Plot The true story of Anthony Swofford, a 20 year old recruit in United States Marine Corps. His time training, as a sniper, and eventually being shipped off to Saudi Arabia to assist with the Persian Gulf War, and the Desert Shield, and Desert Storm conflicts. Direction Directed by Sam Mendes, who captures the gritty wartime brilliantly. I loved his use of bright, almost blinding lights depicting the harsh environments that the men live in. This is contrasted by some stunning uses of dark and colours during the oil burning. …

Plot Dr Chris Neilsen and his brilliant artist wife Annie Collins have it all. The fairy-tale 'meet cute' which turned into a decades long marriage with two wonderful children, Ian and Marie. Sadly Ian and Marie are killed in a car accident, and then four years later Chris too is killed in another tragic accident. As he travels through the afterlife - he discovers that Annie has taken her own life - and is somewhere 'between heaven and hell'. Risking his own eternity, he travels literally through hell to bring her back with him to heaven.

Plot During WW2, one team of American soldiers land on the Solomon Island of Guadalcanal in order to secure Henderson Field from the Japanese to stop the enemy route to Australia. Direction Directed by Terence Malik, he is able to encapsulate the horrors of war, as well as the beauty of nature around it. Cast/Characters With more of an 'ensemble cast' there are several primary characters who we follow Jim Caviezel as Pvt Witt, who we are introduced to in the start of the film, and follow most of the way through.

Plot In the late 1960's, following the death of Bumpy Johnson, his driver Frank Lucas decides to take over as the 'robin hood of Harlem'. He wants a better business model for selling heroin, and decides to go straight to the source - and using the help of the Vietnam War, he heads to the Thailand jungle to secure direct product. Now selling pure heroin, he quickly becomes a powerful figurehead, even above the dons within the mafia. Meanwhile "Honest" detective Richie Roberts, having just handed in $1m drug money, is the lead investigator of the 'blue magic' heroin that has hit the streets.

Plot Melvin Smiley is a successful hit-man with a great boss Paris, and great friends including Cisco, Crunch and Vince. He is just hapless in love, with a fiance Pam, and a girlfriend Chantel, bleeding him dry. He agrees to tag along with a simple kidnapping of billionaire Jiro Nishi's daughter Keiko. Just there are two problems... Nishi is now broke due to self indulgent expenses, and Kieko just happens to be Paris' Goddaughter! Direction Directed by Hong Kong director/actor Che-Kirk Wong. I found some of his styles on point, such as solid use of flares/slow mo (the opening gun fight/Cisco's cigarette drop), and some fun camera angles (the glass drop).

P.L.O.T (DEVICE) After being demoted to traffic accidents due to one to many 'incidents' - Police Squad Lt Frank Drebbin Jr, first case might be connected to a Bank Heist he's been kicked off of. Along with the victims sister, they investigate a tech billionaire, whose secret organisation has created a P.L.O.T device that will cause people to return to their most 'animalistic' and rid the world of the weak. Direction Akiva Schaffer directs, and while its no means a bad effort, it is what it is. Cast/Characters Liam Neeson takes the mantle of "Frank Drebbin" - playing the late great Leslie Nielsen's characters son.

Plot A mine collapse in Manitoba Canada traps 26 miners below the surface. To get them out, it requires large drilling equipment too big to fly in. The CEO enlists Jim Goldenrod, a veteran trucker to assist. Jim hires brothers Mike and John "Gurty" McCann to travel along with himself, the no nonsense Tantoo - and Varney, the insurance agent for Katka - the company who owns the mine. To travel from Winnipeg up to Manitoba, the must trek along the dangerous "Ice Roads" which have begun to thaw in the April weather.

Plot Zak is a young man with down syndrome living in a residential nursing community, his best friend is octogenarian Karl. Tyler, is a 30 something 'nomad' who lives on both the mean streets, and also the rivers of North Carolina. When Zak escapes his "prison" in order to go to the wrestling school of his wresting idol "Salt Water Redneck", he meets up with Tyler - who directionless offers to take him there. They must contend with life, the residents of the states they travel through, and Zak's eager Caregiver Eleanore, who is desperate to get him back to where he belongs.

Plot Terry Benedict returns to the life of Danny Ocean and Tess - now happily re-married. He wants his money back (PLUS INTEREST) from the "Oceans Eleven". So they plan to steal a priceless Faberge Egg, and find themselves entangled with a master criminal. Direction Steven Soderberg returns to direct, and while some of his signatures are present (quick cuts on same scene), some new ones are sound (AMSTERDAM having a different letter different scene). In some scenes the music/score overpowers dialogue, so this should have been better done. Cast/Characters…

Plot When Axel Foley's boss, Captain Todd, is murdered, and the investigations lead him back to Beverly Hills - he is once again joined by Billy Rosewood - and his primary suspect is the big boss of the "Disney" like Wonder World. But of course, no one believes this "hero of the community" is up to no good... Direction Directed by John Landis (who had previously directed Murphy in Coming to America and Trading Places), this film has a completely different vibe to it than the previous entries. There are also terribly aged green screen moments that take away from the action moments which is a shame.

Plot A group of mercenaries head into the deep jungle of Latin America to find a missing cabinet member - whose helicopter has gone missing. After discovering the mission was a ruse, the team plan on a retreat - but something else is in the jungle. Something hunting them. Something... not human. Direction Directed by John McTiernan in his second film, he blends action/sci-fi with bouts of horror. Considering this would later go on to live in the same cannon as the Alien franchise (did they have this in mind at the time?) - the action is just as sound as what came before it in the franchise.

Plot Following a devastating accident that halts her ambitions of being a famous stage performer, Terry Gionoffrio moves into the Bramford building, and across the hall from the generous Minnie and Roman Castevet who pay for her rent. She starts to feel something is amiss with them, and those around them - and after a night with the Broadway producer, another Bramford resident - she soon discovers she is pregnant. As the weeks go by, she soon discovers that the Castevet's, along with the residents of the Bramford building may have concocted her pregnancy - for their own greater good.

Plot James Bond edges closer to locating Blofeld, with the help of Draco - the head of a European Crime Syndicate. Many of Draco's men have deflected to SPECTRE and Bond and Draco form a union; Draco will give Bond the whereabouts to Blofeld, if Bond marries his troublesome daughter Tracy. Bond reluctantly agrees, and goes undercover at a research facility under the identity of Sir Hilary Bray to find him. Soon he discovers Blofeld's next plan and vows to stop him. Meanwhile he has fallen in love for the first time to Tracy..

Plot Blake is a young married father, discovers that his long missing father has finally been declared deceased. He heads back to his old hometown to go through the belongings but his family are attacked by a 'beast' of some sort. As the night goes on, Blake begins turning into the very beast that attacked him, and his wife and daughter must seek shelter from him. Direction Directed by Saw writer/actor Leigh Whannell uses good use of shadows, especially while Blake's hallucinations. The beautiful nature scenes of Oregon are used well, and are blended into the screenplay well.

Plot White supremacist Derek Vinyard is being released 3 years after killing two black men who were breaking into his car. His rhetoric, which he learned from neo Nazi Cameron Alexander has now been passed onto his younger brother Danny. Rehabilitated, he vows to leave the world he once knew behind, but can he pass on his new world views to Danny before its too late for him? Direction Then music video director Tony Kaye directs, and despite his historic disowning of the film, it is breathtaking with the use of colour/black and white in the different timelines within the film.

Plot/Cast/Characters On a rainy day in LA the lives of several individuals are intertwined as they navigate life, love, and loss. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards in one of his final roles) is dying of cancer, and his young wife Linda (Julianne Moore), who only married him for his money - now wants to rescind what she is to inherit as she truly loves him now. Earl asks his nurse Phil (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to find his long lost son Frank (Tom Cruise, in nothing like you've ever seen him - and earning one of his Oscar noms) - who is now a motivational speaker helping men attract women.

Plot In 1966 Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and John Artis were arrested for a triple homicide. Years later, after divorcing his wife - allowing her to move on, he wrote a book while incarcerated. In 1980 Lesra Martin, a young black man from Queens, NY who was taken in by three Canadian educators - finds his book and is enamored by its content. Wanting to meet Carter, he writes to him, and the pair bond. Soon Martin starts to doubt that Carter is guilty, and along with his guardians investigate further in order to prove his innocence.

Plot In 1946, Alphonse ("Phonz") Capone lives out his final year of his life, inflicted with debilitating neuro-syphilis and dementia. His family are finding that their finances are strapped, as all the money is gone, but the FBI, are still confident that there is $10m hidden somewhere. Direction Not a bad direction effort by Josh Trank, but due to a tight budget of $20m, there is very little (big?) events - focusing more on character and narrative. Cast/Characters Tom Hardy plays Capone, whose family and friends refer to as Phonz (we do not call him Al).

Plot In feudal Japan, Lord Asano oversees the Ako prefecture - with his daughter Mika at his side, and his most loyal samurai Oishi. He has also taken under his wing, the 'half-breed' Kai who came to him as a child. Lord Kira of the Nagato prefecture wants to take over. With his witch mistress, has Asano attempt to assassinate him. This leaves Shogun Tsunayoshi no choice but to order Asano to ritually suicide, leaving Oishi and his fellow samurai to become Ronin (samurai without masters). Following a year long imprisonment, Oishi returns to his 'brotherhood' and they vow revenge on Kira, for the wrongful death of their master.

Plot Four years after losing his partner during a volcano eruption, volcanologist Harry Dalton is asked to look into a famously dormant volcano that is showing signs of prominent eruption. Upon arrival, his instincts kick in and demands the town be put on alert. The locals Direction Quite impressive for the most parts from Roger Donaldson. This film does have a more realistic narrative than the 'other' Volcano movie (what was that one called???). There are some big ups, from the late in the film pyroclastic cloud devastation of the town.

Plot Truman Burbank lives a quaint life in his small picturesque town of Seahaven. Despite being married to the extroverted Meryl, and having a lifelong friend like Marlon, his internal existence is that of solitude. One day, certain things start occurring around his hometown that lead Truman to believe that the perfect existence around him is fictional - and that he is living in a world where everyone is watching. The thing is... he is correct, and he is the star of the biggest television show in history - and he's about to discover the truth.