TheMovieStory

Superhero Movie is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by Craig Mazin, and produced by David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss. Production began in September 2007 in New York. It was released on March 28, 2008 in the United States, and the UK release was June 6, 2008. The film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references, and language.

Superhero Movie is a spoof comedy film that spoofs superhero films, mainly the first Spider-Man, following in the footsteps of the Scary Movie series of comedies, with which the movie’s poster shares a notable resemblance. It mainly parodies the first Spider-Man in the way that Airplane! parodied Zero Hour!. The film also contains some homages to Airplane! and The Naked Gun such as how the actor, Leslie Nielsen, who played Dr. Rumack in Airplane!, plays Rick Riker’s uncle in Superhero Movie.

Plot Outline

After being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, high school loser Rick Riker (Drake Bell) develops superhuman abilities such as high-speed reaction and armored skin (although he cannot fly.) Rick decides to use his new powers for good and becomes a costumed crime fighter known as “The Dragonfly.” However, standing in the way of his destiny is the villainous Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald). After an experiment gone wrong, Lou develops the power to steal a person’s life force and in a quest for immortality becomes the supervillain, “The Hourglass.” Throughout the movie, Rick tries to woo the girl of his dreams (Sara Paxton) and battle the comically vicious Hourglass and finally becomes able to fly.

Cast

• Drake Bell[1] as Rick Riker / Dragonfly
• Sara Paxton[1] as Jill Johnson
• Christopher McDonald[1] as Lou Landers / Hourglass
• Leslie Nielsen[1] as Uncle Albert
• Kevin Hart[1] as Trey
• Marion Ross[1] as Aunt Lucille
• Ryan Hansen[1] as Lance Landers
• Keith David as Chief Karlin
• Robert Joy as Stephen Hawking
• Brent Spiner[1] as Dr. Strom
• Jeffrey Tambor[1] as Dr. Shitby
• Robert Hays as Blaine Riker
• Nicole Sullivan as Julia Riker
• Tracy Morgan[2] as Professor Xavier
• Regina Hall[2] as Mrs. Xavier
• Craig Bierko as Wolverine
• Simon Rex as the Human Blow Torch
• Pamela Anderson as the Invisible Girl
• Miles Fisher as Tom Cruise
• Dan Castellaneta as Carlson
• Charlene Tilton as Mrs. Johnson
• Sean Simms as Barry Bonds
• Freddie Pierce as Tony Bennett
• Howard Mungo as Nelson Mandella
• Lil’ Kim as Xavier’s Daughter

Production

The film, produced by David Zucker (who originally was directing it), was initially slated for theatrical release on February 9, 2007.[3] The film later began production on September 17, 2007 in New York.[1][4] Zucker said the film primarily parodied Spider-Man, but it also spoofed Batman Begins, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Superman. The producer elaborated, “It’s a spoof of the whole superhero genre, like we did with the Scary Movies, but this one probably has more of a unified plot, like the Naked Gun had.”[2]

Craig Mazin directed and wrote Superhero Movie, which was originally titled ‘Superhero!’. Mazin had previously worked with Zucker on Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, co-writing those movies. He claims that some of his “heroes” are Pat Proft, Jim Abrahams, and Robert K. Weiss, whom he worked with on those movies.

Star of the film Drake Bell composed and recorded a song just for the movie entitled “Superhero! Song”. In the song he included co-star Sara Paxton on backup vocals. This song can be heard in the credits of the movie, however it is credited as being titled “Superbounce”. This song was released onto the iTunes Store as a digital downloadable single on April 8th, 2008.

Sara Paxton also sings the second song heard during the credits, titled “I Need A Hero” (not to be confused with Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero”), which she also wrote with Michael Jay and Johnny Pedersen.

Drillbit Taylor (aka Drillbit Taylor: Budget Bodyguard) is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson as the title character and based on an original idea by John Hughes. Paramount Pictures released the film on March 21, 2008

Plot

On their first day of high school, two boys, Ryan (Troy Gentile) and Wade (Nate Hartley), are embarrassed by the fact that they happen to wear the same shirt. Wade sticks up for a smaller fellow geek, Emmit Oosterhaus (David Dorfman), who is being shoved into a locker by bullies Filkins (Alex Frost) and Ronnie (Josh Peck). As a result the violent bullies Filkins and Ronnie terrorizes all three at every chance they get. The trio complain to the principal (Stephen Root), but their concerns fall upon deaf ears. Filkins is furious that the boys have squealed on him, and even chases them with a car, apparently to murder them. Wade suggests to his friends that they pool their money together to hire a bodyguard who can protect them. They place an ad on the Internet, and select Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) out of several candidates, mainly because he is the cheapest. Taylor pretends to be a martial arts master and mercenary, but in reality he is just a homeless beggar who sleeps under a picnic table, showers on a public beach (nude in the open, visible from the highway), and eats out of a dumpster. His real intention of becoming their bodyguard is to rob them and get enough money to go to Canada and start living there. After complaints from the boys that he is not there when they need him the boys lend him a suit of one of their fathers,and he accompanies them to school. There he is taken by the school staff to be a substitute teacher, falls in love with pretty teacher Lisa (Leslie Mann), and decides to actually start working as such. He starts really liking the boys and decides to try to really defend them, and teach them also to defend themselves. After Taylor’s criminal friends steal a lot from Wade’s house, Taylor fights them and returns everything to the house.

One morning Ronnie’s mother drives him to school, and they see Taylor taking his shower at the beach; the mother knows he is a beggar. Ronnie tells this to Filkins, who now knows that Taylor is not a real teacher, and punches him. Taylor is forced to confess to the boys that his real name is Bob and he went A.W.O.L. from the U.S. Army after a few days of service. The trio fire him and demand their stuff back. The parents soon find out and take things up with the principal. As a result, Taylor is a wanted man and things with Filkins are still not settled. After a confrontation with Filkins, who spoiled Wade’s chance to ask out Brooke (Valerie Tian), an Asian girl who he met on day one, Ryan and Wade, who have gained self-confidence, challenge Filkins to a fight. He agrees if they come to his house for the fight (Filkins is an emancipated minor and owns his own house, which is why they couldn’t call his parents). During the fight Emmit (who previously abandoned Ryan and Wade) shows up for the last part of the fight delivering many small punches to Filkins’ leg and put him briefly in a submission hold. Drillbit shows up and continues to take punches from Filkins until he finds out that Filkins is no longer a minor, after which Drillbit displays considerable skill and beats him up. During the group’s celebration, the police show up and Drillbit, a U.S. Army deserter, is forced to flee. Filkins runs out with a samurai sword and throws it at Ryan, Wade and Emmett, which Drillbit stops just in time by catching it (giving him a gash on his hand and severing his pinky). Filkins is then arrested and taken back to his parents in Hong Kong, and Drillbit taken to the hospital, then prison. Three weeks later, Taylor is out of prison and celebrating with the boys and Lisa.

After the credits, Taylor is seen working in the school as a nurse. A boy walks into the room with a bloody nose, and Taylor asks him for names, assuring him that the bully will be dealt with.

Cast

• Owen Wilson as Bob “Drillbit” Taylor
• Troy Gentile as Ryan
• Nate Hartley as Wade
• David Dorfman as Emmit Oosterhaus
• Alex Frost as Terry Filkins
• Josh Peck as Ronnie Lampanelli
• Leslie Mann as Lisa Zachey
• Danny R. McBride as Don
• Stephen Root as Principal Doppler
• Ian Roberts as Jim, Wade’s dad
• Lisa Lampanelli as Mrs. Lampanelli
• Lisa Ann Walter as Ryan’s Mom
• Hynden Walch as Mrs. Oosterhaus, Emmit’s mom
• Valerie Tian as Brooke
• Beth Littleford as Barbara
• Steve Bannos as Coffee Computer Guy
• Chuck Liddell as Himself
• Robert Allen Mukes as Bonecrusher
• Adam Baldwin as Ricky Linderman
• Cedric Yarbrough as Bernie
• Tichina Arnold as Photography teacher
• Kevin Hart as Pawn Shop Guy 1
• Matt Besser as Pawn Shop Guy 2
• David Koechner as Frightened Dad (unrated version)

Meet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film produced and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, along with its spin-offs Epic Movie and Date Movie, it pokes fun at various movies in a juvenile manner. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it focuses mainly on the film 300. Its title itself is based on the movies Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. The film is rated PG-13 in the US and 15 in the UK for crude and sexual “humor” throughout, language, and some comic violence.

Plot

The film opens with a Spartan elder inspecting a baby which resembles Shrek, he then proceeds to kiss it as the narrator paraphrases the words of Dilios about the Spartan selectiveness of their citizens. The baby vomits on the inspector and is then rejected and punted off the hill. With the next baby in hand, the narrator says if it is Vietnamese, Brangelina gets first dibs. Baby Leonidas is then inspected, having a six-pack, biceps, and beard from birth. He is accepted as a Spartan and prepared for his kinghood through his childhood training, from fighting his grandmother to enduring James Bond-style torture. Leonidas (Sean Maguire) is then cast out into the wild, and survives the harsh winter while killing a giant penguin.

Returning a king for his inauguration ceremony, Leonidas sees Margo (Carmen Electra) dancing and asks her to marry him, to which she responds by giving him the combination to her chastity belt. The film then fast forwards to where the story begins, opening with Leonidas training his son, until Captain (Kevin Sorbo) informs him that a Persian messenger (bling and all) has arrived.

The messenger has come to present Xerxes’ demands for Sparta’s submission. Leonidas arrives to greet the messenger in the Spartan way (high-fives for the women and open mouth tongue kisses for the men). After growing angry with the messenger’s disrespect, Leonidas kicks him, the messenger’s bodyguards, and then several other people he just plain disliked, ranging from Britney Spears (Nicole Parker) and Kevin Federline (Nick Steele) to Sanjaya Malakar (Tony Yalda) (who proceeds to say “I’m not gay” on his way down) and the American Idol judges (who don’t like his style) and Ryan Seacrest (who throws himself) into “The Pit of Death”. As Leonidas walks off he turns to a column, that has a switch that reads “Garbage Disposal”, and flips the switch causing the celebrities to spiral to their “death”.

Resolving to face the Persians, Leonidas visits the Oracle, proposing an “erotic-sounding” strategy to repel the numerically superior enemy after offering the priests various skin-care lotions for guidance. The Oracle, Ugly Betty (Crista Flanagan), says some well-known lines as in “Save the cheerleader, save the world” from Heroes and “Douchebag says what” Leonidas responding with a “What?” Then, the Oracle reveals that Leonidas will die should he go to war.

That night, Leonidas and Margo then decide to have sex before Leonidas heads out (which in fact is just Leonidas bench pressing his wife one hundred times). Leonidas then goes out to meet the soldiers collected for his departure, and finds that only 13 (not 300) were accepted in the army, since there were stringent specifications to be accepted (one of which having a Mediterranean tan). Three among them included Captain, his son (Sonio), and a slightly unfit Spartan named Dilio. Sonio is then nominated as Sparta’s Next Top Warrior.

The 13 hold hands and skip behind Leonidas to Thermopylae, where they meet hunchback Paris Hilton (also played by Parker), whom they rejected from joining their army due to her mild deformities.

Leonidas and his platoon soon face off with Xerxes’ messenger and his Immortals, beating them in a dance contest (similar to the male-performed cheer dances in Stomp the Yard) before driving them off a cliff. Xerxes (Ken Davitian), impressed, personally approaches Leonidas and attempts to bribe him in a Deal or No Deal fashion. Despite the soldiers encouragements, the Spartan king declines, saying that he will instead make the “God King” fall. The Spartans then face the Xerxes army in a “Yo Momma” fight, ending with a victory in spite of Dilio having his eyes scratched out.

Though victory seemed to be in the Spartans’ grasp, Paris Hilton betrays the Spartans and reveals the location of the goat path to Xerxes, having been promised her hump removed among her various demands. Using a CGI army, Xerxes meets the 12 remaining Spartans and the war is on.

Meanwhile, back in Sparta, Queen Margo sexually submits to Traitoro to persuade him to send more troops to assist Leonidas. To which he repiles that he will finally lose his virginity while using his cell phone to take pictures. However, he reveals publicly that she has not been chaste - the anger at this revelation provokes a Symbiote Spider-Man suit to envelop her (mirroring the ‘evil’ Symbiote Spider-Man suit in Spider-Man 3) and she fights with Traitoro (who, in line with the parody, becomes the Spider-Man 3 villain the Sandman). Margo wins the battle with a vacuum cleaner - and Traitoro’s treachery is revealed, whereupon Sparta agrees to send more troops.

However, the Spartan decision to send troops comes too late, as Xerxes and the Persian army get ready to fight against the 12 Spartans, who refuse to retreat. The battle initially starts well for the Spartans (with increasingly silly fighting techniques) but the tide turns as the Persians introduce their secret weapons: Ghost Rider (who is quickly defeated) and Rocky (who kills Sonio but gets killed by the Captain). The Captain then gets killed by a spear, thrown by Xerxes.

The rage at his Captain’s death riles Leonidas, and the battle sequence switches to a GTA format as he runs through the Persian Army and corners Xerxes. While running away, Xerxes finds the Allspark (from Transformers) and harnesses its power to combine with a convertible and turn into “Xerxestron” (a parody of Megatron), playing both the Rick Roll and “Leave Britney Alone” videos to prove his “godly power”. But “Xerxestron” ends up delivering on Leonidas’s promise to “fall”, as his power cord disconnects and he falls forward, crushing the surviving Spartans under his bulk. Thus the narrator concludes “And just as Leonidas promised, the God King Xerxes did fall–but unfortunately right on top of them!”

The blind Dilio, who left prior to the final battle, eventually returns to Sparta to tell of Leonidas’ final moments. A year later, Dilio leads a force of 100 real Spartans and several thousand more CGI ones to defeat the Persians, but the blind warrior ends up going the wrong way and leads the Spartans to Malibu. They end up crashing into Lindsay Lohan while she was coming out of rehab (again), causing her to expose her bare crotch as she flies off screen.

The film ends with a musical number set to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” performed on American Idol by all of the characters in the film. It also spoofs Britney Spears’ VMA’s comeback performance. As the credits start rolling, it is followed by additional scenes not shown in the movie.

Cast

• Sean Maguire as King Leonidas - 300
• Ken Davitian as Xerxes - 300 / Transformers / Borat
• Carmen Electra as Queen Margo - 300 / Dennis Rodman / Spider Man 3
• Kevin Sorbo as Captain - 300
• Jareb Dauplaise as Dilio - 300
• Travis Van Winkle as Sonio - Accepted
• Diedrich Bader as Traitoro - 300 / Spider-Man 3
• Hunter Clary as Leo Jr. - 300
• Phil Morris as Messenger - 300
• Method Man as Persian Emissary - 300
• Nicole Parker as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres and Paula Abdul - Extra, MADtv, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and American Idol
• Ryan Fraley as Jack Black
• Zachary Dylan Smith as Little Leonidas
• Tiffany Claus as Angelina Jolie
• Nick Steele as Kevin Federline - Date Movie
• Ike Barinholtz as Bond Villain, Prophet, Dane Cook (in extended version)
• Tony Yalda as Sanjaya Malakar - American Idol
• Christopher Lett as Randy Jackson - American Idol
• Crista Flanagan as Oracle/Ugly Betty - Ugly Betty / 300 / The Matrix
• Jesse Lewis IV as Ms. Jay Alexander - America’s Next Top Model
• Jenny Costa as Tyra Banks - America’s Next Top Model
• Belinda Waymouth as Twiggy - America’s Next Top Model
• Dean Cochran as Rocky Balboa
• Emily Wilson as Lindsay Lohan
• John Di Domenico as Jack Thompson

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Rozema. The screenplay by Valerie Tripp focuses on the American Girl character Kit Kittredge, who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio during the Great Depression. The film is the first in the American Girl film series to have a theatrical release; the first three were television movies. The film was New Line’s first film to be rated G by the MPAA since the 1998 theatrical re-release of 1939’s Gone with the Wind.

Plot

Kit Kittredge (Abigail Breslin) is determined to become a reporter, and she writes articles on the typewriter in her tree house while drama unfolds beneath her. The mortgage on her house is about to be foreclosed because her father (Chris O’Donnell) lost his car dealership and couldn’t keep up with the payments. He has gone to Chicago to search for work, and to make some income her mother (Julia Ormond) takes in an odd assortment of boarders, including magician Mr. Berk (Stanley Tucci), dance instructor Miss Dooley (Jane Krakowski), and mobile library driver Miss Bond (Joan Cusack). Locally there have been reports of muggings and robberies supposedly committed by hobos. Kit investigates and meets young Will (Max Thieriot) and Countee (Willow Smith), who live in a hobo camp near the river. Kit writes a story about the camp and tries to sell it to Mr. Gibson (Wallace Shawn), the mean editor of the local newspaper, but he has no interest in the subject. She adopts a dog, her mother buys chickens, and Kit sells their eggs. Then a locked box containing her mother’s treasures is stolen, and a footprint with a star matching the one on Will’s boot is discovered, making him the prime suspect. It’s up to Kit and her friends Stirling (Zach Mills) and Ruthie (Madison Davenport) to gather enough evidence to prove that Will is innocent.

Cast

• Abigail Breslin as Kit Kittredge
• Chris O’Donnell as Mr. Kittredge
• Julia Ormond as Mrs. Kittredge
• Max Thieriot as Will Shepherd
• Joan Cusack as Miss Bond
• Jane Krakowski as Miss Dooley
• Madison Davenport as Ruthie Smithens
• Zach Mills as Stirling Howard
• Austin Macdonald as Roger
• Willow Smith as Countee
• Wallace Shawn as Mr. Gibson
• Glenne Headly as Mrs. Howard
• Stanley Tucci as Mr. Berk
• Colin Mochrie as Mr. Pennison

Critical reception

The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of July 14, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 93 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[2]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, “It has a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas” [3], and in the New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis said, “this classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons.” [4] Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News called it “resolutely old-fashioned” and thought “the script feels a little stiff and moralistic at times,” but added, “it’s hard to fault a film with such an intelligent, good-hearted heroine.” [5] Megan Basham of World Magazine said, “Even if young fans can’t relate the struggles in the movie to their own life, Kit still offers more than the shows and movies typically aimed at the tween girl market. Besides the simple educational value of giving them a picture to connect with their history lessons, the film also focuses on more significant themes than the materialism and prettiness championed in the Hannah Montana ghetto.” [6]

Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton.

Inspired by the true life exploits of Rodney Ansell, the film was made on a budget of under $10 million as a deliberate attempt to make a commercial Australian film that would appeal to a mainstream American audience, but proved to be a worldwide phenomenon. Released on April 30, 1986 in Australia, and on September 26, 1986 in the United States, it was the second highest grossing film in the USA in that year and went on to become the number one film worldwide at the box office.

There are two versions of the film: The Australian version, and the American/International version, with much of the Australian slang replaced with more commonly understood terms, and also being slightly shorter, lacking several scenes.

Plot

Sue Charlton, one of the protagonists, is a feature writer for Newsday, who is romantically involved with her editor, Richard. She travels to Australia to write some feature articles and hears about a man who survived a crocodile attack and the removal of his leg by the croc. She travels to meet this local, Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee, at an outback settlement, along with the owner of Never Never Outback Tours, Dundee’s employer, Walter. Sue is startled to find that “Crocodile” Dundee is not a typical hero and that he is frequently involved in fights. She also learns that the story of his fight with the crocodile is exaggerated, in that his leg is still intact, although with a massive bite scar.

Sue, Mick, and Walter travel into the wilderness, where Mick demonstrates his skills as a woodsman by estimating the time by looking at the sun (seconds after glancing at Walter’s watch), hypnotizing a buffalo, and killing a crocodile that attacks Sue. One evening, Mick introduces Sue to Neville Bill, the son of a tribal elder. Mick and “Nev” go to an Aboriginal tribal dance ceremony, to pay respect to Neville’s father and to the land. Sue, as a woman, is forbidden to take part in the ritual but she follows and hides in the bushes to observe it. While hiding in the bushes she uses her camera’s zoom lens to find Dundee in the crowd of men. She sees him look straight at her, letting her know that he is aware of her presence, enforcing her idea that he is somehow supernaturally in touch with the world around him.

They travel the same route that Mick took when he was injured, ending up in a freshwater lagoon. Sue and Mick share a kiss, but they are interrupted by Walter, returning to fetch them from the bush. Sue invites Mick to accompany her to New York, because he says he has never been to a big city. In New York, he is met with contempt and some jealousy by Richard. He also has a number of awkward moments where he displays an equal amount of unfamiliarity with his surroundings, as by trying to dodge the bottom of an escalator; trying by trial and error to ascertain the use of a bidet; asking the African-American limo driver his tribal background; touching the genitals of a cross-dresser to verify his gender; mixing a drug addict’s cocaine with steaming water and instructing him to inhale the vapors that way; and washing his clothes in the bath. He also demonstrates his canny sense of justice when he witnesses a purse-snatching and knocks the running thief insensate with a thrown can of food, and later when he beats a pimp who has used profane language in front of the prostitutes he is working with.

The most famous scene in the movie occurs when Mick and Sue are menaced by a trio of punks. One of whom brandishes a switchblade. Sue advises Mick to give the thief his wallet, because the thief has a knife. Mick merely chuckles at the switchblade. “That’s not a knife,” he scoffs, drawing his much larger outback Bowie knife with the words: “That’s a knife!” When the thieves run away, he smiles merrily and shrugs the incident off, saying “Just kids having fun”.

As they spend time together for the story, Mick and Sue become closer, which leads to further jealousy on Richard’s part. Richard tries to undermine Mick and his influence over Sue and secures Sam Charlton’s approval to ask Sue to marry him. When Richard finally proposes marriage to Sue at a dinner party, Mick is upset and decides to go on a ‘walkabout’ (which can last around 18 months) to reconcile himself to his situation. Sue tracks him to Grand Central Station, where they talk back and forth through the subway by having members of the crowd transmit their words. She insists to him that she has refused to marry Richard, on grounds of loving Mick instead; at this, Mick walks over the heads and raised hands of the jubilant crowd and embraces her.

Main cast

• Paul Hogan: Michael J. ‘Crocodile’ Dundee
• Linda Kozlowski: Sue Charlton
• John Meillon: Walter Reilly
• David Gulpilil: Neville Bell
• Steve Rackman: Donk
• Gerry Skilton: Nugget
• Terry Gill: Duffy
• Peter Turnbull: Trevor
• Christine Totos: Rosita
• Graham ‘Grace’ Walker: Angelo
• Mark Blum: Richard Mason
• Michael Lombard: Sam Charlton
• Caitlin Clarke: Simone

Awards

Award wins:

• Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy – Paul Hogan

Award nominations:

• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay – Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell
• BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay – Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell
• BAFTA Award for Best Actor – Paul Hogan
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Linda Kozlowski

Blood & Chocolate is a film released on January 26, 2007, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment and distributed by MGM. It is an in-name only adaptation of the young adult novel Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, which was adapted into a screenplay by Ehren Kruger. It was directed by Katja von Garnier. The movie was made available on DVD on June 12, 2007.

Synopsis

Vivian is a member of a supernatural race called loup-garoux, werewolves, who hide their identity in the general human populace. After her family is killed by hunters in America, she moves back to Bucharest, where she meets a man named Aiden who makes her question the traditions of her heritage and the value of blood ties…

Full plot

Vivian’s family was killed in America 10 years ago when she was 9 years old, after which she moved back to Bucharest, Romania to live with her aunt Astrid. Astrid is a former mate of the pack’s leader, Gabriel, and together they have a son named Rafe. According to pack law, the leader chooses a new mate every seven years. The choosing is a few months away and Gabriel wants Vivian as his mate, despite her reluctance. This is because of a prophecy which states that a female loup-garoux from the line of leaders will someday lead all loup-garoux into the age of hope. Gabriel thinks this loup garou will be Vivian, and for this reason he has chosen her for his “bride.”

While sitting one night in an abandoned church that celebrated the loup-garoux (having broken into it) she meets a human, Aiden, who is an artist (who also broke into the church for inspiration for his graphic novel series) researching the legend of the loup-garoux/or garouxone. Aiden is instantly smitten and pursues her for several days before she finally agrees to start seeing him. They meet in secret and fall in love. They are soon discovered by Vivian’s cousin Rafe and his four friends, who grew up with Vivian; throughout the movie Rafe and his friends are referred to as the Five. After Rafe tells Gabriel about the relationship, he orders Rafe to do whatever is necessary to get Aiden out of the city- even if it means death threats and bribing.

Rafe sends Aiden a note, pretending it is from Vivian and asking him to meet her in a chapel outside the city. After Rafe threatens him, Aiden throws him into the table where he cuts himself. Rafe’s spilling of blood forces his eyes to turn gold and reveal his loup-garoux side. He attempts to kill Aiden, however silver is fatal to the loup-garoux and can poison them when mixes with their blood (fire is the only other way to kill them). Aiden uses his silver medallion necklace to kill Rafe, in self-defense. (Aiden was trained by his “addicted, Army Ranger father” in self-defense, which obviously comes in handy.)

Gabriel and Astrid are devastated at the death of their son, and Aiden is caught by other loup-garoux at the train station (presumably to leave the country). Every month at full moon, the pack leads a hunt in the forest. The human prey is chosen because they are a danger to the pack or because they’ve offended one of its members (the first victim witnessed is a drug dealer). If the human manages to cross the river in the forest, they’re allowed to live, but no one has ever managed to reach the river. Aiden is chosen to be that moon cycle’s prey because he killed Rafe and he runs for his life. He cleverly spreads his blood around on the trees to confuse the hunting loup-garoux and buy some time (at the beginning of the “hunt” the prey is cut so that there is a blood scent to track). Fortunately, he’d stolen a silver knife from a restaurant earlier, and when two wolves corner him he is able to defend himself. He reaches the river and with great difficulty crosses it, however Gabriel is furious and breaks his own law, he follows Aiden and attacks. Vivian jumps in and she and Gabriel fight in their wolf forms; Vivian wins by pushing him into the river. Aiden attacks her, not recognizing her in her wolf skin, and slashes her arm with the knife. When she changes back into her human self she reveals who she is, he is stricken with guilt and is eager and reluctant to help her.

They flee to a building where films were once processed, because it is riddled with silver dust the loup-garoux would not dare enter to find them. After a few tender moments Astrid appears. Realizing where Vivian had gone, she confronts them with a gun. Vivian pleads for Aiden’s life, reminding Astrid of how important it is to be with someone you love, and Astrid (who is in love with Gabriel even though he no longer wants her for his mate) lets them free. They retrieve an antidote for Vivian by threatening a human pharmacist who is owned by Gabriel, but the man manages to alert the pack to their presence. Vivian fights to protect Aiden but she is captured.

In the wolves’ territory (a bar that is frequented by the pack), Gabriel decides that he and Vivian shall hunt (each other), but Aiden - watching from a skylight above) shoots him. A few of Gabriel’s hitmen shoot him down into the building and a massive fight begins. During the shooting, several kegs and bottles of alcohol (Absinthe) shatter and their contents spill onto the floor and Aiden sets the building on fire. Gabriel attacks Aiden but before he can strike a possibly fatal blow, Vivian aims a gun at Gabriel. He insults her by telling her how she is becoming that hunter on that snowy night and kill on of her family. Gabriel shifts into his wolf form and faces Vivian. Aiden pleads with Vivian to shoot Gabriel, to which she replies many times, “I can’t.” When Gabriel goes to attack Aiden, Vivian shoots him. Vivian feels guilty for having killed Gabriel, as a tear rolls down her cheek and she strokes Gabriel’s fur. She helps the other loup-garou who had been chasing her, escape from the fire and she and Aiden run away together.

The last scene is of them sitting in Gabriel’s car and driving out of the city, on their way to Paris. As they drive, several people in the streets show their throats (as submissive wolves do) to the car because they assume Gabriel is the driver. As the car passes under the Arcul de Triump (The Triumphal Arch built in 1935 and modeled after the Arc de Triomphe/Arch of Triumph in Paris), the movie ends.

Production

Since 1997, five directors were in talks to film Blood and Chocolate, namely Larry Williams and his wife Leslie Libman, Po-Chih Leong, Sanji Senaka and Rupert Wainwright, before Katja von Garnier finally signed in January 2005 to direct the film. The book was originally adapted into a script by Christopher Landon whose father Michael Landon had a leading role in the film I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). The filming took place in Bucharest, Romania, among others because director von Garnier wanted to work with “real” wolves which really live in Romania’s woods, instead of using computer-generated wolf creatures.[1]

Author Annette Curtis Klause was not kept up to date by the producers of the film. She had to find the

Release

The movie was a box office bomb, taking in only $2.1 million in the United States on its opening weekend and dropping out of the top 20 grossing movies in only its second week of release.

Differences between book and film

• The general message of the book is that werewolves and humans cannot have stable romantic relationships because humans cannot love all of a who/what a werewolf is. In the book Vivian chose her kind over human kind. The movie states the exact opposite, as Vivian and Aiden are still together at the end.
• In the book, all characters are American and the story takes place in Maryland. In the film it takes place in Romania and some characters have English, French or Romanian accents. Vivian and Aiden are the only characters with American accents.
• In the novel, none of the wolves’ eyes change to gold when they smell the scent of blood.
• Vivian’s mother Esme is alive and her father dies in the novel; in the film both her parents are dead. In the book Vivian is an only child, but in the film it is shown that she had siblings, who were killed along with her parents.
• In the film Vivian blames herself for her family’s death; she explains to Aiden that her paw prints were found by the enemy, leading them to her family. In the book, only her father dies and it was caused, albeit indirectly, by the Five.
• Aiden, Vivian, and the Five are high school students in the book. Vivian is in her teens and Aiden is a junior in High School. The Five are presumably in their late teens as well. In the film, Aiden appears to be older than Vivian, though no specific references are made to their ages or school.
• In the book, Astrid and Gabriel were never mates. Rafe is neither their son, but the son of Lucien Dafoe, nor is he Vivian’s cousin. Also, Astrid is not Vivian’s aunt and is actually the main antagonist in the book. However, Astrid in the film takes on the role of Esme in the book, and envies Gabriel’s mate in the film like Esme does Astrid in the book. Gabriel’s mate also fits Astrid’s physical description in the book.
• Rafe – and the rest of the Five – are attracted to Vivian in the novel; She and Rafe had dated at some point before the story takes place. This is not mentioned in the film.
• Rafe and Astrid are lovers in the novel; in the film they are mother and son. In the book, her son is Ulf of The Five.
• In the film there is no Ordeal between the male loup-garoux, and no Ordeal between the female loup-garoux. Gabriel is the leader from the start, instead of participating in the Ordeal as he did in the book. The rule is based on bloodline rather than triumph.
• Aiden is alone in Romania in the film; in the book he has friends and family around him other than Vivian.
• In the beginning of the novel, a character named Axel- a friend of the Five and Vivian’s former primary romantic interest – was mentioned several times. Axel does not appear in the film.
• In the novel, it was Axel, and not Rafe, who murdered a girl because she rejected him.
• Vivian has an Uncle Rudy, Esme’s brother, in the novel. In the film, she has no uncle.
• Vivian is an artist in the novel; in the film Aiden is the artist.
• Vivian works at a chocolate and sweets shop in the film; she has no such job in the book.
• In the novel, when the pack leader takes a mate, she is his mate for life unless another female loup-garoux challenges and defeats her, or the pack leader approves of her new mate. In the film, the leader takes a mate every seven years.
• Gabriel is generally a protagonist and does not permit the pack to kill humans for pleasure; in the film he is the antagonist and encourages the killing of humans.
• Vivian is presumably a gray and brown loup-garoux in the book. However, in the film a white wolf was chosen to depict Vivian in her wolf-form.
• In the book, there is no prophecy.
• The book mentions an elderly female loup-garoux, Aunt Persia, who cures every ailment the loup-garoux may have including Vivian’s silver poisoning, however in the book Aunt Persia does not cure Vivian’s silver poisoning. In the film, she is not mentioned and an old pharmacist gives Vivian an antidote.
• In the book, Aiden gives Vivian a silver pentagram, which he later melts down into the bullets he shot Vivian and Rafe with. In the film, Aiden owns a pentagram necklace but does not give it to Vivian. He uses it to kill Rafe.
• In the book, silver can only kill if it enters the blood stream. In the film, it only needs to touch a loup-garoux
• In the book, Vivian’s parents had been the leaders of the pack before Gabriel, but the film never mentions this.
• When Vivian reveals her secret to Aiden in the book, he is terrified and wants nothing to do with her. In the film, Aiden is initially terrified and runs away from Vivian, but falls back in love with her after she saves him from the other loup-garoux.
• In the novel, the pack members shape-shift into their alternative forms. In the film, the transformation is much more spiritual, depicting Vivian and the others as humans who almost seem to ascend into a higher (or at least different) state of spiritual being, glowing mystically as they transform into that of the loup-garoux.
• In the book, Vivian enjoys changing into her wolf form, and does so frequently. Though she seemingly loses control throughout the novel. In the film, she struggles to prevent the change and only does so when necessary to save Aiden from the hunt.
• Though Aiden kills Rafe in both the book and the film, in the book Aiden shoots Rafe with a silver bullet. In the film, he kills him with his silver amulet.
• Gabriel is twenty-four in the novel; in the film he is of indeterminate age, though clearly old enough to have fathered Rafe with Astrid.
• At the end of the book Gabriel tells Vivian that he had once loved a human girl and how he could relate to Vivian’s feelings for Aiden. He does not do this is in the film, also, in the book Gabriel loves Vivian, but in the film he wants to marry her to fulfill the prophecy.
• In the film, Vivian shows a great amount of resistance to “Tradition” and Gabriel’s laws, whereas in the book, Gabriel explains that he loves her because she cares so much for her pack.
• In the book Aiden and Vivian break up at the end, and Vivian falls in love with Gabriel and agrees to become his mate. In the film, however, Gabriel is killed by Vivian and she leaves the pack with Aiden.
• In the film, Aiden’s last name is Galvin, while in the book, it is Teague.
• In the film the pack participate in special hunts, which take place in a forest. The prey is human, usually one who has done wrong to the pack, and is told that he must run through the forest in order to win his life back - if he passes the river in the forest then he can survive, if he is caught by a loup-garoux then he is killed by it. In the novel, however, there is no such practice since Gabriel does not advocate the killing of humans.

Directed by	Katja von Garnier
Produced by	Wolfgang Esenwein Hawk Koch Gary Lucchesi Tom Rosenberg Richard S. Wright
Written by	Ehren Kruger Christopher Landon (screenplay) Annette Curtis Klause (book)
Starring	Agnes Bruckner Hugh Dancy Olivier Martinez Bryan Dick
Music by	Reinhold Heil Johnny Klimek
Cinematography	Brendan Galvin
Editing by	David Gamble Emma E. Hickox
Distributed by	MGM
Release date(s)	January 26, 2007
Country	United State

Then She Found Me is a 2007 film, directed and starring Helen Hunt, that was adapted from a 1990 novel by Elinor Lipman. The film was released in Canada in 2007 and in the United States in 2008. It is Hunt’s directorial debut.[1]

The film also stars Colin Firth, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick. Famed writer Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, appears in a cameo role as a gynecologist.

Plot Summary

April (Helen Hunt) is a 39 year-old schoolteacher whose life is changing rapidly as the movie begins. First her husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) abruptly leaves her, then her adoptive mother passes away.

Into her life steps her birth mother Bernice (Bette Midler), who had abandoned her when she was an infant. Bernice is suddenly anxious to get to know her long-lost daughter. April resists the idea, annoyed that she was abandoned.

Bernice, an exuberant woman with her own TV talk show, initially claims that April was fathered by Steve McQueen. This turns out not to be true. While her relationship with Bernice develops, April struggles to reconcile her lingering feelings toward her husband with a new man in her life, the father of one of her students, Frank (Colin Firth).

The situation is complicated when April has a brief affair with Ben while seeing Frank (and pregnant with Ben’s child at this stage) Frank reacts to this with anger, and they split up. April has always wanted a child, and had been counselled by her adoptive mother to adopt a child.

The plot is resolved as April works through her feelings toward Ben and Frank.

Movie Versus Book

The movie is distinctly different from the book which inspired it, although some of the themes remain the same. In the novel, April was single, not divorced. Her love interest is not the father of a student but the also-single school librarian. The biological clock was not an overriding issue. Her adoptive parents were both Holocaust survivors.

Mr. White Mr. Black is a 2008 Bollywood film starring Arshad Warsi, Suniel Shetty and Sandhya Mridul.

Plot Synopsis

Gopi, a simpleton, arrives in Goa from Hoshiyarpur, to hand over a tiny piece of land to his childhood friend Kishen, which was his father’s last wish. Kishen, now a conman, swindles people with a little help from his accomplice, Babu, to earn enough money to educate his sibling Divya who’s studying in London. When Kishen gets to know that Gopi has reached Goa to meet him, he avoids him. Only because he doesn’t want to give up his flourishing business and travel to Hoshiyarpur just to take possession of a measly piece of land! However, Gopi is adamant to meet Kishen and is aided by Tanya, daughter of the owner of KG Resorts. Little do they realise that three girls are holed up at KG Resorts with stolen diamond worth crores. When Kishen, Babu and everyone else learn about this they all make a mad rush for KG Resorts. Gopi finds himself a part of the gang.

Trivia

• Jatin-Lalit are composing the score, two years after their separation.
• This is the first movie where Mika Singh and his brother Daler Mehndi have sung together.

Directed by	Deepak Shivdasani
Produced by	Bipin Shah
Written by	Deepak Shivdasani
Starring	Sunil Shetty Arshad Warsi Ashish Vidyarthi Sandhya Mridul Sadashiv Amrapurkar Tania Zaetta
Music by	Shamir Tandon Tauseef Akhtar Jatin Lalit
Cinematography	Thomas Xavier
Editing by	Steven Bernard
Release date(s)	May 2, 2008
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Baby Mama is a 2008 comedy film from Universal Pictures written and directed by Michael McCullers and starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Romany Malco and Dax Shepard.

Plot

Fey and Poehler at the premiere.

Kate Holbrook (Tina Fey), a successful single businesswoman from Philadelphia, has put her career before her personal life. At the age of 37, she has finally decided to have a child on her own, but her plans change when she discovers she has only the slimmest chance of becoming pregnant. Also denied adoption, Kate gets a South Jersey working girl, Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler), to become a surrogate mom.

When Angie becomes pregnant, Kate begins preparing for motherhood in her own typically driven fashion—until her surrogate shows up at her door with no place to live. Their conflicting personalities put them at odds as Kate learns first-hand about balancing motherhood and career by catering to Angie’s childish needs. As if this weren’t enough Kate also begins dating the local owner of a blended juice cafe, Rob (Greg Kinnear).

What Kate doesn’t know is that Angie is feigning the pregnancy and that in fact the in-vitro fertilization did not succeed. Hoping to ultimately run off with her payment, Angie begins to regret the lie but continually puts off confessing until getting an ultrasound wherein she discovers she is actually pregnant. Realizing the baby is her own (and her boyfriend’s), Angie is forced to confess at Kate’s baby shower. This drives a wedge between the two women.

At the court hearing to definitively determine the maternity of the child, Angie makes an impassioned apology. The baby turns out to be Angie’s. Meeting face to face after the proceedings, Angie’s water breaks and Kate rushes her to the hospital. During Angie’s delivery, Kate passes out. Upon waking she is told that she has miraculously become pregnant, the result of her relationship with her new beau.

Ultimately remaining friends, Angie and Kate raise their children together. They continue their lives with their babies and Rob and Kate stay together, while Carl stays close to their baby, but they are not together.

Critical reception

Baby Mama received mixed to generally positive reviews from critics. As of April 28, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 61% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 100 reviews, giving the film a “Certified Fresh” rating—with the consensus that the film is “a lightweight, predictable comedy with strong performances.”[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.[2] The movie received an average score of 63.1% from 59 film critics according to Movie Tab.[3]

In a review for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, reproductive lawyer Melissa Brisman comments that this movie should be viewed as entertainment rather than as portraying surrogacy in a factual manner. Gestational Carriers are thoroughly screened by most programs and are subject to numerous requirements such as already having their own children, being in a stable relationship or having a strong support system and employment and having a suitable place of their own to live. The biological basis for this movie is also inaccurate. For example, due to close monitoring and medications typically taken to prepare the Gestational Carrier during the embryo transfer procedures, it is not possible for a surrogate to become pregnant with her own biological child.[4]

The Visitor is a 2008 comedy/drama film starring Richard Jenkins. It was directed by Thomas McCarthy, who is known for his directorial debut The Station Agent. Jenkins plays Walter Vale, a professor who befriends a young couple who have been squatting in his New York City apartment. Vale visits New York City infrequently, and is in town for an academic conference. The young couple, Tarek, a Syrian djembe player, and Zainab, a Senegalese jewelry-maker, are illegal immigrants. When Tarek is detained at a subway station by the police, Vale attempts to prevent the young musician’s deportation from the United States, and ends up also befriending Tarek’s widowed mother Mouna.

Critical reception

Critics gave The Visitor enthusiastic reviews. As of May 18, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 91% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 77 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 78 out of 100, based on 16 reviews.[2]