John Slattery

A young American soldier and a German psychologist must race against time to help an American psychiatrist uncover the truth behind a high-ranking Nazi officer before the Nuremberg trials begin.

As three US servicemen - Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes, Private First-Class Rene Gagnon, and Navy Corpsman John "Doc" Bradley are feted as heroes in a war bond drive, they reflect on their experiences via flashback. After training at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, the 28th Marine Regiment 5th Marine Division sails to the small island of Iwo Jima as part of an invading armada. Tough Japanese resistance is expected, and the Navy bombards suspected Japanese positions for three days. Sergeant Mike Strank is put in charge of Second Platoon. The next day, February 19, 1945, the Marines land in Higgins boats. The beaches are silent and Private First Class Ralph "Iggy" Ignatowski wonders if the defenders are all dead, before Japanese heavy artillery and machine guns open fire on the advancing Marines and the Navy ships. Casualties are heavy but the beaches are secured. Two days later the Marines attack Mount Suribachi under a rain of Japanese artillery and machine gun fire, as the Navy bombards the mountain. Doc saves the lives of several Marines under fire, which later earns him the Navy Cross. Finally, the mountain is secured. On February 23, the platoon under command of Sergeant Hank Hansen is ordered to climb Mount Suribachi. They reach the top and hoist the United States flag atop the mountain to cheers from the beaches and the ships. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who witnesses the flag raising as he lands on the beach, requests the flag for himself. Colonel Chandler Johnson decides his 2nd Battalion deserves the flag more. Rene is sent up with Second Platoon to replace the first flag with a second one for Forrestal to take. Mike, Doc, Rene and three other marines (Corporal Harlon Block, Private First-Class Franklin Sousley and Private First Class Ira Hayes), are photographed by Joe Rosenthal as they raise the second flag. On March 1, Second Platoon are ambushed from a Japanese machine gun nest. During the fight over the nest Mike is hit by a U.S. Navy shell and dies from his wounds. Later that day Hank is shot in the chest and dies almost instantly, and Harlon is killed by machine gun fire. Two nights later while Doc is helping a wounded Marine, Iggy is abducted by Japanese troops and dragged into a tunnel. Doc finds his viciously mangled body a few days later. On March 21 Franklin is killed by machine gun fire and dies in Ira's arms. Of the eight men in the squad only three are left: Doc, Ira and Rene. A few days after Franklin's death, Doc is wounded by artillery fire while trying to save a fellow corpsman. He survives and is sent back home. On March 26, the battle ends and the U.S. Marines are victorious. After the battle the press gets hold of Rosenthal's photograph. It is a huge morale booster, and newspapers all over the country ask for prints. Rene is asked to name the six men in the photo: he identifies himself, Mike, Doc and Franklin, but misidentifies Harlon as Hank. Rene believes that Ira is the sixth man in the photograph; when he tells Ira this, Ira furiously denies it, insisting that it was Harlon in the photograph, not him. Rene pleads with Ira that as flag raisers they will both be sent home, but Ira reacts by holding a bayonet to Rene's throat, telling Rene he will kill him if he names Ira as the man in the photograph. Rene initially refuses to identify the sixth man but when he is threatened with being sent back to the fighting, he names Ira. Doc, Ira and Rene are sent home as part of the seventh bond tour drive to raise money for the war effort. When they arrive to a hero's welcome in Washington, Doc notices that Hank's mother is on the list of mothers of the dead flag raisers. Ira angrily denounces the bond drive as a farce. The men are reprimanded by Bud Gerber of the Treasury Department, who tells them that the country cannot afford the war and if the bond drive fails the U.S. will abandon the Pacific and their sacrifices will be for nothing. The three agree not to tell anyone that Hank was not in the photograph. As the three are sent around the country to raise money and make speeches, Ira is guilt-ridden, facing discrimination as a Native American and haunted by memories of the battle. He descends into alcoholism and throws up one night in front of General Alexander Vandegrift, commandant of the Marine Corps. A furious Vandegrift orders to have Ira sent back to his unit and the bond drive continues without him. After the war, the three survivors return to their homes. Ira still struggles with alcoholism and is never able to escape his unwanted fame. One day after being released from jail, he hitchhikes over 1,300 miles to Texas to see Harlon Block's family. He tells Harlon's father that his son was indeed at the base of the flag in the famous photograph. In 1954, the USMC War Memorial is dedicated and the three flag raisers see each other one last time. In 1955 Ira dies of exposure after a night of drinking. That same year Doc drives to the town where Iggy's mother lives to tell her how Iggy died, though it is implied that he does not tell her the truth. Rene attempts a business career but finds that the opportunities and offers he received during the bond drive are rescinded. He spends the rest of his life as a janitor. Doc, by contrast, is successful. He buys a funeral home and runs it for the rest of his life. In 1994, on his deathbed, he tells his story to his son James and in a final flashback to 1945, the men swim in the ocean after raising the flags.

The movie begins with Katey (Romola Garai) narrating on how she ended up in Havana to a montage of postcards and Havana sights. Her father, mother, and sister are riding in the car with her to a fancy hotel. Katey explains that Castro is leading a revolution against the current government of Cuba, but everyone at the hotel seems at ease. At the hotel pool Katey finds her sister sitting with some other Americans, including James (Jonathan Jackson), who introduces himself as the son of her father's boss. At this point the waiter, Javier (Diego Luna), arrives with the drinks and Katey accidentally knocks the tray over. One of the girls calls him a derogatory name and tells him to get more drinks. Katey feels bad and tries to talk to Javier, but he is not interested. Katey watches a movie of her mother and father dancing and wishes she was as good as they were. She and her father dance a bit. The next day in class Katey is asked to read aloud from The Odyssey and it is a passage about love and passion (foreshadowing!). After class James asks Katey to a party at the country club and she agrees. While walking home from school she sees Javier dancing at a street party and he offers to walk her home. They stop to listen to a street band and police show up, stopping Javier while Katey runs away. The next day Katey tries some of the dance moves she saw. Javier sees her and asks her to come see the real dancers Saturday night, but she says she is already going to the country club. Javier gets upset and leaves. Katey wears one of her maid's sexy dresses to the party and impresses James. Katey convinces him to take her to the Cuban club where Javier is dancing with the ladies. Javier dances with Katey while James sits at the bar. Soon he is accosted by Javier's brother, who tells him that they will eventually kick the Americans out of Cuba. Javier comes over and argues with his brother. James takes Katey back to the car and tries to seduce her, she refuses and runs away. Katey goes back to the club and Javier agrees to walk her home. The next day Katey walks by a dance class in progress and sees Patrick Swayze (gasp!) teaching it. He asks if anyone wants to enter the big dance contest and then dances with Katey for a bit. She grabs a flyer for the dance. While walking to the pool, James apologizes to her and then tells her that Katey's sister saw Javier with her and got him fired. Katey argues with her sister and goes to find Javier. He is now working at a chop shop with his brother. She asks him to enter the dance contest with her, but he refuses. Meanwhile, it is becoming apparent that Javier's brother is helping the revolutionaries. The next day Javier shows up at Katey's school and agrees to enter the dance contest with her. They start teaching each other dance moves and Javier convinces her to "feel the music". They practice all the time, Katey dances some more with Patrick Swayze (gasp!), until it is the night of the dance. They dance with the other couples on the floor and are chosen to go on to the next round. Katey's parents, however, disapprove of her relationship with Javier but Katey reconciles with them. On the night of the final round of the contest, while Katey and Javier are on the dance floor, Javier sees his brother and some revolutionaries disguised as waiters and the police soon try to arrest them. The contest stops as everyone flees the club and Javier has to save his brother from the police. Javier and his brother talk about how they miss they dad, then they hear that Batista has fled the country and join the celebration. Later, Javier comes to the hotel and finds Katey. He takes her to the beach and they do the horizontal mambo. The next day Katey's parents tell her they are leaving Cuba and she has one last night with Javier. They go to the Cuban club where they first danced and the floor is theirs. Katey's family is there to see her and Katey narrates that she doesn't know when she will see Javier again, but this will not be their last time to dance together.

Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), an Oakland State University Ph.D. student, is hired as an Art History instructor at Wellesley College for the 1953/54 school year. She is not an obvious choice as Wellesley is an exclusive upper crust institution where its faculty, students and alumni generally look down upon "State" universities. President Jocelyn Carr (Marian Seldes) runs Wellesley, the most conservation institution in the United States. Katherine intends to complete her PhD and is on probation at Wellesley for the first year. Katherine quickly learns that her paper credentials do affect how her students treat her. She also learns that the students are book smart, but do not know how to think for themselves. Their parents and the school administration foster a predetermined path in life for the girls, namely, to stick to traditional mores and thoughts, with the primary goal of marrying into a good family. Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst), Joan (Julia Stiles), Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Susan Delacorte (Laura Allen) & Connie (Ginnifer Goodwin) are Katherine's students in her art class & have read the entire books before the first class. They imply that Katherine can't impart any more knowledge & rudely leave her class. Amanda (Juliet Stevenson) & Nancy (Marcia Gay Harden) are Kath's apartment mates as she chose not to live in the college dorm due to its no male visitor rules. Nancy teaches speech, elocution and poise. Amanda is the College nurse and is a lesbian. Her companion was a teacher at the college who taught biology and has recently died. Bill Dunbar (Dominic West) is a fellow teacher at the college and has a reputation of sleeping with his students. Betty writes editorials in the school newspaper and has an out-sized influence on forming popular opinion on critical topics. There are pockets of free thinking among faculty and the students, but those thoughts and associated actions are generally quashed by the overall tone of the school. Katherine decides to instill into her students her own beliefs of what is important in learning. She starts her next class by bringing topics and images from art history that are not in the prescribed books and encourages debate on their relative merits and demerits. Betty is ultra conservative & looks down upon any thoughts of women's liberation. Giselle is an erotic woman. Giselle is willing to accept that woman like Katherine can choose to have a life without a husband and a family, but Betty is unwilling to accept the possibility that any woman would want a career over a family. Giselle agrees with Katherine that a woman's only role is not to oversee the advancement of her husband. Amanda is the school nurse & distributes contraceptives. Betty finds out, writes an article & gets Amanda fired via her mother (Donna Mitchell) who is the president of alumni association. Kath finds that Joan has ambitions to go to Yale for Law but is willing to sacrifice all for marriage. She encourages Joan to apply. Joan has a rich family boyfriend named Tommy (Topher Grace). Betty meanwhile sees Joan as her lifelong friend, getting married to rich families & raising kids in adjacent houses. Beth tells Joan that her fiance Spencer are good friends, and that Tommy is looking for an engagement ring for Joan. Meanwhile, Kath notices that Giselle is trying to get close to Bill Dunbar. In reality they had a falling out as Bill moved on to other conquests. Giselle gets jealous when she sees Dunbar making a love for Katherine. Giselle begs Dunbar to take her back, but he refuses and moves on. Betty gets married to Spencer Jones (Jordan Bridges) while in school. As Betty leaves for her honeymoon the mood in the class improves as they start to appreciate other perspectives. Joan tells her she has been accepted to Yale & Betty is furious. Kath's boyfriend Paul (John Slattery) is visiting her over Christmas & she makes him sleep on the sofa due to Nancy's stupid house rules. Paul proposes to Kath, but she refuses. Betty misses 6 classes due to her honeymoon & Kath threaten to fail her. Betty threatens consequences if she fails her. Betty tells Kath not to disrespect their traditions, just because she is subversive, while Kath wants her not to disrespect the class just because she is married. In her next editorial, Betty takes the shot at Katherine & says she is threatening the established marriage values & traditions at Wesley by encouraging girls to forsake marriage for their other ambitions in life. Kath is hurt that she is being criticized for training tomorrow's leaders & not their wives. Katherine makes the students realize that the smartest girls in the country are being trained not to think for themselves in the name of tradition. She demonstrates how all contemporary art is designed to berate any free-thinking woman and idolize the ones who are wiling to sacrifice their lives at the altar of marriage. Dunbar makes Kath realize that changes take time and that she needs to allow the college to catch up with her thinking. Dunbar calls her the Mona Lisa, for her smile. Kath has sex with Dunbar. As the news of this affair spreads, Kath is judged by Nancy. Connie is dating Charlie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Betty's cousin. Connie is from a normal family & not filthy rich like Betty. Betty manipulates Connie into believing that she was Charlie's mistress as he was already seeing a rich girl. Connie stops meeting Charlie & later she finds out that Charlie had no girl friend at that time & Betty just didn't want Connie as part of her family. Connie reconciles with Charlie. Then Kath finds that even though Joan was accepted into Yale, that she would get married to Tommy & give up on Yale. Joan says to Kath that this was her choice. Joan says that not every housewife is a sellout of her dreams and ambitions. Betty criticizes Giselle for being a prostitute (for sleeping with Dunbar earlier and now having an affair with yet another older married man) but is hiding her own pain of her husband having an affair with another woman (Giselle saw Spencer in town with another girl in his arms). Giselle hugs Betty and she completely breaks down in her arms. At the year end, enrollments for Kath's class for next year are the highest for any faculty. So, the board of directors extend their offer of employment to Kath conditionally to her accepting that she would only teach the prescribed syllabus & submit her class plans in advance for review & change, with Betty as her strongest supporter. Kath meets Bill's friend Stan and finds that Bill has never been to Europe (Bill had claimed he was an Italian) and had lied to her about everything. Kath breaks up with Bill. By the end of the year, Kath's class fully accepts Kath & even discussed art in its true form. Betty files for divorce & gets an apartment with Giselle. Kath quits college & leaves for Europe.

After making a 3-hour fiasco about New York City's water supply, a two-man film crew decides to take it up a notch by documenting life in the private investigator offices of "Boone and Murphy". After making a 3-hour fiasco about New York City's water supply, a two-man film crew decides to take it up a notch by documenting life in the private investigator offices of "Boone and Murphy". Cheating husbands and missing dogs fail to bring in the big bucks however, and after sleeping with the wife of one of their clients Murphy leaves. To stop Boone from having to close down the business the two film-makers must resort to a hands-on approach in the investigations to ensure the completion of their movie. —Signy