Gal, Deedee, Aitch and Jackie, having left behind respective lives of ill-repute, bask in the sun of Spain and in the most essential brand of leisure. A hazy yarn of barbecues, beer and botched hunting expeditions make up their retirements, until a sudden and unforeseen disruption emerges from their past. Enter the childishly violent and hilariously edgy Don Logan. Through a series of side-splitting negotiations and irrevocable acts, retired crook Gal is forced to shake off the rust and accept one last mission, put forth by the menacing Logan, his ex-mentor. A heist of legendary proportion and personal implications, this job should make for one hell of an encore. Written by gjtackach@gmail.com

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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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This action movie unfolds with the story of Bei, a salesman at a workout equipment store, who harbors dreams of adventures. It all starts when on one normal dull day, Bei follows his instincts to trail two suspicious looking men into an alley. When he realizes that these men are robbing a jewelry store, he jumps into action to foil their plans. Soon after Bei meets Liu, a private investigator who convinces Bei that he may be the long-lost son of a rich Korean businessman. In no time, Bei is on his way to fulfill his dreams of adventure and fortune travelling to Korea and even exotic Turkey. As Bei is drawn deeper into the game of cat and mouse, he realizes he has become the key to locating a lung cancer virus. With an assortment of characters fighting him along the way, will Bei succeed in finding the virus himself? Written by Anonymous

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Denzel Washington and Clive Owen deliver first-rate performances in director Spike Lee’s “Inside Man,” a clever, engaging film that’s considerably better than the average heist movie.

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So what if they had to reshoot scenes, change the ending, and move its original release date from early September 2001 to June 14, 2002? Though many times substantial changes to a film or its release date can be the kiss of death, “The Bourne Identity” rises above it all to provide killer entertainment (I use the word ‘killer’ meaning great - I’m trying to get into the spirit of an action film).

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Do not go into “Bad Santa” thinking you’re about to see the normal ‘Christmas is magical, everyone goes to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, and behind every Scrooge there’s a jolly old elf just waiting to emerge’ movie. First of all, Christmas is only magical for the first 15 minutes of shopping when the reality of overpriced presents and pushy crowds hasn’t yet sunk in. Secondly, I don’t know a single person who ever dreamed of sugarplums. And third, miraculous transformations are more in keeping with fairy tales than real life. Sometimes a Scrooge just is a Scrooge. “Bad Santa” takes those cynical thoughts to the extreme, gleefully lashing out at the holiday season and all those sticky sweet Hollywood movies with ho ho happy endings.

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