Index of My Movies

Full Synopsis:

A man who has lost his memory has a new and dangerous life thrust upon him in this comedy thriller. Jake (Cedric the Entertainer) is a janitor who finds himself stricken with a crippling case of amnesia. While Jake struggles to regain his memory and identity, he becomes convinced that he's an undercover spy who is trying to ferret out a ring of underground arms dealers wanted by the FBI and the CIA. As Jake is thrown into the world of international intrigue, he gains an unlikely ally in Gina (Lucy Liu), an actual U.S. intelligence agent who is tracking the same bad guys and develops a liking for the janitor. The Cleaner also stars Nicollette Sheridan, DeRay Davis, and Callum Keith Rennie.

Cold Mountain (2003)

Cast: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger

Director: Anthony Minghella

Category: Drama, Romance, War

Running Time: 2 hours 34 minutes

DVD Release: 06/29/2004

Full SynopsisCold Mountain, a Civil War era romance where the love affair fizzles, but the episodic approach allows the narrative to breathe. The end result is that the film has more to offer than the tepid Nicole Kidman/Jude Law pairing. There are a lot of things to like about Cold Mountain, but those expecting director Anthony Minghella to recapture the tragic, romantic enchantment of The English Patient will be disappointed.

The second half of Cold Mountain is significantly better than the first. Writer/director Minghella has the unenviable task of cramming a lot of background information (done via flashbacks) into the first 60 minutes, as well as getting things off to an explosive start. While we are provided with all the necessary information, the underlying feelings are regrettably absent. The central motivating force for the main characters - an unquenchable love - comes across more like a writer's conceit than something elemental that exists between these two. We know that Inman (Law) and Ada (Kidman) are in love because the movie tells us so, not because we are given a compelling reason to believe it. Consequently, although we end up caring about the characters on an individual basis, the question of whether they are given a chance to re-connect is of secondary importance.

The movie opens in 1864, with the South well on its way to losing the Civil War. After recovering from a devastating injury, infantryman Inman decides to desert and make his way back to his home town of Cold Mountain, North Carolina, where he hopes to have a life with Ada, the preacher's daughter. It has been three years since they last saw each other, and he doesn't know for sure whether she is waiting for him. They hardly know each other - their interaction was brief, but left a lasting impression. However, the trek back to Cold Mountain proves to be an arduous one. Along the way, Inman meets a number of odd people, some of whom are interested in helping, and others who see him only as a way to make a profit.

Meanwhile, Ada has been waiting. Following the death of her father (Donald Sutherland), she has let the farm lapse into disarray. Enter Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger), a plain-speaking freespirit who offers to help Ada rebuild the farm in exchange for meals and lodging. A bargain is struck and the two begin a mutually beneficial partnership that develops into a friendship. But troubles lurk. The head of the local "home guards" (Ray Winstone, who does evil as well as anyone), a group empowered to kill deserters, wants Ada and her land, and Ruby's father (Brendan Gleeson) pays his daughter an unexpected visit.

Cold Mountain receives a much needed boost of energy with the introduction of Zellweger's Ruby, an event which occurs just before the end of the first hour. She is flamboyant and energetic - two characteristics that do not apply to either Kidman or Law. While it's unfair to impugn the two leads, since both do adequate jobs, Zellweger constantly forces Kidman into the background by the forcefulness of her performance. Law suffers the same fate at the hand of numerous supporting players, including Philip Seymour Hoffman (as a philandering minister), Natalie Portman (as a young mother who is victimized by Union soldiers), and Aileen Atkins (as a loner in the woods who helps Inman).

College R, 1 hr 34 min

Starring: Drake Bell, Nick Zano, Camille Mana

Synopsis

Deb Hagan directs this comedy set in the world of higher education and starring Drake Bell, Kevin Covais, and Andrew Caldwell as three high-school friends who take a weekend trip to nearby Fieldmont University as prospective college freshman in order to find out just how wild things can truly get on campus. Initially taken in as pledges at the most notorious fraternity on campus, Kevin, Morris, and Carter are subjected to humiliating series of pranks cooked up by womanizing frat president Teague (Nick Zano). Despite the fact that the three pals are forced to endure some of the most mortifying pranks ever committed against a fraternity pledge, in exchange for their suffering they are grated complete access to the rowdy party scene. Later emboldened after being mistaken for college freshmen by a trio of beautiful sorority girls, the three pals find any hopes for getting lucky dashed when -- upon realizing that the boys have finally managed to chat up some pretty girls -- Teague and his crew ramp up the intensity of their embarrassing initiation rituals and threaten to expose the boys' true educational status. But these scheming frat boys have underestimated the ingenuity of their high-school guests, and before the weekend is over Kevin, Morris, and Carter hatch a brilliant plan to turn the tables on their tormentors, win the girls, and destroy the fraternity once and for all.
Compliance 2012 R 1 hr 30 min

Starring: Ann Dowd, Dreama Walker, Pat Healy

Synopsis: Inspired by actual events, writer/director Craig Zobel's sophomore feature Compliance examines the complex hierarchy of authority through the experiences of a teenage fast-food restaurant clerk who falls victim to a twisted practical joke. Becky (Dreama Walker) is doing her best to get through another tough shift when a man claiming to be a police officer calls to speak with her stressed-out manager Sandra (Ann Dowd). According to the man on the phone, Becky has just stolen money from a customer, and likely still has the cash on her person. When Becky denies any wrongdoing, the man on the phone insists that Sandra detain the frightened girl in the back room of the restaurant, an action that sets into motion a shocking sequence of events.

Constant Gardener [WS] (2005) 2 hours 9 minutes 01/10/2006

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz

Category: Drama, Foreign, Mystery & Suspense

Full Synopsis

A man discovers a deadly secret when he tries to find out who killed the woman he loves in this suspense drama based on a novel by John Le Carré. Justin Quale (Ralph Fiennes) is a low-level British diplomat who has been given a new assignment in Kenya. Justin's wife, Tessa (Rachel Weisz), is an activist with a keen interest in issues of poverty and social justice; Justin urges her to avoid getting too deeply involved in the people living in Kenya, who are constantly dogged by poverty, but she shows little interest in obeying these instructions. This isn't the only area where Tessa has disregarded her husband, as she's been unfaithful in the past, and begins spending time with a handsome doctor once they've settled in Kenya. One day, Tessa disappears, and is soon found dead; officials believe that she was murdered by the doctor after some sort of argument. However, before long Justin becomes convinced that there was a larger scheme that led to Tessa's death, and he begins digging into areas where he's not especially welcome, given his reputation as a man willing to let the wealthy and powerful do as they will. The Constant Gardener was the first English-speaking feature from Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, who directed the international success City of God.

Constantine [WS] (2005)
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Rachel Weisz

Director: Francis Lawrence

Category: Horror

Running Time: 2 hours 1 minute

DVD Release: 07/19/2005

Full Synopsis

An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift must save the planet from evil in this action-packed fantasy. Unknown to most people, the world is crowded with spirits both good and evil who walk among us in human guise. One of the few who can see these spirits is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), but the responsibility of his vision is more than he can stand, and he tries to kill himself. Saved from death, Constantine must now atone for his actions by acting as a guardian in the middle ground between Paradise and Hell. Constantine also makes the acquaintance of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who becomes aware of his unusual gift while looking into the death of her sister; he leads her into the unknown world of the spirits and soon circumstances demand that they join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from evil. Constantine also features Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Gavin Rossdale, the latter best known as the lead singer of the rock group Bush.

Contagion 1 hr 46 min PG-13

Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne

Synopsis: Synopsis: Steven Soderbergh presents this look at what happens when an infectious disease threatens humanity through varied viewpoints from an ensemble cast, including Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, and Kate Winslet. The Informant's Scott Z. Burns provides the script.

Contraband R 1 hr 49 min

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster

Synopsis: A former smuggler from New Orleans faces ruthless drug lords, vicious criminals, corrupt officials, and trigger-happy hit men after getting back into the business to help his brother-in-law settle a deadly debt. When it came to transporting illicit goods under treacherous circumstances, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) used to be the best in the business. But all of that changed when he chose to give up his life of crime to start a family with Kate (Kate Beckinsale). Chris learns that leaving his past behind is easier said than done, however, after Kate's brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) goes to work for ferocious drug lord Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), and drops the ball on a major deal. Now, in order to set things right, Chris must smuggle millions of dollars in counterfeit bills from Panama into the United States. And if anything goes wrong, Tim will target his entire family for death. With his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) by his side and a crackerjack crew along for the ride, Chris heads to Panama for one last job. Later, with time running out and a treacherous maze of desperate criminals to navigate, the job gets complicated, and Chris must race to reach his family before Tim gets to them first. Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, and J.K. Simmons co-star.

Conviction R,1hr 46min

Synopsis

As children, Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) and her brother, Kenny (Sam Rockwell), survived bad parenting and poverty by leaning on each other for support. Kenny grows up to be something of a troublemaker, eventually being convicted for a murder he swears he didn't commit. His sister believes him and, without even a high-school diploma, sets about going to law school in order to figure out a way to free him. She gets a GED, then graduates law school with the help of her only friend (Minnie Driver). She eventually gets the attention of O.J. Simpson defense attorney Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher), who runs an organization devoted to overturning wrongful convictions by analyzing DNA evidence with tests that were unavailable at the time the cases were tried. When he agrees to help her -- if she can find the old blood evidence -- Betty plows her way through the legal complications that stand between her brother and his freedom. Tony Goldwyn directs this drama inspired by a true story.

Copying Beethoven (2006) PG13 104 mins

Starring: Ed Harris, Matthew Goode, Bill Stewart, Ralph Riach, Diane Kruger, Joe Anderson, Phyllida Law, Nicholas Jones

Full Synopsis:

When a young Vienna Music Conservatory student and aspiring composer accepts a job as a copyist for Ludwig von Beethoven, she soon finds her destiny forever interlinked with that of the legendary classical musician in director Agnieszka Holland's romantic period drama. Beethoven (Ed Harris)'s "Ninth Symphony" is about to make its historical debut, but Beethoven's publisher Herr Schlemmer is dying of cancer. Now in desperate need of a copyist to complete the score, the ailing Schlemmer enlists the aid of ambitious student Anna Holz (Diane Kruger); who readily accepts the job despite an explicit warning that the composer is a callous wretch. As Anna begins the arduous process of copying Beethoven's career-defining work, her soul-stirring kindness causes the composer to view their collaboration as a blessing that will enable him to produce some of the most sublime music ever created. When Anna works up the courage to show Beethoven some of her own work, however, his thoughtless derision of the composition causes his sensitive assistant to abandon their current collaboration. Subsequently determined to flee Vienna and marry her devoted paramour Martin, Anna is quickly tracked down by Beethoven and forced to choose between love and duty.

Coraline PG 1 hr 40 min

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane

Synopsis

A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director Henry Selick's animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good. Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends, Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter, Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside, Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious Cat (Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when Coraline's button-eyed Other Mother (also Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family.

Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Cast: James Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Dagmara Dominczyk

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Category: Action & Adventure, Drama

Running Time: 2 hours 11 minutes

DVD Release: 09/10/2004

Full Synopsis
The classic tale of swashbuckling adventure by the senior Alexandre Dumas comes to the screen in its umpteenth incarnation, this time from Kevin Reynolds, directing his first feature in five years. James Caviezel stars as Edmund Dantes, an honest sailor who plans to marry his beautiful lover Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk). Edmund doesn't know that his best friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce) secretly desires Mercedes for himself and schemes with fallen aristocrat Villefort (James Frain) to frame Edmund for a crime he didn't commit. Sentenced to life on the remote island prison of D'If, Edmund becomes consumed by plans for revenge. Thirteen years pass and he meets a fellow innocent convict, Abbe Faria (Richard Harris), who becomes Edmund's mentor in swordfighting, finance, and escape, confiding that a vast treasure awaits a discoverer on the island of Monte Cristo. Eventually, Edmund is able to get away using Faria's tunnels and makes his way to Monte Cristo, where he retrieves the fortune and uses it to make himself over as the wealthy "Count of Monte Cristo." With the help of a loyal sidekick (Luis Guzman), Edmund insinuates himself into French royalty and sets about getting revenge on Villefort and Fernand, who is now married to Mercedes.
The Counterfeiters R, 1 hr 39 min

Starring: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow

Synopsis

Writer/director Stefan Ruzowitzky explores the moral corrosion of Nazi complicity with this tightly wound adaptation of Adolf Burger's fact-based book The Devil's Workshop. Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) may be a talented artist at heart, but his desire for wealth has driven him to use his creativity for more nefarious means. Arrested by the police inspector Herzog (Devid Striesow) at the onset of World War II, Sorowitsch is sent to the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp. It's not long before Salomon's thinly veiled opportunism earns him a relatively comfortable position as the camp's resident sketch artist, and five years later he is mysteriously swept away to Sachsenhausen. Upon arriving at the camp, Sorowitsch discovers that Herzog, now a commandant, is attempting to destabilize the economies of the Allies while simultaneously funding the Nazi war machine by assembling a special team of counterfeit artists to create millions in fraudulent pounds and dollars. As the operation gets under way, Sorowitsch finds the efforts of the team continually undermined by unyieldingly idealistic collotype specialist Adolf Burger (August Diehl). In the months that follow, the team wrestles with their consciences as Axis forces are gradually overwhelmed by Allied might. The Counterfeiters won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Crank (2006) 1 hour 28 minutes

Rated: R

Starring: Jason Statham , Amy Smart , Jose Pablo Cantillo

Full Synopsis:

A one-time freelance hitman who was just attempting to turn his life around is forced to keep his heart pumping when his vengeful former employers inject him with a lethal poison that will permanently stop his ticker if his pulse sinks beneath an active rate in a non-stop urban action extravaganza starring Jason Statham and Amy Smart. Chev Chelios (Statham) was one of the most skilled assassins in the West Coast crime syndicate. When he hung up his guns in the middle of a job to run off with his new girlfriend Eve (Smart), however, the man who was once the hunter now becomes the hunted. Awakened from his slumber by a telephone call informing him of his precarious situation, Chelios soon discovers that the only way to save Eve from certain death at the hands of his nemesis is to stay two steps ahead of his killers, keep his heart-rate high enough to stay alive, and blast through the streets of Los Angeles in search of an antidote.

Crash (2005) 09/06/2005 2 hours 2 minutes Drama

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Esposito,

Full Synopsis Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family.

Crash of Flight 447: Nova 1 hr. documentary

Nova takes viewers directly to the disaster scene in Nova: The Mysterious Crash of Flight 201. Hours after the commercial airplane plummeted into the Panamanian jungle, cameras were brought in to record the wreckage. The resulting investigation spread over 12 months and came down to the malfunction of a wire. Nova delves deep into crash clues along with researchers to find a reason for such a mishap. Along the way, the process is disassembled and analyzed to insure this never happens again.

Crazy, Stupid, Love PG13 1 hr 57 min

Starring: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore

Synopsis:

Sad-sack divorcée Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) finds his second wind in life after meeting a handsome young ladies' man who teaches him how to become a master of the modern dating scene. A devoted family man who married his high school sweetheart, Cal had a great house and a stable job when his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), left him to be with another man. When Emily announces that she's filing for divorce, Cal finds himself awkwardly thrust into the dating scene and begins drinking his nights away at the local pub. Just when it's starting to look as if there's no hope for Cal, confirmed bachelor Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling) decides to add some much-needed excitement to the sulking, newly single father's life. Before long, Cal's rough edges have all been smoothed out; he's mastered the fine art of flirting and develops a distinct sense of style that sets him apart from the pack. But just as Cal starts to turn heads, his adolescent son, Robbie, develops a big crush on his teenage babysitter, Jessica. Unfortunately for Robbie, Jessica only has eyes for Cal. Meanwhile, Cal can't help but feel like something substantial is missing from his life, and decides that the only way to set things straight is by listening to his heart.

CSA: The Confederate States of America (2003) 1 hour 29 minutes 08/08/2006

Cast: Rupert Pate, Evamarii Johnson

Category: Comedy, Drama

Full Synopsis American history is turned on its head in this bitterly satirical mockumentary from writer and director Kevin Willmott. Taking the form of a BBC documentary about slavery in America, C.S.A. traces the history of the Confederate States of America, beginning in 1863 as the Southern States turned the tide in the War of Northern Aggression when, with the help of British and French troops, they won a decisive victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. Two years later, Ulysses S. Grant surrendered to Robert E. Lee as the Confederacy emerged victorious against the United States of America. As Abraham Lincoln and many other supporters of the Abolitionist cause fled to Canada, the Northern States were gradually absorbed into the Confederacy, and the right to own slaves became the uncontested law of the land. Over the course of the next 150 years, the Confederate States of America grew to become the most powerful nation on Earth, and persevered through wars in Spain and Latin America that expanded Confederate territories, and stood tall against Japan thanks to an alliance with German leader Adolf Hitler. In the present day, the Confederate States of America remain a power to be reckoned with, despite foreign pressures to eliminate the slavery programs that are the economic backbone of the country, a long simmering "cold war" with Canada, and the ongoing conflict against the Muslim Menace.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button PG13, 2 hrs 47 min

Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Jason Flemyng