Alliance Movies

13 Assassins

Action & Adventure
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord. © 2010 13ASSASSINS Film Partners (TV Asahi Corporation TOHO CO., LTD SEDIC INTERNATIONAL INC. DENTSU INC. Shogokukan Inc. Recorded picture Company The Asahi Company. Asahi Broadcasting Corporation Nogoya Broadcasting Network Co., Ltd. Hokkaido Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd. Yahoo!JAPAN TSUTAYA group HIGASHI NIPPON BROADCASTING COMPANY, LTS. Shizouka Asahi Televisioon Co., Ltd. Hiroshima Home Television, Co, Ltd). Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

American Psycho

Drama
Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) is a Wall Street yuppie equipped with success, status, style and a stunning fiancée (Reese Witherspoon). He is also a psychotic killer who rapes, murders and dismembers both strangers and acquaintances without provocation or purpose. Based on the controversial novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the film offers a sharp satire to the dark side of yuppie culture in the '80s, while setting forth a vision that is both terrifying and chilling. © MM Lions Gate Films, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Distributed Exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Animals United

Animation
In the Okavango Delta, Billy the meerkat and his best (and only) pal Socrates, the lion, wait for the annual flood, essential to the Delta. Wanting to prove to his son he's not the loser everyone thinks he is, Billy sets out to find water.

Anna Karenina

Drama
As Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) carries on an affair with the affluent Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) she begins to question her happiness, witnesses change come to her family, friends, and community. The story unfolds in its original late 19th century tsarist Russia high-society setting and powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. © 2012 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Apocalypse Now Redux

Drama
This is a remastered re-released version of the classic war movie APOCALYPSE NOW. An additional 53 minutes of footage has been added to the original version. In addition to being re-edited with the new footage (by Coppola and one of the film's original editors, Walter Murch), the film has been completely restored, converted to digital, and reprinted by dye-transfer, improving color reproduction. © 2000 Zoetrope Corporation. All rights reserved. Distributed Exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Becoming Jane

Drama
When the dashing Tom Lefroy enters Jane Austen's life, he offends the emerging writer's sense and sensibility. Soon their clashing egos set off sparks that ignite a passionate romance and fuel Jane's dream of doing the unthinkable - marrying for love. © 2007 Miramax Film Corp. All Rights Reserved. Distributed Exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Bro

Action & Adventure
When a college student gets involved in the wild-partying lifestyle of professional freestyle motocross riders, he'll find himself in a downward spiral, looking for a way out - and asking himself how far he's willing to go to achieve a sense of belonging. © 2012 BRO, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Dredd

Action & Adventure
The America of the post-apocalyptic future is an irradiated wasteland, a vast, ultra-violent world where criminals control the mean city streets. Ultimate law enforcers like Dredd and his new partner, Anderson, are Judges - the only force battling for justice. Dispatched by the central authority, the Judges' target is Ma-Ma, a ruthless boss bent on expanding her criminal empire through sales of Slo-Mo, a dangerous reality-altering drug. With Dredd calling the shots, the two Judges declare full-scale war on crime in this unrelenting and brutal thrill ride. © Rena Films (PTY) Ltd. and Peach Tree Films Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest

Drama
Under police guard in hospital, Lisbeth Salander (NOOMI RAPACE) is charged with murder and awaits the trial that has the country gripped. Cut off from all communication with the outside world, she must rely on journalist and former lover, Mikael Blomkvist (MICHAEL NYQVIST) to prove her innocence and expose the political cover up that threatens to destroy her freedom. In his way stands a mysterious group who will go to any lengths to keep the shocking truth of their actions a secret. © Yellow Bird Millenium Rights, AB, Nordisk Film, Sveriges Television AB. Film 1 VÄST 2009. All Rights Reserved. Distributed Exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

Drama
Mikael Blomkvist is about to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society. On the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered and the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander. © Yellow Bird Millenium Rights, AB, Nordisk Film, Sveriges Television AB. Film 1 Väst 2009. All Rights Reserved. Distributed exclusively in Canada by Alliance Films. All Rights Reserved.

Disney Movies

A Bug's Life

Animation
Embark on an incredible journey with one little ant as he searches for a brave band of warriors to help him battle the bullying grasshoppers who threaten his home. When he stumbles on a bumbling troupe of circus bugs instead, their only hope for victory is the bond of friendship and the awesome power of imagination.

Air Mater

Animation
Mater decides he wants to learn how to fly. After a crash course, Mater takes to the sky and by accidental mishap, he is recruited by an elite group of formation flyers, the Falcon Hawks. At the big airshow, Mater performs his most dangerous stunt and needs to be rescued by none other than Lightning McQueen Hawk.

Boundin'

Animation
Boundin' features a freshly shorn lamb and a jackalope -- the mythical horn-adorned rabbit of American western folklore. For the high-stepping lamb, life is an upbeat western waltz until his prairie friends tease him about his freshly sheared look. He gets down in the dumps after losing his lustrous coat. The only one who can see things right is the giant jackalope, who brings sunshine and optimism with him wherever he bounds. Irrepressibly optimistic, the jackalope comes on to the scene to cheer him up and put a dance back into his step.

Brave

Animation
Pixar Animation Studios, the creator of Toy Story 3, whisks you away on an astonishing adventure to an ancient land full of mystery and tradition. Bursting with heart, unforgettable characters and Pixar's signature humor, Brave is incredible entertainment for the whole family. Take a heroic journey with Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land. When Merida's actions inadvertently unleash chaos in the kingdom, she must harness all of her skills and resources including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers to undo a beastly curse before it's too late, and discover the meaning of true bravery.

Cars

Animation
Hotshot race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is living life in the fast lane - until he hits a detour and gets stranded in Radiator Springs, a forgotten town on Route 66. There he meets Sally, Mater, Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) and a heap of hilarious characters who help him discover there's more to life than trophies and fame.

Cars 2

Animation
From the creators of Cars comes a new, laugh-out-loud, heartwarming adventure geared for the entire family. Star racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship on the road from Radiator Springs to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage!

Finding Nemo

Animation
From the Academy Award®-winning creators of TOY STORY and MONSTERS, INC. (2001, Best Animated Short Film, FOR THE BIRDS), it's FINDING NEMO, a hilarious adventure where you'll meet colorful characters that take you into the breathtaking underwater world of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to Marlin (Albert Brooks), his worrisome father, and Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a friendly but forgetful regal blue tang fish, to make the epic journey to bring Nemo home. Their adventure brings them face-to-face with vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more. Marlin discovers a bravery he never knew, but will he be able to find his son?

For The Birds

Animation
One by one, a flock of small birds perches on a telephone wire. Sitting close together has problems enough, and then comes along a large dopey bird who tries to join them. The birds of a feather can't help but make fun of him -- and the clique mentality proves embarrassing in the end.

Hawaiian Vacation

Action & Adventure
Woody and Buzz lead a group of toys in giving Ken and Barbie the Hawaiian vacation of their dreams - but it has to be in a girl's bedroom in the Midwest in the middle of winter, because Ken badly miscalculated the travel arrangements.

Jack-Jack Attack

Animation
Kari the babysitter thinks she's in for a night of routine babysitting. She's prepared to provide neurological stimulation with some soothing musical accompaniment for little Jack-Jack, the smallest member of the incredible Parr family. Little does she know that Jack-Jack will teach her a thing or two about babies with "special needs." True to her word, Kari proves she can handle anything Jack-Jack can dish out - just barely. And Jack-Jack proves that listening to Mozart truly does make babies smarter. Or, in his case, discover his super powers. The idea behind Jack-Jack Attack was originally a sequence in The Incredibles, but was cut when director Brad Bird decided to reveal the baby's powers at the end of the movie. By expanding the babysitting misadventure to a short film, the creative team elevated to hilarious heights Kari's frantic calls to Helen Parr.

eOne Movies

50/50

Drama
Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis.

Alex Cross

Action & Adventure
ALEX CROSS follows the homicide detective and psychologist (Tyler Perry), from the worldwide best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller. © 2012 IAC Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Being Julia

Comedy
Tale of amorous folly and revenge set in the world of the London stage in the late 1930's. Reigning diva Julia Lambert's success and fame grow suddenly wearisome. She falls head over heels for a young American, Tom, and begins a passionate May-December affair. When she realizes that Tom is just a young social climber whose real passion is ambitious young starlet Avice Crichton, Julia begins to plot a delightful revenge.

Daisy Chain

Horror
Oscar® nominee* Samantha Morton (Minority Report) and Steven Mackintosh (The Escapist) are Martha and Tomas, a grieving couple who move to a remote Irish village in the wake of their baby daughter's death. Touched by a traumatized, autistic girl whose entire family has perished in tragic accidents, they open their home to young Daisy. Martha believes that with her love, she can help Daisy...until a disturbing series of strange occurrences leads her to believe that her little girl may not be as innocent as she seems.

Deadfall

Drama
Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are on the run from a casino heist gone wrong. When a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the worst of circumstances -- a near whiteout blizzard. While Addison heads cross-country, creating mayhem in his wake, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), en-route for a Thanksgiving homecoming with his parents, June (Sissy Spacek) and retired sheriff Chet (Kris Kristofferson). It's there the siblings are reunited in a terse and thrilling showdown that pushes the bonds of family to the limit. © 2011 Kin (U.S.) Productions LLC

Jay ' Silent Bob Get Irish: Swearing of the Green - Dublin Show 1

Comedy
Following the release of the cult-classic film Clerks in 1994, long time friends Jason 'Jay' Mewes and Kevin 'Silent Bob' Smith quickly became much-loved stoner icons, with their mischievous characters going on to star in Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and Clerks 2. Fast-talking, foul-mouthed Jay and his 'hetero life partner' Silent Bob hit DVD with their highly-praised, SOLD OUT, live comedy show, direct from Ireland as the final leg of the previously released JAY AND SILENT BOB GET OLD: TEA BAGGING IN THE UK tour. No two shows are ever the same! So sit back, relax and in the words of the great Jason Mewes, 'LET US F@CK!'

Katt Williams: Kattpacalypse

Comedy
Katt Williams ushers in Kattpacalypse, with an explosive New Year's Eve performance filmed live in front of 7,000 screaming fans at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre. Riffing on everything from Doomsday to Obama, Katt takes the stage with the swagger of a championship boxer, firing off verbal jabs that delivers the funny again and again in a non-stop comedic onslaught.

Let Go

Drama
Parole Officer Walter Dishman (David Denman) is married to a seemingly perfect wife, but as his youth and independence slip away, he feels increasingly trapped by domestic bliss. But when three eccentric ex-convicts are placed under his supervison, it is just the inspiration he needs to turn things around. From the thieving, sultry femme fatale who is trying to seduce him and the cranky geriatric criminal who longs to return to a life of crime, to the doctor convicted of insurance fraud, it's obvious that everyone has issues that need to be let go, including Walter. © 2011 Yeah Yeah Picture & Sound, LLC.

Man From Shaolin

Action & Adventure
When Li Bao (martial arts master Li Zhang) learns from New York Social Services that a relative has unexpectedly died, he rushes to the Big Apple to become guardian to her young orphan daughter, Janie. There, 'Uncle Li,' a 32nd-generation Shaolin Fighting Monk, meets up with a former student who convinces him to open a traditional kung fu school. But his plans for a new life in a new world collide with those of a brutal promoter and his skilled young fighter. Now, Li must choose to flee the city or stand and fight for Janie and his dream in this powerful mixed martial arts action/drama ©2012 1T Entertainment. All Rights Reserved

Seal Team Six - The Raid on Osama Bin Laden

Action & Adventure
A break in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden serves as the riveting backdrop for a gripping story about the combined efforts of an extraordinary group of Navy Seals who undertook the operation to either capture or kill American's number one enemy. This is the story of a clandestine operation, a perfect storm of people, and the rare synergy of circumstances that would amount to the most daring military operation of our gen eration, inspired by the true story of how it almost fell apart. © 2012 Geronimo Nevada, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Fox Movies

127 Hours

Action & Adventure
From Danny Boyle, the Academy Award-winning director of 2008's Best Picture, Slumdog Millionaire, comes 127 HOURS. 127 HOURS is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's (James Franco) remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next five days Ralston examines his life and survives the elements to finally discover he has the courage and the wherewithal to extricate himself by any means necessary, scale a 65 foot wall and hike over eight miles before he is finally rescued. Throughout his journey, Ralston recalls friends, lovers, family, as well as the last two people he ever had the chance to meet. 127 HOURS is a visceral, thrilling story that takes an audience on a never before experienced journey and prove what we can do when we choose life. 127 HOURS is the winner of six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor James Franco and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike

Action & Adventure
Part two of Ayn Rand's groundbreaking novel comes to the screen in this thrilling and powerful drama. The global economy is on the brink of collapse. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, continue to mysteriously disappear. Dagny Taggart, Vice President in Charge of Operations for Taggart Transcontinental, has discovered what may very well be the answer to a mounting energy crisis - a revolutionary motor that could seemingly power the World. But, the motor is dead... there is no one left to decipher its secret... and, someone is watching. It's a race against the clock to find the inventor before the motor of the World is stopped for good.

Avatar

From Academy Awardëå winning director James Cameron comes Avatar, the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.

Chasing Mavericks

Drama
Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue and Hollywood newcomer Jonny Weston star in this inspiring true story of courage and friendship the whole family will love. When 15-year-old Jay Moriarty (Weston) discovers that the mythical Mavericks surf break is real, he reaches out to local surfing legend Frosty Hesson (Butler) to train him to ride it. What begins as a mentorship turns into an extraordinary bond that transforms both their lives, as Jay and Frosty learn valuable lessons about conquering fear in pursuit of your dreams. Featuring the most spectacular wave footage ever captured on film, Chasing Mavericks is packed with action and drenched with excitement!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Family
Everybody's favorite wimp, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), is back for three times the fun in the latest film based on the super-popular book series! When Greg's dad (Steve Zahn) threatens to send him to military school if he doesn't stay out of trouble, Greg finds all-new ways to land himself in the doghouse! For starters, Greg's in over his head when he pretends to work at the swanky country club where Rowley's family has a membership. Things don't go much better on a father-son camping trip with the Wilderness Explorers, and then there's the Heffley's new dog, Sweetie, who fetches even more trouble for Greg in this hilarious family film!

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Animation
The "Ice Age" saga continues in this sidesplitting sequel, as Scrat's acorn obsession sparks a continental catastrophe that sends Manny, Diego and Sid on an epic adventure involving a ship full of fearsome pirates and an unexpected reunion. Scrat's nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he's been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences - a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny, and the herd encounters a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home.

Independence Day

Action & Adventure
On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. First thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species who have set out to launch an attack throughout the globe. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington when a band of survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens. On July 4th, humanity fights for its freedom.

Life Of Pi

Drama
Embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this visual masterpiece from Oscar winner Ang Lee, based on the best-selling novel. After a cataclysmic shipwreck, an Indian boy named Pi finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a ferocious Bengal tiger. Together, they face natures majestic grandeur and fury on an epic journey of discovery.

Live Free or Die Hard

Action & Adventure
Live Free or Die Hard gets real -- with real action, real humor, and the reprise of a beloved and iconic character: John McClane (Bruce Willis). On the Fourth of July weekend, an attack on the vulnerable United States infrastructure begins to shut down the entire nation. The mysterious figure behind the scheme has figured out every modern angle... but he never figured on John McClane -- the old-school "analog" fly in the "digital" ointment.

Taken 2

Action & Adventure
Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the ex-CIA operative who stopped at nothing to rescue his daughter from sadistic kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge, it is Bryan and his wife who find themselves taken hostage in Istanbul. To survive, Bryan must enlist the help of an unlikely ally and use his brutally efficient skills to take out his heavily-armed foes one by one.

Paramount Movies

48 Hrs.

Action & Adventure
Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy make one of the most unusual and entertaining teams ever in Walter Hill's rollercoaster thriller, 48 Hrs. Nolte is a rough-edged cop after two vicious cop-killers. He can't do it without the help of smooth and dapper Murphy, who is serving time for a half-million dollar robbery. This unlikely partnership trades laughs as often as punches as both pursue their separate goals: Nolte wants the villains, Murphy wants his money and some much-needed female companionship. Together they take this adventure to hilarious extremes!

A New Kind Of Love

Comedy
Paris. The perfect romantic setting for a funny, charming "opposites attract" comedy romp. Especially when the attracting opposites are Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The Oscar.-winning stars (and real-life husband and wife) play a breezy newspaper reporter and a no-nonsense fashion buyer who share a nasty case of hate at first sight. But he takes a second look when she goes from grim to glamorous in one magical afternoon at Elizabeth Arden's Beauty Salon. Will l'amour triumph! It can't miss with Thelma Ritter, Eva Gabor and Maurice Chevalier lending Cupid a hand.

A Night at the Roxbury

Comedy
It seems like Steve (Ferrell) and Doug Butabi (Kattan) will never be cool enough to make the Roxbury club's guest list. That is, until they have a fender bender with their role model, club regular Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street ). Eager to avoid litigation, Grieco befriends the starstruck pair and escorts them into a glittery world they once only dreamed about. Score!

Aeon Flux

Action & Adventure
Academy Award-winner* Charlize Theron stars as Aeon Flux, the underground operative fighting totalitarian rule in the 25th-century Earth's last living city. Aeon is the rebels' best hope of overthrowing the oppressively sterile, "perfect" society. But while on assignment to gun down the government's leader, Aeon uncovers a web of startling secrets that could completely change the world's future in the gripping sci-fi action thriller based on the ground breaking MTV animated series. *Actress in a leading role, Monster, 2003

Against The Ropes

Drama
Jackie Kallen isn't fighting for glory. She's fighting for respect. Inspired by a true story, Against The Ropes stars Meg Ryan as Kallen, a sassy, brassy boxing manager-in-the-making determined to change "Lethal" Luther Shaw (Omar Epps) from a mere street

Airplane!

Comedy
The persons and events in this film are fictitious - fortunately! A masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy| Airplane! features Robert Hays as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning|

Almost Famous

Drama
Writer and director Cameron Crowe's experiences as a teenage rock journalist (he was a regular contributor to Rolling Stone while still in high school) inspired this coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy hitting the road with an up-and-coming rock band in the early 1970s. Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand) is a bright, loving, but strict single parent whose distrust of rock music and fears about drug use have helped to drive a wedge between herself and her two children, Anita (Zooey Deschanel) and William (Patrick Fugit). Anita rebels by dropping out of school and becoming a stewardess, but William makes something of his love of rock & roll by writing album reviews for a local underground newspaper. William's work attracts the attention of Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), editor of renegade rock magazine Creem, who takes William under his wing and gives him his first professional writing assignment ラ covering a Black Sabbath concert. While William is unable to score an interview with the headliners, the opening act, Stillwater, are more than happy to chat with a reporter, even if he's still too young to drive, and William's piece on the group in Creem gains him a new admirer in Ben Fong-Torres (Terry Chen), an editor at Rolling Stone. Torres offers William an assignment for a 3,000-word cover story on Stillwater, and over the objections of his mother (whose parting words are "Don't use drugs!"), and after some stern advice from Bangs (who says under no circumstances should he become friends with a band he's covering), Williams joins Stillwater on tour, where he becomes friendly with guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and singer Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee). William also becomes enamored of Penny Lane (Kate Hudson), a groupie traveling with the band who is no older than William, but is deeply involved with Russell. Lester Bangs and Ben Fong-Torres, incidentally, were real-life rock writers Crowe worked with closely during his days as a journalist. Almost Famous' original score was composed by Nancy Wilson of Heart (who is also Crowe's wife).

Along Came A Spider

Morgan Freeman reprises his Kiss the Girls role as Alex Cross in this spellbinding psychological thriller that is "a knockout with a surprise twist." After the harrowing death of his partner, detective and best-selling author Alex Cross has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal (Michael Wincott) kidnaps a senator's young daughter, Alex is lured back into action. Teamed with the Secret Service agent (Monica Potter) assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom...he wants Alex's help in documenting the crime of the century. With time running out, Alex plunges through a tangled web of danger and deceit to stop a madman and save an innocent victim's life.

American Beauty

Drama
Noted theater director Sam Mendes, who was responsible for the acclaimed 1998 revival of Cabaret and Nicole Kidman's turn in The Blue Room, made his motion picture debut with this film about the dark side of an American family, and about the nature and price of beauty in a culture obsessed with outward appearances. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on. Lester's relationship with his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) is not a warm one; while on the surface Carolyn strives to present the image that she's in full control of her life, inside she feels empty and desperate. Their teenage daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is constantly depressed, lacking in self-esteem, and convinced that she's unattractive. Her problems aren't helped by her best friend Angela (Mena Suvari), an aspiring model who is quite beautiful and believes that that alone makes her a worthwhile person. Jane isn't the only one who has noticed that Angela is attractive: Lester has fallen into uncontrollable lust for her, and she becomes part of his drastic plan to change his body and change his life. Meanwhile, next door, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) has spent a lifetime in the Marine Corps and can understand and tolerate no other way of life, which makes life difficult for his son Ricky (Wes Bentley), an aspiring filmmaker and part-time drug dealer who is obsessed with beauty, wherever and whatever it may be. American Beauty was also the screen debut for screenwriter Alan Ball.

An Inconvenient Truth

Documentary
Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change in the most talked-about documentary at Sundance. An audience and critical favorite, An Inconvenient Truth makes the compelling case that global warming is real, man-made, and its effects will be cataclysmic if we don't act now. Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way: often humorous, frequently emotional, always fascinating. In the end, An Inconvenient Truth accomplishes what all great films should: it leaves the viewer shaken, involved and inspired.