Jessica Lange

The 'Abuja Shining' restaurant contains many secrets within itself. One cannot accidentally walk in there and remain the same. Come on in.

A newly wed couple recovers from a car accident that puts the wife in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, her husband endeavors to win her heart again.

At Will Bloom's (Billy Crudup) wedding party, his father Edward (Albert Finney as Old Edward, Ewan McGregor as young Edward) recalls the day Will was born, claiming he caught an enormous catfish using his wedding ring as bait. Will, having heard these stories all his life, believes them to be lies and falls out with his father. Three years later, Edward is stricken with cancer, so Will and his pregnant French wife Joséphine (Marion Cotillard) return to his childhood home in Alabama to spend time with his father. Edward's life is told through flashbacks, beginning with his encounter with a witch in his hometown, Ashton. She shows him his death, but he reacts to it without fear. As he grows into adulthood, he finds his home too confining (his bones grow too quickly as compared to his body and requires extensive bodywork and is made fun of at school (as a freak) to top it all off) (he is a genius in middle school though, with top marks in sports and studies), and sets out into the world with a misunderstood giant, Karl (Matthew McGrory), who has come to town with a traveling circus. The giant is considered a monster as it keeps eating everything in the town & the townsfolk want to kill him when Edward volunteers to talk to him and try to get him to leave the town. Edward talks to Karl in his cave and convinces that the town of Ashton is too small of Karl as well as his own ambitions. They decide to leave together for a big city. Edward and Karl find a fork in the road and travel down separate paths. Edward follows a path through a swamp and discovers the secret town of Spectre, the cheery locals claiming he was expected. There, he befriends Ashton poet Norther Winslow (Steve Buscemi) and the mayor's daughter Jenny (Helena Bonham Carter). However, Edward leaves Spectre, unwilling to settle down but promises Jenny he will return. In the present day, Joséphine speaks to the bed-ridden Edward and asks him to tell her the story of how he met his wife Sandra, with Will listening outside the door. Returning to his story, Edward reunites with Karl after escaping Spectre and they visit the Calloway Circus, where Edward falls in love with a beautiful woman. Karl and Edward get jobs in the circus where the ringmaster Amos Calloway (Danny DeVito) reveals to Edward one detail about the woman at the end of every month. Amos knows the girl that Edward is seeking, but in a bid to keep Karl performing for the circus, he agrees only to reveal 1 detail about the girl at the end of every month. Three years later, Edward discovers that Amos is secretly a werewolf but shows no ill-will towards his employer. Amos, upon returning to normal, reveals the woman is Sandra, and she attends Auburn University. Edward confesses his love to Sandra, but she declines his wedding proposal despite numerous romantic gestures. He then learns she is already engaged to Don Price (David Denman), a fellow Ashton citizen. Don beats Edward in a fight (but only after Sandra makes Edward promise that he won't hurt Don), prompting Sandra to break off their engagement and marry Edward. Shortly after, Edward is conscripted into the army and sent to fight in the Korean War. The service period is 3 years and, in an attempt, to get back to Sandra early, Edward accepts every dangerous mission he could find, to reduce the service period to 1 year. He parachutes into the middle of a North Korean military show, steals important documents, and convinces Siamese twins Ping and Jing (Ada Tai and Arlene Tai) to help him go home in exchange for making them celebrities. Upon returning home, Edward becomes a travelling salesman and crosses paths with Winslow, unwittingly helping him rob a failing bank, inspiring the poet to work on Wall Street (Winslow makes millions in wall street and sends a check for $10,000 to Edward as his fee as his "career advisor") (Edward uses the money to buy Sandra a house with a white picket fence). In the present, Will investigates the truth behind his father's tales (Will simply does not believe the stories that Edward told him about his life. He thinks they are all lies, so Edward asks him to check it out himself) and travels to Spectre. He meets an older Jenny, who explains that Edward rescued the town from bankruptcy and rebuilt it with help from his friends from Calloway Circus. A few years back Edward was travelling in his job when he came across the same road that led to Spectre, on that road he found Spectre again which was not a derelict town, up for auction. Edward bought the whole town with help from Winslow, Amos and the Siamese Twins. Will suggests that Jenny had an affair with his father, but she reveals while she loved Edward, he remained loyal to Sandra. Will returns home but learns Edward has had a stroke and stays with him at the hospital (the attending doctor tells Will about the real story of his birth, and Will finds that the real version is not very exciting, but the version told by Edward had excitement, fantasy and entertainment. Will, at that moment, realized his father's love for story telling). Edward wakes up but, unable to speak much, asks Will to narrate how his life ends. Though struggling, Will tells his father of their imagined daring escape from the hospital to the nearby lake, where everyone from Edward's past is there to see him off. Will takes Edward into the river, where he transforms into the giant catfish and swims away. A satisfied Edward dies, knowing Will finally understands his love for storytelling. At the funeral, Will and Joséphine are surprised when all the people from Edward's stories come to the service, though each one is a slightly less fantastical version than described. Will, finally understanding his father's love for life, passes on Edward's stories to his own son

Helen and Jackson live together in New York City. At the beginning of the film, the two are driving towards the Kentucky farmhouse, Kilronan, where Jackson grew up, primarily to introduce Helen to Jackson's mother, Martha (Lange). After returning to New York, Helen discovers she is pregnant. When she informs Jackson of this, he asks her to marry him and she accepts. The wedding is held at Kilronan, where Helen meets Jackson's paternal grandmother, Alice, who tells Helen she doesn't trust Martha. After returning to New York apartment, Helen is assaulted by a man who steals her locket. When Helen says she's pregnant, he cuts her abdomen and leaves. The fetus was not injured. Martha arrives and says she wants to sell Kilronan because she cannot run it alone. Helen tells Jackson she wants to move to Kentucky and in with Martha for a year and help renovate the land. Jackson tells Helen his father died in that house when he was seven and he blames himself because he ran into his father pushing him down the stairs. Jackson also tells Helen that his father had been cheating on Martha with Robin Hayes. Helen says they should go back so Jackson can face his "old ghosts". The couple move in with Martha who attempts to divide the couple. Suspicious, Helen talks to Alice who tells her that Jackson is wrong about his father's death. The father landed on a nail puller at the bottom of the stairs, crushing his sternum, which, according to news reports was a freak accident. Helen tells Jackson that Martha is tearing their marriage apart. He agrees to go back to New York and tells his mother. That evening, Martha bakes a cake for Helen laced with pitocin, a labor inducer. Helen wakes up the next morning, feeling strange. She discovers a baby room set up by Martha and finds the locket that was stolen from her in New York. When Martha unexpectedly enters the room, Helen tries unsuccessfully to escape. Reluctantly, with Martha's assistance, Helen gives birth. Martha leaves the room to answer a phone call from Jackson. She tells him that everything is okay, but when Helen screams in pain, Martha hangs up. Helen begs Martha to hand her the baby, but Martha ignores her, telling the baby she is his mother. Martha tries to inject morphine in Helen's arm, but Helen knocks the syringe away. When Martha retrieves it, she hears Jackson's footsteps. In a scramble, she quickly cleans up, meeting Jackson at the door. She tells him to leave Helen alone, as he has no idea what she's been through. The two leave Helen asleep, with Martha giving the baby to Jackson. That night, Martha enters Helen's bedroom with the syringe. She finds Jackson in a chair next to the bed. Despite his mother's insistence that he return to bed, he stays. The next morning, Helen awakens to see Jackson. She tells Jackson to ask Martha to make breakfast. At breakfast, Helen enters the house with an object in her bag. Helen says that it is the object that killed Jackson's father. She slowly proceeds to tell Jackson the whole truth about his father's murder. She reveals that Robin Hayes, the "woman" Jackson believed his father had cheated on his mother with, was actually a male horse wrangler, with whom Martha had an affair. Helen also shows Jackson a bruise resulting from when his mother tried to murder her so she can have him and their son to herself. Jackson's father was planning to leave Martha when he discovered the affair but Martha ended up killing him. Martha made Jackson think he did so she can bind him to her for the rest of his life. Jackson tells Martha that he never wants to see her again. Martha claims that Helen is only doing this because she is jealous of her. In utter disgust, Helen slaps Martha to the ground. Helen and Jackson then leave with their baby while Martha sobs on the floor. In the final scene, the couple visit Alice before they leave for good, presenting her with her great-grandson.

The story is set in early 18th Century Scotland. A group of Scots highlanders are tracking another clan who have stolen cattle from a lord. The protection of the lord's property, including his livestock, is managed by Robert Roy MacGregor, the man leading the trackers. One of his men, Alan McDonald, tells Rob and the rest of the party that they are about a day behind the thieves. The search party finally spots the thieves, camped out in a valley. Knowing that an attack at night would be unwise, Rob orders his party to get some sleep. He also says that he'll personally approach the thieves in the morning and try to negotiate with them. When Alan asks Rob why he thinks speaking to them will accomplish anything, Rob tells him "I know one of them." The next morning, Rob makes good on his word and wakes up the thieves in their camp. He tells them that the cattle belong to his lord and they'll all live if they lay down their weapons and surrender the animals. To prove his point, Rob tells his men to reveal their positions, which surround the camp. Their leader, Sibbald, mocks Rob's authority. When he tries to kill Rob, he is killed himself. Rob allows the rest of Sibbald's party to live and they leave. Rob returns home to his proud wife, Mary, and his two young boys. He spends a few days at home and he and Mary make passionate love under a tree. Rob Roy's village is under the protection of John Campbell, Duke of Argyll. While watching his best duelist, Guthrie, in a sword match, one of Campbell's vassals the Marquis of Montrose, meets with him. Montrose is accompanied by a foppish young man, Archibold Cunningham. Archie had been sent to Scotland by his mother, who had grown irritated by his promiscuous playboy behavior. Archie challenges Guthrie to a duel and Duke Campbell and his vassal Montrose wager heavily on the outcome. Campbell is surprised when Archie, who's speed and skill allow him to wield his sword much faster, easily bests Guthrie, and Montrose wins a hefty sum. Rob meanwhile devises a plan to make money droving cattle: he decides he will ask Campbell to loan him 1000 guineas that he will use to buy cattle at a nearby port. He will raise the cattle and sell them back to Campbell at a profit. Campbell tells Rob to to draw up a loan agreement with Montrose. Montrose's chief banker, Killearn, is a treacherous businessman who is secretly loyal to Archie, whom Killearn believes is more ambitious than Duke Montrose. Killearn reveals to Archie that Rob will be receiving the 1000 guineas as coin and that Archie should prepare to steal it. The next day, Rob meets directly with Killearn and signs the papers to receive the credit. Rob leaves, charging his man MacDonald with collecting the credit slip. Killearn deliberately makes MacDonald wait all day while he deals with all his other clients. When Killearn finally calls MacDonald in to receive the loan, Killearn tells him that he cannot give him a credit slip and MacDonald must take coins instead, violating the agreement with Rob. MacDonald is reluctant but finally accepts the coin. On his way to deliver the money to Rob, he is pursued through the woods by Archie, who has prepared an ambush. MacDonald's horse carry's him into a rope strung across the path, and he is injured and thrown from his horse. He staggers away, hiding the money in a tree however, the crafty Archie finds and kills him, taking the money. When MacDonald doesn't show up, Rob goes back to Killearn, demanding to know what happened. Killearn tells him that he'd given MacDonald the money and he left. Killearn also suggests that MacDonald had stolen the money for himself and may have boarded a ship to America. (MacDonald had earlier told Rob he wished to leave Scotland for Virginia.) Rob refuses to believe that MacDonald would betray him and decides to take his case directly to Montrose. When he meets with the lord, he tries to strike a new deal for more money. Montrose will agree, provided Rob falsely testifies that Campbell is a Jacobite. Rob refuses, only knowing Campbell by reputation. When he suggests that Montrose is crooked, Montrose orders Archie to arrest Rob. Rob pulls a hidden knife and holds Archie at bay, shoving him to the ground and running off. Montrose instructs Archie to find Rob and bring him to justice, "broken, but not dead." Archie sets out with Killearn and a small unit of soldiers. Rob returns home and tells Mary that he'll be leaving their home until he can figure out a plan to clear his name. Mary is angry, saying he'll be hiding like an animal. Rob leaves his younger brother Alasdair and a couple of other men loyal to him to guard Mary and the farm. Very soon, Archie, Killearn and the unit of soldiers sail across the lake in front of the MacGregor home, arriving early one morning. Mary gathers her boys and tells them to hide in the hills behind the house. She goes out to meet the landing party, frightened but confident. She defiantly calls Archie a fool when he demands to know where her husband is. Archie orders the soldiers to burn her house and kill the livestock. Killearn suggests that Mary step aside, but Archie grabs her hair and drags her into the house. He forces her over a table and brutally and gleefully rapes her. Her house burning around her, Mary gathers her dignity and walks out, shaken but proud. The noblemen and their soldiers depart on their boat as Alasdair arrives, yelling for the marauders to return and fight. They fire a warning shot at him and bleat like sheep as they sail back across the lake. Mary furiously washes her groin in the lake, and Alasdair realizes that she's been raped. Mary compels him to promise not to tell Rob, because she doesn't want him to get killed in his desire to avenge her honor. Alasdair reluctantly promises Mary he won't say anything. Mary formulates a plan of her own to prove Rob's innocence and honor. She discovers that Archie's lover, Betty, one of Montrose's servants, is pregnant with Archie's child. Spurned by Archie, Betty agrees to testify that she overheard Archie and Killearn conspiring to steal the money given to MacDonald. Mary comforts her when she admits that she's pregnant and becomes upset, saying she still loves Archie despite his evil nature. Mary tells Rob about Killearn's and Archie's dealings and Rob vows to bring them both to justice. Rob finds Killearn in a tavern. Guthrie attempts to defend him, and Rob kills him. When Rob arrives at a secret location with Killearn, he sends Alasdair to retrieve Betty, but when Mary goes to find her, she finds that Betty has hanged herself and is dead. Mary demands to meet with Killearn privately, demanding that he testify to restore Rob's honor. Killearn refuses, gaining the upper hand when he mentions that he remembers how Archie raped her and that the child Mary is now pregnant with may be Archie's and not Rob's. Enraged, Mary stabs him in the neck, bringing Rob and Alasdair. Rob tries to calm Mary down, leaving Killearn to Alasdair. Alasdair drowns Killearn in the lake. Rob and Mary's plan is foiled and Rob tells his brother to drop the body in the middle of the lake since Montrose will search for him. Alasdair joins Rob in the Highlands. They observe Archie's war party from a distance burning the house Rob & Mary had occupied after their own home was destroyed. Rob orders a retreat before Archie notices them; his own men are out-armed and outnumbered. Alasdair, angry over Archie's violation of Mary, takes a potshot at Archie, missing and killing one man and revealing their position. Archie orders his men to chase Rob's party into the mist covering the peaks. As he runs to catch up with Rob, Alasdair is shot, paralyzing his legs. Rob grabs him and carries him into the mist. As he dies from his wound, Alasdair tells Rob that Mary was raped by Archie. A soldier finds them and finishes Alasdair off. Rob overpowers the man and mounts his horse to escape, but it's shot out from under him and lands on his leg, trapping him. He's captured by Archie, who binds his hands and drags him behind his horse. At night, Rob is tied to a tree. He tells Archie that he a thief and rapist, and Archie tells him that Campbell's wife Mary was more enjoyable when raped than others who were willing, and that "not all of her objected." Rob lunges forward and bites at Archie ripping his coat. Archie beats him and has him gagged for the rest of the march home. When they reach the Bridge at Glen Orchy, Montrose is waiting. Rob is allowed to speak in his defense. He claims that Archie killed MacDonald and stole the money. Archie denies the charges and Montrose orders his men to hang Rob from the bridge. Rob quickly grabs the rope binding his hands, loops it around Archie's neck and jumps from the bridge. The rope pulls Archie to the edge where one of the soldiers uses a sword to cut it, freeing Rob, who plunges into the stream below. Archie however, is still alive. Rob washes downstream with the current, going over a small waterfall. On the bank, he finds the rotting carcass of a dead ox and quickly guts it, using the animal to hide from the search party, who won't approach because of the stench. Rob rejoins Mary at a safe house, which Mary had earlier negotiated from Campbell himself and secured the property under his protection. Rob confronts Mary about the rape but realizes she still loves him and that the child she bears is definitely his. Rob recovers from his wounds and visits with Campbell, seeking a way to settle his dispute with Archie. Knowing Archie's skill with a sword, Campbell reluctantly agrees to sponsor Rob in a fair duel. He tells Rob that as a prudent man he ought to bet on Archie. Rob tells him to bet any way he chooses. Rob bids his family farewell, telling his sons to ask their mother about the new addition to their family. Mary asks Rob what to name their child if Rob doesn't return: he tells her to name it for himself if it's a boy and for herself if it's a girl. On the way to Montrose's court. Rob convinces Campbell to pay Mary's and his children's living expenses if he loses the match with Archie. They agree on a high sum and Campbell exclaims that he likes Rob's negotiating style. Rob arrives at Montrose's court where he and Archie will duel to the death with swords. Campbell and Montrose agree on a wager. After laying out the customary rules about backstabbing and quarter, "no quarter being given or asked." The two duel, and Archie has obviously superior skills to Rob Roy. He toys with Rob, slashing him superficially several times on his torso, and then on his dueling arm, disarming him. He lifts Rob's chin with his blade, and receives a nod from the moderator to end the duel and Rob Roy's life. Rob suddenly grasps Archie's sword blade with his bare hand. Rob grabs his own sword and swiftly cuts Archie deeply from his shoulder to his sternum, opening a wide wound. Archie is shocked, gasps, blood spilling from his mouth, stumbles, and falls dead. Rob settles his wagers with Campbell and Montrose and leaves. Montrose tells Archie's sponsor that he will hold him to their wager, meaning that all of Rob Roy's debts are wiped clean. Rob returns home to Mary who is overjoyed to see him.

The biological and adoptive mothers of a young boy are involved in a bitter, controversial custody battle. An African-American baby, abandoned by his crack addicted mother is adopted by a white social worker and her husband. Several years later, the baby's mother finds out her son is not dead, as she thought before and goes to court to get him back. —Cyndi Kessler <ckessler@hooked.net>

A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him. Imprisoned for brutally assaulting a young girl, Max Cady spends his time in jail wisely - reading literature, sculpting his body to perfection and planning his violent revenge on the defence lawyer who put him behind bars. After serving his fourteen year sentence, Cady is released from prison and his rampage begins. —BecksyKane Fourteen long years of incarceration can change a person in more ways than one. And with the sweet taste of newly gained freedom in his mouth and all the time in the world, unrepentant, violent criminal Max Cady sets foot in the tranquil community of New Essex in North Carolina still bearing a grudge: one way or another, flawed defence attorney Sam Bowden is going to pay. Now, as the pitiless psychopath embarks on a relentless mission to test Bowden's limits to the breaking point, the lawyer's defenceless family is about to pay for Sam's sins. But not before the Bowdens learn a thing or two about pain and loss. Sinewy, iron-pumping Max has lived his life like an animal. Is Sam prepared to die like one? —Nick Riganas Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte)is a small-town corporate attorney/"Leave It to Beaver" type family-man. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, bible-quoting, rapist. What do they have in common? Fourteen years, ago Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey, bibliophile Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss. —James Craver Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a psychopath just released from prison for rape. He is out seeking revenge from his lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte) who he believes deliberately held back important information about his case during the trial, which could have kept him out of jail. He sets off to terrorize Bowden, his wife (Jessica Lange) and even goes after their 15 year old daughter (Juliette Lewis). —Sami Al-Taher <staher2000@yahoo.com>

After generations of being apart, an accident brings a family back together and they begin to cope with their original issues.

An out-of-work actor finds success, love and frustration when he gets the role of his life...playing a woman.