Cedric Proust Movies

The long-running feud between an emir and a sultan reignites following a surprising discovery about the strip of land that has been the source of so much contention in this drama from acclaimed director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose, Seven Years in Tibet). Nesib (Antonio Banderas), emir of Hobeika, and Amar (Mark Strong), sultan of Salmaah, both claim ownership of the Yellow Belt, a vast area of land that separates the two men. Eventually, Nesib and Amar strike an agreement that seems to satisfy them both: In exchange for Nesib adopting Amar's sons Saleeh and Auda, the Yellow Belt will remain a no-man's-land. Years later, Saleeh has grown into a fierce warrior and dreams of reuniting with his father, while Auda remains content to spend his days reading and soaking up knowledge. Tensions begin to simmer between the two adversaries once again, however, when a Texas oil prospector reveals to Nesib that the Yellow Belt is brimming with black gold, and that selling it could mean untold riches. As Nesib grows obsessed with the idea of attaining unlimited wealth and power, the ultimate confrontation draws near. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Kiefer Sutherland stars as an NYPD detective-turned-security guard who discovers something sinister lurking in the mirrors of a fire-damaged department store in Haute Tension writer/director Alexandre Aja's menacing study in the origins of evil. It's been just about a year since mercurial police detective Ben Carson (Sutherland) was suspended from the NYPD for the fatal shooting of an undercover officer, and ever since that fateful day he's been locked in a self-destructive spiral of anger and alcoholism. Increasingly isolated from his wife and kids, Ben spends most nights crashed-out at his sister Angela's (Amy Smart) apartment in Queens. But Ben hasn't given up hope just yet, and in order to get his life back together and prove that he's still capable of supporting his family he takes a job as the night watchman at the Mayflower department store. The Mayflower used to be a lavish symbol of inner-city prosperity, that is, until a raging inferno gutted the building while claiming numerous lives in the process. These days, the Mayflower is a scorched reminder of human misery, the ornate mirrors therein reflecting a suffering so profound that it begins to wear on Ben's already-fragile psyche. Not only that, but whatever force dwells behind the shimmering glass seems to have gained the power to alter reality as well.

After Ben gazes into the mirrors and sees a vision of himself being relentlessly tortured, he is horrified to experience violent convulsions, spontaneous bleeding, and frightening asphyxiation. And while his sister is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear, she chalks the anomalies up to an unusually potent mix of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately for Ben, his estranged wife, Amy (Paula Patton), isn't nearly as forgiving. A prosaic NYPD medical examiner who has seen her fair share of tragedy, Amy fears that Ben's erratic behavior could be placing their children in danger. Later, as Ben begins to draw connections between his increasingly gruesome visions and a former Mayflower security guard who vanished without a trace, he begins to suspect that an unimaginable evil is using the mirrors as a gateway into the real world, and that his family is in mortal danger from forces beyond their realm of understanding. Perhaps if he Ben can manage to convince Amy that their children's lives are at risk, he can summon the courage to face the greatest evil he has ever known. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As their tour of duty in Iraq draws to a close, four American soldiers learn that they are scheduled to embark on one final, fateful mission that will forever change their concept of war. Shortly after receiving the news that they will soon be reunited with their families back in the United States, a unit serving in Iraq is deployed on a humanitarian mission to deliver medical supplies to a remote Iraqi village. Upon arriving in the village, the unit is viciously ambushed and many lives are lost. Now, as the surviving members of the battalion return home and attempt to readjust to civilian life, the physical injuries and psychological scars sustained during that tragic event continue to take a heavy emotional toll on the war-torn soldiers. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent star in an affecting psychological war drama from Academy Award-winning director Irwin Winkler. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Alexandre Aja directs this remake of Wes Craven's film The Hills Have Eyes. In this update, a family is taking a cross-country road trip when their trailer breaks down, leaving them stranded in the desert of New Mexico. There, they find themselves under attack by the savage "hill people," who were deformed by radiation during nuclear testing. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Homer's sprawling tale of love and war in ancient Greece comes to the screen in all its grandeur in this epic-scale adventure. In 1193 B.C., Paris, Prince of Troy (Orlando Bloom), has fallen in love; however, the beautiful woman who has beguiled him is Helen, Queen of Sparta (Diane Kruger), who is wed to King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). While Helen is hardly immune to Paris' charms, this doesn't blunt Menelaus' fury when Paris steals her away from him. Menelaus' brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox), the power-hungry king of the Mycenaeans, is eager to expand his empire through Troy to the lands of the Aegean Sea, and he uses Paris' romantic slight against Menelaus as an excuse to wage an all-out war against the great walled city. Priam, King of Troy (Peter O'Toole), summons his armies, led by Prince Hector (Eric Bana), to meet the onslaught of Agamemnon's forces, but while the great city has yet to yield in a battle, Agamemnon has a formidable ally -- Achilles (Brad Pitt), a mighty and seemingly unstoppable warrior whose presence could tip the scales in Agamemnon's favor. Sean Bean, Julie Christie, Saffron Burrows, and Rose Byrne highlight the film's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi