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The New York of 2095 retains some of its past majesty, such as the Empire State Building, and many other skyscrapers. But the skyline is principally dominated by a huge floating pyramid that has appeared, apparently sent by ancient Egyptian Gods. This is the scenario that director Enki Bilal sets for his film, IMMORTAL, which was among the first to shoot actors playing out their entire roles against a blue screen, then depositing them in a computer-generated environment in post-production. The pyramid has appeared in the skyline so the Gods can rid themselves of Horus (Thomas M. Pollard), who scours Manhattan for a suitable human body to inhabit. As he searches for a mate, Horus’s life is irrevocably thrown together with a strange, blue-haired girl who is embarking on a quest that mirrors the hero’s own. A sci-fi epic that resembles genre favorites such as THE FIFTH ELEMENT and THE MATRIX, Bilal based the action on his own comic strips, producing an innovative, action-packed movie in the process.

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Australian director John Hillcoat and singer Nick Cave reconvene for 2006’s THE PROPOSITION, with Cave penning the screenplay and providing a soundtrack written with Dirty Three member Warren Ellis. Cave’s 19th-century tale begins with the proposition of the title, as Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) captures fugitive brothers Charley (Guy Pearce) and Mikey Burns (Richard Wilson) at a scene of bloody rape and murder. Informing Charley that he must kill his older brother, Arthur (Danny Huston), in order to be set free, Stanley drags Mikey to a decrepit jailhouse while he waits for Charley to carry out the deed.

Hillcoat’s western reeks of the dry desert heat, with flies buzzing, temperatures soaring, and emotions spiraling out of control. As Charley reluctantly sets about his task, Hillcoat and cinematographer Benoît Delhomme create a mesmerizing vision of the Australian outback. The slow, meandering pace of the film is peppered with brutal jolts of unremitting violence, and there are fine performances from the entire cast, who are supported in small but significant roles from Emily Watson (BREAKING THE WAVES) and John Hurt (THE ELEPHANT MAN). Cave’s screenplay is tight and focused, leaving little room for sentiment–or anyone for the audience to root for–by giving all his principal characters plenty of grimly undesirable personality traits. But it works perfectly, and in Winstone and Pearce, Hillcoat got his casting exactly right. Both actors give dizzying performances as two men unable to escape their personal demons, finding a tragic outlet only in ceaseless acts of aggression. A memorable feature that lingers long after the last frame of celluloid has flickered onto the screen, THE PROPOSITION establishes Hillcoat as a director of major gravitas. (104 min.)

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This spin-off from the science-fiction franchise follows John and Sarah Connor after the events of TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY. An onslaught of robotic killers from the future are bent on destroying teenager John Connor (Thomas Dekker), humanity’s future savior. Standing between them are his determined mother, Sarah (Lena Headey), and Cameron (Summer Glau), a beautiful girl from John’s school who turns out to be a Terminator assigned to protect him. They can’t run forever, however, and their only chance of survival rests on preventing the creation of Skynet–stopping judgment day and creating a new future for the human race. This collection presents the first action-packed season of this intelligent, well-written series.

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THE SCORPION KING 2 uncovers the origins of the 2002 summer blockbuster which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Mathayus, the most fearsome desert warrior of the ancient world. Reaching deep into the past, this prequel begins with the king as a 13-year-old peasant boy (Michael Copon) who witnesses the kidnapping and death of his father at the hands of the terrifying Sargon (played by towering UFC Heavyweight Randy Couture). Thirsty for vengeance, young Mathayus trains at the Order of the Black Scorpion to sharpen his skills as a killing machine, then journeys to the underworld to retrieve the one sword that can help him defeat Sargon. When the burgeoning Scorpion King finally comes to blows with his murderous rival, the fate of the entire human race hangs in the balance.

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