There’s an eerie, otherworldly feel to the way director Michael Mann (“The Insider,” “Heat”) has portrayed the City of Angels in “Collateral.” Los Angeles at night is a whole different beast and in Mann’s hands, the city itself becomes a living, breathing character. Dark and brooding, the LA depicted in “Collateral” provides the perfect backdrop to this intense action thriller.

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Robert dean is a mild-mannered lawyer who works in Washington D.C. He is on the trail of a kingpin named Pintero. Meanwhile, a politician named Thomas Reynolds is negotiating with Congressman Phillip Hammerson about a new surveillance system with satellites. But, Hammerson declines, that is when Reynolds had Hammerson killed, but this murder was caught on tape, and this person was being chased by Reynolds’ team of NSA agents, the guy must ditch the tape, so he plants it on Dean (unbeknownst to Dean). Then, the NSA decides to get into Dean’s life. That is when Dean’s life began to fall apart all around him, with his wife and job both gone. Dean wants to find out what is going on. Then, he meets a man named “Brill” who tells him that Dean has something that the government wants. Thta is when Dean and Brill formulate a plan to get Dean’s life back and turn the Tables on Reynolds. Written by John Wiggins

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“Minority Report” is a little romance and a little comedy mixed up with a whole lot of souped-up action and death-defying stunts. Did it work? I’m still thinking about it. I left the screening thinking I liked the film, and alternately convinced I didn’t. The strange thing is, I told a fellow journalist there’s no way the film would be a middle of the road-er; you’d either love it or hate it. And yet, I loved it - the incredibly stunning futuristic scenery, the action sequences that leap off the screen, and the shockingly brutal Spielbergian vision of the world in the not too distant future - and I disliked it (hate’s way too strong of a word) - the storylines that led to unbelievable conclusions and the fact that it’s supposedly set only 50 years in the future.

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In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. The cynical lone wolf Blaine comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault does what he can to please him, including detaining Czech underground leader Victor Laszlo. Much to Rick’s surprise, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa, Rick’s one time love. Rick is very bitter towards Ilsa, who ran out on him in Paris, but when he learns she had good reason to, they plan to run off together again using the letters of transit. Well, that was their original plan…. Written by Gary Jackson {garyjack5@cogeco.ca}

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Sydney Pollack returns to the land of thrillers with “The Interpreter,” a timely, thought-provoking drama with a superb cast and an interesting premise. A little long-winded and sometimes confusing, “The Interpreter” benefits from solid performances by Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener.

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In the midst of an elaborate conspiracy, an expert negotiator is driven to the edge when he’s framed for the murder of his partner, as well as embezzling money from his department’s pension fund. His only chance to prove his innocence is to take hostages himself, acquire the services of another expert negotiator, and find out who’s running the conspiracy before it’s too late. Written by Ted Walters

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Malcom Crowe is a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night that he is visited by a very unhappy ex-patient. After this encounter, Crowe takes on the task of curing a young boy with the same ills as the ex-patient. This boy “sees dead people”. Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy (Cole) much to the dismay of his wife. Cole’s mom is at her wit’s end with what to do about her son’s increasing problems. Crowe is the boy’s only hope. Written by Jeff Mellinger {jmell@uclink4.berkeley.edu}

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