Quincy Jones

Sam and Naomi meet by chance in a Reykjavik hostel. When a volcanic eruption grounds all flights, leaving them stranded on the island. Sam sets off toward the highlands. Naomi joins him on this tense and uncertain journey. Sam and Naomi meet by chance in a Reykjavik hostel, sharing an impulsive encounter in the luggage room. They part ways, expecting never to see each other again. That night, a volcanic eruption grounds all flights, leaving them stranded on the island. Sam, a wannabe photographer driven by his desire to be the first to capture the eruption, sets off toward the highlands. Naomi, seeking an escape from her own life, decides to join him on this tense and uncertain journey.

A documentary that follows jazz legend Clark Terry over four years to document the mentorship between Terry and 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin as the young man prepares to compete in an elite, international competition. First-time director/drummer from Australia, Alan Hicks, convinced his surfing mate and cinematographer, Adam Hart, to travel to the U.S. to follow and film 89-year-old jazz legend, Clark Terry (Quincy Jones's first teacher) over four years - to document an unlikely mentorship between Terry and a driven, blind piano prodigy, Justin Kauflin, 23. Clark, now 93, mentored Miles Davis as a young musician and is among the few performers ever to have played in both Count Basie's and Duke Ellington's bands. In Keep On Keepin' On, as Justin is invited to compete in an elite, international competition while battling terrible stage fright, Clark's health takes a critical turn for the worse. Over the course of filming, Clark loses his sight, which deepens his bond with Justin. As clocks tick, we are suddenly witness to two great friends tackling the toughest challenges of their interwoven lives. The film, from the producer of The Cove and Chasing Ice, captures the passing of the torch from a cultural icon to potentially his last student, inspiring viewers in climactic, cinematic fashion. —Alan Hicks

John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) is a weapons designer who invents high-tech laser guns and protective armor for the United States military. One soldier, Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), decides to show just what Irons' weapons can do and sets one of Irons' laser guns at the highest power setting, firing the device at an abandoned building. However, the weapon backfires and destroys the building the team is situated in. Irons' partner, Susan "Sparky" Sparks (Annabeth Gish), is crushed by a large slab of concrete in the ensuing chaos. In court, Irons reveals Burke's role in the incident and Burke is dismissed from the military. Because his weapons resulted in Sparks becoming a paraplegic, Irons resigns in disgust. Meanwhile, Burke hatches a plot to sell Irons' weapons to criminal gangs, recruiting a video arcade manager to help him carry out this deed. Irons witnesses a bank robbery organized by gang members wielding Burke's modified guns; they escape before he can interrogate them on where they obtained the weapons. The gang does not tell Irons anything when confronted directly in their hideout. Irons visits Sparks in a veteran's hospital and takes her to his own assembled laboratory, where he hopes he and Sparks can create weapons needed to combat the criminals. With the help of Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree), they forge a suit of armor and the weaponry necessary for Irons to carry out his war on crime and become the vigilante "Steel". However, during his crusade against crime, Irons is pursued by the cops and is forced to return to his lair. The next night, the robbers arrange to rob another bank. Irons, as Steel, tries to stop them, but is hindered by the robbers' weapons. When Irons returns to his grandmother's (Irma P. Hall) house, he is arrested. Meanwhile, Burke prepares to auction off all his modified weapons to every criminal organization in the world over the Internet. When Irons is released from jail, Sparky is captured by Burke's thugs. Irons, as Steel, attempts to infiltrate Burke's headquarters, but is captured himself in the process. When Burke continues with the auction, he is tricked by Steel, which allows him and Sparks to rebel and destroy Burke's lair. Burke himself is killed when a laser he fires towards Steel reflects back towards him due to Steel's suit.

From 1909 to 1949, Celie, a Southern Black woman, strives to educate herself and to find love despite an abusive spouse and a society biased against her race and her sex.

Carter "Doc" McCoy, a convict, makes a deal with a corrupt politician in exchange for early release from prison but once free, he quickly learns that there is no one he can trust.

Released after ten years in prison, Duke Anderson decides to steal from every apartment in a luxurious Manhattan building, unaware that he is being video taped throughout.

A man who returns to his hometown for a funeral may have a much larger purpose in life than those around him can see. John Kane (Sidney Poitier) always seems to know when there will be a death in his family, despite not being in touch with them, and returns to his hometown. He has come home again, to be at his sister's deathbed and funeral. There is a strike in the town, and the police think he is a labor agitator. His well-used passport and unusual book collection only fuel their suspicions. But the town's doctor has always noticed that John is different, and thinks he has a larger purpose in life.

When a dying Apache chief gives him a map to a valley of gold, Marshal Sam Mackenna is forced to guide a gang of bandits across the Arizona deserts to the treasure.

A spectacular robbery of gold bullion in Turin is masterminded by an older gentleman from a British prison where he is lord of all he surveys.

Philip Colbert, a wealthy man from Chicago who was planning to build a factory in the rural town of Sparta, Mississippi, is found murdered. Police Chief Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) comes under pressure to quickly find Colbert's killer. African-American northerner Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), passing through, is picked up at the train station by a racist police officer who finds Tibbs with a substantial amount of cash in his wallet. Tibbs is brought to the police station where Gillespie, heavily prejudiced against blacks, jumps to the conclusion that he has his culprit, but is embarrassed to learn that Tibbs is a respected Philadelphia homicide detective who had been visiting his mother. After the bigoted and racist treatment he received, Tibbs wants nothing more than to leave Sparta as quickly as possible, but his captain from Philly recommends he stay and help the investigation. The victim's widow, already frustrated by the ineptitude of the local police, is impressed by Tibbs' expert ability when he clears another wrongly-accused suspect Gillespie has arrested on flimsy evidence. She threatens to stop construction on the much-needed factory unless Tibbs leads the investigation. Unwilling to accept help but under orders from the town's mayor, Gillespie talks Tibbs into lending his services. Despite the rocky start to their relationship, the two police come to respect each other as they are compelled to work together to solve the crime. Tibbs initially suspects wealthy plantation owner Eric Endicott, who opposed the new factory. When he attempts to interrogate Endicott about Colbert, Endicott slaps him in the face. Tibbs slaps him back, which leads to Endicott sending a gang of redneck hooligans after Tibbs. Gillespie rescues Tibbs from the fight and orders him to leave town for his own safety. Tibbs refuses to leave until he has solved the case. Tibbs asks Sam Wood, the officer who discovered the body, to retrace his steps the night of the murder. He and Gillespie accompany Sam on his patrol route, stopping at a diner where the counterman, Ralph Henshaw, refuses to serve Tibbs because he is black. When Tibbs notices that Sam has deliberately changed his route, Gillespie begins to suspect Sam of the crime. When he discovers that Sam made a sizable deposit into his bank account the day after the murder (which Sam claims was gambling winnings) and Lloyd Purdy, a local, files charges against Sam for getting Purdy's 16-year-old sister, Delores, pregnant, Gillespie arrests Sam for the murder over Tibbs' protests. Purdy is insulted that Tibbs, a black man, was present for his sister's interrogation about her sexual encounter with Sam, and he gathers a lynch mob to get his revenge on Tibbs. Tibbs is able to clear Sam by finding the original murder scene and pointing out that Sam would not have been able to drive two cars at the same time to dump the body and the victim's car while continuing on his patrol. Acting on a hunch, Tibbs tracks down the local back-room abortionist, who reveals that someone paid for Delores Purdy to have an abortion. When Delores arrives, Tibbs pursues her outside, where he is confronted by the murderer: the diner counterman Ralph Henshaw. Purdy's mob tracks down Tibbs at this moment, and he is being held at gunpoint when he proves to Purdy that it was Ralph, not Sam, who got Delores pregnant. Purdy attacks Ralph, who kills Purdy in self-defense. Ralph is arrested and confesses to the murder of Colbert. He had attempted to rob Colbert to gain money to pay for Delores' abortion but accidentally killed him. His job done, Tibbs finally boards the Gulf, Mobile, & Ohio train out of town, seen off by a more respectful Gillespie.

College volunteer Alan Newell is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson, who has swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. Can Alan save her? Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when he's at the clinic alone, he takes a call from a woman who tells him that she needs to talk to someone. She informs Alan that she took a load of pills, and he secretly tries to get help. During this time, he learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die. Can he save her in time? —Pat McCurry <ccgrad97@aol.com> Alan Newell is a Seattle university student who works at a phone-in crisis clinic. Most of the calls he receives are routine, such as an unhappy barber who feels he gets no respect. But then he gets a call from Inga, a suicidal woman who claims that she has deliberately overdosed on barbiturates. Flashbacks reveal the events that have led her to attempt to take her own life: her marriage is on rocky ground after her husband learned that their child is not his. As the telephone company attempts to trace the call and the police try to locate her, Alan works desperately to keep her on the line. —garykmcd