An asbestos abatement crew wins the bid for an abandoned insane asylum. What should be a straightforward, if rather rushed, job, is complicated by the personal histories of the crew. In particular, Hank is dating Phil’s old girlfriend, and Gordon’s new baby seems to be unnerving him more than should be expected. Things get more complicated as would-be lawyer Mike plays the tapes from a former patient with multiple personalities, including the mysterious Simon who does not appear until Session 9, and as Hank disappears after finding some old coins. Written by Jon Reeves {jreeves@imdb.com}

Sarah Taylor, a police psychologist, meets a mysterious and seductive young man, Tony Ramirez, and falls in love with him. As a cause of this relationship she changes her personality when she begins to receive anonymous telefon calls. Written by Volker Boehm

Mac, the two fisted savy cop finds that he’s being saddled with a new partner, a known burn out, to work with him on a new and difficult case. The new partner is, Ellis, an amazing detective, one who puts Sherlock Holmes to shame with his lightning fast deductions. Ellis has a couple of problems. He keeps assuming the personalities of entire casts of Television shows. This can be a problem when people begin shooting at them. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

[A Totally Spoiler Free Review] Is “Spider-Man 2” the best movie ever made based on a comic book, as some early reviews have proclaimed? I don’t know, that’s a pretty grand statement and one I don’t feel qualified to assess being a non-comic book type of person. I do know the original “Spider-Man” was incredibly fun, a genuine rollercoaster ride of a movie that set the bar tremendously high, much too high for most movies of this subgenre to live up to. I believe this sequel is a better film, though I didn’t find myself feeling as exhilarated during it as I did while watching the original. But that’s not to say this one has a been-there, done-that quality to it. It doesn’t. This sequel stands on its own and in no way feels like recycled material. And judged on its own, I feel safe in declaring it’s one of the best movies we’ll see in theaters this year.

“Spider-Man 2” is darker, more emotionally intense, and features a more serious storyline than the first movie. While the first film had to spend a good portion of its running time introducing the characters and explaining how Spider-Man came to be, this second film of the series doesn’t carry that burden. We know Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) was bitten by a radioactive spider, we know Peter loves MJ (Kirsten Dunst) but will not allow himself to be with her, and we know Peter’s best friend, Harry (James Franco) is out to kill Spider-Man because he believes the webslinger murdered his father. All of this was laid out for us by the end of the first “Spider-Man” movie.

In the second film, we’re allowed more of an opportunity to get to know Peter as a person. We feel his torment as he tries to hide his emotions from MJ. We care about him as he’s pulled between doing the responsible thing as Spider-Man and living a normal life free from the pressure of being a hero. ”Spider-Man 2” lets us look further into the psyche of the boy/man who wears the blue and red suit. And while we’re taken on this emotional journey with Peter, we’re also treated to more time with the central figures of the first “Spider-Man” movie and to a few new characters from world of the “Spider-Man” comic books, foremost of which is this film’s villain, Dr. Otto Octavius (Doc Ock for short). This ultra-cool bad guy is the star of the show when it comes to effects - and acting. Very few movie villains can rival Alfred Molina in character as the man with tentacles (special kudos to Raimi for making sure Doc Ock was played by such a first-rate actor). Doc Ock could have been a campy character, but with Molina in charge, he remains a man tormented by the evil he’s unleashed and overwhelmed by tragic circumstances, rather than a two-dimensional antagonist of the film’s hero.

“Spider-Man 2” has a gentler sense of humor, quirky like the original, yet quieter. Sam Raimi throws in a few recognizable faces in cameo roles who generate a fair share of laughs, and even inserts a scene in which Maguire as Spider-Man injures his back (a nod at Maguire’s real-life back problems, which almost kept him out of this sequel). One of my personal favorite scenes featured Hal Sparks in an elevator with the in-costume Spider-Man. Classic.

We got used to watching Spider-Man fly between buildings and leap from incredible heights in the first movie. The effects which worked so well in “Spider-Man” have been tweaked to such a degree in “Spider-Man 2” it’s nearly impossible to distinguish pure computer-generated graphics from scenes involving actors or stuntmen in front of blue screens. Because all of the effects – from speeding trains to giant fiery orbs – are simply incredible, there’s nothing that jolts you out of the movie, no point in the film where you are jarred from believing your eyes. As far as effects-heavy movies go, “Spider-Man 2” is at the head of the pack.

Comparing the two “Spider-Man” movies is like comparing apples and oranges. They are totally different creations. One’s an exuberant burst of energy contained on film and the other’s a toned down, coming-of-age tale set in the world of superheroes and monstrous villains. Though both movies relied heavily on the CGI effects, Raimi did a terrific job in both films of never forgetting the audience needs to connect with the flesh and blood actors. The reason “Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man 2” work is that both keep that focus in the forefront, with the special effects filling in around the actors and not overwhelming them.

Rebecca Murray
Hollywood Movies Guide

Strangers from all different walks of life: a limo driver escorting a movie star, parents with a young son, a cop transporting a convict, a prostitute, a young couple, and a motel manager are caught up in a nasty rainstorm, stuck at a motel in desolate Nevada. Soon they realize they may be at the motel for another reason when one by one, people start getting killed off. As tensions flare and fingers are pointed, they have to get to the bottom of why they’re there. Meanwhile in an undisclosed location, a psychiatrist is trying to prove the innocence of a man accused of murder in an eleventh hour trial. How these two through-lines are related can only be found in Identity. Written by mystic80

I’ll lay my cards on the table right off the bat and confess what in some circles could be considered sacrilege - I’m not a fan of comic books. I’ve never read any, and I couldn’t tell you the story behind “Superman,” “Batman,” or “Spider-Man” if my life depended on it. All of my knowledge of ’superheroes’ comes from the movies, and I’d even label that knowledge mediocre at best. “Superman” wasn’t my kind of movie, “Batman” (in his many leading actor incarnations) wasn’t up my alley either, and I went into the theater for “Spider-Man” just hoping it would live up to half of its hype. Half would have been nice, but “Spider-Man” pulled off the near impossible - it lived up to a full 75% of the hoopla and was close to nudging its way 85-90% when it backed off just a smidge (smidge - such a technical term for a movie review).

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Mort Rainey (Depp), a writer just coming off of a troublesome divorce with his ex-wife, Amy (Bello), finds himself stalked at his remote lake house by a psychotic stranger (Turturro) who claims Mort stole his best story idea (changing just the ending)… (Hutton plays Bello’s new boyfriend; Dutton plays a private investigator hired to make Turturro’s character leave Mort alone.)