All time greatest films in the World (11): Spidermen-3

(Courtesy: Sony Pictures)

Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, and Topher Grace.
The film begins with Peter Parker basking in his success as Spider-Man, while Mary Jane Watson begins her Broadway career. Harry Osborn still seeks vengeance for his father's death, and an escaped convict, Flint Marko, falls into a particle accelerator and is transformed into a shape-shifting sand manipulator. An alien symbiote crashes to Earth and bonds with Peter, influencing his behavior for the worse. When the symbiote is abandoned, it finds refuge in Eddie Brock Jr., a rival photographer, causing Peter to face his greatest challenge.
Spider-Man 3 was commercially released in multiple countries on May 1, 2007, and released in the United States in both conventional and IMAX theaters on May 4, 2007. Although the film received generally mixed reviews from critics, in contrast to the previous two films' highly positive reviews, it broke most of the opening weekend records, both in the United States and in foreign markets, including records held in IMAX theaters.

Story and Plot Point
Peter Parker has begun to feel secure in his life and plans to propose to Mary Jane. One night in a park, while Peter and Mary Jane are on a date, a small meteorite crashes nearby, and an alien symbiote oozes out, attaching itself to Peter's moped. Meanwhile, escaped convict Flint Marko falls into a particle accelerator, which fuses his body with the surrounding sand. The result allows him to shape shift at will. Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn, who seeks vengeance for his father's death, which he believes Peter caused, attacks him. The battle leaves Harry with short-term amnesia, making him forget his vendetta.
Later, during a festival honoring Spider-Man for saving Gwen Stacy’s life, Marko attempts to rob an armored car, and overpowers Spider-Man. Captain Stacy later informs Peter and Aunt May that Marko is the one who killed Ben Parker, and a vengeful Peter waits for Marko to strike again. The symbiote bonds with his costume while he is asleep; Peter discovers that not only has his costume changed, but his powers have been enhanced as well. The black suit also alters Peter's personality, making him more violent, exemplified by a near lethal attack on Marko during a battle underground. The shift in Peter's personality alienates Mary Jane, whose stage career is floundering, and she finds solace with Harry. Harry recovers from his amnesia, and, urged on by an apparition of his dead father, forces MJ to break up with Peter. After Mary Jane leaves Peter, stating she is in love with another man, Harry meets him at a restaurant and claims to be the other man. Later, Peter finds him at the Osborn mansion. With the help of the black suit, Peter is victorious in a brutal fight, which leaves Harry's face disfigured. Influenced by the suit, Peter exposes and humiliates Eddie Brock Jr., a rival photographer at the Daily Bugle, who sells fake pictures of Spider-Man. In an effort to make MJ jealous, Peter brings Gwen to the nightclub where Mary Jane works and Peter gets into a fight. In the scuffle, he accidentally knocks MJ to the floor. Peter realizes the symbiote-suit is changing him for the worse. He runs out of the nightclub and goes to a church bell tower to be rid of it. Initially he is unable to pull the suit off, but the sound waves from the church bells weaken the symbiote, freeing Peter. Eddie Brock is at the same church praying for Peter’s death when the symbiote falls from the tower and takes over his body. The newly-powered Eddie finds Marko and suggests that they join forces to destroy Spider-Man. The pair use Mary Jane as bait to force Spider-Man to confront them. Peter approaches Harry for help, but is turned down and leaves. However, Harry learns the truth about his father's death from his butler Bernard, and arrives in time to rescue Peter, teaming up against Brock and Marko. As the fight progresses, Brock attempts to impale Peter with the glider, but Harry sacrifices himself and is fatally wounded. Peter recalls how the church bell's toll weakened the symbiote, and frees Eddie from it by clanging several pipes together. Peter throws a pumpkin bomb at the symbiote just as Eddie, who has grown attached to its power, attempts to re-bond with it. Eddie and the symbiote are destroyed in the explosion. After the battle, Marko tells Peter that he had no intention of killing Ben Parker, and that it was an accident born out of a desperate attempt to save his daughter's life. Peter forgives Flint, who dissipates and floats away. Peter and Harry forgive each other as Harry dies with Mary Jane and Peter by his side. After Harry's funeral, Peter and Mary Jane begin to mend their relationship.
Box office Records

On its international opening day on May 1, 2007 in 16 territories, Spider-Man 3 grossed $29.2 million, an 86% increase from the intake of Spider-Man 2 on its first day of release. In 10 of the 16 territories, Spider-Man 3 set new opening day records. In Asian territories, the film surpassed the opening-day record of Spider-Man 2 in Japan and South Korea. Spider-Man 3 also set opening-day records in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines. In India, where the movie was released in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bhojpuri, the film grossed $4.66 million over the opening weekend, breaking the record set by Casino Royale in 2006 ($3.63 million). In Europe, the film broke Italy's opening-day record set by 2006's The Da Vinci Code. In Germany, the film surpassed the opening day gross of Spider-Man 2. In France, Spider-Man 3 broke the opening day record set by Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in 2005. The film broke the opening weekend records in 29 countries, while being at least #1 in all 107 countries that it opened, which brought its international total to $231 million. Spider-Man 3 set a record $59.8 million take for its opening day in the United States, breaking Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 's $55.8 million record. The movie also took the worldwide opening day record with $117 million. The US opening day take includes a record $10 million in Thursday midnight showings. Spider-Man 3 broke Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's all-time weekend debut by grossing $151.1 million. The film also set a new worldwide record for opening weekend, with a final total of $382 million. As of December 3, 2007, The total gross in America was $336,530,303, while the worldwide total was $890,871,626. It now ranks 3rd worldwide for the year behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and 12th all time. The film's IMAX screenings reached $20 million in 30 days, faster than any other 2D film remastered in the format.

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All time greatest films in the World (10): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

(Courtesy:imdb.com)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy adventure film, based on J.K. Rowling's novel of the same name, and is the fourth film in the popular Harry Potter film series.
Directed by Mike Newell, the film concerns Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hogwarts has been selected to hold the recently returning wizard competition known as the Triwizard Tournament. Though Harry does not apply, the Goblet of Fire mysteriously selects him as a second representative of Hogwarts in the tournament. Three days after its release, the film had grossed over US$102 million at the North American box office, the highest first-weekend tally for a Harry Potter film, and enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, earning over $896 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 and the 8th-highest grossing film of all time. It was the third highest grossing film in the U.S. for 2005 making $290 million. It is currently the 11th highest-grossing film of all time. The DVD went on to become the fastest selling DVD of all time. It is currently the third-highest grossing Harry Potter film, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, but lost to Memoirs of a Geisha. This is the first Harry Potter film to receive a "PG-13" rating or its international equivalent (for sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images), the preceding films having been rated PG or one of its international equivalents.

Story and Plot Point

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley enter their fourth year at Hogwarts school. The film opens in a graveyard attached to an old country house; the gardener Frank Bryce awakes in his cottage to see a light on in the house. He investigates to find Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew discussing plans with an unidentified man; Voldemort kills Bryce. Harry awakes at The Burrow before departing with the Weasley family and Hermione for the Quidditch World Cup. After the introduction to the game, there is a temporal jump to that evening, when the camp is attacked by Death Eaters, who disperse when the Dark Mark is shot into the air by an unknown man. Harry, Ron and Hermione arrive at Hogwarts, where they find that it will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament, a legendary event in which one wizard each from two rival schools and Hogwarts compete in three dangerous tasks. Dumbledore reveals the Goblet of Fire, a magical cup into which potential champions must drop a piece of parchment with their name on it; the goblet acts as an impartial judge to select candidates. The goblet reveals its results by shooting the relevant pieces of parchment into the air: Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang and Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. The goblet then unexpectedly announces a fourth champion, Harry, although he did not enter his name and is in any case under the age limit set by the Ministry of Magic. Although Harry insists that he did not enter his name, his selection invites jealousy and suspicion from his fellow students, including a breakdown of friendship with Ron which lasts until after the first task. Dumbledore asks the new Defence against the Dark Arts professor, Alastor Moody, to keep an eye on Harry. Moody is an eccentric and paranoid man with a magical eye, who drinks only from a hip-flask for fear of poison. In the first Triwizard task, the four champions each battle a dragon to retrieve a golden egg. Harry casts a summoning charm to bring his broom into the arena, and attempts to dodge the dragon in the air. The dragon, however, breaks free of its chains and chases Harry through the Hogwarts grounds, eventually running into a stone bridge and falling dead. Harry retrieves the egg, which is said to contain a clue about the second task. When Harry opens it, though, only a horrible screeching is heard. Cedric Diggory, the other Hogwarts champion, advises Harry to open the egg underwater. Harry does so in the prefects' bathroom and hears the clue clearly; it informs him that the merpeople will take something of Harry's and that he must retrieve it from the lake in the Hogwarts grounds. Having eaten gillyweed, a magical plant which enables him to breathe underwater, Harry follows a mermaid to where the merpeople have chained Ron, Hermione, Cho Chang, and Gabrielle Delacour to a rock with thousands of merpeople guarding them. When Harry arrives in the village of the merpeople they do not attack Harry but they do give him a hard time by threatening Harry with their spears. Cho is retrieved by Cedric; Victor, the Durmstrang champion, takes Hermione. As Fleur was attacked by Grindylows and had to withdraw from the task, Harry rescues both Ron and her sister. But on the way back to the surface Harry is attacked by a herd of Grindylows who viciously attack Harry and attempt to drown him but Harry escapes by using his wand. Although this causes Harry to finish outside the time limit of one hour, his courage is rewarded with high marks. A traditional part of the Triwizard tournament is the Yule Ball, to which students are encouraged to invite partners of the opposite sex. There follow scenes in which Harry and Ron attempt to get partners for the ball. Harry is especially concerned since, as one of the champions, he is expected to open the dance. He eventually asks Cho when they bump into each other in the Owlery; however, she declines. She has already accepted an offer from Cedric Diggory. Ron desperately asks Hermione, who also declines — at the opening of the Yule Ball scene, it is revealed that she had been invited by Viktor Krum. Eventually, Harry asks Parvati Patil, who accepts; her sister Padma partners Ron. Although Hermione greatly enjoys the ball, Harry and Ron do not; Ron, who is particularly jealous of Krum, accuses Hermione of "fraternising with the enemy," leading to a serious row between the two characters. For the third task, the Triwizard cup is placed inside a large maze whose magical hedges are capable of attacking the champions as they attempt to reach it: the first champion to touch the cup will be declared the winner. Along the way Harry is attacked by the magical hedges but manages to escape before he is crushed. Having saved each other several times throughout the tournament, Harry and Cedric reach the cup together and decide to claim a draw, both touching the cup at the same time. The cup, which is actually a portkey, transports the two to a graveyard, where Pettigrew appears with a form of Voldemort. Upon command, Wormtail kills Cedric and traps Harry against an enchanted tombstone. Wormtail performs complicated magic, taking blood from Harry's arm and other ingredients to return Voldemort to a corporeal body. After explaining how he lost his powers to Harry, Voldemort duels Harry. Thanks to a rare magical effect, Harry is able to escape by summoning the cup, which takes him back to Hogwarts. Moody takes Harry to his office, but he suddenly starts to change his appearance as he has run out of Polyjuice Potion. The Moody who has been at Hogwarts all year is revealed an escaped Death Eater who has been impersonating the real Alastor Moody. This impostor has been working to help Harry win the Triwizard tournament and hence reach the cup first. Harry was not supposed to survive or return; as the false moody Moody is about to kill Harry, Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall burst in the room and stun him. The impostor rapidly returns to his own appearance; he is Barty Crouch Jr, the mysterious man in Harry's dream at the beginning. The film closes as the foreign schools depart after Dumbledore exhorts them to stand together against Voldemort.

Box office Records
After an opening day of $40m at the North American box office and staying at #1 for three weeks, Goblet of Fire enjoyed a successful run at the box office, running for 20 weeks in theatres and closing on April 6, 2006. The film set numerous records including the highest non-May opening weekend in the US and the most successful opening ever in the UK, earning £14.9m in its opening weekend. Goblet of Fire then drew $102.7 million from 3,858 locations its opening weekend at the North American box office, setting a new opening high for the franchise and selling about as many tickets as the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, did in its opening weekend. The debut marked the fourth $100 million weekend in history and to this day stands as the ninth largest opening weekend ever, behind Spider-Man 3's $151 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest's $135 million, Shrek the Third's $121 million, Spider-Man's $114.8 million, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End's $112 million Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith's $108.4 million, Shrek 2's $108 million, and X-Men: The Last Stand's $102.8 million. In mainland China the film generated 93 million yuan. Goblet of Fire has earned US $896 million worldwide, making it not only the highest grossing international and worldwide release of 2005, but one of the few films to have ever passed $600 million in international box office receipts. It has joined seven other titles that have passed the $600 million mark, including Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and the first, second and fifth Harry Potter films. Its worldwide total includes $290 million from the U.S. and Canada. The film was also released in IMAX theatres and grossed a total of US $20,033,758 worldwide for a cumulative per screen average of $188,998 thus setting a new record and a new milestone for a digitally remastered 2-D IMAX release. In January 2006, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire surpassed the box office takings of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, to become the eighth highest-grossing film worldwide, during that time, and the second highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Today, it is the third highest-grossing Harry Potter film behind The Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The film ranks third in the North American box office (domestic) behind Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for 2005 though both films rank lower than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in worldwide terms.

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All Time Greatest films in the World(9) : Jurassic Park (1993)

(Courtesy:jurassicpark.com)

Jurassic Park is a 1993 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. The film centers on the island of Isla Nublar, where scientists have created an amusement park of cloned dinosaurs. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) invites a group of scientists, played by Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, to visit the park. Sabotage sets the dinosaurs on the loose, and technicians and visitors attempt to escape the island.Development of the film began before the novel was even published, and Crichton was hired to contribute to a script that cut much of its story. Spielberg hired Stan Winston Studios's puppets and worked with Industrial Light and Magic to develop cutting-edge computer-generated imagery to portray the dinosaurs. Jurassic Park was well received by critics, although they criticized the characterization. During its release, the film grossed more than $914 million, becoming the most successful film yet released, and it is currently the tenth-highest grossing feature film, significantly inspiring a new breed of films that primarily used CGI for special effects. Jurassic Park was the first film in the Jurassic Park franchise, followed by The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997 and by Jurassic Park III in 2001, with Jurassic Park IV in development.

Story and Plot Point
On Isla Nublar, an InGen employee is killed while releasing a Velociraptor into a specially built enclosure, prompting a lawsuit from his family. CEO John Hammond is pressured by his investors to allow a safety investigation by experts before opening the park. He invites paleontologist Alan Grant, paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm and his investors' attorney Donald Gennaro, to perform the inspection. The group meets a Brachiosaurus when they set out into the park. At the park, they learn that InGen recreated the dinosaurs by cloning genetic material found in mosquitoes that fed on dinosaur blood, preserved in Dominican amber. The DNA from these samples was spliced with DNA from frogs to fill in gaps: during this process, the dinosaurs are bred as females to control the population. The team is also shown the Velociraptor enclosure seen at the beginning of the film, which contains the ferocious and intelligent adults.
Malcolm and Sattler are concerned, but Grant remains neutral. They meet Hammond's grandchildren, Alexis and Tim Murphy, and go on a vehicular tour of the park. Ellie leaves the tour to take care of a sick Triceratops. A tropical storm hits the island and most InGen employees leave, except for Hammond, game warden Robert Muldoon, chief engineer Ray Arnold, and lead computer programmer Dennis Nedry. Commissioned by rival businessman Lewis Dodgson, Nedry takes an opportunity to shut down the park's security system so he can steal dinosaur embryos and deliver them to an auxiliary dock. Soon, a Tyrannosaurus breaks through the electric fence surrounding its pen, killing Gennaro, wounding Malcolm, and then attacking Tim and Lex hiding in the car. The children and Grant only narrowly avoid being killed and eaten. Meanwhile, Ellie and Muldoon rescue Malcolm and are almost caught by the T. rex during an intense chase. Nedry crashes his car and after trying to fix it is killed by a Dilophosaurus. Grant, Tim, and Lex spend the night in a tree and while hiking to safety the next morning discover some of the dinosaurs are actually breeding. Grant realizes that the frog DNA is responsible, as some species of frog are known to spontaneously change gender in a single-sex environment. Arnold tries to hack Nedry’s computer to turn the power back on and fails, so he does a full system restart, which requires the circuit breakers to be manually reset from the utility shed. When he fails to return, Ellie and Muldoon follow and discover the Raptors have escaped. Muldoon tells Ellie to go to the utility shed herself and turn the power back on while he hunts the Raptors that have been stalking them. Muldoon is attacked and killed by a lurking Raptor while Ellie escapes from another after discovering Arnold's remains. After managing to turn on the power and escaping the Raptor, she meets up with Grant. They both go back to Malcolm and Hammond, and Grant grabs a shotgun after learning that two Raptors have escaped their pen and a third has been contained. Lex and Tim narrowly escape two of the Raptors in the kitchen, and Lex is finally able to restore the Park's computer systems in order to call Hammond to request a helicopter rescue of the survivors. Grant and Ellie hold off a Raptor trying to open the door to the computer room, until the power is restored and the electromagnetic locks begin working. With the door secure, the team climbs up into the ceiling crawlspace and arrive at the Visitors Center skeleton display. After a scuffle on top of the fossil exhibits where the Raptors block their escape route, help comes from an unlikely source when the Tyrannosaurus suddenly appears and kills both Raptors; unintentionally saving Grant, Ellie, Lex and Tim in the process. Grant, Ellie, Lex and Tim climb into Hammond and Malcolm's jeep and leave. Grant says he will not endorse the park, a choice with which Hammond concurs. Flying away in the helicopter, the children fall asleep beside Grant, who contemplatively watches the birds flying nearby, the surviving relatives of the dinosaurs they escaped.

Reaction and Box Office Records
Jurassic Park went on to become the most financially successful film yet released, beating E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial which previously held the title, although it did not top E.T. domestically. The film opened with $47 million in its first weekend, and it grossed $81.7 million by its first week. The film stayed at number one for three weeks and eventually grossed $357 million domestically. The film also did very well in foreign markets, breaking opening records in the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Taiwan. Spielberg earned over $250 million from the film. Jurassic Park's worldwide gross was topped five years later by James Cameron's Titanic.
The film received modestly positive reviews. High praise was heaped on the visual effects, although there was a lot of criticism leveled at the characterization and departures from the book. Janet Maslin in The New York Times called it, "A true movie milestone, presenting awe- and fear-inspiring sights never before seen on the screen....On paper, this story is tailor-made for Mr. Spielberg's talents...[but] [i]t becomes less crisp on screen than it was on the page, with much of the enjoyable jargon either mumbled confusingly or otherwise thrown away." In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers described the film as "colossal entertainment - the eye-popping, mind-bending, kick-out-the-jams thrill ride of summer and probably the year....Compared with the dinos, the characters are dry bones, indeed. Crichton and co-screenwriter David Koepp have flattened them into nonentities on the trip from page to screen." Roger Ebert noted, "The movie delivers all too well on its promise to show us dinosaurs. We see them early and often, and they are indeed a triumph of special effects artistry, but the movie is lacking other qualities that it needs even more, such as a sense of awe and wonderment, and strong human story values." Henry Sheehan argued, "The complaints over Jurassic Park's lack of story and character sound a little off the point," pointing out the story arc of Grant learning to protect Hammond's grandchildren despite his initial dislike of them.

Awards
The movie won all three Academy Awards it was nominated for: Visual Effects, Sound Effects Editing, and Sound. It won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Direction, Best Writing for Crichton and Koepp and Best Special Effects. The film won the People's Choice Awards for Favorite All-Around Motion Picture. Young Artist Awards were given to Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello, with the film winning an Outstanding Action/Adventure Family Motion Picture award. The film won honours outside of the U.S., such as the BAFTA for Best Special Effects, as well as the Award for the Public's Favourite Film, and Awards for Best Foreign Language Film from the Japanese Academy, Mainichi Eiga Concours and Blue Ribbon, and the Czech Lions.
Jurassic Park is ranked as fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 85% positive rating, with 28 out of 33 critics giving it positive reviews. The American Film Institute named Jurassic Park the 35th most thrilling film of all time on June 13, 2001, and Bravo chose a scene from it as the 95th scariest scene of all time in 2005. In 2004, on their fifteenth anniversary, Empire called it the sixth most influential film of their lifetime. Upon their fifty-fifth anniversary in 2005, Film Review declared it one of the five most important films of their lifetime. In 2006, IGN ranked Jurassic Park as the 19th greatest film franchise of all time.

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Box Office Records in Hollywood for the week of December 10th, 2007.

(Courtesy: Hollywood.com)

No. 1: Enchanted (Disney)
• Gross: $17 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,730 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $4,564
• Cume to date: $70.6 million

No. 2: This Christmas (Sony/Screen Gems)
• Gross: $8.4 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,858 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $4,521
• Cume to date: $36.8 million

No. 3: Beowulf (Paramount)
• Gross: $7.8 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,249 (+31)
• Per-theater average: $2,426
• Cume to date: $68.6 million

No. 4: Awake (Weinstein)
• Gross: $6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,002
• Per-theater average: $3,002

No. 5: Hitman (20th Century Fox)
• Gross: $5.8 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,468 (+10)
• Per-theater average: $2,350
• Cume to date: $30.2 million

No. 6: Fred Claus (Warner Bros)
• Gross: $5.5 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,420 (-183)
• Per-theater average: $1,624
• Cume to date: $59.8 million

No. 7: August Rush (Warner Bros)
• Gross: $5.1 million
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,310 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,229
• Cume to date: $20.3 million

No. 8: No Country for Old Men (Miramax)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 995 (+135)
• Per-theater average: $4,524
• Cume to date: $23 million

No. 9: Bee Movie (Paramount)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-62%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,150 (-357)
• Per-theater average: $1,419
• Cume to date: $117.6 million

No. 10: American Gangster (Universal)
• Gross: $4.2 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,699 (-100)
• Per-theater average: $1,585
• Cume to date: $121.7 million

All Time Greatest films in the World(8) : The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

(Courtesy :imbd site)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a fantasy epic film, directed by Peter Jackson and based on the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Lord of the Rings. It was released on December 18, 2002, with a running time of 179 minutes. Continuing the plot of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, it intercuts three storylines, as Frodo and Sam continue their quest to destroy the One Ring in Mordor and meet Gollum, its former owner. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli come across the war torn nation of Rohan as well as the resurrected Gandalf, before fighting at the Battle of Helm's Deep, whilst Merry and Pippin escape capture and meet Treebeard, the tree-like giant. The movie was critically acclaimed, although the adaptation was more controversial than the first film. It was an enormous box-office success, earning over $900 million worldwide, outgrossing its predecessor, and is currently the 7th-highest-grossing film of all time. The Special Extended DVD Edition was released on November 19, 2003.

Story and Plot point
The film begins with a flashback to the first film, as Gandalf slips off the Bridge of Khazad-dûm and fights the Balrog as they hurtle down. Frodo awakes from his dream and continues his journey in Emyn Muil with his trusted and loyal friend, Sam, where they are attacked by Gollum, who wants to retrieve back the "his precious" from the ones who stole it from him, but the Hobbits manage to tie him up with Elven rope. Sam wants to abandon Gollum, but Frodo has pity on him. Needing a guide, Frodo makes Gollum agree to lead them to the Black Gate of Mordor. In Rohan, the Uruk-hai run with Merry and Pippin captive. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are in pursuit, following three days of running. They realize they are in Rohan, and Legolas surmises the Hobbits are being taken to Isengard. There, Saruman launches his attack on the country, and at the capital city of Edoras, King Théoden is mentally and physically weak because of the enchantments of his steward, Gríma Wormtongue, who was bought into the service of Saruman. Orcs freely roam the land and kill people including the king's only son Théodred. Théoden's nephew Éomer angrily realizes that Gríma has become Saruman's servant and furiously asks what the "promised price" was. When Gríma glances at Éowyn, Éomer angrily attacks him, but is banished for simply undermining his authority.
Frodo and Sam traverse the Dead Marshes, hiding from a newly seated Ringwraith on his Fell beast. They reach the Black Gate, only to have Gollum tell them there is a less risky path south. Merry and Pippin escape their captors due to Éomer's men who kill all the Uruk-hai, who in turn tells Aragorn of the slaughter, and the Three Hunters find their tracks leads into Fangorn forest. There Merry and Pippin meet an old Ent, Treebeard and a White Wizard. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli discover this White Wizard is Gandalf reborn, having sacrificed himself against the Balrog. They travel to Edoras on horseback, where they exorcise Saruman's hold on Théoden and banish Wormtongue. Théoden is confronted with his dead son and open war, and decides to flee to Helm's Deep a large fortification which in times of trouble have saved the people of Rohan. Gandalf rides to find Éomer and his Rohirrim, and Éowyn seeks to know Aragorn better.
In Ithilien, Gollum banishes his split personality, and attempts to befriend Frodo and Sam. They also see a battle and are taken captive by soldiers of Gondor. On the journey to Helms Deep, Aragorn soon has to save the refugees from Saruman's Wargs. During the Melee He is dragged by a one of the wolfs and falls off a cliff, the survivors arrive in Helm's Deep grief-stricken. In Rivendell, Arwen is convinced by Elrond that the age of Elves is ending, and she leaves for the West. Elrond ponders whether the Elves should still help Men. Frodo and Sam arrive at Henneth Annûn and meet Faramir, the younger brother of Boromir, who captures Gollum shortly after to learn of the One Ring. Faramir decides the Ring shall go to Gondor, so that he can "prove his quality" to his father. In Rohan, Aragorn awakens, and as he rides back to Helm's Deep, he sees Saruman's army: at least 10,000 strong. When he arrives, there is dismay, and 300 men, some too old or young, prepare for battle. In the midst of despair, a battalion of Elves from Lórien arrive to help them. At Fangorn forest, Merry, Pippin, Treebeard and other Ents hold a Council to decide on what the Ents involvement will be in the upcoming war with Sauron.
The battle of Helms Deep begins, and the Elves manage to hold the Uruk-hai at the wall, but it is blown up and many are killed during the ensuing attack through the breach. The Uruk-hai also manage to break the Gate despite Aragorn and Gimli's best efforts, and they fall back to the Keep. In Fangorn, Treebeard and the other Ents decide not to fight, but once Pippin takes him to the forest Saruman has decimated near Isengard, he is filled with rage. At Osgiliath, Faramir and the Hobbits are confronted by a Ringwraith. As the gate to the Keep is attacked, Gandalf, Éomer, and hundreds of Rohirrim arrive to push back the Uruk-hai, the Ents attack and flood Isengard and Sam and Faramir save Frodo from the Ringwraith's clutches. Sam narrates about how the story must go on, and Faramir frees them. Gandalf and company now know a full war is coming, and hope only rests with Frodo, who has resumed his journey towards Mordor with Sam and Gollum. After his mistreatment by Faramir's men, Gollum's darker nature returns and he considers betraying Frodo and Sam to "her."

Awards
Academy Awards
Winner: Visual Effects, Sound Editing.
Nominee: Best Picture, Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Best Editing, and Best Sound.
American Film Institute: Digital Effects, Production Design, Movie of the Year
British Academy Film Awards: Best Costume Design, Best Special Visual Effects, Orange Film of the Year (voted on by the public)
Empire Awards: Best Picture
Hugo Award (World Science Fiction Society): Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form
MTV Movie Awards 2003: Best virtual performance (Gollum)
Saturn Awards: Best Fantasy Film, Best Costume (Ngila Dickson), Best Supporting Actor (Andy Serkis)

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All Time Greatest Films in the World(7):Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

(Courtesy:aboutfilm and hollywoodreporter)

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, and the first in terms of internal chronology. The film follows two Jedi Knights, played by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor, who flee the planet Naboo with the planet's queen in the hope of finding a peaceful end to a trade dispute. Along the way, the ship must stop for repairs on the planet Tatooine, where the Jedi encounter Anakin Skywalker, played by Jake Lloyd, a young slave boy who is unusually strong with the Force. When the group returns to Naboo, they realize that the situation is much worse than they thought—the evil Sith have returned.
The release of the film on May 19, 1999 came almost sixteen years after the previous film in the series, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Lucas began production when he felt special effects had advanced to the level of what he had envisioned for the film. Shooting took place during 1997 at various locations including Leavesden Studios and the Tunisian desert. The release was accompanied by extensive media coverage and great anticipation. Despite mixed reviews by critics, it grossed US$924.3 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing Star Wars film in the series.

Story and Plot point
The opening crawl reveals that the Trade Federation has blockaded the planet of Naboo in hope of resolving a galactic trade dispute. Chancellor Valorum of the Galactic Republic secretly sends two Jedi Knights—Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan learner Obi-Wan Kenobi—to meet with the Trade Federation to settle the crisis. Unknown to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who orders them to invade Naboo with their immense droid army and also to kill the two Jedi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escape and flee to the surface of Naboo, where they meet local Gungan outcast Jar Jar Binks. As Jar Jar brings them to an underwater Gungan settlement, the Trade Federation captures Naboo's leader, Queen Amidala. Through a Jedi mind trick, Qui-Gon secures a submarine, which he, Obi-Wan, and Jar Jar use to reach the capital of Naboo and rescue Queen Amidala and her escort. The group departs for Coruscant, the Galactic Republic's capital planet, to seek help from the Senate.
During the escape, the ship is attacked by the Federation blockade, forcing R2-D2, one of the ship's droids, to fix the shields. The attack damages the ship's hyperdrive, forcing the party to land on the desert planet of Tatooine for repairs. While searching for needed parts, Qui-Gon and a handmaiden named Padmé befriend young Anakin Skywalker, a nine-year-old human slave gifted in piloting and mechanics. Qui-Gon senses a strong presence of the Force in Anakin, and feels that he may be the "Chosen One" — an individual the Jedi believe will fulfill a prophecy by bringing balance to the Force. At Anakin's insistence, Qui-Gon enters Anakin into the Boonta Eve Podrace in a bid with Anakin's master, Watto, to gain the needed parts as well as Anakin's freedom. Anakin eludes several obstacles—including rival racer Sebulba—to win the race, gaining his freedom and bankrupting Watto. After hesitation, Anakin leaves his mother and his droid (C-3PO) behind on Tatooine to go with the Jedi. As the group prepares to depart, they are attacked by the Sith apprentice Darth Maul, who battles Qui-Gon until the heroes escape. On Coruscant, Qui-Gon informs the Jedi Council of the mysterious, well-trained attacker. The Council becomes concerned that this may indicate the reappearance of the Sith, an opposing order that followed the dark side of the Force. Qui-Gon informs the Council about Anakin, hoping that he can be trained as a Jedi. After testing the boy the Council refuses, worried that he is too old for training and that the fear and anger that he harbors will cloud his future. Meanwhile, Senator Palpatine of Naboo persuades Amidala to call a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum. The vote removes Valorum from power and leads to Palpatine's nomination for the position, which Amidala considers too late to be effective. To stop the Federation invasion by herself, the Queen decides to return to Naboo with her security team, the two Jedi, R2-D2, Anakin, and Jar Jar.
On Naboo, Padmé reveals herself as Queen Amidala and forms an alliance with the Gungans for the battle against the Trade Federation. The Gungans march into battle to divert the Federation army away from the capital, allowing the others to infiltrate the palace. Once inside the palace hangar, the Jedi free several Naboo pilots, who regain their starfighters and assault the Federation droid ship. As they make their way to the throne room, the infiltration team is confronted by Darth Maul. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan engage Maul while the others take an alternative route. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan duel with the Sith Lord amongst the catwalks of a massive power-generating reactor core. Obi-Wan is briefly delayed, separating him from Qui-Gon and Maul. Meanwhile, Queen Amidala and her forces fight their way into the palace and capture Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Anakin—inadvertently joining the dogfight in space—destroys the droid-control ship's reactor with proton torpedoes, which deactivates the droid army in the midst of taking Gungan prisoners. In the reactor core, Qui-Gon re-engages Darth Maul singlehandedly, but is mortally wounded. Obi-Wan catches up with and defeats Maul in another intense lightsaber battle. With his final breath, Qui-Gon instructs Obi-Wan to train Anakin to become a Jedi.
In the aftermath, the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine congratulates Queen Amidala on her victory and promises to watch Anakin's career with great interest. Meanwhile, the Jedi Council promotes Obi-Wan to the level of Jedi Knight, and Yoda reluctantly accepts Obi-Wan's request to train Anakin as his padawan. During Qui-Gon's funeral, Mace Windu and Yoda agree that Maul was indeed a Sith. However, because there are always two Sith at any given time (a master and an apprentice), they believe that another Sith still exists, although who that Sith is remains uncertain. A large celebration is held on Naboo to celebrate the world's liberation and the newborn alliance between the Naboo and the Gungans.

Box office Records

The Phantom Menace was 1999's most successful movie, earning more than $431 million in North America and $493 million elsewhere. The worldwide total was some $924 million, making it the second-highest grossing film of all time (behind 1997's Titanic) after its first release. The Phantom Menace ranks 5th on the all-time domestic and 8th on the all-time worldwide box-office lists and 19th on the all-time domestic list when adjusted for inflation.
The Phantom Menace also accumulated a number of box office records. It broke the record for the largest single-day gross for a single movie by earning more than $28 million opening-day. It was not until the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released that these numbers were greatly exceeded. The Phantom Menace, in a record five days, passed the $100 million mark, breaking the record set by The Lost World: Jurassic Park by 24 hours (the record has since been reduced to just two days, by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest). However The Phantom Menace surprisingly failed to take the record for biggest opening weekend, grossing $64.8 million, compared to The Lost World's $72.1 million. Sales reached the $200 million mark in just 13 days, easily beating the previous record held by Independence Day by seven-and-a-half days. The film took only 28 days to earn $300 million, beating Titanic's record by a 16-day margin. However, the film did not generate enough repeat viewers to dethrone Titanic.
Awards
Between them, the prequels did not receive any Academy Awards. Episode I was nominated for three Academy Awards: Ben Burtt and Tom Bellfort received the nomination for Best Sound Effects; John Knoll, Dennis Muren, Scott Squires, and Rob Coleman received the nomination for Best Visual Effects; Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Shawn Murphy, and John Midgley received the nomination for Best Sound. However, The Matrix captivated Academy voters, and became the first film to beat a Star Wars film for the visual effects Academy Award; also, Phantom Menace became the first film in the series to not receive nominations for Art Direction or Original Score. In contrast, the film received several Golden Raspberry, or Razzie, nominations. These included Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor (Jake Lloyd as Anakin), Worst Supporting Actress (Sofia Coppola as Saché), Worst Screen Couple (Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman), and won the Worst Supporting Actor category with Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best.

All Time Greatest films in the World(6): Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

(Courtesy:empireonline and harrypotter.yahoo)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy adventure film, based on the novel by J. K. Rowling. Directed by David Yates, it is the fifth film in the popular Harry Potter film series. The story follows Harry Potter entering his fifth year at the magic school Hogwarts. The Ministry of Magic is denying the return of Lord Voldemort and also appoints a new teacher, Dolores Umbridge, a bureaucrat who slowly becomes an authoritarian figure in the school. The screenplay was written by Michael Goldenberg, who replaced Steve Kloves, writer of the first four films. Live action filming started in February 2006 and finished in the end of November, and post-production on the film continued for several months afterwards. Warner Bros., the distributor of the film, scheduled a UK release date of 12 July 2007, and a U.S. release date of 11 July 2007, both in conventional and IMAX theatres.The sixth-highest grossing film of all time, it was a critical and commercial success, and was acclaimed by the author, Rowling, who has consistently offered her praise for the film adaptations of her works, and evaluated Order of the Phoenix as "the best one yet."

Story and Plot Point
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger enter their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Much of the wizarding community has shunned Harry and Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster, who claim that Lord Voldemort has, after 14 years, regained a body and been restored to full power, and are instead influenced by the propaganda of The Daily Prophet and the ignorance of the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Fudge appoints a new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, who begins to take over Hogwarts through the support of the Ministry.
Following the Ministry line, Umbridge refuses to acknowledge that Voldemort has returned, and when Harry insists that he has, she gives him detention during which he is required to write lines with a quill that causes the words to cut into the skin of his hand. Umbridge's teaching is inadequate, consisting of memorisation of the textbook instead of any practical instruction in defensive spells. Twenty-seven students form "Dumbledore's Army" (the D.A.), an underground organisation in which Harry teaches them to use defensive magic.
Meanwhile, Harry has been seeing into Voldemort's mind through his dreams. In one, he sees Ron's father Arthur attacked in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry. Harry immediately tells Dumbledore, who believes that Voldemort may have a connection to Harry's mind. Harry begins lessons with Professor Snape to close his mind in the event that Lord Voldemort should become aware of the connection between Harry's mind and his own. During the course of these grueling sessions Harry accidentally enters Snape's mind and has an uncomfortable vision of his own father bullying the loner Snape when they were students at Hogwarts. Enraged, Snape puts an end to the sessions.
Harry begins a relationship with fellow D.A. member Cho Chang, but it comes to an abrupt end when she informs Umbridge of the D.A (under the influence of a truth potion). Umbridge apprehends Harry and goes to Dumbledore, who tells her and Fudge that the D.A. was formed on his instructions. Upon hearing this, Fudge orders Dumbledore's arrest, but Dumbledore summons his phoenix Fawkes and both vanish in a blaze of light from his office.
When Harry, who is unable to close his mind, has a vision of his godfather Sirius Black being tortured by Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries, he launches a rescue attempt, but is waylaid by Umbridge and taken to her office. Umbridge asks Snape for Veritaserum (truth serum) but Snape tells her that she used up all of his stock interrogating students, including Cho. Hermione tricks Umbridge into accompanying her and Harry to the Forbidden Forest, where Umbridge is abducted by a centaur herd after insulting them and injuring one of them. Hagrid's half-brother, the giant Grawp, assists Harry and Hermione to escape. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, with D.A. members Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, fly to the Ministry of Magic. In the Hall of Prophecy, Harry and his friends discover a small glowing orb with Harry's name on it. When Harry retrieves it, he finds that it contains a prophecy about himself and Voldemort. Suddenly, Lucius Malfoy appears with the Death Eaters, Voldemort's followers, and explains that Sirius is not there — the vision was a trick to make Harry retrieve the prophecy, which could only be taken from its resting place by one of the people about whom it was made.
A battle erupts throughout the Ministry. As the shelves holding the prophecies collapse, Harry and his friends flee to another room with a veiled archway in the center. The Death Eaters follow them and manage to capture Harry's friends, whom Malfoy threatens to kill if Harry does not hand over the prophecy. After a moment of hesitation he gives it to Malfoy. Before Lucius can escape with it, he is confronted by Sirius, who has arrived with members of the Order of the Phoenix, a society dedicated to battling Voldemort and his followers. Lucius drops the prophecy, causing it to smash on the floor. Harry's friends are freed, and the battle continues. Sirius pulls Harry aside and tells him to take his friends and leave, but he refuses and continues to fight. Immediately after, Sirius is hit by a killing curse cast by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, a Death Eater. He smiles at Harry before falling through the archway and disappearing.
Harry pursues Bellatrix to the Atrium of the Ministry and subdues her by the use of the torture curse. A voice appears in Harry's head, taunting him to kill Lestrange. Moments later, the voice is revealed to be that of Lord Voldemort, who Apparates behind Harry. Harry attempts to attack him, but Voldemort disarms him. Before Voldemort can kill Harry, Dumbledore appears. As Bellatrix escapes, they engage in a furious duel. Fearing that Dumbledore is too powerful to defeat in open combat, Voldemort attempts to possess Harry, as Dumbledore looks on. After an agonizing internal battle, Harry says that it is Voldemort, not he, who is weak and that he will never know love or friendship, and for that Harry feels sorry for him. Voldemort is ultimately forced from Harry's body and mind, prompting him to state that Harry "will lose everything" due to the profound amount of love that resides within him.Fudge arrives in the Atrium with a squad of Aurors just seconds before Voldemort The Ministry is forced to acknowledge its error and vindicate Dumbledore and Harry. Dumbledore later discusses with Harry the contents of the prophecy Voldemort wanted so badly, which states that "neither can live while the other survives"; therefore, Harry must either kill Voldemort or be killed by Voldemort. The film ends as Harry tells Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna, that they can love, something that Voldemort cannot and that they have "something worth fighting for".

Box office Records

The film opened to a worldwide 5-day opening of $333 million, the third-biggest opening of all time, behind only Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007). Both of those films opened in many more markets — Spider-Man 3 in 108 and At World's End in 103, respectively, compared to Potter's 45. In the United States, tickets for hundreds of midnight showings of the film, bought from online ticket-seller Fandango, were sold out, making up approximately 90% of the site's weekly ticket sales. In the U.S. and Canada, midnight screenings (very early morning on 11 July) brought in $12 million from 2,311 midnight exhibitions making the showings "the most successful batch of midnight exhibitions ever." In one-night earnings, Phoenix is behind only At World's End, which had debuted four hours earlier on its date.
In the U.S. and Canada, Phoenix earned an additional $32.2 million on Wednesday, post-midnight showings, making it the biggest Wednesday single-day gross in box office history, with a total of $44.2 million. That amount tops Sony Pictures' Spider-Man 2, which had held the record since 2004 with its $40.4 million take on a Wednesday. It is also the fifth-biggest opening day for a movie in history, surpassing At World's End's $42.9 million. It earned $1.9 million from a record-breaking 91 IMAX screens, the highest opening day ever for any IMAX day of the week, beating Spider-Man 3's $1.8 million. In the U.K. the result was similar. The film made £16.5 million during its opening 4-day run, breaking the U.K. box office record for the biggest 4-day opening weekend ever.
Phoenix's domestic gross is at $291.9 million in the U.S. and Canada, and at £49.2 million, or $101.4 million in the U.K. Overseas, it has grossed $646.4 million, the fifth highest-grosser ever overseas, for a worldwide total of $938.3 million. It became the second-highest grossing Potter film worldwide, and the second Potter film to break the $900 million mark. It is the sixth-highest grossing film of all time and currently, the highest grossing 2007 film of Australia and the UK. IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the film has made over $35 million on IMAX screens, worldwide, with an impressive per-screen average of $243,000 making it the highest grossing live-action IMAX release in history.

Awards

Before it was released, Order of the Phoenix was nominated in a new category at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet". However, that award was won by Transformers. On 26 August 2007, the film won the award for "Choice Summer Movie – Drama/Action Adventure" at the Teen Choice Awards.
The film was also nominated for several awards at the 2007 Scream Awards presented by Spike TV, in the categories of "The Ultimate Scream", "Best Fantasy Movie", and "Best Sequel". Daniel Radcliffe was nominated in the "Fantasy Hero" categories, respectively. The film won for Best Sequel and Ralph Fiennes won for "Most Vile Villain". The film picked up three awards at the inaugural ITV National Movie Awards, taking "Best Family Film", "Best Actor" for Radcliffe and "Best Actress" for Emma Watson. The film was one of ten nominees for a 2007 Hollywood Movie of the Year. Nicholas Hooper received a nomination for a World Soundtrack Discovery Award for his score to the film.

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