Valkyrie

Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. Valkyrie was directed by Bryan Singer for the American studio United Artists, and the film stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the key plotters. The cast included Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson.

Cruise's casting caused controversy among German politicians and members of the von Stauffenberg family due to the actor's practice of Scientology, which is viewed with suspicion in Germany. Because of this, the film makers initially had difficulty setting up filming locations in Germany, but they were later given access to film in locations pertaining to the film's story, such as Berlin's historic Bendlerblock. German newspapers and filmmakers supported the film and its attempt to spread global awareness of von Stauffenberg's plot.

The film changed release dates several times, from as early as June 27, 2008 to as late as February 14, 2009. The changing calendar and poor response to United Artists' initial marketing campaign drew criticism about the studio's viability. After a positive test screening, Valkyrie's release in North America was ultimately changed to December 25, 2008. United Artists renewed its marketing campaign to reduce its focus on Cruise and to highlight Singer's credentials. The film received mixed reviews in the United States. It opened commercially in Germany on January 22, 2009, where reports were mixed about the German reception of the film.

During World War II, Wehrmacht Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) is severely wounded during an RAF air raid in Tunisia, and is evacuated home to Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, Major General Henning von Tresckow (Branagh) attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler by smuggling a bomb aboard the Führer's personal airplane. The bomb, however, fails to detonate and Tresckow safely retrieves it to conceal his intentions. After learning that the Gestapo has arrested Major General Hans Oster, he orders General Olbricht (Nighy) to find a replacement. After recruiting von Stauffenberg into the German Resistance, Olbricht presents von Stauffenberg at a meeting of the secret committee which has coordinated previous attempts on Hitler's life. The members include General Ludwig Beck (Stamp), Dr. Carl Goerdeler (McNally), and Erwin von Witzleben (Schofield). Stauffenberg is stunned to learn that no plans exist subsequent to Hitler's assassination.

During a bombing raid on Berlin, he gets the idea of using Operation Valkyrie, which involves the deployment of the Reserve Army to maintain order in the event of a national emergency. The plotters carefully redraft the plan's orders so that they can dismantle the Nazi regime after assassinating Hitler. Realizing that only General Fromm (Wilkinson), the head of the Reserve Army, can initiate Valkyrie, they offer him a position as head of the Wehrmacht in a post-Nazi Germany and request his support, but Fromm declines to be directly involved. With the rewritten Operation Valkyrie orders needing to be signed by Hitler (Bamber), von Stauffenberg visits the Führer at his Berghof estate in Bavaria. In the presence of Dr. Joseph Goebbels, Wilhelm Keitel, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring and Albert Speer, his inner circle, Hitler praises von Stauffenberg's heroism in North Africa and signs the orders without fully examining the modifications.

At Goerdeler's insistence, von Stauffenberg is ordered to assassinate both Hitler and SS head Himmler at the Führer's command bunker, Wolf's Lair. At a final briefing, Colonel Mertz von Quirnheim (Berkel) instructs the committee members in the use of pencil detonators. Von Stauffenberg also persuades General Fellgiebel (Izzard), who controls all communications at Wolf's Lair, to cut off communications after the bomb blast. On July 15, 1944, von Stauffenberg attends a strategy meeting at Wolf's Lair with the bomb in his briefcase, but with Himmler not present at the meeting, von Stauffenberg does not get the go-ahead from the committee leaders until the meeting is over. Meanwhile, the Reserve Army is mobilized by Olbricht, unbeknownst to Fromm, to stand by. With no action taken, von Stauffenberg safely extracts himself and the bomb from the bunker, and the Reserve Army is ordered to stand down, believing that the mobilization was training. Back in Berlin, von Stauffenberg goes to the committee to protest their indecisiveness and condemns Goerdeler, who has been selected to be chancellor after the coup. When Goerdeler demands that von Stauffenberg be relieved, Beck informs him that the SS is searching for him and implores him to leave the country immediately.

On July 20, 1944, von Stauffenberg and his adjutant Lieutenant Haeften (Parker) return to Wolf's Lair. To von Stauffenberg's dismay, he discovers that the conference is being held in an open-window summer barrack, whereas the plotters had intended to detonate the bomb within the walls of the bunker for maximum damage. While his adjuntant waits with the car, von Stauffenberg places the briefcase with the bomb armed at the meeting as close to Hitler as possible. Von Stauffenberg then leaves the barrack, returning to the car. When the bomb explodes, von Stauffenberg is certain that Hitler is dead and flees Wolf's Lair. Before shutting down communications, Fellgiebel calls Mertz about the explosion but cannot clearly convey whether or not the Führer is dead.

As von Stauffenberg flies back to Berlin, Olbricht refuses to mobilize the Reserve Army until he knows without a doubt that Hitler is dead. Behind Olbricht's back, Mertz forges his signature and issues the orders anyway. With Operation Valkyrie underway, von Stauffenberg and his fellow plotters order the arrest of Nazi party leaders and SS officers, convincing lower officers that the Party and the SS are staging a coup. As Von Stauffenberg begins to take control of Berlin's government ministries, mid-level officers relaying the orders begin to wonder which side they should be fighting for. Rumors reach Berlin that Hitler survived the blast, but von Stauffenberg dismisses them as SS propaganda. Meanwhile, Fromm learns from Field Marshal Keitel that Hitler is still alive. The General refuses to join the plotters, resulting in them detaining him. Major Otto Ernst Remer of the Reserve Army prepares to arrest Goebbels but is stopped when Goebbels connects him by phone to Hitler. Immediately recognizing the voice on the other end, Remer realizes that the Reserve Army has been duped - rather than containing a coup, they have unwittingly supported it. SS officers are released and the plotters in turn are besieged inside the Bendlerblock. The headquarters staff flees, but the resistance leaders are arrested. In an ultimately vain effort to save himself, General Fromm convenes an impromptu court martial and sentences the conspirators to death, contravening Hitler's orders that they be kept alive. Given a pistol by Fromm, Beck commits suicide. That night, the ringleaders are then executed by firing squad one by one. When his turn arrives, Colonel Stauffenberg's final cry is "Long live sacred Germany!"

A brief epilogue informs that the conspiracy of July 20, 1944 was the last of 15 known assassination attempts on Hitler by Germans. It also mentions Hitler's suicide nine months later and that Countess Nina von Stauffenberg and her children survived the war. The dedication at the Memorial to the German Resistance is then superimposed:

Yes Man

Yes Man is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Danny Masterson and Terence Stamp. The film is based loosely on the true story and 2005 book Yes Man by British humourist Danny Wallace (who has a cameo appearance in the film).

The film was a box office success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. It was released on December 19, 2008, opening at #1 at the box office in its first weekend with $18.3 million and was then released on December 26, 2008 in the United Kingdom going straight to the top of the box office in its first weekend after release. Production for the film began in October 2007 in Los Angeles, CA.

Los Angeles bank employee Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) has become withdrawn and preoccupied with his personal life since his divorce from ex-wife Stephanie (Molly Sims). Routinely ignoring his friends Pete (Bradley Cooper) and Rooney (Danny Masterson) for hangouts at their local bar where Stephanie regularly visits, he has grown used to spending his spare time watching DVDs alone in his apartment, and has an increasingly negative outlook on life. One day, Nick (John Michael Higgins), an old colleague of Carl's suggests that he goes to a "Yes!" seminar with him, which encourages its attendants to seize the opportunity to say "Yes!". Carl considers the option while watching a film that night, but subsequently misses Pete's engagement party at the bar. An irate Pete turns up at his house and berates him, telling him that he will end up completely lonely if he does not change his life around. Carl decides to attend the seminar and he meets inspirational guru Terrence Bundley (Terence Stamp), who publicly browbeats him into making a covenant with himself. Carl reluctantly promise to stop being a "No Man" and vows to answer "Yes!" to every opportunity, request or invitation that presents itself thereafter.

After the seminar, saying "yes" to a homeless man's requests only leaves Carl stranded in Elysian Park, with his phone battery dead, no cash, and his gas tank empty. Disillusioned, he hikes to a gas station where he meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel), an unorthodox young woman who rides a scooter. She gives him a hair-raising ride back to his car, and kisses him before she rides off. After this positive experience, Carl feels more optimistic about saying yes. However, he refuses oral sex from his elderly neighbor Tillie (Fionulla Flanagan), which results in almost getting attacked by a dog. Seeing the repercussions of saying no, he goes back to Tillie. While initially disgusted with the thought, Carl is ultimately pleasured by Tillie and thoroughly enjoys his time spent with her.

Carl starts to seize every opportunity that comes his way. He renews his friendship with Pete and Rooney, builds up a major friendship with his boss, Norman (Rhys Darby), assists Pete's fiancée, Lucy (Sasha Alexander), by throwing her a bridal shower after Pete asks him to, buys himself a mattress, invites in two members of the Latter Day Saint movement, takes flying lessons, attends Korean language classes, learns to play the guitar, takes part in charitable work, and even joins a Persian dating website called persianwifefinder.com. Saying "yes" constantly works to Carl's advantage. He earns a corporate promotion at work after his many approved loans open new territory for the bank in the area of microcredit. Making use of his guitar lessons, he plays Third Eye Blind's song Jumper to persuade a man not to commit suicide by jumping off a ledge. Accepting concert tickets from a promoter, he sees an idiosyncratic band called Munchausen by Proxy whose lead singer turns out to be Allison. He is charmed by her quirkiness; she is charmed by his spontaneity; and the two begin dating.

As their relationship blossoms, Carl and Allison meet at the airport for a spontaneous weekend excursion. Having decided to take the first plane out of town, regardless of its destination, they end up in Lincoln, Nebraska, where they explore the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum, go skeet shooting, and attend a University of Nebraska-Lincoln football game. As they take shelter from the rain in an isolated barn, Allison asks Carl to move in with her. He hesitantly agrees. But while checking in for the return flight, Carl and Allison are detained by FBI agents, who have profiled him as potential terrorist, because he has taken flying lessons, studied Korean, approved a loan to a fertilizer company, met an Iranian, and bought plane tickets at the last minute to what they deem to be an unlikely holiday destination.

Pete, his attorney, travels to Nebraska to explain Carl's odd habits, lessons, and decisions. As she finds out about Carl's motivational covenant, Allison begins to doubt whether his commitment to her was ever sincere. Deciding that she can no longer trust a man who is obliged always to respond in the affirmative, regardless of his true feelings, Allison leaves Carl at the airport and refuses to return his phone calls.

Carl's life takes a turn for the worse and he is unable to feel happy even after passing his flying test. His only distraction comes in a negative way, when he is tasked by his new boss with informing Norm that he is among the layoffs in a shutdown of branches, and when he almost forgets about Lucy's shower. Carl just manages to arrange a major surprise shower at their favourite bar after pretending to them that he had forgotten it, all the while setting Norm up with Soo-Mi (Vivian Bang), the Korean girl who supervised the wedding store, and Rooney with Tillie. He then agrees to come to dinner with Pete because he wants to. After the party, Carl receives a tearful phone call from Stephanie, whose new boyfriend Ted has walked out on her. When Carl goes to Stephanie's apartment to comfort her, she kisses him passionately and asks whether they can get back together. After Carl emphatically says "no," his luck takes a turn for the worse. The elevator in which he tries to leave Stephanie's building malfunctions in between floors, a black cat crosses his path, causing him to jump onto a car and set off its alarm, and his own car gets clamped and towed. To his horror, the tow-man, who closely resembles him, turns around declaring "No man, no man, no man!" (in response to his "can't you give me a break?"), and he decides to end his commitment to the covenant.

Carl goes to the convention center where the "Yes!" seminar is held, and hides in the backseat of Bundley's convertible so that he can beg to be released from the covenant. Carl emerges as Bundley drives off, and the startled Bundley collides with an oncoming vehicle. The two are taken to a hospital, injured slightly. After Carl recovers consciousness, an already conscious Bundley tells Carl that there was no "covenant." The starting point was merely to open Carl's mind to other possibilities, not to permanently take away his ability to say "no" if he needed to.

Freed from this restraint, Carl finds Allison and admits that he does not want to move in with her just yet, but tells her that he genuinely loves and wants her—and has not been with her just because he has been compelled to say "yes". The couple kiss while Allison's fellow runners snap pictures.

At the end of the movie, Carl and Allison are seen donating a truckload of clothes to a local homeless shelter. Cutting to the scene of the "Yes!" seminar, Bundley is seen walking onstage to several hundred naked audience members. It is implied that the participants have said "Yes!" to donating their clothes to charity.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy-drama film directed by David Fincher. The screenplay by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord is loosely based on the 1922 short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film stars Brad Pitt as a man who ages in reverse and Cate Blanchett as the love interest throughout his life. The film was released in the United States on December 25, 2008.

The film received thirteen Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Pitt, and Best Supporting Actress for Taraji P. Henson. It won Oscars for Art Direction, Makeup, and Visual Effects.

In 2005, Daisy, an elderly woman, is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital. Daisy asks her daughter, Caroline, to read aloud from the diary of Benjamin Button.

In 1918, a boy is born with the appearance and physical maladies of a very elderly man. The baby's mother dies shortly after giving birth, and the father, Thomas Button, abandons the infant on the porch of a nursing home. Queenie and Mr. "Tizzy" Weathers, who work at the nursing home, find the baby, and Queenie decides to care for him as her own.

In 1930, 12-year-old Benjamin, having exchanged a wheelchair for crutches, befriends six-year-old Daisy, whose grandmother lives in the nursing home. As Benjamin's body grows younger, he accepts work on a tugboat. Benjamin also meets Thomas Button, who does not reveal that he is Benjamin's father. In 1936, Benjamin leaves New Orleans with the tugboat crew for a long-term work engagement.

In 1945, Benjamin returns to New Orleans, and learns that 21-year-old Daisy has become a successful ballet dancer. Benjamin again crosses paths with Thomas Button, who, terminally ill, reveals that he is Benjamin's father. Thomas wills Benjamin his possessions before he dies.

Daisy's dance career is ended in Paris in 1957, when she is hit by a taxi cab and breaks her leg. When Benjamin goes to see her, Daisy is amazed at his youthful appearance, but frustrated at her own injuries; she tells him to stay out of her life. In 1962, Daisy returns to New Orleans and reunites with Benjamin. Now of comparable physical age, they fall in love and move in together.

Daisy gives birth to a girl, Caroline in 1968. Benjamin, believing he cannot be a father figure to his daughter due to his reverse aging, sells his belongings, and leaves the proceeds to Daisy and Caroline. He travels the world alone during the 1970s.

Benjamin, appearing to be in his early twenties, returns to Daisy in 1980. Now re-married, Daisy introduces Benjamin to her husband and daughter as a family friend. Daisy then visits Benjamin at his hotel, where they share their passion for each other. Daisy admits that Benjamin was right to leave; she could not have coped otherwise. Benjamin departs again.

In 1991, Daisy receives a phone call from social workers. They have found Benjamin — now apparently about 12 years old — living in a condemned building, and have contacted her because they found her name in his diary. The bewildered social workers say that his condition resembles dementia. Daisy moves into the nursing home where Benjamin grew up and takes care of him as he becomes increasingly younger, until, physically an infant, he dies in Daisy's arms. Benjamin's story now told, Daisy dies in her New Orleans hospital bed, as Hurricane Katrina approaches.

Quantum Of Solace

Quantum of Solace (2008) is the 22nd James Bond film, produced by EON Productions for MGM and Columbia Pictures, and is the direct sequel to the 2006 film Casino Royale. Directed by Marc Forster, it features Daniel Craig's second performance as James Bond. In the film, Bond battles wealthy businessman 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 seize control of the nation's water supply. Bond seeks revenge for the death of his lover, Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), and is assisted by Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), who is also seeking revenge.

Producer Michael G. Wilson developed the film's plot while Casino Royale was being shot. 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 Mexico, Panama, Chile, Italy, Austria, and Wales while interior sets were built and filmed at Pinewood Studios. Forster aimed to make a modern film that also featured classic cinema motifs: a vintage Douglas DC-3 was used for a flight 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 emphasize the hidden and secret nature of the film's contemporary villains.

The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 29 October 2008, gathering mixed reviews which mainly praised Craig's gritty performance and the film's action sequences while feeling that Quantum of Solace was not as impressive as the predecessor Casino Royale. It is also the second highest grossing James Bond film, without adjusting for inflation, making $586,090,727 worldwide, while becoming one of the highest grossing Bond films in the United States.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is driving from Lake Como to Siena, Italy, with the captured Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) in the boot. After evading pursuers, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate White regarding his organisation, Quantum. M's bodyguard, Mitchell, a double agent, attacks M, enabling White to escape; Bond chases Mitchell across Siena's rooftops and kills him.

Bond and M return to London and search Mitchell's flat, discovering through tagged banknotes that he had a contact in Haiti. Bond tracks the contact, Edmund Slate, and learns that Slate has been sent to kill Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) at the behest of her lover, environmentalist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric). While observing her subsequent meeting with Greene, Bond learns that Greene is helping the Bolivian General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) — who murdered Camille's family — overthrow his government in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of desert.

After rescuing Camille from Medrano, Bond follows Greene to a performance of Tosca in Bregenz, Austria. En route, the CIA head of the South American section, Gregg Beam (David Harbour), strikes a non-interference deal with Greene to maintain access to assumed stocks of Bolivian oil, overruling the objections of Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright). Bond infiltrates Quantum's meeting at the opera, and a gunfight ensues in the adjoining restaurant. A Special Branch bodyguard of Quantum member Guy Haines, an advisor to the British Prime Minister, is killed; and M, assuming Bond is the killer, has his passports and credit cards revoked.

Bond convinces his old ally René Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) to accompany him to Bolivia. At the La Paz airport, they are greeted by Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton), an MI6 officer from the British Consulate, who demands that Bond return to the UK on the next available flight; nonetheless, Bond soon seduces her before they attend a party Greene holds that night.

At the party, Bond again rescues Camille from Greene. Leaving, Bond and Camille are pulled over by Bolivian police working for Medrano. They had earlier attacked Mathis and put him in the trunk of Bond's car to frame him; and, in the ensuing struggle, Mathis is killed. The following day, Bond and Camille survey Quantum's intended land acquisition by air but their plane is shot down after a brief air battle; but they skydive out of the burning plane into a sinkhole. In the cave, Bond and Camille discover Quantum are not after oil but are damming Bolivia's supply of fresh water, to create a monopoly. Back in La Paz, Bond meets M and learns that Quantum murdered Fields by drowning her in crude oil, (an allusion to an iconic scene from Goldfinger). M orders Bond arrested for disobeying orders; after a brief scuffle with guards in the elevator, he escapes.

Bond meets with Leiter in a bar, who discloses Greene and Medrano will meet at an eco hotel in the Atacama Desert to finalize the coup. Warned by Leiter, he evades American special forces attempting to kill him. At the hotel, Greene and Medrano negotiate their terms. Greene then finally reveals his true plans: By gaining control of the majority of Bolivia's water supply, Greene forces Medrano to accept a new contract that makes Greene Planet Bolivia's sole water utility company at significantly higher rates. Bond infiltrates the hotel, kills the Chief of Police for betraying Mathis, and confronts Greene. The hotel is destroyed during the ensuing struggle; Camille kills Medrano, and Bond captures Greene. After interrogating him about Quantum, Bond leaves Greene stranded in the middle of the desert with only a can of motor oil. Bond and Camille kiss before they part.

Bond travels to Kazan, Russia, where he finds Vesper Lynd's former lover, Yusef Kabira (Simon Kassianides), with a new target, a Canadian agent named Corrine (Stana Katic). Yusef is a member of Quantum who seduces women with valuable connections, such as Vesper. In an act of restraint, Bond decides not to kill Yusef and allows MI6 to arrest him. Outside, M tells Bond that Greene was found in the middle of the desert dead, with two bullets in the back of his skull and motor oil in his stomach; Bond denies knowing anything. M also reveals that Leiter has been promoted and has taken Beam's place. She reinstates Bond as an agent; he tells M that he never left. As he leaves, he quietly drops Vesper's necklace in the snow.

Marley and Me

Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel. The screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos is based on the memoir of the same name by John Grogan. The film was released in the United States and Canada on December 25, 2008, and set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.

Soon after their wedding, John and Jenny Grogan (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) escape the brutal Michigan winters and relocate to a cottage in southern Florida, where they are hired as reporters for competing newspapers. At The Palm Beach Post, Jenny immediately receives prominent front-page assignments, while at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, John finds himself writing obituaries and two-paragraph articles about mundane news like a fire at the local garbage dump.

When John senses Jenny is contemplating motherhood, his friend and co-worker Sebastian Tunney (Eric Dane) suggests the couple adopt a dog to see if they're ready to raise a family. From a litter of newborn yellow labrador retrievers they select Marley (named after reggae singer Bob Marley), who immediately proves to be incorrigible. They take him to Ms. Kornblut (Kathleen Turner), who firmly believes any dog can be trained, but when Marley refuses to obey commands, she expels him from her class.

Editor Arnie Klein (Alan Arkin) offers John a twice-weekly column in which he can discuss the fun and foibles of everyday living. At first stumped for material, John realizes the misadventures of Marley might be the perfect topic for his first piece. Arnie agrees, and John settles into his new position. Marley continues to wreak havoc on the household, providing John with a wealth of material for his column, which becomes a hit with readers and helps increase the newspaper's circulation. Jenny becomes pregnant, but loses the baby early in her first trimester. She and John travel to Ireland for a belated honeymoon, leaving the rambunctious dog in the care of a young woman who finds him impossible to control, especially during the frequent thunderstorms that plague the area. Soon after returning from their vacation, Jenny discovers she is pregnant again, and this time she delivers a healthy boy, Patrick. When she has a second son, Connor, she opts to give up her job and become a stay-at-home mom, prompting John to take on a daily column for a pay increase. Due to the crime rate, the couple decides to move to a larger house in the safer neighborhood of Boca Raton, where Marley delights in swimming in the backyard pool.

Although she denies she is experiencing postpartum depression, Jenny exhibits all the symptoms, including a growing impatience with Marley and John, who asks Sebastian to care for the dog when Jenny insists they give him away. She quickly comes to realize he has become an indispensable part of the family and agrees he can stay. Sebastian accepts a job for The New York Times and moves away. A few years later, John and Jenny welcome a daughter, Colleen, to their family.

John celebrates his 40th birthday. Increasingly disenchanted with his job, he decides to accept a position as a reporter with The Philadelphia Inquirer with Jenny's blessing, and the family moves to a farm in rural Pennsylvania. John soon realizes that he is a better columnist than reporter and pitches the column idea to his editor. Life is idyllic until the aging Marley begins to show signs of arthritis and deafness. An attack of gastric dilatation volvulus almost kills him, but he recovers. When a second attack occurs, it becomes clear surgery will not help him, and Marley is euthanized with John at his side. The family pay their last respects to their beloved pet as they bury him beneath a tree in their front yard.

Marley & Me received mixed to positive reviews. The film maintains a 61% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 53% positive rating on Metacritic.

Todd McCarthy of Variety said the film is "as broad and obvious as it could be, but delivers on its own terms thanks to sparky chemistry between its sunny blond stars, Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, and the unabashed emotion-milking of the final reel. Fox has a winner here, likely to be irresistible to almost everyone but cats ... Animated and emotionally accessible, Aniston comes off better here than in most of her feature films, and Wilson spars well with her, even if, in the film's weaker moments, he shows he's on less certain ground with earnest material than he is with straight-faced impertinence."

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter observed that "seldom does a studio release feature so little drama - and not much comedy either, other than when the dog clowns around . . . [W]hatever Marley wants to be about - the challenges of marriage or the balancing act between career and family - gets subsumed by pet tricks. Dog lovers won't care, and that basically is the audience for the film. From Fox's standpoint, it may be enough . . . Marley & Me is a warm and fuzzy family movie, but you do wish that at least once someone would upstage the dog."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "a cheerful family movie" and added, "Wilson and Aniston demonstrate why they are gifted comic actors. They have a relationship that's not too sitcomish, not too sentimental, mostly smart and realistic", whilst Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film A-, calling it "the single most endearing and authentic movie about the human–canine connection in decades. As directed by David Frankel, though, it's also something more: a disarmingly enjoyable, wholehearted comic vision of the happy messiness of family life."

Steve Persall of the St. Petersburg Times was also very positive, graded the film B and commenting, "Marley & Me practically leaps at viewers like a pound puppy seeking affection, and darn if it doesn't deserve some . . . Things could get mushier or sillier, but Frankel and screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos — who usually handle grittier material — decline to play the easy, crowd-pleasing game. Their faith in Grogan's simple tale of loyalty among people and pets is unique, and it pays off . . . [It] isn't extraordinary cinema, but it relates to everyday people in the audience in a way that few movies do without being dull."

Walter Addiego of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "this love letter to man's best friend will make dog fanciers roll over and do tricks. It's so warmhearted, you'll want to run out and hug the nearest big, sloppy mutt." The praise continued with Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer awarding the film three out of four stars and saying, "Marley and Me operates on the assumption that happiness is a warm tongue bath. And those who endorse this belief will enjoy this shaggy dog story . . . The anecdotal structure does not make for a gripping movie. For one thing, there's no conflict, unless you count the tension between a guy and his untrainable pooch. Yet Marley boasts animal magnetism . . . Mawkish? Sometimes. But often very funny and occasionally very moving."

The film had its bad reviews though, with Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times calling it "an imperfect, messy and sometimes trying film that has moments of genuine sweetness and humor sprinkled in between the saccharine and the sadness."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was unimpressed, awarding the film one out of five stars and commenting, "the relentless gooey yuckiness and fatuous stereotyping in this weepy feelbad comedy gave me the film critic's equivalent of a boiling hot nose," while Philip French of The Observer said, "the one redeeming feature is the presence as Wilson's editor of that great deadpan, put-on artist Alan Arkin, a comedian who can do a double-take without moving his head." Further criticism came from Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent who said that "Marley himself is surprisingly one-dimensional" and the ending was over-emotional, going "for the heart-wrenching kind which will always provoke a response, but does so with absolutely no grace".

Marley & Me was placed #5 in the poll of 20 movies that makes men cry.

Madagascar Escape 2 Africa

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (or simply just Madagascar 2) is a 2008 animated film written by Etan Cohen, and directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath. This sequel to the 2005 film Madagascar continues the adventures of Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippo. It won the 2009 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie.

It stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter. Also providing voices are Bernie Mac, Alec Baldwin, Sherri Shepherd, Elisa Gabrielli, and will.i.am. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and was released on November 7, 2008.

The film starts as a prequel, showing a small part of Alex's early life, including his capture by hunters. It soon moves to shortly after the point where the original left off, with the animals deciding to return to New York. They board an airplane in Madagascar, but crash-land in Africa, where each of the central characters meets others of the same species; Alex is reunited with his parents. Problems arise, and their resolution occupies much of the remainder of the film.

The previous title was Madagascar: The Crate Escape, which was featured on a teaser trailer with Ben Stiller. The movie was released posthumously after the death of Bernie Mac who voices "Zuba The Lion." The movie reads:For our friend Bernie Mac, thanks for all the laughter in the final credits. There were many cultural references in this film, one being Sandy Koufax on the cover of a Life magazine.

As a cub, Alex the Lion was called Alakay and was the son of Zuba (voiced by Bernie Mac), the alpha lion. Though Zuba tries to teach Alakay to be a hunter, the cub is more interested in dancing, and is captured by poachers when Makunga (voiced by Alec Baldwin), Zuba's rival, challenges Zuba to a fight for the position of alpha lion. Alakay is forced into a crate, and taken away despite Zuba's attempts to rescue him. The crate falls into the ocean where it drifts to New York. There, Alakay is renamed Alex and sent to the Central Park Zoo where he grew up, meeting Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, and Gloria the Hippopotamus. The events of the first film are then described through a series of news flashes.

In the present time, Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (voiced by Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (voiced by David Schwimmer), Gloria the Hippopotamus (voiced by Jada Pinkett Smith), the Penguins Skipper (voiced by Tom McGrath), Kowalski (voiced by Chris Miller), Private (voiced by Christopher Knights), and Rico (voiced by John DiMaggio), the Chimpanzees Mason (voiced by Conrad Vernon) and Phil, and even the Lemurs King Julien, Maurice, and Mort (voiced by Sasha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, and Andy Richter) board a repaired airplane to fly back to New York. The plane takes off, but crash-lands in continental Africa. In Africa the animals are amazed to find more of their kind. Alex is reunited with Zuba and his mother. Marty fits in with a herd of zebra who all look and sound exactly like him. Hypochondriac Melman becomes a witch doctor. Gloria, attracts the attention of a smooth-talking hippo named Moto Moto (voiced by will.i.am).

Meanwhile, the penguins set about repairing the plane. They carjack several jeeps under "Operation Tourist Trap", leaving the tourists stranded in the jungle. Nana (voiced by Elisa Gabrielli), a tough old woman known for beating up Alex in the first film, takes charge of the group.

Unfortunately, life in Africa is not as wonderful as it first seemed. Makunga, still determined to take the position of alpha lion, reminds Zuba that Alex must complete a traditional coming-of-age challenge that he did not complete. Alex, thinking that the challenge is a dance contest (it is actually a fight) competes against the strongest lion, Teetsi (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) who was recommended by Makunga and loses quickly. To avoid banishing his own son for failing, Zuba relinquishes his title as Alpha lion. Makunga immediately takes the position and ousts Alex and his family. Marty, meanwhile, begins to feel upset because there is nothing unique about him. Melman is happy until he learns that he has the same symptoms that apparently caused the previous witch doctor to die. Melman is also forlorn about Gloria dating Moto Moto, as Melman has secretly loved her for a long time. Gloria goes on a date with Moto Moto and quickly realizes that he only loves her for her large body.

The next day, the animals panic when the watering hole dries up. Determined to make up for his earlier failure, Alex and Marty leave the reserve to investigate. They discover that the stranded New Yorkers, under the instruction of Nana, have dammed up the river and built a primitive civilization. Alex is captured by a trap, forcing Marty to abandon him to seek help. Meanwhile, Zuba hears from Makunga what Alex did and goes to assist him.

Back on the reserve, King Julien suggests that the animals offer a sacrifice in the volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, to appease the water gods. Believing that he will die soon, Melman volunteers to be sacrificed. Gloria stops him just in time and Marty arrives to tell them about Alex. The trio, the penguins, and several chimpanzees use the newly-fixed plane to execute a rescue.

However, Alex has already managed to rescue both himself and his father by dancing for the New Yorkers, who fondly remember him from the zoo. The other animals arrive to pick them up with the plane (redesigned as a helicopter), and together they all destroy the dam, freeing the water.

Meanwhile, back at the volcano, Mort turns up after being chased through the jungle by a shark. The shark falls into the volcano, completing the sacrifice (Maurice says "I hope the gods like seafood.") and causing King Julien to think that he brought back the water.

As the watering hole fills, Makunga angrily makes a stand for control. However, Alex manages to remove Makunga from power by tricking Nana into attacking him. Zuba gives the alpha position to Alex, but Alex refuses, resulting in both father and son becoming co-leaders.

The movie ends as Skipper marries a bobble-head hula doll from the plane and leaves on a honeymoon in Monte Carlo with the chimpanzees, and a huge tub of diamonds and gold, leaving Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and The Lemurs to happily remain in Africa with Alex's parents.

Badtime Stories

Bedtime Stories is a 2008 American family-fantasy-comedy film directed by Adam Shankman that stars Adam Sandler in his first appearance in a family-oriented film. Sandler's production company Happy Madison and Andrew Gunn's company Gunn Films have produced the film, and Walt Disney Pictures distributing it, The second of four Happy Madison films with a "PG" rating (preceded by The Master of Disguise and followed by Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Zookeeper).

Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) is a hotel handyman who was promised by his father to be the manager of the family hotel. Barry Nottingham agreed to keep that promise when the Bronson family sold their hotel to him - then built a new hotel instead. When the story begins, an adult Skeeter is the new hotel's handyman, while management is held by Kendall (Guy Pearce). Nottingham's new hotel is a hit, but he's got plans to build an even more elaborate hotel, one designed around a theme that he's keeping secret.

Skeeter's sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) asks him to watch her kids, Bobbi and Patrick, while she goes out of town on a job interview. Also helping out is Wendy's friend Jill (Keri Russel). Currently, Wendy is the principal of a school scheduled for demolition. Skeeter does not know his niece and nephew very well, but agrees. That night, putting them to bed, Skeeter gives them a story, one obviously inspired by his own life as an "underdamiciated" handyman: a downtrodden squire "Sir Fixalot" rivals the pompous "Sir Buttkiss" in competition for a new job. The kids add their own details, such as the king giving Sir Fixalot a chance to prove himself, a mermaid based on Jill, and a downpour of gumballs when Fixalot prevails.

The following day, while fixing Nottingham's television, Skeeter learns that the new hotel's surprise theme will be rock and roll. Nottingham is shocked to learn from Skeeter that that idea was already used for the Hard Rock Hotel. Nottingham offers Skeeter a chance to compete with Kendall for a better theme. While driving, Skeeter is suddenly greeted with a shower of gumballs, which he does not see is caused by a crashed delivery truck. Skeeter concludes that the story had come true and quickly develops a plan.

For the next story, he chooses a Western in which he receives a horse named "Ferrari" from an Indian chief (Rob Schneider) for free. The children have him save a damsel in distress. They claim he should be rewarded with a kiss, only to have a dwarf kick him instead. That night, Skeeter goes out in search of his Ferrari and meets a man (also played by Schneider), who steals his wallet. Nottingham's daughter, Violet, hounded by paparazzi, is rescued by the passing Skeeter. Just as he is about to kiss her, he is kicked by a dwarf. From this point, he determines that it is only the changes made by the children that affect reality.

The following night, Skeeter tries to sell the kids on the theme ideas contest, but they are more interested in romance and action in their stories. The next story begins with Skeeticus, a Greek gladiator who, after impressing the emperor and a stadium of onlookers, attracts the attention of the most beautiful maiden. After a meal in which all the girls who used to pick on him in high school were impressed by the beautiful maiden he is with, they start randomly singing the "Hokey Pokey". After Skeeticus saves a man's life, a rainstorm sends him and the maiden into a magical cave which has Abraham Lincoln in it. Skeeter loses his patience with the story and upsets the children, telling them that their stories have nothing to do with real life. Unable to get them to continue, the story ends.

The next day, Skeeter learns Violet will not be meeting with him per the story design, but unexpectedly runs into Jill, who invites him to lunch. Recognizing girls at the restaurant from his high school days, Skeeter asks Jill to pretend to be his girlfriend. The girls are plainly impressed, and then inexplicably break into the "Hokey Pokey". Going to the beach with Jill, Skeeter casually saves the life of a man before a sudden rainstorm sends them under the dock. Skeeter realizes that the girl in the stories isn't Violet, it's Jill and that he is falling in love with her. As they are about to kiss, Skeeter remembers that Abe Lincoln is supposed to appear, and moves away. Instead, an American penny (with Lincoln's face on it) falls from through the cracks of the dock, completing the story.

For Skeeter and the kids' final night together, a space-themed story begins with Skeeter's character who battles Kendell's character in anti-gravity. Skeeter's character, who speaks in alien gibberish, wins, and Skeeter quickly ends the story. Patrick interjects that the story is too predictable and - remembering Skeeter's argument against whimsically happy endings - pointless. Instead, Skeeter's character is incinerated by a fireball, and there ends the story.

Panicking, Skeeter sees/hears signs of fire everywhere. At Nottingham's luau-themed birthday party, while dodging many fiery hazards, Skeeter's tongue is stung by a bee, making him as hard to understand as his character was in the last of the stories. Luckily, Skeeter's friend Mickey (Russell Brand) can still understand him, and offers to translate for him. Kendall's idea is for a hotel with a theme celebrating Broadway musicals - an idea that impresses no one. Nottingham much prefers Skeeter's approach - simply reminding them of how fun children have when staying at a classy hotel. After winning the competition, Skeeter thinks he's found his happy ending. Instead, he panics when he sees Nottingham's oversized birthday cake, and douses the candle and Nottingham with a fire extinguisher. An enraged Nottingham tells Skeeter that he's fired.

Afterward, Jill, Patrick, and Bobbi discover that the school where they all work and attend is to be knocked down to make way for the new hotel, and they are all upset with Skeeter, refusing to believe that he didn't know about the location. Wendy believes him, but is upset because he taught the children not to believe in happy endings. She confesses that she had always been jealous of his and their father's ability to believe in made up stories and have fun the way she never did and had secretly hoped that by leaving her children with him that his fun loving nature would rub off on them. When they attend the demolition to protest, Skeeter is inspired to prevent the school from being demolished - one of the girls from his high school days works for the city, and helps find Nottingham an alternative location. Skeeter takes Jill on a wild motorcycle ride (during which Skeeter steals back his wallet from Rob Schneider) which ends at the school and manages to stop the countdown. As a reward, Skeeter asks Jill for a kiss and she gladly complies. Sometime later, he and Jill marry. Skeeter founds a hotel named after his late father while Kendall and his scheming partner Aspen (Lucy Lawless) are demoted to Skeeter's hotel wait staff.

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British romantic drama film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan.^[2] It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Set and filmed in India, the film tells the story of Jamal Malik, a young man from the Dharavi slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, thereby arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.

After its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and later screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire had a nationwide grand release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009 and in the United States on 12 November 2008. It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009.

Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won seven BAFTA Awards (including Best Film), five Critics' Choice Awards, and four Golden Globes. The film was dubbed in Hindi for Indian release as Slumdog Crorepati.

In Mumbai in 2006, eighteen-year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a former street child (child Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, adolescent Tanay Chheda) from the Juhu slum, is a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and is one question away from the grand prize. However, before the Rs. 20,000,000 question, he is detained and interrogated by the police, who suspect him of cheating because of the implausibility of a simple "slumdog" knowing all the answers. Jamal recounts, through flashbacks, the incidents in his life which provided him with each answer. These flashbacks tell the story of Jamal, his brother Salim (adult Madhur Mittal, adolescent Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, child Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail), and Latika (adult Freida Pinto, adolescent Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, child Rubina Ali).

The story of Jamal's life includes his managing, at age five, to obtain the autograph of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, which his brother then sells, followed immediately by the death of his mother during the Bombay Riots. As they flee the riot, Salim and Jamal meet Latika, another child from their slum. Salim is reluctant to take her in, but Jamal suggests that she could be the third musketeer, a character from the Alexandre Dumas novel, whose name they do not know. The three are found by Maman (Ankur Vikal), a gangster who tricks and then trains street children into becoming beggars. When Jamal, Salim, and Latika learn Maman is blinding children in order to make them more profitable as singing beggars, they flee by jumping onto a departing train. Latika catches up and takes Salim's hand, but Salim purposely lets go, and she is recaptured by the gangsters. Over the next few years, Salim and Jamal make a living travelling on top of trains, selling goods, picking pockets, working as dishwashers, and pretending to be tour guides at the Taj Mahal, where they steal people's shoes. At Jamal's insistence, they return to Mumbai to find Latika, discovering from one of the singing beggars that she has been raised by Maman to become a prostitute whose virginity is expected to fetch a high price. The brothers rescue her, and Salim draws a gun and kills Maman. Salim then manages to get a job with Javed (Mahesh Manjrekar), Maman's rival crime lord. Arriving at their hotel room, he orders Jamal to leave him and Latika alone. When Jamal refuses, Salim draws a gun on him, and Jamal leaves after Latika persuades him to go away (Presumably so he wouldn't get hurt by Salim).

Years later, while working as a tea server at an Indian call centre, Jamal searches the centre's database for Salim and Latika. He fails in finding Latika but succeeds in finding Salim, who is now a high-ranking lieutenant in Javed's organization, and they reunite. Salim is regretful for his past actions and only pleads for forgiveness when Jamal physically attacks him. Jamal then bluffs his way into Javed's residence and reunites with Latika. While Jamal professes his love for her, Latika asks him to forget about her. Jamal promises to wait for her every day at 5 o'clock at the CST station. Latika attempts to rendezvous with him, but she is recaptured by Javed's men, led by Salim. Jamal loses contact with Latika when Javed moves to another house, outside of Mumbai. Knowing that Latika watches it regularly, Jamal attempts to make contact with her again by becoming a contestant on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He makes it to the final question, despite the hostile attitude of the show's host, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), and becomes a wonder across India. Kumar feeds Jamal the incorrect response to the penultimate question, and when Jamal still gets it right, turns him into the police on suspicion of cheating. Back in the interrogation room, the police inspector (Irrfan Khan) calls Jamal's explanation "bizarrely plausible", but thinks he is not a liar and allows him to return to the show. At Javed's safehouse, Latika watches the news coverage of Jamal's miraculous run on the show. Salim, in an effort to make amends for his past behaviour, quietly gives Latika his mobile phone and car keys, and asks her to forgive him and to go to Jamal. Latika, though initially reluctant out of fear of Javed, agrees and escapes. Salim fills a bathtub with cash and sits in it, waiting for the death he knows will come when Javed discovers what he has done. Jamal's final question is, by coincidence, the name of the third musketeer in The Three Musketeers, a fact he never learned. Jamal uses his Phone-A-Friend lifeline to call Salim's cell, as it is the only phone number he knows. Latika succeeds in answering the phone just in the nick of time, and, while she does not know the answer, tells Jamal that she is safe. Relieved, Jamal randomly picks Aramis, the right answer, and wins the grand prize. Simultaneously, Javed discovers that Salim has helped Latika escape after he hears Latika on the show. He and his men break down the bathroom door, and Salim kills Javed, followed by Salim's death at the hand of Javed's men. With his dying breath, Salim gasps that God is great. Later that night, Jamal and Latika meet at the railway station and kiss. The movie ends with a dance scene on the platform to "Jai Ho."