Sydney Schanberg is a New York Times journalist convering the civil war in Cambodia. Together with local representative Dith Pran, they cover some of the tragedy and madness of the war. When the Americans forces leave, Dith Pran sends his family with them, but stays behind himself to help Schanberg cover the event. As an American, Schanberg won’t have any trouble leaving the country, but the situation is different for Pran; he’s a local, and the Khmer Rouge are moving in. Written by Murray Chapman {muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au}

The big-screen version of Hunter S. Thompson’s seminal psychedelic classic about his road trip across Western America as he and his large Samoan lawyer searched desperately for the “American dream”… they were helped in large part by the huge amount of drugs and alcohol kept in their convertible, The Red Shark. Written by Laurence Mixson

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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}

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A pre-fame Beatles head for the seedy clubs of Hamburg in search of success. The band meet up with a group of trendy German beatniks, one of whom (Astrid Kircherr) bass guitarist Stuart Sutcliffe falls in love with. Whilst best friend John Lennon can only watch, Sutcliffe has to choose between rock ‘n roll and a new life in Germany… Written by Douglas Baptie

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The movie starts as a car has a hard time driving straight down the road in a residential area. We think some kid has stolen this car. Nah. It’s the dad driving his son to school, and he’s drunk. The teenage son must take over. So, adults give up all responsibility towards their children and mayhem can take place. The film shows one day in the life of several teenage students as they go in and out of classes. They live their student lives and we follow their steps through the corridors and doors, taking them as guides one by one, like avatars in a giant video game. Written by Khandoma

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“Underworld” starts off slow, speeds up when the action sequences kick in, then it gets itself totally mired down in the La Brea Tar Pit of Incomprehensible Plotlines. Unfortunately even the most spectacular looking and beautifully choreographed fight sequences cannot overcome the convoluted story.

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In a place soon to be known as The Valley of Death, in a small clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore (Mel Gibson) and 400 young fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, all troopers from an elite American combat division, were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. The ensuing battle was one of the most savage in U.S. history. We Were Soldiers Once…And Young is a tribute to the nobility of those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another. Written by John Willis {Cavalier6@aol.com}

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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Investment Banker Matthew, a young advertising executive in Chicago, puts his life and a business trip to China on hold when he thinks he sees Lisa, the love of his life who walked out on him without a word two years earlier, walking out of a restaurant one day. With a little help from his friend Luke, Matthew obsessively and relentlessly tracks Lisa down and while doing so, runs into another young woman, calling herself Lisa whom, unknown to Matthew, is an actress named Alex and may hold the key to Lisa’s disappearance, and discovery. Written by M.P.

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