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Plot synopsis quoted from:

• movies.yahoo.com
• hollywoodbitchslap.com
• Amazon.com

In a small southern town in the 1960s, a black man awaits trial for murdering the two rednecks who viciously raped his 10-year-old daughter. A young, idealistic white lawyer takes up the father's defense, and the incendiary case becomes a firestorm of racism and controversy, ripping the town apart. Based on John Grisham's bestselling first novel.

Set in the late 1870s, this epic film depicts the beginnings of the modernization of Japan, as the island nation evolved past a feudal society, as symbolized by the eradication of the samurai way of life. We see all this happen from the point of view of an alcoholic Civil War veteran turned Winchester guns spokesman, Captain Woodrow Algren (Cruise), who arrives in Japan to train the troops of the emperor, Meiji, as part of a break away from the long-held tradition of relying on employed samurai warriors to protect territories, as the emperor's new army prepares to wipe out the remaining samurai warriors. When Algren is injured in combat and captured by the samurai, he learns about their warrior honor code from their leader, Katsumoto, which forces him to decide which side of the conflict he actually wants to be on.

Ben Affleck stars as Michael Jennings, a brilliant computer engineer hired by high-tech corporations for specialized top-secret projects. Once a job is complete, Jennings routinely has his short-term memory erased so as not to divulge any sensitive company information to future clients. Highly paid for his work, he expects to earn $4.4billion at the end of his latest 3-year project. But upon completion of the job, instead of a big paycheck, Jennings is handed an envelope filled with random objects and told that he has agreed to forfeit all payment. With his memory erased as usual, Jennings has no way to prove them wrong until he discovers the objects are clues to the puzzle that once was his past. But with Federal agents hot on his heels, Jennings quickly learns that more than just his paycheck is at stake. In a race against time, Jennings must put the pieces together with the help of Rachel (Uma Thurman), the woman he has worked with and loved for the past three years who rekindles his memory of their life together, before the people he once worked for have him killed. [Directed by John Woo and based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, this one didn't get great reviews. I liked it though, so there! ;) ]

Guns, guns, guns! And a few explosions as bodies fly through the air and crash into tables and fruit stands. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like all Robert Rodriguez movies, is all about the kinetic kick of high-velocity action. Johnny Depp, blase and whimsical, plays a CIA agent who's drawn guitar-playing gun-slinger Antonio Banderas (long black hair flopping over his face like the ears of a Labrador puppy) into a ridiculously convoluted plot to overthrow the Mexican government. Along for the ride are a craggy-faced rogue's gallery including Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Ruben Blades, and (to balance things out) the smooth, tantalizing complexions of Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek. For sheer trashy fun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a step down from its predecessor, Desperado--but Desperado set the bar pretty high. For coherent storytelling, look elsewhere, but for action razzle-dazzle, this is your movie. --Bret Fetzer (amazon.com) [I might say "surreal, absurdist, action razzle-dazzle" -- the whole movie was quite silly, with some excellent and bizzare scenes. In one scene, a mariachi band member shows El Presidente the shooting and carnage outside his window by grabbing him and shoving him in front of the window saying "See!", when a bullet whizzes by, almost hitting El Preseidente. Then he says, "Well, maybe you should not see too close!" I also enjoyed the scene where a guitar case is used as a blowtorch, then pops up wheels and becomes a remote control bomb. And really, who can ever get tired of Johnny Depp's fake third arm bit? --me]

Lost In La Mancha may be the first 'un-making of' documentary. In a genre that exists to hype films before their release, Lost In La Mancha presents an unexpected twist: it is the story of a film that does not exist. Instead of a sanitised glimpse behind the scenes, Lost In La Mancha offers a unique, in-depth look at the harsher realities of filmmaking. With drama that ranges from personal conflicts to epic storms, this is a record of a film disintegrating - specifically, Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Don Quixote.

Based on the best-selling novel by John Irving, it's the story of Homer Wells, an child without parents raised and mentored by his orphanage's doctor, a man named Larch. He taught Homer everything about medicine and what he could about right and wrong, but he never gave him rules to live by. When he leaves to discover the world, he has more excitement than he could ever imagine, especially when he falls in love for the first time. But when forced to make decisions that will change the course of his future, he ultimately realizes that he can't escape his past.

Four old friends dust off their neglected brooms and sweep the past behind them on the road to realizing their late coach's dream of the big curling trophy.

A 15-year-old girl growing up in the 1970s captures the world and her family through her own eyes, as she begins to question it all. She discovers that her father has had an affair with one of his students, which shatters her image of him. Rather than sit back idly and watch the family crumble from the inside out, she takes on the responsibility of exposing the transgression.

Taking its cue from the movies of the Coen Brothers, NOBODY'S BABY tells the story of two convicts, recently escaped from prison, who choose to settle into domesticity after finding an orphaned baby on the road. Gary Oldman (SID AND NANCY), Skeet Ulrich (the SCREAM movies), Matthew Modine (MARRIED TO THE MOB), and Ed O'Neill (television's MARRIED WITH CHILDREN) are all hysterical in their offbeat roles.

Seven-year-old genius Fred is desperate to fit in with other kids. Recognizing his talents, his mom (and best friend) Dede enrolls him in a school for gifted children, where Fred befriends a teacher who offers him opportunities his mother cannot. Dede must choose between possibly losing her son or compromising his education. [Jodie Foster playes Dede]

8 MILE, a drama set against the 1995 hip-hop scene in Detroit, is about the boundaries that define our lives and a young man's struggle to find the strength and courage to transcend them.

Set against dramatic European backdrops, THE BOURNE IDENTITY is the story of a man (Matt Damon), salvaged, near death, from the ocean by the crew of an Italian fishing boat. When he recuperates, the man suffers from total amnesisa. He is completely without identity or background, but possesses a range of extraordinary talents in fighting, linguistic skills and self-defense that speak of a dangerous past. He sets out on a desperate search.assisted by the initially rebellious Marie (Franka Potente) to discover who he really is, and why he is being pursued by assassins.

An oddball love story about a fey loner named Sam (Johnny Depp), who falls in love with the mentally unbalanced Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson), who lives in the care of her protective brother Benny (Aidan Quinn).

(From the Back Cover) Welcome to Colby University, where the wealthy and powerful rule. Into this world step Alicia, a girl of modest means who dreams of becoming a lawyer. When she meets the beautiful, popular Hadley, Alicia quickly becomes a member of an elite clique. But she's about to learn the hard way that her new friends walk a dangerous line. A seductive thriller in the tradition of "Cruel Intentions" and "Wild Things", "New Best Friend" will have you guessing until the shocking final scenes.

This is the comic story of how Amy (Davis), a 29-year-old Ivy League-educated self-help author, who espouses the virtues of celibacy, chastity and the wonders of being altogether single, ends up falling in love with vulgar, womanizing, shock-rock DJ Matthew Starr (Chinlund).

Lucy Owens, (Kate Hudson) a waitress-cum-singer in a sleek café, has a romantic past littered with boyfriends, but not one great passion. Things change for the pretty singer when she meets the sexy, shy Adam (Stuart Townsend), whose sweetness charms both Lucy and her family. Behind the wide-eyed façade, however, Adam is a roguish serial seducer, who begins to work his magic on Lucy's repressed, bookish sister Laura (Frances O'Connor). With tragic flair, the sensual Adam recites poetry angling to get into the Victorian mind, heart and bed of Laura. Matters are further complicated when the oblivious Lucy proposes to the caddish chameleon, and her older, wiser sister, Alice (Charlotte Bradley) and brother, David, (Alan Maher) begin to suspect Adam's apparent perfection. Stembridge's farcical sexual romp features a young, talented cast and is a firmly tongue-in-cheek examination of sexual morality and family relationships.

In this sci-fi thriller, Alex Garner (Dennis Quaid), a young, extremely gifted psychic, is taught by a doctor (Max von Sydow) to actually enter other peoples' dreams, and even participate in them. Another psychic is being groomed to enter the troubled dreams of the President of the United States, with intentions not quite so benevolent. Christopher Plummer and Kate Capshaw also star.

a Mexican-American master chef living in LA with his three daughters prepares a magnificent dinner each Sunday night to bring his family together. Sunday dinner is a time to make major announcements, to share ideas, and to air the basic frustrations of daily life. It's also a time to critique Dad's cooking because, although he still succeeds in presenting beautiful, mouth-watering dishes, he has lost his sense of taste and his food does not have the same wonderful flavor that it did once. Outside of Sunday dinner, the members of the family live their own lives. Martin, the father (Hector Elizondo), works in a restaurant and entertains the eccentric mother (Raquel Welch) of his close friend and neighbor (Constance Marie). His youngest daughter, Maribel (Tamara Mello) debates whether to go to college and finds a new love interest in Brazilian stud Andy (Nikolai Kinski). The eldest daughter, Carmen (Jacqueline Obradors), is a headstrong, forthright business executive. Stuck in the middle is Letitcia (Elizabeth Pena), a prim school teacher who wants nothing more than to find true love.

Based on a true story about a group of British convicts become prize-winning gardeners. Colin and Fergus are incarcerated in an experimental facility in England. They take up gardening as part of their rehabilitation under the guidance of horticulture expert Georgina Woodhouse. Eventually, their diligence pays off and they go on to compete in the prestigious Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. (comedy/drama)

An aristocratic English widower learns of her husband's secret life of debauchery. The news leaves her shaken and financially insecure, until she is helped by the caretaker of her manor to regain her dignity and to make money by using her greenhouse to grow pot. (comedy/drama)

After being passed up for a promotion, a black, female financial analyst at a prestigious firm quits to set up her own operation. She soon realizes, however, that potential clients only feel comfortable investing with men. Her solution? Create a phony partner and bring Wall Street to its knees. (comedy)

Drama In THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS, sixties idealism meets headlong with family conflict and, mysteriously, death. This compelling drama, based on Jennifer Egan's novel, begins in the infamous Summer of '69, when radical hippie Faith O'Connor (Cameron Diaz), and her English boyfriend Wolf (Christopher Eccleston) take off for Europe, feeling that they will change the world for the positive. Faith diligently writes postcards to her younger sister Phoebe (Jordana Brewster). When they suddenly stop, the next Faith's family hears of her is that her body has been found at the bottom of a cliff outside a tiny Portuguese fishing village, the victim of an apparent suicide. Seven years later, Phoebe, a haunted, introverted teenager, still doesn't believe her adventurous, life-loving sister would have taken her own life so, against the wishes of her protective mother (Blythe Danner), Phoebe decides to retrace Faith's journey across Europe, using the postcards she had received from Faith as her only clues to a growing mystery. From a houseboat in Amsterdam to a flat in Paris, Phoebe follows Faith's footsteps right to the end. Along the way, she finds Wolf married and settled into a life of bourgeois complacency, one of the many twists in this chilling, engaging story.

Drama Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson) is a schizophrenic homeless man who lives in a cave in a New York City park and believes that his nemesis is trying to control the world by projecting mind-control beams from the Chrysler Building. Romulus is also a Juilliard-trained pianist who retreated into a world of fantasy and paranoia when the stress of his professional and family lives became too much. When Romulus finds a young homeless man frozen to death outside his cave, the police write it off as an accident but Romulus investigates and discovers evidence of murder. While trying to reconcile with his policewoman daughter, Romulus sneakily investigates a trendy artist and his models for evidence of murder, blackmail, and more. Based on the novel by George Dawes Green, THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE is a unique trip into the disturbed but still highly intelligent mind of a character only Samuel L. Jackson could pull off. Director Kasi Lemmons, who previously directed Jackson in EVE'S BAYOU, takes us inside Romulus's mind using spectacular and jarring special effects, yet never letting the viewer forget the simple, human drama at the heart of the film. Offbeat and unique, THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE is a truly independent creation.