Don’t let the ads or the poster fool you, this isn’t “Snow Dogs” (thank goodness) and you’d be wrong to dismiss this as just another Disney dog movie. Inspired by real events, “Eight Below” is a first-rate family film loaded with terrific performances by two and four-legged actors. “Eight Below” director Frank Marshall and Disney deliver a film that satisfies on multiple levels and should find box office gold with this genuinely touching movie.

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Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother, desperate to find a job, but is having no luck. This losing streak even extends to a failed lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident she was in. With no alternative, she successfully browbeats her lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the loss. While no one takes her seriously, with her trashy clothes and earthy manners, that soon changes when she begins to investigate a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. What she discovers is that the company is trying quietly to buy land that was contaminated by hexavalent chromium, a deadly toxic waste that the company is improperly and illegally dumping and, in turn, poisoning the residents in the area. As she digs deeper, Erin finds herself leading point in a series of events that would involve her lawfirm in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation. Written by Kenneth Chisholm {kchishol@execulink.com}

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. Upon arrival, he quickly discovers that his presence is quite nonessential, and is considered insignificant to the other soldiers, as he has not fought for as long as the rest of them and felt the effects of combat. Chris has two commanding officers, the ill-tempered and indestructible Staff Sergeant Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger) and the more pleasant and cooperative Sergeant Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe). A line is drawn between the two officers and a number of men in the platoon when an illegal killing occurs during a village raid. As the war continues, Chris himself draws towards psychological meltdown. And as he struggles for survival, he soon realizes he is fighting two battles, the conflict with the enemy and the conflict between the men within his platoon. Written by Jeremy Thomson

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Set against the glitzy backdrop of the French Riviera, aging gambler Bob Montagnet is about to gamble it all on the casino heist of a lifetime; a spectatcular sleight of hand–two heists, one real, one not, but which is which? Under the watchful eye of Roger, a policeman who would as soon save his longtime opponent as arrest him, Montagnet assembles a team that consists of partners Paulo and Raoul, technical mastermind Vladimer, former-drug-dealer-turned-informant Said, Anne, a young Eastern girl Montagnet rescued from prostitution, and the perfect complement to a double theft–identical twins Albert and Bertram. Written by Sujit R. Varma

Henry Hill is a small time gangster, who takes part in a robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to climb up through the hierarchy of the Mob. Henry, however, is badly affected by his partners success, but will he stoop low enough to bring about the downfall of Jimmy and Tommy ? Written by Colin Tinto {cst@imdb.com}

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Kate (Meg Ryan) and Charlie (Timothy Hutton) have a perfect life planned out before them: buying a house, marriage, kids, the whole works. Kate’s fear of flying keeps her in Canada while Charlie goes to Paris for a medical convention. While there Charlie is smitten by the lovely Juliette (Susan Anbeh). He calls off the wedding with Kate and she nervously boards a plane to get him back. She ends up sitting next to the petty French thief Luc Teyssier (Kevin Kline). He hides a stolen necklace and smuggled grape vine in her bag to get it through customs. Her bag is stolen, the necklace apparently lost, and Kate and Luc head to Cannes — Luc to find the necklace and Kate get Charlie back. Along the way, Kate and Luc begin having feelings for each other — which change the course of their lives. Written by poco loco

This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas–it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970’s and ’80’s are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw–Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence. Written by Tad Dibbern {DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu}

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Former cop Brian O’Conner who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce to transport a shipment of ‘dirty’ money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone, while actually working with undercover agent Monica Clemente to bring Verone down. Written by rupekooner

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Kevin Costner jumps back in the saddle for “Open Range,” a majestic look at the old west. The “Dances With Wolves” director and “Silverado” and “Wyatt Earp”star, with “Open Range” Costner reconnects with the genre that’s served him well in the past.

“Open Range” is the nostalgic story of grizzled cowboys, the wide-open beauty of a young country, and the fading days of a way of life. “Open Range” is visually stunning and features an easy to follow plot with strictly defined heroes and villains. While the heroes don’t literally wear white hats, there’s never the slightest doubt whom to root for.

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Robert Redford. Morgan Freeman. Jennifer Lopez. Take a moment to consider a marquee with those three names listed as the stars of a single movie. And not just any movie. Consider the threesome as stars of director Lasse Hallstrom’s (“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Cider House Rules”) relationship drama, “An Unfinished Life.” Just the thought of Redford, Morgan and Lopez together as the leads in the same film made me want to bust out in an old Sesame Street song. I tried to look at those names and not sing to myself, “One of these things is not like the other…,” but I lacked the self-control to hold back.

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