A small VHS only video store faces foreclosure in a poor community. While watching the store for the owner, a blundering employee’s friend accidentally erases all of the tapes. In order to keep their blunder from becoming apparent, the duo of Mos Def and Jack Black begin remaking the films themselves using homemade special effects and outdated filming techniques.

Based on a true story, “The Great Escape” deals with the largest Allied escape attempt from a German POW camp during the Second World War. The first part of the film focuses on the escape efforts within the camp and the process of secretly digging an escape tunnel. The second half of the film deals with the massive effort by the German Gestapo to track down the over 70 escaped prisoners who are at this point throughout the Third Reich attempting to make their way to England and various neutral countries.

In the year 1099, during the Crusades in the 11th Century, Christian soldiers arrive in Jerusalem and slaughter the local population. Christian soldier Charles Le Vaillant becomes demoralized by the horrors of war and decides to create a new religious order. This new order brings together, in a peaceful manner, members from the three religions of the region: Christians, Jews, and Muslims. As a self-imposed leader and messiah, Charles writes the sacred texts of the Order. The Christian Crusaders accuse Charles of heresy, and attack him and his disciples. During the attack, the last chapter from the sacred texts becomes lost in the desert. Now, in modern-day Israel, a devout contingent of Le Vaillant’s followers continues to practice his peaceful teachings. But a disciple named Cyrus has a distorted view of the Order’s peaceful intention. Rudy Cafmeyer is a thief and smuggler of valuable historical artifacts. Rudy manages to break into a high security building where he steals a Faberge Egg, the kind decorated with precious stones and manufactured expressly for the Russian Tsars. Needless to say, the alarm goes off, and Rudy has to fight his way out of the building. Despite this theft, Rudy is not really a bad guy. He stole the egg from the personal collection of a powerful Russian mafia boss. Rudy is a loving son who would do anything for his father Oscar “Ozzie” Cafmeyer. Ozzie, an archaeologist and museum curator, discovers the manuscripts that were lost during the crusades. The manuscripts clearly extol interfaith harmony. In those manuscripts, there is also an ancient map of Jerusalem, which shows the location of a mythical Jewish treasure. Ozzie travels to Israel, where Cyrus has him kidnapped. Rudy, who heard the kidnapping take place while talking to Ozzie on the phone, travels to Jerusalem to rescue Oscar. Oscar’s associate, Professor Walt Finley, hands Rudy the key to a safe-deposit box in East Jerusalem before being gunned down by unknown assailants. Israeli Police Chief Ben Ner views Rudy’s arrival with hostility and takes steps to have Rudy deported, but police lieutenant Dalia Barr risks her life and career to help Rudy — she was once a disciple of the Order, but she left when she was 18-years-old. Cyrus uses a car bomb to assassinate the Order’s leader, Pierre Gaudet, and Cyrus steps up his own rhetoric, hoping to inflame his followers. Rudy opens the safe-deposit box and finds a map that shows a series of tunnels and a treasure room beneath Jerusalem. Ben Ner, who has partnered with Cyrus, covets the gold that the underground tunnels lead to, but Cyrus hopes to plant a bomb during Ramadan that will turn the Israelis against the Palestinians. Dalia and Rudy must get to the Order’s monastery, free Ozzie, and prevent an explosion that could push tensions in the area way past the boiling point.

The film deals with the situation of British prisoners of war during World War II who are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway. Their instinct is to sabotage the bridge but, under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness), they are persuaded that the bridge should be constructed as a symbol of British morale, spirit and dignity in adverse circumstances. At first, the prisoners admire Nicholson when he bravely endures torture rather than compromise his principles for the benefit of the Japanese commandant Saito (Sessue Hayakawa). He is an honorable but arrogant man, who is slowly revealed to be a deluded obsessive. He convinces himself that the bridge is a monument to British character, but actually is a monument to himself, and his insistence on its construction becomes a subtle form of collaboration with the enemy. Unknown to him, the Allies have sent a mission into the jungle, led by Warden (Jack Hawkins) and an American, Shears (William Holden), to blow up the bridge.

A group of security analysts are offered a job by the CIA and when they are reluctant, pressure is brought to bear by the threat to disclose the identity of their leader, a 60s radical with outstanding warrants. A chip exists that will allow any computer to be cracked, and organized crime will soon control it, though sudden changes in their police records suggest that it is already operational.

During the Napoleonic Wars, a British frigate, HMS Surprise, and a much larger French warship, the Acheron, with greater fire power, stalk each other off of the coast of South America. Russell Crowe brings great intensity to the role of Captain Jack Aubrey. Lucky Jack, as he is referred to by his crew, is well regarded by his men, who trust him implicitly, even after the first devastating battle and an apparent personal vendetta against the French captain. While the naval battle sequences are quite fantastic, the film is successful because director Weir chose to build the story to get to know the men who are locked aboard the tight quarters of a small ship and how they interact everyday. The officers and the mates are well-known by the time the final battle comes. Paul Bettany offers a strong performance as the surgeon and naturalist who balances the violence of his chosen life with the quiet demeanor of the scientist. He is the captain’s friend and confidant, the two frequently playing violin and cello duets together. The horrors of the injuries from the war are frequently implied, but vividly depicted in the reactions of the characters.

Dutch (Arnlod Schwarzenegger) and a team of commandos have been sent into a Central American jungle to track down some missing airmen that were kidnapped by terrorists. By the time they get to the camp, the airmen have been butchered in a very violent fashion and the commandos retaliate on the terrorists’ camp. After that’s over, they wait for a helicopter to pick them up, but something strange begins to happen in the woods. It isn’t long before the commandos start getting killed off and Dutch and a girl from the camp, Anna (Elpidia Carrillo), are the only people left and fighting for their lives. But what they discover is too shocking for them to imagine. What’s been killing them is the Predator, an alien that hunts rare species and make his trophies out of their skulls. And human beings are the new species he has discovered.

The crew of the Serenity is getting desperate. They have lain lower and lower to protect their doctor, Simon Tam (Sean Maher), and his telepathic traumatized little sister, River (Summer Glau), from the alliance, whom he rescued her from a year earlier. This has made getting jobs harder and now they are desperate. When they take River on a robbery during which Reavers (humans who have gone crazy and turned into cannibals) attack, Simon decides that its time to leave the crew of the Serenity for his and River’s safety. She then mutters “Miranda” and goes berserk and nearly shoots Capt. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), until her brother says the safety word to put her to sleep. Reynolds decides to take them back on board for safety, only now an alliance operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is on their tracks and making Reynolds determined to find out what “Miranda” is and what the Alliance is hiding.

Sauron’s forces increase. His allies grow. The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form. Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai is ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected. A number of new allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Pippin and Merry. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron’s troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin.