There’s an eerie, otherworldly feel to the way director Michael Mann (“The Insider,” “Heat”) has portrayed the City of Angels in “Collateral.” Los Angeles at night is a whole different beast and in Mann’s hands, the city itself becomes a living, breathing character. Dark and brooding, the LA depicted in “Collateral” provides the perfect backdrop to this intense action thriller.

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While looking for an apartment, Jeanne, a beautiful young Parisienne, encounters Paul, a mysterious American expatriate mourning his wife’s recent suicide. Instantly drawn to each other, they have a stormy, passionate affair, in which they do not reveal their names to each other. Their relationship deeply affects their lives, as Paul struggles with his wife’s death and Jeanne prepares to marry her fiance, Tom, a film director making a cinema-verite documentary about her. Written by Erich Schneider {erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu}

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Lemony Snicket narra las peripecias de los pequeños Baudelaire, que recien han quedado huerfanos tras ser quemada su elegante mansion, herederos de una gran fortuna, de pronto sus vidas se ven envueltas en grave peligro debido a la codicia del Conde Olaf, quien intenta por todos los medios, quedarse con la jugosa herencia. Asi los niños pasan a caer bajo la custodia de excentricos parientes que van siendo eliminados por el malvado Conde Olaf, que termina siendo desenmascarado tras el fallido intento de casarse con la pequeña Violet. (Lemony Snicket narrates the incidents of small children Baudelaire that newly have been orphan after being burnt its elegant mansion, heirs of a great fortune, suddenly its lives are wrapped in serious danger due to the Count’s greed who attempts by all possible means, to keep the great inheritance. The children pass this way to fall under the custody of kindred eccentrics relatives who are being eliminated by the evil Count Olaf that finishes being exposed after the bankrupt intent of marrying small Violet.) Written by ruvarjoel

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On their way to Riker’s and Troi’s honeymoon, the Enterprise is sent near the neutral zone to Romulan space, and picks up a prototypic twin of android Data. Immediately they are further sent to Romulus, where a new praetor, Shinzon, a human cloned from Captain Picard who lives on the slave planet Remus, appears to want peace with the Federation. But then the crew detects a break-in on their computer systems, and Picard is captured by the Remans because Shinzon needs him as his only matching supplier of genetic material. Picard and the Enterprise can escape, only to find themselves battling Shinzon’s completely cloaked Warbird, who is after the complete destruction of earth. Written by 42/103

Aladdin is a street-urchin who lives in a large and busy town long ago with his faithful monkey friend Abu. When Princess Jasmine gets tired of being forced to remain in the palace that overlooks the city, she sneaks out to the marketplace, where she accidentally meets Aladdin. Under the orders of the evil Jafar (the sultan’s advisor), Aladdin is thrown in jail and becomes caught up in Jafar’s plot to rule the land with the aid of a mysterious lamp. Legend has it that only a person who is a “diamond in the rough” can retrieve the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin might fight that description, but that’s not enough to marry the princess, who must (by law) marry a prince. Written by Murray Chapman {muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au}

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Part IV in a George Lucas epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empires most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star. Written by P. Wong {pwong@nt.net}

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“One Hour Photo” is one of those films that springs from an interesting, original premise and then doesn’t know what to do with itself once it’s halfway complete. The thought of a lonely guy behind the photo counter at a convenience store watching one particular family as they progress from newlyweds to young parents, imagining himself as a beloved uncle, carrying on a twisted secret life wrapped around his make-believe involvement in their lives, is an incredibly chilling prospect and the set-up for what should have been a captivating, suspenseful movie. Unfortunately, what’s on the screen isn’t nearly as riveting as expected.

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Paris, 1786: a woman in court. The Crown murdered her father for his views about the poor, now Jeanne wants her home and good name back. She believes all can be set right if she can talk to the Queen, whose House Minister rebuffs her. With the help of a courtside gigolo, she learns to use what others desire to get what she wants. She needs a patron: with forged letters, she convinces Cardinal de Rohan she is the Queen’s confidante and can help him regain royal favor. Jeanne conspires to have the Cardinal purchase a fabulous diamond necklace for the Queen. He delivers it to Jeanne for Marie Antoinette. If the scheme breaks down, what then? Might this affair spark revolution? Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

More than 10 years after ‘Terminator 2′, John Connor now exists only as a drifter - living ‘off the grid’, so no more Terminators from the future can hunt him down. Unfortunately, SkyNet does send another one back - and this one is called the T-X, even more powerful & advanced than the dreaded T-1000. However, another CSM-101 Terminator is also sent back to protect John against the T-X. Now, Skynet is patiently assuming control of civilian computer systems, under the guise of a computer virus. John has also met his future wife, Kate Brewster, whose father - a U.S. Air Force General - is in charge of the military computer systems & is leery of up linking SkyNet. However, when the SkyNet virus infects the U.S military computers & leaves the country open to attack, the machines begin their horrific takeover. Soon a nuclear war will result - and the war against the machines will begin. Can the outdated CSM-101 Terminator eliminate the highly advanced T-X - or will a darker future await man following the nuclear attack? Written by Derek O’Cain

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