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NO: 1 IRON MAN

Iron Man (2008): Directed by Jon Favreau. Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Faran Tahir, Shaun Toub. Memorable Quote: "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions I would've asked him. I would've asked him how he felt about what his company did, if he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch of man we remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero-accountability." (Tony Stark)

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IRON MAN 2008:

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THE PLOT:

Tony Stark is the complete playboy who also happens to be an engineering genius. While in Afghanistan demonstrating a new missile he's captured and wounded. His captors want him to assemble a missile for them but instead he creates an armored suit and a means to prevent his death from the shrapnel left in his chest by the attack. He uses the armored suit to escape. Back in the U.S. he announces his company will cease making weapons and he begins work on an updated armored suit only to find that Obadiah Stane, his second in command at Stark industries has been selling Stark weapons to the insurgents. He uses his new suit to return to Afghanistan to destroy the arms and then to stop Stane from misusing his research. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}

The playboy wolf and genius Tony Stark is the successful CIO of the Stark Industries, a weapon company founded by his father. His second in command is Obadiah Stane, who worked with his father, and his loyal and professional secretary is Pepper Potts, who has a crush on Tony. While in Afghanistan to demonstrate the ultimate Jericho missile developed by his company, his military convoy is attacked and Tony is seriously wounded on his chest and kidnapped by a group of rebels that wants him to assemble a missile for their use. Tony stays with his abductors for three months and develops a powerful metallic armor to escape from the cave where he is arrested. He decides to stop manufacturing weapons in his company under the protest of Obadiah, and dedicates his time to improve the armor, manufacturing it with gold and titanium and installing a propulsion system to fly. However, Pepper discovers that Tony was betrayed by Obadiah, who is using Tony's data to build prototype armor for him, transforming it in the ultimate weapon.

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NO: 2 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT 2008

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NO: 3 TAKEN 2008

Taken (2008): Directed by Pierre Morel. Starring: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Xander Berkeley, Holly Valance, Katie Cassidy. Memorable Quote: "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." (Bryan)

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NO: 3 TAKEN 2008

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THE PLOT:

Decorated and highly-skilled CIA Special Activities Division officer Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has recently retired. Although his frequent absences led to his divorce, he remained a loving, albeit distant father to his teen-aged daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). Hoping to bond with Kim, an aspiring singer, Bryan buys an expensive karaoke machine for her 17th birthday. But his gift is upstaged by Kim's wealthy stepfather, Stuart (Xander Berkeley), who gives her a horse at her party.

Later, Bryan's former CIA colleague, Sam (Leland Orser), hires Bryan for a one-night job with him: bodyguards for a famous singer, Sheerah (Holly Valance). After fending off an armed attacker, Bryan earns Sheerah's gratitude and a promise to help with Kim's musical aspirations. Kim invites Bryan to lunch the next day, but before he can share his good news, he discovers his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), is also there; the lunch is actually a set-up to persuade Bryan to sign a parental consent form allowing Kim to travel to Paris with her 19-year-old friend, Amanda (Katie Cassidy), who is visiting relatives there. Lenore is irritated when Bryan refuses to sign, and Kim, upset, tearfully rushes out. Wanting to win back his daughter's favor, Bryan reluctantly agrees to give his consent, but he is angered when he discovers later the girls are actually following a U2 concert tour throughout Europe. Affronted by Lenore's denial of the dangers, he is pressured by Lenore into letting Kim go.

In Paris, Kim and Amanda meet an attractive stranger named Peter (Nicolas Giraud), who suggests sharing a taxi, and also invites them to a party. But events soon turn sinister when, after Kim and Amanda are dropped off, Peter calls someone on his cell phone, giving them the apartment's address and information about the girls. Kim, meanwhile, learns that Amanda lied—they are actually staying at the apartment alone—a fact that Amanda revealed to Peter.

While talking to Bryan on her cell phone, Kim witnesses Amanda being abducted in another room. Bryan warns that she will be taken as well, and instructs her to shout out information about the kidnappers as he tapes the call. Kim then screams frantically while Bryan hears it all. Bryan realizes that the kidnapper had picked the phone up. Bryan then tells them that if they let her daughter go he will not chase them down, but if they refuse, he replies that he will "look for you [the kidnapper], I will find you, and I will kill you." He receives an answer of "Good luck!". Sam analyzes the recording and determines the kidnappers are the Albanian Mafia operating in Paris, who largely deal in sex slaves (Human trafficking). On average, these kidnapped girls have 96 hours (four days) before never being found.

At the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Bryan locates Peter as he lures another victim into a taxi. Attempting to escape, Peter is hit and killed by a truck. Bryan contacts an old friend, Jean-Claude (Olivier Rabourdin), who works for French Intelligence. Though doubtful that Kim can be found, he provides information on where Albanian pimps and their prostitutes operate. Navigating his way through Paris seedy underbelly, Bryan goes to a construction site where he finds groups of girls being drugged by the gang members. He notices one of them has Kim's jacket (to which she wore when leaving Los Angeles). He and the girl are pursued through the construction site but manage to escape to a hotel where Bryan nurses the girl back to life. She tells him of a house where Kim might be. He bluffs his way in, and, identifying a gang member's voice from the phone recording, kills nearly everyone there. Amanda is found dead from an apparent overdose, but Kim is already gone.

Mindful of the 96-hour deadline, Bryan tortures the surviving gang member, Marko, by hooking him up to wires and electrocuting him into revealing that Kim was sold to Patrice Saint-Clair (Gérard Watkins). Bryan then leaves Marko to die. Bryan returns to Jean-Claude's apartment and, deducing his connection with the human traffickers, confronts him about his illegal Albanian dealings, threatens to kill Jean Claude and shoots his wife in the arm to obtain Saint-Clair's address.

At Saint-Clair's, Bryan poses as a police commissioner in order to gain access to a party of French elites. Bryan eventually finds his way to a secret elevator and after killing the guard, enters the secret underground where the sex-slave auction takes place. After taking out a few guards, Bryan enters a darkened auction room posed as a champagne server. His daughter, Kim, is the last girl to be auctioned off, and after holding a gun to a buyer's head, Bryan forces the man to purchase Kim. Before Bryan can rescue her, he is knocked unconscious by surprise. Bryan is handcuffed to pipes outside of the auction room in front of numerous armed guards (Bryan takes notice of the man in possession of the keys to the handcuffs. Saint-Clair orders Bryan to die a quiet death as to not disturb the party upstairs. Bryan finds the keys to the handcuffs from a dead guard, killing Saint-Clair's henchmen, then forces Saint-Clair to reveal Kim's whereabouts before killing him. After finding the whereabouts of his daughter, Bryan attempts to run after an Audi (which he notices is Qatar registered) leaving the party en route to the yacht where Kim will be shipped on. Bryan runs after the car and eventually is able to steal the car once it is parked. He chases down the yacht by driving the wrong way on the highway in order to get to a nearby bridge where the yacht will pass by. Bryan boards the yacht by jumping off the bridge onto the yacht belonging to the fat prince who bought Kim, killing his guards in the process. After disposing of all the guards, Bryan enters the room where the fat prince holds a knife to Kim's neck and tries negotiating with Bryan, but Bryan shoots him dead. A short reunion scene is followed by Bryan and Kim returning to the United States, and, shortly thereafter, Bryan surprises Kim with a visit to Sheerah's house to help Kim launch a singing career.

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NO: 4 TRANSFORMERS 2007

Transformers (2007): Directed by Michael Bay. Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, Mark Ryan. Memorable Quote: "And the human race will be extinguished. Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival." (Optimus Prime)

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NO: 4 TRANSFORMERS 2007

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THE PLOT:

Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the benevolent Autobots, describes in a voice-over the shutdown of the Transformers' home world, Cybertron. It was destroyed by the malevolent Decepticon leader Megatron in his quest to get hold of the All Spark. The Autobots want to find the All Spark so they can use it to rebuild Cybertron and end the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, while the Decepticons want to use it to obliterate the Autobots and take over the universe. Megatron had managed to locate the All Spark on Earth, but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and froze in the ice. After stumbling upon his frozen body in 1897, explorer Captain Archibald Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigational system and his eye glasses were imprinted with the coordinates of the All Spark's location, an incident that left him blind and mentally unstable. Sector 7, a secret government organization created by President Herbert Hoover, discovered the All Spark in the Colorado River and built the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron was moved into this facility and was used to advance human technology through reverse engineering.

In the present day, a group of Decepticons composed of Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Brawl and Bonecrusher, have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles. Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S. SOCCENT forward operations base in Qatar and try to hack into the U.S. Military network to find the location of Megatron and the All Spark. Their mission is thwarted when the base staff cuts the network cable connections. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok pursues a small group of survivors, led by Captain William Lennox and Sergeant Robert Epps, who have photographic evidence of the robots. Scorponok is eventually repelled and hides in the sand after the humans manage to call air support and damage his tail. During this battle, the military discovers the only effective weapons against the Decepticons' armor are high-heat sabot rounds.

After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to again hack into the military network, planting a computer virus. He finds the map imprinted on Captain Witwicky's glasses. While the Pentagon interferes with Frenzy's plan, he finds that Witwicky's descendant Sam Witwicky intends to sell the glasses on eBay. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location. Meanwhile, Sam buys the Autobot scout Bumblebee (also on Earth disguised as a 1976 Camaro[2]) as his first car. After Bumblebee helps Sam woo his crush, Mikaela Banes, he leaves at night to transmit a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots. Sam pursues Bumblebee, thinking someone is stealing his car, but is shocked to find his car is actually a giant robot, which he regards as evil as first. Sam then gets arrested, and in the police station, tries to explain to the police officer what happened, but the apathetic and impassive officer just assumes that he is hallucinating under the influence of drugs. When Bumblebee (in car mode) returns the following day, Sam flees, believing the car is stalking him. While out, Barricade attacks Sam and ferociously interrogates him about his grandfather's glasses. Bumblebee saves Sam and Mikaela and engages Barricade in battle. During the fight, Mikaela severs Frenzy's head but he transforms into her cellphone and hides in her purse. They leave to meet with the rest of the Autobot team—Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet—who have landed on Earth and taken the forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses; however, agents from Sector 7 arrive and take Sam and Mikaela into custody. The Autobots intervene, but Sector 7 captures Bumblebee and sends Sam and Mikaela away.

Sam and Mikaela are taken to Hoover Dam, as are Lennox and Epps, under Defense Secretary John Keller's orders. Frenzy sends an alert to the other Decepticons and sneaks into the technology system, freeing Megatron from his frozen state. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can deliver the All Spark to Optimus Prime. Frenzy's hacking has shut down government communications, but Keller and two hackers, Maggie and Glen, manage to establish a signal to the Air Force in order to support the Autobot-human convoy that has gone to nearby Mission City to hide the All Spark. The Decepticons attack; Bonecrusher, Frenzy, Jazz, Brawl, Barricade and Blackout are all killed during the ensuing battle. Sam, who was instructed to put the All Spark into Optimus Prime's chest if Megatron prevailed (thereby destroying it and Optimus Prime), instead rams the All Spark cube into Megatron's chest. The All Spark disintegrates, and its power obliterates Megatron. Optimus takes a fragment of the All Spark from Megatron's corpse, but admits that with its destruction, their home world Cybertron cannot be restored. The government orders the closure of Sector 7 and has the destroyed Megatron dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Lennox and Epps are reunited with their families, and Sam and Mikaela form a relationship. Optimus transmits a message to all surviving Autobots in space, telling them that they have a new home on Earth. During the credits, Starscream—the only surviving Decepticon besides Scorponok—escapes into space.

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NO: 5 THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 2007

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007): Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring: Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen. Memorable Quote: "No. This is where it started for me. This is where it ends." (Jason Bourne)

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NO: 5 THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM 2007

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THE PLOT:

Wounded by a gunshot from Russian assassin Kirill (in the previous film, The Bourne Supremacy), Jason Bourne evades Moscow police and goes into hiding. Six weeks later, The Guardian correspondent Simon Ross meets with someone to discuss Bourne and Operation Treadstone. Bourne goes to Paris to inform Marie's brother Martin (Daniel Brühl), that she is dead. The CIA begin tracking Ross after he mentions "Operation Blackbriar" over a cell phone call. Bourne travels to London where he contacts Ross (Paddy Considine), a reporter for London's Guardian newspaper, and asks to meet with him at Waterloo Station after learning that Ross has been investigating Operation Treadstone, but realizes that the CIA are tracking Ross. Bourne helps Ross evade CIA teams trying to capture him, but Ross deviates from Bourne's instructions and is killed by Blackbriar assassin Paz on orders from Operation Blackbriar's director Noah Vosen. Pamela Landy, who had hunted Bourne six weeks earlier unsuccessfully, is brought in to help Vosen shortly after he spots Bourne in a CCTV camera feed. After searching Ross' notes, they figure out that Ross' source was Neal Daniels, CIA Station Chief in Madrid, who was formerly involved in Treadstone and is actively involved in Blackbriar. Bourne, having taken Ross' bag shortly after he was killed, is led to Daniels' Madrid office but finds it empty. After he incapacitates a CIA team sent by Vosen and Landy, Nicky Parsons arrives. She decides to help Bourne, telling him that Daniels has fled to Tangier and helping him escape another incoming CIA team. It's indicated that Parsons and Bourne had a deep, possibly romantic relationship before he lost his memory.

Upon arriving in Tangier, Parsons tries to track Daniels' location but is unable to, finding that Blackbriar "asset" Desh Bouksani has been tasked with killing Daniels. Vosen learns that Parsons logged in to access information about Daniels and sends Desh after Parsons and Bourne, a decision Landy disagrees with. Bourne manages to follow Desh to Daniels, but fails to prevent Daniels' death by a planted bomb. Bourne manages to kill Desh in a brutal fight before Desh can kill Parsons. Bourne subsequently sends Parsons into hiding. Bourne examines the contents of Daniels' charred briefcase and finds the address of the deep cover CIA bureau in New York City where Vosen directs Blackbriar. Bourne travels to New York City; Landy receives a phone call from Bourne (in a repetition of the final scene of The Bourne Supremacy), which is revealed to be tapped by Vosen. Landy thanks Bourne for the tape he sent her which revealed the corrupt dealings of former Treadstone director Ward Abbott; she also tells him that his real name is David Webb and his birthdate is 4/15/71. While speaking to Landy, Bourne notices Vosen storing highly classified materials in a safe in his office. Bourne tells Landy to "get some rest" because she "looks tired", which she and Vosen both understand to mean that Bourne is watching her. Vosen intercepts a text to Landy from Bourne of a location to meet up and leaves his office with a team to follow Landy and capture Bourne. Bourne breaks into Vosen's office and steals classified Blackbriar documents. Vosen sends Paz after Bourne, the two finally encountering each other in a car chase which ends with Paz forcing Bourne's car to crash into a concrete divider. Bourne gets out and holds Paz at gunpoint before sparing his life and continuing on to 415 East 71st Street, memories of which were triggered by the false birthday he was given by Landy. Vosen also figures out Landy's code and warns Dr. Albert Hirsch, who ran Treadstone's behavior modification program, that Bourne is coming.

Landy meets Bourne at the building, where Bourne gives her the Blackbriar files before going inside. Landy starts faxing the files to an unknown receiver, and is found by Vosen as the last page is successfully sent. Bourne encounters Hirsch in an upper level and, with Hirsch's help, remembers that he volunteered for the program. He states that he is no longer Jason Bourne and flees to the roof from Vosen's pursuing CIA team. Bourne is confronted on the roof by Paz, who asks Bourne why he did not kill him. Bourne asks Paz if he even knows why he is supposed to kill him and repeats the dying words of a Treadstone assassin Bourne killed (in The Bourne Identity): "Look at us. Look at what they make you give." Paz lowers his gun as Bourne runs to jump off the roof, but Vosen appears and shoots at Bourne as he leaps into the East River below. Some time later, Parsons is watching a television news broadcast about the exposure of Operation Blackbriar, the arrests of Hirsch and Vosen, a criminal investigation of CIA director Ezra Kramer, and that David Webb, a.k.a. Jason Bourne, was reportedly shot and fell into the East River. Upon hearing that his body has not been found after a three-day search, Parsons smiles; Bourne is shown swimming away under water after his fall.

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NO: 6 300 2007

300 (2007): Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, David Wenham, Dominic West, Vincent Regan, Rodrigo Santoro. Memorable Quote: "The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed." (King Leonidas)

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NO: 6 300 2007

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THE PLOT:

Dilios, a Spartan soldier, narrates the story of Leonidas, from boyhood to the throne of Sparta. Years later, a Persian messenger arrives at the gates of Sparta demanding it submit to King Xerxes. In response to this demand, Leonidas and his guards kick the messenger into a pit. Knowing this will prompt a Persian attack, Leonidas visits the Ephors—ancient, leprosy-ridden priests whose blessing he needs before the Spartan council will authorize going to war. He proposes they repel the numerically superior Persians by using the terrain of Thermopylae (the Hot Gates), and funnel the Persians into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Ephors consult the Oracle Pythia, who decrees that Sparta must not go to war during their religious festival. As Leonidas departs two agents of Xerxes appear, one of them, Theron, who bribe the Ephors with concubines and money.

Leonidas follows his plan anyway, setting out with only 300 soldiers, which he calls his personal guard to avoid needing the council's permission. Though he knows it is a certain suicide mission, he hopes the sacrifice will spur the council to unite against Persia. Along the way to Thermopylae, the Spartans are joined by Arcadians and other Greeks. At Thermopylae, they construct a wall to contain the approaching Persian advance. Meanwhile, Leonidas meets Ephialtes of Trachis, a hunchbacked Spartan whose parents fled Sparta to spare him certain infanticide. Wanting to redeem his father's name, he asks to join the fight, and warns him of a secret path the Persians could use to outflank and surround them. Though Leonidas is sympathetic and suggests he aid the wounded, he turns him down, as Ephialtes cannot properly hold a shield, which would compromise the Spartans' phalanx formation.

Before the battle, the Persians demand that the Spartans lay down their weapons. Leonidas refuses, and with their tightly-knit phalanx formation the Spartans use the narrow terrain to repeatedly rebuff the advancing Persian army. Xerxes personally parleys with Leonidas, offering him wealth and power in exchange for his loyalty and surrender. Leonidas declines and Xerxes sends his elite guard, the feared Immortals, to attack them. The Spartans successfully dispatch them, but Ephialtes defects to the Persians and informs them of the secret path. When they realize Ephialtes' treachery, the Arcadians retreat and Leonidas orders Dilios to return to Sparta to tell the Council of their sacrifice. Though Dilios had recently lost his left eye in combat, he is still fit for battle, but Leonidas decides to use Dilios' gift for storytelling to appeal to the Spartan council. Though reluctant to leave his brothers behind, Dilios leaves with the Arcadians.

In Sparta, Gorgo, Queen of Sparta and Leonidas' wife, is raped by the influential Theron, before which he promises his help in persuading the Spartan council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. Following her address to the Council, Theron publicly betrays the Queen, prompting the councilmen to cry out in outrage and Gorgo to kill him in a fit of anger. The dagger pierces his purse, spilling Persian coins from his robe, and the Council agrees to unite against Persia.

At Thermopylae, the Persians use the goat path to surround the Spartans. Xerxes' general demands their surrender, again offering Leonidas titles and prestige. Leonidas seemingly bows in submission, allowing one of his men to leap over him and kill the general instead. Furious, Xerxes orders his troops to attack. Leonidas rises and hurls his spear at Xerxes, cutting the King on the cheek, thus making good on an earlier promise to make "the 'god'-King bleed." Visibly disturbed by this reminder of his own mortality, Xerxes watches as all the Spartans are slaughtered by a massive barrage of arrows. Moments before his death, Leonidas pledges his undying love to Gorgo.

Concluding his tale before an audience of Spartans on the edge of the battlefield a year after Thermopylae, Dilios relates how the Persian army is depleted by desertions, out of fear, and the heavy casualties they suffered at the hands of a mere 300 Spartans. Word of the valiant resistance of the 300 Spartans spread across Greece, inspiring the different city-states to unite against the Persians. Now the Persians face 10,000 Spartans leading 30,000 free Greeks. Although still outnumbered, Dilios declares that the Greeks shall be victorious, and praises the sacrifice of King Leonidas of Sparta. He then leads the Greeks in a charge against the Persian army, beginning the Battle of Plataea

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NO: 7 CASINO ROYALE 2006

Casino Royale (2006): Directed by Martin Campbell. Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright. Memorable Quote: "The name's Bond. James Bond." (James Bond)

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NO: 7 CASINO ROYALE 2006

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

In the opening sequence, James Bond is on a mission that, if successful, will qualify him for double-0 status. He goes to Prague and kills an MI6 section chief, Dryden, who has leaked classified information, and his ally, Fisher. Elsewhere, Mr. White serves as a middleman introducing a banker, Le Chiffre, to a guerrilla group seeking a safe haven for its funds. Le Chiffre assures them that there is "no risk in the portfolio", but his investments actually involve considerable risk: he buys shorts on successful companies and then engineers terrorist attacks to sink their stock values.

In his first mission as Agent 007, Bond goes to Madagascar in pursuit of an international bomb-maker named Mollaka. After a free running chase to the Nambutu embassy, Bond kills his target and blows up a part of the building in order to escape. He obtains Mollaka's mobile phone and discovers that it has received calls from Alex Dimitrios, an associate of Le Chiffre in the Bahamas. Bond travels there and seduces Dimitros' wife, Solange. While answering a phone call, Solange reveals that her husband is flying to Miami. Bond leaves to pursue him. In Miami, 007 kills Dimitrios and then follows Le Chiffre's henchman, Carlos, to the Miami Airport. There, Bond foils Le Chiffre's plan to destroy the prototype Skyfleet airliner and thus leaves the banker with a major loss.

Now under pressure to recoup his clients' money, Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Hoping that a defeat would force Le Chiffre to aid the British government in exchange for protection from his creditors, MI6 enters Bond into the tournament. He meets up with Mathis, his ally in Montenegro, and Vesper Lynd, a treasury agent, who is assigned to look after his handling of the $10 million buy-in. After the tournament is underway for some time, Bond loses his initial stake. Vesper says that it would be a waste of money to continue to stake Bond and refuses to give him the funds to buy back in.

Distraught over his failure, Bond resolves to assassinate Le Chiffre. Before he can, CIA agent Felix Leiter, who is also playing in the tournament, intervenes and offers to stake Bond in exchange for custody of Le Chiffre. Back in the game, Bond begins to amass chips. Le Chiffre and his associates attempt to kill Bond by poisoning his drink, but he survives and wins the tournament. Soon afterward, Le Chiffre abducts Vesper and uses her to lure Bond into a near-fatal car chase, which results in his capture as well. Le Chiffre then tortures Bond for the access code to the game's winnings. When it becomes clear that Bond will not give in, Le Chiffre advances to castrate him, but Mr. White enters and kills Le Chiffre and his associates for their failure. Bond and Vesper are left alive.

Bond awakens in a hospital on Lake Como and orders Mathis, whom Le Chiffre identified as a double agent, arrested. Bond admits his love for Vesper and vows to quit the service before it strips him of his humanity. Accordingly, he posts his resignation to M and goes on a romantic holiday in Venice with Vesper. However, Bond soon learns that his poker winnings were never deposited in the Treasury's account. Realizing that Vesper has stolen them, he pursues her and members of the organization she is working for into a building under renovation. After killing the enemy guards outside and inside the building, Bond finds Vesper imprisoned in an elevator. Apologizing to him tearfully, she locks the inside door and the elevator plunges underwater. Bond attempts to rescue her, but she drowns before he can reach her. Mr. White, watching from a balcony, walks away with the money.

Bond, feeling betrayed, learns from M that Vesper had a French-Algerian boyfriend who was kidnapped by the organization behind Le Chiffre and Mr. White and that she agreed to deliver the money only if they would consent to leave Bond alive. He then discovers White's name and number in Vesper's mobile phone. White, arriving at a palatial estate near Lake Como, receives a phone call. Upon asking "Who is this?", he is shot in the leg. As he painfully crawls towards the villa, Bond appears, gun in hand, and responds, "The name's Bond. James Bond."

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 8 SPIDERMAN 2 2004

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 8 SPIDERMAN 2 2004

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

Peter Parker is finding his double life increasingly difficult. Precariously struggling to balance his crime-fighting duties with the demands of his normal life, Peter often finds his personal life taking a back seat. He loses a job, faces financial difficulties, and struggles to maintain his physics studies at Columbia University. Moreover, he has become estranged from both love interest Mary Jane, who to Peter's disappointment is in a relationship, and best friend Harry Osborn who falsely accuses Spider-Man of murdering his father, and Aunt May is threatened with foreclosure.

Harry, now head of Oscorp's research division, has invested in the research of brilliant scientist Otto Octavius, Peter's idol. To perform a sustained fusion experiment, Octavius has developed a set of artificially intelligent mechanical arms, which are impervious to heat and magnetism. Though the experiment overloads and becomes unstable, Dr. Octavius refuses to halt it, with devastating results: his wife is killed; the neural inhibitor chip which prevented the advanced AI of the arms from influencing Octavius's own mind is destroyed; and the arms are fused to his spine. Unconscious, he is taken to a hospital to have the appendages removed, but the tentacles develop their own ability to move at will and brutally kill the surgeons, and Octavius escapes. Uncontrolled, the tentacles begin to corrupt Octavius' mind, playing on his vanity and ego, and he decides he must complete his experiment at any cost. J. Jonah Jameson names him "Doctor Octopus" or "Doc Ock". In an effort to finance his experiments, Doc Ock attempts to rob a bank where Peter Parker and his Aunt May happen to be present. After a short glitch in his powers, Spider-Man manages to recover and soon the two take their fight outside the bank, but Doc Ock takes Aunt May as a hostage. When Spider-Man rescues her, she revises her former opinion of him and realizes that he is a hero. Octavius escapes unharmed.

During a party, Peter learns that M.J. is planning to marry J. Jonah Jameson's son, John Jameson, an astronaut. He also gets into a physical altercation with Harry, who is drunk because Octavius' failed experiment left Oscorp bankrupt, over his loyalty to Spider-Man; shortly after he loses his powers while web-slinging across town. Meanwhile, Octavius rebuilds his experimental reactor. Peter questions if he could ever have what he "needs", a life as Peter Parker, which involves a vision of Uncle Ben, and resolves to give up being Spider-Man, to which J. Jonah Jameson is delighted, having been given the abandoned Spider-Man suit. Back home, after visiting Uncle Ben's grave, Aunt May is distressed by Peter's confession that he was somewhat responsible for his Uncle Ben's death. Aunt May and Peter reconcile, and she tells Peter of the hope that Spider-Man brings to others, in spite of what dreams he may have to sacrifice. Peter attempts to re-connect with Mary Jane, but she informs him it is too late. In the meantime, Doc Ock has completed rebuilding his reactor, and needs one final item: the tritium which fuels the reactor. He goes to Harry Osborn for it, dangling him over the edge of the Osborn mansion balcony when he refuses. Harry agrees to give Ock what he needs in exchange for capturing Spider-Man.

Mary Jane meets Peter in a coffee shop to ask if he still loves her, but Peter tells her that he does not. Doc Ock, having been advised by Harry that Peter was the key to finding Spider-Man, destroys the coffee shop. Peter regains his spider-sense at the right moment to throw Mary Jane and himself out of the way of a thrown taxi, but Doc Ock abducts Mary Jane in a plot to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Peter's powers fully return, and he dons his costume and engages Doc Ock in a battle, which starts off at the top of a bell tower and then on top of a train. During the battle, Octavius manages to destroy the brakes to the train, forcing Spider-Man to rescue the runaway train.

Spider-Man manages to stop the train before it can plunge over the end of the track, but at great physical exertion. He nearly falls, but the people in the train catch him and see him without his mask on. They agree to keep his identity a secret and try to protect him from Doc Ock, but his mechanical arms are too much for them. Weak from his exertions Spider-Man becomes dizzy and faints and he is captured by Doctor Octopus and delivered to Harry Osborn. Harry unmasks Spider-Man and is shocked to discover that his sworn enemy is his best friend. Spider-Man awakens and convinces Harry to reveal Octavius' whereabouts so he can rescue Mary Jane, learning that Octavius is rebuilding his machine and threatening the world. Spider-Man finds Doctor Octavius in an abandoned warehouse on a waterfront pier, where he's restarted his fusion experiment. After battling with Doc Ock, Spider-Man manages to stun the villain with an electric shock. Peter then reveals his true identity to Octavius and pleads with him to stop the machine. Returned to his senses by the shock and determined to end his doomsday experiment before it causes more harm, Octavius uses his mechanical arms to collapse the floor of the building, successfully drowning the device at the cost of his own life. Mary Jane sees Peter without his mask on, but Peter tells her they can never be together, as he will always have enemies.

Across town, Harry has visions of his father, the late Norman Osborn, in a hanging mirror. The illusion demands that his son kill Peter Parker to avenge his death. Harry refuses and hurls a dagger at the mirror, shattering it and revealing a secret room, containing the Green Goblin's war gear. At the end of the film, Mary Jane leaves her wedding and finds Peter in his apartment, telling him that she has decided to be with him – despite the risks. She persuades Peter to finally let her in while accepting the need of his vows by letting him respond to a sudden call for help. She looks on in uncertainty as Spider-Man swings away.

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 9 THE TRANSPORTER 2002

The Transporter (French: Le Transporteur) is a 2002 French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen and written by Luc Besson, who was inspired by BMW Films' The Hire series.

The film stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, a driver for hire – a mercenary "transporter" who will deliver anything, anywhere – no questions asked – for the right price. It also stars Shu Qi as Lai Kwai.

The film was released in France on October 2, 2002 and in the United States on October 11, 2002. It is the first film in a series also consisting of Transporter 2 and Transporter 3.

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 9 THE TRANSPORTER 2002

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a highly regarded "transporter" in the underworld. He will transport anything, anywhere – no questions asked – for the right price.

He operates by a set of rules:

Never change the Deal.
No names.
Never open the package.
Never make a promise you can't keep.

Frank has been hired to transport a gang of bank robbers who want to avoid being caught by the police: "Three men, 254 kilos". When four bank robbers get in the car, he refuses to move until one of the robbers gets out, holding fast to Rule #1. After one gang member is killed by the others and thrown out of the car, Frank leaves with the remaining robbers. After he delivers them to their destination, they offer to pay him extra to drive further. He refuses, again adhering to Rule #1.

Frank is then hired to deliver a package to an American gangster (Matt Schulze) known only as "Wall Street." While changing a flat tire on the way to Wall Street, he breaks one of his rules and opens the package. It is revealed to be a young woman named Lai (Shu Qi), tied up and gagged. When Frank allows Lai to urinate by the roadside, she escapes, but Frank recaptures her and delivers her as promised. As he leaves, Wall Street hires Frank to transport a briefcase; the briefcase turns out to be a bomb, destroying the car but leaving Frank, who had stopped for a break, unharmed.

Frank returns to the delivery site, injures many of Wall Street's henchmen, steals his car, and takes Lai back to his house, giving her her freedom. She chooses to stay. Local police inspector Tarconi turns up at the door for coffee and confronts Frank about his car, producing a scorched license plate. After Tarconi leaves, Wall Street's henchmen blow up Frank's house. He and Lai escape through an aquatic tunnel.

Later, Lai looks through police records to find Wall Street. She explains that Wall Street is smuggling a large container full of Chinese people, including her father and family. Lai and Frank go to Wall Street's office, where they learn that Lai's father is actually a business associate of Wall Street who is assisting him with the smuggling. The two turn up with henchmen and knock Frank out, but they stop short of killing him when Tarconi arrives and arrests Frank, believing that he has kidnapped Lai. Lai goes with her father.

At the police station, Frank explains the situation to Tarconi, who frees him by pretending to be held hostage. Frank commandeers a boat and searches for the containers and Lai. He finds the container port, but the container has already left. Hijacking a small plane, he tracks down the convoy and jumps onto it, eventually stealing the truck and taking it off the road. Upon parking, he is held at gunpoint by Lai's father, who orders his sole henchman to kill his daughter if she resists. As he leads Frank away to be shot, a lone gunshot sounds, alluding to Lai's death. However, before her father can shoot Frank, Lai appears and shoots her father dead. Tarconi turns up, thanks Frank, and releases the slaves from the container.

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quote:

Originally posted by asj:
ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 7 CASINO ROYALE 2006

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my my my...boy is he ever a hunk love him in this movie..always liked JB movies n watch them when i have the chance

ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO:10 CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000): Directed by Ang Lee. Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen. Memorable Quote: "A faithful heart makes wishes come true." (Lo/ Dark Cloud)

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO:10 CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON:

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

The film is set in the Qing Dynasty during Emperor Qianlong's reign. Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) is an accomplished Wudang swordsman. Long ago, his master was murdered by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei), a woman who sought to learn Wudang skills. Mu Bai is also a good friend of Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), a female warrior. Mu Bai and Shu Lien have developed feelings for each other, but have never acknowledged or acted on them. Mu Bai, intending to give up his warrior life, asks Shu Lien to transport his sword, also referred to as the Green Destiny, to the city of Peking, as a gift for their friend Sir Te (Sihung Lung). At Sir Te's estate, Shu Lien meets Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the daughter of Governor Yu (Fa Zeng Li), a visiting Manchu aristocrat. Jen, destined for an arranged marriage and yearning for adventure, seems envious of Shu Lien's warrior lifestyle.

One evening, a masked thief sneaks into Sir Te's estate and steals the sword. Mu Bai and Shu Lien trace the theft to Governor Yu's compound and learn that Jade Fox has been posing as Jen's governess for many years. Mu Bai makes the acquaintance of Inspector Tsai (De Ming Wang), a police investigator from the provinces, and his daughter May (Li Li), who have come to Peking in pursuit of Jade Fox. Jade Fox challenges the pair and Sir Te's servant Master Bo (Xian Gao) to a showdown that night. Following a protracted battle, the group is on the verge of defeat when Mu Bai arrives and outmaneuvers Jade Fox. Before Mu Bai can kill Jade Fox, the masked thief reappears and partners with Jade Fox to fight. Jade Fox resumes the fight and kills Tsai before fleeing with the thief (who is revealed to be Jade Fox's protegée, Jen). After seeing Jen fight Mu Bai, Jade Fox realizes Jen had been secretly studying the Wudang manual and has surpassed her in skill.

At night, a desert bandit named Lo (Chang Chen) breaks into Jen's bedroom and asks her to leave with him. A flashback reveals that in the past, when Governor Yu and his family were traveling in the western deserts, Lo and his bandits had raided Jen's caravan and after a protracted desert chase, kidnapped her. However, Lo and Jen soon fell passionately in love. Lo eventually convinced Jen to return to her family, though not before telling her a legend of a man who jumped off a cliff to make his wishes come true. Because the man's heart was pure, he did not die. Lo came to Peking to persuade Jen not to go through with her arranged marriage. However, Jen refuses to leave with him. Later, Lo interrupts Jen's wedding procession, begging her to come away with him. Nearby, Shu Lien and Mu Bai convince Lo to wait for Jen at Wudang Mountain, where he will be safe from Jen's family, who are furious with him.

Jen visits Shu Lien, who tells her that Lo is waiting for her at Wudang Mountain. After an angry dispute, the two women engage in a duel. Wielding the Green Destiny, Jen gains the upper hand by destroying every weapon that Shu Lien uses, despite being on the defensive more often than not. But Shu Lien finally uses this to her advantage, surprising Jen by pressing a broken sword to her throat. However, rather than acknowledging her defeat and handing over the sword, Jen injures Shu Lien when she lowers her broken weapon. Mu Bai arrives and pursues Jen into a bamboo forest. A duel ensues where Mu Bai over comes a challenge Jen sets before him (to determine whether she will be his pupil), regaining possession of the Green Destiny. But when Jen still refuses his offer, he throws the sword over a waterfall. In pursuit, Jen dives into an adjoining river to retrieve the sword, and is then rescued by Fox. Fox puts Jen into a drugged sleep and places her in a cavern; Mu Bai and Shu Lien discover her there. Fox suddenly reappears and attacks the others with poisoned darts. Mu Bai blocks the needles with his sword and avenges his master's death by mortally wounding Fox, only to realize that one of the darts hit him in the neck. Fox dies, confessing that her goal had been to kill Jen, because she was furious that Jen hid the secrets of Wudan from her.

As Jen runs off to prepare the antidote for the poisoned dart, Mu Bai prepares to die. With his last breaths, he finally confesses his love for Shu Lien, and dies in her arms as Jen returns too late to save him. The Green Destiny is returned back to Sir Te. Jen later goes to Wudang Mountain and spends one last night with Lo. The next morning, Lo finds Jen standing on a balcony overlooking the edge of the mountain. In an echo of the legend that they spoke about in the desert, she asks him to make a wish. He complies, wishing for them to be together, back in the desert. Jen then leaps over the side of the mountain into the clouds

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quote:

Originally posted by IK:

quote:

Originally posted by asj:
ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 7 CASINO ROYALE 2006

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my my my...boy is he ever a hunk love him in this movie..always liked JB movies n watch them when i have the chance

Yes Anjie, JB Movies is a joy to look at, in my library, there is the entire collection and every now and again I am tempted to go back to the older ones.

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 11 THE GLADIATOR 2000:

Gladiator (2000): Directed by Ridley Scott. Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris. Memorable Quote: "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." (Maximus)

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 11 THE GLADIATOR 2000:

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of the leading generals in the Roman army. He leads his men to a decisive victory against Germanic barbarians, finally ending a long war on the Roman frontier and earning the esteem of the elderly Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Marcus is dying, and though he has a son, Commodus, the emperor wishes to appoint temporary leadership to Maximus, with a desire to eventually return power to the Senate. When Commodus is told directly by his father that he will not be appointed emperor, he murders Marcus in a fit of rage and claims the throne. Maximus realizes the truth about Commodus' patricide, but he is betrayed by his friend Quintus, who instructs the guards to carry out Commodus' order to execute Maximus. Soldiers are also sent to murder Maximus' wife and son. Maximus manages to escape his assassination, and races home only to find that he was too late to save his wife and son, who have been crucified. After burying them, Maximus is found unconscious by slave traders and taken to Zucchabar, a Roman city in North Africa. There, he is bought by a slave trader named Proximo and forced to fight for his life in arena tournaments. During this time, he meets the Numidian gladiator Juba, and a barbarian from Germania named Hagen. Juba proves to be a great comfort to Maximus, and he speaks to Juba of the afterlife, encouraging him to believe that he will be reunited with his family when he dies.

In order to survive as a gladiator, Maximus appeals to the Roman people under the name and title "Spaniard". His power and fame grow until he ultimately reaches the historic Roman Colosseum and comes into contact again with Commodus. In his first event, he skilfully leads a band of other gladiators to defeat an opposing force of chariots and archers, earning the crowd's praise through his heroics in the fighting. Upon being introduced to Commodus in the arena afterward, he reveals his true identity to the stunned emperor, who considers having Maximus executed on the spot. However, the crowd votes for him to live and so Commodus backs down. Maximus later survives an indirect attack on his life when he is forced into a match against Tigris of Gaul, Rome's only undefeated gladiator. Maximus avoids being killed by tigers released into the arena and defeats Tigris. Yet Maximus ultimately refuses to obey Commodus' command to strike the death blow, and he is pronounced "Maximus the Merciful" by the crowd. This furthers Commodus' frustration, as it seems he cannot kill or humiliate Maximus without losing popular support. Following the fight, Maximus meets with his former servant Cicero, who informs him that his army is still loyal to him. Soon thereafter, Maximus forms a plot with Lucilla, Commodus' sister, and the senator Gracchus, to rejoin with his army and topple Commodus by force. Commodus, however, suspects his sister of betrayal and by indirectly threatening her young son manipulates her into revealing the plot. During Maximus' attempted escape, Commodus' guards attack Proximo's gladiator school. Hagen and Proximo are killed in the attack, while Juba and the survivors are imprisoned. Maximus makes it to the city walls, but Cicero, who was waiting for him with horses, is killed by archers and Maximus is arrested by the guards.

Now desperate to have Maximus killed, Commodus arranges a duel with him in the arena. Commodus acknowledges Maxiums as a superior fighter stabs a restrained Maximus in his side with a stiletto before they enter the arena. In the midst of the fight, Maximus forces Commodus' sword from his hands. When Commodus demands a sword from the surrounding guards, Quintus orders them to sheathe their weapons. Commodus produces the hidden stiletto, but despite his handicap, Maximus defeats Commodus in driving the stiletto into Commodus' neck. With his dying words Maximus carries out Marcus Aurelius's commands, calling for Gracchus to be reinstated, the slaves to be freed, and power in Rome to be transferred to the Senate. Maximus dies in Lucilla's arms and his soul wanders into the afterlife with his family. Lucilla reiterates Maximus' wishes, reminding everyone that Maximus was a soldier of Rome and that his memory should be honored. Some time later, Juba, now free, buries Maximus' two small figurines of a woman and a boy in the ground where Maximus died.

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 12 SPEED 1994:

Speed (1994): Directed by Jan de Bont. Starring: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, Jeff Daniels, Alan Ruck, Glenn Plummer. Memorable Quote: "A bomb is made to explode. That's it's meaning. It's purpose. Your life is empty because you spend it trying to stop the bomb from becoming. And for who? For what? You know what a bomb is, Jack, that doesn't explode? It's a cheap gold watch, buddy." (Howard Payne)

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 12 SPEED 1994:

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

Los Angeles, October, 1993

Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and his partner Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels) are explosives experts in LAPD SWAT. An extortionist named Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) is holding a group of office workers for ransom in an express elevator. Jack and Harry manage to rescue the hostages before Payne sends the elevator plummeting to the basement. They find Payne in a freight elevator. Payne holds Harry hostage, but after a brief standoff, Jack shoots Harry in the leg, causing Payne to release his hostage. Payne escapes and sets off a small explosion in the parking garage that knocks Jack unconscious and appears to kill Payne. Jack and Harry are then commended for their bravery by the LAPD in an official ceremony. Now with a crippled leg, Harry is promoted to Detective II and given a desk job.

Venice, June, 1994

It is almost eight months since the previous events occurred. After grabbing his morning coffee, Jack observes as a Santa Monica Municipal Bus Lines bus explode in front of him. Payne calls Jack on a nearby pay phone, revealing that he has rigged another bus to explode. Once the bus reaches 50 miles per hour, the bomb will be armed. If it drops below 50, it will explode. In addition, Payne will detonate the bus manually if anyone gets off the bus, or if the ransom is not delivered on time. To complicate matters even worse, the bus Payne rigs is an express bus running on the morning rush hour route into downtown, thus making an effort to stop the bus before the bomb arms futile. Jack locates the bus and jumps aboard, but the bomb has already been armed.

When Jack identifies himself as a police officer, one man draws a gun, believing Jack has come to arrest him. In an ensuing struggle, he accidentally shoots the driver, Sam (Hawthorne James). Another passenger, Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock), takes the wheel. Annie is left to drive the bus throughout the city while keeping it above the necessary speed and avoiding other cars. News of the bomb makes TV broadcasts and soon there is a long line of news choppers trailing the bus, which is routed onto the Interstate 105 freeway. Jack negotiates for the wounded bus driver to be evacuated from the moving bus. However, when Payne witnesses a terrified passenger named Helen trying to get off as well, he detonates a small bomb under the steps. This causes Helen to fall under the bus, where she is crushed to death beneath the wheels.

The bus comes to a 50 ft (15 m) gap in the freeway, but by increasing speed the bus launches over the gap. They drive to the Los Angeles International Airport where they can safely maintain their speed by driving in circles on the runway and, being a restricted airspace, the police can operate without the bomber seeing them in the media from the news helicopters. Jack goes under the bus on a sled in an attempt to defuse the bomb, but when the sled loses control, he tries to grab hold of the bus and accidentally ruptures the fuel tank with a screwdriver.

Harry and his team find several clues identifying Payne as the bomber, as it is revealed that Payne was once an Atlanta bomb squad sergeant who retired in 1989 after being severely injured (loses his thumb) while defusing a bomb, and being unsatisfied with the meager pension he received for years. They manage to locate and raid Payne's retirement residence, but Payne has already rigged the house with a bomb which explodes, killing Harry and his team.

Upon learning the deaths of Harry and his team, Jack discovers that Payne is monitoring the bus with a hidden camera. Using a news van, Mac and his colleagues loop the footage being transmitted to Payne. This allows them to safely evacuate the passengers to another bus. After Jack and Annie evacuate, the bus crashes into a fully fueled cargo plane and is destroyed in a spectacular explosion. Jack begins to fall in love with Annie, but she warns him that relationships started in intense situations tend not to last. Despite this, Annie starts to fall in love with him also.

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 13 TERMINATOR 2: 1991

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): Directed by James Cameron. Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick. Memorable Quote: "Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The terminator wouldn't stop, it would never leave him. It would never hurt him or shout at him or get drunk and hit him or say it was too busy to spend time with him. And it would die to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers that came over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only thing that measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice." (Sarah Connor)

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:


NO: 13 TERMINATOR 2: 1991

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ACTION MOVIES: FOR YOUR DVD COLLECTION:

THE PLOT:

In 1995, eleven years after the events of The Terminator, John Connor (Edward Furlong) is ten years old and living in Los Angeles with foster parents. His mother Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) had been preparing him throughout his childhood for his future role as the leader of the human Resistance against Skynet, but she was arrested after attempting to bomb a computer factory and remanded to a hospital for the criminally insane under the supervision of Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen). Skynet sends a new Terminator, a T-1000 (Robert Patrick), back in time to 1995 to kill John. A more advanced prototype than the Terminator that was sent after Sarah, the T-1000 is composed of "a mimetic polyalloy", a liquid metal that allows it to take the shape and appearance of anyone or anything it touches. Though it cannot mimic complex machines such as guns or bombs, it can shape parts of itself into knives and stabbing weapons and can mimic the voice and appearance of humans. It assumes the identity of a police officer and goes in pursuit of John. Meanwhile, the future John Connor has sent back a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), identical to the one that attacked Sarah, to protect his younger self.

The Terminator and the T-1000 converge on John in a mall, and a chase ensues in which John and the Terminator escape by motorcycle. The Terminator explains that he has been programmed to protect and obey John. Fearing that the T-1000 will kill Sarah in order to get to him, John orders the Terminator to help free her. They encounter Sarah in the midst of her own escape attempt, and she is initially terrified by the Terminator but accepts his assistance after he helps them to escape the T-1000. The Terminator informs John and Sarah about Skynet, the artificial intelligence that will initiate a nuclear holocaust on "Judgment Day" and go on to create the machines that will hunt the remnants of humanity. Sarah learns that the man most directly responsible for Skynet's creation is Miles Bennett Dyson (Joe Morton), a Cyberdyne Systems engineer working on a revolutionary new microprocessor that will form the basis for Skynet.

Gathering weapons from an old friend, Sarah plans to flee with John to Mexico. However, after having a horrific nightmare of a nuclear explosion she awakens with strengthened resolve and sets out to kill Miles Dyson. She wounds him at his home but finds herself unable to kill him in front of his family. Deducing her plan, John and the Terminator arrive and inform Miles of the consequences of his work. They learn that much of his research has been reverse engineered from the CPU and arm of the previous Terminator sent after Sarah. Convincing him that these items and his designs must be destroyed, they break into the Cyberdyne building and retrieve the CPU and arm. The police arrive and Miles is mortally wounded, but stays behind to trigger the detonator that will destroy his research.

The T-1000 pursues John, Sarah, and the Terminator, catching up to them in a steel mill. In a climactic battle, the Terminator fires a grenade into the T-1000 and it falls into a vat of molten steel where it is destroyed. John throws the pieces of the first Terminator into the steel as well. The Terminator then sacrifices himself, asking Sarah to lower him into the steel so that his technology cannot be used to create Skynet. Sarah looks to the future with hope, believing that if a Terminator can learn the value of human life, then perhaps humanity is not doomed to self-destruction.

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