Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a 2009 computer-animated film, produced by Sony Pictures Animation and distributed by Columbia Pictures, was released on September 18, 2009, and is loosely based on the children's book of the same name by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett.
The film features the voices of Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Bruce Campbell, James Caan, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Andy Samberg, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Lauren Graham, and Will Forte. It was written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who both are best known for the animated TV series Clone High.
The film is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is shown in 3D in select theaters using RealD Cinema, Dolby 3D and IMAX 3D systems.
The Baby Brent Sardine cannery has closed for good, and the town of Swallow Falls, located on a small island located under the “A” in Atlantic Ocean on the world map, is left with the remaining sardines as the only food source, weakening the economy. Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) has always wanted to invent something awesome, though everything he invented - including Spray-On Shoes, the Remote Control Television, Hair-unbalder, Flying Car, and Ratbirds - has ended in nothing but disaster. To help solve the food problem, Flint invents a machine that converts water molecules to create food. It doesn’t work due to the lack of electricity at his home, so when he is forced by his unsupportive and technophobic father Tim Lockwood (James Caan) to work at his Bait N’ Tackle shop, Flint sneaks out while his father is at the unveiling of Sardine Land, a new tourist attraction. Flint, along with his pet monkey Steve (Neil Patrick Harris), uses the power station's electricity to work the machine. Unfortunately, the machine has absorbed so much power that it takes off like a rocket, destroys Sardine Land, and travels up into the stratosphere. Flint escapes an angry mob, and hides under the docks sulking at his failure. Then he meets Sam Sparks (Anna Faris), a cute weather intern whose big break was ruined by Flint’s “rocket”. When the two witness giant purple clouds raining cheeseburgers over Swallow Falls, Sam reports the events and mentions Flint is responsible. Everyone begs Flint to make it rain more. After Flint explains the work of the FLDSMDFR (Flint Lockwood Diatonic Super Mutating Dynamic Food Replicator) and builds a communication device, he starts taking requests from citizens. Sam allows free advertising, and Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell), the greedy mayor, gets the money to rebuild society in Swallow Falls, even allowing the name to be changed to Chewandswallow. Meanwhile, Flint gets a request from Officer Earl (Mr. T) to rain an ice cream snowday for his son Cal’s (Bobb'e J. Thompson) birthday, though this makes the machine's mutation odometer reach the yellow range.
After a date with Sam in a massive Jell-O mold, Flint shares with his father that he has been invited by the Mayor to cut the ribbon for the next day's grand re-opening of Chewandswallow. Tim mentions that the food might not be good for people, and suggests that Flint turn it off. Flint angrily refuses and storms off. While alone, Flint notices that foods are raining in bigger quantities. The mayor (now morbidly obese) shows up explaining that bigger food is a better thing, and if he decides to turn off the machine, no one will ever like him. Flint, at the Mayor’s request for pasta for the grand re-opening, sends the order to the FLDSMDFR. The next day when tourists around the world arrive at Chewandswallow, a tornado of spaghetti and meatballs shows up. Flint at that moment returns to his lab to turn off the machine, but he catches the Mayor ordering a Vegas-style “All You Can Eat” buffet. Flint tries to send a kill code to the machine, but the Mayor accidentally destroys the communication device before the kill code can be sent. Now that a fatal food storm is on its way around the world, Flint uploads the kill code to a USB Drive, re-invents the Flying Car, and, along with Steve, Sam, “Baby” Brent (Andy Samberg), and Sam’s cameraman Manny (Benjamin Bratt), flies up into the stratosphere to destroy the machine, while the citizens and remaining tourists build sandwich boats to escape into the ocean.
Flint and the others fly into the stratosphere to find that the FLDSMDFR is shelled in a giant meatball where water clouds enter from the top and a food hurricane exits from the bottom. After an attack from mutant foods with artificial intelligence trying to protect the FLDSMDFR, Flint loses the USB Drive through the window. Flint, Sam, and Brent enter from the side of the meatball and make their way towards the FLDSMDFR while Manny and Steve remain in the Flying Car. Flint calls his father and tells him to enter his lab and send the kill code from his computer to his cell phone. As Tim works on sending Flint the kill code, Mt. Leftovers collapses and everybody escapes on the sandwich boats - even the Mayor, who has had a head start. Just as Tim is about to send Flint the code, the avalanche from Mt. Leftovers covers the lab, presumably crushing Tim. Meanwhile Flint, Sam, and Brent are surrounded by man-eating roasted chickens. Brent is eaten whole, but he brings the chicken body to life from the inside of it, using it to fight off the other chickens. Just then Tim crawls out of the large food, safe and sound, and sends the kill code. Flint is left to go on towards the FLDSMDFR since Sam, who is allergic to peanuts, is suffering from an allergic reaction to peanut brittle. Flint jams his phone into the FLDSMDFR’s serial port and sends the kill code in; however, it appears that Tim sent a file that contains a video of kittens singing 'Fight the Power'. As the FLDSMDFR fights back physically, Flint triumphs by using his Spray-On Shoes formula to block the food extraction hole. The meatball explodes just after Sam and Brent escape into the Flying Car. The purple clouds from around the world disappear, and Sam, Brent, Steve, and Manny return to Chewandswallow, which is now covered in food, and they, along with all the citizens and tourists, mourn Flint and his efforts to save the world. Just then Flint returns unharmed, carried by his ratbird creations. Tim, finally admitting that he is proud of his son, explains his thoughts through Steve’s thought translator, and Sam and Flint share their first kiss. During the credits sequence, Chewandswallow is renamed Chewandswallow 2, Flint and Tim open a business that uses the Spray-On Shoes formula to fix rooftops, and the Mayor is arrested by Earl and Cal.
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son. It received the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1979.
Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman), a workaholic advertising executive, is just given his agency's biggest new account. After spending the evening drinking with his boss, he returns home to find his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) in the process of leaving him.
Ted is left to raise their son Billy (Justin Henry) by himself. Ted and Billy resent each other as Ted no longer has time to carry his increased workload, and Billy misses the love and attention he received from his mother. After many months of unrest, Ted and Billy begin to cope with the situation and eventually grow to deeply love and care for one another.
Ted befriends his neighbor Margaret (Jane Alexander), who at the beginning had counseled Joanna to leave. Margaret is a fellow single parent and the two become kindred spirits. One day as the two sit in the park watching their children play, Billy falls off the jungle gym and severely cuts his face. Picking him up, Ted sprints several blocks through oncoming traffic to the hospital, where he comforts his son tenderly, representing his increased emotional connection and sense of responsibility for the child since his wife left.
About a year and a half after she walked out, Joanna returns to New York in order to claim Billy, and a custody battle ensues. During the custody hearing, both Ted and Joanna are unprepared for the brutal character assassinations that their lawyers unleash on the other. For instance, Margaret is forced to confess that she advised Joanna to leave Ted if her complaints about her husband were very serious, although she also attempts to tell Joanna on the stand that her husband has profoundly changed. Eventually, the damaging facts that Ted was fired because of his conflicting responsibilities with his son, forcing him to take a lower paying job, and the accident come out in court.
Finally, the court awards custody to Joanna, not so much due to the evidence on both sides, but due to the conception that a child almost always belongs with its mother. Ted discusses appealing the case, but his lawyer warns that Billy himself would have to take the stand in the resulting trial and Ted cannot bear the thought of submitting his child to that kind of situation.
On the morning that Billy is to move in with Joanna, she comes to the apartment and tells Ted that, while she loves Billy and wants him with her, she knows that he is already home and his true home is with Ted. She does not take him. As she enters the elevator, she asks her ex-husband "How do I look?" (an unscripted, out of character line by Streep, asking Hoffman how she looked, unaware the camera was already rolling - the director liked the reality of the moment and kept the shot[1]). The movie ends with the elevator doors closing on the emotional Joanna, right after Ted answers, "You look terrific," as she heads upstairs to talk to Billy.
The Life of David Gale (2003) is an American drama film directed by Alan Parker and written by Charles Randolph.
Kevin Spacey stars as the titular character, a college professor and active opponent of capital punishment who is accused of raping a student and later convicted of killing a friend who was also a capital punishment opponent. Kate Winslet and Laura Linney co-star.
David Gale (Spacey) was head of the philosophy department at the (fictional) University of Austin, an author, and active member of Deathwatch, an anti-capital punishment activist group. At a graduation party, an inebriated David was seduced by Berlin, an attractive student who had previously tried to entice him into raising her failing grade, which resulted in her expulsion from school. After the party, she falsely accused Gale of rape. Berlin dropped the charges and fled but the negative publicity cost Gale his career and marriage.
Constance Harraway (Linney), a fellow Deathwatch activist, is a close friend, especially after Gale's wife left with their son to Spain. The custody laws there favor the mother and her father was the American ambassador, effectively shutting Gale out of his child's life. Harraway is found raped and murdered and Gale is charged and convicted, despite the best efforts of his lawyer.
Gale awaits execution. He agrees, for a substantial fee, to tell his story to Bitsey Bloom (Winslet), a journalist from a major news magazine. It becomes clear to Bloom that the details simply do not add up. A mysterious stranger slips evidence to her that suggest Gale has been framed, leaving Bloom only days to save Gale from execution.
An implication that the rapist videotaped the assault is replaced by the revelation that Harraway recorded herself committing suicide, since she was going to die soon regardless from an ongoing battle with leukemia. The video isn't found until moments before Gale's death. In a frenzy, Bloom tries to present the evidence to stop the execution. Unfortunately, she doesn't reach the courthouse in time and Gale dies an innocent man. The tape is released after his death, resulting in a media and political uproar.
In an epilogue, the mysterious stranger delivers the interview fee from the magazine to Gale's wife in Spain along with a postcard from Berlin apologizing for the false rape accusation. His ex-wife looks distraught, knowing Gale told the truth and that she effectively stole their child away from him.
A different videotape is delivered to Bloom, labeled "Off the Record." This one shows Dusty Wright, the mysterious stranger, who once also belonged to Deathwatch but was asked to leave due to his extremist beliefs, confirming Harraway's death and then stepping aside to allow Gale, also present, to leave his thumb print on a plastic bag that Harraway used to suffocate herself.
The Count of Monte Cristo is a 2002 film, the 10th film based loosely upon the book of the same name, by Alexandre Dumas, père. It was directed by Kevin Reynolds and starred Richard Harris, James Caviezel, Dagmara Dominczyk, Guy Pearce and Luis Guzman.It loosely follows the general plot of the novel (the main storyline of imprisonment and revenge is preserved), but many aspects, including the relationships between major characters and the ending, have been changed, simplified, or removed, and several action scenes not in the novel have been added, presumably to satisfy modern-day action fans. The character of Sultan Ali Pasha's daughter Haydee, whom Edmond forms a bond with in the novel, is completely missing from this film version, though she was included in many others. The movie met with modest box office success, and surpassed its budget bringing in about $75 million worldwide.
Edmond Dantès (James Caviezel) and his friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), officers of a French trading ship, head to Elba seeking medical attention for their captain. Dantès and Mondego are chased by British Dragoons who believe they are spies for the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte (Alex Norton). The Emperor arrives and declares they are not his agents, and asks Dantes to give a letter to a friend in France. When the captain dies that night, they are sent on their way.
At Marseilles, Dantès is reprimanded by the ship's first mate, Danglars (Albie Woodington) for disobeying orders. However, the shipping company's boss, Morrell (Patrick Godfrey), commends Dantès' bravery, promoting him over Danglars. Mondego intercepts Dantès' fiancée Mercédès (Dagmara Dominczyk) and unsuccessfully tries to seduce her. When he hears of Dantès' promotion, Mondego realizes that Dantès will be able to marry Mercedes sooner than expected.
Mondego gets drunk and tells Danglars about the letter Napoleon gave Dantès. Danglars has Dantès charged with treason and sent to magistrate, J.F. Villefort (James Frain). Villefort is sure of Dantès' innocence, but discovers the addressee is Villefort's father, Clarion, a Bonapartist. Villefort denounced his father, improving his relations with the government. Villefort burns the letter and fools Dantès into submitting to arrest, then attempts to send him to an island prison, Château d'If. Dantès escapes and goes to Mondego for help, but Mondego turns on him and wounds him so he cannot escape. Dantès is re-arrested and successfully imprisoned in Château d'If.
News spreads that Napoleon has escaped from Elba. Mondego, Mercédès, Morrell, and Dantès' father go to Villefort to plead that Dantès is innocent, but Villefort rejects their efforts. Mercédès thanks Mondego for his support; but after she leaves Mondego and Villefort discuss their reasons for wrongfully imprisoning Dantès. Mercédès is later told that Dantès has been executed.
In prison, Dantès befriends Abbé Faria (Richard Harris), a priest and former soldier in Napoleon's army. Dantès learns Faria was imprisoned because he claimed not to know the location of the deceased Count Spada's fortune. As the priest educates him, Dantès discovers why he himself was imprisoned, vowing revenge. While escaping, their tunnel caves-in, burying Faria. Before dying, Faria gives Dantès the location of Spada's treasure.
The priest's death gives Dantès another opportunity to escape. When the guards put the priest into a body bag, Dantès removes the corpse, hides himself in the bag and is thrown into the sea.
Dantès washes onto an island. He encounters Luigi Vampa (JB Blanc), a smuggler and thief. Vampa persuades Dantès to fight Jacopo (Luis Guzmán), a traitor who they intended to bury alive. Dantès defeats Jacopo but lets him live; Jacopo vows to serve Dantès for the rest of his life. Dantès joins the smugglers for three months, leaving when they arrive at Marseilles. Not recognizing him, Morrell tells Dantès that his father committed suicide upon learning of Dantès imprisonment and that Mercédès has married Mondego. Danglars took over Morrell's shipping company after Morrell made him a partner. Dantès goes to the island of Monte Cristo, finds Spada's treasure and vows revenge on Mercédès, Mondego and the other conspirators.
Dantès becomes the "Count of Monte Cristo". He hires Vampa to stage a kidnapping of Mondego's son Albert (Henry Cavill) and then "rescues" him, inviting the boy to his residence. In return, Albert invites the count to his sixteenth birthday at the Mondegos' residence. Dantès meets with Villefort to discuss a shipment of unspecified property. Mondego meets with Villefort later that evening and mentions that his son heard Monte Cristo use the words gold, shipment, and Spada. They believe the shipment is treasure, and plot to steal it.
At the party, Mercédès suspects that the Count is Dantès. Jacopo allows her to hide in Monte Cristo's carriage to speak with him, wanting his master to take what he has won. Dantès does not admit to being her former lover, but accidentally says 'Edmond Dantès', which Mercédès had never spoken to him.
Dantès' confronts Danglars. When the police arrive, Danglars fights Dantès, who reveals his true identity. Danglars is arrested. Later, he gets Villefort to confess that Mondego killed his father, Clarion, in return for telling Mercédès that Dantès was executed. He is charged with conspiracy to murder, and realizes Monte Cristo's true identity.
Having determined who Dantès really is, Mercédès admits to him that although she married Mondego, she loves him. After sleeping together, Dantès decides to take Mercédès and her son and leave France. Dantès causes Mondego's debts to be called in, bankrupting him. Mercédès confronts Mondego, revealing she is leaving him and Albert is Dantès' son. Mondego leaves for his family estate, where the stolen gold shipment was to be taken. He finds that all of the chests are empty, and that Dantès has arrived to take his revenge. Albert rushes to defend Mondego, until Mercédès reveals to Dantès and Albert that they are father and son. Mondego attempts to kill Mercédès, but only wounds her, as Jacopo stabs Mondego's hand, throwing off his aim. Mondego realizes he can't live in a world where Dantès has everything. Dantès and Mondego duel, at the end of which Dantès kills Mondego.
Three months later, Dantès returns to Château d'If to pay homage to the priest and promises him that he has given up on revenge and will live a better life. He then leaves the island with Mercédès, Albert, and Jacopo.
Disturbia is a 2007 American thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and executive produced by Ivan Reitman. It is an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window.Disturbia stars Shia LaBeouf as a teenager who thinks he witnesses a murder when he was spying on his suspicious neighbor while serving house arrest.
Kale Brecht (Shia LaBeouf) is the only child of Daniel (Matt Craven), an author, and Juliet Brecht (Carrie-Anne Moss), a school administrator. Driving home with his father after a fishing trip, they are suddenly caught in a car accident that results in Daniel's death. A year later, a noticeably indifferent Kale is reprimanded in high school Spanish class by his teacher Señor Gutierrez (Rene Rivera) for an incomplete assignment. He becomes enraged at an insulting mention of his father and punches his teacher in the face. Kale is subsequently charged with assault but is let go easy with three months house arrest after the judge takes pity on him. Now fitted with an ankle monitor which prohibits him from roaming beyond the boundaries of his lawn, Kale keeps himself entertained by surveying his surrounding neighborhood with his binoculars and keeping track of their tendencies and schedules while dealing with the police officer assigned to him, who is coincidently Señor Gutierrez's cousin who treats him harshly in retaliation.
Kale slowly becomes suspicious of Robert Turner (David Morse) after he returns home in a dented 1960s Ford Mustang, matching the description of the car owned by a brutal serial killer from Austin, Texas. Along with his friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo), the two begin to snoop his house. His next-door neighbor, Ashley Carlson (Sarah Roemer), notices them and joins their investigation. One night, Kale sees Turner's girlfriend leaving in panick state. She's saying "help" loudly. It looks like Turner's killing her with a knife. While Kale's using his camera to videotape, he probably took a picture on purpose or accident. It reveals Kale's spying on Turner.
Next Kale sees the woman leaving in an unharmed condition. Turner flirts with his mother and subtly threatens him. That evening, Kale becomes jealous of boys flirting with Ashley at a party she is hosting next door and attempts to ruin the party by blaring Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" out his window at considerable volume. She angrily confronts him and his voyeurism habit. The two confess their attraction to each other and kiss. The following afternoon, Kale gets Ronnie to break into Turner's car parked outside, after Kale and Ashley witnessed Turner put a bloody blue bag inside his garage the previous night. Ashley keeps track of Turner at a tool store buying a shovel (and is later confronted and threatened by Turner), while Ronnie manages to get Turner's garage door opener code off the device in Turner's car. A few hours later, Ronnie realizes that he left his cellphone in the car and enters Turner's garage to retrieve it, fitted with a portable camera hooked up to Kale's television.
He finds it and the bag but the garage door suddenly shuts and the camera turns off. Kale runs out of his house to rescue his friend, and by crossing the invisible barrier around his home, alerts the police. They arrest him for violating house arrest but search the Turner garage to verify Kale's suspicions. The officers on the scene find the blue bag and open it to reveal the carcass of a deer that Turner had hit on the highway, explaining why he was purchasing a shovel. Now that Kale is facing trial in the morning for twice violating terms, Kale's mother goes to talk to Turner in the hope of avoiding criminal charges. Adding insult to injury, Kale later finds the missing Ronnie hiding cowardly in his closet to avoid being caught by the police. Kale watches the recording of his friend's escape, but notices something Ronnie himself didn't see while he was fleeing: the face of a dead woman in a plastic bag, stuffed behind an air vent.
At the same time, Kale's mother is suddenly attacked by Turner and taken into the depths of the home. Turner then breaks into Kale's house, knocks out Ronnie with a baseball bat and after a struggle knocks out Kale and binds and gags him with duct tape. He reveals to Kale that he plans on framing him for the murders of both Ronnie and his mother, taking advantage of his unstable behavior over the past year. Turner tries to force Kale to write a suicide note to Ashley, but is distracted when Ashley enters the room suddenly, giving Kale an opportunity to escape. After Ashley frees Kale and the pair escape, Kale orders Ashley to call the police while he rescues his mother. Upon searching Turner's house, Kale finds evidence that Turner murdered the women he dated, and staged their exits from his house by dressing up in their clothes and wearing wigs. Meanwhile, Officer Gutierrez enters the house and is killed by Turner, but not before calling for backup and piecing together that Kale was telling the truth. Kale eventually finds his mother tied up in Turner's basement, which is full of female corpses in various stages of decay. Turner returns after Kale frees his mother, but Kale manages to kill the murderer by stabbing him with a pair of garden shears and pushing him into a hole full of dead bodies.
Kale and his mother exit the house scratched and bruised. The next morning, Kale is released from house arrest for "good behavior" (actually for his heroic actions of defeating the murderer and rescuing his mother). He gets revenge on neighborhood kids who pranked him twice throughout the movie by revealing their covert viewing of adult films to their mother. The movie concludes with a bruised but alive Ronnie videotaping Kale and Ashley kissing. Kale's not mad but flips off Ronnie.
Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 action mystery film in which important elements, including the protagonists Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, are borrowed from the well-known stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. The screenplay by Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham and Simon Kinberg was developed from a story by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law portray Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively.
In 1891 London, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Dr. John Watson (Jude Law) race to prevent a human sacrifice ritual conducted by Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Holmes and Watson stop the sacrifice just in time and neutralize Lord Blackwood while Holmes saves Watson from a glass shard Blackwood used to kill his enemies that he barely sees until the last second, after which the police, led by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), arrive and arrest him.
Blackwood's execution occurs three months later, during which Holmes has become bored without a new case. Watson prepares to leave 221B Baker Street to establish his own business, and he intends to marry Mary Morstan (Kelly Reilly). Blackwood requests Holmes' presence on the day of his execution, and warns him that three more deaths will occur after his execution that will change the very nature of their world. Blackwood is executed by hanging, and declared dead by Dr. Watson himself.
Holmes is re-acquainted with Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), a world-class criminal Holmes is smitten with. She offers him a sum of money to pursue a case of a missing red-haired midget[4] by the name of Reordan. Holmes quickly disguises himself and follows Adler as she leaves to find the identity of Adler's employer but can only surmise that he is a professor from a brief glance of him.
Three days after Blackwood's execution, his tomb is found shattered from the inside out, and an eyewitness reports seeing Blackwood walking away. Holmes, Watson, and police Inspector Lestrade find Blackwood's coffin contains the body of the red-haired midget. Holmes takes a pocket watch from the corpse, identifies it as having come from a London pawn shop, and obtains an address for its owner from the business. At the midget's home, they discover several chemistry experiments. They avoid capture by three thugs, arsonists who have arrived to destroy the evidence in the home. An elaborate chase ensues with Holmes and Watson narrowly escaping death several times and ending with a steamship that was being built in a naval yard sinking in the river Thames; the pair are then arrested for property damage.
Watson is soon released on bail by Miss Morstan, while Holmes is left in jail and later taken to the Temple of the Four Orders, an occult-dabbling secret society. The leaders, Sir Thomas (James Fox) and Lord Coward (Hans Matheson), reveal Blackwood was a former member and plead for Holmes to help stop him. Holmes declines their generous offers of reward but continues to pursue the case on his own terms. During the conversation, Holmes deduces that Blackwood is the son of Sir Thomas, a secret which Sir Thomas confirms.
As Holmes and Watson investigate, two senior members of the order are killed by Blackwood, through apparently magical means. Sir Thomas drowns in his bathtub and there is no trace of anybody else having been present. The other, Ambassador Standish bursts into flames when he attempts to shoot Blackwood during an Order meeting. Blackwood, with the assistance of Lord Coward who is revealed to have been his long time ally, then assumes control of the order, intending to use the Order's power to push for Britain to retake the United States as it has been weakened by civil war. Blackwood orders Coward to issue a warrant for Holmes' arrest.
Holmes and Watson follow clues to an industrial slaughterhouse, where they are taunted by Blackwood and forced to rescue Adler from a deadly conveyor belt trap. Watson chases after Blackwood but is caught by a tripwire, setting off an explosion; Watson is able to warn Holmes and Adler to safety but is badly injured himself. Holmes learns he is wanted by the police and goes into hiding. He realizes that Blackwood is attempting to cast a spell based on the sphinx, with the three murdered men tied to three of the mythical creature's animal constituents: man, ox, and eagle. Holmes deduces the fourth symbol the lion, represents the British Parliament. Holmes allows Lestrade to capture and bring him to the Home Secretary. Overconfident, Lord Coward reveals Blackwood's plan for wiping out all the Lords except those loyal to him. Holmes escapes, diving out the window into the river Thames, and is rescued by a waiting boat with Watson and Adler in it.
The three enter the sewers beneath Parliament and discover a complex machine, based on the midget's experiments, with a radio-controller trigger to release a cyanide derivative into the Parliament chambers. The three fight off Blackwood's men and dislodge the cyanide cylinders from the machine. Adler grabs the cylinders and races away, followed by Holmes.
Meanwhile, Blackwood and Coward realize their plan has failed and attempt to escape. Blackwood manages to get away but Coward is unable to leave. Holmes confronts Adler at the top of the Tower Bridge, still under construction since she has nowhere to run, but Blackwood's arrival knocks Adler to a lower platform, where she falls unconscious. Holmes tricks Blackwood into becoming entangled in the ropes and chains, and Blackwood is left hanging precariously over the Thames while Holmes recounts that all of Blackwood's "mystical" acts were simply applications of science and trickery. Holmes intends for Blackwood to stand trial and be appropriately executed but a loose beam falls off the rafter supports, causing Blackwood to plummet off the bridge and be hanged by the chains.
Holmes helps Adler recover, though he handcuffs her. She explains that her employer is a "Professor Moriarty", warning Holmes that Moriarty "is just as brilliant as he is, and infinitely more devious". Holmes replies, "We'll see about that." Holmes drops the key to the cuffs in Adler's shirt and leaves her, returning to Watson. The police arrive to report a dead officer found near Blackwood's device, and Holmes deduces that chasing Adler and fighting Blackwood was a diversion by Moriarty, who used the distraction to take a key component of Blackwood's remote control device from the machine. Holmes accepts the case.
Ed Wood is a 1994 comedy-drama biopic directed by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as cult filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film concerns the period in Wood's life when he made his best-known films as well as his relationship with actor Béla Lugosi, played by Martin Landau. Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Lisa Marie, and Bill Murray are among the supporting cast.
The film was conceived by writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski when they were students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Irritated at being thought of solely as writers for family films with their work on Problem Child and Problem Child 2, Alexander and Karaszewski struck a deal with Burton and Denise Di Novi to produce the Ed Wood biopic, and Michael Lehmann as director. Due to scheduling conflicts with Airheads, Lehmann had to vacate the director's position, which was taken over by Burton. It would be Burton's first R-rated film.
Ed Wood was originally in development at Columbia Pictures, but the studio put the film in turnaround over Burton's decision to shoot the film in black-and-white. Ed Wood was taken to Walt Disney Pictures, who released the film under their Touchstone Pictures banner. The film was released to critical acclaim, but was not a Box Office success. Landau and Rick Baker, who designed Landau's prosthetic makeup, won Academy Awards for their work on the film.
Edward D. Wood, Jr. is struggling to join the film industry. Upon hearing of an announcement in Variety that producer George Weiss is trying to purchase Christine Jorgensen's life story, Ed is inspired to meet Weiss in person. Weiss explains that Variety's announcement was a news leak, and it is impossible to purchase Jorgensen's rights. The producer decides to 'fictionalize' the film titled I Changed My Sex!, and "do it without the shemale". One day, Ed meets his longtime idol Béla Lugosi, after spotting him trying out a coffin. Ed drives Béla home and the two become friends. Later, Ed decides to star Béla in the film and convinces Weiss that he is perfect to direct I Changed My Sex! because he is a transvestite.
Ed and Weiss argue over the film's title, Weiss has already had the poster printed, which Ed changes to Glen or Glenda. The shoot finishes on Glen or Glenda, and Ed is enthusiastic that he starred, directed, wrote and produced his own film. Glen or Glenda is released to critical and financial failure. Ed is unsuccessful in getting a job at Warner Bros., a producer there tells him Glen or Glenda is the worst film he has ever seen, but Ed's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller, tells him that he is not "studio material", and that he should find independent backers for his next film, "Bride of the Atom". Ed is unsuccessful in finding money for Bride of the Atom, but is introduced to the psychic The Amazing Criswell.
At a bar, Ed meets Loretta King, who he thinks has enough money to fund Bride of the Atom. Filming begins, but is halted. Ed convinces meat packing industry tycoon, Don McCoy, to take over funding the film. McCoy does so, but on the condition that film ends with a giant explosion, and that his son Tony, who "is a little slow", is the leading man. The filming of Bride of the Atom finishes, but Dolores and Ed break up after the wrap party, because of Ed's circle of friends and transvestism. Also, Béla, who is revealed to be highly depressed and a morphine addict, attempts to conduct a double suicide with Ed, but is talked out of it. Béla is put in rehab, and Ed eventually finds happiness when he meets Kathy O'Hara, who is visiting her father. Ed takes her on a date, and reveals to her his transvestism.
Ed begins to shoot a film with Béla outside his home. Ed and company (along with Vampira from the Vampira Show) attend the premiere for Bride of the Monster, until an angry mob chases them out of the theater. Sometime later, Béla dies leaving Ed without a star. Ed convinces Reynolds that funding Ed's script for "Grave Robbers from Outer Space" would result in a box office success, and generate enough money to make all of the Twelve Apostles films. Dr. Tom Mason, Kathy's chiropractor, is chosen to be Béla's stand-in. However, Ed and the Baptists begin having conflicts over the title and content of the script which they want to have changed to Plan 9 from Outer Space along with Ed's B movie directing style, his casting decisions and his transvestism. This causes a distressed Ed to leave the set and immediately take a taxi to the nearest bar, where he encounters his idol Orson Welles. Welles tells Ed that "visions are worth fighting for", and filming for Plan 9 finishes with Ed taking action against his producers. The film ends with the premiere of Plan 9, and Ed and Kathy taking off to Las Vegas, Nevada to get married.
We Are Marshall is a 2006 American drama film directed by McG about the aftermath of the 1970 plane crash that killed nearly all of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team; the rebuilding of the program; and the healing that the community undergoes. It stars Matthew McConaughey as head coach Jack Lengyel, Matthew Fox as assistant coach William "Red" Dawson, David Strathairn as University President Donald Dedmon and Robert Patrick as ill-fated Marshall head coach Rick Tolley. Georgia governor George "Sonny" Perdue has a cameo role as an East Carolina University football coach.[1] The movie is rated PG. The movie was scored by Christophe Beck and written by Jamie Linden. Dr. Keith Spears was the Marshall University consultant.
On the evening of November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 which Huntington, West Virginia's Marshall University chartered to transport the Thundering Herd football team to Greenville, North Carolina via Stallings Field in Kinston, North Carolina and back to Huntington, clipped trees on a ridge just one mile short of the runway at Tri-State Airport in Ceredo, West Virginia and crashed into a gully. The team was returning from their game against the East Carolina University Pirates — a 17–14 loss. There were no survivors. In all, 75 people lost their lives. The dead included the 37 players; head coach Rick Tolley and five members of his coaching staff; Charles E. Kautz, Marshall's athletics director; team trainer Jim Schroer and his assistant, Donald Tackett; 22 boosters; and five crew members.
In the wake of the tragedy, President Donald Dedmon leans towards indefinitely suspending the football program, but he is ultimately persuaded to reconsider by the pleas of the Marshall students and Huntington residents, and especially the few football players who didn't make the flight. Dedmon hires a young new head coach Jack Lengyel, who with the help of Red Dawson, manages to rebuild the team in a relatively short time. They are aided by the NCAA's waiver of a rule prohibiting freshmen from playing varsity football (a rule which had been abolished in 1968 for all sports except for football and basketball, and would be permanently abolished for those sports in 1972). The new team is composed mostly of the 18 returning players (three varsity, 15 sophomores) and walk-on athletes from other Marshall sports programs. Due to their lack of experience, the "Young Thundering Herd" ends up losing their first game, 29-6 to the Morehead State Eagles. The Herd's first post-crash victory is a heart-stopping 15–13 home win against Xavier University in the first home game of the season.
After the game, Annie Cantrell (played by Kate Mara) narrates the aftermath:
"The following week, Marshall lost to the Miami Redskins, now Miami RedHawks 66 to 6. They would win only one more game in 1971. Jack Lengyel resigned as head coach in 1974 with a record of 9–33. He would later become athletic director at the Naval Academy, where he was later inducted into the athletic Hall of Fame. Donald Dedmon accepted the presidency at Radford University where he would remain until he retired in 1994. Gene Morehouse's son Keith followed in his father's footsteps and became a broadcaster for Marshall football where he remains today. Reggie Oliver started every game for the Thundering Herd until he graduated. He later returned to Marshall as an assistant coach and now lives in Ohio. After graduation, Nate Ruffin moved away from Huntington, got married and started a family. In 2001, after an illness, Nate died at his home in Virginia. He would return to Huntington one last time for a reunion with his old teammates. Red Dawson left the team at the end of the year. He never returned to football."
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American dramatic film based on the best-selling book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The story recounts the life and racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred race horse whose unexpected successes made him a hugely popular sensation in the United States near the end of the Great Depression.
The film centers on three men, Red Pollard, Charles S. Howard, and Tom Smith who come together as, respectively, the principle jockey, owner, and trainer of championship horse, Seabiscuit. The story follows the redemption of the three men as they rise from troubled times to achieve fame and success through their association with the horse. Red Pollard was the child of wealthy family which was ruined by the Great Depression. In need of money, the family leaves Red with a horse groom. Eventually becoming a jockey, Red makes extra money through illegal boxing matches, which leave him almost blind in one eye. Charles Howard is shown as a clerk in a bicycle shop when he gets asked by a passing motorist to repair his automobile, a technology which has recently been introduced. Some years later, Howard is the largest car dealer in California and one of the Bay Area's richest men. However, his son accidentally dies while trying to drive the family car. When Howard is unable to come out of his depression, his wife leaves him. On a trip to Mexico in order to obtain a divorce and to drown his sorrows, he meets Marcela whom he marries.
Howard then runs into Tom Smith, a horse trainer who has been homeless. Seeing Smith tame an aggressive horse, Howard hires him to take care of his newly acquired stable of horses. Later, Smith tries to get a jockey to ride Seabiscuit, but the jockey is frightened off when Seabiscuit rips off a bit of his shirt. Smith then turns to see Red Pollard fighting with other stable boys and see in them similar temperament. Thus, he decides to make him the jockey. The film then follows the three men as they begin to race Seabiscuit. It especially focuses on their efforts to provoke a race with War Admiral, the top race horse in the country. A match race is then decided on the 1st of November at Pimlico racetrack. While they wait for the date to come around and train Seabiscuit, Pollard is asked to exercise a race horse for an old friend. While they are on the track, two men start a tractor suddenly, causing the horse to spook. The horse rears, and Pollard falls off and is dragged along until he crashes into a wall, fracturing his leg. When the doctor reports that he will be unable to jockey again, Red tells Howard to get George Woolf as the jockey. Red then teaches George about Seabiscuit's handling and mannerisms. Seabiscuit beats War Admiral easily because of a secret that Pollard told George Woolf, which was to hold him head to head with the other horse so he gets 'a good look at the Admiral'. Afterwards, Seabiscuit is entered in a race at the Santa Anita Race track under George Woolf. While he is racing he gets injured and has to stop. Red Pollard helps him to recover and gets him fit again for racing. The last race is again at the Santa Anita track, and Red Pollard races him this time after putting a special self-made brace on his own leg to keep it stable. George Woolf is also racing, albeit on a different horse. When Seabiscuit drops to last place and trails the pack of horses, George Woolf trails back to be with Pollard.After a short conversation, Seabiscuit gives Pollard the signal that he is ready to go. Seabiscuit then surges towards the pack of horses and Pollard steers him through them to win the race. The movie ends with Pollard narrating "You know everyone thinks that we found this broken down horse and fixed him, but we didn't, he fixed us, everyone of us, and I guess in a way we kinda fixed each other too."
Zombieland is a 2009 American zombie comedy directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
The film stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Together they take an extended road trip in an attempt to find a sanctuary free from zombies, following a set of "rules" designed to keep them alive where others have failed, killing zombies in a variety of creative ways while trying to "enjoy the little things" in a ruined world.
The film takes place within a post-apocalyptic America, where a zombie apocalypse has been triggered when mad cow disease became mad human disease and then worse.
College student Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is on his way to Columbus, Ohio to see if his parents are still alive. He loses his car in an accident and encounters Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) who is on a quest to find Twinkies. They travel together and when they stop at a grocery store, they meet two sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). The sisters con them into handing over their weapons and steal their vehicle. The two men walk and soon find a Hummer H2 truck loaded with weapons. They then meet the girls again, who attempt to take the truck, their vehicle having broken down. Columbus proposes a truce and suggests they travel together.
Columbus tells Wichita he is heading home to Columbus, Ohio but she blurts out that it has been burned to the ground and is overrun by zombies. He decides instead to stay with the group. Wichita tells Columbus that she is taking Little Rock to "Pacific Playland" in Los Angeles, an amusement park rumored to be zombie-free.
On the way to the park, they pass through Hollywood and Tallahassee decides to take them to Bill Murray's mansion. Tallahassee and Wichita meet Murray himself, uninfected but disguised as a zombie with make-up so that he can walk safely among the infected and play golf without being bothered. Little Rock is unfamiliar with Bill Murray so Columbus shows her the film Ghostbusters. Murray later enters in order to scare Columbus and Little Rock as a practical joke, but thinking he is a real zombie Columbus shoots and kills him.
After a makeshift funeral, Tallahassee reveals he lost his son to the zombies, rather than his pet dog as he had earlier led Columbus to believe. Wichita begins developing feelings for Columbus and fearing attachment, she leaves with Little Rock for Pacific Playland. Columbus decides to go after Wichita, and he and Tallahassee, who initially refuses, pursue the sisters in one of Murray's vehicles.
Wichita and Little Rock arrive at Pacific Playland and turn on all the rides and lights, attracting nearby zombies. A battle ensues, leaving the sisters trapped on a drop tower ride and running low on ammunition. Tallahassee and Columbus arrive just as the sisters' ammunition is depleted. Tallahassee manages to lure the majority away, then intentionally locks himself in a game booth while Columbus goes after the sisters. Columbus saves the girls and in thanks, Wichita reveals her real name to him. The two share their first kiss. Tallahassee eliminates the remaining zombies single-handedly. Columbus comes to the realization that this is the only family he needs, and the four leave Pacific Playland together.
Traitor is a 2008 American spy thriller film, based on an idea by Steve Martin who is also an executive producer. Written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff, the film stars Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce.
Samir Horn (Don Cheadle) is an Arabic-speaking Sudanese-American and devout Muslim. His Sudanese druze father was killed by a car bomb when he was a child. As an adult, Horn is first seen operating as an arms dealer. While negotiating a deal with Omar (Saïd Taghmaoui) in Yemen he is arrested and thrown into a Yemeni jail. Later, Samir and Omar become friends and when Omar's people arrange an escape, he takes Samir with them.
Joining the Islamic Brotherhood, Samir uses the skills he learned as an 18C engineer staff sergeant with the U.S. Army Special Forces to bomb the U.S. consulate in Nice, France. The group then devises a plot to place suicide bombers on 50 buses in the U.S. during Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, in London, the Islamic Brotherhood finds out Fareed is being targeted by the FBI and he escapes by a source in the FBI headquarters. It is revealed that Samir is working under deep cover for an intelligence contractor, Carter (Daniels), with the United States government against terrorism. The FBI agents pursuing him don't know this, and Carter is killed by Omar.
Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) pursues Samir through numerous countries, resulting in their final confrontation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. While on board a cargo ship to Marseille, France, Samir learns the identity of Nathir and kills Nathir, Fareed, and when Omar is about to kill him, he tells that he switched the bombers' emails and he placed them all on the same bus and all of them die. Canadian police, with the FBI, breaks in and kills Omar and injures Samir.
Later, under an El bridge in Chicago, Samir tells Agent Clayton he feels guilty for killing the innocent people in the consulate. Samir tells Clayton that the Qur'an says that to kill an innocent person is to kill all mankind. Clayton responds by noting that the Qur'an also says that by saving an innocent person, you have saved all mankind, and tells Samir he is a hero. The movie ends with Samir praying at a mosque.
Stardust is a 2007 fantasy film from Paramount Pictures, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film is based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name, illustrated by Charles Vess, originally published by Avon Books, and stars an ensemble cast including Charlie Cox, Ben Barnes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Rupert Everett, Ricky Gervais, David Walliams, Nathaniel Parker, Peter O'Toole, David Kelly, Robert De Niro, and Mark Heap. Narration is by Ian McKellen.
In the village of Wall (so called because of the stone wall that is a border with another, magical world), Dunstan Thorne (Ben Barnes) runs past the guard at a hole in the Wall to the other side of the Wall - Stormhold. On the other side he meets a witch's slave (Kate Magowan) for one night. Nine months later the wall guard arrives at Dunstan's door with a baby named Tristan.
Eighteen years later, Tristan (Charlie Cox) is infatuated with Victoria (Sienna Miller). He invites her to a night time picnic. That same night, on the other side of the wall in the kingdom of Stormhold, the king (Peter O'Toole) is dying in the company of his sons. He throws the Power of Stormhold, a large ruby, into the sky. "He of royal blood" who first finds the ruby will become the next king. The stone collides with a star, causing it to fall to Earth.
Back in Wall, Tristan vows to bring the fallen star to Victoria in exchange for her hand in marriage. Tristan cannot get past the guard at the wall, so his father gives him a Babylon candle, which he had been given by Tristan's mother. Lighting the candle, he is suddenly transported to the star, who appears as a beautiful woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes). Tristan binds Yvaine to himself with a magical silver chain, to bring her to Victoria. He promises to use the Babylon candle to return her to the sky after taking her to Victoria.
However, three witches — Mormo, Empusa and Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) — want Yvaine so they can recover their beauty and youth by devouring her heart. Additionally, the sons of the king are looking for the Power of Stormhold, which Yvaine is wearing after it knocked her from the sky.
The witches select Lamia to seek the star, so she embarks on a journey through the countryside, where she conjures up an inn to capture Yvaine. On the way she meets another witch (Ditchwater Sal) who happens to have Tristan's mother enslaved.
Yvaine is weary and unaccustomed to daytime travel, so Tristan ties her to a tree and promises to return with food. A unicorn frees Yvaine, taking her to Lamia's inn. Tristan discovers Yvaine gone and lies down to rest. The stars warn Tristan of Yvaine's danger, begging him to save her. Tristan joins Prince Primus in his stagecoach and they travel to the inn. Lamia kills Primus, but Tristan and Yvaine escape using the Babylon candle. Because each thought of their respective homes, the candle takes Tristan and Yvaine into the storm clouds.
Yvaine rides a unicorn to safety
Prince Septimus arrives and believes he is the last surviving son of the king, only needing to find the stone to accept the throne. He learns that it is in the possession of the fallen star and that the heart of a star grants immortality.
Meanwhile, Tristan and Yvaine are captured by pirates in a flying ship. Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) threatens and interrogates them, and takes them into his private quarters — where he reveals himself to be a kind, gentle man who acts tough to preserve his reputation. He grants them safe passage, on the condition that they keep his secret.
When Tristan and Yvaine arrive at a village, they confess their love for each other. Come morning, Tristan leaves Yvaine to go to Wall, bringing with him a lock of her hair, to tell Victoria he won't marry her. When the lock turns to stardust he learns that Yvaine can not cross the wall, lest she also turn into a lump of iron, and he rushes back to save her.
Ditchwater Sal's slave wants to save Yvaine, so she takes her mistress' caravan and races to the wall. She stops Yvaine, but Lamia arrives, kills Ditchwater Sal, and takes Yvaine and the slave girl to the witches' castle.
Septimus and Tristan both pursue Lamia, and meet up at the castle. Septimus confronts the slave girl, but recognizes her as his sister Una, daughter of the king. She sees Tristan and informs him that she is his mother. Septimus kills Empusa and attacks Lamia, who drowns him using a voodoo doll. Tristan releases cage animals on Mormo, and Lamia uses Septimus' corpse to fight Tristan. She convinces Tristan and Yvaine for a moment that she will release them because she is mourning the deaths of her sisters. However she attacks, and Yvaine, more in love with Tristan than ever, unleashes a wave of starlight that disintegrates Lamia.
Tristan retrieves the jewel that Yvaine was wearing. Una explains that Tristan is the last male heir of Stormhold. Tristan becomes the new king with Yvaine as his queen. After eighty years of ruling Stormhold, they use a Babylon candle to ascend to the sky, where they become stars. Since Yvaine "gave her heart" to Tristan, the two will live forever in the sky.
Kill Bill is a two-part epic film released in 2003 and 2004 by writer-director Quentin Tarantino, and starring Uma Thurman as The Bride. Originally conceived as one film, it was released in two separate 'volumes' (in late 2003 and early 2004) due to its running time of approximately four hours. The film is an epic-length revenge drama, with homages to earlier film genres, such as Hong Kong martial arts films, Japanese Chanbara films, exploitation films and Italian spaghetti westerns; an extensive use of popular music and pop culture references; and aestheticization of violence. Filming took place in California, Texas, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Mexico.
Kill Bill is one story, divided into two volumes with five chapters each, presented in a nonlinear narrative style, as is common among Tarantino's films. This synopsis, unlike the film, is presented chronologically.
The Bride (Uma Thurman) is a former assassin and lover of a man named Bill (David Carradine), her former boss. Pregnant, and wanting to move beyond the life of an assassin to raise the child, she left him, and was about to marry another man. Bill and his other assassins, the four Deadly
Vipers, arrive at the El Paso wedding chapel during the wedding rehearsal, and massacre everyone at the chapel. She attempts to tell her would-be killer Bill that the baby is his, but he shoots her in the side of her head, leaving her in a coma.
She awakens from the coma in a hospital ward four years later, Bill having decided to abort a plan to kill her in her hospital bed. She is horrified to discover she is no longer pregnant, leading her to assume her baby is dead. She escapes from the hospital after dispatching the sleazy orderly, named Buck, who had come into the room with one of his "customers". He apparently has been selling sexual access to her body as she lay comatose. After killing both men, she takes the keys to Buck's truck (a custom-painted truck with a big "Pussy Wagon" sticker on the back), and, lying in the truck, she starts to try to move her toes. She recalls the story of O-Ren Ishii, the woman that is later first on her death list. After that, her big toe starts to move. After practicing for 13 hours, she can move normally. She then uses the truck to escape the hospital.
Then the Bride travels to Okinawa, Japan, to obtain a sword from Hattori Hanzō (Sonny Chiba), a renowned swordsmith, who has retired to the life of a sushi chef. Though Hanzō has taken a blood oath to never make another sword, The Bride is able to convince him of the merit of her mission by just telling him her target: his former student Bill. Hanzo takes over a month to make the sword, and in that time she follows his suggestion to practice while staying in his upstairs room.
The Bride then travels to Tokyo, Japan, where she confronts a Deadly Viper turned Yakuza leader, O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) at a restaurant named The House of Blue Leaves. We are introduced to O-Ren Ishii by a long animated sequence, as well as a film sequence, in which we learn both how she became a killer and then how she wields power over the Yakuza. At the House of Blue Leaves The Bride first severs the arm of O-Ren's lawyer, Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), then kills her immediate guards, including her personal bodyguard, Gogo Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama). After the arrival of O-Ren's army of henchmen, the Crazy 88, The Bride is forced to fight off the entire gang, killing or wounding all, except one (a young member who hardly had any sword fighting skill at all, the Bride simply spanks him with her sword and sends him away), before dueling with O-Ren in the snow. By the duel's end, O-Ren is killed, scalped by the Bride's Hanzō sword.
The Bride dumps the badly wounded Fatale at a hospital, where she later tells Bill that she revealed the locations of the remaining Deadly Vipers under threat of further injuries and that the Bride is setting out to kill them, as well as Bill himself. Bill does not blame her and asks Fatale if The Bride knows that her daughter is still alive.
Some time after this, the Bride arrives at the house of Vernita Green (Fox) of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in the "Pussy Wagon", and engages her in a vicious fight, though she agrees to cease their hostilities when Vernita's four-year-old daughter arrives. Vernita attempts to apologize to the Bride, but the Bride is unmoved. The two agree to a knife fight later that evening, but before The Bride can depart, Green attempts to kill her with a gun hidden in a cereal box. The Bride throws a knife, killing Green instead. However, while she pulls out the knife from Green's body, Vernita's four-year old daughter walks in. As the Bride quickly wipes the blood off the knife, she unapologetically assures the child that she will have a chance for payback once she is grown and leaves the house. This scene actually opens the movie and the rest is told through flashback.
The opening of Volume 2 greatly reprises the opening scenes of the first volume, the wedding rehearsal scenes and massacre. We are briefly introduced to The Bride, her groom-to-be, and their friends, before Bill arrives. Bill convinces The Bride that he has gracefully accepted her decision, and agrees to pose as her father as a cover story for everyone else. The Deadly Vipers then arrive and begin the massacre of everyone in the church. The film then cuts to the Bride driving her car to Bill's location, as he is now the last on her death list.
Bill ventures to the California desert to warn his brother Budd (Michael Madsen), another former Deadly Viper, that the Bride will come for him next. Budd, now an overweight alcoholic, has put his assassin days behind him, living in a trailer and working as a bouncer at a local strip club, where he is verbally abused and generally treated poorly by the manager. The Bride arrives at Budd's trailer that night, but Budd shoots her in the chest with rock salt and injects her with a sedative. Budd calls Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and offers to sell her the Bride's Hanzō sword for $1 million. Budd then buries the Bride alive with a flashlight in a grave.
She lies in her grave, panicked, seemingly losing hope. Suddenly she stops struggling, goes instantly calm, slightly smiles, and clicks off the flashlight. The Bride has remembered (and here in the film a flashback to her memory begins) her early training in China, when Bill took her to the temple of legendary martial arts master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu), an elderly martial arts master. He could perform a fatal attack called the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique,[5] which is so secret that he has not even taught it to Bill. According to Bill, he "hates Caucasians, despises Americans, and has nothing but contempt for women." Nevertheless, he takes in The Bride and molds her into a formidable fighter. He brutally trains her, and she eventually gains his silent respect. Emphasis is placed specifically on the Bride's development of the ability to strike powerfully at an enemy positioned mere inches from one's chest. In the present, The Bride calls on Pai Mei's training to break out of the coffin and dig her way up to the surface.
The Bride arrives on a hilltop overlooking Budd's trailer, and sees the one-eyed Elle Driver arriving in her sports car, a Pontiac Trans Am. Elle gives Budd a suitcase of money for the sword, but it also contains a black mamba that bites Budd repeatedly, killing him quickly while Elle describes to him what is happening to his body. Elle calls Bill to tell him that the Bride killed Budd, and also how to find the final resting place of Beatrix Kiddo, which is revealed at this point to be the Bride's name. Beatrix then attacks Elle, and a furious fight ensues. Elle reveals that Pai Mei, who also taught her, pulled out her eye for calling him a "miserable old fool" and that she later poisoned his meal of fish heads. During the sword clash, Beatrix plucks out Elle's remaining eye, leaving blinded Elle to writhe in the trailer with the same black mamba that killed Budd, leaving her fate ambiguous, then leaves.
After learning of Bill's location from Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks), the pimp who raised Bill, Beatrix arrives at Bill's home, where she is shocked to find that B.B., her four-year-old daughter, is alive and apparently expecting her mother's return. The family spends the evening together peacefully, and after B.B. falls asleep, Bill shoots Beatrix with a dart filled with truth serum, in order to ask her a few questions. Beatrix reveals that, after she discovered her pregnancy she had to put her unborn daughter's future above Bill's wishes.
The estranged couple sit down at a table outside. Bill admits he had overreacted towards the situation in attempting to kill her. However, Beatrix claims she is still in disbelief over what Bill had done and insists that she complete her unfinished business. Bill then draws his sword to attack her. Beatrix dodges his attack and draws her own sword, but Bill succeeds in disarming her. He thrusts to stab her with his sword, but she catches it in her own Hanzo sheath and disables Bill with the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, secretly taught to her by Pai Mei. Bill, defeated, says a tender goodbye before standing up, buttoning his coat, and taking the five steps required of the technique before his heart explodes, and he dies. Beatrix and B.B. depart, and the next day Beatrix is shown sobbing at the death of her former lover, while her daughter watches cartoons in the next room. Beatrix's sobs turn to laughter caused by the delight of having her daughter alive and well. The end of the film shows a long frontal view of the Mother and Daughter driving down the road as the credits roll.
Grindhouse is a 2007 American high concept action film co-written, produced, and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The film is a double feature consisting of two feature-length segments, the Rodriguez-directed Planet Terror and Tarantino-directed Death Proof, and bookended by fictional trailers for upcoming attractions, advertisements, and in-theater announcements. The film's title derives from the U.S. film industry term "grindhouse", which refers to (now no longer existent) movie theaters specializing in B movies, often exploitation films, shown in a multiple-feature format. The film's cast includes Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Michael Biehn, Simon Pegg, Marley Shelton, Josh Brolin, Jeff Fahey, Naveen Andrews, Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Jordan Ladd, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, stuntwoman Zoë Bell, and Vanessa Ferlito.
Rodriguez's segment, Planet Terror, revolves around an outfit of rebels attempting to survive an onslaught of zombie-like creatures as they feud with a military unit, while Tarantino's segment, Death Proof, focuses on a misogynistic, psychopathic stunt man who targets young women, murdering them with his "death proof" stunt car. Each feature is preceded by faux trailers of exploitation films in other genres that were developed by other directors.
After the film was released on April 6, 2007, ticket sales performed significantly below box office analysts' expectations despite mostly positive critic reviews. In much of the rest of the world, each feature was released separately in extended versions. Two soundtracks were also released for the features and include music and audio snippets from the film. This film later found more success on DVD and Blu-Ray. In several interviews, despite the box office failure, the directors have expressed their interest in a possible sequel to the film due its successful DVD and Blu-Ray sales and critical acclaim.
Planet Terror
In a rural town in Texas, go-go dancer 'Cherry Darling' decides to quit her low-paying job and find another use for her numerous 'useless' talents. She runs into her mysterious ex-boyfriend El Wray at the Bone Shack, a restaurant owned by JT Hague. Meanwhile, a group of military officials, led by the demented Lt. Muldoon, are making a business transaction with a scientist named Abby for mass quantities of a deadly biochemical agent known as DC2 (codename "Project Terror"); when Muldoon learns that Abby has an extra supply on hand, he attempts to take Abby hostage, and Abby intentionally releases the gas into the air. The gas reaches the town and turns its residents into deformed bloodthirsty psychopaths, mockingly referred to as "sickos" by the surviving humans. The infected townspeople are treated by the sinister Dr. William Block and his abused, neglected anesthesiologist wife Dakota at a local hospital. As the patients quickly become enraged aggressors, Cherry and Wray lead a team of accidental warriors into the night, struggling to find safety.
Death Proof
Three friends—Arlene, Shanna, and radio disc jockey Jungle Julia Lucai—spend a night in Austin, Texas celebrating Julia's birthday, unknowingly followed by a mysterious man in a souped-up 1974 Chevy Nova. The man, Stuntman Mike, stalks the young women with his "death proof car", eventually killing all three of them. Fourteen months later, Stuntman Mike, now with his '74 Nova rebuilt, stalks another group of young women—Lee, Abernathy, Kim, and Zoë—a group of women working below the line in Hollywood, whose Stock 1970 Dodge Challenger proves a worthy adversary.
The Edukators (German: Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei; literally "the fat years are over", or "your days of plenty are numbered") is a German-Austrian film made by the Austrian director Hans Weingartner and released in 2004. Nominated for the "Golden Palm Award" at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival,[1] it stars Daniel Brühl and Julia Jentsch.
The story revolves around three anti-capitalist activists living in Berlin city centre — Jule (Julia Jentsch), her boyfriend Peter (Stipe Erceg) and his best friend Jan (Daniel Brühl), along with a wealthy businessman named Hardenberg (Burghart Klaußner).
Jule is a waitress struggling to pay off the €100,000 debt she accumulated after crashing into Hardenberg's S-Class Mercedes-Benz on a motorway. After she is evicted for paying her rent late, she moves in with Peter and Jan, who are often out all night. When Peter takes a trip to Barcelona, Jan reveals that he and Peter spend their nights "educating" upper-class people by breaking into their houses, moving furniture around, and leaving notes with messages that say "Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei" (the days of plenty are over), or "Sie haben zu viel Geld" (you have too much money).
After learning this, Jule convinces the reluctant Jan to spontaneously break into Hardenberg's home in the affluent Berlin suburb of Zehlendorf, as he happens to be away on business. During the break-in, the two begin to kiss. Jan leaves Jule alone for a few minutes because he does not want to hurt his friendship with Peter. While wandering around, Jule accidentally sets off the house's floodlights after she goes outside and they leave in a hurry.
Peter returns the next day, but Jan and Jule do not tell him about their activities the night before. Jule soon realises that she is missing her mobile phone, so Jule and Jan go off later that night to look for it in the house. Just after she finds it, Hardenberg walks in the door and he begins to struggle with Jule after recognising her. Jan, who hears the struggle, comes downstairs and knocks Hardenberg out with a torch. Not knowing what to do, the pair call Peter who shows up to help them.
The three cannot decide what to do with Hardenberg, so they decide to take him to a remote and rarely-used cabin in the Tyrolean Austrian Alps, near Jenbach, overlooking Achensee, that belongs to Jule's uncle. While trying to decide how to deal with their hostage, they learn that Hardenberg was once a radical himself in the 1960s. He had been a leader of the Socialist German Student Union and was once good friends with Rudi Dutschke, before eventually marrying, getting a good job and abandoning his ideals.
As the story progresses, political ideologies, but more so the characters' relationships, become the deep issues. Peter and Jan have a temporary falling out over Jan's now blooming romance with Jule, while Hardenberg seems to regain some sense of his former self.
In the end, the three decide to take Hardenberg back to his house and let him go. As the three get ready to leave, Hardenberg hands Jule a letter, clearing all her debt and telling them that they need not worry about the police. The film ends with Peter, Jan and Jule sleeping in bed whilst a group of Spezialeinsatzkommando police amass outside the flat that Jule, Peter and Jan had been sharing, and knock on the door. Jule then wakes up when she hears a knock on the door. The police force their way into the flat which they find nearly completely empty. The film then cuts to Jule, who turns down a hotel maid offering to clean their room, presumably in a hotel in Barcelona. Back in the apartment in Berlin, the police find a note that reads "Manche Menschen ändern sich nie" (some people never change).
Another German version shows the three Edukators taking Hardenberg's boat into the Mediterranean to destroy the signal towers on an island that supply most of the television to Western Europe.
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 dark satirical science fiction film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. The film concerns Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), a charismatic, psychopathic delinquent whose pleasures are classical music (especially Beethoven), rape, and ultra-violence. He leads a small gang of thugs (Pete, Georgie, and Dim), whom he calls his droogs (from the Russian друг, “friend”, “buddy”). The film tells the horrific crime spree of his gang, his capture, and attempted rehabilitation via a controversial psychological conditioning technique. Alex narrates most of the film in Nadsat, a fractured, contemporary adolescent argot comprising Slavic (especially Russian), English, and Cockney rhyming slang.
This cinematic adaptation was produced, directed, and written by Stanley Kubrick. It features disturbing, violent images, to facilitate social commentary about psychiatry, youth gangs, and other contemporary social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian, future Britain. A Clockwork Orange features a soundtrack comprising mostly classical music selections and Moog synthesizer compositions by Wendy Carlos. A notable exception is “Singin’ in the Rain”, chosen because it was a song whose lyrics actor Malcolm McDowell knew.The now-iconic poster of A Clockwork Orange, and its images, were created by designer Bill Gold. The film also holds the record in the Guinness World Records for being the first movie in media history using the Dolby Sound system.
Set in London, England in the near-future and narrated by Alex DeLarge, the film opens on Alex and his friends, "the droogs"; Pete (Michael Tarn), Georgie (James Marcus), and Dim (Warren Clarke), partaking of mescaline-spiked milk at the Korova Milk Bar prior to an evening of "the old ultra-violence". They proceed to beat up an elderly vagrant under a motorway and interrupt an attempted gang rape of a woman in an abandoned theatre by a rival gang of camouflage wearing Walts led by Billyboy (Richard Connaught). They subsequently get in a brawl with their rivals. Upon hearing the sounds of police sirens, Alex and his gang flees, stealing a car and driving into the countryside. They then gain entry to the home of Mr. Alexander, a writer, under false pretenses and assault him while violently raping his wife (Adrienne Corri), all while Alex sings Singing' in the Rain. When they return to the milk bar, Alex chides Dim when he interrupts a female patron while she sings a selection of Beethoven, a composer Alex admires.
The next day, Alex skips school and has an encounter with social worker Mr. Deltoid (Aubrey Morris). Deltoid is exasperated with Alex and talks about all his hard work with him. Deltoid is the one person who easily sees through Alex' lies. After picking up and having sex with two girls from a record shop, Alex regroups with his droogs in his building lobby who now challenge his authority: with Georgie insisting the gang be run in a "new way" that entails less power for Alex and more ambitious crimes. As they walk along a canal, Alex attacks his droogs in order to re-establish his leadership.
That night, the gang attempts to invade the home of a woman (Miriam Karlin) who lives alone with her cats and runs a health farm. In the process, she gets into a fight with Alex, and Alex mortally bludgeons her with a phallus-shaped statue. As they flee the scene, Dim smashes a milk bottle across Alex's face, temporarily blinding him and leaving him to be found by the police. During his interrogation, Alex is told by Mr. Deltoid that he is now a murderer, because the woman died from her injuries. To add insult to injury, Deltoid simply spits on Alex in sheer disgust.
After a trial, Alex is convicted of the murder and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He arrives from the courthouse where he is strip-searched and given a prison number which he must memorize. Two years later, Alex becomes friends with the prison chaplain and takes a keen interest in the Bible, but primarily in the more violent characters. When the Minister of the Interior (Anthony Sharp) arrives at the prison looking for volunteers for the Ludovico technique, an experimental aversion therapy for rehabilitating criminals, Alex eagerly steps forward, much to the disgust of Chief Officer Barnes (Michael Bates). At the Ludovico facility, Alex is placed in a straitjacket and forced to watch films containing scenes of extreme violence while being given drugs to induce reactions of revulsion. The films include one of real scenes in Nazi Germany, which includes a soundtrack of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Alex realises this will likely condition him against Beethoven's music and makes an agonised though unsuccessful attempt to have the treatment end prematurely before the conditioning sets in. Alex is forced to watch two of these violent films a day. Two weeks later, after the treatment is finished, Alex's reformed behaviour is demonstrated for the audience. He is unable to respond back to an Irish actor (John Clive) shouting insults and picking a fight with him, and a feeling of sickness attacks him when he is presented with a young naked woman who sexually arouses him. The Minister declares Alex to be cured, but the chaplain asserts that Alex no longer has any free will.
Alex is let free from prison two years after his sentencing. He returns home only to find that his parents have rented out his room to a lodger named Joe (Clive Francis), leaving him on his own. On the street, Alex comes across the same vagrant he had assaulted before the treatment, who calls in his friends and they attack Alex. Two policemen arrive to break up the fight, but Alex discovers the policemen to be his former droogs, Dim and Georgie. They drag Alex out to the countryside, where they brutally assault and half-drown him in a vat of water before leaving him for dead.
Battered and bruised, Alex wanders to the home of Mr. Alexander, who does not recognize him from two years prior, due to Alex’ wearing a mask at the time. Mr. Alexander is revealed to have been crippled by the attack two years earlier and now lives with a personal bodyguard, manservant, and physical trainer named Julian (David Prowse). Mr. Alexander takes Alex into his home, aware that he had undergone the Ludovico treatment due to the story published in all of the country's newspapers. Mr. Alexander tends to Alex's wounds, but the memories of his assault return when Alex sings "Singin' in the Rain" while he is taking a bath. Mr. Alexander drugs Alex, locks him in the upper floor of his home and plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at full volume through a powerful stereo on the floor below, knowing that the Ludovico treatment will cause immense pain to Alex. In order to escape the torture, Alex becomes suicidal and throws himself out of the room's window.
Alex recovers consciousness days later to find himself in traction, with dreams about doctors messing around inside his head. Through a series of psychological tests, Alex finds that he no longer has a revulsion to violence. The Minister of the Interior comes to Alex and apologises for subjecting him to the treatment, and informs him that Mr. Alexander has been "put away". The Minister then offers Alex an important government job and, as a show of goodwill, has a stereo wheeled to his bedside playing Beethoven's Ninth. Alex then realises that instead of an adverse reaction to the music, he sees images of sexual pleasure. He then states (in a sarcastic and menacing voice-over) "I was cured, all right!"
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