James Caan

On the outskirts of San José de Costa Rica, Melba (65) and Victor (70), a devout and traditional couple, have formed an exceptional family. From what they considered a miracle, Melba decided to dedicate her life to do what she knew best: to be a mom. Thus, for almost 40 years, they have adopted and raised dozens of boys and girls from vulnerable environments, with a total of more than 130 children. Today, the upbringing continues in this great home, with the adventures and difficulties of the almost 50 kids and youngsters who, thanks to Victor and Melba, are transforming their lives.

`Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2` picks up where Sony Pictures Animation`s hit comedy left off. Inventor, Flint Lockwood`s genius is finally being recognized as he`s invited by his idol, Chester V to join The Live Corp Company where the best and brightest inventors in the world create technologies for the betterment of mankind. Chester`s right-hand-gal and one of his greatest inventions is Barb (a highly evolved orangutan with a human brain who is also devious, manipulative and likes to wear lipstick. It`s always been Flint`s dream to be recognized as a great inventor but everything changes when he discovers that his most infamous machine (which turns water into food) is still operating and is now creating food-animal hybrids `foodimals!` With the fate of humanity in his hands, Chester sends Flint and his friends on a dangerously delicious mission, battling hungry tacodiles, shrimpanzees, apple pie-thons, double bacon cheespiders and other food creatures to save the world again!

While still in his teens, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathered a son, Todd (Andy Samberg), and raised him as a single parent up until Todd's 18th birthday. Now, after not seeing each other for years, Todd's world comes crashing down on the eve of his wedding when an uninvited Donny suddenly shows up. Trying desperately to reconnect with his son, Donny is now forced to deal with the repercussions of his bad parenting skills.

A small village where all change seems impossible.

A 26-chapter anthology that showcases death in all its vicious wonder and brutal beauty. The ABC's OF DEATH is an ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the motion picture is comprised of 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately confrontational; THE ABC's OF DEATH is the definitive snapshot of the diversity of modern horror. Drafthouse Films, Magnet Pictures and Timpson Films are proud to present this alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by what Fangoria calls "a stunning roll call of some of the most exciting names in horror across the world." —Anonymous

In 2009, Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Bill Hader will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior.

In 2009, Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Bill Hader will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior.

In 2009, Columbia Pictures' and Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain. Bill Hader will voice Flint Lockwood, a young inventor who dreams of creating something that will improve everyone's life. Anna Faris takes on the role of Sam Sparks, a weathergirl covering the phenomenon who hides her intelligence behind a perky exterior.

Bungling secret agent Maxwell Smart, also known as Agent 86 for CONTROL, is on a mission to battle the forces of their evil crime nemesis known as KAOS with his more-competent partner Agent 99, (whose real name is never revealed) at his side. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always had dreams of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23. Smart will do whatever it takes to thwart the latest plot for world domination by KAOS.

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)

On Christmas Eve, an orphaned baby crawls into Santa Claus's sack at an orphanage and is accidentally taken back to the North Pole. The elves discover the infant and name him Buddy, inspired by the label on his diaper. Papa Elf adopts Buddy and raises him as one of his own. Despite his large size and lack of elf-like skills, Buddy grows up believing he is an elf. However, as an adult, he learns the truth: he is human. Papa Elf reveals that Buddy's birth parents are Walter Hobbs and Susan Wells. Susan put Buddy up for adoption before she passed away, and Walter, now a children's book publisher in New York City, is unaware of Buddy's existence. Determined to find his father, Buddy travels to New York. He tracks Walter to his office at the Empire State Building, but Walter mistakes him for a Christmas-gram messenger and has him escorted out. Buddy wanders into Gimbels department store, where he meets Jovie, a jaded store employee who catches his eye. When Buddy learns Santa is scheduled to visit the store, he stays overnight and transforms the space into a winter wonderland. The next day, Buddy exposes the store Santa as a fraud, leading to a chaotic brawl that gets him arrested. Walter reluctantly bails Buddy out of jail and agrees to a DNA test, which confirms that Buddy is his son. Encouraged by the doctor, Walter brings Buddy home to meet his wife, Emily, and his son, Michael. While Walter and Michael are unsettled by Buddy's eccentric behavior, Emily insists they give him a chance. Over time, Michael warms up to Buddy, especially after Buddy helps him defeat a group of bullies in a snowball fight. Encouraged by Michael, Buddy asks Jovie on a date, and the two grow closer. Meanwhile, Walter's publishing company is in trouble after the failure of their latest book. Under pressure from his boss, Fulton Greenway, Walter scrambles to produce a successful pitch in time for Christmas Eve. Walter arranges a meeting with renowned ghostwriter Miles Finch, but Buddy unknowingly disrupts the meeting. Mistaking Finch's dwarfism for elf hood, Buddy inadvertently insults him. An enraged Finch storms out, leaving Walter furious. In a moment of frustration, Walter lashes out at Buddy, prompting Buddy to leave the meeting room heartbroken. Before departing, Buddy writes an apology to the family on an Etch A Sketch. And goes on his way. Walter and his team discover Finch's abandoned notebook, which contains ideas for a new book. As Walter presents the pitch to Greenway, Michael interrupts with news of Buddy's disappearance. Realizing his mistake, Walter quits his job and sets out to find his son. Meanwhile, Buddy stumbles upon Santa's sleigh, which has crash-landed in Central Park due to a lack of Christmas spirit. Santa explains that without the engine, the sleigh cannot fly. Buddy retrieves the engine and reunites with Walter and Michael. Walter makes things right with Buddy and they embrace. They accompany him to meet Santa, and Michael uses Santa's list to prove his authenticity to the news crews gathered outside the park. As Buddy attempts to repair the engine, the Central Park Rangers chase the sleigh. Jovie steps in to save the day, leading the crowd and viewers at home in a spirited rendition of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. Their collective belief restores enough Christmas spirit to power the sleigh without the engine, allowing Santa to complete his deliveries. By the following Christmas, Buddy and Walter have started their own publishing company, with their first bestseller being a children's book based on Buddy's adventures. Buddy marries Jovie, and they have a daughter named Susie, whom they bring to visit Papa Elf at the North Pole.

Parker (Ryan Phillippe) and Longbaugh (Benicio Del Toro) are two born troublemakers who travel anywhere they can to find or steal money any way they can. They realize that a pint of blood can get $50, and a shot of sperm can bring in $3000. So, they head to a fertility clinic. While at a sperm donation facility, they overhear a telephone conversation detailing a $1,000,000 payment to a surrogate mother for bearing the unborn baby of Hal Chidduck (Scott Wilson). They learn that Chidduck's wife is healthy but could not be bothered to carry her own child. The surrogate is always surrounded by bodyguards and is told when to do anything including eating and sleeping. They learn that Dr Allen Painter is attending to the surrogate. Parker and Longbaugh resolve to kidnap the pregnant surrogate, Robin (Juliette Lewis). Their attempts to kidnap Robin at her pregnancy clinic escalate into a shootout with her bodyguards, Jeffers (Taye Diggs) and Obecks (Nicky Katt). After the shootout, in which two other guards and bystanders are killed, the kidnappers escape with Robin and elude Jeffers and Obecks, who are arrested. During the shootout, Parker had a clear shot at both Jeffers and Obecks and decided not to take it, letting them know that he had the shot, and he let them live. As the fugitives' head South, Jeffers and Obecks are bailed out and returned to Chidduck by Joe Sarno (James Caan), a seasoned operative and close friend of Chidduck's. As Sarno begins coordinating Robin's rescue, Longbaugh contacts the surrogate's gynecologist, Dr. Allen Painter (Dylan Kussman), and orders him to a truck stop to examine Robin. Sarno was keeping Painter under observation and follows him as soon as he leaves his clinic. Painter explains that Robin is carrying the child of money launderer Hale Chidduck and his wife, Francesca (Kristin Lehman), who are rich. Painter says that Robin should have the baby within no later than 6 days. Longbaugh makes a deal with Painter that he would come to Mexico when they call him, to induce Robin's labor. After the examination, Painter returns to Chidduck and Painter is revealed to be Chidduck's son. Meanwhile Chidduck is under pressure not to pay the ransom as that would invite the Federal authorities to look into his books and that would be the end of his money laundering business. Joe advises Chidduck to surround the kidnappers and negotiate for Robin, in exchange for their lives. Longbaugh calls and demands a $15 million ransom for the safe return of Robin and the baby. Francesca is having an affair with Jeffers and overhears his and Obecks' plan to recover the baby but kill the kidnappers, Robin, and Painter. Jeffers and Obecks, tempted by the money, begin forming a plan to save the child, keep the $15 million for themselves, and kill everyone under the guise of paying off the kidnappers. As Longbaugh hangs up the telephone outside a Mexican motel, he is approached by Sarno, who offers to pay $1 million if they surrender the pregnant Robin and simply walk away. They commiserate about the state of their underworld professions, filled with characters who "want to be criminals more than they want to commit crimes", and guardedly go their separate ways, but Sarno leaves his associate Abner (Geoffrey Lewis) to watch the kidnappers. Longbaugh declines the offer and returns to his motel room, where Parker and Robin are playing cards. Robin reveals to Parker and Longbaugh that Francesca's embryo failed to implant, and Painter is actually the father of her child. Proceeding with the ransom plan, Jeffers and Obecks realize that Robin is Sarno's daughter. Sarno then returns to Chidduck's home to relay the events and plan the next step. Jeffers and Obecks realize that Sarno is a wild card in this affair, and Jeffers comes to realize that Robin is Sarno's daughter. Jeffers, Obecks and Painter leave to meet with the kidnappers, while Sarno departs separately with the $15 million ransom. At the motel, Parker is having second thoughts on the kidnapping. As he confers with Longbaugh outside the motel room, Robin takes the opportunity to seize a shotgun and barricade herself in the motel room after almost shooting Parker. As sirens are heard in the distance, Parker and Longbaugh hastily escape, and Robin emerges into the parking lot just as Mexican police officers arrive, followed by Jeffers, Obecks and Painter in another car. As Painter and the bodyguards try to persuade Robin to leave with them, the officers pull their guns and order everybody onto the ground. Suddenly, Parker and Longbaugh open fire from a nearby hilltop, igniting a fierce firefight that kills the two officers before Jeffers shoves Painter and Robin into his car and drives off, leaving the dead officers and a wounded Obecks in the motel parking lot. Parker and Longbaugh torture Obecks to gain Robin's location, while Jeffers confines Robin in the room of a secluded Mexican brothel and a mortally wounded Abner notifies Sarno. Jeffers forces Painter to perform a C-section to retrieve the baby, despite Robin's confession that the child was conceived between her and Painter and is not Chidduck's. During the operation, the heavily armed Parker and Longbaugh infiltrate the brothel and search for Robin. The ensuing ambush, which leaves Parker wounded, turns into another standoff, with Jeffers threatening to kill Painter and the baby before Painter kills Jeffers with a hidden gun. Outside the brothel, Sarno arrives with a group of bag men and the $15 million ransom, which they stack in the courtyard. Parker wants to kidnap Robin and Painter again, but Longbaugh, guilt-ridden after seeing her condition, responds: "She's had enough". Despite realizing that the $15 million is bait, Parker and Longbaugh charge headlong into an ambush. All of Sarno's men are killed in the ensuing gunfight. However, Sarno manages to shoot and cripple the already wounded Parker and Longbaugh, and then calls for an ambulance. As a child's cries break the silence, Painter emerges with Robin, newborn baby in her arms. Lying in a pool of blood, Parker and Longbaugh call out to Sarno, informing him that the baby is in fact Robin and Painter's, and thus Sarno's own grandson. Painter wonders aloud if this fact will influence Sarno to let them keep the child. Robin and her baby are then taken away in the ambulance with Painter, Sarno and the $15 million, leaving Parker and Longbaugh to bleed out. Miles away and days later, Chidduck's wife reveals that she's pregnant (possibly from Jeffers, with whom she was having an affair).

Ex-con Leo tries to go straight, but his plans are derailed after reuniting with his old crew and a well-connected railway contractor. In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts. Willie Gutierrez, Leo's best friend, is Frank's bag man and heads a crew of midnight saboteurs who ruin the work of the Puerto Rican-owned firm. Leo needs a job, so Willie pays him to be his back-up. Then things go badly wrong one night, a cop IDs Leo, and everyone now wants him out of the picture. Besides his ailing mom and his cousin Erica, to whom can Leo turn?

Archie Moses (Adam Sandler) is a small time crook and thief who lives in Los Angeles, and he is working for a local drug lord Frank Colton (James Caan). He is unaware that his best friend Rock Keats (Damon Wayans) is actually an LAPD undercover cop, whose real name is Jack Carter, and who's seeking evidence against Colton, and he is trying to infiltrate Colton's gang. One night, Jack goes out with Moses and gets him drunk, and manages to get info from Moses, and he finds an address for one of Colton's fronts. During a raid on Colton's warehouse, Archie realizes that Jack is a cop, and he tries to escape the warehouse during the police raid, during which an out of control crane hits Moses in the back and he accidentally shoots Jack in the head, but he miraculously survives and makes a full recovery with the aid of his physical therapist Dr. Traci Flynn (Kristen Wilson). Moses then flees the state, and is subsequently found and arrested later on. Moses is brought into custody, and he agrees to testify against Colton, but the trial is at the other side of the country. After Jack's recovery, his superior officer Jensen (James Farentino) orders him to get Moses to transfer him personally to the courtroom. Having been bitter about the accident, Carter harbors resentment against Moses, and problems get escalated since a simple transfer has gone awry when Colton learns through bribed federal agents and Los Angeles Police Department officers of Moses's attempt to testify against Colton. Carter and Moses slowly mend their friendship and are successful in returning back to their local police department. However, Colton apparently holds Flynn hostage, and blackmails Carter into turning Moses over in order to save Flynn. Carter and Moses pretend to comply with Colton and shoot their way through Colton's guards. It is later revealed that Flynn was responsible for leaking Carter and Moses's whereabouts to Colton and was actually on Colton's payroll. Carter manages to distract Colton after Moses gets shot in the shoulder by Colton and after apprehending Flynn and Moses manages to kill Colton. Moses gives the incriminating documents on Colton to Carter, and he heads to Mexico, where he becomes a bullfighter, with Carter and Moses's mother later accompanying him.

John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger), code named "Eraser", is a U.S. Marshal who works for the Federal Witness Security Protection Program (WITSEC). John specializes in "erasing" high-profile witnesses: faking their deaths and giving them new identities. U.S. Marshal Robert DeGuerin is John's mentor. WITSEC has 14,600 witnesses under their protection program. John erases mobster-turned-informant Johnny Casteleone (Robert Pastorelli) and his wife. In the process, John saves Johnny and his family from being killed by mob agents who wanted revenge against Johnny for turning informant. John is given a new assignment by his superior U.S. Marshal WITSEC Chief Arthur Beller (James Coburn). John is assigned to protect Lee Cullen (Vanessa L. Williams), a senior executive for Cyrez Corporation, a company that creates and manufactures weapons for the military. Lee has come across plans by Cyrez to sell a top-secret electronic pulse rifle to Russian terrorist Sergei Ivanovich Petrofsky (Olek Krupa). The sale of such weapons of unparalleled firepower to the wrong hands would tip the balance of power. To procure evidence, Lee copies critical data onto two discs: one for the FBI, the other as evidence in order to publicize Cyrez's transgressions. She hides the 2nd disc in her compact in her purse. However, William Donahue (James Cromwell), the corrupt CEO of Cyrez, catches wind of Lee's intentions and orders her into his office. Donahue confiscated her camera and aims the gun at Lee but commits suicide in order for him to escape punishment, and Lee barely escapes from Cyrez. Disappointed with the FBI because of failure to guarantee her safety, she delivers the evidence (The first disc) but refuses to submit herself to WITSEC, despite John's advice. The FBI's disc is secretly replaced with a fake on the orders of Under Secretary of Defense Daniel Harper (Andy Romano), the conspiracy's mastermind. Lee goes home and tries to open the 2nd disc on her computer, raising an alarm at Cyrez, who inform somebody named Morehart, that Lee is trying to access the data on the disc. The data is encrypted and can only be opened on specific computers as it requires a hardware Decryption. The same night, Lee is targeted for assassination by a group (led by "J. Scar" (Mark Rolston) the mercenary leader) wielding a couple of the aforementioned pulse rifles. The rifle has extraordinary capabilities such as an X-Ray vision and an ability to shoot through solid walls. John rescues Lee and takes her to New York City to hide her. Lee tells rescue that Cyrez was contracted by the military to scale down the Navy's Rail gun system and make a compact, hyper-velocity pulse weapon. Cyrez took millions in R&D grants from the military, but eventually said that the physics were impossible. It is likely that Cyrez found a higher bidder for the guns and hence wanted to hide them from the military. Morehart reports to Daniel Harper that Lee is alive and has a copy of the disc. Daniel orders Morehart to get the disc back at any cost. Morehart also adds that Lee called a woman named Claire Isaacs (Roma Maffia), a reporter for the Washington Herald. Soon afterwards John learns from his mentor, fellow Marshal Robert DeGuerin (James Caan), that someone, perhaps a mole within the WITSEC, is targeting witnesses in top-level cases, including Lee. They (including Marshals Calderon (Nick Chinlund), Schiff (Michael Papajohn), and new recruit Monroe (Danny Nucci)) proceed to the location of one of the targeted witnesses. DeGuerin and John kill several men inside the witness's cabin, who seem to be there to kill the witness, just like DeGuerin said it was. Turns out the men were working for DeGuerin, and he sacrificed them to lure John into a false sense of danger to the witnesses. But then, DeGuerin kills the witness personally, revealing himself as Donahue's U.S. Marshal mole and a major player in the scam, which includes even Undersecretary of Defense Daniel Harper, the true mastermind. John cannot understand why 5 assassins were sent to eliminate one woman. Schiff "finds" a photo of Lee on one of the assassins and alerts John. John says that Lee is an Atlanta, as he could sense that this was a ruse for DeGuerin to get John to divulge Lee's location. Flying back to Atlanta, DeGuerin drugs John, who manages to warn Lee on phone before losing consciousness. Lee was instructed to leave the safe-house and wait for John by a pay phone a few blocks away near the city zoo. The warning call is traced to New York City and DeGuerin kills Monroe with John's gun, framing him as the mole. Revealing he, Calderon, and Schiff are corrupt, DeGuerin explains that they are the go-between for a wealthy buyer who plans to purchase the rifle. John escapes from the plane to rescue Lee from the same mercenaries who tried to kill her before. John and Lee flee through New York City Zoo; John releases several alligators to trap and kill the mercenaries. DeGuerin has John and Lee branded as fugitives. With help from Johnny, John and Lee infiltrate Cyrez and use Donohue's terminal to Decrypt Lee's second disc. The disc reveals that a huge shipment of EM rifles has been stashed at the docks in Baltimore. The buyer is Russian Mafia boss Sergei Ivanovich Petrofsky, who plans to resell the weapons to terrorists. The company detects the intrusion, pinpoints their whereabouts, and remotely erases the disc. DeGuerin then kidnaps Lee and takes her to the docks as the shipment is being loaded onto Petrofsky's Russian-flagged freighter. Johnny contacts his mobster cousin, Tony Two-Toes (Joe Viterelli), who controls the docks; angered that he's being cut out of the deal, he has his men assist John. They kill Petrofsky, his henchmen, Calderon, and Schiff. In a struggle atop a shipping container, DeGuerin tries to shoot Lee, but John comes to her aid and destroys the pulley system on the container crane, dropping DeGuerin and the container to the ground and exposing the presence of the EM rifles. John secures DeGuerin, leaving him to be detained by the authorities. This proves John and Lee's innocence. Weeks later, DeGuerin, Harper, and Morehart are indicted for treason. However, it quickly becomes clear that without solid evidence, they will likely be acquitted in court. For their safety, John fakes his and Lee's deaths in an explosion. After being liberated, DeGuerin, Harper and Morehart (Gerry Becker) leave in a limo that stops at a railroad crossing. The driver - a disguised Johnny - locks the doors and exits the vehicle. Seconds later, a massive freight train plows through the car, killing the three men in a staged accident. Lee asks John what happened, to which he responds, "They caught a train". They then drive off for a new life.

While helping his grifter father burgle a house in rural Texas, young Arlis Sweeney watches him murder the entire family, leaving only a crying baby. Fast forward 30 years. Arlis has settled into a bleak routine restocking vending machines on a route that includes "a place to eat, a place to sleep, and a woman" in every dusty roadside town. Into this routine falls Kay Davies, another damaged soul down on her luck and stranded away from home and her abusive ne'er-do-well of a husband. Arlis is going that way and agrees to give her a ride. While the two are at her house, movers arrive to take the furniture, which her husband sold to pay gambling debts. Seeing nothing to remain for after a confrontation with her husband, Kay leaves with Arlis. Arlis and Kay begin to fall for each other. In the middle of a rainy night, a knock on their motel door introduces Ginnie, a young woman who makes her living stealing jewelry off corpses in funeral homes. Pleading car trouble, she leads Arlis to her car where his estranged father Roy, who exudes sleaze and criminality, is waiting with a back full of buckshot. Arlis patches up his father and lets the pair spend the night in his room. The next day, they go their separate ways. As Ginnie and Roy pass an abandoned house, Ginnie remarks that it's the same house that's in a photograph that Kay is carrying with her. Roy realizes that Kay must be the crying baby he spared 30 years ago. Roy hates loose ends. Arlis comes to the same realization, and tries to break it off with Kay, leaving her in the motel room with some goodbye cash while he goes on a business errand from which he doesn't plan to return. Possibly changing his mind, he calls Kay's motel and learns that she left with Ginnie. Judging by the directions that the motel clerk said Ginnie asked for, Arlis guesses that they're headed for the old house. In fact, Roy was setting a trap for him. Ginnie tells Kay that there's a surprise in store for them at the old house. Arlis soon arrives, and after Roy sends the girls out for a walk, he and Arlis have a confrontation. Roy says he can't trust Arlis not to tell Kay that he murdered her family, so one of them will have to kill Kay. Instead, Arlis shoots his father. Arlis finds it too painful to be with Kay, and too painful to try to explain her past to her (she was told by her foster parents that her family died in a car crash). He tells her "Some things, it just don't do no good to talk about." Kay doesn't understand, but realizes that she and Arlis aren't going to make it. As he told her, he's a creature of habit, and she doesn't fit in. Regretfully, they part.

In 1985, Jack Singer (Nicholas Cage) swears to his overbearing and possessive mother, Bea (Anne Bancroft), while she is on her deathbed, that he would never get married because Bea is the only woman who will ever love Jack. Over the next seven years, Jack, who works as a New York private detective that handles divorce cases, begins dating Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker), an elementary school teacher, but is reluctant to commit. By the present day in 1992, Betsy finally tires of Jack's reluctance and threatens to leave him. Fearful of losing her, Jack suggests a spontaneous trip to get married in Las Vegas, Nevada. They check into the Bally's Hotel during a convention of Elvis Presley impersonators. Before the wedding, however, a high-stakes gambler named Tommy Korman (James Caan) sees Betsy from a distance in the hotel lobby and notices a striking resemblance to his beloved late wife Donna. Tommy, an eternal and ruthless romantic, determines to romance Betsy and marry her. Jack is very nervous about getting married and decides to relax by gambling first. Tommy lures him into a high-stakes poker game. Up in Tommy's hotel suite, he arranges a crooked poker game (with Jerry Tarkanian as one of the other players) where Jack borrows $65,000 after being dealt a straight flush (7-8-9-10-Jack of clubs), only to lose to the gambler's higher straight flush (8-9-10-Jack-Queen of hearts); Tommy, however, promises to erase the debt with a proposal: Tommy offers to accept a platonic weekend with Betsy as payment for the debt, and Jack reluctantly agrees. Betsy is furious when Jack tells her about his predicament, but Tommy charms her and she agrees to the arrangement. Tommy Korman meets Betsy for drinks and reveals they will be spending the weekend at his beachfront estate in Kauai, Hawaii. As Betsy packs for the trip, Jack realizes the magnitude of his mistake, and asks her to marry him immediately. However, Betsy does not believe his proposal is sincere, or he would have married her upon their arrival in Vegas. She plans to honor the deal with Tommy, and informs Jack that they will return from Hawaii mid-week. Tommy flies with Betsy to his estate, where she meets his family and is impressed by his thoughtfulness. Upset, Jack returns home to New York to wait. One of Jack's clients, an emotionally erratic man named Sydney Tomashefsky (Robert Costanzo) tells Jack about his crazy suspicions about his wife cheating on him with boxer Mike Tyson. Meanwhile, Tommy continues to court Betsy at his island paradise house, trying to woo her to replace his late wife whom he confides in her about. Jack becomes more agitated when he sees a television news story about a volcano erupting in Hawaii, and spots Betsy and Tommy among the excited onlookers. Jack flies to Hawaii, but his efforts to see Betsy are thwarted by Tommy's men. When Tommy learns that Jack has left New York and is heading to Hawaii to try to get Betsy back, the gambler hires a local taxi driver friend, named Mahi Mahi (Pat Morita) to keep Jack as far away as possible from him and Betsy until he manages to persuade her to marry him. When Jack arrives on Kauai, Mahi Mahi intercepts him and takes Jack on an aimless drive around the island, leading them to an old Hawaiian chief's house who is Chief Orman (Peter Boyle), where Mahi Mahi tries to stall Jack. At the same time, Tommy begins feeding Betsy lies about Jack, first claiming that Jack lied to her about the gambling bet by claiming that Jack only lost $3,000 instead of $65,000 and that Jack has used Betsy as collateral, which makes Betsy feel more hurt and betrayed. He tries to calm her down by proposing marriage. Believing Tommy's lies, Betsy accepts his proposal. He insists they return to Las Vegas and get married immediately. At Chief Orman's house, Jack eventually figures out that Mahi Mahi must be on Tommy's payroll, so he distracts Mahi Mahi for a minute where Jack steals the taxi and drives off looking for Tommy and Betsy. After learning from Tommy's son and wife that Tommy hangs out at the Kauai Club, Jack drives over there that evening, and sees Betsy outside the club. But before Jack can approach her, he is attacked by Tommy and arrested. Jack calls his bookie dentist friend Dr. Molar (John Capodice) in New York who pays for Jack's $5,000 bail. Mahi Mahi meets him outside and admits that Tommy Korman left for Vegas with Betsy and has convinced her to marry him. Mahi races Jack to the airport. As Betsy and Tommy arrive back in Las Vegas, she tries to contact Jack to inform him about her choice, but cannot reach him anywhere. This slowly leads her to have second thoughts about marrying Tommy. Meanwhile, Jack cannot get a connecting flight to Las Vegas and ends up in San Jose, California where another one of Tommy's employees (a ticket agent) tries to stall Jack again from getting a flight to Las Vegas. Jack tries frantically to find a flight to Vegas. Finally, he finds a group about to depart for Vegas, but, much to his surprise, finds out mid-flight that they are the Utah chapter of the "Flying Elvises" - a skydiving team of Elvis impersonators led by the flamboyant Roy Bacon (Burton Gillam). Jack now realizes that he will have to skydive from 3,000 feet in order to get to Betsy. Back in Las Vegas, Tommy tries to rush Betsy to a wedding chapel, but she hesitates and asks to wait a few weeks. Tommy, sensing that he is losing control of the situation, offers her $1 million to marry him right away. She is disgusted by the offer and starts to leave. However, Tommy snaps and threatens that she agreed to the marriage... and no one breaks their word to him. Intimidated (and finally seeing the gangster that Tommy really is), Betsy asks to use the ladies room before leaving for the wedding chapel. As Tommy waits, Betsy follows several showgirls to their dressing area, dons a showgirl's costume, and sneaks out of the hotel. As Tommy and his men search for Betsy, she hides among the crowds lining the street to see the arrival of The Flying Elvises. Although Jack is afraid of dying, his love for Betsy overcomes his fear, and he jumps out of the plane with the other skydivers. Betsy hears Jack's name announced as he lands, and she runs into his arms. He declares his love, and asks her to marry him. From a short distance away, Tommy sees the couple together and realizes he has lost Betsy. Tommy tells his henchmen to let Jack and Betsy go and then heads back inside the hotel to his suite to set up another poker game with some of the guests. (Note: even though Tommy is the villain of this film, one can't help it but feel a tiny bit sorry for him.) The final scene shows Jack and Betsy getting married in a small Las Vegas chapel with the Flying Elvises as guests, Jack still in his white illuminated jumpsuit and Betsy in her stolen showgirl outfit.

After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse. Best-selling novelist Paul Sheldon is on his way home from his Colorado hideaway after completing his latest book, when he crashes his car in a freak blizzard. Paul is critically injured, but is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, Paul's "number one fan", who takes Paul back to her remote house in the mountains (without bothering to tell anybody). Unfortunately for Paul, Annie is also a headcase. When she discovers that Paul has killed off the heroine in her favorite novels, her reaction leaves Paul shattered (literally)...

The movie begins with a funeral in a cemetery during the Vietnam War, with military rites. As the audience continues to see video from the funeral and hear bagpipes being played, a narrator reads a letter to "Sarge". In 1968 at Fort Myer, Specialist Jackie Willow arrives ready to serve. The Old Guard, an elite unit that participates in military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, is based there. Sgt. Clel Hazard would rather be somewhere else, believing the soldiers at Fort Myer are "toy soldiers". But his requests for transfer have never been granted. While he would like to train troops to serve in Vietnam, he is opposed to the war and thinks the U.S. can't win. Willow, by contrast, would rather be serving in Vietnam. When there is a war, he believes that is where U.S. soldiers should be. Hazard has been assigned to "take care" of Willow because he served with Willow's father in Korea. Also welcoming Willow is Sgt. Maj. Goody Nelson. Willow meets with Capt. Thomas who explains Delta Company's prestige. Hazard shares an elevator with Samantha, a Washington Post reporter who lives in his building. He helps her with her bags and asks her to come to his place for dinner with friends. The friends are late, but they get to know each other before the others arrive. Hazard likes Persian rugs and has interesting books. Samantha admits to being opposed to the war. Nelson and his wife Betty Rae join them and they have conversations about various topics. Nelson and Betty Rae met when she was working for Sen. Sam Ervin of North Carolina and he needed her help. Sgt. Flanagan orders the soldiers out of bed early and tells them to prepare for inspection. Wildman, another soldier, takes abuse from Flanagan for his incompetence, but Willow tries to help him succeed. Over time, Wildman continues to mess up. From time to time, Willow, Hazard and Nelson socialize at a bar. On one occasion Willow disagrees with the other men who say Vietnam is different from other wars. Willow gets drunk and gets in a fight with others, and Hazard and Nelson have to take him out. Willow learns his beloved father died and he cries. He is given time off to grieve and attend the funeral. Hazard and Samantha go on several dates. One ends with them kissing at her door, and possibly preparing to do more than kiss. Samantha and Hazard tell each other that both are divorced, but Hazard has a son he has not seen in a long time. Willow is promoted to "buck sergeant" and goes through a hazing by the other sergeants. His objective, however, is to train at Officer Candidate School. Willow occasionally narrates, reading a letter. From time to time, the Old Guard participates in funerals. Samantha is part of the audience when the unit puts on a show for the public where the duties of various groups are described. For example, one group is dressed as soldiers would have during the American Revolution. A band plays in the style musicians might have at that time. As part of his group Wildman messes up several times. When the show is over, Wildman tells Willow a pretty girl keeps looking at him. Willow sees the girl, and it is his ex Rachel. Willow goes over to meet her and expresses interest in dating again. She has a date but he persuades her to break it. Willow introduces her to Hazard and later asks to borrow money from Hazard. Samantha says she got arrested for protesting but intends to continue to oppose the war. Willow arrives at the home of Rachel's parents. Her father Col. Feld is working on a secret project for the Pentagon and he and his wife have moved to the area. Rachel is just visiting, as she is living in Europe. Willow and Rachel go on their date and get in a disagreement when he wants to talk about the war and she doesn't. She reminds him they broke up because Willow got the impression he wasn't good enough for her father, who was apparently trying to get him into West Point. Rachel says he was gullible. She also said she never read his letters to her. Willow and Rachel end up at Hazard's place and is told there will be field exercises the next day. Willow and other soldiers go through training that will hopefully teach them what to do to survive in Vietnam. Hazard is missing but Nelson finds him, and they get in an argument. Hazard wants to teach soldiers what to do in order to survive. Nelson says Hazard is a platoon sergeant. Hazard's latest request for a transfer is denied. He won't get what he wants by acting crazy, but is told everyone who could approve a transfer will hear he is a fine soldier. Thomas yells at Nelson for embarrassing him and Nelson yells at Hazard, who is "arrested" as a prank. Willow completes officer training and returns to a celebration. He asks Rachel to marry him. There is a wedding and a reception. Willow and Wildman are among those who get their orders for Vietnam. Wildman, a newspaper says, serves honorably and receives the Congressional Medal of Honor. What appears to be actual video and audio from the war is shown several times. Nelson is told to come calm Hazard down. He is in a room breaking things. Willow's name is on a list of funerals. Willow was determined to earn a Combat Infantryman Badge. Hazard then visits Samantha. Willow's funeral takes place, with Hazard speaking. Some parts of the funeral are a repeat of scenes from the start of the movie, only now the audience knows Rachel is the grieving widow. "Taps" is played at the end.

Frank (James Caan) is a highly experienced jewel thief and hardened ex-convict who has a set structure to his life. With a pair of successful Chicago businesses (a bar and a car dealership) as fronts for his lucrative criminal enterprise, Frank sets out to fulfill the missing part of his life vision: a family beginning with Jessie (Tuesday Weld), a pretty cashier he has begun dating. After taking down a major diamond score, Frank gives the diamonds to his fence, Joe Gags (Hal Frank). However, before Frank can collect his $185,000 share of the score, Gags is murdered by being pushed out of a 12th-story window for skimming off mob collection money. Barry (James Belushi), Frank's friend and associate making the pick-up, discovers that a shady plating company executive Gags was working for, Mr. Attaglia (Tom Signorelli), is responsible for Gags' murder and stealing Frank's payoff. In a tense confrontation at Attaglia's plating company, Frank demands his money back. This leads to a face-to-face meeting with Attaglia's employer, Leo (Robert Prosky), a high-level fence and Chicago Outfit boss. Unknown to Frank, Leo has been downing Frank's "merch" from Gags for some time. He admires Frank's eye for quality fenced goods and professionalism, and wants him taking down contract scores all over the country working directly for him, offering Frank large profits. "I'll make you a millionaire in four months," Leo states at their jargon-filled meeting, which is monitored from a distance by police surveillance -- as well as a hidden Barry armed with a rifle, in case the meeting goes bad. At first, Frank is reluctant to consider Leo's offer, not wanting to "deal with egos" or the added exposure. But later that night at a coffee shop, an emotional bonding with Jessie changes the game when she agrees to be part of his life after he relates a harrowing tale of prison survival by way of a toughened mental attitude. To hasten his plans, Frank now agrees to do just one big score for Leo, telling Barry that this will be their last job. With a little help from the paternal Leo after being rejected at the state adoption agency, Frank is even able to acquire a baby on the black market, a son he names David after his recently deceased mentor and closest friend from prison, nicknamed Okla (Willie Nelson). Things start heating up on account of Frank's new association with Leo. After resisting a shakedown from a group of corrupt police detectives, then subsequently ditching their surveillance, Frank and his crew are soon involved in a large-scale West Coast diamond heist organized by Leo. All goes well with Frank's "burn job" and he is expecting the agreed-upon sum of $830,000 on $4 million wholesale of unmounted stones. But when Frank returns from the job, Leo tosses him an envelope containing less than $100,000, the "cash part" according to Leo, who says he has invested the rest of Frank's cut in shopping centers, an idea Frank had flatly rejected. In addition, Leo sets up a Palm Beach score for Frank in six weeks without consulting him. An irate Frank bluntly tells Leo that their deal is over, takes the envelope of cash as he leaves and demands the rest of his money in 24 hours or "...you will wear your ass for a hat." Frank drives to his car lot unaware that Leo's henchmen have already beaten and captured Barry, and are waiting in ambush for him. In the set-up, Frank is knocked out with the butt of a carbine and Barry is killed by several shotgun blasts from Carl (Dennis Farina), one of Leo's main enforcers. Frank awakens with Leo staring down at him, surrounded by his henchmen. Leo coldly informs him that he, Jessie, their child, and everything he owns are Leo's property. He threatens to prostitute Jessie and "...whack out your whole family" if Frank does not continue working for him. Leo warns Frank to "tighten up" and focus on his responsibilities; meanwhile, his henchmen dispose of Barry's body. Frank goes home to contemplate his next move, gradually sinking into a hardened apathy akin to his prison days. He coldly orders an uncomprehending Jessie out of their house, telling her their marriage is over. He instructs an associate to drive her, the baby and $410,000 in cash somewhere where they cannot be found, informing Jessie more money will be coming at regular intervals, but that he will not be joining her. With nothing to lose, Frank blows up their home in a fiery nighttime blast using high explosive charges. He then drives to his business establishments and does the same, destroying his bar in a violent explosion then setting fire to his car lot. Armed with a pistol, he quietly breaks into Leo's house in a peaceful neighborhood and pistol whips Attaglia in the kitchen. Frank hunts for Leo, who is hiding, armed with a .357 Magnum revolver. Leo is inevitably located and gunned down. Frank then pursues Attaglia as he tries to escape from the house, but is promptly confronted in the front yard by Carl and another henchman. In the ensuing gunfight, Frank is shot, but manages to kill the trio. Frank loosens what appears to be a ballistic vest he was wearing beneath his jacket, and walks away into the night.

Aging cattle rancher, Jacob William "J. W." Ewing (Jason Robards Jr.), buries his son, a soldier who died overseas during World War II. Rival rancher Ella Connors (Jane Fonda) attends the funeral out of respect but there is tension between her and Ewing. Days later, Ewing berates Ella for selling some of her land to war veterans Frank (James Caan) and Billy Joe Meynert (Mark Harmon). He commends her for holding onto her ranch thus far, but warns she will be out of business within a year. He suggests that Ella marry him, give him her land and bare him the heir he has always wanted, but Ella refuses. Back at the Ewing's ranch, family friend Neil Atkinson (George Grizzard) suggests drilling for oil but Ewing declines as he believes he will own Ella's land within a year. With her help, he plans to rebuild the cattle ranching industry in the area. At dusk, Frank and Billy Joe camp out on their newly-acquired land, when one of Ewing's men, Emil Kroegh (James Keach), harasses them from afar and starts shooting. As Kroegh confirms they are dead, Frank grabs the man and stabs him in the stomach. The next day, Ella's ranch hand, Dodger (Richard Farnsworth), finds them and brings injured Frank to Ella's house. When Dodger informs Ella that Billy Joe is dead, she realizes Ewing was behind the attack. Feeling guilty for putting the two men in the middle of her feud with Ewing, Ella tends to Frank's injuries. The following day, Ella updates Frank on the situation. She regrets selling Frank the land and suggests that he leave town. As Frank recuperates, Ella and Dodger discuss the state of their cattle business. They keep losing money and their cattle are aging. Ella tells Dodger she will understand if he wants to move on, but he promises to stay. A few days later, Ewing visits Frank with the sheriff, informing Frank that he was behind the shooting. Ewing says he will not press charges against Frank for killing Kroegh if Frank sells his land and leaves town, but Frank rips up the check. When Frank is well enough to leave, he convinces Ella to let him stay and work on her ranch. One day, Ella and Frank catch Ewing moving his cattle across Frank's land and confront him. Ewing offers to pay Frank passage fees, but Ella warns Frank not to trust Ewing. As the men negotiate, Ella creates a stampede of cattle by charging toward them with her horse and shotgun. Although Frank helps Ewing herd his cattle, he warns Ewing not to trespass on his land again. Later, Frank berates Ella for not letting him handle his own business and Dodger suggests that Ewing is trying to sabotage their partnership. Later, Dodger catches up with Frank at a local bar and explains that Ella's father, Tom Connors, raised Ella like a son and there have been tensions between the Ewing and Connors families for years. Frank fights with two of Ewing's men, Ralph Cole (James Kline) and Julie Blocker (Jim Davis), over the death of their friend Kroegh. Later, Ella rounds up Frank's cattle as an apology and Frank encourages her to become his official business partner. Ella reluctantly agrees to try the partnership. Sometime later, Neil Atkinson, banker Virgil Hoverton and George Bascomb, a geologist with ATKO Oil Company, visit Ella, believing there is oil on her land. They want permission to test for oil and offer her a portion of the profits but Ella refuses. Meanwhile, Atkinson updates Ewing, who is happy Ella turned them down because he still believes she will sell her land to him. Atkinson informs Ewing that Ella's business has improved since partnering with Frank and reminds the rancher that his father lent Ewing a lot of money in the past; Ewing never paid back the elder Atkinson. He informs Ewing that he will proceed with oil testing on his land, and if Ewing refuses to cooperate he will seize his ranch to repay the debt. Days later, Dodger's horse is scared by oil testing explosions and throws him, causing Dodger to die. After burying their friend, Ella confesses to Frank she had an affair with Ewing when she was younger. She believes Ewing seduced her to seek revenge against her father, who won a court case against Ewing over their land. Ella believes that news of their relationship destroyed her father. A little later, Bascomb tells Atkinson and Ewing that Ella has oil on her property. Although they need Ella's permission to drill, they could drill diagonally on Ewing's land into Ella's property. Atkinson announces his plan to take over Ewing's land to protect his oil drilling business, but he offers to allow Ewing to continue cattle ranching. Furious about losing control of his empire, Ewing instructs Cole and Blocker to sabotage Ella and Frank's cattle business. One evening during a thunderstorm, the cattle pen breaks open and the herd stampedes; Frank and Ella rush into the storm and successfully round up the herd. Later, Frank and Ella begin a romantic relationship, much to Ewing's displeasure. At the end of the season, Frank and Ella negotiate a good deal to sell all of their cattle and make enough money to pay off their debts. When the local paper reports that Neil Atkinson died in an airplane accident, banker Virgil Hoverton visits Ewing and informs him the bank still plans to foreclose his land. Ewing orders Cole and Blocker to kill Virgil, then confronts Ella inside her house to give her one more chance to sell him her land. Ella says he will have to kill her before she sells. As Ewing guides Ella to Hoverton's dead body hanging in her closet, Frank unexpectedly returns home, but Ewing knocks him unconscious and throws him into the closet with a bound and gagged Ella and a dead Hoverton. Ewing pours gasoline through the house and sets it on fire; Frank, however, comes to in time to untie Ella. They escape by jumping out the window as Ewing and his men approach. A gunfight ensues, and Frank kills Cole, Blocker and Ewing. Frank and Ella watch her house burn. Sometime later in the final scene, Frank and Ella return to the ranch with fresh lumber to start rebuilding.

In 1892, two vaudevillians and petty con artists get involved, together with the most notorious bank robber, in a New York City bank heist. Two hopelessly-out-of-their-class conmen attempt to pull off the largest bank heist of the nineteenth century. They gain the enmity of the most famous bank robber in the world, and the affection of a crusading newspaperwoman. —Don Devlin <ddevlin@loop.com> It's 1892. Harry Dighby and Walter Hill are a Massachusetts-based third-rate vaudeville team and penny-ante con artists who pilfer money from audience members to supplement their meager income. They often feud with each other because of their differing perspectives and personalities, but they both have the same primary goal of making it big in vaudeville. Adam Worth is a renowned New York City socialite and ladies' man who also robs banks, the latest being the Lowell Bank and Trust. He has a standing agreement with New York City bank Presidents that after the robberies, he keeps the cash, but returns the securities for a fifteen percent face-value fee minus a modest commission for the bank President. Harry and Walter meet Adam when they are assigned cellmates during their incarceration at Concord Prison for their latest crimes. As Adam manages to arrange to continue living lavishly in prison, Harry and Walter become his manservants. They learn that Adam has a copy of the blueprints for the redesigned Lowell Bank and Trust, now reported to be the most impenetrable financial institution. Adam plans to rob the bank again to satisfy his ego that he can do it, but also to get back at the bank's President, Rufus T. Crisp, who was responsible for his capture. Much against Walter's sensibilities, Harry senses an opportunity to get a copy of the plans so he and Walter can rob the bank first. They manage indirectly to get a copy of the plans, but they destroy the originals in the process and subsequently escape from prison. Adam finds out about the copy and does whatever he can to get the plans back from Harry and Walter. But unexpectedly on Harry and Walter's side are Lissa Chestnut, the emancipated publisher of the New York City-based Socialist Advocate newspaper, and her associates at the newspaper. She inadvertently helps Harry and Walter get the plans, but does whatever she can to rob the bank with them in the name of the common man and to avenge an action against her and the newspaper by Adam. —Huggo

It is the year 2018. There are no wars, poverty, or violence on the entire planet Earth. People get their frustrations out by watching and attending Rollerball games. The Houston team plays against Madrid and wins, with their star player Jonathan E doing most of the scoring. It's an extremely violent game, but the players thoroughly enjoy it. After the game, the men shower and the corporate executives, led by the pompous Mr. Bartholomew are congratulated. Jonathan E is requested by Bartholomew to come visit him the next day Houston, Texas in the future resembles a prosperous western European city from the late 20th century. Jonathan comes to visit Barthlomew and is informed he needs to retire, per Energy Corporation executives, but Jonathan resists Jonathan comes home by helicopter just outside of Houston in the piney woods of East Texas to a young lady provided to him by the corporation and his friend/trainer Clete. The lady leaves for Indianapolis on a whim. Jonathan is training the Rollerball team players, plus some newbies introduced. Jonathan and Moonpie visit a library hub in downtown Houston, because he's wanting to get information about the Energy Corporation. A library clerk reveals she cannot issue the books he's wanting because they are classified. Jonathan is back on his ranch and meets another young lady Daphne, also issued to him by the corporation. The Rollerball team is informed of the changes of the rules to the game of no penalties. Despite their objections, they are all reminded they are bound to a contract. All this is mainly due to the fact Jonathan refuses to quit. Jonathan is in a television studio being interviewed by a computer over the upcoming Rollerball game and his history of playing it. He is supposed to be following a script and the show is about his announced retirement. It is revealed that Bartholomew has been behind this interview The Rollerball team is exercising in a fitness room with a coach from the Tokyo team there to warn them about the karate and hapkido techniques they use, but the players shrug him off and declare their team as number one. Jonathan and Daphne attend a lavish cocktail party at a mansion in the piney woods of East Texas. No longer an area of hick towns and backwoodsmen, but a prosperous area catered to the wealthy. The guests are beautifully dressed and slightly drunk and strung out on aphrodisiac pills. Some guests overheard that the players are actually robots. Jonathan is warned once again by Bartholomew to quit and he still resists. Some of the party guests are outside shooting pine trees with a laser gun for fun. Jonathan is back at his ranch packed and ready to go. He wants Daphne to come along, but the Energy Corporation wants her back and she tells him he won't be back. Jonathan threatens her with his spiked glove that she better leave and not come back The players are now in Tokyo. The Tokyo team is beating all of them half to death. Moonpie takes a blow to the head by a spiked glove by one of the team members and is in a coma. A Japanese doctor tries to persuade Jonathan to sign for Moonpie to be removed from life support, but Jonathan refuses Bartholomew is on a televised video conference with various executives from the Energy Corporation about having Jonathan E removed from the game and for Rollerball to go back to its intended meaning and effort. All the men concur Jonathan is now in Geneva, Switzerland at the worlds largest computer bank to get information about the corporate wars and the decisions made by corporate executives. The computer malfunctions and fails to give him any straight answers. Jonathan's ex-wife Ella, whom the corporation removed from him, comes to visit him at his ranch. Ella tries to reassure Jonathan that the corporation took her away for a good reason and it was all over the game. She also tries to convince him to quit and that he'll die if he doesn't, with the new set of rules. Jonathan erases all video footage of he and Ella together and Ella leaves. The Rollerball team is now playing New York City. No substitutions, penalties, or time limits. Half the players end up knocked out or dead and Jonathan scores. The crowd chants his name and Mr. Bartholomew is furious. Jonathan skates endlessly, then the frame freezes and the credits roll.

Story of singer Fanny Brice's stormy relationship with showman Billy Rose. The continuing story of Fanny Brice following that depicted in Funny Girl (1968) is presented. An established star on Broadway as a headliner for the Ziegfeld Follies, Fanny and the rest of the world are hitting difficult times entering into the 1930s. Her marriage to Nicky Arnstein, who she still loves is ending in divorce, and even Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. is having trouble coming up with money to continue to produce the Follies. Along comes brash nightclub owner, song lyricist and wannabe impresario Billy Rose, who says he can raise the money and has the material to produce his own revue, which he wants to star Fanny. Fanny is both attracted to and repelled by Billy because of his chutzpah, his stubbornness and knowing that underneath his outer veneer is the soul of a true hustler... much like she was when she was first starting out and much like she still is now. Through their professional trials and tribulations, they slowly start to fall for each other. But Fanny admits that Nicky is still never far from her mind... —Huggo

Mike Locken, who works for a private security firm affiliated with the C.I.A., is betrayed by his partner and left apparently crippled for life. Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. A significant portion of their work is for the C.I.A., and while he's on a case for them, one of his friends turns on him and shoots him in the elbow and knee. His assignment, to protect someone, goes down in flames. He is nearly crippled, but with braces is able to become mobile again. For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend.

This sequel continues the saga of two generations of power in the Corleone family, depicting the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, and the ascension of Michael as the new Don.

Literature professor Axel Freed is a gambling addict. When he has lost his money, he borrows from his girlfriend Billie, then his mother Naomi, and finally some criminals that chase him. Despite all of this, he cannot stop gambling. Successful college professor Axel Freed is addicted to gambling; he wins big but loses it all just as quickly. He borrows from his girlfriend then from his wealthy mother, and finally from a loan shark. It just gets worse and worse for him because he just cannot stop. But when his girlfriend decides to leave him, his mom decides to disown him, and the mob wants to kill him, he decides to make a big score to win big and pay off everyone so he can stay alive, keep his dignity, and come out ahead. —Wesley Benton Axel Freed is an English professor at New York College. He is also a gambling addict. Although he likes to win, it is only secondary to the excitement he feels in the possibility of losing. Within this mentality, he ends up $44,000.00 in the hole in one fell swoop. He does not have it, and those to whom he owes would not take kindly at all to delayed payment without some sort of retribution. He gets an up-close-and-personal view of the nasty things that can be done as a consequence as he tries to come up with the money through legitimate and not so legitimate sources. The former includes from his wealthy businessman grandfather, A.R. Lowenthal, who has had his fair share of dealings with the wrong side of the law himself, and from his physician mother, Naomi Freed; both could still be affected by his actions whether they can or can't, or will or won't, help him. Even if he can get the money, the feeling of his addiction may not allow him just to pay back the money as that, in his mind, is not winning, regardless of the consequence of being potentially deeper in with those he owes. The other person involved is his girlfriend Billie, who loves him but didn't sign up for this kind of excitement. —Huggo Axel Freed is a college professor who is constantly in debt and must rely on his former friends and associates to bail him out. As his habit becomes an incurable disease, Axel finds that the only people who will have anything to do with him are those to whom he owes money--particularly the polite but deadly loan-shark Carmine.

An enthusiastic young woman runs away to Chicago to start a new life. She is soon confronted with the emotional coldness of the big city, and has to search for her place in the scheme of things.

At the beginning of the Civil War, seven friends embark on a cross-country journey in order to join the Confederate army. At the onset of the Civil War, seven young Texans decide to join General Hood's Texas regiment in Richmond. During their long horseback voyage from Texas to Virginia, the seven young men will witness first-hand the Southern prejudice and snobbery. They also will witness the lynching of runaway black slaves. Filled with dreams of war glory, they will nevertheless push ahead toward their destination. Their trek eastward is eventful and fraught with dangers, as the Texans will occasionally get into trouble with the townsfolk from various towns. Although they do eventually join the Confederate forces, it will happen in Shiloh, Tennessee not in Richmond, Virginia as planned. After becoming soldiers, they realize that war is not what they expected or dreamed about. The army and the war are not at all compatible with the core human values of ordinary Texans. The battle of Shiloh is the epitaph of this story. —nufs68

In the Broken Saloon at El Dorado, two old friends meet up again. Sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) greets Cole Thornton (John Wayne) with a pointed rifle.They've both been friends since before and during the American Civil War. But J.P has heard his friend now works for Bart Jason (Edward Asner). Thornton admits that Jason has offered him good money, but he doesn't know what he has to do to earn it. J.P explains "Jason showed up here around the end of the Civil War with a pocketful of money and nobody could find out where he got it, but everybody else around here was broke. Having money, he started to grow, but now he needs more water. There's only one place to get it; trouble is, somebody was there ahead of him, about 20 years ahead--his name is Kevin MacDonald (R. G. Armstrong). MacDonald has four boys and a girl. The whole family have worked real hard. Hung together through the rough times; now things were looking up, MacDonald was not ready to sell, so he's holding out and Jason was pushing, and now I'm standing right in the middle." Saloon owner Maudie (Charlene Holt) walks in and throws her arms around Cole. She bursts out laughing when she realizes that her old flame and her current one are friends. Cole gave her a stake some time earlier to help her sort out her money problems when her gambling husband was killed. Thornton goes off to Jason's ranch to tell him that he's not going to work for him. Warned that Thornton has gone to Jason's, MacDonald has left his youngest boy Luke (Johnny Crawford) out on the hills to do a man's job and look out. But whilst keeping watch, he falls asleep and when he wakes up he jumps and shoots down at Thornton. Instinctively, Thornton shoots him down. Thornton rides to him and is upset to see the boy's age. He tries to make him feel comfortable but Luke is in agony. While Cole has his back turned to him, Luke pulls out his gun and kills himself. Thornton takes the body to Luke's father's place and explains what happened. Luke's sister, Joey (Michele Carey), a tomboyish, wildcat in buckskin pants doesn't believe him and tries to kill him. Her brother stops her and her father asks her to get in the house. But, she angrily rides off. Macdonald thanks Cole for returning his boy but Cole feels guilty and rides off. On his way back, Joey ambushes Cole at a creek, dropping him with a rifle bullet. He manages to get back on his horse and escapes to Maudie's place, where Doc Miller (Paul Fix) treats him. The bullet is lodged dangerously close to his spine, but the elderly doctor says he's not equipped to deal with it and to find a better surgeon for the bullet's removal. After a short time,Thornton leaves El Dorado, much to Maudie's disappointment. Several months later, Cole arrives in a town near the Mexican border and has dinner a the local cantina. A young man nicknamed Mississippi (James Caan) enters and confronts one of four men sitting at a dinner table, reminding him if he remembers him or if he remembers the black hat he is wearing? Mississippi's closest friend, mentor and father figure was accused of cheating at cards two year earlier and was killed. He says he caught up with the man's other three companions and he killed them all. He asks the last of the murderers to stand up. Mississippi isn't wearing a gun; instead, he kills the man with a knife. As one of the men tries to shoot him,Cole shoots his hand and steps in. One of the men sitting at the table is Nelse Macleod (Christopher George), a dark thin-faced man with a scar down the left side of his eye and cheek. Along with Cole and J.P., he's one of the most dangerous gunslingers in the territory. Cole discovers that he's the latest gunslinger that Bart Jason has offered good money to work for him. Not only that, but he also tells him that J.P. won't be a threat because he's been an alcoholic for months. Cole and Mississippi get ready to walk out of the cantina, but Cole stops him. He knows Macleod will have some men waiting for them to shoot and he tells him to call the men off. Mississippi, feeling grateful that he's saved his life twice, joins him for a meal. Cole soon finds out that Mississippi cannot shoot at all. He stops off at an old gunsmith friend's and gets him a shotgun to use. Cole and Mississippi arrive in El Dorado and stop off at Maudie's to find out if any strangers have been hanging around. She says no and she tells him the full extent of J.P's alcoholism. Cole goes over to the sheriff's office with Mississippi and finds Bull (Arthur Hunnicutt) on guard outside--who has been trying to keep law and order all on his own for the last few months. Cole goes inside to wake up J.P., who's asleep in the cell. He throws some water over him to wake him up. J.P punches him and and Cole knocks him out with a pan to his head. Mississippi makes some special drink in order to keep him off the booze. With the black-looking mixture in his system, any alcohol J.P drinks afterwards will just make him feel sick. The next afternoon, Bart Jason arrives in town and waits in the saloon for Nelse Macleod to turn up. At the same time, the Macdonald family arrive for their weekly town shopping. Bull goes off to keep an eye on the Macdonald's and tells Colt he'll blow on his trumpet if there's any trouble. Later at night, J.P. gets up, looking for some alcohol. Cole tells him they've got rid of it all. J.P. goes over to the saloon to get a bottle of whiskey and Bart and Macleod start laughing at him. He walks back in shame. Gunshots are heard and Bull blows the trumpet. Cole and Mississippi run out and find one of Macdonald's boys wounded. Cole, J.P., Mississippi and Bull search the town for the gunmen responsible. A woman comes to the window and tells Mississippi that she saw a few men take off down the street towards he church. A gunfight breaks out and two of the men are killed but the man with the limp gets away. They follow him into Jason's saloon. J.P. is angry from the humiliation he had earlier and he wants to prove what he's made of. Everyone denies seeing a man enter but the pianist looks nervous. J.P. tells him to get out of the way and begins firing his rifle at the piano. The gunman comes out from hiding and starts shooting but J.P kills him. The barman goes for a gun but J.P. shoots the top of the bar and a load of wooden splinters go through his hand. J.P. approaches the men who were laughing at him earlier. He hits one man in the stomach with the rifle and whacks Jason over the face. He's ready to shoot him but Cole intervenes. J.P. calms down and arrests him. As they are taking him to jail, Mississippi sees someone pointing a gun at them from the stable and goes to check it out. He grabs the person and sees it's a woman, in fact Joey, who was trying to get a shot at Bart for revenge. He takes her over to the jail to confirm her identity. She asks J.P. if Jason will get what he deserves. He says it's up to the judge. She thanks them for what they've done and leaves. Cole and Mississippi walk around the town on night-watch and some of Jason's men come riding along. Mississippi dives into the street right in front of the horses' hooves. The horses jump over him and he shoots one of the men. J.P. comes running out of the office and takes a bullet in the leg. As Cole tends to his wound inside, he asks Mississippi why he dove under the horses and he tells him that you can't shoot properly while your horse is jumping in the air and an horse won't step on a person. The doctors are in the office removing the bullet from J.P's leg. They tell Cole that it would be a good idea for him to have the bullet removed from his back. Cole tells them if he survives all the trouble with Jason's men, he'll have it taken care of. J.P. is feeling restless and frustrated and trying to control his need to drink. He comes up with the idea to lock themselves away in the office with some food and water until the U.S. marshal arrives to pick Jason up. Bull recommends that he cleans himself up if they're going to be confined together. While J.P. takes a bath, Joey and Maudie bring some things around for them to last them until the marshal's arrival. Cole gets angry with her and tells her that it's best for her to stay away because Jason's men might use her to get Jason back from them. Later at night, a friend of Maudie's arrives with a note from Maudie saying that Macleod's men have been hanging around her place and that she's heard that they've got something planned. Cole and Mississippi go over to to the saloon but a gunman starts shooting at them. They chase him through the saloon, out to the back door. Two men tell them the person went out the back door. Mississippi luckily recognizes the men as Milt and Pedro and remembers the incident from their previous encounter. Cole asks if him anyone's waiting outside for them. Milt says no but Cole tells him to walk out. Milt doesn't want to but Cole shoots him in the arm and tells him to go. Milt says he lied, there's somebody out there. Cole shoots him in the leg. With no choice, Milt runs out of the doors shouting not to shoot but he is gunned down. Cole tells Pedro to go next but as he is trying to force him out the doors, he starts suffering with the numbness down his arm again. He falls to the floor in pain. Pedro goes for his gun but Mississippi kills him but he is knocked out from behind. Mississippi and Maudie go to the office through the back door to tell them what's happened. Macleod has Cole and wants to trade him for Jason. J.P. reluctantly agrees. He frees Jason and he, Cole, Bull and Mississippi flee town and hide out at his place. Bull is suspicious that Macleod let them get out of town too easily. Joey turns up to tell them that her brother Saul has been kidnapped by Jason and he will only be returned if the Macdonald ranch is handed over to him. With Bull's age, Mississippi's poor shooting skills, and Cole and J.P's crippled condition, the odds are stacked against them. Cole realizes he can still use a rifle with one hand, so they hatch a plan. They ride back into town. Cole drives a wagon to the front of the saloon to confront Macleod, who has Jason and a few men at his side; while a few of the other men keep watch over Saul in the saloon. J.P., Mississippi and Bull go through the back door to get behind them. Bull fires an arrow into the back of one of Macleod's men and blows his bugle, which distracts Macleod long enough for Cole to jump from the wagon and gun him down. J.P. and Mississippi handle the rest of the men inside. Jason goes to grab one of Macleod's guns to kill Cole but Joey is hiding in the distance and shoots him first.. Cole thanks her for saving his life. He walks over to Macleod as he lays dying. He says to him "You never gave me a chance at all did you?" Cole replies "No, I didn't. You're too good to give a chance to," leaving Macleod to die with his pride intact. The story ends as Cole has his leg wrapped up from scattershot from Mississippi who accidentally caught him with his shotgun during the gunfight. Mississippi goes off to talk to Joey, Cole goes off to see Maudie, and J.P. and Bull have a drink while J.P. tells him he needs him as his deputy. The story ends with Cole and J.P. both now limping down the street as Cole prepares to leave town and J.P. has gained his self respect back.

A woman trapped in a home elevator is terrorized by a group of vicious hoodlums. Recuperating from a broken hip sustained four months ago, wealthy Cornelia Hilyard had a portable elevator installed temporarily in the home she shares with her thirty year old single son, Malcolm Hilyard. Shortly after Malcolm leaves for the extended July 4th weekend during a summer heatwave, Cornelia gets trapped in the elevator when a short circuit occurs, the front grated elevator car hovering approximately ten feet above her living room foyer, she only having access to those few items she brought into the elevator with her: beyond those items on her person, a book, a transistor radio, her cane and a vase containing a single flower. All her efforts to get out using the elevator's emergency functions only attract the wrong elements as two associated but disparate groups break into her house initially with the sole purpose of robbing her of everything, they able to do so partly in being able to conduct their business out of her view. In the process, none of the five people involved seem to care about her whatsoever. Things change when one of the five, Randall Simpson O'Connell, the leader of the group of younger thugs, he who has spent most of his formative years in a reformatory, decides that in addition he wants to commit murder, including of Cornelia. If Cornelia is able to survive in the short term, the nature of the situation may further change due to something that Malcolm had left for her just before he left. —Huggo The lady is Mrs. Hilyard, a wealthy poetess who lives in a three-story city mansion and her cage is her elevator, which stops a dozen feet short of the main floor due to an electrical failure on a July 4th weekend. She rings her outside alarm, eventually noticed by a drunken derelict, who breaks into the house, ignores her plight and helps himself to various items and alcohol. He leaves with his loot but returns a while later with a curvy prostitute and three teenage hoodlums, who proceed to terrorize Mrs. Hilyard as they wreck her home. —alfiehitchie