May 2006 Movies

"Down in the Valley", which stars Academy Award Nominee Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood, is a suspenseful crime story set at the edge of the San Fernando Valley, a seedy place of horse ranches and immigrant gangs, where ten-lane freeways converge to create a cultural no man's land. A rebellious high school senior Tobe (Wood) and her anemic 11-year old brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) struggle to escape their grim and hopeless existence and their overbearing father, Wade (David Moorse). Their hoped-for deliverance comes in the form of Harlan, a charming, yet mercurial man (Norton) who thinks he's a cowboy.

Based on true events that took place in Tennessee during the 1800s, "An American Haunting" tells the story of the only documented case in U.S. history (validated by the State of Tennessee) in which a spirit caused a person's death. With over 20 books written on the subject, and a town that still lives in fear of the spiritës return, the story is terrifying.

Australian director John Hillcoat and singer Nick Cave reconvene for 2006's "The Proposition", with Cave penning the screenplay and providing a soundtrack written with Dirty Three member Warren Ellis. Cave's 19th-century tale begins with the proposition of the title, as Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) captures fugitive brothers Charley (Guy Pearce) and Mikey Burns (Richard Wilson) at a scene of bloody rape and murder. Informing Charley that he must kill his older brother, Arthur (Danny Huston), in order to be set free, Stanley drags Mikey to a decrepit jailhouse while he waits for Charley to carry out the deed.

Three middle-schoolers take on greedy land developers, corrupt politicians, and clueless cops in the mystery adventure "Hoot" based on Carl Hiaasen's Newbery Honor-winning book. Produced by Jimmy Buffet, Frank Marshall and Walden Media, "Hoot" revolves around a Montana boy who moves to Florida and unearths a disturbing threat to a local population of endangered owls. Determined to protect his new environment, the boy and his friends fight to prevent the adults from making a big mistake. Packed with surprising plot twists, quirky characters, and offbeat humor, "Hoot" is a classic story that's fun for all ages.

Tom Cruise returns as Special Agent Ethan Hunt, who faces the mission of his life in "Mission: Impossible III". Director J. J. Abrams brings his unique blend of action and drama to the billion-dollar franchise.

After attending a neighbor's over the top Bar Mitzvah celebration, high-powered Hollywood agent Adam Fiedler, played by Jeremy Piven is determined to pull out all the stops, and have the most extravagant celebration ever seen, for his shy, insecure son Benjamin.

In this comedy, Lindsay Lohan plays Ashley, a young professional just out of college. She also happens to be the luckiest woman in the world, who has lived a super-charmed life and has always taken her good luck for granted. When she kisses a handsome stranger (played by Chris Pine) at a costume party, Ashley accidentally swaps her good fortune for his horribly bad luck, and her charmed life turns into a living hell.

When a rogue wave capsizes a luxury cruise ship in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, a small group of survivors find themselves unlikely allies in a battle for their lives. As the unstable vessel rapidly floods with water, they face unimaginable odds and life-altering decisions in their desperate fight to the surface.

A prisoner recounts his life as a soldier-turned-dissident and his role in the overthrow of his country's totalitarian government.

One evening, Mr. Lazarescu, an ailing retired engineer who lives alone—and is too fond of booze—feels a bit dizzy. He finally ends up being driven away in an ambulance, which is the start of a tragicomic odyssey. Each doctor who examines him arrives at an entirely different diagnosis, and his emergency treatment is incessantly postponed. The physicians are deaf to the entreaties of the patient and his friends, and are devoid of sympathy for the elderly Mr. Lazarescu as he again plunges into the Bucharest night.

The explores dark adolescent issues through three friends' reactions after a boy (Conor Donovan) dies in a tree house fire set by local bullies. His twin brother (also played by Donovan) sets out for revenge, and an overweight survivor of the fire (Jesse Camacho) loses his sense of taste and smell, leading him to force his obese mother to lose weight. Their female friend (Zoe Weizenbaum) tries to seduce a grief-stricken patient of her therapist mother (Annabella Sciorra).

A group of county jail inmates are sent on a work release weekend to rehab an old hotel into housing for the homeless. They soon discover the secure hotel is not empty—and they are trapped in a madman's lair.

In the animated film, "Over the Hedge", Bruce Willis will voice the mischievous con-artist raccoon R.J., and Garry Shandling will be the voice of the sensitive turtle named Verne. When R.J., Verne and their woodland friends find a suburban housing development encroaching on their forest home, Verne's first instinct is to retreat into his shell and leave, but the ever-opportunistic R.J. sees a treasure trove to be had from his unsuspecting new neighbors. Together, Verne and R.J. form an unlikely friendship as they learn to co-exist with—and even exploit—this strange new world called suburbia.

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci—clues visible for all to see—yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

Langdon joins forces with a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, and learns the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others.

In a breathless race through Paris, London, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu match wits with a faceless powerbroker who seems to anticipate their every move. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle in time, the Priory's ancient secret—and an explosive historical truth—will be lost forever.

A female drug addict falls into a coma after a traffic accident, miraculously recovers, and stays on in the lugubrious hospital as a nurse, curing patients by lying beside them. The joint's regular staff, eventually turns against her, and she ends up in a body bag, incinerated on a garbage heap.

Deco and Naldinho have been buddies since childhood. Now they own a motorboat, which they use for their illicit dealings and their career as petty criminals. One day, they meet the stripper Karinna, and, of course, both fall in love with her.

A man anxious to be a father mistakes an extremely short-statured, baby-faced criminal on the run as his newly adopted son.

In the town of Cavite, Philippines, people will do just about anything to survive. This is the harsh reality for many Filipinos living in a poverty stricken nation. Adam, an American citizen visiting his home country for his father's funeral, soon realizes this when he arrives at the Philippines Airport and receives a phone call from an anonymous caller letting him know that his mother and sister have been kidnapped and will be killed if he doesn't comply with his demands. Helpless and alone in a country he barely knows, he must submit himself to the fanatic's every wish or face the consequences. Soon Adam realizes that the caller on the other end is with the country's most infamous bandits, the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim terrorist group fighting the Philippine government for Muslims to own the southern part of the country. Known for their kidnap, ransom and beheading of their victims if demands aren't met, he is at the caller's mercy. But when he finds out the caller's real motivation, Adam finds himself in a dilemma, having to choose between sacrificing the ones he loves, or commiting a horrendous act that will cost the lives of many.

The film weaves the science behind the issue of global warming with the former vice president Al Gore's personal history and longtime commitment to communicating the pressing need to reverse the effects of global climate change.

In "X-Men: The Last Stand", the final chapter in the "X-Men" motion picture trilogy, a "cure" for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test - triggering the war to end all wars.

A sharp and affectionate comedy featuring an ensemble of UK comedic talents, "Confetti " follows three couples as they duke it out to win a bridal magazine contest for "Most Original Wedding of the Year." The talented cast -- which includes Martin Freemam, Jessica Stevenson, Stephen Mangan, Felicity Montagu, award-winning comedian Jimmy Carr in his first screen performance and Alison Steadman -- was afforded total creative freedom within the confines of a carefully crafted story frame. To prepare, the cast took part in weeks of intense workshops where they began the process of developing and inhabiting their unique roles.

An ex-con returns to his hometown after a three year prison stint and becomes embroiled in an affair with a woman who is married to his best friend, the local sheriff.