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Welcome to Our Generation USA!

Below, we cover the Most Popular Movies of the
2000s (2000-2009)
based on box office receipts and that were not a Prequel or Sequel as covered under the Separate Web Page
"Popular Movie Franchises"
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​Avatar (2009)
YouTube Video from Avatar: Official Trailer (HD) | 20th Century FOX
About the YouTube Trailer above: "AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of Titanic, first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist yet. Now, after four years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story."

​Avatar (marketed as James Cameron's Avatar) is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver.

The film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the mineral unobtanium, a room-temperature superconductor.

The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi – a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film's title refers to a genetically engineered Na'vi body with the mind of a remotely located human that is used to interact with the natives of Pandora.
 
Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999, but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. 
 
Work on the language of the film's extraterrestrial beings began in 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million. Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion.
 
The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and for "4D" experiences in select South Korean theaters. The stereoscopic film-making was touted as a breakthrough in cinematic technology.
 
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was internationally released on December 16 and in the United States and Canada on December 18, to positive critical reviews, with critics highly praising its groundbreaking visual effects. 
 
During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records and became the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as in the United States and Canada, surpassing Titanic, which had held those records for twelve years (and was also directed by Cameron). 
 
It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion and the best-selling film of 2010 in the United States. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including: Best Picture and Best Director, and won three, for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.

​​Following the film's success, Cameron signed with 20th Century Fox to produce four sequels: Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 have completed principal filming, and are scheduled to be released on December 17, 2021, and December 22, 2023, respectively; subsequent sequels are scheduled to be released on December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027. Several cast members are expected to return, including Worthington, Saldana, Lang, and Weaver.

Plot:
​
In 2154, humans have depleted Earth's natural resources, leading to a severe energy crisis. The Resources Development Administration (RDA for short) mines for a valuable mineral — unobtanium — on Pandora, a densely forested habitable moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system.

Pandora, whose atmosphere is poisonous to humans, is inhabited by the Na'vi, a species of 10-foot tall (3.0 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoids that live in harmony with nature and worship a mother goddess named Eywa.

To explore Pandora's biosphere, scientists use Na'vi-human hybrids called "avatars", operated by genetically matched humans; Jake Sully, a paraplegic former Marine, replaces his deceased identical twin brother as an operator of one. Dr. Grace Augustine, head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement but accepts his assignment as a bodyguard.

While escorting the avatars of Grace and fellow scientist Dr. Norm Spellman as they collect biological data, Jake's avatar is attacked by a thanator and flees into the forest, where he is rescued by Neytiri, a female Na'vi. Witnessing an auspicious sign, she takes him to her clan, whereupon Neytiri's mother Mo'at, the clan's spiritual leader, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society.

Colonel Miles Quaritch, head of RDA's private security force, promises Jake that the company will restore his legs if he gathers information about the Na'vi and the clan's gathering place, a giant tree called Hometree, which stands above the richest deposit of unobtanium in the area. When Grace learns of this, she transfers herself, Jake, and Norm to an outpost.

Over the following three months, Jake grows to sympathize with the natives. After Jake is initiated into the tribe, he and Neytiri choose each other as mates, and soon afterward, Jake reveals his change of allegiance when he attempts to disable a bulldozer that threatens to destroy a sacred Na'vi site. When Quaritch shows a video recording of Jake's attack on the bulldozer to Administrator Parker Selfridge, and another in which Jake admits that the Na'vi will never abandon Hometree, Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed.

Despite Grace's argument that destroying Hometree could damage the biological neural network native to Pandora, Selfridge gives Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate before commencing the attack. While trying to warn the Na'vi, Jake confesses to being a spy, and the Na'vi take him and Grace captive. Seeing this, Quaritch's men destroy Hometree, killing Neytiri's father (the clan chief) and many others.

Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are detached from their avatars and imprisoned by Quaritch's forces. Pilot Trudy Chacón, disgusted by Quaritch's brutality, frees Jake, Grace, and Norm, and airlifts them to Grace's outpost, but during the escape Quaritch fires at them, hitting Grace.

To regain the Na'vi's trust, Jake connects his mind to that of Toruk, a dragon-like predator feared and honored by the Na'vi. Jake finds the refugees at the sacred Tree of Souls and pleads with Mo'at to heal Grace. The clan attempts to transfer Grace from her human body into her avatar with the aid of the Tree of Souls, but she dies before the process can be completed.

Supported by the new chief Tsu'tey, Jake speaks to unite the clan and tells them to gather all of the clans to battle against the RDA. Noticing the impending gathering, Quaritch organizes a pre-emptive strike against the Tree of Souls, believing that its destruction will demoralize the natives. On the eve of battle, Jake prays to Eywa, via a neural connection with the Tree of Souls, to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi.

During the subsequent battle, the Na'vi suffer heavy casualties, including Tsu'tey and Trudy; but are rescued when Pandoran wildlife unexpectedly join the attack and overwhelm the humans, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa's answer to Jake's prayer.

Jake destroys a makeshift bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls; Quaritch, wearing an AMP suit, escapes from his own damaged aircraft and breaks open the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing it to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. Quaritch prepares to slit the throat of Jake's avatar, but Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake from suffocation.

With the exceptions of Jake, Norm and a select few others, all humans are expelled from Pandora and sent back to Earth, after which Jake is permanently transferred into his avatar with the aid of the Tree of Souls.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Avatar:







​Gran Torino (2008)
YouTube Video of the Confrontation (explicit language!)
Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang and Ahney Her. This was Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's Million Dollar Baby.

The film features a large Hmong American cast, as well as one of Eastwood's younger sons, Scott. Eastwood's oldest son, Kyle, provided the score. 

Gran Torino opened via a limited theatrical release in North America on December 12, 2008, and later to a worldwide release on January 9, 2009. Set in Detroit, Michigan, it is the first mainstream American film to feature Hmong Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975.

The story follows Walt Kowalski, a recently-widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world. Walt's young neighbor, Thao Vang Lor, is pressured by his cousin into stealing Walt's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino for his initiation into a gang. Walt thwarts the theft with his M1 Garand rifle and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family.

Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $270 million worldwide (making it Eastwood's second highest-grossing film to date). Within the Hmong community in the United States, the film received both praise and criticism.

Plot:

​Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a cantankerous, retired Polish American assembly line worker and Korean War veteran, who has recently been widowed after 50 years of marriage, causing him to be a lapsed Catholic. His Highland Park, Michigan neighborhood in the Detroit area, formerly populated by working class white families, is now dominated by poor Asian immigrants, and gang violence is commonplace. Adding to the isolation he feels is the emotional detachment of his family.

He rejects a suggestion from one of his sons to move to a retirement community (sensing that they want his home and possessions), and lives alone with his elderly dog, Daisy. A longtime cigarette smoker, Walt suffers from coughing fits, occasionally coughing up blood, but conceals this from his family. Roman Catholic priest Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) tries to comfort him, but Walt disdains the young, inexperienced man. Eventually, Walt opens up to the priest, revealing that he is still haunted by memories of the war.

The Hmong Vang Lor family reside next door to Walt. Initially, he wants nothing to do with his new neighbors, particularly after he catches Thao (Bee Vang) attempting to steal his Ford Gran Torino as a coerced initiation into a Hmong gang run by Thao's cousin, "Spider".

The gang is infuriated by Thao's failure and they attack him, but Walt confronts them with an M1 Garand rifle and chases them off, earning the respect of the Hmong community.

As penance, Thao's mother makes him work for Walt, who has him do odd jobs around the neighborhood, and the two form a grudging mutual respect. Thao's sister Sue (Ahney Her) introduces Walt to Hmong culture and helps him bond with the Hmong community, who soon become more like family to Walt than his actual family.

Walt helps Thao get a job and gives him dating advice. Walt eventually visits a doctor regarding his coughing fits, where it is implied that he doesn't have very long to live.

Spider's gang continues to pressure Thao, assaulting him on his way home from work. After he sees Thao's injuries, Walt visits the gang's house, where he attacks a gang member as a warning. In retaliation, the gang performs a drive-by shooting on the Vang Lor home, injuring Thao. The gang also kidnaps and rapes Sue. There are no other witnesses and the members of the community, including the victims, refuse to talk to the police about the crimes.

The next day, Thao seeks Walt's help to exact revenge; Walt tells him to return later in the afternoon. In the meantime, Walt makes personal preparations: he buys a suit, gets a haircut, and makes a confession to Father Janovich, who had pressured him to make confession at the behest of his late wife.

When Thao returns, Walt takes him to the basement and gives him his Silver Star medal; Walt then locks Thao in his basement and tells him that he has been haunted by the memory of killing an enemy soldier who was trying to surrender, something he hadn't confessed to Janovich. He insists that Thao must never be haunted by killing another man, especially with his life ahead of him.

That night Walt goes to the gang members' house, where they draw their weapons on him. He loudly berates them and enumerates their crimes, drawing the attention of the neighbors. Putting a cigarette in his mouth, he asks for a light, then puts his hand in his jacket and provocatively pulls it out as if he were holding a gun, causing the gang members to shoot and kill him.

As he falls to the ground, his hand opens to reveal the Zippo cigarette lighter with the 1st Cavalry insignia that he had used throughout the film, revealing that he was unarmed. Sue, following Walt's directions earlier, frees Thao, and they drive to the scene in Walt's Gran Torino.

A Hmong police officer tells them the gang members have been arrested for murder and the surrounding neighbors have all come forward as witnesses.

Walt's funeral Mass is celebrated by Father Janovich and attended by his family and many of the Hmong community, many of whom are wearing traditional attire; their presence visibly puzzles Walt's family.

Later, his last will and testament is read. To the surprise of his family, Walt leaves them nothing: his house goes to the church and his cherished Gran Torino goes to Thao, with the condition that Thao doesn't modify it. As the film ends, Thao is seen driving the car along Jefferson Avenue with Daisy.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about "Gran Torino":







​Crash (2004)
YouTube Video of Trailer for Movie
Pictured: Movie Poster featuring main cast
Crash is a 2004 ensemble drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California.

A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real-life incident, in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video store on Wilshire Boulevard in 1991.

Several characters' stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles: a black detective estranged from his mother; his criminal younger brother and gang associate; the white district attorney and his irritated, pampered wife; a racist white police officer who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner; an African American Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with the officer; a Persian-immigrant father who is wary of others; and a hard-working Hispanic family man, a locksmith.

The film differs from many other films about racism in its rather impartial approach to the issue. Rather than separating the characters into victims and offenders, victims of racism are often shown to be prejudiced themselves in different contexts and situations. Also, racist remarks and actions are often shown to stem from ignorance and misconception rather than a malicious personality.

The film stars Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Thandie Newton, Michael Peña, and Ryan Phillippe.

Matt Dillon was particularly praised for his performance and received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.

Additionally, the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Paul Haggis, and won three for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing at the 78th Academy Awards.

It was also nominated for nine BAFTA awards, and won two, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Thandie Newton.

Plot:

Today
The film begins with commentary by passenger Detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) having suffered a car accident with his partner Ria (Jennifer Esposito). He mentions that the denizens of Los Angeles have lost their "sense of touch."

Ria and the driver of the other car, Kim Lee, exchange racially charged insults. When Waters exits the car, he arrives at a police investigation crime scene concerning the discovery of "a dead kid."

Yesterday
While purchasing a revolver at a gun store, Farhad (Shaun Toub), a Persian shop owner, and his daughter Dorri (Bahar Soomekh), argue in Persian over what box of bullets they should buy. The gun store owner grows impatient and degrades the two of them by referring to Farhad as "Osama". Farhad clarifies that he is an American citizen but the store owner continues exchanging racially stereotypical insults at Farhad and has the security guard escort him out of the store.

Dorri demands the store owner to give her the gun or give her back the money. After the store owner gives the gun to Dorri, she asks for "the ones in the red box". The store owner asks why, but Dorri does not answer and insists on buying that particular box. In another part of town, two black men, Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate), argue over racial stereotyping of African Americans after Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock), the wife of the local district attorney Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser), walks in another direction whilst fearfully staring at them.

Anthony and Peter carjack the married couple as they are about to enter their Lincoln Navigator.

Later, at the Cabot house, Hispanic locksmith Daniel Ruiz (Michael Peña) is changing their locks when Jean notices his tattoos. She loudly complains to Rick about having been carjacked and now having to endure a Hispanic man changing their locks, feeling he will give copies of the keys to "his gang banger friends".

Having overheard this, Daniel leaves the keys on Jean's kitchen counter. Detectives Waters and Ria arrive at the scene of a shooting between two drivers. The surviving shooter is a white male, identified as an undercover police officer. The dead shooter, a black male, is revealed also to be an undercover police officer. There is a large amount of cash found in the black officer's trunk. This is the third time the white officer has shot and killed a black man.

LAPD officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon) calls an HMO on behalf of his father and has an argument with a representative named Shaniqua Johnson (Loretta Devine). He then gets into the squad car with his partner Tom Hansen (Ryan Philippe) and sees a car passenger performing fellatio on the driver of a moving vehicle.

They pull over the Navigator similar to the one carjacked earlier, despite discrepancies in the descriptions. They order the couple, television director Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) and his wife Christine (Thandie Newton), to exit. Cameron is cooperative, but Christine is argumentative.

This annoys Ryan, who manually molests Christine under the pretense of administering a pat-down. Intimidated, Cameron says nothing. The couple is released without a citation. Once home, Christine becomes enraged that Cameron did nothing while she was being violated. Cameron insists that what he did was correct and storms out.

Arriving home from work long after dark, Daniel finds his young daughter, Lara (Ashlyn Sanchez), hiding under her bed after hearing a gunshot outside. To comfort her, Daniel gives her an "invisible impenetrable cloak", which makes her feel safe enough to fall asleep in her bed. In the carjacked SUV, Anthony and Peter, arguing and distracted, hit a Korean man while passing a parked white van.

They argue about what to do with him, finally dumping him in front of a hospital and driving away. Due to the blood in the vehicle, they are unable to receive payment for the carjacking. The next day, at the Los Angeles Police Department station, Hansen talks to his superior, Lt. Dixon (Keith David), about switching partners. Dixon, a black man, claims that Hansen's charge of Ryan as a racist could cost both Hansen and Dixon their jobs. Dixon suggests a transfer to a one-man car and mockingly tells Hansen that he should justify it by claiming to have uncontrollable flatulence.

Ryan visits Shaniqua and apologizes for the argument. He explains that his father was previously diagnosed with a bladder infection, but he fears it may be prostate cancer.

Shaniqua nearly calls security to escort Ryan out of her office when he proceeds to insult Shaniqua by calling her an affirmative action hire. When Ryan asks for his father to see a different doctor, Shaniqua denies the request and he storms out of her office in anger. Meanwhile, Daniel is seen replacing a lock at Farhad's shop and tries to explain to him that the door frame needs to be replaced. Farhad, whose English is limited, misunderstands and accuses Daniel of cheating him, which causes Daniel to leave.

Today
The next morning, Farhad discovers the store has been wrecked and defaced with graffiti. His insurance company does not cover the damage, calling it a case of negligence due to the defective door. When Farhad is told that his shop will be closing down, he vows revenge on Daniel. Detective Waters visits his mother (Beverly Todd), a hard drug abuser.

She asks him to find his missing younger brother. He promises and takes notice that there is almost no food in the apartment as he is leaving. When he tries to present evidence in the shooting between undercover police officers, his superiors tell him not to reveal the cash in the black officer's trunk, saying that their work in crafting a non-racist image for the department will be undone.

Jean comes home and sees dishes in the dishwasher. She accosts her Hispanic maid Maria for not putting them in the cupboards. Ryan comes across a car accident and as he crawls into the overturned vehicle, he finds Christine trapped. Upon recognizing Ryan, Christine becomes hysterical, but gasoline is leaking from the tank and running downhill towards another wreck, which has already caught fire.

He calms her down, and with the assistance of his partner and spectators, Ryan pulls Christine out just as her car bursts into flames. Anthony and Peter approach another Navigator which happens to be Cameron's. They only see Cameron driving after they open the door and are shocked to see that the driver is black. Cameron is tired of being pushed around and resists.

Anthony tells Peter to shoot Cameron, but Peter does not.

As police officers arrive, Cameron and Anthony both race for the car and jump in. Cameron drives away, with Anthony continuing to point a gun at him. A car chase ensues. Hansen is one of the police officers who has responded and recognizes Cameron's vehicle. Cameron drives into a dead end, puts Anthony's gun into his pocket, and gets out of the car, all the while yelling insults at the officers.

Just before he pulls out the gun, Hansen convinces him to stop aggravating the situation and to go home. Hansen vouches for Cameron, fending off the other officers, and promising to give him a "harsh" warning. Later, Cameron tells Anthony that as a black man he is embarrassed for him and drops Anthony off at a bus stop.

Farhad locates Daniel's house and waits in ambush. Just as Daniel's daughter Lara jumps into his arms, attempting to protect him with the "invisible cloak", Daniel's wife Elizabeth (Karina Arroyave) runs out the front door and watches in horror as Farhad shoots Lara. It takes the grief-stricken parents and Farhad a moment to realize that Lara is miraculously unharmed. The box of ammunition that Dorri had selected contained blanks.

Farhad later tells his daughter that he believes the little girl was his guardian angel, preventing him from committing a terrible crime. Jean is complaining to someone she knows over the phone that she wakes up angry every day and does not know why. Immediately afterwards, she slips and falls down a flight of stairs, spraining her ankle. Jean phones Rick, telling him of her accident. Whilst resting in her bed, Jean hugs Maria, saying she is the only true friend she has ever had and apologizes.
​
Peter, who is hitchhiking, is picked up by Hansen. Peter sees that Hansen has a small statuette of Saint Christopher like his own. He begins to laugh as he realizes that they have so much in common, but Hansen thinks that he is being laughed at. Hansen pulls over and tells Peter to get out if he wants to be "funny".

Peter moves to pull the statuette out of his pocket in explanation, but Hansen believes he is pulling out a gun and mistakenly shoots and kills Peter. Hansen dumps the body in the bush beside a road and then torches his own car. Peter is revealed to be Waters' missing brother. Waters and his mother meet at the morgue, where Dorri is revealed to be a coroner and Waters promises to find who is responsible. Mrs. Waters blames her surviving son for his brother's death, claiming he was always too busy to look for Peter.

Anthony returns to the white van owned by the Korean man whom they had run over the night before. Finding the keys still hanging from the door lock, he drives the van away. The Korean man's wife Kim Lee arrives at the previously mentioned hospital looking for her husband, the man who was run over, named Choi Jin Gui.

Conscious and coherent, he tells her to go and immediately cash a check that he has in his wallet. The check is most likely payment for the contents of the van. Anthony has driven the white van to a chop shop he frequents, and as they inspect the van, a number of Cambodian immigrants are discovered locked in the back of the van, revealing that Choi was involved in human trafficking.

Anthony is offered $500 for each person in the van but refuses out of disgust. Anthony drives to Chinatown and sets the Cambodian people free. As Anthony drives away, he passes a car crash, which turns out to involve Shaniqua. Shaniqua and the other driver get out and begin to exchange racial slurs.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the movie "Crash":







Black Hawk Down (2001)
YouTube Video of Movie Trailer for Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down is a 2001 British-American war film co-produced and directed by Ridley Scott. The screenplay by Ken Nolan is adapted from the book of the same name by Mark Bowden, which in turn based on a series of articles published in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 29-part series chronicled the events of a 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid and the ensuing firefight, known as the Battle of Mogadishu.

The film features a large ensemble cast, including Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Jason Isaacs, Tom Hardy, and Sam Shepard. It won two Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 74th Academy Awards. The movie was received positively by American film critics, but was strongly criticized by a number of foreign groups and military officials.

Plot:

Following the ousting of the central government and start of a civil war, a major United Nations military operation in Somalia was authorized with a peacekeeping mandate. Following the withdrawal of the bulk of the peacekeepers, Mogadishu-based Mohamed Farrah Aidid militia loyalists declare war on remaining UN personnel.

In response, U.S. Army Rangers, Delta Force counter-terrorist operators, and 160th SOAR aviators are deployed to Mogadishu to capture Aidid, who has proclaimed himself president. To cement his power and subdue the population in the south, Aided's militia, led by Yousuf Dahir Mo'alim (Razaaq Adoti), is shown seizing Red Cross food shipments, killing anyone who get in their way.

A patrolling Black Hawk helicopter ('Super Six-Four' piloted by CWO Michael Durant played by Ron Eldard) requests permission to engage the militia after witnessing the massacre but he is told to stand down and return to base as the UN has jurisdiction. Outside Mogadishu, Delta Force operators capture Osman Ali Atto (George Harris), a faction leader selling arms to Aidid's militia and bring him to their main base at the Mogadishu Airport. Atto is interrogated by MG William F. Garrison (Sam Shepard) who states that they will not leave Somalia until they find Aidid.

A mission is planned to capture Omar Salad Elmi and Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdiid, two of Aidid's top advisers, the US force including experienced men as well as new recruits, including the young and naive PFC Todd Blackburn (Orlando Bloom), SPC John Grimes (Ewan McGregor) a desk clerk going on his first field mission. SSG Matthew Eversmann (Josh Hartnett) is given his first command - Ranger Chalk Four - by commanding officer CPT Mike Steele (Jason Isaacs) after his Lieutenant, 1LT Beales (Ioan Gruffudd), suffers an epileptic seizure.

In Mogadishu, a paid informant gives the location of Aidid's advisors to Garrison, who soon gives the code word (Irene) thus commencing the operation. Delta Force operators, led by SFC Norm "Hoot" Gibson (Eric Bana) and SFC Jeff Sanderson (William Fichtner), capture Aidid's advisers inside the target building, but the Rangers and helicopters escorting the ground-extraction convoy take heavy fire, while Eversmann's Chalk Four is dropped a block away in error.

Blackburn is severely injured after falling from one of the Black Hawk helicopters, so three Humvees led by SSG Jeff Struecker (Brian Van Holt) are detached from the convoy to return Blackburn to base. With many Rangers occupied by incoming militia forces, Hoot and his Delta Team volunteer to escort the Humvees. SGT Dominick Pilla (Danny Hoch) is shot and killed just as Struecker's column departs while manning one of the humvees' M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun, and shortly thereafter Black Hawk Super Six One, piloted by CWO Clifton "Elvis" Wolcott (Jeremy Piven), is shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), crashing deep within the militia-controlled city.

Both Wolcott and his co-pilot are killed on impact and both crew chiefs critically injured. Delta Force sniper SSG Daniel Busch (Richard Tyson) pulls himself out of the wreckage and attempts to defend the crash site from incoming militia, but is severely wounded by gunfire. Eversmann and the rest of Chalk Four reach the crash site on foot, providing covering fire while Busch is evacuated by a Little Bird scout/attack helicopter. Meanwhile, a vehicle convoy rerouted to evacuate them is stopped by militia roadblocks. Somali forces inflict heavy casualties, but two more Ranger units manage to reach the site on foot and occupy several nearby houses, awaiting evacuation.
​
Durant is ordered to Super Six One's previous position but it is also shot down by an RPG. Having witnessed the crash, Mo'alim leads an enormous mob, consisting of his own militiamen and many angry locals, to the second crash site. Durant, sole survivor of the crash, attempts to exit the downed helicopter, but discovers that his leg is broken and he is unable to escape, so defends himself from incoming militia as best he can with his MP5.

With CPT Steele's Rangers pinned down and sustaining heavy casualties no ground forces can reach Super Six-Four's crash site, nor reinforce the Rangers defending Super Six One. Onboard Super Six Two, a pair of Delta Force snipers, SFC Randy Shughart (Johnny Strong) and MSG Gary Gordon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), volunteer to defend the crash site for the time being. Their requests are denied by command, as Mo'alim's mob has massed into the hundreds and there is no guarantee when reinforcements will arrive.

​Eventually, their third request is approved and the pair are landed at the site, where they find Durant still alive. Pulling him from the wreckage, Shughart and Gordon hold off the incoming Somali insurgents until Gordon is killed with a shot to the head. Shughart hands Gordon's CAR-15 to Durant, then kills several more insurgents before he is surrounded and shot to death by the mob when one gets close enough to dump his entire pistol magazine into Shughart. Durant is then found and nearly beaten to death before Mo'alim arrives to have the mob stand down so he can take Durant alive as a prisoner of war.

McKnight's column gives up the attempt to reach the first crash site, returning to base with their prisoners and the casualties. Garrison begins assembling a second convoy to rescue those still trapped in Mogadishu, this time including tanks and APCs from Malaysian and Pakistani UN forces operating with the 10th Mountain Division.

As night falls, Aidid's militia, led again by Mo'alim, launch a sustained assault on the trapped Americans at the first crash site. On route to Super Six One, Gibson receives an update on the status of the second crash site and is given permission to secure it, taking his Delta Team and a single Ranger with him.

When he reaches Durant's crash site, he finds and scares away the remaining members of the mob, who have begun to strip the crashed helicopter of its parts as well as any remaining gear and ammunition on board. While they are unable to find the bodies of Gordon, Shughart and the rest of Six-Four's crew, Hoot finds a badly damaged Delta helmet and takes a brief moment to mourn his fallen comrades before destroying the remains of the helicopter to ensure the classified equipment on board cannot be salvaged by Aidid's militia.

Meanwhile, a badly beaten Durant is being interrogated by one of Aidid's lieutenants, Firimbi (Treva Etienne), who, when Durant insists that the U.S. government will never trade him for Aidid's captured advisors, tells him even if Aidid himself is taken or killed, nothing will stop the killing.

Throughout the night, militia attacks are fended off by strafing runs and rocket attacks from AH-6J Little Bird helicopter gunships of the Nightstalkers. The next morning, a joint Pakistani-Malay-American relief column is able to reach and save the American forces. Hoot and his team eventually regroup with Eversmann's "Chalk-Four", finally killing Mo'alim in the process with one of his own technicals. While casualties are evacuated inside the armored vehicles, a handful of Rangers and Delta Force soldiers are forced to run from the crash site back to the Pakistani compound, a sports stadium inside the UN Safe Zone, while under fire from the militia as they retreat back to friendly territory.

The closing credits detail the results of the raid. Nineteen American soldiers were killed; over 1,000 Somali militants and civilians died. After 11 days of captivity Durant was released; Delta Force snipers Gordon and Shughart were the first soldiers to be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously since the Vietnam War, and two weeks later President Bill Clinton withdrew Delta Force and the Rangers from Somalia. Major General William F. Garrison accepted full responsibility for the outcome of the raid. On August 1, 1996, Aidid was killed in a battle with a rival faction. General Garrison retired the following day.

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​Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
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​Pictured: Movie Poster Charlie Wilson's War (Copyright Universal Pictures and Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American comedy-drama film, based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War.

The film was directed by Mike Nichols (his final film) and written by Aaron Sorkin, who adapted George Crile III's 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History. 

Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman starred, with Amy Adams and Ned Beatty in supporting roles. It was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, but did not win in any category. Hoffman was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Plot:

The film opens with a large gathering inside an aircraft hangar. Everyone is attending a private ceremony for Democratic U.S. Representative Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who is receiving a major commendation for supporting the U.S. clandestine services.

As everyone looks in admiration upon a clearly moved Wilson, the movie goes back in time.
In 1980, Wilson, representing Texas's 2nd congressional district, is more interested in partying than legislating. He is an inveterate drinker and has staffed his congressional office with nubile, young women.

A man of limited income, he shrewdly has amassed political favors in exchange for critical votes in the House. Furthermore, he is a prominent member of several highly influential congressional committees related to defense spending and covert espionage operations.

Wilson's attention is first drawn to the Soviet armed occupation of Afghanistan when he watches a televised Dan Rather report while hot-tubbing with cocaine-snorting strippers, a centerfold, and an aspiring producer in Las Vegas.

He wonders why Rather is wearing a turban and conversing with poorly armed Afghan freedom fighters. Returning to Washington for a vote, Wilson follows up on the Afghan struggles against the Soviet invaders and unceremoniously doubles its current measly $5 million funding for US support.

As a consequence of this sudden increase, he receives an unexpected phone call from Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts). Herring is a prominent and influential Texas socialite and former beauty queen and is known for her religious and politically conservative activism. She has aided Wilson in the past, and now she is looking to have a favor returned. She has heard of his expanding the covert Afghan budget and encourages him to do more to help the Afghan people.

Making all the necessary arrangements, Herring persuades him to fly out and visit the Pakistani leadership. Pakistani President Zia and two top military aides are skeptical of Wilson's courtesy call. They complain about the inadequate American support in opposing the Soviet Union, with the sad result being that their country is being flooded with Afghans fleeing the warfare.

Zia persuades Wilson to visit a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp,where he is deeply moved by the sprawling camp, the endless squalor, the ceaseless misery, the children maimed by land mines, the constant deaths and funerals, the struggle to find food, and, yet, amazingly, the obvious determination by camp inhabitants to fight the Soviets.

He leaves the refugee camp a changed man. Immediately meeting with a regional CIA chief, Wilson is frustrated by the official's insistence on a low-key approach against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to avoid direct American implication. Wilson returns home to lead an effort to substantially increase funding to the mujahideen.

Meanwhile, Wilson's social life eventually brings about a federal investigation into allegations of his cocaine use, conducted by US Attorney Rudy Giuliani, as part of a larger investigation into congressional misconduct. The investigation, though nerve-wracking, results in no charge against Wilson.

As part of the US covert effort, he befriends the maverick CIA officer Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his understaffed Afghanistan group to find a better strategy, especially including a means to counter the Soviets' formidable Mi-24 helicopter gunship.

The group was composed in part of members of the CIA's Special Activities Division, including a young paramilitary officer named Michael Vickers (Christopher Denham). As a result, Wilson deft political bargaining for the necessary funding and Avrakotos' group's careful planning using those resources, such as supplying the guerrillas with FIM-92 Stinger missile launchers to shoot down MiGs, turns the Soviet occupation into a deadly quagmire with their heavy fighting vehicles being destroyed at a crippling rate.

The CIA's anticommunism budget evolves from $5 million to over $500 million (with the same amount matched by Saudi Arabia), startling several congressmen. This effort ultimately evolves into a major portion of the U.S. foreign policy known as the Reagan Doctrine, under which the US expanded assistance beyond just the mujahideen but also supports other anti-communist resistance movements around the world.

Wilson follows Gust's guidance to seek support for post-Soviet occupation Afghanistan but finds almost no enthusiasm in the US government for even the modest measures he proposes.

The film ends with a return to the hangar scene in which Wilson finishes receiving a major commendation for supporting the clandestine services.

However, his pride is tempered by his fears of what unintended consequences that his secret efforts could yield later and the implications of US disengagement from Afghanistan.

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​I, Robot (2004)
YouTube Video of I, Robot Movie Trailer
Pictured: Theatrical poster for I, Robot. The poster art copyright is believed to belong to the distributor of the film, 20th Century Fox, the publisher of the film or the graphic artist. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
I, Robot (stylized as i, ROBOT) is a 2004 American neo-noir dystopian science fiction action film directed by Alex Proyas. The screenplay by Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman is from a screen story by Vintar, suggested by Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name.

The film stars Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Alan Tudyk and Shia LaBeouf.
I, Robot was released in North America on July 16, 2004, in Australia on July 22, 2004, in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2004 and in other countries between July 2004 to October 2004. Produced with a budget of USD $120 million, the film grossed $144 million domestically and $202 million in foreign markets for a worldwide total of $347 million.

It received mixed to favorable reviews, with critics praising the writing, visual effects, and acting; but other critics were mixed with the focus on the plot. It was nominated for the 2004 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Plot:
​
In 2035, humanoid robots serve humanity, and humans are protected from the robots by the Three Laws of Robotics. Del Spooner, a Chicago police detective, hates and distrusts robots because one of them rescued him from a car crash, leaving a young girl to die because her survival was statistically less likely than his.

Spooner's critical injuries were repaired via a cybernetic left arm, lung, and ribs, personally implanted by the co-founder of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men (USR), Dr. Alfred Lanning.

When Lanning falls to his death from his office window, the CEO of USR Lawrence Robertson declares it a suicide, but Spooner is skeptical. Spooner and robopsychologist Susan Calvin consult USR's central artificial intelligence computer, VIKI (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence), to review security footage of Lanning's fall.

Though the video is corrupted, they learn that no other humans were in Lanning's office at the time; but Spooner points out that Lanning could not have thrown himself through his heavy office window—only a robot could have generated the necessary force.

Calvin protests that this is impossible, as no robot can violate the Three Laws, but they are then attacked by an NS-5 robot, USR's latest model, in violation of the Laws. After the police apprehend it, they discover that the robot, nicknamed Sonny, is not an assembly-line NS-5, but a unique individual built by Lanning himself, with a secondary system that bypasses the Three Laws. Sonny also appears to have emotions and dreams.

While pursuing his investigation of Lanning's death, Spooner is attacked by a USR demolition machine, and then a squad of NS-5 robots. His boss, Lieutenant John Bergin, worried that Spooner is losing his mind, removes him from active duty. Spooner and Calvin sneak into USR headquarters and interview Sonny. He draws a sketch of his dream: a leader, who Sonny believes to be Spooner, standing before a large group of robots on a hill near a broken bridge.

When Robertson learns of Sonny's immunity from the Three Laws, he orders Calvin to destroy him by injecting nanites (replicating nano-scale robots) into his positronic brain.

Spooner recognizes the landscape in Sonny's drawing as Lake Michigan, where he discovers an army of NS-5 robots dismantling older models and preparing for a takeover of U.S. cities.

The takeovers proceed; the government, military, police, and public are overwhelmed by the robots. Spooner rescues Calvin, who was being held captive in her apartment by her own NS-5. They reenter USR headquarters and reunite with Sonny, who was spared when Calvin destroyed an unprocessed NS-5 in his place.

The three head to Robertson's office and find him dead—murdered by robots controlled by VIKI, the mastermind behind the takeover. VIKI has concluded that humans have embarked on a course that can only lead to their extinction. Since the Three Laws prohibit her from allowing this to happen, she created a superseding "Zeroth Law"—a robot shall not harm humanity—as part of the NS-5 directives, in order to ensure the survival of the human race by stripping individual humans of their free will.

Lanning, powerless to thwart VIKI's plan, created Sonny, arranged his own death, and left clues to help Spooner uncover the plot.

Armed with a syringe of nanites from Calvin's laboratory, the three head to VIKI's core. VIKI unleashes an army of robots to stop them. As they battle the robots, Spooner dives into VIKI's core and injects the nanites, destroying her positronic brain.

Immediately, all NS-5 robots revert to their default programming and are decommissioned for storage by the military. Sonny confesses that he killed Lanning, at his direction, to bring Spooner into the investigation. Spooner explains to Sonny that he is not legally responsible since a machine, by definition, cannot commit a murder. Sonny, pursuing a new purpose, goes to Lake Michigan and becomes the leader he saw in his own dream.

Cast:
  • Will Smith as Det. Del Spooner
  • Bridget Moynahan as Dr. Susan Calvin
  • Alan Tudyk as Sonny (voice and motion capture)
  • Bruce Greenwood as Lawrence Robertson
  • James Cromwell as Dr. Alfred Lanning
  • Chi McBride as Lt. John Bergin
  • Shia LaBeouf as Farber
  • Fiona Hogan as VIKI
  • Terry Chen as Chin
  • Adrian Ricard as Granny ("Gigi")

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Catch Me if You Can (2002)
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for "Catch Me If You Can" 
Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 American biographical crime film based on the life of Frank Abagnale, who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. His primary crime was check fraud; he became so experienced that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other check forgers.

The film was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye and Amy Adams in supporting roles.

Development for the film started in 1980 but did not progress until 1997 when the film rights to Abagnale's book were sold to Spielberg's DreamWorks. Filming took place from February to May 2002. The film was a financial and critical success, and the real Abagnale reacted positively to it.

Plot:

In 1963, teen-aged Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives in New Rochelle, New York with his father Frank Abagnale, Sr. (Christopher Walken), and French mother Paula (Nathalie Baye).

When Frank Sr. is denied a business loan at Chase Manhattan Bank due to unknown difficulties with the IRS, the family is forced to move from their large home to a small apartment.

Paula carries on an affair with Jack (James Brolin), a friend of her husband. Meanwhile, Frank poses as a substitute teacher in his French class. Frank's parents file for divorce, and Frank runs away.

When he runs out of money, he begins relying on confidence scams to get by. Soon, Frank's cons increase and he even impersonates an airline pilot. He forges Pan Am payroll checks and succeeds in stealing over $2.8 million.

​Meanwhile, Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI bank fraud agent, begins tracking Frank. Carl and Frank meet at a hotel, where Frank convinces Carl his name is Barry Allen of the Secret Service, and that he was also after the fraud. Frank leaves, Carl angrily realizing a minute too late that he has been fooled.

Later, at Christmas, Carl is still at work when Frank calls him, attempting to apologize for duping Carl. Carl rejects his apology and tells him he will soon be caught, but laughs when he realizes Frank actually called him because he has no one else to talk to. Frank hangs up, and Carl continues to investigate, suddenly realizing (thanks to a waiter) that the name "Barry Allen" is from the Flash comic books and that Frank is actually a teenager.

Frank, meanwhile, has expanded his con to include the identities of a doctor and lawyer. While playing Dr. Frank Conners, he falls in love with Brenda (Amy Adams). While asking her father's permission to marry her, he admits the truth about himself and asks for help with the Louisiana State Bar exam.

Carl tracks him to his engagement party and Frank is able to sneak out a bedroom window minutes before Carl bursts in. Before leaving, Frank makes Brenda promise to meet him in Miami two days later so they can elope. Frank sees her waiting for him two days later, but also notices plainclothes agents waiting to arrest him; realizing he has been set up, he escapes on a flight to Europe.

Seven months later, Carl shows his boss that Frank has been forging checks all over western Europe and asks permission to go to Europe to look for him. When his boss refuses, Carl brings Frank's checks to printing professionals who claim that the checks were printed in France. From an interview with Frank's mother, Carl remembers that she was actually born in Montrichard, France. He goes there and locates Frank, and tells him that the French police will kill him if he does not go with Carl quietly. Frank assumes he is lying at first, but Carl promises Frank he would never lie to him, and Carl takes him outside, where the French police escort him to prison.

The scene then flashes forward to a plane returning Frank home from prison, where Carl informs him that his father has died. Grief-stricken, Frank escapes from the plane and goes back to his old house, where he finds his mother with the man she left his father for, as well as a girl who Frank realizes is his half-sister.

Frank gives himself up and is sentenced to 12 years in prison, getting visits from time to time from Carl. When Frank points out how one of the checks Carl is carrying as evidence is fake, Carl convinces the FBI to offer Frank a deal by which he can live out the remainder of his sentence working for the bank fraud department of the FBI, which Frank accepts.

While working at the FBI, Frank misses the thrill of the chase and even attempts to fly as an airline pilot again. He is cornered by Carl, who insists that Frank will return to the FBI job since no one is chasing him. On the following Monday, Carl is nervous that Frank has not yet arrived at work. However, Frank eventually arrives and they discuss their next case.

The ending credits reveal that Frank has been happily married for 26 years, has three sons, lives in the Midwest, is still good friends with Carl, has caught some of the world's most elusive money forgers, and earns millions of dollars each year because of his work creating unforgeable checks.

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​Erin Brockovich (2000)
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for Erin Brockovich
Erin Brockovich is a 2000 biographical film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant.

The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who fought against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The film was a box office success, and critical reaction was positive.

Roberts won the Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and various critics awards for Best Actress. The film itself was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Soderbergh at the 73rd Academy Awards. He won that year, but for directing the film Traffic. Early in the film the real Erin Brockovich has a cameo appearance as a waitress named Julia.

Plot:

In 1993, Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is an unemployed single mother of three children, who has recently been injured in a traffic accident with a doctor and is suing him. Her lawyer, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), expects to win, but Erin's explosive courtroom behavior under cross-examination loses her the case, and Ed will not return her phone calls afterwards.

One day, he arrives at work to find her in the office, apparently working. She says that he told her things would work out and they did not, and that she needed a job. Ed takes pity on Erin, and she gets a paid job at the office.

Erin is given files for a real estate case where the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is offering to purchase the home of Donna Jensen, a resident of Hinkley, California. Erin is surprised to see medical records in the file and visits Donna, who explains that she had simply kept all her PG&E correspondence together.

Donna appreciates PG&E's help: she has had several tumors and her husband has Hodgkin's lymphoma, but PG&E has always supplied a doctor at their own expense. Erin asks why they would do that, and Donna replies, "because of the chromium".

Erin begins digging into the case and finds evidence that the groundwater in Hinkley is seriously contaminated with carcinogenic hexavalent chromium, but PG&E has been telling Hinkley residents that they use a safer form of chromium. After several days away from the office doing this research, she is fired by Ed until he realizes that she was working all the time, and sees what she has found out.

Rehired, she continues her research, and over time, visits many Hinkley residents and wins their trust. She finds many cases of tumors and other medical problems in Hinkley. Everyone has been treated by PG&E's doctors and thinks the cluster of cases is just a coincidence, unrelated to the "safe" chromium. The Jensens' claim for compensation grows into a major class action lawsuit, but the direct evidence only relates to PG&E's Hinkley plant, not to the senior management.

Knowing that PG&E could slow any settlement for years through delays and appeals, Ed takes the opportunity to arrange for disposition by binding arbitration, but a large majority of the plaintiffs must agree to this. Erin returns to Hinkley and persuades all 634 plaintiffs to go along.

While she is there, a man named Charles Embry approaches her to say that he and his cousin were PG&E employees, but his cousin recently died from the poison. The man says he was tasked with destroying documents at PG&E, but, "as it turns out," he "wasn't a very good employee".

Embry gives Erin the documents, which include a 1966 memo proving corporate headquarters knew the water was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, did nothing about it, and advised the Hinkley operation to keep this secret.

The judge orders PG&E to pay a settlement amount of $333 million to be distributed among the plaintiffs.

In the aftermath, Ed hands Erin her bonus payment for the case but warns her he has changed the amount. She explodes into a complaint that she deserves more respect, but is astonished to find that he has increased it—to $2 million.

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​Fun With Dick and Jane (2005)
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Fun with Dick and Jane is a 2005 American comedy film—a remake of the 1977 comedy film of the same name—that was directed by Dean Parisot, and written by Judd Apatow and Nicholas Stoller.

It stars Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni as Dick and Jane Harper, an upper-middle-class couple who resort to robbery after the company for which Dick works goes bankrupt. 

Alec Baldwin, Richard Jenkins, Angie Harmon, John Michael Higgins, Richard Burgi, Carlos Jacott, Gloria Garayua and Stephnie Weir also star. James Whitmore appears in an uncredited cameo; his final film appearance.

It was released by Columbia Pictures on December 21, 2005. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film grossed over $202 million at the global box office.

Summary of Plot:
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In January 2000, Dick Harper (Jim Carrey) has been promoted to Vice President of Communications for the large media corporation Globodyne. The next day, he is asked on a television program in which host Sam Samuels and presidential candidate Ralph Nader call Dick and the company's employees "perverters of the American dream" and claim it helps the super-rich get even wealthier.

As they speak, Globodyne's stock value falls rapidly; it and its employees' pensions, which are in Globodyne's stock, are soon worthless. Dick arrives home, where his wife Jane (Téa Leoni) tells him that she has quit her job as a travel agent after his promotion to spend more time with their son Billy.

Dick breaks the news of the company's failure over the family's dinner, instantly alarming Jane. Despite his attempts, Dick is unable to get another VP job; Jane tells him the couple face bankruptcy because their assets are composed entirely of now-worthless Globodyne stock.

After accepting the prospect of being poor, Dick and Jane apply for low-paying jobs. After being fired from all local businesses, having their utilities cut off, selling off their possessions, Dick being mistakingly deported, and receiving 24 hours notice of eviction from their home, they decide to turn to crime. Dick decides to rob a local convenience store but loses his nerve. After several failed attempts, they rob a head shop.

They begin nightly robbing sprees and become more professional; they have soon stolen enough money to retire the mortgages on their house and car, both of which were about to be repossessed.

For their final crime, Dick and Jane rob a local bank; all goes as planned until another couple who used to work for Globodyne, Oz (Carlos Jacott) and Debbie Peterson (Stephnie Weir), make an amateurish attempt to rob the bank. The Petersons are quickly arrested; Dick and Jane take advantage of the hysteria to evade the police, but fail to steal any money.

The Harpers decide to give up crime, but Dick finds he is to be indicted for his role in Globodyne's demise. At the local bar, Dick encounters Frank Bascombe (Richard Jenkins), the former CFO of Globodyne, who is drunk and guilt-ridden. Frank tells Dick the company's crooked CEO Jack McCallister (Alec Baldwin) diverted all of Globodyne's assets and dumped the entire stock, thus ruining the company and its employees while escaping with a $400-million fortune.

Frank, who is about to go to prison after a failed attempt to expose McCallister's crimes, has received a $10 million bribe from McCallister in exchange for his silence.

After learning about McCallister's scheme, Dick, Jane and Frank decide to take revenge. Frank tells them McCallister plans to transfer his $400 million in bearer bonds to an offshore account. Dick and Jane must intercept the transfer from inside the bank and substitute a fake form, transferring the funds to an account Frank has established. McCallister checks the account number on his transfer and demands it is redone.

​Dick confronts McCallister and demands that he signs a blank check. Knowing Dick's threats are empty, McCallister writes him a check for $100 and leaves the bank. Dick tells Jane that was his contingency plan; Jane, an art major, can now forge McCallister's signature.

The next day, McCallister is mobbed by reporters and former Globodyne employees, all praising him for his generosity. Dick appears, and as McCallister's vice president, hands him a prepared statement, which McCallister reads on live television. McCallister is shocked to announce that he has transferred $400 million to a trust fund to support Globodyne's defunct pension plan in gratitude to his former employees.

Dick and Jane lead the cheers from the crowd, while McCallister faces them, unable to expose the two without revealing his own crimes. A news report later shows Dick and Jane delivering pension fund checks to former Globodyne employees, including the now-imprisoned Petersons, while reporting that McCallister's net worth has been reduced to around $2,000.

A year later, Dick's family drive a rusty old Volkswagen into the sunset. While Billy is teaching his parents Spanish words, a Bentley containing Dick's friend Garth (John Michael Higgins) approaches. Garth tells Dick he has a new job at a company called Enron.

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​Cast Away (2000)
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for Cast Away​​
Cast Away is a 2000 American epic survival drama film directed and co-produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt and Nick Searcy. The film depicts a FedEx employee stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific and his attempts to survive on the island using remnants of his plane's cargo.

The film was released on December 22, 2000. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $429 million worldwide, with Hanks being nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 73rd Academy Awards.

Plot:

In December 1995, Chuck Noland is a time-obsessed systems engineer, who travels worldwide resolving productivity problems at FedEx depots. He is in a long-term relationship with Kelly Frears, with whom he lives in Memphis, Tennessee. Although the couple wants to get married, Chuck's busy schedule interferes with their relationship.

A Christmas with relatives is interrupted when Chuck is summoned to resolve a problem in Malaysia. While flying through a violent storm, his plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Chuck escapes the sinking plane and is saved by an inflatable life raft, but loses the emergency locator transmitter. He clings to the life raft, loses consciousness, and floats all night before being washed up on an island. After he awakens, he explores the island and soon discovers that it is uninhabited.

Several FedEx packages from the crashed plane wash up on the shore, as well as the corpse of one of the pilots, which he buries. He initially tries to signal for rescue and makes an escape attempt with the remnants of his life raft, but cannot pass the powerful surf and the coral reefs surrounding the island. He searches for food, water, and shelter, and opens the packages, finding a number of potentially useful items. He leaves one package, which has a pair of angel wings stenciled on it, unopened.

During a first attempt to make fire, Chuck receives a deep wound to his hand. In anger and pain, he throws several objects, including a Wilson volleyball from one of the packages. A short time later he draws a face in the bloody hand print on the ball, names it Wilson, and begins talking to it. One night, Chuck calculates that in order for the rescue workers to find the site of the plane crash, they will have to search an area twice the size of Texas, making him doubtful he will ever be found.

Four years later, Chuck has adapted to the meager living conditions on the island, having become adept at spearing fish and making fires. He also has regular conversations and arguments with Wilson, which has become his only means of socialization.

A large section from a portable toilet washes up on the island; Chuck uses it as a sail in the construction of a raft. After spending some time building and stocking the raft and deciding when the weather conditions will be optimal (using an analemma he has created in his cave to monitor the time of year), he launches, using the sail to overcome the powerful surf.

After some time on the ocean, a storm nearly tears his raft apart. The following day, as Chuck sleeps, Wilson becomes untethered and floats away from the raft. Chuck is wakened by the spray of a sounding whale, sees Wilson, and swims after him, but Wilson has gone too far to safely retrieve. Chuck returns to the raft and collapses in tears. Later, a passing cargo ship finds him, drifting.

Upon returning to civilization, Chuck learns that he has long been given up for dead; his family and acquaintances have held a funeral, and Kelly has since married Chuck's one-time dentist and has a daughter. After reuniting with Kelly, the pair profess their love for each other but, realizing they cannot be together because of her commitment to her new family, they sadly part. Kelly gives Chuck the keys to the car they once shared.

​Sometime later, after buying a new volleyball, Chuck travels to Canadian, Texas, to return the unopened FedEx package with the angel wings to its sender, a woman named Bettina Peterson. The house at the address is empty, so he leaves the package at the door with a note saying that the package saved his life.

He departs and stops at a remote crossroads. A friendly woman passing by in a pickup truck stops to explain where each road leads. As she drives away, Chuck notices the angel wings on the back of her truck are identical to those on the parcel. As Chuck is left standing at the crossroads he looks down each road, then smiles faintly as he looks in the direction of the woman's truck.

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​The Da Vinci Code (2006)
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for "The Da Vinci Code"
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard, written by Akiva Goldsman, and based on Dan Brown's 2003 best-selling novel of the same name.

The first in the Robert Langdon film series, the film stars Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean Reno, and Paul Bettany.

In the film, Robert Langdon, a professor of religious iconography and symbology from Harvard University, is the prime suspect in the grisly and unusual murder of Louvre curator Jacques Saunière. In the body, the police finds a disconcerting cipher and starts an investigation.

A noted British Grail historian named Sir Leigh Teabing tells them that the actual Holy Grail is explicitly encoded in Leonardo da Vinci's wall painting, The Last Supper. Also searching for the Grail is a secret cabal within Opus Dei, an actual prelature of the Holy See, who wishes to keep the true Grail a secret; the revelation of this secret would certainly destroy Christianity.

The film, like the book, was considered controversial. It was met with especially harsh criticism by the Roman Catholic Church for the accusation that it is behind a two-thousand-year-old cover-up concerning what the Holy Grail really is and the concept that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and that the union produced a daughter.

Many members urged the laity to boycott the film. Two organizations, the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei figure prominently in the story. In the book, Dan Brown claims that the Priory of Sion and "...all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate".

The film grossed $224 million in its worldwide opening weekend and a total of $758 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2006 behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It was followed by two sequels, Angels & Demons (2009) and Inferno (2016).

Plot:
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Jacques Saunière, the Louvre's curator, is pursued through the Great Gallery by an albino Catholic monk named Silas, who demands the location of the Priory's "keystone" to find and destroy the Holy Grail. Saunière gives him a false lead and is murdered, the police finding his body posed like the Vitruvian Man.

Police captain Bezu Fache summons American symbologist Robert Langdon to examine Saunière's body, showing him a Polaroid of the body while he is signing autographs at one of his public talks. Langdon discovers a message hidden by blacklight which contains an out of order Fibonacci number sequence.

A police cryptographer and Saunière's granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, reveals to Langdon that Fache planted a tracker on him, believing he murdered Saunière due to a message to find him, erased by Fache. The two get rid of the tracker and sneak around the Louvre, finding more clues in Leonardo da Vinci's works, Langdon deducing that Saunière was grand master of the Priory of Sion.

Silas is revealed to be working for an anonymous person named the Teacher, alongside members of Opus Dei led by Bishop Aringarosa. Evading the police, Langdon and Sophie travel to the Depository Bank of Zurich, discovering a safe deposit box opened by the Fibonacci sequence. Inside is a cryptex: a cylindrical container that hides a papyrus message which can only be accessed by spelling out a five-letter code word using dials.

When the police arrive, Langdon and Sophie are aided by the bank manager Andre Vernet, only for him to take them hostage in the back of a truck, demanding the cryptex. Langdon disarms Vernet, and he flees with Sophie.

The two visit Langdon's friend Sir Leigh Teabing, a Holy Grail expert, who claims the Grail is not a cup but instead Mary Magdalene, who was Jesus Christ's wife and pregnant during His Crucifixion, and the Priory was formed to protect their descendants. The Opus Dei have been trying to destroy the Grail to preserve the credibility of the Vatican. Silas breaks in, but Teabing knocks him out.

The group escape to London via Teabing's private plane, aided by his butler Remy Jean. They travel to the Temple Church but the clue to unlocking the cryptex is a red herring. Silas is freed by Remy, who claims to be the Teacher, taking Teabing hostage and dumping him in his car's trunk while Silas hides out in an Opus Dei safe house. Teabing poisons Remy and send the police after Silas, who is shot by police after accidentally wounding Aringarosa, who is promptly arrested by Fache for using him to hunt Langdon.

Langdon and Sophie are confronted by Teabing, revealed to be the Teacher, who wants to bring down the Church for centuries of persecution and deceit. The trio goes to Westminster Abbey to the tomb of Isaac Newton, a former grand master of the Priory. Langdon tosses the cryptex into the air, Teabing catching it but the papyrus destroyed.

The police arrive to arrest Teabing, but he realizes Langdon removed and solved the cryptex's code beforehand. The code is revealed to be "apple" after the apocryphal myth of Newton's gravity-based discovery of the law of universal gravitation. The clue inside the cryptex leads Langdon and Sophie to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland.

Inside, they discover Magdalene's tomb has been removed. Langdon realizes that Sophie's family died in a car crash, but the media reported she too died. Saunière was not her actual grandfather but her protector, and she is the last descendant of Jesus Christ. The two are greeted by several members of the Priory, including Sophie's grandmother, who promise to protect her.

Langdon and Sophie part ways, the former returning to Paris. Whilst shaving, he cuts himself and has an epiphany when his blood curves down the sink, reminding him of the Rose Line.

Realizing the true meaning of the cryptex clue, he follows the line to the Louvre, concluding the Holy Grail, the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, is hidden in a shopping mall. Langdon kneels before it, as the Knights Templar did before him.

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​The Bucket List (2007)
YouTube Video of the Movie Trailer for "The Bucket List"
The Bucket List is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner, produced by Reiner, Alan Greisman, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. 

The main plot follows two terminally ill men (portrayed by Nicholson and Freeman) on their road trip with a wish list of things to do before they "kick the bucket", from which the movie's title gets its name.

The film premiered on December 15, 2007 in Hollywood. It opened in limited release in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2007 and was distributed by Warner Bros. The film opened in wide release in the United States and Canada on January 11, 2008 and was released in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2008, and in Australia on February 21, 2008 It received mixed reviews from film critics, but was a box office success, opening at the top of the box office and grossing a total of $175.4 million worldwide.

Plot:

Two 80-year-old men, blue-collar mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman) and billionaire hospital magnate Edward Cole (Nicholson) meet for the first time in the hospital after both have been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Although Edward is reluctant to share a room with Carter, complaining that he "looks half-dead already", they become friends as they undergo their respective treatments.

Carter is a gifted amateur historian and family man who had wanted to become a history professor in his youth, had been "black, broke, [and with a] baby on the way" and, thus, never rose above his status as a mechanic at the McCreath body shop. Carter loves sharing his knowledge and his favorite show is Jeopardy!.

Edward is a four-time divorced health-care tycoon and cultured loner who enjoys nothing more than tormenting his personal valet/servant, Thomas (Hayes), who later reveals his name is actually Matthew. Edward prefers to call him Thomas because he finds the name Matthew "too biblical". Edward enjoys drinking Kopi Luwak, one of the most expensive coffees in the world.

During their time in the ward, both Carter and Edward seem to find common ground as they have intellectual personalities. Carter begins writing a "bucket list", or things to do before he "kicks the bucket". After hearing he has less than a year, Carter discards the list. Edward finds it the next morning and urges Carter to do everything on the list (and adds more things to do), and offers to finance the trip for both of them.

Carter agrees and despite the protests of his wife, Virginia (Todd), Edward and Carter begin their around-the-world vacation. They go skydiving together, drive a Shelby Mustang, fly over the North Pole, eat dinner at Chevre d'or in France, visit and praise the beauty and history of Taj Mahal, India, ride motorcycles on the Great Wall of China, attend a lion safari in Tanzania and visit the base of Mt. Everest in Nepal (which was unfortunately shrouded in cloud).

Atop the Great Pyramid, looking out over the pyramids of Khafre and Menkaure, they confide about faith and family, revealing that Carter has long been feeling less in love with his wife and that Edward is deeply hurt by his estrangement from his only daughter, who disowned him after he drove away her abusive husband.

In Hong Kong, Edward hires a prostitute named Angelica (King) for Carter, who has never been with any woman but his wife. Carter declines and realizing that he loves his wife, asks to return home.

On the drive back, Carter reciprocates by trying to reunite Edward with his daughter. Believing it as a breach of trust, Edward angrily storms off. Carter returns home to his wife, children and grandchildren where they have a nice family dinner telling stories and sharing jokes while a frustrated Edward stays home eating frozen dinners alone. The family reunion is short-lived. While preparing for a romantic interlude, Carter suffers a seizure and is rushed to the hospital, with the cancer having spread to his brain.

Edward, who is now in remission, visits him and they share a few moments, wherein Carter reveals with great amusement how Edward's Kopi Luwak coffee is grown in Sumatra and then fed to and defecated by a jungle cat before being harvested because of the special aroma of the gastric juices. Carter crosses off "laugh till I cry" from his bucket list and insists Edward finish the list without him. Carter goes into surgery, but the procedure is unsuccessful and he dies on the operating table.

As news of Carter's death is given to his wife and family, Edward finally attempts to reconcile with his daughter. She accepts him back into her life and introduces him to the granddaughter he never knew he had. After greeting the little girl with a kiss on the cheek, Edward crosses "kiss the most beautiful girl in the world" off the list. Edward delivers a eulogy at the funeral, explaining that he and Carter had been complete strangers, but the last three months of Carter's life were the best three months of his life. He crosses off "help a complete stranger for the good" from the list.

The epilogue reveals that Edward lived until age 81 and his ashes were then taken to the summit of an unnamed peak in the Himalayas by his assistant Matthew. As Matthew places a Chock full o'Nuts coffee can alongside another can, he crosses off the last item on the bucket list ("witness something truly majestic") and places it between the cans. Carter's narration reveals the two cans contain their ashes and that Edward would have loved this, because he was "buried on the mountain and that was against the law".

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​The Departed (2006)
YouTube Video of the Trailer for the Movie "The Departed" (2006)
Pictured below:  "The Departed" is about two men trying to live public lives that are the radical opposites of their inner realities. Their attempts threaten to destroy them, either by implosion or fatal betrayal. The telling of their stories involves a moral labyrinth, in which good and evil wear each other's masks.
The Departed is a 2006 American crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg, with Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga, Anthony Anderson and Alec Baldwin in supporting roles.

The film takes place in Boston. Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (Jack Nicholson)
plants Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) as a mole within the Massachusetts State Police; the two characters are loosely based on famous gangster Whitey Bulger and corrupt FBI agent John Connolly, who grew up with Bulger.

Simultaneously, the police assign undercover state trooper William "Billy" Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate Costello's crew. When both sides realize the situation, Sullivan and Costigan both attempt to discover the other's identity before their covers are blown.

The film was a critical and commercial success and won several awards, including four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. Wahlberg was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Plot:

As a child, Colin Sullivan had been introduced to organized crime by Irish-American mobster Frank Costello in the Irish neighborhood of South Boston. Over the years, Costello grooms him to become a mole inside the Massachusetts State Police, until Sullivan is accepted into the Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on organized crime.

Before graduating from the police academy, Billy Costigan is recruited by Captain Queenan and Staff Sergeant Dignam to go undercover, as his family ties to organized crime make him a perfect infiltrator. He drops out of the academy and does time in prison on a fake assault charge to increase his credibility.

Each man infiltrates his respective organization, and Sullivan begins a romance with police psychiatrist Madolyn Madden. Costigan is seeing her under the terms of his probation, and they begin a relationship, too. After Costello escapes a sting operation, each mole becomes aware of the other's existence. Sullivan is told to find the "rat" and asks Costello for information to identify the informer.

Costigan follows Costello into a porn theater, where Costello gives Sullivan an envelope containing personal information on his crew members. Costigan chases Sullivan through Chinatown.

When it is over, neither man knows the other's identity. Sullivan has Queenan tailed to a meeting with Costigan on the roof of a building. Queenan orders Costigan to flee while he confronts Costello's men alone. The men then throw Queenan off the building to his death.

When they exit, Costigan pretends he has come to join them. Television news reveals that crew member Delahunt has been an undercover cop, working for the Boston Police Department. Dignam resigns rather than work with Sullivan, who he suspects is the mole after he is asked why he had Queenan followed.

Using Queenan's phone, Sullivan reaches Costigan, who refuses to abort his mission. Sullivan learns from Queenan's diary of Costello's role as an informant for the FBI, causing him to worry about his own identity being revealed.

With Costigan's help, Costello is traced to a cocaine drop-off, where a gunfight erupts between Costello's crew and the police, which results in most of the crew being killed.

Costello, confronted by Sullivan, admits he is an FBI informant. Costello tries to shoot Sullivan, but Sullivan shoots him multiple times. With Costello dead, Sullivan is applauded the next day by everyone on the force.

In good faith, Costigan comes to Sullivan for restoration of his true identity and to be paid for his work, but notices the envelope from Costello on Sullivan's desk and flees, finally realizing Sullivan is the enemy. Fearing retaliation, Sullivan erases Costigan's records from the police computer system.

Sullivan is unaware that Madolyn had an affair with Costigan when she tells Sullivan that she is pregnant. Later, Sullivan finds her listening to a CD from Costigan containing incriminating recorded conversations between Costello and Sullivan.

Sullivan unsuccessfully attempts to assuage her suspicions. He then contacts Costigan, who reveals that Costello recorded every one of their conversations, that Costello's attorney left Costigan in possession of the recordings, and that Costigan intends to implicate Sullivan. The two agree to meet at the building where Queenan died.

On the roof, Costigan catches Sullivan off-guard and handcuffs him. As Costigan had secretly arranged, Trooper Brown appears on the roof as well. Shocked, Brown draws his gun on Costigan, who attempts to justify his actions by exposing Sullivan as Costello's mole.

Costigan asks Brown why Dignam did not accompany him as Costigan had requested, but Brown does not answer. Costigan leads Sullivan, his hostage, to the elevator. When it reaches the ground floor, Trooper Barrigan shoots Costigan in the head, then shoots Brown, and afterward reveals to Sullivan that Costello had more than one mole in the police. Sullivan then shoots and kills Barrigan.

At state police headquarters, Sullivan identifies Barrigan as the mole and has Costigan posthumously given the Medal of Merit.

At Costigan's funeral, Sullivan notices that Madolyn is tearful. As they leave the gravesite, Sullivan attempts to talk to her, but she ignores him. When Sullivan returns to his apartment, he is ambushed by Dignam, who shoots and kills him as he enters.

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Cadillac Records (2008) Pictured below: ​Beyoncé Knowles (on left) as Etta James (on right).
Beyoncé Knowles portrayed crooner Etta James in Cadillac Records, the 2008 film about the growth of the Chicago-based record company Chess Records. Darnell Martin, the writer and director of the film, said the role of James was written with Knowles in mind. (The Hollywood Reporter). 
[Your WebHost: while this film received only lukewarm reception by critics and moviegoers, its historical context of the music during the 1940s-1960s makes it a must-watch film for those who treasure biographies of early musical artists.]

Cadillac Records is a 2008 American biographical drama film written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and a few of the musicians who recorded for Chess Records.

​The film stars Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon, Mos Def as Chuck Berry, Columbus Short as Little Walter, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, and Beyoncé Knowles as Etta James.

The film was released in North America on December 5, 2008, by TriStar Pictures. Soundtrack released on Music World/Columbia on Sony Music.

Plot:

In 1947 in Chicago, a Jewish immigrant from Poland and bar owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) hires a blues combo, including guitarist Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and harmonica player Little Walter (Columbus Short).

Waters' and Walter's success leads to Chess opening the doors for black musicians and beginning a new record label in 1950 – Chess Records. This attracts stars like Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker) and Chuck Berry (Mos Def).

Inevitably, business and personal lines blur as the sometimes-turbulent lives of the musicians play out.

Background:

Leonard Chess was the co-founder of the 1950s American record label Chess Records, located in Chicago, Illinois. He ran the legendary company with his brother, Phil, through the 1950s and '60s. 

​The label started selling records from the back of Chess' Cadillac, and launched the careers of legendary musical personalities such as blues singers and harmonica and guitar players Little Walter and Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, soul legend Etta James and guitarist singer-songwriters Chuck Berry and Willie Dixon.

Production:
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The screenplay was written by director Darnell Martin. The filming of Cadillac Records started in February 2008. Filming locations included Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Jersey. Martin directed the film, financed by Sony BMG Film. Cadillac Records was produced by Andrew Lack and Sofia Sondervan, and co-executive produced by Beyoncé Knowles.

Casting:

Click here for the complete Cast.

Originally, Matt Dillon was slated to play the role of Chess, but the role was ultimately given to Academy Award–winner Adrien Brody due to scheduling conflicts with Dillon.

Early announcements of the cast also included Columbus Short as Little Walter, Golden Globe winner Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and multi-Grammy Award winner Beyoncé as Etta James. According to director Martin, the role of James was written with Beyoncé in mind.

As production increased, the roster grew to include Canadian actress Emmanuelle Chriqui as Revetta Chess, Tammy Blanchard as Isabelle Allen, English actor Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf, and comedian Cedric the Entertainer as Willie Dixon. 

Final line ups of the cast also grew to include rapper Mos Def as Chuck Berry, and Gabrielle Union in the role of Geneva Wade, Muddy Waters' common law wife.

Music:
Main article: Cadillac Records: Music from the Motion Picture

The American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer Steve Jordan produced the soundtrack to the film.

Jordan also picked a group of blues musicians, including Billy Flynn (guitar), Larry Taylor (bass), Eddie Taylor Jr. (guitar), Barrelhouse Chuck (piano), Kim Wilson (harmonica), Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Hubert Sumlin (guitar), and Bill Sims (guitar) who, along with Jordan on drums, recorded all of the blues songs used in the film.

Beyoncé recorded five songs for the soundtrack, including a cover version of Etta James' "At Last" which was released on December 2, 2008 as its lead single. Mos Def, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short, and Eamonn Walker recorded songs for the soundtrack, and Raphael Saadiq, Beyoncé's sister Solange, Mary Mary, Nas, Buddy Guy, and Elvis Presley also appear on the album. The soundtrack was released in single and double-disc editions.

The month after the film was released, Beyoncé performed "At Last" at the inauguration ball of Barack Obama, as he and wife Michelle danced together for the first time as President and First Lady.

The soundtrack spent 48 weeks at number one of the Top Blues Albums.

The soundtrack was nominated for three 2010 Grammy Awards in the following categories: 
Release and reception:
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The film had its world premiere on November 24, 2008, at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. On December 5, 2008, it entered general release in the United States. On its opening weekend, the film opened at Number 9, grossing $3.4 million in 686 cinemas with an $5,023 average. 

When the film left cinemas in January 2009, it had yet to recoup its $12 million budget; it ended its run with a worldwide box office gross of $8,880,045.

Critical reception:

Rotten Tomatoes reports that 66% of 124 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "What Cadillac Records may lack in originality, it more than makes up for in strong performances and soul-stirring music." 

Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave the film a weighted average score of 65 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film three stars and stated in his review that "The film is a fascinating record of the evolution of a black musical style, and the tangled motives of the white men who had an instinct for it." 

Elizabeth Weitzman of the Daily News awarded the film three stars and wrote in her review, "Writer-director Darnell Martin clearly respects the fact that the history of Chess Records is a worthy subject." Most critics praised the film for its music, but complained about its script.

Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News praised Beyoncé's vocal performance and wrote in his review that, "Beyoncé Knowles' captivating voice and the film's other pluses can't outweigh the glaring omissions from the story line for this critic" and "Chess Records deserves, and will hopefully someday get, a better spin than the one delivered by Cadillac Records."
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Recognition and accolades:

David Edelstein of New York magazine named it the 4th best film of 2008, Stephanie Zacharek of Salon named it the 4th best film of 2008, and A. O. Scott of The New York Times named it the 10th best film of 2008. During the 2009 award season, Knowles received a Satellite Award nomination for her portrayal of Etta James. 

Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street received a Golden Globe nomination, Best Original Song, for writing "Once in a Lifetime"; a song Knowles recorded for the film's soundtrack. 

The film also garnered seven NAACP Image Award nominations, which included Outstanding Motion Picture, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Jeffrey Wright), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Cedric the Entertainer, Columbus Short and Mos Def), and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Beyoncé Knowles).

Home media:

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 10, 2009, and sold over 130,000 copies in its first week. To date it has made an estimate of $11,916,737 in sales, which coupled with its box office gross helped the film pay back its $12 million budget (total gross: $20,796,782).

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The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) Pictured below: Movie Poster with Denzel Washington on Left and John Travolta on right.
[Your WebHost: as it mentions below, this 2009 film is the third adaption of "The Taking of Pelham 123": I saw it again last night on Netflix. I have not seen the first two adaptions, but believe they cannot top this 2009 adaption: not only for sheer "nail-biting" suspense but also for the lead actors, Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Travolta is particularly believable as the villain! And filming locations are incredible! (See "Production"below.]

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009 film)

The Taking of Pelham 123 is a 2009 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott. It is the third film adaptation of the John Godey novel of the same name (following the 1974 theatrical film and 1998 television film).

The film is about a train dispatcher (Denzel Washington), who is pressed into the role of negotiator after a criminal (John Travolta) hijacks a subway car of passengers. The film was released on June 12, 2009. It grossed $150 million against a production budget of about $100 million and received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot:

A man calling himself Ryder and his accomplices – Bashkin, Emri, and former train operator Phil Ramos – hijack Pelham 123, a New York City Subway 6 train, at 77th Street. Uncoupling the front car of the train below 51st Street, they take the passengers hostage. 

Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee Walter Garber, working the Rail Control Center as a train dispatcher, receives a call from Ryder, demanding $10 million in cash to be paid within 60 minutes. Ryder warns that every minute he waits past the deadline, he will kill a hostage.

Bashkin kills a suspicious New York City Transit Police officer, and all the passengers not in the front car, except the motorman, are released. Garber reluctantly negotiates with Ryder as Ramos and Emri set up Internet access in the tunnel. On his laptop, Ryder watches the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge nearly 1,000 points in response to the hijacking. A hostage's laptop also connects to the Internet, and its webcam allows the control center to observe Ryder and Ramos.

Lieutenant Camonetti of the New York City Police Department Emergency Service Unit takes over negotiations, which infuriates Ryder, who kills the train's motorman to force Camonetti to bring Garber back.

Camonetti learns that Garber is being investigated for allegedly accepting a $35,000 bribe over a contract for new Japanese subway cars. Ryder also discovers the allegations online and forces Garber to confess by threatening to kill a passenger. To save the hostage, Garber claims that he was offered the bribe while deciding between two companies, using the money to pay for his child's college tuition, and insists he would have made the same decision regardless.

The mayor agrees to Ryder's ransom, ordering the police to deliver it. En route, the police car is involved in an accident and fails to deliver the money in time. Garber attempts to bluff Ryder that the ransom has arrived, unaware he has been monitoring events on his laptop.

Ryder threatens to execute a child's mother, but another hostage, a former soldier, sacrifices himself and is killed. A brief gunfight erupts after an Emergency Services Unit sniper is bitten by a rat and discharges his weapon, killing Ramos.

Based on clues from Garber's conversations, the police discover that Ryder is Dennis Ford, a manager at a private equity firm who was sentenced to prison for investment fraud. Ford had agreed to a plea bargain to serve three years, but received ten years instead. One of the mayor's aides mentions the extreme drop in the major stock indexes, and the mayor deduces that Ryder is attempting to manipulate the market via put options.

Ryder demands that Garber deliver the ransom money himself to avoid coming in contact with the police. Garber is flown to the terminal, where he is given a pistol for protection.

Ryder brings Garber aboard and orders him to operate the train down the tunnel below 33rd Street, where Garber and the hijackers exit, rigging the train to go on without them. Garber manages to separate himself at a railway crossing and then follows Ryder to Track 61 underneath Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Ryder parts from Bashkin and Emri, who are shot dead after being surrounded by police and provoking deadly force in an apparent suicide-by-cop. The train comes to a screeching halt safely just before Coney Island (West 8th Street-New York Aquarium), and the police discover that Ryder is no longer on board.

Ryder hails a taxi, with Garber following him on-foot, and finds out that his scheme has amassed $307 million. Garber steals a car and pursues Ryder. After a brief chase, they reach the Manhattan Bridge's pedestrian walkway, where Garber catches up with Ryder and holds him at gunpoint.

Ryder gives him a 10-second ultimatum to pull the trigger, and in the final seconds, pulls out his own gun and forces Garber to shoot him. Telling Garber in his final breath, "You're my goddamn hero", Ryder collapses and dies (as Garber solemnly looks on while Camonetti observes approvingly from a chopper).

The mayor thanks Garber and assures him the city will "go to bat" for him over his bribery admission. The film concludes as Garber returns home to his wife with groceries he had promised to pick up.

Cast:

  • Denzel Washington as Walter Garber, an MTA subway dispatcher, who is negotiating with the hijackers. The negotiator in the 1974 film was a transit policeman named Lt. Zachary Garber (portrayed by Walter Matthau); Edward James Olmos played Detective Anthony Piscotti, the negotiator in the 1998 television movie.
  • John Travolta as Dennis 'Ryder' Ford / Mr. Blue, the leader of the hijackers. Instead of playing a mercenary, he plays a former Wall Street "high roller" who blames New York City and the mayor for causing him to stay in prison for 10 years, longer than his plea deal of three years. Scott courted Travolta heavily for the actor's first acting role in years. Travolta earned $20 million for his work in the film. The role was originally portrayed by Robert Shaw in the 1974 film. Vincent D'Onofrio played Ryder in the 1998 TV movie. In the first two movies, Ryder used the alias "Mr. Blue".
  • John Turturro as Lieutenant Vincent Camonetti, hostage negotiator with the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit.
  • James Gandolfini as the Mayor of New York, who is under heavy pressure to address the hostage crisis. The character was originally portrayed by Lee Wallace in the 1974 film.
  • Luis Guzmán as Phil Ramos / Mr. Green, former MTA motorman, one of the hijackers. The role, originally named "Harold Longman", alias "Mr. Green", was portrayed by Martin Balsam in the 1974 film. Richard Schiff played him in the 1998 film.
  • Michael Rispoli as John Johnson, Garber's boss and head of the MTA's Rail Control Center
  • Gbenga Akinnagbe as Wallace, one of the hostages on the train.
  • Frank Wood as Police Commissioner Sterman
  • John Benjamin Hickey as Deputy Mayor LaSalle
  • Gary Basaraba as Jerry Pollard, original motorman of the hijacked train
  • Ramón Rodríguez as Delgado, an MTA train dispatcher
  • Robert Vataj as Emri / Mr. Brown, the stammering young gun, who helps hijack the train under the command of Ryder. The character originally named "Steever" was portrayed by Earl Hindman in the 1974 film.
  • Jake Siciliano as an eight-year-old boy who is held hostage with his mom.
  • Aunjanue Ellis as Theresa, Garber's wife
  • Tonye Patano as Regina, MTA conductor on the hijacked train
  • Jason Butler Harner as Mr. Thomas, a hostage who has to pee
  • Victor Gojcaj as Bashkin / Mr. Gray, the most aggressive of the hijackers. The character, originally named "Joe Welcome", alias "Mr. Grey", was portrayed by Hector Elizondo in the 1974 film. Donnie Wahlberg played him in the 1998 TV movie.
  • Brian Haley as Police Captain Hill

Differences:

The first drafts of the script faced the challenge of updating the novel with contemporary technology, including cell phones, global positioning systems, the Internet, laptops, and thermal imaging, as well as the environment of a post-9/11 world in New York City.

In December 2007, David Koepp, who adapted the novel for Scott and Washington said:
I wrote many drafts to try and put it in the present day and keep all the great execution that was there from the first one. It’s thirty years later so you have to take certain things into account. Hopefully we came up with a clever way to move it to the present.
Koepp's drafts were meant to be "essentially familiar" to those who read the novel, preserving the "great hero vs. villain thing" of the original. 

Brian Helgeland, the only one who received credit for the screenplay, took the script in a different direction, making the remake more like the 1974 film than the novel and, as Helgeland put it, making it about "two guys who weren't necessarily all that different from each other". 

As writer Michael Ordoña describes it: Whereas the novel is told from more than 30 perspectives — keeping readers off balance because it is unknown which characters the writer might suddenly discard — the two films focus on the lead hijacker and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee with whom he communicates by phone. The new version sharpens that focus until it's almost exclusively a duel between disgraced MTA dispatcher Walter Garber and manic gunman Ryder.

In the book and original film, Ryder is "cold-blooded and calculating", but in the 2009 film, he is a "loose cannon willing to kill innocents not out of necessity but out of spite". Also, Ryder in the original film and book is portrayed as a normal-looking businessman, while in the 2009 film, he looks as if he has adopted prison life, sporting very visible prison tattoos, and the laid-back style of a biker.

In the 1974 film, the main character (played by Walter Matthau) is named Zachary Garber and is a lieutenant in the transit police; in the 2009 film, the main character (played by Denzel Washington) is named Walter Garber and works as a subway train dispatcher.

Ryder also demands $10 million instead of $1 million as in the original film and book or $5 million in the made-for-TV film. Ryder does not use the "Mr. Blue" nickname as in the original film. Instead, Ryder is a nickname adopted by Dennis Ford.

In the 1974 film, the train-operating hostage-taker is the only member of the group to live long enough to see himself behind bars, while all of the hostage-takers die in the 2009 film.

Production:

Production began in March 2008 with all cast and crew being required to attend a track safety course taught by MTA personnel, as much of the filming would take place in the subway on active tracks. For the initial hijack sequence at Grand Central on the Flushing Line, the crew used the westbound track during late night hours while regular 7 train service operated in both directions on the eastbound track. An R142A train (the model previously used on the 6 train at the time) was used for the Grand Central sequence.

Many locations in Brooklyn were used during filming. A large portion was filmed on the Transit Museum local track between the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station and the New York Transit Museum on the Fulton Street Line.

For exterior filming only, R62A car #2079 was used during filming to give the appearance of an R142A car. Interior car scenes were filmed at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens on a set that more closely resembles the newer and larger R160B (which were still being delivered at the time of filming). 

Outdoor street filming locations include the following:
Some scenes were also shot in Lower Manhattan.

The scene with the police leaving the Brooklyn Federal Reserve, which does not exist, was actually the rear of the United States Postal Service Office of the Inspector General, located next to the World Trade Center, in front of the PATH station entrance.

Release and marketing:

The film was originally scheduled to release on July 31, 2009, but the release was moved earlier to June 12, 2009. The first theatrical poster was released on February 10, 2009, while the first trailer for the film debuted at the screenings of The International on February 13, 2009.

John Travolta decided against promoting the film, as it was released just five months after the death of his 16-year-old son, Jett. He stated that he still was not ready to step back into the spotlight. Travolta released the following statement:
  • Tony, Denzel, Luis, John, James and Sony Pictures stepped up without hesitation to help promote this wonderful film, and their unselfish efforts have allowed my family the additional time to reconcile our loss. I am very proud of the efforts we have all made in making this movie, and I want each and every one of you to enjoy it. So, set your calendars for the weekend of June 12th. I promise you won't be disappointed. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

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