http://www.ratinghq.comRatinghq Category Comments Feed for Mystery & SuspenseRatingHQ (http://www.ratinghq.com)enWhen a priceless Monet painting is stolen from a leading New York art gallery, the police find themselves wondering which world-class art thief pulled the job. What they don't know is that the thief wasn't a professional, but an amateur. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) was born poor but made his way through Oxford on a boxing scholarship. With his sharp sense for business and ruthless ambition, Crown has become a self-made billionaire; but despite his wealth and power, he still seeks new challenges, and he steals art not for the profits but for the sheer excitement. However, as fun as art theft might be, it's still illegal, and investigator Catherine Danning (Rene Russo) is brought in to track down the culprit. Certain clues point to Crown, so Danning introduces herself into Crown's social circle. Police detective Michael McCann (Denis Leary) warns Danning that Crown can easily draw people in with his effortless charm, and getting too close to him will not be good for her investigation. She is amused by McCann's suggestion -- until she finds herself falling for Crown. The Thomas Crown Affair was adapted from the popular 1968 caper film of the same name starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway; Dunaway appears in the new film as Crown's analyst.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-243/the-thomas-crown-affair.html2008-05-15 03:54:51A hard-drinking, hard-living cop assigned the task of transporting a small-time criminal to the nearby courthouse finds that a simple, 16-block drive can be the longest ride of his life in director Richard Donner's urban action thriller. Hung-over, has-been cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen better days, and all that the force expects out of him these days is to stay out of trouble while he's on the clock. Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m., and it's up to Mosely to make sure that Bunker makes it to the courthouse in one piece -- a job that Mosely estimates will take a maximum of 15 minutes. A black van has been trailing the pair unnoticed, though, and after stopping off at a nearby liquor store to pick up some breakfast, Mosely emerges from the store just in time to save Eddie from the lethal bullet of a determined assassin. When backup arrives in the form of Detective Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosely quickly realizes that the detective on Nugent's team is the same cop that Bunker is set to testify against. Now faced with the tough task of dodging bullets and eluding a massive onslaught of corrupt cops, Mosely must keep Bunker alive long enough to get him before the judge and ensure that justice is served.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-244/16-blocks.html2008-05-15 03:56:35In this caper movie from director Brett Ratner, two brilliant criminals are lured out of retirement...or are they? Max Burdett (Pierce Brosnan) is a master jewel thief who, with the help of his accomplice and lover Lola Cirillo (Salma Hayek), has stolen two of the three Napoleon diamonds, among the most valuable gems on Earth. Stanley Lloyd (Woody Harrelson) is an FBI agent who has been on Burdett's trail for years and is especially eager to bring him to justice after a humiliating incident in which Max swiped one of the Napoleons out from under Stanley's nose. But word has it that Max and Lola have abandoned their lives of crime, and they've taken up residence on an idyllic island in the Bahamas, where they're living the good life on their ill-gotten fortune. Lloyd is not convinced they're out of the game for good, and when he learns that the third Napoleon diamond will be on display aboard a cruise ship headed in Max's direction, Lloyd joins forces with Sophie (Naomie Harris), a Paradise Island police detective, to catch Max and Lola red handed. Henry Moore (Don Cheadle), an expatriate American gangster who also lives on the island, doesn't believe Max has gone straight either and tries to rope him into stealing the jewel for him.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-245/after-the-sunset.html2008-05-15 03:58:23A drug dealer moves on to bigger crimes in an effort to settle a score with disastrous results in this drama inspired by actual events. Though barely out of his teens, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) has already built a lucrative career for himself selling drugs -- he has his own home, a luxury car, and posse of friends who do double duty as his crew, including Elvis (Shawn Hatosy), Frankie (Justin Timberlake), and Tiko (Fernando Vargas). While life at Johnny's house is usually a constant party interrupted by occasional dope deals, Johnny has lost all of his patience with Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a regular customer who has run up a large tab that he can't pay. Determined to clear Jake's account, Johnny and his boys plan to kidnap Jake and hold him for ransom, but when they happen upon his 15-year-old stepbrother, Zack (Anton Yelchin), they impulsively decide to take the youngster instead. Jake's father, Butch (David Thornton), and his stepmother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), are already furious with their junkie son when they learn about Zack's disappearance, and aren't sure what they should do. Meanwhile at Johnny's place, Frankie takes a liking to young Zack, who already admires his brother's high-flying lifestyle, and introduces the kid to the joys of grown-up partying, which he takes to with dangerous zeal. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-246/alpha-dog.html2008-05-15 04:01:52Director Ridley Scott spins this yarn concerning a Harlem drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) who smuggles heroin into the country by hiding it in the bodies of U.S. soldiers killed during battle in Vietnam. There was a time when no one noticed reserved driver Frank Lucas (Washington), but when the criminal kingpin he was charged with transporting through the city streets suddenly dies, Lucas seizes the opportunity to build his own criminal empire. In the following months, Lucas solidifies his status as Harlem's most innovative drug dealer by delivering a product that is purer than the competitors' and cheaper, as well. When innovative businessman Lukas attempts to go semi-legit by becoming one of the Manhattan borough's biggest civil supporters, however, street-savvy outcast cop Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) begins to sense a sizable shift in the hierarchy of the drug underworld. But Roberts is one of the few honest detectives operating within a corrupt system, and as he sets out to investigate the case, crooked detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) does everything in his power to compromise the integrity of his idealistic counterpart. Upon clearing all of the usual Mafia-connected suspects, Roberts begins to believe that a previously unknown black power player has come out of the woodwork to dominate the local drug trade. While Roberts and Lucas may be operating on opposite sides of the law, the one thing that both men have in common is a strict code of ethics that separates them from their opportunistic colleagues. Now, as a confrontation between the two men becomes inevitable and the fate of each becomes inexorably tied to the other, it gradually becomes apparent that only one of them will emerge from the conflict victorious.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-247/american-gangster.html2008-05-15 04:03:10Underworld hipster Chili Palmer is back in the entertainment business in this sequel to the 1995 hit Get Shorty, which like the first film is based on a novel by Elmore Leonard. Gangster-turned-movie producer Chili (once again played by John Travolta) has grown tired of the screen trade, especially after his latest project turned out to be a box-office flop. Chili is looking for new horizons and thinks he may have found his niche when his close friend Tommy Athens (James Woods), a fellow mobster who runs an independent record label, is murdered by Russian gangsters. Chili takes over Athens' record company, Nothing to Lose Records, and begins courting Tommy's girlfriend, Edie (Uma Thurman). Edie is an experienced hand in record production, and together she and Chili spot what would seem to be the ideal act for their label -- Linda Moon (Christina Milian), a beautiful young woman with a powerhouse voice. Linda is stuck, however, in a going-nowhere R&B trio managed by the monumentally sleazy Raji (Vince Vaughn). Chili isn't much concerned about Linda's contract with Raji, but Raji certainly is, and the manager soon takes out a contract on Chili with the same Russian hoods who killed Tommy. Soon Chili is facing all the action he can handle between the Russian gunmen, a music mogul named Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) who wants Chili to stay out of the business, and Sin LaSalle (Cedric the Entertainer), a successful hip-hop producer who wants Chili to pay him the 300,000 dollars he is owed by Tommy. Be Cool also features appearances by The Rock as a gay Samoan bodyguard, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 from the hip-hop duo Outkast) as a rapper who isn't very good with a gun, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler as himself.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-248/be-cool.html2008-05-15 04:05:26Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei star in director Sidney Lumet's thriller concerning two brothers who hatch a plan to rob their parent's jewelry store. When the job goes awry, the entire family is set on a collision course with tragedy. Andy (Hoffman) is an overextended broker in desperate need of some cash. His brother Hank (Hawke) isn't much better off, so when Andy hatches a plan to rob their parent's modest jewelry store it seems like a foolproof way to make a quick buck. But Andy's trophy wife Gina (Tomei) is secretly sleeping with libidinous younger brother Hank, and when the robbery proves a complete disaster it isn't long before loyalties start to shift. Now Andy and Hank's father Charles (Finney) is determined to make the unidentified robbers pay for their crime. What's a father to do when he discovers that the ones he loves most become are his worst enemies?http://www.ratinghq.com/5-249/before-the-devil-knows-you-re-dead.html2008-05-15 04:06:54This Australian drama is based on the life and times of Mark "Chopper" Read, a notorious Aussie criminal who went on to become a best-selling author, publishing nine books about his exploits outside the law. In 1978, Chopper (played by Eric Bana) is serving a 16-year sentence for abducting a judge who was overseeing the trial of his best friend Jimmy (Simon Lyndon). Jimmy and Chopper end up sharing a cell, along with Keithy George (David Field), a crime boss; when a disagreement between Keithy and Chopper escalates into violence, Chopper kills Keithy, leading to retribution from the gangster's mates, who hire Jimmy to do their dirty work. To escape, Chopper forces a friend to cut off one of his ears so he'll be transferred to another prison. Eight years later, Chopper is out of prison and looking for Jimmy in hopes of getting revenge; in the meantime, he's looking to get even with another of his enemies, Neville (Vince Colosimo), and trying to keep his eye on his girlfriend, Tanya (Kate Beahan), who supports herself as a call girl. While the real "Chopper" Read was not directly involved in the production, comic Eric Bana was cast in the lead at Read's suggestion.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-250/chopper.html2008-05-15 04:08:11Part vigilante drama and part psychological thriller, the James Wan-directed Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as Nick Hume, a deceptively passive exec whose wife and children are attacked in a sadistic, gang-related hazing rite, and his oldest son killed. Hell-bent on cold-blooded vengeance, Hume pulls a Bronson by tagging each of the perpetrators, then tracking down and rubbing out each one, with the help of formidable, blue-steel artillery. Aisha Tyler co-stars as the homicide detective who first agrees to assist Hume in his mission, then begins to edge up to the conclusion that the unstable father himself might be responsible for the nasty crimes against his family. Kelly Preston co-stars as Bacon's wife, Helen Hume; the cast also features John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), Leigh Whannell (Saw), and Matt O'Leary. Ian Jeffers loosely adapted Brian Garfield's popular 1975 novel.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-251/death-sentence.html2008-05-15 04:09:38Joe Roth directs his adaptation of Richard Price's novel Freedomland from a script by the author. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a police detective who must investigate a distraught woman (Julianne Moore) who claims that her child was kidnapped by a black man. The accusation stirs up much racial animosity in the town. Edie Falco co-stars.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-252/freedomland.html2008-05-15 04:10:48An unstable Gulf War veteran with a savior complex receives a shocking wake-up call upon returning stateside and accepting a position with the Department of Homeland Security in the directorial debut of Training Day screenwriter David Ayer. Jim (Christian Bale) is a Gulf War veteran who believes his sworn duty to protect his fellow Americans extends to the streets of Los Angeles, and he longs to fulfill his destiny by joining the LAPD. Rejected by the force and left to ponder his future with his impoverished Mexican paramour -- whom he had intended on bringing to the city after joining the police -- the dejected and unemployed veteran is offered a second shot at helping his country when he is subsequently approached by the Department of Homeland Security. As Jim and his unemployed best friend, Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), carve a swath of chaos through the streets of Los Angeles, the weight of their American dream soon comes crashing down in a devastating blow that threatens to dash their high hopes for a bright future.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-253/harshtimes.html2008-05-15 04:13:05One man demonstrates how to get rich selling warring nations the tools of their deadly trade in this dark comedy drama. Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is an opportunistic businessman who stumbled into a gold mine after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Huge caches of Soviet weapons became available at bargain prices (and even for free if one wasn't above stealing), and as literally billions of dollars' worth of Soviet military technology disappeared, it began finding its way into the hands of weapons dealers eager to sell it to the highest bidder. Orlov was one such dealer who found plenty of buyers for guns and military gear in unstable Third World nations, who paid cash and didn't appreciate too many questions. Orlov's exploits in the arms business quickly made him a very rich man, but they've also led to some unwanted attention from Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), an Interpol agent who is convinced Orlov isn't playing by the rules. Inspired by a true story, Lord of War also features Jared Leto, Ian Holm, Bridget Moynahan, and Donald Sutherland.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-254/lord-of-war.html2008-05-15 04:14:36Writer and director Michael Mann updates the groundbreaking television crime series he created in the 1980s with this stylish thriller. Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) are two police detectives working undercover in Florida; Tubbs is smart, cool, and resourceful, while Crockett has his own way of doing things, though he stays close enough to the rules to stay out of trouble. Their latest assignment is to get the goods on Arcangel de Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar), a local drug kingpin whose men are believed to be responsible for a handful of recent murders. In order to infiltrate Montoya's operation, Tubbs and Crockett pose as powerboat racers willing to use their talents to pilot drug-smuggling ships for the right price. The detectives' ruse works, but as they dig deeper into Montoya's inner circle, they become involved in a dangerous operation that will take them to Haiti and Cuba, where neither the Miami Police Force nor the United States government can help them if things go wrong. Crockett also begins walking a risky path when he begins an affair with Isabella (Gong Li), a woman high up in Montoya's organization. Miami Vice marked Michael Mann's third consecutive directorial effort with Jamie Foxx; Foxx appeared in Mann's Ali and Collateral, and has been announced to star in a future project written by Mann, The Kingdom.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-255/miami-vice.html2008-05-15 04:16:19Cinema icon Al Pacino joins a powerhouse cast headed by of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and series newcomer Ellen Barkin for this, the third installment of director Steven Soderbergh's popular series of glitzy crime comedies. The only hotelier in Las Vegas who can claim that each and every one of his establishments has earned the Royal Review Board's Five Diamond Award, Willy Bank (Pacino) has made more than his share of enemies during his impressive ascent. While most of Bank's adversaries amount to little more than the occasional nuisance, however, this powerful player is about to find out that picking your enemies in Las Vegas can be a true gamble. In betraying Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Bank has finally crossed the one man who could bring his entire empire crumbling to the ground -- Danny Ocean (Clooney). Now Reuben is in critical condition, and Ocean is determined to strike back at the man who nearly murdered his mentor. Bank may have taken down one of the original Ocean's Eleven, but his efforts only managed to unite the remaining ten closer than ever before. As the opening of Bank's newest casino draws near, Danny and the crew set into motion a bold plan to humiliate the cocksure casino owner and forever tarnish his spotless reputation. It won't be easy, but if Ocean and his team can get their elaborate plan together in time for the opening of The Bank, they just might be able to deliver some serious Las Vegas justice.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-256/ocean-s-thirteen.html2008-05-15 04:18:16After pulling off the heist of their lives, Danny Ocean and his pals unexpectedly find themselves back in harness in this sequel to 2001's blockbuster hit Ocean's Eleven. After robbing a cool $160 million from the Bellaggio Hotel Casino and winning back his former wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), from Bellagio owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is living quietly on the lam in Connecticut when he's unexpectedly approached by Benedict. It seems Benedict has tracked down Danny and the ten men who helped him pull off the seemingly impossible robbery, and Benedict offers them a proposal -- if they can repay the $160 million in two weeks, he won't have them killed. As it turns out, both Danny and his best friend, Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), haven't been doing so well in terms of money management and could use some cash, so they set out to plan a robbery to recover the loot, with the same crew helping out -- Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), Yen (Shaobo Qin), Virgil Malloy (Casey Affleck), and his brother Turk (Scott Caan). Danny and Rusty discover that an incredibly rare Fabergé egg is being displayed at a museum in Rome which would fetch the price they need, but they soon discover a notorious cat burglar, François Toulour (Vincent Cassel), is also after the egg, and it turns into a race to see who can claim it first. Adding to the intrigue is Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a woman Rusty used to be involved with who is now a top agent with Interpol and is after both Toulour and Ocean's crew. Shot on location in both the United States and Europe, Ocean's Twelve was, like its precursor, directed by the stylish Steven Soderbergh, who also photographed the picture under his nom de lens, Peter Andrews.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-257/ocean-s-twelve.html2008-05-15 04:19:34A burglar looking to make time with a beautiful woman after five years in prison falls into a dangerous trap in this action drama. Rudy (Ben Affleck) is serving time in prison for auto theft, where he becomes friendly with his cellmate Nick (James Frain). Nick has been enjoying a spicy courtship by mail with a woman named Ashley (Charlize Theron), who has sent him several enticing photos, even though he has been unable to send her any of himself. Rudy and Nick are to be released the same day, but Nick is killed in an altercation with only three days left to serve. Rudy is let out on schedule, and discovers Ashley, unaware that Nick is dead, is waiting for him. Swayed by her beauty, Rudy claims to be Nick, which turn out to be fun until Rudy meets Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise). Gabriel runs with a group of outlaws planning on using Nick's knowledge of an Indian gambling casino in Michigan where he once worked in order to stage a massive robbery on Christmas Eve. Rudy soon realizes if keeps on being Nick, he gets to stay with Ashley, but he'll also have to go along with Gabriel's robbery, which could easily land him back in prison -- or get him killed. Clarence Williams III, Danny Trejo and Donal Logue play Gabriel's henchmen; Dennis Farina, Isaac Hayes, and Ashton Kutcher also highlight the supporting cast.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-258/reindeer-games.html2008-05-15 04:20:54After learning the secrets of manipulation, graft, and deceit while incarcerated, a recently released ex-convict sets into motion a complex revenge plot against the man who killed his sister-in-law and put him behind bars in maverick director Guy Ritchie's highly stylized crime drama. For seven long years, Jake Green (Jason Statham) has bided his time while learning the rules of the game from a chess master and a top con artist who shared adjacent cells. Macha (Ray Liotta) is the cold and calculated gangster who sent Jake up the river after ruthlessly ending the life of Jake's beloved sister-in-law. When Jake turns up at the casino and humiliates Macha on the floor for all to see, the seething gangster wastes no time in putting a hearty price on his old foe's head. Inexplicably saved from Macha's assassins by a pair who only identify themselves as Avi (Andre Benjamin) and Zach (Vincent Pastore), Jake isn't sure whether to trust his guardian angels or flee from them. The only thing Jake does know for sure is that his thirst for revenge grows stronger every day, and it won't be satisfied until Macha meets his maker.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-259/revolver.html2008-05-15 04:21:58Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, an exiled Cuban criminal who goes to work for Miami drug lord Robert Loggia. Montana rises to the top of Florida's crime chain, appropriating Loggia's cokehead mistress (Michelle Pfeiffer) in the process. Howard Hawks' "X Marks the Spot" motif in depicting the story line's many murders is dispensed with in the 1983 Scarface; instead, we are inundated with blood by the bucketful, especially in the now-infamous buzz saw scene. One carry-over from the original Scarface is Tony Montana's incestuous yearnings for his sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The screenplay for the 1983 Scarface was written by Oliver Stone.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-260/scarface.html2008-05-15 04:23:14The Eisner Award-winning comic series Sin City comes to life in this live-action feature adaptation from director Robert Rodriguez and creator Frank Miller. Interweaving multiple storylines from the series' history, this violent crime noir paints the picture of the ultimate town without pity through the eyes of its roughest characters. There's the street thug Marv (Mickey Rourke), whose desperate quest to find the killer of a prostitute named Goldie (Jaime King) will lead him to the foulest edges of town. Inhabiting many of those areas is Dwight (Clive Owen), a photographer in league with the sordid ladies of Sin City, headed by Gail (Rosario Dawson), who opens up a mess of trouble after tangling with a corrupt cop by the name of Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro). Finally, there's Hartigan (Bruce Willis), an ex-cop with a heart problem who's hell-bent on protecting a stripper named Nancy (Jessica Alba). Featuring a who's who supporting cast that includes Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Devon Aoki, and Nick Stahl, Sin City promises to be one of the most direct translations from page to screen of a comic series, with shots and dialogue adapted straight from the original comic's panels. Rodriguez quit the Director's Guild when they refused to let Frank Miller co-direct the film, a deal hashed out after the two collaborators developed and shot the opening scene utilizing a green-screen process to harness the stark, black-and-white look of the books as a litmus test for the rest of the production. Quentin Tarantino was brought in and reportedly paid one dollar to direct an extended scene between Del Toro and Owen that amounts to one issue of The Big Fat Kill miniseries. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-261/sin-city.html2008-05-15 04:24:35Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South Boston organized crime scene and inspired by the wildly popular 2002 Hong Kong crime film Infernal Affairs. As the police force attempts to reign in the increasingly powerful Irish mafia, authorities are faced with the prospect of sending in an undercover agent or seeing their already frail grip on the criminal underworld slip even further. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young cop looking to make a name for himself in the world of law enforcement. Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a street-smart criminal who has successfully infiltrated the police department with the sole intention of reporting their every move to ruthless syndicate head Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). When Costigan is assigned the task of working his way into Costello's tightly guarded inner circle, Sullivan is faced with the responsibility of rooting out the informer before things get out of hand. With the stakes constantly rising and time quickly running out for the undercover cop and his criminal counterpart, each man must work feverishly to reveal his counterpart before his identity is exposed by the other. Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Ray Winstone co-star, and writer William Monahan adapts a screenplay originally penned by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-262/the-departed.html2008-05-15 04:25:56The true story behind the murders that many crime scholars believe to be the most perplexing series of unsolved crimes in modern history comes to the screen in chilling detail as Fight Club and Seven director David Fincher steps behind the camera to tell the mysterious tale of the infamous Zodiac killer. A relentless serial killer is stalking the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving citizens locked into a constant state of panic, and baffled authorities scrambling for clues. Though the killer sadistically mocks the detectives by leaving a series of perplexing ciphers and menacing letters at the crime scenes, the investigation quickly flatlines when none of the evidence yields any solid leads. As two detectives remain steadfast in their devotion to bringing the elusive killer to justice, they soon find that the madman has control not only over their careers, but their very lives as well. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. star.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-263/zodiac.html2008-05-15 04:27:27A thief finds one of his best friends is in jeopardy when a disastrous robbery turns out to yield the score of a lifetime in this action thriller. Jack Tolliver (Wesley Snipes) is a former Delta Force commando who has jumped to the wrong side of the law to take part in a massive heist intended to carry off the winnings of several major London casinos. However, the robbery goes haywire and one of Tolliver's partners is taken hostage by handful of brutal Russian gangsters. It seems the gangsters want something that Tolliver mistakenly grabbed during the foiled heist -- a case containing a rare painting by Van Gogh worth millions -- and Tolliver is forced to team up with rival Kelly Anders (Tamzin Outhwaite) to save both his friend and himself.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-264/7-seconds.html2008-05-15 04:28:54American FBI agent Nick Davis is lured into the Tendo family crime syndicate -- a major family in the Japanese yakuza. Viggo Mortensen stars in this two-fisted action spectacular.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-265/american-yakuza.html2008-05-15 04:30:45Gina Gallagher (Tracey Needham) is a federal prosecutor who sends a major drug dealer to prison only to find herself the target of his partners in crime. Their reprisals become too close for comfort when Gina's partner is killed, but she begins to suspect that the drug lords have gained some powerful allies when a major U.S. attorney begins running interference against her. However, Frank (James Belushi), an undercover FBI agent, and Moe (Charles Durning), a retired cop, become Gina's unlikely allies as she tries to get to the bottom of the dealers' tangled web and save her own neck in the process. JoBeth Williams also stars.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-266/backlash.html2008-05-15 04:32:44Absolutely nobody is who he or she seems in this stylish thriller about a guy who wants to get out of his fly-speck hometown, the girlfriend who wants to help him, and the successful friend who just might make it possible. When Bryce (Josh Brolin) returns to his tiny hometown of Tropico, NV, he finds pal Nick (Alessandro Nivola) still living there unhappily. One night the pair meets a beautiful blonde at the bar and eventually Bryce takes her back to the house where he's staying. When the girl, Lissa (Reese Witherspoon), reveals that she's under age and threatens to turn Bryce in for statutory rape, he panics, ties her up in the basement, and puts in an anguished call to Nick. Little does Bryce realize, however, that Lissa is actually Nick's very grown-up girlfriend, and that the two lovers have decided Bryce and the ritzy house where he's staying will play a major role in their bid to leave behind dead-end Tropico forever.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-267/best-laid-plans.html2008-05-15 04:34:30The line between dreams and reality become increasingly blurred after a womanizing playboy is nearly killed by a jilted lover in Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's masterful sophomore effort Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). It would seem as if Cesar (Eduardo Noriega) has it all. Handsome, charming, and with money to burn, he can get any girl he wants, and usually does so on a nightly basis. Following a birthday party in which he chats up Sofia (Penelope Cruz), the date of his best friend Pelayo (Fele Martinez), Cesar is plunged headfirst into a nightmare world when jealous former lover Nuria (Najwa Nimri) swallows a handful of pills and sends her car careening into a cement wall with the terrified playboy as her hapless passenger. With his formerly strikingly handsome face now twisted into a hideous mass of scarred flesh, Cesar's ugly emotions are now externalized for all to see. Pining for a plastic-surgery miracle to return him to his former glory so that he can seek out Sofia and take a chance at real love, he is pleasantly surprised when the doctors make a breakthrough and Sofia accepts him back into her life. Although all seems perfect for the moment, the formerly soulless player finds that this is only the beginning of his increasingly disturbing journey. Why is Sofia changing appearance and turning into Nuria periodically? And why won't the police and his psychiatrist believe Cesar's desperate attempts to rationalize a world that is growing increasingly surreal? Could it have something to do with a doctor Cesar has seen on television who keeps appearing and attempting to help him out of his nightmare? Peeling away at the layers of his subconscious, Cesar begins to realize that reality is no more than a state of mind, and that in order to get his life back he may be forced to take unthinkable measures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-295/open-your-eyes.html2008-05-17 03:15:25Directed by Kerry Conran, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow revolves around the mysterious disappearance of some of the world's most revered scientists. When an investigation is launched, Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow), reporter for the prestigious Chronicle, and Sky Captain (Jude Law), resident flying ace, are at the forefront of the case. Though the mission's perks include traveling around the world, the stout-hearted duo are nonetheless risking their lives with each passing moment, as the culprit is none other than the nefarious Dr. Totenkopf, and his goal, from what they can gather, is to destroying the earth in its entirety. Luckily, Sky Captain and Polly are not alone -- Franky Cook (Angelina Jolie), the commander of an all-female amphibious squadron, and Dex (Giovanni Ribisi), an unparalleled technical genius, have joined them in hopes of saving the planet before it's too late. Laurence Olivier appears posthumously as Dr. Totenkopf, via old film-clips "recycled" (or CG-altered) to fit the dialogue and scenes at hand.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-296/sky-captain-and-the-world-of-tomorrow.html2008-05-17 03:17:22