The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)

The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American swashbuckler film directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. Filmed in Technicolor, the picture stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Rains.

Plot

When Richard the Lionheart, the King of England, is taken captive by Leopold of Austria while returning from the Crusades, his brother John (Claude Rains) takes power and proceeds to oppress the Saxon commoners. Prince John raises their taxes, supposedly to raise Richard's ransom, but in reality to secure his own position on the throne.

One man stands in his way, the Saxon Robin, Earl of Locksley (Errol Flynn). He acquires a loyal follower when he saves Much (Herbert Mundin) from being arrested by Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) for poaching one of the king's deer. Robin goes alone to see Prince John at Gisbourne's castle and announces to John's assembled supporters and a contemptuous Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) that he will do all in his power to oppose John and restore Richard to his rightful place. He then escapes, in spite of the efforts of John's men.

His lands and title now forfeit, Robin takes refuge in Sherwood Forest with his friend Will Scarlet (Patric Knowles). There they meet and recruit Little John (Alan Hale, Sr.). Other men join their growing band. Later, Robin provokes Friar Tuck (Eugene Pallette) into a swordfight, but then persuades the friar into joining him to provide spiritual guidance to the outlaws. Soon, Prince John and his Norman cronies find themselves harassed beyond all bearing with many of their troops receiving instant deadly retribution for their abuses courtesy of the Merry Men's arrows.

One day, Robin and his men capture a large party of Normans transporting taxes through Sherwood. Among Robin's "guests" are Gisbourne, the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Melville Cooper), and Maid Marian. Robin and his men "liberate" the tax money, swearing to a man to contribute it towards King Richard's ransom. At first, Marian is disdainful of Robin and his "band of cut-throats", but becomes convinced of his good intentions. Eventually Robin lets the humiliated Gisbourne and sheriff go, telling them that they have Marian to thank for their lives.

The Sheriff then comes up with a cunning scheme to capture Robin. He suggests to Prince John that he announce an archery tournament, with the grand prize a golden arrow to be presented by Maid Marian, knowing that Robin will be unable to resist the challenge. All goes as planned; Robin identifies himself by winning the competition and is taken prisoner. Gisbourne sentences him to be hanged. However, Marian warns Robin's men, and they manage to rescue him on his way to the gallows. Later, in the dark of night, Robin sneaks into the castle to thank her. Marian and Robin declare their love for each other.

Meanwhile, King Richard (Ian Hunter) returns to England disguised as a monk, but is recognized at an inn by the Bishop of the Black Canons (Montagu Love) after he overhears one of Richard's men call him "sire". The traitorous bishop hurries to inform Prince John. Upon receiving the news, John and Gisbourne plot to dispose of Richard quietly before he can raise an army. Dickon Malbete (Harry Cording), a disgraced former knight, is sent to assassinate him in return for the restoration of his rank and Robin's estate. Marian overhears them and writes a note warning Robin, but Gisbourne finds it and has her arrested and condemned to death for treason. Marian's nurse Bess (Una O'Connor) informs her boyfriend Much, who intercepts and kills Dickon after a desperate struggle.

Richard and his escort travel to Sherwood Forest to find Robin. When Richard is certain of Robin's loyalty, he reveals his identity. Then they learn that John intends to have himself crowned king by the Bishop of the Black Canons in Nottingham the next day.

Knowing that the castle is too strong to take by force, Robin decides to use guile, visiting the bishop and "persuading" him to include Robin and his men, in disguise, in his entourage. Through this ruse, they gain entry to the castle and interrupt John's coronation. A melee breaks out, during which Robin and Gisbourne engage in a prolonged swordfight. Gisbourne is finally slain, and Robin rescues Marian from her cell.

Richard is restored to the throne; he exiles his brother, pardons the outlaws, returns Robin's earldom and orders him to marry Lady Marian. Robin exclaims, "May I obey all your commands with equal pleasure, sire!"

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

For the stage musical of the same name, see Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical.The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stephan Elliott
Produced by Al Clark
Michael Hamlyn
Written by Stephan Elliott
Starring Terence Stamp
Hugo Weaving
Guy Pearce
Bill Hunter
Music by Guy Gross (score)
Various artists
Cinematography Brian J. Breheny
Editing by Sue Blainey
Studio Gramercy Pictures
Distributed by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Release date(s) August 10, 1994
Running time 103 minutes
Country Australia
Language English
Filipino
Budget $2,000,000
Gross revenue $11,220,670


The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film based around the journey of three drag queens travelling across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named "Priscilla". The film was written and directed by Stephan Elliott and starred Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp as the three drag queens, one of whom is a transsexual and the other two are homosexuals. Containing elements of comedy, the film's title is a pun on the fact that in English speaking cultures, a "queen" is a euphemism for a homosexual.[1]

The film received predominantly positive reviews and won an Oscar for Best Costume Design. It was also screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.[2] The film has provided the basis for a musical, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical, which opened in 2006 in Sydney, before subsequently also travelling to New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Plot

Anthony "Tick" Belrose, who uses the drag pseudonym of Mitzi Del Bra (Hugo Weaving), is a Sydney-based drag queen who accepts an offer to perform his drag act at a hotel resort in Alice Springs, a remote town in central Australia. After persuading his friends and fellow performers, Ralph Waite, who prefers to call herself Bernadette Bassenger (Terence Stamp), a recently bereaved transsexual woman, and Adam Whitely, who uses the drag pseudonym of Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Guy Pearce), an irritating, flamboyant and obnoxious drag queen, to join him, the three set out for Alice Springs in a large tour bus which Adam/Felicia christens "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert".

Whilst on the long journey through the Australian Outback, they meet a variety of characters, including a group of friendly Australian Aborigines whom they perform for, but also encounter the less accepting attitudes of rural Australia in such towns as Coober Pedy, and are subjected to homophobic abuse and even violence, including having their tour bus vandalised with the words "AIDS fuckers go home."

When the tour bus breaks down in the middle of the desert, this results in the trio meeting Bob (Bill Hunter), a middle-aged mechanic from a small outback town who joins them on their journey. Before they arrive at Alice Springs, Tick reveals that Marion (Sarah Chadwick), the woman who runs the resort where they will be performing, is actually his estranged wife and that they are in fact going there as a favor to her. Upon arrival, it is revealed that Tick and Marion also have an 8-year-old son, Benjamin, whom Tick has not seen for many years. It is also mentioned that Marion is a lesbian.

By the time their four-week stint at the resort is over, Tick and Adam head back to Sydney, taking Benjamin back with them so that Tick can get to know his son and Marion can have a long-earned break. However, Bernadette decides to remain at the resort for a while with Bob after the two of them become close.

Adventures of Don Juan

Adventures of Don Juan, known in the United Kingdom as The New Adventures of Don Juan, is a 1948 adventure Technicolor romance film made by Warner Bros. It was directed by Vincent Sherman and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by George Oppenheimer and Harry Kurnitz based on a story by Herbert Dalmas, with uncredited contributions by William Faulkner and Robert Florey.

The film stars Errol Flynn and Viveca Lindfors with Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Ann Rutherford and Robert Warwick. Also in the cast are Barbara Bates, Raymond Burr and Mary Stuart.

The music score was by Max Steiner, the cinematography by Elwood Bredell and the costume design by Leah Rhodes, Marjorie Best and Travilla.

PLOT

In the years before the Spanish Armada of the sixteenth Century, Spanish noble Don Juan de Maraña (Errol Flynn) is repatriated from London to Madrid after a serious diplomatic scandal caused by his affair with a British fiancée on the eve of her marriage to a Spanish noble. The Spanish ambassador in London, Count de Polan (Robert Warwick), sends a letter of recommendation to his friend, Queen Margaret (Viveca Lindfors) asking her to provide an opportunity at the court to rehabilitate Don Juan after the gossiping and rumors about his multiple illicit love affairs. He is thus hired as instructor in the art of fencing at the Spanish Academy.

He secretly falls in love with Queen Margaret but remains a loyal subject to her and her irresponsible and weak husband, King Phillip III (Romney Brent). Don Juan discovers the treacherous plan of the Machiavellian Duke de Lorca (Robert Douglas), who is plotting to depose the monarch, usurp power in Spain and declare war on England. With the support of his friends, Don Juan defends the Queen, the King and the loyal Count de Polan against Duke de Lorca and his henchmen.[1]

Adaptation (film)

Adaptation (rendered as Adaptation.) is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. The film is based on Susan Orlean's non-fiction book The Orchid Thief through self-referential events. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Charlie and Donald Kaufman, Meryl Streep as Susan, with Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film tells the story of Charlie Kaufman's difficult struggle to adapt The Orchid Thief into a film. In addition, Orlean romances with John Laroche while Charlie enlists the help of his twin brother Donald.

The film had been in development as far back as 1994. Jonathan Demme brought the project to Columbia Pictures with Kaufman writing the script. Kaufman went through writer's block and did not know what to think of The Orchid Thief. In turn Kaufman wrote a script about his experience adapting The Orchid Thief into a screenplay. Tom Hanks was at one point set for the role of Charlie Kaufman while John Turturro was approached to portray Laroche. Jonze signed to direct and filming finished in June 2001. Adaptation. received positive reviews and critical acclaim, as well as outstanding success at the 75th Academy Awards, 60th Golden Globe Awards and 56th British Academy Film Awards. It has since developed a strong cult following, which almost all of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman's works have developed.

Plot

In 1992, John Laroche and his wife run a successful Florida nursery, but tragedy strikes and Laroche's wife, mother and uncle are involved in a car accident. Laroche's mother and uncle are killed immediately, but his wife goes into a coma, divorcing Laroche and suing him once she regains consciousness. One month later, Laroche's home and everything he owns is destroyed by Hurricane Andrew. Meanwhile, local Seminoles hire Laroche due to his vast knowledge of flowers and orchid poaching. However, the Seminoles are using the extract of the Ghost Orchid as an illicit drug, and not for tribal ceremonials as Laroche thought.

Two years later, Laroche is caught at the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and the ensuing trial captures the attention of New Yorker journalist Susan Orlean. Laroche and Susan become great friends, with Susan writing The Orchid Thief. Laroche and Susan then become romantically involved, while Susan is still married, albeit unhappily, in New York. The Orchid Thief is then optioned by Columbia Pictures.

During the filming of Being John Malkovich, the self-loathing and agoraphobic Charlie Kaufman is hired to write the screenplay. At the same time Charlie is going through melancholic depression and his twin brother Donald moves into his house in Los Angeles, mooching off Charlie. Donald decides to become a screenwriter like Charlie, and visits the seminars of Robert McKee. Charlie wants to adapt the script into a faithful adaptation of The Orchid Thief, hoping to impress Susan. However, he realizes that there is no narrative involved and finds it impossible to turn the book into a film, going through a serious case of writer's block.

Meanwhile, Donald's spec script for a clichéd psychological thriller sells for over one million dollars, while Charlie accidentally starts writing his script with self-reference. Already well over his deadline with Columbia Pictures, Charlie visits Susan in New York for advice on the screenplay. In New York Charlie finds that he is not courageous enough to meet Susan, leaving without consulting with her. Charlie visits a McKee seminar in New York, gaining advice from McKee, and bringing Donald to assist with the story structure. Donald even agrees to go on an interview with Susan, posing as Charlie and remains wary of Susan's answers. With Donald convinced that Susan is lying, he and Charlie follow Susan to Florida where she meets Laroche. Charlie finds Susan and Laroche taking the Ghost Orchid drug and having sex.

This is followed by a sequence of events which include a car chase, Donald being shot and then killed in a car crash, Laroche being killed by an alligator and Susan being arrested by the police. His writer's block broken, Charlie finally summons up the courage to tell his former girlfriend, Amelia, that he is in love with her. He finishes his script, with Gérard Depardieu in mind to portray him in the film.

The Accused (1988 film)

The Accused is a 1988 Canadian drama film starring Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis, directed by Jonathan Kaplan and written by Tom Topor. Foster was awarded the 1988 Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for her performance.

Based on the real-life gang rape of Cheryl Araujo that occurred at Big Dan's Bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on March 6, 1983, this film was one of the first Hollywood films to deal with rape in a direct manner.

Plot

The story is about a working-class woman, Sarah Tobias (Foster), labeled as promiscuous. One night in a bar, she is gang raped by several drunk bar patrons, while drunken onlookers cheer them on. A district attorney, Kathryn Murphy (McGillis), is assigned to the rape case, but she is persuaded by her superiors to let the rapists plead guilty to reckless endangerment and get a sentence that allows parole in less than a year. Sarah is angered by the deal because she considers it a light punishment and because she did not get to tell her story in court.

When Sarah is hospitalized after ramming her car into a pickup truck, whose driver (one of the witnesses who had encouraged the rapists) crudely propositions her, Kathryn decides to prosecute the men who cheered the rape for criminal solicitation. Sarah's friend Sally, a waitress at the bar where the rape took place, picks three men out of a line-up, and they get three different attorneys for the ensuing trial. Sarah testifies that she was raped, while college student Kenneth Joyce, whose friend was one of the rapists, testifies to watching the rape prior to making a 911 call. After Kathryn's closing statement and a single summation from the three defense lawyers, the jury deliberates for a long time, asking several times for Ken's testimony to be reread to them. At the end, they find the three men guilty.

The Accountant (2001 film)

"The Accountant" is a 2001 short comedy film directed by Ray McKinnon. It won an Academy Award in 2002 for Best Short Subject.[1]

The film tells the story of an accountant whose mathematical skills just might save the O'Dell family farm. The accountant takes the O'Dell brothers on a journey that explores the plight of America’s family farms and hidden corporate conspiracies.

The film was released on video and DVD on November 3, 2009.[2]

The Accidental Tourist (film)

The Accidental Tourist is a 1988 American drama film. It was directed by Lawrence Kasdan and scored by John Williams. The film's screenplay was adapted by Kasdan and Frank Galati from the novel of the same name by Anne Tyler. One of the most acclaimed films of 1988, it was nominated for several awards including four Academy Awards. The cast includes William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis and Bill Pullman.

Plot

Macon Leary is a Baltimore, Maryland writer of travel guides for reluctant business travelers. After the killing of his 12 year old son, Ethan, during a shooting at a fast-food restaurant, he and his wife Sarah find their marriage disintegrating. Eventually she moves out of the house and into an apartment. When Macon becomes incapacitated due to a fall down his basement stairs, he returns to the family home to stay with his eccentric siblings—sister Rose and brothers Porter and Charles—whose odd habits include alphabetizing the groceries in the kitchen cabinets, ignoring the ringing telephone, and playing an invented card game called "Vaccination." Macon's publisher, Julian, comes to visit and finds himself attracted to Rose despite their obvious differences.

Macon hires Muriel Pritchett, a quirky young woman with a sickly son, to train his unruly dog Edward, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi, whom he cannot bear to give away because he once belonged to Ethan. Although Muriel at first seems brash and unsophisticated, Macon soon finds himself drifting into a relationship with her, spending most of his nights in her small, shabby apartment and even taking her son shopping for clothes. When Sarah becomes aware of the situation, she decides they should reconcile, even suggesting that they move back into their old home. Macon leaves Muriel and soon Sarah and he have set up house once more.

While visiting Paris for research on a travel guide, it turns out that Muriel is not only in the same flight, but is also staying in the same hotel—she had found the info in Macon's travel guide. She suggests that they enjoy themselves as if they are on a vacation, but Macon insists that he is there for strictly business. After Macon becomes bedridden in his hotel room with back pain, Sarah comes to Paris to care for him as well as make his trips in order to complete his travel research. Despite Sarah's renewed interest in their relationship, Macon decides to return to Muriel. During his cab ride to the airport, Macon spies Muriel attempting to hail a cab with numerous suitcases and shopping bags at her feet. He tells the cab driver to pull over, and Macon and Muriel smile at each other.

The Abyss

The Abyss is a 1989 American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn. The original musical score was composed by Alan Silvestri. It was released on August 9, 1989 in North America.

Underwater scenes were filmed in the containment building of Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, an unfinished nuclear power plant near Gaffney, South Carolina, in the United States. It took seven million gallons (26.5 million liters) of water to fill the tank to a depth of 40 feet (12 m), making it the largest underwater filming set ever constructed. The depth and length of time spent underwater meant that the cast and crew sometimes had to go through decompression. Filming was also done at the largest underground lake in the world — a mine in Bonne Terre, Missouri, which was the background for several underwater shots.

Plot

An American ballistic missile submarine, the USS Montana, sinks near the edge of the Cayman Trough after an accidental encounter with an unidentified submerged object. As Soviet ships and submarines head towards the area in an attempt to salvage the sub, and with a hurricane moving in, the Americans decide that the quickest way to mount a rescue is for a SEAL team to be inserted onto a privately owned experimental underwater oil platform, which they will then use as their base of operations. The designer of the platform, Dr. Lindsey Brigman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), insists on accompanying the SEAL team, even though her estranged husband, Virgil "Bud" Brigman (Ed Harris), is currently serving as the platform's foreman.

As the SEALS and the platform crew attempt to discover the cause of the Montana's failure, they spot strange creatures they can't identify, later discovering they have intelligence and calling them "NTI's"—"non-terrestrial intelligence." On orders from the SEAL leader Lt. Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn), the SEALs use one of the platform's mini-subs to retrieve a warhead from a Trident missile aboard the Montana. However, they do so at an inopportune time, as the hurricane strikes the surface and they are unable to detether themselves from the surface ship the Benthic Explorer. Tossed by the storm, the Explorer's crane and cable system snap off and fall into the water. The cable and crane barely miss the platform as they sink, but fall into the trench, its momentum briefly pulling the whole platform towards the trench - the rig catches on the very edge of the cliff, preventing a plummet into the depths. Several crew are lost because of flooding in the platform, while the surviving crew and SEALs tend to their injuries and attempt to restore the platform's critical power.

An NTI, in the form of a living column of water, explores the platform, and while the platform crew believe it to be harmless, Coffey sees it as a threat. The platform crew realize Coffey is suffering from High Pressure Nervous Syndrome, making him paranoid. Using one of the remote operated vehicles to spy on Coffey from outside the platform, they discover he is planning on sending the warhead down into the chasm to destroy whatever may be down there. Bud attempts to subdue Coffey before he can leave the platform in one of the mini-subs, but is unable to do so. Coffey is chased by Bud and Lindsey in the station's other sub; they manage to damage Coffey's sub, causing it to fall into the trench, where Coffey's sub is eventually crushed by the pressure. However, Bud and Lindsey are too late to stop the remote vehicle and the attached warhead, on a pre-programmed course, from dropping into the trench. Furthermore, their own sub's hull has been ruptured, flooding the sub. Lindsey forces Bud to wear the only diving suit in the sub, while she hopes that her mammalian diving reflex will preserve her in the cold water while Bud tows her back to the platform. Bud and the crew are able to resuscitate Lindsey, and the two reaffirm their lost love.

As Lindsey recovers, the crew tracks the warhead, finding the remote vehicle has failed from the pressure and stopped on a ledge partway down the trench. The SEALs have brought with them special diving equipment utilizing a liquid breathing apparatus that would allow for a human to dive that far. Bud volunteers; he will not be able to talk and is instead forced to communicate through a keypad on his suit. Bud begins his dive into the trench, reaching the ledge where the warhead sits, and is guided by the SEALs in disarming it. However, the dive has taken too long for Bud to return back to the top of the trench before the oxygen in the liquid runs out. Bud, aware this could happen, and despite Lindsey's pleas to return, decides to remain on the ledge, typing his love to Lindsey in a final message.

As Bud watches, bright lights appear below him, and he encounters more NTIs, who direct him even further down to their massive craft sitting deep in the trench. The NTIs provide Bud with an atmosphere for him to breathe. They then show him, through a view screen, several videos taken from television news of humanity's destructive behavior; Bud attempts to atone for humanity's mistakes. They follow this by showing Bud's last messages of self-sacrifice and devotion to his wife that he typed out.

On the platform, believing Bud to be dead, Lindsey and the crew are surprised to find Bud replying back to them, telling them to get ready. The crew observe something very large quickly rising out of the trench, and see the lights from the NTI ship as it rises. The enormous ship eventually surfaces, lifting many of the naval ships out of the water and leaving them aground on the NTI ship's hull, as well as the platform itself. The platform crew and remaining SEALS, leaving the platform onto the surface of the ship, are surprised to find they are fine and not suffering from decompression sickness after rising so fast out of the water, believing it to be an effect by the NTIs. Bud emerges from the NTI ship, and he and Lindsey rush to meet each other, engaging in a passionate kiss.
[edit]
Special Edition

The special edition includes more of the conflict between the United States and Soviet forces over the crash of the Montana, each side initially blaming the other for it. When Bud arrives on the NTI ship and is shown the images of humanity's destructive behavior, the NTIs create enormous megatsunami-level waves that threaten every coastline, but then stall them moments before they would come crashing down. After showing Bud his messages of self-sacrifice and caring and believing humanity to be capable of the same, the NTIs cause the standing waves to dissipate harmlessly, after which they start to bring their ship to the surface.

Despite the fact that James Cameron had final cut on the original theatrical version and most all cuts were decided by him, the extended version is often mislabeled as a "director's cut".

8 Mile (film)

8 Mile is a 2002 American hip-hop drama film, directed by Curtis Hanson and starring Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, and Mekhi Phifer.

The film is an account of a young rapper, thought to portray Eminem, growing up in poverty-stricken Detroit. Although the movie stars Eminem he says the movie is not a full portrayal of his early life and start of his rap career. As such, the film is set in the underground Detroit hip-hop scene in 1995. The film depicts white rapper Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (based upon a younger Eminem) as he struggles for respect among his peers, mostly African-American (the "coloreds").

The film was a financial success, was well received critically, and won an Academy Award for the Best Original Song for Eminem's "Lose Yourself", becoming the first film with a rap/hip-hop song to win an Academy Award.[1]

Plot

The film starts out with Jimmy Smith (Eminem), a young and unhappy blue collar worker, struggling with different aspects of his life. He has moved back north of 8 Mile to the rundown trailer home in Warren of his alcoholic mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield), and Stephanie's abusive live-in boyfriend Greg (Michael Shannon). Jimmy is focused on getting his music career started, but he seems unable to catch a break. Just prior to the events of the film, he ends a relationship with his recently-impregnated babysitter, Janeane (Taryn Manning), and during the film, begins a new relationship with Alex (Brittany Murphy), whom he meets at the factory when she shows up one day looking for her brother.

Jimmy comes to realize that his life has remained largely the same since he graduated high school. At first, he considers himself a victim of his circumstances and blames others for his problems. Over time, though, Jimmy begins to take responsibility for the direction of his life and realizes that he has a large degree of control over how it will go. He begins to question whether his group of friends, including Future (Mekhi Phifer), are holding themselves back from moving on to bigger things. With his onstage choke still fresh in his mind, he appears to decide that he will give up on or postpone his dream of a music career in favor of devoting more time to his day job and building a home life.

Jimmy's new-found responsibility becomes evident to his supervisor at the factory as well. At the beginning of the film, when Jimmy requests extra shifts, his supervisor laughs at him (because of his tendency to be late to work), but by the end, Jimmy's improved attitude and performance earn him the extra work he had originally asked for. However, a late night shift conflicts with the next battle tournament. Jimmy initially doesn't want to go, but a visit from Alex changes his mind. Paul, a homosexual co-worker whom Jimmy stood up for earlier in the film, agrees to cover for him.

The battle acts as kind of a "final conflict" with a rap group called "Leaders of the Free World", who have harassed Jimmy throughout the film. This begins with the deterioration of Jimmy's friendship with Wink. The latter continually pesters Jimmy everyday with promises that he can help him "get big"- that he knows people with influence, and that Wink can hook Jimmy up with the support he needs. However, he is betrayed when Jimmy shows up at the studio and finds Wink having sex with Alex. A fight ensues, in which Wink is badly beaten. In revenge, he shows up with Papa Doc and the other members of "Free World" to attack Jimmy outside his home in the trailer park in front of Lily, with the mob badly assaulting him, and leaving him with a black eye that's present at the final battle.

Jimmy's friends hail him throughout the film as an incredible rapper, but until this point the film only shows snippets of his skills. The tournament has three rounds, and in each of them Jimmy faces a member of the "Leaders of the Free World". Jimmy wins both of the first two rounds with progressively more impressive freestyle raps. In the last round, he is paired against Papa Doc, the tournament's most feared battler and Jimmy's main antagonist throughout the storyline. Jimmy is aware that Doc knows all his weak points, so he decides to address them preemptively with his freestyle. Jimmy acknowledges without shame his white trash roots and the various humiliations the Free World clique have inflicted on him, and then uses the difficult life he's had as a springboard to reveal the truth about Papa Doc: despite passing himself off as a thug, he has a privileged background. Doc, whose real name is Clarence, attended Cranbrook, a private school located in upper class Bloomfield Hills, and lived all his life in a stable two-parent household.

Jimmy makes a reference to "Shook Ones Pt. II", the beat that the DJ is spinning, by calling Papa Doc a "halfway crook", which sends the crowd into a frenzy. Doc is left with nothing to say in rebuttal and drops the mic. As Jimmy leaves the venue, Future suggests that he stay and celebrate his victory while also offering a position that would allow him to host battles at The Shelter. Jimmy refuses, claiming he has to get back to work and do everything his own way, to which Future agrees. The final shot displays Jimmy walking away from the shelter, more confident of the future ahead of him.

Cast

Eminem as Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith, Jr.
Kim Basinger as Stephanie Smith
Brittany Murphy as Alexandra "Alex" Latourno
Mekhi Phifer as David "Future" Porter
Chloe Greenfield as Lily Smith
De'Angelo Wilson as DJ Iz
Evan Jones as Cheddar Bob
Omar Benson Miller as Sol George Eugene Byrd as Wink
Anthony Mackie as Papa Doc
Xzibit as Male Lunch Truck Rapper (Mike)
Proof as Lil Tic
Michael Shannon as Greg Buehl
Taryn Manning as Janeane
Brandon T. Jackson as Chin Tiki Club Goer
King Gordy as Big O

Seventh Heaven (1927 film)

Seventh Heaven (1927) is a silent film and one of the first films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (then called "Best Picture, Production"). The film was written by H.H. Caldwell (titles), Benjamin Glazer, Katherine Hilliker (titles) and Austin Strong (play), and directed by Frank Borzage.

The movie is a romance starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell. Gaynor won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Borzage won for Best Director and Glazer won for Best Writing, Adaptation.

Seventh Heaven is the 13th highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $2.5 million at the box office in 1927.

In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Theme tune

Seventh Heaven features the song "Diane" by Erno Rapee and Lew Pollack, who wrote the song specifically for the film.
[edit]
1937 remake
Main article: Seventh Heaven (1937 film)

A comparatively unknown remake of Seventh Heaven was produced as a sound film in 1937, starring Simone Simon, James Stewart, Jean Hersholt, and Gregory Ratoff, with Henry King directing.

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey (often referred to as simply 2001) is a 1968 epic science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke. The film deals with thematic elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life, and is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, ambiguous imagery that is open-ended to a point approaching surrealism, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

The film has a memorable soundtrack—the result of the association that Kubrick made between the rotary motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes, which led him to use the The Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II,[1] and the famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, to portray the philosophical evolution of Man theorized in Nietzsche's homonymous work.[2][3]

Despite initially receiving mixed reviews, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today recognized by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films ever made; the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time.[4] It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for visual effects. In 1991, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Title

The first title imagined by Kubrick and Clarke was Journey Beyond the Stars, but Kubrick modified it later.[5] Having the intention to give the film more pomp and grandeur, he used Homer's The Odyssey as inspiration to name the film.[5]
[edit]
Style
See also: Differences between the film and the novel

Clarke and Kubrick wrote the novel and screenplay simultaneously, but while Clarke ultimately opted for clearer explanations of the mysterious monolith and the Star Gate, Kubrick chose to keep the film mysterious and enigmatic[3] with minimal dialogue in order to convey what many viewers have described as a powerful sense of the sublime and numinous, without specific explanations of events. For this reason, an encyclopedic plot summary of this film is difficult.
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Plot

DVDs of this film restore the blank screen musical prelude that appeared in the original road-show release though this was not seen in the wider theatrical release of the film or early VHS releases. The viewer sees a blank screen while the theme music "Atmospheres" plays (the same music played during the final StarGate sequence). After about three minutes the music dies out and the MGM logo appears.[6] The title sequence then begins with an image of the Earth rising over the Moon, while the Sun rises over the Earth, all in alignment. (This is the first of three occurrences in the film of the iconic "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" theme. See music section for further discussion of the use of music in the film.)

The film consists of four major sections, all of which except the second are introduced by title cards.
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The Dawn of Man

A tribe of herbivorous apes is foraging for food in the African desert. A leopard kills one member, and another tribe drives them from their water hole. Defeated, they sleep overnight in a small exposed rock crater. They awake to find that a black monolith has appeared in front of their shelter. They approach it shrieking and jumping, and eventually cautiously touch it. Soon after that, one of the apes (Daniel Richter) realizes how to use a bone as both a tool and as a weapon. The apes have now learned how to take down prey, and are seen eating meat in a subsequent scene. The next morning, they wrest control of the water hole from the other tribe, killing its leader in the process. Triumphant, the ape leader throws his bone into the air, which switches via match cut from a close-up of the bone to a long shot of an orbital nuclear weapon[7] millions of years in the future.
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TMA-1

A Pan Am space plane flies Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (William Sylvester) to Space Station V for a layover on his trip to Clavius Base, a US outpost on the moon. From the station Floyd makes a videophone call to his daughter (Vivian Kubrick) to wish her a happy birthday. He meets a Soviet scientist friend and her colleagues. One of the scientists, Smyslov (Leonard Rossiter), asks him about Clavius, but Floyd declines to answer any more questions when he mentions the rumor that an epidemic has broken out at the base, implying that the rumor is true.

At Clavius Floyd heads a debriefing session, apologizing for the epidemic cover story. His mission is to investigate an artifact dug up on the moon, initially detected by its magnetic field and named "TMA-1" ("Tycho Magnetic Anomaly One"). Geological evidence shows it was "deliberately buried" four million years ago. Floyd and others ride in a Moonbus to the site. In a large pit dug around it, the artifact is a monolith identical to the one encountered by the apes. The visitors examine the monolith and pose for a photo in front of it. As they do, the sun rises over the top of the monolith; the sunlight triggers an ear-splitting tone over radio.
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Jupiter Mission

18 months later, on board the American spaceship Discovery One bound for Jupiter are two mission pilots—astronauts Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Francis "Frank" Poole (Gary Lockwood)—and three scientists in cryogenic hibernation. Three weeks after leaving Earth, Bowman and Poole watch a BBC television story about the mission which discusses the ship’s on-board computer HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), or "Hal", who runs most of the ship’s operations. BBC newsreader Kenneth Kendall notes that Hal seems to take pride in his work, as if he has genuine emotions.

Hal asks Bowman about the unusual mystery and secrecy surrounding the mission. The computer then interrupts himself to state that the AE-35 unit, which controls the antenna that provides communications with Earth, is going to fail within 72 hours. Bowman takes an EVA pod to replace the unit with a spare. The astronauts examine the unit but are unable to find anything wrong with it. They contact Earth-based ground control, and are told that the earth-based HAL 9000 states the ship's HAL is in error predicting the fault. This is surprising, since the 9000 series has a perfect operational record.

Hal insists the problem is due to "human error", and suggests placing the unit back and waiting for it to fail. On a pretext, Bowman and Poole enter one of the EVA pods to talk without the computer overhearing them. They decide to follow Hal's suggestion and replace the unit, but Poole says that if the computer is proven to be wrong, he will have to be deactivated. The astronauts do not know that Hal is able to read their lips through the window of the pod.

Poole attempts to replace the AE-35 unit. His EVA pod, controlled by Hal, turns and accelerates towards him, severing his oxygen hose and setting him adrift. Bowman, not realizing the computer is responsible for the incident, takes another pod to attempt a rescue without a full spacesuit. While he is gone, Hal terminates the life functions of the crew in suspended animation. When Bowman returns to the ship Hal refuses to let him in, stating that the astronaut's plan to disconnect him jeopardizes the mission. Risking death from anoxia Bowman enters the ship manually and goes to Hal's memory core to disconnect the computer. Hal tries to reassure Bowman that everything will be all right, but he ignores him.

As Bowman disconnects each crystal neural network module from Hal’s circuitry, the computer continues to protest. Hal regresses to his earliest memories, singing the song ("Daisy Bell") his instructor taught him on his first operational day with increasing slowness.

When the computer is disconnected, a monitor displays a pre-recorded message from Floyd:
Good day, gentlemen. This is a prerecorded briefing, made prior to your departure and which, for security reasons of the highest importance, has been known on board during the mission only by your H-A-L 9000 computer. Now that you are in Jupiter's space, and the entire crew is revived, it can be told to you. 18 months ago, the first evidence of intelligent life off the Earth was discovered. It was buried 40 feet below the lunar surface, near the crater Tycho. Except for a single, very powerful radio emission aimed at Jupiter, the four million-year old black monolith has remained completely inert, its origin and purpose still a total mystery.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Peter Lorre as Conseil. It is the first science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, as well as the only science-fiction film produced by Walt Disney himself. It is also the first feature length Disney film to be distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. The film has become the most well-known adaptation of the book of the same name by Jules Verne.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was filmed at various locations in Bahamas and Jamaica, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the Xtabi hotel on the cliffs of Negril. Some of the location filming sequences were so complex, that they required a technical crew of over 400 people. It presented many challenges and cost-overruns during production.[1]

In the year 1866, rumors of a sea monster attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean have created apprehension and fear among sailors, disrupting the shipping lanes. Prof. Pierre M. Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil, are on their way to Saigon but get stuck in San Francisco by the halting of ships. The U.S. government invites Aronnax onto an expedition to either prove or disprove the monster's existence. One of their fellow crew is the cocky master harpooner Ned Land.

After months of searching, the monster strikes, ramming the naval frigate. Ned and Aronnax are thrown overboard, and Conseil goes in after Aronnax. They watch in horror as their ship, badly disabled, is unable to rescue them. The three drift into a strange-looking metal vessel, and realize the "monster" is a man-made "submerging boat", that seems to have been deserted. Inside, Aronnax wanders down into the Salon, where he finds a massive viewing window and sees an underwater funeral taking place.

When the submarine crew returns to their ship, they capture the three castaways. The captain introduces himself as Nemo, master of the Nautilus. He returns Ned and Conseil to the deck, while Aronnax, whom he recognizes for his work and research, is allowed to stay. He tempts Aronnax to remain with him, but Aronnax prefers to share his companions' fate. Nemo prepares to submerge Nautilus with the three stowaways on the deck, but at the last moment changes his mind and allows them to stay. After dinner that night, Nemo takes them all on an underwater expedition to gather supplies, but Ned tries to salvage a treasure chest from a sunken wreck, almost getting attacked by a shark.

Later on, Nemo takes Aronnax to the penal colony island of Rura Penthe. Nemo reveals he was once a prisoner there himself, as were many of the crew of the Nautilus. A munitions ship embarks at sunset, whereupon the Nautilus rams it, destroying its munitions cargo and killing the entire crew. When confronted by Aronnax, Nemo claims that his actions have just saved thousands from death in war; he also discloses that this "hated nation" had killed his wife and son in an attempt to force him to reveal his atomic secrets. Meanwhile, Ned discovers the coordinates of Nemo's secret island base, Vulcania, and releases messages in bottles, hoping somebody will find them and free him from captivity.

Off the coast of New Guinea, the Nautilus gets stranded on a reef. Ned is surprised when Nemo freely allows him to go ashore with Conseil, ostensibly to collect specimens. Ned goes off alone inland to explore avenues of escape, until he sees a bunch of human skulls, and a cannibal in a tree. Realizing his danger, Ned runs for his life and rejoins Conseil as they are chased back to the Nautilus. Despite remaining aground, Nemo is unconcerned and the cannibals are repelled from the ship by electrical charges circulated on its hull. Captain Nemo is furious at Ned for not following his orders, and confines him to the submarine's brig as punishment.

A warship approaches, firing and striking the submarine just as it breaks free of the reef. It descends into the depths, where it attracts the attentions of a giant squid. The electric charge fails to repel the monster, so Nemo and his men are forced to surface in order to fight and dislodge the beast. During the battle, Nemo is caught in one of the squid's tentacles; Ned, having escaped from captivity in the struggle, jumps to Nemo's rescue and saves his captor's life. As a result, Nemo has a change of heart; he claims now to want to make peace with the outer world, by sharing his secrets of the sea. However, this is to be short-lived.

As the Nautilus nears Vulcania, Nemo finds the island surrounded by warships, whose marines are converging on his hideout. He goes ashore, setting a time bomb to destroy his discoveries, but when returning to the Nautilus, he is struck in the back by enemy fire and mortally wounded. After navigating the submarine away from Vulcania, Nemo announces he is "taking the Nautilus down for the last time." Loyal to Nemo to the very end, his entire crew declare that they will accompany their captain in death.

Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned are taken forcibly to their cabins. Ned fights back, escapes to the now deserted bridge, and manages to surface the Nautilus, hitting a reef in the process and causing the ship to begin flooding rapidly. In his final moments, Nemo staggers to a viewing window, collapses, and looks at his beloved ocean one last time as he dies.

Aronnax tries to go back and retrieve his journal, which contains an account of the voyage, but the urgency of their escape obliges Ned to knock him unconscious and carry him out. The companions witness Vulcania destroyed in an explosion. The shock from the explosion causes the Nautilus to sink even more quickly, and as it disappears beneath the waves forever, Nemo's last words to Aronnax echo: "There is hope for the future. And when the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass. In God's good time." Aronnax's diary of the voyage is also lost forever, and when Ned apologizes for having hit him, the Professor replies "Perhaps you did mankind a service, Ned".

Academy Awards ceremony

LOS ANGELES (GaeaTimes.com)- The Oscar winners 2010 were all awarded in the Kodak Theatre at the 82nd Academy Awards ceremony. For some it was their first Oscar and for some, a winning glory after a series of nominations which had left them empty handed. The first timers at Oscars included Kathryn Bigelow is the name followed by Jeff Bridges , T BoneBurneet and Ryan Bingham. Kathryn Bigelow won it for “The Hurt Locker” which also won the Best Motion Picture award. Jeff Bridges , T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham won it for ‘Crazy Heart’. ‘The Hurt Locker’ was all over the Oscars with their win over six categories namely Best Film, Best Director along with Best Original Screenplay by Mark Boal and the in Film Editing and Sound Mixing and Editing.



The much talked about ‘Avatar’ had its win in two of the award categories at Oscars, namely the “Best Visual Effects” and the “Best Cinematography”. Disney’s ‘Up’ was selected to be the winner among all animated movies. Following ‘Up’ was ‘Loghoroma,’ which was awarded to be the best animated short film. The best award in the make up category went to Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow for “Star Trek”. ‘The New Tenants’ by Joachim Back was chosen to be the best short film.

Sandra Bullock picked her Oscar in the Best Actress category for her performance in the movie ‘The Blind Side’. Christoph Waltz won for ‘Inglorious Bastards,’ beating biggies like Matt Damon and Woody Harrelson. Mo’Nique received her award in the Best Suppoting Actress category for ‘Precious’.