Ted Demme

A young George Jung (Johnny Depp) and his parents Fred (Ray Liotta) and Ermine (Rachel Griffiths) of Weymouth, Massachusetts. When George is ten years old, Fred files for bankruptcy and loses everything, but tries to make George realize that money is not important. As an adult, George (Johnny Depp) moves to Los Angeles with his friend "Tuna" (Ethan Suplee); they meet Barbara (Franka Potente), an airline stewardess, who introduces them to Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens), a marijuana dealer. With Derek's help, George and Tuna make a lot of money by retailing pot on the beaches. Kevin Dulli (Max Perlich), a college student back in Boston, visits them and tells them of the enormous market-and demand-for pot in Boston. With Barbara's help, they start bringing the drugs to Boston (Barbara starts by taking 25 pounds of pot to Boston per day on her flights, as her bags are not checked). The demand for the "good pot" skyrockets. As the demand grows, they decide to start buying the drugs directly from Mexico with the help of Santiago Sanchez (Tony Amendola), a Mexican drug lord. But two years later, George is caught in Chicago trying to import 660 pounds of marijuana and is sentenced to two years. After unsuccessfully trying to plead his innocence (by reciting the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "Pretty Boy Floyd (Woody Guthrie)") and insisting that he did no more than "cross an imaginary line with a bunch of plants"), George skips bail to take care of Barbara, who is suffering from, and eventually succumbs to, cancer. Her death marks the disbanding of the group of friends; even his friend, Tuna, flees their vacation home in Mexico and is never seen again. While hiding from the authorities, George visits his parents back in New England. While he is having a heart-to-heart talk with his father, George's mother calls the police, who come and arrest him. George is now sentenced to 26 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. His cellmate Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla) has contacts in the Medellín cocaine cartel and convinces George to help him go into business. Upon his release from prison, George violates his parole conditions and heads down to Cartagena, Colombia to meet up with Diego. They meet with cartel officer Cesar Rosa to negotiate the terms for smuggling 15 kilograms (33 lb) to establish "good faith". As the smuggling operation grows, Diego gets arrested, leaving George to find a way to sell 50 kg (110 pounds) and get the money in time. George reconnects with Derek in California, and the two successfully sell all 50 kg in 36 hours, amassing a $1.35 million profit. George is then whisked off to Medellín, Colombia, where he finally meets the group's leader, Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis), who agrees to go into business with them. With the help of main middleman Derek, the pair becomes Escobar's top US importer. At Diego's wedding, George meets Cesar's fiance Mirtha (Penélope Cruz) and marries her. However, Diego resents George for keeping Derek's identity secret and pressures George to reveal his connection. George eventually discovers that Diego has betrayed him by cutting him out of the connection with Derek. Inspired by the birth of his daughter and chastened by a subsequent drug-related heart attack, George severs his relationship with the cartel and vows to leave the drug business forever. All goes well with George's newfound civilian life for five years, until Mirtha organizes a 38th birthday party for him. Many of his former drug associates attend, including Derek, who reveals that Diego eventually cut him out as well. The FBI and DEA raid the party and arrest George. Following George's conviction, he becomes a fugitive. Meanwhile, his bank account-heretofore under Manuel Noriega's protection in Panama-is seized. One night, he and Mirtha get into a fight while driving. They are pulled over by police and Mirtha tells them Jung is a fugitive and has stashed a kilogram of cocaine in his trunk. He is sent to jail for three years, during which time Mirtha divorces him and takes custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Kristina "Sunshine" Jung (Emma Roberts). Upon his release, George finds himself struggling to keep his relationship with his daughter on good terms. George promises Kristina a vacation in California and seeks one last deal to garner enough money for the trip. George completes a deal with former accomplices but learns too late that the deal had been set up by the FBI and DEA, with Dulli and Derek having leaked the nature and location of the action in exchange for pardons for their involvement in his prior actions. George is sentenced to 60 years at Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He explains in the end that neither the sentence nor the betrayal bothered him, but that he can never forgive himself for having to break a promise to his daughter. While in prison, George requests a furlough to see his dying father, Fred. His unforgiving mother denies the request, saying a visit would only upset Fred. George is given a tape recorder to record a final message to his father. In the message, George recounts his memories of working with his father, his run-ins with the law, and finally, too late, his understanding of what Fred meant when he said that money is not "real". The film closes with George as an old man in prison, imagining that his daughter (Jaime King) finally comes to visit him. She slowly fades away as a guard calls for George. The film concludes with notes indicating that Jung's sentence will not expire until 2015, and that his daughter has yet to visit him. The film's final image is a photograph of the actual George Jung.

In 1932, two strangers are wrongfully convicted and develop a strong friendship in prison that lasts them through the 20th century. In the mid-1990s, two inmates bury the burned bodies of two lifers at Mississippi's infamous Parchman Farm as a third old-timer relates their story. They'd served 65 years for a murder they didn't commit, framed by a local sheriff while buying moonshine whiskey for a Manhattan club owner to whom they owed money. Flashbacks depict how this odd couple was thrown together (Ray is a fast-talking con man, and Claude is a serious man about to start work as a bank teller), the loss of Ray's watch (sterling silver, from his daddy), the murder and trial, the hardships of Parchman, and the love/hate relationship of Claude and Ray as they spend 65 years bickering and looking for a way to escape. —<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Gifted poker player Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) loses his entire $30,000 bankroll in a hand of Texas hold'em against Teddy "KGB" (John Malkovich), a Russian mobster who runs an illegal underground poker room. Shaken, Mike decides to concentrate on law school, while promising his girlfriend and fellow law student Jo (Gretchen Mol) not to play the game anymore. Mentor and fellow rounder Knish (John Turturro) offers him a part-time job driving a delivery truck to make ends meet. Time passes, and Mike is true to his promise. He focuses on school and work until his childhood friend Lester "Worm" Murphy (Edward Norton) is released from prison. Worm is also a card player, who owes an outstanding debt accumulated before his incarceration. At Worm's influence, Mike is soon rounding again, which interferes with his studies and hurts his relationship with Jo. When Worm is given a five-day deadline to pay off his debt, Mike joins him in a furious race to earn the money. Worm wants to cheat to win, but Mike insists on playing straight. Played out through several card games in and around New York City, the two nearly make the $15,000 needed, but the pair are caught cheating and lose their entire bankroll. After this, Worm decides to leave the city, and he advises Mike to do the same. This is when he reveals to Mike that his debt is owed to KGB, the same Russian mobster who cleaned Mike out of his $30,000 bankroll several months before. Infuriated, Mike cuts ties with Worm once and for all. Mike refuses to flee. In a race against time to pay off Worm's debt, Mike gets his shot at redemption by placing his life on the line against the man who forced him out of the game. With the help of a $10,000 loan from his law school professor Petrovsky (Martin Landau), Mike sits down to play KGB in a no limit, heads-up game of Texas Hold'em. In two heated heads-up matches, Mike beats KGB, winning enough to pay off Worm's debt, repay his loan to the professor, and regain his original bankroll of about $30,000. The movie ends with Mike officially dropping out of law school, saying goodbye to Jo, and going to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

Willie Conway (Timothy Hutton) finishes the last few notes of a set at an NYC bar, and counts his tips from a glass on the piano. He takes his change and heads out into the cold winter night to take a Greyhound coach across the border for a High School reunion back where he grew up. His old twenty-something High School buddies haven't moved on with their lives. Tommy 'Birdman' Rowland (Matt Dillon) and Paul Kirkwood (Michael Rapaport) own a snow-plough business, and hire their friend Kev (Max Perlich) to lend a hand. They each have their issues - Bird, the old High School quarterback, is having an affair with his old High School sweetheart, Darian Smalls (Lauren Holly) ... who happens to be married, and has a daughter. Paul couldn't commit to his ex, Jan (Martha Plimpton), but when she moved on to be with 'Victor the meat-cutter', he is filled with jealousy and blocks her driveway with snow every night. Michael 'Mo' Morris (Noah Emmerich) is the only old buddy who has matured - he is married with 2 kids, and is content with life it seems. Mo picks up Willie from the coach station and drops him off home. He has a lonely house since his mom died - leaving behind a heart-broken old man, and Willie's wayward younger brother Bobby (David Arquette). Outside, Willie sees for the first time his young neighbor, Marty (Natalie Portman), making a snowman. After hanging out with his pals, next day he meets Marty again - who gives him some snow-shovelling advice, which breaks the ice (get it? ok, not that great) in their friendship. She likes his burns. Paul buys a ring for his ex-girlfriend Jan and proposes. But it's too little, too late. And the diamond has a brown tint to it. she flat refuses, and he is heart-broken. That night, the old friends meet at a reopened bar in town, managed by Stanley 'Stinky' Womack (a much slimmer Pruitt Taylor Vince). Already Paul argues with Birdman, who doesn't take kindly to his advice, and then the others. Next day, Marty and Willie meet again. She asks if he has a girlfriend. He tells her that he is seeing somebody - a girl called Tracy. Marty asks if they have plans to get married. Willie has been reluctant to commit, and doesn't want to stick around to hear relationship advice from a 13year old. Meanwhile, Tommy's girlfriend, Sharon (Mira Sorvino), has had another jealous fight with Tommy (she knows about Darian). She asks her friends for advice. They tell her to ditch him, but instead, as it's his birthday soon, she wants to try one more time and salvage the relationship. They reluctantly agree to help her throw a surprise party. The old friends, including Mo, are back in the bar again when in walks Stanley's cousin, Andera (Uma Thurman - what a cast!! Who was the casting agent on this one, again?!). The men all fall for her instantly. They down shots, and Willie is asked to play something. After a little warm-up, the boys break into "Sweet Caroline". Next day, Birdman and Willie are invited to a long, and random, lecture/monologue by Gina (Rosie O'Donnell) about the virtues of real women. Back home, Willie is jealous when he sees that Marty has suddenly got a boyfriend. Sharon throws the surprise birthday party for Tommy. Things are going great - until Darian shows up, drunk, and makes a move on Tommy. Sharon and her friends leave. Tommy drives Darian home, and she makes a move again but Tommy turns her down. Darian is angry, revealing her true character. Instead Tommy tries to patch things up with Sharon, but it's too late. Clearing up after the party, Willie opens up to Mo about his feelings for Marty. Mo puts him straight. Willie is having cold-feet about taking things to the next level with his girlfriend. He knows Marty will be stunning in 10 years time, but it's the beer talking. Willie and Mo head off to the frozen lake the next day with Mo's kids. Willie leaves him to it and joins Paul and Kev in an ice-fishing shack. When he leaves for air, he sees Marty skating with her friends. He goes to say 'hi'. As they talk, he hears that she has finished things with her boyfriend, Andrew, because she has found someone better - Willie. She falls into his arms. Willie is embarrassed, but a little giddy. Mo almost falls over in shock. Marty asks him to wait for her until she is 18, in 5 years time. But Willie tells her that it would be unfair to wait - she still has a lot of maturing to do and in 5 years will have forgotten about him, while he'll still be waiting. He doesn't want to be the Winnie the Pooh to her Christopher Robbin - as he knows that is how the story ended, when Christopher outgrew Pooh. She skates away. Paul somehow manages to score a date with Andera. He takes her to a bar - the same one which Jan is at the bar with Victor. Andera, as a favour, flirts with him - but when Paul tries to score a kiss she smacks him and leaves. She walks home alone, turning down an advance from Tommy on the way. Paul is still upset, and gives Willie a talk about why he prefers models - the promise of a better life. Meanwhile Tommy meets Darian in the library, who asks him to go to the reunion, where things will be like they were before. That night, Willie drowns his sorrows at the bar. He is joined by Andera. After two unsuccessful attempts to leave with him, she gives in and they go to the ice shack. Andera has a boyfriend. Willie, suddenly forgetting his feelings for Tracy -- and Marty -- says he is jealous. After another unsuccessful attempt, she leaves - and heads home to Chicago the next day. Tracy arrives from New York. She is a big hit with Willie's old man and Bobby. Willie has feelings for her again. Marty is heart-broken. Willie has kind words for her -- he wants to keep in touch whatever happens, because he knows she will grow up to be an amazing person. The guys have a pre-reunion party at Mo's. Tommy has decided to do the right thing and avoid Darian - and miss the reunion. Instead he heads down to the bar - and bumps into Steve, Darian's husband, and his frat buddies. Meanwhile Darian is at the reunion, alone. She is confronted by a man who had/has a weight problem, and says that although she was something to look at, she was as mean as a snake. After he refuses to be bought a drink, suddenly Steve opens up and tells him he knows about what has happened with his wife. They are going to settle it outside - Tommy doesn't believe Steve to be a man to fight his own battles. After a little insult he leaves ... and is followed by the four men. He gets in a few good punches, but is smacked over the head with a rock and then held while each man gets a free punch, and then kicked while he lies on the ground. He is found by the barman, who phones Mo. The boys race over to the bar to find a badly-beaten Tommy. Immediately they get back into the truck and head over to Steve's house. Steve calls his friends. Mo threatens Steve -- his friends show, but Willie thinks quickly and rams the frat boys' car into some snow. Mo is about to beat Steve when his little daughter shows up and asks what is wrong. Mo can't do it and leaves. As they leave, Darian drives towards the house to deal with the mess she has made. Tommy is taken to hospital where he need stitches and has a few broken ribs, but generally is ok. Sharon stops round and takes pity on him. That night, Paul, overcome with emotion, and having learnt that Jan and Victor are engaged, decides to clear her driveway from snow, for a change, as an act of kindness. The next day Willie stops round to check on Tommy and to say goodbye as he has decided to leave and head back to NY with Tracy. Sharon has stayed with Tommy overnight. Willie tells Tommy not to mess it up this time. Tommy is still a little reluctant to visit - he'll never leave the town. Willie and Tracy pack the car with luggage. Willie introduces Tracy to Marty, then says goodbye to Marty one last time and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Paul shows up to wave them off. Paul recognises Marty as "the little neighborhood Lolita", she has a few words for the-good-for-nothing High School buddy as well. Paul tells Willie not to forget about them, even though "nothing changes in the Ridge but the seasons!" As they pull away they run past Kev, who tells them to 'be cool forever', and then out of town to "Sweet Caroline". JT, HowDoesTheMovieEnd.com