Jean Valjean, a Frenchman imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a police officer named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men’s lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France. Written by Tim Kearns {tskearns@aol.com}

Mr. Bean enters a church raffle and wins a vacation trip to France as well as a camcorder. After boarding a Eurostar train and arriving in Paris, the French language proves a barrier for Bean, as he struggles to get across the city to catch a train to the south of France from the Gare de Lyon. Taking time to order a meal, he finds the consumption of a seafood platter to be a challenge. Just before catching his train, he asks Emil, a Russian film director on his way to be a judge at the Cannes Film festival to use his camcorder to record his boarding, but accidentally causes Emil being left behind at the station. Bean attempts to cheer up the director’s son Stepan as the train continues south but matters are made more hectic by the fact that Emil has reported his son to have been kidnapped and Bean losing his wallet and essential travel documents at a pay phone where he and Stepan attempt to contact Emil. Heading in the direction of Cannes, Bean finds himself in the cast and disrupting the flow of a commercial being shot by the egotistical director Carson Clay. He and Stepan finally hitch a ride with the young and vivacious actress Sabine who is heading to Cannes to attend the premiere of Clay’s film, in which she appears. After Bean sneaks into the showing, his camcorder images are destined to enliven the proceedings. Written by Brian Greenhalgh

Robert Duvall and Michael Caine are terrific in the family-friendly comedy/drama, “Secondhand Lions.” These two venerable actors with over 11 decades of work between them are fresh and fun to watch as two crotchety old men who, on first glance, seem to live by the old adage, “Shoot first, ask questions later.”

“Secondhand Lions” follows the story of Hub (Duvall) and Garth McCaan (Caine), elderly brothers spending their retirement years in solitude on a farm in Texas. The only significant intrusions on their peace are the traveling salesmen who show up uninvited and leave hastily when shotgun rounds answer their requests for money.

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French vs. American social customs and behaviors are observed in a story about an American visiting her Frenchman-wed sister in Paris.

Fashion photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire), in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shambles, much to salesgirl Jo Stockton’s (Audrey Hepburn) dismay. Avery stays behind to help her clean up. Later, he examines the photos taken there and sees Jo in the background of one shot. He is intrigued by her unique appearance, as is Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson), the editor of a leading fashion magazine. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer. Written by alfiehitchie

Regina is about to divorce her husband when she finds that he has been murdered after converting every penny they owned to cash, which is also missing. She meets Cary Grant who changes his name every 15 min. or so and is interested in her husband’s money, which seems to have come from a WWII payroll he stole. His partners in crime are also very interested in where the money is, as he stole it from them as well. Everyone assumes Regina MUST know where the money is. The situation becomes more tense when the searchers begin turning up dead. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

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Counter-terrorist Jack Quinn misses his target, Stavros, on the eve of his final mission. From there, he is sent to “The Colony”, a rebirth for presumed-dead assassins. He breaks free from there, and seeks the aid of Yaz, a weapons dealer, for his final battle with Stavros. Written by Orlandus Brown Jr.

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An FBI agent tracks down and catches a young con artist who successfully impersonated an airline pilot, doctor, assistant attorney general and history professor, cashing more than $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in 26 countries. Written by Anonymous

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