Bull Mountain, Alaska, is a no frills ski resort, and the staff is a bunch of partying snowboard bums. The late founder, Papa Muntz, was famed for skiing with his backside exposed, and in fact is so memorialized by a statue. But his son, Ted, plans to sell the resort to hotshot ski mogul John Majors, who starts turning it into a slick resort, which of course has no room for most of the staff. The exception is Rick, the most serious of the bunch. But there’s a complication: Rick met Majors’ stepdaughter Anna on vacation in Mexico, and he’s never gotten over a crush he had on her, even though she’s about to marry a great guy. And Rick is also fiercely loyal to his friends. Written by Jon Reeves {jreeves@imdb.com}

(more…)

Roddy is a decidedly upper-crust “society mouse” who lives the life of a beloved pet in a posh Kensington flat. When a sewer rat named Sid comes spewing out of the sink and decides he’s hit the jackpot, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the “whirlpool.” Sid may be an ignorant slob, but he’s no fool, so it is Roddy who winds up being flushed away into the bustling sewer world of Ratropolis. There Roddy meets Rita, an enterprising scavenger who works the sewers in her faithful boat, the Jammy Dodger. Roddy immediately wants out, or rather, up; Rita wants to be paid for her trouble; and, speaking of trouble, the villainous Toad–who royally despises all rodents equally, making no distinction between mice and rats–wants them iced … literally. The Toad dispatches his two hapless hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, to get the job done. When they fail, the Toad has no choice but to send to France for his cousin–that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog. Written by DreamWorks SKG

A government agent trains a typical teenager Cody Banks who loves to skateboard, hates math, and feels like a complete idiot around girls, in the ways of covert operations that require younger participants. But Cody’s got a secret–he’s actually part of a secret teen CIA program. Cody’s living every boy’s dream life–he can drive like a stunt man, has an incredible arsenal of cool gadgets, and his agency mentor, Ronica Miles, is totally hot. But Cody’s training is put to the test when he’s sent to pose as a prep school student and befriend fellow teen Natalie Connors in order to gain access to her father–a scientist unknowingly developing a fleet of deadly pair of twisted villains called the nanobots for the evil organization ERIS, which can destroy any carbon or silicon-based substance-to destroy the world’s defense systems so he can threaten anyone who opposes him. From runaway cars and high-speed snowboard chases to a spectacular final mountaintop showdown, Cody has to use everything he’s learned to prove himself as an agent and stop ERIS from completing their mission before their mission fails. Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

(more…)

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

(more…)

I didn’t have high hopes when I sat down for a screening of “I Spy.” Let’s face it, there haven’t been that many good buddy films recently and Eddie Murphy’s last couple of films have been real disappointments (Did anyone see “Pluto Nash?”). But I am a fan of Owen Wilson and of Eddie Murphy’s earlier cinematic offerings, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and go into “I Spy” with a mostly open mind.

(more…)

Read the synopsis of “Rent” and ‘sexy, spectacular, and one of the best movies of 2005’ may not be the words that immediately come to mind. But don’t make the mistake of judging “Rent” by the few lines used to sum up the film in the movie’s official synopsis. “Rent” can’t be defined in a matter of 25 words or less. There’s so much going on, so much to take in, it requires you to sit back and absorb the experience. And what an experience it is.

(more…)

Bob Harris is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte, the young wife of a visiting photographer. Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable traveling companions. Charlotte is looking for “her place in life,” and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end. Or must they? Written by veloc {velo_00@yahoo.com}

(more…)

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

(more…)

The big question is, who is this movie’s target audience? “Valiant” doesn’t have the double entendres adults get a kick out of in animated movies. It’s not funny enough and it doesn’t feature enough goofball characters for little kids, and teens won’t find much to connect with in a movie about carrier pigeons set during World War II. Maybe the studio is aiming for the senior crowd. I just really don’t know who is going to be interested in watching a semi-serious animated bird movie.

(more…)