Sometimes a villain is just a villain. Sometimes they’re a charmer and you wish they weren’t a villain. Sometimes they’re doing a villainous deed for what’s thought to be the right reason. Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) is all of theses and NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) can’t decide whether he wants his tactical unit to end the bank standoff. Each clue sways him further away from his jurisprudent choices. When it comes right down to it, which is better—justice or the law?

Director:  Spike Lee Writer:  Russell Gewirtz; Adam Erbacher Cast:
Denzel Washington -  Detective Keith Frazier Clive Owen -  Dalton Russell Jodie Foster -  Madeline White Christopher Plummer -  Arthur Case Willem Dafoe -  Captain John Darius Chiwetel Ejiofor -  Detective Bill Mitchell Carlos Andrés Gómez -  Steve Kim Director -  Stevie		James Ransone -  Steve-O Bernard Rachelle -  Chaim Peter Gerety -  Captain Coughlin Victor Colicchio -  Sergeant Collins Cassandra Freeman -  Sylvia Peter Frechette -  Peter Hammond Gerry Vichi -  Herman Gluck Waris Ahluwalia -  Vikram Walia

Denial in the face of overwhelming evidence is not a smart position to take, particularly when it could affect whether you die. Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe) gets run down by a Beamer late one night and a guy wearing a sou’wester with a hook pops out and stands over him with murderous intent in his demeanour. The next day in hospital with his co-conspirators Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), Barry is still denying that someone or something is out for revenge. He may want to rethink that position.

Director:  Jim Gillespie Writer:  Lois Duncan; Kevin Williamson Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt -  Julie James Sarah Michelle Gellar -  Helen Shivers Ryan Phillippe -  Barry William Cox Freddie Prinze Jr. -  Ray Bronson Bridgette Wilson -  Elsa Shivers Anne Heche -  Melissa ‘Missy’ Egan Johnny Galecki -  Max Neurick Muse Watson -  Benjamin Willis		Stuart Greer -  Officer David Caporizo J. Don Ferguson -  Emcee Deborah Hobart -  Mrs. James Mary McMillan -  Mrs. Cox Rasool J’Han -  Deb Dan Albright -  Sheriff Lynda Clark -  Pageant Official Shea Broom -  Contestant #1

Heart attack city. A handful of events converge. All impose a degree of stress. They intertwine, offset, distract, merge. How much can a body absorb before an effect is noticed. All it takes is one more before… At 51, Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid) and his wife Ann (Marg Helgenberger) are having a baby, his new boss, for whom he is passed over, is 26 and his daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) is dating him. Can it get any worse?

Director:  Paul Weitz; Chris Weitz Writer:  Paul Weitz Cast:
Dennis Quaid -  Dan Foreman Topher Grace -  Carter Duryea Scarlett Johansson -  Alex Foreman Marg Helgenberger -  Ann Foreman David Paymer -  Morty Clark Gregg -  Mark Steckle Philip Baker Hall -  Eugene Kalb Selma Blair -  Kimberly		Frankie Faison -  Corwin Ty Burrell -  Enrique Colon Kevin Chapman -  Lou Amy Aquino -  Alicia Zena Grey -  Jana Foreman Colleen Camp -  Receptionist Lauren Tom -  Obstetrician Ron Bottitta -  Porsche Dealer

Why is it that sometimes we can open up to a stranger rather than a friends or family? Maybe it is because we think that they don’t play a role in our lives and can’t use it against us when it may be appropriate.

Sarah Harwicke (Meg Ryan) is a desperately lonely stay-at-home mom. Her husband is having an affair, her older daughter, Page (Kristen Stewart), is angry with her for no reason she can fathom and she has discovered a lump in her breast. She can talk to her neighbour’s grandson, Carter (Adam Brody), on their daily walks and she decides to share a secret with him. She shows him her favourite place in the local woods and all she asks in return is to be held to allay her frights and feel safe and comfort for a moment.

Director:  Jon Kasdan Writer:  Jon Kasdan Cast:
Elena Anaya -  Sofia Buñuel Adam Brody -  Carter Webb Kelsey Keel -  Teenage Girl #1 Danielle Savre -  Teenage Girl #2 Gina Mantegna -  Teenage Girl #3 Rob Reinis -  Avi Rosenberg JoBeth Williams -  Agnes Webb Makenzie Vega -  Paige Hardwicke		Kristen Stewart -  Lucy Hardwicke Meg Ryan -  Sarah Hardwicke Olympia Dukakis -  Phyllis Dustin Milligan -  Eric Watts Graham Wardle -  Gabe Foley Elise Gatien -  Tiffany Christine Danielle -  Tanya Clark Gregg -  Nelson Hardwicke

Some times it doesn’t pay to threaten people particularly when they hold the keys to all of your secrets. Mr. Pettikreep (Vass Anderson) brings the surveyor’s report for the theme park planned by Lord Hailstock (Kevin McNally). Foolishly, he threatens his servant with taking away everything the old codger has and putting him on the street penniless. $10 says the lord will get his ass kicked down the road. Any takers?

Director:  John Eyres Writer:  John Eyres; Max Myers Cast:
Eddie Griffin -  Jimmy McDevitt Anna Friel -  Maureen Vass Anderson -  Mr. Pettikreep Roger Ashton-Griffiths -  Tom Flannery Angus Barnett -  Milos O Shea James Bradshaw -  Malachy McNulty Tallulah Pitt-Brown -  Kathleen Kevin McNally -  Lord Hailstock		Ray Callaghan -  Doc Murphy Christopher Dunne -  Michael O’Malley Nevan Finegan -  Sean McNulty Tom Georgeson -  Father Duffy Togo Igawa -  Mr. Suzuki Cathy Murphy -  Dora Marion O’Dwyer -  Donna Petey Pablo -  Jimmy’s Street Pot Customer

Do you want to see your kids squirm? Start talking about sex with your spouse in front of them. After meeting Abby Willoughby (Jennifer Westfeldt) earlier in the day and her proposing marriage, Ira Black (Chris Messina) introduces her to his parents Seymour (Robert Klein) and Arlene Black (Judith Light) who reveal that each one has cheated on the other during their 30+ years of marriage and yet they have a wonderful sex life. Ira just slides down in his seat in mortification. There are some things a child doesn’t need to know about his parents.

Director:  Robert Cary Writer:  Jennifer Westfeldt Cast:
Chris Messina -  Ira Black Jennifer Westfeldt -  Abby Willoughby Frances Conroy -  Lynne Willoughby Fred Willard -  Michael Willoughby Robert Klein -  Seymour Black Judith Light -  Arlene Black Hayden Adams -  Kissing Subway Guy Jason Alexander -  Dr. Morris Saperstein		Robert Bagnell -  Jimmy Ken Barnett -  Bobby Brad Bellamy -  Henry Mary Louise Burke -  Janice Maddie Corman -  Lea Matthew Del Negro -  Seth Jon Hamm -  Ronnie Darrell Hammond -  Dr. Rosenblum

After the terror of IKWYDLS, Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) stiffens her resolve and isn’t going to be a victim anymore. As usual, nobody believes her story, there is storm on the horizon, the holiday resort is emptying faster than fish catch from a seine and bodies are starting to pile up. But help is on the way through rough seas in the from of Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) who doesn’t plan to take any prisoners. When she’s a captive and Ray finds them in the grave yard, there is a moment when you’re wondering whether the producers can wring another movie out of this. But that seems unlikely when Ben Willis (Muse Watson) drives a hook into his son’s chest and Julie decides to step up and finish off Ben with Ray’s pistol.

Director:  Danny Cannon Writer:  Lois Duncan; Trey Callaway Cast:
Jennifer Love Hewitt -  Julie James Freddie Prinze Jr. -  Ray Bronson Brandy -  Karla Wilson Mekhi Phifer -  Tyrell Muse Watson -  Ben Willis Bill Cobbs -  Estes Matthew Settle -  Will Benson Jeffrey Combs -  Mr. Brooks		Jennifer Esposito -  Nancy John Hawkes -  Dave Ellerine! -  Olga Benjamin Brown -  Darick The Dockhand Red West -  Paulsen Michael P. Byrne -  Thurston Michael Bryan French -  Doctor Dee Ann Helsel -  Nurse

It is always the little things that make us doubt how well we know someone who has been a part of our lives. We get confused when they react differently than we expect. We get concerned when they say something not in keeping with their character. Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) has many of these moments when he meets and talks to the people with whom his now murdered son Mike (Jonathan Tucker) has served in Iraq. It’s as if he doesn’t know this man who is his beloved son who gets wrecked on booze and drugs, pokes a prisoner’s open wound for fun, laughing at an amputee’s limb loss, tossing change at a stripper.

Director:  Paul Haggis Writer:  Paul Haggis; Mark Boal Cast:
Tommy Lee Jones -  Hank Deerfield Charlize Theron -  Det. Emily Sanders Jason Patric -  Lt. Kirklander Susan Sarandon -  Joan Deerfield James Franco -  Sgt. Dan Carnelli Barry Corbin -  Arnold Bickman Josh Brolin -  Chief Buchwald Frances Fisher -  Evie		Wes Chatham -  Corporal Steve Penning Jake McLaughlin -  Spc. Gordon Bonner Mehcad Brooks -  Spc. Ennis Long Jonathan Tucker -  Mike Deerfield Wayne Duvall -  Detective Nugent Victor Wolf -  Private Robert Ortiez Brent Briscoe -  Detective Hodge Greg Serano -  Detective Manny Nunez

There are moment in time when it seems as if everything stops, waiting for you to take a decision. The details coalesce in your mind and you know instinctively which is the proper way. They may defy logic and all vestige of common sense. But it is the right one at the right time. Sadly, you may not be the one in control of the circumstances and the choices are made for you. All you can do go along. Del Spooner’s (Will Smith) car is involved in a car accident with another car holding a twelve-year-old girl who wants to be a dentist and a truck which slams both vehicles into the river. A nearby robot comes to effect their rescue and it chooses Del (it calculates a 45 percent chance of his survival) over the girl (11 percent chance). Tragically, he dreams that the robot made the wrong choice.

Director:  Alex Proyas Writer:  Isaac Asimov; Jeff Vintar; Akiva Goldsman Cast:
Will Smith -  Del Spooner Bridget Moynahan -  Susan Calvin Alan Tudyk -  Sonny James Cromwell -  Dr. Alfred Lanning Bruce Greenwood -  Lawrence Robertson Adrian L. Ricard -  Granny Chi McBride -  Lt. John Bergin Jerry Wasserman -  Baldez		Fiona Hogan -  V.I.K.I. Peter Shinkoda -  Chin Terry Chen -  Chin David Haysom -  NS4 Robots Scott Heindl -  NS5 Robots Sharon Wilkins -  Woman Craig March -  Detective Kyanna Cox -  Girl

I’m a math guy. In point of fact, I’m a statistician by training and career. At one point in the movie, we discover that ten people get stranded in a remote motel and the all have the same birthday, May 10th. There is Ed (John Cusack), a former cop who is a driver for an actress, Caroline Suzanne (Rebecca De Mornay). He accidentally runs down a woman Alice York (Leila Kenzle), the mother of a 10-year-old self-imposed mute boy (Bret Loehr) and the wife of George (John C. McGinley), all of whom Ed transports along with his boss to the motel run by Larry (John Hawkes). Later, a hooker on her way to Florida named Paris (Amanda Peet) and a pair of newlyweds, Ginny (Clea DuVall) and Lou (William Lee Scott), are forced off the road and into the motel. And there is a cop Rhodes (Ray Liotta) who is holding in custody the loopy but dangerous Robert Maine (Jake Busey). They are scampering frantically to solve the mystery of who is in the process of murdering all of them and why.

Terrific movie… but let’s get back to the math. I went looking up details in my math stuff and figured out that the chances are one in eight that two people in a room of ten would have the same birthday. And if you had 23 in the same room, chances would be 50-50 that two people would have the same birthday. To have a 50 percent chance of ten people in the same room with the same birthday, you’d need approximately 1,181 people. If any of this is of interest, do a Google search on “birthday problem” or “birthday paradox.”

Director:  James Mangold Writer:  Michael Cooney Cast:
John Cusack -  Ed Ray Liotta -  Rhodes Amanda Peet -  Paris John Hawkes -  Larry Alfred Molina -  Dr. Malick Clea DuVall -  Ginny John C. McGinley -  George York William Lee Scott -  Lou		Jake Busey -  Robert Maine Pruitt Taylor Vince -  Malcolm Rivers Rebecca DeMornay -  Caroline Suzanne Carmen Argenziano -  Defense Lawyer Marshall Bell -  District Attorney Leila Kenzle -  Alice York Matt Letscher -  Assistant District Attorney Bret Loehr -  Timmy York

When I was working through my teenage angst, I hid behind sarcasm. I think it was a way to deal with confusion as to what I wanted to do and where I was going in life. I finally figured it out on the precipice of expulsion from school and the panic in realizing I’d have to get a job. So I can identify somewhat with Igby Slocomb (Kieran Culkin) whose mum Mimi (Susan Sarandon) wants to run his life. He is headed to the dreaded military academy when he detours to the New York City loft of the mistress of his godfather, D.H. (Jeff Goldblum). Rachel (Amanda Peet) has some problems of her own (like heroin) but he meets and is smitten by Sookie Sapperstein (Claire Danes). She seems to have the whole world figured out, but it turns out she is just as confused about things. His brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe) shows up and tells Igby that Mimi is suffering from cancer. He know it is only a matter of time before he’s going to have to grow up. Now my life wasn’t quite this dramatic but I did decide what and where I was going.

Director:  Burr Steers Writer:  Burr Steers Cast:
Kieran Culkin -  Jason ‘Igby’ Slocumb, Jr. Claire Danes -  Sookie Sapperstein Jeff Goldblum -  D.H. Banes Jared Harris -  Russel Amanda Peet -  Rachel Ryan Phillippe -  Oliver ‘Ollie’ Slocumb Bill Pullman -  Jason Slocumb Susan Sarandon -  Mimi Slocumb		Rory Culkin -  10-Year-Old Igby Peter Tambakis -  13-Year-Old Oliver Bill Irwin -  Lt. Ernest Smith, Pershing Academy Kathleen Gati -  Ida Gannon Forrester -  Little Cadet Celia Weston -  Bunny Elizabeth Jagger -  Lisa Fiedler Nick Wyman -  Suit