Saturday, August 8, 2009

Red Eye

Directed by
Wes Craven

Writing credits
(WGA)
Carl Ellsworth (screenplay)
Carl Ellsworth (story)
Dan Foos (story)

Release Date :
USA 4 August 2005 (Los Angeles, California) (premiere)

Genre:
Thriller

Cast :
* Rachel McAdams as Lisa Reisert
* Cillian Murphy as Jackson Rippner
* Brian Cox as Joe Reisert
* Jayma Mays as Cynthia
* Jack Scalia as Charles Keefe
* Colby Donaldson as Body Guard
* Beth Toussaint as Lydia Keefe

Original Sound Track :
# "Pressure Point" - Immediate Music
# "Don't Worry" - RipTide Music / Stereo Black
# "Am I Ever Gonna Find Out" - Lifehouse
# "Look Up" - Zero 7
# "Where Do I Begin" - The Chemical Brothers

Plot :
Lisa Reisert (played by Rachel McAdams) fears flying, and following her grandmother's funeral in Dallas, Texas, she takes a night flight (called a red-eye flight; hence the title) home to Miami, Florida. While in the check-in line, she meets a pleasant senior lady (played by Angela Paton) who is interested in Lisa's Dr. Phil book. When she says she is a fan, Lisa gives the woman her book, saying she has already read it. She then meets the handsome and charming Jackson Rippner (played by Cillian Murphy) — and has a drink with him at a terminal bar, where Jackson tries to guess what cocktail Lisa prefers (he assumes a Seabreeze, when she actually likes Baybreeze).

When boarding her plane, Lisa is pleasantly surprised that her seat is next to Jackson's. Shortly after the plane takes off, however, Rippner reveals that he is a terrorist operative working for a group intending to assassinate the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Charles Keefe (played by Jack Scalia) and his family. Lisa is instrumental to their plan because she is the acting manager at the Lux Atlantic Hotel where the Keefe family is staying. If she refuses to cooperate, Rippner will deploy a hitman to kill her father, Joe (played by Brian Cox) at his home in Miami. Lisa is unable to warn anyone about the plot without jeopardizing her father's safety, and the longer she waits, the harder it will become to prevent the murders.

She desperately attempts to devise a plan to stop the assasination and save her father. When the woman from the check-in line stops by to discuss the book, Lisa writes a warning inside before returning it to her. However, Rippner discovers what Lisa did and headbutts her unconscious and retrieves the book before the message is found. Lisa later goes into the bathroom and leaves a warning on the mirror with soap, but Rippner is waiting outside, and, seeing the message, shoves her back in.
Lisa begs Rippner not to kill her father, and he warns about gambling with her father's life. Noticing a scar above Lisa's breast, he asks about its history. Lisa refuses to answer, and Rippner starts choking her for not being honest with him when he had been brutally honest with her. After releasing her, he wipes the mirror.

The assassination plan is to launch a missile at the hotel from a small yacht moored in the nearby harbor. However, the Deputy Secretary always prefers a particular suite, one facing the city (away from the harbor). To execute the assasination, Rippner forces Lisa to phone the hotel and order the staff to change the reservation from Room 3825 to a particular suite (Suite 4080) facing the harbor.

After storm turbulence temporarily disconnects the airphone service, Lisa successfully calls her assistant, Cynthia, and has her move the politician to the targeted suite. Rippner tells Lisa her father will be safe only after Rippner receives confirmation that the Keefes are dead. Meanwhile, the Secret Service checks and clears the suite, and the Secretary settles in with his family; the Coast Guard has also checked out the yacht and found nothing suspicious (the missile is hidden underwater).

After the airplane lands and taxies to the gate, Lisa tells Rippner the history behind her scar, saying she was attacked and that she will never let that happen to her again; she then stabs Rippner in the throat with a pen, grabs his cell phone, and bolts off the plane into the terminal. Lisa runs through the airport, narrowly escaping both airport security and Rippner. She steals an SUV and uses the cell phone to call Cynthia and warn her to evacuate the hotel immediately and that the deputy director is an assassination target. The Secret Service removes the Secretary and his family from the room seconds before the Javelin missile hits the hotel. Lisa then calls her father, Joe, to warn him about the hitman, but the cell phone battery dies.

Lisa rushes to Joe's house and finds the hitman (played by Dane Farwell) on the porch, about to enter and kill her father. She rams the hitman with the SUV, killing him and crashing through the front door. Joe stumbles in from the kitchen, stunned to see a crashed SUV and a dead man in his wrecked foyer; he tells Lisa the police are on their way.

While Lisa calls the hotel to see if everything is alright, Jackson Rippner arrives. He has knocked out Joe so he can deal with her first. Rippner chases Lisa through the house with a knife, eventually throwing her down the staircase. Lisa crawls to where the dead hitman's gun was dropped and threatens Rippner. When he attempts to escape, Lisa shoots him. Wounded, he knocks the gun from her hand and is about to kill her when Joe shoots Rippner, just as the police arrive. Although Rippner is still alive when he is transported to an ambulance, it is unknown if he survives his wounds.

At the hotel, the Homeland Secretary and the Secret Service express their gratitude to Lisa and her assistant Cynthia, who also helped save them by pulling the fire alarm and rushing to their suite to warn them. Lisa and Cynthia then head for a bar for some drinks to celebrate.

Pictures :

The Family Stone

Director:
Thomas Bezucha

Writer (WGA):
Thomas Bezucha (written by)

Release Date:
16 December 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance

Cast :
* Sarah Jessica Parker as Meredith Morton
* Dermot Mulroney as Everett Stone
* Claire Danes as Julie Morton
* Diane Keaton as Sybil Stone
* Craig T. Nelson as Kelly Stone
* Rachel McAdams as Amy Stone
* Luke Wilson as Ben Stone
* Tyrone Giordano as Thad Stone
* Elizabeth Reaser as Susannah Stone Trousdale
* Brian J. White as Patrick Thomas
* Paul Schneider as Brad Stevenson
* Savannah Stehlin as Elizabeth Trousdale
* Bryce Harris and Bradly Harris (uncredited) as Baby Gus

Original Sound Track :
1. The Stone Family Waltz
2. Millie's Famous Brownies
3. They're Here!
4. Separate Bedrooms
5. Hi
6. Dawn
7. She's Going to the Inn
8. Who Else Knows?
9. Is That Her?
10. What Seems To Be The Problem Here, Ma'am?
11. Coffee or Something
12. A Big Red Shovel
13. Sybil & Kelly
14. Just Stockings
15. Try It On
16. You and Me, Kid
17. Trepak (Cossack Dance) from The Nutcracker
18. Global Warming
19. It's Snowing
20. A Very Good Tree
21. Main Theme
22. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
23. The Family Stone Suite

Plot :
Set in the fictional town of Thayer, Massachusetts, the story focuses on Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), a successful Manhattan executive whose uptight, conservative demeanor is a sharp contrast to that of her boyfriend Everett Stone's (Dermot Mulroney) rambunctious family. He has four siblings:

* Amy (Rachel McAdams) is a school teacher and NPR supporter who has previously met Meredith and immediately took a disliking to her
* Thad (Tyrone Giordano) is a deaf and gay architect who is contemplating adoption with his African-American partner Patrick (Brian J. White)
* Ben (Luke Wilson) is a stoner who makes documentary films and lives in Berkeley; he finds an immediate attraction to Meredith
* and Susannah (Elizabeth Reaser), who has a young daughter Elizabeth (Savannah Stehlin) and is expecting her second child.

The Stones' father, Kelly (Craig T. Nelson), is also an architect, and their mother, Sybil (Diane Keaton), a bohemian type who is dealing with the recurrence of an unnamed fatal illness, which is apparently breast cancer.

Meredith, feeling very much an outsider, opts to stay at the local inn instead of with the family and asks her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to join her from Bedford for support. Everett immediately finds himself attracted to the younger, more easygoing girl. Meredith desperately tries to fit in, but her strained attempt to play charades and clumsy effort to engage the family in a dinner table discussion about nature versus nurture and sexual orientation prove to be disastrous. Distraught, Meredith attempts to drive off but crashes the car, and Ben comes to her rescue. The two end up in a local bar where, after several drinks, Meredith literally, and figuratively, lets down her hair and begins to enjoy herself. She invites local paramedic Brad Stevenson (Paul Schneider), Amy's former high school flame, to the Stone house for Christmas breakfast. The following morning, when she awakens in Ben's bed, she incorrectly assumes their night of revelry ended with the two making love.

Christmas proves to be a day of accusations, recriminations, self-discoveries, and heartfelt attempts to mend fences. Sybil, who originally refused Everett's request for his grandmother's ring, reconsiders her position and offers it to him, but by now his feelings for Meredith have shifted to her sister. In a moment of emotional confusion—or clarity—he asks Julie to try on the ring, and it gets stuck. When Meredith learns of the mishap, she assumes Everett is about to propose to her. The family exchanges gifts, and Meredith, oblivious to Sybil's failing health, presents each with a framed enlarged photograph of Sybil taken when she was pregnant with Amy. Everyone is touched by her gesture, and Meredith relaxes slightly, but when Everett asks to talk to her, she demurs again and again until she blurts out that she will not marry him. He counters that he didn't plan to ask her. Meredith breaks down in front of the family. All the personality conflicts come to a head, and everyone begins the process of healing.

One year later, the family reunites at the Stone house. Meredith and Ben are a couple, as are Everett and Julie and Amy and Brad. Thad and Patrick have adopted a baby boy and Susannah has had her baby. Sybil has died, but it is apparent her spirit lives on as the family gathers around the tree.

Pictures :

Cinderella Man

Directed by
Ron Howard

Writing credits
(WGA)
Cliff Hollingsworth (story)
Cliff Hollingsworth (screenplay)
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)

Release Date:
3 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Biography | Drama | Sport

Cast :
* James J. Braddock - Russell Crowe
* Mae Braddock - Renée Zellweger
* Joe Gould - Paul Giamatti
* Max Baer - Craig Bierko
* Mike Wilson - Paddy Considine
* Jimmey Johnston - Bruce McGill
* Ford Bond - David Huband
* Jay Braddock - Connor Price
* Rosemarie Braddock - Ariel Waller
* Howard Braddock - Patrick Louis
* Sara Wilson - Rosemarie DeWitt
* Lucille Gould - Linda Kash
* Sporty Lewis - Nicholas Campbell
* Jake - Gene Pyrz
* Father Rorick - Chuck Shamata

Original Sound Track :
1. The Inside Out
2. Shim-Me-Sha-Wobble - Miff Mole and His Molers
3. Mae
4. Change of Fortune
5. Weehawken Ferry
6. Cold Meat Party
7. All Prayed Out
8. Tillie's Downtown Now - Bud Freeman and His Windy City Five
9. Three Bucks Twenty
10. Corn Griffin
11. Shoe Polish
12. Londonderry Air - Paul Giamatti
13. The Hope of the Irish
14. Hooverville Funeral
15. Fight Day
16. Good as Murder
17. We've Got to Put that Sun Back in the Sky - Roane's Pennsylvanians
18. No Contest
19. Pugilism
20. Bulldog of Bergen
21. Big Right
22. 9, 4, 2 Even
23. Cinderella Man
24. Turtle
25. Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! - Eddie Cantor

Plot :
Jarhead is a 2005 film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 2003 Gulf War memoir of the same name, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford. The title comes from the slang term used to refer to Marines (sometimes by Marines themselves). The film was directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, most famous for his 1999 film American Beauty.
The film begins with voice-over narration on a black screen, as Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal), waxes philosophically about a soldier whose hands forever remember the grip of a rifle, whatever else they do in life. Swofford is then shown in a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp, being brutalized by a drill instructor in a scene reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket. After finishing boot, "Swoff" is dispatched to Camp Pendleton in 1989, where he is subjected to a cruel joke played on him by the senior Marines. This involves branding onto him the initials of the United States Marine Corps, USMC, with a hot iron. This is a popular tattoo amongst Marines. He faints upon sight of the iron. After regaining consciousness, he is greeted coolly by Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), who says to him, "Welcome to the Suck." Swofford comes across the charismatic Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx), a Marine "lifer" who invites Swofford to his Scout Sniper (formally the Surveillance and Target Acquisition) course. After arduous training sessions that claim the life of one recruit, he becomes a sniper and is paired with Troy as his spotter. Shortly after, Kuwait is invaded by Iraq and Swofford's unit is dispatched to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield. Although the Marines are very eager to see some combat action, they are forced to hydrate, wait, patrol the nearby area and orient themselves to the arid environment. When some field reporters appear, Sykes forces his unit to demonstrate their NBC suits in a game of American football, even under the 112 degree heat. While the cameras roll, the game develops into a rowdy dogpile, with some Marines playfully miming sex acts. Sykes, embarrassed by his platoon's rude manners and poor discipline, removes the cameras and crew from the area; the Marines are later punished by being forced to build and take down a massive pyramid of sandbags in a rainy night. During the long wait, some of the Marines fear their wives and girlfriends at home will be unfaithful. A public board displays the photos of women who have ended their relationships with members of the unit. Swofford himself begins to suspect that his girlfriend is, or will soon be, unfaithful. The most public and humiliating of these befalls Dettman (Marty Papazian), who discovers an innocent looking copy of The Deer Hunter on VHS sent from his wife, which the men are all seated to watch, is actually a homemade pornographic movie tape of her having sex with their neighbor, apparently made as revenge for Dettman's own promiscuity. During an impromptu Christmas party, Fergus (Brian Geraghty), a member of Swofford's unit, accidentally sets fire to a tent and a crate of flares. Swofford gets the blame because he was supposed to be on watch, but had Fergus sit in for him. As a consequence, Swofford is demoted from Lance Corporal (E-3) to Private (E-1) and is forced to undertake the degrading task of burning excrement. The punishments, the heat and the boredom, combined with suspicions of his girlfriend's infidelity and feelings of isolation, temporarily drive Swofford to the point of mental breakdown. He threatens and nearly shoots fellow Marine Fergus. After the long stand in the desert, Operation Desert Storm, the coalition force's ground campaign, begins, and the Marines are dispatched to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. Briefly before the action begins, Swofford learns from Sykes that Troy concealed his criminal record when enlisting and will be discharged after the end of hostilities. Following an accidental air attack from friendly forces, the Marines advance through the desert, facing no enemies on the ground. Casualties are taken when friendly fire from an A-10 close air support aircraft hits U.S. vehicles. The troops march through the Highway of Death, strewn with burnt vehicles and remains of charred bodies, a product of the bombing campaign. Later, the Marines encounter burning oil wells, lit by the retreating Iraqis, and they attempt to dig sleeping holes as a rain of crude oil falls from the sky. Before they can finish them Sykes orders the squad to move to where the wind prevents the oil from raining on them. While digging new sleeping holes, Swoff discovers Fowler has defiled an Iraqi corpse which drives Swoff to the point of wanting to fight him. However he merely takes the body and buries it somewhere else. Swofford and Troy are finally given a combat mission. Their order is to shoot two Iraqi officers, supposedly located in a control tower at a battle-damaged airport. The two take up positions in a deserted building, but moments after Swofford pinpoints one of the officers in his sights, another team of Marines appears and calls in an air strike. Troy, desperate to make a kill, pleads with the officer in charge (Dennis Haysbert) to let them take the shot. When his pleas are denied, Troy breaks down in a fit of despair and weeps. Moments later the airport is bombed by U.S. warplanes. Swofford and Troy linger at the site in a daze, losing track of time and missing their pick-up. With night falling, they try to navigate the desert but get lost. Distant cries in the darkness frighten them, and as they begin to sense that the sounds are coming from beyond a ridge, they ready their weapons and prepare to descend. They see an encampment in the distance, but on closer look they recognize it as their base camp, and the sounds as Marine voices. The war is over, they learn, and scores of soldiers celebrate this amidst a bonfire. In a climactic scene Swofford tells Troy he never fired his rifle, getting a response of "You can do it now". He then fires a round in the air from his sniper rifle and the other Marines, who also never had a chance to fire their weapons, follow suit, emptying magazines into the night sky. On returning home the troops parade through the towns in a jovial celebration of victory. The mood is disturbed when a disheveled Vietnam veteran, possibly suffering from the memories of the conflict, jumps into their bus, and congratulates them all. Soon after their return home, Swofford and his comrades are discharged and go on with their separate lives. Swofford returns home to his girlfriend, but discovers her with a new boyfriend. Fowler (Evan Jones) is seen to be spending time with a girl at a bar, Kruger (Lucas Black) is seen in a corporate boardroom, Escobar (Laz Alonso) as a supermarket employee, Cortez (Jacob Vargas) as a father of three kids, and Sykes continuing his service as a Master Sergeant in Operation Iraqi Freedom. An unspecified amount of time later, Swofford learns of Troy's death during a surprise visit from Fergus. He attends the funeral, meets some of his old friends, and afterwards he reminisces about the effects of the war.

Pictures :

Jarhead

Director:
Sam Mendes

Writers (WGA):
William Broyles Jr. (screenplay)
Anthony Swofford (book)

Release Date:
4 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Biography | Drama | War

Cast :
Jake Gyllenhaal as LCpl/PFC Anthony Swofford aka Swoff. Swoff is the protagonist of the film. He comes from a family of military men, his father and uncle having served in Vietnam. Swoff often wonders if his girlfriend is cheating on him, with his suspicions eventually being confirmed. Swoff is from Sacramento, California.

Peter Sarsgaard as Cpl Alan Troy. Troy is Swoff's friend and spotter. Troy is one of the few Marines who enjoys being in the military. However his background is shady. Later on it is revealed Troy can't reenlist because he lied about having a criminal past on his application. On the night before Desert Storm, Swoff provokes Troy into attacking him. The squad seizes the opportunity and brand Troy with "USMC" on his calf making him a "Marine for life." Troy is from Greenville, Michigan.

Jamie Foxx as SSgt Sykes. Sykes is a Marine lifer. He is Swoff and Troy's training NCO during Scout Sniper training at Camp Pendleton. He leads their platoon through the Gulf War. Sykes is strict but fair. He states that he had an opportunity to have a dry wall business with his brother in Compton but chose not to saying he loves being in the Marine Corps too much. In the end montage, Sykes is shown leading Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Lucas Black as LCpl Chris Kruger. Kruger is the dissenter of the group. On their trip to the base Kruger states that the only reason the troops are is to protect the profits of the oil tycoons. During his television interview Kruger doesn't speak at all because he can't state his mind. Before Desert Storm, Kruger initially doesn't take the anti-gas agents because they're not proven and possibly dangerous and refuses to sign the waiver. It's not until Sykes tells him about what the gas did to the Kurds and Kruger takes the pill but when Sykes looks away Kruger spits it out. In the end montage, Kruger is shown in a corporate boardroom. Kruger is from Baytown, Texas.

Evan Jones as PFC Dave Fowler. Fowler is the most gung ho of the group. He claims to have shot a camel with an M40 sniper rifle. During Desert Storm he gets out of formation and gets the squad attacked by passing A-10 Warthogs. When the squad camps in the buring oil fields Fowler is discovered to be defiling a burned Iraqi corpse calling it Ahab the Arab. Sykes says he will be brought up for it when they get back. In the end montage Fowler is shown in a bar with a prostitute. Fowler is from Framingham, Massachusetts.

Brian Geraghty as PFC Fergus O'Donnell. Fergus is the most naive of the group. On Christmas Eve he takes Swoff's shift in the flare tent and sets off a crate of flares because he was clumsy while making sausages. Later on Swoff threatens to kills Fergus for it. During the celebration at the end of the war, Fergus burns his NBC suit ironically saying "We never have to come back to this shithole ever again!" Fergus is from Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

Laz Alonso as LCpl Ramon Escobar. A Cuban immigrant, Escobar is the group's radio operator. During his interview, Escobar states that it's an honor to fight for the freedom America has given him. He is a devout Catholic and is shown putting rosary beads on his bedside. He takes much pride in being a Marine often saying how scout snipers are the best. In the end montage Escobar is shown working at a supermarket, stacking crates of soda. Escobar is from Miami, Florida.

Jacob Vargas as LCpl Juan Cortez. Cortez carries the group's radio. In his interview he states one of the reasons he enlisted was to learn skills to go into law enforcement. Cortez has three children, one of whom is born while he's in Saudi Arabia. At the end of the film Cortez is shown with his family at a carnival. Cortez is from Delano, California.

Iván Fenyő as Pinko. Pinko is an immigrant from an unnamed Eastern European country, formerly part of the USSR.

Chris Cooper as LtCol Kazinski. Kazinski is the battalion commander. When the Marines land in Saudi Arabia he gives them a rallying speech but tells them that because of the Washington bureaucrats they must first guard Saudi Arabia from a potential Iraqi invasion. Later he gives Swoff and Troy their only combat mission telling them to show the brass that scout snipers are the best.

John Krasinski as PFC Harrigan. Harrigan is a Marine whose job it is to write letters to the major's wife although he makes them vulgar and disgusting. He is the Marine Swofford goes to to obtain five gallons of beer. Later during the mortar strike, he gives Swoff a dead battery when Swoff must replace the radio batteries.

Original Sound Track :
1. Welcome to the Suck
2. Raining Oil
3. Battery Run
4. Mirage Bedouin
5. Don't Worry Be Happy
6. No Standard Solution
7. 8 Men 5 Camels
8. Full Chemical Gear
9. Unsick Most Ricky-Tick
10. Morning Glory
11. Bang a Gong (Get It On) - T-Rex
12. Desert Storm
13. Desert Sunrise
14. Zoomies
15. Horse
16. Pink Mist
17. Jarhead for Life
18. O.P.P. - Naughty by Nature
19. Dickskinner
20. Permission to Fire
21. Dead Anyway
22. Scuds
23. Listen Up
24. Fight the Power - Public Enemy
25. Soldier's Things - Tom Waits

Plot :
The film begins with voice-over narration on a black screen, as Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal), waxes philosophically about a soldier whose hands forever remember the grip of a rifle, whatever else they do in life. Swofford is then shown in a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp, being brutalized by a drill instructor in a scene reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket. After finishing boot, "Swoff" is dispatched to Camp Pendleton in 1989, where he is subjected to a cruel joke played on him by the senior Marines. This involves branding onto him the initials of the United States Marine Corps, USMC, with a hot iron. This is a popular tattoo amongst Marines. He faints upon sight of the iron. After regaining consciousness, he realizes to his relief that the senior Marines had switched the hot iron with another room temperature iron. He is greeted coolly by Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), who says to him, "Welcome to the Suck."

Swofford comes across the charismatic Staff Sergeant Sykes (Jamie Foxx), a Marine "lifer" who invites Swofford to his Scout Sniper (formally the Surveillance and Target Acquisition) course. After arduous training sessions that claim the life of one recruit, he becomes a sniper and is paired with Troy as his spotter. Shortly after, Kuwait is invaded by Iraq and Swofford's unit is dispatched to the Persian Gulf as a part of Operation Desert Shield. Although the Marines are very eager to see some combat action, they are forced to hydrate, wait, patrol the nearby area and orient themselves to the arid environment. When some field reporters appear, Sykes forces his unit to demonstrate their NBC suits in a game of American football, even under the 112 degree heat. While the cameras roll, the game develops into a rowdy dogpile, with some Marines playfully miming sex acts. Sykes, embarrassed by his platoon's rude manners and poor discipline, removes the cameras and crew from the area; the Marines are later punished by being forced to build and take down a massive pyramid of sandbags in a rainy night.

During the long wait, some of the Marines fear their wives and girlfriends at home will be unfaithful. A public board displays the photos of women who have ended their relationships with members of the unit. Swofford himself begins to suspect that his girlfriend is, or will soon be, unfaithful. The most public and humiliating of these befalls Dettman (Marty Papazian), who discovers an innocent looking copy of The Deer Hunter on VHS sent from his wife, which the men are all seated to watch, is actually a homemade pornographic movie tape of her having sex with their neighbor, apparently made as revenge for Dettman's own promiscuity.

During an impromptu Christmas party, Fergus (Brian Geraghty), a member of Swofford's unit, accidentally sets fire to a tent and a crate of flares. Swofford gets the blame because he was supposed to be on watch, but had Fergus sit in for him. As a consequence, Swofford is demoted from Lance Corporal (E-3) to Private (E-1) and is forced to undertake the degrading task of burning excrement. The punishments, the heat and the boredom, combined with suspicions of his girlfriend's infidelity and feelings of isolation, temporarily drive Swofford to the point of mental breakdown. He threatens and nearly shoots fellow Marine Fergus.

After the long stand in the desert, Operation Desert Storm, the coalition force's ground campaign, begins, and the Marines are dispatched to the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. Briefly before the action begins, Swofford learns from Sykes that Troy concealed his criminal record when enlisting and will be discharged after the end of hostilities. Following an accidental air attack from friendly forces, the Marines advance through the desert, facing no enemies on the ground. Casualties are taken when friendly fire from an A-10 close air support aircraft hits U.S. vehicles. The troops march through the Highway of Death, strewn with burnt vehicles and remains of charred bodies, a product of the bombing campaign. Later, the Marines encounter burning oil wells, lit by the retreating Iraqis, and they attempt to dig sleeping holes as a rain of crude oil falls from the sky. Before they can finish them Sykes orders the squad to move to where the wind prevents the oil from raining on them. While digging new sleeping holes, Swoff discovers Fowler has defiled an Iraqi corpse which drives Swoff to the point of wanting to fight him. However he merely takes the body and buries it somewhere else.

Swofford and Troy are finally given a combat mission. Their order is to shoot two Iraqi officers, supposedly located in a control tower at a battle-damaged airport. The two take up positions in a deserted building, but moments after Swofford pinpoints one of the officers in his sights, another team of Marines appears and calls in an air strike. Troy, desperate to make a kill, pleads with the officer in charge (Dennis Haysbert) to let them take the shot. When his pleas are denied, Troy breaks down in a fit of despair and weeps. Moments later the airport is bombed by U.S. warplanes. Swofford and Troy linger at the site in a daze, losing track of time and missing their pick-up. With night falling, they try to navigate the desert but get lost. Distant cries in the darkness frighten them, and as they begin to sense that the sounds are coming from beyond a ridge, they ready their weapons and prepare to descend. They see an encampment in the distance, but on closer look they recognize it as their base camp, and the sounds as Marine voices. The war is over, they learn, and scores of Marines celebrate this amidst a bonfire. In a climactic scene Swofford tells Troy he never fired his rifle, getting a response of "You can do it now". He then fires a round in the air from his sniper rifle and the other Marines, who also never had a chance to fire their weapons, follow suit, emptying magazines into the night sky.

On returning home the troops parade through the towns in a jovial celebration of victory. The mood is disturbed when a disheveled Vietnam veteran, possibly suffering from the memories of the conflict, jumps into their bus, and congratulates them all. Soon after their return home, Swofford and his comrades are discharged and go on with their separate lives. Swofford returns home to his girlfriend, but discovers her with a new boyfriend. Fowler (Evan Jones) is seen to be spending time with a girl at a bar, Kruger (Lucas Black) is seen in a corporate boardroom, Escobar (Laz Alonso) as a supermarket employee, Cortez (Jacob Vargas) as a father of three kids, and Sykes continuing his service as a Master Sergeant in Operation Iraqi Freedom. An unspecified amount of time later, Swofford learns of Troy's death during a surprise visit from Fergus. He attends the funeral, meets some of his old friends, and afterwards he reminisces about the effects of the war.

Pictures :

Friday, August 7, 2009

Bewitched

Directed by
Nora Ephron

Writing credits
(WGA)
Nora Ephron (written by)
Delia Ephron (written by)
Sol Saks (television series)

Release Date:
24 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Cast :
Main Cast Character Actor(s)
Samantha Stephens Elizabeth Montgomery
Darrin Stephens Dick York (1964–1969)
Dick Sargent (1969–1972)
Endora Agnes Moorehead
Larry Tate David White

Character Actor(s)
Aunt Clara: Marion Lorne (1964–1968)
Gladys Kravitz: Alice Pearce (1964–1966)
Sandra Gould (1966–1971)
Abner Kravitz: George Tobias (1964–1971)
Louise Tate: Irene Vernon (1964–1966)
Kasey Rogers (1966–1972)
Phyllis Stephens: Mabel Albertson (1964–1971)
Frank Stephens: Robert F. Simon (1964–1971)
Roy Roberts (1967–1970)
Maurice: Maurice Evans (1964-1972)
Uncle Arthur: Paul Lynde (1965–1971)
Dr. Bombay: Bernard Fox (1967–1972)
Serena: Elizabeth Montgomery (1966–1972)
Credited as "Pandora Spocks"
Tabitha Stephens: Erin Murphy (1966–1972)
Diane Murphy (1966–1968)
Heidi and Laura Gentry (1966)
Tamar and Julie Young (1966)
Esmeralda: Alice Ghostley (1969–1972)
Adam Stephens: Greg and David Lawrence (1970–1972

Original Sound Track :
1. City of Love - Persephone's Bees
2. And She Was - Talking Heads
3. Witchy Woman - Kristin Chenoweth
4. Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra
5. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes
6. Bewitched - Steve Lawrence
7. Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead - Ella Fitzgerald
8. L-O-V-E - Natalie Cole
9. Dancing on the Perimeter - The Actual
10. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
11. 'Bout Time - Louis Armstrong
12. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
13. I Love You, Samantha - Bing Crosby/Louis Armstrong

Plot :
A witch, Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) meets and marries a mortal, Darrin Stephens (originally Dick York, later Dick Sargent). The couple attempts to lead a typical suburban life, and true love endures despite the mixed marriage's ongoing struggles due to Samantha’s disapproving relatives, supernatural illnesses, nosy mortals, and Darrin’s difficult boss. Episodes often begin with an enraged Darrin becoming the victim of a spell, which would wreak havoc with other mortals. By the epilogue, however, Darrin and Samantha would embrace and confound the devious elements that failed to separate them.
All female witches in the series have names ending with the soft "-a" sound, and male witches are known as "warlocks." The show made full use of the period's modest but effective special effects, accompanied by musical effects to highlight the magic. The witches were careful to avoid showing their powers in front of mortals, other than Darrin, but the perplexing unexplainable effects of their spells drives the plot of most episodes. Witches and warlocks usually use hand gestures along with their magical spells with, and sometimes spoken incantations. Most notably, Samantha often "twitches" her nose to perform a spell.

Pictures :

Sky High

Directed by
Mike Mitchell

Writing credits
(WGA)
Paul Hernandez (written by)
Robert Schooley (written by) (as Bob Schooley)
Mark McCorkle (written by)

Release Date:
29 July 2005 (USA)

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

Cast :
Students

* Michael Angarano as William Theodore "Will" Stronghold: a freshman at Sky High. His parents are the two most famous superheroes - Commander and Jetstream - of the day. It is not revealed that he has superpowers until later on in the movie. He has both super strength and flight. He and his best friend Layla become a couple at the end of the movie.
* Danielle Panabaker as Layla Williams: Will's best friend who has the power of plant manipulation; they have been best friends since childhood. She is a pacifist and a vegetarian and is able to animate and control plant life. She has a crush on Will throughout the movie, and in the end the pair share a kiss, floating outside the school.
* Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Gwen Grayson/Royal Pain:[1][2] a senior at Sky High; Will has a crush on her. She is the main antagonist of the film. Her power is technopathy. Winstead said of her role, "I bounced around. I was either the hero of the sidekicks or the sidekick to the heroes."[3]
* Steven Strait as Warren Peace (a play on the novel War and Peace): the son of an unnamed superheroine and a supervillain known as Barron Battle (who is mentioned to be in jail with several life sentences).'He has a secret crush on Layla during the movie because he is alway protecting her. He is pyrokinetic, meaning he can control and manipulate fire. He becomes best friends with Will at the end of the movie.
* Dee Jay Daniels as Ethan: A Hero Support who is friends with Will, he can melt into a small orange puddle (which earned him the nickname "Popsicle").
* Kelly Vitz as Magenta/Maj: Will's friend whose ability is to shapeshift into a guinea pig complete with purple highlights/streaks in her fur.
* Nicholas Braun as Zach Braun/Zack Attack: Will's spacey friend, who has the ability to glow in the dark. He always wears white/fluorescent colours. He is also shown to like Magenta.
* Malika Haqq and Khadijah Haqq as Penny: Gwen's best friend, who can duplicate herself and is therefore the entire cheerleading team.
* Jake Sandvig as Lash and Will Harris as Speed: the resident bullies at Sky High. Lash is skinny, and has Elastisity and can stretch his body parts far, while Speed is overweight yet can run at super speed.

Adults

* Kurt Russell as Steve Stronghold/The Commander: Will's father. As the Commander, he is one of the world's strongest superheroes, displaying superhuman strength and durability, and a successful businessman in his secret identity.
* Kelly Preston as Josie Stronghold/Jetstream: Will's mother, Josie Stronghold, a successful real estate agent. As Jetstream, she can fly and is touted as being an expert in hand-to-hand combat.
* Lynda Carter as Principal Powers: the principal of Sky High. She appears to have the power to transform into a comet and back at will. She mainly uses her power as a form of transportation.
* Bruce Campbell as Coach Boomer/Sonic Boom: the gym teacher at Sky High, also known as Sonic Boom due to his ability to release sonic waves from his vocal cords, which he conveniently uses to bark at any student who doesn't live up to his expectations. His power is known as sonic screaming.
* Kevin Heffernan as Ron Wilson, Bus Driver: the Sky High bus driver/pilot. Ron is the son of two superheroes but does not have any powers himself. He feels a great sense of pride in driving the "superheroes of tomorrow" to school. In the end of the movie, he is said to have done one of the two things to get superpowers or die. He gains the power of growing really large.
* Cloris Leachman as Nurse Spex: a kind and eccentric elderly lady that serves as Sky High's single known nurse, with the ability of X-ray vision.
* Jim Rash as Mr. Grayson/Stitches: Royal Pain's bumbling sidekick.
* Dave Foley as All American Boy/Mr. Boy: The Commander and Jetstream's old Hero Support. He now works as Hero Support teacher at Sky High. His first name is Jonathan.
* Kevin McDonald as Professor Medulla: the Mad Science teacher, with super brainpower – so much that even as a baby he is still smarter than the average adult.
* Kim Rhodes as Elastically/Professor Elast : she is a very competitive and kind, she has a crush on Coach Boomer, she is only shown in the deleted scenes of the movie. Her first name is Jeannie.
* Tom Kenny as Mr. Timmerman makes a small cameo in the movie. He is best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Original Sound Track :
1. I Melt With You - Bowling for Soup
2. Through Being Cool - They Might Be Giants
3. Save It For Later - Flashlight Brown
4. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Christian Burns
5. One Thing Leads to Another - Steven Straight
6. Lies - The Click Five
7. Voices Carry - Vitamin C
8. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want - Elefant
9. True - Cary Brothers
10. Just What I Needed - Caleigh Peters
11. Can't Stop the World - Ginger Sling
12. And She Was - Keaton Simons
13. Twist and Crawl - Skindred

Plot :
The Commander and Jetstream are two superheroes, but who also live a suburban lifestyle and work as real estate agents under the names Steve and Josie Stronghold. Their son, Will, tries to live up to the family name, but has yet to reveal any powers.

In the airborne high school, "Sky High", Will fails the Power Placement test, and is assigned to be a "Sidekick". At the end of his first day at high school, the Commander entrusts him with the 'key' to the family's Secret Sanctum (after promising that he will never bring anyone else there); the place where all the family's trophies of past victories are kept, including a strange device called the "Pacifier". The Commander tells Will about how the Pacifier was taken from an arch-enemy supervillain named Royal Pain, but little else is mentioned of Royal Pain's demise or the Pacifier's powers.

Will manages to cope through his school experience, spending all his time with his fellow sidekicks, and his best friend Layla, however, they suffer bullying from the students classified as "Hero". Layla has the mysterious ability to manipulate plants; but as she refused to show it in Power Placement, she has also been ranked as a sidekick. Will finally reveals to his father that he is only a sidekick and admits that he has no superpowers, but his father still maintains the belief that he will yet turn out to be a great superhero.

Will's strength superpower eventually manifests itself during a fight with Warren Peace(not to be confused with War and Peace, though the name is a play on the novel), whose supervillain father, Barron Battle, was defeated by the Commander. Will attempts reconcile with Warren, but he will have nothing to do with him and vows to retaliate at first opportunity. Meanwhile, Will is moved from Hero Support class to Hero class. In his new class, he is partnered with Gwen Grayson, a senior who is a technopath, meaning she can control technology with her mind. Will has an enormous crush on her, dating back to the day they first met, and the two develop a relationship. As he proves his powers, he begins to grow more and more distant from his friends, including Layla, and eventually ends up standing her up for a dinner appointment in favor of hanging out with Gwen. Layla meets up with Warren Peace at the restaurant, and eventually the two end up forming a sort of alliance, designed to get back at Will and make him jealous of them as a 'couple'.

Gwen meets the Strongholds and invites them to be the recipients of the very first Hero of the Year Award, which will be presented at the Sky High Homecoming Dance. She also invites Will to be her official date for the event. Gwen unexpectly uses Will's house to throw a party for the heroes while his parents are saving the city. Using the excuse of wanting to talk alone, Will breaks his promise and takes her to the Secret Sanctum. Gwen also uses the party as an opportunity to tell Layla what Will 'really' thinks of her, and Layla leaves the party in tears. Will, when he hears what Gwen has done, breaks up with her the night before the dance, forces everyone out of the house just as his parents arrive. He also tries to reconcile with Layla to no avail, and decides not to go to the dance after all. He visits the Secret Sanctum and realizes that the Pacifier has been stolen, and that Gwen is the absolute replica of the person who invented something just like it in his father's high school yearbook. Meanwhile, the Commander and Jetstream arrive at Sky High. During Gwen's presentation of the award, it is revealed that she is Royal Pain and she unveils the Pacifier. Lash, Speed and Penny are also revealed to be helping her. The Commander, Jetstream and many others attempt to stop her, but she turns them back into infants using the Pacifier.

The sidekicks band together in an attempt to stop Royal Pain and each has a chance to exercise their superpowers to full potential. Will arrives at the school, and meets up with his friends, who begin to tell him about Royal Pain. He reconciles completely with Layla even kissing her, then takes on Royal Pain alone, and while fighting her, is thrown out the window and off Sky High. Will's flying power manifests itself, and he returns to defeat Royal Pain, who having been turned back into an infant when the Pacifier broke the first time, grew back up with intent to return and kidnap superheroes to raise all over again as supervillains. Lash is defeated by Ethan, Speed is defeated by the combined forces of Warren and Ethan and Layla easily defeats Penny once Penny pisses her off enough to fight back by slapping her. Stitches tries to get away with the babies but is stopped by Ron Wilson, Bus Driver who flew Will to the school. The defeated Royal Pain triggers the sabotaged anti-gravity device, causing Sky High to fall. Will flies out of the window and prevents the school from touching down while his friends (each eventually using their powers) quickly work to repair the device. The device is repaired, and the school returns into the sky. The infants are all returned to their adult state by reversal of the Pacifier's powers, and Royal Pain and her minions are given time to cool off in the detention room.

The film ends with Will and Layla engaging in a passionate kiss while suspended in mid-air off the school grounds while the rest of the students enjoy the dance.

Pictures :

The Amityville Horror

Directed by
Andrew Douglas


Writing credits

(WGA)
Scott Kosar (screenplay)
Jay Anson (novel)
Sandor Stern (earlier screenplay)
George Lutz (material)
Kathy Lutz (material) (as Kathleen Lutz)


Release Date:

15 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Cast :
* Ryan Reynolds ..... George Lutz
* Melissa George ..... Kathy Lutz
* Jesse James ..... Billy Lutz
* Jimmy Bennett ..... Michael Lutz
* Chloe Moretz ..... Chelsea Lutz
* Philip Baker Hall ..... Father Callaway
* Rachel Nichols ..... Lisa
* Isabel Conner ..... Jodie DeFeo
* Brendan Donaldson ..... Ronald "Ronnie" DeFeo, Jr.
* Danny McCarthy ..... Officer Greguski
* Annabel Armour ..... Realtor

Original Sound Track :
01. News reel
02. Main title
03. Finding the house
04. Everyone run!
05. Kathy and priest
06. Sitter tells all
07. The closet
08. George breaks
09. Prayers don't work
10. Gotta pee
11. Fix that squeak
12. Leaving the house
( source : http://downloadfree-originalsoundtrack.blogspot.com/2008/10/steve-jablonsky-amityville-horror-score.html )

Plot :
George and Kathy Lutz and her three children from a previous marriage move into what they believe will be their dream home, a Dutch Colonial situated on the waterfront in Amityville, New York. When George questions the asking price, which is well below market value, the realtor confesses the house was the scene of a brutal murder committed by Ronald DeFeo, the son of the former owners, who killed his family in their sleep with a rifle a year earlier. Despite some misgivings, George acquiesces to his wife's wishes and purchases the property.

Almost immediately, the family is plagued by a series of unexplained and apparently supernatural happenings. Refrigerator magnets rearrange themselves to spell out the message KATCH EM AND KILL EM. Daughter Chelsea insists she has become friendly with a young girl named Jodie, the same name of one of the slaughtered DeFeo children. Chelsea also inexplicably possesses Jodie's teddy bear, with whom Jodie was buried. George frequently complains of the cold and starts spending large amounts of time in the basement, where he hears garbled voices coming from the furnace, an old television, and an unplugged clock radio reading 3:15, the time the DeFeos supposedly were killed. The locked boathouse door repeatedly is found open, blood seeps from the walls, and the family dog incessantly barks at things only he can see. Babysitter Lisa is trapped in a bedroom closet that has a door with no lock yet will not open, and hysterically insists she saw Jodie inside when she is finally released.

At Kathy's behest, local priest Father Callaway comes to bless the house, but is driven away when his holy water sizzles as it hits the walls and he is attacked by a swarm of flies. He later tells Kathy the battered stuffed animal Chelsea has belonged to Jodie DeFeo and was buried with her.

George's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre, and he begins to mistreat and taunt the stepchildren he once clearly adored. As the paranormal events escalate, Kathy decides to research the history of her home in the library's public records. There she discovers it once belonged to a mysterious cult preacher named Father Katchem (thus explaining the KATCHEM AND KILL EM message), who tortured and killed Native Americans in the basement. Kathy is convinced the man's evil spirit has taken control of her husband, and she races home to remove her children from the house and take them to safety. Meanwhile, George has broken through the basement wall and discovered a secret chamber, where he has visions of Father Katchem and his numerous victims. Apparently possessed and no longer able to control his impulses, George chases his family with a shotgun. In a desperate struggle, Kathy manages to knock him out and with the help of the children binds his hands and feet and carries him to the boathouse, from which they make their escape by water. George regains consciousness and urges Kathy to get them as far away from the house as possible.

Jodie is seen standing in the front doorway. As she starts screaming and cries a single tear, the clocks throughout the house reset themselves to 3:15, misplaced objects go back to were they were and the girl is pulled through the hallway floor by an unknown force.

Pictures :

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Herbie Fully Loaded

Directed by
Angela Robinson

Writing credits
(WGA)
Thomas Lennon (screenplay)
Robert Ben Garant (screenplay)
Alfred Gough (screenplay)
Miles Millar (screenplay)
Thomas Lennon (story)
Robert Ben Garant (story)
Mark Perez (story)
Gordon Buford (characters)

Release Date:
22 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance | Sport

Cast :
Actor Role Notes
Lindsay Lohan Maggie Peyton Main character
Michael Keaton Ray Peyton, Sr. Maggie's dad
Matt Dillon Trip Murphy Drives the Cheetos #82
Breckin Meyer Ray Peyton, Jr. Maggie's brother
Justin Long Kevin One of Maggie's friends
Cheryl Hines Sally Ray Jr.'s sponsor representative
Jimmi Simpson Crash
Jill Ritchie Charisma Another one of Maggie's friends
Thomas Lennon Larry Murphy
Jeremy Roberts Crazy Dave The owner at the junkyard
E.E. Bell Beeman
Peter Pasco Juan Hernandez
Mario Larraza Miguel Hernandez
Allen Bestwick Himself TNT Race Announcer
Benny Parsons Himself TNT Race Color Commentator/Former NASCAR driver
Jeff Gordon Himself Drives the Du Pont #24
Jimmie Johnson Himself Drives the Lowe's #48
Dale Jarrett Himself Drives the UPS #88
Tony Stewart Himself Drives the Home Depot #20
Stuart Scott Himself ESPN broadcaster

Original Sound Track :
1. First
2. Getcha Back
3. Walking On Sunshine
4. Fun, Fun, Fun
5. Magic
6. Working For The Weekend
7. Roll On Down The Highway
8. Born To Be Wild
9. More Than A Feeling
10. Metal Guru
11. You Are The Woman
12. Hello
13. Welcome To My World
14. Herbie (Fully Loaded Remix)
15. Herbie Vs. NASCAR
( source : http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Herbie%20Fully%20Loaded%20%2F%20O.S.T.:1922102529 )

Plot :
The story revolves around recent college graduate Maggie Peyton (Lohan), a former street racer and member of a famous racing clan, whose aspirations of moving to New York and becoming an ESPN sportscaster are put on hold when she meets Herbie, a run-down Volkswagen Beetle she finds in a junkyard and buys for $75. Maggie quickly learns the little car has a mind of its own when it takes her against her will to an old garage, where she runs in to her old friend and mechanic Kevin (Long). Kevin persuades Maggie to take Herbie to a car show where they can acquire some new parts to fix it up, but upon arriving, Herbie somehow tricks Maggie into changing into some old racing gear from his trunk (and a helmet labeled "Maxx"), and challenging NASCAR champion Trip Murphy (Dillon) to an impromptu race, which Herbie wins by a hair.

This delights Kevin, who tries to talk Maggie into racing again, but worries Maggie's dad Ray Sr. (Keaton), who had previously forbidden Maggie from racing after a serious accident years back. It also infuriates Murphy, who becomes obsessed with Herbie and its elusive driver "Maxx." He sets up a local street racing competition to lure Herbie back for a rematch, which Maggie and Kevin enter on the hopes of winning the promised $10,000 prize. Herbie easily beats out the other cars and qualifies for the final match with Murphy, who talks Maggie into racing for pinks without Kevin's knowledge. Herbie, jealous over Maggie's desire to drive off in Murphy's stock car, loses the race for her, and is consequently taken away by Murphy's assistant. Maggie now has to rescue Herbie from being destroyed, patch up relations with Kevin and her dad, and win a badly needed title for her family's losing racing team, which nearly has to forfeit the Nextel Cup after driver Ray Jr. (Meyer) injures himself in a crash, but then convinces Ray Sr. to let Maggie race for him.

Pictures :

Coach Carter

Director:
Thomas Carter

Wtiters : (WGA)
Mark Schwahn (written by)
John Gatins (written by)

Release Date:
14 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Drama | Sport

Cast :
* Samuel L. Jackson as Coach Ken Carter
* Rob Brown as Kenyon Stone
* Robert Ri'chard as Damien Carter
* Rick Gonzalez as Timo Cruz
* Nana Gbewonyo as Junior Battle
* Antwon Tanner as Jaron "Worm" Willis
* Channing Tatum as Jason Lyle
* Ashanti as Kyra
* Texas Battle as Maddux
* Daisey Day as Principal Garrison
* Debbi Morgan as Tonya Carter
* Mel Winkler as Coach White
* Vincent Laresca as Renny
* Sidney Faison as Ty Crane
* Octavia Spencer as Willa Battle
* Adrienne Bailon as Dominique
* Dana Davis as Peyton

Original Sound Track :
1. All Night Long - Red Cafe
2. No Need For Conversation - Fabolous/Mike Shorey
3. Professional - Chingy/G.I.B.
4. Southside - The Game/Lil Scrappy
5. Roll Wit You - Ciara
6. Wouldn't You Like To Ride - Kanye West/Common
7. Hope - Twista/Faith Evans
8. Your Love - Van Hunt
9. This One - Ak'sent
10. Beauty Queen - Czarnok
11. Balla - Mack 10/Da Hood
12. Time - St. Lunatics
13. What Love Can Do - Letoya
14. About The Game - Trey Songz
( source : http://www.moviemusic.com/soundtrack/coachcarter )

Plot :
Ken Carter takes over as the basketball coach at his former high school, inner-city Richmond High School. He sets strict new rules for the players, insisting that they sign contracts agreeing to meet his standards. Some players decide to leave the team, and Carter's son transfers from his private school to join the team.

With Carter's intense coaching, the team begins the season undefeated, and wins a holiday tournament. However, Carter discovers that some of his players are not producing the agreed academic results. He locks the team out of the gym in the midst of their still-undefeated season, canceling practice and forfeiting games in favor of studying in the library.

The school board eventually votes to end the unpopular lockout, despite dissenting votes from the principal and the chairwoman of the board. Carter is about to quit, but he finds the players sitting at school desks in the gym, with teachers tutoring them. The players point out that even though the gym is reopened, the school board can't force them to play. Carter is heartened and decides to stay, thanking the players.

The team makes it into the state high-school championship playoffs. The climactic game takes place in the tournament's first round against the #1 ranked team in the state, St. Francis (starring a superstar NBA prospect, Ty Crane). In the last second, Crane makes the winning shot to end Richmond's season.

Over the closing song, it is shown that six of the players went on to attend college.

Pictures :

Sahara

Directed by
Breck Eisner

Writing credits
(WGA)
Clive Cussler (novel)
Thomas Dean Donnelly (screenplay)
Joshua Oppenheimer (screenplay)
John C. Richards (screenplay)
James V. Hart (screenplay)

Release Date:
8 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Action | Adventure | Comedy

Cast :
* Matthew McConaughey — Lieutenant Dirk Pitt
* Steve Zahn — Lieutenant (junior grade) Al Giordino
* Penélope Cruz — Eva Rojas
* Lambert Wilson — Yves Massarde
* Lennie James — Brigadier General Zateb Kazim
* William H. Macy — Admiral James Sandecker
* Rainn Wilson — Commander Rudi Gunn
* Delroy Lindo — Carl
* Patrick Malahide — Ambassador Polidori
* Glynn Turman — Dr. Frank Hopper
* Dayna Cussler — Kitty Mannock (scenes deleted)

Original Sound Track :
1. Stay With Me - Faces
2. We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
3. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
4. Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
5. Right Place Wrong Time - Dr. John
6. Never Been Any Reason - Head East
7. In a Foreign Land - The Kinks
8. I'm On Fire - Dwight Twilley
9. On the Road Again - Canned Heat
10. Time Loves a Hero - Little Feat
11. Fire on the Mountain - The Marshall Tucker Band
12. Boat Montage - Clint Mansell
( source : http://www.moviemusic.com/soundtrack/sahara2005 )

Plot :
Matthew McConaughey stars as explorer and adventurer Dirk Pitt in this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Clive Cussler. Pitt thinks he may have found both a fortune and the answer to a long-standing mystery when he discovers a rare coin in the waters of a river in West Africa. During the Civil War, an ironclad battleship with a valuable cargo went missing, and Pitt's theory is that the coin places the ship somewhere in the Sahara Desert. Pitt and his goofy sidekick, Al Giordino (Steve Zahn), set out to find it, but along the way they make the acquaintance of Dr. Eva Rojas (Penélope Cruz), a scientist and physician who is trying to determine the source of a strange and deadly disease sweeping the nation. As Eva joins Dirk and Al, they begin to wonder if the mysteries they're trying to uncover might be somehow linked. Sahara was only the second of Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures to be adapted for the screen; the first, 1980's Raise the Titanic, was publicly dismissed by the author. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Pictures :

Guess Who

Directed by
Kevin Rodney Sullivan

Writing credits
(WGA)
William Rose (motion picture "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner")
David Ronn (story)
Jay Scherick (story)
David Ronn (screenplay)
Jay Scherick (screenplay)
Peter Tolan (screenplay)

Release Date:
25 March 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Comedy | Romance


Cast :

* Ashton Kutcher as Simon Green, the film's main protagonist. His girlfriend, Theresa, brings him home to meet her family. Her dad, Percy, dislikes Simon upon meeting him. Simon tries too hard to impress Percy, so keeps telling lies to make him sound much better than what he actually is. However, he had got fired from his job at the beginning of the movie and didn't tell Theresa.

* Bernie Mac as Percy Jones, the film's second protagonist. He is the father of Theresa and Keisha. He and his wife, Marilyn are about to celebrate their 25th anniversary. He immediately dislikes Simon upon meeting him. He is desperate to dig up as much dirt on Simon as he can. So with the help of his personal assistant, Reggie, he finds out some of Simon's past history. This slightly damages the marriage between him and Marilyn. He is an obsessed Jeff Gordon fan.

* Zoë Saldaña as Theresa Jones, Simon's girlfriend, Percy and Marilyn's daughter and Keisha's sister. She is excited when she brings home Simon. However, she doesn't like how her dad is treating him.

* Judith Scott as Marilyn Jones, Percy's wife and Theresa and Keisha's mom. She is a friendly, loving woman who likes Simon despite his race. Just like Theresa, she doesn't agree with Percy's attitude towards Simon. She wants to Tango at the anniversary party.

Original Sound Trick :
1. Turtle Shoes (Bobby McFerrin)
2. Butterflies (Sia)
3. I'm in the Mood for Love (Patrick Tuzzolino featuring Calabria Foti)
4. Signs (Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson & Justin Timberlake)
5. Express Yourself (Mocean Worker Remix) (Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band)
6. Somersault (Zero 7)
7. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (Marcus Miller)
8. Bump, Bump, Bump (B2K featuring P. Diddy)
9. Minuet
10. Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix) (Sarah Vaughan)
11. Floetic (Floetry)
12. Papa Don't Take No Mess (James Brown)
13. Brother Louie (Stories)
14. Walk on the Wildside (Lou Reed)
15. Ebony and Ivory (Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder)
16. Something He Can Feel
17. Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)
18. Black Betty (Spiderbait)
19. Whip It (Big Daddy)
20. Queremos Paz (Gotan Project)
21. Watch Your Mouth (Lina)
22. Cleo's Joint (Damn!)
( source : http://www.mooviees.com/9057/soundtrack )

Plot :
A man gets a very big surprise when he meets his prospective son-in-law in this comedy. Percy Jones (Bernie Mac) is the understandably proud father of Theresa (Zoe Saldana), a beautiful and intelligent young woman living in New York City. When Percy learns that his daughter is dating someone and things are getting serious, he decides to do some research, and learns that her beau is a solid businessman. Percy arranges to meet the young man, but is a bit taken aback when he comes face to face with Simon Green (Ashton Kutcher) -- Percy and his wife are African-American, and Simon is very, but very Caucasian. When it becomes clear that Simon and Theresa's relationship is likely altar-bound, Percy finds himself suddenly full of misgivings about the young man, especially since Simon tends to get rather clumsy when he's nervous. Guess Who was loosely adapted from the 1967 hit Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, though the race of the prospective father and son have been swapped, and the original film's comic undercurrent has been pushed to the forefront. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Pictures :

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Interpreter

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
(WGA)
Martin Stellman (story)
Brian Ward (story)
Charles Randolph (screenplay)
Scott Frank (screenplay)
Steven Zaillian (screenplay)

Release Date:
22 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Crime | Drama | Thriller

Cast :
* Nicole Kidman – Silvia Broome
* Sean Penn – Tobin Keller
* Catherine Keener – Dot Woods
* Jesper Christensen – Nils Lud
* Yvan Attal – Philippe
* Earl Cameron – Edmond Zuwanie
* George Harris – Kuman-Kuman
* Michael Wright – Marcus
* Clyde Kusatsu – Police Chief Lee Wu
* Eric Keenleyside – Rory Robb
* Hugo Speer – Simon Broome
* Maz Jobrani – Mo
* Yusuf Gatewood – Doug
* Sydney Pollack - Jay Pettigrew
* Curtiss Cook – Ajene Xola
* Byron Utley – Jean Gamba

Original Sound Track :
1. Matobo 8:21
2. Silvia Is Followed 1:24
3. Tobin Comes Home 2:18
4. Silvia's Background 1:06
5. Philippe 1:29
6. Drowning Man Trail (Atolago) 1:47
7. Guy Forgot His Lunch 3:03
8. The Phonecall 1:11
9. Simon's Journals 3:06
10. Silvia Showers 2:53
11. Did He Leave A Note? 3:58
12. Zuwanie Arrival At UN 6:00
13. Assassin 4:14
14. End Credits (Atolago) 4:10
( source : http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3746 )

Plot :
Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is an interpreter working at the United Nations in New York, who was raised in the Republic of Matobo, a fictional African country.

The United Nations is considering indicting Edmond Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), president of Matobo, to trial in the International Criminal Court. Initially a liberator, over the past 20 years he has become as corrupt and tyrannical as the government he overthrew, and is now responsible for ethnic cleansing and other atrocities within Matobo. Zuwanie is soon to visit the United Nations and put forward his own case to the General Assembly, in an attempt to avoid the indictment.

A security scare forces the evacuation of the UN building, and Silvia returns at night to reclaim some personal belongings. At that time she overhears discussion of an assassination plot, and runs scared from the building when those discussing the plot become aware of her presence. The next day, Silvia recognises words in a meeting where she is interpreting from phrases she overheard the night before, and reports the incident to UN security; the target of the plot appears to be Zuwanie himself. They, in turn, call in the United States Secret Service, who assign Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) and Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) to investigate, as well as protect Zuwanie when he arrives. Keller learns that Silvia has, in the past, been involved in a Matoban guerrilla group, that her parents and sister were killed by land mines laid by Zuwanie, and that she has dated one of Zuwanie's political opponents. Although Keller considers Silvia a prime suspect, the two grow close and Keller ends up protecting her.

The assassin is discovered while Zuwanie is in the middle of his address to the General Assembly, and security personnel rush Zuwanie to a safe room for his protection. In the confusion, Silvia attempts to take revenge on Zuwanie for all that has happened, and Keller arrives just in time to prevent her from murdering him. The assassination plot is revealed to be a sham; Zuwanie planned it to enhance his own credibility, and thus avoid the indictment, while also eliminating his political opponents. Zuwanie is indicted, and Silvia is expelled from the UN, returning home to Matobo soon afterwards.

Pictures :

Sin City

Directed by
Frank Miller
Robert Rodriguez
Quentin Tarantino (special guest director)

Writing credits
Frank Miller (graphic novels)

Release Date:
1 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Action | Crime | Thriller

Cast :
The Customer is Always Right

* Josh Hartnett as The Salesman/The Colonel (known in the screenplay as "The Man")
* Marley Shelton as The Customer

The Hard Goodbye

* Mickey Rourke as Marv
* Jaime King as Goldie/Wendy
* Carla Gugino as Lucille
* Elijah Wood as Kevin
* Rutger Hauer as Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark
* Jason Douglas as Hitman
* Frank Miller as Priest

The Big Fat Kill

* Clive Owen as Dwight McCarthy
* Benicio del Toro as Det. Lt. Jack "Jackie Boy" Rafferty
* Rosario Dawson as Gail
* Michael Clarke Duncan as Manute
* Alexis Bledel as Becky
* Devon Aoki as Miho
* Brittany Murphy as Shellie
* Patricia Vonne as Dallas
* Nicky Katt as Stuka (Cameo)

That Yellow Bastard

* Bruce Willis as Det. John Hartigan
* Jessica Alba as Nancy Callahan
* Nick Stahl as Roark Junior / Yellow Bastard
* Powers Boothe as Senator Roark
* Michael Madsen as Bob
* Makenzie Vega as Young Nancy Callahan
* Jude Ciccolella as Liebowitz
* Rick Gomez as Klump
* Nick Offerman as Shlubb
* Mickey Rourke as Marv (Cameo)
* Elijah Wood as Kevin (Cameo)
* Carla Gugino as Lucille (Special Edition only)

Original Sound Track :
1. Sin City 1:55
2. One Hour To Go 2:12
3. Goldie's Dead 2:15
4. Marv 2:10
5. Bury The Hatchet 2:40
6. Old Town Girls 0:44
7. The Hard Goodbye 4:32
8. Cardinal Sin 2:14
9. Her Name Is Goldie 1:00
10. Dwight 2:11
11. Old Town 3:16
12. Deadly Little Miho 2:58
13. Warrior Woman 2:19
14. Tar Pit 2:11
15. Jackie Boy's Head 0:36
16. The Big Fat Kill 3:16
17. Nancy 1:34
18. Prison Cell 1:48
19. "Absurd" - Fluke 3:40
20. Kiss Of Death 1:58
21. That Yellow Bastard 1:36
22. Hartigan 1:43
23. "Sensemaya" - Silvestre Revueltas 5:59
24. Sin City End Titles 3:16
( source : http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3724 )

Plot :
The Customer is Always Right

In a penthouse on the roof of a skyscraper overlooking Basin City, a fancy party is in progress. A woman (Marley Shelton), dressed in a red evening gown, is alone on the balcony. A man (Josh Hartnett), who is narrating, walks up behind her and offers her a cigarette. They exchange some small talk, he tells her that he sees in her eyes a "crazy calm", of someone who is tired of running, but doesn't want to face her problems alone. He tells her that he will save her, and take her far away. They kiss, then he shoots her. She dies in his arms. He says that he does not know who she was running from, but will "cash her check in the morning."

In the DVD commentary, Frank Miller explains that the victim in this story (the Customer of the title) is actually committing suicide. The unnamed woman had dated a mobster, and when she tried to break it off, he said that he would kill her in the most terrible way possible. She then used her connections to hire a hitman (known as the Salesman) to provide her with a quick death.
That Yellow Bastard (Part 1)

On the docks of Sin City, aging police officer John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) is attempting to stop serial child murderer Roark Junior (Nick Stahl) from raping and killing 11-year-old Nancy Callahan (Makenzie Vega). Junior is the son of the powerful Senator Roark (Powers Boothe), who has paid off the Basin City police to cover up his son's crimes, including Hartigan's partner Bob (Michael Madsen). Bob tries to convince Hartigan to walk away, and appears to succeed, but Hartigan sucker-punches him, knocking him out cold. Hartigan then makes his way into a warehouse, knocking unconscious two local criminals. Junior is inside with the frightened Nancy and two armed henchmen, who are making sure that Junior and Nancy "get along" before leaving them alone. Hartigan shoots and kills the henchmen, but Junior shoots Hartigan in the shoulder, grabs Nancy and runs out to the docks. Hartigan catches up to Junior and shoots off his ear, causing him to drop Nancy. He then shoots off Junior's hand and genitals, before being shot in the back several times by Bob, who has recovered. Bob tells Hartigan to stay down, but Hartigan pulls his reserve gun, provoking Bob to shoot him several more times. As the sirens approach, Hartigan passes out knowing that Nancy is safe, justifying himself with the words "An old man dies, a little girl lives; fair trade."
The Hard Goodbye

After a night of lovemaking, Marv (Mickey Rourke) awakens to find Goldie (Jaime King) murdered. The police arrive, and he flees the frame-up, vowing to avenge Goldie's death. He turns to Lucille (Carla Gugino), his lesbian parole officer, who patches his wounds and unsuccessfully warns him to give up on this mission. Marv heads to Kadie's Bar in search of information, where he interrogates and kills two hitmen sent after him. Marv then shakes down various informants, working his way up to a corrupt priest (Frank Miller), who reveals that a member of the Roark family was behind Goldie's murder. Marv kills the priest, but is then attacked and shot at by a woman with a strong resemblance to Goldie. Marv, recognizing that he has not taken his medication for his "condition" for a long time, considers her to be a hallucination.

Marv arrives at the Roark family farm, where he is subdued by the silent stalker who killed Goldie without waking him. He awakens in the basement, with the heads of the stalker's past victims and Lucille, who was captured and forced to watch the killer eat her hand when she decided to look into Marv's story. She reveals to Marv that the killer is a cannibal. He escapes, and learns that the killer's name is Kevin (Elijah Wood), but Lucille surrenders to an arrving squad of police officers, who gun her down. Enraged, Marv kills them all, hearing from their leader that Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark (Rutger Hauer) arranged for Goldie's murder.

Marv goes to Old Town, Sin City's red light district, seeking confirmation of the killer's identity. He is captured and allows Goldie's look-alike (her twin sister Wendy) to beat him, to convince her that he didn't kill Goldie. Convinced, she and Marv arm themselves and return to the farm. Marv dismembers and kills Kevin, taking the head to Cardinal Roark, who confesses his part in the murders: Kevin had begun killing and eating prostitutes to swallow their souls, and the cardinal joined in; when Goldie began investigating, Roark had her killed. Marv kills the cardinal but is shot by his guards.

Marv is taken to a hospital (an act he calls a waste of time, figuring that he'll be killed anyway). Police try to beat a confession out of him, which only amuses him. Ultimately, the police threaten to kill Marv's mother if he doesn't play along. He confesses to killing not only Roark and Kevin, but their victims as well, and is sentenced to death. He is visited on death row by Wendy, who thanks him for avenging her sister and spends the night with him, telling him he can call her "Goldie." Marv is executed the next day; He survives the first jolt of electricity, his final words being "That's the best you can do, you pansies..." He finally dies after a second jolt.
The Big Fat Kill

Shellie (Brittany Murphy), a barmaid from Kadie's, is being harassed by her abusive and sadistic ex-boyfriend Jackie Boy (Benicio del Toro). Her current boyfriend Dwight (Clive Owen) is disgusted with his brutish rival, and shoves Jackie Boy's head into a urine-filled toilet bowl, warning him to leave Shellie alone. Jackie Boy flees with his friends, heading to Old Town to cause further trouble. Dwight follows them and watches them harass young prostitute Becky (Alexis Bledel). Also watching is Gail (Rosario Dawson), one of the head prostitutes and Dwight's on-and-off lover.

When Jackie Boy threatens Becky with a gun, martial arts expert Miho (Devon Aoki) sweeps down, severing Jackie Boy's hand, and killing his friends. As it becomes apparent Jackie Boy will not die quickly, Dwight asks Miho to finish him. Miho nearly severs his head, making "a Pez dispenser out of him". As the prostitutes collect the dead men's money, they realize that Jackie Boy is actually well-respected police officer Lt Jack Rafferty; If the circumstances of his death are discovered, they spell a certain end to the truce between the police and the prostitutes, and war against Old Town will be inevitable.

Dwight agrees to take the corpses to the local tar pit, while a traumatized Becky returns home. On the way, he has a hallucinatory conversation with Jackie Boy's corpse, who taunts him as he is chased by a police officer. Dwight talks his way out of the situation and arrives at the tar pit, but is suddenly shot by Irish mercenaries. Meanwhile, head mercenary Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan) arrives in Old Town and kidnaps Gail, explaining that an informant has revealed everything and that mob boss Wallenquist's men are moving to invade Old Town.

Dwight has survived the mercenary's bullet, which was stopped by Lt Rafferty's badge. He kills several mercenaries but is knocked into the tar by a grenade; he sinks into the tar and nearly drowns before Miho arrives and saves him. However, the other mercenaries have escaped and have taken Jackie Boy's severed head with them. They chase after the mercenaries and have a car accident, followed by a violent shoot-out that ends with the death of both mercenaries and the retrieval of Jackie Boy's head. Dwight devises a plan and he and Miho return to Old Town.

As Gail is being tortured, she learns that Becky was the traitor, informing the mercenaries out of fear and greed. Manute receives a letter from Dwight via an arrow from Miho, offering Jackie Boy's head in exchange for Gail. They meet in the back-alley, where the trade is made, though the mercenaries plan to kill them anyway. Dwight suddenly activates a grenade he had placed in Jackie Boy's Head, completely destroying it and any evidence that could have been taken to the cops. The other prostitutes of Old Town then reveal themselves on the roof tops surrounding the alley and gun down the mercenaries. Amidst the gunfire, an injured Becky escapes while Dwight and Gail kiss passionately.
That Yellow Bastard (Part 2)
Roark Junior (Nick Stahl) torturing Nancy (Jessica Alba) in "That Yellow Bastard"

Hartigan, who survived his wounds, is recovering in a hospital. Senator Roark (Boothe), Junior's father, arrives and informs him that Junior is in a coma and all plans for the Roark legacy are now in serious jeopardy. Senator Roark reveals that Hartigan will survive, be framed for Junior's crimes and serve the resultant jail term. Additionally, if Hartigan tells anyone the truth, they will die. A grateful Nancy visits and thanks him, promising to write him letters every week while he is in prison.

Hartigan complies and goes to jail, knowing it is the only way to protect Nancy and his loved ones, although he refuses to officially confess to the crimes, preventing any possibility of parole. He receives a weekly letter from Nancy as promised. After eight years, however, the letters stop arriving, and then Hartigan receives a severed finger instead. Realizing she could have been kidnapped by the Roarks, Hartigan finally confesses to all charges, knowing this will lead to his release and being able to help Nancy. Outside the jail, he reunites with his old partner, Bob, who has come to regret his actions. Bob drives Hartigan to the city, telling him that Hartigan's wife has remarried and has children. Unknowingly being stalked by a deformed, yellow-skinned man, Hartigan searches for Nancy, eventually finding her at Kadie's Bar, where she has become a 19-year-old erotic dancer (Jessica Alba).

Realizing that the severed finger was a fake and that he was set up to lead the Roarks to Nancy, he tries to leave unnoticed; she sees him, however, and jumps into his arms and kisses him passionately. Knowing they have been "made", they quickly escape in Nancy's car. The yellow-skinned man follows in his own car and shoots at them, but Hartigan shoots back, hitting the yellow-skinned man in the neck. When Hartigan and Nancy turn back to confirm the kill, the yellow-skinned man hides in the back of Nancy's car. Arriving at a hotel, Nancy reveals that she is in love with Hartigan and tries to seduce him. At first Hartigan gives in, but stops after reminding himself that he is old enough to be her grandfather. The deformed man returns and attacks them again, revealing himself as Junior Roark, although Hartigan now refers to him as the Yellow Bastard.

The Yellow Bastard, having been disfigured by the years of surgery necessary to regenerate his missing body parts, leaves Hartigan for dead, having hanged him, and takes Nancy to the Roark farm to finally rape and kill her. Hartigan escapes, however, and tracks the Yellow Bastard to the farm, where he is whipping and torturing Nancy. Hartigan kills the guards and then corners the Yellow Bastard and fakes a heart attack to fool him into letting go of Nancy, giving Hartigan the chance to stab him before again castrating him (this time with his bare hands) and beating him to death.

Hartigan tells Nancy his plans to reveal Senator Roark's corruption to the police and finally bring down organized crime in Sin City, in order to convince her to leave him. They kiss passionately and Nancy departs. Hartigan, knowing that Senator Roark would never stop hunting them as long as Hartigan lived, commits suicide in order to ensure Nancy's safety once and for all, and justifies himself with the words "An old man dies, a young woman lives; fair trade."
Epilogue

Meanwhile an injured Becky who had survived the crossfire departs from a hospital, while talking on her cell phone with her mother. Upon entering the elevator she encounters the salesman from the prologue. After which he thinks to himself "Turn the right corner in sin city and you can find anything." He then offers Becky a cigarette implying that he is going to kill her. Silently stunned, she tells her mother that she loves her and hangs up as the screen cuts to black, ending the film.

Pictures :

Four Brothers

Director:
John Singleton

Writers (WGA):
David Elliot (written by)
Paul Lovett (written by)

Release Date:
12 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Cast :
* Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Mercer
* Tyrese Gibson as Angel Mercer
* André Benjamin as Jeremiah Mercer
* Garrett Hedlund as Jack Mercer
* Terrence Howard as Lt. Green
* Josh Charles as Detective Fowler
* Sofia Vergara as Sofi
* Fionnula Flanagan as Evelyn Mercer
* Chiwetel Ejiofor as Victor Sweet
* Taraji P. Henson as Camille Mercer
* Barry Shabaka Henley as Councilman Douglas
* Jernard Burks as Evander Pierce
* Kenneth Welsh as Robert Bradford
* Tony Nappo as Charlie
* Shawn Singleton as Victor Hoodlum
* Adam Beach as Angels Old Friend (cameo)

Original Sound Track :
# 1 Dancing Machine Jackson 5 2:41
# 2 "T" Plays It Cool Gaye, Marvin 4:23
# 3 Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over) Four Tops 2:41
# 4 Papa Was a Rollin' Stone Temptations 6:59
# 5 Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) Gaye, Marvin 5:29
# 6 I Wish It Would Rain Temptations 2:48
# 7 Smiling Faces Sometimes strong~whitfield 3:18
# 8 Cloud Nine Temptations 3:34
# 9 Cleo's Apartment Gaye, Marvin 2:13
# 10 Take a Look Around Temptations 3:11
# 11 Knucklehead Washington, Grover Jr. 7:52
# 12 Do It Baby Miracles 3:05
# 13 Trouble Man Gaye, Marvin 3:49

Plot :
The seemingly random murder of their adoptive mother in a convenience store sends four brothers from Detroit on the path of vengeance when they uncover a tangled criminal web involving a local kingpin.

After Evelyn Mercer's funeral, the brothers return to their childhood home and notice things are exactly the same as they remember them. Angel and Jack take their old rooms and begin to unpack while Bobby attempts to do the same in Evelyn's room but finds the atmosphere unbearable and breaks down while the sounds of 'I Wish It Would Rain' by The Temptations fills the house. 'Too weird in Mom's room?' asks Jack. 'way too weird.' replies Bobby. The next day the brothers spend time catching up, watching hockey, throwing playful jabs at one another and laughing before having Thanksgiving dinner. Each brother looks toward the empty seat that Evelyn occupied and has different thoughts about things Evelyn previously said to them. Jeremiah hears her ask him to chew with his mouth closed; Angel hears her notice his new tattoos and begins to cover them until Evelyn shows him a tattoo on her right shoulder; Jack hears her tell him that although bad things happened to him before he came to her, he will be safe now.

Originally under the impression the crime was a simple "robbery-gone-wrong", the brothers soon discover that the robbery was merely a cover for what was, in fact, a "hit" put out on their beloved mother. After this revelation, Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), Angel (Tyrese Gibson), Jeremiah (Andre Benjamin) and Jack Mercer (Garrett Hedlund) track down the hired guns via the alleged "witness", named Damian (Lyriq Bent) who was paid by the hitmen. Damian gives up the location of the hitmen after falling and badly injuring his leg. The brothers then approach the contract killers at a bar, which leads to an intense car chase. The assassins are eventually cornered and, refusing to say anything, are unceremoniously executed by Bobby and Angel.

The next day, Lt. Green and Detective Fowler (Josh Charles) confront the brothers about the murder. Fowler, losing his head, claims Bobby's hair was found on the victims—to which Bobby responds is "an old one (trick)"—knowing it was a lie. Lt. Green warns them once again, telling them that their snooping is ill-advised, and that it will eventually put them in over their heads.

Later in the week, Angel is informed that Jeremiah is the beneficiary of their mother's $400,000 life insurance policy and that his construction company is nearly bankrupt, facts which he had neglected to mention in any previous conversation. After further investigation by the brothers, Angel believes that Jeremiah's construction projects were shut down by the city after it was discovered he was involved with a mob boss. After presenting this information to Jack and Bobby, Jack and Bobby confront the corrupt city councilman to learn the boss' name, Victor Sweet (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Angel, Bobby and Jack's worst fears are realized when they witness Jeremiah paying off one of Sweet's men, Evan, in a bowling alley with their mother's life insurance.

After confronting Jeremiah with their concerns, in a rather violent manner, the brothers are treated to a somewhat different version of events. Jeremiah informs them that his construction company was failing precisely because he wasn't getting involved with Victor Sweet, and that for a project to succeed he had to pay off the right people, which he initially failed to do. In his effort to restore his business and relieve pressure from himself, he tried to pay off Sweet's henchman. As for the life insurance, Jeremiah explains that the money went directly to him for his daughters, because he paid all of their mother's bills while his other brothers weren't around.

During the confrontation with Jeremiah, someone knocked on the front door. Opening the door, Jack is greeted by a snowball in the face and an epithet degrading his mother's virtue. In anger he proceeds to chase the offender, who suddenly turns around revealing a masked face and fires a bullet into his right chest. Bobby notices Jack's absence, and, rushing to the front door, sees a van arrive which emerges a team of masked gunmen. Bobby quickly shoots dead the masked one who fired at Jack. But before Bobby can reach Jack, the youngest brother is shot an additional four times in the legs. A massive firefight ensues, with Jack stranded, injured and crying for help, in the middle of the street. The Mercer boys manage to subdue their assailants. Unfortunately, the brothers arrive too late and must watch helplessly as Jack dies in their oldest brother's arms. Nearly crippled by rage and grief, Bobby finds one of the gunmen still alive in the van and soon learns that Victor Sweet was behind the surprise attack and their youngest brother's death.

When Lt. Green arrives, he informs them that their mother had a few weeks past filed a major police report regarding Victor Sweet and his involvement in Jeremiah's affairs, and that report was passed on to Victor Sweet, this confirms in the brothers minds the knowledge that Sweet was responsible for their mother's murder. Lt. Green also tells them not to worry, as he assures them it will go down as self-defense. He also tells them that he recently learned Detective Fowler was the rat, who was responsible for taking their mother's report and passing it on to Sweet. Saying that Fowler was his problem alone, Green warns the brothers to stay out and let him handle Fowler and then they will work together on Sweet. After confronting Fowler at a bar, Fowler shoots and kills Green.

Truly on their own, the now three brothers devise a plan to buy Victor Sweet off with the $400,000 from their mother's life insurance. The first phase of the plan involved contacting Evan (who was a union friend of Jeremiah's), and getting Sweet to agree to accept the money. When Sweet accepts, Angel sets off for Fowler's. Arriving at Fowler's, he places a plastic bag over his head, informing him he has four minutes to live. He then phones Bobby and Jeremiah and tells them he has captured Fowler and Bobby tells Jeremiah to go meet Sweet. While this is occurring, Angel's girlfriend, Sofi, heads to the police station, where she tells the police that her boyfriend is going to kill a cop. The police then head for Fowler's in full force. Before the four minutes runs out, Fowler rips the bag off his head. With a gun pointed to his head, Fowler admits to Angel he killed Lt. Green, but no one would believe a criminal like Angel. Hearing the sirens in the distance, Fowler thinks they are coming for Angel, until Angel removes his jacket showing a wire. Pointing to an outside van, Angel claims the whole conversation was taped. Fowler attacks Angel and easily recovers Angel's gun. Using Angel as a hostage, Fowler tells the police to back off. At this point we learn that the van was not an actual surveillance vehicle, nor was the wire recording. It was merely a ruse to prove that Fowler was corrupt. Fowler opens fire on the officers, the officers return fire and kill Fowler.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah meets with Sweet on a frozen lake. After Victor Sweet's arrival, though, it is revealed that while waiting for Sweet, Jeremiah and Evan have convinced Sweet's men, whom Sweet treats very poorly, to abandon Sweet and come back to work for Evan. When Sweet then asks who will challenge him to a climatically necessary fight, Bobby is seen approaching from a distance. Bobby and Sweet have a fistfight, in the course of which Bobby defeats Sweet, rendering him unconscious; however, no doubt is left as to his fate after he is dropped in a hole carved into the ice.

The three brothers, now in police custody, are brutalized in an attempt to make them confess to the murder of Victor Sweet. The cops again use the line "your hair sample was taken from the body," but the brothers have learned from experience. Using the same alibi of "having sex with your wife", the brothers are finally released, and set about the work of repairing their mother's house, which has been so terribly damaged by the gunfight which took Jack's life. Angel goes to hang out with his girlfriend while Jerry goes in with his family. As Bobby is left alone he sees his mother standing on the steps. She says it's always nice to see him and asks if he will be staying for a while this time. He smiles and says he's thinking about it; she smiles back and the scene fades into the Detroit skyline.

During the end credits, there are clips of Bobby beating players and screaming to the crowd while playing hockey, Jerry in a suspected riot, Angel at an airport after stealing a man's credit card, and Jack playing guitar and singing to a crowd live.

Pictures :

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Director:
Scott Derrickson

Writers (WGA):
Paul Harris Boardman (written by)
Scott Derrickson (written by)

Release Date:
9 September 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Crime | Drama | Horror

Cast :
* Jennifer Carpenter as Emily
* Laura Linney as Erin Christine Bruner
* Tom Wilkinson as Father Richard Moore
* Campbell Scott as Ethan Thomas
* Duncan Fraser as Dr. Cartwright
* Shohreh Aghdashloo as Dr. Sadira Adani
* Ken Welsh as Dr. Mueller
* Mary Black as Dr. Vogel
* Henry Czerny as Dr. Briggs
* J. R. Bourne as Dr.Phil
* Joshua Close as Jason
* Colm Feore as Karl Gunderson
* Mary Beth Hurt as Judge Brewster
* Andrew Wheeler as Nathaniel Rose
* Marilyn Norry as Maria Rose

Original Sound Track :
1. Prologue
2. Emily Rose
3. The Suffering Begins
4. Interlude #1
5. First Possession
6. Second Possession
7. Third Possession
8. Interlude #2
9. The Exorcism
10. Six Demon
11. Interlude #3
12. A Vision of the Virgin Mary
13. Martyrdom
14. For Anneliese Michel

Plot :
Lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) takes on the church and the state when she fights in defense of a priest, Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) who performed an exorcism on a young woman, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter). Bruner must battle the state lawyer, as well as her own doubts, as she realizes that her career so far has not fulfilled her. She takes the case, albeit reluctantly, because she believes it will elevate her to senior partner at her law firm. The priest agrees to let her defend him only if he is allowed to tell Emily's story.

The trial begins with the calling of several medical experts by the prosecutor, Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott). One expert testifies that Emily was suffering from both epilepsy and psychosis. The defense contests that she may have actually been possessed, though Bruner is careful never to say that in so many words initially. Indeed Bruner explains that Emily was suffering from something that neither medicine nor psychology could explain, and that Father Moore as well as her family realized this and tried to help in another way. Several flashbacks show how this began.

Alone in her dorm room one night, at 3:00 AM, Emily catches on to a strange burning smell coming from the hallway. When she checks on it, she sees the door open and shut by itself several times. When she goes back to her room, she sees a jar of pencils and pens move by itself. Additionally, her covers roll themselves down and a great weight seems to press down on her, a force which also proceeds to choke her and seemingly to possess her momentarily. Through these episodes she wonders if they are really happening or if they are just hallucinations. She suffers more visions, is hospitalized, and diagnosed with epilepsy. She is given anti-seizure medications, which she claims do not work. Her visions continue, as do her severe bodily contortions.

She leaves school and returns to live with her parents. She and her parents become convinced she is not epileptic or mentally ill, but is possessed by demons. They ask for their local parish priest to be called in to perform an exorcism, and the Church agrees. The prosecution argues that all this could be explained by a combination of epilepsy (the contortions) and psychosis (the visions).

Meanwhile, Bruner begins to experience strange occurrences in her apartment at 3:00 AM, including strange smells and sounds. Father Moore warns her that she may be targeted by demons for possibly exposing them. Later in the film Father Moore explains that 3:00 AM is the "witching hour," which evil spirits use to mock the Holy Trinity. Significantly, it is the opposite of 3:00 PM, traditionally taken to be the hour at which Jesus died.

Seeing that the prosecution is putting up a seemingly solid medical case, Bruner decides to try to show that Emily may have actually been possessed. She calls in a professor in anthropology and psychiatry, Dr. Sadira Adani - who teaches at Northwestern University - to testify about various cultures' beliefs about spiritual possession. Dr. Adani quotes Carlos Castaneda, A Separate Reality as means to understand the subject. She suggests that Emily was a hypersensitive. On these suggestions the prosecutor strongly objects, and calls the testimony a pseudoscientific analysis.

A medical doctor present during the exorcism comes forward to reveal an audio tape made during the rite. The priest is then called to the stand to testify. The tape is played and the movie then flashes back to the exorcism. It is performed on Halloween night, because Father Moore believes it might be easier to draw out the demons on that night. The priest, Emily's friend, and her father are in the room. Emily is tied to the bed, and the priest uses holy water and various words from the Rituale Romanum. Emily speaks in tongues, including Latin, German, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Several cats run into the room, jumping on the priest and knocking him down. Emily breaks her ties and jumps out the window, running into the barn. They follow her. Inside the barn, they are subjected to more supernatural phenomena such as unnatural gusts of wind and demonic screams and voices. The demon inside Emily refuses to name itself after repeated demands from the presiding Father, but finally reveals contemptuously that there are not one but six demons. They go on to identify themselves in dramatic fashion, naming themselves one after another in dual voices from Emily. They identify themselves as the demons that possessed Cain, Nero, and Judas Iscariot and one of the Legion. Beyond that two demons name themselves directly as Belial, and "Lucifer, the devil in the flesh."

The film returns to the court room. The priest says that after this, Emily refused another exorcism but also refused to take her anti-psychotic medication, having accepted her fate. She died a few weeks later. The prosecutor contends that her speaking in tongues can be explained by her having gone through Catholic Catechism, in which she could have learned the ancient languages, and that she had studied German in high school. The priest admits that it's possible that she learned these languages in school.

Bruner then wants to call the doctor as a witness, but he does not show. She walks outside and sees him on the street. He says he can no longer testify, but he does believe in demons. Before he can explain he is hit by a car and killed. Later that night Bruner's boss tells her she has ruined the whole trial and that if she recalls the priest to the stand, she will be fired.

Nevertheless, Bruner calls the priest back to the stand the next day. He reads a letter that Emily wrote before she died. In the letter Emily describes another vision she had, the morning after the exorcism. She walks out of the house and sees the Virgin Mary, who tells her that although the demons will not leave her, she can leave her body and end her suffering. However, the apparition goes on to say: if Emily returns to her body, she will help to prove to the world that God and the devil are real. Emily chooses to return, concluding the letter by saying: "People say that God is dead. But how can they think that if I show them the devil?" She then receives stigmata, which the priest believes is a sign of God's love for her. But the prosecution counters that she could have received the stigmata wounds from a barbed wire fence.

Father Moore is ultimately found guilty; however, on a recommendation from the jury, the judge agrees to a sentence of time served. In modern American legal practice, juries are only allowed to answer questions specifically directed to them, though sometimes they are asked separately to sentence defendants. The jury's recommendation in this fictional case does not follow American practice.

Bruner is offered a partnership at her firm for saving Father Moore from extended jail time. But she refuses and, in fact, quits. She goes with Father Moore to Emily's grave, where he has put a quote (which Emily recited to him the day before she died) from the second chapter twelfth verse of Philippians on her grave: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

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