In 1953, Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts), a 30-year-old graduate student in the department of Art History at Oakland State, takes a position teaching "History of Art" at Wellesley College, a conservative women's private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, because she wants to make a difference and influence the next generation of women. At her first class, Katherine discovers that the girls have already memorized the entire syllabus from the textbook, so she instead uses the classes to introduce them to Modern Art and encourages spirited classroom discussions about topics such as what makes good art and what the Mona Lisa's smile means. This brings her into conflict with the conservative college president (Marian Seldes), who warns Katherine to stick to the syllabus if she wants to keep her job. Katherine comes to know many of the students in her class well and seeks to inspire them to achieve more for themselves as intelligent women than the expected convention of marriage to eligible young men. Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles) dreams of being a lawyer and has enrolled as pre-law, so Katherine encourages her to apply to Yale Law School, where she is accepted; Katherine finds her liberal sensibilities affronted when Joan's fiancé Tommy (Topher Grace) comments Joan "will always have that", intimating his own expectations of what his wife should be. Joan eventually elopes with Tommy, and professes to Katherine she is very happy—she had decided that what she wants most is to be a wife and mother after graduation and asks Katherine to respect her choice. [...]See more...
In a cinema in Buenos Aires on July 26, 1952, a film is interrupted when the news breaks of the death of Eva Perón, Argentina's first lady, at the age of 33. The nation goes into public mourning. Ché, a member of the public, marvels at the spectacle and promises to show how Eva did "nothing, for years." The rest of the film follows Eva Duarte (later Eva Duarte de Perón) from her humble beginnings as an illegitimate child of a lower class woman to her rise to become First Lady and Spiritual Leader of the Nation of Argentina, with Ché assuming many different guises throughout Eva's story.
In 1967, Chris Taylor has dropped out of college, enlisted in the U.S. Army and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. Assigned to a Bravo Company in the 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border, he is quickly worn down by the exhausting conditions, and his enthusiasm for the war wanes. One night his unit is set upon by a group of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers, who retreat after a brief confrontation. New recruit Gardner is killed while another soldier, Tex, is maimed by friendly fire. Taylor is reprimanded by the ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes for falling asleep during watch, after being implicated by one of the veterans. Taylor eventually gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit who socialize and use drugs in a bunker clubhouse at their base. He finds mentors in King and the honorable Sergeant Elias and becomes friends with other soldiers, including Lerner, Rhah, and Manny. [...]See more...
En 2014 à l'aube d'une crise économique les Nouveaux Pères Fondateurs prennent le pouvoir aux États-Unis. Le Dr May Updale propose alors une idée : une Purge. Durant une période de douze heures consécutives toute activité criminelle est permise. Au cours de cette nuit chacun peut ainsi évacuer ses émotions négatives en se vengeant ou plus simplement en s'adonnant à la violence gratuite. Pour le Dr Updale c'est le moyen idéal d'évacuer la violence et la haine et donc de résoudre le problème de la criminalité durant le reste de l'année.
One night, an American special forces team invades Saddam Hussein's (Haleva) palace and a nearby prison camp to rescue captured soldiers from Operation Desert Storm and to eliminate Saddam, but they find the Iraqis prepared for them, and the entire rescue team is captured. This failed operation turns out to be the latest in a series of rescue attempts which were foiled by the Iraqis, and consequently the advisors of President Benson (Admiral Benson in the previous film, played by Bridges) suspect sabotage in their own ranks. Colonel Denton Walters (Crenna) suggests to gain the aid of war hero Topper Harley (Sheen) for the next mission, but Topper has retired from the Navy and become a Buddhist in a small Thai village. Walters and Michelle Huddleston (Bakke), CIA, arrive and try to persuade him to come out of retirement in order to rescue the imprisoned soldiers and the previous rescue parties. [...]See more...
In the late 2020s the world is in turmoil, with the United States fractured as a result of prolonged conflict and a pandemic of the "St. Mary's Virus" ravaging Europe. The United Kingdom is ruled as a fascist police state by the Norsefire Party. Political opponents, immigrants, Muslims, homosexuals and other "undesirables" are imprisoned in concentration camps. On November 4, a Guy Fawkes-masked vigilante identifing himself as "V" (Hugo Weaving) rescues Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman), an employee of the state-run British Television Network (BTN), from members of the "Fingermen" secret police while she is out past curfew. From a rooftop, they watch his demolition of the Old Bailey criminal court building, accompanied by fireworks and the 1812 Overture. Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea), Scotland Yard's Chief of Police, is tasked with investigating V's activities while BTN declares the incident an "emergency demolition". V interrupts the broadcast to claim responsibility and urges the people of Britain to rise up against their government. He asks them to meet him exactly one year later, on November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, outside the Houses of Parliament, which he promises to destroy. During the broadcast, the police attempt to capture V. Evey helps him escape but is knocked unconscious. [...]See more...
Infuriated by belittlements, Queen Cleopatra makes a deal with Julius Caesar: if the Egyptians build a palace larger than Caesar's palace in Rome in three months, he must acknowledge that Egypt was the greatest of nations. To perform this task, Cleopatra hires the architect Numerobis, on pain of death and much to the dismay of Pyradonis, Cleoptara's customary architect. He and his secretary Papyris discuss the druid Getafix (Panoramix in the original French), whose potion empowers its drinkers; and Numerobis goes in search of him.
John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a Vietnam War veteran. In December 1981, seven years after he was discharged, he travels by foot to visit one of his old comrades, only to learn upon his arrival that his friend had died from cancer due to Agent Orange exposure during the war.
Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) wants her Chihuahua, Bruiser, to reunite with his mother, because she would like Bruiser's mom to attend Elle and Emmett's wedding. Elle hires a detective to find Bruiser's mother, only to discover that the owner of her dog's mother is a cosmetics company that uses Bruiser's mother for "testing". She finds out that her law firm represents the C'est Magnifique Corporation.
During a surprise drill of a nuclear attack, many United States Air Force Strategic Missile Wing missileers prove unwilling to turn a required key to launch a missile strike. Such refusals convince John McKittrick (Dabney Coleman) and other systems engineers at NORAD that missile launch control centers must be automated, without human intervention. Control is given to a NORAD supercomputer, WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), programmed to continuously run military simulations and learn over time.
In 1965, Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer (Williams) arrives in Saigon from Crete to work as a DJ for Armed Forces Radio Service. Cronauer is greeted by Private First Class Edward Montesquieu Garlick (Whitaker). Cronauer's irreverence contrasts sharply with many staff members and soon rouses the ire of two of his superiors, Second Lieutenant Steven Hauk (Kirby) and Sergeant Major Phillip Dickerson (Walsh). Hauk adheres to strict Army guidelines in terms of humor and music programming, while Dickerson is generally abusive to all enlisted men. However, Brigadier General Taylor (Willingham) and the other DJs quickly grow to like the new man and his brand of comedy. Cronauer's show consists of unpredictable humor segments mixed with news updates (vetted by the station censors) and rock and roll records that are frowned upon by his superiors. [...]See more...
In the 1997 general election, Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) becomes Britain's Labour prime minister. However, the Queen (Helen Mirren) is wary of Blair and his pledge to modernise Britain, despite his promises to respect the Royal Family. Three months later, Diana, Princess of Wales dies in a car crash at the Alma Bridge tunnel in Paris. Blair's director of communications, Alastair Campbell (Mark Bazeley), prepares a speech in which Diana is described as the people's princess. The phrase catches on and millions of people across London display an outpouring of grief at Buckingham and Kensington Palaces. Meanwhile, the Royal Family is still at their summer estate in Balmoral Castle. Diana's death sparks division amongst members of the family, with some of the view that since Diana was divorced from Prince Charles (Alex Jennings) a year prior to her death, she was no longer a part of the royal family. They argue that Diana's funeral arrangements are thus best left as a private affair of her noble family, the Spencers. Charles, however, argues that the mother of a future king cannot be dismissed so lightly, and persuades the Queen to authorise the use of an aircraft of the Royal Air Force to bring Diana's body back to Britain. [...]See more...
En 1967, lors de la « 2e année de la Révolution culturelle », le jeune étudiant chinois Chen Zhen est envoyé pour 2 ans en Mongolie-Intérieure pour enseigner et apporter la culture à une tribu de bergers nomades. Là-bas, il capture alors un louveteau pour l’apprivoiser. Alors qu'une relation se développe entre lui et l'animal, les loups sont menacés par un officier du gouvernement qui décide par tous les moyens d’éliminer les loups de la région.
In September 1939, Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish-Jewish pianist, is playing live on the radio in Warsaw when the station is bombed during Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland which caused the outbreak of World War II. Hoping for a quick victory, Szpilman celebrates with his posh family at home when learning that Britain and France have declared war on Germany. German troops soon enter Warsaw and the Nazi authorities implement measures to identify, isolate, financially ruin and reduce the Jewish population in Warsaw. Jews are ordered to provide their own identifying armbands with the Star of David. [...]See more...