Movies (Page 127)
Browse 2,069 movies from the database, mentioned on Hacker News, ranked by rating or popularity.
The Mission
Triad boss Lung survives an assassination attempt in a restaurant in which one of his men is killed. The restaurant is owned by "Fat Cheung", an underboss of Lung's triad. To ensure his safety, Lung's right hand man and brother, Frank, has hired five bodyguards to stay close to their boss 24/7: Curtis, a retired veteran of the triad who was living a normal life as a hairdresser; James, a loner and the firearms expert of the five; Roy, a rising capo and his quick-witted underling Shin; and Mike, a former pimp and sharpshooter. An initial assassination attempt on Lung fails when a sniper attacks the cars with Lung and his bodyguards from the rooftop of a high-rise. Lung gets shot, but a bullet-proof vest prevents further damage. The men manage to fight off the attack and Curtis decides to leave in the cars with Lung, James, Mike and Shin even though Roy hasn't returned (he left the scene to pursue a second attacker). Roy returns angrily in a taxi to Lung's house and beats up Curtis (who doesn't oppose). The next day Curtis makes amends by killing a criminal who harassed Roy's night club. The five bodyguards are fighting off two additional assassination attempts and trail a surviving hitman to the hideout of the attackers. After a gunfight they manage to capture one of the assassins alive. It becomes evident that the hits were contracted by Fat Cheung and Lung sends his henchmen Frank to kill him. The bodyguards kill the captured hitman and the five men celebrate the end of their mission in a restaurant. Frank hands out five envelopes with the pay to Curtis and tells him that he learnt about an affair between Shin and the wife of Lung. He requests that Shin be executed and Curtis tells him that he'll handle it. Curtis drives to James, asks him for a gun and arranges a meeting with Shin in the evening. James warns Roy and since he's responsible for Shin as his boss, he confronts him with the allegation. Shin confesses having been seduced by Mrs. Lung. Roy tells Curtis that he can't allow for Shin to be killed. They form the plan to have Shin escape in a boat to Taiwan but eventually discard the plan since Frank would then pursue Roy and the rest of them for failing instead. In the evening the five men meet in an otherwise empty restaurant to sort out the situation. James leaves to ask Lung for clemency and to spare Shin's life. When he arrives at Lung's house he witnesses a henchmen of Lung killing the unfaithful Mrs. Lung. James realizes the hopelessness of his attempt and returns to the restaurant where it comes to a Mexican standoff between the men. Curtis shoots Shin, while Roy empties his magazine without aiming at Curtis. When the men leave the restaurant, Curtis throws a blank towards James, thus revealing that the death of Shin (who escapes through the backdoor) was staged for Lung.
Intolerable Cruelty
Donovan Donaly, a TV soap opera producer, walks in on his wife Bonnie being intimate with an ex-boyfriend. He files for divorce, and she hires Miles Massey, a top divorce attorney and the inventor of the "Massey pre-nup", a completely foolproof prenuptial agreement. Miles wins a large property settlement against Donaly, leaving him broke. Meanwhile, private investigator Gus Petch tails the wealthy and married Rex Rexroth on a drunken night out with a blonde. When they stop at a motel, he catches their tryst on video. Gus takes the video to Rex's wife, Marylin Rexroth, a marriage-for-money predator. Marylin files for divorce, demanding a large property settlement. Unable to afford a divorce settlement, Rex hires Miles to represent him. Marylin's friend, serial divorcée Sarah Sorkin, warns her that Miles will be a dangerous opponent. Marylin and her lawyer, Freddy Bender, fail to reach an agreement with Miles and Rex. The bored Miles asks the fascinating Marylin to dinner, where they flirt. While they are out, Gus breaks into her house and copies her address book for Miles, who has his assistant search among the names for Marylin's accomplice in arranging predatory marriages. In court, Marylin feigns an emotional breakdown over Rex's infidelity, professing that she loved Rex unconditionally at first sight. Miles then calls "Puffy" Krauss von Espy, a Swiss hotel concierge. Puffy testifies that Marylin asked him to find her a marriage target who was very rich, foolish, and a philanderer whom she could easily divorce, and that he pointed her to Rex. The divorce is granted, but she gets nothing. Seeking revenge against Miles, Marylin finds the now-penniless Donaly living on the street, still clutching his Emmy statuette, and offers him a chance to reclaim his lost glory. Soon after, she shows up at Miles' office with her new fiancé, oil millionaire Howard D. Doyle. Marylin insists on the Massey prenup—which will make it absolutely impossible for her to claim any of her fiancée's assets in the event of a divorce—over both Howard and Miles's objections. However, Howard destroys it during the wedding, as a demonstration of love. Six months later, Miles goes to Las Vegas, to give the keynote address at a convention for divorce attorneys. He encounters Marylin, who has divorced Howard and presumably collected a sizable share of the Doyle Oil fortune. However, she admits that she is disenchanted with her wealthy but lonely life. Miles marries Marylin on the spur of the moment, and signs the Massey prenup to prove that he has no interest in her fortune, but she tears it up. The next morning, Miles tells the convention that love is the most important thing, and that he is giving up divorce for pro bono work. Shortly afterwards, Miles discovers that "Howard D. Doyle" is just an actor from one of Donaly's soap operas; Marylin tricked him, leaving his considerable wealth at risk. Desperate to save the firm's reputation, Miles' boss, Herb Myerson, suggests hiring hitman "Wheezy Joe" to kill Marylin. Miles then learns that Marylin's ex-husband Rex has died without changing his will, leaving her his entire fortune. Since she is now the wealthier of the two parties, his assets are no longer at risk. Repentant, Miles rushes to save Marylin from Joe, but she has already offered to pay him double to kill him instead. In the confusion of the ensuing struggle, Joe mistakes his gun for his asthma inhaler and accidentally kills himself. Later, Miles, Marylin, and their lawyers meet to negotiate a divorce. Miles pleads for a second chance and retroactively signs a Massey prenup. Realizing her own feelings for him, she tears it up, and they kiss. Marylin reveals that to get Donaly's help for supplying Howard, she gave him an idea for a hit TV show, restoring his fortunes in the process: America's Funniest Divorce Videos, with Gus as the host.
The Others
In 1945, Grace Stewart resides in a remote country house in Jersey, a Channel Island formerly occupied by the Germans. As her young children, Anne and Nicholas, suffer from a severe sensitivity to light, Grace keeps the home darkened with heavy curtains. One day, Mrs. Bertha Mills, Edmund Tuttle and the mute Lydia arrive seeking employment. Grace hires them as the housekeeper, gardener, and maid, and learns they worked in the house years earlier. Anne claims to be visited by a young boy named Victor, his parents, and an elderly blind woman. Grace believes this is a fantasy, but after she hears footsteps and voices, she orders the house to be searched for intruders. In a storage room, she finds a nineteenth-century album containing photographs of corpses. Mrs. Mills recounts that many left the house in 1891 due to an outbreak of tuberculosis. Grace begins to fear there are supernatural entities in the house, but struggles to reconcile this with her Catholic faith. Grace witnesses a piano playing itself and becomes convinced that the house is haunted. She runs outside in search of the local priest to bless the house and instructs Tuttle to check the gardens to see if a family has been buried there. Mrs. Mills instructs Tuttle to conceal gravestones with leaves. In the woods, Grace runs into her husband, Charles, whom she thought was killed in World War II, and brings him back to the house. One day, Grace checks on Anne playing. To her horror, she finds an old woman wearing Anne's veiled communion dress who speaks in Anne's voice. Grace attacks the woman but finds she has actually attacked Anne. Charles tells Grace he must return to the front, rejecting her insistence that the war is over. He leaves the next morning. Grace is horrified to find all of the curtains in the house have been removed, exposing Anne and Nicholas to sunlight. She accuses the servants and expels them. That night, the children discover that the headstones in the cemetery belong to the servants, and flee when the servants approach them. Grace finds a postmortem photograph of Mrs. Mills, Tuttle and Lydia, who all perished during the 1891 tuberculosis outbreak. Mrs. Mills tells Grace to talk to the "intruders". Grace discovers that the elderly blind woman is a medium holding a séance with Victor's parents. They have discovered via automatic writing that Grace, despondent after Charles died in the war, smothered her children with a pillow and shot herself. Aghast, Grace realizes that the intruders are the living family, and that she, her children and the servants are haunting the house. Embracing her children, Grace admits to her act of murder–suicide: she awoke after her suicide and believed that God had brought everyone back to life for a second chance. Victor and his family move out. Anne and Nicholas realize that sunlight no longer hurts them and enjoy it for the first time. The house goes up for sale and Mrs. Mills informs the Stewarts that they will have to learn to cohabit with future inhabitants. Grace and the children affirm that the house is theirs and that they will not leave.
Interstate 60
In a bar, a college student affirms that the United States does not have any folktales involving characters who grant wishes. An elderly man then interrupts him, insisting that he is wrong. He mentions O.W. Grant, who carries a pipe in the shape of a monkey's head. Grant travels the country granting wishes to strangers, usually messing with them in the process. However, if he likes you, he will play it straight. Meanwhile, St. Louis -based grocery warehouse worker Neal Oliver aspires to be an artist, despite the lack of support from his father and girlfriend. At a party for his 22nd birthday, O.W. Grant is the waiter who serves the cake. While blowing out the candles, Neal wishes for an answer to his life. His father responds by handing him an admission letter to law school that Neal does not want to attend. The family goes outside to look at the red BMW convertible that Neal's dad bought him as a gift, but Neal notices that the car was clearly meant for his dad and not him. Neal is later struck on the head by a falling bucket. Neal wakes up in the hospital, where a doctor named Ray comes in and does a sight test using playing cards. Neal has to name the suit on the cards. Neal asks if he got it right, and Ray points out that the cards actually had red spades and black hearts, emphasizing that things are not always what they seem. After leaving the hospital, Neal sees a woman that he has been dreaming about in a billboard advertisement, but the billboard company insists that the billboard is blank. After checking the billboard, Neal sees a new picture of her, this time with a framed inscription "Call 555-1300". Neal calls the number, and a recorded message says that he has an appointment at 555 Olive Street, Suite 1300 in the downtown area. At the appointment, Ray gives him a package to deliver to a Robin Fields in Danver, Colorado (not " Denver "). Neal will find Danver by taking Interstate 60. With no Interstate 60 on the roadmap, Neal sets out south to where it should be, (between I-40 and I-70) and encounters O.W. Grant on the roadside. Grant gives Neal directions to Interstate 60. On his journey, Neal meets a man who can consume unnatural quantities of food and drink; a woman looking for perfect sex; a mother looking for her son, who lives in a city where the population is addicted to a government-controlled drug; a dying ex-advertiser on a crusade to punish dishonesty; and Mrs. James, who runs the Museum of Art Fraud that actually contains real masterpieces posing as fakes. At the town of Morlaw, where all citizens are lawyers who spend their days suing each other, Neal finds Lynn, the imprisoned woman he has been dreaming about and painting. Lynn met O.W. Grant and wished to find the right guy. They have sex at a motel. Neal also makes a painting of the motel. Neal leaves to deliver the package in Danver, while Lynn stays behind. On the radio, Neal hears of a reported murderer on the loose, and the description matches his car. He abandons his vehicle to hitchhike. In Danver, Neal meets "Robin Fields", who turns out to be O.W. Grant. After opening the package (which holds a replacement monkey-head pipe for O.W.'s broken one), Grant uses his powers to "warp" Neal back in time, where he wakes up in the hospital before he first encountered Ray. Leaving the hospital, Neal confronts his father and asserts his right to live his life without the latter's interference. His sister takes him to an art gallery where Neal sees his painting of the motel – submitted on his behalf by O.W. Grant after Neal had "left it" there. He is approached by Lynn, who in reality works with Danver Publishing, because she took an interest in his painting. She talks about wanting to commission him to do more paintings on roadside motels and diners.
Heist
Joe Moore runs a ring of professional thieves, which includes Bobby Blane, Donnie "Pinky" Pincus and Joe's wife Fran. During a robbery of a New York City jewelry store, Joe takes off his mask in a successful effort to distract the store's last remaining employee, allowing his face to be captured by a security camera; he is unable to retrieve the video evidence before they have to flee. As both the picture and a witness can identify him, Joe retires from crime and plans to disappear on his sailboat with Fran. This does not sit well with Joe's fence, Mickey Bergman, who runs a garment business as a front. Having accrued significant expenses in setting up another robbery, Bergman decides to withhold the payment of the jewelry heist from Joe and his crew, so that they go through with the next job – robbing an airplane carrying a large shipment of gold. Bergman further insists that his nephew, Jimmy Silk, be a part of the crew. Joe accepts, but a series of shifting loyalties changes the complexity of their task, including Jimmy's interest in Fran, along with Bergman and Jimmy's belief that Joe's skills are declining. While setting up an element needed for the robbery, they are stopped by a passing police officer. While Joe and Bobby talk the officer into leaving, an agitated Jimmy draws his gun but is stopped by Pinky. Joe forces the team out of finishing the job by leading Jimmy to believe that Pinky did not destroy the getaway car, covered in the team's fingerprints. The deceit is discovered and Bergman forces them to finish the job. The plane robbery is a series of misdirects. Pinky poses as a guard while Joe, Bobby and Jimmy pose as airport security personnel. They stop the jet, pretending to be responding to an emergency. They fill a van with what they take from the plane, then move the van to a rented garage on the airport grounds, where they re-brand it and call for a tow truck to have it hauled away. Jimmy betrays the others to steal the gold and Fran. He knocks out Joe and tells Fran he knows Joe has changed the plan. He and Fran take the van, but Jimmy finds out that the hidden compartments are filled with metal washers. Joe avoids arrest and returns to the plane in disguise. He and Bobby remove a shipment of goods they had booked on board the same Swiss flight, which they insist now must be driven to its destination due to the plane's delay. Inside the shipment is the stolen gold, which Joe and Bobby melt into numerous 7-foot-long rods. Bergman apprehends Pinky, who is walking his niece to school. Pinky discloses the plan in order to save his niece, but he tips off Joe with a code word during a phone call and is killed. Bergman and his crew arrive at Joe's sailboat along with Jimmy and Fran, where they hold Joe at gunpoint. They assume that the boat's golden railings are the gold. Fran leaves with Jimmy, pleading with Bergman to let Joe go. Just as Bergman discovers that the railings are not the gold, a hidden Bobby opens fire. They kill Bergman's men, then Joe kills Bergman. Bobby gives Joe the address to send his share. Joe waits to meet Fran with a truck filled with black-painted rods, but Fran, having switched sides, holds up Joe with Jimmy, taking that truck. Joe gets into a second truck to leave. A black bar in the truck scrapes the garage door, revealing gold underneath. Joe lifts a tarp in the truck bed, revealing the gold rods. He covers the rods with a tarpaulin and drives away.
The Raspberry Reich
The core plot begins with the kidnapping of Patrick (Andreas Stitch), the son of a wealthy industrialist. Sexual and romantic entanglements push the drama forward. At the film's climax, Gudrun delivers a soliloquy on the importance of personal life in revolution. She puts particular emphasis on the breaking of heterosexual and possessive sexual norms, urging her comrades to join "The Homosexual Intifada ". The pressure of Gudrun's controlling personality causes the group to break up. Most of the urban guerrillas escape into the night. In the dénouement, the characters are visited some time later. Several have found happiness in the homosexual relationships established during their revolutionary activities. Che has become a terrorist trainer in the Middle East. Patrick escapes with Clyde, where they embark on a spree of bank robberies. This action is reminiscent of Patty Hearst 's actions with the SLA. Gudrun and Holger settle down and have a child named Ulrike (after Ulrike Meinhof), whom Gudrun believes could embody the next generation of the Red Army Faction.
Insomnia
In Nightmute, Alaska, teenager Kay Connell is found beaten to death, her body scrubbed of forensic evidence and dumped naked in a landfill. At the request of the local chief, LAPD detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart are sent to assist with the investigation. Ellie Burr, a young local detective who idolizes Dormer, is assigned as their guide. They question Kay's abusive boyfriend Randy Stetz, who admits he discovered Kay had a secret admirer but could not force her to reveal his identity. In private, Eckhart admits he is being pressured by an Internal Affairs investigation and will testify against Dormer in exchange for immunity. Kay's backpack is discovered at a shack near the coast and Dormer uses it to set a trap, but this backfires and the suspect flees into a heavy fog, shooting an officer in the leg. Giving pursuit, Dormer spots an unidentifiable figure and fires at them with his backup weapon after his sidearm jams. Grabbing a.38 caliber pistol the suspect dropped, Dormer rushes to the figure and discovers he has shot and killed Eckhart. The police assign blame to the suspect and Dormer does not dissuade them, knowing Internal Affairs will never believe the shooting was an accident due to Eckhart's pending testimony. Burr is assigned to the shooting investigation and finds the.38 bullet that pierced the officer's leg. That night, Dormer fires the.38 into an animal carcass, then retrieves and cleans the bullet. At the morgue, the pathologist gives him the 9 mm caliber bullet from Eckhart's body, which she doesn't recognize as very few people in the area own pistols. Dormer replaces it with the.38 bullet. When Burr believes the case is closed, however, Dormer's conscience refuses to let him sign off and he tells her to do another review, which causes her to notice inconsistencies in his statement. Dormer becomes plagued by insomnia, brought on by his guilt and further exacerbated by the perpetual daylight. He begins receiving phone calls from the killer, who witnessed Dormer shoot his partner. Questioning her estranged best friend, Dormer learns Kay was a fan of local crime writer Walter Finch, and realizes he was her secret admirer based on the alias she gave him. Dormer goes to Finch's apartment in a nearby village and breaks in, hiding the.38 in a heating vent. Returning home, Finch realizes someone is inside and escapes after a chase. Finch contacts Dormer again and arranges a public meeting on a ferry. Finch wants help shifting suspicion to Randy, offering to stay silent about the Eckhart shooting in return. Attempting to dissuade him from this, Dormer tells Finch he can't hide his relationship with Kay and gives advice on handling the inevitable police questioning. As Finch leaves the ferry, he reveals he has recorded the conversation. In another phone call, Finch admits he flew into a blind rage after Kay laughed at his romantic advances, stressing that her death was "an accident." Having lied that he lost the gun, Dormer suggests Kay's dress would be sufficient evidence to implicate Randy. The next day, Finch is questioned and mentions that Kay described Randy's abuse to him in her letters. Finch then claims Randy threatened Kay with a gun, and Dormer realizes his trap has again failed. Randy is arrested when the.38 is found in his house. Finch asks Burr to come to his lake house the next day to collect Kay's letters. Returning to the cabin, Burr discovers a 9mm shell casing. She reads her police academy thesis about one of Dormer's cases and realizes he carries a 9mm as a backup weapon. After trashing his room in an attempt to block the sunlight coming through the window, Dormer confides in the hotel clerk about the Internal Affairs investigation: he fabricated evidence against a pedophile he was certain had murdered one of his victims, and the conviction (among many others) would have been overturned had Eckhart testified. When he tries to justify this to himself, the clerk asks him if it's something he's willing to live with. Dormer breaks into Finch's apartment again and discovers Kay's letters. Realizing Burr is being lured into a trap, he rushes to Finch's lake house, where Finch reveals he has Kay's dress before knocking Burr unconscious. Dormer arrives and confronts Finch, but is disorientated from lack of sleep and overpowered before Burr revives and drives Finch off. She tells Dormer she knows he shot Eckhart, and he admits he is no longer certain it was an accident. Finch retrieves a shotgun from his boathouse and begins shooting; Burr returns fire while Dormer outflanks Finch. In a struggle Dormer wrestles the shotgun away, but Finch draws Burr's gun and they shoot each other, resulting in both of them being respectively wounded and killed. Attempting to comfort the mortally wounded Dormer, Burr moves to throw away the shell casing that proves his guilt. Dormer stops her, telling her not to lose her way as he did, before dying.
Hero
Hero incorporates multiple (and competing) narratives relating to the planned assassination of Ying Zheng, who will become the first emperor, Qin Shihuang.: 280 As the narratives develop and the would-be assassin (Nameless) comes closer to his target, the emperor is portrayed in an increasingly sympathetic way, going from a cruel tyrant to a compassionate, strong, and solitary figure.: 280 During the Warring States period, Nameless, a Qin prefect, arrives at the Qin capital city to meet the king, who has survived multiple assassination attempts by Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. Implementing tight security, the king forbids visitors from approaching within 100 paces. Nameless asserts he has killed the assassins, displaying their weapons. Impressed, the king permits Nameless to approach within ten paces to share his story. Nameless recounts killing Sky at a gaming house before meeting Flying Snow and Broken Sword at a calligraphy school in a city besieged by the Qin army. Seeking to learn Sword's skill, he commissions a calligraphy scroll with the character for "Sword" (劍). Nameless learns of Snow and Sword's strained relationship. Upon completing the scroll, Nameless reveals his identity and the truth about Snow and Sky's relationship. He challenges Snow to a duel. Meanwhile, a heartbroken and furious Sword engages in a tryst with his pupil, Moon. Snow kills Sword in retaliation, and Moon when she seeks vengeance. The following day, Nameless slays an emotionally unstable Snow before the Qin army, seizing her sword. As the story wraps up, the king doubts Nameless, alleging he orchestrated the duels with the assassins. During the previous attempt, the king saw Sword as honorable, doubting his betrayal of Snow. The king suggests the assassins sacrificed themselves to earn Nameless the king's trust, enabling him to get close and assassinate the king. In the king's version of the story, Nameless approaches Snow and Sword after staging a battle with Sky. He claims to have mastered a technique to kill anyone within ten paces, including the king. To get close to the king, Nameless needs to present one of their weapons. Snow and Sword argue over who should sacrifice themselves, leading to a brief scuffle where Snow injures Sword. Snow faces Nameless before the Qin army, while Sword, still recovering, watches. Snow is defeated, and Moon later gives Nameless her master's sword, suggesting that the swords of Snow and Sword should remain united even in death. Nameless admits possessing the special technique the king mentioned but insists the King underestimated Sword. He reveals the technique's dual nature: deadly yet capable of appearing fatal while avoiding vital organs. Nameless used it on Sky, then orchestrated a fake duel with Snow and Sword. Snow agrees, but Sword refuses. Snow accuses Sword of squandering their chance three years prior when he spared the king of Qin during their assault. In anger, she attacks Sword, wounding him with Nameless's aid. The following day, Nameless "kills" Snow before the Qin army. Later, Sword reveals to Nameless his decision to spare the king, expressing his desire for a unified, peaceful China achievable only through the king's leadership. Sending Nameless to the Qin capital, Sword inscribes " All Under Heaven " (天下) in the sand, urging reconsideration of assassination. Touched by Sword's understanding and the tale, the king overcomes his fear of Nameless. He relinquishes his sword, examines Sword's scroll, and grasps the concept that an ideal warrior should lack the desire to kill. Moved by this wisdom, Nameless abandons his mission, sparing the king. When Snow discovers that Sword persuaded Nameless to abandon the assassination, she angrily confronts Sword, which escalates into a duel. Hoping that Snow will grasp his love for her, Sword refuses to defend himself, and is accidentally killed by Snow. Consumed by grief, Snow commits suicide. Despite the king's reluctance, he orders Nameless's execution to uphold the law and set an example for national unity. Nameless is honored with a hero's funeral.
Immortal
In New York City, during the late 21st century, genetically altered humans live side by side with aliens and other beings, with the former lording over the latter and treating them as second class citizens. These beings have come to Earth as refugees via the "inclusion zone", a mysterious vortex which appeared one day, encompassing Central Park and sealing it off. The forcefield allows the refugees to exit, but anyone who tries to enter is instantly killed. A strange pyramid appears hovering over the city. Within, the gods of ancient Egypt discuss their fellow god Horus and conclude that his rebellious antics are unacceptable and must be punished, sentencing him to lose his immortality and summarily be executed. They grant Horus seven days to "look upon his creation", and inform him that the only way to save himself is to reincarnate in a new body. However, the only way to do this is to find and mate with a compatible woman capable of carrying a god's child, a trait which is extremely rare. In the city below, Jill, a young woman with blue hair and a fey countenance, is captured by agents of the all-powerful corrupt eugenics company that controls much of the government and private sector, who kidnap the alien refugees to experiment on them. She is humanoid in appearance, but not quite human; her tears are blue and stain her pure white skin, and upon being examined by the company's scientists, it is discovered that her body's cells are no more than three months old despite looking and acting like a fully grown adult. Unbeknownst to the scientists, Jill is a bioengineered being, explaining her human-like appearance and unusual paranormal abilities. One of these abilities is the aforementioned capacity to procreate with gods, but she is unaware of this, nor is she aware that she was created explicitly for this purpose. Her genome is rapidly adapting and changing into that of a regular human, with the tradeoff being that she will lose all memories of her former self once the transformation is complete. One of the scientists, Dr. Elma Turner, is fascinated by Jill's unique physiology and becomes enamored with her, subsequently helping facilitate her escape. Elsewhere, Horus begins his search for a mate, but time is short as not only is his execution looming, but Jill herself will lose her unique ability to bear his child once she becomes fully human. He must inhabit a mortal body to perform this task, but quickly finds that anyone he tries to possess self destructs in a gruesome manner. He deduces that humankind has become incompatible due to their genetic modification, and are thus incapable of handling his godly presence within them. Desperate to find a suitable host body, Horus eventually encounters Nikopol, a political rebel condemned to thirty years of hibernation who, due to a mechanical accident, escapes his imprisonment one year early when the wall of the cryo-prison crumbles. Nikopol, having been in cryostasis for several decades, has remained unmodified, and thus is able to be a host body for Horus to inhabit, much to Nikopol's chagrin. Horus possesses Nikopol's body but fails to take full control of him, causing the two to frequently clash with one another. Nikopol, having lost his leg as a result of the prison toppling, is given a replacement by Horus which he fashioned out of some steel railway track, with the comical side effect that it is too heavy for Nikopol to move on his own when he is in control of his body. Together, the two set out to fulfill Horus's quest. Nikopol and Horus eventually find Jill, and Horus begins to put his plan in motion by seducing her as Nikopol. Nikopol takes umbrage with this, decrying Horus's actions as sexual assault, which Horus thinks is merely a necessity and not wrong, as he is a god and therefore anything he does is, by definition, morally just. Nikopol begins to fall in love with Jill, further complicating matters. Meanwhile, a police inspector is investigating a series of serial killings in which the bodies of seemingly random individuals appear to have been torn apart from the inside out. The victims are the remains of the previous hosts Horus tried to inhabit, and Nikopol as well as Jill become suspects. Nikopol/Horus must woo Jill while simultaneously trying to keep her safe from the eugenics corporation, as well as staying one step ahead of the police. Eventually, Horus is successful and impregnates her in the nick of time, giving Nikopol's body back and leaving a parting gift by granting him the ability to move his heavy metal leg on his own. A year later, Nikopol bumps into a now fully human Jill in Paris with her new baby, a blue falcon who Jill describes as "cheeky". She does not remember him, but the two strike up a conversation, hinting that they may one day rekindle their romance. As the film ends, the camera pans up to the pyramid ship where Horus is entombed in a sarcophagus, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.
House of Sand and Fog
Abandoned by her husband, recovering drug addict Kathy Nicolo, living alone in a small house near the San Francisco Bay Area, ignores eviction notices erroneously sent to her for nonpayment of business taxes. Assuming the misunderstanding was cleared up, she is surprised when Sheriff's Deputy Lester Burdon arrives to forcibly evict her. Telling Kathy that her home is to be auctioned off, Lester feels sympathy for her, helps her move out, and advises her to seek legal assistance to regain her house. Former Imperial Iranian Army colonel Massoud Behrani, who fled his homeland with his family, now lives in the Bay Area working multiple menial jobs. Living beyond his means, he maintains the façade of a respectable businessman so as not to shame his wife Nadereh, son Esmail, and daughter Soraya. He buys Kathy's house for a quarter of its actual value, intending to improve and sell it. Kathy is evicted from the motel she is staying in. With nowhere else to go, she spends the night in her car. Seeing the renovations and how the Behranis have settled in makes her determined to get her house back and she finds an attorney, Connie Walsh, who assures her that because of the county's mistake, they will return Massoud's money and restore the house to her. Massoud, having already spent money on improving the house, is unwilling to accept anything less than the higher value of the property, which the county refuses to pay. Connie advises Kathy that her only option is now to sue the county, though it will take months. Kathy tries to convince Massoud to sell back the house; he too advises her to sue the county and promises to sell her the house back if she comes up with the money, but she retaliates by beginning to harass him and his family in front of potential buyers. Desperate for help, Kathy falls easily into an affair with Lester, who abandons his wife and children and fashions himself as Kathy's protector. Under a pseudonym, Lester threatens to have Massoud and his family deported if he refuses to sell the house back to the county. Aware that Lester was acting on Kathy's behalf, Massoud reports this to Internal Affairs, who severely reprimand Lester, and furiously warns Kathy to leave his family alone. Kathy calls her brother Frank for help, but cannot bring herself to admit that she is homeless. Despondent, Kathy becomes drunk and attempts suicide in the driveway with Lester's sidearm. Massoud finds Kathy drunkenly unable to discharge the gun, and brings her inside. Kathy tries to kill herself again with pills, but Nadereh saves her. As she and her husband carry Kathy to the bedroom, Lester breaks in and sees Kathy unconscious. In a xenophobic rage, Lester locks the Behranis in their own bathroom, refusing to let them out until Massoud agrees to relinquish the house. Massoud offers to sell the house and will give Kathy the money in exchange for her putting the house in his name. Lester takes Massoud to the county office to finalize the transaction. Outside the office, Lester begins to manhandle Massoud and Esmail seizes Lester's gun and aims it at him. Massoud grabs Lester and begins calling for help from nearby police officers, but they misinterpret the situation and shoot Esmail instead of Lester. Massoud is arrested but is released after Lester confesses to his crimes and is detained. Massoud begs God to save his son but Esmail does not survive. Believing they have nothing left to live for and to spare his wife the pain of losing her son, Massoud kills Nadereh by lacing her tea with pills. He then dons his old military uniform, tapes a plastic dust cover over his head, and asphyxiates himself while clutching his wife's hand. Kathy discovers the couple and frantically attempts to resuscitate Massoud but she is too late. As the bodies of Massoud and Nadereh are taken away by paramedics, a policeman asks Kathy if the house is hers. After a long pause, she admits that it is not.
The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure
The film begins with an introduction that highlights its interactive aspect and introduces the Oogieloves: Goobie, Zoozie, and Toofie. The Oogieloves wake to prepare a surprise birthday party for their living pillow Schluufy, with the aid of magical window Windy Window, vacuum cleaner J. Edgar and grumpy pet fish Ruffy. However, J. Edgar accidentally releases the five magical balloons they bought for the party, so the Oogieloves set out to retrieve them with Ruffy. The first balloon is found at the treehouse home of Dotty Rounder, who is obsessed with circles and polka dots, and her granddaughter Jubilee, who is obsessed with squares. The second is found at the milkshake cafe of Milky Marvin, who is holding a milkshake-drinking contest to win the second balloon in which the Oogieloves and their fish participate. The third balloon is found in possession of Rosalie Rosebud, a pop singer who denies her allergy to roses. The fourth balloon is tied to the truck of Bobby Wobbly, a bubble-selling cowboy with an unusual walk. The last balloon is found on top of a windmill, where the Oogieloves retrieve it with the help of Lola and Lero Sombrero, who ride a giant flying sombrero. Just before they reach home with all the balloons, the Oogieloves accidentally release them again but blow kisses to persuade them to return. They then hold the surprise party for Schluufy, who did not wake until just before their return.
High Tension
Best friends Marie and Alex are on their way to stay at Alex's parents' house for the weekend to study. Upon arriving, Alex gives Marie a tour of her house, then they have dinner and go to bed. While the family sleeps, Marie stays awake in the guest bedroom, listening to music and masturbating. Marie hears a doorbell ring and Alex's father Daniel answers it. A man slashes Daniel's face with a straight razor, presses him between two staircase spindles, and shoves a bookcase towards his head, decapitating him. Alex's mother, awakened by the noise, finds Daniel dead and is approached by the killer. Marie, hearing the mother's screams, rearranges the guest bedroom to conceal her presence, and hides under her bed. The killer inspects Marie's room but does not find her. Marie creeps downstairs and finds Alex chained in her bedroom. Promising to find help, Marie sneaks into the parents' room to find a phone. After hearing loud thuds, she hides in the closet and witnesses the killer murdering Alex's mother by slashing her throat with a razor. Alex's younger brother Tom runs from the house to the cornfield, pursued by the killer. Marie returns to Alex, where she witnesses Tom's murder from a window. Marie promises to free Alex, but the killer is heard returning. Marie sneaks into the kitchen and takes a butcher knife. Alex is dragged into the killer's truck while Marie sneaks into it and hides there with Alex. He locks them in and drives off. When the killer stops at a gas station, Marie gives Alex the knife and sneaks in for help. Inside, Marie witnesses the store clerk being murdered with an axe. As the killer drives away, Marie calls the police but hangs up when she's unable to tell them where she is. Marie takes the clerk's keys and uses his car to follow the killer down a deserted road. Noticing Marie tailing him, the killer rams Marie's vehicle, pushing the car off the road. Badly injured, Marie runs into the forest as the killer seeks her. Eventually, Marie bludgeons the killer with a fence post covered in barbed wire. As Marie inspects the body, he grabs at her throat, so Marie suffocates him with a plastic sheet. As Marie makes her way back to the truck, Alex seems terrified of her. Meanwhile, police at the gas station watch security camera footage, which shows Marie murdering the store clerk. It is revealed that Marie is murderous, delusional, and obsessed with Alex, being responsible for all the murders. At the truck, Marie unties Alex. As soon as Alex is free, she threatens Marie with the knife and accuses her of butchering her family. Alex slashes Marie's face and stabs her in the stomach before running into the forest. Marie chases Alex with a concrete saw. Alex finds a road and flags down a car. As Alex is climbing into the car, Marie appears brandishing the concrete saw and disembowels the driver. A stray piece of glass slices Alex's Achilles tendon. Alex takes a crowbar from the car's toolbox and crawls along the road. Marie forces Alex to tell her that she loves her, and she kisses her. While engaged in the kiss, Alex plunges the crowbar into Marie's upper-chest as Marie proclaims she'll never let anyone come between them. Sometime later, Marie is in a psychiatric hospital room chained to her bed, with Alex watching her through a one-way mirror. Marie grins and reaches for Alex, seemingly aware that she is behind it.