Quantum Of Solace

Quantum of Solace (2008) is the 22nd James Bond film by EON Productions, released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2008 and in North America on 14 November. The direct sequel to the 2006 film Casino Royale, it is directed by Marc Forster, and features Daniel Craig's second performance as James Bond.

In the film, Bond battles Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a member of the Quantum organisation posing as an environmentalist, who intends to stage a coup d'état in Bolivia to take control of its water supply. Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, and is assisted by Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko).

Producer Michael G. Wilson created the film's plot while Casino Royale was shooting. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis and Joshua Zetumer contributed to the script. The title was chosen from a 1960 short story in Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only, though the film does not contain any elements of the original story. Location filming took place in Panama, Chile, Italy and Austria, while interior sets were built and filmed at Pinewood Studios.

Forster aimed to make a modern film that also featured classic cinema motifs: an antique aeroplane was used for a dogfight sequence, and Dennis Gassner's set designs are reminiscent of Ken Adam's work on several early Bond films. Taking a course away from the usual Bond villains, Forster rejected any grotesque appearance for the character Dominic Greene to emphasise the hidden and secret nature of the film's (and society's) modern day corporate villains.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa is the 2008 sequel to the 2005 film, Madagascar. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and was released on November 7, 2008. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures. It has been confirmed that the film is about the animals starting the plane on Madagascar, and then landing in Africa, and meeting some of Alex's family.

The film stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter. Also guest voicing includes Alec Baldwin, will.i.am, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd. The previous title was "Madagascar: The Crate Escape", which was featured on a trailer with Ben Stiller. The film is rated PG for some mild crude humor.

The film opens in the past, where Zuba (Bernie Mac), king of the jungle, teaches his infant son, Alake (Alex) how to protect himself. Alex is trapped by poachers, and Zuba chases the hunters, but loses track of Alex. Alex's crate falls into a river which carries it to the sea. His crate drifts to New York City where he is put on display in the Central Park Zoo.

The movie cuts to the present, picking up where Madagascar left off. Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are boarding an airplane that will be catapulted with a gigantic slingshot. King Julian and Maurice go with them. Midway through the trip, the penguins discover they are out of fuel, but manage a gentle crash landing in an African wildlife reserve. They all disperse and meet their species, while the penguins stay at the crash site and repair the plane.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder is a 2008 action comedy film produced and directed by Ben Stiller and written by Stiller, Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film when their fed-up writer and director decide to abandon them in the middle of the jungle, forcing them to fight their way out.

Stiller initially had the idea for the film while playing a small part in Empire of the Sun, and later brought on Theroux and Cohen to help him complete the script. After the film was greenlit in 2006, filming took place in 2007 on the Hawaiian island of Kauai over 13 weeks, and was deemed the largest film production in the island's history. The film had a large marketing promotion, including showing numerous screenings, selling the fictional energy drink advertised in the film, and posting faux websites for the characters, films, and products shown in Tropic Thunder.

The film met controversy among the disability advocacy community prior to its release on August 13, 2008. It received generally positive reviews with 83% and 71% approval ratings according the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, respectively. It earned $26 million in its opening weekend and retained the number one position for its first three consecutive weekends of release.

During the filming of Vietnam veteran "Four Leaf" Tayback's (Nick Nolte) memoir, the stars—fading action star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), five-time Academy Award-winner Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.), rap star Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), low-brow drug-addled comedian Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), and character actor Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel)—behave unreasonably, resulting in a $4 million explosion going off with no cameras shooting. With filming a month behind schedule only five days into shooting, the media dubs the production "the most expensive war movie never made". Rookie director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) is ordered by studio executive Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) to get the production back on track or risk having it shut down. With inspiration from Tayback, Cockburn drops the spoiled actors into the middle of the jungle, where he installs hidden cameras and special effect explosions rigged so he can film "guerrilla-style". The actors have only a map and a scene listing to guide them to the helicopter waiting at the end of the jungle. Shortly afterward, the director is blown up by a land mine left by the French, but thanks to his preceding diatribe, only Lazarus realizes his death was real.

Babylon A.D.

Babylon A.D. is a 2008 science fiction film based on the novel Babylon Babies by Maurice Georges Dantec. The film was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and stars Vin Diesel. It was released on August 29, 2008 in the United States.

In the near future, Toorop (Vin Diesel) is a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman named Aurora from Eastern Europe to New York. While he thinks this is just an ordinary mission, he gradually finds out that his guest is carrying twins that have the potential to become the next Messiahs — and everybody wants to get their hands on them.

Mathieu Kassovitz developed an English-language film adaptation of Maurice Georges Dantec's French novel Babylon Babies for five years; in June 2005, this project got financed from StudioCanal and Twentieth Century Fox. The adapted screenplay was written by Kassovitz and screenwriter Éric Besnard. Production was initially slated to begin in February 2006 in Canada and Eastern Europe. French actor Vincent Cassel was initially sought to be cast in the lead role. In February 2006, actor Vin Diesel entered negotiations to star in the film, titled Babylon A.D., dropping out of the lead role of Hitman in the process. Production of the futuristic thriller about genetic manipulation was slated to begin in June 2006. By February 2007, filming was slated to wrap in April to release Babylon A.D. in time for the coming Thanksgiving.

In February, filming took place at Barrandov Studios. In March 2007, the filming crew, having shot in the Czech Republic, took a two-week hiatus to deal with uncooperative weather, such as the lack of snow, and problems with set construction. Crew members scouted Iceland for locations with snow to shoot six to eight days of footage, which was supposed to be done in February. Filming was also done with the leads Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Mélanie Thierry in Ostrava in March. The French visual effects company BUF Compagnie was contracted to develop the film's effects.

n April 2007, Babylon A.D. was reported to be over-budget and three weeks behind schedule. A lack of snow meant a skiing sequence to be shot in Eastern Europe had to be moved to Sweden.Lambert Wilson was cast into the film. Filming was completed in May 2007. American artist Khem Caigan designed the sigil that appears as a tattoo on the right side of Toorop's neck - an emblem which originally appeared in the Schlangekraft Necronomicon in 1977. The music of Babylon A.D. is scored by composers Hans Zimmer and Atli Örvarsson. The musical alliance Achozen, represented by Shavo Odadjian and RZA performed the score for the film. Zimmer described the intended style: "Musically, our objective was to merge the sounds and energies of hip hop with classical music, seamlessly melting them into an unusual soundscape."
Later in the month, actor

Lakeview Terrace

Lakeview Terrace is a 2008 thriller film directed by Neil LaBute, produced by Will Smith, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington. Jackson plays an LAPD police officer who begins to terrorize his next-door neighbors after learning that they are an interacially married couple. The film was released on September 19, 2008.

Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington), a young interracial couple, have just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of their interracial relationship. A stern, widowed-single father of two, LAPD officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) is the watchdog of the neighborhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly harassing to the newlyweds.

The persistent intrusions into the lives of Chris and Lisa ultimately take a turn for the worse when the couple decides to fight back. At the end, Abel shoots Chris and the policemen in the squad cars fires at Abel leading to his death. The movie ends with the couple being happy again and Abel Turner was out of their lives forever.

Critical reaction to Lakeview Terrace has been mixed. The film holds a rating of 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 45 out of 100 on Metacritic. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a very positive review, awarding it a score of four stars (out of four) and saying: "Some will find it exciting. Some will find it an opportunity for an examination of conscience. Some will leave feeling vaguely uneasy. Some won't like it and will be absolutely sure why they don't, but their reasons will not agree. Some will hate elements that others can't even see. Some will only see a thriller. I find movies like this alive and provoking, and I'm exhilarated to have my thinking challenged at every step of the way."

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading is a dark comedy film written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The film stars John Malkovich, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt. It was released in the USA on September 12, 2008 and will be released on October 17, 2008 in the UK. The R-rated film had its premiere on August 27, 2008 when it opened the 2008Venice Film Festival. The film is the brothers' first to follow their Academy Award winning Best Picture, No Country for Old Men.

Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) is a CIA analyst who quits his job at the agency after being demoted ostensibly because of his drinking problem. He then decides to write a memoir about his life in the CIA. His wife, Katie Cox (Tilda Swinton), wants to divorce Osbourne and, at the counsel of her divorce lawyer, she copies many of his personal and financial files off his computeroptical disc. Katie's lover is Treasury agent Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney). The disc eventually finds its way to Hardbodies, a workout gym.

By now Harry and Linda have met over an internet dating service, and begin seeing each other. Chad stakes out the Cox's house and breaks in when Harry and Katie leave. Harry, however, comes back, finds Chad, and accidentally shoots him in the face. Harry, thinking that Chad was a spy, disposes of the body. Days later, his paranoia increasing after murdering Chad, Harry leaves the Cox residence after a fight with Katie. On his way to leave he manages to tackle a man who has been trailing him for some time, thinking he was working for the CIA or some other government agency. After tackling him, Harry finds out that the man is working for a divorce firm hired by his wife who, it is later revealed, also has been cheating on him. Harry is devastated and goes to see Linda.

The next morning, Harry and Linda meet in a park. When he realizes that Chad was Linda's associate, he becomes paranoid and flees in terror. Meanwhile, Osbourne returns to his home only to find himself locked out because Katie changed locks in a final move in her secret divorce proceedings. He sleeps overnight in his boat, and the next day breaks into his own house with a hatchet. There he finds Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins), the manager of Hardbodies, rifling through his computer looking for personal information. Due to his feelings for Linda, Ted decided to look for more information to give to the Russians, believing that the Russians had kidnapped Chad. Osbourne shoots Ted, who survives and runs out of the house. Osbourne grabs the hatchet and kills Ted in broad daylight.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy II: The Golden Army character is a 2008 film based on the fictional Dark Horse ComicsHellboy. The film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and is a sequel to the 2004 film Hellboy, which del Toro also directed. Ron Perlman reprises his role as the titular character. The film was commercially released on July 11, 2008 in the United States and Canada.

In Christmas of 1955, a young Hellboy is told a bedtime story by his father, Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), involving an ancient battle between humans and mythical creatures. A Goblin built an unstoppable clockwork army for Balor, the King of the Elves, which could only be controlled by those of royal blood provided no one challenged their right to do so. This 'Golden Army' of 4900 soldiers or "70 times 70 soldiers", decimated the humans so mercilessly that Balor forged a truce with them to stop the bloodshed: man would keep his cities and the creatures would keep their forests. Balor's son, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), didn't agree with the truce, and left in exile. The crown was broken into three pieces, one piece going to the humans and the other two kept by the elves, so the Golden Army could never be raised again.

In the present, Nuada decides to declare war on the humans. He collects the first piece of the crown from an auction and kills his father for the second. His twin sister Princess Nuala (Anna Walton) escapes with the final piece. Meanwhile, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is having relationship issues with his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). He is also having trouble accepting that their organization, the BPRD, must remain a secret. During a mission to eradicate thousands of ravenous tooth fairies, which Nuada set loose as he took the first piece of the crown, Hellboy reveals himself to the world. Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) discovers that Liz is pregnant in the commotion. Furious about the public unveiling, Washington sends a by-the-book agent, Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), to take command. Krauss is another "special" agent of the bureau, existing in a containment suit as a gaseous being of ectoplasm. They track the tooth fairies to the Troll Market, an enormous merchant city hidden under the Brooklyn Bridge, for clues. Abe stumbles into Nuala, who has obtained a map leading to the Golden Army, during their search, and quickly falls in love with her following a brief psychic encounter. She is brought under BPRD protection following an attack by Nuada's companion Mr.Wink and a forest elemental.

Nuada tracks his sister to BPRD headquarters using their magical bond, which causes them to share wounds and allows them to read each others' thoughts to an extent. Nuala, sensing her brother's arrival, burns the map and hides the final piece of the crown within one of Abe's books. However, the real map is on the canister. Nuada kidnaps his sister and mortally wounds Hellboy with his spear. Unable to remove the spear shard, Johann, Liz, and Abe take Hellboy to the location of the Golden Army, hidden in Northern Ireland. They encounter the Goblin that oversaw the creation of the Golden Army, and he brings them before the Angel of Death, who has been waiting for their arrival. Though told that Hellboy would doom humanity if he lives, and that she'll suffer the most from it, Liz pleads for Hellboy not to die. Amused by her choice, the Angel removes the spear shard from Hellboy's chest and tells Liz to give him a reason to live. She reveals to Hellboy that he's going to be a father.