Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

In Columbia Pictures’ comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Kevin James stars as the title character, a single, suburban dad, trying to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It’s a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa’s helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul’s daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey’s most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.

Marley & Me

Marley & Me

Newly married John and his wife Jenny were both animal lovers, and they decided to buy a dog for their home, prior to having children. The dog they acquired as a puppy (named Marley after singer Bob Marley) rapidly grew into a strong adult, but despite their efforts at dog training (he was kicked out of his first dog obedience school by the instructor, who John Grogan called Ms. Dominatrix), he mainly did not accept the authority and directions of his owners. At times Marley used his great strength to destroy property, and tended to chew through doors, strongly built dog crates, and even basement walls and doors, especially when impelled by his lifelong phobia of thunderstorms. At other times he dragged people and furniture around when he wished to socialize with other dogs or explore scents.

Marley stayed with his family as they moved from their original home to Boca Raton and up to Pennsylvania, and as they had their three children. On several occasions he showed deep empathy and a more serious side, comforting his mistress after a miscarriage, and protecting the victim and his owner when a neighbor was assaulted. Nearly rehoused during postpartum depression, he was allowed to stay and became a beloved companion of the children as they grew.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

In the highly-anticipated sequel to “Madagascar,” Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins and the chimps find themselves marooned on the distant shores of Madagascar. In the face of this obstacle, the New Yorkers have hatched a plan so crazy it just might work. With military precision, the penguins have repaired an old crashed plane–sort of. Once aloft, this unlikely crew stays airborne just long enough to make it to the wildest place of all–the vast plains of Africa, where the members of our zoo-raised crew encounter species of their own kind for the very first time. Africa seems like a great place… but is it better than their Central Park home?

Inkheart

Inkheart

In the story of Inkheart, there is a story within a story: Mo originally brought 4 of Inkheart’s characters to life while reading aloud from a novel which is also called Inkheart – Basta, Capricorn, Dustfinger, and Dustfinger’s pet marten, Gwin. Dustfinger, a fire eater, desperately wants to return to the world of the fictional novel; Capricorn, the villain of both the “real” and “imaginary” stories, wants Mo (and later, Meggie, who shares her father’s unusual gift) to summon an evil monster forged from the ashes of the murdered known as the Shadow, from the fictional novel; and Basta is Capricorn’s right-hand man who loves his knife. There is a dramatic twist when one day, 9 years after the characters pop out, Dustfinger and Gwin show up on Meggie and Mo’s doorstep begging Mo to send him back into the world of inkheart. He will do whatever it takes to get back to the land he loves, maybe even betray Mo and Meggie to Capricorn…

On more than one level, Inkheart is a book about books and the love of reading. Meggie and Mo are both avid readers; Meggie has carried a box (made by her father) of her favorite books with her all of her life. But also, Inkheart references many other works of literature. In addition to the characters from the fictional novel Inkheart, Mo also brings to life a boy (named Farid) who belongs in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, and makes gold appear from Treasure Island. Meggie’s reading causes Tinker Bell from Peter Pan to appear, and she also conjures up the soldier from “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, at the request of the Magpie, Capricorn’s mother. Later, during an experiment for Fenoglio, she also solicits the soldier back.

Coraline

Coraline

The film is about a young girl, Coraline (Dakota Fanning), who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home and enters into a parallel reality, a fantastical and thrilling imitation of her own dull life. In this world, Coraline finds a new version of her real mother (Teri Hatcher) and father (John Hodgman), her off-kilter neighbors, Miss Forcible (Dawn French), Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Mr Bobinsky (Ian MacShane), and the Cat (Keith David). However, this other world soon begins to unravel and she becomes a prisoner to her Other Mother and must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic

In the glamorous world of New York City, Rebecca Bloomwood (ISLA FISHER) is a fun-loving girl who is really good at shopping-a little too good, perhaps. She dreams of working for her favorite fashion magazine, but can’t quite get her foot in the door-until ironically, she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company. As her dreams are finally coming true, she goes to ever more hilarious and extreme efforts to keep her past from ruining her future.

Bolt

Bolt

For super-dog BOLT (voice of JOHN TRAVOLTA), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue – at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet – a cross-country journey through the real world to get back to his owner and co-star, Penny (voice of MILEY CYRUS). Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and the help of two unlikely traveling companions — a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voice of SUSIE ESSMAN) and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino (voice of MARK WALTON) — Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero.

Bedtime Stories

Bedtime Stories

Marty Bronson (Jonathan Pryce) who raises his son and daughter on his own has to sell his homey motel to clever Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) who promises to make Marty’s son manager, when he’s grown up and has proven himself. Nottingham pulls down the motel to raise a pricey hotel. Although grown up, Marty’s son Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) works as a janitor and general servant, but unlikely as it seems, he still dreams of becoming the manager. When Nottingham announces a brand-new gigantic hotel project, he makes his future son-in-law, base Kendall (Guy Pierce), manager, shattering Skeeter’s dream. At the same time Skeeter’s sister Wendy (Courtney Cox) has to leave town for a job interview and asks him to alternate looking after her two children Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) and Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) with Wendy’s responsible-minded colleague Jill (Keri Russell). He doesn’t get along with either Jill or the children, but his easy-goingness loosens them all up and once he starts telling his bedtime stories, the children grow fond of him and begin to bring in their ideas about how the stories should go. When the stories turn out to become true in real life, Skeeter tries to manoeuver the stories into a direction which will make his dream come true, too.

The Kid

The Kid

Charlie Chaplin’s first feature is a sad comedy about a woman who abandons her child with the intention of commiting suicide. The little Tramp finds the baby and takes him under his wing. When the woman, Edna, turns out to be an opera star five years later, she spends her extra time doing charity work for youngsters who live in the slums, hoping that she will find her son. Eventually, the truth comes out and the authorities take the baby away from Chaplin. He steals the child back, but is soon discovered and separated once again from him. A reunion at the mother’s mansion resolves things happily, yet the earlier somber tone prevails, making this sweet and heartwarming story resonate for the viewer.

The Lion King

The Lion King

A heroic coming-of-age story which follows the epic adventures of a young lion cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role as king of the jungle. As a carefree cub, he is both excited and anxious to become king, one day, and spends his days frolicking with his pal, Nala. His father, King Mufasa, the revered ruler of Pride Rock and the lands that surround it, teaches him about the “Circle of Life”–the delicate balance of nature which bonds all animals together; Simba’s father cautions him to prepare for the day when he will be called upon to lead. Mufasa’s evil brother, Scar, hopes that day will never arrive and schemes to do away with the king and Simba so that he can assume the throne for his own tyrannical purposes. Scar and his hyena henchmen–Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed–lure Simba into the path of a wildebeest stampede in which Mufasa is killed trying to save his son. Scar convinces Simba that he is responsible for his father’s death and urges him to leave the Pride Lands and never return. A frightened and guilt-ridden Simba flees into exile where he is befriended by a wacky but warmhearted warthog named Pumbaa and his free-wheeling meerkat companion, Timon. Under the dubious guidance of this nature’s odd couple, Simba adopts their “Hakuna Matata” (no worries) attitude towards life–taking things one day at a time. The cub matures into a young adult and is able to forget his past until a beautiful young lioness–who turns out to be his childhood friend Nala–arrives on the scene. She tells him of the hard times and suffering that have come to the Pride Lands under Scar’s reign, and beseeches him to take his place as king. With the help of Rafiki, a wise shaman baboon, Simba realizes that his father’s spirit lives on in him and that he must accept the responsibility of his destined role.