Changeling

*A True Story

To find her son she did what no one else dared

Review
Los Angeles 1928 on a Saturday morning in a workingclass suburb Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son Walter and left for work. When she came home, she discovered he had vanished. A fruitless search ensues and a month later a boy claiming to be the nine year old is returned. Dazed by the swirl of cops reporters and her conflicted emotions Christine allows him to stay overnight but in her heart she knows he is not Walter. As she pushes authorities to keep looking. She learns that in prohibition-era L.A. women don’t challenge the system and live to tell their story slandered as delusional and unfit. Christine finds an ally in activist Reverend Briegleb (Malkovich), who helps her fight the city to look for her missing boy. Based on the actual incident that rocked California’s legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of a mother’s quest to find her son, and those who won’t stop until they silence her.

Changeling Trailer

My rate & Comment	**** I always interest to a true story movie. This is a powerful true story.
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Produced by	Clint Eastwood, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Robert Lorenz
Written by	J. Michael Straczynski
Starring	Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Gattlin Griffith, Jason Butler Harner, Amy Ryan, Michael Kelly, Geoff Pierson, Colm Feore
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	Cannes Film Festival: May 20, 2008 United States: October 24, 2008 (limited) October 31, 2008 (wide) United Kingdom: November 26, 2008 Australia: February 5, 2009
Genre	Drama, Thriller
Running time	141 min
Country	United State
Language	English
Budget	US$55 million
Gross revenue	US$66.7 million

Plot
In 1928 Los Angeles, single mother Christine Collins (Jolie) returns home one day to discover her nine-year-old son, Walter (Griffith), is missing. Reverend Gustav Briegleb (Malkovich) publicizes Christine's plight and rails against the Los Angeles Police Department for its incompetence, corruption and the extrajudicial punishment meted by its "Gun Squad", led by Police Chief James E. Davis (Feore).

Several months later, Christine is told her son has been found alive. A public reunion is organized by police, who believe the positive publicity will negate recent criticism of the department. Although "Walter" (Conti) claims to be Christine's son, she says he is not. Captain J. J. Jones (Donovan), the head of the LAPD's Juvenile Division, insists the boy is Walter and pressures Christine into taking him home "on a trial basis".

After Christine confronts Jones with physical discrepancies between "Walter" and her son, Jones has a doctor visit her. He tells Christine that "Walter" is shorter because trauma has shrunk his spine and that the man who took Walter had him circumcised. A newspaper story appears that implies Christine is an unfit mother. Christine meets with Briegleb, who tells her the story was planted by police to discredit her. He also tells her of the corruption rife in the department, and of the Gun Squad's despotic rule over the city's streets. Walter's teacher and dentist give Christine signed letters confirming "Walter" is an impostor. Christine arranges a press conference during which she tells her story.

At Jones' order, Christine is taken to Los Angeles County Hospital's "psychopathic ward". Christine is befriended by inmate Carol Dexter (Ryan), who tells Christine she is one of several women who were imprisoned for challenging police authority. Dr. Steele (O'Hare) deems Christine delusional and forces her to take mood-regulating pills. Steele says he will release Christine if she admits she was mistaken about "Walter". She refuses.

Detective Ybarra (Kelly) is called to a ranch at Wineville, Riverside County to arrange the deportation of 15-year-old Sanford Clark to Canada. The boy's uncle, Gordon Northcott (Harner), has fled after being unwittingly alerted by Ybarra to his visit. Clark tells Ybarra that Northcott forced him to assist in kidnapping and murdering approximately twenty children and identifies Walter as one of them. Jones tells Briegleb that Christine is in protective custody following a mental breakdown. Jones orders Clark deported, but Ybarra makes Clark reveal the murder site. Briegleb secures Christine's release by showing Steele a newspaper that details the Wineville killings and names Walter as a possible victim. "Walter" reveals his motive was to secure transportation to Los Angeles to see his favorite actor, Tom Mix, and says the police told him to lie about being Christine's son. Northcott is captured in Vancouver, Canada. Christine has an attorney (Pierson) secure a court order to release the women unfairly imprisoned by police.

On the day of the city council's hearing into the case, Christine and Briegleb flee police whom they believe want to prevent her testifying. Outside Los Angeles City Hall, they encounter thousands of protestors who are demanding answers from the city. The hearing is intercut with scenes from Northcott's trial. The council concludes that Jones and Davis should be removed from duty, and extrajudicial internments by police must be reviewed. Northcott is found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. Two years later, Christine has not given up her search for Walter. She is told Northcott is willing to admit killing Walter on condition that Christine meets him before his execution. Northcott refuses to tell her whether or not he killed her son, and he is executed the next day. In 1935, David Clay—one of the boys assumed to have been killed—is found alive. He reveals that one of the boys with whom he was imprisoned was Walter. David, Walter and another boy escaped, but were separated. David does not know whether Walter was recaptured, giving Christine hope he is alive.

Taken

A spy relies on his old skill to save his estranged daughter.

"One of the most action movie this season.."

Review
A former spy (Neeson) relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter (Grace), who has been forced into slave trade. In "Taken", Neesson will play an ex-CIA "preventer" that faces his daughter is kidnapped by sex-traffickers while traveling in Paris, France. The soldier must track her down before she's shipped off and lost forever.

Taken Trailer

My rate & Comment	* * * * Great movie and great performance of Neesson. Great action and the story. There are also some sensitive / sentimental scenes. Worth to see.
Directed by	Pierre Morel
Produced by	Luc Besson
Written by	Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Liam Neeson Famke Janssen Maggie Grace Xander Berkeley Holly Valance Katie Cassidy
Distributed by	20th Century Fox Europa Corp.
Release date(s)	France: February 27, 2008
Genre	Action, Thriller, Drama
Running time	93 min.
Country	France
Language	English, France
Budget	$45,000,000
Gross revenue	$61,144,470

Plot
The film follows an ex-CIA "preventer" faced with recovering his daughter after she is kidnapped by sex-traffickers in Paris, France.

Bryan (Liam Neeson) is a divorced, former US intelligence agent whose 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) lives with his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and her new husband Stuart (Xander Berkeley). The nature and dispositions of the major characters are established early in the film: Kim is a happy, affectionate girl who loves horses and has aspirations of being a singer, while her mother maintains a frosty, somewhat antagonistic demeanour towards her ex-husband. Bryan’s skill and quick-thinking are demonstrated when he agrees to escort a pop diva - Sheerah (Holly Valance) - the diva is attacked, but Bryan efficiently disables a knife-wielding assailant and gets her safely out of danger. Thankful, Sheerah expresses some interest in Bryan’s daughter and furnishes him with some contacts to get Kim’s career started.

The next day we discover that Kim wants to take a vacation in Europe with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) to follow U2’s European tour. Kim’s mother has no objections, but Kim also needs permission from her father. Fearing that the over-protective Bryan will not consent, Kim pretends (with her mother’s implicit agreement) that they will only stay in Paris to visit museums. Reluctantly, Bryan agrees, and only discovers their real itinerary at the airport.

Arriving in Paris, a seemingly friendly young man named Peter (Nicolas Giraud) proposes to share a taxi with Kim and Amanda to the house where they are staying; the girls agree gladly. However, the man works for an Albanian criminal organization to which he reports the address out of earshot.

In the house, Kim receives a phone call from her father which she answers in the bathroom. From the bathroom window she sees men entering the main room and abducting Amanda. Bryan is able to gain critical information about the kidnappers in the final moments after Kim is kidnapped by telling her to shout out everything about them that she notices. Briefly, Bryan talks to one of the kidnappers, warning him that unless Kim is released, he will pursue him and kill him; the kidnapper wishes him "good luck" before smashing the daughter’s phone.

Exploiting his contacts in the CIA and the business connections of his ex-wife’s husband, Bryan travels to Paris to find her, informed that the kidnappers are sex-slavers and that he has only 96 hours to recover his daughter before she will disappear forever. The particular kidnapper he talked to is revealed to be an Albanian named ‘Marco’.

Under the eye of Jean-Claude, himself a former operative and now deputy director of Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur, Bryan pursues the kidnappers. He uses digital photos from the smashed remains of Kim’s phone to locate Peter, who is hit by a truck while trying to escape. By hassling prostitutes Bryan gets himself threatened by an Albanian mobster, and is able to plant a covert listening device on him. With the help of a translator he discovers that the kidnappers have a brothel in a nearby construction site; before leaving, Bryan obtains an Albanian–English dictionary from the translator.

On arrival, Bryan acts like a customer; once inside he begins to search for Kim. Unfortunately, he finds only her jacket next to another woman. He is then discovered, and escapes under fire with the semi-conscious woman.

Nursing the girl back to health from an involuntary drug addiction, Bryan finds out where the kidnappers took her after she was abducted. Bryan heads to the address and poses as an official negotiating a new "rate" (i.e. a bribe) to overlook the illegal activities going on within. Before leaving he asks the apparent leader to translate from Albanian the words "good luck," which confirms his identity as Marco; he quickly subdues Marco and kills most of the kidnappers. He searches for Kim, but instead finds Amanda, handcuffed to a bed and dead of a drug overdose. Later, through torturing Marco, Bryan ascertains that Kim was sold to a man named Saint Clair.

Bryan visits Jean-Claude’s home and chats amicably with his wife while she prepares dinner. Jean-Claude, however, failing to have Bryan arrested for the mess he has caused at Paris, brings his gun to the dinner table. Jean-Claude angrily points the gun at Bryan when accused of complicity in Kim’s abduction, but to no avail: Bryan unloaded it earlier. To demonstrate that he is serious Bryan shoots Jean-Claude’s wife on her arm and, by holding Jean-Claude’s family hostage, extracts Saint Clair’s location from Jean-Claude.

By impersonating a police officer, Bryan gains entry to the building where new girls are being sold, and secures entry to one of the buyers’ viewing booths. When he sees his daughter being sold, he forces the client to bid for her, but is captured and knocked unconscious moments later. Suspended from the ceiling, Saint Clair questions his identity before leaving his security guards to execute him. Bryan escapes and kills the guards before finding Saint Clair, whom he kills after learning that his daughter is being taken by Arab clients. Bryan manages to follow the car his daughter is being taken in to see her being taken away on a large motorboat. He jumps on to the ship from a bridge and eliminates all the people inside, finally killing the client and freeing his daughter.

Back in the US, Kim is reunited with her mother. Bryan introduces Kim to the diva he saved at the beginning of the film, having arranged an audition with her vocal coach.

Plot source: Wiki

Righteous Kill

From the writer of Inside Man

Most people respect the badge. Everybody respect the gun.

Review
A pair of veteran New York City police detectives are on the trail of a vigilante serial killer. After 30 years as partners in the pressure cooker environment of the NYPD, highly decorated Detectives David Fisk and Thomas Cowan should be ready for retirement, but aren't.

Before they can hand up the badges, they are called in to investigate the murder of a notorious pimp, which appears to have ties to a case they solved years before. Like the original murder, the victim is a suspected criminal whose body is found accompanied by a four line poem justifying the killing.

When additional crimes take place, it becomes clear the detectives are looking for a serial killer, one who targets criminals that have fallen through the cracks of the judicial system. His mission is to do what the cops can't do on their own-take the culprits off the streets for good. The similarities between the recent killings and their earlier case raise a nagging question. Did they put the wrong man behind bars?

My rate & Comment	* * * * I like both actors. Interesting when they could play in the same movie. Gotta watch it :)
Directed by	Jon Avnet
Produced by	Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Daniel M. Rosenberg, Lati Grobman, Randall Emmett
Written by	Russell Gewirtz
Starring	Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Carla Gugino, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo
Distributed by	Overture Films (USA) Lions Gate Entertainment (UK)
Release date(s)	September 12, 2008 (USA)
Genre	Thriller, Drama
Running time	100 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$60,000,000
Gross revenue	$71,335,208

Righteous Kill Trailer

The Happening

We've sensed it. We've seen the signs. Now.. It's happening.

Review
The film opens in New York. People start to get confused in Central park, repeating their words, standing still and sometimes walking backwards. We hear a few screams. A cop on the road shoots himself in the head. A driver gets out of his car, takes the gun, and also shoots himself in the head. We see a pair of high heels walk over and a hand starts to pick up the gun.

My rate & Comment	* * * Mark Wahlberg is a good actor but this movie just silly and nonsense. So weak thriller but it didn't bore me.
Directed by	M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by	Barry Mendel, Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Written by	M. Night Shyamalan
Starring	Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
Distributed by	Flag of the United States 20th Century Fox (except India) Flag of India UTV Software Communications
Release date(s)	June 11, 2008: Belgium, France June 13, 2008: United States, United Kingdom, India, Brazil
Genre	Thriller
Running time	90 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US $60 million
Gross revenue	Domestic $64,505,912 Foreign $98,834,810 Worldwide $163,340,722

The Happening Trailer


Plot
In New York City, people inexplicably begin committing mass suicide. First they become disoriented and motionless, before resorting to the most convenient means of killing themselves. Initially believed to be a bioterrorist attack, the pandemic quickly spreads across the northeastern United States.

Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), a high school science teacher in Philadelphia, receives news of the pandemic at school and decides to leave the city by train with his estranged and well-nigh-unfaithful wife, Alma Moore (Zooey Deschanel).

They are accompanied by his friend and fellow teacher Julian (John Leguizamo) and his eight-year-old daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez). The train abruptly stops in the small town of Filbert, Pennsylvania, after the crew mysteriously loses radio contact with civilisation. Suddenly unable to contact his wife via cellphone, Julian decides to leave his daughter with Elliot and Alma in order to travel to Princeton, New Jersey, to find her. It is by now clear that the pandemic is transmitted by air. Travelling in a Jeep, Julian and his fellow passengers fall victim to the pandemic soon after arriving in an already-hard-hit Princeton: the infected air filters through a hole in the vehicle's roof, compelling the driver first to bring it to a halt and then plunge it into a nearby tree. Only Julian appears to survive the crash, but, when he exits the car, apparently unharmed, and sits himself on the tarmac, he proceeds to slit his wrists with a shard of glass.

Elliot, Alma and the now-fatherless Jess manage to hitch a ride with a botanist (Frank Collison) and his wife (Victoria Clark). The botanist believes that trees and plants are responsible, attacking people as a defence mechanism by releasing toxins into the air. Although initially sceptical, given his idiosyncrasies and apparent obsession with plant life, Alma and Elliot become increasingly enamoured of this view. After driving for some time through the country, they find themselves at a desolate crossroads surrounded by infected towns. Other cars soon join them. A U.S. Army soldier suggests that they move away on foot from roads and populated centres, which he regards as obvious terrorist targets, to avoid being infected.

The survivors split into two groups and begin to travel across an open plain. The smaller group, in which Elliot, Alma and Jess find themselves, suddenly hears gunshots from the direction of the other group: they deduce correctly that the pandemic is upon them. An overwrought Elliot, striving to concentrate amidst the pandemonium, draws on his scientific creed to conclude that it is conveyed by an airborne neurotoxin exuded by grass and plants. He suspects that the larger the group of people the more likely it is to trigger the defence mechanism. With a menacing gale approaching, Elliot splits the group into smaller pockets, thus further isolating himself, Alma and Jess, although they are accompanied by two teenage boys, Josh (Spencer Breslin) and Jared (Robert Bailey, Jr.).

Elliot, looking for food, comes across an old house with survivors inside. He tries to communicate with them, but they are unwilling to open the doors. When the teenagers try aggressively to force entry, the denizens shoot them dead. Elliot, Alma and Jess, now completely on their own, continue to travel cross-country. They stumble upon the isolated house of one Mrs Jones (Betty Buckley), an elderly oddball who keeps no contact with the outside world and is, therefore, unaware of the happening. Although she permits the trio to sup with her and stay the night, she proves a harsh and paranoid host, constantly accusing them of conspiring to rob or murder her.

The following morning, while standing in her garden, impervious to Elliot's supplications, Mrs Jones becomes infected and commits suicide by smashing her head through the windows of the house. Terrified of sharing her fate, Elliot locks himself in the basement. He is separated from Alma and Jess, who are playing in the neighbouring spring house. They are able to communicate, however, through an old speaking tube, with which Elliot warns them of the threat and has them shut the windows and doors. Conversing with his wife, Elliot expresses his love for her before deciding that, if he is to die, he would prefer to spend his remaining time with her. They all leave the safety of their buildings and embrace in the yard, surprised to find themselves unaffected by the neurotoxin. The outbreak seems to have abated as quickly as it began, just as a scientist predicted on a television show the previous day.

Three months later, Elliot and Alma have adjusted to their new life with Jess as their adopted daughter. On television, an expert interviewee, comparing the event to a red tide, warns that the pandemic may have only been a warning, like "the first spot of a rash". Elliot takes Jess to the bus stop for her first day of school while Alma stays at home, timing a pregnancy test, which turns out positive. When he returns, Alma embraces him with the news in front of their apartment.

In France, at the conclusion of the film, the pandemic appears to reoccur when people walking through a park suddenly cease to move as the wind rustles through the trees and the sky turns dark.

Source: Wiki

Death Sentence (2007)

".. brutal and satisfying..." USA Today Claudia Puig

Review
If I didn't read the review first and just following the first scene.. I would not think this gonna be a brutal action thriller. When a family falls victim to a vicious attack perpetrated as a gang initiation ritual, the vengeful father vows to tract down each person involved in the crime in Saw director James Wan and screenwriter Ian Jeffers feature adaptation of author Brian Garfield's original novel. Aisha Tyler co-stars as the sympathetic homicide detective who questions her pledge to assist Bacon's character after suspecting that he may have turned to murder as a means of exacting his revenge.

My rate & Comment	* * * * Violent .. but also emotional. Its kinda predictable but still entertaining.
Directed by	James Wan
Produced by	Ashok Amritraj, Howard Baldwin, Karen Elise Baldwin
Written by	Screenplay: Ian Jeffers, Brian Garfield (uncredited) Novel: Brian Garfield
Starring	Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	August 31, 2007
Genre	Thriller
Running time	110 min.
Country	United State
Language	English
Budget
Gross revenue	$9,109,405

Death Sentence (2007) Trailer



Plot
The story revolves around Nick Hume, a loving husband and father of two sons, Brendan and Luke. After a hockey game, Nick and his oldest son Brendan are driving home and flash their headlights at two passing cars with their headlights off. They then make a quick stop at a gas station to get some fuel. While Brendan is getting a smoothie inside, the two cars they passed earlier, containing gang members about to rob the gas station, arrive. The station owner reaches for his gun, but is spotted by one of the gang members and shot to death. It is then revealed that a new gang member named Joe must prove himself to "become a man", so he slits Brendan's throat with a machete. Nick attempts to ambush the thugs, and manages to tackle Joe, who was making his escape out of the gas station. Nick pulls off Joe's mask and sees his face, but the murderer escapes and is hit, albeit not killed, by a car. Nick rushes Brendan to the hospital, but he later dies from major blood loss.

Nick later discovers that, if the case goes to court at all, Joe will only get a maximum of a few years in jail for his crime, so he forces the police to drop the case, deeming it a waste of time. Joe, now a free man, becomes the target of Nick's revenge and is eventually stabbed by the enraged father.

The gang, led by Joe's older brother Billy, wants revenge for the murder of one of their own. The gang attempts to, and almost succeeds in killing Nick, but he is able to escape while killing one in the process. The police, aware of what is happening, do not take Nick into custody, but grant him protection. The officers watching over the house of the Humes are killed, and the gang members make their way inside, where they shoot Nick, his wife Helen, and his other son Luke.

Nick survives, and learns that Luke did too. After paying a short visit to his son, who is in a coma, Nick escapes from the hospital to go after the remaining gang members. He pays a visit to a person named Bones, a gun shop owner and buys a .357 Magnum revolver, a Colt .45 pistol, and a double barrel shotgun. It is revealed that Bones is the father of Billy and Joe, but Bones allows Nick to carry on with his plans anyway. When Bones attempts to warn Billy of Nick's plans, he is shot and killed by his own son.

Later, when Billy arrives at the gang's meeting place, dubbed the Office, it turns out Nick is already there, and has killed some of the gang members. A fire fight breaks out, but ends when Nick and Billy both run out of bullets. They sit next to each other and Billy tells Nick to realize the murderer he has become. Nick then pulls another gun from his jacket and asks Billy if he's ready. Billy responds with a sigh. The next shot shows Nick walking out of the building, implying that he just killed Billy.

When Nick arrives at his house, he turns on the TV to watch the videos of his family. The police arrive and tell him that his son started moving, and that he'll probably make it through. Nick shows a sign of relief and looks back to the TV. It shows Luke, Helen, Nick and Brendan singing on the couch.

Butterfly on A Wheel

"a good movie coming your way" - E!Online

Review
Neil and Abby Warner have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream... until today. When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductors demands.

The kidnapped - Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a cold and calculating sociopath takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. In the blink of an eye Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down.

Butterfly on A Wheel Trailer

My rate & Comment	* * * * How come Pierce Brosnan can be a bad guy.. ? watch it and you will know. So entertaining.
Directed by	Mike Barker
Produced by	William Morrissey, David Valleau, Beau St. Clair
Written by	William Morrissey
Starring	Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello, Gerard Butler, Callum Keith Rennie
Distributed by	Icon Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment
Release date(s)	August, 2007
Genre	Drama, Thriller
Running time	98 Min.
Country	United Kingdom, Canada
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Gross revenue

Plot
Chicago residents Neil Randall (Gerard Butler) and his wife, Abby Randall (Maria Bello) have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream... until today.

When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductor's demands. The kidnapper, Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan), a cold and calculating sociopath, takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. In the blink of an eye Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down.


Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing: that they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan's demands are all the more terrifying because he doesn't want their money.

What he wants is for Neil and Abby's life, the life that they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed, piece by piece.

With time running out on their little girl, Neil and Abby realize their nightmare is just about to begin. They will have to submit to Ryan's challenges over the next 24 hour period.

How far will they go to save the life of their child? - would they kill an innocent man to save their own child? In the far distance a solitary light burns in the window of a lodge as the car glides to a halt - and Neil knows it is a question only he can answer - when Ryan hands him the gun…