Goodfellas (also spelled GoodFellas) is an Academy Award winning 1990 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, the true story of mob informer Henry Hill.

The film stars Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway who is actually based on Jimmy Burke, Joe Pesci, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the sociopath Tommy DeVito based on Tommy DeSimone, Lorraine Bracco as Hill's wife Karen Hill, and Paul Sorvino as Paulie Cicero who is based on Paul Vario.

Plot

Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) idolizes the Lucchese crime family gangsters in his blue-collar, predominantly Italian neighborhood in East New York, Brooklyn, and in 1955 quits school and goes to work for them.

Henry is taken under the wing of the local mob capo, Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) (based on the actual Lucchese mobster Paul Vario) and Cicero's close associate Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) (based on Jimmy Burke) who help to cultivate Henry's criminal career.

Henry's friends are depicted as daring and dangerous. Conway loves hijacking trucks, and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in his Academy Award-winning performance based on Thomas DeSimone) has an explosive temper and a psychotic need to prove himself through violence. At one point, he humiliates and then murders an innocent and unarmed young man "Spider" (played by a then unknown Michael Imperioli).

The film charts Henry's rise within the mob through cleverly executed robberies, and the mob code which prevents him and other members of Irish descent becoming "made men," full members of the crime family. The events in the film include his part in the brutal 1970 murder of the family "made man" Billy Batts (Frank Vincent), and the 1978 $6,000,000 Lufthansa heist, at JFK, as well as quieter scenes such as his regular visits with his girlfriend to the famous Copacabana Club. After a life of crime, and falling out of favor with the family, he turns informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and gives evidence against his former associates Conway and Cicero in court. He laments that he now has to live the rest of his life "like a schnook", after being given an anonymous identity by the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Cast

Actor............Role...........Based on
Robert De Niro...Jimmy Conway...Jimmy Burke
Joe Pesci........Tommy DeVito...Tommy DeSimone
Ray Liotta.......Henry Hill.....Henry Hill
Lorraine Bracco..Karen Hill.....Karen Hill (née Friedman)
Paul Sorvino.....Paul Cicero....Paul Vario
etc

λεει και μια αλλη λεξουλα... και μαλιστα, δεν αποτελει ιδιαιτερο ρεκο (γενικοτερα, ακουγεται μονο 350+ κατι φορες) ενω στην ταινια CASINO... ακουγεται 422 φορες!!!

The Untouchables is a 1987 film, directed by Brian De Palma, based on the 1959 ABC television series, which, in turn, was based on Eliot Ness's autobiographical account of his efforts to bring Al Capone to justice. It was adapted by David Mamet, and stars Kevin Costner as Ness, Sean Connery as Irish-American beat cop Jim Malone, and Robert De Niro as Capone. Connery received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film. The film became a solid hit, grossing over $76 million domestically.

Plot
Prohibition in the United States led to an organized crime wave in the 1920s and early 1930s. Various gangs bootleg vast amounts of alcohol and enforce their business with violence and extortion. The problem is most serious in Chicago, where gang leader Al Capone (Robert De Niro) supplies low-quality liquor at high prices. Treasury Department agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is put in charge of leading the crusade against Capone and his empire. Ness's initial strategy is to conduct raids using a large squad of uniformed officers, but these fail due to high level corruption in the Police Department, who hope a public humiliation will put a quick end to Ness's efforts.

Seeking ideas for a change of tactics, Ness solicits help from Jim Malone (Sean Connery), an incorruptible Irish American police officer (presumably raised in Scotland), following a chance encounter one evening. Malone advises Ness to recruit directly from the police academy to ensure the officers have not had a chance to come under Capone's influence. An Italian American trainee George Stone, formerly Giuseppe Petri (Andy Garcia) is enlisted, due to his superior marksmanship and intelligence under pressure. Along with an accountant, Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), assigned to Ness from Washington, Ness has a team capable of combating Capone without fear of betrayal or corruption.

Their first raid takes place in a local post office, where its storeroom is used to house illegal liquor. Malone, along with most of the police, knows where the alcohol is, and knows it is left alone because no one wants to provoke Capone and his gang. The raid succeeds without anyone killed, though Capone takes his revenge on the foreman later. As the four are picking up steam and becoming noted in the press, Wallace informs Ness that Capone has not filed an income tax return since 1926. Therefore a feasible method of prosecuting him would be through a tax evasion charge, if nothing else.

During a raid on the Canada-United States border, Ness captures one of Capone’s bookkeepers, George (Brad Sullivan). They manage to persuade him to provide evidence against Capone. However, when Wallace is escorting him to witness protection, Capone’s henchman Frank Nitti (Billy Drago), disguised as a policeman, shoots and kills them both, writing the word "Touchable" with their blood (mocking the team's nickname). This leaves Ness with insufficient evidence to press charges, and the frustration nearly drives him into a physical fight with Capone himself, but for the timely intervention of Malone, who grabs Ness from behind and spares him from Capone's wrath.

Malone tells Ness to stall the prosecutor from dropping the case while he searches for information regarding Capone’s other bookkeepers. He learns about Payne, another bookkeeper after a brutal fight with the corrupt police chief who had sold out Wallace. He calls Ness and asks to meet him at Malone's home, unaware that the police chief has sold him out as well.

Later, Malone is attacked by a knife-wielding thug at his home, whom he quickly drives out the front door at gunpoint, only to be ambushed by Nitti and shot many times by a tommy gun. Ness and Stone arrive to find him mortally wounded. With his dying breaths, he informs the two about Payne’s upcoming departure from Chicago by train. Ness and Stone arrive at Union Station (Chicago) and find Payne guarded by many gangsters. After a fierce shootout (a homage to The Battleship Potemkin), the two succeed in killing all the gangsters and taking Payne alive.

Payne testifies in court against Capone, admitting he has disbursed over $1.3 million for Capone over a five-year period. Ness, however, notices Capone relaxed and even smiling despite the probability of serving a long prison sentence, and also sees Nitti carrying a gun in court. He takes Nitti out of the courtroom with the bailiff and discovers that Nitti was permitted by the corrupt mayor of Chicago to carry the gun into court. However, Nitti is revealed to be Malone’s murderer when Ness sees a matchbook with Malone's address on it. Panicking, Nitti shoots the bailiff and runs up to the roof of the building, exchanging gunfire with Ness all the way. Eventually, Ness has Nitti in his sights, but can't bring himself to shoot him in cold blood. Nitti gives himself up to Ness, stating Malone died a coward and Ness should think about that when Nitti avoids jail. Realizing Nitti will escape punishment and provoked to revenge, Ness pushes Nitti off the roof to his death.

Back inside the courthouse, Stone shows Ness a document from Nitti’s jacket, proving that the jury has been bribed, explaining Capone's relaxed mood. After unsuccessfully pleading for justice, Ness extorts the obviously-corrupt judge into doing the right thing, lying that the judge's name was among those in the bookkeeper's ledger of official payoffs, causing the judge to incriminate himself. As a result, the judge switches the jury with the one sitting on a divorce case next door, but before the trial can continue, Capone's lawyer withdraws the plea of "not guilty" for a plea of "guilty" without Capone's consent. Despite Capone flying into a rage and assaulting his lawyer, he is restrained by the court guards and sentenced to eleven years in prison, although he repeatedly shouts the words "Is this Justice!?" for his unfair but well-deserved conviction.

Ness packs up his Chicago office. He sees the Saint Jude pendant that Malone had carried with him for many years. Ness offers Stone the pendant, having shaken hands with him. "He would have wanted a cop to have it," Ness insists, because Jude is the patron saint of police officers. Out on the street, a reporter wishes to have a word from the man who put Capone away, but Ness merely remarks he was just there "when the wheel went 'round." When the reporter mentions that Prohibition is due to be repealed, he asks what Ness might do then, only for Ness to decide to go for a drink.

Cast
Kevin Costner as Agent Eliot Ness
Sean Connery as Agent Jim Malone
Andy Garcia as Agent George Stone
Charles Martin Smith as Agent Oscar Wallace
Robert De Niro as Al Capone
Richard Bradford as Police Chief Mike Dorsett
Jack Kehoe as Walter Payne
Billy Drago as Frank Nitti
Brad Sullivan as George
Patricia Clarkson as Catherine Ness

Μια πολυ καλη ταινια... με πολυ καλο casting και σκηνες (ιδιαιτερα, εκει στην τελευταια, μεσα στο σταθμο με το "καροτσακι")

Knight Rider is a television movie that serves as a backdoor pilot for a potential new Knight Rider series. This film does not refer to either the Knight Rider 2000 film or the Team Knight Rider television series.

Ο θρυλος επιστρεφει!!!!

δεν λεω την πλοκη, για οποιον ενδιαφερεται να την "κατεβασει" και να την δει

Casting
Justin Bruening as Mike Traceur
Deanna Russo as Sarah Graiman
Bruce Davison as Charles Graiman
Sydney Tamiia Poitier as FBI Agent Carrie Rivai
*****Val Kilmer as the Voice of KITT***** (δωστε εμφαση εδω!!!)
David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight
Susan Gibney as Jennifer Traceur

Την άλλη πλευρά της ύπαρξής του εξερευνεί ο Έντουαρτ Νόρτον στο «Hulk»

Περισσότερες από 60 ταινίες έρχονται στη χώρα μας κατά τη διάρκεια του καλοκαιριού. Πολλές μεγάλες παραγωγές, μπλοκμπάστερ με πρωταγωνιστές υπερ-ήρωες, αλλά και αρκετές επανεκδόσεις συνθέτουν το θερινό κινηματογραφικό τοπίο.

Η αρχή έγινε με τα πολυαναμενόμενα Ιντιάνα Τζόουνς και Sex and The City. Σε λίγες μέρες έρχεται στη χώρα μας το Mamma Mia, ξεκινόντας την προβολή του από την Ελλάδα στις 3 Ιουλίου. Η ταινία με πρωταγωνίστρια τη Μέριλ Στριπ έχει και ελληνικό ενδιαφέρον, αφού γυρίστηκε στη Σκιάθο, τη Σκόπελο και το Πήλιο.

Την τιμητική τους έχουν και οι υπερήρωες. Μετά τον Ironman με τον Ρόμπερτ Ντάουνι Τζούνιορ, έρχονται άλλοι δύο κόμικ ήρωες. Ο «απίθανος Hulk» (12 Ιουνίου) με πρωταγωνιστή τον Έντουαρτ Νόρτον και ο «Σκοτεινός Ιππότης», δηλαδή ο Μπάτμαν, στο σίκουελ του Batman Begins με τον Χιθ Λέτζερ στο ρόλο του Τζόκερ (η ταινία θα προβληθεί στις 17 Ιουλίου).

Τον Αύγουστο (στις 21) έρχεται ο Πρίγκιπας Κασπιανός, η δεύτερη ταινία στη σειρά ταινιών της Νάρνια -η προηγούμενη ήταν Το Λιοντάρι, η Μάγισσα και η Ντουλάπα. Λίγες ημέρες αργότερα έρχεται στη χώρα μας το σίκουελ των X-Files (24 Ιουλίου) με τους Γκίλιαν Αντερσον και Ντέιβιντ Ντουκόβνι.

Σύμφωνα με την εφημερίδα Τα Νέα, ιδιαίτερη θέση στο φετινό κινηματογραφικό καλοκαίρι καταλαμβάνει το ιαπωνικό σινεμά της δεκαετίας του 1960. Στην Ελλάδα θα προβληθούν ταινίες του Μίκιο Ναρούσε (Μια γυναίκα ανεβαίνει τη σκάλα, Σκόρπια σύννεφα, Τα κυματιστά σύννεφα), καθώς και του Χιροσί Τεσιγκαχάρα. Σε πρώτη προβολή θα προβληθούν οι ταινίες του τελευταίου: Το πρόσωπο ενός άλλου, Γυναίκα στους αμμόλοφους, Ο λάκκος).

Παράλληλα, θα προβληθούν πολλές επανεκδόσεις. Ήδη στις αίθουσες προβάλλεται η Γκαρσονιέρα του Μπίλι Γουάϊλντερ με τον Τζακ Λέμον. Μέσα στον Ιούλιο θα προβληθεί η ταινία Η Αλίκη στις πόλεις του Βιμ Βέντερς, καθώς και ο Κονφορμίστας του Μπερνάρντο Μπερτολούτσι.

Οι Έλληνες σινεφίλ θα μπορούν επίσης να απολαύσουν πλήθος ταινιών του Γούντι Αλεν, σε κλασσικές δημιουργίες του: Μπανάνες, Ο ειρηνοποιός, Νευρικός εραστής, Ο υπναράς, Όλα όσα θέλετε να μάθετε για το σεξ, Μανχάταν.

Newsroom ΔΟΛ

Wanted is a 2008 action film loosely based on the comic book miniseries Wanted by Mark Millar. The film is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Thomas Kretschmann, Konstantin Khabensky and Angelina Jolie. Production began in April 2007. Wanted was released on June 25, 2008 in the UK and June 27, 2008 in the US.

Plot

The film opens with a man known as Mr. X (David O'Hara) walking into a building in Chicago. He goes into a room and speaks with an Indian woman to find out who made a particular bullet for a "competitor". The conversation is interrupted by a sniper shooting the woman from a nearby building. This prompts Mr. X to run back into the elevator, where he performs a breathing exercise which causes his perception of time to slow. He then dashes down the corridor at amazing speed and makes a spectacular leap through the window, across the gap between buildings, eliminating all his opponents in mid-flight. As he assesses his fallen enemies, a dead sniper's phone begins to ring - a call from a man he calls Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). Cross tells Mr. X the snipers are decoys, who looks down and realizes that he is standing on top of an X mark on the ground. Cross then says goodbye as he fires a multi-stage bullet through Mr. X's head from miles away.

The scene then turns to Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a seemingly insignificant accounts manager in an unnamed firm. He lives a monotonous and unrewarding life, subject to frequent abuse from his boss, and suspects(accurately) that his friend and coworker is having sex with his shrewish girlfriend. He feels his life is summed up by an attempt at self-Googling; which produces no results. In addition, he is a hypochondriac, prone to panic attacks, which he takes Ativan to control. However, his perception of time seems to slow during these attacks - just like Mr. X.

One night, at a grocery store, Wesley notices he is being stalked by Cross, but doesn't pay any mind until a mysterious woman (Angelina Jolie) suddenly appears next to him, telling him that his father, Mr. X, was an elite assassin who had been killed on top of a building the day before - by Cross. The woman opens fire, and a shoot-out in the grocery store leads to a car pursuit in the streets, with the woman and Wesley making a narrow escape.

He wakes up the next morning at the base of The Fraternity, a thousand-year-old secret society of assassins who kill those who threaten to bring the world to chaos. The group's leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), introduces Gibson to Fox, the woman from the night before, and invites him to follow in his father's footsteps as an assassin. Sloan first decides to test Wesley by making him shoot the wings off a fly. When Wesley refuses, a gun is put to his head, triggering a panic attack - during which he manages to shoot the wings off several flies.

Sloan explains that Wesley's "panic attacks" are actually an untrained manifestation of a rare superhuman ability which allows his heart to beat at an abnormally high speed, flooding his bloodstream with equally abnormal high levels of adrenaline. This causes his perspective of time to slow dramatically, granting him superhuman reflexes and strength. This trait is genetic, inherited from his father - and with his father's death, he also inherits his father's fortune to do with as he wishes. But Sloan is offering more than that - he is offering Wesley his father's position within The Fraternity, signified by his father's gun. Wesley, already overwhelmed by the day's events, refuses and leaves.

Wesley wakes up the the next day thinking that everything was a dream, but discovers his father's gun and finds over $3.6 million in his bank account. Confirming the claims made by Sloan causes him to have an epiphany - he can be more than what he is. He tells off his boss and quits his job, knocking out his philandering friend's teeth with his keyboard (the shattered keys and teeth spelling out "**** you") as he leaves. Fox is waiting for him outside to give him a ride back to the Fraternity headquarters - an unassuming textile mill.

Wesley immediately begins training to make full use of his abnormal adrenaline surges and join the Fraternity. The Repairman desensitizes him to pain through daily bludgeoning. The Butcher teaches him various forms of close combat; hand-to-hand and knife fighting. Fox teaches him parkour. The Gunsmith teaches him marksmanship, not only with normal firearms but also the Fraternity's smoothbore weapons which are able to "curve" specially etched bullets in a manner similar to expertly pitched baseballs.

The training is brutal, and is only endurable with the assistance of periodic medicinal baths that accelerate healing. While recovering in one of these baths, Wesley meets the Exterminator (Konstantin Khabensky), a fellow Fraternity member named for his use of mini-bomb-bearing rats. He muses to Wesley of thousands of mini-bombs set upon a target.

Wesley makes amazing progress over due time but seems unable to master curving a bullet around a piece of hanging meat. Eventually Fox stands in front of the meat and Wes is told to shoot around her at the target. Once he finally succeeds, his training complete, and Wesley is given orders to kill people from The Loom of Fate, a cloth spinning machine that gives the names of the targets through a binary code hidden in the weaving of the threads, a process which Wesley initially finds suspicious.

While on his first assignment, Wesley hesitates in killing his target while riding by on the top of a train. In the next scene, he questions Fox, "How do we know who is bad or good?" She responds by telling him a story of a young girl. The girl's father was a prestigious judge who was handling a sensitive case, and the case's defendant had put a hit on him in order to get a judge who could be bought off. One day a hired killer held the young girl at knife point as they waited for her father to return home. The killer lit the father on fire as the young girl watched, then he branded his initials into her neck, which was the signature of his work. Fox explains that the killer had been targeted by the Fraternity several weeks prior to the events of the story, but their assassin had failed to carry out his duty. Fox then explains that is what the Fraternity does: kill one, and save a thousand. Wesley notices that initials are scarred onto her neck, indicating that the young girl in the story was her. The scene switches back to Wesley firing and curving the bullet to take out the target, revealing that Fox's story was told in a flashback prior to the assignment taking place.

Wesley is then given a second assignment - which he accomplishes easily with limited assistance from Fox. He then returns to his apartment to retrieve his father's gun - and encounters Cross upon leaving the building. Gunfire is exchanged and Wesley pursues Cross, but accidentally kills The Exterminator in the process. Cross takes this opportunity to "curve" a bullet into Wesley's arm. With his dying breath the Exterminator tells Wesley, "a thousand."

Wesley analyzes the bullet from his arm and traces its origins - it is an expertly engraved bullet that might as well be autographed, the work of a renegade Fraternity member named Pekwarsky (Terrence Stamp). Sloan grants Wesley permission to personally investigate Pekwarsky despite Fox's protest that it could be a trap. After Wesley leaves, Sloan hands Fox a new kill order from the Loom - Wesley.

Wesley and Fox travel to the Fraternity's original base of operations in Europe, an abbey all but identical to the textile mill. The two easily capture Pekwarsky and force him to take them to Cross. The meeting leads to a confrontation between Wesley and Cross on a moving train. Fox steals a car and crashes it into the train, eventually causing the train to derail when it reaches a bridge over a deep ravine. Wesley, Fox, and Cross hang on for their lives as their cabin dangles from the bridge. Wesley is about to fall, but Cross catches his hand to save him. Wesley unhesitatingly shoots him. Before Cross dies, he tells Wesley that everything the Fraternity told him was a lie, and that he is his real father. Fox confirms the truth and explains that Wesley was the only one who could kill Cross not because of his superhuman talent, but because the only person Cross wouldn't kill was his son. Fox raises her weapon to shoot Wesley, but Wesley shoots the glass underneath him, plunging into the river far below.

Wesley awakes in a medicinal bath in an apartment across the street from his former apartment, courtesy of Pekwarsky. Upon inspecting the apartment he discovers it belonged to his father, who had been monitoring him his whole life. Pekwarsky hands Wesley a loom weaving and tells him to decode it. Wesley is shocked to discover Sloan's name in the weaving. Pekwarsky explains that Cross went rogue due to this discovery. Since then Sloan has used false weavings to direct the Fraternity as mere contract killers. Wesley realizes that Cross had never actually tried to kill him in their previous confrontations - he had been assassinating Fraternity members to keep them away from Wesley. Pekwarsky departs after giving Wesley plane tickets, stating that his father wished him a life free of violence and chaos.

While investigating the apartment further, Wesley discovers a secret room containing all of his father's weapons, maps, notes, and battle plans. He even finds a supply of The Exterminator's mini-bombs, realizing that The Exterminator had been working with his father. Consumed by rage and seeing his opportunity, Wesley devises a plan to take out Sloan and the Fraternity.

Wesley begins the first phase of his plan by filling a garbage truck with rats gorged on explosives-laced peanut butter, "arming" a number of the rats with the Exterminator's mini-bombs. He then crashes the truck into the Fraternity compound, thus flooding it with pseudo-smart bombs. After all the rats explode, he charges in, killing all the Fraternity members he encounters, including the Repairman and the Butcher. Upon Sloan's office, he finds himself surrounded by Fox and her fellow master assassins. Wesley tells them that Sloan is killing for profit by providing his killers with fake instructions from the Loom. He then attempts to kill Sloan, but is disarmed by Fox.

Fox then asks Sloan if this is true. Sloan then reveals that all of their names had come up in the weaving, and that he had merely acted to protect them. He then goes on to explain that if they truly believe in the code then they should all commit suicide right where they stand. Otherwise, they should kill Wesley and live a life of freedom - or more appropriately, world domination. The other assassins seem to agree with Sloan, but Fox, who fully believes in the code, turns on her fellow assassins. She curves a bullet to kill the entire circle of assassins, including herself. However, Sloan has already escaped.

Wesley, penniless once more, returns to working in an office, under the new name of J.G. Millar, an homage to the two creators of Wanted, Mark Millar and J.G. Jones. He once again Googles his name, which again yields no results as Sloan appears with a gun to Wesley's head. "Wesley" turns around, and is revealed to be a decoy. Sloan looks down to discover an "X" of post-it notes. Sloan mutters "oh ****" as a multistage bullet bursts through his forehead, fired by the real Wesley who is sitting a mile away. Just as in the comic, the film ends with Wesley breaking the fourth wall, addressing the audience, and listing his recent accomplishments, ending with him saying: "This is me taking back control of my life. What the **** have you done lately?"

Cast

-James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson: A meek 24-year-old who works in a cubicle, but is heir to a legacy of assassins. McAvoy was cast in the lead role in October 2006.[3] McAvoy, who had screen-tested for the role early in 2006, was initially rejected due to the studio seeking an actor that had conventional Hollywood leading-man looks and physique. The actor was later recalled, being considered the "runt of the litter" of those who tested. According to
McAvoy, "They [ultimately] wanted someone geeky." The Scottish actor, who portrays an American in the film, trained for the film's action scenes.

-Morgan Freeman as Sloan: The charismatic assassin partner of Wesley Gibson's deceased father.

-Angelina Jolie as Fox: One of Fraternity assassins who mentors Gibson. Jolie was cast in March 2007 after screenwriter Dean Georgaris rewrote the screenplay to tailor the role for her.[6]

-Common as The Gunsmith: A professional gunman named RyanLupin who trains others to use weapons.

-Konstantin Khabensky as The Exterminator: Khabensky, who starred in Bekmambetov's Night Watch, was cast so the director would have a familiar face around Wanted.[7]

-Marc Warren as The Repairman

-Dato Bakhtadze as The Butcher: A master of knife work.

-Terence Stamp as Pekwarsky: A master in the science of killing. Pekwarsky operates as a rogue agent outside of The Fraternity.[9]

-David O'Hara as Mr. X: Said to be the greatest assassin. His killing catalyzes Wesley's introduction to the Fraternity.

-Chris Pratt as Barry[10]

-Kristen Hager as Cathy[11]

-Thomas Kretschmann as Cross: A rogue assassin who has left the Fraternity

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. As of June 27, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 74% of critics gave Wanted positive reviews, based on 92 reviews — with the consensus that the film "is a fast-paced, crackling thrill ride tailor-made for the Summer audience." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 64 out of 100, based on 30 reviews.

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly encapsulated many critics' views, saying "'Wanted' is kind of unintelligible and idiotic. Also kind of nasty and brutish. And also undeniably kind of fun..." Likewise, Tom Long of The Detroit News said, "Wanted may be the most absolutely stone bonkers, crazy-good movie of the century. Or it may be a gargantuan piece of trash. Chances are it's a combination of the two. But man, does it rock". Claudia Puig of USA Today found the "thrilling stunts and hyperkinetic action scenes [to be] the undisputed stars of this surprisingly entertaining film". Conversely, John Rosenblatt of The Austin Chronicle denounced those same attributes, saying, "If Maxim magazine ever decides to branch out into filmmaking, Wanted is just the kind of ear-throttling nonsense it's bound to produce", and David Fear of Time Out New York called it "the cinematic equivalent of an energy drink. The film keeps artificially pumping your adrenal glands with mindless, malnutritional sensations, only to leave you crampy and cranky minutes later. ...This exercise in ultraviolence then insults us by having a beaten, bloodied McAvoy inform viewers that he used to be a loser 'just like all of you'". Frank Lovece of Film Journal International, one of few mainstream critics to have read the comic-book miniseries, said the film compared poorly with the source material. Noting that the hero in the comic goes even further, "breaking the fourth wall and positioning himself so that he's 'prison-raping' and taunting the reader for having liked the series," Lovece found that, "While Millar may have contempt for his readers — and, by extension, the medium in which he works — at least he has his own vision, and gets it across with style and wit" that the movie lacked.

In the comics press, Erik Amaya of Comic Book Resources said, "The film's biggest faults lie in how far it strays from the source", and that, "If you've ever seen any movie about leather-clad assassins, you already know how this film plays out. The speed and skill of the movie-making balance out those faults, however".[34] Tom McLean of Newsarama noted that while the story deviated strongly from the source, the movie "stands out as a highly entertaining action film that preserves the comic's core premise and cheeky attitude while taking the story into very different but still satisfying territory".

Among European critics, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said, "It looks as if it has been written by a committee of 13-year-old boys for whom penetrative sex is still only a rumour, and the resulting movie plays like a party political broadcast on behalf of the misogynist party", concluding, "In an ideal world, the title would have the word 'Not' tacked on to the front".

WarGames is a 1983 drama/thriller film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film starred Matthew Broderick in his second major film role, and featured Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and Barry Corbin.

The movie was a box office success, costing US$12 million but grossing over $74 million after five months in the United States. With a cost of $1 million, the NORAD set was the most expensive single movie set ever built up to that time.

Plot

David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) is a bright but unmotivated high school student. He is also a computer hacker who uses his 1970s vintage IMSAI microcomputer and modem (connected to the telephone by an acoustic coupler) to perform automated searches for systems connected to the public phone system, which he then cracks. He uses this method to change his failing school grades, stored in the school's computer, as well as those of his friend Jennifer Mack (Ally Sheedy). After seeing an advertisement for a new game company in Creative Computing magazine, David has his computer dial every number in Sunnyvale, California, in an attempt to find their system. When later reviewing the results, he finds one of the systems has a very "basic" interface, which he finds intriguing. After trying a few commands he succeeds in finding a list of games, but instead of the expected results, the games have titles like "theaterwide biotoxic and chemical warfare" and "global thermonuclear war". Further attempts to gain access fail.

Enlisting the help of older hacker friends, he decides the only way in will be to find a backdoor password, and one of them suggests tracking down the Falken referenced in "Falken's Maze," the first game listed. Following this lead, Lightman discovers that Professor Falken was an early artificial intelligence researcher, and from there tracks down every lead he can on Falken's life.

Lightman soon finds that he can use the name of Falken's late son, Joshua, to gain access. He glibly starts a game of global thermonuclear war on the side of the Soviet Union, selecting Las Vegas and his home town of Seattle as first-strike targets. Unknown to the teen, he has logged into a NORAD military supercomputer system called WOPR that was programmed in part by Falken. Originally intended to run wargame simulations, it was later given control of the United States' arsenal of ICBMs after testing showed that twenty-two percent of missile crews tested failed to launch their missiles when prompted to do so (as shown at the beginning of the film). The events precipitated by Lightman lead NORAD to believe that actual Russian nuclear missiles are inbound. They manage to figure out what happened, but do not realize that WOPR is continuing to play global thermonuclear war internally and will not cease until it has "won." WOPR continuously feeds false data (such as bomber incursions and submarines sailing from Russian bases) to the humans at NORAD, goading them into starting World War III.

The teenage Lightman is soon snared by the FBI and is taken to Cheyenne Mountain, from which he promptly escapes. He makes his way to Oregon, where Falken (John Wood) retired after the death of his young son. Lightman and Jennifer eventually convince Falken that nuclear annihilation would be a Bad Thing, and that he should return to NORAD HQ to somehow stop the march to war. Upon arrival, they are told that the system is using a brute force attack to crack the launch code for the US nuclear missiles. Since the humans will not do so, WOPR assumes command and control has been compromised and it will have to hit the Soviets first to "win."

Disaster is narrowly averted when Falken/Lightman manage to teach WOPR about the futility of war by getting it to play endless drawn games of tic-tac-toe against itself. The WOPR then cycles through all the nuclear war scenarios that it has devised, which all end with no winner. WOPR learns that "the only winning move is not to play" (due to mutual assured destruction) and simply ceases playing. In the end WOPR decides it would prefer "a nice game of chess."

Cast

-Matthew Broderick as David Lightman
-Dabney Coleman as Dr. John McKittrick
-John Wood as Dr. Stephen Falken
-Ally Sheedy as Jennifer Katherine Mack
-Barry Corbin as Gen. Jack Beringer
-Michael Ensign as Beringer's Assistant
-Michael Madsen as Steve Phelps
-Alan Blumenfeld as Mr. Liggett
-Eddie Deezen as Malvin
-Art LaFleur as Guard Gainsburg

Awards

WarGames was nominated for three Oscars:

Cinematography: William A. Fraker
Sound: Michael J. Kohut, Carlos de Larios, Aaron Rochin, Willie D. Burton
Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen): Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes

Notes

The scenes showing Lightman's computer dialing every number in Sunnyvale led to the term "war dialing", a technique of using a modem to scan a list of telephone numbers to search for unknown computers, and indirectly to the newer term "wardriving." The actual NORAD facility at Cheyenne Mountain slightly resembles what is depicted in the film, being a rather more spartan facility burrowed deep within a mountain as protection against nuclear attack.

Starship Troopers is a 1997 sci-fi-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, written by Edward Neumeier, and starring Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer and Denise Richards. The movie is loosely based on the controversial novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein.

Starship Troopers tells the story of an interplanetary war between Earth and colonies of large insect-like aliens in the twenty-third century. It focuses on the experiences of John D. "Johnny" Rico (Casper Van Dien), one of three friends who sign up to the military one year before Earth declares war on the aliens.

The film opens to a futuristic television viewing sequence. The news is dominated by an ongoing war with the aliens, called Arachnids or "Bugs". A live report from a battleground on the Bugs' home planet Klendathu shows humanity to be taking terrible losses.

A flashback takes the scene to the upper class Buenos Aires high school of Johnny Rico. One-armed history teacher Mr. Rasczak (Michael Ironside) forcefully quizzes his students about the efficacy of "naked force" in dispute resolution. When Rico's girlfriend, Carmen (Denise Richards), decides to join the Federal Service (military), Rico also decides to follow her into the Service out of love for her and his desire to achieve "citizen" status, instead of remaining an ordinary "civilian." His parents show immediate revulsion at his choice.

Largely based on their academic test scores, Rico is assigned to Mobile Infantry, while Carmen is assigned to Flight School. His best friend Carl (Neil Patrick Harris) is assigned to the elite Games and Theory division, concerned with military intelligence. A girl from Rico's high school football team, "Dizzy" Flores (Dina Meyer), secretly joins the Mobile Infantry (MI) and successfully requests a transfer to Rico's training unit. Rico soon finds the grueling boot camp more difficult than anticipated, with terrible injuries being inflicted by the officers and NCOs — particularly his drill sergeant, Zim (Clancy Brown) — in an effort to train the recruits quickly and efficiently. Rico excels at the training and eventually is promoted to squad leader.

Carmen decides to "go career" because of her love of piloting massive starships, which precludes getting back together with Rico after two years of service, so she breaks up with him. A high school football rival of Rico, Zander Barcalow (Patrick Muldoon) has intentionally placed himself as Carmen's instructor, and makes his romantic intentions known. She neither accepts nor rejects, seeming amused and remaining intent on her piloting.

After Rico makes an error as squad leader during a training exercise which results in the death of a squadmate, he is punished by public flogging and states his intention to quit. However, just as he is leaving the camp, a Bug asteroid destroys Buenos Aires, killing his parents and millions of people. He rejoins his unit and the newly-declared war against the perpetrators of the attack: the elephant-sized Arachnids of the distant planet Klendathu.

The initial invasion of Klendathu is a complete disaster, with 300,000 dead including several of Rico's fellow boot-mates. Rico is one of the few wounded to survive. The Federation's new Sky Marshal, Tehat Meru, initiates altered and more intelligent battle plans. Rico, Dizzy and his friend from training, Ace Levy (Jake Busey), are reassigned to the super-tough MI unit, the "Roughnecks". Its soldiers are extremely loyal, most of whose lives have been saved by their commander, as has Rico's. He turns out to be Rico's old high school history teacher (fitted with an artificial, robot arm), now Lieutenant Rasczak, executing the lessons he formerly taught. After a spectacular and heroic battle on one of the Bug worlds, Tango Urilla, Rico is field-promoted to corporal and assigns Dizzy as squad leader. After a celebration later that night, Rico and Dizzy share an intimate moment in Rico's tent at the MI's makeshift camp.

Their next mission plunges them into a trap, as they are assigned to investigate the silence of an outpost on one of the Bug worlds, Planet P. From the only survivor (and now a post-traumatic) General Owen (Marshall Bell), they discover that the bugs possess a high intelligence, and are "sucking" the brains out of humans to learn directly from them. As the troopers realize their situation, a massive swarm of bugs attacks. Rasczak, Dizzy and almost all of the Roughnecks are killed in the battle. The survivors barely evacuate in a ship piloted by Carmen. After a funeral service for Dizzy, Rico's old friend Carl, now a Colonel in intelligence, gives Rico and Carmen his unapologetic reason for the deaths of many of Rico's squad mates - the Roughnecks were used as bait. Rico is horrified, but Carl lets him know that humans are vastly outnumbered and the strategic sacrifice was necessary. Military intelligence had ascertained that there might be a centralised intelligence; a "brain bug" on Planet P, and he tells Rico that the Mobile Infantry will return to Planet P and attempt to capture the brain bug for research. Rico accepts the mission and Carl gives him command of the Roughnecks, who are then reinforced by fresh soldiers (barely in their teens) sent directly from boot camp. Carmen's ship, the Rodger Young, is the one from which the Roughnecks operate.

In the offensive, the Rodger Young explodes when hit by Bug plasma, shot from giant Bug abdomens. Carmen and Zander barely survive, while the captain is killed when a door accidentally closes on her while getting to the lifeboat. Their escape pod lands deep underground in a Bug tunnel. They are captured, and Zander's brain is sucked out and ingested by the brain bug. As the brain bug is about to suck Carmen's brain out, Carmen pulls out a knife that Zander had handed her earlier and slices the brain bug's 'sucker'. Rico in the meantime organizes a rescue attempt and manages to save Carmen in the nick of time by threatening the brain bug with a miniature "nuke". A skirmish ensues and Watkins sacrifices himself to nuke the bug hole after being severely injured. Rico, Carmen and Ace escape to the surface safely, where the brain bug has been captured by Rico's former training sergeant Zim, voluntarily demoted to private in order to be allowed to transfer from training to combat. Rico, Carmen, and Carl renew their friendship. The brain bug is seen being studied by Federation scientists on earth. The film ends with an enlistment message, using Rico, Carmen, Lumbresier (a flight school friend of Carmen's), and Ace as examples of heroes of the military.

Reception

This movie polarized both popular audiences and critics, as did the original book. On one level, the movie tells a straightforward action-adventure science fiction story, but with plastic B-movie actors. A prominent theme of the film is the human practice of senseless violence without reflection or empathy, which parallels the senseless aggression of the "Bugs". As such, the movie attracted widely divergent responses. This is reflected by a mixed critical response (the film received a 60% rating on Rotten Tomatoes).

Starship Troopers was nominated for a number of awards in 1998 and won Saturn Awards for Best Costumes and Best Special Effects at the 1998 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA Awards. The movie earned over $22 million on its opening weekend.

The film included visual allusions to propaganda films, such as Triumph of the Will, The Battleship Potemkin, and wartime news broadcasts. However, this satire was embedded in slickly produced action sequences with clever special effects. Some wonder whether the satire went unnoticed by an audience who may have treated the movie as a simple gung-ho action movie.

Comparison with the novel

There is a vast divergence between the original book and film. A report in an American Cinematographer article around the same time of film's release states the Heinlein novel was optioned well into the pre-production period of the film, which had a working title of Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine; most of the writing team reportedly were unaware of the novel at the time. According to the DVD commentary, Paul Verhoeven never finished reading the novel, claiming he read through the first few chapters and became both "bored and depressed."

The film was also characterized by a conspicuous absence of anything resembling Heinlein's mechanized Mobile Infantry; troopers wore an unpowered ensemble which seemed to differ only slightly from modern-day army gear, possibly because the original suits of the novel would have obscured the view of the actors.[citation needed] Their weaponry was somewhat advanced, having the use of small tactical nukes which could be be fired as a projectile. The MI fought as light infantry for most of the movie being able to call on air support (such as when Lt. Jean Rasczak stated that they would be landing only after air support had "glassed the planet"). Due to the rocky canyon-like terrain, the MI was forced to move mainly under their own motive power (i.e. no vehicles, tanks etc.). Because the Bugs were so strong and lethal, a substantial portion of the soldiers' anatomy was left unprotected, as it was better for them to be lighter and more agile instead. Towards the end of the film, the infantry is sent towards the bugs, when the human race obviously presided over aircraft capable of taking out the same bugs with far fewer casualties - but this would have prevented them from being able to capture the "brain bug", a risky mission which ultimately turned the tide in the war.

While some of the dialogue comes straight from the book, or variation of it, much of the dialogue and many of the themes are not from Heinlein's story. Additionally, most of the characters have been significantly altered. In the novel the lead character's name is Juan Rico, and he speaks Tagalog at home and does not originate from Buenos Aires. Flores is female in the movie in order to add a love interest sub-plot. In the book, Dizzy Flores is male, has no relation to Rico save the fact they were soldiers in the same platoon, and is only mentioned in the first chapter, due to the fact that he dies at its conclusion. Additionally, Carl Jenkins serves an even lesser role in the book, with a one sentence mention about his death far away from the narrator halfway through the novel, while he survives the movie; Carl Jenkins is also not a psychic in the original story. In fact, the possible existence of psychic abilities was left vague in the novel; one minor character described as a "sensitive" who can map the Bug tunnels from above ground, with Rico as narrator speculating on whether his abilities are nothing more than "good hearing". In the film, these abilities are expanded to full-blown telepathic communication between species.

Further, the movie was criticized in that many of the characters are described as just graduating high school, despite the fact that the actors who played them were in their late 20s/early 30s at the time the movie was filmed. The professor and leader of the "Roughnecks" in the novel are combined into one role played by Michael Ironside.

Militarism vs. satire on militarism

Heinlein's original novel depicted a strong, orderly, nationalistic traditionalist Earth in which conservative family values are touted as nearly universal, crime is rare and punished harshly, and serving a term of civil service is a prerequisite for full citizenship rights. Heinlein paints his version of the Earth government as a "Father Knows Best" state (benevolent dictatorship), which punishes/restricts its "children" harshly when deemed necessary, but only to ostensibly ensure the survival of the species and to make everyone better or happier in the long run. The values of this form of militaristic government are debated throughout the novel, but are consistently portrayed as being widely accepted as necessary by the (massively larger) future world population. The arachnids are presented as the prototypical monsters, mindlessly violent and hideous creatures inspiring nothing but fear and loathing in humans. It is deliberately not stated whether the bugs or the humans initiated the war, with the unspoken suggestion being that it is utterly unimportant from Juan Rico's point of view; he and his fellow soldiers are neither politicians nor sadists, merely honor-bound and dedicated professionals whose duty is to kill bugs. While the greater socio-political aims of the war are discussed to some extent, no effort is made to attempt to humanize the bugs or even detail their appearances beyond fragmentary descriptions (generally delivered shortly before they are killed by the protagonist).

The film, by contrast, depicts a future state that is much less glorious in its tone; Verhoeven's Earth is dystopic: jingoistic and militaristic in nature. The military training is cruel: officers purposely wound recruits, and flogging is a mode of punishment, which is somewhat mitigated by the fact that existing technology can heal such wounds immediately.

Gender differences are portrayed as having become less important: Dizzy, a female, is the accomplished starting quarterback of Rico's high school football team. The military accepts both men and women to serve on the front lines. In addition, the soldiers shower and quarter together and generally refrain from acting inappropriately.

As both insect and human forces are slaughtered in high numbers, they are filmed and photographed by embedded television crews for the benefit of viewers at home, further illustrating the theatrical nature of the war. Also, as Verhoeven mentions in the DVD commentary, the humans are the aggressors and the bugs the victims: when the bugs bomb Buenos Aires, they are not attacking the human race but reacting to human colonists encroaching on bug planets.

Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is the 2004 direct-to-video sequel to the 1997 feature film Starship Troopers. It had a $7 million dollar budget as opposed to the $100 million of the original. Even though it got a Direct to Video released in America, it got theatrical release in Japan and Spain. It has almost no relationship to the novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, unlike the first Starship Troopers movie, which was loosely based on the characters and storyline of the book (though much different in tone). None of the characters from the original movie appear in this sequel (except for in recycled footage), although the actor Brenda Strong appears in both movies (as different characters). The movie was directed by Phil Tippett, who is also the founder of Tippett Studio, the visual effects company that created the creature and miniature effects for the original film. In the documentary of the making of Starship Troopers 2, it was mentioned that Starship Troopers 3 was seriously being considered. The now confirmed sequel is set for release in 2008.

Plot summary

Set on a planet inhabited by the Arachnids, a squad of soldiers find themselves pinned down and surrounded on all sides by Arachnid forces. Even with their new laser gun technology and assistance from psychic soldiers, the Arachnid assault overwhelms them and General Jack Shepherd (Ed Lauter) decides to make a last stand with several of his best soldiers, allowing the majority of his surviving troops to escape. The plan works, and the soldiers, including Sergeant Dede Rake (Brenda Strong), psychic Lieutenant Pavlov Dill (Lawrence Monoson), Private Jill Sandee (Sandrine Holt) and her lover Private Duff Horton (Jason-Shane Scott), and Private Lei Sahara (Colleen Porch) escape. Despite reaching relative safety, the team is whittled down by deadly storms and arachnid ambushes. Among these deaths is the only member of the platoon with a radio, Corporal Thom Kobe (Brian Tee). Lieutenant Dill finds himself unable to command his soldiers as he receives traumatic visions of utter annihilation. He takes his anger out on Private Sahara, who is revealed to have been psychic but lost reliable control of her psychic abilities as puberty took place, which seems to be rather normal.

The remaining refugees find themselves sheltering within Hotel Delta 1-8-5, an old and abandoned structure containing Captain V. J. Dax (Richard Burgi), a disgraced (though with a fantastic combat record) soldier who killed his commanding officer and was sealed in a furnace. As a deadly dust storm kicks up, they find themselves without communications or back-up for a lengthy period of time and protect themselves through the use of electric pulse fences with limited batteries. Dax takes command, to the annoyance of Dill, and the two develop a grudge. Dax sees Dill as an incompetent commander, while Dill sees Dax as a traitor to the Federation.

Soon after defenses for Hotel Delta are set up, Shepherd and three soldiers return. While the troops in the outpost originally think that all but one of their comrades has reached safety, it becomes clear that, in fact, all their comrades but Shepherd died, who was soon rescued by three marauding soldiers. These troops include the comatose Private Charlie Soda (Kelly Carlson), the odd acting Tech Sergeant Ari Peck (J. P. Manoux), and the medic Private Joe Griff (Ed Quinn). With the help of the newcomers they solve all of their technical issues, including lack of communication, and now need only to wait for a Fleet dropship to rescue them.

Tempers flare at the base as Soda seduces Horton and Sandee, in a rage, finds a new significant other in Griff. However, both Horton and Sandee soon act strange, as do many other survivors. Sahara seems to have become ill as she has nightmares and wakes up vomiting. Accidentally brushing Griff's hands brings on a psychic vision in Sahara. Sahara goes to Rake for advice and tells her what went on. Rake suggests that Sahara is simply pregnant and that pregnancy not only brings on the symptoms she describes, but makes girls temperamental and makes them think that "they know it all". Eventually the female protagonist, Private Sahara, and the male ex-hero of the federation, Dax, find themselves facing a new breed of Arachnid, a bug that infests the human body by forcing open the mouth and propagating inside the brain. They come to Dill with their news and make amends with him, also learning that he only made bad decisions because of the visions he was receiving and that he felt incredibly guilty over the loss of men under his command in the escape. Sahara tells Dill that she has been receiving parts of the vision as well, and Dill reveals to Sahara that an occasional side-effect of pregnancy is the temporary return of the psychic abilities lost at puberty.

Soon after making amends, Dill corners several infected soldiers and intends for them to be captured and studied, but as he insults them another infected soldier kills him with a knife that Dax gave him earlier. The assault is blamed on Dax (his name was inscribed on the knife) and he is imprisoned.

Eventually a dropship arrives but all of the troopers are infected including Shepherd, who, if returned to Earth, may infect the leaders of the Federation. Rake takes an adrenaline shot and kills many infected soldiers, then frees Dax, but kills herself because she has also been infected. Sahara and Dax kill the rest of the infected troops, and make it to the roof of the structure to confront the infected Shepherd just as the pulse fences give way. Just as Shepherd is about to be rescued, Dax kills him with two rifles held akimbo. He gets Sahara onto the ship and tells the bewildered crew that she holds information vital to the survival of the Federation. He then refuses to get onto the ship ("Murderers don't go home.") and goes down in a blaze of glory, fending off bugs.

Although Dax is labeled as a Hero of the Federation, Dax's death is shrouded in propaganda and spin as the Federation utilize his end as a means of recruitment, symbolised by the final line of the recruiting officer, talking of Sahara's child: "We need fresh meat for the grinder". Sahara alarmed flees the recruiting station. This act shows to have no effect on the recruiter, showing the movie's take on military idealism.

Response

The movie was largely panned by both reviews and fans of the original movie and the book upon which they are based.

Among the most common complaints are the low production values and the lack of any returning characters from the book or movie (Clancy Brown was originally set to return as Zim, his character from the first film, but the actor was unavailable, having already committed to Carnivàle; the part was thus heavily rewritten and became 'Dax'). This is even more evident when this movie is compared to the original Heinlein book. Instead of showing the Mobile Infantry as a cohesive force, they are shown to be a politically motivated group where officers send soldiers to their death for their own advancement.

Many criticized the sequel as lacking any element of the humor and slapstick action of the original, and for taking itself "too seriously

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (aka "ST3") is a science fiction film written and directed by Edward Neumeier. The film is a sequel to Starship Troopers and Starship Troopers 2. Starship Troopers: Marauder will star Casper Van Dien and be released directly to DVD. The film is currently stated for a release date of August 5, 2008, however, a copy was leaked onto the torrent sites on the 14th of July 2008. Production started in May, 2007, with principal photography commencing in South Africa.

Synopsis

Colonel Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), Hero of Planet P, finds himself battling bugs, new and old, on the Federation frontier planet known as Roku San. During Off-Duty in a bar he and his old friend Dix Hauser(Boris Kodjoe) get into a fight with farmers Protesting the war. Rico ends up striking Dix to stop him from shooting one of the farmers in anger. Dix arrests him but the base is attacked and Rico is needed for its Defence. When Roku San falls Rico is blamed by the Federal Media and set for execution for Insubordination and Striking a Superior Officer. But the federation has other plans for him. The life of his good friend Captain Lola Beck (Jolene Blalock) Is Marooned on a Classified planet known as Planet OM-1 with the Beloved Sky Marshall Anoke (Stephen Hogan). Rico must Lead a Elite team of Troopers into Battle with the Federations New Secret Weapons, Advanced Battle-suits called "Marauders" . Using the new technology Rico and his crack squad defeat the arachnids on the distant planet OM-1 and, in turn, help save his fellow soldiers from death at the hands a treasonous element operating within Federation itself. The Planet is discovered to be the home of the Bug Hive, or its ruling body, that encompusses Most of the Planet. In the final scenes of the movie we see planet OM-1 being decimated by mankind's new "Q-Bomb" Killing Every Bug on the planet as well as the Planet Itslef. Rico is Offered the Rank of General and the Command of the New Marauder Program. The film ends with the traditional quirky and cheesy Federation recruitment ad.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a 2008 science fiction film directed by Chris Carter, and written by Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the second feature film based on Carter's TV series The X-Files, following the 1998 film. The stars of the TV series, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, reprise their respective roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

The film was first anticipated in November 2001 to follow the conclusion of the ninth season of the TV series, but it remained in development hell for six years before entering production in December 2007 in Vancouver. Many of those involved in the film, including Carter, Duchovny and 20th Century Fox, have spoken of its story as one that would stand apart from the alien abduction conspiracy story of the television series. The film is scheduled to be released on July 24, 2008 in Australia and Germany, July 25, 2008 in North America, August 1, 2008 in the United Kingdom, and July 31, 2008 in Kuwait.

Plot

According to the producers, the film takes place six years after the events of the series. It is also known that, unlike the first film, the plot will not focus on the series' ongoing "mythology" and will instead be a standalone thriller/horror story, similar to many of the "Monster-of-The-Week" episodes that were frequently seen in the TV series.

In an interview published March 27, 2008, Carter stated that the film would be consistent with the entire X-Files story arc, as Scully's child William would "not go unconsidered" in the film, and that it "takes place in the present and uses a story envisioned when the series ended".

In addition, photos of Duchovny and Anderson embracing and kissing appeared on Internet fan sites in early March 2008, fueling speculation about a romantic subplot between their characters. Duchovny dismissed the rumors and described the kiss as a practical joke, adding, "We staged that."

Cast

David Duchovny Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi Walter S. Skinner
Amanda Peet ASAC Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly Father Joseph Crissman
Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner Agent Mosley Drummy
Callum Keith Rennie Janke Dacyshyn
Adam Godley Father Ybarra
Sarah-Jane Redmond Unknown

Development
In November 2001, the creators of the TV series, The X-Files, decided to pursue a second feature film adaptation of the series, following the 1998 film. Carter was expected to collaborate with Spotnitz, who had co-written the first film, on a script for the follow-up. Production of the film was slated to begin after the completion of the ninth season of the TV series, with a projected release in December 2003. In April 2002, Carter reiterated his desire and the studio's desire to do a sequel film. He planned to write the script over the summer and begin production in Spring or Summer 2003 for a 2004 release. Carter described the film as being stand-alone, "We're looking at the movies as stand-alones. They're not necessarily going to have to deal with the mythology." Director Rob Bowman, who had directed episodes of The X-Files in the past as well as the 1998 film, expressed an interest in filming the sequel in July 2002.

In April 2004, Duchovny said he was waiting for the film's production to begin, explaining that Carter had signed off on the premise. Duchovny said of the delay, "So now it's just a matter of making sure everybody can get together at the same time and do it." The following November, Carter revealed that the project was in the negotiation stage, explaining, "Because it's a sequel, there are peculiar and specific kinds of negotiations that are holding us up." Duchovny spoke of the premise for the yet-produced film in 2005, "Mulder and Scully investigate one particular case that has nothing to do with alien life. It has to do with supernatural stuff." He also explained, "I think we're going back to the 'monster of the week' type feel, where if you're not an avid fan and don't understand the mythology, you can still come to it and get the movie." Duchovny and Carter planned to begin production in Winter 2005 to be released in Summer 2006. The following April, Duchovny admitted to a lack of a script, adding that Carter would have it ready by early next year.

In May 2006, Spotnitz ascribed the continued delay to legal matters between Carter and 20th Century Fox. The screenwriter anticipated, "Once the legal issues are over with, we will go on with it. I'm hoping it will get resolved soon." By April 2007, Spotnitz confirmed that a script was finally in development. The following October, the studio officially announced the production of the sequel film, whose premise would be kept under wraps.

Filming

The film was shot in Vancouver and Pemberton, in British Columbia, Canada. According to Spotnitz, the script was written specifically for these locations. Filming began in December 2007 in Vancouver under the direction of Carter, and shooting finished on March 11, 2008. In a teaser trailer shown at Wondercon on February 23, 2008, the date "July 25, 2008" appeared at the end, and was the only text in the trailer. On March 27, 2008, the horror film site, "Bloody Disgusting," reported a bootleg video of the official trailer was uploaded by a user on YouTube.[ The first public trailer was released after midnight on May 12, 2008, after a period of downtime on the official website.

Title

The code name, Done One, was used as the film's working title during filming, with location signs labeled as "Done One Productions." The Directors Guild production list for British Columbia listed a project named Done One, with the director listed as Rich Tracers, an anagram of the sequel's actual director, Chris Carter. "The Crying Box Productions" was listed as the production company, instead of Carter's usual "Ten Thirteen Productions." The Hollywood Reporter posted a series of information sheets regarding upcoming studio films, and the 20th Century Fox fact sheet referred to the film as The X-Files: Done One.[citation needed]

On April 16, 2008, the official title of the film was announced: The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Carter referred to the title as a "natural title", saying that it pertained to "a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. 'I Want to Believe.' It really does suggest Mulder's struggle with his faith." Carter also said that he and Spotnitz settled upon the title as soon as they started writing the screenplay. This title is a popular phrase among X-Files fans. It is featured on the UFO poster above Mulder's desk.

Reception

In print-publication reviews published online late Thursday, July 24, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the film "aggy, draggy, oddly timed and strangely off the mark", and that, "Mr. Carter knows how to grab your attention visually, but the amalgam of trashy thriller clichés that he has compiled with Frank Spotnitz, another series regular, creates its own deadening effect". Frank Lovece of Film Journal International, likewise, said, "[W]hat plot there is plays like a PG-13 Se7en: body parts, gruesomeness, gloom and doom, but hey, not too much, and don't worry, there's nothing deeply upsetting", and while praising the cinematography, music and Gillian Anderson's performance, believes, "[I]t seems unlikely that this franchise will reach The X-Files X". Roger Ebert said "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" arrives billed as a "stand-alone" film that requires no familiarity with the famous television series. So it is, leaving us to piece together the plot on our own. And when I say "piece together," trust me, that's exactly what I mean. In an early scene, a human arm turns up, missing its body, and other spare parts are later discovered.

Initial reviews panned the film, with "The second X-Files movie is a strangely lifeless exercise." And "Carter's offering seems destined to fade quickly like the whistling opening tones of the old series' theme tune."

Sequel

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chris Carter said that if I Want to Believe proves successful, he would propose that a third movie go back to the TV-series' mythology and focus on the alien invasion due to occur on December 22, 2012

In an August 2006 interview, Marvel producer Kevin Feige said he anticipated more sequels to the Spider-Man films "because of the wealth of stories in the comics".[29] Producer Avi Arad felt that some issues come to an end, but due to the character's age and his complex love life, the story is still continuous. Although Tobey Maguire has not signed on for another sequel, the actor has denied reports that he will not return, stating, "I feel like the stories all deserve to be told, and, you know, if... the whole team wants to get back together, and we feel like we can make a good movie that's worth making, then I'm up for it." Maguire later said in May 2007 that it may take years to develop a script. Actress Kirsten Dunst has also expressed openness to return if director Sam Raimi and Maguire do. Raimi told Premiere magazine that he "couldn't imagine" doing more sequels to the Spider-Man films without Tobey Maguire in the title role, but refused to completely rule out directing any future installments. J. K. Simmons is hoping to return as J. Jonah Jameson, as well as Dylan Baker who portrays Dr. Connors.

Raimi confirmed that Sony would be making at least three more sequels, although he did not know whether he would be required to direct. Even if he does not direct, he may stay on as producer, or co-writer. In January 2007, Columbia Pictures entered negotiations with screenwriter David Koepp, who is credited with the first Spider-Man screenplay, to pen the script for a fourth film, which would be released in 2009 or 2010. The following April, the studio said that the sequel was in the early stages of development, with no official word on casting, start date, and release. Later that month, Raimi expressed interest in directing New Line Cinema's The Hobbit. Entertainment Weekly suggested if he pursued the new project, the production schedule for Spider-Man 4 would be delayed, or a new director would replace Raimi.[41] Sony co-chairwoman Amy Pascal said that if Raimi, Maguire, and Dunst did not return, the studio would make more Spider-Man films without them. Negotiations with Koepp eventually fell through.

In January 2007, Dylan Baker, who portrays Dr. Curt Connors, expressed interest in portraying the character's villainous alter-ego, the Lizard, as has Raimi. Producer Grant Curtis is also a fan of the character, and has also expressed interest in Kraven the Hunter. The Lizard was in an early draft of the second film's script. Raimi said that if he returned to direct, he would take advantage of the established character of Dr. Curt Connors to introduce the Lizard. Raimi also expressed interest in setting up the Sinister Six with introductions to the Vulture and Electro. Sony originally planned to release Spider-Man 4 in the summer of 2010. In addition, Avi Arad confirmed in a one-on-one interview that a spin-off film about Venom was in the works.

In October 2007, Raimi said that he and the studio were looking for a new writer that would have a brand new take on the Spider-Man series. Raimi would relinquish creative control of the sequel's story and focus on either directing or producing the script. James Vanderbilt was soon announced as screenwriter, impressing the studio with his focus on characterization. The studio also decided to limit the scope of the film to two villains. Progress, however, was halted by the 2007-2008 Writer's Strike; but is now back up and running. In June 2008, Raimi has said that he is excited to read Vanderbilt's script and that it should be finished in a few months. He hopes Sony will rehire him, and he cannot imagine recasting any roles.

In June 2008, Sony pushed the film back to May 2011.

A fourth Beverly Hills Cop film is reported to be in development. The first news arrived in 2006. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer had stated his intention to resurrect the franchise, but eventually gave up his option to produce the film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura was slated to produce the film. Several scripts had reportedly been produced, the latest a fusion of several of the previous versions. The film had officially been given a greenlight, and the film was said to be still in development. The latest news on the project was that Murphy was reportedly happy with the current outline, which was described as an attempt to recapture "the feel of the original". In May 2008, Brett Ratner was officially named director for the project. Also it was stated that there were no writers for the project as of yet, and that they were still looking. Eddie Murphy is set to reprise his role as Detective Axel Foley. It is unknown whether Judge Reinhold or John Ashton will return to reprise their roles. Inspired by the success of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Paramount Pictures is said to be aiming for a 2009 production start, in time for a 2010 release. Director Brett Ratner was reportedly hoping that the film would get a PG-13 rating. Ratner later dismisssed the statement, insisting that the film would be getting the franchise's standard R rating. In a recent interview with Extra TV, Eddie Murphy has expressed doubt in returning as Foley as "the movie wasn't ready to be done." However, in a later interview with MTV, Murphy stated he was not retiring and that he would be returning for the fourth installment. One reason he stated was that "the third Beverly Hills Cop was horrible!" and that he "didn't want to leave it like that.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a 2008 film based on the fictional Dark Horse Comics character Hellboy. The film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and is a sequel to the 2004 film Hellboy, which del Toro also directed. Ron Perlman reprises his role as the titular character. The film was commercially released on July 11, 2008 in the United States and Canada.

Plot
In Christmas of 1955, a young Hellboy is told a bedtime story by his father, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), involving an ancient battle between humans and mythical creatures. A Goblin built an unstoppable clockwork army for Balor, the King of the Elves, which could only be controlled by those of royal blood provided no one challenged their right to do so. This 'Golden Army' of 4900 soldiers or "70 times 70 soldiers", decimated the humans so mercilessly that Balor forged a truce with them to stop the bloodshed: man would keep his cities and the creatures would keep their forests. Balor's son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), didn't agree with the truce, and left in exile. The crown was broken into three pieces, one piece going to the humans and the other two kept by the elves, so the Golden Army could never be raised again.

In the present, Nuada decides to declare war on the humans. He collects the first piece of the crown from an auction and kills his father for the second. His twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) escapes with the final piece. Meanwhile, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is having relationship issues with his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). He is also having trouble accepting that their organization, the BPRD, must remain a secret. During a mission to eradicate thousands of ravenous tooth fairies, which Nuada set loose as he took the first piece of the crown, Hellboy reveals himself to the world. Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) discovers that Liz is pregnant in the commotion. Furious about the public unveiling, Washington sends a by-the-book agent, Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), to take command. Krauss is another "special" agent of the bureau, existing in a containment suit as a gaseous being of ectoplasm. They track the tooth fairies to the Troll Market, an enormous merchant city hidden under the Brooklyn Bridge, for clues. Abe stumbles into Nuala, who has obtained a map leading to the Golden Army, during their search, and quickly falls in love with her following a brief psychic encounter. She is brought under BPRD protection following an attack by Nuada's companion Mr.Wink and a forest elemental.

Nuada tracks his sister to BPRD headquarters using their magical bond, which causes them to share wounds and allows them to read each others' thoughts to an extent. Nuala, sensing her brother's arrival, burns the map and hides the final piece of the crown within one of Abe's books. However, the real map is on the canister. Nuada kidnaps his sister and mortally wounds Hellboy with his spear. Unable to remove the spear shard, Johann, Liz, and Abe take Hellboy to the location of the Golden Army, hidden in Northern Ireland. They encounter the Goblin that oversaw the creation of the Golden Army, and he brings them before the Angel of Death, who has been waiting for their arrival. Though told that Hellboy would doom humanity if he lives, and that she'll suffer the most from it, Liz pleads for Hellboy not to die. Amused by her choice, the Angel removes the spear shard from Hellboy's chest and tells Liz to give him a reason to live. She reveals to Hellboy that he's going to be a father.

The Goblin leads the team to the resting place of the Golden Army, where Nuada awaits them. In exchange for Nuala, Abe gives him the last piece of the crown. With the crown reformed, Nuada invokes the Golden Army and has them attack the agents. Counterattacking proves pointless, as the soldiers magically reform themselves when destroyed. Hellboy challenges Nuada for the right to the crown, and Nuada is forced to accept. Hellboy defeats and spares Nuada's life, but the Prince tries to stab Hellboy in the back. Nuala commits suicide to stop her brother. Abe rushes to Nuala's body and psychically tells her his feelings before she dies. Liz then melts the crown, shutting down the Golden Army forever. As the BPRD agents leave the underground compound, Agent Manning (Jeffrey Tambor) reprimands them for their actions. To his surprise, Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Johann all hand over their belts (though Hellboy keeps his pistol) and announce their resignation from the bureau. As they walk away, Hellboy contemplates his future life with his baby. Liz stops and corrects him, saying "babies", surprising him with the fact that she's pregnant with twins.

Hancock is a 2008 superhero film directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman, and Charlize Theron. It tells the story of a vigilante superhero, John Hancock (Smith), from Los Angeles whose reckless actions routinely cost the city millions of dollars. Eventually one person he saves, Ray Embrey (Bateman), makes it his mission to change Hancock's public image for the better.

The story was originally written by Vincent Ngo in 1996. It languished in development hell for years and had various directors attached, including Tony Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow, and Gabriele Muccino before going into production in 2007. Hancock was filmed in Los Angeles with a production budget of $150 million.

In the United States, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America after changes were made at the organization's request in order to avoid a "restricted" (R) rating, which it had received twice before. The film was widely released on July 2, 2008 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Hancock has received mainly average reviews from film critics. To date, Hancock has grossed $225,214,837 in the United States and Canada and over $330 million in other territories.

Plot

John Hancock (Will Smith) is an alcoholic with superhuman powers, including supersonic flight, invulnerability, immortality, and super-strength. Though he uses his powers to stop criminals in his current residence of Los Angeles, his activity inadvertently causes millions of dollars in property damage due to his constant intoxication. As a result, he is routinely jeered at the crime scenes. Hancock also ignores court subpoenas from the city of Los Angeles to address the property damage he has caused.

When public relations spokesperson Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) departs from an unsuccessful meeting pitching his All-Heart logo for corporations who are extraordinarily charitable—or wish to be perceived as such—he becomes trapped on railroad tracks with an incoming freight train. Hancock saves Ray's life, but he causes the train to derail and nearly injures another driver. Hancock is jeered by other drivers for causing more damage, but Ray steps in and thanks Hancock for saving his life. Ray offers to improve Hancock's public image, and Hancock grudgingly accepts. The spokesperson convinces the alcoholic superhero to permit himself to be jailed for outstanding subpoenas so they can show Los Angeles how much the city really needs Hancock. When the crime rate rises after Hancock's incarceration, the superhero is contacted by the Chief of Police. With a new costume from Ray, Hancock intervenes with a bank robbery, rescuing a cop and stopping the leader of the robbers, Red Parker (Eddie Marsan).

After the rescue, Hancock is applauded for handling the bank robbery. The superhero becomes popular once more, as Ray had predicted. He goes out to dinner with Ray and his wife Mary (Charlize Theron), with whom he reveals his apparent immortality and his amnesia from 80 years ago. After Hancock tucks a drunken Ray in bed, he discovers that Mary also has superhuman powers. He threatens to expose her unless she explains their origins, and she tells him that they have lived for 3,000 years with their powers, having been called gods and angels in their time. She explains that they are the last of their kind and that their kind are paired. Mary does not tell Hancock the entire truth, and Hancock departs to tell Ray about the conversation. The exchange results in a battle between Hancock and Mary that takes them to downtown Los Angeles, causing significant damage to the area. Ray, downtown in a business meeting, sees and recognizes Mary using abilities like Hancock's.

Hancock is later shot twice in the torso when he intervenes in a liquor store robbery. After being hospitalized, Mary enters and explains that as the pair of immortals gets close, they begin to lose their powers. She also explains that Hancock was attacked in an alley 80 years prior, his skull was fractured, causing amnesia. Mary deserted him then in order for him to recover from his injuries. After her explanation, the hospital is raided by the bank robber Red Parker and two other criminals that Hancock had encountered during his incarceration. Mary is shot in the process. Hancock is able to stop two men but is further wounded by them. When Red attempts to finish Hancock off, Ray comes to the rescue and stops the bank robber with a fire ax. With Mary nearly dying, Hancock uses the last of his strength to flee from the hospital so that their parting would allow her to heal with her powers. He later winds up in New York City, working as a superhero. As gratitude to Ray, Hancock paints Ray's All-Heart logo on the moon and calls the spokesperson to look up to the worldwide advertisement

by Wikipedia.org

You Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 comedy film about Zohan Dvir (Hebrew : זוהאן דביר), Israel's hero and their greatest counter-terrorism army commando who, after growing tired of his Israeli post-draft's standing service, fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream: becoming a hairstylist in New York City. The story was written by Adam Sandler, Judd Apatow and Robert Smigel, and was directed by Dennis Dugan. Sandler's production company Happy Madison produced the film, while it was distributed by Columbia Pictures. It was released on June 6, 2008. UK release date is August 15, 2008.

Plot

The movie begins with Zohan (Adam Sandler), a Mossad agent, on vacation at a Bat Yam beach, attracting several women and capturing the attention of every beach-goer with his Hacky Sack prowess. He cooks fish in the nude (using copious amounts of hummus) for himself, his friend and several women. As he finishes cooking, an Israeli Defense Forces helicopter arrives, stealing him away from his presumed well-earned vacation.

During a subsequent briefing, Zohan expresses his displeasure about having his vacation cut short. After being heckled by his officer, he eventually agrees to do yet another mission of recapturing a key Palestinian terrorist, the "Phantom" (John Turturro), who had been freed by the Israeli government in exchange for a captured Mossad agent, plus an additional "to-be-named-later" spy. Later, as Zohan expresses his desire to leave Israel and become a hairdresser in New York City, his wishes are met with laughter by his mother and his father, who had fought in Israel's Six-Day War.

The disgruntled Zohan fakes his own death during the pursuit of the Phantom, who is tricked into believing he had killed Zohan. Zohan smuggles himself into a flight to New York City in a pet crate of two dogs named Scrappy and Coco. Changing his hairstyle into a 1980s Paul Mitchell's Avalon style and taking "Scrappy Coco" as a new alias, he sets out to pursue his dreams in the Big Apple.

Initially unsuccessful in getting hired at an upscale Paul Mitchell salon (as well as an African American salon and a children's salon), Zohan's military expertise earns him a new friend, Michael (Nick Swardson), who gives him a place to stay. However, Michael feels uncomfortable with Zohan's sexual activities with Michael's mother, Gail (Lainie Kazan). Zohan's passion for 1970s disco runs him into a fellow Israeli named Uri (Ido Mosseri), a Zohan fan who is aware of Scrappy Coco's true identity but agrees to keep it a secret. Uri introduces him to a block in lower Manhattan filled with Middle Eastern Americans, who are split between a Palestinian side and an Israeli side of the street.

Zohan attempts to land a job in a struggling salon of a Palestinian woman named Dhalia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). After first only allowing the ostentatious Zohan to sweep floors for free, she eventually allows him to be a stylist after he pleases a senior lady with a satisfactory haircut and back room sexual service. Zohan's reputation spreads instantly among the elder women of lower Manhattan, who comment that "besides the sex, he gives a pretty good haircut." Dhalia's business booms, upsetting Walbridge (Michael Buffer), a corporate magnate who has been trying to force out all the local tenants on the block so that he may build a huge mall. Zohan brags to his colleague Claude (Alec Mapa) that he has a big one, which is understood as big penis, but he meant big amount of pubic hair.

Eventually Zohan is identified by a Palestinian cab driver named Salim (Rob Schneider), whose goat Zohan had stolen after Salim threw his shoe at Zohan and spit in his face. Salim convinces his friends to help him exact revenge on Zohan. He rebuffs their advice to "let the professionals" take care of it because Salim wants the glory of killing Zohan for himself. He and his friends decide to build a bomb, but they are unsure how to do so. Thinking that they need "chemicals," Salim and his friends walk into a pharmacy and try to ask for liquid nitroglycerin. Hearing Salim's mispronunciation, the pharmacist instead presents Salim with Neosporin. Seeing that the Neosporin doesn't destroy Zohan's workplace, Salim reluctantly informs Phantom through a Hezbollah hotline. Now a successful fastfood chain owner, Phantom then pays a visit to New York to hunt Zohan down.

Meanwhile, Zohan realizes that he has fallen in love with Dhalia when he discovers that he has unexplainable erectile disfunction except in her presence. However, Dhalia rejects Zohan's feelings for her after he reveals he was formerly an Israeli counter-terrorist operative. Zohan decides to leave Dhalia and confront the Phantom in a Hacky Sack game. His fight is cut short with sudden news of the Middle Eastern block being attacked by racist white arsonists dressed in Arabic clothing. (The arsonists are hired by Walbridge to instigate an inter-ethnic riot between the Israelis and Palestinians and hopefully allow him to take over their stores more easily.)

As Zohan and Phantom are working together to save the block, Dhalia appears, revealing that she is the Phantom's sister – or "Fattoush" as she calls him. Zohan's personal dossier allows him to discover the arsonists' true identities as rednecks hired by Walbridge. Zohan and Phantom lead the united Israelis and Palestinians of the block to save their shops, defeating the rednecks, thwarting Walbridge's plans, and damaging all of the shops on the block by using "The Sound" which is a combination of stereotypical Arabic rhythmic calling and stereotypical Hebrew "chhhh" sounds. The police arrive to arrest Walbridge for his crimes.

With the Israelis and the Palestinians united, the block is transformed into a collectively-owned mall, in which Zohan and Dhalia realize their dream, opening a joint beauty parlor. The Phantom also fulfills his lifelong passion of opening up a shoe store. The movie ends happily as Zohan's parents approve of his new wife (Dhalia) and hair salon, called "Dalohan," becoming customers themselves in a surprise visit.

by Wikipedia.org

Death Race is an action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. The film is a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000, based on Ib Melchior's short story "The Racer", and stars Jason Statham in the lead role. The remake had been in development since 2002, though production was delayed by disapproval of early screenplays then placed in turnaround following a dispute between Paramount Pictures and the producer duo Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner. Death Race was acquired by Universal Studios, and Anderson re-joined the project to write and direct. Filming began in Montreal in August 2007, and the completed project was released on August 22, 2008.

Plot
Within four years from 2008 the economy of the United States has fallen into disaster, Unemployment and crime rises, and private corporations run most prisons across the nation for profit. The movie focuses on the Terminal Island Prison, which broadcast "Death Race" to the world via a popular paysite on internet. Death Race is not only a race to the finish line, but a battle pitting car against car.

The film begins by showing a race near its end between Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson) and a famous masked driver known as Frankenstein (David Carradine in a cameo appearance), who is accompanied by a female navigator. Frank's defensive systems fail, and Joe destroys Frank's car (his navigator ejects), presumably leaving Frankenstein critically wounded, or dead.

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is framed for his wife's murder on the same day that the steel mill he works at closes; the murderer is actually a masked intruder that points a finger-gun at Ames as he leaves. Ames is sent to prison where he is coerced by the sadistic prison warden, Hennessey (Joan Allen) to become the new driver of Frankenstein's Ford Mustang. She tells Ames that she knows of his baby that was left in foster care, and that prisoners are freed upon winning five Death Races, but since he will take on the mask of the legendary Frankenstein, who had 4 wins at the time of his death, he will only need to win one race. The races are broken apart into three stages: Stage 1 and 2 are races in which the driver must survive, and Stage 3 you must win the race in order for it to add to the count towards freedom.

Just before the Stage 1 Race, Ames is introduced to his navigator, Case (Natalie Martinez), who happens to be Frankenstein's previous navigator. During the race, Ames see another driver, Pachenko, make the same hand gesture as the intruder that killed his wife. Three drivers are killed during Stage 1: Siad, Grimm, and Travis Colt. Ames finishes last after taking a hard hit from Machine Gun Joe.

Ames learns he is part of a plot to keep the legend of Frankenstein alive, solely for the personal profit of Hennessey. He confronts Hennessey about the driver, but instead she shows him pictures of his baby living with foster parents, asking him if he thinks he could provide for his baby better than the foster parents. Angered, he takes one of the pictures and leaves. The night before Stage 2 he makes a trip to the garage of Pachenko's team to confront him. He is beaten down by a few members of the team but is helped by a member of his garage allowing Ames to retaliate and nearly kill Pachenko. His revenge is thwarted by the prison guards telling them to save it for the race.

Ames goes into the Stage 2 race and immediately questions Case on her intentions. She tells him she was ordered to sabotage Frankenstein's defense weapons so he would not win his freedom, and thereby earn her own. Ames realizes he is not meant to survive the Death Race at all, but is meant to die so another "Frankenstein" can be brought into the prison to keep viewers paying to see the races. He seeks revenge during Stage 2 by crippling and rolling Pachenko's car allowing him to turn around drive back and to get revenge up close and personal by snapping Pachenko's neck as he crawls away from the car wreck. Five drivers remain until 14K, Carson, and Riggins are killed by 'The Dreadnought', Hennessy's secret weapon (an 18 wheel tank truck filled with guards with massive machine guns) that had been in production for months. Ames and Machine Gun Joe are able to destroy The Dreadnought and finish Stage 2. Realizing that Ames knows what's going on, Hennessey has Ames' car armed with an explosive before the Stage 3 Race as insurance to make sure he does not cross the finish line alive. However, Ames devises his own scheme from an image shown by one of his crew members of a destroyed billboard in an earlier race, and tells Joe that he and Frankenstein should talk.

The Stage 3 Race begins with only two drivers remaining: "Frankenstein" and Machine Gun Joe. The race begins, and Ames soon takes the lead. However, the odds are against Ames as Hennessey rigs the track to benefit Joe. Throughout the entire lap, Joe keeps hot on Ames' tail, and as they near the beginning of the second lap, Joe preps newly added missiles and fires in Ames' direction. However, they seem to miss the car and instead hit the billboard at the first turn of the track. It is shown that the image Ames saw was a pathway to the bridge leading off the island to the mainland behind the destroyed billboard.

Ames and Joe escape onto the bridge, pursued by police cruisers and helicopters. As the cruisers close in on the two cars, Ames releases his exposed fuel tank, causing it to explode and stop the pursuing cars. Turning to her back up plan, Hennessey then orders that the explosive under Ames' car be set off, but nothing happens because Coach (Ames' crew member) had found, removed, and deactivated the bomb prior to the start of the race. Escaping past the bridge, Joe and Ames separate, and Hennessey orders the helicopters to focus on Ames, but he switches seats with Case when she tells him that Hennessey had already signed her release papers for her work, and that she owed one to the old Frankenstein. He jumps from the car leading the helicopters to believe he is still inside. Joe meets up with Ames and they board a train to escape, lamenting on Hennessey's continued existence. Soon, Ames' Mustang is stopped and "Frankenstein" is apprehended.

Later, Hennessey believes she still won after all, as a guard notifies her about presents sent to her for the record number of viewers subscribing to the Death Race. However, the explosive that was put on the Frankenstein car is inside, and Coach blows them up.

Six months later, Ames and Joe are shown working in a junkyard in Mexico, when Case unexpectedly arrives. The two men are happy to see her, and Case meets Ames' baby, Piper. The movie closes with Ames explaining that even though he knows he's far from being the best parent in the world, no one could love his baby more than he could.

Terminator Salvation is an upcoming science fiction war film set for release on May 22, 2009. Directed by McG, it is the fourth film in the Terminator franchise and stars Christian Bale as John Connor, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor, Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese and Sam Worthington as the new Terminator Marcus Wright. The film, set in 2018, focuses on the original war between humanity and the Terminator computer network Skynet. It abandons the formula of the series, which had involved Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Model 101 Terminator time-traveling to the present to protect or kill someone of future importance. Among the numerous robotic minions of Skynet are Helena Bonham Carter as Serena and Roland Kickinger as the first T-800. Filming began on May 5, 2008

Premise
On May 23, 2008, Warner Bros. released the following plot summary for the film. The synopsis was modified on June 11, 2008:

“ Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale), the man fated to be the leader of the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators, and the future he was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they find out a terrible secret that may lead to the possible annihilation of mankind. ”

James Middleton, the associate producer of the film, stated the film "[is] really about the birth of a new hero,"[2] and McG said that it will also be about the development of the Model 101 Terminator.[3] He explained the film will "begin again very much in the spirit of what [Christopher] Nolan did with Batman," in that it will stand on its own without the original films, and that it is "a bit of a sequel and a prequel because it tells the story of how we got there."

Production

On May 9, 2007, it was announced that rights to the Terminator series had passed hands from producers Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar to The Halcyon Company. The producers hoped to start a new trilogy based on the franchise. McG signed on to direct as the first two films were among his favorites, and he had even cast Robert Patrick (who played the T-1000) in his films. He felt the post-apocalyptic setting allowed the film to be different enough so to not be an inferior sequel. The idea that events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines altered the future also allowed them to be flexible with their presentation of the futuristic world. John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris and David C. Wilson wrote the script, which Paul Haggis polished and Shawn Ryan rewrote three weeks before filming. Jonathan Nolan also wrote on set, which led to McG characterizing his work on the script as the most important.

On July 19, 2007, the Terminator 4 project was in legal limbo due to a lawsuit between MGM and Halcyon subsidiary T Asset. According to the article, MGM has an exclusive window of 30 days to negotiate for distribution of the Terminator films. When negotiating for Terminator 4, Halcyon rejected their initial proposal, and MGM suspended negotiations. After the 30 days were over, MGM claimed that the period during which negotiations were suspended did not count and their exclusive period is still open. Halcyon was asking a court for an injunction allowing them to approach other distributors. Eventually, however, Warner Bros. was able to obtain North American distribution rights, while Sony Pictures Entertainment will distribute the film overseas. This makes Salvation the first film in the series to have the same distributors as the previous film.

Shooting of the film started on May 5, 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The filmmakers had originally intended to begin filming on April 15 in Budapest, but a new twenty-five percent tax rebate and absence of an interest rate cap and floor made the filmmakers seek the cheaper New Mexico, because of their $200 million budget. To avoid delays caused by a possible 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike in July, all exterior scenes were completed by then, so production could restart easily. The shoot is expected to go on into September. The film is shot on color film stock with triple the amount of silver, lending to the sense of detachment from the modern world McG was looking for. The filmmakers consulted with many scientists about the effects of an abandoned world and nuclear winter. McG cited the film Children of Men and the novel The Road as his influences. McG instructed his cast to read the latter and made Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? a required reading on set.

Stan Winston, who was the visual effects supervisor on the first three films, continued his role on Terminator Salvation. The film features the rubber-skinned T-600s, which Winston's company put a lot of effort into looking like an eight-foot tall machine wrapped in prosthetics. McG described many of the machines as having a H.R. Giger influence. The film was one of the last Winston worked on, as he died on June 15, 2008 from multiple myeloma. McG will dedicate the film to him. Winston also filmed a cameo as someone wrestling a Hydrobot.

by Wikipedia

Fast & Furious is the latest film in the The Fast and the Furious film series, the fourth produced but sequel to the first and second, and prequel to the third film. The film is currently in production and is scheduled for release on June 12, 2009. The plot connects with the original film of the series from which Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster are reprising their roles.

Among others cast in the film are reggaetoneros Don Omar and Tego Calderon, Sung Kang will reprise his role from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift as Han, Israeli model Gal Gadot, Lil Wayne, T.I., and actor Mine. In an interview, Tyrese Gibson stated that he would make a cameo to reprise his role as Roman Pearce from the second film. The actor stated that it will be "kind of like what Vin Diesel did in [Tokyo Drift]."

Cast
Vin Diesel - Dominic Toretto
Paul Walker - Brian O'Conner
Michelle Rodriguez - Letty
Jordana Brewster - Mia Toretto
Laz Alonso - Fenix
Gal Gadot - Gisele
Tyrese Gibson - Roman Pearce
Sung Kang - Han
John Ortiz - Antonio Braga
Don Omar - Rico
Tego Calderon - Sunny
Lil Wayne - Alex
Xzibit - Danny
T.I. - Troy
T-Pain - Johnny
Akon - Dwayne

by Wikipedia

Συγνώμη αλλά όσο και να έψαξα δεν μπόρεσα να βρω την υπόθεση του έργου, αλλά πιστεύω ότι δεν θα έχει καμία διάφορα από το επίσημο κόμικς που γνωρίζουμε…

Πάντως από το Trailer που είδα φαίνεται αρκετά ενδιαφέρων .

Watchmen - Theatrical Trailer (2009)

Μια περιγραφή για την υπόθεση του κόμικς για όσους δεν το γνωρίζουν .

WATCHMEN
Το αριστουργηματικό αυτό έργο των Άλαν Μουρ και Ντέιβ Γκίμπονς, αποτέλεσε ορόσημο στην ιστορία των κόμικς αλλά και της λογοτεχνίας γενικότερα. Πρόκειται για μια αρκετά σκοτεινή και περίπλοκη δημιουργία, με πολλούς συμβολισμούς. Οι δημιουργοί του κέρδισαν το βραβείο Τζακ Κίρμπυ της βιομηχανίας των κόμικς για την καλύτερη συνεργασία συγγραφέα/καλλιτέχνη.

Η ιστορία αφορά μια ομάδα μαχητών του εγκλήματος, τους Watchmen, και μια συνωμοσία για να τους σκοτώσουν και να αμαυρώσουν το όνομά τους. Τα γεγονότα λαμβάνουν χώρα στην Αμερική το 1985, οκτώ χρόνια μετά τη διάλυση της ομάδας, όταν ο Δρ. Μανχάταν (ένα ον σχεδόν θεϊκό και πρώην μέλος των Watchmen) αποφασίζει να εγκαταλείψει τη Γη. Στη συνέχεια η Ρωσία αρχίζει να κάνει μια σειρά τολμηρών κινήσεων που μπορεί να οδηγήσουν σε πυρηνική σύρραξη. Παράλληλα, ενώ ο κόσμος αντιμετωπίζει αυτήν την κρίση, κάποιος έχει αρχίσει να σκοτώνει τους συνταξιοδοτημένους πλέον ήρωες της Αμερικής. Μερικοί από αυτούς αρχίζουν μια έρευνα που θα οδηγήσει σε συνταρακτικές αποκαλύψεις και ένα αναπάντεχο τέλος.
Ο κόσμος που έχει δημιουργήσει ο Άλαν Μουρ είναι ένας κόσμος παρανοϊκός που συνταράσσει τον αναγνώστη.

Η ιστορία του είναι ένα μείγμα μυστηρίου και πολιτικού δράματος μιας κοινωνίας που ζει μέσα σε ένα κλίμα φορτισμένο με φόβο, εχθροπραξίες, βία και την απειλή πυρηνικού πολέμου. Οι χαρακτήρες έχουν όλοι μια δόση παράνοιας, που ο Μουρ την απεικονίζει πιστά στις πιο σκοτεινές της εκδοχές. Ακόμα και οι στολές τους λειτουργούν ως συμβολισμοί για την κοινωνία και την πολιτική και ο φόβος για κοινά προβλήματα (έλεγχος όπλων, πυρηνική απειλή, απόδοση δικαιοσύνης) μπλέκεται άριστα με την ικανότητα του Μουρ να θίγει θέματα όπως η ψευδαίσθηση της δύναμης, η αποσύνθεση του κοινωνικού ιστού, η απίστευτη καταρράκωση της απλής λογικής και η δημιουργία μαζικής τρέλας στις μεγαλουπόλεις, δημιουργώντας ένα ψυχογράφημα της κοινωνίας, διαχρονικό, ανθρώπινο και αναπάντεχα επίκαιρο.

Ένα βιβλίο κόμικ ύμνος στην αξία της λογικής και της αναζήτησης της αλήθειας, την οποία οι άνθρωποι μπορούν να πλησιάσουν μόνο όταν γκρεμίσουν τις ψευδαισθήσεις που στηρίζονται πάνω στο φόβο, το εγώ και την απάθεια. Αρκετά κυνικό και δυνατό σε όλα τα επίπεδα που κινείται, είναι σίγουρα ένα βιβλίο κόμικ που πρέπει να βρίσκεται σε κάθε βιβλιοθήκη. Πηγή:WATCHMEN - Βιβλια, Κριτικές για βιβλία

Η ταινία βέβαια θα έχει αρκετά διαφορετικό τέλος από το κόμικ, αλλά καλύτερα να μην το σποϊλάρω σε όσους το έχον διαβάσει.

Το πρόβλημα με αυτή την ταινία είναι ότι, ενώ έπεσε τρομερή βαρύτητα στο να αντιγραφεί σωστά και το παραμικρό καρέ, προς τέρψη του fan boy, οτιδήποτε μη-στερεοτυπικά-cool είχε το κόμικ, έχει αντικατασταθεί εδώ με κάτι πιο εύπεπτο για το δυτικό κινηματογράφο.

Για παράδειγμα, εδώ, ο δεύτερος Nite Owl μοιάζει με στυλιζαρισμένο αντίγραφο του Batman, σε αντίθεση με την αρχική απεικόνισή του στο κόμικ:

Έτσι όμως έχει χαθεί όλη η ουσία του κόμικ. Δε μου κάνει εντύπωση που ο Alan Moore είπε ότι δε θέλει να έχει καμία σχέση με την ταινία, όπως και με οποιαδήποτε κινηματογραφική μεταφορά έργου του από 'δω και πέρα.

Τέλος πάντων, αν παραβλέψουμε τις ασυμφωνίες με το κόμικ, για τον μέσο movie-goer προβλέπεται πολύ καλή περίπτωση. Ο πήχης στις super hero movies έχει ανεβεί αρκετά, και αν και καμία ποτέ δε θα φτάσει το Dark Knight, οι wannabes θα μας δίνουν αρκετά καλά αποτελέσματα θέλω να πιστεύω. Ακόμα και το Punisher:War Zone ψιλοκαλό φαίνεται για σπλατεριά.

Ανυπομονώ να δω πως έχει παρουσιάσει ο Zack Snyder τους Minutemen!

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