All time greatest films in the World(16): Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

(Courtesy:starwars.com)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology.
The film is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars; the noble Jedi Knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the Separatists. After Chancellor Palpatine is kidnapped, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former padawan, Anakin Skywalker, are dispatched to eliminate the evil General Grievous. Meanwhile, Anakin's friendship with the Chancellor arouses suspicion in the Jedi Order, and dangerous to the Jedi Knight himself. When the sinister Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, unveils a plot to take over the galaxy, the fate of Anakin, the Jedi order, and the entire galaxy is at stake.
The film was released in theatres on May 19, 2005, and received generally positive reviews from critics, especially in contrast to the previous two prequels. It broke several box office records during its opening week, and went on to earn over US$850 million worldwide, making it the second highest grossing film in the Star Wars franchise. It was the highest grossing film of 2005 in the U.S., the second highest grossing film of 2005 worldwide behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Story and Plot Point
The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in the midst of the Clone Wars. Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by the Separatists' second-in-command, General Grievous. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a mission to rescue him. After killing Sith Lord Count Dooku and freeing the Chancellor, the Jedi attempt to escape, but are captured by General Grievous. Anakin and Obi-Wan manage to break free, but Grievous escapes and traps the Jedi and the Chancellor inside the severely damaged cruiser. Anakin is forced to crash-land the ship on one of Coruscant's landing tracks.
Upon his return, Anakin is reunited with his wife, Padmé Amidala, who tells him that she is pregnant. Despite Padmé's worries over their secret marriage, Anakin is overjoyed at this news, and the couple makes plans to raise their child. However, Anakin is troubled by visions of Padmé dying in childbirth, visions similar to those he had of his mother just before she died. Later, Obi-Wan privately tells Anakin that the Council wants him to spy on the Chancellor because they believe him to be corrupt, an order Anakin resents since the Chancellor has become a mentor to him. As the Chancellor's bodyguard, Anakin develops a close friendship with Palpatine, who subtly manipulates Anakin in their discussions, making him distrust the Jedi. Palpatine claims to know of an ability to prevent death. Obi-Wan is sent to Utapau, where he engages and kills General Grievous. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Palpatine reveals himself to Anakin as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who has been controlling the Republic and the Separatist movement. Anakin leaves to expose him to the Jedi Council. Jedi Master Mace Windu arrives at the Chancellor's office shortly thereafter and eventually subdues Sidious in a lightsaber duel. Just as Anakin arrives, Windu is about to kill Sidious. Anakin quickly disarms Windu, believing Sidious holds the only way to save his wife. Windu is consumed by Sidious' torrents of Force lightning, throwing him out a window to his death. Anakin then submits to the dark side of the Force and becomes Sidious' Sith apprentice: Darth Vader. He then orders Vader to kill all Jedi within the Jedi Temple, then to go to the Mustafar system and eliminate the Separatist leaders.
Darth Sidious orders clone troopers across the galaxy to turn against their Jedi Generals by enacting a pre-programmed directive, Order 66. Numerous Jedi across the galaxy are seen being exterminated, although both Yoda and Obi-Wan survive. Darth Vader slaughters all the children in the Jedi Temple. Afterwards, he goes to Padmé and tells her the Jedi have attempted to take over the Republic and leaves for Mustafar, where he slaughters the Separatist leaders. Senator Bail Organa rescues Obi-Wan and Yoda, and brings them to the Jedi Temple before heading to the Senate building. Sidious (as Palpatine) informs the Senate of a Jedi plot to overthrow the Republic. As a result, he announces that the Republic will be reorganized into the Galactic Empire. In the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan and Yoda stand in shock over the bodies of the younglings and reconfigure a signal to warn all Jedi to keep away. Obi-Wan looks into the security recordings and, to his horror, sees a hologram of Vader carrying out the orders of Darth Sidious and kneeling to him. Though he initially refuses, Obi-Wan eventually agrees to find and kill Anakin' '. Obi-Wan then meets with Padmé, who refuses to believe his claims about Anakin's fall to the dark side. When she departs for Mustafar, Obi-Wan secretly stows away onboard.
When the couple is reunited, Padmé pleads with Vader to leave public life with her, but he refuses, believing that he can overthrow Sidious so that he and Padmé can rule the galaxy together. Vader sees Obi-Wan emerge from Padmé's ship, and suspects her of betraying him. Enraged, he uses the Force to choke Padmé into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan and Vader break into a vicious lightsaber duel. The duel brings them out of the facility to unprotected areas of the volcano planet. Obi-Wan eventually gains the advantage of higher ground, and when Vader attempts to attack again, Obi-Wan slices off both of his legs and his left arm in two swift cuts. Vader tumbles down the embankment and rolls to a stop at the edge of the lava. He catches on fire, sustaining near-fatal fourth-degree burns and severe lung damage. Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar with Padmé and Vader's lightsaber, leaving Vader to die. Darth Sidious arrives on Mustafar moments later and rescues Vader from the brink of death.Padmé is given medical assistance, and although she is physically intact, she has lost her will to live. She delivers twins, a boy and a girl and names them Luke and Leia. With her final breaths, she insists to Obi-Wan that there is still good in Anakin (Vader); she then dies. On Coruscant, Vader's missing limbs and damaged body parts are replaced by cybernetic prostheses and implants. Vader is put into a full suit of black armor and is sealed in a respirator mask, which will allow him to survive his injuries. When Vader asks Sidious about Padmé's condition, he tells Vader that, in his anger, Vader himself killed Padmé. Vader unleashes a furious scream of mournful rage and destroys droids and equipment throughout the room with the Force while Sidious looks on with an evil grin. Aboard the Tantive IV, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa agree to keep the children hidden and separated. Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part in the battle against the Sith. Leia is taken to Alderaan to live with the Queen and Bail Organa, and Luke is transferred to Tatooine to live with Owen and Beru. The film concludes with Owen and Beru holding Luke while staring out over the desert at Tatooine's twin suns.

Box office performance
Revenge of the Sith was released in 115 countries. Worldwide gross for the film eventually reached nearly $850 million — ranking the film second worldwide in 2005, behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The film earned an estimated $16.5 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day. It was surpassed the following year by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which earned $55.5 million on its opening day.
With only the May 19 earnings, the film broke four box office records: midnight screenings gross (previously held by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, $8 million), opening day gross (Spider-Man 2, with $40.4 million), single day gross (Shrek 2 with $44.8 million) and Thursday gross (The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million). Its single day gross record and opening day gross record were later surpassed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on July 7, 2006, when that movie grossed $55.5 million on its opening day. It still retains its records for midnight screening gross and Thursday gross, however.
According to box office analysis sites, Revenge of the Sith set American records for highest gross in a given number of days for each of its first 12 days of release except for the seventh and eighth, where the record is narrowly held by Spider-Man 2. On its fifth day it became the highest grossing movie of 2005, surpassing Hitch ($177.6 million).
Revenge of the Sith earned $158.5 million in its first four-day period, surpassing the previous four-day record held by The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million), and joining Spider-Man, The Matrix Reloaded and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the only movies to make $100 million in three days.
Revenge of the Sith earned $200 million in its first eight days (record tied with Spider-Man 2). By its 17th day, it had passed $300 million (surpassing the record of 18 days of Shrek 2). The film earned $25,088,336 in its third weekend (June 3–5). It was eventually the third fastest film (after Shrek 2 and Spider-Man) to reach $350 million.
The film ended its run in American theaters on October 20, 2005. Its total of $380,270,577 ranks it 8th all-time in the United States, the highest-grossing movie of 2005 in the U.S., outgrossing second-place The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by nearly $90 million. It is currently the 16th highest-grossing film in history.

Awards and nominations
Despite being the best reviewed and most well-received film in the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith received the smallest number of award nominations in comparison to the previous films (35 categories in total, compared to The Phantom Menace's 55 and Attack of the Clones' 38 category nominations).
In retrospect, the film did however receive the smallest number of Golden Raspberry Awards nominations, only one for Christensen as Worst Supporting Actor, which he "won" (both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones received 7 nominations each, with 1 and 2 "wins", respectively). This nomination was controversial, as Christensen's character, Anakin Skywalker, is the main focus of the film, and not a supporting actor (the nominating ballots listed McGregor as the lead actor). It is the only Star Wars prequel to not receive a Razzie nomination for "Worst Picture". Christensen did, however, win the "Best Villain" award at the MTV Movie Awards.Revenge of the Sith is the only Star Wars film not to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, however the film was nominated for Best Makeup to Dave Elsey and Nikki Gooley. The film also won "Best Picture" awards at the People's Choice Awards, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Empire Awards and the Teen Choice Awards.

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All time greatest films in the World (15): The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

(Courtesy:20th Century Fox Movies)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. It is the opening installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, based on the similarly titled first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic literary fantasy, The Lord of the Rings. Set in Middle-earth, the story tells of the Dark Lord Sauron, who is seeking the One Ring. The Ring has found its way to the young hobbit Frodo Baggins. The fate of Middle-Earth hangs in the balance as Frodo and eight companions form the Fellowship of the Ring, and journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor: the only place where the Ring can be destroyed.
Released on December 19, 2001, the film was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike, especially as many of the latter judged it to be sufficiently faithful to the original story. It was a box office success, earning over $870 million worldwide, and the second highest grossing film of 2001 in the U.S. and worldwide (behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) which made it the 5th highest grossing film ever at the time. Today it is the 14th highest grossing worldwide film of all time. It won five BAFTAs, including Best Film and Best Director. The Special Extended DVD Edition was released on November 12, 2002. In 2007, The Fellowship of the Ring was voted number 50 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American films.
Story and Plot Point
The prologue, spoken by Galadriel, shows the Dark Lord Sauron forging the One Ring which he can use to conquer the lands of Middle-earth. A Last Alliance of Elves and Men is formed to counter Sauron's forces at the foot of Mount Doom, but Sauron kills Elendil, the High King of Men. Prince Isildur grabs Elendil's broken sword Narsil, and slashes at Sauron's hand, separating him from the Ring and vanquishing his army. However, because Sauron's life is bound in the Ring, he is not completely defeated until the Ring itself is destroyed. Isildur takes the Ring and succumbs to its temptation, refusing to destroy it. He is later ambushed and killed by orcs, and the Ring is lost in a river. The Ring is found by the creature Gollum thousands of years later, who takes it underground for five centuries, giving him "unnaturally long life." The Ring leaves him however, and is found by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, much to the grief of Gollum. Bilbo returns to his home in the Shire with the Ring, and the story jumps forward in time sixty years. At his 111th birthday, Bilbo leaves the Ring to his nephew and adopted heir Frodo Baggins. The Wizard Gandalf soon learns it is the One Ring, and sends him to Bree with Sam, with plans to meet him there after Gandalf goes to Isengard to meet the head of his order, Saruman. Saruman reveals that the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, have left Mordor to capture the Ring and kill whoever carries it; having already turned to Sauron's cause, he then imprisons Gandalf atop Orthanc. Frodo and Sam are soon joined by fellow hobbits Merry and Pippin. After encountering a Ringwraith on the road, they manage to reach Bree, and there they meet a Man called Strider, who agrees to lead them to Rivendell. They agree only because Gandalf isn't there to guide them. After some travelling, they spend the night on the hill of Weathertop, where they are attacked by the Nazgûl at night. Strider fights off the Ringwraiths, but Frodo is grievously wounded with a morgul blade, and they must quickly get him to Rivendell for healing. While chased by the Nazgûl, Frodo is taken by the elf Arwen to the elvish haven of Rivendell, and healed by her father, Elrond. In Rivendell Frodo meets Gandalf, who explains why he didn't meet them at Bree as planned. In the meantime, there are many meetings between various peoples, and Elrond calls a council to decide what should be done with the Ring. The Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires (that is, lava) of Mount Doom, where it was forged. Mount Doom is located in Mordor, near Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, and will be an incredibly dangerous journey. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mount Doom as all the others argue about who should or shouldn't take it. He is accompanied by his hobbit friends and Gandalf, as well as Strider, who is revealed to be Aragorn, the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Also travelling with them are the Elf Legolas, the Dwarf Gimli and Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor. Together they comprise the Fellowship of the Ring. The Fellowship set out and try to pass the mountain Caradhras, but they are stopped by Saruman's wizardry. They are forced to travel under the mountain through the Mines of Moria. After journeying partway through the Mines, Pippin accidentally gives away their presence to a band of orcs. The Fellowship then encounter a Balrog, an ancient demon of fire and shadow, at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf confronts the Balrog on the bridge, allowing the others to escape the mines, while he falls with the creature into the abyss below.The group flees to the elvish realm of Lothlórien, where they are sheltered by its rulers, Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. After resting, they decide to travel on the River Anduin towards Parth Galen. Before they leave, Galadriel gives Frodo the Phial of Galadriel. After landing at Parth Galen, Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who manages to escape by putting the Ring on his finger and vanishing. Knowing that the Ring's temptation will be too strong for the Fellowship, Frodo decides to leave them and go to Mordor alone. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship are attacked by Uruk-hai. Merry and Pippin, realizing that Frodo is leaving, distract the orcs, allowing Frodo to escape. Boromir rushes to the aid of the two hobbits but is mortally wounded by the orc commander Lurtz, and Merry and Pippin are captured. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find Boromir, who regrets attempting to steal the Ring and dies. They decide to pursue the orcs and rescue the hobbits, leaving Frodo to his fate. Sam joins Frodo before he leaves, and together the two head to Mordor.
Awards
In 2002 the movie won four Academy Awards out of thirteen nominations. The winning categories were for Best Cinematography, Best Effects (Visual Effects), Best Makeup, and Best Music (Original Score). Despite its praise by fans, the other nominated categories of Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ian McKellen), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music (Best Song) (Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan for "May It Be"), Best Picture, Best Sound, Costume Design and Best Writing (Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) were not won.The movie won the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. It also won Empire readers' Best Film award, as well as five BAFTAs, including Best Film, the David Lean Award for Direction, the Audience Award (voted for by the public), Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up. After the close of its theatrical run, it ranked in the top ten highest grossing movies worldwide, with takings of $860,700,000 USA dollars from world-wide theatrical box office receipts.

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All time greatest films in the World (14):Finding Nemo (2003)

(Courtesy:pixer.com)

Finding Nemo is an Academy Award-winning computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released to theaters by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It was released in the United States/Canada on May 30, 2003, in Australia on August 27, 2003 and in the UK on 10 October 2003. The movie is the fifth Disney/Pixar feature film and the first to be released during the summer season
The movie was released on a 2-disc DVD on November 4, 2003 in the United States and Canada, in Australia on January 16, 2004, and the UK on February 27, 2004. It went on to become the best selling DVD of all time, with 28 million copies sold. In 2005, Time magazine listed it as one of the top 100 films ever made.

Story and Plot Point
In the beginning of the film Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clownfish, loses his wife, Coral (Elizabeth Perkins), and all but one of his unborn children to a marauding barracuda. He promises that he will never let anything happen to the remaining egg which he names Nemo, because that was what Coral wanted to call at least one of their eggs, despite Marlin wanting to name half of them Coral Jr. and the other half Marlin Jr. Years later, Nemo (Alexander Gould) — born with a deformed fin begins his first day at school and is frustrated and embarrassed by his overprotective father. This is taken to such an extreme that Nemo deliberately disobeys his father by swimming out into open water. In the process he is captured by a diver, who thinks he must be lost because he is so far out, and then immediately leaves on a speedboat. Marlin chases after the speedboat, but soon loses it. Asking for directions, he meets Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a blue tang who suffers from "short-term memory loss". She helps him find out Nemo has been taken to Sydney and the two of them travel there on the East Australian Current. During their time together Dory teaches Marlin to be more carefree. Meanwhile Nemo is placed in a fish tank in a dentist's office. He discovers that he is to be the birthday present of the dentist's niece Darla (LuLu Ebeling) who is "a fish killer" according to the other fish in the tank. It appears that she simply gets over-excited and shakes the fish bag too much. Gill (Willem Dafoe), one of the fish in the tank, proposes an escape plan involving Nemo jamming the filter in the tanks, which Nemo attempts, but initially fails at. Meanwhile, Marlin and Dory encounter several adventures during the journey. On the way, Marlin meets fish-friendly sharks, escapes an anglerfish, charges through a forest of jellyfish, travels with sea turtles on the East Australian Current and gets swallowed by a whale. The tale travels faster than Marlin by way of gossip among the sea creatures and eventually Nemo hears it from Nigel a brown pelican (Geoffrey Rush) who occasionally comes to visit the fish in the tank. Upon hearing all of his Dad's adventures, Nemo is inspired to attempt to jam the filter again. This time he is successful. The tank begins to "get really really dirty." At this point in Gill's plan, the dentist would take the fish out of the tank and into small plastic bags. The fish would then roll out the window, onto an awning, across the street and into the conveniently situated harbour. However, the dentist installs a laser filter which cleans the tank while the fish are sleeping. Marlin and Dory meet Nigel who agrees to take them to the dentist's office. While they are en route, the dentist puts Nemo in a bag to give to his niece, but Nemo gets the idea to pretend to be dead so that the dentist will flush him down the toilet, which will take Nemo to the ocean. Marlin, Dory and Nigel arrive at the office and, seeing Nemo on his back, pretending to be dead, believe that it is true. Gill saves Nemo from getting thrown in the trash can instead of the toilet, and helps Nemo escape via the dentist's sink. Marlin and Nemo find each other, but moments later they find that Dory is caught in a fishing net. Nemo has a plan to save her, but Marlin is reluctant to let him go for fear that he will lose him again. Marlin realizes he must let him go, and Nemo's plan succeeds. They return home and Nemo leaves for school, with Marlin telling him to "go have an adventure". As an epilogue, the fish in the dentist's tank are shown to succeed -- after a fashion -- in their last escape attempt. However, they are still in their plastic bags, floating in the water. During the credits, it is shown they have left their bags.

Finding Nemo - The Musical
Larger-than-life puppets in a scene from the stage adaptation of Finding Nemo at Disney's Animal Kingdom. The stage musical Tarzan Rocks! occupied the Theater in the Wild at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida from 1999 to 2006. When, in January 2006, it closed, it was rumored that a musical adaptation of Finding Nemo would replace it. This was confirmed in April 2006, when Disney announced that the adaptation, with new songs written by Tony Award-winning Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, would "combine puppets, dancers, acrobats and animated backdrops" and open in late 2006. Tony Award-winning director Peter Brosius signed on to direct the show, with Michael Curry, who designed puppets for Disney's successful stage version of The Lion King, serving as leading puppet and production designer. Anderson-Lopez said that the couple agreed to write the adaptation of "one of their favorite movies of all time" after considering "The idea of people coming in [to see the musical] at 4, 5 or 6 and saying, 'I want to do that'....So we want to take it as seriously as we would a Broadway show." To condense the feature-length film to thirty minutes, she said she and Lopez focused on a single theme from the movie, the idea that "The world's dangerous and beautiful." The half-hour show (which is performed four times daily) went into previews at the Theater in the Wild on November 5, 2006, and opened on January 24, 2007. Several musical numbers took direct inspiration from lines in the film, including "(In The) Big Blue World," "Fish Are Friends, Not Food," "Just Keep Swimming," and "Go With the Flow." In January 2007, a New York studio recording of the show was released on iTunes, with Lopez and Anderson-Lopez providing the voices for Marlin and Dory, respectively. Avenue Q star Stephanie D'Abruzzo also appeared on the recording, as Sheldon/Deb.
It is unknown whether the show will be expanded and transfer to Broadway, though Walt Disney Parks & Resorts executive Ann Hamburger has said that "she would love for that to happen." Nemo is notable for being the first non-musical animated film to which Disney has added songs to produce a stage musical.
Attractions
Epcot: The Seas with Nemo & Friends (2007) containing Turtle Talk with Crush (2004)
Disney's California Adventure: Turtle Talk with Crush (2005)
Disney's Animal Kingdom: Finding Nemo - The Musical (2007)
Disneyland: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (2007) Walt Disney Studios Park: Crush's Coaster (2007).

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Greatest films in the World (13):Harry potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

(harrypotter.warnerbrothers.com)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second fantasy adventure film in the popular Harry Potter films series, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The film was released on November 15, 2002 and was directed by returning director, Chris Columbus. The screenplay was adapted by returning screenwriter, Steven Kloves.
Most of the major cast and crew from Philosopher's Stone (also known as Sorcerer's Stone) returned for Chamber of Secrets, including child stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint and director Chris Columbus. However, it was the last appearance by Richard Harris as Dumbledore and currently the last Harry Potter film directed by Columbus. New key actors included Kenneth Branagh as Lockhart and Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy. It remains the only film in the franchise that has not been nominated for an Academy Award.The film was very well received at the box office making $879 million USD worldwide.

Story and Plot Point
The film opens with Harry Potter and his caged owl Hedwig staying with the Dursleys on summer break. An elf named Dobby appears in Harry’s room and warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts this fall because of terrible danger. Dobby’s disruptions result in Uncle Vernon locking Harry in his room until Harry is rescued by the Weasley brothers. Harry and Hedwig escape in the Weasleys’ flying car, and Harry finishes summer vacation at the Weasleys’ home, the Burrow. After buying their new schoolbooks, Harry and the Weasleys go to train station Platform 9 3/4, but the gateway closes on Ron and Harry before they can board the Hogwarts express. Harry and Ron use the flying car to get to Hogwarts, but the car breaks down and crashes into the sentient, angry willow tree on the school’s grounds.
New professor and celebrity wizard author Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) now teaches at Hogwarts. Harry resumes quidditch practice with team Gryffindor. This year, Slytherin’s seeker is Harry’s rival Draco Malfoy, who sports a Nimbus 2001 broomstick. The ominous Chamber of Secrets (secretly located beneath the sink in the ladies’ restroom) has opened, and Professor McGonagall reveals to the students how Hogwarts' founder Salazar Slytherin built the chamber long ago. Salazar disliked muggles (non-wizard humans) and muggleborn wizards, and emerges as something of a racial supremacist. Salazar had sealed the chamber until his heir had returned to school. Professor McGonagall also reveals that the chamber is guarded by a monster.
Harry and Ron temporarily take on the form of Crabbe and Goyle to gain information from Draco Malfoy. Meanwhile, the same potion turns Hermione into a large cat, and she is unable to turn back. The inevitable Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor results in a Gryffindor victory after Harry captures the snitch , but is attacked by a rogue bludger that breaks his arm. The pompous Professor Lockhart tries to heal Harry's arm, but instead removes Harry’s arm bones. Harry's arm recovers quickly. Odd events occur: a Muggle-born student is petrified, and young Ginny Weasley starts losing her memory. Hagrid is arrested and sent to Azkaban prison for harboring Aragog, a giant spider mistakenly thought to be the Chamber monster, and Dumbledore is removed as headmaster in the wake of all the problems. A girls’ restroom ghost named Moaning Myrtle, an original victim of the Chamber of Secrets, provides Harry and Ron with Tom Marvolo Riddle’s talking diary. One evening, Harry and Ron are called to the hospital wing. Upon their arrival, they are directed to Hermione's bed, when they reach her, she is petrified, shocking Harry and Ron. With Hermione's petrification, leaving Ron and Harry feeling terrible for what occurred, she is unable to help the two boys. This leaves them both with the task themselves to solve the cause of events that are threatening to close Hogwarts, and have to ultimately save all those that have fallen victim to petrification. The massive spider Aragog aids Harry and Ron in learning that the chamber is guarded by a monstrous snake called a basilisk, which kills with its gaze. Harry and Ron learn that Professor Lockhart is not the great wizard he has appeared to be, and deceives people using a memory charm. After Ginny Weasley is taking into the Chamber of Secrets, with a message left on the wall that "her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever", Harry, Ron, and Lockhart enter the ladies room to rescue Ginny from the Chamber under the sink. Harry descends a long tunnel, and with aid from the Sorting Hat and Dumbledore’s Phoenix bird, Harry battles the Basilisk and Tom Marvolo Riddle. Riddle’s name is an anagram for “I am Lord Voldemort,” and Riddle is, in fact, the sixteen-year-old soul of Lord Voldemort, preserved in the diary. Harry kills the Basilisk with Godric Gryffindor's Sword and defeats Riddle by destroying the diary, rescuing Ginny in the process.The petrified students and Hermione are cured. Hagrid is freed from Azkaban, elf Dobby is freed from service to the Malfoys, and Dumbledore is restored as Hogwarts’ headmaster. The film ends with Hogwarts lit up from the Great Hall.

Box office performance
The film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets premiered in the UK on November 3, 2002 and in USA on November 14, 2002 before its widespread release on November 15, one year after the Philosopher's Stone film (November 16, 2001). The film broke multiple records upon its opening all over the world. In the U.S. the film opened to an $88.4 million opening weekend, third biggest all-tme at the time, behind only Spider-Man and its predecessor Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In the United Kingdom the film broke all opening records that were previously held by The Philosopher's Stone. It made £18.9 million during its opening including previews and £10.9 million excluding previews, both extraordinary records.[ It went on to make £54.8 million in the U.K., the fifth biggest tally of all time at the time.
The film made a total of $879 million worldwide, which made it the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time. It was the second highest grossing film of 2002 behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers worldwide. However, it was the number one film of the year at the non-American box office making about $617 million compared to The Two Towers' $584.5 million. To this day it remains as one of the highest grossing films of all time, at number 13.
Awards

On January 14, 2003, Chamber of Secrets won the award for "Best Live Action Family Film" in the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. It was nominated for seven Saturn Awards including for "Best Director", "Best Fantasy Film" and "Best Performance by a Younger Actor" for Daniel Radcliffe. The film was nominated for four BAFTA Awards and a Grammy Award for John Williams' score. However, currently it is the only Harry Potter film that was not nominated for any Academy Awards.

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All time greatest films in the World (12): Srek-2

(Courtesy:shre2.com)

Shrek 2, which was released in the United States on May 19, 2004, is the 2004 sequel to the 2001 computer-animated DreamWorks Pictures film Shrek. In April 2004, the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. There are more Shrek movies to follow, according to Jeffrey Katzenberg: "We didn't have the guts to tell anybody when we started out, [but] we have two more chapters to tell. Not unlike Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings. The difference is they did have the guts to make all three of them 'back-to-back-to-back'". Shrek 2 scored the fourth-largest three-day opening weekend in US history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie until May 18th, 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third. As of 2006, it is the 3rd highest box office grossing film of all time in the United States. Worldwide, it is the ninth highest-grossing film of all time. It went on to be the most successful film in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

Story and Plot Point

In the beginning of Shrek 2, Prince Charming is riding a noble stallion to Dragon's Keep while narrating the origin of Princess Fiona. He is going to Dragon's Keep to save her. When Prince Charming gets there, he finds out from the Big Bad Wolf that Fiona has gone on her honeymoon. Charming is astounded. Shrek and Fiona are on their honeymoon at Hansel's Honeymoon Hideaway. But, when Shrek and Fiona return to the swamp, they find Donkey in Shrek's alligator-skin chair, singing to himself. Shrek tells Donkey he hasn't done a very good job taking care of the place. Fiona asks Donkey if he should be getting home to Dragon, but Donkey says she's been moody lately. Finally, Shrek tells Donkey that he is interrupting their night. Donkey leaves, but then returns, telling Shrek some knights are outside of his swamp. A man, who is visiting with the knights, reads a royal page carrying a scroll inviting Fiona and Shrek to Far Far Away for a royal ball celebrating their marriage and to give her 'prince charming' their blessing. The king and queen, King Harold and Queen Lilian, are the rulers of Far Far Away and Fiona's parents. Shrek and Fiona, along with Donkey, set off to Far Far Away. The trip isn't easy for Donkey, who keeps annoying Shrek and Fiona asking if they are there yet. After much madness, they get to Far Far Away. Once they get to the castle, a whole crowd is waiting to see Fiona and her prince charming. Doves are released, but once Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey step out of the onion carriage, the crowd gasps, along with Fiona's parents. The king and queen are stunned at Fiona's choice of marriage. They all force smiles. That night, they all sit down to dinner. Harold stares angrily at Shrek. Shrek does not know royalty. He eats the escargots with their shells still on, he eats the water from his finger-dipping bowl, thinking it's soup. Once dinner is served, Shrek and Harold begin yelling at each other. Fiona then storms off to her room, angrily. In her room, she meets her Fairy Godmother. Shrek then enters her room and Fairy Godmother is angry at Fiona's husband. She then gives Fiona her card. But Shrek takes it and says that they are already happy. Shrek then tells Fiona they are leaving. Donkey and Fiona don't want to leave. Shrek and Fiona get into a fight, which the king overhears. Lilian then tells Harold that it was her choice. Fairy Godmother then takes Harold into her carriage and tells him to get rid of Shrek so that her son, Prince Charming can marry her. Harold then goes to the Poison Apple pub to find an ogre killer. The bartender, Cinderella's ugly Step Sister, Doris, tells him there is only one guy that can do that sort of job. Harold then hires Puss In Boots, the cat ogre killer. That night, Shrek reads Fiona's childhood diary and is sad at the thought of her dreams of marrying a handsome prince. Harold asks Shrek if he will join him for a morning hunt the next morning, while in reality planning on Puss In Boots finding them. Harold tells Shrek it would mean the world to Fiona for them to bond, and Shrek agrees to the outing as he had promised to try to get along better with Fiona's parents.
The next morning, Shrek and Donkey are lost in the woods. Puss In Boots jumps down and surprises them. Puss attacks Shrek, while Donkey tries to get him off Shrek. Shrek finally catches the cat and Donkey suggests that they "give him the Bob Barker treatment" (neuter him) with his own sword. Puss begs to be forgiven and he and Shrek become fast friends. Shrek remembers the card Fairy Godmother gave him. He, Puss, and Donkey use it to travel to her Potion Factory. Fairy Godmother tells Shrek ogres don't live Happily Ever After. Shrek, Donkey and Puss sneak into the Potion Containment Room, where they steal the Happily Ever After potion. Back in the woods, Shrek and Donkey drink the potion and nothing happens. Shrek sniffs the potion and sneezes on a toadstool. Once it begins to rain, Shrek, Donkey and Puss head for a barn and stay there for the night, failing to notice that once the rain touches the toadstool, it turns into a rose. Inside the barn, Shrek and Donkey faint. Back in Far Far Away, Fiona is affected by the potion too and faints. The next morning, Shrek and Donkey wake up to realize they have changed. Shrek is a handsome human while Donkey is a noble white stallion. Shrek needs to find Fiona and kiss her before midnight to stay the way they are. Donkey and Puss steal the clothes from two noblemen for Shrek and the three head off to Far Far Away. Fiona wakes up and finds herself a human again. She screams so Shrek runs inside to find her. Fiona hears his voice and runs outside while Shrek runs into her room to find Fairy Godmother. Fiona finds Donkey as a horse, who tells her Shrek went inside looking for her. She runs into Charming, who tells her he is Shrek. Harold and Lilian wake up and go to Fiona. Harold realizes Fairy Godmother and Charming's plan. Fairy Godmother tricks Shrek into thinking that Fiona loves Charming and tells him to return to his swamp and let Fiona and Charming be together.
Shrek, Donkey and Puss head off to the Poison Apple and see Harold go into the back room with Charming and Godmother. Shrek, curious, take Donkey and Puss and listen in through the window. Fairy Godmother gives Harold a potion to make Fiona fall in love with the first man she kisses. Harold initially refuses, feeling guilty over manipulating his daughter's true happiness, however Fairy Godmother reminds him that she gave him his own Happily Ever After and threatens to take it away if he doesn't go through with the potion. Fairy Godmother then sees Shrek (after Donkey gives an angry outburst) and sends knights out after him.
That night, the royal ball begins, while celebrities, like Sleeping Beauty, begin to come. The fairy tale creatures, Gingy, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and Wolf, watch the royal ball coverage on the Magic Mirror in Shrek's house. A commercial comes on of KNIGHTS. The show shows knights capturing Shrek, Donkey and Puss. They are thrown into a paddy wagon. When Shrek reveals his name, Gingy pauses the clip, then rewinds it, then replays it. The fairy tale creatures find out about this, and head off to rescue Shrek, Donkey and Puss.
Meanwhile, King Harold slips the potion into a cup of tea for Fiona. After he finds her up in the castle, watching the ball, she says she wants her old Shrek back. She then reaches for a cup of tea, however he tells her to take the other one, as the one she was going to take was going to be for him. Back in the dungeon of a far away jail, the fairy tale creatures save Shrek, Donkey, and Puss and create a giant gingerbread man named Mongo with help from the Muffin Man. They use the giant cookie to break into the ball. Fiona and Charming begin to dance at the ball, while Mongo begins to pull down the drawbridge, but the guards dump hot milk on him and his arms fall off of him. Shrek manages to get through the cracks of the drawbridge and lowers it. Shrek and Donkey charge into the ballroom and the fairy tale creatures begin to fight Fairy Godmother. Fiona realizes it's not Shrek she's dancing with. Fairy Godmother tells Charming to kiss Fiona to activate the potion. But once Charming is done kissing her, she knocks him out with a head butt, revealing that Harold gave her the wrong tea on purpose, after feeling guilty about his actions. Shrek and Fiona embrace one another, but Prince Charming gets the wand and tosses it to the Fairy Godmother and she proceeds to turn on Shrek, telling once again that ogres don't live happily ever after. She then sends a blast of magic out to kill Shrek. Harold uses his armor to deflect the spell which bounces off and hits her. Fairy Godmother disappears, with only her glasses and wand left. Harold is back to his true form, a frog. Shrek and Fiona are about to kiss, but Fiona tells Shrek she wants to live happily ever after, with the ogre she married. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey return to their true forms. Harold apologizes to Shrek and tells him that he only wanted Fiona to be happy. He gives the couple his blessing and goes to leave, however Queen Lilian tells him that she still loves him, even though he's a frog. That night, the gang dance into the night, having a big party.After the party, Donkey is all alone, singing a song. Puss and two girls are about to head off to the "Kitt Katt Klub" when Dragon comes and tells Donkey that she has had babies. Donkey and Dragon are then proud parents of a litter of donkey-dragon dronkeys.

Box office Records

Shrek 2 spent a total of 21 weeks in theaters, closing on November 25, 2004. It grossed about $440 million domestically (USA and Canada) and totaled just under 920 million USD worldwide. This puts the movie at third on the all-time domestic box-office list and ninth on the worldwide box-office list. It was also the number one grossing movie of 2004. With DVD sales and Shrek 2 merchandise are estimated to total almost $800 million USD, this is DreamWorks most profitable movie to date.
Budget - $150,000,000
Opening Weekend Gross (Domestic) - $108,037,878
Total Domestic Grosses - $441,226,247
Total Overseas Grosses - $478,612,511
Total Worldwide Grosses - $919,838,758

Critical reception
The film was well received by a number of critics, many rating it as good as or better than its predecessor. Metacritic has developed a weighted average rating of 73 out of 100 based on 39 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites. Rotten Tomatoes gave Shrek 2 an approval rating of 88%.

Srivenkat

Jessica Alba + Cash Warren's Dating= Expecting Child

(imbd.com)

American actress Jessica Alba is pregnant with her first child with boyfriend Cash Warren. Alba, 26, has been dating producer Cash Warren, 28, since they first met on the sets of Fantastic Four in 2004. The movie starring Alba had Warren working as director’s assistant. Alba rose to fame first with her TV series, Dark Angel, and then with her films Fantastic Four and Sin City. The actress was last seen in the comedy film, Good Luck Chuck, co-starring Dane Cook and in the thriller, Awake. She will also be seen in the upcoming horror film, The Eye, slated for release in February 2008. Alba has also been roped in for the sequel to her film, Sin City.

Hollywood Box Office Analysis: 'Golden Compass' Leads the Way

(Courtesy:Hollywood.com)

HOLLYWOOD - Fantasy family movie “The Golden Compass” took the top spot this weekend at the North American box office with $26.1 million, pushing reigning champ “Enchanted” down to second with $10.7 million.“The Golden Compass”, however, didn’t quite measure up to its fantasy predecessors. The three Lord of the Rings films released from 2001 to 2003 had opening weekends ranging from $47.2 million to $72.6 million. Disney's “The Chronicles of Narnia” opened with $65.6 million in 2005.New Line, which had enormous success with its three Lord of the Rings films, had hoped for more out of “The Golden Compass”, expecting it to reach at least $30 million domestically over its first weekend, Rolf Mittweg, the studio's marketing chief told The Associated Press. The film cost $180 million to make.Based on Philip Pullman's lesser-known His Dark Materials trilogy, Mittweg said he was uncertain about the effects of a backlash against “The Golden Compass” by some Christians, who said Pullman's books preach atheism."It's very hard to say. Historically, protests of these sorts tend to be ineffective on box-office results," Mittweg said.The Top 12 movies took in a total of $73.1 million for the weekend, down 15.97 percent from last year’s total of $87 million and down 3.57 percent from last weekend’s total of $75.8 million. The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Buena Vista’s “Apocalypto”, which opened at No. 1 with $15 million in 2,465 theaters, averaging $6,087 per theater; Warner Bros.’ “Happy Feet”, which dropped to second place in its fourth week with $12.9 million in 3,650 theaters, averaging $3,535 per theater; and Sony’s “The Holiday”, which opened in third place with $12.7 million in 2,610 theaters, averaging $4,896 per theater.