Movie Reviews

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The 6th Day

The 6th Day [2000]

 
The 6th Day is a 2000 science fiction action film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as family man Adam Gibson, who is cloned against his will in the future of 2015. Schwarzenegger received a salary of $25 million for his role in the film.
 
Opening:
In 2015, cloning technology has been sufficiently developed as to allow the cloning of human organs and animals, but reproducing a complete human is explicitly forbidden by the "6th Day" laws, named for the day when God created man. Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger) is a pilot who runs a charter helicopter business along with his friend Hank Morgan (Michael Rapaport). Michael Drucker (Tony Goldwyn), the owner of Replacement Technologies, a conglomerate that specialize in cloning, charters them for a skiing trip. Due to Drucker's financial and political influence, both Gibson and Morgan undergo blood and eye tests prior to his arrival to verify their identities and aptitude.
 
On the day of Drucker's arrival, the same as Gibson's birthday, Gibson finds that his family dog Oliver (which belongs to his daughter Clara (Taylor Anne Reid) has died, and Morgan offers to take his place as Drucker's pilot to allow Gibson to get his pet cloned. Gibson disagrees to planning on getting the dog cloned but takes a look in Re-Pet anyway and after learning about cloned pets, he decides to have a think about getting Oliver cloned later and gets a Sim-Pal for Clara as a gift for her on his birthday......
 
Box Office & Reception:
 
The film opened at #3 at the North American box office, making 13 million USD in its opening weekend. It made $96 million worldwide against its $82 million budget. The film received mixed reviews. The film-critics aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes listed a 40% positive rating. The 6th Day earned three Razzie Award nominations for Schwarzenegger: Worst Actor (as the real Adam), Worst Supporting Actor (as the clone of Adam) and Worst Screen Couple (Schwarzenegger as Adam and Schwarzenegger as the clone).
 
 
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writer: Cormac Wibberley; Marianne Wibberley
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Michael Rapaport; Tony Goldwyn; Michael Rooker; Sarah Wynter; Robert Duvall

12 Monkeys

Twelve Monkeys [1995]

 
12 Monkeys is a 1995 science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film La jetée, and starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe,Brad Pitt, and Christopher Plummer.
 
After Universal Studios acquired the rights to remake La Jetée as a full-length film, David and Janet Peoples were hired to write the script. Under Terry Gilliam's direction, Universal granted the filmmakers a $29.5 million budget, and filming lasted from February to May 1995. The film was shot mostly in Philadelphia andBaltimore, where the story was set.
The film was released to critical praise and grossed approximately $168.4 million worldwide. Brad Pitt was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and won a Golden Globe for his performance. The film also won and was nominated for various categories at the Saturn Awards.
 
Opening:
James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a convicted criminal living in a grim post-apocalyptic future. In 1996–1997, the Earth's surface was contaminated by a virus so deadly that it forced the surviving population to live underground. To earn a pardon, Cole allows scientists to send him on dangerous missions to the past to collect information on the virus, thought to be released by a terrorist organization known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys. If possible, he is to obtain a pure sample of the original virus so a cure can be made. Throughout the film, Cole is troubled with recurring dreams involving a chase and a shooting in an airport.
On Cole's first trip, he arrives in Baltimore in 1990, not 1996 as planned. He is arrested and hospitalized in a mental institution on the diagnosis of Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe).
 
There, he encounters Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), a fellow mental patient with animal rights and anti-consumerist leanings whose father is a renowned virologist. Cole tries unsuccessfully to leave a voicemail on a number monitored by the scientists in the future. After a failed escape attempt, Cole is restrained and locked in a cell, but then disappears, returning to the future. Back in his own time, Cole is interviewed by the scientists, who play a distorted voice mail message which gives the location of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys and states that they are responsible for the virus. He is also shown photos of numerous people, including Goines. The scientists then send him back to 1996.....
 
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writer: David Peoples; Janet Peoples
Stars: Bruce Willis; Madeleine Stowe; Brad Pitt; Christopher Plummer

2001 : A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey [1968]

 
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It was co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel". The story deals with a series of encounters between humans and mysterious black monoliths that are apparently affecting human evolution, and a space voyage to Jupiter tracing a signal emitted by one such monolith found on the moon. Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood star as the two astronauts on this voyage, with Douglas Rain as the voice of the sentient computer HAL 9000 who has full control over their spaceship. The film is frequently described as an "epic film", both for its length and scope, and for its affinity with classical epics.
 
Financed and produced by the American studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film was made almost entirely in England, using both the studio facilities of MGM's subsidiary "MGM British" (among the last movies to be shot there before its closure in 1970) and those of Shepperton Studios, mostly because of the availability of much larger sound stages than in the United States. The film was also co-produced by Kubrick's own "Stanley Kubrick Productions". Kubrick, having already shot his previous two films in England, decided to settle there permanently during the filming of Space Odyssey. Though Space Odyssey was released in America several months before its release in England, and Encyclopædia Britannica calls this an American film, other sources refer to it as an American, British, or American-British production.
 
Thematically, the film deals with elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life. It is notable for its scientific accuracy, 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 spinning motion of the satellites and the dancers of waltzes, which led him to use The Blue Danube waltz by Johann Strauss II, and the famous symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, to portray the philosophical evolution of Man theorized in Nietzsche's work of the same name.
 
Despite initially receiving mixed reactions from critics and audiences alike, 2001: A Space Odyssey garnered a cult following and slowly became a box office hit. Some years after its release, it eventually became the highest grossing picture from 1968 in North America. Today it is recognized by many critics, filmmakers, and audiences as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. The 2002 Sight & Sound poll of critics ranked it among the top ten films of all time, and in 2010, it was named the No. 1 greatest film ever made by The Moving Arts Film Journal. 
 
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 theNational Film Registry. In 1984, a sequel directed by Peter Hyams was produced entitled 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
 
At first, Kubrick and Clarke privately referred to their project as How the Solar System Was Won as an homage to MGM's 1962 Cinerama epic, How the West Was Won. However, Kubrick chose to announce the project, in a press release issued on February 23, 1965, as Journey Beyond The Stars. "Other titles which we ran up and failed to salute were Universe, Tunnel to the Stars, and Planetfall", Clarke wrote in his book The Lost Worlds of 2001."
 
It was not until eleven months after we started—April 1965—that Stanley selected 2001: A Space Odyssey. As far as I can recall, it was entirely his idea." Intending to set the film apart from the standard "monsters and sex" type of science-fiction movies of the time, Kubrick used Homer's The Odyssey as inspiration for the title. "It occurred to us", he said, "that for the Greeks the vast stretches of the sea must have had the same sort of mystery and remoteness that space has for our generation"
 
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick; Arthur C. Clarke
Cast : Keir Dullea; Gary Lockwood; William Sylvester

2010 The Year We Make Contact

2010: The Year We Make Contact [1984]

 
2010 (also known as 2010: The Year We Make Contact) is a 1984 American science fiction film written and directed by Peter Hyams. It is a sequel to the 1968 film2001: A Space Odyssey, and is based on Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2010: Odyssey Two, a literary sequel to the film.
 
Opening:
Nine years ago, the American Discovery One's mission to Jupiter mysteriously failed. As depicted in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Discovery's HAL 9000 computer—or "Hal" (Douglas Rain)—malfunctioned, killing four astronauts. The fifth, David Bowman, disappeared into a large, alien Monolith orbiting the planet. Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider), head of the National Council on Astronautics, received the blame for the failure and left NCA.
 
Although tension is growing between the United States and the Soviet Union, both nations prepare space missions to determine what happened to Discovery. Although the Soviet Alexei Leonov will be ready before the American spaceship, the Soviets need American astronauts to help investigate Hal's malfunction and to board an American spacecraft. The US government agrees to a joint mission since Discovery will crash into Jovian moon Io before its ship is ready. Floyd, Discovery designer Walter Curnow (John Lithgow), and HAL 9000's creator Chandra (Bob Balaban) join the Russian mission.....
 
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2012

2012 [2009]

 
2012 is a 2009 American science fiction disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton,Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Filming began in August 2008 in Vancouver. Although it received generally mixed reviews, its worldwide theatrical revenue reached about $770 million.
 
The film includes references to Mayanism, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events unfolding in 2012.
Emmerich has announced that 2012 will be his last film involving disasters.
 
Opening:
In 2009, Adrian Helmsley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an American geologist, visits astrophysicist Dr. Satnam Tsurutani (Jimi Mistry) in India and learns that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase. Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt) and United States President Thomas Wilson (Danny Glover) that this will trigger a catastrophic chain of natural disasters.
 
In 2010, Wilson, along with other international leaders, begins a secret project intended to ensure humanity's survival. Approximately 400,000 people are chosen to board ships called "arks" that are constructed at Cho Ming, Tibet, in the Himalayas. Additional funding for the project is raised by selling tickets to the private sector for€1 billion per person. By 2011, humanity's valuable treasures are moved to the Himalayas under the guise of protecting them from terrorist attacks with the help of art expert/First Daughter Dr. Laura Wilson (Thandie Newton) when she meets with the Louvre director Roland Picard (Patrick Bauchau).
 
In 2012, Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) is a science fiction writer in Los Angeles who works part-time as a limousine driver for billionaire Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Burić). Jackson's ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and their children Noah (Liam James) and Lilly (Morgan Lily) live with Kate's boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon Silberman.....
 
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The Adjustment Bureau [2011]

 
The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American romantic science fiction thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team". The film was written and directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The cast also includes Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, and Terence Stamp.
 
Plot:
 
In 2006, Brooklyn Congressman David Norris unsuccessfully runs for the United States Senate. While rehearsing his concession speech, David meets Elise Sellas. Inspired by her, David delivers an unusually candid speech that is well-received, making him a favorite for the 2010 Senate race.
 
A month later, David prepares for a new job. At Madison Square Park, near David's home, Harry Mitchell receives an assignment from Richardson, his boss: ensure David spills coffee on his shirt by 7:05 AM so he misses his bus. Mitchell falls asleep and misses David, who encounters Elise on the bus and gets her phone number. David arrives at work to find his friend Charlie Traynor frozen in time and being examined by unfamiliar men in suits. David attempts to escape, but is incapacitated and taken to a warehouse. Richardson explains he and his men are from the Adjustment Bureau. They ensure people's lives proceed as determined by "the plan", a complex document Richardson attributes to "the Chairman".
 
The Bureau confiscates and destroys the note that contains Elise's phone number, and David is warned that if he ever reveals the existence of the Bureau to anyone else, he will be "reset"—akin to being lobotomized—and that he is not meant to meet Elise again.
Later, after boarding a bus, David encounters Elise; he tells her he had spent three years riding that bus to work, hoping to see her again. He learns that she dances for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. The Bureau tries to stop him from renewing their relationship by altering their schedules. David races across town, fighting the Bureau's abilities to "control his choices" to ensure he will meet Elise. During the chase the Bureau uses ordinary doorways to travel instantly to locations many blocks away. Senior official Thompson takes over David's adjustment and takes him to the warehouse, where David argues he has the right to choose his own path.
 
Thompson says humanity received free will after the height of the Roman Empire, but then brought the Dark Ages upon itself. The Bureau took control again and created the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, but when free will returned in 1910 it resulted in the world wars and the Cold War, again forcing the Bureau to retake control and eliminate free will. Thompson implies that without Elise's influence David might become President of the United States and benefit the world, and warns that if he stays with her, he will ruin both of their futures. Thompson causes Elise to sprain her ankle at a performance to demonstrate his power, and David abandons her at the hospital to save them from the fate Thompson described.
 
Eleven months later, Charlie tells David of Elise's imminent wedding as he campaigns again. Harry contacts David via secret meetings in the rain or near water, which prevents the Bureau from tracking them. Harry reveals that Thompson exaggerated the negative consequences of David and Elise's relationship, and teaches David how to use doors to teleport, and evade the Bureau's adjustments. Just before the wedding David reaches Elise, reveals the Bureau's existence to her, and shows her how he travels through doors. The Bureau pursues them across New York City. David decides to find the Chairman to end the chase; Elise wavers briefly, but accompanies David. They enter the Bureau's offices and evade its forces.
 
David and Elise find themselves trapped and surrounded on the observation deck of the GE Building. They mutually declare their love and kiss before David can be reset. When they let go of each other, the Bureau members have gone. Thompson appears but is interrupted by Harry, who shows him a revised plan from the Chairman: one that is blank starting with the current moment. After commending them for their devotion to each other, Harry tells the couple they are free to leave. The film concludes with David and Elise walking through the streets, as Harry speculates that the Chairman's plan may be to prepare humanity so it can write its own plans.
 
Reception & Box-office:
 
Critics generally gave the film positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 72% based on 237 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, describing it as "a smart and good movie that could have been a great one, if it had been a little more daring. I suspect the filmmakers were reluctant to follow its implications too far." The New York Times called the film "a fast, sure film about finding and keeping love across time and space . . . [that] has brightened the season with a witty mix of science-fiction metaphysics and old-fashioned romance."
 
In its opening weekend in the United States (March 4–6, 2011), The Adjustment Bureau grossed $21,157,730, which was the second most of any film that weekend, behind Rango. Its total worldwide gross is $127,869,379 as of December 18, 2011.
 
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Aeon Flux [2005]

 
Æon Flux is a 2005 science fiction film directed by Karyn Kusama. The film is a loose adaptation of the animated science fiction television series of the same name, which was created by animator Peter Chung (who had a minor role in this film version of his work) and stars Charlize Theron as the title character. The film was released on December 2, 2005, by Paramount Pictures.
 
Paramount Pictures chose not to screen Æon Flux for critics prior to its release. The film opened at No. 2 at the U.S. Box office making $12,661,112 USD in its opening weekend, held off the top spot by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Aeon Flux suffered a decline of 63.97% in box office earnings, going down to No. 6 the following week. On February 9, 2006, it completed its theatrical run, grossing a domestic take of $25,874,337 and a worldwide box office total of $52,304,001. Critical reaction was mainly negative. The film holds a 10% 'rotten' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus stating "Aeon Flux lacks the gravity-defying pace of its animated predecessor, and, despite some flash, is largely a dull affair.", and a score of 36 out of 100 on Metacritic. The film was considered a financial failure as the film's earnings were lower than its $62 million budget.
 
Although Peter Chung was optimistic about the film and was impressed with the sets upon visiting the production, he ultimately described it as "a travesty," adding: "I was unhappy when I read the script four years ago; seeing it projected larger than life in a crowded theatre made me feel helpless, humiliated and sad. ... They claim to love the original version; yet they do not extend that faith to their audience. No, they will soften it for the public, which isn't hip enough to appreciate the raw, pure, unadulterated source like they do." Screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi claimed in an interview that the film was re-cut by the studio prior to release and that original director's cut contains nearly 30 minutes of additional footage, which Chung acknowledged in his criticism of the film.
 
Plot:
 
In a post-apocalyptic future, after a virus in 2011 wiped out 99% of the Earth's population, all the survivors inhabit Bregna, a walled city-state, which is ruled by a congress of scientists. Although Bregna is idyllic, people are disappearing and everyone is having bad dreams. Æon Flux is a member of the 'Monicans', an underground rebel organization who communicate through telepathy-enabling technology and are led by The Handler. After a mission to destroy a surveillance station, Æon comes home to find her sister Una has been killed for supposedly being mistaken for a Monican. When Æon is sent on a mission to kill the government's leader, Trevor Goodchild, she discovers that both she and the Monicans are being manipulated by council members in a secret coup.
 
This discovery causes Æon to question the origin and destiny of everyone in Bregna; and in particular, her own personal connection to Trevor. It turns out that every person in Bregna is actually a clone, grown from recycled DNA. With the dead constantly being reborn into new individuals and still bearing partial memories of their previous lives, there has been an increase in the populace's troubling dreams. Recycling and cloning became necessary since the original virus antidote made humans infertile. Trevor's experiments, and of all his clone ancestors, have been trying to reverse the infertility. Æon learns that she is a clone of the original Trevor's wife, Katherine and is the first Katherine clone in over 400 years.
 
One of Trevor's experiments, Una, had been successful as she was pregnant. However, Oren Goodchild, Trevor's brother, had her killed and had Trevor's research destroyed so he could stay in power forever through his clones. In a confrontation with Trevor and Æon, Oren reveals that humanity itself has corrected the problem and that some women were becoming naturally pregnant. Oren had them all killed to maintain the Goodchild reign. Æon is now forced to go up against both her former allies, who want to kill Trevor, and Oren.
 
She manages to convince the other Monicans to ignore The Handler and help her instead to kill Oren and his men. Æon goes to destroy the facility where the cloning DNA is stored - The Relicle, a dirigible constantly floating in the sky. There she meets the old man who monitors everything. She also discovers he preserved her DNA for years, even though Oren ordered it to be destroyed so Katherine could not influence Trevor in any way. The dirigible crashes into the city wall breaking it down to reveal, for the first time in centuries, a lush and fertile land as opposed to the wasteland they were taught about.
 
Directed: Karyn Kusama
Written: Phil Hay; Matt Manfredi
Stars: Charlize Theron; Sophie Okonedo; Marton Csokas; Jonny Lee Miller; Frances McDormand; Pete Postlethwaite

After Earth [2013]

 
After Earth is a 2013 American science fiction adventure film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which he co-wrote with Gary Whitta, based on an original story idea by Will Smith.
 
A military father and his teenage son crash land on Earth, one thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity to abandon Earth for a new home planet. The son must save his dying father, by trekking alone across the hostile terrain, encountering highly evolved creatures and a ruthless alien beast along the way. His goal is to recover a rescue-beacon and also prove that he can live up to his father's reputation as a legendary soldier. It is the second film (the first being The Pursuit of Happyness) that stars real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith; with Will Smith also producing via his company Overbrook Entertainment and the distribution by Columbia Pictures.
 
The film was released in IMAX and is the first film from Sony Pictures to be both shot and presented in 4K resolution. It received negative reviews, being criticized by the lack of originality, acting and visual effects received mixed reaction.
 
Plot opening: 
 
In the near future, an environmental cataclysm forces the human race to abandon Earth and settle on a new world, Nova Prime. One thousand years later, The Ranger Corps, a peacekeeping organization commanded by General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), comes into conflict with the S'krell, alien creatures who intended to conquer Nova Prime. Their secret weapons are the Ursas, large, blind predatory creatures that hunt by "sensing" fear. The Rangers struggle against the Ursas until Cypher learns how to completely suppress his fear, a technique called "ghosting". After teaching this technique to the other Rangers, he leads the Ranger Corps to victory. Meanwhile, Cypher's son Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) blames himself for the death of his sister Senshi (Zoë Kravitz) at the hands of an Ursa. Kitai trains to become a Ranger like Cypher, but his application is rejected due to his recklessness, and Cypher views him as a disappointment. Kitai's mother Faia (Sophie Okonedo) convinces Cypher to take Kitai on his last voyage before retirement....
 
Box office: 
 
During its opening weekend, After Earth took in $27,520,040 in box office receipts in North America and $2,535,685 in South Korea. Sony Pictures projected a launch of around $38 million, but the actual number was 16.6% lower than the lowest pre-release expectation of $33 million. It finished in third place behind Fast & Furious 6, an action film which earned $35,164,440 in its second week, and Now You See Me, a caper film that opened to $29,350,389. On Thursday opening night, the caper film made $1.5 million estimated at 2,100 screens from 7 pm, while After Earth made $1 million estimated at 3,401 locations from 9 pm.
 
Taking into account the popularity of principal actor Will Smith, the disappointing finish led The Wall Street Journal to call it a "flop". Ray Subers of Box Office Mojo noted the $27 million weekend placed it between two sci-fi flops of 2012 films with 200 million-plus budgets, Battleship ($25.5 million) and John Carter ($30.2 million), and also drew half of the co-stars' previous openings, Will Smith's Men in Black 3 ($54.6 million) and Jaden Smith's The Karate Kid ($55.7 million). Scott Mendelson from Forbes argued that Sony made a mistake of hiding M. Night Shyamalan as they promoted the film because for better or worse, the general public knows who he is and "His name on the marquee reflects that you’re not going to get a conventional genre film, that there may be something else up its sleeve."

Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said a weekend take of about $30 million in the United States and Canada would be a solid number for a movie that is not a branded sequel. Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said "Certainly we would have liked to have done more, but this was always going to be a worldwide play." The Hollywood Reporter reported Sony insiders estimate a potential loss at about $20 million if the film does not gross high overseas, though estimates of top executives at several rival studios are much higher. On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Will Smith admitted he was also disappointed with the box office performance and joked "Here's how I think about it Jimmy, let's be honest. Three is the new one. You know how many ones it takes to make a three?" and "It's been almost, like, two decades since I had a movie that wasn’t number one! ... That's over now, buddy! Thanks!"

On the worldwide release the following week, After Earth took in an estimated $45.5 million in 60 overseas markets, narrowly beating Fast & Furious 6 estimates of $45.3 million for the No. 1 spot at the international box office.Including the film's launch in South Korea, After Earth made an estimated total of $48.6 million at the international box office, bringing its worldwide gross to an estimated $95,192,000. Sources for Sony Pictures International Releasingsaid the overall launch was bigger than debuts in the same territories of Oblivion ($45.1 million), The Last Airbender ($42.7 million) and Jaden Smith vehicle The Karate Kid ($32.3 million). Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer said that Sony was happy with the overseas opening and expects much of the film's ticket sales to come from international markets and "It definitely was the exciting start we were looking for internationally."
 
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writers: Gary Whitta; M. Night Shyamalan
Stars: Jaden Smith; Will Smith

A.I Artificial Intelligence

A.I. Artificial Intelligence [2001] 

 
A.I. Artificial Intelligence, also known as A.I., is a 2001 science fiction drama film directed, produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg. Based on Brian Aldiss'short story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long", the film stars Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards, Jake Thomas and William Hurt. Set sometime in the future, A.I. tells the story of David, a child-like android uniquely programmed with the ability to love.
 
Development of A.I. originally began with director Stanley Kubrick in the early 1970s. Kubrick hired a series of writers up until the mid-1990s, including Brian Aldiss,Bob Shaw, Ian Watson and Sara Maitland. The film languished in development hell for years, partly because Kubrick felt computer-generated imagery was not advanced enough to create the David character, whom he believed no child actor would believably portray. In 1995, Kubrick handed A.I. to Steven Spielberg, but the film did not gain momentum until Kubrick's death in 1999. Spielberg remained close to Watson's film treatment for the screenplay. A.I. was greeted with generally positive reviews from critics. This film was dedicated to Kubrick's memory after the end credits, saying "For Stanley Kubrick".
 
In the not-so-far future the polar ice caps have melted and the resulting raise of the ocean waters has drowned all the coastal cities of the world. Withdrawn to the interior of the continents, the human race keeps advancing, reaching to the point of creating realistic robots (called mechas) to serve him.
 
One of the mecha-producing companies builds David, an artificial kid which is the first to have real feelings, especially a never-ending love for his "mother", Monica. Monica is the woman who adopted him as a substitute for her real son, who remains in cryo-stasis, stricken by an incurable disease. David is living happily with Monica and her husband, but when their real son returns home after a cure is discovered, his life changes dramatically.
 
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Brian Aldiss [short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long"]; Ian Watson
Stars: Haley Joel Osment; Jude Law; Frances O'Connor; Ken Leung
 

Alien

Alien [1979]

 
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt,Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which stalks and kills the crew of a spaceship.Dan O'Bannon wrote the screenplay from a story by him and Ronald Shusett, drawing influence from previous works of science fiction and horror. The film was produced through Brandywine Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox, with producers David Giler and Walter Hill making significant revisions and additions to the script. The titular Alien and its accompanying elements were designed by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the human aspects of the film.
 
Alien garnered both critical acclaim and box office success, receiving an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction for Scott, and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright, and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, along with numerous other award nominations. It has remained highly praised in subsequent decades, being inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2002 for historical preservation as a film which is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2008 it was ranked as the seventh-best film in the science fiction genre by the American Film Institute, and as the thirty-third greatest movie of all time by Empire magazine.
 
The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of novels, comic books, video games, and toys, as well as three sequel and two prequel films. It also launched Weaver's acting career by providing her with her first lead role, and the story of her character Ripley's encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic thread that ran through the sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). The subsequent prequels Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) abandoned this theme in favor of a crossover with the Predator franchise.
 
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Dan O'Bannon; Ronald Shusett; Dan O'Bannon
Stars: Tom Skerritt; Sigourney Weaver; Veronica Cartwright; Harry Dean Stanton; John Hurt;
Ian Holm; Yaphet Kotto
 

Aliens

Aliens [1986]

 

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton. A sequel to the 1979 film Alien, Aliens is set 57 years after the first film with Weaver's character Ellen Ripley returning to the planet LV-426 where she first encountered the hostile Alien. This time she is accompanied by a unit of Colonial Marines.

 

Aliens' action-adventure tone was in contrast to the horror motifs of the original Alien. Following the success of The Terminator (1984), which helped establish Cameron as a major action director, 20th Century Fox greenlit Aliens with a budget of approximately $18 million. It was filmed in England at Pinewood Studios, and at a decommissioned power plant.

 

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the only survivor of the space freighter Nostromo, is rescued and revived after drifting for fifty-seven years in stasis. At an interview before a panel of executives from her employer, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, her testimony regarding the Alien is met with extreme skepticism as no physical evidence of the creature survived the destruction of the Nostromo. Ripley loses her space flight license as a result of her "questionable judgment" and learns that LV-426, the planet where her crew first encountered the Alien eggs, is now home to a terraforming colony.

 

Some time later, Ripley is visited by Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke (Paul Reiser) and Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) of the Colonial Marines, who inform her that contact has been lost with the colony on LV-426. The company decides to dispatch Burke and a unit of marines to investigate, and offers to restore Ripley's flight status and pick up her contract if she will accompany them as a consultant. Traumatized by her previous encounter with the Alien, Ripley initially refuses to join, but accepts when she realizes that the mission will allow her to face her fears......

 

Bron : Wikipedia

 

Director: James Cameron

Writers: James Cameron; David Giler; Walter Hill

Stars: Sigourney Weaver; Carrie Henn; Michael Biehn; Lance Henriksen; Paul Reiser

Alien 3

 

Alien 3 [1992]

 
Alien³ is a 1992 science fiction horror film, the third installment in the Alien franchise, and the first film directed by David Fincher. It is preceded byRidley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens. The story has an escape pod from the Colonial Marine starship Sulaco in Aliens crash-landing on a refinery/prison planet, killing everyone on board except LieutenantEllen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Unknown to Ripley, an Alien egg was aboard the ship. It is born in the prison and begins a killing spree.
 
Alien 3 had a difficult production, with various screenwriters and directors getting involved in the project, and shooting even started without a finished script. The film was the big-budget debut of a young David Fincher, who was brought into the project very late in its development, after a proposed version written by Vincent Ward at the helm fell through. Fincher had little time to prepare, and the experience making the film proved agonizing for him, as he had to endure incessant creative interference from the studio and had to shoot the film without having a definite script.
 
The added weight was also to create a film worthy of the work of the two revered directors that had gone before him, James Cameron and Ridley Scott. Upon completion, the studio dismantled and reworked it without Fincher's consent, including releasing a teaser trailer that suggested the film would take place on Earth. The film was released to mixed reviews, and while not very successful at the United States box office, it earned over $100 million outside of North America.
 
Following the events in Aliens, the Colonial Marine spaceship Sulaco experiences an onboard fire and launches an escape pod containing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), Newt, Hicks, and the damaged android Bishop who are all in cryonic stasis. During the launch, the ship's medical scans of the crew's cryotubes show an Alien facehugger attached to one of the crewmembers.
 
The pod then crashes on Fiorina 'Fury' 161, a foundry facility and penal colony inhabited by all-male inmates with "double-Y" chromosome patterns and histories of physical and sexual violence. After some inmates recover the pod and its passengers, an Alien facehugger is seen approaching the prison dog. Ripley is taken in and awakened by Clemens (Charles Dance), the prison doctor, and is told she is the only survivor of the crash. Many of the ex-inmates have embraced an apocalyptic, millenarian version of Christianity, and Ripley is warned by the prison warden, Harold Andrews, (Brian Glover) that her presence among them may have extremely disruptive effects....
 
Director: David Fincher
Writers:David Giler; Walter Hill; Larry Ferguson
Stars: Sigourney Weaver; Charles S. Dutton; Charles Dance; Brian Glover; Ralph Brown; Paul McGann; Danny Webb; Pete Postlethwaite; Lance Henriksen; Leon Herbert; Peter Guinness    
 

Alien Resurrection

Alien Resurrection [1997]

 
Alien Resurrection is a science fiction film released in 1997 by 20th Century Fox. Directed by French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the film is based on a screenplay by Joss Whedon. With a budget of $70 million, Alien Resurrection was the first film in the Alien series to be filmed outside of England at Fox studios in Los Angeles, California.
 
Set 200 years after the preceding installment, Alien 3, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is cloned and an Alien queen is surgically removed from her body. The United Systems Military hopes to breed Aliens to study and research on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts kidnapped and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, while Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches its destination, Earth.
 
Alien Resurrection was released on November 26, 1997 and received mixed reviews from film critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times felt "there is not a single shot in the movie to fill one with wonder", while Desson Thomson of The Washington Post said the film "satisfactorily recycles the great surprises that made the first movie so powerful"
 
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer: Dan O'Bannon; Ronald Shusett Screenplay: Joss Whedon
Stars: Sigourney Weaver; Winona Ryder; Ron Perlman; Dominique Pinon; Gary Dourdan; Michael Wincott; Brad Dourif; Leland Orser
 
 

Another Earth [2011]

 
Another Earth is a 2011 American science fantasy/drama film directed by Mike Cahill in his feature film debut. The film stars William Mapother and Brit Marling. It premiered at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and is being distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
 
Another Earth had its world premiere at the 27th Sundance Film Festival in January 2011. It was released in dramatic competition. Variety reported, "[It] has been deemed one of the more highly praised pics of the fest as it received a standing ovation after the screening and strong word of mouth from buyers and festgoers." The distributorFox Searchlight Pictures won distribution rights to the film in a deal worth $1.5 million to $2 million, beating out other distributors including Focus Features and The Weinstein Company. Fox Searchlight is the distributor of Another Earth in the United States, Canada, and other English-speaking territories. The film had a limited release in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2011, expanding to a wide release in ensuing months.
 
William Mapother consented to work on Another Earth for $100 a day. When asked why he agreed to join the cast, considering the "notoriously hit or miss" nature of indie movies, Mapother replied that he was drawn by the film's subject and by the other names involved in the project. At Mapother's insistence, he and the production team worked extensively on the scenes of John and Rhoda in order to develop John's character in the film. Another Earth received fairly positive reviews from critics, 63% of which were positive according to movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
 
Story:
 
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) is a high school student who has been recently accepted to MIT. She celebrates with friends and drives home intoxicated. Listening to a story on the radio about a planet that looks just like Earth, she looks out her car window up to the stars and inadvertently slams her car through a stopped car at an intersection, putting John Burroughs (William Mapother) in a coma and killing his wife and son. Rhoda is a minor, so her identity is not revealed to John. After serving her prison sentence, Rhoda does not go to MIT, but becomes a janitor at a local school, wanting to physically clean things with her hands but not do too much thinking.
 
After cleaning a school for a while and hearing more news stories about the mirror Earth, Rhoda visits John's house after he has recovered, thinking she will apologize for the harm she did to him. He answers the door and she loses her nerve. Instead, she pretends to be a maid offering a free day of cleaning as a marketing tool for Maid in Haven (a New Haven based maid service). John, who has dropped out of his Yale music faculty position and is now living in a depressed and dirty stupor, agrees to Rhoda's offer. When she finishes, John, who still does not know she is the person who killed his wife and son, asks her to come back next week. Rhoda tells him someone will come, but it may not be her.
 
Rhoda returns to clean and develops a caring relationship with John that eventually becomes more significant and romantic. They like each other and are intelligent and compatible conversationally. Rhoda genuinely wants to be of service to him.
Rhoda enters an essay contest sponsored by a millionaire entrepreneur who is offering a civilian space flight to the mirror Earth. Rhoda's essay is selected and she is chosen to be one of the first explorers to travel to the other Earth. Rhoda tells John she has won the space flight, but he asks her not to go. However, when she tells him that she was the one who killed his wife and son, he forces her out of his house.
 
Rhoda hears in a telecast the citizens of the mirror Earth were identical to those on her Earth in every way until the moment they learned of the others' existence. From that point on, the identical people on the different Earths probably began to deviate in small ways, changing their actions. Rhoda hopes her identical self on the other Earth did not make the mistakes she made on the night of the accident.
 
Rhoda returns to John and gives him the ticket to the other Earth, telling him enough information to give him a small hope that his wife and son might be alive on that planet. John accepts the gift and becomes one of the first civilian space travelers to the other Earth.
Four months later, Rhoda looks up at the sky where Earth 2 is now gone. She approaches her back door and sees her twin from Earth 2 standing in front of her.
 
Director: Mike Cahill
Writer: Mike Cahill; Britt Marling
Stars: William Mapother
Brit Marling

Apollo 13 [1995]

 
Apollo 13 is a 1995 American docudrama film directed by Ron Howard. The film stars Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Kathleen Quinlan and Ed Harris. The screenplay by William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert, that dramatizes the 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission, is an adaptation of the book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by astronaut Jim Lovelland Jeffrey Kluger.
 
The film depicts astronauts Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise aboard Apollo 13 for America's third Moon landing mission. En route, an on-board explosion deprives their spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electric power, forcing NASA's flight controllers to abort the Moon landing, and turning the mission into a struggle to get the three men home safely.
 
Howard went to great lengths to create a technically accurate movie, employing NASA's technical assistance in astronaut and flight controller training for his cast, and even obtaining permission to film scenes aboard a reduced gravity aircraft for realistic depiction of the "weightlessness" experienced by the astronauts in space. Released in the United States on June 30, 1995, Apollo 13 garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for many awards, with nine Academy Awards including Best Picture; it won for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. In total, the film grossed over $355 million worldwide during its theatrical releases.
 
Plot Intro:
 
On July 20, 1969, veteran astronaut Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) hosts a party for other astronauts and their families, who watch on television as their colleague Neil Armstrong takes his first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Lovell, who orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, tells his wife Marilyn (Kathleen Quinlan) that he intends to return, to walk on its surface.
 
On October 30, while giving a VIP tour of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, Lovell is informed by his boss Deke Slayton that he and his crew will fly the Apollo 13 mission instead of Apollo 14. Lovell, Ken Mattingly (Gary Sinise), and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) begin training for their new mission. Days before launch, it is discovered that Mattingly was exposed to measles, and the flight surgeon demands his replacement with Mattingly's backup, Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon), as a safety precaution. Lovell resists breaking up his team, but relents after Slayton gives him the choice of either accepting the switch, or else being bumped to a later mission....
 
Cast Training & Filming:
 
To prepare for their roles in the film, Hanks, Paxton, and Bacon all attended the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. While there, astronauts Jim Lovell and David Scott, commander of Apollo 15, did actual training exercises with the actors inside a simulated Command Module and Lunar Module. The actors were also taught about each of the 500 buttons, toggles, and switches used to operate the spacecraft.
 
The actors then traveled to Johnson Space Center in Houston where they flew in NASA's KC-135 reduced gravity aircraft to simulate weightlessness in outer space. While in the KC-135, filming took place in bursts of 25 seconds, the length of each period of weightless that the plane could produce. The filmmakers eventually flew 612 parabolas which added up to a total of three hours and 54 minutes of weightlessness. Parts of the Command Module, Lunar Module and the tunnel that connected them were built by production designer Michael Corenblith, art directors David J. Bomba and Bruce Alan Miller and their crew to fit inside the KC-135. Filming in such an environment, while never done before for a film, was a tremendous time saver. In the KC-135, the actors moved wherever they wanted, surrounded by floating props; the camera and cameraman were weightless so filming could take place on any axis from which a shot could be set up.
 
In Los Angeles, Ed Harris and all the actors portraying flight controllers enrolled in a Flight Controller School led by Gerry Griffin, an Apollo 13 flight director, and flight controller Jerry Bostick. The actors studied audiotapes from the mission, reviewed hundreds of pages of NASA transcripts and attended a crash course in physics. Astronaut Dave Scott was impressed with their efforts, stating that each actor was determined to make every scene technically correct, word for word.
 
Box-office:
 
The film was a box-office success, gaining $355,237,933 worldwide. The film's widest release was 2,347 theaters. The film's opening weekend and the latter two weeks placed it at #1 with a US gross of $25,353,380, which made up 14.7% of the total US gross.
 
Reception & Home Media:
 
Apollo 13 received very positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that the film has an overall approval rating of 97% based on 51 reviews, with a weighted average score of 8/10. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized 0–100 rating to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 77 based on 22 reviews.
 
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film in his review saying: "A powerful story, one of the year's best films, told with great clarity and remarkable technical detail, and acted without pumped-up histrionics." Richard Corliss from Time Magazine highly praised the film, saying: "From lift-off to splashdown, Apollo 13 gives one hell of a ride." 
 
Edward Guthmann of San Francisco Chronicle gave a mixed review and wrote: "I just wish that Apollo 13worked better as a movie, and that Howard's threshold for corn, mush and twinkly sentiment weren't so darn wide." Peter Travers from Rolling Stone Magazine praised the film and wrote: "Howard lays off the manipulation to tell the true story of the near-fatal 1970 Apollo 13 mission in painstaking and lively detail. It's easily Howard's best film."
 
Janet Maslin made the film an NYT Critics' Pick, calling it an “absolutely thrilling” film that “unfolds with perfect immediacy, drawing viewers into the nail-biting suspense of a spellbinding true story”. According to Maslin, “like "Quiz Show," "Apollo 13" beautifully evokes recent history in ways that resonate strongly today. Cleverly nostalgic in its visual style (Rita Ryack's costumes are especially right), it harks back to movie making without phony heroics and to the strong spirit of community that enveloped the astronauts and their families. Amazingly, this film manages to seem refreshingly honest while still conforming to the three-act dramatic format of a standard Hollywood hit. It is far and away the best thing Mr. Howard has done (and "Far and Away" was one of the other kind).”
 
Ron Howard stated that, after the first test preview of the film, one of the comment cards indicated "total disdain"; the audience member had written that it was a "typical Hollywood" ending and that the crew would never have survived.Marilyn Lovell praised Quinlan's portrayal of her, stating she felt she could feel what Quinlan's character was going through, and remembered how she felt in her mind.
 
A 10th-anniversary DVD of the film was released in 2005; it included both the theatrical version and the IMAX version, along with several extras. The IMAX version has a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. In 2006, Apollo 13 was released on HD DVD; on 13 April 2010, it was released on Blu-ray disc, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 13 accident (Central Standard Time).
 
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Al Reinert; William Broyles, Jr.
Stars: Tom Hanks; Kevin Bacon; Bill Paxton; Gary Sinise; Ed Harris; Kathleen Quinlan

Apollo 18 [2011]

 
Apollo 18 is a 2011 American science fiction horror film written by Brian Miller directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Ron Schmidt. The film's premise is that the officially canceled Apollo 18 mission was actually launched in December 1974 but never returned, and as a result the United States has never launched another expedition to the Moon. The film is shot in a found-footage style, supposedly of the lost footage of the Apollo 18 mission that was only recently discovered. The film is López-Gallego's first English-language film. After various release date changes, the film was released in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada on September 2, 2011; however, the release dates for other territories vary.
 
The film has received negative reviews from critics. On the online reviews site Rotten Tomatoes, the film was given a 23% "rotten" rating based on 60 reviews, with the consensus "A boring, suspense-freeParanormal Activity rip-off that feels long even at just 90 minutes",while Metacritic, which gives a standardized score between 0 and 100, gives the film a 24 based on 19 critic reviews, which indicates generally unfavorable reviews.
 
As of September 16, 2011, Apollo 18 has earned $16,126,000 domestically, plus $7,917,922 overseas for a worldwide gross of $24,043,922 against a $5 million budget, becoming a financial success. In its opening weekend, Apollo 18 screened in 3,328 theaters and opened in number 3, earning $8,704,271, with an average of $2,615 per theater. In its second weekend, the movie earned $2,851,349, dropping 62.7%, with an average of $856 per theater, dropping to number 8, but still has a lower total gross over Shark Night 3D, another horror movie opening the same weekend as Apollo 18.
 
Plot Intro:
 
In December, 1974, the crew of the previously-cancelled Apollo 18 mission is informed that the mission is a go, though it has now been deemed a top secret Department of Defense mission. Commander Nathan Walker, Lieutenant Colonel John Grey and Captain Benjamin Anderson are launched towards the Moon to place detectors to alert the United States of any impending ICBM attacks from the USSR.
 
Grey remains in orbit aboard the Freedom Command/Service module while Walker and Anderson land on the moon in the lunar module Liberty on December 23. During this, Walker shares an embarrasing story in which he was forced to submerge his testicles in milk after inexplicably spilling the juice from a squeezed jalapeno pepperonto them. Afterwards, while planting one of the detectors, the pair take samples of moon rocks. After eating dinner, the pair attempt to sleep, by while attempting to sleep, the pair hear noises outside and a camera captures a small rock moving nearby.
 
Houston claims the noises are interference from the ICBM detectors. Anderson finds a rock sample on the floor of Liberty despite having secured the samples. During further exploration they discover footprints that lead them to a bloodstained SovietLK lander nearby, finding it functional. Anderson follows tracks leading into a dark crater and finds a dead cosmonaut. Walker queries Houston about the Soviet presence but is told only to continue with the mission.....
 
Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Writer: Brian Miller
Stars: Warren Christie; Lloyd Owen; Ryan Robbins

Armageddon

Armageddon [1998]

 
Armageddon is a 1998 American science-fiction disaster film, directed by Michael Bay, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures. The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth. It features an ensemble cast including William Fichtner, Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.
 
Armageddon opened in theaters only two-and-a-half months after a similar impact-based movie, Deep Impact, which starred Morgan Freeman. Astronomers described Deep Impact as being more scientifically accurate, though Armageddon fared better at the box office. Both films were equally received by critics. Armageddon was an international box-office smash, despite generally mixed reviews from critics. It became the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide surpassing the Steven Spielbergwar epic, Saving Private Ryan.
 
It is just another day at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a few astronauts were repairing a satellite until, out of nowhere, a series of asteroids came crashing into the shuttle, destroying it. These asteroids also decimated New York soon thereafter. Then, NASA discovered that there is an asteroid roughly the size of Texas heading towards the Earth, and when it does hit the Earth, the planet itself and all of its inhabitants will be obliterated, worse, the asteroid will hit the Earth in 18 days.
 
Unfortunately, NASA's plans to destroy the asteroid are irrelevant. That is when the U.S. military decides to use a nuclear warhead to blow the asteroid to pieces. Then, scientists decide to blow the asteroid with the warhead inside the asteroid itself. The only man to do it, is an oil driller named Harry Stamper and his group of misfit drillers and geologists. As he and his drill team prepare for space excavation..
 
Director: Michael Bay
Writers: Robert Roy Pool; Jonathan Hensleigh; JJ Abrams [Screenplay]
Stars: Bruce Willis; Ben Affleck; Liv Tyler; Billy Bob Thornton; Will Patton; Steve Buscemi; Michael Clarke Duncan; Owen Wilson; William Fichtner; Peter Stormare

The Arrival

The Arrival [1996]

 
The Arrival is a 1996 SF film directed by David Twohy and starring Charlie Sheen, and co-starring Lindsay Crouse, Richard Schiff, Ron Silver, and Teri Polo. Sheen stars as radio astronomer Zane Zaminski who discovers evidence of intelligent alien life and quickly gets thrown into the middle of a conspiracy that turns his life upside down. A sequel, Arrival II: The Second Arrival was released on November 6, 1998.
 
Ilana Green (Lindsay Crouse) is a climatologist who discovers plants and flowers growing 90 miles from the North Pole, despite the fact that there is no land above sea level within 90 miles of either the true or magnetic North Poles. She also describes CO₂ increases of about 1% each, recorded at about 12 locations around the world, and uses this data to conclude that global CO₂ will increase by twelve percent over the next ten years.
 
Zane Zaminski (Charlie Sheen) is a radio astronomer working for SETI who, along with his co-worker Calvin (Richard Schiff), discovers a radio signal that seems to haveextraterrestrial origins. Zane and Calvin confirm the signal is not from a satellite or the Earth. They discover that it is coming from the fictional star "Wolf 336", 14 light years away....
 
Director: David Twohy
Writer: David Twohy
Stars: Charlie Sheen; Lindsay Crouse; Richard Schiff; Ron Silver; Teri Polo
 

Avatar

Avatar [2009]

 
Avatar is a 2009 American epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are mining a precious mineral calledunobtanium on Pandora, a lush moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi—a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi-human hybrid bodies used by a team of researchers to interact with the natives of Pandora.
 
The film's home release went on to break opening sales records and became the top-selling Blu-ray of all time. Following the film's success, Cameron signed with 20th Century Fox to produce two sequels, making Avatar the first of a planned trilogy.
 
When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.
 
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Sam Worthington; Zoë Saldana; Sigourney Weaver; Stephen Lang; Michelle Rodriguez; Joel David Moore; Giovanni Ribisi       

The Avengers [2012]

 
Marvel's The Avengers (classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the UK and Ireland) is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 
The film is scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor's adoptive brother Loki from subjugating the earth.
 
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
 
The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film received positive reviews from most film critics and set numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in North America, tied the record for the fastest film to gross $1 billion worldwide and became the third highest-grossing film. The Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D and DVD sets are scheduled to be released on September 25, 2012.
 
Plot Opening:
 
The Asgardian Loki encounters the Other, the leader of an extraterrestrial race known as the Chitauri. In exchange for retrieving the Tesseract, a powerful energy source of unknown potential, the Other promises Loki a Chitauri army with which he can subjugate the Earth. Nick Fury, director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and his lieutenant Agent Maria Hill arrive at a remote research facility during an evacuation, where physicist Dr. Erik Selvig is leading a research team experimenting on the Tesseract. Agent Phil Coulson explains that the object has begun radiating an unusual form of energy. The Tesseract suddenly activates and opens a portal, allowing Loki to reach Earth. Loki takes the Tesseract and uses his scepter to enslave Selvig and several agents, including Clint Barton, to aid him in his getaway....
 
Release:
 
In February 2012, Disney announced that the film's title would be changed in the United Kingdom to avoid confusion with the British TV series of the same name, as well as its 1998 film adaptation. This led to confusion over the film's actual title. Empire magazine reported that the film would be titled Marvel Avengers Assemble while The Hollywood Reporter said that it would be called simply Avengers Assemble. 
 
Marvel's UK website refers to the film as Marvel's Avengers Assemble, although David Cox of The Guardian, in arguing that it was one of the worst film titles ever, considered this to be an error in the production notes, albeit grammatically clearer. According to the British Board of Film Classification and the Irish Film Classification Office the title is Marvel Avengers Assemble. Frank Lovece in FilmFestivalTraveler.com addressed the discrepancy, writing, "...The Avengers — formally titled Marvel's The Avengers onscreen, though no apostrophe-s appears on the posters..." 
 
Producer Kevin Feige said there are only two words in the UK title, one more than in the US title, and stated that "decisions like that aren't made lightly and there are lots of marketing research, lawyers and things that get into the mix on it".
The world premiere for The Avengers was April 11, 2012, at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The film closed the 11th Annual Tribeca Film Festival with a screening on April 
 
Box Office:
 
The Avengers has earned $614,438,014 in North America, as of July 19, 2012, and $844,100,000 in other countries, as of July 15, 2012, for a worldwide total of $1,458,538,014. It is the third highest-grossing film worldwide and thehighest-grossing 2012 film. It is also the highest-grossing film based on comics, the highest grossing superhero film and the highest-grossing film released by Walt Disney Studios. Its worldwide opening of $392.5 million is the third largest. It is also the fifth film distributed by Disney and the twelfth film overall to earn more than $1 billion. It reached this milestone in 19 days, matching the record for speed previously set by Avatar and Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It covered its estimated $220 million production cost 12 days after its release.
 
Director : Joss Whedon
Writer: Zak Penn; Joss Whedon
Stars: Robert Downey, Jr.; Chris Evans; Mark Ruffalo; Chris Hemsworth; Scarlett Johansson; Jeremy Renner; Tom Hiddleston; Clark Gregg; Cobie Smulders; Stellan Skarsgård; Samuel L. Jackson

AVP & AVP2

Alien vs Predator [2004] & 

Aliens Vs Predator - Requiem [2007]

 
Alien vs. Predator, also known as AVP, is a 2004 American science fiction film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson for 20th Century Fox and starring Sanaa Lathan andLance Henriksen. The film adapts the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book. Anderson, Dan O'Bannon, and Ronald Shusett wrote the story, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken.
 
Set in 2004, the film follows a team of archaeologists assembled by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) for an expedition near the Antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal. Weyland hopes to claim the find for himself, and his group discovers a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station. Hieroglyphs and sculptures reveal that the pyramid is a hunting ground for Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage. The humans are caught in the middle of a battle between the two species and attempt to prevent the Aliens from reaching the surface.
 
The film was released on August 13, 2004, in North America and received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Some praised the special effects and set designs, while others dismissed the film for its "wooden dialogue" and "cardboard characters". Nevertheless, Alien vs. Predator was a commercial success, grossing over $172 million against its $60 million production budget. The film's success led to a sequel in 2007 titled Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
 
During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists and other scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends. Soon, the team realize that only one species can win.
 
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (also known as AVP:R) is a 2007 American SF film. A sequel to 2004's Alien vs. Predator, it continues the film crossover of the Alien and Predator media franchises. Filming began on September 25, 2006 in Vancouver with the Brothers Strause (Colin and Greg) directing the film based on a screenplay by Shane Salerno. The film's lead roles are played by actors Steven Pasquale and Reiko Aylesworth.
 
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was released on December 25, 2007 and received a largely negative response from film critics. The film grossed $9.5 million on its opening day and took in a worldwide gross of $128.9 million in theaters. According to Home Media Magazine, the film debuted at #1 in sales and rentals on Blu-ray and #2 on DVD when it was released on home video on April 15, 2008. Since then, the film has gained $28,550,434 in home video sales, bringing its total film gross to $157,461,400.
 
Warring alien and predator races descend on a small town, where unsuspecting residents must band together for any chance of survival.
 
AVP
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson
Stars: Sanaa Lathan; Lance Henriksen; Raoul Bova; Ewen Bremner; Colin Salmon
 
AVP2
Director: Colin Strause; Greg Strause
Writer: Shane Salerno
Stars: Steven Pasquale; Reiko Aylesworth; John Ortizn

 

Babylon 5: The Movies

 

Babylon 5 is a tv show which ran for 5 seasons and had a spin-off series called Crusade. Also 7 tv movies have been created including the pilot episode "The Gathering". In the US the first 5 movies have been released in a boxset which includes: The Gathering; In The Beginning; Thirdspace; River of Souls and Call to Arms. The last 2 movies have been released separately. In Europe the first 2 [The Gathering & In The Beginning] and the last 2 [The Legend of the Rangers & The Lost Tales] have all been released seperately and only the movies Thirdspace; River of Souls and Call to Arms have been released in a boxset. In The Netherlands all 7 movies have been released separately.

 

The Gatering [Pilot]:

 

This TV movie is the pilot for the "Babylon 5" TV series. Set on a space station in the late 23rd Century, Babylon 5 is a centre of diplomacy and trade, in neutral space located between many rival space empires. The project's success, already shaky, is put further in doubt when incoming Commander Jeffrey Sinclair is the key suspect in the attempted assassination of Kosh, a mysterious alien ambassador.

 

In the Beginning:

 

The Earth military encounters an alien race called the Minbari. Through a series of accidents and misunderstandings, a war breaks out that nearly results in the death of every human on Earth. The war and its aftermath provide the background for the TV series "Babylon 5," especially its first season.

 

Thirdspace:

 

The crew of Babylon 5 discover a mysterious artifact of unknown origin. The artifact influences the minds of people aboard the station and endangers the lives of everyone aboard. Takes place during season 4 of the Babylon 5 TV series.

 

The River of Souls:

 

Captain Lochley now has solid proof that Garibaldi is a disaster magnet: when he comes to the station to meet with one of his new company's subordinates, she's being sued by the owner of an illegal virtual reality "holo-brothel" and besieged by Soul Hunters looking for one of their soul vessels, this one containing the souls of the long-lost Ralga alien species.

 

A Call To Arms:

 

Five years after the events of the Babylon 5 series, a technomage named Galen predicts an imminent attack by the Drakh, the old allies of the Shadows. Through dreams, a thief, a captain, and a president are brought together to head them off. The president is John Sheridan. Because of his irrational behavior, Sheridan's friends begin to wonder about his sanity. It's up to all of them and two prototype battlecruisers, the Excalibur and the Victory, to stop the fleet and their planet-killer. But is there more to the Drakh's plan?

 

The Legend of the Rangers:

 

After being punished for retreat from combat, Ranger David Martel is given command of the Liandra, a haunted 20-year old Minbari fighting ship. He's escorting ambassadors to a secret archaeological site, the oldest city on record and a clue to a dangerous ancient race. 

 

The Lost Tales:

 

Story 1 - Captain Lochley asks the help of a priest to perform an excorcism.

 

Story 2 - President John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) is on route to pick up Centari Prince Regent Dius Vintari (Keegan MacIntosh) and transport him to Babylon 5 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance. He is visited by Galen (Peter Woodward), who shows him that Earth is going to be attacked by the Centari republic in 30 years by the now-Emperor Dius Vintari (Keegan MacIntosh), so that the Centari Republic can become the most powerful republic in the galaxy again. Galen tells President Sheridan that if he takes Prince Regent Vintari out for a ride in a Starfury, then at a certain speed the weapons on President Sheridan's Starfury would fire and destory Vintari's starfury. However, President Sheridan decides that he will offer Vintari the chance to come to Minbar and live with him and Delenn and learn from them.

Back to the Future Trilogie

Back to the Future Trilogy [1985, 89,90]

 
The Back to the Future trilogy is a comedic science fiction adventure film series written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, directed by Zemeckis, produced byAmblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The main plot follows the adventures of a high school student Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) as they use a modified DeLorean automobile to time travel to different periods of the history of Hill Valley, California.
 
The first film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and became an international phenomenon, leading to the second and third films which were filmed back-to-back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. Though the two sequels did not perform quite as well at the box office as the first film, the trilogy remains immensely popular after a quarter century and has yielded such spin-offs as an animated television series and a motion-simulation ride at the Universal Studios Theme Parks.
 

Back to the Future

 
The trilogy begins as seventeen year old Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time from 1985 to 1955 in a time machine built from a DeLorean by eccentric scientist Emmett L. Brown, also known as "Doc". Upon arriving in 1955, Marty inadvertently causes his mother (Lorraine McFly) to fall in love with him, rather than with his father (George McFly). This begins to cause what Doc Brown later describes as a paradox that would cause Marty to disappear from existence.
 
To make matters worse, Marty did not bring back any additional plutonium to power the time machine, so he must find the 1955 version of Doc Brown to help him reunite his parents and return to 1985. Biff Tannen, the antagonist, further complicates Marty's efforts to return to an unaltered 1985. Marty successfully causes his parents to fall in love and simultaneously ruins the future of Biff Tannen, who in the end is an auto detailer instead of George McFly's boss.
 
Marty learns in the end that his family situation has improved because of the way his parents' relationship was changed by his intervention in the past. However, in the film's final moments, Doc Brown and the DeLorean appear and Doc tells Marty that he has returned from the future, and that Marty must come back to the future with him.
 

Back to the Future Part II

 

The series continues as Doc Brown travels with Marty to the year 2015 where he has discovered Marty's family is in ruins. Marty buys a sports almanac containing the outcomes of 50 years worth (1950–2000) of sporting events. However, Doc catches him and throws the almanac in the trash, where the aged Biff Tannen finds it. While Marty and Doc are at Marty's future house, Old Biff steals the DeLorean time machine and gives the book to his younger self just before he goes to the dance at the end of the first movie.

 

When Doc and Marty return to 1985, they find that Biff has used the almanac's knowledge for financial gain, which allows him to turn Courthouse Square into a 27 story casino, "own" Hill Valley, get away with the murder of Marty's father, and later marry Marty's mother. Marty learns that Biff was given the book by old Biff on November 12, 1955, so he and Doc go back to that date in order to steal the almanac from Biff before he can use it to destroy their lives. They accomplish this in a complex fashion, often crossing their own past-selves' paths.

 

When the duo are about to travel back to 1985, a lightning bolt strikes the DeLorean and scrambles the time circuits, sending Doc back to 1885 and leaving Marty stranded once again in 1955.

 

Back to the Future Part III

 

After finding out that Doc Brown is trapped in 1885, Marty sets out to find the 1955 Doc to help him fix the DeLorean (which has been waiting for him in a mineshaft for 70 years) and restore it to working order. Learning that Doc gets shot in 1885, Marty travels back in time to save Doc (who has become a blacksmith) and bring him back to the future. Unfortunately, an arrow has ripped a hole in the fuel line, emptying the gas tank and rendering the DeLorean engine useless. Furthermore, Doc falls in love with schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and considers staying in 1885. Marty must convince Doc to come back with him and find a way to get back to his time before it's too late. After several dramatic action scenes involving a speeding locomotive, Marty returns to 1985 in the restored DeLorean. It appears on a train track as planned, and Marty jumps out just in time to see the DeLorean time machine destroyed by a modern train. He worries that Doc has been lost in the past forever, when suddenly Doc Brown appears in a new time machine, modeled after a locomotive. He introduces Marty to Clara (to whom he is now married) and his two sons, Jules and Verne. When Marty asks if Doc and his family are going to the future, Doc replies that he's already been to the future. The locomotive flies across the sky and disappears, ending the trilogy.

 

Directors:

Writers:

Stars:

 

Barb Wire

Barb Wire  [1996]

 
Barb Wire is a 1996 American action-science fiction film based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name. The film was produced by Brad Wyman and directed by David Hogan in his film debut. Barb Wire stars Pamela Anderson Lee in the title role. The film was a vehicle for Baywatch star Anderson, intended to enable her to cross over from television to movie stardom.
 
Barb Wire was poorly received by critics and was considered a box office disappointment. It currently holds a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews (10 positive, 23 negative), with the consensus stating that "Barb Wire could've been fun camp, but Pamela Anderson can't deliver her lines with any dramatic or comedic impact". Roger Ebert notably pointed out that the film's plot was identical to that of Casablanca.
 
It is perhaps notable for its opening, in which Anderson dances topless as water is sprayed on her. Some of this sequence was cut on the film's initial release, but restored for later home video and DVD releases.
 
Plot:
 
The film is a re-imagining of Casablanca, but set in 2017 during the "Second American Civil War" rather than Casablanca during World War II, and with some key roles being played by the opposite gender. Barb Wire (Pamela Anderson Lee) owns the Hammerhead, a nightclub in Steel Harbor — "the last free city" in a United States ravaged by the civil war — and she brings in extra cash by hiring out as a mercenary and bounty hunter.
 
Her club is raided by Chief of Police Willis (Xander Berkeley), who is looking for the fugitive Dr. Corrina "Cora" Devonshire (Victoria Rowell). Devonshire, a former government scientist, has information about a bioweapon being developed by her former superior, Colonel Pryzer (Steve Railsback) of the Congressional Directorate; she is trying to escape to Canada in order to make this information public. Meanwhile, Devonshire has turned up at the Hammerhead.
 
She is accompanied by Axel Hood (Temuera Morrison), a "freedom fighter" whom Barb had known (and, it is implied, loved) at the outbreak of the war, but the two were separated soon afterward. Axel is now married to Cora, and is trying to help her get to Canada. They are trying to find a contraband pair of contact lenses which will allow Cora to evade the retinal scan at the Steel Harbor airport. The lenses pass through the hands of several lowlifes before also ending up at Barb's nightclub.
 
Rather than give the lenses to Cora and Axel, Barb makes a deal with "Big Fatso" (Andre Rosey Brown), the leader of a junkyard gang: Fatso wants the lenses, which are worth a fortune on the black market, and Barb wants a million dollars and an armed escort to the airport, where she plans to get on the plane to Canada. But Fatso double-crosses Barb; when Barb, Axel, and Cora show up at the junkyard to make the swap, Colonel Pryzer and his storm troopers are also there, along with Chief of Police Willis.
 
Willis makes a show of arresting Barb and Cora, but instead of putting handcuffs on Barb, he slips her a hand grenade. Barb uses the grenade to kill Fatso and cause enough confusion to allow Barb, Axel, Cora, and Willis to pile into Barb's armored van and lead the Congressionals on a car chase, culminating in a hand-to-hand fight between Barb and Colonel Pryzer atop a moving crane. Pryzer falls to his death while Barb escapes just before the crane explodes.
In the end, the party makes it to the airport, where Barb reveals that she still has the contact lenses. She gives them to Cora, and Cora and Axel get on the plane to Canada while Willis and Barb remain on the rainswept tarmac.
 
Director: David Hogan
Writer: Chris Warner (comics); Chuck Pfarrer; Ilene Chaiken (screenplay]
Stars: Pamela Anderson Lee; Temuera Morrison; Victoria Rowell; Jack Noseworthy; Xander Berkeley; Udo Kier; Steve Railsback

Battlefield Earth

Battlefield Earth [2000]

 
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film adapted from the novel of the same name by L. Ron Hubbard. It was directed by Roger Christian, and starsJohn Travolta, Forest Whitaker and Barry Pepper. The film depicts an Earth that has been under the rule of the alien Psychlos for 1,000 years and tells the story of the rebellion that develops when the Psychlos attempt to use the surviving humans as gold miners.
 
Travolta, a long-time Scientologist, had sought for many years to make a film of the novel by Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. He was unable to obtain funding from any major studio due to concerns about the film's script, prospects, and connections with Scientology. The project was eventually taken on by an independentproduction company, Franchise Pictures, which specialized in rescuing stars' stalled pet projects. Travolta signed on as a co-producer and contributed millions of dollars of his own money to the production, which was largely funded by a German film distribution company. Franchise Pictures was later sued by its investors and was bankrupted after it emerged that it had fraudulently overstated the film's budget by $31 million.
 
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000. The film was a major commercial failure and critical flop and has been widely dismissed as being one of the worst films ever made. Reviewers universally panned the film, criticizing virtually every aspect of the production. Audiences were reported to have ridiculed early screenings and stayed away from the film after its opening weekend. This resulted in Battlefield Earth failing to recoup its costs. Travolta originally envisioned the film as the first of two adapted from the book, as the screenplay only covered the first half of the novel. The film's poor box office performance meant that the planned sequel would not be made.
 
Battlefield Earth grossed $21,471,685 in the United States and Canada and a total of $29,725,663 worldwide, falling well short of its $75 million production budget and $20 million in estimated marketing costs. Financially, it is regarded as one of the most expensive flops in film history, and a box office bomb.
 
The film's exceptionally bad reviews and poor word-of-mouth led to a precipitous falling-off in its grosses. Having earned $11,548,898 from 3,307 screens on its opening weekend, its take collapsed by 67 percent to $3,924,921 the following weekend, giving an average take of $1,158 per screen. The film made 95 percent of its entire domestic gross in the first two weekends and flatlined thereafter, with earnings dropping a further 75 percent by the end of its third week to $1 million.
 
The following week, facing earnings of just $205,745, Warner Bros. attempted to cut its losses by slashing the number of screens at which the film was being shown. The number was reduced from 2,587 to 641. By its sixth weekend on release, the film was showing on 95 screens and had made $18,993 in a week – less than $200 per screen. International earnings were equally dire. The film finished with a gross of $21.4 million in the US and just $8.2 million from the rest of the world.
 
A limited range of merchandising was produced for the film, including posters, a soundtrack CD by Elia Cmiral recorded by the Seattle Symphony, and a re-released version of the novel with a new cover based on the film's poster. Trendmasters also produced a range of action figures of the main characters, including an 11-inch (280 mm) figure of Travolta as Terl voicing lines from the film such as "Exterminate all man-animals at will!", "You wouldn't last one day at the academy", "Man is an endangered species", and "Ratbastard!". 
 
In Hubbard's novel the term "Ratbastard" is never used, and Terl instead refers to Jonnie Goodboy Tyler as "rat brain". A special edition DVD was released in 2001, including two additional scenes which added two minutes to the film's running time. The DVD includes commentary tracks with director Roger Christian and production, costume and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, as well as special features including John Travolta's alien makeup test. Jeff Berkwits of SCI FI WEEKLY wrote that "... the Battlefield Earth Special Edition DVD is packed with information, offering an enlightening glimpse into the creative process behind this imperfect but entertaining picture".Randy Salas of the Star Tribune described it as the "Best DVD for a bad movie." A review of the DVD release in the Los Angeles Times was more critical: "A dated visual style, patched-together special effects and ludicrous dialogue combine in a film that is a wholly miserable experience."
 
Opening:
 
In the year 3000, Earth has been ruled for 1,000 years by the Psychlos, a brutal race of giant humanoid aliens. The remnants of humanity are either enslaved by the Psychlos and used for manual labor or survive in primitive tribes living in remote areas outside Psychlo control. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper), a member of one such tribe, leaves his home in the Rocky Mountains on a journey of exploration. He joins forces with Carlo (Kim Coates), a hunter, but both men are captured by a Psychlo raiding party and transported to a slave camp at the Psychlos' main base on Earth, a giant dome built over the ruins of Denver, Colorado.
 
Director: Roger Christian
Writer: Corey Mandell
Stars: John Travolta[ Barry Pepper; Forest Whitaker
 

Battle: Los Angeles

Battle: Los Angeles [2011]

 
Battle: Los Angeles (also known as Battle: LA and World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, and formerly known as Battle for Los Angeles) is a 2011 military science fiction war film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, and starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Peña, Ne-Yo, Ramon Rodriguez, and Bridget Moynahan. The film is set in modern day Los Angeles and follows a platoon of U.S. Marines during a global alien invasion, who are joined by an Airman and some Army infantry. The events of the film are inspired by the Battle of Los Angeles, a supposed World War II air raid of the city which turned out to be a false alarm caused by several unidentified flying objects.
 
The film received negative reception. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 35% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 181 reviews, with an average score of 4.8/10. The website reported the critical consensus, "Overlong and overly burdened with war movie clichés, Battle: Los Angeles will entertain only the most ardent action junkies". The Rotten Tomatoes "Audience" rating stands at 57%; the "Top Critics" section stands at 21%.
 
Review aggregator Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 37 (out of 100) based on 35 reviews from mainstream critics, considered to be "Generally unfavorable reviews". Roger Ebert panned Battle: Los Angeles in a lengthy review, calling the movie "noisy, violent, ugly and stupid", giving the film a mere half star rating. Though he praised Aaron Eckhart's performance, Ebert heavily criticised the film's writing, effects designs, camerawork and editing.
 
He closed his review by saying, "When I think of the elegant construction of something like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, I want to rend the hair from my head and weep bitter tears of despair. Generations of filmmakers devoted their lives to perfecting techniques that a director like Jonathan Liebesman is either ignorant of, or indifferent to. Yet he is given millions of dollars to produce this assault on the attention span of a generation."
 
Battle: Los Angeles was given poor reviews by the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, and Variety. Kim Newman of Empire rated the film 2 stars out of 5 and criticized its lack of originality. Nigel Floyd of Time Out rated the film 2 stars saying that it "... lumbers the flat military characters with hackneyed dialogue and corny sentimentality".
Neil Smith of Total Film magazine rated the film as 3 stars out of 5 and summarized, "Imagine Black Hawk Down with ET's instead of Somalis and you'll have the measure of an explosive if functional actioner that will do while we're waiting for summer's big guns to arrive".
 
Both the Radio Times and the Chicago Tribune also rated the film 3 out of 5. IGN rated the film 3 out of 5, stating that the film has spectacular visuals and intense action packed scenes.
 
Battle: Los Angeles debuted in 3,417 theaters, grossing $13,399,310 on its opening day, which was the best opening-day gross for 2011 until the record was surpassed by Fast Five. Overall the film made $35,573,187 and ranked #1 on its opening weekend ahead of Red Riding Hood and Mars Needs Moms. The film dropped to #2 after a week when Rango topped the box office on St. Patrick Day. As of May 22, 2011, the film has grossed $83,552,429 in the United States and Canadian markets and $118,914,327 in international markets, for a worldwide total of $202,466,756.
 
Opening: 
 
On August 11, 2011, mysterious objects thought to be meteorites crash into Earth's oceans near several major cities including Tokyo, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Boston, New Orleans, Mexico City, New York City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Manchester, Barcelona, Hamburg, Sydney and Los Angeles. These objects are revealed to be spacecraft containing hostile extraterrestrial forces. U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive in LA to defend against alien ground forces and assist in the evacuation of civilians in preparation for a bombing campaign.
 
Among the military's forces is SSgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a 20-year veteran who lost his squad during his last deployment in Iraq. Nantz had planned to retire, but the situation requires him to replace the platoon sergeant of a platoon from "E" Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines....
 
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Writer: Chris Bertolini
Stars: Aaron Eckhart; Michelle Rodriguez; Ramón Rodríguez; Bridget Moynahan; Ne-Yo; Michael Peña
 

Battleship [2012]

 
Battleship is a 2012 American Alien Invasion military science fiction naval war film loosely inspired by the classic board game. The film was directed by Peter Berg and released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, and Tadanobu Asano. The film was originally planned to be released in 2011, but was rescheduled to April 11 2012 in the United Kingdom and May 18 2012 in the United States. The film's world premiere was in Tokyo, Japan on April 3 2012.
 
Plot Intro:
 
NASA discovers an extrasolar planet with conditions similar to Earth and transmits a powerful signal from a communications array in Hawaii. Meanwhile slacker Alex Hopper gets arrested while attempting to impress Samantha Shane, daughter of United States Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Terrance Shane. Stone Hopper, Alex's older brother and a Commander under Terrance, is infuriated at Alex's lack of motivation and forces Alex to join him in the United States Navy. By 2012, Alex is a lieutenant aboard the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS John Paul Jones, while Stone is the commanding officer of USS Sampson. Alex is in a relationship with Samantha and due to disciplinary problems is in danger of being discharged from the navy. Their ships, along with others from around the world, are taking part in RIMPAC naval exercises in Hawaii......
 
Boxoffice & Critical Reception:
 
Battleship had better box office success in overseas markets than in the US where it had a moderate gross. The film earned $65,233,400 in North America and $237,602,860 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $302,836,260.Outside North America, Battleship opened on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 in many countries more than five weeks before its North America release, earning $7.4 million. Through Friday, the film earned a 3-day total of $25 million. By the end of its opening weekend, it earned $55.2 million from 26 markets, ranking second behind the 3D rerelease of Titanic.
 
However, on its second weekend, it topped the box office outside North America, with $60 million. In South Korea, it achieved the highest-grossing opening day for a non-sequel and the third-highest overall ($2.8 million). In comparison to other Hasbro films, Battleship's opening in the UK (£3.76 million) was behind the first Transformers (£8.72 million), but did better than G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (£1.71 million).
 
In North America, Battleship grossed $8.8 million on its opening day (Friday, May 18, 2012), with $420,000 originating from midnight showings, and finished the weekend with $25.5 million. It settled in second place for its opening day and opening weekend behind Marvel's The Avengers. Its opening weekend grosses are well below the anticipated $35–$40 million range that Universal and director Peter Berg were hoping for. A BBC News story published after its first weekend described it as a "box office flop"
 
The film has received generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. As of May 19, 2012, Metacritic has given the film an average score of 41 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, while Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a "rotten" score of 33% based on reviews from 195 critics, and reports a rating average of 4.6 out of 10.
 
Megan Lehmann of The Hollywood Reporter thought that the "impressive visual effects and [director Peter] Berg's epic set pieces fight against an armada of cinematic clichés and some truly awful dialogue." Empire magazine's Nick de Semlyen felt there was a lack of character development and memorable action shots, and sums up his review of the movie in one word: "Miss." Many reviews panned the "based on a board game" concept driving the film, although some, such as Jason Di Rosso from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National, claimed the ridiculousness of the setup is "either sheer joy or pure hell – depending on how seriously you take it", while de Semlyen "had to admire [the film's creators] jumping through hoops to engineer a sequence that replicates the board game." 
 
Several compared the film toMichael Bay's Transformers film series in terms of quality and cinematic style, with Giles Hardie of The Sydney Morning Herald claiming that the movie "finds the same balance between action-packed imagination and not taking the premise seriously that made Michael Bay's original Transformers such a joyride."Andrew Harrison of Q magazine called the film "crushingly stupid". A review written for the L.A. Times also implied disappointment, with writer and film critic Kenneth Turan criticizing the sci-fi action flick's "humanoid aliens", stating that they are "as ungainly as the movie itself, clunking around in awkward, protective suits." Ultimately he does give the film credit by calling the content "all very earnest", but added "it's not a whole lot of fun."
 
Other critics were less harsh for Battleship: Writing for Time, Steven James Snyder was positive because he had low expectations of the film. He wrote, "The creative team behind this ocean-bound thriller decided to fill the narrative black hole with a few ingredients all but absent from today’s summer tent poles – namely mystery, nostalgia and a healthy dose of humility" and described it as "an unlikely mix of Independence Day, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park and The Hunt for Red October". Giving it a B+ grade, Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly also praised the story saying, "For every line of howler dialogue that should have been sunk, there's a nice little scene in which humans have to make a difficult decision.
 
For every stretch of generic sci-fi-via-CGI moviemaking, there's a welcome bit of wit." The Washington Post gave the film a three-star rating out of four commenting it is "an invigorating blast of cinematic adrenaline". Roger Ebert of the Chicago-Suntimes gave the movie 2 and a half stars.
 
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Jon Hoeber; Erich Hoeber
Stars: Taylor Kitsch; Alexander Skarsgård; Rihanna; Brooklyn Decker; Liam Neeson

The Black Hole [1979]

 
The Black Hole is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson for Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins, and Ernest Borgnine, while the voices of the main robot characters are provided by Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickens (both unbilled). The music for the movie was composed by John Barry.
 
Plot opening:
 
Nearing the end of a long mission exploring deep space, the USS spacecraft Palomino is returning to Earth. The crew consists of Captain Dan Holland, First Officer Lieutenant Charlie Pizer, journalist Harry Booth, ESP-sensitive scientist Dr. Kate McCrae, the expedition's civilian leader Dr. Alex Durant and the robot V.I.N.CENT ("Vital Information Necessary CENTralized").
 
The Palomino crew discover a black hole in space with a spaceship nearby, somehow defying the hole's massive gravitational pull. The ship is identified as the long-lost USS Cygnus, the ship McCrae's father served aboard when it went missing. Deciding to investigate, the Palomino encounters a mysterious null gravity field surrounding the Cygnus. The Palomino becomes damaged when it drifts away from the Cygnus and into the black hole's intense gravity field, but the ship manages to move back to the Cygnus and finds itself able to dock to what initially appears to be an abandoned vessel.
 
The Palomino crew warily boards the Cygnus and soon encounter the ship's commander, Dr. Hans Reinhardt, a brilliant scientist. Aided by a crew of faceless, black-robed android drones and his sinister looking robot Maximilian, Reinhardt explains that he has lived all alone on the Cygnus for years. After the ship encountered a meteor field and was disabled, he ordered the human crew to return to Earth, but Kate's father chose to remain aboard and has since died. Reinhardt then reveals that he has spent the past 20 years studying the black hole and intends to fly the Cygnus through it. Only Durant believes it is possible and asks to accompany Reinhardt on the trip.....
 
Production:
 
Although Star Wars had popularized the use of computerized motion control miniature effects, The Black Hole was shot using a blend of traditional camera techniques and newly developed computer-controlled camera technology. Disney had wanted to rent equipment from Industrial Light and Magic, but, when the price was too high and the timing of getting the equipment didn't match Disney's production schedule, they had their engineering department build their own equipment, resulting in the development of Disney's A.C.E.S. (Automated Camera Effects System), as well as the Mattescan system, which for the first time allowed the camera to move over a matte painting, and a computer-controlled modeling stand. At the time of its release, the movie's opening credits sequence featured the longest computer graphics shot that had ever appeared in a film. The moving holographic image of the black hole itself on the Palomino's bridge deck was considered state-of-the-art for special effects at the time.
 
The film was noted for being one of the first films other than Star Wars and Close Encounters to be completely dubbed in the release language of its original country[citation needed], whereas most other features of the period used the technique only for scenes which were either shot outdoors or in which the inherent on-stage noise from the live performance of special-effects precluded the use of production dialogue as recorded on-set.
In addition, the The Black Hole was also notable for being the first Disney film not to have an all-ages rating, because of mild language (being the first Disney film to include profanity of any type) and scenes of human death never seen in a Disney production before (e.g., a character is eviscerated, albeit bloodlessly). This was The Walt Disney Company's first PG-rated production, and its second overall release with that rating (the first was the sports drama Take Down, an outside production Disney distributed in early 1979).
 
The version of the film televised on The Disney Channel has been edited for language, with all uses of the words "damn" and "hell" removed. Along with frequent subtexts, there were also metaphysical and religious themes expressed through the film. This film led the company towards experimenting with more adult-oriented and mainstream films, which would eventually lead to Disney's creation of its Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and its later purchase of Miramax Films arms to handle films considered too mature in nature to carry the Walt Disney Pictures label.
 
Reception:
 
At $20 million (plus another $6 million for the advertising budget),it was at the time the most expensive picture ever produced by the company. The movie earned nearly $36 million at the North American box office, making it the 21st highest grossing film of 1979.
 
It received mixed reviews from critics. Famed critic Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out of 4 upon its release, saying it "takes us all the way to the rim of space only to bog us down in a talky melodrama whipped up out of mad scientists and haunted houses." Meanwhile, The New York Times, Time Magazine and Variety all praised the film. The special effects were generally acclaimed by the press. The film received two Academy Award nominations: One for Best Visual Effects and one for Best Cinematography.
 
The film has received some attention as a cult movie, with releases to different formats over the years. Author John Kenneth Muir wrote an extensive review of the film that delved into some of the nuances and metaphysical ideas which marked The Black Hole as more adult-oriented fare than Disney had previously been involved with.
 
Director:
Writer:
Stars:

Blade Runner

Bladerunner [1982]

 
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written byHampton Fancher and David Peoples, is based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
 
The film depicts a dystopian Los Angeles in November 2019 in which genetically engineered organic robots called replicants—visually indistinguishable from adult humans—are manufactured by the powerful Tyrell Corporation as well as other mega manufacturers around the world. Their use on Earth is banned, and replicants are exclusively used for dangerous, menial or leisure work on Earth's off-world colonies. Replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth are hunted down and "retired" by police special operatives known as "Blade Runners". The plot focuses on a brutal and cunning group of recently escaped replicants hiding in Los Angeles and the burnt out expert blade runner, Rick Deckard, who reluctantly agrees to take on one more assignment to hunt them down.
 
Blade Runner initially polarized critics: some were displeased with the pacing, while others enjoyed its thematic complexity. The film performed poorly in North American theaters. Despite the box office failure of the film, it has since become a cult classic, and is now widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made.Blade Runner has been hailed for its production design, depicting a "retrofitted" future, and it remains a leading example of the neo-noir genre.^[4] Blade Runnerbrought the work of author Philip K. Dick to the attention of Hollywood, and several more films have since been based on his work. Ridley Scott regards Blade Runneras "probably" his most complete and personal film. In 1993, Blade Runner was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
 
Seven versions of the film have been shown for various markets as a result of controversial changes made by film executives. A rushed director's cut was released in 1992 after a strong response to workprint screenings. This, in conjunction with its popularity as a video rental, made it one of the first films released on DVD, resulting in a basic disc with mediocre video and audio quality. In 2007, Warner Bros. released in select theaters, and subsequently on DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Disc, the 25th anniversary digitally remastered Final Cut by Scott.
 
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Hampton Fancher; David Peoples
Stars: Harrison Ford; Rutger Hauer; Sean Young; Edward James Olmos
 

The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli [2010]

 
The Book of Eli is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by the Hughes brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals.
 
The story revolves around Eli, a nomad in a post-apocalyptic world, who is told by a voice to deliver his copy of a book to a safe location on the West Coast of the United States. The history of the post-war world is explained along the way as is the importance of Eli's task. Filming began in February 2009 and took place in New Mexico.
The film was released for theaters in January 2010. Alcon Entertainment financed and co-produced the film with Silver Pictures, while it was distributed by Warner Bros.in the US, and international sales handled by Summit Entertainment.
 
Opening:
 
Thirty years after a nuclear apocalypse, Eli (Denzel Washington) travels on foot toward the west coast of the United States. Along the way, he demonstrates uncanny survival and fighting skills, hunting wildlife and swiftly defeating a group of highway bandits who try to ambush him. Searching for a source of water, he arrives in a ramshackle town built and overseen by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Carnegie dreams of building more towns and controlling the people by using the power of a certain book. His henchmen scour the desolate landscape daily in search of it, but to no avail........
 
Boxoffice & Critical Reviews:
 
The film was released in North America on January 15, 2010 in 3,111 theaters. It took in $11,672,970—$3,752 per theater, its opening day. By the end of its opening four-day holiday weekend it grossed $38,437,553—$12,355 per theater. It ranked number two, behind Avatar. On its second weekend, it placed third with Legion taking its number two place and grossed $15,732,493—$5,057 per theater. By its third weekend it dropped down to number five and made $8,908,286—$2,897 per theater. The film has come to gross $94,835,059 in the United States and Canada, and $62,256,659 in other markets, with an estimated worldwide total of $157,091,718.
 
The film has received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 48% of 188 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.5 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", the film holds an overall approval rating of 47%, based on a sample of 32 reviews. The site's consensus is that "It's certainly uneven, and many viewers will find that its reach exceeds its grasp, but The Book of Eli finds the Hughes brothers injecting some fresh stylish fun into the kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland filmgoers have seen more than enough of lately." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 0–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 53 based on 33 reviews.
 
Todd McCarthy of Variety predicted "this will not be one of ... Denzel Washington's bigger grossers." Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 of 4 stars and said of the film: "You won't be sorry you went. It grips your attention, and then at the end throws in several WTF! moments, which are a bonus." Reviewing the film for The A.V. Club, Scott Tobias graded the film a B, and wrote "At a time when theaters are experiencing a glut of doomsday scenarios, the Hughes' ashen, bombed-out future world looks a little too familiar, no matter how crisply they present it.
 
But the showdown between Washington and a deliciously hammy Oldman complicates the film's overt religiosity...". Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D, calling it "a ponderous dystopian bummer that might be described as The Road Warrior without car chases, or The Road without humanity."
 
Director: Albert Hughes; Allen Hughes
Writer: Gary Whitta
Stars: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson en Jennifer Beals

Captain America : The First Avenger

Captain America - The First Avenger [2011]

 
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero/SF film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci. Set during World War II, the film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a sickly man from Brooklyn who is transformed into super soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Captain America must stop the Red Skull -- Adolf Hitler's ruthless head of weaponry, and the leader of an organization that intends to use a device called a tesseract as an energy-source for world domination.
 
Captain America: The First Avenger began as a concept in 1997, and was scheduled to be distributed by Artisan Entertainment. However, a lawsuit, not settled until September 2003, disrupted the project. After Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch, the rights were acquired by Paramount Pictures. Directors Jon Favreauand Louis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production of Captain America: The First Avenger began in June 2010, and filming took place in London, Manchester and Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and Los Angeles in the United States. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
 
Captain America: The First Avenger premiered in Hollywood on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, 2011. The film became a critical success grossing a total of $368.6 million worldwide. The Blu-ray and DVD were released on October 25, 2011.
 
Captain America: The First Avenger has received generally positive reviews from film critics. The film has a 79% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 214 reviews with an average rating of 6.9/10, and the consensus: "With plenty of pulpy action, a pleasantly retro vibe, and a handful of fine performances, Captain America is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment."Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score, gave the film a 66 out of 100 based on 36 reviews from critics.
 
Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel gave Captain America: The First Avenger a positive review stating, "Johnston has delivered a light, clever and deftly balanced adventure picture with real lump in the throat nostalgia, with Nazis – who make the best villains, and with loving references to Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark.'" Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked, "I enjoyed the movie. I appreciated the 1940s period settings and costumes, which were a break with the usual generic cityscapes. I admired the way that director Joe Johnston propelled the narrative. I got a sense of a broad story, rather than the impression of a series of sensational set pieces. If Marvel is wise, it will take this and Iron Man as its templates". A. O. Scott of The New York Times declared it "pretty good fun".
 
Conversely, Karina Longworth of The Village Voice gave the film a negative review, calling it "[A] hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D". Peter Debruge of Variety said, "Captain America: The First Avenger" plays like a by-the-numbers prequel for Marvel Studios' forthcoming "The Avengers" movie". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter had mixed feelings about the film, writing, "As the last Marvel prequel that includes two Iron Man and Incredible Hulk movies before next summer's The Avengers, this one feels perhaps a little too simplistic and routine".
 
Captain America: The First Avenger opened on July 22, 2011, in the United States and earned $4 million in midnight showings, outgrossing other 2011 original superhero movies like Thor and Green Lantern as well as the prequel X-Men: First Class, which all did between $3.25 million and $3.5 million in Friday midnights. On Friday, the film opened at the number one spot at the American and Canadian box office with $25.7 million. It then went on to make $65.1 million, which was the second highest-grossing opening weekend for a superhero film in 2011 behind Thor ($65.7 million).Captain America: The First Avengergrossed $176,654,505 in the U.S.A and Canada as well as $191,953,858 internationally, for a total of $368,608,363 worldwide.
 
Plot Opening:
 
In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a circular object with a red, white and blue motif. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) and his men invade Tønsberg, Norway, to steal a mysterious tesseract possessing untold powers. In New York City, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is rejected for World War II military duty due to various health and physical issues. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Rogers again attempts to enlist. Having overheard Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) allows Rogers to enlist.
 
He is recruited as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), and British agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). Phillips is unconvinced of Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the treatment, and suffered side-effects.....
 
Director: Joe Johnston
Writer: Christopher Markus; Stephen McFeely
Stars: Chris Evans; Tommy Lee Jones; Hugo Weaving; Hayley Atwell; Sebastian Stan; Dominic Cooper; Neal McDonough; Derek Luke; Stanley Tucci

Captain America - The Winter Soldier [2014]

 
Coming Soon

Cargo [2009]

 
Cargo is a 2009 science fiction film, the first from Swiss production and the first major feature film by Ivan Engler.
 
Plot
 
It is the year 2267. After the earth has become uninhabitable due to an ecological collapse, the remaining people live on overcrowded space stations in Earth's orbit. The young doctor Laura Portmann (Anna-Katharina Schwabroh) is one of them. She hopes for a better future alongside her sister on the distant planet Rhea, but to get there, she needs money. She signs up with Kuiper Enterprises for a job on the decrepit cargo ship Kassandra, heading for an eight-year flight to unmanned Station #42 and back.
 
The crew consists of five members: Captain Lacroix (Pierre Semmler), Lindbergh (Regula Grauwiller), Yoshida (Yangzom Brauen), Prokoff (Claude-Oliver Rudolph), and Vespucci (Michael Finger).
 
Crew members spend most of the fully automated flight in deep cryosleep while one person stays awake in 8 ½ month shifts to monitor the space ship. Due to the current terrorist threat from the radical Neo-Luddite group "Maschinenstürmer" ("Machine Strikers"), there is also an additional security person aboard: Samuel Decker (Martin Rapold). Toward the end of her shift, Portmann hears unusual noises from the cargo bay, and she feels observed. Her colleagues are awakened, and together the crew sets out to investigate the cold cargo space.
 
During the search, Captain Lacroix falls to his death from the cargo containers under mysterious circumstances. When footage from Lacroix's artificial eye is reviewed by Portmann, she discovers that he saw containers marked "BIOHAZARD" in the ship's hold, despite assurance that they were transporting construction materials. When Decker and Portmann investigate, they find a room filled with cases containing humans in deep cryosleep.
 
Upon examining a young girl from the hold, Portmann finds a "perfected" virtual reality connector embedded in the girl's spine. Later, Portmann sends an account of her finding to her sister on Rhea, and receives a reply in 20 minutes, rather than the usual matter of months. Lindbergh arrests Decker on suspicion of Lacroix's murder, and Decker reveals to Portmann that they are not flying to Station #42, but to Rhea. Her curiosity piqued, Portmann asks Yoshida to check the ship's travel coordinates, which confirm that they are not heading towards Station #42. Later, Portmann finds Yoshida dead on the lower levels.
 
In response to the gruesome discovery, Lindbergh organizes search teams to find whoever killed Yoshida. While searching the lower levels, Portmann is attacked by a figure in a large coat, but saved by someone shooting the man in the back. Portmann recognizes the assailant as Klaus Bruckner, leader of the "Maschinenstürmer". Portmann's savior is revealed to be Decker, Klaus Bruckner's teammate working undercover as an RBS agent. Lindbergh realizes that Portmann doesn't trust her and restrains her too, revealing to her that Rhea is a giant virtual reality simulation on a station in orbit around the actual, uninhabitable, planet. The crew are actually on their way to Rhea, but Lindbergh intends to execute Portmann and Decker before they arrive. Prokoff and Vespucci overhear Lindbergh and overpower her, freeing Portmann.
 
The four make a plan to enter Rhea and free Portmann's sister, while destroying the telecommunications antenna, ceasing broadcasts from Rhea's station. Prokoff and Vespucci decide to stay on Rhea, choosing virtual reality's paradise to real life. Decker sets the explosives on the antennae while Portmann cares for the young girl she found. When she sets out from the airlock, Portmann realizes that her fuel cell is faulty and her jetpack is broken. Luckily, she is caught by Decker and the two find Portmann's sister's containment pod.
 
Portmann connects to the virtual world and finds her sister living happily in a beautiful house. Seeing how happy her sister and her sister's children are, Portmann decides to leave without telling them that their world is a simulation. However, before she leaves, she sends out a broadcast revealing the truth about Rhea and the news that Earth is habitable again.
Back in reality, Decker gives Portmann his fuel cell so she can get back to the Kassandra. A sudden shockwave from the force of the Kassandra's engine igniting blows Decker away and Portmann tearfully returns to the ship. The explosives on the antennae detonate as the Kassandra floats away.
 
Back on board the Kassandra, Portmann is confronted again by the escaped Lindbergh, who attempts to kill her. Portmann forces Lindbergh into an airlock, which blows her out into deep space. Portmann then returns to the young girl and cares for her. The film ends with Portmann's broadcast from Rhea airing on news stations everywhere.
 
Director: Ivan Engler; Ralph Etter
Writer: Ivan Engler; Patrik Steinmann; Arnold Bucher
Stars: Anna-Katharina Schwabroh: Laura Portmann; Martin Rapold; Michael Finger; Claude-Oliver Rudolph; Yangzom Brauen; Pierre Semmler; Regula Grauwiller; Gilles Tschudi; Maria Boettner

The Chronicles of Riddick

The Chronicles Of Riddick [2004]

 
The Chronicles of Riddick is a 2004 American science fiction film. It follows the adventures of Richard B. Riddick, as he attempts to elude capture after the events depicted in the 2000 film Pitch Black, and details his meeting with Jack and Imam, his escape from the prison planet Crematoria, and his battle with the Necromonger fleet. It was directed by David Twohy, also the director of Pitch Black, and stars Vin Diesel (also co-producer), Karl Urban, Alexa Davalos, Thandie Newton, Colm Feore, with Judi Dench, and Keith David. The critical and commercial response was mixed. After the release of the film, The Chronicles of Riddick became the brand name of the series.
 
Opening:
The film opens with a narrative, explaining the motives of the Necromongers, a race of conquerors traveling across space toward the Underverse, a dark mirror of the normal universe where death has no meaning. Their leader, the Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), commands his troops to overrun worlds and convert their inhabitants into Necromongers; those who oppose conversion are killed.
 
The story begins on the icy world of the planet U.V.6 where Richard B. Riddick (Vin Diesel) is evading bounty hunter Toombs (Nick Chinlund) and his crew. Toombs is trying to collect the 1.5 million bounty placed on Riddick's head. Riddick kills or disables all but Toombs and leaves the planet with their ship, setting a course for the planet Helion Prime, from which the bounty originated.....
 
Director: David Twohy
Writer: David Twohy
Stars:Vin Diesel;Karl Urban; Judi Dench; Thandie Newton; Nick Chinlund; Colm Feore; Alexa Davalos

Thor [2011]

 
Thor is a 2011 American superhero/science fiction film based on the comic book character of the same name published by Marvel Comics. It is the fourth film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Kenneth Branagh, written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne, and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba and Stellan Skarsgård. The film tells the story of Thor, the crown prince of Asgard, who is exiled from his homeland to Earth. While there, he forms a relationship withJane Foster, a scientist. However, Thor must stop his adopted brother Loki, who intends to become the new king of Asgard.
 
Sam Raimi first developed the concept of a film adaptation of Thor in 2001, but soon abandoned the project, leaving it in "development hell" for several years. During this time, the rights were picked up by various film studios until Marvel Studios signed Mark Protosevich to develop the project in 2006, and planned to finance it and release it through Paramount Pictures. Matthew Vaughn was originally assigned to direct the film for a tentative 2010 release. However, after Vaughn was released from his holding deal in 2008, Branagh was approached and the film's release was rescheduled into 2011.
 
The main characters were cast in 2009, and principal photography took place in California and New Mexico from January to May 2010. The film was converted to 3D in post-production. Thor was released on April 21, 2011, in Australia, and on May 6, 2011, in the United States. The film was a financial success, but received mixed reactions. The DVD and Blu-ray sets were released on September 13, 2011. A sequel, Thor 2, is set for release November 8, 2013.
 
Box-Office & Critical response:
 
Thor earned $181,030,624 in North America and $268,295,994 in other territories for a worldwide total of $449,326,618. It is the 7th highest-grossing Marvel film and the 3rd highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was also the 15th highest-grossing film of 2011. The film opened solely in Australia on April 21, 2011, generating $5.8 million and placing second behind Universal Pictures' Fast Five. The film's box office was just 1% more than Iron Man, Marvel's most popular release, did in Australia in 2008. 
 
The following week, Thor opened in 56 markets and took in $89.2 million through the weekend. The film opened in North America on May 6, 2011 in 3,955 theaters with $25.5 million and went on to earn $65.7 million during its opening weekend taking the number one spot. $6.2 million of the gross came from 214 IMAX 3D theaters. 3D presentations at a then-record 2,737 locations accounted for 60% of the gross. Thor closed in theaters on August 25, 2011 with $181.0 million, becoming the 10th highest-grossing film of 2011 in North America. In total earnings, its highest-grossing countries after North America were the UK ($22.5 million), Australia ($20.1 million) and Mexico ($19.5 million).
 
Thor received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave Thor a 77% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on the aggregation of 254 reviews, with the consensus "A dazzling blockbuster that tempers its sweeping scope with wit, humor, and human drama, Thor is mighty Marvel entertainment." Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 57/100 based on reviews from 40 film critics, a middling score on their scale.
 
Richard Kuipers of Variety stated, "Thor delivers the goods so long as butt is being kicked and family conflict is playing out in celestial dimensions, but is less thrilling during the Norse warrior god's rather brief banishment on Earth".Megan Lehmann of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The hammer-hurling god of thunder kicks off this superhero summer with a bang". In the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper liked the movie, "Thanks in large part to a charming, funny and winning performance from Australian actor Chris Hemsworth in the title role, Thor is the most entertaining superhero debut since the original Spider-Man".
 
Conversely, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it a negative review stating, "Thor is a failure as a movie, but a success as marketing, an illustration of the ancient carnival tactic of telling the rubes anything to get them into the tent". A.O. Scott of the New York Times also disliked the film, calling it "an example of the programmed triumph of commercial calculation over imagination". Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times had mixed feelings, describing the film as "an aesthetic stand-off between predictable elements and unexpected ones". Turan praised the performances of Hemsworth, Hopkins, and Elba, but found the special effects inconsistent and the Earth storyline derivative.
 
Plot:
 
In AD 965, Odin, king of Asgard, wages war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and their leader Laufey, to prevent them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giants and seize the source of their power, the Casket of Ancient Winters. In the present, Odin's son Thor prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard, but is interrupted when Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the Casket. Against Odin's order, Thor travels to Jotunheim to confront Laufey, accompanied by his brother Loki, childhood friend Sif and the Warriors Three: Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun.
 
A battle ensues until Odin intervenes to save the Asgardians, destroying the fragile truce between the two races. For Thor's arrogance, Odin strips his son of his godly power and exiles him to Earth as a mortal, accompanied by his hammer Mjolnir (the source of his power) now protected by an enchantment to allow only the worthy to wield it.
Thor lands in New Mexico, where astrophysicist Jane Foster, her assistant Darcy Lewis and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig, find him. The local populace finds Mjolnir, which S.H.I.E.L.D. agent 
Phil Coulson soon commandeers before forcibly acquiring Jane's data about the wormhole that delivered Thor to Earth.
 
Thor, having discovered Mjolnir's nearby location, seeks to retrieve it from the facility that S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly constructed but he finds himself unable to lift it, and is captured. With Selvig's help, he is freed and resigns himself to exile on Earth as he develops a romance with Jane. Loki discovers that he is actually Laufey's son, adopted by Odin after the war ended. Odin, overcome with stress from Loki's discovery and Thor's exile, falls into the deep "Odinsleep" that allows him to recuperate. Loki seizes the throne in Odin's stead and offers Laufey the chance to kill Odin and retrieve the Casket.
 
Sif and the Warriors Three, unhappy with Loki's rule, attempt to return Thor from exile, convincing Heimdall, gatekeeper of the Bifröst - the means of traveling between worlds - to allow them passage to Earth. Aware of their plan, Loki sends theDestroyer, a seemingly indestructible automaton, to pursue them and kill Thor. The warriors find Thor, but the Destroyer attacks and defeats them, prompting Thor to offer himself instead. Struck by the Destroyer and near death, Thor's sacrifice proves him worthy to wield Mjolnir. The hammer returns to him, restoring his powers and enabling him to defeat the Destroyer. Kissing Jane goodbye and vowing to return, he and his fellow Asgardians leave to confront Loki.
 
In Asgard, Loki betrays and kills Laufey, revealing his true plan to use Laufey's attempt on Odin's life as an excuse to destroy Jotunheim with the Bifröst Bridge, thus proving himself worthy to his adoptive father. Thor arrives and fights Loki before destroying the Bifröst Bridge to stop Loki's plan, stranding himself in Asgard. Odin awakens and prevents the brothers from falling into the abyss created in the wake of the bridge's destruction, but Loki allows himself to fall. Thor makes amends with Odin, admitting he is not ready to be king; while on Earth, Jane and her team search for a way to open a portal to Asgard.
In a post-credits scene, Selvig has been taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, where Nick Fury opens a briefcase and asks him to study a mysterious object, which Fury says may hold untold power. An invisible Loki prompts Selvig to agree, which Selvig does.
 
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski; Mark Protosevich
Stars: Chris Hemsworth; Natalie Portman; Tom Hiddleston; Anthony Hopkins; Stellan Skarsgård; Rene Russo; Kat Dennings; Idris Elba

Thor: The Dark World [2013]

 

Superman

Superman [1978]

 
Superman (also known as Superman: The Movie) is a 1978 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Richard Donner directed the film, which stars Christopher Reeve as Superman, as well as Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure,Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty. The film depicts the origin of Superman, from infancy as Kal-El of Krypton and growing up in Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered attitude in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane, while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.
 
The film was conceived in 1973 by Ilya Salkind. Several directors, most notably Guy Hamilton, and screenwriters (Mario Puzo, David and Leslie Newman and Robert Benton) were associated with the project before Donner was hired to direct. Donner brought Tom Mankiewicz to rewrite the script, feeling it was too campy. Mankiewicz was credited as creative consultant. It was decided to film both Superman and Superman II simultaneously.
 
Principal photography started in March 1977 and ended in October 1978. Tensions rose between Donner and the producers, and a decision was made to stop filmingSuperman II and finish the first film. Donner had already shot 75% of the planned sequel, eventually giving birth to Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. Supermanwas released with critical acclaim and financial success. Reviewers noted parallels between the film's depiction of Superman and Jesus. The film's legacy helped to foster the establishment of the superhero film genre.
 
Premise:


On the planet Krypton, using evidence provided by scientist Jor-El, the Ruling Council sentences three attempted insurrectionists, General Zod, Ursa and Non, to "eternal living death" in the Phantom Zone. Despite his eminence, Jor-El is unable to convince the Council of his belief that Krypton will soon explode. To save his infant son Kal-El, Jor-El launches a spacecraft containing the child towards Earth, a distant planet with a suitable atmosphere, and where Kal-El's dense molecular structure will give him superhuman powers. Shortly after the launch Krypton is destroyed.
 
Three years later the ship lands near an American farming town, Smallville, where Kal-El is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent and raised as their own son, Clark. Eighteen years later, after the death of Jonathan, Clark hears a psychic "call", discovering a glowing green crystal in the ship. It compels him to travel to the Arctic, where the crystal builds the Fortress of Solitude, resembling the architecture of Krypton. Inside, a vision of Jor-El explains Clark's origins, educating him in powers and responsibilities. After 12 years, with his powers fully developed, Clark leaves the Fortress with a colorful costume and becomes a reporter at the Daily Planet inMetropolis. He meets and develops a romantic attraction to coworker Lois Lane, but she sees him as awkward and unsophisticated....
 
Director: Richard Donner
Writer: Mario Puzo
Stars: Marlon Brando; Gene Hackman; Christopher Reeve; Margot Kidder

Superman II

Superman II [1980]

 
Superman II is the 1980 sequel to the 1978 superhero film Superman and stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas,Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was the only Superman film to be filmed by two directors. For this reason, the film is surrounded with controversy since original director Richard Donner had completed, by his estimation, roughly 75% of the movie in 1977 before being taken off the project. Many of the scenes shot by second director Richard Lester (who had been an uncredited producer on the first film) in 1979 are refilmed Donner sequences. It was released in Europe and Australia in late 1980, and in other countries throughout 1981.
 
Selected premiere engagements of Superman II were presented in Megasound, a high-impact surround sound system similar to Sensurround. According to statements by Donner, roughly 25% of the theatrical cut of Superman II contains footage he shot, including all of Gene Hackman's scenes. A brand new re-cut of the film, restoring as much of Donner's original conception as possible, titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, was released in 2006, with approximately 83% of the footage therein having been filmed by Donner, and the remainder being Richard Lester footage kept to fill in the gaps of footage that Donner had never been able to film before his firing.
 
Superman II, like Superman, has received much praise. On IMDb, the film holds a 6.7 rating on a scale of 10. It holds an 88% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the summary saying, "The humor occasionally stumbles into slapstick territory, and the special effects are dated, but Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor." Roger Ebert, who gave the original film very high acclaim also praised Superman II, giving it four out of four stars, claiming that "Superman II begins in midstream, and never looks back..."
 
Superman II was a box office success scoring the highest-grossing opening weekend up to that time and became the 3rd highest grossing film of 1981. It grossed $108,185,706 in the US, reaching blockbuster status. The film also received recognition from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. It won Best Science Fiction Film. Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder were nominated Best Actorand Best Actress, respectively. Ken Thorne also received a nomination for Best Music.
 
British cinema magazine Total Film named Terence Stamp's version of General Zod #32 on their 'Top 50 Greatest Villains of All Time' list (beating out the #38 place of Lex Luthor) in 2007. Pop culture website IGNplaced General Zod at #30 on their list of the 'Top 50 Comic Book Villains' while commenting "Stamp is Zod" (emphasis in original). Anti-smoking campaigners opposed the film as the largest sponsor of Superman II was the cigarette brand Marlboro, who paid $43,000 (approx £20,000), for the brand to be shown 22 times in the film. Lois Lane was shown as a chain smoker in the film, although she never smoked in the comic book version. A prop included a truck signwritten with the Marlboro logo, although actual vehicles for tobacco distribution are unmarked, for security reasons. This led to a Congressional investigation.
 
Director: Richard Lester; Richard Donner
Writer: Mario Puzo
Stars: Gene Hackman; Christopher Reeve; Ned Beatty; Jackie Cooper; Sarah Douglas; Margot Kidder; Jack O'Halloran; Valerie Perrine; Susannah York; Clifton James; E. G. Marshall; Marc McClure; Terence Stamp
 

Superman III

Supeman III [1983]

 
Superman III is a 1983 superhero film and the third film in the Superman film series based upon the long-running DC Comics superhero. Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure and Margot Kidder are joined by new cast members Annette O'Toole, Annie Ross, Pamela Stephenson, Robert Vaughn and Richard Pryor. The film was the last Reeve/Superman film produced by Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind. It was followed by Supergirl (produced by the Salkinds) in 1984 and the non-Salkind produced sequel Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987.
 
The film was less successful than the first two Superman movies, both financially and critically. While harsh criticism focused on the film's comedic and campy tone, Reeve was praised for his much darker performance as the corrupted Superman. Following the release of this movie, Pryor signed a five-year contract with Columbia Pictures worth $40 million.
Series producer Ilya Salkind originally wrote a treatment for this film that included Brainiac, Mister Mxyzptlk and Supergirl, but Warner Bros. did not like it. The treatment was released online in 2007.
 
The total domestic box office gross (not adjusted for inflation) for Superman III was $59,950,623. Despite poor feedback from the critics, the film was highly successful internationally, much like the Supergirl film the next year. In fact, the film still became one of the highest grossing films of 1983 and #1 at the box office.
 
In July 1983, ITV showed the Royal Premiere of Superman III. This show included interviews with actors in the film, who had flown to London for the United Kingdom and European premiere. Some clips from the film were shown, including where Superman is flying Gus to the coal mine and explaining how he used the acid to destroy the supercomputer, thus revealing the ending of the film.
 
Opening:
 
August "Gus" Gorman (Richard Pryor), an unemployed ne'er-do-well, discovers a knack for computer programming. After embezzling from his new employer's payroll (through a technique known as salami slicing), Gorman is brought to the attention of the CEO, Ross Webster. Webster (Robert Vaughn) is obsessed with the computer's potential to aid him in his schemes to rule the world financially. Joined by his sister Vera (Annie Ross) and his "psychic nutritionist" Lorelei Ambrosia (Pamela Stephenson), Webster blackmails Gorman into helping him....
 
Director: Richard Lester
Writer: David Newman; Leslie Newman
Stars: Christopher Reeve; Richard Pryor; Jackie Cooper; Marc McClure; Annette O'Toole; Annie Ross; Pamela Stephenson; Robert Vaughn; Margot Kidder
 

Superman IV

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace [1987]

 
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the fourth and final installment in the Superman film series to star Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, and instead by Golan-Globus's Cannon Films, in association with Warner Bros. Gene Hackman returns as Lex Luthor as he creates an evil solar-powered Superman clone called Nuclear Man. Superman IV was neither a critical nor a box office success, and the series went on hiatus until Superman Returns in 2006.
 
The film was released July 24, 1987, in the United States and Canada and grossed $5.6 million in 1,511 theaters its opening weekend, ranking #4 at the box office. It grossed a total of $15.6 million in the United States and Canada. Of the four Superman films starring Reeve, this one fared the worst at the box office, and the series, as it turned out, went dormant for 19 years. 
 
Plans were made to do Superman V, but it never came to fruition. Reeve's 1995 paralysis made the development of any further sequels involving him in the starring role impossible. Time Warner let the Superman feature film franchise go undeveloped until the late-1990s when a variety of proposals were considered, including several that would reboot the franchise with different versions of the characters and setting, rather than attempt to follow up on this film.
The film was universally panned by critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 10% of 30 critics gave the film positive reviews. The movie received a poor review by The New York Times. It fared no better with Variety. The Washington Post described it as "More sluggish than a funeral barge, cheaper than a sale at K mart, it's a nerd, it's a shame, it's 'Superman IV."


The film ended with the final line, "See you in twenty." In fact, it would be 19 years before the next Superman film, Superman Returns, would arrive at cinemas in June 2006. This film appears to discard the events of Superman III and IV, continuing where the first two installments left off, although most of Richard Lester's concepts in Superman II are jettisoned as well.
 
Opening: 
 
After saving a group of cosmonauts whose ship is jeopardized by a rogue satellite, Superman visits his hometown of Smallville disguised as Clark Kent, checking in on the uninhabited farm where he grew up. In an empty barn he uncovers the space-capsule in which he was sent to Earth, and removes a green-glowing, Kryptonianenergy module. A recording left by his birth mother, Lara, states that its power can only be used once....

Superman Returns

Superman Returns [2006]

 
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a loose sequel to Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) by ignoring the events of Superman III (1983) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). The film stars Brandon Routh as Superman, as well as Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Frank Langella, and Parker Posey, and tells the story of the title character returning to Earth after a five year absence. He finds that his love interest Lois Lane has moved on with her life, and that his archenemy Lex Luthor is plotting a scheme that will destroy the United States.
 
After a series of unsuccessful projects to resurrect Superman on the screen, Warner Bros. hired Bryan Singer to direct and develop Superman Returns in July 2004. The majority of principal photography took place at Fox Studios Australia, Sydney, while the visual effects sequences were created by Sony Pictures Imageworks; filming ended in November 2005. Preceded by an extensive marketing campaign at the cost of $44.5 million, Superman Returns was released to positive reviews and received many award nominations, but Warner Bros. was disappointed with the $391 million worldwide box office return. A sequel was planned for a summer 2009 release, but the project was later cancelled. The Superman series will be rebooted in 2012 with the film Man of Steel and will be directed by Zack Snyder with Henry Cavill as Superman.
 
Opening:
 
Superman (Brandon Routh), having been missing for five years, traveled to the location where astronomers believed they had discovered the remains of Krypton. During his absence, Superman's nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) was released from prison and married a rich widow to obtain her fortune upon her death. Superman, having failed in his quest to find surviving Kryptonians, returns to Earth and, as Clark Kent, resumes his job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis.
 
He subsequently learns that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has won the Pulitzer Prize for her article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Meanwhile, Luthor travels to the Fortress of Solitudeand steals Kryptonian crystals, which he uses for an experiment that causes a power outage on the East Coast. The power loss interferes with the flight test of a space shuttle to be launched into space from its piggy-back mounting on an airliner, occupied by Lois Lane, who is covering the story. Clark flies into action as Superman and stops the plane from crashing onto a baseball stadium.
 
Director: Bryan Singer
Writer: Michael Dougherty; Dan Harris; Bryan Singer
Stars: Brandon Routh; Kate Bosworth; Kevin Spacey; James Marsden; Parker Posey; Frank Langella; Sam Huntington; Eva Marie Saint; Kal Penn
 

Supernova

Supernova [2000]

 
Supernova is a 2000 science fiction film, from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists. The film was written by David C. Wilson, William Malone and Daniel Chuba and directed by Walter Hill, credited as "Thomas Lee."


"Thomas Lee" was chosen as a directorial pseudonym for release, as the name Alan Smithee had become too well-known as a badge of a film being disowned by its makers.
Originally developed in 1988 by director William Malone as "Dead Star" with paintings by H. R. Giger and a plot that had been called "Hellraiser in outer space."


The cast featured James Spader as Nick Vanzant, Angela Bassett as Kaela Evers, Robert Forster as A.J. Marley, Lou Diamond Phillips as Yerzy Penalosa, Peter Facinelli as Karl Larson, Robin Tunney as Danika Lund, and Wilson Cruz as Benjamin Sotomejor. This film was shot by cinematographer Lloyd Ahern and scored by composers David C. Williams and Burkhard Dallwitz. The film shares several plot similarities with the film Event Horizon released in 1997.
 
Premise:
 
Supernova chronicles the search and rescue patrol of a medical ship in deep space in the early 22nd century and its six-member crew which includes a captain and pilot (Robert Forster), a co-pilot (James Spader), a medical officer (Angela Bassett), a medical technician (Lou Diamond Phillips), a search and rescue paramedic (Robin Tunney), and a computer technician (Wilson Cruz). Aboard their vessel, the Nightingale 229, they receive an emergency distress signal coming from an ice mining operation on the moon Titan 37, over 3000 light years away…
 
 

Surrogates [2009]

 
Surrogates is a 2009 American science fiction-action film, based on the 2005–2006 comic book series of the same name. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis as FBI Agent Tom Greer who ventures out into the real world to investigate the murder of surrogates,Radha Mitchell plays Greer's partner Agent Peters, Rosamund Pike plays Greer's wife Maggie,Boris Kodjoe as Greer and Peters' boss Stone, with Ving Rhames as the anti-surrogate religious leader Prophet, and James Cromwell as the creator of the surrogates Lionel Canter. Surrogates was released on September 25, 2009 in the United States and Canada. It was released by Touchstone Pictures.
 
The film's main concept centers around the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase remote controlled humanoid robots through which they interact with society. These fit, good-looking, remotely controlled robots ultimately assume their life roles, enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
 
Surrogates played at 2,992 theaters, where it generated $5,053,646 on its opening day. On its opening weekend, it grossed to $14,902,692, averaging $5,050 per theater, ranking #2 at the U.S. box office, behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. For the second weekend of Oct 2-4th, it saw a 45% decrease where it fell down to 4th place at the box office only to gross about $6 million. The third domestic weekend release saw a 36% decrease, which was 9% less than its last weekend. The film went on to gross $38,577,772 domestically and $83 million worldwide, with an overall gross of $122,444,772.
 
Premise:
 
In the future, widespread use of remotely-controlled androids called "surrogates" allow everyone to live in idealized forms from the safety of their homes. A surrogate's operator is protected from harm and feels no pain when their surrogate is damaged. FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) has a strained relationship with his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike), due to their son's death several years before. He never sees her outside of her surrogate and she criticizes his desire to interact via their real bodies...
 
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Writer: Robert Venditti
Stars: Bruce Willis; Radha Mitchell; Rosamund Pike; Boris Kodjoe; Jack Noseworthy; James Cromwell; Ving Rhames

Terminator

The Terminator [1984]

 
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger plays the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, played by Hamilton.
 
Biehn plays Kyle Reese, a soldier from the future sent back in time to protect Sarah.
Though not expected to be either a commercial or critical success, The Terminator topped the American box office for two weeks and helped launch the film careers of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2008, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
 
Opening:
 
In a post-apocalyptic 2029, artificially intelligent machines seek to exterminate what is left of the human race. Two beings from this era travel back in time to 1984 Los Angeles: one is a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a cyborg assassin programmed to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). The other is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a human resistance fighter sent to protect her. After killing two other Sarah Connors listed in the telephone directory, the Terminator tracks its target to a nightclub. Kyle saves Sarah from the Terminator's attack and the two make an escape.....
 
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Michael Biehn; Linda Hamilton
 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Terminator 2: Judgement Day [1991]

 
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, commonly abbreviated T2, is a 1991 science fiction action film directed, co-written, and co-produced by James Cameron and starringArnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, and Robert Patrick. A sequel to 1984's The Terminator, it follows the characters of Sarah Connor (Hamilton, reprising her role from the original film) and her son John (Furlong) as they are pursued by a new, more advanced Terminator, the liquid metal shape-shifting T-1000(Patrick).
 
Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the Terminator, but while the character was the antagonist of the first film, in Terminator 2 he is a protagonist, defending John and Sarah from the T-1000 and assisting them in their attempt to prevent Judgment Day, a future event in which machines will begin to exterminate humanity.
 
Terminator 2 was a significant box office and critical success. It had an impact on popular culture, and is considered hugely influential in the genres of action and science fiction.The film's visual effects included many breakthroughs in computer-generated imagery, marking the first use of natural human motion for a computer-generated character and the first partially computer-generated main character. It received many accolades, including four Academy Awards for makeup, sound mixing, sound editing, and visual effects.
 
Opening in 2,274 theaters, Terminator 2: Judgment Day earned $54 million during its Fourth of July opening weekend. At the time, only Batman had had a better opening weekend with $57 million during a five day period. An anonymous theater chain owner was reported as saying "[b]ut nothing since 'Batman' has created the frenzy for tickets we saw this weekend with 'Terminator.' At virtually all our locations, we were selling out well in advance of showings, and the word-of-mouth buzz out there is just phenomenal."
 
Made for approximately $102 million, the movie was, at the time, the most expensive movie ever made. However, if adjusted for inflation, Cleopatra, which cost $44 million when it was made in 1963, would have been $219 million in 1995 dollars. It was a box-office success, earning $204.8 million in the United States alone, and $519 million worldwide and was the highest grossing film of 1991, beating Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. 
 
The original Terminator grossed only $38 million in the U.S. in its theatrical run, making Terminator 2's 434% increase a record for a sequel.
Upon its release, the theatrical cut ran 137 minutes. On November 24, 1993, the Terminator 2: Judgment Day: Special Edition cut of the film was released to Laserdisc and VHS, containing 17 minutes of never-before-seen footage including scenes with Michael Biehn reprising his role as Kyle Reese in a dream sequence. The subsequent "Ultimate Edition" and "Extreme Edition" DVD releases also contain this version of the film.
 
Opening:
 
In 1995, eleven years after the events of The Terminator, John Connor (Edward Furlong) is ten years old and living in Los Angeles with foster parents. His mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) had been preparing him throughout his childhood for his future role as the leader of the human Resistance against Skynet, but she was arrested after attempting to bomb a computer factory and remanded to a hospital for the criminally insane under the supervision of Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen).
 
Skynet sends a new Terminator, a T-1000 (Robert Patrick), back in time to 1995 to kill John. A more advanced prototype than the Terminator that was sent after Sarah, the T-1000 is composed of "a mimetic polyalloy", a liquid metal that allows it to take the shape and appearance of anyone or anything it touches. Though it cannot mimic complex machines such as guns or bombs, it can shape parts of itself into knives and stabbing weapons and can mimic the voice and appearance of humans. It assumes the identity of a police officer and goes in pursuit of John. Meanwhile, the future John Connor has sent back a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), identical to the one that attacked Sarah, to protect his younger self....
 
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Linda Hamilton; Edward Furlong; Robert Patrick

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [2003]

 
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, commonly abbreviated as T3, is a 2003 science fiction action film directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken. It is the second sequel to The Terminator (1984).
After the failure of Skynet to kill Sarah Connor before her son is born and to kill John himself as a child, it sends back another Terminator, the T-X, in a last attempt to wipe out as many Resistance officers as possible, since Connor himself cannot be traced. This includes John's future wife, but not John himself as his whereabouts are unknown to Skynet. Yet, as the story unfolds, the T-X coincidentally finds the Resistance leader-to-be.
 
Terminator 3 earned a 70% positive rating on the film critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. Shortly after the film's release, James Cameron told the BBC he thought the film was "in one word: great", but later said he felt it and its sequel had ruined the franchise and that he would not return because of this. In The New York Times A. O. Scott said the film "is essentially a B movie, content to be loud, dumb and obvious". Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars, remarking, "Essentially one long chase and fight, punctuated by comic, campy or simplistic dialogue." Terminator 3 earned a total worldwide gross of $433 million, 17% less than its predecessor's worldwide gross of $519 million. 
 
Released 12 years after T2, the film did not match its predecessors in terms of cultural significance: both The Terminator and Terminator 2 were noted by the AFI twice in the same list (100 Years...100 Quotes for "I'll be back" and "Hasta la vista, baby" as well as AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains for the T-800 in both incarnations). Furthermore Terminator 2, one of the first motion pictures ever to employ extensive computer-generated effects, won four Academy Awards for technical achievement, whereas the sequel was not nominated.
 
Opening:
 
Following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor (Nick Stahl) has been living off-the-grid in Los Angeles. Although Judgment Day did not occur on August 29, 1997, the date given by the Terminator in the previous film, John does not believe that the prophesied war between humans and Skynet has been averted. Unable to locate John, Skynet sends a new model of Terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken), back in time to July 24, 2004 to kill his future lieutenants in the human Resistance.
 
A more advanced model than previous Terminators, the T-X has an endoskeleton with built-in weaponry, a liquid metal exterior similar to the T-1000, and the ability to control other machines. The Resistance sends a reprogrammed T-850 model 101 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to protect the T-X's targets, including Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) and John. This Terminator reveals that in the future John and Kate are married, and that it succeeded in killing John in 2032 before being reprogrammed by Kate.
 
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Writer: John Brancato; Michael Ferris; Tedi Sarafian
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Nick Stahl; Claire Danes; Kristanna Loken

Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation [2009]

 
Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. The fourth installment in theTerminator series, the film is set in 2018 and focuses on the war between Skynet and humanity, with the human Resistance fighting against Skynet's killing machines. This is a departure from the previous installments, which were set between 1984 and 2004 and used time travel as a key plot element. Bale portrays John Connor, a Resistance fighter and the franchise's central character, while Worthington portrays cyborg Marcus Wright. Terminator Salvation also features Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reese, a character first introduced in The Terminator, and depicts the origin of the T-800 Model 101 Terminator.
 
After a troubled pre-production, with The Halcyon Company acquiring the rights for the franchise from Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar and several writers working on the screenplay, filming began in May 2008 in New Mexico and ran for 77 days. Terminator Salvation was released on May 21, 2009 in the United States and Canada, followed by early June releases in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The film grossed over $371 million worldwide.
 
The film's first nationwide U.S. screenings were at 12 A.M. on Thursday, May 21, 2009, making $3 million from midnight screenings and earning $13.3 million in its first day  and grossed an additional $42,558,390 on its 4-day Memorial Day opening weekend from 3,530 theaters.It debuted at #2 behind Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, giving it a lower first weekend take than its predecessor, becoming the first film in the series not to open at #1 and failing to meet Boxoffice Magazine predictions by 50%. 
 
Terminator Salvation was more successful in its international release, opening at #1 in 66 of 70 territories through the first week of June, and continuing to be the highest-grossing film in the following week.The film's total domestic gross was $125,322,469, along with $246,030,532 from overseas territories, for a worldwide gross of $371,353,001. As of December 2009, the film ranks fourteenth for the year internationally and twenty third domestically (U.S. and Canada), which ranks it last in the series and puts it below initial expectations in terms of domestic gross and first weekend, as well as overall global take.
 
The film was released in North America on May 21, 2009 with Warner Bros. setting the American premiere on May 14, 2009 at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Elsewhere, Sony Pictures Entertainment released the film in most overseas territories on different dates in June. One exception was Mexico, however, because of the swine flu outbreak in the country, which forced Sony to push the release date to July 31, 2009.
 
It is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action, and language," unlike the previous R-rated films. The decision to release the film with a PG-13 rating has met with much criticism from fans, as well as the media. The rating decision was made after McG cut out a shot of Marcus stabbing a thug with a screwdriver, as the director felt disallowing the young audience due to that one shot was unfair. He also deleted a topless scene for Moon Bloodgood because, "It was a soft moment between a man and a woman that was designed to echo the Kelly McGillis/Harrison Ford moment in Witness [but] in the end, it felt more like a gratuitous moment of a girl taking her top off in an action picture, and I didn't want that to convolute the story or the characters." The producers had expected the rating because of the modern leniency towards violence in PG-13 films, such as the 2007 action film, Live Free or Die Hard.
 
Premise:
 
In 2003, Doctor Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) of Cyberdyne Systems convinces death row inmate Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) to sign his body over for medical research following his execution by lethal injection. One year later the Skynet system is activated, perceives humans as a threat to its own existence, and eradicates much of humanity in the event known as "Judgment Day" (as depicted in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines).
In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) leads a Resistance attack on a Skynet base. John discovers human prisoners and schematics for a new type of Terminatorincorporating living tissue, but he is the only apparent survivor of the attack after the base is destroyed in a nuclear explosion. However, Marcus emerges from the wreckage of the base and proceeds on foot to Los Angeles....
 
Director: McG
Writer: John Brancato and Michael Ferris
Stars: Christian Bale; Sam Worthington; Anton Yelchin; Moon Bloodgood; Bryce Dallas Howard
Common; Jadagrace Berry; Michael Ironside; Helena Bonham Carter
Coming Soon

The Matrix

The Matrix [1999]

 
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss,Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It was first released in North America on March 31, 1999, and in Australia on April 8, 1999, and is the first installment in the Matrixseries of films, comic books, video games, and animation.
 
The film depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Upon learning this, computer programmer "Neo" is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from the "dream world" and into reality.
 
The film contains many references to the cyberpunk andhacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas such as René Descartes' evil genius, the Allegory of the Cave, the brain in a vat thought experiment; and homages to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Hong Kong action cinema, spaghetti westerns, dystopian fiction, and Japanese animation.
 
Opening:
Computer programmer Thomas A. Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is secretly a hacker known by the alias "Neo." He wishes to learn the answer to the question "What is the Matrix?" based on cryptic messages on his computer. He encounters three sinister Agents, led by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), which leads him to a group led byMorpheus (Laurence Fishburne).
 
Several members of Morpheus' inner circle, including an infamous female hacker called Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), take Neo to a secret meeting, but only after they remove a robotic tracking bug from Neo's body. At the meeting Morpheus offers Neo a choice of two pills: A blue one that would return him to his old life, and a red pill that would allow him to learn the answers he seeks.
 
Neo swallows the red pill, and he abruptly finds himself in a liquid-filled pod, his body connected by tubes and cables to a vast mechanical tower covered with identical pods. The connections are severed, and he is rescued by Morpheus and taken aboard his ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. Neo's atrophied physical body is restored, and Morpheus explains the situation......
 
Director: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Writer: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves; Laurence Fishburne; Carrie-Anne Moss; Hugo Weaving; Joe Pantoliano

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Reloaded [2003]

 
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15, 2003, and around the world during the latter half of that month. It was also screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.
 
The video game Enter the Matrix, which was released on May 15, and a collection of nine animated shorts, The Animatrix, which was released on June 3, supported and expanded the storyline of the movie.The Matrix Revolutions, which completes the story, was released six months after Reloaded, in November 2003.
 
Opening:
Neo wakes from a nightmare in which Trinity is shot by an agent of the Matrix while falling from a building. Morpheus and new operator Link (Harold Perrineau) receive a message from Captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) of the Logos calling an emergency meeting of all of Zion's hovercraft. Zion has confirmed the last transmission of theOsiris: an army of Sentinels is tunneling towards Zion and will reach it within 72 hours. 
 
Commander Lock (Harry J. Lennix), the ranking military officer of Zion, orders all ships to return to Zion to prepare for the onslaught. Morpheus asks a ship to remain in order to contact the Oracle, in defiance of Commander Lock's orders. TheCaduceus receives a message from the Oracle, and the Nebuchadnezzar ventures out so Neo can contact her. One of the Caduceus' crew, Bane, encounters Agent Smith, who takes over Bane's avatar. Smith then leaves the Matrix, gaining control of Bane's real body......
 
Director: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Writer: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves; Laurence Fishburne; Carrie-Anne Moss; Hugo Weaving; Harold Perrineau; Randall Duk Kim; Jada Pinkett Smith

The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix Revolutions [2003]

 
The Matrix: Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third and final installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5, 2003. Despite the fact that it is the final film in the series, the Matrix storyline continued in The Matrix Online. The film was the second live-action film to be released in both regular and IMAX movie theaters at the same time
 
Opening:
The film begins where The Matrix Reloaded ended. Bane and Neo are both unconscious, but Neo shows neural patterns suggesting he is in the Matrix. Morpheusdecides to start a search for Neo within the Matrix. Neo finds himself trapped in a subway station; a transition zone between the Matrix and the machine world. At this station, Neo meets a 'family' of programs, including a girl named Sati, whose father tells Neo that the station is controlled by a program called The Trainman, an exile loyal only to the Merovingian who exerts complete control over the subway.
 
When Neo tries to board the train with the family, the Trainman refuses to let him aboard.
Seraph contacts Morpheus on behalf of the Oracle. The Oracle, with a changed appearance, informs Morpheus and Trinity of Neo's confinement. Seraph, Morpheus, and Trinity pursue the Trainman to secure Neo's release. The trio enters Club Hel to confront the Merovingian to release Neo. The Merovingian demands "the eyes of the Oracle" in exchange for Neo's release. Trinity loses her patience and provokes a Mexican standoff, forcing the Merovingian to release Neo.....
 
Director: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Writer: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves; Laurence Fishburne; Carrie-Anne Moss; Hugo Weaving; Harold Perrineau; Randall Duk Kim; Jada Pinkett Smith

MIB

Men In Black[1997]

 
Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics. The film featured the creature effects and makeup of Rick Baker. The film was released on July 2, 1997 by Columbia Pictures and grossed over $587 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. It was followed by a 2002 sequel, Men in Black II, an animated series titled Men in Black: The Series as well as a second sequel that will be released in 2012, Men in Black III.
 
The main plot of the movie revolves around a "Bug" (code word for a member of an insectoid alien species that is similar in many ways to a very large cockroach) searching for a miniature galaxy, which is also a vast energy source in 1997 New York. Upon landing on Earth, the Bug kills a farmer named Edgar (Vincent D'Onofrio) and uses his skin as a disguise to aid in the hunt. A member of an alien royal family, masquerading as a diamond merchant, has concealed the galaxy on his cat's collar.
 
When he is killed by the Bug, his government prepares to destroy the Earth rather than let the galaxy fall into the Bugs' hands. During their mission, J and K investigate a morgue where they meet Dr. Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino), a cynical deputy medical examiner. Eventually, the agents kill the Bug (with Laurel's help) and recover the galaxy. K then has J erase his memory so he can retire, and Laurel joins the MIB and becomes Agent L, J's new partner.
 
In the final scene of the film, the camera pulls back into the sky through space past our solar system, past millions of stars, ultimately revealing that our galaxy is contained within a spherical container resembling a marble. The container is then picked up by an alien hand that throws it, hitting another 'marble' also containing a galaxy, in what resembles a game of marbles. Both marbles are then picked up by the hand and placed into a bag full of galaxy-containing marbles.
 
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writer: Ed Solomon
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones; Will Smith; Vincent D'Onofrio; Linda Fiorentino; Rip Torn; Tony Shalhoub
 

MIB 2

Men In Black II [2002]

 
Men in Black II is a 2002 sci-fi action comedy starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. The film also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson andRip Torn. The film is a sequel to the 1997 film Men in Black, and is followed by Men in Black III all of which are based on the Malibu comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham.
 
Premise:
 
Five years after the events of Men in Black, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) has assumed civilian life as a small town's postmaster and Agent J (Will Smith) continues to work for the MiB, the self-funded New York City-based agency that secretly monitors and regulates extraterrestrials' activity on Earth. J is largely without a partner, as his former partner Agent L has returned to her former life as a deputy medical examiner Dr. Laurel Weaver (played by Linda Fiorentino in the original MiB movie) and her successors had been expelled from the agency by J due to their unsuitability.
 
While investigating a seemingly routine crime, J uncovers a diabolical plot by Serleena, ashapeshifting Kylothian queen who disguises herself as a model (Lara Flynn Boyle), but resembles a plant-like hydra in her own form. To stop her, J must convince K (who has no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is the only person alive who knows what is needed to defeat Serleena) to reunite with the MIB before Earth is destroyed.......
 
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writer: Robert Gordon
Stars: Tommy Lee Jones; Will Smith; Lara Flynn Boyle; Johnny Knoxville; Rosario Dawson; Tony Shalhoub; Rip Torn 

Men In Black III [2012]

 
Men in Black 3 (stylized as MIB³ and alternatively spelled Men in Black III) is a 2012 American 3D science fiction comedy film. It was released on May 25, 2012 and stars Will Smith,Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. Principal photography began in New York City on November 16, 2010, taking place ten years after its predecessor Men in Black II and fifteen years after the release of the original Men in Black. Barry Sonnenfeld and Steven Spielberg returned as director and executive producer respectively. It is the third installment in the Men in Black film series based on Lowell Cunningham's The Men in Black comic book series. Men in Black 3 received generally positive reviews from critics and became a box office success with a worldwide gross of over $624 million. It is also the highest grossing film in the series. Buoyed by the film's success, another sequel has been confirmed.
 
Plot Intro:
 
Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement), last surviving member of the predatory Boglodite race, escapes from the inescapable LunarMax prison on Earth's moon intent on going back in time to kill Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), who, on July 16, 1969, caused the loss of one of Boris' arms and arrested him. On Earth, K learns of the escape after investigating a spaceship crash in the New York City streets and a Chinese restaurant teeming with alien life. While K won't reveal any details to Agent J (Will Smith), he confesses his regret at not having killed Boris in 1969. Late that night when the two agents are in their respective apartments, K calls J seemingly to tell all but remains silent and J hangs up on him. K then makes preparation for an ambush and sets to wait when all traces of him and his apartment disappear. The next morning J goes to talk with K and discovers the world is different. At MIB headquarters, J learns that all other MIB personnel remember K as having been killed in action in the year 1969.
 
Agent O (Emma Thompson), the new Chief after Zed's passing, deduces from J's insistence on his reality and knowledge of details about Agent K that a fracture has occurred in the space-time continuum. She deduces Boris time-jumped to 1969 – knowledge of time-travel having been restricted to prevent such an occurrence – and killed K, resulting in a different future reality and an imminent Boglodite invasion of Earth, now vulnerable due to the absence of the protective ArcNet which, in J's version of reality, K had installed in 1969. Through electronics-shop owner Jeffrey Price (Michael Chernus), J acquires the same time-jump mechanism as Boris, but his query about how he can remember K when nobody else can merely results in Jeffrey informing him that he must have 'been there'. As the doomed Earth is being invaded, J jumps off the Chrysler Building to reach time-travel velocity and arrives in 1969 the day before Boris is supposed to kill K.....
 
Critical Response & Box Office:
 
Men in Black 3 received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 69 percent approval rating with an average rating of 6/10, based on an aggregation of 212 reviews. The consensus states: "It isn't exactly a persuasive argument for the continuation of the franchise — but Men in Black III is better than its predecessor and manages to exceed expectations, largely due to Josh Brolin's impressive performance." It has a score of 58 on Metacritic based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
 
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, in particular praising Josh Brolin's role as the young Agent K, which he cites as an excellent example of good casting. Ebert also praises the "ingenious plot, bizarre monsters, audacious cliff-hanging" and the "virtuoso final sequence".
 
MIB 3 has earned $179,020,854 in North America, as of September 9, 2012, and $445,005,922 in other countries, as of August 19, 2012, for a worldwide total of $624,026,776. It had a worldwide opening weekend of $189.9 million.It made the biggest worldwide IMAX Memorial-Day weekend ($12.7 million from 474 theaters), surpassing the previous record of On Stranger Tides.
 
In North America, MIB 3 earned $1.55 million during its midnight run from 2,233 locations. On its opening day, the film debuted at the top of the box office and grossed $17.7 million (including midnight grosses). This was slightly lower than the opening day grosses of its predecessors. During its three-day opening weekend, it topped the box office with $54.6 million, which was higher than the opening weekends of the two previous films. The movie then earned an additional $14.7 million on Memorial Day, bringing its four-day weekend total to $69.3 million. The opening weekend audience was 54 percent male and 56 percent over the age of 25. The film received a B+ CinemaScore. It remained in first place at the North American box office for one week.
 
Outside North America, MIB 3 is the highest-grossing film of the franchise and the seventh highest-grossing 2012 film. It made $135.3 million on its opening weekend from 85 territories. Its highest-grossing openings were recorded in China ($21.7 million), and Russia and the CIS ($16.9 million). It was in first place at the box office outside North America for two consecutive weekends.
 
Potential Sequel: 
 
Both Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have said that they would "consider" appearing in a Men in Black 4. Jones said it would be "easy to pick up where we left off. We know what we are doing, we know how to do it. It's just a hell of a lot of fun." In July 2012, Columbia chief executive Doug Belgrad said: "We're very pleased with the financial performance of Men in Black 3, and we believe it is an ongoing franchise. We're going to do [another one], but we don't have clarity yet on how it should be done." Barry Sonnenfeld said: "Will's kind of really smart, but as I said, kind of really annoying, too much energy.
 
When he would get too rambunctious, I would tell him that for Men in Black 4, Will is out and [his son] Jaden Smith is in … if we continue on this path, it won't be released until 2032 but it will be damn good." Will Smith said that: "Jaden is already 13 years old, so he's at that mythological boys age, you know – it's time for his bro-mitzvah. So he's right at that place ... He's ready to test me so he can't come anywhere near my movies right now!"
 
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writer: Etan Cohen
Stars: Will Smith;Tommy Lee Jones; Josh Brolin; Jemaine Clement; Michael Stuhlbarg; Emma Thompson

Minority Report

Minority Report [2002]

 
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir SF film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia in the year 2054, where "PreCrime", a specialized police department, apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge provided by three psychics called "precogs". The cast includes Tom Cruise as PreCrime officer John Anderton, Colin Farrell as Department of Justiceagent Danny Witwer, Samantha Morton as the senior precog Agatha, and Max von Sydow as Anderton's superior Lamar Burgess. The film is a combination ofwhodunit, thriller, and science fiction.
 
Minority Report was one of the best reviewed films of 2002. It received praise for its writing, visuals and themes, but earned some criticism for its ending which was considered inconsistent with the tone of the rest of the movie. The film was nominated for and won several awards. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Editing, and won four Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction. The film was a commercial success, earning over $358 million worldwide against an overall budget of $142 million (including advertising). Over four million DVDs were sold in its first few months of home release.
 
Premise:
 
In 2054, John Anderton is a member of the Washington, D.C. PreCrime police force. They use future visions generated by three "precogs", mutated humans withprecognition abilities, to stop murders. Though Anderton is a respected member of the force, he is addicted to an illegal psychoactive drug. His addiction started following the disappearance of Anderton's son Sean, which also caused his wife Lara to leave him. With the PreCrime force poised to go nationwide, the system is audited by Danny Witwer, a member of the Department of Justice. During the audit, the precogs predict that Anderton will murder a man named Leo Crow in 36 hours. Believing the incident to be a setup by Witwer, who is aware of Anderton's addiction, Anderton attempts to hide the case and quickly departs the area before Witwer begins a manhunt for him. Anderton seeks the advice of Dr. Iris Hineman, the lead researcher of the PreCrime technology. She explains to Anderton that the three precogs may see different visions of the future, and that the system only provides data on the two reports which agree; the "minority report" is discarded. According to Dr. Hineman, the female precog Agatha is likely the one who witnessed the minority report.....
 
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Scott Frank; Jon Cohen; John August
Stars: Tom Cruise; Colin Farrell; Samantha Morton; Max von Sydow

Pacific Rim [2013]

 
Pacific Rim is a 2013 American science fiction monster film directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Travis Beacham, and starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, and Ron Perlman. The film is set in the 2020s, when Earth is at war with the Kaijus, colossal monsters which have emerged from an interdimensional portal on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. To combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers: gigantic humanoid mecha, each controlled by two pilots whose minds are joined by a neural bridge. Focusing on the war's later days, the story follows Raleigh Becket, a washed-up Jaeger pilot called out of retirement and teamed with rookie pilot Mako Mori as part of a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kaijus.
 
Del Toro envisioned Pacific Rim as an earnest, colorful adventure story, with an "incredibly airy and light feel", in contrast to the "super-brooding, super-dark, cynical summer movie". The director focused on "big, beautiful, sophisticated visuals" and action that would satisfy an adult audience, but has stated his "real hope" is to introduce the kaiju and mecha genres to a generation of children. While the film draws heavily on these genres, it avoids direct references to previous works. Del Toro intended to create something original but "madly in love" with its influences, instilled with "epic beauty" and "operatic grandeur". The end credits dedicate the film to Ray Harryhausen and Ishirō Honda, who helped to establish the giant monster genre with films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Godzilla respectively.
 
The film is produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. and was released on July 12, 2013 including releases in 3-D and IMAX 3D. It was released to generally positive reviews; the visual effects and action sequences were highly praised. The film received average box office returns in the United States, but was highly successful in other territories, earning more than $407 million worldwide.
 
Plot : 
 
In 2013, human cities come under attack by the Kaijus: colossal extradimensional beasts who rise from an interdimensional portal on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. To combat them, the nations of the Pacific Rim build the Jaegers: equally colossal humanoid war machines, each manned by two pilots whose brains are linked to share the overwhelming mental load of piloting the sophisticated machines. Though the Jaegers are effective, the Kaiju attacks grow more frequent and powerful. By 2025, the Pacific Rim governments have discontinued the Jaeger project and resort to building massive coastal walls to protect humanity from the Kaijus. The four remaining Jaegers are redeployed to Hong Kong to defend the unfortified coast until the wall is completed. Stacker Pentecost (Elba), commander of the Jaeger forces, devises a plan to end the war by using a nuclear weapon to destroy the portal.
 
Pentecost approaches retired pilot Raleigh Becket (Hunnam) and convinces him to return and pilot Gipsy Danger, the Jaeger he and his brother Yancy once piloted. During a mission off the coast of Alaska in 2020, Yancy was killed by a Kaiju while connected to his brother, traumatizing Raleigh. Arriving at Hong Kong, Raleigh is paired with potential co-pilots to find one with a strong connection, as the stronger the connection, the better the pilots' performance in battle. Sensing a strong connection, Raleigh demands to be partnered with Mako Mori (Kikuchi), the director of the Jaeger refurbishment project. Pentecost opposes, as Mako is his adopted daughter, but he eventually relents. The duo's initial test run nearly ends in disaster when Mako becomes engrossed in a childhood memory of the Kaiju attack that orphaned her; she inadvertently activates and almost discharges Gipsy Danger's weapons while in the hangar. Shortly thereafter, the other Jaegers are tasked with fending off a double Kaiju attack in Hong Kong. The defense goes badly, with the Kaijus destroying two Jaegers and disabling the third. Pentecost sends Raleigh and Mako to mount a last stand with Gipsy Danger.
 
Meanwhile, Newton Geiszler (Day)—a scientist studying the Kaijus—assembles a machine allowing him to establish a mental link with a Kaiju brain fragment. The experience nearly kills him, but he discovers the Kaijus are not wild beasts, but biological weapons fighting at the behest of a race of alien conquerors. With Pentecost's approval, he seeks out Hannibal Chau (Perlman), a major figure in the trafficking of Kaiju parts, in an attempt to procure an intact Kaiju brain to repeat the experiment. Chau deduces that the Kaijus are searching Hong Kong for Geiszler, because his experiment has attracted their attention, as the mental link is two-way and the Kaijus possess a hive mind. After Gipsy Danger kills both Kaijus, Chau and his team move in to harvest parts. Geiszler realizes one of the Kaijus is pregnant. The newborn bursts from its mother and swallows Chau before dying. Geiszler and his partner Hermann Gottlieb (Gorman) merge with the newborn Kaiju's intact brain and learn the portal will only open for a Kaiju, which is why all previous attempts to destroy it have failed.
 
The two remaining Jaegers are sent to execute Pentecost's plan to destroy the portal with a nuclear weapon. Pentecost co-pilots the Jaeger carrying the weapon, but they are forced to detonate it early, sacrificing themselves in an effort to destroy the powerful Kaijus guarding the portal. Raleigh and Mako seize the final Kaiju with Gipsy Danger and use it to enter the portal. Running out of oxygen, Raleigh ejects Mako's escape pod, initiates the nuclear reactor's overload sequence, then ejects himself. Gipsy Danger's nuclear core detonates, laying waste to the alien conquerors and destroying the portal. Mako and Raleigh's escape pods surface safely in the Pacific, and the duo embrace as rescue helicopters arrive.
 
In a post-credits scene, Chau—revealed to have survived—cuts his way out of the newborn Kaiju's stomach.
 
Box-office:
 
As of October 8, 2013, Pacific Rim has grossed $101,654,805 in North America, and has had a favorable international release, grossing $305,800,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $407,454,805.
 
The film grossed $3.6 million from Thursday night showings, 23 percent of which came from IMAX showings. It then faced tough competition from Grown Ups 2 and ultimately fell behind it on opening day, earning $14.6 million. The film reached the #3 spot during the opening weekend with $37.2 million, behind Despicable Me 2 and Grown Ups 2. This is the highest ever opening for a film by del Toro, surpassing Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Around 50 percent of tickets were in 3D, which makes it the highest 3D share of 2013. During its second weekend, the film dropped a steep 57% with a gross of $16,002,231, and during its third weekend, had dropped a further 52% with a gross of $7,703,461.
 
On July 22, 2013, it was reported that the film had reached #1 at the international box office over the weekend.
 
The film had a successful opening in China, grossing $45,200,000, the largest opening in China for a Warner Bros. title, and the sixth-largest Chinese debut of all time for any Hollywood film. On August 19, 2013, its gross crossed $100,000,000 in China alone, becoming the sixth-highest grossing American film ever in China.
 
In Japan, the film landed in the fifth position on opening weekend, with an initial earning of $3.04 million (behind World War Z's gross of $3.38 million).
 
In September 2013, Forbes highlighted Pacific Rim as "the rare English-language film in history to cross $400 million while barely crossing $100 million domestic"
 
Potential Sequel:
 
In July 2012, del Toro discussed the possibility of making a Pacific Rim sequel. "We always leave ideas that were in the first draft as you go along. You know, either a set piece that was great but too expensive, an idea that was really bright, but it couldn't quite fit the structure... so we have a little stash of stuff we wanted to do that we didn't get to do. So if that's a possibility, A) I would be very happy to do a sequel, but B) a lot of these ideas, set pieces and all that, actually have in them a really good seed for a sequel."
 
On December 4, 2012, Legendary Pictures announced that it had selected Pacific Rim co-writer Travis Beacham to write the sequel, along with del Toro, though there was no comment as to whether del Toro would return to direct the second film.
 
At WonderCon 2013, del Toro expressed enthusiasm for a potential crossover between Pacific Rim and Godzilla—another Legendary Pictures kaiju film—but stressed that no such plans were in place.
 
In July 2013, del Toro discussed the sequel, stating: "The main idea that we're bouncing off is the fact that Newt drifted with a Kaiju brain, and all Kaiju brains are connected. We say that. They are like a hive mentality. So, you know, draw your own conclusions." The director has also stated the sequel will feature "Gipsy 2.0", as well as a "merging of Kaiju and Jaeger".
 
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Charlie Hunnam; Idris Elba; Rinko Kikuchi; Charlie Day; Robert Kazinsky; Max Martini ; Ron Perlman

Predator [1987]

 
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox. The story follows an elite special forces team, led by 'Dutch' (Arnold Schwarzenegger), on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Central America. Unbeknownst to the group, they are being hunted by a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life, the Predator.
 
Predator was scripted by Jim and John Thomas in 1985 and was originally titled Hunter. Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston. The film's budget was around $18 million and when the film was released in the United States on June 12, 1987, it grossed $98,267,558. Initial critical reaction to Predator was mixed, with criticism focusing on the thin plot. However, in subsequent years critics' attitudes toward the film warmed, and it has appeared on a number of "best of" lists. Two sequels, Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010), as well as two crossover films with the Alien franchise, Alien vs. Predator(2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), have been produced.
 
Premise:
 
An alien spacecraft enters the Earth's atmosphere and jettisons a pod, which descends to Central America... Some time later, Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives in Guatemala with his elite team (judging from badging and hints in the movie most likely U.S. Army Green Berets or Delta Force) for an operation to rescue three presidential cabinet ministers abducted by guerrilla forces in Val Verde.
 
Dutch's old military buddy, CIA Special Agent George Dillon (Carl Weathers), steps in as a liaison and joins the team: Sergeant Mac Eliot (Bill Duke), weapons and ordnance specialist Blain Cooper (Jesse Ventura), tracker Billy Sole (Sonny Landham), translator Jorge "Poncho" Ramirez (Richard Chaves), and radio man/medic Rick Hawkins (Shane Black). The team is inserted into the jungle by helicopter and begin their hunt.
 
Director: John McTiernan
Writer: Jim Thomas; John Thomas
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger; Carl Weathers; Elpidia Carrillo; Bill Duke; Jesse Ventura; Kevin Peter Hall

Predator 2

Predator 2 [1990]

 
Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, and Bill Paxton. Written by Jim and John Thomas and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film is a sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall again playing the role of the Predator. The film received negative reviews and gained a moderate return at the box office.
 
In 1997, Los Angeles is suffering from both a heat wave and a turf war between heavily-armed Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels. A Predator observes a shootoutbetween the police and Colombians, watching as Lieutenant Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover) charges into the firefight to rescue two wounded officers and drives the Colombians back into their hideout. Before the police can pursue them, the Predator crashes through a skylight and kills the Colombians, using its advanced weaponry.
 
Harrigan and his detectives Leona Cantrell (María Conchita Alonso) and Danny Archuleta (Rubén Blades) enter the building against orders and find the Colombians slaughtered. Harrigan pursues their leader to the roof and shoots him, catching a glimpse of the camouflaged Predator's silhouette but dismissing it as an effect of the heat. Harrigan is rebuked by his superiors for defying orders and is introduced to Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), leader of a federal task force purportedly investigating the cartels, and Detective Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), the newest member of Harrigan's team.
 
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Writer: Jim Thomas; John Thomas
Stars: Danny Glover; Gary Busey; María Conchita Alonso; Ruben Blades; Bill Paxton; Calvin Lockhart; Kevin Peter Hall

Predators

Predators [2010]

 
Predators is a 2010 American science fiction action film directed by Nimród Antal and starring Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, Danny Trejo, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Oleg Taktarov and Louis Ozawa Changchien. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the fifth film in the Predator franchise, following Predator (1987), Predator 2 (1990), and the crossover films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
 
The film follows Royce (Adrien Brody), a mercenary, who wakes up finding himself falling from the sky into a jungle. Once on the ground, he meets other people who have arrived there in the same manner, all of whom have questionable backgrounds, except for a doctor (Topher Grace). As the film progresses, the group discovers that they are on an alien planet that acts as a game preserve where they are being hunted by a merciless race of aliens known as Predators.
 
Producer Robert Rodriguez had developed a script as early as 1994, although it was not until 2009 that 20th Century Fox greenlit the project. According to Rodriguez, the title Predators is an allusion to the second film in the Alien franchise, Aliens (1986). The title also has a double meaning, referring both to the extraterrestrialPredator creatures and to the group of human characters who are pitted against them. Principal photography for Predators began on September 28, 2009 and concluded after 53 days; filming took place in Hawaii and then in Austin, Texas.
 
Predators was released in the United States on July 9, 2010, and was met with mixed reception from film critics. The film grossed over $24 million on its opening weekend, and has since grossed over $52 million in the United States, with an estimated total of $127 million worldwide.
 
Premise:
 
Royce (Adrien Brody) awakens from unconsciousness to find himself parachuting into an unfamiliar jungle. He meets several others who have arrived there in the same manner: Mexican drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Danny Trejo), Spetsnaz soldier Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov), Israel Defense Forces sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga),Revolutionary United Front officer Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), death row inmate Stans (Walton Goggins), Yakuza enforcer Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), and doctor Edwin (Topher Grace). All are armed and lethal killers, with the exception of Edwin, though none know where they are or how they got there.
 
The group follows Royce, who Isabelle suspects is a former black operations soldier turned mercenary. In the jungle they find empty cages, plants with a neurotoxic poison that Edwin collects on a scalpel, and a deceased United States Special Forces soldier. Arriving at higher ground they find themselves staring at an alien sky and realize that they are not on Earth.....
 
Director: Nimród Antal
Writer: Michael Finch; Alex Litvak
Stars: Adrien Brody; Topher Grace; Alice Braga; Laurence Fishburne; Danny Trejo; Walton Goggins; Oleg Taktarov; Mahershalalhashbaz Ali; Louis Ozawa Changchien

Priest [2011]

 
Priest is a 2011 American post-apocalyptic dystopia science fiction action film starring Paul Bettany as the title character. The film, directed by Scott Stewart, is loosely based on the Korean comic of the same name. In an alternate world, humanity and vampires have warred for centuries. After the last Vampire War, the Catholic priest and veteran Warrior Priest (Bettany) live in obscurity with other humans inside one of the Church's walled cities. When the Priest's niece (Lily Collins) is kidnapped by vampires, the Priest breaks his vows to hunt them down. He is accompanied by the niece's boyfriend Hicks (Cam Gigandet), who is a wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q).
 
The film first entered development in 2005, when Screen Gems bought the spec script by Cory Goodman. In 2006 Andrew Douglas was attached to direct and Gerard Butler was attached to star. They were eventually replaced by Stewart and Bettany in 2009 and filming started in Los Angeles, California, later in the year. The film changed release dates numerous times throughout 2010 and 2011. It was especially pushed back from 2010 to 2011 to convert the film from 2D to 3D. It was released in the United States and Canada on May 13, 2011.
 
Plot Opening:
 
A centuries long war between humans and vampires has devastated the planet's surface and led to a theocracy under an organization called The Church. They constructed giant walled cities to protect mankind and developed a group of elite warriors, the Priests, to turn the tide against the vampires. The majority of the vampires were killed, while the remainder were placed in reservations. With the war over, the Clergy disbanded the Priests. Outside the walled cities, some humans eke out a living, free from the totalitarian control of the Church.
 
Priest is approached by Hicks, the sheriff of Augustine, a free town. Priest learns that his brother and his wife - Priest's girlfriend before he entered the priesthood - were mortally wounded in a vampire attack, and Priest's niece, Lucy, was kidnapped. Hicks asks for Priest's help in rescuing Lucy. Priest asks the Clergy to reinstate his authority, but Church leader Monsignor Orelas (Christopher Plummer) does not believe the vampire story and refuses. Priest leaves the city and Orelas sends three Priests and a Priestess to bring him back....
 
Theatrical Release:
 
Priest was released in the United States and Canada on May 13, 2011. The film's release date changed numerous times in 2010 and 2011. It was originally scheduled for October 1, 2010, but it moved earlier to August 27, 2010 to fill a weekend slot when another Screen Gems film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, was postponed. When the filmmakers wanted to convert Priest from 2D to 3D, the film was newly scheduled for release on January 14, 2011. It was delayed again to May 13, 2011 so the film could attract summertime audiences.
 
Priest was released outside the United States and Canada on May 6, 2011 in four markets. It grossed an estimated $5.6 million over the weekend, with "decent debuts" of $2.9 million in Russia and $1.8 million in Spain. It performed poorly in the United Kingdom with under $700,000. The film was released in the United States and Canada on May 13, 2011 in 2,864 theaters with 2,006 having 3D screenings. It grossed an estimated $14.5 million over the weekend, ranking fourth at the box office. Its performance was considered subpar compared to similar films in the Underworld series and Resident Evil series. To date, Priest has grossed an estimated $29.1 million in the United States and Canada and $47.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $76.5 million.
 
Critical Reception:
 
Priest was largely panned by critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 16% based on reviews from 92 critics and reports a rating average of 3.9 out of 10 with a consensus that "Priest is admittedly sleek and stylish, but those qualities are wasted on a dull, derivative blend of sci-fi, action, and horror cliches." At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 41 based on 13 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade audiences gave the film was a "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
 
Director: Scott Stewart
Writer: Cory Goodman
Stars: Paul Bettany; Karl Urban; Lily Collins; Cam Gigandet; Maggie Q

Prometheus [2012]

 
Prometheus (English pronunciation: /prəˈmiːθɪəs/ pro-mee-thee-uhs) is a 2012 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof. The film stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron. The story is set in the late 21st century and centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as they follow a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures. Seeking the origins of humanity, the crew arrive on a distant world and discover a threat that could cause the extinction of the human race.
 
Development of the film began in the early 2000s as a fifth installment in the Alien franchise. Scott and director James Cameron developed ideas for a film that would serve as a prequel to Scott's 1979 science fiction horror film Alien. By 2003, the development of Alien vs. Predator took precedence, and the project remained dormant until 2009 when Scott again showed interest. Spaihts wrote a script for a prequel to the events of the Alien films, but Scott opted for a different direction to avoid repeating cues from those films. In late 2010, Lindelof joined the project to rewrite Spaihts's script, and he and Scott developed a story that precedes the story of Alien but is not directly connected to that franchise. According to Scott, although the film shares "strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak", and takes place in the same universe, Prometheus explores its own mythology and ideas.
 
Prometheus entered production in April 2010, with extensive design phases during which the technology and creatures that the film required were developed. Principal photography began in March 2011, with an estimated US$120–130 million budget. The project was shot using 3D cameras throughout, almost entirely on practical sets, and on location in England, Iceland, Spain, and Scotland. It was promoted with a marketing campaign that included viral activities on the web. Three videos featuring the film's leading actors in character, which expanded on elements of the fictional universe, were released and met with a generally positive reception and awards. Prometheus was released on June 1, 2012 in the United Kingdom and on June 8, 2012 in North America. It grossed over $403 million worldwide. Reviews praised both the film's visual aesthetic design, and the acting, most notably Fassbender's performance as the android David. However, the plot drew a mixed response from critics, who criticized plot elements that remained unresolved or were predictable.
 
Plotopening: 
 
As a hovering spacecraft departs an Earth-like world, a humanoid alien drinks a dark bubbling liquid, then starts to disintegrate. The alien's remains cascade into a waterfall. His DNA triggers a biogenetic reaction.
 
In 2089, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map in Scotland that matches others from several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret this as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly CEO of Weyland Corporation, funds an expedition to follow the map to the distant moon LV-223 aboard the scientific vessel Prometheus. The ship's crew travels in stasis while the android David monitors their voyage. Arriving in 2093, they are informed of their mission to find the Engineers. Mission director Meredith Vickers orders the crew not to make contact without her permission.
 
The Prometheus lands on the barren, mountainous surface near a large artificial structure, which a team explores. Inside they find numerous stone cylinders, a large, monolithic statue of a humanoid head, and the decapitated corpse of a large alien, thought to be an Engineer; Shaw recovers its head. Other bodies are found, leading the crew to surmise that the species is extinct. Crew members Millburn and Fifield grow uncomfortable with the true nature of the mission and attempt to return to Prometheus, but are left stranded in the structure when they get lost.
 
The expedition is cut short when a rapidly-approaching storm forces the crew to return to the ship. David secretly takes a cylinder from the structure, while the remaining ones begin leaking a dark liquid. Back in the ship's lab, the Engineer's DNA is found to match that of humans. David investigates the cylinder and the dark liquid inside. He intentionally taints a drink with the liquid and gives it to an unsuspecting Holloway after he states that he would do anything for answers. Shortly after, Shaw and Holloway have sex.....
 
Release: 
 
The premiere of Prometheus took place on May 31, 2012, at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square, London. The film was released in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2012, and in North America on June 8, 2012. It was simultaneously released in IMAX theaters and in 3D, and it is encoded for D-Box motion seats that provide physical feedback to the audience during the film.
 
Pre-Release:
 
In the United Kingdom, approximately £1 million ($1.6 million) of tickets were pre-sold. 18,827 tickets pre-sold for the London IMAX, the largest IMAX screen in the country, which broke the theater records for the highest grossing week of pre-sales with £293,312 ($474,687), and the highest grossing first day of pre-sales with £137,000 ($221,717). It extended this record to 30,000 tickets sold and £470,977 ($737,588) earned, and become the most pre-booked film at that theater, exceeding the performance of high-profile IMAX releases including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Avatar.
 
In North America, audience tracking showed high interest among males, but low among females. In the week before the film's release, predictions were conflicted on whether Prometheus or Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (the first family-oriented film of the summer), which were released simultaneously, would reach number 1 for that weekend. On June 6, 2012, Fandango reported that with 42% of daily sales Prometheus was beating Madagascar 3. The online tracking for Prometheus surged with each additional promotional footage. Prometheus was predicted to earn approximately $30 million, and Madagascar 3 around $45 million. 
 
As the weekend approached, tracking suggested a $55 million debut for Madagascar 3 and $50–$55 million for Prometheus. Prometheus was disadvantaged by Madagascar opening in 264 more theaters and its adult rating.
 
Box-Office: 
 
The film has earned $126,477,084 (31.4%) in North America and $276,877,385 (68.6%) elsewhere for a worldwide total of $403,354,469, making it the 15th highest grossing film of 2012, and the 159th highest-grossing film worldwide unadjusted for inflation.
 
Prometheus was released in 15 markets between May 30 and June 1, 2012—about a week before its North American release. The earlier start in these countries was timed to avoid competition with the start of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship the following week. On its opening day, which varies depending on the country, it earned $3.39 million in the United Kingdom, $2.2 million in Russia, and $1.5 million in France. The film earned $34.8 million during its opening weekend from 4,695 theaters in 15 markets, and debuted at number 1 in 14 of them, with an average of $7,461 per theater.
 
Its overall rank for the weekend was third behind Men in Black 3 and Snow White & the Huntsman. Its opening weekends in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta ($10.1 million), Russia and the CIS ($9.80 million), and France and the Maghreb region ($6.68 million) represented its largest takings. By June 8, the film had opened in a total of 50 markets, and was also successful during its opening weekends in Australia ($7.2 million) and South Korea ($4.2 million). During its late August opening in Japan, the film earned $9.6 million.
 
In North America, Prometheus earned $3.561 million in midnight showings at 1,368 theaters, including $1.03 million from 294 IMAX theaters, and went on to earn $21.4 million through its opening day. During its opening weekend, the film earned $51.05 million from 3,396 theaters—an average of $15,032 per theater—ranking second behind Madagascar 3 ($60.4 million), which made it the second largest opening for a film directed by Scott behind his 2001 thriller Hannibal, the third largest second-place opening, the ninth largest opening for a prequel, and the tenth largest for an R-rated film.
 
The largest demographic of the opening weekend audience was over the age of 25 (64%) and male (57%). 3D showings accounted for 54% of ticket sales, while IMAX contributed 18%—the majority of which was accounted for in the 3D figure. The film closed on September 20, 2012 after 105 days (15 weeks) in release with a total gross of $126.4 million. The figure made it the number 43 highest grossing film to never finish a week as the number 1 film.
 
Sequel: 
 
During the March 17, 2012 WonderCon convention, Scott said that the film leaves many questions unanswered, and that these could be answered in a sequel. He said, "If we're lucky, there'll be a second part. It does leave you with some nice open questions." Asked if a sequel would be a direct prequel to Alien, Lindelof said, "If we’re fortunate enough to do a sequel ... it will tangentialize even further away from the original Alien." 
 
In June 2012, Lindelof said that while plot elements were deliberately left unresolved so that they could be answered in a sequel, he and Scott had thoroughly discussed what should be resolved so that Prometheus could stand alone, as a sequel was not guaranteed. Scott said that a sequel would follow Shaw to her next destination, "because if it is paradise, paradise cannot be what you think it is. Paradise has a connotation of being extremely sinister and ominous." Lindelof cast doubt on his participation, and said, "if [Scott] wants me to be involved in something, that would be hard to say no to. At the same time, I do feel like [Prometheus] might benefit from a fresh voice or a fresh take or a fresh thought." 
 
Scott said that an additional film would be required to bridge the gap between the Prometheus sequel and Alien. On August 1, 2012, it was confirmed that Fox was pursuing a sequel with Scott, Rapace, and Fassbender involved, and was talking to new writers in case Lindelof does not return. The film would be scheduled for a release no earlier than 2014. On December 19, 2012, it was reported that Lindelof had decided not to work on a sequel, citing other commitments.
 
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Jon Spaihts; Damon Lindelof
Stars:Noomi Rapace; Michael Fassbender; Guy Pearce; Idris Elba; Logan Marshall-Green; Charlize Theron

Cloud Atlas [2012]

Cloud Atlas is a 2012 German drama and science fiction film written and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. It was adapted from the 2004 novel by David Mitchell. The project had difficulty securing financial support during its four-year development, but was eventually produced with a $102 million budget provided by independent sources, making Cloud Atlas one of the most expensive independent films of all time. Featuring an ensemble cast to enact the film's multiple storylines, production began in September 2011 at Studio Babelsberg inPotsdam-Babelsberg, Germany.
 
The film premiered on September 9, 2012, at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival and was released on October 26, 2012 in conventional and IMAX cinemas. The film has polarized critics, with some like Roger Ebert praising it highly and others like Christy Lemire panning it outright. Cloud Atlas was subsequently included various Best Film and Worst Film lists. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Tykwer (who co-scored the film), Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil.
 
Synopsis:
 
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. 
 
The film consists of six interrelated and interwoven stories that take the viewer from the South Pacific in the 19th century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future. Unlike the original novel, the film is structured, according to novelist David Mitchell, "as a sort of pointillist mosaic: We stay in each of the six worlds just long enough for the hook to be sunk in, and from then on the film darts from world to world at the speed of a plate-spinner, revisiting each narrative for long enough to propel it forward."
 
Production:
 
The film is based on the 2004 novel Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Filmmaker Tom Tykwer revealed in January 2009 his intent to adapt the novel and said he was working on a screenplay with the Wachowskis, who optioned the novel. By June 2010, Tykwer had asked actors Natalie Portman, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy, and Ian McKellen to star in Cloud Atlas. By April 2011, the Wachowskis joined Tykwer in co-directing the film. In the following May, with Hanks and Berry confirmed in their roles, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Susan Sarandon, and Jim Broadbent also joined the cast. Actor Hugh Grant joined the cast days before the start of filming.
 
Cloud Atlas was financed by the German production companies A Company, ARD Degeto Film and X Filme, and Variety reported in May 2011 that the film had a production budget of $140 million. The filmmakers also secured approximately $20 million from the German government, including €10 million ($13.5 million) from the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), €100.000 ($130.000) development funding and €1.5 million ($2.15 million) from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, a German funder, as part of their plans to film at Studio Babelsberg later in 2011. The project also received €1 million ($1.5 million) financial support from Filmstiftung NRW, €750.000 ($1 million) from Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, and €300.000 ($400.000) from FFF Bayern, another German organization. The Wachowskis contributed approximately $7 million to the project out of their own finances. The budget was updated to $100 million.
 
The directors stated that due to the lack of finances, the film was almost abandoned several times. However they specified how the crew was enthusiastic and determined: "They flew—even though their agents called them and said, 'They don’t have the money, the money’s not closed'". They specifically praised Tom Hanks' enthusiasm: "Warner Bros. calls and, through our agent, says they’ve looked at the math and decided that they don’t like this deal. They’re pulling all of the money away, rescinding the offer. I was shaking. I heard, 'Are you saying the movie is dead?' They were like, 'Yes, the movie is dead.' [...] At the end of the meeting, Tom says, 'Let’s do it. I’m in. When do we start?' [...] Tom said this unabashed, enthusiastic 'Yes!' which put our heart back together. We walked away thinking, this movie is dead but somehow, it’s alive and we’re going to make it." "Every single time, Tom Hanks was the first who said, 'I’m getting on the plane.' And then once he said he was getting on the plane, basically everyone said, 'Well, Tom’s on the plane, we’re on the plane.' And so everyone flew [to Berlin to begin the film]. It was like this giant leap of faith. 
 
Critical Response:
 
The film has had polarized reactions, with critics debating the film's directing and writing, while praising the technical aspects such as its cinematography, production design and visual style. The film premiered on September 9, 2012, at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival, where it received a 10 minute standing ovation.
 
Generally, the critical response to the film has had mixed to positive. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 64% of critics have given Cloud Atlas a "Fresh" rating based on 195 reviews, with an average of 6.5/10. The site's consensus from the collected reviews was "Its sprawling, ambitious blend of thought-provoking narrative and eye-catching visuals will prove too unwieldy for some, but the sheer size and scope of Cloud Atlas are all but impossible to ignore". The film currently holds a Metacritic score of 55 out of 100, based on 43 reviews, indicating 'mixed to average' reviews.
 
Film critic Roger Ebert praised the film for being "one of the most ambitious films ever made", awarding the film four out of four stars. He wrote "Even as I was watching Cloud Atlas the first time, I knew I would need to see it again. Now that I've seen it the second time, I know I'd like to see it a third time ... I think you will want to see this daring and visionary film ... I was never, ever bored by Cloud Atlas. On my second viewing, I gave up any attempt to work out the logical connections between the segments, stories and characters."
 
Variety described it as "an intense three-hour mental workout rewarded with a big emotional payoff. ... One's attention must be engaged at all times as the mosaic triggers an infinite range of potentially profound personal responses." James Rocchi of MSN Movies stated "It is so full of passion and heart and empathy that it feels completely unlike any other modern film in its range either measured through scope of budget or sweep of action." The Daily Beastcalled Cloud Atlas "one of the year’s most important movies". Michael Cieply of The New York Times commented on the film "You will have to decide for yourself whether it works. It’s that kind of picture. ... Is this the stuff of Oscars? Who knows? Is it a force to be reckoned with in the coming months? Absolutely."
 
Slant Magazine's Calum Marsh called Cloud Atlas a "unique and totally unparalleled disaster" and commented "[its] badness is fundamental, an essential aspect of the concept and its execution that I suspect is impossible to remedy or rectify". The Guardian stated "At 163 minutes, Cloud Atlas carries all the marks of a giant folly, and those unfamiliar with the book will be baffled" and awarded the film 2 out of 5 stars. Nick Pickerton, who reviewed the film for The Village Voice said "There is a great deal of humbug about art and love in Cloud Atlas, but it is decidedly unlovable, and if you want to learn something about feeling, you're at the wrong movie." Village Voice and Time Magazine both named Cloud Atlas the worst film of 2012.
 
Immediately after the film's release, the advocacy group Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) criticized the film for the use of what is sometimes labelled 'yellowface' makeup to allow non-Asian actors to portray certain Asian characters in the neo-Seoul sequences.
 
Reaction from the Directors:
 
On October 25 (after the premiere at Toronto), Andy Wachowski stated about critics "As soon as they encounter a piece of art they don’t fully understand the first time going through it, they think it’s the fault of the movie or the work of art. They think, 'It’s a mess [ ...] This doesn’t make any sense.' And they reject it, just out of an almost knee-jerk response to some ambiguity or some gulf between what they expect they should be able to understand, and what they understand."
 
In the same interview, Lana Wachowski stated "People will try to will Cloud Atlas to be rejected. They will call it messy, or complicated, or undecided whether it’s trying to say something New Agey-profound or not. And we’re wrestling with the same things that Dickens and Hugo and David Mitchell and Herman Melville were wrestling with. We’re wrestling with those same ideas, and we’re just trying to do it in a more exciting context than conventionally you are allowed to. [...] We don’t want to say, 'We are making this to mean this.' What we find is that the most interesting art is open to a spectrum of interpretation."
 
Directors: Lana Wachowski; Tom Tykwer; Andy Wachowski
Writer: Lana Wachowski; Tom Tykwer; Andy Wachowski
Stars: Tom Hanks; Halle Berry; Jim Broadbent; Hugo Weaving; Jim Sturgess; Doona Bae; Ben Whishaw; James D'Arcy; Zhou Xun; Keith David; Susan Sarandon; Hugh Grant

Cloverfield [2008]

 
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard. The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city. First publicized within a teaser trailer in screenings of Transformers, the film was released on January 17 in New Zealand and Australia, on January 18 in North America, on January 24 in South Korea, on January 25 in Taiwan, on January 31 in Germany and on February 1 in Ireland, in the United Kingdom and in Italy. In Japan, the film was released on April 5. VFX and CGI were performed by effects studios Double Negative and Tippett Studio.
 
J. J. Abrams thought up a new monster after he and his son visited a toy store in Japan while promoting Mission: Impossible III. He explained, "We saw all these Godzilla toys, and I thought, we need our own American monster, and not like King Kong. I love King Kong. King Kong is adorable. And Godzilla is a charming monster. We love Godzilla. But I wanted something that was just insane, and intense." There are three still frames in "pre-recorded" sequences, one from the movie Them! one from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and one from King Kong - these three movies are also cited in the credits.
 
In February 2007, Paramount Pictures secretly greenlit Cloverfield, to be produced by Abrams, directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. The project was produced by Abrams' company, Bad Robot Productions. The visual effects producer was Chantal Feghali.
The severed head of the Statue of Liberty was inspired by the poster of the 1981 film Escape from New York, which had shown the head lying in the streets in New York. According to Reeves, "It's an incredibly provocative image. And that was the source that inspired producer J. J. Abrams to say, 'Now this would be an interesting idea for a movie'."
 
Premise:
 
The film is presented as if it were a video segment from a personal video camera recovered by the United States Department of Defense. The film begins with a disclaimer stating that the footage is of a case designated "Cloverfield" and was found in the area "formerly known as Central Park". The video consists chiefly of segments taped the night of May 22 and the morning of May 23. The newer segments were taped over older video that is visible occasionally.
 
The first video segment opens when Rob wakes up on the morning of April 27 having slept with Beth, a previously platonic friend. They make plans to go to Coney Island that day. The footage suddenly cuts to May 22, when Rob's brother Jason and his girlfriend Lily prepare a farewell party for Rob who will be moving to Japan. At the party, their friend Hud uses a camera to film testimonials, and flirts unsuccessfully with Marlena, another party guest. After Beth leaves the party following an argument with Rob, an apparent earthquake strikes, and the city suffers a brief power outage....
 
Director: Matt Reeves
Writer: Drew Goddard
Stars: Michael Stahl-David; T. J. Miller; Jessica Lucas; Odette Yustman; Lizzy Caplan; Mike Vogel

 

Cowboys & Aliens [2011]

 
Cowboys & Aliens is an 2011 American science fiction Western film starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, which in turn was an expansion of a Far Side comic by Gary Larsen.Cowboys & Aliens was released in the United States and Canada on July 29, 2011 and in other countries on ensuing weekends.
 
On the opening day of Cowboys & Aliens estimates showed that its opening day gross was $13.0 million and came in second place to The Smurfs's opening day gross of $13.3 million. This was considered a surprise since Cowboys & Aliens was expected to be the clear winner for the weekend. Estimates then showed Cowboys vs. Aliens and The Smurfs tied at the #1 spot for the weekend with $36.2 million each. However, when the actual results for the weekend were announced Cowboys & Aliens won the weekend with $36.4 million just beating out The Smurfs, which grossed $35.6 million. The film's opening was, however, considered a disappointment since it was expected to open with at least $40 million.
 
Plot opening:
 
n 1873 Arizona, an unnamed loner (Daniel Craig) awakens with no memory and a strange metal bracelet strapped to his wrist. He enters Absolution, where he quickly subdues Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano), who has been terrorizing the small town. The sheriff recognizes the stranger as Jake Lonergan, a wanted outlaw, and tries to arrest him. Jake nearly escapes, but a mysterious woman named Ella Swenson (Olivia Wilde) knocks him out.
 
Percy's father, Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), a rich and influential cattleman, arrives with his men and demands that Percy be released to him. He also wants Jake, who stole Dolarhyde's gold. During the standoff, alien spaceships begin attacking the town, and Percy, the sheriff, and many townsfolk are abducted. Jake shoots down one ship with a device concealed in his bracelet, ending the attack.
 
Dolarhyde, Ella, and some townsfolk form a posse to track an alien, that may have ejected from the downed ship. Jake, meanwhile, travels to an abandoned cabin, and in a flashback, recalls bringing his wife the stolen gold just before they were both abducted by the aliens. Jake returns to the posse. During the night, the alien they were tracking appears and kills a posse member....
 
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Damon Lindelof; Alex Kurtzman; Roberto Orci
Stars: Daniel Craig; Harrison Ford; Olivia Wilde

Dark City

Dark City [1998]

 
Dark City is a 1998 neo noir science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas. It was adapted from a screenplay written by Proyas, David S. Goyer and Lem Dobbs. The film depicts a city in which human inhabitants never see the sun, as their lives are manipulated by extraterrestrials referred to as the "Strangers", who masquerade as humans.
 
The Strangers are committed to studying the race of humanity through experimentation. Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, and Jennifer Connellystar in principal roles. Dark City explores the subject matter of murder, as well as abstract ideas such as hallucination, simulated reality, and the relationship betweenmemory and personal identity
 
A joint collective effort to commit to the film's production was made by New Line Cinema and Mystery Clock Cinema. It was commercially distributed by New Line Cinema theatrically, and by New Line Home Video for home media. Dark City premiered in theaters in the United States on February 27, 1998 grossing $14,378,331 in domestic ticket receipts. It earned an additional $12,821,985 through international release for a combined box office total of $27,200,316. The film was at its widest release in the U.S. showing at 1,754 theaters nationwide.
 
Opening:
John Murdoch (Sewell) awakens in a hotel bathtub, suffering from what seems to be amnesia. He receives a telephone call from Dr. Daniel Schreber (Sutherland), who urges him to flee the hotel from a group of men who are after him. During the telephone conversation, John discovers the corpse of a brutalized, ritualistically murdered woman, along with a bloody knife. Murdoch flees the scene, just as the group of men (known as the Strangers) arrive at the room. Eventually he learns his real name, and finds his wife Emma (Connelly).
 
He is also sought by police inspector Frank Bumstead (Hurt) for a series of murders allegedly committed by Murdoch, who cannot remember killing anybody. While being pursued by the Strangers, Murdoch discovers that he has psychokinetic powers like them, and he uses these powers to escape from them. Murdoch moves about the city, which experiences perpetual night. He sees people become temporarily comatose at midnight, when the Strangers stop time and alter the cityscape, as well as people's identities and memories.
 
Murdoch questions the dark urban environment, and discovers—through clues and interviews with his family—that he was originally from a coastal town called Shell Beach. Attempts at finding a way out of the city to Shell Beach are hindered by lack of reliable information from everyone he meets. Meanwhile, the Strangers, disturbed by the presence of this human who also possesses psychokinetic powers, inject one of their men, Mr. Hand (O'Brien) with Murdoch's memories, in an attempt to find him........
 
Director: Alex Proyas
Writer: Alex Proyas; David S. Goyer; Lem Dobbs
Stars: Rufus Sewell; Kiefer Sutherland; Jennifer Connelly; William Hurt

The Darkest Hour [2011]

 
The Darkest Hour is a American science-fiction film directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. The American-based production depicts an alien invasion in Russia and stars Emile Hirsch, Max Minghella, Olivia Thirlby, and Rachael Taylor as young people caught in the invasion. The film was released on December 25, 2011 in the United States.
 
The Darkest Hour is directed by Chris Gorak and produced by Timur Bekmambetov. While most films about alien invasions are centered in the United States or have an international scale, Bekmambetov's involvement ensured the premise to be an alien invasion from Russia's perspective. With a production budget of US$40 million, filming with 3D cameras began in Moscow on July 18, 2010. Production used resources from the Russian-based company Bazelevs, owned by Bekmambetov. Filming was temporarily suspended three weeks later due to the 2010 Russian wildfires affecting the city and its vicinity with its smog. By September 2010, filming had resumed. In April 2011 the release date was changed to December 25 due to filming conflicts in Russia.
 
The Darkest Hour was released on December 25, 2011 in 2D, 3D & RealD 3D.
In its first week, The Darkest Hour grossed $3 million and came in at #9, becoming a box office bomb.  The film was panned by critics. Based on 22 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 13% overall approval rating.The film was criticised for having "flatlining screenplay and the absence of even a single compelling character" and for being "a depressing failure of imagination"
 
Synopsis
 
In Moscow, four young people, each with different goals, must work together to survive after an alien race has invaded Earth for power and minerals. The aliens themselves consist of a floating monstrous head, surrounded by four, constantly-revolving, spiny arms, which allow it to fly. However, they are protected by a shield that renders them completely invisible to humans. On top of this, they can vaporize any organic matter they touch, and can manipulate things with a controlled lightning bolt or zap. It is discovered, however, that they are incapable of detecting things without line of sight (in other words, they cannot see through glass), and their invisible shields can be disabled with strong rays of microwave radiation, which the people find later on in the movie pith. Being the only people in the world with this information, the four must find a way to safely get to a Russian military submarine that is rumored to be in the area....
 
Director: Chris Gorak
Writer: Jon Spaihts
Stars: Emile Hirsch; Olivia Thirlby; Rachael Taylor; Max Minghella; Joel Kinnaman

The Day after Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow [2004]

 
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. It did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally. Domestically, it is the sixth highest grossing movie not to be #1 in the US box office (behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Alvin and the Chipmunks and its sequel, Sherlock Holmes, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs), but worldwide, it is third behind only Ice Age 3 and Casino Royale.
 
The movie was filmed in Montreal, and is the highest grossing Hollywood film in history to be filmed in Canada (if adjusted for inflation).
The Day After Tomorrow premiered in Mexico City on May 17, 2004 and was released worldwide from May 26 to May 28 except in South Korea and Japan, where it was released June 4 and June 5, respectively. The film was originally planned for release in summer 2003. The film made $110,000,000 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $654,771,772.
 
Opening:
Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) is a paleoclimatologist on an expedition in Antarctica with colleagues, Frank (Jay O. Sanders) and Jason (Dash Mihok). They are drilling for ice core samples on the Larsen Ice Shelf for the NOAA when the shelf breaks off and Jack almost falls to his death. Later in New Delhi Jack presents his findings onglobal warming at a United Nations conference, where diplomats and Vice President of the United States Raymond Becker (Kenneth Welsh) are unconvinced by Jack's findings.
 
However, Professor Terry Rapson (Ian Holm) of the Hedland Climate Research Centre in Scotland believes in Jack's theories. Several buoys in the North Atlanticsimultaneously show a massive drop in the ocean temperature, and Rapson concludes that melting polar ice is disrupting the North Atlantic current. He contacts Jack, whose paleoclimatological weather model shows how climate changes caused the first Ice Age, and can predict what will happen. Jack thought the events would take hundreds or thousands of years, but his team, along with NASA's meteorologist Janet Tokada (Tamlyn Tomita) build a forecast model with their combined data.
 
Across the world, violent weather causes mass destruction, including a massive snowstorm in New Delhi, a hailstorm destroying Tokyo, Japan, and a series of devastating tornadoes in Los Angeles. President Blake (Perry King), authorizes the FAA to suspend all air traffic due to severe turbulence. At the International Space Station (ISS), three astronauts see a huge storm system spanning the northern hemisphere, delaying their returning home. The situation worsens when the the latter develops into three massive hurricane-like superstorms, with their eyes holding super-cooled air that instantly freezes anything it comes in contact with. Jack's theories become reality in seven to ten days time.
 
Director: Roland Emmerich
Writer: Roland Emmerich
Stars: Dennis Quaid; Jake Gyllenhaal; Emmy Rossum; Ian Holm; Sela Ward

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The Day The Earth Stood Still [1951]

 
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and written by Edmund H. North based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" (1940) by Harry Bates. The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, and Hugh Marlowe. In the film, a humanoid alien visitor visits Earth with a warning, accompanied by his powerful robot, "Gort".
 
Opening:
 
An extraterrestrial flying saucer is tracked streaking about the Earth until it gently lands on the President's Park Ellipse in Washington, D.C.. Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges, announcing that he has come from outer space on a goodwill mission. Upon opening a small, suspicious-looking device, he is wounded by a nervous soldier and the device is destroyed. In response, Gort, a large humanoid robot emerges from the ship and disintegrates all weapons present without harming the soldiers with a ray emanating from his head.
 
Klaatu orders him to stop and explains that the ruined object was a viewing device, a gift for the President. Klaatu is taken to an army hospital, where he is found to be physically human-like, but stuns the doctors with the quickness of his healing. Meanwhile the military attempts to enter Klaatu's ship, but finds it impregnable. Gort stands by, mute and unmoving.
 
Klaatu reveals to the President's secretary, Harley (Frank Conroy), that he bears a message so momentous and urgent that it can and must be revealed to all the world's leaders simultaneously. However Harley tells him that it would be impossible to get the squabbling world leaders to agree to meet. Klaatu wants to get to know the ordinary people. Harley forbids it and leaves Klaatu locked up under guard.
 

Director:Robert Wise

Writer: Edmund H. North; Harry Bates

Stars: Michael Rennie; Patricia Neal; Billy Gray; Hugh Marlowe; Sam Jaffe; Frances Bavier

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The Day The Earth Stood Still [2008]

 
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. The screenplay is based on the 1940 classic science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, and the 1951 screenplay adaptation by Edmund H. North.
Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, this version replaces the Cold War theme of nuclear warfare with the contemporary issue of humankind's environmental damage to the planet.
 
It follows Klaatu, an alien sent to try to change human behavior or eradicate them from Earth.
The film was originally scheduled for release on May 9, 2008, but was released on a roll-out schedule beginning December 12, 2008, screening in both conventional andIMAX theaters. The critical reviews were mixed; typically the film was found to be "heavy on special effects, but without a coherent story at its base". In its opening week, the film took top spot at the U.S. box office and has since grossed over $230 million worldwide. The Day the Earth Stood Still was released on home video on April 7, 2009.
 
Opening:
 
In 1928, on an expedition in the snowy mountains of India, a mountaineer encounters a glowing sphere. He touches it and then finds himself awakening after a sudden loss of consciousness, with the sphere now gone and a scar on his hand.
 
In the present day, the United States government hastily assembles a group of scientists, including Princeton professor Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), to formulate a survival plan when it is feared that a large unknown object with a speed of approximately one-tenth the speed of light, is due to impact Manhattan.
 
The object slows down just before impact and is revealed to be a large spherical spaceship, which lands gently in Central Park. A being named Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) emerges from the sphere, around which the military has established a perimeter. Amidst the confusion, Klaatu is shot. A gigantic robot emerges, emitting a sound that temporarily paralyzes humans and disrupts all electrical systems in New York City. Before the robot can take the being back, Klaatu orders it to shut down.......
 
Director: Scott Derrickson
Writer: David Scarpa
Stars: Keanu Reeves; Jennifer Connelly; Kathy Bates; Jon Hamm; John Cleese; Jaden Smith;
Kyle Chandler

Deep Impact

Deep Impact [1998]

 
Deep Impact is a 1998 science-fiction disaster-drama film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. It was directed byMimi Leder and stars Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall. The plot describes the attempts to prepare for and destroy a 7-mile wide comet, which is expected to collide with the Earth and cause a mass extinction.
 
Another "space impact" film, Armageddon, was released about two months after Deep Impact in the United States. Deep Impact's greater scientific credibility was recognized, though Armageddon fared better at the box office; however, Deep Impact was still a major financial success, grossing over $349 million worldwide on a $75 million production budget. Both films were equally received by critics, with Armageddon scoring 41% and Deep Impact scoring 46% on the Tomatometer.
 
Opening:
 
On May 10, 1998, teenage amateur astronomer Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood) discovers an unusual object near the stars Mizar and Alcor at a star party. He alerts professional astronomer Marcus Wolf (Charles Martin Smith) at a local observatory. Wolf learns that the object is a comet, and calculates that it will impact with Earth, but dies in a car accident before he can alert the world.
 
Director: Mimi Leder
Writer: Bruce Joel Rubin; Michael Tolkin
Stars: Robert Duvall; Téa Leoni; Elijah Wood; Vanessa Redgrave; Morgan Freeman; Maximillian Schell; James Cromwell; Ron Eldard; Jon Favreau; Laura Innes; Mary McCormack; Richard Schiff; Leelee Sobieski ;Blair Underwood; Dougray Scott
 

Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu [2006]

 
Déjà Vu is a 2006 crime thriller with elements of SF. The film was directed by Tony Scott, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and co-written by Bill Marsilii andTerry Rossio. The film stars Denzel Washington, Bruce Greenwood, Matt Craven, Jim Caviezel, and Paula Patton as the main characters, but also includes actors Val Kilmer and Adam Goldberg. 
 
Déjà Vu involves ATF agent Douglas Carlin, who travels back in time in attempts to prevent a domestic terrorist attack that takes place inNew Orleans and to save a woman with whom he falls in love, Claire Kuchever. Filming took place throughout post-Katrina New Orleans.
The film premiered in New York City on November 20, 2006. It was released to the United States two days later, and to Mexico and Canada by the end of November. The film was released worldwide by the early months of 2007.
 
It received mixed reviews from critics, and the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes's compiled ratings give the film a below average rating. While earning $64 million in the United States, the film went on to gross $180 million worldwide; Déjà Vu was the twenty-third most successful film worldwide for 2006. The film was nominated for five awards, and won the International Golden Reel Award presented by Neilsen EDI.
 
Opening:
 
On Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a ferry (the "Sen. Alvin T. Stumpf") is carrying hundreds of U.S. Navy sailors and their families from the Algiers dock to a celebration, when it explodes and sinks into the river, killing at least 543 on board. Agent Doug Carlin from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives(ATF) is sent to investigate the explosion and discovers evidence that the attack was committed by a domestic terrorist.
 
On arrival at the scene he hears his ring tonewhich he discovers isn't his, it is coming from a body bag nearby. He then meets with the investigating police officers and FBI Agent Paul Pryzwarra, and informs them of his findings. Back at his office, Doug learns about a charred body pulled from the river, that of a Claire Kuchever. However, unlike the other bodies found in the river, this one was discovered to have been killed before the explosion.....
 
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: Bill Marsilii; Terry Rossio
Stars: Denzel Washington; Val Kilmer; Bruce Greenwood; Matt Craven; James Caviezel; Paula Patton; Adam Goldberg

District 9

District 9 [2009]

 
District 9 is a 2009 SF thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James. The film won the 2010 Saturn Award for Best International Film presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, and was nominated for four Academy Awards in 2010, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing.
 
The story, adapted from Alive in Joburg, a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen, pivots on the themes ofxenophobia and social segregation. The title and premise of District 9 were inspired by events that took place in District Six, Cape Town during the apartheid era. The film was produced for $30 million and shot on location in Chiawelo, Soweto, presenting fictional interviews, news footage, and video from surveillance cameras in a part-mock documentary style format.
 
A viral marketing campaign began in 2008, at the San Diego Comic-Con, while the theatrical trailer appeared in July 2009. Released by TriStar Pictures, the film opened to critical acclaim on August 14, 2009, in North America and earned $37 million in its opening weekend. Many saw the film as a sleeper hit for its relatively unknown cast and modest-budget production, while achieving success and popularity during its theatrical run.
 
Opening:
 
In March 1982 a large alien spacecraft comes to Earth and hovers motionless above Johannesburg in South Africa. After three months, a team enters the ship, discovering a large group of sick and malnourished extraterrestrials, who are then given food, shelter, and health-care on Earth. The aliens, derogatorily referred to by some locals as "prawns", are confined to a government camp inside Johannesburg known as District 9. As time progresses following the settlement of the aliens onto Johannesburg, periodic unrest occurs between aliens and locals.
 
In the first decade of the 21st century, the South African government hires Multinational United (MNU), a private military company under the direction of its CEO, Dirk Michaels, to relocate the aliens to the new District 10. In August 2010, Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), an Afrikaner bureaucrat, is appointed by Piet Smit (Dirk Minnaar), an MNU executive and his father-in-law, to lead the relocation with the serving of illegal eviction notices.......
 
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Sharlto Copley; Jason Cope; David James

DREDD [2012]

 
Dredd is a 2012 British science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the British comic 2000 AD comic strip Judge Dredd and its eponymous character created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. Karl Urban stars as Judge Dredd, a law enforcer given the power of judge, jury and executioner in a vast, dystopian metropolis called Mega-City One that lies in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Dredd and his inexperienced sidekick, Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), are forced to bring order to a 200-storey high-rise block of flats and deal with its resident drug lord, Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).
 
Garland began writing the script in 2006, although the development of a new Judge Dredd film adaptation, that would be unrelated to the 1995 film Judge Dredd, was not announced until December 2008. Principal photography, using 3D cameras throughout on practical sets and locations in Cape Town and Johannesburg, began in November 2010. Dredd was released on 7 September 2012 in the United Kingdom and on 21 September 2012 worldwide. Critics were generally positive about the film's visual effects, casting and action, while criticism focused on a perceived lack of satirical elements in the source comic and excessive violence. Despite the positive critical response, the film earned just over $36 million on an estimated budget of $45 million.
 
Plot Intro:
 
The future United States is an irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth. On the east coast lies Mega-City One, a violent metropolis with 800 million residents and 17,000 crimes reported daily. There, an addictive new drug called "Slo-Mo" has been introduced, which slows the user's perception of time to 1% of normal. The only force for order are the Judges, who act as judge, jury and executioner. Judge Dredd is tasked by the Chief Judge with evaluating new recruit Cassandra Anderson, a powerful psychic who failed the aptitude tests to be a Judge.
 
In Peach Trees, a 200-storey slum tower block, drug lord Madeline Madrigal, also known as "Ma-Ma", executes three rogue drug dealers by having them skinned, infused with Slo-Mo and thrown down the atrium from the top floor. Dredd and Anderson are sent in to investigate and learn of a drug den, which they raid. They arrest a thug named Kay, whom Anderson's mind probe reveals to be the one who carried out the drug dealers' execution. Dredd decides to take him in for questioning. In response, Ma-Ma's forces seize the tower's security control room and seal the building, using its blast shields under the pretence of a security test, preventing the Judges from leaving or summoning help.
 
Marketing:
 
In August 2012, the viral advertising site "Dredd Report" was launched, satirising the Drudge Report. The site featured a video condemning the use of Slo-Mo, and links to news about the film. A tie-in comic book was published; its plot serves as a prequel to the film's narrative and follows Ma-Ma's life as a prostitute, controlled by her pimp Lester Grimes. Ma-Ma forms a relationship with Eric—the creator of Slo-Mo. Lester kills Eric for interfering with his business, Ma-Ma castrates Lester with her teeth in retaliation and Ma-Ma takes over the Slo-Mo operation. The comic was written by Judge Dredd Megazine editor Matt Smith, drawn by 2000 AD artist Henry Flint and was released on 5 September 2012. An exclusive film poster featuring artwork by Jock was released by Mondo to promote the film's appearance at the 2012 Fantastic Fest in September 2012
 
Box-office: 
 
Dredd earned $23,056,059 from international markets and $13,414,714 from North America, for a total of $36,470,773. In the UK, Dredd grossed £1.05 million ($1.7 million) from 415 cinemas during its opening weekend. This made it the weekend's number-one film, the first film restricted to audiences over 18 years of age to do so since Saw 3D in 2010. In its second weekend, the film placed number five, earning £769,381. In North America, pre-release tracking estimated that the film would gross between $8 and $10 million during its opening weekend based on its adult rating and the poor reputation of the 1995 adaptation. The film earned $2.2 million on its opening day and finished the weekend in sixth place, grossing $6.3 million from 2,506 cinemas—an average of $2,514 per cinema. The largest demographic of the opening weekend audience was over the age of 25 (69%) and male (75%). The films North American run ended on 1 November 2012, after 42 days. The film left theaters without recouping its budget.
 
Sequel: 
 
At the London Film and Comic Con in July 2012, Garland said that a North American gross of over $50 million for Dredd would make sequels possible and that he had plans for a trilogy of films. A second film would focus on the origins of Dredd and Mega-City One, and a third would introduce Dredd's nemeses, the undead Judge Death and his Dark Judges. In August 2012, Garland said that a Judge Dredd television series would be a positive future step for the series. In September 2012, Garland said that he would explore the "Origins" and "Democracy" storylines, would introduce characters Judge Cal and Chopper, and would pursue the concept that Judge Dredd is a fascist. Also in September, Macdonald said that further films would be made in partnership with IM Global and would likely be shot in South Africa.
 
Director: Pete Travis
Writer: Alex Garland
Stars: Karl Urban; Olivia Thirlby; Wood Harris; Lena Headey

Dune [1984]

 
Dune is a 1984 American science fiction action film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico City and included a soundtrack by the band Toto. The plot concerns a young man foretold as the "Kwisatz Haderach" who will lead the native Fremen of the titular desert planet to victory over the malevolent House Harkonnen.
 
After the success of the novel, attempts to adapt Dune for a film began as early as 1971. A lengthy process of development hell followed throughout the 1970s, during which time both Arthur P. Jacobs and Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to bring their visions to the screen. In 1981, Lynch was hired as director by executive producer Dino De Laurentiis.
 
The film was not well received by critics and performed poorly at the American box office. Upon its release, Lynch distanced himself from the project, stating that pressure from both producers and financiers restrained his artistic control and denied him final cut privilege. At least three different versions have been released worldwide. In some cuts, Lynch's name is replaced in the credits with the name Alan Smithee, a pseudonym used by directors who wished not to be associated with a film for which they would normally be credited.
 
Plot Opening:
 
In the far future, the known universe is ruled by Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. The most important substance in his galactic empire is the spice melange. The spice has many special properties, such as extending life and expanding consciousness. The most profitable of its properties is its ability to assist the Spacing Guild with folding space. The spice is vital to space travel because it allows safe interstellar travel to any part of the universe instantaneously.
 
Sensing a potential threat to spice production, the Guild sends an emissary to demand an explanation from the Emperor, who confidentially shares his plans to destroy House Atreides. The popularity of Duke Leto Atreides has grown, and he is suspected to be amassing a secret army using sonic weapons called Weirding Modules, making him a threat to the Emperor. Shaddam's plan is to give the Atreides control of the planet Arrakis (also known as Dune), the only source of spice, and to have them ambushed there by their longtime enemies, the Harkonnens.
 
The Navigator commands the Emperor to kill the Duke's son, Paul Atreides, a young man who dreams prophetic visions of his purpose. The order draws the attention of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, as Paul is tied to their centuries-long breeding program which seeks to produce the superhuman Kwisatz Haderach. Paul is tested by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. With a deadly gom jabbar at his throat, Paul is forced to place his hand in a box which subjects him to excruciating pain. He passes to Mohiam's satisfaction.
 
Meanwhile, on the industrial world of Giedi Prime, the sadistic Baron Vladimir Harkonnen tells his nephews Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha about his plan to eliminate the Atreides by manipulating someone into betraying the Duke. The Atreides leave Caladan for Arrakis, a barren desert planet plagued by gigantic sandworms and populated by the Fremen, mysterious people who have long held a prophecy that a messiah would come to lead them to freedom. Upon arrival on Arrakis, Leto is informed by one of his right-hand men, Duncan Idaho, that the Fremen have been underestimated, as they exist in vast numbers and could prove to be powerful allies. Leto gains the trust of Fremen, but before the Duke can establish an alliance with them, the Harkonnens launch their attack.
 
While the Atreides had anticipated a trap, they are unable to withstand the attack, supported by the Emperor's elite troops, the Sardaukar, and aided by a traitor within House Atreides itself, Dr. Wellington Yueh. Captured, Leto dies in a failed attempt to assassinate the Baron Harkonnen using a poison gas capsule planted in his tooth by Dr. Yueh. Leto's concubine Lady Jessica and his son Paul escape into the deep desert, where they manage to join a band of Fremen. Paul emerges as Muad'Dib, the leader the Fremen have been waiting for. Paul teaches the Fremen to use the weirding modules and begins targeting mining production of spice. Within two years, spice production is effectively halted.
 
The Emperor is warned by the Spacing Guild of the situation on Arrakis. The Guild fears that Paul will consume the Water of Life. These fears are revealed to Paul in a prophetic dream; he drinks the Water of Life and enters a coma. Awaking, he is transformed and gains control of the sandworms of Arrakis. He has discovered that water kept in huge caches by the Fremen can be used to destroy the spice. Paul has also seen into space and the future; the Emperor is amassing a huge invasion fleet above Arrakis to regain control of the planet and the spice.
 
Upon the Emperor's arrival at Arrakis, he executes Rabban for failing to remedy the spice situation. Paul launches a final attack against the Harkonnens and the Emperor's elite Sardaukar shock troops at the capital city of Arrakeen. His Fremen warriors defeat the Emperor's legions of Sardaukar, while Paul's sister Alia kills Baron Harkonnen. Paul faces the defeated Emperor and relieves him of power, then engages Feyd-Rautha in a duel to the death. In the final scene, Paul demonstrates his newfound powers and fulfills the Fremen prophecy that he is the promised messiah by causing rain to fall on Arrakis for the first time ever as Alia declares: "And how can this be? For he is the Kwisatz Haderach!"
 
Box-office:
 
The film opened on December 14, 1984 in 915 theaters and earned $6,025,091 in its opening weekend, ranking #2 in the domestic box office behind Beverly Hills Cop. By the end of its run, Dune had grossed $30,925,690. On an estimated $40 million budget, the film was considered a box office bomb.

Elysium [2013]

 
Elysium is a 2013 American dystopian science fiction action thriller film written, directed, and co-produced by Neill Blomkamp, and starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. It was released on August 9, 2013, in both conventional and IMAX Digital theaters. Elysium is a co-production of Media Rights Capital and TriStar Pictures.
 
The film takes place on both a ravaged Earth, and a luxurious space habitat called Elysium. It explores political and sociological themes such as immigration, overpopulation, health care, exploitation, and class issues.
 
Plot Opening:
 
In 2154, a minute number of people reside on a luxurious space habitat called Elysium and the vast majority on an overpopulated and devastated Earth. While those on Earth are policed by ruthless robots, Elysium's citizens live in absolute comfort and regularly use medical devices called Med-Bays to cure any disease and injury.
 
Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), a former car thief and parolee, lives in the ruins of Los Angeles and works at an assembly line for Armadyne Corp, a company which supplies Elysian weaponry as well as the robots which police Earth. After being accidentally lethally poisoned by radiation, Max has only five days to live. Meanwhile, when a caravan of illegal immigrants from Earth attempts to reach Elysium and its Med-Bays, Elysian Secretary of Defense Delacourt (Jodie Foster) orders a sleeper agent, Kruger (Sharlto Copley), to shoot down the shuttles.
 
Elysian President Patel (Faran Tahir) reprimands her and dismisses Kruger from service. Delacourt, vowing to protect Elysium and her own power, bargains with Armadyne CEO John Carlyle (William Fichtner) to create a program that can override Elysium's computer core to give her the Presidency. Carlyle neurally stores the program for transport to Elysium and encrypts it with a lethal denial system....
 
Production:
 
Elysium was produced by Simon Kinberg, and written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, the director and co-writer of District 9 (2009). It reunites Blomkamp with some of his District 9 crew, such as editor Julian Clarke, production designer Philip Ivey, cinematographer Trent Opaloch, and actor Sharlto Copley, playing one of the film's villains.
 
In January 2011, independent studio Media Rights Capital met with major studios to distribute Elysium, and Blomkamp shared art designs of his proposed science fiction film. The art designs won over the executives at Sony Pictures, who bought the film after making a more attractive offer than the other studios.
 
With a production budget of $115 million, production began in July 2011. The film's Earth-bound scenes were shot in a dump in the poor Iztapalapa district on the outskirts of Mexico City, while the scenes for Elysium were shot in Vancouver and the wealthy Huixquilucan-Interlomas suburbs of Mexico City. Matt Damon shaved his head for the role of Max. The main role was first offered to Watkin Tudor Jones (aka Ninja), a South African rapper, who despite being a fan of District 9 (he has a D9 tattoo on his inner lip) did not take the role. The role was then offered to rapper Eminem, but he wanted the film to be shot in Detroit. That was not an option for the two studios, so Blomkamp moved on to Damon as his next choice.
 
Futuristic designs were executed by Philip Ivey after long periods of researching and studying older science fiction films. Ivey has continuously cited Syd Mead as a substantial influence for the film. Weta Workshop created the exosuits for Damon and Copley's characters, while the complicated visual effects were handled primarily by Image Engine (who also collaborated on District 9) with additional work by Whiskytree, MPC, The Embassy and Industrial Light and Magic. Re-shoots took place through October 2012.
 
The film's music score was composed by newcomer Ryan Amon and recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The soundtrack was released on August 6, 2013.
 
Release & Box-office:
 
When the film was first announced, Sony intended to release it in late 2012. It later set an official release date for March 8, 2013, before moving one week earlier to prevent competing against Oz the Great and Powerful. In October 2012, Sony then announced they had pushed back the release date to August 9, 2013.
 
In April 2013, Sony also announced that the film would be specifically reformatted for IMAX theaters. By that time, two theatrical trailers and a TV spot had already been showcased.
 
On December 17, 2013, Elysium was released on DVD and Blu-ray discs in Region 1.
 
As of October 20, 2013, Elysium has grossed $93,050,117 in the domestic box office and $192,957,131 internationally for a worldwide total of $286,007,248. Elysium opened on August 9, 2013 and grossed $11,088,228 on its opening day, ranking #1. The film proceeded to rank #1 for the weekend, grossing $29,807,393.
 
Critical reception:
 
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating with an average rating of 6.5/10 based on 229 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "After the heady sci-fi thrills of District 9, Elysium is a bit of a comedown for director Neill Blomkamp, but on its own terms, it delivers just often enough to satisfy."

Ender's Game [2013]

 
Ender's Game is a 2013 American science fiction action thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Orson Scott Card. Directed and written by Gavin Hood, the film stars Asa Butterfield as Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, an unusually gifted child who is sent to an advanced military academy in outer space to prepare for a future alien invasion. The cast includes Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, and Ben Kingsley.
 
The film was released in Germany on October 24, 2013, followed by a release in the United Kingdom and Ireland one day later. It was released in the United States, Canada, and several other countries on November 1, 2013, and was released in other territories by January 2014.
 
Plot:
 
Fifty years prior, an alien species called the Formics attacks Earth, killing tens of millions, but is eventually stopped by a heroic commander (Mazer Rackham) who rams his ship into the alien's large ship, causing a large explosion. Back to present day, a young cadet named Andrew Ender Wiggin defeats a student (Stilson) in a tablet-based space combat game while Colonel Hyrum Graff and Major Gwen Anderson from the International Fleet watch via Ender's monitor.
 
After Ender's monitor is removed (symbolizing that he has been dropped from the program), the student and his gang corner him, Ender retaliates and violently beats him. At home, he confesses grief over his actions to his sister Valentine and has to face their older brother Peter in a fight where he is nearly choked. Graff and Anderson visit the Wiggins and offer Ender a place in Battle School, admitting that the final test was to see how he would react to losing his monitor. Graff talks privately with him, and recruits him by saying they need young minds to become brilliant commanders.
 
Ender joins the "launchies" aboard the shuttlecraft for Battle School. They are shown their accommodations, the classes, and a large glass sphere called the Battle Room, where they are to play a series of laser tag-like games against other teams in zero gravity. After Ender questions why e-mails from home are blocked, he begins to earn respect from his peers. Ender plays a "mind game" program where his character is presented with a no-win situation (choosing between a poisoned drink) until he kills the presenter of the dilemma.
 
Ender is transferred to Salamander Army, where he meets Commander Bonzo Madrid and Petra Arkanian, the latter of whom offers to teach him how to shoot and to fight during their free time. Bonzo immediately dislikes Ender and orders him to not do any training, but Ender convinces him otherwise. In their first battle, Bonzo orders him to hang back and observe, but Ender spots a weakness in the enemy's setup and, with the help of Petra, launches a surprise attack for the victory.
 
Ender continues the mind game, where he encounters a Formic. He then follows an animated version of Valentine to a collapsed castle, where he fights a snake, but then sees Peter (whose appearance surprises Anderson and Graff). Graff gives Ender command of Dragon Army, a motley crew of cadets, some of whom are Ender's former colleagues. As they climb the school's rankings, they are presented with a battle where they have to face two armies, including Bonzo's Salamander Army. After taking out the enemies by their gate and some reconnaissance, they do a shielding formation that allows their surviving member to slip through the gate. Afterwards, Bonzo challenges Ender to a fight in the showers, but when Ender retaliates, Bonzo is critically injured. Ender resigns and returns to Earth, but Graff convinces Valentine to bring him back.
 
Instead of returning to Battle School, Ender and Graff head to an advance base established at a Formic colony near the home world. In his room he encounters Mazer Rackham, who explains what really happened that heroic day, and the vulnerabilities he has learned about the Formics. Ender is reunited with some of his Battle School comrades, who have taken commanding positions in the fleet. Together they engage in Mazer's battle scenarios, each one more intense than the previous. In the latest one, Ender is overwhelmed and tries to assume too much control, resulting in failure. On the graduation final test, they are presented with a photo-realistic simulation of the Formic home planet.
 
At first, the Formics do not attack, but they eventually engage in a swarm when the MD Device wipes out a chunk of their forces. Ender has the Fleet's fighters protect the ship with the MD device but leaves the rest of the carriers. He sends the single ship in a suicidal trajectory towards the planet and gets Petra a clear shot with the device again, wiping all life on the planet. After he briefly celebrates with his team, Ender notices Graff and the others celebrating; Graff reveals that the final simulation was the real battle and that Ender has destroyed the Formics' home planet. He tells Ender he will be remembered as a hero, but a remorseful Ender says that he will be remembered not as a hero, but as a killer.
 
After being sedated and carried to his room, Ender realizes that the Formics had tried to communicate with him in the mind game. Petra wakes Ender up, but he rushes outside to a hill similar to the one he saw in the game. Inside, he finds a queen with a single queen egg remaining, and expresses deep sorrow. In a letter to Valentine, Ender mentions he is heading to deep space, where he carries the egg, determined to colonize a new Formic World with it.

 

Iron Man

Iron Robot [2008]

 
 
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrowplays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays military liaison James Rhodes and Jeff Bridges plays Stark Industries executive Obadiah Stane.
 
The film was in development since 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. Marvel put the project in production as its first self-financed film. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a naturalistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero films set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue because pre-production was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character. Hasbro and Sega sold merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King, LG and 7-Eleven.
 
Reviews were very positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The American Film Institute selected the film as one of the ten best of the year. Downey, Favreau and Paltrow returned in the sequel Iron Man 2, released on May 7, 2010. Downey also made a cameo appearance as Stark in The Incredible Hulk. The film is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
 
Opening:
Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is the head of Stark Industries, a major military contracting company he inherited from his deceased father. Stark is an inventive genius and wunderkind; however, he is also a playboy. After being interviewed by Christine Everhart, he charms her into sex that night. The next morning Stark's disapproving assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, sends her off.
 
While his father's old partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), takes care of day-to-day operations, Stark flies to war-torn Afghanistan with his friend and military liaison,Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (Terrence Howard), for a demonstration of Stark's new weapon, the "Jericho" missile. Afterward, Stark's military convoy is attacked and he is critically wounded. Stark finds himself the prisoner of an Afghan terrorist group known as the Ten Rings.
 
An electromagnet has been embedded in his chest by fellow captive Dr. Yinsen to keep shrapnel from working its way to his heart and killing him. The Ten Rings leader, Raza, offers Stark his freedom in exchange for building a Jericho missile for the group. Yinsen later confirms Stark's suspicion that Raza will not keep his word.....
 
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby; Art Marcum; Matt Holloway; John August
Stars: Robert Downey Jr.; Terrence Howard; Jeff Bridges; Gwyneth Paltrow

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 [2010]

 
 
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy^[7] and is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., who reprises his role as Tony Stark.
 
In cinematic canon, it takes place six months after Iron Man, and directly before The Incredible Hulk. Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting calls by the United States government to hand over the technology. Ivan Vanko has duplicated the technology and built weapons of his own, creating new challenges for Stark. Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2010 and in Paris, France on April 28, 2010. It was released throughout the United States on May 7, 2010
 
Opening:
Russian television shows Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) revealing his identity as Iron Man to the world. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), whose father, Anton Vanko (Yevgeni Lazarev), has just died, sees this and begins building a similar weapon.
Six months later, Stark has used his Iron Man armor to help maintain world peace.
 
He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from successfully recreating his achievements, and that the armor is in fact his own property.
 
The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts(Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries, and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).
 
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Theroux 
Stars: Robert Downey Jr.; Gwyneth Paltrow; Don Cheadle; Scarlett Johansson; Mickey Rourke

Iron Man 3 [2013]

 
Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.1 It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man and 2010's Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the first major release in the franchise since the crossover film The Avengers. Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce and which uses concepts from the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis. Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the title character, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle reprising their roles as Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, respectively. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as an executive producer and reprises his role as Happy Hogan.
 
Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film's principal cast. The plot has Tony Stark trying to recover from posttraumatic stress disorder caused by the events of The Avengers, while researching the background to a terrorist organization lead by the mysterious Mandarin after his head of security Happy Hogan is hospitalized following what appeared to be an attack.
 
After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles. The film's visual effects were handled by 17 companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.
 
Iron Man 3 was converted to 3D in post-production. The film premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013. It was internationally released on April 25, 2013 in IMAX and was released on May 3, 2013 in the United States. The film was both critically and commercially successful. As of June 2013, it has grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide, becoming the 16th film to gross over $1 billion. It currently ranks as the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, ranks as sixth-highest-grossing openings for films and the highest-grossing 2013 film. It is the first Iron Man film to gross over $1 billion, the second Marvel film to do so after The Avengers. At 130 minutes, it is the longest stand-alone Iron Man film.
 
Plot:
 
Tony Stark recalls a New Years Eve party in 1999 in Bern, Switzerland with scientist Maya Hansen, inventor of Extremis—an experimental regenerative treatment intended to allow recovery from crippling injuries. Disabled scientist Aldrich Killian offers them a place in his company, Advanced Idea Mechanics, but Stark guides him to the rooftop and leaves him there stranded, humiliating him.
 
13 years later, Stark's experiences during the alien invasion of New York are giving him panic attacks. Restless, he has built several dozen Iron Man suits, creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts. A string of bombings by terrorist the Mandarin has left intelligence agencies bewildered by a lack of forensic evidence. When Stark Industries security chief Happy Hogan is badly injured in one such attack and left in a coma, Stark overcomes his stupor and issues a televised threat to the Mandarin, who responds by destroying Stark's home with helicopter gunships. Hansen, who came to warn Stark, survives the attack along with Potts. Stark escapes in an Iron Man suit, which his artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. pilots to rural Tennessee, following a flight plan from Stark's investigation into the Mandarin. Stark's experimental armor lacks sufficient power to return to California, and the world believes him dead.
 
Teaming with a precocious 10-year-old boy named Harley, Stark investigates the remains of a local explosion bearing the hallmarks of a Mandarin attack. He discovers the "bombings" were triggered by soldiers subjected to Extremis, which at this stage of development can cause certain subjects to explosively reject it. After veterans started exploding, their deaths were used to cover up Extremis' flaws by manufacturing a terrorist plot against the United States. Stark witnesses Extremis firsthand when Mandarin agents Ellen Brandt and Eric Savin attack him.
 
With Harley's help, Stark traces the Mandarin to Miami, Florida and infiltrates his headquarters using improvised weapons. Inside he discovers the Mandarin is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery, who claims he is oblivious to the actions carried out in his name. The Mandarin is actually a creation of Killian, who appropriated Hansen's Extremis research as a cure for his own disability and expanded the program to include injured war veterans. After capturing Stark, Killian reveals he has kidnapped Potts and subjected her to Extremis to gain Stark's aid in fixing Extremis' flaws and thereby saving Potts. Killian kills Hansen when she has a change of heart about the initial plan.
 
Killian has also manipulated American intelligence agencies regarding the Mandarin's location, luring James Rhodes—the former War Machine, now re-branded as the Iron Patriot — into a trap to steal the armor. Stark escapes and reunites with Rhodes, discovering that Killian intends to attack President Ellis aboard Air Force One. Remotely controlling his Iron Man armor, Stark saves some surviving passengers and crew but cannot stop Killian from abducting Ellis and destroying Air Force One. They trace Killian to an impounded damaged oil tanker where Killian intends to kill Ellis on live television in the Iron Patriot suit. The vice president will become a puppet leader, following Killian's orders in exchange for Extremis to cure a little girl's disability.
 
On the platform, Stark goes to save Potts, and Rhodes saves the president, returning back to his armor. Stark summons his Iron Man suits, controlled remotely by J.A.R.V.I.S, to provide air support. Rhodes secures the president and takes him to safety, while Stark discovers Potts has survived the Extremis procedure. However, before he can save her, a rig collapses around them and she falls to her apparent death. Stark confronts Killian and traps him in an Iron Man suit that self-destructs, but fails to kill him, and Killian reveals he is the real Mandarin. Potts, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and kills Killian.
 
After the battle, Stark orders J.A.R.V.I.S to remotely destroy each Iron Man suit as a sign of his devotion to Potts. The vice president and Slattery are arrested for high treason and conspiracy. With Stark's help, Potts' Extremis effects are stabilized, and Stark undergoes surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded near his heart. He pitches his obsolete chest arc reactor into the sea, musing that he will always be Iron Man.
 
In a post-credits scene set sometime after his operation, Stark is recounting his story to a now-sleeping Dr. Bruce Banner. Woken up, Banner admits to falling asleep at the beginning of Stark's story.
 
Development:
 
Following the release of Iron Man 2, a conflict between Paramount Pictures, which had distribution rights to certain Marvel properties, and The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Entertainment's new corporate parent, clouded the timing and the distribution arrangement of a possible third film. On October 18, 2010, The Walt Disney Studios agreed to pay Paramount at least $115 million for the worldwide distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers. Disney, Marvel, and Paramount announced a May 3, 2013 release date for Iron Man 3.
 
Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead. He remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's crossover film The Avengers and also served as an executive producer of Iron Man 3. In February 2011 Shane Black entered final negotiations to direct and write the screenplay, and in March it was announced that he would have as a co-writer Drew Pearce, who Marvel had originally hired for a Runaways script. Downey, who had previously starred in Black's film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, said, "Bringing in Shane Black to write and direct Iron Man 3 to me is basically the only transition from Favreau to a 'next thing' that Favreau and the audience and Marvel and I could ever actually sign off on."
 
Release:
 
Iron Man 3 is being distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures1 with the exception of China, where it is being released by DMG Entertainment, and Germany and Austria, where it is being released by Tele München Group. The Chinese version of the film offers specially prepared bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience. This version features a four-minute longer cut of the film, with a scene showing Dr. Wu on the phone with Iron Man visible on a television screen behind him, as well as a longer scene of Dr. Wu operating on Stark. The extra material also features product placement of different Chinese products.
 
The United States premiere of the film was held at the El Capitan Theatre on April 24, 2013. The UK premiere of the film, originally set for April 17, was pushed back to the 18th in order to avoid possible unrest over the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which took place on the 17th. The film is being shown at a Korona World theatre in Nagoya, Japan in the 4DX format, featuring strobe lights, tilting seats, blowing wind and fog and odor effects, as well in other countries. Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas put presale tickets on hold, two weeks before the US premiere.
 
The cinemas were in a contract dispute with Disney, who wished to receive more of the ticket sale profit than they currently did, largely based on the projected premiere-weekend intake Iron Man 3 was expected to have. Carmike was the first to come to terms with Disney. It was later reported that Cinemark Theatres had also stopped selling presale tickets, and Regal Cinemas had removed all marketing material for the film from its locations. On April 25, 2013, Regal, AMC and Disney ended their dispute, which allowed Regal and AMC to proceed with selling presale tickets again.
 
Marketing:
 
In July 2012, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, a new Iron Man armor from the movie, the Mark XLII, was on display on the convention floor, along with the Marks I-VII from the first two Iron Man movies and The Avengers. A panel was held, during which Shane Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige discussed making the film, and several minutes of footage from the movie were shown. The first television advertisement aired during Super Bowl XLVII on the CBS network in the United States. On March 25, 2013, Marvel and Disney revealed on the official Iron Man Facebook page, "Iron Man 3: Armor Unlock", to reveal suits Stark has made before the events of the film.
 
Disney also promoted the film at its domestic theme parks. Disneyland's Innoventions attraction received a Stark Industries exhibit beginning April 13, and Monorail Black of the Walt Disney World Monorail System was given an exterior Iron Man scheme. The exhibit, entitled "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries", features the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there is a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man", that uses Kinect-like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of “tests,” in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark's workshop. The game is guided by JARVIS, who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also has smaller displays that include helmets and chest pieces from the earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3.
 
Critical Reception:
 
Iron Man 3 received positive reviews from film critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 78% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10 based on 273 reviews. Metacritic gave a score of 62 out of 100 based on 43 reviews.
 
Box-Office:
 
Iron Man 3 has earned $408,883,156 in North America, as of September 2, 2013, and $805,700,000 in other countries, as of September 2, 2013, for a worldwide total of $1,214,583,156. Worldwide, it is the fifth-highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2013 film, the second-highest-grossing film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (behind Marvel's The Avengers), the highest-grossing film of the Iron Man film series, the highest-grossing solo superhero movie, and the second-highest-grossing film distributed by Disney. It achieved the sixth-largest worldwide opening weekend with $372.5 million.
 
On the weekend of May 3–5, 2013, the film set a record for the largest worldwide weekend in IMAX with $28.6 million. On its 23rd day in theaters, Iron Man 3 became the sixth Disney film and the 16th film overall to reach $1 billion. It is the first Iron Man film to gross over $1 billion, the second Marvel film to do so after The Avengers, and the fourth-fastest film to reach the milestone. As part of the earlier distribution agreement made with Disney in 2010, Paramount Pictures received 9% of the box office gross generated by Iron Man 3.
 
Director: Shane Black
Writer: Shane Black; Drew Pearce
Stars: Robert Downey, Jr.; Gwyneth Paltrow; Don Cheadle; Guy Pearce; Ben Kingsley

I, Robot

I, Robot [2004]

 
 
I, Robot is a 2004 science-fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar, Akiva Goldsman and Hillary Seitz and it is loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name. Will Smith stars in the lead role of the film as Detective Del Spooner. The supporting cast includesBridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk, and Shia LaBeouf. It was nominated for the 2004 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
 
I, Robot was released in North America on July 16, 2004 and on July 22, 2004 in Australia. The film was later released in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2004 and in other countries between July 2004 to October 2004. Produced with a budget of USD $120 million, the film grossed $144 million domestically and $202 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $347 million.
 
Opening:
 
The story takes place in the year 2035 in Chicago, in a world where robots are widespread and used as servants and for various public services. They are taken to be inherently safe, being designed in accordance with the Three Laws of Robotics (referring to the laws written by Isaac Asimov).
 
Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a Chicago police detective who dislikes the rapid advancement of technology, including robots. Spooner lives with survivor's guilt and a robotic arm and lung after a car accident. He is assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of his friend Alfred Lanning (Cromwell), the roboticist who founded the company U.S. Robotics (USR) and created his replacement arm, and was found to have fallen through an office window to his death.
 
With the reluctant help of USRrobopsychologist Susan Calvin (Moynahan), Spooner investigates the death. A robot in Lanning's office shows unusual and aparently emotional responses, and flees when interrogated. Spooner believes this experimental and more human-like unit, Sonny (Tudyk), killed Lanning. Sonny is captured, denies killing Lanning, and is quickly reacquired by USR where he is scheduled to be deactivated using nanobots called nanites, and the incident hushed up to prevent unfavorable perceptions of robots......
 
Director: Alex Proyas
Writer: Jeff Vintar; Akiva Goldsman; Hillary Seitz; Isaac Asimov (stories)
Stars: Will Smith; Bridget Moynahan; Bruce Greenwood; James Cromwell; Chi McBride; Alan Tudyk; Shia LaBeouf; Terry Chen

Iron Sky [2012]

 
Iron Sky is a 2012 Finnish-German-Australian comic science fiction action film directed by Timo Vuorensola and written by Johanna Sinisalo and Michael Kalesniko. It tells the story of Nazi Germans who, after being defeated in 1945, fled to the Moon where they built a space fleet to return in 2018 and conquer Earth.
 
Iron Sky comes from the makers of Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning and was produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind Spot Pictures and Energia Productions, co-produced by New Holland Pictures and 27 Films, and co-financed by numerous individual supporters; Samuli Torssonen was responsible for the computer generated effects. It was theatrically released throughout Europe in April 2012. On 20 May 2012, Kaukomaa announced that there are plans for a prequel and a sequel but refused to disclose details.
 
Plot Opening: 
 
The film opens with an American manned landing mission returning, in 2018, to the Moon. The lander carries two astronauts; one of them a black male model, James Washington, specifically chosen to aid the President of the United States in her re-election (various "Black to the moon" word-play posters are seen in the film, extolling the new moon landing).
Upon landing on the dark side of the Moon they encounter the Nazis who have hidden there since 1945. Washington is taken captive.
 
Nazi scientist Doktor Richter investigates Washington and finds his smartphone. Although initially skeptical, he recognizes that the computing power outstrips their whole own technology. Moreover it serves perfectly as a control unit for space battleship Götterdämmerung. When he strives to demonstrate the completion of his Wunderwaffe to the current Führer, Wolfgang Kortzfleisch, the phone runs out of power. Nazi commander Klaus Adler, who is (for genetic reasons) chosen to mate with Earth specialist Renate Richter, Doktor Richter's daughter, offers to go to Earth to collect more phones. Adler takes a spacecraft to Earth, taking James with him, who has been bleached by Richter. Upon landing they find that Renate has stowed-away and travelled with them....
 
Production:
 
Production began in early 2006, and the production team took their teaser trailer of the film to the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008 seeking co-financiers and signed a co-production agreement with Oliver Damian's 27 Films Productions. During the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Iron Sky signed a co-production agreement with the Australian production company New Holland Pictures, which brought Cathy Overett and Mark Overett as co-producers of the film.
 
Iron Sky is one of a new wave of productions, including Artemis Eternal, The Cosmonaut, A Swarm of Angels, and RiP!: A Remix Manifesto, produced in collaboration with an on-line community of film enthusiasts, that are creating a new kind of participatory cinema. At Wreck-a-Movie, a collaborative film-making web site, the producers have invited everyone interested in "chipping in" with their ideas and creativity to read the tasks given to the community and to take a shot (write an entry).
 
On 11 February 2009, it was announced that the film would star German actress Julia Dietze, while the Slovenian industrial music group Laibach would be recording the soundtrack. Appropriately enough for a film about Nazism, the orchestral soundtrack incorporates leitmotifs from the operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and other operas by Richard Wagner, a composer whose music was favoured by the Nazi leaders.
 
Filming began in November 2010 in Frankfurt for location shooting, and after that in January 2011 in Australia for studio shooting. Settings in Frankfurt Werft were Weseler or Taunusstraße. Iron Sky was filmed in Red camera format. On 6 February 2011, the filming of Iron Sky concluded in Australia and entered a 10 week post-production process. 
 
Spin-Offs: 
 
On 5 October 2011, Blind Spot Pictures released a digital comic prequel to the film, titled Iron Sky: Bad Moon Rising, written by the writer of Alan Wake, Mikko Rautalahti, and fully illustrated by comic artist Gerry Kissell, creator of IDW Publishing's Code Word: Geronimo.
On 19 August 2012, the video game publisher TopWare Interactive made an announcement during the Gamescom video game trade fair in Cologne, Germany of an official video game adaptation and expansion of Iron Sky. Iron Sky: Invasion is to be developed by Reality Pump Studios, and will be an advanced space flight simulator game, with elements of the strategy and RPG genres.
 
Release:


The film premiered on 11 February 2012 at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, in the Panorama Special section. It was released in Finland on 4 April and in Germany on 5 April, running in major cinemas. In the UK, there was some controversy regarding the decision of the distributor, Revolver Entertainment, to release the film for only one day, causing the film makers to issue a public condemnation of their UK distributor, and accusing Revolver of misleading them. Following high demand from the film's online fanbase, Revolver revised its decision and Iron Sky's UK cinema release was extended.
 
Director: Timo Vuorensola
Writer: Johanna Sinisalo; Jarmo Puskala (concept)
Stars: Julia Dietze; Christopher Kirby; Götz Otto; Peta Sergeant; Stephanie Paul; Udo Kier

Jurassic Park Trilogy [1993, 1997, 2001]

 
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, and is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, Martin Ferrero and Bob Peck. The film centers on the fictional Isla Nublar near Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, where a billionaire philanthropist and a small team of genetic scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs.
 
Before Crichton's book was even published, many studios had already begun bidding to acquire the picture rights. Spielberg, with the backing of Universal Studios, acquired the rights before publication in 1990, and Crichton was hired for an additional $500,000 to adapt the novel for the screen. David Koepp wrote the final draft, which left out much of the novel's exposition and violence, and made numerous changes to the characters. Filming took place in California and Hawaii.
 
Jurassic Park is regarded as a landmark in the use of computer-generated imagery, and received positive reviews from most critics. During its release, the film grossed over $900 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film released up to that time (surpassing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, itself a Steven Spielberg film, and surpassed four years later by Titanic), and it is currently the 25th-highest-grossing feature film (adjusted for inflation, it is the 20th-highest-grossing film in North America). It is the highest grossing film produced by Universal and directed by Spielberg. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
 
Owing to the film's success, two sequels were made: The Lost World: Jurassic Park directed by Spielberg as well, which was released on May 23, 1997, and Jurassic Park III, directed byJoe Johnston, which was released on July 18, 2001. A 3D re-release is due for April 5, 2013, to commemorate the movie's 20th Anniversary.Jurassic Park IV is slated to be released on June 13, 2014 in 3D.
 
Box Office:
 
Jurassic Park was the highest grossing film released worldwide up to that time, beating Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial which previously held the title (though it did not top E.T. in North America). The film opened with $47 million in its first weekend and had grossed $81.7 million by its first week. The film stayed at number one for three weeks and eventually grossed $357 million in the U.S. and Canada. The film also did very well in international markets, breaking opening records in the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Taiwan, ultimately earning $914 million worldwide, with Spielberg reportedly making over $250 million from the film. Jurassic Park's worldwide gross was topped five years later by James Cameron's Titanic.
 
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp; Michael Crichton
Stars: Sam Neill; Laura Dern; Jeff Goldblum; Richard Attenborough; Bob Peck; Martin Ferrero; BD Wong; Samuel L. Jackson; Wayne Knight; Joseph Mazzello; Ariana Richards
 
The Lost World: Jurassic Park, (also known as The Lost World: Jurassic Park II), is a 1997 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was produced by Gerald R. Molen and Colin Wilson. The screenplay was penned by David Koepp, loosely based on Michael Crichton's 1995 novel The Lost World. The film stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard Schiff, Arliss Howard, Thomas F. Duffy, Vanessa Lee Chester, and Richard Attenborough.
 
Four years after the events of Jurassic Park, dinosaurs have secretly survived and been allowed to roam free on a deserted island. In the time between the two films, John Hammond loses control of his company, InGen, to his nephew, Peter Ludlow. Ludlow assembles a team to bring the animals back to the mainland to bring in revenue and restore the company. Hammond sees a chance to redeem himself for his past mistakes and sends an expedition led by Dr. Ian Malcolm to reach the island before InGen's team can get there. The two groups confront each other in the face of extreme danger and must team up for their own survival.
 
After the original book's release and the first film's success, Crichton was pressured not only by fans, but Spielberg himself, for a sequel novel. After the book was published in 1995, production began on a film sequel. The Lost World's plot and imagery were made darker than that of the first film in order to please fans. Despite mixed reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $618 million worldwide.


Box Office:
 
Following four years of growing anticipation and hype, The Lost World broke many box office records upon its release. It took in $72,132,785 on its opening weekend ($92.6 million for the four-day Memorial Day holiday) in the U.S., which was the biggest opening weekend at the time, surpassing the previous record-holder Batman Forever at $52.8 million. It held onto this record for four and a half years, until the release of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in November 2001. The Lost World took the record for highest single-day box office take of $26,083,950 on May 25, a record held until the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It also became the fastest film to pass the $100 million mark, achieving the feat in just six days. However, its total box office gross fell below the total of the original film. With grossing $229,086,679 domestically and $389,552,320 internationally, the film ended up grossing $618,638,999 worldwide, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1997 behind Titanic.
 
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp
Stars: Jeff Goldblum;Julianne Moore; Pete Postlethwaite; Vince Vaughn; Richard Schiff;Peter Stormare; Vanessa Lee Chester Arliss Howard; Harvey Jason Thomas F. Duffy; Don S. Davis
 
Jurassic Park III is a 2001 American science fiction adventure film and the third of the Jurassic Park franchise. It is the only film in the series that was neither directed by Steven Spielberg(though produced by his production company, Amblin Entertainment) nor based on a book by Michael Crichton, though numerous scenes in the film were ultimately taken from Crichton's original novels, Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The film takes place on Isla Sorna, the island from the second film, after a divorced couple tricks Dr. Alan Grant into helping them find their son.
 
After the success of Jurassic Park, Joe Johnston asked Spielberg if he could direct the film adaptation of The Lost World. While Spielberg wanted to do the project, he promised to give the helm of the next sequel to Johnston, if there was to be one. Spielberg stayed involved with the film by becoming the executive producer. Three years after the release of The Lost World, the third film's production began in August 2000.
 
Box Office / Release:
 
The film earned $181,171,875 in the United States and $368,780,809 worldwide, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide but still earning less than either of its predecessors. As with the other films in the franchise, there was a large marketing push, including seven video games and a novelization aimed at young children. The film was released on VHS and DVD in December 2001. It was re-released with both sequels in December 2001 as the Jurassic Park Trilogy, and as the Jurassic Park Adventure Pack in November 2005. The film has also been released as a two-disc DVD set alongside Hulk. In 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy. The soundtrack was released in July 2001.
 
Scott Ciencin wrote three children's books to tie in with the film; the first detailed the eight weeks Eric spent alone on Isla Sorna; the second had Eric and Alan returning to Isla Sorna to rescue a group of teenage filmmakers; and the last involved Eric and Alan leading the Pteranodons home after they nest in a Universal Studios theme park.
 
Directors: Joe Johnston
Writer:Peter Buchman; Alexander Payne; Jim Taylor
Stars: Sam Neill; William H. Macy; Téa Leoni; Alessandro Nivola; Trevor Morgan