Tuesday, April 22, 2008
ARCTIC TALE [PG] (2007)
As narrated by Queen Latifah, the film follows the lives of Nanu, a baby polar bear, and Seela, a walrus pup, from infancy through adolescence and finally adulthood. With climatic changes altering their environment, they must contend with shrinking and disappearing ice fields and flows, sources that the two species traditionally use for both protection and feeding.
BORN INTO BROTHELS [NC16] (2004)
Admist the apparent growing prosperity of India, there is a dark underbelly of poverty of another side of the nation that is little known. This film is a chronicle of filmmakers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's efforts to show that world of Calcutta's red light district. To do that, they inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes of the area to photograph the most reluctant subjects of it. As the kids excel in their new found art, the filmmakers struggle to help them have a chance for a better life away from the miserable poverty that threatens to crush their dreams.
Earth Day Special: THE 11TH HOUR [PG] (2007)
Leonardo DiCaprio introduces questions within and possible answers to the continuing puzzle of global warming. Announcing in its title the premise that we are living during the last time for taking action to stop or even reverse the effects, the film examines past and current events, noting but not focusing on corporate and political arguments that human activity is not responsible for the crisis. The film features passionate presentations by a broad range of speakers, including Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, Stephen Hawking, and former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey, and others, illustrating their arguments with archival news footage and charts.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
PEARL HARBOR [PG] (2001)
Pearl Harbor is a classic tale of romance set during a war that complicates everything. It all starts when childhood friends Rafe and Danny become Navy pilots and meet Evelyn a Navy nurse. Rafe falls head over heels and next thing you know Evelyn and Rafe are hooking up. Then Rafe volunteers to go fight in Britan and Evelyn and Danny get transfered to Pearl Harbor. And while Rafe is off fighting everything gets completely whack and next thing you know everybody is in the middle of an air raid we now know as "Pearl Harbor."
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LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA [NC16] (2006)
The island of Iwo Jima stands between the American military force and the home islands of Japan. Therefore the Imperial Japanese Army is desperate to prevent it from falling into American hands and providing a launching point for an invasion of Japan. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi is given command of the forces on the island and sets out to prepare for the imminent attack. General Kuribayashi, however, does not favor the rigid traditional approach recommended by his subordinates, and resentment and resistance fester among his staff. In the lower echelons, a young soldier, Saigo, a poor baker in civilian life, strives with his friends to survive the harsh regime of the Japanese army itself, all the while knowing that a fierce battle looms. When the American invasion begins, both Kuribayashi and Saigo find strength, honor, courage, and horrors beyond imagination.
FLAG OF OUR FATHERS [NC16] (2006)
In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American cause celebre. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph.
Friday, April 11, 2008
I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER [M18] (1998)
Two years after the horrible incident, Julie is back in college and is worse than ever having dreams about the killer. She gets comfort from a new friend named Will. Julie's other friend Karla tries to hook the two of them up and when she wins a trip to the Bahamas, she knows that it is perfect. But Ray is still in the picture and Julie only goes as friends. Karla, her boyfriend Tyrell, Julie, and Will take flight right before Ray encounters the fisherman again. He tries to tell Julie not to leave but it is too late. Now in the Bahamas Julie is starting to lighten up and have fun. Then suddenly things start going terribly wrong when a storm hits the Island and people start to disappear. Ray takes a boat to the island to warn Julie but will he make it on time to save Julie again from the fisherman?
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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER [NC16] (1997)
It's the fourth of July and four friends Julie, Ray, Helen, and Barry are celebrating along with graduation. On their way home they hit a pedestrian walking down a curved corner. They make a pact to keep it a secret in hopes of saving their futures. While dumping the body in a near by sea, the body becomes alive and tries to attach Helen. They throw him in and never return to that site. One year later, Julie returns home from college for summer break. In the mail she receives a letter stating that "I know what you did last summer." Julie freaks out and gathers up her old friends who are now separated, miserable and not speaking. They all decide to find out who saw them that fateful night and in the process of tracking the suspect down, the body count goes up.
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SCREAM TRILOGY [M18] (1996,1997,2000)
A peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer haunts the town. Sidney Prescott, a young teenage girl, whose mother was killed a year before, becomes the target of the mask killer! Her boyfriend Billy Loomis becomes the main suspect along with Sidney's father. Local Tabloid News Reporter Gail Weathers and Woodsbroro's Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley investigate and try to figure out who the killer is and if it's the same person who killed Sid's mom the year before!
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It has been two years since the tragic events at Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are trying to get on with their lives, and are currently both students at Windsor College. Cotton Weary is out of prison, and is trying to cash in on his unfortunate incarceration. Gale Weathers has written a bestseller, "The Woodsboro Murders," which has been turned into the film, "Stab," starring Tori Spelling as Sidney. As the film's play date approaches, the cycle of death begins anew. Dewey Riley immediately flies out of Woodsboro to try to protect Sidney, his "surrogate sister." But in this sequel to the 1996 horror film, the number of suspects only goes down as the body count slowly goes up!
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After the terrifying events that occurred around Windsor College, Sidney is now living alone in a secluded Northern California mountainside. Still haunted by her past, frightening images of her dead mother reappear time after time in her head as she tries to get on with her life. She now gives advice, under a fictional name for safety, to women in crisis via telephone. Soon enough though, her comfort turns to fear as she receives a threatening phone call from an anonymous source who informs her on the recent murders committed around the Hollywood set of "Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, the third and final chapter to the 'Stab' series. Sidney decides to visit the set when she finds out that with every victim, the new killer leaves behind a different photo of Sidney's deceased mother, Maureen Prescott. Eventually the cast of "Stab 3" start dying one by one and more photos of Maureen appear. Mark Kincaid, an LAPD detective, is sent to investigate the strange murder and becomes friendly with Sidney. Meanwhile, Gale visits the set of "Stab 3," after she hears of the murders. Ironically, she meets up with Dewey, who is now working behind the film alongside his actress/girlfriend Jennifer. Gale, Dewey, and Sidney rejoin along with the actors and actresses of "Stab 3," who are all shaken up by the rest of the cast being killed off. As the secret to Sidney's past unfolds, the three discover that in the trilogy, anything can happen.
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HERO [PG] (2002)
In ancient times China was divided into seven kingdoms. Qin, the king of the northern province, is under permanent threat of assassination attempts. His greatest fears are the warriors "Broken Sword", "Flying Snow" and "Sky". One day one of the magistrates of his kingdom enters the palace, claims that he defeated all three of the emperor's adversaries and tells his story; how he beat "Sky" in a duel and used the love between "Broken Sword" and "Flying Snow" to subdue them.
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HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS [NC16] (2004)
During the reign of the Tang dynasty in China, a secret organization called "The House of the Flying Daggers" rises and opposes the government. A police officer called Leo sends officer Jin to investigate a young dancer named Mei, claiming that she has ties to the "Flying Daggers". Leo arrests Mei, only to have Jin breaking her free in a plot to gain her trust and lead the police to the new leader of the secret organization. But things are far more complicated than they seem...
FEARLESS [NC16] (2006)
Martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.
A BATTLE OF WITS [PG] (2006)
In 370 B.C, China was separated as seven nations and several other small tribes, one of these being the city state of Liang. The nation of Zhao is led by the terrifying prime commander Xiang Yangzhong who orders his troops to launch an attack on Liang in a bid to conquer the small city. Leaping to the defense of the cowed people of Liang is a warrior who goes by the name of 'Ge Li' from the Mo-Tsu tribe, renowned for its defensive skills. He is their last hope as the terrors of Yangzhong's troops are unleashed. The future of Liang now hangs in the balance, with all their hopes pinned on the mysterious Mo-Tsu warrior Ge Li...
Thursday, April 10, 2008
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER [PG] (2006)
China, Later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century. On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai. His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress, this seems disingenuous. For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan, her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan, the Imperial Doctor's daughter. Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress's health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down an ominous path? The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor's family from the Palace to a remote area. While they are en route, mysterious assassins attack them. Chan and her mother, Jiang Shi are forced back to the palace. Their return sets off a tumultuous sequence of dark surprises. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the festival, ugly secrets are revealed. As the Imperial Family continues its elaborate charade in a palatial setting, thousands of golden armored warriors charge the palace. Who is behind this brutal rebellion? Where do Prince Jai's loyalties lie? Between love and desire, is there a final winner? Against a moonlit night, thousands of chrysanthemum blossoms are trampled as blood spills across the Imperial Palace.
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THE WARLORDS [NC16] (2007)
It’s the mid-19th century, one of the darkest periods of Chinese history. The country is suffering under the rule of the corrupt Manchus who invaded China from the North and established the country’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing. Natural disasters are wreaking havoc in the countryside, and in the midst of this chaos, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, one of the strongest rebel groups ever to rise up in China, is overrunning the country and staging battles with the Qing army threatening the Dragon throne.
When Ma first met the rough-and-ready bandit, Cao Erhu and his trusted Lieutenant Zhang Wenxiang, he had not an inkling that they will forever change his life. Cao, the dark and charismatic leader of a band of bandits, bonded with the dark Ma when this stranger saved his life. At Zhang’s urging, the three swear blood brotherhood. Ma had a dream – he wants to rid China of both the rebels and the corrupt Qing officials. Ma convinces Cao and Zhang on this noble quest and the trio soon engages in many dangerous battles and win. With the help of Cao and his men, Ma manages to squelch the rebels and rises through the ranks. Success has the power to corrupt – Ma soon became obsessed with power.
Cao and Zhang return to their native village, and Cao reunites for an evening with his beautiful wife, Lian. But when she and Ma look at each other for the first time, the chemistry is overwhelming; and the seed of betrayal is sown. Ma must remove the one obstacle standing between him and the loyalty of the bandit-soldiers and the beautiful Lian.
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300 [M18] (2006)
It is spring 480 BC, Persian King Xerxes, continuing his father Darius' master plan to conquer the Hellenic city-states, arrives in Hellas. The previous Persian invasion and diplomatic attempts have already turned most northern Hellas tribes and states to the Persian side. But the people of Athens and Sparta, the largest Hellenic powers at the time, feel quite insulted by the Persian emissaries' request to surrender to Xerxes, and so slay them. In Sparta, King Leonidas consults the local oracle, who gives two options: Either a spartan king will have to be sacrificed, or Sparta will be burned to the ground. A year earlier (481, BC) a Panhellenic consortium of all southern city-states had already recognized the superiority of the Spartan army (the best organized and trained army at the time) and had declared King Leonidas as supreme commander of the combined Hellenic army. It is then decided that a small force should block Xerxes' way to southern Hellas in the Thermopylae passage. This passage was, at that time, 12 meters wide. The great historian Herodotus, possibly exaggerating, states that there were 1,700,000 Persians (their true number could have been anywhere from 100,000 to 1,000,000) against 7,000 Hellenic hoplites and slaves, including the 300 men of the Spartan King elite guard. King Xerxes waited four days for the Hellenes to be frightened and eventually surrender and was quite astonished by his opponents' complete apathy. Xerxes tried to convince Leonidas to drop weapons, give up his position, kneel before him and live on as a local governor under Xerxes. King Leonidas replied "molon lave," which means "Come and get them." The three-day battle began, with the 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians (the other Hellenes where sent by Leonidas to protect passages to their flanks) slaying thousands of Persians with minimal losses. The whole Persian campaign would have failed if it hadn't been for Efialtes, who showed Xerxes a secret passage to the Hellenic flanks. After a final battle led by King Xerxes himself, the Hellenic force was slain and their heroism and glory was written forever in history. From the beginning of the battle, the Hellenes buried their dead in the spot where they fell. Then battle signs where made for the dead of each Hellenic faction. For the Pelloponisians, (including the 300 Spartans) the sign generally read (free translation) "In this place 4,000 Pelloponisians fought 30 millions)." For the 300 Spartans (Lakaedaemonians), the sign reads (free translation) "Oh foreigner, tell the Lakaedaemonians that we are buried here obeying their laws," meaning that they never hesitated and never retreated from the enemy. The impact of the battle was enormous for both sides. The Persians' morale dropped to zero, and the Hellenes lost their fear for the Persian conqueror and organized their defense. After several successful battles, the Hellenes ultimately defeated the Persian army and repelled their invasion in the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.
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Wednesday, April 9, 2008
CONSTANTINE [PG] (2005)
The story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine, who has literally been to Hell and back. When Constantine teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.
HELLBOY [PG] (2004)
In 1944, aided by the German Nazis' military and scientific departments researching the occult, the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin spent five years building a huge machine, a dimensional portal device on an island off the coast of Scotland, which he intends to use to bring about the destruction of Earth by awakening the Ogdru Jahad The Seven monstrous Gods of Chaos, entities which have been imprisoned and asleep since an undisclosed time! Rasputin's magical abilities alone can't sustain the power which the portal requires to remain open, which is why he uses the device to amplify and enhance his abilities. As his time to open the portal nears, he turns his attentions to his servant Ilsa von Haupstein, a member of the Nazi party, and grants her long life, youth and beauty along with the will to serve only him. Also in his employ is the ultra-silent assassin Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, who seemingly can't be killed. Kroenen has been decorated by Adolf Hitler for his work as the Nazis' top assassin, and leads the Thule Occult Society, the Nazis's occult research division, and has been aiding in the construction of the portal. However, the United States has sent forces of their own, along with a young doctor, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who is well-versed in terms of magic and sorcery. After deploying on the island, they watch in silence as Rasputin activates the portal and announces that "what [he] is about to do, can never be undone." After establishing the portal leading to the Ogdru Jahad, Rasputin is vulnerable because he can't simply disengage the link. At this point, fighting breaks out between the Nazi and American soldiers. In the midst of the battle, Bruttenholm manages to toss a grenade at the portal; trying to save his master, Kroenen goes after it and becomes impaled by rebar after the grenade detonates. With the device damaged, Rasputin's life force is drawn through the portal and he disappears through to the other side, seemingly dead! Saving the creature from being shot to death by the other soldiers, Bruttenholm coaxes the mysterious red demon creature into his arms with a candy bar, and later on that morning, the soldiers all make that mysterious red demon creature into their official mascot and give it the nickname "Hellboy." Sixty years later, a young FBI agent named John Myers is sent from Quantico, Virginia to a building in Newark, New Jersey which is identified as Squeaky Clean Waste Management Services. And Hellboy has to defend the city, battling the Sammaels through alleys, streets, and the subway, while trying to protect his friends from each attack. He is eventually pushed over the edge when Rasputin has Kroenen kill Professor Bruttenholm, who grasps onto a rosary as he dies!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
JOHNNY ENGLISH [PG] (2003)
In an uncertain world, few things are as dependable as the British Secret Service. So when an unthinkable plan to filch the country's beloved Crown Jewels comes to the Service's attention, the best man for the job, the creme de la creme of the organization's super sleuths, Agent Number One is quickly assigned to the case and is quickly dispatched to six feet under. But unfortunately for the B.S.S., virtually every other able member of its esteemed ranks soon joins Agent Number One in the afterworld when the funeral is being bombed! Now there is only one man remaining who can even hope to protect his country, avenge the elimination of all of the Secret Service's spies and uncover the fiendish plot to make off with the lasting symbols of the once supreme British empire, the Crown Jewels--Johhny English. He knows no fear. He knows no danger. In fact, he knows absolutely nothing.
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BRAVEHEART [M18] (1995)
The movie begins in the small town of Elderslie, Scotland. William lives with his father, Malcolm and elder brother John. William's father and brother are called to a meeting a few miles from their home where they find the entire nobility of Scotland hanging. Malcolm and John then go to a battle between the English and their clan, both die tragically. At the funeral William meets his uncle Argyle who fought in the battle with Malcolm and his father. He takes him away to live with him. The scene then cuts to an adult William on his horse. William later runs into a girl he knew before he went to live with Argyle, her name, Murron, we discover that Lords have the right to sleep with brides on their wedding night, so William marries Murron in secret. Murron is the assaulted by a English guard, the guard is killed by William, a fight ensues, and eventually Murron is killed by the lord. This enrages Wallace who then build himself a fine army entering city's and killing all Englishman within. Wallace prepares to move on to Sterling where he prepared for his greatest battle yet, in the forest he realizes that he must find a way to beat the heavy cavalry from the ground, he decided to create spears twice as long as men. These were used in the battle to kill the entire heavy cavalry raised at the last minute to kill the on coming horses. Eventually Wallace reaches York, the most important military city he gains control. Williams final battle at Falkirk ends in his betrayal by two nobles, whom he later kills. William is betrayed by the leper father of Robert the Bruce, is captured and refuses to bow down as a loyal subject of the king Edward I, Longshanks. Therefore, instead of mere beheading William Wallace is subject to being Hung, hung within an inch of death. Drawn, being stretched by his ankles and wrists and then having his insides shown to him before he died. Then Quartered, he was beheaded and his head was put on the London Bridge his body was torn into for pieces one sent to each corner of Britain as a warning to the citizens. After Wallace's death we see Robert the Bruce led the battle of Bannockburn the last battle for Scotland's freedom.
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Thursday, April 3, 2008
TITANIC [NC16] (1997)
Titanic, the ship of dreams. Is also known as Unsinkable, and it was unsinkable on its departure on April 10th, 1912. And on its epic journey a poor artist named Jack Dawson and a rich girl Rose DeWitt Bukator fall in love, until one night, their fairytale love for one another turns into a struggle for survival on a ship about to founder to the bottom of the North Atlantic. Rose leaves her fiancée Caledon Hockley for this poor artist, but when the Titanic collides with the Iceberg on April 14th, 1912, and then when the ship sinks on April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning, Jack dies and Rose survives and 84 years later Rose tells the story about her life on Titanic to her grand daughter and friends on the Keldysh and explains the first sight of Jack that falls into love, then into a fight for survival. When Rose gets saved by one lifeboat that comes back, they take her to the Carpathia with the 6 saved with Rose and the 700 people saved in the lifeboats. The Carpathia Immigration Officer asks Rose what her name is and she loved Jack so much she says her name is not Rose DeWitt Bukator, but her name is Rose Dawson. She seen Cal looking for her, but he doesn't see her, and they never ended up together, her mom, Cal, and friends of the family has know choice but to think that she died on the Titanic. But in the crash of 1929, Cal is married, but then he put a pistol in his mouth and committed suicide. So Rose is an actress in the 20's, and now 84 years later Rose Calvert is 100 years old and tells her grand daughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell, and Anatoly Mikailavich the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage, and then to Rose all Titanic and the real love of her life Jack Dawson is all an existence inside of her memory, and Titanic is to rest in peace at the bottom of the North Atlantic from 1912 until the end of time.
THE CHORUS [PG] (2004)
On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clément Mathieu arrives in "Fond de l' Etang" ("Bottom of the Well"), a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clément decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange, the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pépinot, a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clément changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
HARRY POTTER [PG] (2001,2002,2004,2005,2007)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first film in the Harry Potter series based off the novels by J.K. Rowling. It is the tale of Harry Potter, an ordinary 11-year-old boy serving as a sort of slave for his aunt and uncle who learns that he is actually a wizard and has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is snatched away from his mundane existence by Hagrid, the grounds keeper for Hogwarts, and quickly thrown into a world completely foreign to both him and the viewer. Famous for an incident that happened at his birth, Harry makes friends easily at his new school. He soon finds, however, that the wizarding world is far more dangerous for him than he would have imagined, and he quickly learns that not all wizards are ones to be trusted.
Harry Potter is in his second year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is visited by a house-elf named Dobby and warned not to go back to Hogwarts. Harry ignores his warning, and returns. He is still famous, although still disliked by Snape, Malfoy, and the rest of the Slytherins. But then, strange things start to happen. People are becoming petrified, and no-one knows what is doing it. Harry keeps hearing a voice.. a voice which seems to be coming from within the walls. They are told the story of the Chamber of Secrets. It is said that only Salazar Slytherin's true descendent will be able to open it. Harry, it turns out, is a Parsel-tongue. This means that he is able to speak/understand snakes. Everyone thinks that it's him that has opened the Chamber of Secrets because that is what Slytherin was famous for.
In the summer before his third year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter becomes fed up with his horrible aunt and uncle, and after accidentally inflating his visiting aunt Marge, he runs away. Unfortunately, there's much more danger in the wizarding world than harry thought; convicted mass murderer, Sirius Black, has escaped from the wizarding prison Azkaban. Black is known as Lord Voldemort's most devoted follower, and he's after Harry to avenge Voldemort and finish the job. But not everything is what it seems, and inside of Hogwarts there may just be a traitor...
Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is about to start and he is enjoying the summer vacation with his friends. They get the tickets to The Quidditch World Cup Final but after the match is over, people dressed like Lord Voldemort's 'Death Eaters' set a fire to all the visitors' tents, coupled with the appearance of Voldemort's symbol, the 'Dark Mark' in the sky, which causes a frenzy across the magical community. That same year, Hogwarts is hosting 'The Triwizard Tournament', a magical tournament between three well-known schools of magic : Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The contestants have to be above the age of 17, and are chosen by a magical object called Goblet of Fire. On the night of selection, however, the Goblet spews out four names instead of the usual three, with Harry unwittingly being selected as the Fourth Champion. Since the magic cannot be reversed, Harry is forced to go with it and brave three exceedingly difficult tasks.
After returning to Hogwarts to begin his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter discovers that much of the wizarding world, including the Ministry of Magic, is in denial about Lord Voldemort's return. The Order of the Phoenix, a group sworn against Voldemort, is using its vast array of wizards and witches magical abilities to combat Voldemort. Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, suspects that Dumbledore is using these claims of The Dark Lord's return as a means to over-throw Fudge as Minister. In retaliation, a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is appointed by the Ministry in order to keep an eye on Hogwarts. This new teacher, Professor Umbridge, implies strict new teachings and rules, forcing a group of students, under the tutelage of Harry, to form a club, by the name of Dumbledore's Army...
Tribute to Dith Pran: THE KILLING FIELDS [PG] (1984)
Sydney Schanberg is a New York Times journalist convering the civil war in Cambodia. Together with local representative Dith Pran, they cover some of the tragedy and madness of the war. When the Americans forces leave, Dith Pran sends his family with them, but stays behind himself to help Schanberg cover the event. As an American, Schanberg won't have any trouble leaving the country, but the situation is different for Pran; he's a local, and the Khmer Rouge are moving in.
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