancestral home, and Liesl's boyfriend Rolf has been indoctrinated in the "glories" of the Third Reich. The biggest blow occurs when Von Trapp is called back to active duty in the service of the Fuhrer. The Captain wants nothing to do with Nazism, and he begins making plans to take himself and his family out of Austria. — Hal Erickson |
| South Park Bigger, Longer & Uncut | 1999 | 88 mins | Animation; Comedy; Musical | The most tasteless third graders on television graduate to the big screen, as Trey Parker and Matt Stone expand their animated series with foul-mouthed humor that might breach the boundaries of basic cable. In the small Colorado town of South Park, good natured Stan Marsh, slightly neurotic Kyle Broflovski, fat and petulant Eric Cartman, and perpetually doomed Kenny McCormick are psyched for the premiere of the first feature film from flatulent Canadian TV performers Terrence and Philip, entitled Asses Of Fire. The movie is rated R, but that's not about to stop the boys from sneaking into the theater. However, when the boys' language gets bluer by the minute after seeing the film, their parents and school administrators decide that something must be done. Kyle's mother comes up with the ideal solution: blame Canada. Terrence and Philip end up in jail for corrupting America's youth, while the Canadian Air Force retaliates with an air strike targeting the Baldwin Brothers. The boys soon organize a children's underground resistance force to free Terrence and Philip before they can be executed; meanwhile, in a sensitive subplot exploring relationship issues, we're permitted an inside look at the domestic problems of Satan and his lover, Saddam Hussein. As on the TV show, Parker and Stone perform the voices of most of the characters, and they also wrote several songs for the film; George Clooney, Minnie Driver, Eric Idle, Dave Foley, and Mike Judge contribute voices. Not to spoil the plot, but rumor has it that Kenny dies. — Mark Deming |
| Spanglish | 2004 | 130 mins | Comedy; Family | A Hispanic woman and her young daughter are thrown into the middle of a well-to-do but remarkably dysfunctional family in this comedy drama from writer and director James L. Brooks. Flor (Paz Vega) is a single mother who has struggled to support her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) working as a domestic in Mexico. Hoping to give her daughter greater financial security, Flor packs up their belongings and moves the family to California, but Flor refuses to surrender her Latino identity and opts not to learn English; meanwhile, Cristina quickly learns to speak the language fluently. Flor lands a high-paying job working as a housekeeper for Deborah Clasky (Téa Leoni); Deborah doesn't speak a word of Spanish, but this is hardly the most curious thing about their working relationship. A deeply troubled neurotic who has spent time in a mental hospital, Deborah is at once obsessed with her duties as a wife and mother and utterly clueless to her family's needs, and when she learns that Flor has a daughter, she insists that the girl move in with the Claskys. Flor, however, isn't so sure she wants Deborah Americanizing Cristina, especially when Deborah begins doting on the girl at the expense of her relationship with her own daughter, Bernice (Sarah Steele). Deborah's husband, John (Adam Sandler), is an oasis of loving calm and understanding in the midst of his chaotic family, and Flor becomes attracted to this man who shows no signs of the arrogant machismo she's accustomed to. But John's career as a chef is turned upside down when The New York Times gives his restaurant a four-star review, suddenly turning his small eatery into the "in" spot in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Flor reaches the end of her patience when Deborah enrolls Cristina into an exclusive private school which Flor is certain will turn her into a typical American child and drive a wedge between Cristina and her mother. Spanglish also stars Cloris Leachman as Deborah's sharp-tongued mother. — Mark Deming |
| Spartan | 2004 | 106 mins | Thriller; Action; Crime | David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), the missing daughter of a high-ranking political figure. Scott is teamed up with rookie Curtis (Derek Luke). Aided by the FBI and the CIA, the team discovers a human trafficking operation that may lead to Laura's kidnappers. Meanwhile, political operative Stoddard (William H. Macy) refuses to cooperate with the rescue mission. Scott and Curtis are forced to quit the investigation when the media reports Laura's death. Believing her to be alive, Curtis is motivated to start up a dangerous unofficial investigation of his own. Spartan premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2004. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Species | 1995 | 108 mins | Drama; Thriller; Action; Sci-Fi | Fine special effects, eclectic casting, and the freeze-frame-worthy, clothing-free debut of a blonde bombshell made this cheesy science fiction/horror hybrid a cut above its B-grade roots. At a top-secret Utah facility headed up by Dr. Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley), scientists have created "Sil" (Natasha Henstridge), a half-human, half-alien product of experiments with DNA codes obtained from beyond the stars. Unfortunately, Sil has escaped. Her primary objective is to mate, and, with the ability to transform herself into an incredibly powerful alien creature, puny humans can't stop her. So Dr. Fitch calls in a quartet of specialists (Forest Whitaker, Michael Madsen, Marg Helgenberger, and Alfred Molina), to attempt Sil's capture. At the same time, Sil is leaving a trail of mostly male corpses in her hormonal wake. The organic-flavored alien designs for Species were provided by H.R. Giger, the artist responsible for the memorable creatures and spaceships of Alien (1979). When MGM decided to cut the spectacular "train birth" sequence in the interest of budget-trimming, Giger personally financed this $100,000 showcase of his work. Those who look closely will notice that "Young Sil" is played by future Dawson's Creek star Michelle Williams. — Karl Williams |
| Spider-Man | 2002 | 121 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Fantasy; Thriller | After incorporating elements of comic book style and design into many of his films, director Sam Raimi helms this straight-ahead, big-budget comic book adaptation, which also marks acclaimed young actor Tobey Maguire's first dip into live-action blockbuster filmmaking. Spider-Man follows the template of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko source material, with hero Peter Parker an orphaned, intellectual teen loner living in Queens with his aunt (Rosemary Harris) and uncle (Cliff Robertson), and dreaming of the girl next door, Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). On a field trip to a Columbia University lab, Peter is bitten by a genetically altered spider and overnight he gains superhuman strength, agility, and perception. At first, Peter uses his powers for material gain, winning a wrestling match with a purportedly lucrative prize. But when Peter apathetically fails to stop a burglar from robbing the wrestling arena, a tragedy follows that compels him to devote his powers to fighting crime — as the superhero Spider-Man. When he's not busy fighting crime in a spider suit, Peter moves into an apartment with his best friend, Harry (James Franco), and begins work as a photographer at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, his do-gooder alter ego finds a nemesis in the form of the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), a super-powered, megalomaniacal villain who happens to be the alter ego of the Harry's father, weapons-manufacturing mogul Norman Osborn. Spider-Man was written by the prolific blockbuster scribe David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Panic Room). — Michael Hastings |
| Spider-Man 2 | 2004 | 127 mins | Action; Fantasy; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Peter Parker is beset with numerous personal problems while Spider-Man confronts the brilliant Dr. Otto Octavius, who has been transformed into "Doctor Octopus" (aka, "Doc Ock"), a multi-tentacled menace. |
| Spin the Bottle | 2003 | Comedy | ||
| Spirit | 2002 | 82 mins | Animation | Screenwriter John Fusco returns to the Western themes of his previous films Young Guns and Thunderheart with this animated children's adventure from Dreamworks. Matt Damon supplies the voice of Spirit, a wild Mustang stallion living free in the Old West of the late 19th century, where he's captured by human horse traders and sold to a cavalry regiment at a frontier outpost. There, a cruel colonel (voice of James Cromwell) nearly succeeds in breaking the willful horse, but not quite. Spirit escapes in the company of another captive, Little Creek (voice of Daniel Studi), a Native American youth that tries to possess the magnificent animal by more humane means, but Spirit refuses to bend to human will even when he makes the acquaintance of Little Creek's beautiful and fiercely loyal mare, Rain. After he saves Little Creek's life in an Army raid, Spirit believes that the gravely injured Rain has perished after a tumble over a waterfall. Despondent, the horse is captured again by humans, enslaved this time for work in a pack team on the transcontinental railroad. Undaunted by the tragedies that befall him, Spirit manages to escape for a reunion with Little Creek, Rain, and his long-lost brethren. Featuring songs by rock singer Bryan Adams, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron departs from other examples of its genre in that the horse protagonists do not speak or sing; only Spirit's voice is heard as voice-over narration. — Karl Williams |
| SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The | 2004 | 87 mins | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family | Something nefarious is afloat in the depths of Bikini Bottom: King Neptune's crown has been stolen, and the prime suspect is Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at Mr. Krabs' Krabby Patties. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Krabs — not to mention having been turned down for a long-awaited promotion at the restaurant — SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) refuses to believe that his boss is responsible and teams up with his best friend, Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), on a mission to Shell City, where he hopes he can exonerate Mr. Krabs and return the crown to its rightful owner. Of course, this is no easy task; once outside the safety of Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob is faced with the overwhelming dangers of the sea, not the least of which being a cyclops that many believe to be responsible for the deaths of countless other unfortunate sea-creatures who ventured outside county lines. Among those who lent their vocal chords to the film include Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor, and Alec Baldwin. — Tracie Cooper |
| Spy Game | 2001 | 127 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | Brad Pitt is reunited as a co-star with his A River Runs Through It (1992) director Robert Redford for this espionage thriller from Tony Scott. On the verge of retirement from the Central Intelligence Agency, veteran spy Nathan Muir (Redford) learns that his one-time protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) has gone rogue and been taken prisoner in Beijing after attempting to smuggle a prisoner out of China. Although Muir and Bishop had once been close friends, sharing adventures from Vietnam to Berlin, bad blood and resentment developed between them, and the two men haven't seen each other in years. As his memories of their friendship come flooding back, Muir agrees to take the most dangerous mission of his career — the rescue of his old friend from a Communist jail. Spy Game (2001) co-stars Catherine McCormack as a human rights activist and Bishop's love interest. — Karl Williams |
| Stage Beauty | 2004 | 110 mins | Drama | Set in the 1660's at a time when in live theatre women's roles were played by men, Edward 'Ned' Kynaston... |
| Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | 2005 | 140 mins | Action; Adventure; Fantasy; Sci-Fi | After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, putting his friendship with Obi Wan Kenobi and his marriage at risk. |
| Starsky and Hutch | 2004 | 101 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime | Starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the title roles, this kitschy tongue-in cheek action comedy is based on the popular 1970s cop show of the same name. Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Wilson) and Dave Starsky (Stiller) are a tough pair of plain-clothes cops who drive a red and white Ford Torino and solve cases with the assistance of their informant, Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg). While investigating their latest case, the duo realize that the culprit is none other than Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), the criminal involved in their first bust. Starsky &sHutch also features appearance by Juliette Lewis, Will Ferrell, and Matt Walsh, who, along with Snoop Dogg and Vaughn, all had roles in director Todd Phillips' last film, Old School. — Matthew Tobey |
| State Property 2 | 2005 | 94 mins | Musical; Action; Crime; Drama | Three gangsters vie for control of the streets of Philadelphia. |
| Stay Alive | 2006 | 85 mins | Horror; Thriller | For a group of teens, the answer to the mysterious death of their old friend lies within the world of an online video game based on the true story of an ancient noblewoman known as the Blood Countess. |
| Stealth | 2005 | 121 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control ... before it initiates the next world war. |
| Steamboy | 2004 | 126 mins | Action; Adventure; Animation; Family; Sci-Fi; Thriller | In 1860s Britain, a boy inventor finds himself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power. |
| The Stepford Wives | 2004 | 93 mins | Comedy; Drama; Thriller | What does it take to become a Stepford wife, a woman perfect beyond belief? Ask the Stepford husbands, who've created this high-tech terrifying little town, in a very modern comedy-thriller. |
| Steve-O Video Vol, 3: Out On Bail | 2004 | |||
| Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story! | 2005 | 88 mins | Animation; Comedy | Stewie, the maniacal baby genius, is distracted from his plans for world domination when he sees a man who looks just like him on television... |
| Stick It | 2006 | 105 mins | Comedy; Sports | After a run-in with the law, Haley Graham (Missy Peregrym) is forced to return to the world from which she fled some years ago. Enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by the legendary Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges), Haley's rebellious attitude gives way to something that just might be called team spirit. |
| Stitch! The Movie | 2003 | 64 mins | Animation; Family; Comedy | The original voice cast of Lilo &sStitch returns for this direct-to-video sequel, which follows the further adventures of Stitch (aka Experiment 626) and his new surrogate family in Hawaii. It seems that Dr. Jumba (David Ogden Stiers) has brought his other 625 experiments to Earth, and now it's up to Stitch and company to make sure the villainous Dr. Hamsterviel (Jeff Bennett) doesn't get his hands on them. Among Stitch's potential new friends are Experiment 221, a havoc-wreaking electrical being, and Experiment 624, a lazy creature who enjoys making sandwiches. — Skyler Miller |
| Street Fury:Redline | 2005 | 90 mins | Sport | Street Fury Redline takes you to the limit and beyond! After hitting up the JGTC, Big C makes it his missions to teach you how to S.T.U.N.T. Get some behind the wheel instruction from the Pro's, as well as heads up on what's new in the Electronics world at CES Las Vegas. Is it '06 already? Well Big C is already working on the 24Mainstreet.com Asian Beauty calendar, and he needs your help. South of the border, the tequila flows in Mexico 'til sunrise - but can they party with the competition in the streets of New England and LA at Hot Import Nights? Street Fury Redline: It's East Coast, West Coast, International and beyond... |
| Stuart Little 3 - Call of the Wild | 2006 | 75 mins | Animation; Family | Goodbye realistic family with an implausible child, hello animated world of make believe. Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild takes a marked departure from the realistic footage of the Little family and a skillfully animated mouse son in Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2 with this fully animated presentation that views like just another animated cartoon television show. That said, the story and action are good. While Stuart may be tiny and have a reputation as delicate, he's determined to prove his strength and independence during his family's summer stay in a cabin on the shores of Lake Garland. Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) pleads to be allowed to join the Lake Scouts where he seems destined to be unsuccessful in spite of much perseverance. He develops an unlikely friendship with a skunk named Reeko (voiced by Wayne Brady), but that friendship leads Stuart and his cat Snowbell (voiced this time by Kevin Schon) to the brink of disaster with "The Beast" that lives in the woods. Can courage, ingenuity and the bonds of true friendship overcome the wrath and brute strength of a ferocious monster? This third movie in the Stuart Little collection remains true to its predecessors in its wholesome message and fast-paced adventure, but the full animation is definitely disappointing. (Ages 4 to 10 years) --Tami Horiuchi |
| The Sum of All Fears | 2002 | 124 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | CIA analyst Jack Ryan hunts down a group of terrorists who plan to detonate a nuclear device at the Superbowl. |
| Super Size Me | 2004 | 100 mins | Documentary | An irreverent look at obesity in America and one of its sources - fast food corporations. |
| Super Troopers | 2001 | 100 mins | Crime; Comedy | Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime. |
| Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 | 2004 | 88 mins | Adventure; Family | Directed by Bob Clark, Super Babies: Baby Geniuses 2 follows a new generation of ultra-smart talking toddlers who have landed in the center of a dastardly scheme perpetrated by media mogul Bill Biscane (Jon Voight). With the help of Kahuna (Leo, Miles, and Gerry Fitzgerald); part spy, part superhero, all baby Archie (Michael and Max Iles); Finkleman (Jordan and Jared Scheiderman); Alex (Joshua and Maxwell Lockhart); and Rosita (Keana and Maia Bastidas), the youngsters set off in hopes of preventing Biscane from launching a state-of-the-art satellite system which, if successful, would be capable of worldwide mind control. — Tracie Cooper |
| Surviving Christmas | 2004 | Family; Thriller | ||
| Suspect Zero | 2004 | 99 mins | Thriller; Crime; Horror; Drama | A mysterious serial killer is hunting other serial killers - and one FBI agent suspects there may be more to the vigilante than they imagine. |
| Sweet Home Alabama | 2002 | 108 mins | Comedy; Romance; Drama | A young woman with a white trash background runs away from her husband in Alabama and reinvents herself as a New York socialite. |
| Sweet Potato Pie | 2004 | 90 mins | Comedy | |
| The Sweetest Thing | 2002 | 88 mins | Comedy; Romance | A girl finds she is forced to educate herself on the etiquette of wooing the opposite sex when she finally meets Mr. Right. |
| The Sword in the Stone | 1963 | 79 mins | Animation; Family; Fantasy | 1963's The Sword in the Stone is Disney's animated take on Arthurian legend. In the midst of the Dark Ages, when England has no rightful ruler, a sword imbedded in a stone mysteriously appears in a London churchyard, bearing the inscription "Whoso pulleth out the sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England." Scores of would-be kings travel to London to attempt the feat and thereby claim the throne. They all fail. Years later, in the English countryside, an 11-year-old squire nicknamed Wart (Rickie Sorensen) is devotedly helping his incompetent foster brother, Kay (Norman Alden), train to become a knight, when he meets the great magician Merlin (Karl Swenson). The well meaning, but absentminded, wizard declares himself Wart's mentor and claims that he will lead the boy to his destiny. Spirited and full of spunk, Wart (whose real name is Arthur) approaches Merlin's lessons with the same determination that he applies to Kay's hopeless training and to the monotonous chores he is assigned by his guardian. He soon finds himself accompanying Kay to London for a jousting tournament that will determine England's new king. There, Wart forgets to bring Kay's weapon to the joust, but finds an abandoned sword in a nearby churchyard — which he effortlessly pulls out of a stone. — Aubry Anne D'Arminio |
| Swordfish | 2001 | 99 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. — Karl Williams |
| Syriana | 2005 | 126 mins | Drama; Thriller | A politically-charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it. |
| The Tai Chi Master | 2005 | 127 mins | Action | |
| Take the Lead | 2006 | 108 mins | Drama; Music | The real story of a dance teacher who believed in the talent of a group of problem kids. |
| Taking Lives | 2004 | 103 mins | Action; Drama; Crime; Thriller | A female detective on the trail of a psychotic killer discovers love in a dangerous time in this thriller, based on the novel by Michael Pye. Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie) is a special agent with the FBI who has a reputation for using offbeat methods, but also boasts a strong record as a criminal profiler. Scott is called in by a former Quantico colleague (Tcheky Karyo) to assist two Canadian police detectives, Paquette (Olivier Martinez) and Duval (Jean-Hugues Anglade), who are on the trail of a serial killer who has been doing business in and around Montreal for close to two decades. The murderer has a history of assimilating many aspects of the lives of his victims after he kills them, but there's been a witness to his most recent crime. Art gallery owner James Costa (Ethan Hawke) saw the killer during an assault, and now finds himself working as an only marginally willing decoy for Scott. As Scott and Costa follow the killer's trail, they find themselves becoming attracted to one another, which is not necessarily a comfort to Scott as she finds her quarry moving closer and closer. Taking Lives also stars Kiefer Sutherland and Gena Rowlands. — Mark Deming |
| Tarzan | 1999 | 88 mins | Animation; Family; Adventure | A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human. |
| Tarzan II | 2005 | 72 mins | Animation | Whereas the original Tarzan tells the story of a man raised by gorillas who learns to bring together the human and animal worlds, Tarzan II is a prequel, of sorts, focusing on a chapter from Tarzan?s childhood where he realizes he is not an ape and sets out to discover his true identity. The young misfit runs away from his loving mother, Kala (voiced by Glenn Close), and wanders up the Dark Mountain to come face to face with the monstrous Zugor. But all is not serious in this 72-minute boondoggle; there is Disney?s usual foray into frivolity by way of a few wisecracking sidekicks--a couple of gorilla brothers named Uto and Kago, and their nettlesome Mama Gunda (voiced by Estelle Harris, a laudable choice). Despite the star-studded voice cast, there is a sense of re-tread ground here, and the story (loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs? distinctive tale) shows signs of formulaic Disney. Nonetheless, Phil Collins? trio of original songs livens the pace to make the effort a short-lived smile. (Ages 6 to 14) --Lynn Gibson |
| Taxi | 2004 | Comedy; Family | | |
| Team America: World Police | 2004 | 98 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy | Marionette superheroes fight to end terrorism and put tired celebrities out of their misery. |
| Tears of the Sun | 2003 | 121 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | Bruce Willis plays a Special-Ops commander who leads his team into the jungle of Nigeria to rescue a doctor played by Monica Belluci who will only go with them if they agree to rescue 70 refugees too. |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1992 | 289 mins | Action; Adventure | Catch the Wave of Turtle Power! Join the Heroes in a Half-Shell™ and tap into the Turtle Power! In these 12 totally gnarly episodes you'll yell "Cowabunga" and turn green with excitement as you battle Krang™, Shredder™, Bebob™ and Rocksteady™. Those awesome teenage mutant turtles, who just happen to be ninjas, need your help to save the world, dude! Includes 12 Episodes! |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cufflink Caper | 1990 | 95 mins | Animation | The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are looking for some excitment. They soon find it when hoods start robbing fancy stores but only steal cufflinks... |
| Terminal,The | 2004 | 128 mins | Romantic Comedy | Academy Award winning director Steven Spielberg teams up with two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks for this critically acclaimed comedy. After arriving at New York's JFK airport, Viktor Navorski (Hanks) gets unwittingly caught up in the richly complex and amusing world inside the airport, Viktor makes friends, gets a job, finds romance and ultimately discovers America itself-all without setting foot outside the Terminal! Also starring Oscar winner Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago). The Terminal is the irresistible, must-see motion picture event NBC-TV's Jeffrey Lyons applauds as "funny, touching, one of the year's most enjoyable films." |
| Terminator 2 | 1991 | 360 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | After he pushed the envelope of computer-generated special effects in The Abyss, director James Cameron turned this hotly anticipated sequel to Terminator into a well-written, action-packed showcase for advanced special effects and for one of the most invincible villains ever imagined. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a legitimate sequel: there's more story to tell about a hulking, leather-clad android (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who arrives from the future to protect a rebellious teenager and future leader (Edward Furlong) from being killed by the tenacious T-1000 robot (Robert Patrick), whose liquid-metal construction makes him seemingly unstoppable. The fate of the future lies in the balance, with Linda Hamilton (who would later marry her director) reprising her role as the rugged woman whose son will change the course of history. The digital video disc of this blockbuster hit is presented with a digitally mastered THX soundtrack. --Jeff Shannon |
| Terminator 3 | 2003 | 110 mins | Sci-Fi; Action; Thriller | The second sequel to the 1984 sci-fi action classic, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the first film without the involvement of director James Cameron. Instead, Jonathan Mostow, the man behind Breakdown and U-571, has stepped in to fill the shoes left vacant by Cameron. In addition, the role of John Connor from the second film has been recast, with In the Bedroom's Nick Stahl taking over for Edward Furlong. Set ten years after the events of 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the film finds Connor living on the streets as a common laborer. Sarah Connor, his mother, has since died, and their efforts in the second film have not stopped the creation of SkyNet artificial intelligence network. As he will still become the leader of the human resistance, Connor is once again targeted by a Terminator sent from the future by SkyNet. This new Terminator, T-X (Kristanna Loken), is a female and is more powerful than any of her predecessors. To protect Connor, the human resistance sends a new T-101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back from the future. Also starring Claire Danes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had its world premiere when it showed out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. — Matthew Tobey |
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The | 2003 | 95 mins | Horror | One of the most infamous horror films of the 1970s is revisited in this remake produced by action-spectacle maven Michael Bay. In the summer of 1973, four teenagers — Erin (Jessica Biel), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Kemper (Eric Balfour), and Andy (Mike Vogel) — are driving through Texas on a road trip when they pick up a hitchhiker, Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), who is on her way to Mexico to score some dope. With Pepper adding to the party atmosphere, the other four decide to join her, but as they're passing through a small town in Travis County, they see a bloody and distraught girl (Lauren German) wandering by the side of the road, and after stopping to help her, they realize she's been involved in something horribly traumatic. As the kids try to help the girl piece together the story of what happened, they find themselves drawn into the web of a murderous family of subnormal cannibals. Inspired — like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and Deranged — by the crimes of Wisconsin multiple murderer Ed Gein, this remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre also features narration by John Larroquette, who narrated the original film (it was his first screen credit), as well as supporting performances by R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Prine, and Andrew Bryniarski. — Mark Deming |
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The | 1986 | 89 mins | Horror | A radio host (Caroline Williams) is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall (Dennis Hopper) hunts them. |
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The | 1974 | Horror | ||
| Thank You for Smoking | 2005 | 92 mins | Comedy; Drama | Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son. |
| The Gods Must Be Crazy | 1980 | 109 mins | Comedy; Action | A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle... |
| The Karate Kid | 1987 | |||
| The Karate Kid Part III | 1989 | 89 mins | Karate Kid Daniel Larusso risks losing it all when he places pride before principle in this dramatic film that reunites stars Ralph Macchio and Noriyki "Pat" Morita. When Daniel (Macchio) decides not to compete in the upcoming karate championship, he becomes the target of vicious Cobra Kai student Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), who's determined to win the title back. Standing firm, Daniel's mentor and trainer Mr. Miyagi (Morita) instructs him to ignore Mike's threats - and stay away from the tournament. But when Mike's relentless abuse escalates into blackmail, Daniel finds himself forced into competition - and at serious odds with Miyagi, the one person he cherishes most. Desperate, Daniel turns to another karate instructor, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), whose violent combat techniques are directly opposed to Miyagi's wise instruction. But when Daniel realizes that Terry and Mike are allied with Mr. Miyagi's old nemesis (Martin Kove) in an elaborate set-up for revenge, he also knows he has alienated the only person who can help him. A riveting story of independence, inner strength and self enlightenment, The Karate Kid, Part III is a powerful new chapter in this popular series of films. | |
| The Lion King 2 - Simba's Pride | 1994 | 81 mins | Animation; Family | This two-disc presentation of the popular sequel delivers a better sounding DVD and looks a bit better than the initial release (although the original was pretty sharp). There are no changes in the film except a pop-up viewing mode with facts--fun and otherwise--about the film. The second disc is for the kids, including games, a cute documentary on African animals, and another installment of the Virtual Safari. This "ride" puts you in a jeep with Timon and Pumbaa as they race the jungle and pride lands bumping into various obstacles, all in booming Dolby 5.1 sound. The best extra is the new short "One by One" a modern day tale of Africa and the finest short from the studio since 2000's "John Henry." --Doug Thomas |
| The Producers | 2005 | 134 mins | Comedy; Musical | Bringing the Tony-Award Winning musical back to the big screen -The Producers tells the story of a down on his luck producer (Lane) and his accountant (Broderick) and their get rich quick plan. |
| The Wild | 2006 | 82 mins | Animation; Comedy; Adventure; Family; Fantasy | A cuddly koala who wants to be fierce, a squirrel in love with a sarcastic giraffe, an addle-pated anaconda, and a lion with a secret set off from their cozy zoo to rescue the lion's adolescent cub from an accidental kidnapping. After braving the dangers of the big city and stealing a boat, they find themselves in the African jungle, where a renegade herd of wildebeest have decided they want to change their position on the food chain (understandable, really). The Wild is hodgepodge--it's never clear why these mismatched creatures are friends and plot elements seem haphazardly plucked from Finding Nemo, Madagascar, and Ice Age: The Meltdown (though the latter two were made at the same time as The Wild, so it's just unfortunate for this movie that they came out first). Despite a general air of manic desperation, The Wild does have its strengths: The animation is richly realistic, leading to some gorgeous depictions of light (not exactly a selling point for kids, but adults can appreciate it). Several characters pop out--a pair of sewer crocodiles sound like NPR's Car Talk guys; William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) is effectively scary as the cult-leader/choreographer of the wildebeest; and comedian Eddie Izzard lends some of his trademark smart and silly humor to Nigel, the disgruntled koala bear. Successful bits and pieces don't make for a great movie, but they keep The Wild from the brink of disaster. --Bret Fetzer |
| There's Something About Mary | 1998 | 119 mins | Comedy; Romance | A man gets a chance to meet up with his dream girl from highschool, even though his date with her back then was a complete disaster. |
| A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | 1996 | 108 mins | Comedy; Thriller; Crime; Romance | An observable, fast-talking party man Darnell Wright (Lawrence), gets his punishment when one of his... |
| The Thing About My Folks | 2005 | 96 mins | Comedy | The Thing About My Folks is a heart warming tale of family bonds and enduring love. After 47 years of marriage, Ben's (Paul Reiser) mother unexpectedly leaves her husband. With no where else to turn, Ben's father Sam (Peter Falk) is forced to spend time and get to know his son. Hysterical antics ensue as Ben and Sam strengthen their father/son relationship while Ben helps his father rekindle the romance with his mother. |
| Thirteen | 2002 | 100 mins | Drama | Prolific production designer and art director Catherine Hardwicke makes her directorial debut with the coming-of-age drama Thirteen. Los Angeles teenager and overachiever Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is an excellent student in her seventh grade class and gets along well with her mother, Melanie (Holly Hunter). She fears that she's not cool enough to be friends with Evie (Nikki Reed), the most popular girl in school. Fueled with genuine adolescent energy, Tracy follows Evie's lead into the harsh realities of sex, drugs, and hard-edged adventure. Consumed with temptations and conflicting desires, Tracy loses her good-girl identity, greatly affecting her relationship with her mom. Partly autobiographical, Thirteen was co-written by Hardwicke and actual 13-year-old Reed, who are close family friends. Originally intending to write a teen comedy, they ended up creating a hard-hitting drama exposing the contemporary teenage experience. Thirteen was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, with Catherine Hardwicke taking home the Director's Award. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Thirteen Ghosts | 2001 | 91 mins | Horror | Cool sets, gory make-up, and frantic energy are given high priority in this glossy remake of William Castle's 1960 haunted-house chiller. The original boasted its "Illusion-O" ghost-viewing gimmick, so this remake's producers--as they did with 1999's The House on Haunted Hill--up the ante on Castle's showmanship by spilling ample amounts of blood, guts, and ghoulish glory. The plot's essentially the same: An impoverished family inherits a luxurious haunted mansion, only this time it's an elaborate, maze-like mechanism of glass, gears, and Latin incantations--"designed by the devil and powered by the dead"--with a cellar full of tormented, undead souls. As the family (including Tony Shalhoub and American Pie's Shannon Elizabeth) enlists the aid of a psychic (Scream alumnus Matthew Lillard) and a ghostbusting paranormal (Embeth Davidtz), this updated 13 Ghosts grows loud and ludicrous, trading shocks for yuks and nuance for nonsense. It's fun, to a point, after which it's just exhausting. --Jeff Shannon |
| The Thomas Crown Affair | 1999 | 113 mins | Romance; Thriller; Comedy; Crime | A very rich and successful playboy amuses himself by stealing artwork, but may have met his match in a seductive detective. |
| Three Kings | 1999 | 115 mins | War; Action; Adventure; Comedy; Drama | Three stars team up for this unusual look at America's role in the war against Iraq. In 1991, as the Gulf War winds to a close, three American servicemen find themselves happy to have achieved victory but wondering about the ultimate importance of what they've done (especially since Saddam Hussein is still in power). Major Archie Gates (George Clooney) is a decorated Vietnam veteran and special forces officer with two weeks to go before he retires; Sgt. Troy Barlow (Mark Wahlberg) has a new baby at home; and Chief Elgin (Ice Cube) is probably just going to end up back in Detroit. So when one of them comes across a map that seems to point out where Saddam's forces have stashed a large cache of gold they stole from Kuwait, they decide to follow the trail and take some of the war booty for themselves. However, the deeper they journey into Iraq, the more they see of the consequences of America's policies in the Middle East. Although President George Bush and the American military urged Iraqi citizens to rise up against Saddam Hussein, and pledged their support to a people's movement against the leader, Iraqis found that when they took to the streets against Saddam, the United States did not back them up, and the loss of Iraqi lives was fearsome. When Gates, Barlow and Elgin become aware of what's happening, they're torn between their desire to grab the fortune they came for and the demands of their conscience to help the people they came to liberate. Three Kings was directed by David O. Russell and marked a significant change of direction after his dark-humored relationship comedies, Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster. — Mark Deming |
| Timeline | 2003 | 138 mins | Adventure; Fantasy; Sci-Fi | Directing his first film since 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, Richard Donner helmed this big-budget adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel of the same name. Featuring a script by first-time screenwriter George Nolfi, Timeline begins in France in the near future. A group of students from Yale are there studying a medieval site, when their professor, played by Billy Connolly, mysteriously goes missing. To make matters more enigmatic, the students are then taken back to the United States by a shadowy technology company called ITC, led by Robert Doniger (David Thewlis). The eccentric Doniger explains that because of a machine that his company built, their professor is trapped in 14th century France. In order to rescue him, two of the students, Chris Hughes (Paul Walker) and Kate Erickson (Frances O'Connor), along with Andre Marek (Gerard Butler), an archeological site manager, must travel to France, circa 1357, amid archaic war, deadly diseases, and other unexpected pitfalls. Meanwhile, David Stern (Ethan Embry), a third student, stays behind to keep an eye on the shady Doniger. — Matthew Tobey |
| To Catch a Thief | 1955 | 103 mins | Mystery; Romance; Thriller | A jewel thief is at large on the Riviera, and all evidence points to retired cat burglar Cary Grant. Escaping the law, Grant heads to the Cote D'Azur, where he is greeted with hostility by his old partners in crime. All of them had been pardoned due to their courageous activities in the wartime Resistance, and all are in danger of arrest thanks to this new crime wave. But Grant pleads innocence, and vows to find out who's been copying his distinctive style. With the reluctant aid of detective John Williams, Grant launches his investigation by keeping tabs on the wealthiest vacationers on the Riviera. One such person is heavily bejeweled Jessie Royce Landis, who is as brash and outspoken as her daughter Grace Kelly is quiet and demure. But "still waters run deep," as they say, and soon Kelly is amorously pursuing the far-from-resistant Grant. Part of Kelly's attraction to Grant is the possibility that he is the thief; the prospect of danger really turns this gal on. Being Cary Grant, of course, he can't possibly be guilty, which is proven in due time. But by film's end, it's obvious that Kelly has fallen hard for Grant, crook or no crook. Occasionally written off as a lesser Alfred Hitchcock film (did we really need that third-act fashion show?), To Catch a Thief is actually as enjoyable and engaging now as it was 40 years ago. Though the Riviera location photography is pleasing, our favorite scene takes place in a Paramount Studios mockup of a luxury hotel suite, where Grant and Kelly make love while a fireworks display orgasmically erupts outside their window. And who could forget the scene where Jessie Royce Landis disdainfully stubs out a cigarette in an expensive plate of eggs? Adapted by frequent Hitchcock collaborator John Michael Hayes from a novel by David Dodge To Catch a Thief won an Academy Award for cinematographer Robert Burks. — Hal Erickson |
| Tom and Jerry Blast Off to Mars | 2005 | 75 mins | Animation | While carrying on their usual hi-jinks, they inadvertantly stow-away on a spaceship bound for Mars.... |
| Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry | 2005 | 75 mins | Animation; Adventure; Comedy | When Reality TV's new sensations are a cat and mouse, it makes for madcap, merry movie fun! The chase is on! And so is the dizziest amazing race in history when the world’s favorite cat-and-mouse team gets booted out of their happy home...because they destroy it! Reality TV is their next stop as they sign up as competitors in The Fabulous Super Race, where the grand prize is a huge dream mansion! The head of Globwobbler Studios is thrilled when Tom and Jerry's fast and furry antics create a ratings sensation. You'll be too as each new race gets more and more hilariously challenging - going from super-fast cars to underwater vehicles to jumpy jet skis and - for a blast of a grand finale - to rocket-powered jet aircraft. In this feature-length family delight, every viewer finishes first! |
| Tom and Jerry's Greatest Chases | 2000 | 89 mins | Animation | Tom and Jerry's 14 Greatest Cartoons - Over 1 Hour of Fun! The fast and furr-ious Tom and Jerry are at it again. They cause fireworks in Yankee Doodle Mouse, hit the beach in Salt Water Tabby, tear up the links in Tee For Two and crack the ice in Mice Follies. Tom plays piano in The Cat Concerto, plucks strings in Solid Serenade, and lends vocals to Zoot Cat, while Jerry duets in Johann Mouse. Jerry transforms in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse, and becomes a Mouse in Manhattan. Meet their new friends in Jerry and the Lion. The Little Orphan, Kitty Foiled, and learn cat-trapping secrets from Jerry's Diary. Bonus Footage: Jerry dances with Gene Kelly in a wonderous sequence from Anchors Aweigh. |
| Tomcats | 2001 | 95 mins | Comedy | Seven years ago, a bunch of friends make a bet that'll give the last remaining bachelor a ton of money... |
| Torque | 2004 | 81 mins | Action; Crime; Thriller | Shelved for almost a full year, the feature-film debut of acclaimed music video director Joseph Kahn, Torque is an action thriller set in the fast-paced, high-adrenaline world of biker gangs. Martin Henderson (The Ring) stars as Cary, a biker who is framed for the murder of a gang leader Trey's (Ice Cube) brother by Henry (Matt Schulze). Now, Cary finds himself on the run from both Trey's gang and the FBI, headed by the wise-cracking Agent McPherson Adam Scott. From Neal H. Moritz, producer of The Fast and the Furious and XXX, Torque co-stars Jaime Pressly and Monet Mazur. — Matthew Tobey |
| Toy Story | 1995 | 81 mins | Animation; Adventure; Comedy; Family; Fantasy | A cowboy toy is profoundly threatened and jealous when a fancy spaceman toy supplants him as top toy in a boy's room. |
| Toy Story 2 | 1999 | 92 mins | Animation; Family; Comedy; Fantasy | When Woody is stolen by a toy collector, Buzz and his friends vow to rescue him, but Woody finds the idea of immortality in a museum tempting. |
| Traffic | 2000 | 147 mins | Crime; Drama; Thriller | Described by director Steven Soderbergh as "Nashville meets The French Connection," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse — a secret that his wife, Barbara (Amy Irving), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya (Steven Bauer) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena (Catharine Zeta-Jones). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid), Helena decides to carry on the family business — with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan, Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich, as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor (Del Toro) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gaghan), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone's editing and Soderbergh's direction. — Michael Hastings |
| Training Day | 2002 | Action; Drama | A powerhouse performance by Denzel Washington fuels Training Day, a brutal urban police drama in which a rookie narcotics cop learns the hard way that even good cops can go very, very bad. Washington plays veteran detective Alonzo Harris, a self-proclaimed "wolf among wolves", eager to teach his rookie partner Jake (Ethan Hawke) that normal rules don't apply on the mean streets of Los Angeles. Caught in a web of deception, Jake watches with escalating horror as Alonzo uses his badge (and the support of his superiors) to justify a self-righteous policy of corruption. In stark contrast to most of his previous work, Washington unleashes his dark side with fearlessness and fury, and the result is excellence without compromise. Director Antoine Fuqua (The Replacement Killers) won't score any points for subtlety, but gritty details (including actual LA gang members as extras) and Hawke's finely tuned performance are perfectly matched to Washington's frightening volatility. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com On the DVD: Training Day's special features include an HBO documentary which actually provides some insight into the structure of the film rather than simply adding glitz and glamour. Antoine Fuqua's feature commentary is intimate, suggesting his heart and soul went into this movie. The extra scenes also add to the enjoyment of the movie, the only disappointment being that there is no additional commentary to explain the cuts. The alternative ending ties up a few of the loose ends which are left at the close of the theatrical release. Out of the two music videos it is Pharoahe Monch's "Got You" that fits in best with the style of the film, having a much bassier street-level feel than Nelly's "#1" chart-friendly hip-hop. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack allows you to feel like you're pumping out the beats from your BMW and the 2.35:1 widescreen is a slick as Denzel Washington's gun moves. --Nikki Disney |
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| Trainspotting | 1996 | 94 mins | Comedy; Crime; Drama | Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends. |
| Transamerica | 2005 | 103 mins | Adventure; Comedy; Drama | A pre-operative male-to-female transsexual takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she fathered a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York. |
| The Transporter | 2002 | 92 mins | Action; Thriller; Crime | An outlaw finds his life becoming all the more dangerous when he turns against a gang of criminals in this action drama. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a former Special Forces officer who lives on the French Mediterranean and has a lucrative second career as a underworld courier for hire. Martin will deliver anything anywhere, but he has three iron-clad rules - once the plan is in motion it cannot be changed, neither he nor his customers are to ever use their real names, and under no circumstances will he open the package. Martin is hired to make a delivery to a wealthy but unscrupulous American known as Wall Street (Matt Schulze), but after taking possession of the package he realizes that whatever is inside happens to be alive. Breaking his own rule, Martin opens the bag to discover a beautiful Asian woman, Lai (Shu Qi), who is bound and gagged. Lai briefly escapes, but Martin captures her, and delivers her to Wall Street as promised. However, after being given a parcel to deliver by Wall Street, Martin finds out what Wall Street is up to - in partnership with Lai's father Mr. Kwai (Ric Young), Wall Street is part of a scheme to smuggle Asian illegal aliens into France. Martin's conscience gets the better of him, and he sets out to rescue Lai and put Wall Street and Mr. Kwai out of business; however, as if this wasn't enough of a challenge, Martin discovers a French detective, Tarconi (Francois Berleand) has gotten wind of his illegal business. The Transporter was the first English-language feature for Hong Kong-based director Corey Yuen, who along with directing a number of HK action flicks designed fight choreography for several American films. — Mark Deming |
| Transporter 2 | 2005 | 96 mins | Action; Thriller | Transporter 2 knows what its audience wants and--like its title character--it delivers. This is a movie that has not only a fight choreographer but also a car stunt choreographer; a movie in which a female assassin wears nothing but a bra and panties because, presumably, additional clothing would be too cumbersome; a movie in which crashing through a concrete wall in order to leap over a four-lane street will not even rumple the hood of the hero's car; a movie in which a drunken supermodel, after her advances are chastely and gently rebuffed by the hero, says "Thanks for the respect--that's what I needed most"; a movie, in short, for those who liked the first Transporter but found it too subdued and character-driven. Jason Statham (The Italian Job) reprises his role as Frank Martin, a perhaps overly diligent chauffer who will break bones if his duty is impeded. The sheer glee with which Transporter 2 casts aside logic, probability, and the laws of physics is infectious. If the sequence in which Frank flips his car upside-down in order to detach the bomb attached to his undercarriage doesn't reduce you to intoxicated giggles, well...you're watching the wrong movie. Transporter 2 is utterly shameless, unstoppably ridiculous, and completely enjoyable. Also featuring Amber Valetta (Hitch), Jason Flemyng (Snatch), and Matthew Modine. --Bret Fetzer |
| Treasure Planet | 2002 | 95 mins | Adventure; Animation; Family; Sci-Fi | Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of adventure Treasure Island gets a science fiction update in this animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures. Jim (voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young man who grew up reading tales of pirates and adventures on the high seas, and longs for similar excitement in his own life. One day, Jim happens upon a dying man who hands him a map and warns him to "Beware the cyborg" shortly before he passes on. Upon careful examination, Jim realizes the map charts the course to Treasure Planet, a distant world where hundreds of space pirates have stashed their loot. Jim is certain this is the adventure he's been dreaming off, and joins the crew of the spaceship R.L.S. Legacy and Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson) as they set out to find the fabled Treasure Planet. While Jim signs on along with his friend Dr. Doppler (voice of David Hyde Pierce), he soon becomes close friends with John Silver (voice of Brian Murray), who works in the galley but has big plans. Jim discovers just how big his plans are when Silver reveals he's part cyborg and all pirate, instigating a mutiny and attempting to take control of the ship. Despite his friendship with Silver, Jim refuses to take part in the mutiny, and soon finds himself attempting to defend law and order against a spacecraft full of reckless men. Treasure Planet's voice cast also includes Michael Wincott and Martin Short; Johnny Rzeznik from the rock group The Goo Goo Dolls contributed new music for the soundtrack. — Mark Deming |
| Tremors 4 | 2004 | 101 mins | Action; Comedy; Horror; Sci-Fi; Thriller; Western | The worms are back but this time in a prequel, set in the 1800s. |
| Tristan + Isolde | 2006 | 125 mins | Action; Drama; Romance | An affair between a very noble knight (Franco) and the very married future Queen of England (Myles) spells doom for the young lovers. (view trailer) |
| Troy | 2004 | 163 mins | Action; Drama; War; Adventure; Romance | An adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved. |
| True Lies | 1994 | 144 mins | Action; Adventure; Comedy; Romance; Thriller | When a secret agent learns of his wife's extra-marital affair, he pursues her and uses his intelligence resources in a job he kept secret from her. |
| Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake | 2001 | 104 mins | Documentary | This documentary chronicles the story of hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur, who enjoyed great popularity and notoriety until his short life ended in violence. The inside story of the last year of the singer's life is told by his bodyguard Frank Alexander. The viewer learns about the world Shakur inhabited and the events that culminated in his murder. The L.A. police detective who investigated the case gives his point of view. The president of Shakur's recording company, Death Row Records, shares his insights about the young artist. There are clips from several of Shakur's recording sessions, including that for the hit song "Until the End of Time." — Rose of Sharon Winter |
| Turtles 2 - Das Geheimnis von Ooze | 85 mins | Fantasy | Die Turtles suchen ein neues Zuhause und finden ein stillgelegtes U-Bahn-Depot als Domizil. Sie ahnen nicht, dass Shredder, der Oberbösewicht, wieder unter ihnen ist. In den Sümpfen vor dem Gelände von T.G.R.I. findet er Behälter mit Ooze, jener radioaktiven Flüssigkeit, die vier normale Schildkröten in Turtles verwandelte. Shredder experimentiert mit einer kleinen Schnappschildkröte und einem Schäferhundbaby. Als Rhazar und Tokka sollen sie die Turtles vernichten, doch sie sind zwar grausam, aber tapsig. Raphael kann gar einer Gefangenschaft entfliehen. Schließlich nimmt Shredder selbst Ooze ein und stellt sich, mutiert zu den Klängen von Vanilla Ice, den Turtles in einer Disco. | |
| Tuxedo, The | 2002 | 98 mins | Action; Comedy; Sci-Fi | Clothes make the superspy in this high-energy action comedy. Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) is a well-meaning but clumsy New York City cab driver who is tapped by Steena (Debi Mazar), associate to multi-millionaire Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), for a new job as Devlin's personal limo driver. After a mysterious accident lands Devlin in the hospital, Tong learns that his new boss has a secret — when he's not wheeling and dealing in high finance, Devlin is also a secret agent for the CSA, a top-level security agency. The secret to Devlin's success as a spy is his trademark tuxedo, a suit which is loaded with special gadgets which turns him into a high-tech fighting machine. After Tong dons the tuxedo and is transformed into a martial arts master, he takes over for Devlin and discovers that the agent's injuries didn't happen by accident. As Tong tries to chase down a handful of international super-villains bent on world conquest, he has to deal with Devlin's new partner, Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a CSA rookie who is just as baffled by her new assignment as Tong. The Tuxedo marked the feature-film debut for director Kevin Donovan, who had previously won international acclaim for his work in television commercials. — Mark Deming |
| Twisted | 2004 | 97 mins | Thriller | Philip Kaufman directs the detective thriller Twisted (originally to be titled The Blackout Murders), with a script by up-and-coming filmmaker Sarah Thorp. Ashley Judd plays troubled police detective Jessica Shepard, who works under the jurisdiction of the man who raised her as his daughter, police Commissioner Mills (Samuel L. Jackson). While investigating a serial murder case, Jessica — who is has a proclivity for dangerous, drunken one-night-stands — discovers that all of the victims are men whom she's recently bedded. Complicating matters are her bitter ex-boyfriend (Mark Pellegrino), her very curious therapist (David Strathairn), and her odd-behaving new partner Mike Delmarco (Andy Garcia). — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Two Brothers | 2004 | 105 mins | Family | Two mischievous twin tiger cubs live a carefree life in an exotic jungle amidst beautiful ancient ruins. But one day, an act of fate forces them apart, as one is sold off to the circus and the other becomes the pampered pet of a governor's son. Witness the remarkable journey as these tigers grow up, reunite, and embark on an incredible adventure to find their way home. From Jean-Jacques Annaud, the highly-acclaimed director of The Bear, comes a heartwarming story about the power of friendship and the bond between brothers. Guy Pearce (Memento, LA Confidential) stars as a treasure hunter whose own spirit is unexpectedly tamed by the tigers in this timeless tale for the whole family! |
| Two for the Money | 2005 | 122 mins | Drama; Sport &sZocker Thriller | Ein Football-Star (Matthew McConaughey), der sich auf dem Höhepunkt seiner Karriere eine Knieverletzung zuzieht, muss sich dadurch nach einem neuen Beruf umschauen und gerät dabei an den Besitzer eines Wettbüros. |
| Tyler Perry: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (play) | 2001 | 116 mins | | |
| Tyler Perry: I Can Do Bad All By Myself (play) | 1999 | | ||
| Tyler Perry: Madea's Class Reunion (play) | 2005 | 125 mins | Class is in session - and Madea's gonna teach you a lesson! When Madea (Tyler Perry) shows up for her 50th class reunion, you know it's going to be a whopper! Between the belly laughs and the soulful songs are life lessons. Thanks to Madea's wisdom, the message is clear: Learn to forgive and begin with yourself. |
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| Tyler Perry: Madea's Family Reunion (play) | 2005 | |||
| Tyler Perry: Meet the Browns (play) | 2004 | | ||
| Ultimate Avengers | 2006 | 72 mins | Animation; Action; Adventure | Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, returns to the world after being frozen in ice for 60 years... |
| Ultraviolet | 2006 | 88 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | A beautiful vampire in a futuristic world has to protect a boy, who is in fact a secret weapon: the cure for all the humans transformed in vampires. |
| Underclassman | 2005 | 95 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime; Drama; Thriller | A young detective goes undercover at an elite private school to destroy an international stolen car ring. (view trailer) |
| Underworld | 2003 | 121 mins | Action; Fantasy; Horror; Thriller | A young man who has pledged his life to helping others finds himself in a pitched battle between two gangs of supernatural villains in this blend of horror story and action thriller. Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman) is a medical student who is heading home after a long day of school and work when he unexpectedly finds himself in the middle of what appears to be a rumble between two well turned-out street gangs. What Michael doesn't know is he has witnessed a skirmish between two deadly underground communities, unknown to the mortal world, who are battling for supremacy — the Death Dealers, a tribe of vampires, and the Lycans, a band of werewolves. Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a leading member of the Death Dealers who hears through the grapevine that the Lycans have plans to capture the aspiring doctor who witnessed their battle. Certain something is in the air, Selene begins following Michael around the city, and she finds herself growing emotionally attached to him. As Selene becomes more attracted to Michael, she becomes more convinced that the Lycans are planning a major attack against the Death Dealers, although vampire kingpin Kraven (Shane Brolly) is certain she's crediting the Lycans with more intelligence than they can muster. As Selene shadows Michael, she finds herself wanting to protect him, but her longing becomes a handicap when he's attacked by Lucian (Michael Sheen), the leader of the werewolf community, and the man she wants to save has now become a sworn enemy. Underworld was the first feature film from music video director Len Wiseman. — Mark Deming |
| Underworld - Evolution | 2006 | 106 mins | Action | Better action, a bit of sex, and gorier R-rated violence make Underworld: Evolution a reasonably satisfying sequel to 2003's surprise hit Underworld. Looking stunning as ever in her black leather battle gear, Kate Beckinsale is every goth guy's fantasy as Selene, the vampire "death dealer" who's now fighting to stop the release of the original "Lycan" werewolf, William (Brian Steele) from the prison that's held him for centuries. As we learn from the film's action-packed prologue, William and his brother Marcus (Tony Curran) began the bloodline of vampires and werewolves, and after witnessing centuries of warfare between them, their immortal father Corvinus (Derek Jacobi) now seeks Selene and the human vampire/lycan hybrid Michael (Scott Speedman) to put an end to the war perpetuated by Victor (Bill Nighy), the vampire warrior whose betrayal of Selene turns Underworld: Evolution into an epic tale of familial revenge. This ambitious attempt at Shakespearean horror is compromised by a script (by Danny McBride and returning director Len Wiseman, Beckinsale's real-life husband) that's more confusing than it needs to be, with too many characters and not enough storytelling detail to flesh them all out. Aspiring to greatness and falling well short of that goal, Underworld: Evolution succeeds instead as a full-throttle action/horror thriller, with enough swordplay, gunplay, and CGI monsters to justify the continuation of the Underworld franchise. If you're an established fan, this is a must-see movie; if not, well... at least it's better than Van Helsing! --Jeff Shannon |
| Undisputed | 2002 | 94 mins | Drama; Action; Crime | Director and screenwriter Walter Hill returns to one of his favorite themes — desperate and violent men using force to escape from an unforgiving environment — in this action drama set behind bars. Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes) was once a promising heavyweight contender until he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without parole at the Sweetwater maximum security prison in California. Now, Hutchen boxes behind bars, and he's become the champion of a loosely organized prison fighting circuit. When heavyweight champion James "Iceman" Chambers (Ving Rhames) enters Sweetwater after being convicted of rape, Hutchens finds he serious competitor in the same lockup for the first time, though Chambers scoffs at the jailhouse champ. After Hutchens challenges the arrogant Chambers to a bout, aging Mafioso "Mendy" Ripstein (Peter Falk) swings a deal that will earn Chambers an early release from prison and pull in a million dollars in bets from guards and inmates if the two men will meet in the ring for a last-man-standing bout without referees. Undisputed also features Michael Rooker, Fisher Stevens, rapper Master P, and former Yo! MTV Raps host Ed Lover. — Mark Deming |
| United 93 | 2006 | 90 mins | Drama; History | A real time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot. |
| The United States of Leland | 2002 | 108 mins | Drama; Crime | Produced by Kevin Spacey, The United States of Leland is a psychological drama concerning the aftereffects of a brutal murder. It's also the first big-studio theatrical release for writer/director Matthew Ryan Hoge, whose previous work consists of the independent comedy Self Storage. Ryan Gosling plays Leland, an imprisoned teenager doing time for the stabbing murder of a disabled boy. Prison writing teacher Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle) gets caught up in the story with the intention of making a book out of it, especially when he finds out that Leland's father is the famous novelist Albert Fitzgerald (Spacey). Pearl's investigation uncovers some of the details and effects of the murder for everyone involved, including the victim's parents, Harry (Martin Donovan) and Karen Pollard (Ann Magnuson). Jena Malone plays Becky, the teenage junkie who is both Leland's ex-girlfriend and the victim's sister. The situation also complicates the relationship between Becky's older sister, Jennifer (Michelle Williams), and her sensitive boyfriend, Allen (Chris Klein). The United States of Leland premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Unleashed | 2005 | 102 mins | Thriller; Action; Drama | This is the story of Danny(Li), a slave who has lived his whole life without any sort of normal human education... |
| The Upside of Anger | 2005 | 118 mins | Drama; Comedy; Romance | When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and her daughters juggle their mom's romantic dilemmas and family dynamics. |
| Uptown Girls | 2003 | 92 mins | Comedy; Drama | A New York socialite takes a job as a nanny of a precocious child to regain the respect of her boyfriend. |
| The Usual Suspects | 1995 | 106 mins | Crime; Thriller; Mystery | Five villains in New York are rounded up by police in an unconventional manner that worries them. After release, they get together for a spot of revenge, but someone else is controling events. |
| V for Vendetta | 2006 | 30 mins | Action | "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film V For Vendetta. His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who ironically played Winston Smith in the movie 1984) whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After gaining power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot and his philosophy on how to induce change. Based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, V For Vendetta's screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers (of The Matrix fame) and directed their protégé by James McTeigue. Controversy and criticism followed the film since its inception, from the hyper-stylized use of anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the current US political arena, to graphic novel fans complaining about the reconstruction of Alan Moore's original vision (Moore himself has dismissed the film). Many are valid critiques and opinions, but there's no hiding the message the film is trying to express: Radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change. Unfortunately, the movie only offers a means with no ends, and those looking for answers may find the film stylish, but a bit empty. --Rob Bracco |
| Valiant | 2005 | 76 mins | Adventure; Animation; Comedy; Family; War | The animated comedy tells the story of a lowly wood pigeon named Valiant, who overcomes his small size... |
| Van Helsing | 2004 | 132 mins | Action; Adventure; Horror; Fantasy; Thriller | The greatest monster hunter of them all has his work cut out for him as he tracks down three deadly foes in this action-adventure saga. Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is a man who has dedicated his life to battling evil forces who exist outside the bounds of nature; Van Helsing's work has not always made him friends, and a false accusation of murder still trails him. But when he's summoned to Transylvania at the behest of Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale), whose family has been fighting supernatural beings for generations, Van Helsing wastes no time answering her call. There, Van Helsing discovers that the undying vampire Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) has put a misshapen creature named Igor (Kevin J. O'Connor) under his spell, and, in turn, has forged an alliance with a hideous monster (Shuler Hensley) who was created by the misguided Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Samuel West). Adding to Anna's burden is her brother, Velkan (Will Kemp), a lycanthrope who becomes a bloodthirsty wolf under the light of the full moon. Van Helsing also co-stars Elena Anaya, Silvia Colloca, and Josie Maran as Dracula's vampire brides. — Mark Deming |
| Vanity Fair | 2004 | 140 mins | Drama | William Makepeace Thackeray's witty assessment of the British class system, as seen through the experiences of one young woman, is brought to the screen with some serious star power in this period comedy drama. Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) is a bright and ambitious girl born to a poor British family. Becky is determined to make something of herself however she can, and after accepting a job as a nanny for the children of the powerful and aristocratic Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins), she wastes no time ingratiating herself with the family. Pretty Becky catches the eye of Crawley's handsome and eligible son Rawdon (James Purefoy), and becomes chummy with sharp-tongued Aunt Matilda (Eileen Atkins). Between the two of them, Becky is introduced to London's most exclusive social circle, where she becomes re-acquainted with Amelia Sedley (Romola Garai), a former school chum who is amused by Becky's efforts to scale the ladder of social influence. Becky weds Rawdon, but following initial happiness, the social and economic stability she dreamed of begins to collapse when he begins drowning his troubles in gambling and drink, and soon she turns to the powerful Marquess of Steyne (Gabriel Byrne) for support. Meanwhile, Amelia's fortunes fall even harder following the death of her husband. Vanity Fair was directed by Mira Nair, who enjoyed a surprise international success with 2002's Monsoon Wedding. — Mark Deming |
| Very Long Engagement, A | 2004 | 133 mins | Romance | In 1919, Mathilde was 19 years old. Two years earlier, her fiancé Manech left for the front at the Somme. Like millions of others he was "killed on the field of battle." It's written in black and white on the official notice. But Mathilde refuses to believe it. If Manech had died, she would know. She hangs on to her intuition as tightly as she would onto the last thread of hope linking her to her lover. A former sergeant tells her in vain that Manech died in the no man's land of a trench named Bingo Crepescule, in the company of four other men condemned to die for self-inflicted wounds. Her path ahead is full of obstacles but Mathilde is not frightened. Anything is possible to someone who is willing to challenge fate... |
| The Village | 2004 | 108 mins | Drama; Thriller | The population of a small, isolated countryside village believe that their alliance with the mythical creatures that inhabit the forest around them, is coming to an end. |
| Waist Deep | 2006 | 97 mins | Drama; Thriller; Crime; Action | An ex-convict (Tyrese) gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside. |
| Waiting... | 2005 | 93 mins | Comedy | Young employees at Shenanigan's restaurant collectively stave off boredom and adulthood with their antics. (view trailer) |
| Walk to Remember, A | 2002 | 101 mins | Romance | The best-seller by sentimental novelist Nicholas Sparks becomes this teen melodrama set in a coastal North Carolina port. Cocky, popular high school student Landon Carter (Shane West) is the big man on campus at Beaufort High School until a hazing incident leaves a fellow student paralyzed. Sentenced to community service and membership in his school's drama club, Landon is forced to seek help from Jamie Sullivan (pop singer Mandy Moore), the conservative, religious, plain-Jane daughter of the town's Baptist minister (Peter Coyote). When the two students begin to fall in love, Landon struggles with the drop in popularity that his new friendship brings, while Jamie is forced to deal with her strict father and a secret that she's keeping from her schoolmates. A Walk to Remember, which co-stars Daryl Hannah, is the second of Sparks' novels to make it to the big screen after Message in a Bottle (1999). — Karl Williams |
| Walking Tall | 2004 | 87 mins | Action; Drama; Thriller | A man fights to bring decency and the rule of law back to his hometown in this action drama. Chris Vaughn (The Rock) left his home in Washington State's timber country to join the Army, where he distinguished himself as a member of the Special Forces. When his hitch is over, Vaughn decides to return home to help run the family business, a sawmill, but he soon makes the unpleasant discovery that things aren't what they once were. Vaughn learns that the town's lumber industry has all but dried up, and an old high school buddy, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), has turned the city into a den of vice, running a large gambling casino and strip club while selling drugs and women on the side. Angry at this turn of events, and frustrated by local law enforcement officials who are willing to ignore Hamilton's crimes in exchange for kickbacks, Vaughn decides to run for sheriff, and with the help of another old friend, Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), he wins the election. But Hamilton doesn't take kindly to Vaughn's attempts to clean up the town, and Vaughn discovers Hamilton's henchmen are willing to target his friends, his family, and the woman he loves (Ashley Scott) in order to have their way. Walking Tall was based on Phil Karlson's 1973 action hit of the same name, which was in turn inspired by the true story of Buford Pusser, who was sheriff of Tennessee's McNairy County between 1964 and 1970 and gained fame for his tough tactics against the local criminal element. — Mark Deming |
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit | 2005 | 85 mins | Animation; Family | Coming Soon! |
| War of the Worlds | 2005 | 116 mins | Action; Adventure; Sci-Fi; Thriller | As Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines, one family fights for survival. |
| War Stories | 2003 | 95 mins | Drama | |
| The Warriors | 1979 | 93 mins | Action; Crime; Drama | The Warriors are mistakenly accused of killing a big time gang leader named Cyrus. Soon they have every gang in the city out to get revenge... |
| Wash, The | 2001 | 96 mins | Comedy | This throwback to the frolicsome comedies of the 1970s is from writer/director D.J. Pooh, creator of Friday (1995) and 3 Strikes (2000). Dr. Dre stars as Sean, who's financially strapped and on the verge of losing his home and his car until his roommate Dee Loc Snoop Dogg suggests he join him as an employee at the local car wash. Tensions mount between the pals when the establishment's eccentric owner Mr. Washington (George Wallace) promotes the more mature and responsible Sean over Dee Loc, and Sean is subsequently forced to crack down on his scamming buddy's side hustles and locker room assignations with female co-workers. When their boss is kidnapped, however, Sean and Dee Loc must work together to save their employer, their jobs, and their friendship. Angell Conwell and Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. co-star in this urban farce flavored with a hip-hop soundtrack. — Karl Williams |
| Wayne's World | 1992 | 93 mins | Comedy | Based on the Saturday Night Live sketch of the same name, Wayne's World is a wacky, irreverent pop-culture comedy about the adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey). From Wayne's basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called "Wayne's World" on local public access television. The show comes to the attention of a sleazy network executive (Rob Lowe) who wants to produce a big-budget version of "Wayne's World"—and he also wants Wayne's girlfriend, a rock singer named Cassandra (Tia Carrere). Wayne and Garth have to battle the executive not only to save their show, but also Cassandra. Director Penelope Spheeris, Myers and Carvey hang a lot of silly, but funny, jokes on this thin plot, and the energy of the cast—as well as the wild pop-culture references—make Wayne's World a cut above the average Saturday Night Live spin-off movie. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
| Wayne's World 2 | 1993 | 94 mins | Comedy | Everyone's favorite headbangers from Aurora, Illinois, are back in this sequel to the 1992 hit comedy Wayne's World. The success of their TV show allows Wayne Campbell (Mike Myers) and Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) to finally move out of their parents' homes, but now they have to figure out what to do with their lives. Wayne's girlfriend, up-and-coming rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere), is enjoying a career boost thanks to her new manager Bobby Cohn (Christopher Walker), but Garth thinks that Bobby is more interested in her body than her place on the charts. Meanwhile, Wayne is visited in a dream by the late Jim Morrison (Michael A. Nickles), who convinces him to promote a massive rock festival, "Waynestock," featuring Aerosmith as headliners. Garth, on the other hand, is finally relieved of his pesky virginity by femme fatale Honey Hornee (Kim Basinger), though it turns out that Honey has a hidden agenda. Drew Barrymore, Harry Shearer, and Charlton Heston play cameo roles in Wayne's World 2, and Jay Leno, Rip Taylor, and Todd Rundgren appear as themselves. — Mark Deming |
| Weather Man, The | 2005 | 101 mins | Comedy; Drama | A Chicago weather man (Cage), separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive. |
| Wedding Crashers | 2005 | 119 mins | Comedy; Romance | John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Cleary. |
| The Wedding Date | 2005 | 90 mins | Comedy; Romance | Single-girl anxiety causes Kat Ellis (Messing) to hire a male escort (Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend at her sister's wedding. Her plan, an attempt to dupe her ex-fiancé, who dumped her a couple years prior, proves to be her undoing. |
| The Wedding Singer | 1998 | 95 mins | Comedy; Romance; Music | Robbie, the singer and Julia, the waitress are both engaged to be married but to the wrong people. Fortune intervenes to help them discover each other. |
| Weekend at Bernie's | 1989 | 97 mins | Adventure; Comedy | A pair of losers try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, but the murderer is out to "finish him off." |
| Weekend At Bernie's II | 1993 | 89 mins | Comedy | Bernie's Back…And He's Still Dead! The comic sequel to the smash original Weekend At Bernie's reunites Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman and Terry Kiser for more slapstick fun in the sun! This time, insurance clerks Larry (McCarthy) and Richard (Silverman) return to work after their original weekend with Bernie (Kiser) only to discover they've been fired. And the $2 million Bernie stole from the company is stashed in the Virgin Islands. Ever resourceful, these two party animals head to the Caribbean, where a voodoo priestess resurrects Bernie from the dead so he can lead her to the money. With an insurance investigator (Barry Bostwick) on their tails, a voodoo spell on their heads and a beautiful islander (Troy Beyer) at their side, Larry and Richard go for the gold…and discover that sometimes you're better off dead! |
| Welcome to Mooseport | 2004 | 110 mins | Comedy | Hollywood filmmaker Donald Petrie directs the comedy Welcome to Mooseport. Gene Hackman stars as former U.S. President Monroe "The Eagle" Cole. He's retired to the small New England town of Mooseport, ME, in order to write his memoirs and relax. The retirement is put on hold, however, when he's persuaded to run for mayor of the town. Meanwhile, local hardware store owner and plumber Handy Harrison (Ray Romano) is just the sort of plaid-shirted everyman to run against him. Cole seems a sure win in the race, especially with his loyal personal assistants (Marcia Gay Harden and Fred Savage) aiding his every move. The competition gets even more severe when Handy's sweetheart Sally (Maura Tierney) comes between the two men. Welcome to Mooseport also stars Christine Baranski and Rip Torn. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| What About Bob? | 1991 | 99 mins | Comedy | In this comedy about a doctor-patient relationship pushed way beyond the office, Bill Murray plays Bob Wiley, a neurotic New Yorker struggling with a whirlwind of paralyzing phobias. When an exasperated colleague pawns the handful off on Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss), the psychologist has no idea his last appointment will follow him north to New Hampshire on a month's vacation. Bob takes to Dr. Marvin's latest book like no therapy before it, so the well-meaning pest tracks Marvin down at his lakeside summer home to further discuss his problems. But Marvin, preparing for an interview on Good Morning America and a few weeks of R and R, views Bob's stalking as highly inappropriate, and demands he return to New York. But Bob can't take even the strongest hint, and sets up camp with a neighbor to indulge in his own "vacation" — from his problems. Meanwhile, Marvin's son Sigmund (Charlie Korsmo), daughter Anna (Catherine Erbe), and wife Fay (Julie Hagerty) take to Bob's loopy charm, which Marvin views as an irritating threat. Marvin's temperature rises as Bob insinuates his way into the family, helping Sigmund learn to dive and counseling the previously ignored Anna. As Bob's stock continues to rise, and his to plummet, Marvin becomes increasingly unhinged as the minutes tick down to the interview. — Derek Armstrong |
| What Lies Beneath | 2000 | 130 mins | Horror; Mystery; Thriller; Drama | The wife of a professor investigates the murder of a beautiful college student who has been appearing to her. |
| What the #$*! Do We Know!? | 2004 | 108 mins | Comedy; Drama | "WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW?!" is a radical departure from convention. It demands a freedom of view and greatness of thought so far unknown... |
| When A Stranger Calls | 2006 | 87 mins | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | An update of the original babysitter horror classic in which the killer stalks his prey with taunting phone calls. Eventually, the police call and tell the babysitter that the calls are coming from inside the house. In this update, technology is the name of the game as the babysitter must survive until the cops can get there to save her. |
| When Will I Be Loved | 2004 | 81 mins | Drama | Neve Campbell, Dominic Chianese and Fred Weller star in this smoldering erotic thriller about a femme fatale exploring the fierce and frightening reach of her sexual power-and the red-hot fusion of money, power and desire. Directed by James Toback, When Will I Be Loved is an "illumination of sexual and identity politics" (Slant Magazine) that sizzles and seduces. |
| Where the Truth Lies | 2005 | 108 mins | Drama; Mystery | K. O'Connor, a young journalist known for her celebrity profiles, is consumed with discovering the truth behind a long-buried incident that affected the lives and careers of showbiz team Vince Collins and Lanny Morris. |
| White Chicks | 2004 | 97 mins | Crime; Comedy | |
| White Noise | 2005 | 101 mins | Mystery; Thriller; Drama; Horror | The 'White Noise' of the title refers to a phenomenon known as EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena). Listen carefully... |
| The Whole Ten Yards | 2004 | 99 mins | Action; Comedy; Crime | Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry reprise their roles as a killer for hire and a dentist with a bad case of nerves in this sequel to the comedy hit The Whole Nine Yards. Former hitman Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Bruce Willis) has retired from his life of crime and is living a quiet life of cooking and housekeeping in Mexico, despite the fact his wife, Jill (Amanda Peet), a would-be hired killer, still wants to keep her hand in the business. Tudeski has been able to convince the authorities he's dead thanks to dental records falsified by his former neighbor Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky (Matthew Perry), who lives in Los Angeles. But Oseransky discovers that not everyone is fooled by Tudeski's handiwork when his wife, Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge), is kidnapped by Lazlo Gogolak (Kevin Pollak) and his goons. Gogolak is a high-ranking member of the Hungarian mafia, and Tudeski previously murdered his son, so he's abducted Cynthia in order to get Oseransky to reveal the hired killer's current whereabouts. But Tudeski has come to like the quiet life, and isn't so sure he wants to face Gogolak and his crew for the sake of a jittery dentist who once did him a favor. Most of the principle cast of The Whole Nine Yards returned for this sequel, though director Howard Deutch stepped in to replace Jonathan Lynn, who was working on The Fighting Temptations when The Whole Ten Yards went into production. — Mark Deming |
| Who's Your Daddy? | 2002 | Comedy | ||
| Wicker Park | 2004 | Mystery; Suspense; Thriller | | |
| Wild Things 2 | 2004 | 94 mins | Thriller | Dirty deeds among the rich, poor, and generally unscrupulous have come back into style in this direct-to-video sequel to the hit Wild Things. Nigel Dunlap, a wealthy but less than honest businessman, dies unexpectedly in a light plane accident, and his teenaged step-daughter, Nicole Havers (Susan Ward), figures she's a shoo-in to inherit his fortune; however, Nicole discovers that Nigel's will stipulates that his 40-million-dollar estate is to go to a charitable foundation unless a "blood heir" can be produced. Enter Maya King (Leila Arcieri), a schoolmate of Nicole's, who claims that she's Dunlap's illegitimate daughter — according to Maya, her mother worked as a maid for the Dunlap family, and Maya was born after her mother was seduced by Nigel. Meanwhile, Terence Bridge (Isaiah Washington) is an insurance investigator whose job is to hang in the balance. His employers would just as soon not pay off the two-million-dollar life insurance policy Dunlap had taken out, and Bridge is hoping to prove that the plane wreck was no accident. — Mark Deming |
| Wimbledon | 2004 | Comedy; Familie | | |
| Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! | 2004 | 96 mins | Comedy; Romance | Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) directs the romantic comedy Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! from a screenplay by TV scriptwriter Victor Levin. Famous Hollywood actor Tad Hamilton (soap opera star Josh Duhamel making his film debut) is trying to promote his new movie. His manager (Sean Hayes) and his agent (Nathan Lane) both convince him to participate in a dating contest in order to improve his bad-boy image. The contest is won by Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth), an attractive young checkout girl who works at a Piggly Wiggly in West Virginia. When Tad ends up falling in love with her, he's willing to give up big-city life and move to small-town America. Meanwhile, her best friend and co-worker Pete (Topher Grace) is finally motivated to reveal his secret crush on her. Rosalee finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between her closest friend and a dream date. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Without a Paddle | 2004 | 99 mins | Comedy | Just as the old saying goes, a trio of hapless city-dwelling friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard) find themselves spiraling out of control up a very brown river in this raucous comedy from Little Nicky director Steven Brill. Heading out for a weekend canoe trip in search of an elusive 200,000-dollar treasure, the trio must contend with everything from raging rapids to backwoods mountain men if they're ever going to uncover the secret of the missing booty. — Jason Buchanan |
| The Wizard of Oz | 1939 | 101 mins | Family; Fantasy; Adventure; Musical | Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home. |
| Wolf Creek | 2005 | 99 mins | Adventure; Crime; Horror; Thriller | A chilling, factually-based, story of three road-trippers in remote Australia who are plunged into danger when they accept help from a friendly local. (view trailer) |
| Woman, Thou Art Loosed | 2004 | 99 mins | Drama | One woman's odyssey through a hellish life of sexual abuse, drug addiction, and crime is resolved in faith in this tough but inspiring drama based on a true story documented by evangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes. Michelle Jordan (Kimberly Elise) was raised by a single mother, Cassie (Loretta Devine), who became involved with a cruel and opportunistic man named Reggie (Clifton Powell). Reggie began displaying an inappropriate interest in Michelle when she was only eight, and at 12 he began violating her on a regular basis. Stung by her mother's denials of Reggie's wrongdoings, Michelle ran away from home and ended up on a dead-end road of drug abuse and prostitution, which led to a stretch in prison for murder. While behind bars, Michelle hears of the teachings of Bishop T.D. Jakes and his work with abused women, and writes the noted preacher in hopes of someday meeting him. To her surprise, Jakes (who plays himself) pays her a visit, and as she shares with him the story of her blighted life, she takes the first steps on the road to emotional and spiritual recovery. Jakes arranges for Michelle to have a three-day furlough from prison so she can attend a revival he's hosting in the area; opting to stay in a half-way house rather than see Cassie and Reggie, Michelle reconnects with many of her old friends during her three days of freedom, including former stripper Nicole (Idalis de Leon), childhood friend and hairdresser Twana (Debbi Morgan), and former boyfriend Todd (Michael Boatman). — Mark Deming |
| The Wood | 1999 | 106 mins | Drama; Comedy; Romance | While dealing with a friend's cold feet on his wedding day, a writer reminisces about his youth with his best friends. |
| The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | 128 mins | Action; Adventure; Thriller | Feeling responsbile for the death of a British oil tycoon and a friend, who died in an explosion in MI6 headquarters, James Bond takes position as bodyguard to the tycoon's daughter, Elektra, |
| The World's Fastest Indian | 2005 | 127 mins | Adventure; Biography; Drama; Sport | The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. |
| World's Wildest Street Fights 1 | 2002 | 70 mins | Sport | From the makers of the controversial smash hit Ghetto Brawls! You talkin' to me?!! Get prepared to witness the World's Wildest Street Fights caught on tape! Brutal bare-knuckle beatings! Dangerous drunken mayhem! Gorgeous girl slug-outs! Gang wars! Shocking catfights! And completely out-of-control bloody backyard brawls! This incredible never-before-seen special deluxe edition also contains your ultra-sexy uncensored bonus footage featuring the official red-hot "Fight Girls" baring-it-all! You won't believe your eyes! |
| World's Wildest Street Fights 2 | 2002 | 70 mins | Sport | From the makers of the controversial smash hit Ghetto Brawls! Hell yeah! Get prepared to witness round two of the World's Wildest Street Fights-completely uncensored and caught on tape! You'll witness even more brutal bare-knuckle beatings! Dangerous drunken mayhem! Jaw-dropping catfights! More bare-naked "Fight Girl" modeling session debauchery! Gang wars! Violent back-alley slugfests! And completely out-of-control bloody backyard brawls! You won't believe your eyes! |
| Wrong Turn | 2003 | 84 mins | Horror; Thriller | A turn down an uncharted dirt road leads six young people into a night of pure terror in this horror story. Chris (Desmond Harrington) is driving through West Virginia on his way to a job interview when an auto accident slows highway traffic to a near standstill. Afraid he'll be late, Chris takes a detour down an old dirt road; a distracted Chris doesn't see an SUV stuck in the middle of the road before it's too late, and he plows into the back after his tires suddenly blow. The driver of the SUV, Jessie (Eliza Dushku), was out on a camping trip with four of her friends — Evan (Kevin Zegers), Francine (Lindy Booth), Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and Scott (Jeremy Sisto) — when their tires went out, and as Jessie and Chris compare notes on their accidents, they discover that the road has been sabotaged with barbed wire. With both parties in need of a telephone, Evan and Francine are left to look after the cars while the other four set out to find help. However, Evan and Francine soon discover they've been led into a horrible trap, and as Chris, Jessie, and their friends search for help, they find that they've fallen victim not to local pranksters, but a gang of inbred backwoods killers with a taste for blood. Wrong Turn was produced in part by Stan Winston, a legendary special-effects artist whose work has appeared in such films as Jurassic Park, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. — Mark Deming |
| X2 | 2003 | 135 mins | Action; Thriller; Sci-Fi; Fantasy | When a failed assassination attempt occurs on the President's (Cotter Smith) life by the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), it's Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his School for Gifted Youngsters who are targeted for the crime. While Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) try and locate the assassin, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) seek answers from their old foe Magneto (Ian McKellan) in his glass cell...Little do they know they're walking into a trap set by the villainous William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious governmental figure that figures into Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) secretive past, along with information about the X-Men's operation, supplied by Magneto through a mind-controlling agent. Meanwhile Wolverine, just home from a failed mission to regain his memory, is in charge of the students when a crack-commando team led by Stryker infiltrates the school by order of the President. With a mansion full of young, powerful mutants and the ferocious Wolverine in babysitter mode, can he defend the school against the one man who can answer his questions? What roles do the sinister Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) have in all of this? Why does Stryker want Professor X and his Cerebro machine? With the war between humanity and mutants escalating to extremes, can the rest of the X-Men trust their old foes to help them? Director Bryan Singer returns and raises the stakes in this sequel to the highly lauded 2000 adaptation of Marvel Comics' X-Men. — Jeremy Wheeler |
| X-Men | 2000 | 104 mins | Action; Sci-Fi; Thriller | One of the most popular superhero teams in comic book history finally comes to the screen in this big-budget adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics series. Psychic Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) leads a school of skilled mutants called X-Men, a peacekeeping force to safeguard the world against a race of genetically mutated humans known as Homo Sapiens Superior. However, Magneto (Ian McKellen), a mutant with a powerful magnetic charge, has also begun to organize a team to strike first against what he believes to be a threat from humanity. When he kidnaps Rogue (Anna Paquin) from the X-Men's compound, Xavier and his forces must rescue her, even as they continue to vie with Magneto for the fearsomely strong mutant battler Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Both Xavier and Magneto also have to contend with Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), a heartless political leader who wants a final solution against mutants on both sides. Fighting for the forces of virtue with the X-Men are Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Halle Berry as Storm, and James Marsden as Cyclops; Rebecca Romjin-Stamos as Mystique, Ray Park as the Toad, and Tyler Mane as Sabretooth are the minions of Magneto. — Mark Deming |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | 2006 | 104 mins | Action; Fantasy; Thriller | When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart), and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier's former ally, Magneto (McKellen). |
| XXX | 2002 | 124 mins | Comedy; Romance; Western; Adult | The director (Rob Cohen) and star (Vin Diesel) of the previous summer's hit The Fast and the Furious (2001) are reunited for this spy thriller billed as a next-generation James Bond adventure. Diesel stars as Xander Cage, a nihilist extreme sports enthusiast nicknamed "Triple X" because of a large tattoo covering his back and neck. Cage's illegal stunts and poor attitude (he's given to spouting dialogue such as, "Have you ever been punched in the face for talking too much?") land him in jail, where he's recruited/blackmailed into government service by the National Security Agency's Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackon), who likes Cage for his skills and expendability. The new secret agent is assigned to infiltrate a Russian crime ring called Anarchy 99, whose access to biochemical weaponry is making the United States extremely nervous. With the help of some high-tech gadgets from weapons master Toby Lee Shavers (Michael Roof), Cage is able to make his way into Anarchy 99, where he targets the group's leader Yorgi (Marton Csokas) and falls for the organization's second-in-command, Yelena (Asia Argento). XXX (2002) is the first in a hoped-for franchise of sequels for the film's producer, Revolution Studios. — Karl Williams |
| xXx: State of the Union | 2005 | 101 mins | Action; Crime; Adventure; Thriller | Darius Stone, a new agent in the XXX program, is sent to Washington, DC to defuse a power struggle amongst national leaders. |
| You Got Served | 2004 | 94 mins | Drama; Music | The teen dance boy bands B2K and IMx star in the teen dance musical You Got Served, directed by boy band manager Christopher B. Stokes. Best friends Elgin (Marques Houston of IMX) and David (Omarion of B2K) lead a crew of street dancers (including B2K members Raz-B, Lil Fizz, and J-Boog). They must come up with the best moves in order to defeat the challenging town in the local dance contest called the Big Bounce. Group dynamics are tested when David tries to date Elgin's sister Liyah (Jennifer Freeman). Meagan Good plays Liyah's friend Beautifull. Standup comedian Steve Harvey plays dance battle organizer Mr. Rad. Hip-hop star Lil' Kim appears in a cameo and contributes to the soundtrack. — Andrea LeVasseur |
| Yours, Mine & Ours | 2005 | 90 mins | Comedy; Family; Romance | Coming Soon! |
| Zathura: A Space Adventure | 2005 | 113 mins | Action; Adventure; Family; Fantasy | Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is magically hurtled through space because of the board game they are playing. |