Absolon (2003)
In a near-future, a virus has infected everyone on the planet, and has killed off millions. In saving mankind, a drug named Absolon has been developed which combats the virus, unfortunately, it must be taken every day. One corporation, headed by Ron Perlman, owns Absolon and now controls the fate of mankind. Christopher Lambert like every one else is addicted to Absolon , he is a grizzled cop who inadvertently stumbles on the cover-up, and subsequently becomes involved in the resistance. Along with Kelly Brook, who worked on the cure, however when he ingests the cure , the feds try to rub him out, they are lead by black-suited gunman Lou Diamond Phillips (who wears dark glasses and spits a lot).

After The Sunset (2004)
A master diamond thief (Pierce Brosnan) and his partner-in-crime (Salma Hayek) retire to the Bahamas a big heist. They get dogged by an incompetent FBI agent (Woody Harrelson) , but then a cruise-liner carrying a huge diamond docks itself into town, and they are tempted to heist the jewel. Some nice scenery, and Salma not too shabby either in her barely clothed body..

Air I Breathe (2007)
Four unique stories that overlap and intertwine through twists of fate. Supposedly based on an ancient Chinese proverb about the four pillars of life -- Happiness, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love Forest Whitaker is living a rather mundane lifestyle who loses everything after literally betting on a long shot and resorts to robbing a bank. Kevin Bacon a desperate doctor racing against time to save the life of a woman close to his heart. Brendan Fraser is a gangster who possesses an ability to see glimpses of the future. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a rising young pop star that can't escape the clutches of a vicious crime lord. The fifth character, is ruthless mob boss Andy Garcia who links the four stories together.

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) .. DVD release (2003)
A collection of dream segments that the director claims he experienced over the years and wrote into a screenplay. As such, there's no actual story line but a series of vaguely interrelated passages. The imagery on the first two stories is striking: fields of blossoming flowers, dancers , valleys and rainbows. While the next two are in direct contrast and are grim and bleak. Don't expect traditional storytelling from "Dreams." The various segments are what they are, snippets of dreams. They are short, undeveloped vignettes; brief, moral tales emphasizing visual splendor, imagery

Alone In The Dark (2005)
This action horror movie is based on a video game, so one expects things like a mad doctor who performs experiments like fusing evil millipedes to the spinal columns of orphans. Its terrifying as a herd of dust bunnies with a plot that makes slightly less sense. I won't get into the lame back story or the cheeseball special effects. It's just another creature-feature with good guys shooting lots of heavy artillery at deadly CGI monsters.

Along Came A Spider (2001)
Morgan Freeman, a Washington DC detective and psychologist famous for several books he's written about criminal profiling., loses his partner under traumatic circumstances in the opening sequence, eight months later, he is jolted out of his guilt and grief when he's assigned to a high-profile kidnapping case – at the request of the kidnapper. The serpentine trail of clues that leads to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom A riveting performance from Morgan Freeman , plus a roller coaster of plot twists and double crosses and one genuinely startling plot twist.

Alvin And The Chipmunks (2007)
Dave Seville (Jason Lee) is a struggling songwriter searching for his big break with Jett Records honcho Ian (David Cross) he gets rejected, on his way out Seville steals a basket of muffins, what he doesn't know is that Alvin, Simon, and Theodore have hitched a ride in the basket. Later he hears them singing an acapella rendition of "Funkytown, he collaborates with his house mates on "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" that soon becomes a massive hit. The conflict in the story has to do with Ian's desire to exploit the li'l guys and turn them into overworked, overpaid, pampered rock stars. The tracksuit wearing chipmunks swap harmonious pop for jerky hip-hop rap numbers .. mmmmmmmm. This update (after 50 years!) has a fresh take on the chipmunks, and a story that has something sweet to say about the difference between showering gifts and showing love and concern.

American Gangster (2007)
This movie (based on a true story) is about the rise and fall of Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) who was the driver, enforcer and general aide-de-camp of a local crime figure, when his boss dies, he decides to step into his shoes and build his own criminal empire. He has a cousin stationed in Vietnam, so the two set up a supply line to bring pure heroin into the country. On the other side of the law is Russell Crowe, he's a honest cop that refuses to be corrupted ,even turning in a million dollars that he finds. The movie shifts back and forth between their two stories, as you soon realize one man's world must soon crumble.

Annapolis (2006)
This is a story of a headstrong kid learning about discipline and teamwork amidst the grueling first year in the Naval Academy. Somehow this turns into a boxing movie, as James Franco spends a major portion of the film training for the inter-brigade boxing tournament as a means of asserting his self-worth. He fights his nemesis Tyrese Gibson for the Brigade Championship. It is not a good military movie, nor is a good boxing movie, and I am not sure what it is, or was supposed to be.

Appleseed (Appurushîdo) (2004)
Japanese action-sci-fi anime, offers one tactile and dazzling image after another. Robots versus us warfare , opening with a encounter between a group of warring humans and head crushing robots The 3d look adds depth to the film, though it seems some areas they used some-one else to create the anime. To echo one character's sentiment: This is a film with "no emotions, no feelings."

Arahan (2004)
Five elderly martial artists sit around complaining about finding pupils among today's young generation and making an honest buck. Their only pupil is Eui-jin (Yun So-yi), daughter of Master Wu-un (Ahn Seong-gi) who is capable of leaping across skyscrapers (think spider women!) Enter a bumbling traffic officer named Ryu Seung-beom who is hit with an errant palm blast during a botched attempt by So-yi to subdue a petty thief, he then wants to learn from the Masters. Even with a lot of comedy, the action is still taken seriously, especially in the second half, with some nifty sword play .

Art of War (2000)
Wesley Snipes is a covert operations agent for the United Nations, working to protect an immensely important agreement of some sort between the US and China. Snipes is extremely watch-able as the guy left out on a limb who survives by his wits (with help from electronic gizmos). Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa plays a decent villain. It is a fast-paced high-energy action thriller, with some amazing visuals and camera work

Art Of War II: Betrayal (2008)
Wesley Snipes returns as Agent Neil Shaw. It seems someone is trying to blackmail or kill senators with oversight on defense spending, so Snipes is asked to come out of retirement to investigate the death of his mentor Mom , and the surprise that Mom had a long lost daughter (Athena Karkanis). Snipes, of course, has to kick butt to fit the pieces together. Course the fight scenes mostly done by a not so close looking to Snipes misses the guy by a mile, but yet the dude falls down. This direct to video, must be to help him pay his IRS debt..

Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
The last days of the outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) is seen through his last big train robbery and the men involved, including Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), a young wannabe who idolizes James. All the original members of the James gang but Jesse and his brother Frank (Sam Shepard) were dead or in prison, and it's now that Bob Ford tries to join up. Bob's brother Charley (Sam Rockwell) was already a member of the gang. Robert Ford found out the hard way when he killed Jesse that he would not be greeted worldwide by thunderous applause, the reaction was quite different. The movie at 2 1/2 hours or so, is almost as long as the title.

Assassin Swordsman (2004)
This martial arts drama was filmed in video, which left me wondering if its like an 8 hour TV mini series cut up into a 2 1/2 hour movie. Set during the Ming Dynasty, the characters struggle to obtain the Book of Tai from the grave of the first Ming Emperor. Whoever possesses the book will become ruler of all China, there's a few el cheapo Indiana Jones effects in the tomb. One must first obtain the three keys that open the tomb, this leads to a battle between the Japanese Samurai and the evil East Chamber, with plentiful (but disappointing) helpings of kung fu action.

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
This is the remake of the 1976 film by John Carpenter, which in turn was pseudo-remake of Rio Bravo. Ethan Hawke is the man in charge on the last night of his closing police station. Laurence Fishburne is arrogant and menacing as a gang boss, he, along with three other prisoners, are bussed to a maximum security prison, but, because of the snow storm, are diverted to Precinct 13 for the night, which become under siege by a band of corrupt cops looking to cover up their bad history. There are personal stories as well as action, in this fast-paced, tense movie.

Atonement (2007)
In 1935 at the mansion of the Tallis family. Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) is the youngest child, a 13 year old fledgling playwright with a wild imagination. Her older sister is Cecilia (Keira Knightley), who happens to spend a lot of time with the housekeeper's son, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy). Robbie loves Cecilia and hopes that she feels the same way, but Briony loves Robbie and will do anything to prevent the love between them, and so when her cousin is raped one night outside, she manages to pin the crime on Robbie, he is arrested and given the choice of jail or fighting in the upcoming war, he chooses the war. In London, Briony's older now, played by Romola Garai as a nurse caring for wounded soldiers returning from battle. Vanessa Redgrave, who appears in the film's coda as the elderly Briony who recalls the errors of her youth. We are tossed back and forth in time, with too many flashbacks/forwards .

Audition (Odishon) (1999)
Ryo Ishibashi is a lonely man who doesn't have much of a life since his wife died. His friend Jun Kunimura, who happens to be a film industry executive, comes up with the brilliant idea to hold a bogus audition for a non-existent film, so that he can find a suitable candidate among several young ladies to ask out, when he sees Eihi Shiina, he's smitten with the lovely young woman, but something is wrong with her... Oh, you betcha! There is some pretty gory stuff, besides the bone sawing, there are acupuncture needles stuck into the stomach and the eyes, and a torture that looks like branding with iron chopsticks ... mmmmmm Japanese with EngRish subtitles (bad spelling & translation)

Aviator (2004)
Leonardo DiCaprio as American legend/eccentric/insane recluse Howard Hughes. He battles against the U.S. government to save his TWA airlines against Pan Am president Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin) and a corrupt politician (Alan Alda). As a man whose eccentricities and neuroses extended far beyond the normal human behavior, the story of Howard Hughes is a fascinating one. Cate Blanchett as Hughes' legendary love, Katharine Hepburn in her Oscar winning role.

AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
The story involves a group of scientists and archaeologists who travel to Antarctica (think The Thing) in search of some pyramids,. Once there, they become trapped and are caught up in a battle between the Predators and the Aliens, who one by one devours their human prey, every time I see one of the Predators, I think of Bob Marley .. hey mon . The groan factor increases as we have some major over-acting and cliched lines so don't look for deep thoughts here, just check your brain at the door and enjoy the ride.

Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005)
Ueto Aya returns for more blood-spurting ninja violence as a ninja-trained assassin, who continues her fight against villainy while struggling with her own upbringing that has turned her into an efficient killer. The giant with his boomerang blades is a winner. Japanese language with English subtitles.

Babel (2006)
The movie is constructed as a puzzle, with three different pieces transpiring during different times and in different places over a five-day span, there is a common thread which unites the stories (though it is a tenuous one), you might come away feeling as if you watched three movies edited into one. A man gives another man a gun as a gift, the man then sells the gun to a neighbor Moroccan goat herder. He entrusts the gun to his two sons so that they can keep jackals away from the goat herd. The boys begin firing the gun to test its range. American Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are vacationing in Morocco and their tour bus in hit by ones of the bullets from the gun. Creating a chain reaction of events that touches all of the people who have their fingerprints on the rifle in question, it's the butterfly effect. The basic problem with the movie is everything that happens in the film happens because the characters make idiotic choices.

Babylon AD (2008)
Vin Diesel is a mercenary, trying to survive in a future world. Hired by gangster Gerard Depardieu, to deliver (Melanie Thierry) from a Mongolian convent to New York City, and her caretaker Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh). For an action/adventure movie it is a bit on the weak side too, there are explosions, car chases and fights, but they're lackluster. The only standout scene is a snowmobile chase in which there is an impressive backflip.

Balls Of Fury (2007)
At the 1988 Olympics , 12-year-old Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) loss in the finals to the East German contender (Thomas Lennon) ends up in the murder of his gambling father at the hands of the Chinese Triad. He is enlisted by an FBI Agent (George Lopez) to help catch the crimeboss 14 years later by getting into a secret underground tournament run byChristopher Walken. In order to do so, he must re-learn the ways of the great ping pong players from a Chinese master (James Hong) and his karate chopping, butt kicking niece (Maggie Q). At the tournament, Feng has those that lose killed by his assistant Mahogany (Aisha Tyler). "What part of sudden death don't you understand?" he says. The movie is kind of funny, never a big belly laugh, but definitely a few chuckles.

Bandits (2001)
Based on the lives of two actual bank robbers of the early seventies, a pair who, like Butch Cassidy himself, were never known to have shot anyone. Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton as the "Sleepover Bandits" because they kidnap the bank manager the night before and rob the bank before it opens. Add hostage turned fellow crook Cate Blanchett, who ends up loving both guys. A crime-caper action comedy with an ending that is as dramatic as it may be surprising.

Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
Nicolas Cage is a hitman, who is sent to Thailand to perform four kills before he retires. He uses the same M.O. upon entering any new country; he hires a local, in this case Kong, (Shahkrit Yamnarm) who won't be missed, to help in finding his way around and for delivering messages. He starts to become fond of Kong and begins teaching him tricks of the hitman trade. Deviating further from his beliefs, he falls for lovely Charlie Yeung, a pharmacy worker who communicates in sign language. His last assignment is to kill a much-loved political leader, which he refuses to do, saying to his boss that politics is off-limits to his work, naturally, the boss then turns on him.

Bank Job (2008)
Based-on-a-true-story , it shows that fact is stranger than fiction. In 1971, a ragtag group of part-time criminals plan to tunnel into the Lloyds Bank on Baker Street and into the vault and raid the safety deposit boxes, which as it turns out, contains a number of items housed within worth far more than money. Jason Statham is the group's de-facto leader, he hears of the job from former flame Saffron Burrows, who wants to join in on the heist but is also concealing some key details about where she learned of the score. The heist itself is decently executed, but the true crux of the story revolves around the fallout from the heist.

Basic Instinct (1992)
Sharon Stone portrays a seductive suspect in a brutal ice-pick murder case. The detective assigned to the case (Michael Douglas) gets a little too involved with this manipulative femme fatale. You have a cops and robbers action/adventure movie all rolled into one, plus sex from the opening scene to the closing scene.. It's the most worthy of all the "Erotic Thriller" trash out there, but just because it is doesn't necessarily make it a quality film.

Batman Begins (2005)
When Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) parents are murdered before his eyes, he dedicates himself to fighting crime in all of its forms in order to keep what happened to him from happening to anyone else. With the aid of his loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Bruce Wayne transforms himself into the terrifying crime fighter Batman. What makes the movie work so well is that it is the first Batman film, strangely enough, that's actually about Batman. Most (if not all) of the car chases and stunts done live and in full scale. Very little CGI and the lack of it made a big difference as far as making this all believable.

Beautiful Country (2005)
The movie tells the story of Binh (Damien Nguyen), the Vietnamese son of an American GI father, who is despised by his foster family as bui doi — ''less than dust'' — a spiteful designation earned by his half-breed status as the child of a Vietnamese mother and an American G.I. father. And as the story begins in 1990, the young man sets out, against every odd imaginable by, first to find his mother in Saigon, and then to America in search of her long-lost soldier husband maybe still living somewhere in Texas. His attempt to escape to America leads to the toughest and most tragic portion of the film, seeing how Asians who have nothing are forced and tricked into slavery to attain their freedom. Later, Nick Nolte makes appearance as his long-lost father. I just wish the ending was a happier one.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
Two brothers (Ethan Hawke & Philip Seymour Hoffman) hatch a scheme which involves a heist targeting a mom-and-pop jewelry store, but not just any ordinary shop, the one that belongs to their parents. Both naively believe the money will solve their mounting personal problems, but when the scheme goes horribly awry, they must not only try to evade suspicion and cover up their botched crime, but also confront their personal guilt. Marisa Tomei is Hoffma's restless, two-timing wife, and Albert Finney is the gruff family patriarch. Not thrilled with flashbacks, and this has more than a few, plus the ending leaves too much unfinished.

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) sees on TV that his friend Captain Bogomil (Ronny Cox) has been shot and is in critical condition, so he goes to Beverly Hills and rejoins with friends and cops Judge Reinhold and John Ashton to find the woman who shot Bogomil. The whole thing revolves on a huge gun-smuggling ring run by Jurgen Prochnow and his fiancée Brigitte Nielsen. There are a few good Murphy putdowns and one-liners, and plenty of guns a blazin'.

Beyond The Sea (2004)
Bobby Darin known by most as the artist who sang "Splish Splash" and "Mack The Knife," a few steps down from Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. Kevin Spacey plays him as a ruthlessly committed showman, a creature of the nightclubs who used his rise in popular fame as a springboard for a more respectable career. He is accompanied by William Ullrich, a younger version of Darin, after all, as Ullrich and Spacey come to understand in the film's final scene, this is not the movie of Darin's life but of Darin's legend.

Big Easy (1987)
Dennis Quaid plays NOPD homicide lieutenant Remy McSwain, he is Louisiana born and bred; his father was a cop and his father´s father before him. He´s investigating a murder, an apparent mob hit. Enter Ellen. Barkin as a assistant district attorney checking into alleged police corruption. From there the movie proceeds in two directions, there is the mystery to be solved, and Quaid and Barkin team up to try to solve itt. And then theres is the romance between Quaid and Barkin. The real stars of "The Big Easy" are the city of New Orleans and its Cajun music.

Big Fish (2003)
Billy Crudup plays a man who has never felt very close to his father, but is drawn back to him when he gets a call that his dad, (Albert Finney) who is nearing the end of his life. Upon his return home, his father begins telling the tall tales. Like he owned his own business, befriended a giant, found a hidden town, joined the circus, and wooed the woman of his dreams (Jessica Lange). Ewan McGregor is easily the biggest star of the show as he has the opportunity to act out all of the stories that Finney tells.

Birth (2004)
Nicole Kidman stars, as a young woman who has just lost her husband Sean to a heart attack. Ten years later during a birthday party for her mom (Lauren Bacall), a ten year old boy walks in claiming to be Sean (Cameron Bright). As the young boy who may or may not be Kidman's reincarnated husband he has a very adult seriousness and intensity. But the two of them nude in the bathtub ... mmmmmm. After watching this movie you may find yourself wondering if you're dense or if the filmmakers are, I mean the story doesn't even make sense to the people who wrote it.

Black Cadillac (2003)
Three Midwestern teens attempting to outwit the unseen driver of the movie titled automobile as they try to find their way home. As the mysterious Caddy that trails the teens grows increasingly aggressive toward them, the movie actually gets kind of spooky. Best described as a 'thriller' and not an horror flick, the fact is it's a fast-paced and generally very entertaining little B-movie, and it manages to provide a moment or two of fun and fright along the way.

Black Dahlia (2006)
A couple of L.A. cops who also happen to be boxers and get paired up for a publicity-machine fight that touts them as "Mr. Fire and Mr. Ice." Ice is "Bucky" Bleichart (Josh Hartnett), Fire is Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart). Hilary Swank playing a rich bisexual femme fatale who ensares Bleichart. The murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947- a true-life case that was never solved, comes in after the film is already well underway. though the movie is based on the fictional novel by James Ellroy but he impsired it with images and emotions surrounding his own mother's unsolved murder. The dismembered body of aspiring actress Short (Mia Kirshner) is discovered in an open field, Bucky and Lee are working another case, however, Lee becomes obsessed with the Short killing and aggressively pursues a seven-day transfer for himself and Bucky to the taskforce. There is a over abundance of events going on this movie, and it was difficult to figure out what was going on for the most part of the movie. There is torture, murder, lesbians, gangsters, boxing, and porn, giving this movie a very uneven feel.

Black Dawn (2005)
Steven Seagal returns as Jonathan Cold, an ex-CIA agent who's now working for himself and offering his services to the highest bidder. The storyline revolves around Chechen terrorists planning to bomb Los Angeles for revenge, evil CIA operatives, and one bonafide nuclear bomb, with plenty of gunfire, a few car/truck chases and bunch of explosions, but almost none of the martial arts that Seagal was known for.

Black Hawk Down (2001)
Based on a true story , in 1993, famine ravages the population of Somalia, local warlords hold power over the starving people as they hijack food shipments from the UN . A special unit of U.S. soldiers are sent in to capture the most powerful local warlord and help restore order. The chain of events that leads a simple military operation down the roughly-cobbled path to disaster is what is fascinating and horrifying to watch in this film. It makes you shake your head at the stupidity of war.

Black Dog (1998)
Patrick Swayze plays an ex-trucker on parole who lost his trucking license several years ago for vehicular manslaughter and is forced to drive a load of illegal guns by his boss. His trucking run is far from easy, he's dogged at every turn by a pair of federal agents (Charles S. Dutton and Stephen Tobolowsky), and a group of inept hijackers who are trying to seize his cargo. Add Randy Travis as his traveling companion and Meat Loaf as the baddie trying to hijack the load. Which leads to lots of cars and trucks crashing and exploding or catching on fire, and plenty of people shooting at each other.

Black Snake Moan (2006)
Christina Ricci is a nymphomaniac in a small Tennessee town, her boyfriend Justin Timberlake is leaving for military duty, leaving little reason for her to suppress her itch. Tearing off on a wild night of sex, drugs, and booze, she ends up violently attacked and left on the side of a dirt road to die. Coming to her aid is Samuel L. Jackson, a former bluesman who had his wife leave him for his younger brother , and he is battling his own demons. Sensing she needs some kind of salvation; Jackson chains the young woman to his radiator and won't let her leave until her problems are dealt with, she spends a great deal of the movie clad only in a half-tee and panties and the chain.

Blade (2004)
Hong Kong's latest action star Chiu Man-Cheu. As a young man he learns about his father's death at the hands of a mysterious tattooed killer (Hung Yan Yan). He takes his father's broken blade and sets out to seek vengeance. The daughter, Ling, follows but is caught in a bloody ambush. When he tries to rescue her, his arm is hacked off in the battle and he is believed dead by all except Ling and his friend who set out in search of him. But he is saved by a hermit girl who nurses him back to health where he finds an old kung fu manual and practices with the broken blade to perfect the art of one-armed sword fighting. Dubbed in English .

Blade: Trinity (2004)
The third movie based on the Marvel comics character, is a action/vampire movie, staring Wesley Snipes as Blade, a hybrid vampire who's made it his life's work to hunt down vampires.The vampires set Blade up for murder when he accidentally kills a human instead. This gets the FBI on his case while the vampires busily seek to revive an ancient vampire – the very first vampire known none other than as Dracula but you can call him Drake for short. Has decent gore, gun play out the ying yang and a car chase too.

Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)
Set in post-feudal Japan, Zatoichi is the story of a wandering blind masseur who is also a master swordsman. When he catches the gangsters who run the gambling hall trying to cheat him, his wrath results in an utterly definitive massacre. The fight scenes are of a raw violence ... amputated parts and blood squirting everywhere, in the purest Japanese tradition. Following the plot's climactic pair of revelations is another surprise: a shameless, all-singing, all-dancing tap revue ... think Lords of the Dance Japanese style, it features the whole village shuckin' and jivin' and dancing.

Blood Diamond (2006)
Set in Sierra Leone Africa, in 1999, the movie depicts the civil war between government forces and rebel bands, the latter of which have been regularly selling off "blood diamonds" (aka, conflict diamonds) in order to fund their continued war efforts. Djimon Hounsou is a fisherman who was captured after helping his wife and three children flee. he is sent to a labor camp, while digging, he comes across a very large diamond and decides to keep it for himself. Later he is thrown into prison, where word of the priceless rock comes to Leonardo DiCaprio, a diamond smuggler who has been jailed after losing a valuable shipment destined for the corrupt Colonel Coetzee (Arnold Vosloo). They get out of jail and from there, Djimon and Leonardo begin their perilous trek towards the diamond's hiding place while facing trouble from the rebel troops, the colonel and his men and their own wildly different motives for finding the rock. Oh and add in investigative journalist Jennifer Connelly.

Bodyguard (2004)
The Bodyguard reunites many of the Ong Bak family, including actress Pumwaree Yodkamol as Pok, Tony Jaa in a cameo appearance and Petchtai Wongkamlau as both director and lead actor. This Thai action comedy is something of a mixed bag, the action travels well enough, with gunfights, acrobatics, explosions and kick boxing a plenty, but much of the comedy is distinctly lost in the translation. The plot takes the audience from the high-rise boardrooms of the business and criminal elite to the towns and slums of the common people.

Bone Collector (1999)
Denzel Washington a expert in the field of crime scene forensics suddenly becomes a quadriplegic after a horrible on-the-job accident. Four years later, a serial killer is on the loose, and our top cop suddenly develops a high interest in the mysterious case. He recruits the help of a young forensics hopeful Angelina Jolie. Together, they attempt to piece together all of the clues in the puzzle, which once resolved, will nab them a killer. Queen Latifah is his nurse, and Ed O'Neill is a fellow cop helping him.

Boogeyman (2005)
Barry Watson grew up with a terrifying secret, his dad was taken by the Boogeyman, right in front of him and into his closet, when he was a child. Since then he has a fear of the dark and of closets. The film relies on startle techniques to try to make you jump instead of actually scaring you. There is not a rewarding payoff, nothing is resolved, maybe there is possibility of a sequel, who knows, but remember don't open your closet .. or this movie !

Bourne Identity (2002)
Freely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 bestseller. It is a decent action/spy flick, and once again/before a Mini Cooper goes racing through the city and even down the steps.. now where have I seen this lately !! Plus Matt Dillon can cling to walls like a spider and perform Couching Tiger like martial arts to defeat ten armed U.S. Marines ....mmmmmmmmm ...

Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Boy oh boy, all the chase scenes again, in cars, on foot, in subways, trains and trams, our hero Jason Bourne [Matt Damon] skedaddled faster than a flashlit roach. call me spoiled and over-demanding, but a comprehensible plot would've been sort of nifty too. I mean he's using his own passport, and never changes clothes or puts on a disguise, better send him back to spy school.

Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
The third addition to the Bourne Trilogy, is not as good as the first, but better than the second. Enter amnesiac CIA-trained assassin (Matt Damon) who has identity issues. There are long stretches where little to no dialogue is provided beyond shouted directions to the drones monitoring surveillance footage for the CIA as they track Bourne around the globe from Moscow, Paris, London, Madrid, Tangier and New York. Bourne is always on the move, sometimes acting as the hunter and sometimes being the quarry. He still hasn't learned to put on disguises or change names ... some-one send him back to spy school. There's really very little hard story filling out the film's various chases.

Brave One (2007)
Jodie Fosters hosts a New York radio show filled with sounds of the city, blanketed by her literary musings. When she is attacked and her fiancé (Naveen Andrews), is brutally killed in Central Park, she picks up a gun and takes matters into her own hands vigilante style like Charles Bronson in Death Wish. Terrence Howard plays the NYPD detective who is following the vigilante killings. There is tension and uncertainty, and an unconventional cat-and-mouse game plays out between them, you know a confrontation with Howard is inevitable. The ending may not be what you expect or hoped for. because it raises even more issues instead of providing simple answers.

Breakdown (1997)
Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan find themselves stranded in the wide-open desert. From there, things go wrong very quickly, she takes a ride from a helpful truck driver (J.T. Walsh), and Kurt stays by the car. Later on, he can't find her at the place she's supposed to be, and he has to find out who took her and where she's vanished to. There are enough twists and turns in this movie to make one's head spin. The collection of bad guys is more than enough. The action is ok with a tinge of comedy and suspense.

Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
The movie starts with Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) decked out in an evening gown, tiara, pearls and her signature sunglasses at dawn, eating her breakfast and day dreaming into the windows at Tiffany & Co. This is a light-hearted romantic comedy set in New York City during the early '60s. Holly meets her new upstairs neighbor, Paul (George Peppard), as the movie progresses we find out more about Holly's past and present while watching her and Paul's relationship develop. Henry Mancini's music perfectly captures the haunting nature of the film's message; Holly's desire to belong to someone while being unable emotionally to reach for it.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger meet in the summer of 1963 when both are hired by Randy Quaid to be sheepherders on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. Their job: keep the sheep moving and make sure as many as possible make it home. Gradually, a friendship forms between the two men, although neither is a master of words. And, one chilly night, the relationship turns physical. There is great emotional resonance in the push-and-pull between the characters and their world. Both settle down into patterns of social expectation; they get married and have children, the two start going on the occasional "fishing trip" together, giving them a renewed taste of the summer in which they met . It's beautifully shot, with the mountains and lakes and streams as backdrops.

B 13 (Banlieue 13) (2004)
In 2010 a wall is built around a Paris suburb that contains a rather nasty criminal element. Kingpin Taha rules all that's inside, but makes the mistake of kidnapping the sister of imprisoned local hero Leito. With nothing to lose, Leito teams up with an undercover cop to take Taha down. This high-octane actioner with plenty of kung fooey, guns a blazing, and cars a screeching.. .. and a form of equally extreme urban acrobatics created in France that's known as parkour. French language with EngRish subtitles (mizzspeltt alot !)

Bucket List (2007)
Morgan Freeman in his 157th film ,as Carter Chambers a career mechanic who receives the word: Cancer. Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) is one hospital bed over, and actually owns the hospital, but he too has the Big C and they only have a year (at most) to live... The two form an uneasy bond and one day Edward sees Carter scribbling down something called a bucket list; things he's always wanted to do before he kicks the bucket. Edward uses his wealth to help Carter see the world and go to places and do things he only dreamed about doing .The film gets into its globe-trotting adventures like the Himalayas, Taj Mahal, Pyramids and also racing cars, sky diving , its sort of a on the road buddy picture. The idea is to get the most out of life while they still can.

Bugsy (1991)
More than just another gangster film, this move is a compelling portrait of an ill-fated romance between two selfish, volatile people who stop at nothing to get what they want. Warren Beatty gives a excellent performance as Benjamin Siegel, and you better not call him "Bugsy". He meets his match in Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), a seductive woman who stands up to him like no one ever has. The bulk of "Bugsy" focuses on their passionate love affair, with the final third being built around Siegel's dream of building a casino oasis in Las Vegas.

Butterfly Effect (2004)
Ashton Kutcher travels in time, sort of, what with the flash backs, forwards and sideways and keeps resetting his life and the lives of his friends. Despite all his best efforts and intentions, things keep going awry, just by reading the journal he has kept to recollect certain events. The movie is fairly effective at disorienting the audience, with its excessive time jumps, which repeats too many times.

Capote (2006)
Philip Seymour Hoffman captured the voice, the mannerisms, and, the subtle inner complexities of the Truman Capote convincingly. The movie focuses on the years that would produce both his literary achievement and the essential downfall of his career – the investigation of the brutal murders of a Kansas farm family that would inspire the landmark true-crime book In Cold Blood. There are good things in it beyond the lead performance but not enough to make the film the unforgettable experience that it should have been. This film provides a insight into the dual personality of the author and what happened behind the scenes.

Carlito's Way: Rise To Power (2005)
This prequel to the Carlito's Way stars Jay Hernandez as the young Carlito Brigante, who from an early age is drawn into the power and excitement of the New York underworld. Assisted by his two "brothers" in crime, Michael Kelly and Mario Van Peebles, Carlito is on the track to becoming Spanish Harlem's ultimate kingpin. But when he is challenged, Carlito has just one thing on his mind ... survival. Also stars Sean (P Diddy) Combs .

Cars (2006)
Hot-rod race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is an all-star rookie poised to win the coveted Piston Cup. A tie-breaking race is set for a week later in California, but through a series of mishaps, Lightning finds himself stranded in the defunct town of Radiator Springs, surrounded by stretches of empty desert and a piece of Route 66. he accidentally grinds up the town's main street, so as punishment, Judge Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) requires him to re-pave the road. The story is a universal story-telling device, and one that can be counted on to evoke pathos, no matter what the main character is (car or human). Cast (voices): Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Cheech Marin, Tony Shalhoub, George Carlin, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, Richard Petty

Casino Royale (2006)
James (Daniel Craig) has just earned his double-0 status at MI6, but he hasn't yet earned the respect of his boss, 'M' (Judi Dench). He has promise, but he's still a little rough around the edges. His first mission is to track down a bomb-maker and trace him back to the terrorist organization who's paying the bills. Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen is in the villain's chair as the terrorists' financier. The film opens with two riveting action scenes, I had high hopes for it, but it gets bogged down in what is supposed to be the suspenseful espionage portion of the film. But, we get to watch people play Texas Hold'Em poker, and add the love interest Eva Green, she is an accountant assigned to authorize his backing at the high-stakes game. Yep its Bond, James Blonde !

Casshern (2004)
Powerful androids being developed by scientist Azuma are brought to life by a freak bolt of lightning and instantly get in touch with their hatred for the human race. When they begin to terrorize mankind with an army of killer robots, Tetsuya, Azuma's son, is reborn as the bionic hero Casshern trying to save the world. It's also yet another movie of late to adopt the retro sci-fi look, like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. As with Sky, most scenes have been digitally manipulated either partially or in their entirety.

Cast Away (2000)
Tom Hanks plays a Fed Ex guy whose plane crashes in the ocean and is marooned on a deserted island, and his only 'friend' is Wilson. The majority of the story is spent on the island basically watching a man try to survive and deal with the reality of his isolation, mental and physical struggles, and what could have and should have been boring was interesting. The ending may not be the uplifting ending everyone's expecting, but it is more realistic. One question though how much cash did FedEx pay to be in this film!

Cat Ballou (1965)
The story concerns the schoolteacher-turned-outlaw named Catherine "Cat" Ballou (Jane Fonda) who attempts to avenge her father's murder at the hands of the Wolf City Development Corp and its hired gun, the silver-nosed Tim Strawn (Lee Marvin) he plays a dual role and this he does with some great humorous expressions and slapstick good enough to earn him the 'Best Actor' Oscar for 1965. The image of a drunken cowboy on top of a drunken horse with crossed legs, leaning against a brick wall is one of the better moments .

Catwoman (2004)
This Catwoman has nothing to do with the one published by DC Comics. The film begins as Halle Berry a put-upon designer at an cosmetics firm, one night discovers that the company's products are toxic, so her bosses kill her. Luckily, she is revived by some cats, who give her special powers. The film's villain, an evil cosmetics company, is actually a loose stand in for the typical action movie's drug running operation. Their product, a debilitating beauty cream, is described as addictive. Its users must get their fix, or else, basically, their faces melt. Sharon Stone is the bosses wife and baddie too ! The biggest disappointment is that Catwoman isn't even so bad that it's good. The best is how Halle with a whip, manages to fill out the leather costume quite nicely !

Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Samuel L. Jackson stars, as Romulus Ledbetter, a homeless recluse in beard and dreadlocks who lives in a cave and is a former Juilliard student whose bouts of psychosis have driven him from music. He wakes up one morning and finds a dead young drifter frozen in a tree outside his cave, whom Romulus comes to think was murdered. Arriving ultimately at the conclusion that the murder has something to do with a famous photographer named David Lepperaub (Colin Frear). Is he delving into his own delusions, or is there a vast conspiracy at work here? The murder/mystery aspect of the psycho Sherlock Holmes story is fairly interesting.

Celine Dion: Live in Las Vegas - A New Day (2007)
It was quite a gamble when Celine Dion signed a three-year contract to perform in Las Vegas five nights a week. Commemorating the end of her blockbuster run, this is one of her concerts of her five-year run at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace, as conceived by Franco Dragone (better known as the 'visionary' behind the Cirque du Soleil phenomenon). She is surrounded by such a spectacle of costume, dance, and electronic visuals that it seems to overpower her vocals at times. One of the better moments is when she duets with Frank Sinatra on the big screen TV in the song 'All The Way', also when she sings 'Love Can Move Mountains' & 'River Deep, Mountain High' in full Tina Turner Tribute mode.

Cellular (2004)
Cellular is a surprisingly tight film. the running time is only 95 minutes and yet it flies by leaving you with a very good impression of it afterwards. Kim Bassinger does a decent job of being a victim that appears helpless and Chris Evans' transition from beach bum to savior is gradual and feels natural. William H. Macy plays a likable, but burned out, police officer who gets drawn into the plot. If you like a good thriller you will find one here. It has action, but is not overloaded with it, comedy, some of it a bit silly but nothing too unreasonable.

Chain Reaction (2000)
Keanu Reeve is a machinist who works for a lab at the University of Chicago which is managed by Morgan Freeman, that's studying a low-cost means of separating the hydrogen out of water for energy. Of course, research like this does not go unnoticed by larger powers. The night after the discovery, Keanu returns to the lab to find the beloved head researcher murdered and the reactor set to overload. When the reactor blows, 8 square blocks of Chicago's South Side are wiped off the map. Rachel Weisz is a researcher is on the project who also joins him.. . And then the chase begins by the good & baddies. The bad guys are this shadowy alliance of U.S. intelligence and big business.

Changing Lanes (2002)
Ben Affleck is a lawyer who is heading to the courthouse to deliver a batch of papers that will settle an argument between his firm and a charity over control of finances. At the same time, Samuel L. Jackson is heading to court to a divorce hearing, trying to prove to his ex-wife that he has been approved for a loan that will be used for a house for his family. If he doesn't succeed, his wife and children will move to Oregon. Affleck realizes that he left his address with Jackson on the folder containing the documents. Bitter about losing his kids, Samuel L refuses to hand the folder over. Both men have hot tempers and a lot to lose, so they begin attacking each other in ways that eventually make them cross moral lines they didn't realize they went over.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
This movie is an adaptation of one of Dahl's best loved stories, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory feels like a Tim Burton flick. Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp), the famous candy-maker recluse, has hidden golden tickets inside the wrappers of five of the millions of Wonka candy bars sold around the world. Those lucky enough to find them will be treated to a tour of the Wonka candy facility which is like a warped version of Disneyworld crossed with Oz. Visually it really is sweet (pun intended!)

Chicken Little (2005)
The ideal audience for Chicken Little should be in bed by seven, and its Disney's umpteenth cry of a "sure-fire comeback project". Its the first post-Pixar foray into computer animation. The problem with this movie is that the story isn't strong enough to engage the adults in the audience and the rest of the inside jokes are going to be totally missed by the target group – under age 9. Its the story of a pint-sized chicken that tries to convince the town that the sky is falling (this is maybe the first 10 minutes of the movie), then the story moves onto father and son relationships and a alien invasion. Disney eradicated their hand-drawn animation department for this?

Children of Heaven (1999)
This Iranian film about a 9 year old Ali (Amir Farrokh Hashemian)who has a problem, entrusted to get his 7 year old sister's (Bahare Sediqi) only pair of shoes repaired, he inadvertently misplaces the footwear, (thats a pair of lost soles) , what follows is their attempts to conceal the fact that they share a pair of sneakers. The simplicity of the story is what makes it so compelling, and the two young actors make it work. But the ending is only for bucking convention, not for being all that interesting or compelling in itself.

Children Of Men (2006)
In the year 2027, the world hasn't seen a baby in 18 years and the lack of children has had a serious impact on the world. The borders of England have been closed off with immigrants being rounded up into refugee camps, and government employee Clive Owen finds himself involved with a group of rebels led by his ex-wife Julianne Moore. She has a proposition for him–she needs him to use his contacts to help her transport Claire-Hope Ashitey, he doesn't understand what is so special about her until she lets him in on her little secret–she is mysteriously and miraculously pregnant. While trying to protect Claire-Hope and her precious cargo getting them to the meeting point and rediscovering his humanity in the process. Michael Caine is outstanding as the pot smoking hippie that hides refugees from the evil axis of law. The film looks at the dangers of a Big Brother society and shows how government control can be far more evil and destructive than a terrorist organization.

Chinese Cat (1944)
Charlie Chan (Sidney Toler) has been hired by Joan Woodbury whose father was murdered in his own home, her mother has become the prime suspect thanks to an "expert criminologist" who has written a book implicating her for the murder. The finale takes place in a fun house where Charlie and number 3 son Tommy (Benson Fong) are captured by the gang, but with the help of their comical taxi driver, Birmingham (Mantan Moreland) they get the drop on the jewel gang. Some of the best lines are when Charlie quotes something to his number three son .. funny !

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Four children have been sent to the English country side to wait out The Blitz during World War II. While staying with an elderly Professor (Jim Broadbent) they discover the entrance to a magical kingdom inside of an old wardrobe cabinet, its the portal to a land of vast magic, great woods, and talking animals, all made famous in C.S. Lewis' children's book series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Narnia is a land on the brink of war with Aslan the lion (Liam Neeson) and the forces of good on one side, and Jadis, who has plunged Narnia into perpetual winter, on the other. The children fit into their roles nicely, pulling off the neat trick of capturing the family dynamics of brothers and sisters. Georgie Henley as Lucy the youngest of the four is the star of this movie.

Cinderella Man (2005)
Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) was a promising heavyweight boxing contender in 1929 who fell victim to the Great Depression, taking his family from luxury to poverty in a few short years, and getting himself kicked out of the sport. The story jumps to the 30s, with Braddock and wife Renee Zellweger now fighting financially to keep their children fed and housed. He works the docks by day and boxes at night. Eventually Crowe fights heavyweight champ Max Baer. The story gets interesting during the 15-round brawl with the vicious Baer (Craig Bierko) that's keeping you glued to the ring. Just keep in mind that poverty is the real antagonist of the film.

City Of Angels (1998)
Nicolas Cage is an angel in modern day Los Angeles, whose duty it is to safely guide dying people from their earthly lives to the other side, who, in the midst of his angelic duties, falls in love with Meg Ryan who is a heart surgeon, struggling with the concept of mortality. Even if she does everything right ... she sometimes still loses her patients. A highlight of the film is the sympathetic performance by Dennis Franz as Messinger, a living and breathing example of what an angel can achieve if he really wants it. There is no Hollywood ending, but it is exactly where the film should have gone .

City of God (Cidade de Deus) (2003)
The title is a local name for a specific slum region of Rio de Janeiro Behind the gore and violence lies an insightful and honest story that demonstrates the formation of a drug-induced community of crime and how it develops until the point of self-destruction, but makes a mistake in making human misery exhilarating. Portuguese with English subtitles

Clementine (2004)
Lee Dong Jun gets cheated out of his Tae Kwon Do championship title to Steven Seagal seven years ago, is forced to fight again after his daughter is kidnapped. Seagal is hyped all over the dvd case, and it is lucky if he is in the movie for 3 minutes .. plus the action sequences are almost un-watchable. Sending the editor to film school might help also, probably the director too! Though I did like the little girl as Lee's daughter ..

Closer (2004)
This is a story of two couples whose infidelities rip them apart. Jude Law and Natalie Portman meet on the streets of London and soon are living together, but Jude who has written a novel, finds himself obsessed with Julia Roberts, a photographer who takes the picture for his book jacket. He inadvertently introduces Clive Owen to Julia when a practical joke in which he pretends to be her in an Internet sex chat room, after discovering that she is not the woman he thought she was, they actually hit it off. The concept of selfishness and deceit having a place in a "loving" relationship may be too much for some people to feel comfortable with.

Cloverfield (2008)
Mike Vogel, Jessica Lucas and their friends are throwing a bon voyage party for brother, Michael Stahl-David (Rob), who is leaving for a work in Japan. T.J. Miller is asked to video all the testimonials from Rob's friends – sort of a going away gift to remind him of home. The celebration turns to terror, though, when Manhattan is ripped apart by a unknown monster. As the military cordon the area off, evacuate people and try to fight back against the monster,Rob and his 3 friends take it upon themselves to venture out into the fray in order to rescue Rob's former flame Odette Yustman and still make it out of Manhattan alive. Your gonna need a lot of Dramamine cause its a the whole movie is a shaky-cam picture and it may cause motion sickness and dizziness.

Coach Carter (2005)
This is the story of controversial high school basketball coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson), who received both high praise and staunch criticism when he made national news for benching his entire undefeated team for poor academic performance. The movie is more interesting when Carter is developing his players, teaching them how to be a team, and the endless practices where you see the personalities of the guys come through. It has all the clichés of the American sports movie and the classroom drama, but they happened in real life.

Collateral (2004)
Tom Cruise plays a contract killer who has arrived in Los Angeles to wipe out five people involved in a trial that poses problems for his employer In order to make his way around the city, he hires Jamie Foxx to be his personal chauffeur for the night. The movie concludes with a flurry of action scenes (including shootouts and chases), it is not predominantly an action movie. The majority of the film is a kind of cat-and-mouse game between Cruise and Foxx.

Constant Gardener (2005)
The film starts in Africa, where we learn that Rachel Weisz has been murdered along with her friend and co-worker, Hubert Kounde. The movie launches into flashbacks to show her rapid romance with husband Ralph Fiennes, a British diplomat. He starts to suspect that her killing wasn't just an example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and finds that she had been investigating improprieties by big pharmaceutical companies. that is using Africa as a laboratory and dumping ground for spoiled drugs. The film is used as a treatise on the horrific state of affairs in Africa.

Constantine (2005)
John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) is a exorcist who is blessed (or cursed) with the ability to see demons. In his work, J.C. tracks down demons and sends them back from whence they came. The rules between Heaven and Hell seem to be blurring as there is a growing demon presence on Earth which does not bode well for the future of humanity. We get a couple of gruesome surprises, which were diminished in shock by the CGI. Watch through the credits for a whole scene. The film is based on comic book "Hellblazer".

Contract (2006)
John Cusack and his son Jamie Anderson are out camping, and come across a dying cop and a big time contract killer Morgan Freeman. Morgan's squad of hired killers are on their trail, trying to free him, which leads to shoot outs, climbing down sheer rock faces, navigating treacherous bridges and a stand off in a log cabin. If it wasn't for the two stars, this movie would be a made for TV or direct to video especially since it was filmed in Sofia Bulgaria !

Covenant (2006)
Four young men , who are the descendants of a quartet of families with supernatural powers that come to them on their 13th and 18th birthdays. But someone else has been using The Power, and not just to flip up a girl's skirt at the local bar, someone's been using it for real mischief, like murder, not to mention inducing totally creepy nightmares about spiders. From the trailer I saw , The Covenant looked like a sexy supernatural thriller. but alas it is not. CGI tricks and post-production processing, make it look better than it is.

Crank (2006)
Jason Statham a hitman, is injected with a Beijing cocktail, a Chinese poison that will kill him if his adrenaline levels drop beyond a certain level in his body. Think 'Speed' with a human instead of a bus! He dispatches his enemies in the most brutal manner possible or finds new ways of raising his excitement levels, his choices include snorting cocaine off of a bathroom floor, drinking a convenience store's entire supply of Red Bull and going at it doggy-style with Amy Smart in the middle of a busy Chinatown street while a busload of schoolgirls cheer him on. Camera movements shot with a UN-steady-cam gave me a bad case of vertigo, maybe the camera man mostly does rock videos.

Crash (2004)
The lives of a racially diverse group of Los Angeles residents are affected by prejudice and stereotypes as they come together and are torn apart by a chain of events leading back to a common car jacking. Those affected include a police detective (Don Cheadle), the wife of the district attorney (Sandra Bullock), and the car jackers themselves. Matt Dillon as a veteran cop who is also an unabashed racist, who is caring for his ailing father alone (Bruce Kirby) and trying to negotiate with an unfeeling HMO provider for his care. By the time all of the storylines play out, each of the characters are intertwined in surprising and illuminating ways

Criminal (2004)
This remake of the Argentinian "Nine Queens" is a tale about a professional con man (John C. Reilly) who takes a fledgling grifter (Diego Luna) under his tutelage, showing him the tricks of his trade. The big scam involves a counterfeited antique bank note that shows up in time to be fobbed off on a fabulously rich collector who is just about to leave town. If you have not seen the original, you are in for a 'Training Day' for confidence tricksters.

Crimson Rivers: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)
Jean Reno returns as grizzled inspector Pierre Niemans, but replaces his young hot shot partner of the first Vincent Cassel with an even younger hotshot Benoît Magimel. They follow a trail of ninja-like monks who religious serial killings of "apostles" and to the underlying conspiracy that has Christopher Lee as the maniacal Nazi who plans to fashion a new-Europe with a religious relic. Its a blend of X files & Da Vinci code paranoia.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Played out over Peking rooftops and across the Gobi desert to the sounds of Yo-Yo Ma's cello, the film carries us back into history, yet plunges us into the present of martial arts legacy. It is largely a movie about self-awareness and self-determination, as most of its characters struggle to realize lifelong desires.

Croupier (1998)
Clive Owen plays Jack Manfred, a frustrated, aspiring novelist whose father (Nicholas Ball) gets him an interview for a job as a croupier. Plenty of movies examine casinos from the point of view of the gamblers, so it's cool to look at those establishments from the dealer perspective. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't concentrate on this area to any significant degree. The story comes across as simplistic and undeveloped. It uses narration to help push things along, but this just leads to forced exposition. Ultimately, the narration seems cheesy and creates more of a hindrance than a help.

Cursed (2005)
The movie opens with a car accident and a werewolf attack, which has a girl ripped to shreds. and leaves our heroes with nasty bites, it is only a matter of time before Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg can no longer control these weird impulses, cursed with lycanthropy. ..... oooh scary !!!!! This movie was made over two plus years ago but it has been re-cut, recast, restructured, re-edited and rescheduled. and now has Craig Kilborns and Scott Baio in it .. .. wow ! A werewolf film that has been completely neutered by the intent of rich, venal men to sell bloodshed to children in an "acceptable" package. mmmmmmmm

Curse Of The Golden Flower (2006)
The third martial arts film for director Zhang Yimou ("Hero,"and "House of Flying Dagger") The movie is more of a dysfunctional family drama set in China's 10th Century during the Tang Dynasty. The Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat) has returned home from war to his wife, the Empress (Gong LI), but when she learns that he's been poisoning the medicine she must take on an hourly basis, she plots to overthrow him, beginning a war that will tear their family apart on the eve of the annual Chrysanthenum Festival. The Empress is smitten with her own stepson, the Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), and has apparently seduced him into bed a time or two. The other two princes — the ambitious and ignored young Cheng (Qin Junjie) and the warrior Jie (Jay Chou) — are barely sketched in. Story leaves a lot to be desired, but the visuals done with collaborator Tony Ching Siu-Tung as the fight/battle sequences are jaw-dropping.

Cutie Honey (2004)
Cutie Honey is essentially a very campy, hair-brained comedy. Eriko Sato, who plays Cutie Honey like a 5 year old pretending to be a bird-brained super heroine that likes to show us a little cleavage and to kick butt. She eats lots of Sushi, touches the heart-shaped button on her neck and transforms into Cutie Honey...a spandex wearing, boob bobbling, super babe that fights evil with her martial arts skills. Once you understand this and lower your expectations accordingly, you may enjoy the film. Japanese with English subtitles

Darkness (2004)
A haunted house thriller in which a family moves into a mysterious old mansion with a sordid past. The problem is, both the living and the dead roam around in this movie with no concept of what their motivation is. The film was originally released overseas two years ago, and it's not hard to see why they didn't rush it into theaters here. Only has one thing going for it: Anna Paquin in a skimpy T-shirt.

Dark Knight (2008)
There is a new menace in Gotham city called The Joker (Heath Ledger) who targets both the gangsters and the city's officials alike, he is clearly insane and unpredictable as he wantonly maims and kills anyone who crosses his path. Overwhelmed by such a merciless foe, Batman AKA Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) seeks out new strategies and armaments to fight off Joker, while watching district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) fighting crime legally. I thought it was all hype about Heath Ledger, but he gave a performance that is so heart stopping, and terrifyingly authentic, and to me he is the star of the movie. It is a comic-book movie that never once seems to come across as a comic-book movie.

Dark Water (2002)
This is the original Japanese movie not the American version . A young mother Hitomi Kuroki is going through a messy divorce, she finds a cheap, old apartment near her daughters kindergarten. There is something 'not right' about the apartment, but she's homeless and jobless and she needs this place to present a stable environment for the custody hearings. She's being pulled by two forces—one natural, the other supernatural—and her paranoia that her daughter will be taken away from her affects her judgment. Soon the building seems to be bursting at the seams with the terrible secret it contains. Japanese with English subtitles.

DaVinci Code (2006)
Tom Hanks is a professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, who, while on a book tour through Paris, is called upon by the local police to assist with the identification of some mysterious cryptograms relating to the murder of the curator of the Louvre with whom he was supposed to meet with that very day. He is joined at the museum by cryptologist Audrey Tatou, the estranged granddaughter of the curator. They embark on an odyssey to discover the mythical 'Holy Grail', but soon realize a dangerous threat is pursuing them at every step. Hanks seeks the guidance of grail expert, Ian McKellan, to hide them and assist in resolving the cryptic Da Vinci code. It's a treasure hunt movie that isn't much more than a modern version of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger (Michael Rennie) from another world with a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. Unfortunately the humans respond, well, in a very human way and shoots him as soon he sets his foot on the ground. In the final minutes he leaves the people of Earth with a warning: "Your choice is simple. Join us and live in peace or pursue your present course and face obliteration" This is one of the real classics of the SF genre.

Dead Calm (1989)
Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman are a couple who pick up a stranded sailor (Billy Zane) on a sail boat and find out that he's not what he first appears to be, maybe Sam shouldn't have let his curiosity get the best of em, eh mate. Unfortunately, he discovers the truth about Billy's precarious mental condition too late to stop the psychotic from making off with Nicole and leaving him on the sinking schooner.

Deadly Friend (1986)
A Wes Craven-directed thriller about a new kid in town (Matthew Laborteaux), who has invented a robot called BB. When it is accidentally destroyed, he saves its "brain" or rather the computer chip that powered it. The girl next door (Kristy Swanson) gets accidentally killed by her abusive dad, Matthew kidnaps the body of Kristy from the hospital and implants a chip into her brain that makes her come back to life just like his robot. Yet there are changes: now she wants revenge and goes on a murderous rampage, though her spock salute hands were a bit too much. For being over 20 plus years , some effects are good like when Robo-Kristy hurls a basketball at a old lady's (Anne Ramsey) head, causing it to explode.

Death Race (2008)
Jason Statham is Frankenstein, a guy framed for the murder of his wife who happens to be a former racecar driver. He is sent to the Terminal Island prison, where a corporation runs it for profit. Overlord Joan Allen runs the maximum security prison and began staging gladiator-style sporting events for pay-per-view consumption that would eventually pave the way for the Death Race. In which prisoners shoot, slam and smash it out with each other in cars tricked out with weapons galore and where five victories can ensure an early release.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)
The setting is a research station ,a genetic testing site where scientists are hoping to create a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The project is to find a way to extract the protein within the shark's brain so that humans can take advantage of these benefits too – sort of a super gingko biloba. A band of humans including boss Samuel L Jackson, cook LL Kool J, Thomas Jane a shark wrangler, and doctor scientist Saffron Burrows must survive to escape several very, very large sharks on the loose, but these are no ordinary sharks. These predators are 25 feet long, and their brains have been altered in a way as to make them amazingly intelligent, agile, and menacing. This movie is FUN, and it's got teeth!

Deep Impact (1998)
After a large comet is found to be headed toward Earth, the US and Russian space agencies concoct a plan to save humanity by nuking the comet and changing it's trajectory. Things don't exactly proceed according to plan, and the comet breaks into two pieces both headed toward Earth, with the results being the possible extermination of all life on the planet. It is an moving and involving story that takes you through a wealth of emotions and experiences. The special effects have reached the stage where such a catastrophe can be believably depicted, and so we are left with the promise of scenes of mass destruction on a grand scale

Defender (2004)
This direct to DVD, stars Dolph Lundgren who also makes his directing debut with this current events-inspired action flick. Jerry Springer plays the President of the United States who has arranged for his National Security adviser to take an ultra-secret meeting in Romania, and the contact is a man at the center of the world's terrorist activities. Accompanying the advisor is former Gulf War warrior Lundgren and his security team of six. From the first moment the enemies open fire, the movie rarely takes a breath. Wish I had the bullet concession on this one !

Deja Vu (2006)
A ferry boat explodes and leaves hundreds dead. An ATF agent named Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) discovers that Paula Patton , whose body has washed up on the shore may have discovered who the bomber was. Through the aid of Mr. Peabody's way-back machine (or something like that) a super-tech command center can zero in with amazing detail on any location and from multiple angles but, the view is not taking place in real time, instead, it's four days and six hours before. Denzel tests the boundaries of time to hunt a terrorist (James Caviezel, before he can detonate the weapon...again. The movie walks the thin line between iffy reality and full blown sci-fi.

Departed (2006)
The movie is a cat-and-mouse game where it is never too clear who is the cat and who is the mouse; nor is it clear with which character we are supposed to identify. It has borrowed heavy from the Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a young man from a gangster family, joins the police, and goes undercover to infiltrate Boston's mob. There is Jack Nicholson, who upstages everybody in the picture. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon do their best to match Nicholson,but its no contest. In supporting roles, Mark Wahlberg , Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, and Vera Farmiga. Its intelligent and has enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Derailed (2005)
Clive Owen is a faithful husband to his wife, Melissa George, and a loving father to his ill daughter, Addison Timlin. He has no thoughts of straying until a chance encounter on a morning train with the ravishing Jennifer Aniston tempts him to temporarily put aside his vows, however, Clive never gets to consummate the relationship, as a deadly thief Vincent Cassel, manages to invade their hotel tryst, beating him into delirium while he has his way with Jennifer . When he awakens, he can't go to the police without exposing their indiscretion. The incident at the hotel is just the beginning of Vincent's intrusion into Clive's life. He wants money - big money - from him and knows the family man will have to play along since he's not about to go to the cops. It is a thriller with a good, but somewhat predictable, story and a decent cast.

Devil's Rejects (2005)
The movie is a homage to B-grade cult horror, peppered with references and stars from that particular genre of cinema, it revels in the act of cruelty and murder itself. This movie continues where House of Corpses ended with the family of sadistic murderers as they attempt to elude tough-talking lawman William Forsythe. It's hard to walk away unnumbered by so much blood and so many unanswered screams. The Rock music was nice.

Dexter: The First Season (2007)
Michael C. Hall plays Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter forensics expert for the Miami Police Department, who just happens to also be serial killer, he channels his impulses into vigilantism, seeking out other potential serial murderers as his victims. Through extensive flashbacks, it's revealed that Dexter had a close relationship with his foster father (James Remar), a cop who spotted his psychosis early. This first season is the hunt for a serial killer plaguing Miami, who leaves his victims in pieces, completely drained of blood. Dubbed the Ice Truck Killer, who preys on street hookers. Just realize Dexter is a car wreck waiting to happen and we can't wait, so sharpen your knives and suit up for the Emmy nominated series.

Direct Action (2004)
Dolph Lundgren is part of a special unit tasked with bringing down the crime rate any way they can. These guys get to operate a bit outside the law, but all with the best of intentions. Enter Polly Shannon a rookie cop. It's too bad that her first day with Dolph coincides with the 5 p.m. deadline that he has for needing to be at the courthouse to testify against some of his fellow cops who are corrupt., but several dirty officers aren't about to go down without a fight. That means trouble for our hero and it also means that there's going to be some serious gunplay and butt kicking.

Disturbia (2008)
Shia LaBeouf is a good boy gone bad: A tragic car accident kills his father and he is left a wounded soul. After punching his Spanish teacher, he is sentenced to an entire summer of house arrest. Mom (Carrie-Ann Moss) has cut off the iTunes, and the Xbox 360 Live so he starts looking in at the houses on his street. Observing the neighbors engaging in their daily activities, including new neighbor Sarah Roemer. With his best buddy Aaron Yoo, the two spy on David Morse the creepy neighbor, who they believes might be responsible for a series of unsolved murders. There's some intense thrills with humor and romance that's likely to exceed what one might expect from such a simple premise.

Dogma (1999)
The movie starts out with a disclaimer stating it's a comedy about religion, course another clue might be right after that George Carlin shows up as a Cardinal giving a presentation on the new look of the church. Two fallen angels (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) decide to take advantage of a loophole in Catholic dogma and get back into Heaven. Alan Rickman is sent to convince the cynical Linda Fiorentino to stop the angels, because if they make it into Heaven, the world will end. Chris Rock is Rufus, the 13th Apostle who was best buds with Christ, along for the ride is Salma Hiack and Jason Lee.

Domino (2005)
Based sort of on a true story it stars Keira Knightley as Domino Harvey who bounces around in society, modeling, gets kicked out of college, and is bored. One day she sees an ad for a bounty hunter seminar and decides to give it a shot. Of course this seminar is nothing but a scam being ran by master skip tracer Mickey Rourke and his silent but violent sidekick Edgar Ramirez. Domino is quick to their scam and demands to get what she paid for and learn the bounty hunter biz. The main thrust of the story involves an armored car robbery and includes a Las Vegas businessman (Dabney Coleman) and the mob. This movie is full of action and humor and if you don't spend too much time trying to decide what is real and what is fantasy.

Donnie Brasco (1997)
The movie is based on the true story of an FBI man who did so well that a $500,000 bounty is still on his head today. But its a mob movie, with Al Pacino playing a gangster and Johnny Depp as the title character, a FBI agent who infiltrated the Mafia. You'll hear a explanation on the grammatical use and meanings of fuhgeddaboudit, which will have you laughing out loud. The chemistry between Depp and Pacino is the best thing about the film.

Doom (2005)
Yet another video game turned into a movie. A science lab on Mars where scientists have accidentally unlocked something quite hell-ish. The Special Ops Marines are called in to find survivors and eliminate the threat, they are lead by Dwayne Johnson aka "The Rock" Most of the movie takes place in dark tunnels (except when they remember how easy it would be if they turned on the lights), its so dark you can't see the cheesy sets and special effects , lighting and logic are equally dim, truly mindless entertainment.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (2005)
Kurt Russell stars as a well-regarded horse trainer, he neglects his daughter Dakota Fanning, a slight that wife Elisabeth Shue frequently tries to amend, Kurt reluctantly takes Dakota to the track with him on the day that prize winning Sonador , the spanish word for "dreamer." is running over his objections after "listening" to the horse. Down the stretch, Sonador goes down, with the prospect of the horse being put down, Kurt buys Sonador and looks to nurse her back to health in hopes of putting her out to stud. Dakota develops a bond with the horse , Sonador miraculously heals well enough to possibly race again with the help of his ever-faithful stable hands Freddy Rodriguez and Luiz Guzman, and his crusty ol' dad Kris Kristofferson. The movie ends as you'd expect, with a big race and Sonador entered as the underdog. Dreamer is a quality family film that, while formulaic and sap prone, really caters to the budding talent of Dakota Fanning who deftly combines a wide-eyed innocence with an eerily mature wisdom, and she makes it all seem so believable and gives her a strong supporting cast to work with.

Dreamgirls (2006)
One of the most successful Broadway musicals transferred to the big screen. Loosely based on the story of Diana Ross and the Supremes, the movie focuses on the rise of The Dreamettes, an all black girl group hoping to ride the wave of the Motown explosion and make it big. The trio is composed of Beyonce Knowles as Deena; Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell and Jennifer Hudson as Effie, Eddie Murphy plays raunchy singer and ladies' man James "Thunder" Early, and Jamie Foxx is Curtis Taylor Jr, the fast-talking Cadillac-dealer-turned-promoter. Hudson does a remarkable job creating the strong-willed Effie and communicating the hurt she endures. Murphy gives a spectacular performance. Foxx does a good job in a role that doesn't require too much.

Dressed to Kill (1946)
Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson who investigate a group of killers who are to out get three music boxes sold at an auction. The boxes contain something in them that will help lead the crooks to money printing plates. It is the fourteenth and final film in the Rathbone/Holmes series. The movie does place the art of deduction on a pedestal above and beyond the action, and that is just what I want out of a Sherlock Holmes film.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy in a tale of two unlikely companions who become dear friends and share a major portion of their lives together. It is the bittersweet drama about the unspoken friendship between this pair over a quarter of a century, from 1948 to 1973. Dan Aykroyd is surprisingly good in this serious, dramatic role as Jessica's son. But it is the interplay between the two that earned the movie 4 Academy Awards

Drunken Master (1978)
Before Jackie (spelled Jacky here) Chan was a household name even in Hong Kong, he made a movie about Wan Fei Hong, the legendary master of the 'drunken monkey' fighting style. From start to finish, this movie is peppered with Jackie Chan's feats: from his ability to withstand the torment of his teacher to prevailing against enemies in all forms, with a lot of comedy along the way .

Duel (1971)
Steven Spielberg's directorial debut is "Duel" a simple movie about traveling Dennis Weaver who tries to pass a huge flammable truck on a state highway, and is then strangely stalked by this angered truck driver who seems to want him dead. The truck itself is a formidable beast: bulky, grimy, billowing exhaust fumes and sounding its horn, it would be threatening even if it wasn't trying to murder him. The chase scenes are superbly filmed, with the roar of the engines and fast cutting between the two opponents' vehicles as they speed through the dusty desert landscape.

Eagles - Farewell 1 Tour - Live From Melbourne (2005)
What a difference technology and years make, great surround sound, and High Definition visuals. There are thirty songs on two DVD disks, from the earliest "Take It Easy," "Desperado," "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Hotel California", plus hits from Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Joe Walsh's solo careers ,even Funk #49 from when I used to 'hang with' The James Gang, ah to relive those memories and classic songs all over again.

Edison Force (2005)
Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, LL Cool J, Dylan McDermott and Justin Timberlake, are the main stars of this movie, which was shelved over a year ago, and now it is a direct to video release. The story: City of Edison is ruled by a corrupt task force called F.R.A.T., (First Response Assault and Tactical) which is a swat like team that takes down druglords and gangsters, steals their money, and spreads it around to the heavy-hitting politicians and businessmen. Rookie journalist Justin sniffs out the corruption. Except, he works for the Heights Herald, a community weekly run by Morgan who is more interested in printing up coupons for local grocers than hard-hitting investigative journalism. Plenty of gunfire, beatings, car chases and explosions ensue along the way

8MM 2 (2005)
This is NOT a sequel to the original 8mm, which was about a snuff film , this one stars Jonathon Schaech as a young lawyer with a promising career and fiancée Lori Heuring. But when the young couple engages in a ménage-à-trois with a gorgeous model Zita Görög, they stand to lose everything, as an unknown extortionist has evidence of their indiscretion. As the blackmailer pumps him for exorbitant sums, the ambitious young man enters the seedy realm of Budapest's porn world, trying to track down his tormentor. But when he is kidnapped, he stands to lose more than just his career, and it's up to Lori to find him before he forfeits his life as well. There is more boobs showing than in the US Senate!

88 Minutes (2007)
Al Pacino is a Seattle college professor who is also a forensic psychiatrist who specializes in profiling serial killers. He was the chief witness in the death penalty case against serial killer, Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) ,on the eve of his scheduled execution, another murder is committed just like all of the ones that he did. Pacino begins receiving mysterious phone calls on his phone telling him he has 88 minutes to live, and counting down, with little time, he has to get to the bottom of the phone calls and the new murders that are occurring. Clearly, someone out there is trying to either kill Pacino, frame him for murder or force him to admit that he may have offered perjured testimony in the Forster case.

Elektra (2005)
Jennifer Garner (TV's Alias) jumping around in a skin tight costume, is a hired killer and is very good at it, until she is assigned to kill a man and his 13-year-old daughter. She instead befriends them, and decides to protect them against her fellow assassins who are now trying to finish her job. She even kills Lucious Malfoy at the beginning in a cool Sai daggers opening sequence. Gunplay, swords, kung fu and shiny leather, what a combo.

Entrapment (1999)
Sean Connery is a master thief, and is considered one of the best art thieves in the world. Enter young insurance agent Catherine Zeta-Jones, who has long been following his trail, analyzing his style and technique. It quickly turns out that Virginia is indeed using her job as an insurance agent only as a cover for her nightly activities in which she climbs down the glass walls of skyscrapers to steal priceless paintings. The two team up to steal a heavily guarded ancient Chinese mask inside a fortress of a museum and then one final caper to a bank computer installation where they will attempt to download eight Billion dollars, The opening heist was cool and the last 20 minutes had some intense stuff, with people hanging from skyscrapers and explosions and gas bombs. You know, good stuff like Catherine squirming her rear down onto the floor to avoid a laser alarm system.

Equilibrium (2002)
Considering war as the result of the expression of emotions, this movie is just recycling 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and obviously The Matrix. While it doesn't have the budgetary and qualitative ambitions of the latter. The kung-fu guns were fun to watch but taking on over a dozen machine gun toting guards and you survive ... many times.

Executive Decision (1996)
Islamic terrorists hijack a 747 en route to Washington DC saying they want freedom for their leader who's in custody in the U.S., 50 million in gold bullion and safe passage in exchange for the 400 passengers lives. Kurt Russell is an intelligence expert who believes that this is a bluff, and that the real intent is to turn the 747 into a suicide bomb replete with nerve gas that could wipe out a considerable piece of the Eastern Seaboard. On his side is Steven Seagal, as a leader of an "elite commando squad," with his sidekick John Leguizamo, also on the good guy side is Halle Berry as the plucky flight attendant. It's fairly believable and it never really slows down.

Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
Father Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard) as an archaeologist who lost his faith, only to find it tested in the deserts of Africa in the form of a buried church and dark history of secrets. Then a series of sinister events befalls those associated with the dig, and it appears that Merrin has stumbled across the very source of evil that he has tried to escape. Lots of low brow horror meant to elicit a response -- there are maggots galore, bodies being rendered limb from limb and some silly battle sequences, plus the foul-mouthed demon could have been toned down more than a bit !

Fantastic Four (2005)
Brilliant scientist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) needs financing for an ambitious project to study the effects of cosmic rays. When he can't get the bucks anywhere else, he comes hat in hand to the door of his old college rival, billionaire Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon). The mission runs into a problem when the station's shielding fails, and the group are exposed to hard radiation. But there are side effects of their experience, Chris Evans turns to flame without warning, and Jessica Alba can become invisible. Reed can stretch any party of his body to extremes, while Michael Chiklis develops into a super-strong rock-like being. Finally, Victor begins to become metallic and he also gains serious electrical powers. It's a classic story of good and evil straight from the pages of Marvel Comics.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
The Fantastic Four: Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), and Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) ,–are prepairing for Sue & Reed's wedding.. When a metallic-looking alien called The Silver Surfer glides into town promising the end of the world. We do see the team busting out their powers for more than just a couple of brief sequences.These guys are some truly fantastic when it comes to product placement, theres more products featured than in a hour TV show ! The best that can be said of this flyweight, instantly forgettable effort is that it's unpretentious.

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
After a street race gone wrong lands him in trouble with the law, Lucas Black is shipped off to live with his father in Tokyo. Once there, however, he becomes involved in the world of drift racing, and begins hitting on Nathalie Kelly, the girlfriend of Drift King Brian Tee, who runs some businesses for his Yakuza uncle. Plenty of eye candy for wannabe gearheads to look at, both the cars and the 'accessories'. Forget a plot or story, its an orgy of screeching brakes, twisted metal and half-formed sentences.

Fear (1996)
William Petersen plays an architect whose 16-year-old daughter Reese Witherspoon comes home one day with a dude who has to be at least 23. Dad just knows this guy, played by Mark Wahlberg a.k.a. former rap star Marky Mark. He plays as a fellow without affect, an emotionally naked psychopath who anticipates no long-term problems for his and Reese relationship were he to shoot her father in the head, for example. Other things start to happen, like "accidental" deaths, cars getting trashed as well as homes... Needless to say, it all comes to a head when Mark and his buddies try and pay back Witherspoon and her family from the house thrashing that her dad did.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
This movie could have been called Cheech & Chong trip out in Vegas, only this is not funny, but just weird . Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro are two hippies who missed the jump off the flower power train. See a drug-addled journalist and his allegedly Samoan attorney getting stoned out of their minds and trashing hotel rooms virtually beyond recognition.

Fearless - Huo Yuan Jia (2006)
Reportedly Jet Li's final martial arts film (I smell a comeback film should his new movie career lulls in the future), he plays real-life martial arts legend Huo Yuan Jia, the leader and part-founder of the well-respected Jin Wu Athletic Foundation, a famous school of martial arts. In his day, which happens to be around the turn of the 20th Century, Huo became a national hero. As far as the quality of the fighting, Yuen Woo-ping (Kung Fu Hustle, Kill Bill Vol. 2) is the choreographer, so you know it's going to be top-notch. If this is truly Li's final martial arts film, he ends his martial arts career at the age of 42, the same age that Huo Yuan Jia's ended through his untimely death.

15 Minutes (2001)
Two Eastern Europeans come to New York, after their release from a Czechoslovakian prison. One of them, Oleg Taktarov, steals a video camera to make his great American movie, the other, Karel Roden, seems compelled to leave a path of death and destruction in his wake. This duo hatches a scheme: sell off the murder tapes to a tabloid news ratings-seeking Kelsey Grammer, then turn themselves in to the proper authorities, plead insanity, then get off scot-free living off the wealth of their inevitable movie deals. Of course the only things standing in their way are Robert DeNiro a New York 'celebrity' police detective, and Edward Burns, an arson fire inspector. Throw in Melina Kanakaredes as DeNiro's love interest and Avery Brooks as his partner and friend.

Fighter In The Wind (2004)
A young Korean Taekwondo competitor arrives in Japan near the end of World War II with hopes of being a fighter pilot, but ends up on the streets battling racism, organized crime, occupying American servicemen, and his own fear of failure as a martial artist. He retires to the wilderness for two years to train his body in the art of karate and returns to take on the world. The movie is packed with plenty of karate action, majestic views and an interesting story to boot! Korean language with ENGRISH subtitles.

Final Countdown (1980) (DVD-2004)
The crew of the U.S.S. Nimitz, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, are sucked back into the past, right off Hawaii in the hours before the Japanese are to attack Pearl Harbor. It has right balance of action, mystery, and it deserves credit for its emphasis on a character driven story just at a time when FX-driven movies had come to dominate the science fiction/fantasy genre. Imagine you're the captain (Kirk Douglas) of that aircraft carrier , do you honor your duty to your country, and launch your jet fighters to wipe out the Japanese attack force and naval fleet, and thus change the course of history?

Final Cut (2004)
Memory implant chips are installed in unborn children, every experience is recorded and stored. After a person dies, the experiences of an entire lifetime can be restored and edited into a "Rememory," a video eulogy of a person's life. Robin Williams is a "cutter," a man solely responsible for the review, cataloging, editing, and condensing of a person's memories after he or she dies. This is a picture of an entire society at the mercy of a technological capability, Big Brother watching from inside.

Final Destination 3 (2006)
It's senior day at the amusement park and Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a vision that the roller coaster breaks apart and it's worth causing a ruckus to get off before becoming the latest obit-subjects. Seven people get off the ride and then watch in horror as their foolish friends scream their way to the big graduation party in the sky. Clues to upcoming disasters are in the digital photos Wendy was snapping at the park. The deaths are horribly violent and messy with arterial spray, of course, to the point where they almost come off as black comedy. Be it through overheated tanning beds, nail guns, or an unfortunate accident at a drive-thru window. Rube Goldberg would be proud of some of the contraptions of annihilation.

Fire Down Below (1997)
Kris Kristopherson, is filling the mines in beautiful Appalachia with toxic waste. After an investigating agent is killed, Steven Seagal playing Jack Taggert, an agent with the EPA, yet EPA, mmmm, is sent in to find out the truth behind the murder and save the town from destruction., at the same time he's courting Marg Helgenberger , the local beekeeper. There's plenty of stunts and martial arts in this one, plus explosions, reckless driving (including a truck falling over a cliff with someone in it). Seagal wears long coats throughout the film which tastefully disguise his love handles.

Firewall (2006)
Harrison Ford is the security specialist for a large bank, and his job is to make sure the company's software is bullet-proof and cannot be penetrated by hackers. Paul Bettany wants to rob a rich global bank and figures out that if he went directly to the man who designed the security software, (Ford), he could force him to get some secure funds handed over. Harrison finds where the baddies are hiding his family by tracking the GPS collar on his dog ! add to that the movie ends with the obligatory hand-to-hand combat between the hero and the villain , in a setting that allows much breakage of wood, plastic, and glass, should come as no surprise.

Flags Of Our Fathers (2006)
The movie is the American perspective of the battle for Iwo Jima. The film primarily deals with the three surviving men that hoisted the flag on Mount Suribachi for the infamous photograph. John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and American Indian Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) were the three soldiers that survived the month long conflict on the Japanese island. They were given a free pass home and thrust into an effort to raise billions of dollars from the American taxpayers and corporations. The movie attempts to address multiple themes : survivor's guilt, the definition of heroism, the purpose of information and propaganda in war and finally, racism.

Flawless (2008)
Michael Caine and Demi Moore clearly enjoy themselves as two unlikely people who conspire to rob the London Diamond Corporation of millions worth of diamonds Michael Caine works as a janitor and who knows a thing or two about Demi Moore a US-born, Oxford trained executive who for the umpteenth time, has a male colleague promoted instead of her, hey its the 60's. Dave Brubecks 'take five' music adds to this tense heist crime thriller.

Flight 93 (2006)
This is a made for TV movie about the September 11, 2001 terrorist hijacking of United flight 93 . The hijackers take the plane, and as tragedy unfolds at the World Trade Center, we see air traffic controllers, airline flight centers, flashbacks and, mainly, phone conversations between passengers and their families on the ground as they realize there's no choice but to take on the hijackers.. Some of the things do not make sense, like the police arrive at a ladies house whose husband called her from the flight, and they just stand around, or the scramble of Air Force jets way too late..

Flight of the Phoenix ( 2004)
A remake (seems like a lot of them lately) of a 1965 movie starring Jimmy Stewart. Some of the better aspects of the flick relate to its sporadic action sequences. The initial plane crash works really well, and starts the movie off with a bang. Later bits that also go the action route manage to create some excitement and drama, but Hollywood's latest exercise in recycling pretty much stays firmly grounded for most of its length.

Flightplan (2005)
Jodie Foster is returning to America with her daughter (Marlene Lawston) following the suicide of her husband. Halfway through the flight she awakens to discover her daughter has disappeared and worse, no one has any memory of her daughter getting on the plane, which only raises the question: has Jodie gone mad, or is there some conspiracy afoot? As with many modern thrillers the actual plot, once it comes to light, is a bit implausible, there are a few too many turns towards the end, especially its inappropriate ending.

Flyboys (2006)
Based-on-a-true-story , the brave young Americans who in the days prior to the United States' official entry into World War I, volunteered for the France's famed Lafayette Escadrille to become WW I flying aces. The movie features dogfights, fairly decent performances , mainly Jean Reno as the commander of the squadron. Theres a tacked-on romantic subplot, it's James Franco falling for a provincial French girl (Jennifer Decker). Since this is an 'airplane' movie it is inevitable that the scenes on the ground are by far the weakest element of the flick. War movies are a dime a dozen unless there is something fresh or different to set one of them apart from the rest, this one is worth a nickle.

Fog (1980)
Horror master John Carpenter offers up a triple treat Jamie Lee Curtis, Adrienne Barbeau, and Janet Leigh all in the same movie. As if that weren't enough, both John Houseman (his opening story telling) and Hal Holbrook as the priest.. all add to the suspense .. The movie offers a few shocks and plenty of good old-fashioned clammy chills, the scene where the men on the fishing boat see the ghost-ship is one of the classic movie creep-outs. A lot of scary scenes were added after the movie was shot , in the last month before turning in to the film company..

Fog Of War (2003)
The story of Robert McNamara is captured by Errol Morris documentarian and is a frightening, frank, human, and elusive journey through American warfare history. McNamara expounds on his eleven maxims while also recounting highlights from his life story. Ranging from his childhood in California, to his Harvard years in teaching, to his experiences in WWII, a five month stint as president of the Ford Motor Company, through his tumultuous years as Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968, giving us an intimate glimpse inside the inner circles of the government.

Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
Michael Angarano is a teenager who loves old kung fu movies he gets from the local Chinese pawn shop. When a bully situation escalates into the shooting of the old man, He takes hold of an ancient Chinese staff, and is transported back in time to a fantasy world. Jackie Chan an drunken immortal fighter explains to Michael that the staff once belonged to the powerful Monkey King (Jet Li), and to save the land from an evil warlord (Collin Chou), they must return the magical weapon to him, with the help of a powerful monk, also played by Jet Li and a vengeful young girl (Yifei Liu). Its a Kung Fu Wizard of Oz., a teenager goes to a foreign, magical land, collects some friends on a journey to a castle. There are many special effects, a rip off so many other films but it still kind of works.

Forgotten (2004)
Julianne Moore, as a mother struggling to hang on to the memory of her young son. Is she really crazy, really inventing a son, are the people around her actually plotting against her, trying to make her crazy. Suddenly, with no forewarning of any kind, we're in X-Files territory, with a hard to fathom plot, so it's the kind of thing that's only good for a diversion. If not for a few special effects, I rate it even lower!

Formula 51 (2001)
Elmo McKelroy (Samuel L. Jackson) , is working for The Lizard (Meat Loaf), a big-time drug dealer. Elmo has just developed a formula for a substance more potent than heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, a pill that purports to give you the ultimate high. Rather than giving the Lizard rights to his ingenious creation, Elmo blows up the Lizard's lab, But the Lizard survives the explosion and sends a beautiful assassin named Dakota (Emily Mortimer) . Elmo dons a kilt, and runs off to England, where he meets with Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle). Their mission is to sell his super drug, while avoiding a bunch of baddies, and a hit woman.

Fortune Cookie (1966)
Jack Lemmon plays , a television camera man who is bulldozed by Ron Rich a football player during a televised game. Lemon's brother-in-law, a shyster lawyer (Walter Matthau) , concocts a bogus lawsuit based on non-existent injuries from the accident. Walter's portrayal of the lawyer earned him an Oscar. One of the great things about The Fortune Cookie that seems to have been lost in modern film making is the character acting. So many films these days are unable to coax any kind of quick and witty dialogue.

Four Brothers (2005)
The movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin and Garrett Hedlund as the Mercer brothers, each of whom was adopted by kindly Fionnula Flanagan. When she is gunned down in the opening sequence, the brothers reunite in Detroit for her funeral and vow to avenge her death. If you can forgive the disappointing ending, Four Brothers is a violent revenge fantasy (shades of the John Wayne film, "The Sons of Katie Elder"), for the most part, an enjoyable thriller that's worth seeing for the shoot-out sequence alone.

1408 (2007)
Mike Enslin (John Cusack), who makes his living writing about the supernatural - ghosts, spirits and such, and who being a rationalist, doesn't believe in any of it. His cynicism come to a head when an anonymous postcard challenges him to stay in room 1408 at Manhattan's Dolphin Hotel. When the management refuses to let him, he becomes curious, eventually muscling his way in by legal threats. Samuel L. Jackson, the hotel manager , doesn't care if Mike ends up dead or not, he just doesn't "want to clean up the mess." So what if fifty-six of the room's prior occupants perished? So what if none lasted more than an hour? The room reveals much more about Enslin's past, which contains the requisite demons that come back to haunt him into a psychological meltdown. His most troubling memories are about his daughter, who suffered from some fatal disease. This movie is more of a creepy thriller with supernatural elements.

Freedomland (2006)
Plain clothes detective Lorenzo Council (Samuel L. Jackson) finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place when Brenda Martin (Julianne Moore) arrives at a New Jersey emergency room claiming that a black man stole her car with her four-year-old son in the backseat, it's obvious to everyone in the audience that Martin isn't telling the whole story to Detective Lorenzo. As tempers flare at the nearby projects, he needs to find out what really happened before the racial tensions in the mainly black area threaten to ignite into a riot. The film feels like a series of missed opportunities, like great moments that almost happened but were cut short before they had a chance to make their impact.

Frequency ( 2000)
A New York City policeman (Jim Caviezel) speaks to his dead father (Dennis Quaid) thirty years into the past, via a ham radio. The son attempts to prevent his fathers death, and his actions set into motion other problems that the two must solve - somewhat of a more serious "Back To The Future" with a bit of "Backdraft" thrown in. All though the logic isn't always there, the film doesn't go to absurd levels and stays acceptable.

Funeral In Berlin (1966)
Michael Caine is a reluctant agent, serving as a spy in lieu of spending time behind bars. He's sent to East Berlin to retrieve a defecting Russian general (Oskar Homolka), by devising a phony funeral. It's obvious to Caine that the General, a loyal Communist, doesn't want to defect, and equally evident that Eva Renzi who just happens to pick him up, is a secret agent. Its all about the art of cross and double cross with no one being quite what he seems to be.

Ghost Rider (2007)
Motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicholas Cage) makes a deal with the devil (Mephistopheles, Henry Fonda) to keep his father from dying. But Mephistopheles tricks Blaze, who leaves childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes), in order to protect her. Years later, the son of the devil, Blackheart, wants to take control over the world. It is then that Mephistopheles comes to Blaze, who must now hunt down the rogue demons as the Ghost Rider,riding a flaming, chopper-riding cycle. Comic movies, even from the best titles, are tricky to pull off. there is some good in this movie the beginning is promising and the whole thing's pretty slick looking. But in the end, that's what it is plenty of style, not much substance.

Gift (2000)
Cate Blanchett makes ends meet by telling people's fortunes and seeing into their pasts and futures. When a local towns girl Katie Holmes goes missing, Cate's gift of clairvoyance allows her to see into the clues which will ultimately determine the facts behind the mysterious disappearance. Throw into the mix .. Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear and Hilary Swank. Director Sam Raimi keeps the "who done it" aspect of the story engrossing and fast paced. Up until the end it's hard to know who the killer is.

Glimmer Man (1996)
Steven Seagal plays Jack Cole, a governmental special operative-turned-Buddhist homicide detective. Cole dons prayer beads and silk jackets . He is reluctantly teamed up in his investigation with a partner by the name of Jim Campbell (Keenan Ivory Wayans) who has some funny quips though-out the movie. When the killer called 'The Family Man' murders Cole's ex-wife and her new husband the case becomes even more personal to Seagal. The plot contains a few more twists than Seagal's usual 'find the big bad guy and then destroy him' storylines, plus Nikki Cox fills out the cast ,and a dress nicely.

Godfather (1972)
Set after the end of World War II, The Godfather examines the Corleone family over a decade. Father Vito (Marlon Brando) runs a large and powerful crime syndicate, with sons Sonny (James Caan) and Fredo (John Cazale) the third son Michael (Al Pacino) is a returning war hero and the only college man of the bunch , he disdains his family's illicit ways. Competition develops between the Corleones and other mobs in the area, this revolves around the drug trade, which Vito opposes for his family, conflict ensues and rivals attempt to kill Vito. Brando really was just a supporting actor, and Pacino was the lead, though their Oscar nominations reversed that status. Though not as commanding as Brando's Vito, Pacino's Michael is really a stronger performance.

Godzilla: Final Wars (2005)
In the future, an alien craft appears and captures ten of the greatest monsters to ever walk the earth. The United Nations wages a "final war" against these huge, and destructive creatures that were sent to exterminate our planet. It's an epic tale where a bevy of monsters from previous Godzilla flicks begin to appear the world over. Godzilla's absence from much of the film's first half is a major flaw, but then how much time does Godzilla need to destroy all the monsters. The English dubbing is so out of sync, lips move a hour before you hear the voice !

Golden Compass (2007)
Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) is little girl who lives with her uncle Daniel Craig and comes from a world where the souls of people are separate from their bodies and take the form of an animal that must stay close called daemons.When her best friends Ben Walker and Charlie Rowe are kidnapped, along comes the not-so-nice Nicole Kidman with an offer to take the girl north to search for her friends, but she is more interested in Lyra's Alethiometer (the Golden Compass), and according to a prophecy, Lyra is the only one who can read it. Lyra joins forces with gypsies, a drunken polar bear (voiced by Ian McKellen) and a cowboy aeronaut (Sam Elliott). The best action scenes are when two polar bears fight to the death, and a major battle later on. The movie doesn't have an ending per se, it just stops abruptly and reminds you, not very subtly, that you'll have to buy a ticket in the future to find out how it finally ends.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Casey Affleck is a private detective along with girl friend Michelle Monaghan who gets involved when he agrees to look into the disappearance of a young girl. Though the police, led by chief Morgan Freeman and his ace detective Ed Harris, are using all their resources to track down the missing daughter of junkie mother Amy Ryan. It quickly becomes clear that nothing about it is as it seems to be and that almost everyone involved knows a lot more about the reasons behind the seemingly motiveless snatching of the girl than they are letting on. With plenty of twists and turns, the movie works as a solid crime thriller . It raises thought-provoking questions that will remain long after the credits have rolled.

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Veteran action movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer (mmm where have I heard that name before), scores points for effective use of a huge cast of quality actors like Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie (she looks good!) Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert Duvall. However the resounding theme of this movie emphasizes the excitement of stealing cars and the camaraderie of associating with other criminals.

Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Sergio Leone serves up this Spaghetti Western telling the tale of three desperado's in search of gold amidst the chaos of the Civil War. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach star in this one, guess which is which! Sergo Leone makes a film that is rich in substance, and rewards us with some stylistic scenes. The editing and the music by Ennio Morricone combines to create tense scenes, filled with humor, irony, and some killing.

Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
During television's infancy, Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) assisted by his producer Fred Friendly (George Clooney), took on the government, questioning the witch hunt tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy at outing communist sympathizers on his show "See It Now." They don't mortally wound McCarthy—it will take the Army-McCarthy Senate hearings to do that—but they strike the first substantial blow against the bombastic politico who built his career on innuendo and unsubstantiated accusation. Actually hearing McCarthy speak and witnessing his kangaroo-court-like hearings is far more powerful than it would have been with an actor speaking lines.

Good Shepherd (2006)
In 1939, Matt Damon is one of America's brightest and best, Yale-educated , married to a senator's daughter .. Angelina Jolie, is recruited by a General Robert De Niro to launch the government's new Central Intelligence Agency. The movie begins when the CIA is reeling from the failure of the "Bay of Pigs" mission to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro. Evidence suggests that someone inside the CIA may have tipped off Castro to the plot. It is some what hard to keep up with the intricate plot developments and overcomplicated character dynamics , flashbacks and especially since the movie clocks in at almost three hours and moves at a snail's pace.

Grand (2007)
This mockumentary film follows around a number poker players as they prepare to take part in The Grand, a yearly tournament that is held in the once-proud Rabbit's Foot Casino with a winner-take-all prize of $10 million. One participant is Woody Harrelson, a bad boy who inherited the Rabbit's Foot from his grandfather (Barry Corbin) he needs to win the money so he can clear a huge debt, else the family business will be torn to the ground. But he's has some stiff competition at the tournament: Twins David Cross Cheryl Hines and husband Ray Romano, also Dennis Farina, Chris Parnell, Werner Herzog and Richard Kind,and also Gabe Kaplan. Those are just the main characters, of course; the likes of Jason Alexander, Judy Greer, Michael McKean, Hank Azaria, plus poker stars like Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Bronson, Phil Helmuth, and Phil Gordon as the game announcer. too bad all these stars couldn't make it a more funny flick.

Grateful Dead Movie (1977)
Starting from the opening animated lead in to the closing title credits, it takes into account not only the band and its playing, but the road crew and of course all the fans. The photography and sound are crude and not on PAR with those in some of the more recent rock concerts. But if your a Dead Head then you will fully enjoy it.. as its a slice of history from 30 years ago.

Great Race (1965)
Tony Curtis plays 'The Great Leslie' , a stunt man always impeccably dressed in white . Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), whose long life goal is to ruin Leslie's name is assisted by his sidekick, Max (Peter Falk), Fate cartoonishly tries over and over again to put a stop to Leslie and break his records, but they inevitably backfire (think Wile Coyote). So far so good, but what tale such as this is complete without a damsel in distress? Enter Natalie Wood as Maggie Dubois (WOO WOO!!!)

Great Raid (2005)
The story is based on a daring exploit that liberated more than 500 U.S. Prisoners of War incarcerated from the Bataan Death March in 1942 from the Cabanatuan prison camp in the Philippines. Benjamin Bratt stars as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci, the man that led the rescue operation, his story is narrated by his second-in-command, Captain Prince (James Franco), the non-career officer who wants nothing more than for the war to end, and yet he plans and leads one of the most daring, successful military operations in the history of warfare. 121 Rangers, aided by several hundred Filipino guerrilla soldiers carried out the operation. They suffered only two American and 21 Filipino casualties while rescuing every single prisoner in the camp and killing over 800 Japanese soldiers in the process.

Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959)
Based on an actual bank heist, and even using the St. Louis policemen who took part in thwarting the original robbery, this fairly ho-hum caper film stars a young Steve McQueen as the driver of the getaway car of a hastily formed gang of hoods who plan the perfect heist only to mess up the execution, setting them at each other's throats and sending them all scrambling to save their own skins. I hadn't ever heard of this movie until spotting it in a DVD bargain bin, and that's about all its worth.

Green Hornet (1974)
The Green Hornet is based on the radio series of the fifties and was created by George W. Trendle. When Bruce Lee suddenly became a international movie star, two theatrical films were edited out of a few episodes of the TV show and issued theatrically. The duo (Lee and Van Williams) battle gangsters in the main storyline, but the second science fiction story line is less impressive. Kato always was out front, he protected and saved the Hornet, yet it was the Green Hornet that got all the credit. Course they had their rolling arsenal, the Black Beauty a 1966 Chrysler Imperial all tricked out.

Grudge (2004)
This is one of those movies where the director is preoccupied with scare tactics; and I did jump a few times., even when I expected it, and throws in some illogical plot about a curse and the story behind its cruel inception. It doesn't come full-circle at all here, giving us a shoddy ending, and only vaguely answering the questions posed in the story.

Guardian (2006)
Kevin Costner is the Coast Guard's most illustrious rescue swimmer having saved more people at sea than anyone can keep track of. His hard-nosed attitude turns fatal for his partner, so Kevin is taken off the rescue squad and is reassigned as an instructor to the Coast Guard's 'A' School to train the next generation of rescue swimmers. There he meets Ashton Kutcher, a high school swim champ,course Kutcher gets into trouble in a bar, meets a girl, saves abunch people and other things you seen in just about all movies. "The Guardian" is one of those inspirational movies about real-life heroes, trying to make kind of self-sacrifice and the mentality that goes along with it that most people can't understand, this could also be a Coast Guard recruitment film.

Guilty By Association (2003)
A simplistic plot about drug dealers who get in over their heads and wind up having to face the consequences of their actions when a small child who is the daughter of one of the drug dealer's girlfriends is accidentally killed. Despite his billing on the box cover, Morgan Freeman doesn't show up until 50 minutes into the movie…and the film's only about 75 minutes long ! I didn't keep track, but I'm willing to bet that Freeman has less than 50 words of dialogue and has less than 5 minutes of screen time. For those of you expecting a Morgan Freeman cop/thriller film as portrayed on the DVD box art and in the text on the back of the DVD case - this sure isn't it.

Guns (2002)
Erik Estrada plays the villain Jack of Diamonds, here. Donna Speir is his secret agent adversary, who uses a deadly rocket launcher. Eric's bet is that "A Smith & Wesson beats four aces." , but can it beat Donna's four rockets? There are six Playboy playmates in very skimpy outfits to ogle at, and more cheesecake glamour and also photographed thriller sequences in this version of Bullets, Bombs, and Babes. Beware of babes with big bazoongas bearing bazookas!

Hancock (2008)
Think Superman as an alcoholic who hates human kind, and you have John Hancock (Will Smith), a down trodden man with superpowers who just doesn't care. He tries to do the right thing but usually every heroic action also creates some horrible damage that leaves him continually shunned by the public. He saves the life of a public relations man named Jason Bateman who is grateful and offers to take up Hancock as his client to the chagrin of his wife (Charlize Theron), who believes Hancock can't be fixed. There is no shortage of explosions, destroyed streets, and buildings falling down. Then in the last third of the movie it zigs where you expect it to zag, and moves from a light superhero comedy to a pretty heavy drama.

Happening (2008)
A deadly toxin is released into the air, it causes people to commit suicide. When the panic hits Pennsylvania, science teacher Mark Wahlberg, his wife Zooey Deschanel, their friend John Leguizamo and his daughter Ashlyn Sanchez, decide the safest thing to do would be to take a train as far away as they can from the incidences into the countryside to escape the invisible threat. They find themselves trapped in small town America trying to survive whatever it is that is making people kill themselves. It's become clear that if you've seen one M. Night Shyamalan film, you've seen them all.

Hard Luck (2006)
Wesley Snipes as Lucky gets roped into going to a birthday party for a mob boss he used to hang with, and it turns out to be a set-up involving dirty cops, dirty money, and a dirty escape. When Lucky commandeers the flashy mustang owned by one of the club's pole dancers(Jackie Quinones) and drags her along for the ride, with the cash, it leads them all the way to another genre: the slasher picture, sorta a cross between a virtual reality music video and a Nazi scientist's experiments .Cybil Shepherd and James Liao play the pair of psycho lovers. The thumping theme music is here, the flying bullets, the macho posturing, mob boss, bad cops, and stooges, the stripper who's "not easy," and the obligatory skin shots. Yet another straight-to-DVD release from Snipes.

Hard Rain (1998)
It's raining and the water is rising Wayne Duvall is manning the dam and trying desperately to keep it from blowing. The Sheriff (Randy Quaid), who's been defeated for reelection, is evacuating the town. One of the banks in the state is sending an armored car manned by Ed Asner and his nephew Christian Slater to pick up the money and keep it from getting wet. Morgan Freeman as the "bad guy," wants to get the money that Slater is responsible for. The chase scenes include jet ski's speeding inside a flooded high school.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
The story revolves around convicted killer Sirius Black, who apparently is determined to eliminate Harry Potter plus the vile Dementors, who are pursuing Black and look like Ghosts of Christmas Future. Harry with the help of Ron and Hermione, delve into the mystery that surrounds Black's imprisonment because all they know is that he had something to do with the death of Harry's parents.

Haven (2001) (2005 DVD)
The true story of one person's heroic efforts to rescue innocent people from the threat of persecution and death during World Wa