dDepartures (2009)
Daigo Kobayashi is a young married cellist who played in an orchestra that has just been disbanded. Suddenly on the street without a job, Daigo decides to move back to his hometown with his wife. There he gets a job as an undertaker. He sees himself as a sort of gatekeeper between life and death. However, Daigo\’s work is despised by all the people around him. But it is through his relationship with death on a daily basis that Daigo begins to understand what life is really about.
Christine Brown is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton. Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and give the old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks, and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home. In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: How far will she go to break free of the curse?
It is 1986. An emotionally damaged New York reporter is sent to cover the hometown hoopla for a local hero. But rather than pursue his assignment, which leaves him cold, he follows a group of disaffected students, whose own hero - their beloved, unconventional teacher has just died under a cloud of scandal. Their passionate and, at times, ludicrous expressions of grief attract the reporter. He moves into their alternate universe, a willing “substitute teacher”, but descends into a web of lies and misplaced sexual desire with this group of confused and combustible youths who attempt to cast him as their new hero and teacher.
Shock-jock radio D.J. Grant Mazzy has, once again, been kicked off the Big City airwaves, and now the only job he can get is the early morning show at CLSY Radio in the small town of Pontypool which broadcasts from the basement of the small town\’s only church. What begins as another boring day of school bus cancellations due to yet another massive snow storm quickly becomes deadly. Bizarre reports start piling in of people developing strange speech patterns and committing horrendous acts of violence. But there\’s nothing coming in on the news wires. So… is this really happening? Before long, Grant and the small staff at CLSY find themselves trapped in the radio station as they discover that this insane behavior taking over the town is caused by a deadly virus that may be spreading as a direct result of their radio transmissions… Now they must shut up or die.
Unorthodox Culinary Arts teacher Mrs. Stephenson is a tyrant known throughout her Philly public high school for her hoarse rebukes of her students\’ creations. She may be disarmingly blunt, but she cares about the final product. Last year, 11 of her seniors totaled $750,000 in scholarships to top culinary schools across the nation. Here, we follow three of Stephenson\’s dedicated inner-city kids with circumstances stacked against them whose best hope for the future depends on the perfect results.
In the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, Chelsea an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients, but companionship and conversation — “the girlfriend experience.” Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control — she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend who accepts her lifestyle. But when you\’re in the business of meeting people, you never know who you\’re going to meet.
As the “red scare” gains momentum, Chinese American reporter Roland Lu returns to his hometown of Millville. No longer the town Lu remembers, Millville is now a scary place where those in power take advantage of the oppressive atmosphere for their personal gain. Mayor Frank Dugan and his band of McCarthyite thugs have already extorted the towns Native Americans and are now persecuting Millville\’s Chinese population. The conflict turns bloody and Lu must make the decision of his life - either go back to the city to pursue his dreams as a reporter, or stay in Millville to fight for his friends, his family and his race.
The twenties have roared… the thirties have yet to swing. John Whittaker, a young Englishman, falls madly in love with Larita, a sexy and glamorous American woman, and they marry impetuously. However when the couple returns to the family home, his mother Mrs. Whittaker has an instant allergic reaction to her new daughter-in-law. Larita tries her best to fit in but fails to tiptoe through the minefield laid by her mother-in-law. Larita quickly realizes Mrs. Whittaker\’s game and sees that she must fight back if she\’s not going to lose John. A battle of wits ensues and sparks soon fly. Mrs. Whittaker manipulates every situation to undermine her, while Larita remains frustratingly calm and engineers sassy counter attacks. Before long, Mrs. Whittaker\’ s manipulation starts to work on John and Larita feels their love is in danger of slipping away.
The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the highly anticipated Angels & Demons, based upon the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard religious expert Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs the film, which is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, and John Calley. The screenplay is by Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp. When Langdon discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization’s most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he jets to Rome, where he joins forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican’s only hope for survival.