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TRAFFIC- d. Steven Soderbergh; starring Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Benecio Del Toro

Three different tales intertwine to reveal the real and phony wars on drugs. Douglas plays a federal judge recently chose to be the countries new drug czar. Zeta-Jones plays the pregnant socialite wife of an accused drug trafficker. Del Toro plays a Mexican police officer trapped between US DEA, Mexican military, and drug cartels.


Hannibal- d. Ridley Scott; starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, and Gary Oldman.

The devious Dr. Hannibal Lecter is hunted by Agent Clarice Starling (Moore), an ambitous Justice Department official (Liotta), an Italian detective looking for a reward (Giancarlo Giannini), and the only surviving victim of Lecter, a wealthy wheelchair bound power broker (Oldman). Dr. Lecter has ensconced himself in a library in Florence, when he falls suspect to a greedy Italian detective. Oldman has been gathering information as to Lecter's location as he plans revenge for the monster who disfugred him.


State and Main- d. David Mamet; starring Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker, William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

A film production descends upon a quiet New England town. Macy is the director of the movie-within-the-movie plauged by problems including a male lead (Baldwin) with a penchant for teenage girls, a drama queen female lead (Parker), and a screenwriter (Hoffman) suffering a writer's block and an ethical crisis.



The Gift- d. Sam Raimi; starring Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Gary Cole, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Hillary Swank, and Katie Holmes.

From a script co-written by Billy Bob Thorton, Blanchett plays a widower with ESP who becomes the center of an investigation into the disappearance of a young woman.


Thirteen Days- d. Roger Donaldson; starring Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, and Steven Culp.

The film relives the thirteen days of the Cuban Missle Crisis in October of 1962. Costner plays Kenneth O'Donnell, special assistant to President Kennedy (Greenwood). As the crisis unfolds, the fight between the diplomats and the military begins in earnest.


Charlie's Angels- d. McG; starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz, and Bill Murray.

The movie version of the sexy 70's television series introduces new Angels (Barrymore, Liu, and Diaz) to an investigation into stolen digital voice identification software. However the plot is secondary to the action sequences and martial arts fight scenes reminiscent of The Matrix.

Unbreakable- d. M. Night Shyamalan; starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Robin Wright Penn.

The creator and star of The Sixth Sense reunite to explore the story of a man who is the sole survivor of a massive train collision in Pennsylvania.  Willis is David Dunn, the uninjured survivor, who is hunted (and haunted) by a comic book collector (Jackson).


Bounce- d. Don Roos; starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck.

Writer/Director Roos brings the story of a man (Affleck), who gives his airline ticket to another man.  When the plane crashes, Affleck, a successful advertising executive, suffers a crash of his own...an emotional one.  After disappearing into an alcoholic haze, Affleck attempts to rid himself of his demons.  His solution: contact the dead man's wife (Paltrow) and family.


The Mexican- d. Gore Verbinski; starring Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and James Gandolfini.

Jerry Welbach (Pitt) is a small time bagman for the a crime boss.  He's trying to get out, it's either that or lose his girlfriend Samantha (Roberts).  Jerry's problem...he's been given two ultimatums: his bosses want him to go to Mexico and retrieve a mysterious gun said to carry a curse...his girlfriend wants him to move with her to Vegas.  What's a guy to do?

 

Shadow of the Vampire- d. E. Elias Merhige; starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe.

The curious relationship between renown German auteur, F.W. Murnau (Malkovich) and the star of his masterpiece Nosferatu, Max Schreck (Dafoe).  Murnau is already a legend in the early silent film era.  After an attempt to make as film version of Bram Stoker's Dracula fails (Stoker's estate refuses Murnau the rights), the director simply changes the name and setting of the main character.  He creates the world of vampire Nosferatu.  He hires Schreck, who inhabits the character so deeply he appears to everyone around to be an actual vampire.  Yet is it an 'act'?  The film explores the director-star relationship in this wonderfully creepy film.


Best In Show- d. Christopher Guest; starring Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hare, Michael McKean and Parker Posey.

The man who brought you Waiting For Guffman, creates another hilarious 'mockumentary', this time centering on the world of Dog Shows.  The film weaves five stories of contestants and their owners, as they compete for the top prize 'Best In Show'.  The owners are as different a breed as their dogs, in this sarcastic look at the price fo glory in a world, literally, gone to the dogs.

 

Remember the Titans- d. Baoz Yakin; starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton.

It is the era of civil rights.  It is the era of integration.  But for one Northern Virginia high school, the outside social changes have invaded the scared realm of Titan football.  The true story a black football coach who must build a team from two different worlds, all with the help of the teams' former white coach whom he replaced.

 

Wonder Boys- d. Curtis Hanson; starring Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, and Robert Downey, Jr.

Writer Grady Tripp(Douglas) is a one hit wonder, his student James Leer (Maguire) has what it takes to be great...their problem...will they live through the night.  Tripp's wife has left him, his girlfriend is pregnant, his female student has a crush on him, his editor is hounding him for his next book, and he seems to blackout frequently.  All this in just one night.


Snatch- d. Guy Ritchie; starring Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones and Benecio Del Toro.

Everyone wants to get their hands on a 84 karat diamond.  Another British romp from the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  Pitt is hilarious as a gypsy bare knuckles fighter who mumbles incoherently throughout the film.  A comedy of errors ensues, as American and British jewelers, petty thieves, mobsters, and a squeaking dog seek to possess the flawless diamond.

 

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