Julie Costello Movies

A team of high-class thieves avenge their mentor's death -- with the help of his own daughter -- in this big-budget remake of the 1969 British caper classic. The Italian Job stars Mark Wahlberg as Charlie, the mastermind of a daring Venice heist overseen by John (Donald Sutherland), a lifelong criminal who plans to retire from the fold with the earnings from his most recent take. Basking in the glow of a job well done at a secluded retreat in the Alps, the thieves -- including the aptly-named Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), tech-geek Lyle (Seth Green), and hearing-impaired quipster Left Ear (Mos Def) -- are ruthlessly double-crossed by one of their own, the taciturn, calculating Steve Frezelli (Edward Norton). Time passes and each member of the group finds himself pursuing other opportunities in the States, until Charlie rallies them together for a revenge-motivated scheme designed to bilk Steve of all his misbegotten earnings. In order to cinch the deal, he even enlists John's reluctant safecracking-prodigy daughter, Stella (Charlize Theron), for an elaborate, incognito Los Angeles heist. But the paranoid Steve proves himself to be one step ahead of them at just about every turn, and Charlie finds that he'll have to make some daring last-minute changes to their plan if the team is to succeed. The Italian Job marked director F. Gary Gray's second 2003 release after the Vin Diesel vehicle A Man Apart. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Jonathan (Danny Strong) is the man. Although only 18 years old and formerly a nebbish high school student that Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) stopped from committing suicide (see "Earshot"), he is now stronger than the slayer, inventor of the Internet, and star of the hit film The Matrix. Not only that, but the Initiative has employed him as the chief tactical consultant in their mission to recover Adam (George Hertzberg). Meanwhile, Karen (Erica Luttrell), a Jonathan fanatic, is attacked by a ferocious beast bearing a symbol on its forhead. Soon after, Jonathan takes the stage at the Bronze to perform a swinging vocal number and virtuoso trumpet solo -- this after giving Riley (Marc Blucas) advice on how to get back together with Buffy (see "Who Are You?"). Suddenly, Karen, bloodied and scared, bursts into the Bronze claiming she was attacked on Jonathan's estate. As she draws the symbol the beast had on its forehead, Buffy notices Jonathan give a look of recognition which he quickly dismisses. This gets Buffy's slayer sense tingling and she challenges the ever so Machiavellian Jonathan to hunt down the beast with her. ~ Rovi