Sauron’s forces increase. His allies grow. The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form. Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai is ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected. A number of new allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Pippin and Merry. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron’s troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin. Written by Yuandi Li

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Jeff Talley, a former LAPD hostage negotiator, has moved himself away from his failed career outside of Los Angeles, and away from his wife and daughter. When a convenience store robbery goes wrong in his turf, the three perpetrators move in on an unsuspecting family. But the family’s father has a secret which might compromise his kin, and one of the criminals is about to jump over the edge. Jeff Talley has to get everybody to survive the night……if he can. Written by Jay Cohen (chefjaybc@gtctelecom.com)

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“National Treasure” is a summer movie released a few months too late. It’s one of those big action/goofball plot/popcorn movies that does well during the long, hot days of summer. Why it’s hitting theaters smack dab in the middle of what’s unofficially referred to as the Oscar-hopeful season is a bit of mystery. Not quite as big of a mystery as what made the filmmakers cast Diane Kruger as Nicolas Cage’s love interest (I like her but she’s way out of her league in this film), but a head-scratcher nonetheless.

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This film is presented as a documentary on the life of an incompetent, petty criminal called Virgil Starkwell. It describes the early childhood and youth of Virgil, his failure at a musical career, and his obsession with bank robberies. The film uses a voice over narrative and interviews with his family, friends and acquaintances. Written by Kunal Taravade {kunal.taravade@symbios.com}

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Special agent Harry Tasker gets out of the water outside a heavily guarded mansion, takes off his wetsuit, and there is a dinner jacket underneath. Harry strolls into a swanky party. Harry meets with Juno Skinner, steals some computer files, and escapes in a blaze of gunfire. He’s picked up by his partner, Albert “Gib” Gibson, and they return to the United States. Harry goes home to his wife Helen. Helen doesn’t know what Harry does because he pretends to be a computer salesman. Their 14-year-old daughter Dana is a sullen teenager, and Helen is so bored by the routine of her life that she’s on the verge of having an affair with used-car salesman Simon, who claims to be a spy. Harry is hot on the trail of a group of terrorists led by Salim Abu Aziz. Aziz and his men are smuggling nuclear weapons into the USA in pieces of Persian art, and Aziz plans to hold the country hostage in the name of the Crimson Jihad. Harry’s also out to save his marriage when he discovers Helen with Simon, who still claims to be a spy. Harry uses the Agency’s resources to give Helen a taste of the real thing. Harry blackmails Helen into seducing an enemy agent — Harry himself — in a hotel room, but their tryst is interrupted by Aziz’s men, who kidnap them and take them to one of the Florida Keys, where they’re preparing to detonate their nuclear bomb. Harry escapes and rescues Helen, and then they discover that Aziz has gone to Miami and kidnapped Dana. Harry uses a harrier jet to get to Miami, where he sets out to rescue Dana. Written by Todd Baldridge

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Roper, a hostage negotiator catches a murderous bank robber after a blown heist. The bank robber escapes and immediately goes after the man who put him behind bars. The ending is played out with Roper and his partner McCall attempting to rescue Roper’s kidnapped girlfriend. A major element in the plot is the relationship between Roper and his girlfriend. Written by P.Wong {pwong@nt.net}

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I’d been eagerly anticipating “Sin City” for months and you know how that normally winds up. When your expectations are so high, chances are very slim the final product will live up to its promise. But “Sin City” blew me away, easily surpassing anything I’d hoped for from the film. Wildly provocative and featuring one of the sexiest casts collected together in a feature film, Robert Rodriguez and “Sin City” creator/co-director Frank Miller have made a movie that feels retro yet is so fresh and new, it’s tough to actually take in everything in just one sitting.

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I’m sure there are comic book fans out there who will cringe while reading this review. For that, I apologize now and suggest that you read no further. If you’ve read my reviews of “The Hulk” or “X2” then you’re probably aware of the fact that I don’t read comic books. Nothing personal, they’ve just never drawn my interest. In fact, my knowledge of comic books is so limited that I didn’t know – prior to reading all the production notes – that “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” was even based on a comic. So if you’re looking for a review that compares the two media, I’m going to gently suggest looking elsewhere. Go now before it’s too late. Gentle enough?

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When the DEA shut down its dummy corporation operation codenamed SWORDFISH in 1986, they had generated $400 million which they let sit around; fifteen years of compound interest has swelled it to $9.5 billion. A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell, headed by the duplicitious and suave Gabriel Shear, wants the money to help finance their raise-the-stakes vengeance war against international terrorism, but it’s all locked away behind super-encryption. He brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson, who only wants to see his daughter Holly again but can’t afford the legal fees, to slice into the government mainframes and get the money. Written by Jeff Cross {blackjac_1998@yahoo.com}

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A young man receives a call on his cellular phone from a woman who says she’s been kidnapped, and thinks she’s going to be killed soon, along with her husband and son who the kidnappers have gone after next. The catch? She doesn’t know where she is… and his cell phone battery might go dead soon. Written by Tru Blu

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