Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third installment of the live action Transformers film series. Like its predecessors Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. In 1961 the Ark a Cybertronian spacecraft carrying an invention capable of ending the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, crash lands on the dark side of Earth’s Moon. The crash is detected on Earth by NASA and President John F Kennedy authorizes a mission to put a man on the Moon as a cover for investigating the craft. In 1969 the crew of Apollo 11 lands on the Moon. In the present the Autobots assist the United States military in preventing conflicts around the globe. During a mission to Chernobyl to investigate suspected alien technology Optimus Prime the leader of the Autobots finds a fuel cell from the Ark, discovering that it had survived its journey from Cybertron. The Autobots are attacked by Shockwave, who manages to escape. After learning of the top secret mission to the Moon the Autobots travel there to explore the Ark. They discover a comatose Sentinel Prime Optimus’ predecessor as leader of the Autobots and the Pillars he created as a means of establishing a Space Bridge between two points to teleport matter. After returning to Earth, Optimus uses the energy of his Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is frustrated that he is unable to work with the Autobots and is failing to find a job. He also becomes envious of the close relationship between his new girlfriend, Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington Whiteley) and her boss Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey). After finding work, Sam is provided information by his eccentric co-worker Jerry Wang about the Ark before Jerry is assassinated by the Decepticon Laserbeak. Sam contacts the now independently wealthy Seymour Simmons (John Turturro) and together they realize that the Decepticons and their leader, Megatron are murdering people connected to the American and Russian space missions to the Ark. They locate two surviving Russian cosmonauts, who reveal satellite photos of hundreds of Pillars being stockpiled on the Moon. Sam realizes that the Decepticons raided the Ark long before the Autobots mission and intentionally left Sentinel and five Pillars behind to lure the Autobots into a trap Sentinel being the key to activating the Pillars and the Decepticons lacking the means to revive him. The Autobots rush to return Sentinel to their base for protection but Sentinel betrays them and kills the Autobot Ironhide, revealing he had made a deal with Megatron to ensure the survival of the Cybertronian race. Sentinel uses the Pillars to transport hundreds of concealed Decepticons from the Moon to Earth and Carly is captured by Gould, who is revealed to be in the service of the Decepticons. The Autobots are exiled from Earth at the demand of the Decepticons to avoid war but as their ship leaves Earth it is destroyed by Megatron’s second in command Starscream killing the Autobots. more…

Conan the Barbarian is a 2011 sword and sorcery fantasy film based on the character Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E Howard. The film is a new interpretation of the Conan mythology and is not related to the films featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film begins with a group of sorcerers from Acheron who have created a mask from the skulls of dead kings and sacrificed their pure blood daughters to the dark gods in order to give the mask the power to subjugate the entire world. After killing countless people in their campaign to conquer the planet the sorcerers were defeated by the barbarian tribes who destroyed the mask, scattering the pieces across the tribes with each tribal leader keeping one piece to ensure that the pieces would be difficult to reunite. Thousands of years later in the Hyborian Age, Corin (Ron Perlman) is a barbarian chief who holds one of the pieces of the mask. In a battle against a rival tribe Corin’s wife, after being wounded by the enemy gives birth to their son Conan (Leo Howard) and dies. Conan grows up to become a skilled, but violent warrior whom his father believes is not ready to wield his own sword. One day their village is attacked by the forces of Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang) a warlord that is reuniting the pieces of the Mask of Acheron in order to revive his dead wife and conquer Hyborea. After locating Corin’s piece and murdering the entire village Zym leaves. Conan is the only survivor and swears revenge. 20 years later Conan (Jason Momoa) is a pirate still seeking revenge. With the help of his friend Artus (Nonso Anozie) he raids a slave camp and takes the rescued slaves to the city of Messantia, where Conan meets Ela-Shan (Saïd Taghmaoui) a thief being chased by a man whom Conan recognizes as Lucius (Steven O’Donnell) one of Zym’s soldiers from years before. Conan allows himself to be captured alongside Ela-Shan and in prison, escapes and confronts Lucius who is forced to reveal that Zym is planning to sacrifice the pure blood descendant of the sorcerers of Acheron in order to unleash the mask’s power. He helps the rest of the prisoners to escape and in gratitude Ela-Shan tells Conan that if he ever needs him, Conan will find him at the City of Thieves Argalon. Meanwhile, Zym and his daughter the sorceress Marique (Rose McGowan) attack a monastery where they believe the pure blood is. Sensing something is wrong Fassir (Raad Rawi) an elderly monk who teaches the monastery’s students, tells one of them Tamara (Rachel Nichols) to run away and return to her birthplace. Tamara’s carriage is chased by Zym’s men. Conan hears the commotion and recognizing Zym’s men, attacks and kills them saving Tamara. Conan also captures one of Zym’s men Remo (Milton Welsh) and catapults him to Zym’s nearby camp after forcing him to reveal Tamara’s importance as the pure blood. Zym and Marique confront Conan, who is pretending to be interested in exchanging Tamara for gold but instead attacks Zym, but Marique saves her father by invoking soldiers made of sand and then poisoning Conan with a poison laced boomerang sword. more…

Blue Steel is a 1989 action thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film is now 22 years old the film begins with Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a rookie New York City policewoman who shoots and kills a suspect (Tom Sizemore) with her police issue 38 Special Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver while he’s holding up a neighborhood market. The suspect’s weapon lands on the floor of the market in the shopping area as the suspect is blown backward through the front window. As she continues to the checkout area, Turner nearly steps on the suspect’s gun directly in front of Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver) a commodities trader, who is also a latent psychopath. Hunt takes the gun and slips away, committing several bloody and brutal murders over the next few days using the gun. Because the robber’s weapon was not found at the scene, Turner is accused of killing an unarmed man. While tTurner attempts to clear her name with Chief Hoyt (Kevin Dunn) and her superiors, Hunt begins to romance the suspended Turner in a twisted love fetish. Turner arrests him but he is freed by his attorney Mel Dawson (Richard Jenkins) and continues to stalk Turner at her family home, an uncomfortable place where Turner remembers her mother being physically abused by her dad. Turner fights to keep her badge and solve the murders with the help of Detective Nick Mann (Clancy Brown) while trying to figure out her relationship with a killer. Eugene steps up his torment of Meg and turns up at her apartment later in the week and injures Meg and guns down and kills her best friend Tracy (Elizabeth Pena) and this causes Meg to have an emotional breakdown when she regains consciousness. Later that day Nick and Meg spend the night together, Eugene turns up again and while Nick goes to the bathroom he is shot by Eugene, Meg doesn’t hear the shot because it was muffled. Eugene attacks her and she shoots him but he runs off. Meg and Nick, who is unconscious are taken to the hospital. She wants to find Eugene and finish him off, after a long and violent confrontation and a bullet in the shoulder she finally shoots and kills Eugene and is taken away by paramedics for treatment. more…

The Conspirator is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Robert Redford. The film tells the story of Mary Surratt the only female co-conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government. In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright ) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back drop of post Civil War Washington, newly minted lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) a 27 year old Union war hero reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken is at first very reluctant to take the case and believes his client is guilty. However, he uncovers evidence of her innocence and conducts a spirited defense. He realizes his client is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt her own son John Surratt (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life. more…

Fast Five is a 2011 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin and is the fifth installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise. When Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) is being transported to Lompoc prison by bus, his sister Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) and friend Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) lead an assault on the bus causing it to crash freeing Dom. While authorities search for them the trio escape to Rio de Janeiro. Awaiting Dom’s arrival, Mia and Brian join their friend Vince (Matt Schulze) and other participants on a job to steal three cars from a train. While aboard the train, Brian and Mia discover the train is carrying DEA agents and that the cars are seized property. When Dom arrives with the rest of the participants, he realizes that one of them Zizi (Michael Irby) is only interested in stealing one car a Ford GT40. Dom has Mia steal the car herself while Dom and Brian fight Zizi and his henchmen, with Zizi killing the DEA agents assigned to the vehicles. Dom and Brian are captured and brought to crime lord and owner of the cars Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), Zizi’s boss where he orders the pair be interrogated to discover the location of the car. However they manage to escape and retreat to their safehouse. While Brian, Dom and Mia examine the car to discover its importance, Vince arrives and is caught trying to remove a computer chip from the car admitting that he was planning to sell it to Reyes on his own. Dom forces Vince to leave and after investigating the chip, Brian discovers it contains details of Reyes’ criminal empire including the locations of $100 million in cash. Following the murder of the DEA agents aboard the train, blamed on Dom and his team U.S Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and his team arrive in Rio to capture Dom and Brian. They travel to Dom’s safehouse with assistance from local officer Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) but find it under assault by Reyes’ men. Brian, Dom and Mia escape with Dom suggesting they split up and leave Rio, but Mia announces she is pregnant with Brian’s child. more…

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a 2011 American science fiction film directed by Rupert Wyatt. The film follows Will Rodman (James Franco) who is a scientist who has been trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by testing a genetically engineered retrovirus on chimpanzees. The virus mutates the chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence. One of his test subjects, a female chimpanzee goes on a rampage because she believes her baby to whom she secretly gave birth is threatened. She is killed after disrupting a board meeting. Will’s boss Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) orders subordinate Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) to put all the test chimpanzees down, but Robert cannot bring himself to kill the chimpanzee’s baby and instead gives him to Will, who names him Caesar (Andy Serkis) and raises him in his house. Caesar has inherited his mother’s high intelligence and learns quickly. Three years later, Will gives a sample of his cure to his father Charles (John Lithgow) who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. At first his father improves but five years later his body’s immune system fights off the virus and his dementia returns. In his dementia Charles gets into his neighbor’s car and damages it angering the neighbor (David Hewlett). As he threatens Charles and pushes him down the onlooking Caesar attacks him. After the incident, Caesar is forced to leave Will’s house and is held in a San Bruno primate facility run by John Landon (Brian Cox). The apes are treated cruelly by Landon’s son Dodge (Tom Felton) who works as a guard there. Caesar is initially treated poorly both by the staff and by the other apes. When Dodge brings his friends into the facility, one of them gets too close to Caesar’s cage and is grabbed by Caesar who steals his pocket knife, later using it to escape his cell. Caesar then frees a gorilla named Buck and with his help gains dominance over the other apes. Meanwhile, Will creates a more powerful form of the virus to further treat his father and new tests on chimpanzees begin. more…