Blair Brown

A pregnant couple buys a mansion and moves out of NYC. Strange things start happening to the C-sectioned, anxious, new mom. Laura's expecting. Her husband, Steven's a loving guy but has little time for her. Her mom lives thousands of miles away. Forced to give up on her dreams, she's always been a bit edgy. A C-section drives her over the edge, making her see things in a different light. A creepy babysitter doesn't make things any better. She begins seeing things, trusts no one, as she goes into self-destruct mode. —BryanD EQT When the dancer Laura feels sick after a presentation, she finds that she is pregnant. Her husband and successful executive Steven decides to buy a huge house in the suburb to raise their baby daughter Jessica in an adequate environment. Laura changes her lifestyle, feels nervous alone with the mice in the house and accidentally kills their dog with poison. Later Steven hires Mrs. Kasperian to help Laura in the housework and with the baby, but Laura believes the old woman wishes to harm Jessica using witchcraft. Laura has a breakdown, and when she recovers, her mother moves to her house to help her with the baby. During the night, Laura decides to get rid off a doll she found in the house changing their lives forever. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dogville is a very small American town in the Rocky Mountains with a road leading up to it, but nowhere to go but the mountains. The film begins with a prologue in which we meet a dozen or so of the fifteen citizens. They are portrayed as lovable, good people with small flaws which are easy to forgive. The town is seen from the point of view of Tom Edison (Paul Bettany), an aspiring writer who procrastinates by trying to get his fellow citizens together for regular meetings on the subject of "moral rearmament." It is clear that Tom wants to succeed his aging father as the moral and spiritual leader of the town. It is Tom who first meets Grace (Nicole Kidman), who is on the run from gangsters who apparently shot at her. Grace, a beautiful but modest woman, wants to keep running, but Tom assures her that the mountains ahead are too difficult to pass. As they talk, the gangsters approach the town, and Tom quickly hides Grace in a nearby mine. One of the gangsters asks Tom if he has seen the woman, which he denies, and so the gangster offers him a reward and hands him a card with a phone number to call in case Grace shows up. Tom decides to use Grace as an "illustration" in his next meeting - a way for the townspeople to prove that they are indeed committed to community values, and willing to help the stranger. They remain skeptical, so Tom proposes that Grace should be given a chance to prove that she is a good person. Grace is accepted for two weeks in which, as Tom explains to her after the meeting, she has to convince the townspeople to like her. On Tom's suggestion, Grace offers to do chores for the citizens - talking to the lonely, blind Jack McCay (Ben Gazzara), helping to run the small shop, looking after the children of Chuck (Stellan Skarsgård) and Vera (Patricia Clarkson), and so forth. After some initial reluctance, the people accept her help in doing those chores that "nobody really needs" but which nevertheless make life better, and so she becomes a part of the community. In tacit agreement, she is expected to continue her chores, which she does gladly, and is even paid small wages in return. Grace begins to make friends, including Jack, who pretends that he is not blind. Grace tricks him into admitting that he is blind, earning his respect. After the two weeks are over, everyone votes that she should be allowed to stay. But when the police arrive to place a "Missing" poster with Grace's picture and name on it on the mission house, the mood darkens slightly. Should they not cooperate with the police? Still, things continue as usual until the 4th of July celebrations. After Tom awkwardly admits his love to Grace and the whole town expresses their agreement that it has become a better place thanks to her, the police arrive again to replace the "Missing" poster with a "Wanted" poster. Grace is now wanted for participation in a bank robbery. Everyone agrees that she must be innocent, since at the time the robbery took place, she was doing chores for the townspeople every day. Nevertheless, Tom argues that because of the increased risk to the town now that they are harboring someone who is wanted as a criminal, Grace should provide a quid pro quo and do more chores for the townspeople within the same time, for less pay. At this point, what was previously a voluntary arrangement takes on a slightly coercive nature as Grace is clearly uncomfortable with the idea. Still, being very amenable and wanting to please Tom, Grace agrees. At this point the situation worsens, as with her additional workload, Grace inevitably makes mistakes, and the people she works for seem to be equally irritated by the new schedule and take it out on Grace. The situation slowly escalates, with the male citizens making small sexual advances to Grace and the female ones becoming increasingly abusive. Even the children are perverse: Jason (Miles Purinton), the perhaps 10-year-old son of Chuck and Vera, asks Grace to spank him, until she finally complies after much provocation. Soon thereafter Chuck returns home and rapes Grace, as it becomes obvious that she is hardly able to defend herself against exploitation. After Tom discusses the possibility of escape with her, Grace is blamed by Vera both for spanking Jason and for being raped by Chuck. In revenge, Vera threatens Grace with destroying the porcelain figurines created by the town shop that she had acquired with the little wages she was given, Grace begs for mercy, reminding Vera of how she taught her children about stoicism. In response, Vera challenges Grace to stand up without shedding a tear while she destroys the first two of the porcelain figurines. Grace not being able to hold her tears, Vera destroys the remaining figurines. The symbol of her belonging in the town gone, she now knows that she must leave. With the help of Tom and Ben, the freight driver, she attempts escape in his apple truck, only to find herself raped by Ben and then returned to the town. The town agrees that they must not let her escape again. The money that she used to pay Ben had been taken by Tom from his father, and Grace is blamed for the theft. Tom refuses to come forward because, he explains, this is the only way he can still protect Grace without people getting suspicious. At this point, Grace's status as slave is finally confirmed as she is collared and chained to a large iron wheel which she must carry around with her, too heavy to allow her to move anywhere outside the town. More humiliatingly still, a bell is attached to her collar and announces her presence wherever she goes. Tom is the only male citizen of the town that does not rape her. This culminates in a late night general assembly in which Grace following Tom's suggestion relates calmly all that she has endured from everyone in town. Embarrassed and in complete denial, the townspeople finally decide to get rid of her. When Tom informs Grace to console her, he attempts to make love to her, having been the only adult male townperson who hasn't had sex with her. Grace, however, refuses to have sex with him. Angry partly at Grace's rejection, but even more at himself for his realization that he would eventually stoop to force himself upon her like everyone else in the town, Tom ends up personally calling the mobsters, and later proposes to unanimous approval that she be locked up in her shack. When the mobsters finally arrive, they are welcomed cordially by Tom and an impromptu committee of other townspeople. Grace is then freed and we finally learn who she really is: the daughter of a powerful gang leader who ran away because she could not stand her father's dirty work. Her father confronts her in his big limousine and tells her that she is arrogant for not holding others to the same high standards to which she holds herself. At first she refuses to listen, but as she looks again upon the town and its people, she is compelled to agree: she would have to condemn them to the worst possible punishment if she held them to her own standards, and it would be inhumane not to do so. So she accepts to be again her father's daughter, and immediately demands that the whole town be eliminated. In particular, she gives the order to have Vera look on at the murder of each of her children, having been told that it would stop if she can hold back her tears. The film ends in a crescendo of violence: the town is burned and all its citizens are brutally murdered by the gangsters on direct order from Grace, with the exception of Tom, whom she kills personally with a revolver. As the ashes of Dogville smolder around her, she finds and spares the only surviving resident, Moses the Dogville dog. Ironically, the only "dog" that hasn't wronged her was the town dog that had disappeared while the town was revealing its true nature. (Source: WikiPedia, Bangs_McCoy)

An astronaut acts strangely after a space mission. A pair of shuttle astronauts leave their spacecraft to repair a satellite. There's an explosion. NASA loses contact for two minutes, but the both are rescued and safely returned to Earth. Eventually it becomes evident that neither of the astronauts is quite the same. —JHole Astronaut Spencer Armacost was on a mission when he suddenly lost contact. When he got home, to friends he was the same, but to his wife he was different. She becomes pregnant, but as time progresses she begins to feel like the lives inside of her are not of this world. —Brian Levin <COMICY@aol.com> A space shuttle in orbit to repair a damaged satellite is forced to return to Earth after NASA loses contact with astronauts Spencer Armacost and Alex Streck for two minutes. Both were outside the spacecraft when the incident occurred. While Armacost seems to be unaffected, Streck has a much harder time recovering from whatever happened to them. Over time, Armacost's wife Jillian begins to note subtle changes in him. Egged on by a former NASA employee, she begins to believe that her husband is something else. She also learns that she is pregnant. —garykmcd

Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reporter Ernie Souchak (John Belushi) investigates a crooked alderman named Yablonowitz (Val Avery) in Chicago, Illinois. Souchak's informant, Hellinger (Bruce Jarchow), brings his son to their meeting in an alley and the boy wants to climb a fire escape, but Hellinger is afraid of heights. Later, when Souchak's column exposes Yablonowitz's dubious metro contract, Yablonowitz orders his men to find the informant. That night, Souchak is hospitalized after a savage beating by two of Yablonowitz's men. His editor, Howard (Allen Goorwitz), wants Souchak to leave town for a few weeks in order to lay low, and Howard's wife, Sylvia (Carlin Glynn), convinces a reluctant Souchak to write a piece on Nell Porter (Blair Brown), an ornithologist studying eagles in the Rocky Mountains. In Wyoming, a mountain guide, Deke (Liam Russell), leads Souchak on the long trek into the mountains. It is an arduous climb for the overweight Souchak and he is even more upset when bears steal his cigarettes. From afar, Deke and Souchak watch a wild mountain man, Possum, hunt elk and fish. Deke learns that Souchak's visit is unexpected and warns that Nell hates reporters. Nell's cabin is locked and empty when they arrive and Deke leaves Souchak on her doorstop, promising to return in two weeks. When evening descends, Souchak breaks into the cabin, builds a fire and sleeps. Later, Nell returns and, assuming Souchak is a lost hiker, lets him stay. The next morning, she learns he is a reporter and orders him to leave, but Souchak claims he will die in the wilderness and must stay until Deke returns. Nell agrees, but insists he cannot write about her. The next day, Souchak struggles to keep up with Nell as she observes and photographs eagles. The following morning, Souchak shivers outside while inside, Nell bathes in the open shower stall. He decides to stay at the cabin to build a makeshift shower door. The following day, on a trek, Souchak and Nell hear gunshots, and Nell descends upon two hunters. Destroying their rifles, Nell declares that she is a federal agent and it is a felony to shoot bald eagles. She orders the hunters to surrender at the sheriff's office within three days, warning that the FBI will go after them. That night, Souchak tries to kiss Nell and is rebuffed, but she decides he can write an article about her. The next day, when Souchak asks about her background, Nell admits she does not like to talk about herself and asks about his life instead. After dinner, Souchak tries to kiss Nell again and is rejected a second time. Nell informs Souchak that she must work alone the following day. In the morning, however, Souchak follows her and is surprised to see Nell and Possum making love. The next morning, Nell is surprised that Souchak does not want to go to the eagle's nest. Instead, he attempts to chop wood and, when Nell leaves, a jealous Possum attacks Souchak. Nell returns for her forgotten walking stick, sees the men fighting, and orders Possum to stop. She introduces the men to each other and Souchak is awestruck to learn that Possum is actually Max Birnbaum, a former football player who walked away from a successful career. Max is equally impressed to meet the famed reporter. Later, Nell amicably ends her relationship with Max, who realizes that she is attracted to Souchak. The next day, Nell and Souchak journey to observe eagles higher in the mountains. While camping in a tent that night, Souchak kisses Nell, but she will not make love to him. They reach the eagles' nest the next morning and are excited to see that baby eagles born in the spring are thriving. Later, in their tent, Nell gives Souchak an eagle feather, claiming it is a sign of strength and courage. As they descend over icy terrain, Souchak falls down the rocky mountainside, injuring his back. Nell fashions a sled out of rope and ice, straps Souchak onto it, and journeys back to her cabin. Days later, Souchak has recuperated enough to move around with a walking stick and Nell returns to her work. While she is gone, Souchak leaves the cabin door open and a mountain lion attacks. Later, Nell returns home, sees Souchak's shredded hat outside and runs inside to find her companion bloody but alive. Nell bandages Souchak's wounds, kisses him, and they make love. Souchak returns to Chicago but he misses Nell and cannot write. Howard orders him to resume investigating Yablonowitz, but Souchack is not interested. He writes a sappy travel piece about the mountains that Howard considers unprintable. Howard leaves the article on his desk and takes Souchak out for a drink. While they are at the bar, a clerk notices Souchak's article on Howard's desk and prints it in the newspaper. At a newsstand, bystanders scoff at his article, but Souchak ignores them as he reads that Hellinger fell to his death from a fire escape. Remembering that Hellinger had a fear of heights, Souchak realizes that his informant was murdered and is inspired to write multiple articles revealing Yablonowitz's misdeeds. Souchak's apartment is blown up, but he is undeterred. When he links Yablonowitz to Hellinger's death, the alderman flees the country. As Souchak celebrates with Howard, he learns that Nell is lecturing at a conference in Chicago. Souchak attends the lecture and the lovers reconnect, but still face the problem that her life is in the mountains and his life is in Chicago. Feeling it is too difficult to say goodbye, Nell does not wait for Souchak to escort her to the train station and goes alone. However, he rushes to the train and finds her as the final boarding call is announced. Souchak decides to ride to the next stop and they make love in her train compartment. He does not get off at the next station and they continue to make love all the way to the final stop in Victor, Wyoming. The return train to Chicago leaves in half an hour and, while saying their bittersweet farewells, the couple decides they can make their unconventional relationship work. They get married just before Souchak jumps on the return train, promising to see his new wife in the summer.