Louie is a New York slum landlord who is given 120 days to repair one of his apartment blocks. The problem for Louie is that he must live in the rundown block until the repairs are complete. Louie’s father is the real boss, and he has no intention of paying for the repairs. This leaves Louie to live in the squaller his tenants endure all year round. Written by Rob Hartill

In the not too distant future a secret government re-animation chemo-virus gets released into conservative Sartre, Nebraska and lands in an underground strip club. As the virus begins to spread, turning the strippers into “Super Zombie Strippers” the girls struggle with whether or not to conform to the new “fad” even if it means there’s no turning back. Written by Anonymous

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Some guys get all the luck, whether they like it or not. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) happens to be in Hollywood collecting a gambling debt when he’s struck by lightning (not literally). Called a natural for the movie business, he’s snagged up by a producer. The rest is history. Written by Joshua Davis {xtnb64a@prodigy.com}

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Robert Luketic took a break from romantic comedies (the genre where he’s been most comfortable) to direct 21, an entertaining, while not completely comprehensible, dramatic movie adapted from Ben Mezrich’s book, Bringing Down the House. Loosely based on the true story of a group of MIT students who made a killing counting cards at Vegas casinos, 21 makes playing blackjack look not only exciting, but profitable. Despite a few gaping plot holes, the card action and engaging cast make this film fun for even those of us who’ve had only losing experiences at blackjack tables. (more…)

This is a story about Mike, a guy who left his girl in New York when he came to LA to be a star. It’s been six months since his girlfriend left him and he’s not doing so good. So, his pal and some other friends try and get him back in the social scene and forget about his 6 year relationship. Written by Kevin Gillease {gillease@scf.usc.edu}

This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of “Factotum” author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don’t interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.

Film adaptation of street tough Jim Carroll’s epistle about his kaleidoscopic free fall into the harrowing world of drug addiction. As a member of a seemingly unbeatable high school basketball squad, Jim’s life centers around the basketball court and the court becomes a metaphor for the world in his mind. A best friend who is dying of leukemia, a coach (”Swifty”) who takes unacceptable liberties with the boys on his team, teenage sexual angst, and an unhealthy appetite for heroin — all of these begin to encroach on young Jim’s dream of becoming a basketball star. Soon, the dark streets of New York become a refuge from his mother’s mounting concern for her son. He can’t go home and his only escape from the reality of the streets is heroin for which he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. Only with the help of Reggie, an older neighborhood friend with whom Jim “picked up a game” now and then, is he able to begin the long journey back to sanity. Written by Mark Fleetwood {mfleetwo@mail.coin.missouri.edu}

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A man in a suit at a Manhattan firm leaves work on Friday; he looks unhappy. He stops at a fortune teller’s for a Tarot reading: “You are not where you belong,” she tells him. That evening he quits his marriage and walks the streets of New York, passing from a classy bar to a gentleman’s club, then to a high-class bordello, a mugging, a pawnshop, and a diner where someone does listen. He shares his insights with her and later with others. Violence, disappointment, and musings entwine as Edmond loses his moorings while believing he’s found them. Where does he belong? Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and director Ridley Scott team up for the first time and the result is one of 2003’s most entertaining movies. “Matchstick Men” is a fast-paced comedy/drama with a snappy script full of well-disguised plot twists. You don’t know where the story’s going, but you do know you want to go along for the ride. It’s refreshing to be able to sit through an entire movie where the plot isn’t telegraphed ahead of time.

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Bridget Gregory has a lot going for her: she’s beautiful, she’s intelligent, she’s married to a doctor. But all of this isn’t enough, as her husband Clay finds out. After she persuaded him to sell medicinal cocaine to some drugdealers, she takes off with the money, almost a million dollars, and goes undercover in a mid-American smalltown. Because Clay has to pay off a loan shark who’ll otherwise damage him severely, he keeps sending detectives after her, trying to retrieve the money. When Bridget meets Mike Swale, a naive local who is blinded by her beauty and directness, she devises an elaborate, almost diabolical scheme to get rid of Clay once and for all. Written by Peter Zweers {peterz@pi.net}

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