Bovie Movie

Edward Zwick returned to the director’s chair for the first time since 1998’s The Siege with this sweeping period drama set in 19th-century Japan. After centuries of relying on hired samurai for national defense, the Japanese monarchy has decided to do away with the warriors in favor of a more contemporary military. Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a veteran of the U.S. Civil War who is hired by the Emperor Meiji to train an army capable of wiping out the samurai. But when Algren is captured by the samurai and taught about their history and way of life, he finds himself conflicted over who he should be fighting alongside. Billy Connelly, Tony Goldwyn, and Ken Watanabe co-star.

Jules Verne’s famous novel of a daring man of science who takes on the greatest voyage in history is once again adapted for the big screen in this adventure comedy. In 1872, eccentric British inventor Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) has come up with any number of gadgets to help people travel with greater speed and ease, and is working on plans for a flying machine. In a lively discussion with Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), the head of the Royal Academy of Science, Fogg states his belief that it’s possible for someone to travel around the globe in a mere 80 days. Kelvin, who makes no secret of his belief that Fogg is a crackpot, challenges him to do just that, and adds a wager to the bargain to make things interesting: if Fogg can’t circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, he’ll give up inventing forever. Fogg takes the challenge, and teams up with his manservant, a former acrobat named Passepartout (Jackie Chan), and lovely navigator Monique (C?cile De France) to make the epic voyage — traveling by train, boat, balloon, horseback, or any other means at their disposal. However, Fogg and his companions are dogged along the way by the false accusation that the inventor took part in a bank robbery, forcing him to not only complete the journey but clear his name as well. Like the blockbuster 1956 adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, this film features a number of major stars in cameo appearances and supporting roles as Fogg makes his way around the globe, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Cleese, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Sammo Hung, Rob Schneider, Richard Branson, Mark Addy, and more.

The stars have aligned in an ominous sign, and as a legion of malevolent monsters descends upon New York City to wage war against humanity, the only thing that stands between humankind and certain destruction are four wisecracking turtles with a flair for martial arts and a hearty appetite for pizza. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s “heroes in a half-shell” return to defend the world against an interstellar threat that comes just once every 3,000 years in a computer-animated action comedy that marked the final film role of Japanese screen legend Mako — here providing the voice of the eternally wise Master Splinter. Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar lends her voice to the role of the turtles’ technical-services worker, April; Fantastic Four’s Chris Evans assumes the role of hockey-loving crimefighter Casey Jones; Memoirs of a Geisha star Zhang Ziyi steps in as villainous Foot Ninjas leader Karai; and Star Trek: The Next Generation captain Patrick Stewart voices malevolent tech industrialist Max Winters — a mortal man whose hunger for profit and power may spell doom for all humanity.

James Bond heads East to save the world (and to learn how to serve saki properly) in this action-packed espionage adventure. When an American spacecraft disappears during a mission, it’s widely believed to have been intercepted by the Soviet Union, and after a Russian space capsule similarly goes missing, most consider it to be an act of American retaliation. Soon the two nations are at the brink of war, but British intelligence discovers that some sort of UFO has crashed into the Sea of Japan. Agent 007, James Bond (Sean Connery) is sent in to investigate. After staging his own death to avoid being followed, Bond, disguised as a Japanese civilian, teams up with agent Tiger Tanaka (Tetsuro Tamba) and his beautiful associate Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi). With their help, Bond learns that both the American and Russian space missions were actually scuttled by supercriminal Ernst Blofeld (Donald Pleasance) in yet another bid by his evil empire SPECTRE to take over the world. As he battles the bad guys, Bond finds time to romance both Kissy Suziki (Mie Hama) and Helga Brandt (Karin Dor). You Only Live Twice was one of Sean Connery’s last outings as James Bond. The next Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, would star George Lazenby as 007, and while Connery would return for Diamonds Are Forever, in 1973, Roger Moore took over the role. (Connery would play Bond one last time, in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which was produced outside the official series.)

Chris Farley stars as an unusual ninja fighter in this over-the-top comedy. An elite society of Japanese warriors have prophesied that one day a blonde-haired, fair-skinned child will come to their village and lead them as a fighter of remarkable skill and bravery. So when an American child who fell overboard on an ocean liner washes up on their shores, they adopt him as one of their own and patiently instruct him in the ways of a ninja. Trouble is, the child, whom they name Haru (Chris Farley), grows up to be fat, clumsy, not especially bright, and startlingly inept as a warrior. Undaunted, Haru struggles on with his ninja training, and when Alison (Nicolette Sheridan), a beautiful woman from America, requests a ninja fighter to return with her to the States and protect her from her criminal-minded boyfriend and his Yakuza associates, Haru eagerly accepts the assignment. Haru’s minders see trouble brewing, so they secretly send along a fellow ninja, Gobei (Robin Shou), to watch his back, although this hardly prevents Haru from posing a deadly menace to inanimate objects everywhere. Jackie Chan was at one time announced to co-star in this film, which would prove to be the last Chris Farley vehicle released before his death in late 1997, though two other films he completed before his passing were released in 1998.

The origins of the Caped Crusader of Gotham City are finally brought to the big screen in this new adaptation of the perennially popular comic-book series. The young Bruce Wayne (Gus Lewis) leads a privileged life as the son of wealthy, philanthropist parents, both of whom stress their commitment to improving the lives of the citizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. After his mother and father are murdered by a mugger, however, Wayne grows into an impudent young man (Christian Bale), full of rage and bent on retribution until encouraged by his childhood sweetheart, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), to search for answers beyond his own personal vendettas. Wayne eventually finds discipline in the Far East under the tutelage of Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), a member of the mysterious League of Shadows who guides him in the study of martial arts — and the ways in which an ordinary man can hone his senses to an almost superhuman acuity. After seven years away from Gotham, Wayne returns, determined to bring peace and safety back to the city. With the help of his faithful manservant, Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a scientist at his late father’s corporation, Wayne develops a secret identity as Batman, a masked fighter for justice. But when a shady psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy) joins forces with the criminal underworld, Wayne realizes that putting an end to their nefarious plans will be very difficult indeed. Batman Begins also features Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon and Tom Wilkinson as the crime boss Carmine Falcone.

This talking-animal action comedy from Lawrence Guterman, the co-director of Antz (1998), follows on the heels of the Babe and Dr. Dolittle films. Unknown to humans, a secret war has been raging between cats and dogs for eons, but a fragile truce has long held the order of the animal kingdom in place. Now the balance of power has tipped, as a researcher, Professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum), is about to invent a vaccine that will erase all human allergies to dogs. This is too much for the autocratic Mr. Tinkles (Sean Hayes), a white Persian kitty bent on world domination. The Brody home becomes ground zero for the renewed conflict between feline and canine, with a young Beagle puppy named Lou (Tobey Maguire) caught in the middle as the new point man for his species’ cause. Cats and Dogs co-stars Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, as well as the vocal talents of Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Jon Lovitz, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Joe Pantoliano.

Daredevil’s main squeeze gets resurrected in her own flick with this spin-off martial arts actioner from director Rob Bowman (Reign of Fire, The X-Files: Fight the Future). Jennifer Garner returns to the role of Elektra Natchios, a hired assassin whose origins are finally revealed after her old ninja clan the Hand brings her back from the dead to serve their evil purposes. Reunited with her old sensei, Stick (Terence Stamp), Elektra leaves the past behind her and is eventually given an assignment to kill Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Kristin Prout). When her conscience gets the best of her and she decides to protect them instead, it’s up to the Hand’s top assassins to track her down and finish the job. Fans of Marvel Comics might recognize Natassia Malthe as Typhoid Mary, another nemesis of Daredevil that joins in the hunt, along with other masters of the dark mystic arts, Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Stone (Bob Sapp), and the Hand’s fearsome leader, Kirigi (Will Yun Lee).