Iron Man (2008)

From Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures comes Iron Man, an action-packed take on the tale of wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who develops an invulnerable robotic suit to fight the throes of evil. In addition to being filthy rich, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is also a genius inventor. When Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a diabolical weapon, he instead uses his intelligence and ingenuity to construct an indestructible suit of armor and escape his captors. Once free, Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that could destabilize the entire globe, and dons his powerful new suit on a mission to stop the villains and save the world. Gwyneth Paltrow co-stars as his secretary, Virginia "Pepper" Potts, while Terrence Howard fills the role of Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, one of Stark's colleagues, whose military background leads him to help in the formation of the suit. Jon Favreau directs, with Marvel movie veterans Avi Arad and Kevin Feige producing.

Overview

Director : Jon Favreau

Writers (WGA) : Mark Fergus (screenplay) & Hawk Ostby (screenplay)

Release Date : 2 May 2008 (USA)

Genre : Action / Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Plot:

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.

Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (2008)

After successfully seeking out the ultimate slider in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, the cannabis-craving twosome return in this high-flying sequel that finds them labeled terrorists for attempting to sneak a marijuana-smoking implement on a flight to Amsterdam. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have just finished gorging themselves on savory White Castle hamburgers when they return to their apartment and hatch a plan for Harold to win the heart of his crush Maria (Paula Garces). Maria is going to Amsterdam, and if Harold can catch up with her overseas perhaps he can strike up a real love connection. After a close call with airport personnel and a chance encounter with Kumar's ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Dannell Harris) - who hadn't yet told Kumar that she's engaged to be married - the pot-loving pals finally board their flight for Amsterdam. Unfortunately for Harold, Kumar isn't able to endure the lengthy flight without an innocent puff or two from his smokeless bong. When the plane hits some turbulence and the bong is mistaken for a bomb, the flight is diverted to Guantanamo Bay and our spliff-smoking heroes are detained by overzealous Deputy Chief of Homeland Security Ron Fox (Rob Corddry). Now, if they can just escape from the world's most notorious prison compound, perhaps this hapless duo can succeed in convincing the authorities that they aren't enemy combatants, and that Kumar made the mistake of his life by letting Vanessa go. But before they can prove their innocence and get the girls, Harold and Kumar will have to outsmart the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, contend with a particularly precocious Cyclops baby, and successfully elude everyone's favorite debauched former child star - Neil Patrick Harris.

Overview

Directors : Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Writers : Jon Hurwitz (written by) & Hayden Schlossberg (written by)

Release Date : 25 April 2008 (USA)

Genre : Adventure / Comedy

Tagline:

This time they're running from the joint.

Plot Outline:

Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.

88 minutes (2007)

Jon Avnet directs Al Pacino in the thriller 88 Minutes. Pacino plays university professor Jack Gramm who occasionally assists the FBI in matters of forensic psychiatry. His recent testimony against a freshly convicted criminal seems to be the reason he has gotten a scary phone call informing him he will die in 88 minutes. As with the like-minded thriller D.O.A. (both the original and the remake), the protagonist must use his skills in order to track down who has hatched this evil plot and hopefully prevent his own demise.

Overview

Director : Jon Avnet

Writer (WGA) : GAry Scott Thompson (written by)

Release Date : 18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre : Crime / Drama / Thriller

Tagline:

He has 88 minutes to solve a murder. His own.

Plot Summary:

In Seattle, the successful forensic psychiatrist and college professor Jack Gramm is in evidence since he was responsible for the condemnation of the serial killer Jon Forster, influencing the jury to sentence him to the death row.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

In desperate need of a vacation after being unceremoniously dumped by his TV-star girlfriend, a man travels to a lavish Hawaiian resort to nurse his wounds and forget his heartache, only to discover that his ex and her handsome new boyfriend are currently staying at the exact same island hotspot. Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) may be just another struggling musician, but for the past six years he's been dating Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), one of the hottest stars on television. Sarah is everything in the world to Peter, so when she kindly but firmly tells him that they should each go their separate ways, the wannabe rock star is absolutely devastated. Later, after attempting to salvage his ego by awkwardly attempting to become a womanizer and nearly losing his job because of a nervous breakdown, an emotionally fragile Peter attempts to put the past behind him by escaping to the sun-soaked beaches of Oahu. While at first it seems as if Peter has discovered the perfect prescription for a bad case of unrequited love, his plan soon turns to dust when Sarah and her new, rock star boyfriend Aldous (Russell Brand) turn up at the exact same resort. Though accepting Sarah's lavish new lifestyle won't be easy for the crestfallen Peter, the laid-back companionship of flirtatious resort employee Rachel (Mila Kunis) -- not to mention a continuous regimen of fruity cocktails -- goes a long way in mending the wounds of a broken heart.

Overview

Director : Nicholas Stoller

Writer (WGA) : Jason Segel (written by)

Release Date : 18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre : Comedy / Romance

Tagline:

The ultimate romantic disaster movie

Plot Outline:

Devastated Peter takes a Hawaii vacation in order to deal with recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah. Little does he know Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.

Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Legendary martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li come together onscreen for the first time ever in director Rob Minkoff's time-traveling take on the Monkey King fable that finds an American teen transported back to ancient China after wandering into a pawn shop and discovering the king's fighting stick. Once there, the adventurous teen joins an army of fierce warriors who have sworn to free their imprisoned king at all costs. In addition to appearing as the mythical Monkey King, Li will also assume the role of a silent monk, as Chan appears in the role of the monk T'sa-Ho. Famed action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping presides over the fight sequences.

Overview

Director : Rob Minkoff

Writer (WGA) : John Fusco (written by)

Release Date : 18 April 2008 (Indonesia)

Genre : Action / Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy

Tagline:

The path is unsafe. The place is unknown. The journey is unbelievable.

Plot Outline:

A discovery made by a kung fu obsessed American teen sends him on an adventure to China, where he joins up with a band of martial arts warriors in order to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Street Kings (2008)

In the wake of the L.A. riots, an LAPD Vice Detective who always went above and beyond the call of duty to keep the streets safe receives a startling wake-up call that leaves him convinced that he can no longer employ the tactics that made him so effective in his work. LAPD veteran Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) has bore personal witness to the worst that the streets have to offer, and when his partner Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews) is killed the violence strikes a bit too close to home. Now Ludlow is on a mission to bring his partner's killer to justice, though Captain Walker (Forest Whitaker) is concerned that the hotheaded detective is taking the case too personally. Now, as Captain Walker attempts to convince Ludlow to work within the confines of the law, Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie) begins following the vengeful lawman's every move. In order to accomplish his mission, Ludow recruits fresh-faced Robbery Homicide Detective Diskant (Chris Evans) to trace Washington's killers through the winding streets of Los Angeles. Later, when Ludlow and Diskant come face to face with the remorseless cop-killers, they must chose between upholding the law and seeking bitter vengeance.

Overview

Director : David Ayer

Writers (WGA) : James Ellroy (screenplay) & Kurt Wimmer (screenplay)

Release Date : 11 April 2008 (Indonesia)

Genre : Crime / Drama / Thriller

Tagline:

Their City. Their Rules. No Prisoners.

Plot Outline:

Tom Ludlow is a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.

Leatherheads (2008)

Good Night, and Good Luck director George Clooney pulls double duty once again in this sports-oriented romantic comedy set against the formation of professional football in the 1920s. Dodge Connelly (Clooney) is a brash and handsome gridiron giant who is equally comfortable leading his team in a barroom brawl or charging for a touchdown in a packed stadium. But when Connelly's team loses their sponsor and the entire league appears set to collapse, the quick-thinking jock attempts a creative late-game comeback. If Connelly can convince former college football star and decorated war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to join the team, there may be hope for the ill-fated team after all. Back in World War I, Rutherford single-handedly forced the surrender of multiple German soldiers -- a feat that firmly established the dashing young soldier as America's favorite son. Not only that, but Rutherford's unparalleled speed makes him a valuable asset to the team. To cub reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), Rutherford seems simply too good to be true, and she's determined to prove that her theory is correct. As Littleton digs deep into Rutherford's past, the two teammates enter into a fierce competition for her erratic affections. Now, as Connelly's plan begins to work better than he ever could have anticipated, the rowdy sport he always loved starts to take on a whole new look and feel. In the midst of holding his team together and simultaneously charming the girl of his dreams, Connelly discovers he may be able to use the same strategies he does to win on the field to win in love. Of course, there might be a few fouls as this game enters the fourth quarter, but like every good player, Connelly knows the value of always having a secret play to fall back on before the final score is called.

Overview

Director : George Clooney

Writers (WGA) : Duncan Brantley (written by) & Rick Reilly (written by)

Release Date : 4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre : Comedy / Drama / Romance / Sport

Tagline:

In the beginning, the rules were simple. There weren't any.

Plot Outline:

A romantic comedy set in the world of 1920s football, where the owner of a professional team drafts a strait-laced college sensation, only to watch his new coach fall for his fiancée.

Atonement (2008)

Joe Wright, the BAFTA Award-winning director of 'Pride & Prejudice,' has reunited with his filmmaking team and his Academy Award-nominated actress, Keira Knightley, for another classic British romance, starring James McAvoy (BAFTA Award nominee for 'The Last King of Scotland') opposite Ms. Knightley. Christopher Hampton (Academy Award winner for 'Dangerous Liaisons') has written the screenplay adaptation of Ian McEwan’s best-selling 2002 novel Atonement. Shot on location in the U.K., the film’s story spans several decades. In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony’s vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (Mr. McAvoy), the educated son of the family’s housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister Cecilia (Ms. Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony – who has a crush on Robbie – is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested – and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed. Through a terrible and courageous act of imagination, she finds the path to her uncertain atonement, and to an understanding of the power of enduring love.

Overview

Director : Joe Wright

Writers : Ian McEwan (novel), Christopher Hampton (screenplay)

Release Date : 4 January 2008 (USA)

Genre : Drama / Romance / War

Tagline:

You can only imagine the truth.

Plot Outline:

Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

Nim's Island (2008)

A young girl living on a tropical island with her scientist father is left to fend for herself after dad's boat leaves him stranded far away and careless tour companies wreak havoc on the secluded paradise in directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett's adaptation of the popular children's book by author Wendy Orr. Realizing that she will need adult assistance if she truly hopes to save her home, the resourceful youngster soon begins exchanging e-mails with the author of a book she has been reading.

Overview

Directors : Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin

Writers (WGA) : Joseph Kwong (screenplay) & Paula Mazur (screenplay)

Release Date : 4 April 2008 (USA)

Genre : Adventure / Comedy / Family

Tagline:

Be the hero of your own story.

Plot Outline:

A young girl inhabits an isolated island with her scientist father and communicates with a reclusive author of the novel she's reading. Based on the book by Wendy Orr and Kerry Millard.

Stop-Loss (2008)

After serving his tour of duty in Iraq, a young American soldier who is ordered to return to the front lines as part of the military's controversial stop-loss policy opts instead to go AWOL in a thought-provoking military drama directed by Kimberly Peirce. Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Philippe) is a decorated Iraq War veteran who once served his country with pride. After his tour of duty comes to an end, King returns to his Texas hometown and attempts to pick up where he once left off with a little help from his family, as well as long-time best friend and war buddy Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum). But just as Brandon, Steve, and the rest of their war buddies begin to settle back into civilian life, Uncle Sam comes calling on them once again. Suddenly ordered back into active duty, the disillusioned war veteran begins to question not just his ties to family and his longtime friendships, but his capacity for love and his sense of honor as well.

Overview

Director : Kimberly

Writers (WGA) : Mark Richard (written by) & Kmberly Peirce (written by)

Release Date : 28 March 2008 (USA)

Genre : Drama / War

Plot Outline:

A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson steps outside his contemporary world of dysfunctional Angelenos to explore a very different dysfunctional man -- an oil pioneer whose trailblazing spirit is equaled only by his murderous ambition. There Will Be Blood is Anderson's loose adaptation of the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair, and it focuses its attentions on Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), a failed silver miner who happens upon black gold during a disastrous excavation that ends in a broken leg. Pulling himself up from the bowels of the earth, both literally and metaphorically, Plainview embarks on a systematic and steadfast approach to mastering the oil business. Using plain-spoken and straightforward language, and accompanied by his young son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), Plainview launches a campaign to convince small-town property owners they should let him drill their land. Without him, they won't have the equipment to access the profit beneath their feet. He builds an empire this way -- and gradually becomes obsessed with the intrinsic value of power, growing increasingly irascible and paranoid in the process. Plainview meets his match in Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a teenage preacher in the small California town of Little Boston, whose brother tipped Plainview off to the town's plentiful supply of untapped oil. To fully reap the benefits of the land, Plainview must suffer the opposing whims of this "prophet," whose legitimacy is questionable at best. And it's unclear either man is prepared to pay the humiliating price the other wants to exact.

Overview

Director : Paul Thomas Anderson

Writers (WGA) : Paul Thomas Anderson (screenplay) & Upton Sinclair (novel)

Release Date : 11 January 2008 (USA)

Genre : Crime / Drama

Tagline:

When Ambition Meets Faith

Plot Outline:

A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business