Simon Bright Movies

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) joins Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a band of dwarves led by the brave Thorin (Richard Armitage) on a treacherous quest to reclaim their mountain home from the fierce dragon Smaug in this epic fantasy adventure adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novel by the creative forces behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Long before Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) made his arduous journey to Mordor, his brave uncle Bilbo embarked on an adventure for the ages. Bilbo's story gets under way when the great wizard Gandalf appears at his front gate with a most unusual offer. Displaced from their massive fortress in the Lonely Mountain by Smaug - a greedy dragon who coveted their gold - a community of noble dwarves were decimated by a surprise attack by monstrous orcs, whose dreaded leader the Pale Orc slew their king in a gruesome battle. Now, Thorin, the descendent of the king, is determined to reclaim his mountain kingdom for his people. Together with a fearless team of dwarves, Thorin and Gandalf recruit Bilbo to aid them in their quest since Hobbits have the unique ability to go undetected when they wish to. Before Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves can reach The Lonely Mountain and defeat Smaug, however, they'll have to contend with trolls, goblins, stone giants, Gollum (Andy Serkis), and even the dreaded Pale Orc himself. Peter Jackson directs a screenplay he co-penned with Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious digital 3D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a megacorporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore. Unfortunately the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a ten-foot-tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half-alien/half-human bodies which they can jack their consciousnesses into and explore the world in. Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the scientific team, led by Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.

On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch enlists Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes. The film was shot on the proprietary FUSION digital 3D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and offers a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. The revolutionary motion-capture system created for the film allows the facial expressions of actors to be captured as a virtual camera system enables them to see what their computer-generated counterparts will be seeing in the film, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Weta Digital visual-effects house supervises Avatar's complex special effects. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A genetic engineering experiment gone horribly awry turns a large flock of docile sheep into unrelenting killing machines in this rural horror comedy directed by Jonathan King and featuring special effects designed by Weta Workshop. When the death of his father and a stress-induced fear of sheep pushes him toward the edge of a nervous breakdown, skilled farmer Henry Oldfield leaves the family farm behind in a desperate bid to achieve inner peace. Upon returning to the farm following a 15-year absence, Henry discovers that his brother Angus has been performing genetic experiments on the sheep. Unfortunately for both the brothers and the rest of the humble farmers who make their living off of the land, these experiments have produced a strain of sheep that crave human flesh and will stop at nothing to satisfy their diabolical hunger. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Just as the old saying goes, a trio of hapless city-dwelling friends (Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, and Dax Shepard) find themselves spiraling out of control up a very brown river in this raucous comedy from Little Nicky director Steven Brill. Heading out for a weekend canoe trip in search of an elusive 200,000-dollar treasure, the trio must contend with everything from raging rapids to backwoods mountain men if they're ever going to uncover the secret of the missing booty. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two modern Zimbabwean women reminisce about their time as freedom fighters twenty years before. The story of Florence and Nyasha is told via flashback. It begins in Mozambique where the women have come to train as soldiers. At first the men reject their presence, making it plain that the two are second class citizens. One day though, Florence and Nyahsa who take on the names 'Flame' and 'Liberty' respectively are called to fight. They prove themselves courageous and determined. Flame is pregnant and loses her baby during a Rhodesian air strike, but this does not stop her. Eventually the story returns to the present where the two friends attend a reunion on Hero's Day. It is there that they realize that most of the freedom fighters, especially the women have been basically forgotten. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Anthony Perkins, in one of his last roles, is the sole highlight of this mundane, German-made psychological thriller, based on a novel by Ruth Rendell. Perkins plays Arthur, an obsessive-compulsive English bachelor with a history of far more destructive habits -- the worst of which include his reign of terror as the "Kenbourne Killer," who is responsible for the strangulation murders of several prostitutes. Like a certain legendary Perkins character of yore, Arthur has some Oedipal issues that need working out and fixates his mother fixation on the department-store mannequin he keeps in the secluded boarding house where he spends his "retirement." When this decidedly one-sided relationship is disrupted by the sudden loss of the dummy, poor Arthur goes 'round the bend again... but the blame for the new string of murders falls on one of his neighbors instead. Bogged down by pedestrian direction and a romantic subplot that serves little purpose, this attempt at a detailed portrayal of madness is kept aloft (barely) on the basis of Perkins' brooding, restrained performance. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi