What to Watch Right Now

When a visiting dignitary is captured and imprisoned while touring a war zone, a team of elite female commandoes is assembled to infiltrate the women's prison and rescue her.

The oceans during the late 1800s are no longer safe; many ships have been lost. Sailors have returned to port with stories of a vicious narwhal (a giant whale with a long horn) which sinks their ships. A naturalist, Professor (Pierre) Aronnax, his assistant, Conseil, and a professional whaler, Ned Land, join a US expedition which attempts to unravel the mystery.

A Retro Grindhouse Horror Film

H.M.S. Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer Lieutenant Scott-Padget (Sir Dirk Bogarde) makes this difficult, and when Captain Crawford (Sir Alec Guinness) is disabled, the chance for violence increases.

Senator Pupis feels a strong and uncontrollable urge to grab women's bottoms, a habit than can lead to embarrassment, especially if the woman in question is head of another state and the occasion a state visit. In his desperation Pupis turns to the clergy for spiritual and psychological help.

Renowned stage actors Basil Underwood and Joyce Arden are partners on and off the stage. An occupational hazard for Basil is that women often fall in love with what they see of him on the stage, he who sometimes indulges that adoration. Basil and Joyce's personal life is passionate and tempestuous characterized by constant fighting and making up, which is often continued on-stage under their breaths. After their latest fight and reconciliation, they decide to get married... for the twelfth time. They are determined to make it to the altar this time. But Basil feels he needs to wipe clean the slate first by doing a favor for a stranger, Henry Grant, whose fiancée has fallen in love with him. With his latest script in hand, Basil vows to make Henry's fiancée fall out of love with him by playing the cad. He finds that it may be more difficult than he first imagined when he finds out that the woman in question is Marcia West, the young woman who professed her love to him earlier in the evening and whose fawning he was thinking about indulging. As Basil is at the West mansion thinking if he should play this latest role as cad or romantic leading man, Digges, Basil's faithful dresser who is along for the ride, thinks that there is a missing female role in this play, one that would be played perfectly by Joyce. When Joyce arrives on the scene, the question becomes what is acting and what is real life.

"Outbreak" meets "The Runaway Train" as a motley group of passengers are quarantined on a train destined to prevent the spread of the disease at the cost of their lives. Government intrigue, international smuggling, and the legend of the Cassandra Crossing add to the suspense.

Alex shoots again. She has to kill a man, but shoots the wrong one. A high ransom is set on her, so she is visited by some head hunters. Well, she only could sit and wait and hope for a friend's help.

a film by Monika Treut and Elfi Mikesch // Wanda is a mysterious Dominatrix and a smart business woman. Her job is to be cruesome and her speciality is to ensnare her...

In the 20th century, no artistic medium in North America with so much potential for creative expression has had a more turbulent history plagued with less respect than comic books. Through animated montages, readings and interviews, this film guides us through the history of the medium from the late 1930s and 1940s with the first explosion of popularity with the superheroes created by great talents like Jack Kirby and hitting its first artistic zenith with Will Eisner's "Spirit". It then shifts to the post war comics world with the rising popularity of crime and horror comics, especially those published by EC Comics under the editorship of William B. Gaines until it came crashing down the rise of censorship with the imposition of the Comics Code. In its wake of the devastation of the medium's creative freedom, we also explore EC's defiant survival with the creation of the singular "Mad Magazine" by Harvey Kurtzman. We then move to the resurgence of the superheroes in the late 1950's and 1960's typified with the rise of the dramatically innovative Marvel Comics edited by Stan Lee. Still more important is the rise of the the gleefully uninhibited underground comics created by eccentric talents like Robert Crumb and Dan O'Neill. These leads to profiles of creators like Harvey Pekar who take the medium into new directions of expression. In the late 1970s and '80s we see the rise of alternative comics with such bold talents like Jaime Hernández for "Love and Rockets, Sue Coe for How to Commit Suicide in South Africa and especially for Art Spiegelman for his searing Pulitizer Prize winning Holocaust account, Maus. Finally, we learn of the medium's superhero mythos' revitalizing moment with the creation of Frank Miller's ferocious min-series "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns". Taken together, the film makes its argument that the medium is far more than the stereotype of juvenile trash but rather it is an art-form with a wild history and an exciting future.

This documentary-style film follows a day in the life of Lillian Folley, a loving caretaker of children and the elderly. This is the only life that Lillian knows, and we are shown a small glimpse into what it takes for a single woman to give care to so many people in need.

After a harrowing snowmobile accident, a young couple is stranded in the woods and must survive while waiting for help to arrive. Events take a turn for the worse after the disappearance of Emma's boyfriend, leaving her on her own not only to battle the elements, but also to elude a mysterious hunter who is tracking her through the forest.

A bank accountant, who moonlights as a high-priced call girl, becomes embroiled in the lives of a money launderer, his seductive wife, and his bodyguard who blackmails her to help the FBI entrap him with his latest money laundering scheme.

Brad's wife Susan is mysteriously murdered. Detective Crank has too many other things to do than find her killer so he tells Brad to do some of his own detective work. Brad begins recounting all of his affairs that his has had with women he met on an internet fantasy line. From these women, he must try and decide which one killed his wife and why.

Chirammal Enashu Francis, a.k.a. Pranchiyettan (Mammootty), is a successful businessman based in Thrissur. He is a devotee of Saint Francis of Assisi and often has imaginary conversations with the saint. His ancestors were rice traders, but he has grown beyond the small rice shop to expand his business into jewellery, real estate, finance, shopping complexes and lot more. Even though he is successful and wealthy, he is not well-educated and he is unhappy with his name and also wants to become a celebrity. He is called Ari ("rice") Pranchi by everybody, citing his ancestors' business as a colloquial taunt. He wants to change his image from Ari Pranchi to something great and is ready to spend a fortune for it. The film deals with how Pranchi tries to get a good name and what changes that brings to his life.

Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice Krispie treats in town. But when she receives a bump on her head, she begins to remember small parts of her previous life as a lethal, top-secret agent. Her old chums in the Chapter are now out to kill her so she enlists the help of a cheap detective named Mitch. As Samantha remembers more and more of her previous life, she becomes deadlier and more resourceful. Both Mitch and Charly proceed to do the killing thing, the bleeding thing and the shooting thing.

Madhu Roy comes to India to study medicine all the way from Bangla Desh. She meets with fellow student Vijay Chatterjee, and after a few misunderstandings both of them fall in love. Vijay takes Madhu to introduce her to his mother, who approves of her, and would like to meet with her dad to finalize their marriage. One day when Vijay's mom goes to meet Madhu in her hostel room, she sees a photograph of Madhu with an older man. Thereafter, she wants Vijay to cut off all relations with Madhu, and will not even talk to Madhu as to why she has changed her mind about their marriage. She then travels to Bangla Desh in order to meet the man in the photograph with Madhu, and it is here she will find out if indeed Vijay and Madhu are about to commit incest, as both may be brother and sister from the same man - her husband - who she believed died in the early 1970s during the turmoil when Bangla Desh was formed after separating from Pakistan.

On one day in the 21st Precinct squad room, assorted characters form a backdrop for the troubles of hard-nosed Detective Jim McLeod.

A physicist struggling to prove one of Einstein's theories still finds time to dabble in an extra-curricular relationship with one of his lab assistants. Meanwhile at home, his under-sexed wife struggles under the assumption that he is hard at work with his experiments. All of which explodes when she discovers otherwise.

Why does Stephane, a young Parisian, arrive at Bucharest's Gara de Nord in the dead of winter? What is the significance of that strange song--sung by a woman named Nora Luca--that he plays for everyone he meets? The Romanian capital is merely a stopover; his obsessive quest leads him to Wallachia, into the heart of an unfamiliar countryside and a raw, battered people: the Lautari, or "Gypsy musicians." Old Isidor acts as his guide, helping him slip, step by step, into this chaotic world--a realm at once picaresque and violent, funny and abrasive. Isidor is a *bulibasha* (clan chief)--cunning, spirited, moving, and bombastic--who protects and shields "his Frenchman," initially using him as a foil before becoming genuinely invested in the journey. Stephane eases into this world of shouting, mud, and madness, where contempt and xenophobia lurk. He lives in the moment, falls for Sabina--the outcast daughter of Manole--gradually gains confidence in his dealings with Isidor, and finds his place as a *gadjo* (outsider) from Paris among the Gypsies of Wallachia. Yet, he never loses sight of his obsession: the Gypsy song, the voice of the woman he must find. Here, the Gypsies are revealed in their true reality. Through them, Stephane--the Frenchman--does not merely learn about tolerance; he lives it and feels its self-evident truth. He is but a visitor, a mere traveler who will inevitably emerge from the journey a changed and enriched man.

An Inca legend says the Inca Empire was destroyed by the gods when a gold and jeweled starburst was stolen from the Temple of the Sun centuries ago, and the ancient civilization will spring anew when the treasure is returned. The natives want it but so does Harry Steele, an American adventurer of slightly shady ways who wants it for personal gain, as does his adversary, a grizzled old man even more into skulduggery than Steele. The latter teams up with Elena Antonescu, an Iron Curtain refugee fleeing from the MKVD. She can help him get a plane and he can help her escape Peru for the relative safety of Mexico?... Is there a chance they will end up in a bickering love-hate relationship?... Is there a chance an American archaeologist, Dr. Stanley Moorehead, will come along as one corner of a romantic triangle?... Is there a chance that Yma Sumac (billed third on the posters and ads and special billing in the film), who can't act but can sing, will sing a few songs?... Is there a chance that these trite-sounding questions will develop into a film that is far from trite and vastly entertaining? Dang right, there is. Check it out.

Ajay Mehra (from previous Ghayal-1990), after finishing off his life sentence, starts a newspaper called Satyakam. Still dealing with the haunting trauma of losing his loved ones, Ajay manages to make a credible name for himself in investigative journalism. Working with a strange team of RTI activists, ex-criminals and ilk; and even stranger ways of unearthing and presenting truth, Ajay Mehra has earned quite a fan following among the youths, who finds his fearless and unforgiving approach in dealing with all kinds of sociopaths very inspiring. Among his die hard fans are these four teenagers who happened to have received bravery medals from him once. These four friends once out on photography expedition, accidentally record a murder on a camera. The footage turns out to be explosive as it clearly shows two of the city's most powerful people involved in the murder. Well what happens after this is a series of twists and turns where the four kids get entangled and have to fight it out with the most powerful men of the city, will Ajay be able to save them? Will the kids be successful in their mission to stand by the truth only time will tell.

Doug has several decisions to make. He is good enough at baseball to make the pros, but he needs a real education to have something to fall back on. He is studying sports medicine and Melissa, a spoiled rich girl who he happens to meet at a party, turns out to be the teaching assistant in a class he has to take. And she ends up tutoring him. And more. Doug and Melissa get a little too close and that could affect his relationship with Laura, an aspiring journalist who has been accepted to Stanford. That's a long way from wherever Doug's university is. Early in the movie, Doug almost did something very inappropriate with Laura in the college library. Later, Doug tries to make it work with Laura, but she is feeling ignored and there's a chance things might not work out. But Laura is quite reasonable in her concerns. Melissa won't accept that she can't have Doug and she turns into a stalker. In fact, her behavior turns very disturbing. Doug starts getting distracted and that could affect his future. Doug lost his father and his mother is still having a hard time getting over the loss. Melissa had a much more complicated relationship with her allegedly abusive parents. Is there something the viewer is not seeing? Or is the viewer seeing something that's just not there? Laura puts her investigative skills to work, but both she and Doug's mother may be in danger. And just when it appears the Melissa problem has been solved - surprise.

Claude Eastman, a composer and conductor, is married to Daniella, who is half his age. While away on a trip he tells his Italian driver Giuseppe, to tell his friend Norman to keep an eye on her, or take care of her. But his English is not too good, so Norman thought he was saying that Claude wanted him to hire a private eye to keep tabs on her--which he did. Claude tells him that it's OK, but the man Norman hired gives him his report: something happened while he was away. Claude, of course, tells him to throw it away, but after Norman leaves, Claude tries to retrieve and read it, but Daniella's there. When Giuseppe destroys it, he goes to the man Norman hired to get a copy. He tells Claude that a man went into his apartment while he was away and left at an unusual hour, and that he also has a video. Claude tells him to destroy it,, but shortly after leaving returns so that he can watch it. The video's a little fuzzy but he clearly sees a particular item of clothing the man wears, so he checks every man he knows to see if they wear that item. He discovers that ladies' man Max, his protege', wears it. He confronts Daniella, who tells him it's nothing, although she is harboring some kind of secret. Claude freaks out and plans to kill Daniella and frame Max for it, but an unforeseen circumstance disrupts his perfect plan.