138. White Chicks

Title: White Chicks
Genre: Crime, Comedy
Year: 2004

Summary: The plot begins in a convenience store where two FBI agents and brothers, Kevin and Marcus Copeland, posing as Afro-Cuban clerks, try to capture members of an organization that sells drugs inside ice cream boxes. Unfortunately, the first arrival turns out to be a genuine ice cream delivery, and the actual drug dealers manage to get away. The situation is worsened by the fact that Kevin and Marcus have decided to resolve this bust by themselves.

The FBI supervisor, Elliott Gordon, gives the two agents a last chance to remain in the FBI by giving them the duty of protecting the mega-rich billionaire cruise line heiresses and socialites Brittany and Tiffany Wilson, who are arriving in town for the last social event of the summer in the Hamptons, from a kidnapping plot (known as The Socialite Kidnappings). When the Wilson sisters get minor facial cuts in a car accident, they refuse to leave the hotel. Kevin and Marcus then disguise themselves as the Wilson sisters in order to save their jobs.

At the Hamptons hotel, Kevin and Marcus meet Brittany and Tiffany's three best friends: soap heiress Karen; diminutive Tori; and insecure Lisa, and their rivals, the catty Vandergeld sisters Megan and Heather. In addition, basketball player Latrell Spencer takes an interest in Marcus/Tiffany, thinking that he is Tiffany, while Kevin shows interest in reporter Denise Porter. During a charity date auction being hosted by the Vandergelds, a date with Marcus/Tiffany is sold to Latrell for $50,000. The next day, Brittany, Tiffany, Karen, Tori and Lisa go to the beach where Latrell appears at the beach to flirt with Marcus/Tiffany, and Kevin/Brittany takes advantage of the situation and goes to Latrell's beach room to change into Latrell's clothes and pretends to be Latrell (as Kevin) and asks Denise out because Denise has a history of dating rich men. When Marcus/Tiffany goes on his charity auction date with Latrell, Kevin steals the keys to Latrell's car and house and takes Denise to Latrell's house where he ends up getting mauled by Latrell's dog.

Marcus/Tiffany and Latrell end up at a club and meet up with the rest of the girls and Kevin/Brittany who end up in a dance off with the Vandergeld sisters. Marcus/Tiffany and Kevin/Brittany win the dance off by break-dancing. However, Karen, who has been seeing Heather's boyfriend Heath, an unemployed, poor actor, behind her back but is constantly mistreated by him, drinks heavily and runs to the bathroom with Marcus/Tiffany and Kevin/Brittany to throw up and lets it slip that Mr. Vandergeld is broke and has had to borrow money from Karen's own father. The next day, the real Brittany and Tiffany see their faces on Page Six of the New York Post and think they have been cloned. They go to the Hamptons where their "clones" were seen, and two FBI agents, Agents Harper and Gomez, believing that they are Kevin and Marcus, strip them. This leads to the chief finding out that Marcus and Kevin have been impersonating Brittany and Tiffany and fires them. Later on, Kevin and Marcus figure out that Mr. Vandergeld, along with Heath, has been behind The Socialite kidnappings. Kevin and Marcus decide that even though they are fired, they are going to the fashion show.

Marcus/Tiffany and Kevin/Brittany arrive at the fashion show and are informed that they will be walking the catwalk. Also, the real Tiffany and Brittany arrive and hear the same news. Right before taking the runway, Heath tells Karen that he admired her at the dance club and tells her that Heather is leaving that night and Karen should come over for a booty call. Karen tells him that she is better than a booty call and is not his doormat. Heath then says that she should not think herself that special. Marcus/Tiffany than hits Heath in the face, where Heath tells Marcus/Tiffany that she will regret that. During the fashion show, chaos ensues when Marcus/Tiffany and Kevin/Brittany have been tricked by Megan and Heather to wear Björk-like swan dresses on the runway fashion show. Heather and Megan fall from the rafters and the red paint they were going to use to spill on Tiffany and Brittany falls on them instead. Then the real Brittany and Tiffany come out on the runway. Mr. Vandergeld instructs Heath to turn off the lights and kidnap the Wilson sisters, so Heath comes to the stage under a large Chinese dragon costume and kidnaps Marcus/Tiffany and Brittany. Kevin/Brittany sees Marcus/Tiffany's shoes under the dragon, runs after it and tackles the entire costume, which releases the captives.

Heath is with Marcus/Tiffany and tells him that he said he would get her back and hits on her. Marcus/Tiffany responds back and knocks him out cold. Meanwhile, Mr. Vandergeld takes the real Tiffany and Brittany and tries to run off with them. He is caught up to and confronted whereupon he admits he is bankrupt and has been funneling money from the charity because he is "MC Hammer broke". Denise and her cameraman have been filming the entire time and Mr. Vandergeld shoots at her, but Kevin/Brittany jumps in between and pushes Denise to the ground and out of the way. Mr. Vandergeld then shoots at Marcus/Tiffany, but Latrell jumps in front of the bullet and takes the hit, and is shocked and enraged to discover that Marcus/Tiffany, after unmasking himself, is black (he did not seem to mind that Marcus was male). Kevin/Brittany also unmasks himself after Marcus' wife, Gina, attacks him because she believed that Kevin/Brittany was having an affair with Marcus. The chief then appears to tell Marcus, Kevin and Agents Gomez and Harper that they all disobeyed him, but they did the right thing and the chief expects them all back at the office the next morning. Marcus apologizes to Gina after realizing that being a female is a hard task and because he had been ignoring Gina for his job. Kevin asks Denise out and she replies that she would of course date the man willing to take a bullet for her. The movie ends with Tori, Lisa, Karen, Kevin and Marcus making a pact to stay together and go shopping.

137. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Title: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
Year: 2010

Summary: Soren, a young Barn Owl, lives in the Tyto Forest with his family: his father, Noctus; his mother, Marella; his older brother, Kludd; his younger sister, Eglantine; and Mrs. Plithiver aka Mrs. P the family's nest maid, a kindly black mamba. Soren enjoys listening to the 'Legends of Ga'Hoole,' which are mythical tales of warrior owls fighting against the evil rebellion of owls that call themselves the Pure Ones. One day, in jealousy of Soren's branching ability, Kludd pushes him off a branch, but inadvertently falls himself. On the ground, they are attacked by a Tasmanian devil, but are saved/kidnapped by owls, Jatt and Jutt.

As the owls take them to St. Aegolius, the canyonland home of the Pure Ones, Soren meets Gylfie, a young elf owl as well as many other owlets. At St. Aegolius, the queen of the Pure Ones, Nyra, begins to say that the young owls are their slaves. When Soren and Gylfie protest, the two are placed as 'pickers.' Kludd openly rejects Soren and receives training to become a soldier to the Pure Ones. Grimble, Soren and Gylfie's captor, secretly tells them that he is disloyal to the Pure Ones and manages to teach them to fly. However, Nyra catches them just as she comes to invite Soren to be a soldier. Grimble then sacrifices himself to allow the owls to fly away seeking the 'Great Tree of Ga'Hoole' to warn the mythical Guardians about the Pure Ones' plan against them.

Along the journey, they meet Twilight, a Great Grey Owl and Digger, a Burrowing owl. They also find Mrs. P. who had left the family nest in search of Soren and Kludd.

The owls, carrying Mrs. P in Twilight's lute, are guided to a shrine run by an oracular echidna, who provides comic, but accurate, descriptions of the quintet and guidance to the object of their quest. Despite a fierce storm, the group, now called "the Band", manages to reach the Great Tree with assistance from the Guardians, where they are trained in different chaws, or classes, one of which is taught by Strix Struma. The Parliament of the tree listens intently to the Band's story. One owl, Allomere, a Great Gray Owl, objects the story. However, a Whiskered Screech Owl, Eyzlryb, supports it. Later, Soren and Gylfie are introduced to a female Spotted Owl called Otulissa. Otulissa flirts with Soren, and he falls for her quickly while Gylfie rolls her eyes at them.

Later Ezylryb takes the owlets on a flight lesson in a torrential rainstorm. Otulissa goes with them, but only to act as support. He demonstrates how to fly in a controlled fashion, with Soren and Gylfie struggling to gain control. Soren briefly masters gizzard-flying, only to lose control and fall towards the sea. Ezylryb rescues him and orders Soren to go back to his hollow. Soren learns that Ezylryb is in fact, Lyze of Keil, The heroic leader of the Guardians. Soren is enraged when Ezylryb scoffs at his past, though Ezylryb explains the concept of battle: How it's not even heroic, merely doing what's right, even if someday one might end up looking like himself. Meanwhile, Kludd, now a Pure One Guard, continues to follow the lead of other Pure Ones & keeps becoming more evil by being enrolled as one by the evil Metal Beak, the evil leader of the Pure Ones.

Allomere returns from a scouting mission from St. Aegolius with news that his wingmen had been killed in an ambush by the Pure Ones. He had brought to the tree two moon-blinked, a catatonic state of entrancement caused by sleeping under the moonlight for a prolonged period of time, owlets, one of which is Soren's sister, Eglantine. Angered, the Guardians invade St. Aegolius. Soren manages to break her trance and Eglantine reveals that Kludd had kidnapped her and given her to Allomere. Shocked by this deception, the original band quickly flies to the Guardians' aid. Allomere's treason had led them into a trap. The Guardians have been physically and mentally paralyzed by mind and gizzard-paralyzing "flecks," operated by bats and made of metal bits gleaned by the enslaved "Pickers" in the months before. Soren and Gylfie, plus Twilight and Digger race towards the Guardians' aid.

Soren manages to disable the flecks, by flying into the forest fire and setting a lamp into flames, risking his own life. With just enough energy left to save the Guardians, he plunges into the fleck field and the blue magnet is ebbed away. Ezylryb quickly helps Soren up and all the Guardians fly off, ready for battle. Soren fights a few Pure Ones and is confronted by Kludd, who leads the battle into a forest fire. Kludd is angry at Soren and throws him into a tree multiple times, before Soren catches him off guard. The two brothers fight a little, before Kludd rams into Soren. The fall down a burning tree and, which breaks Kludd's wing and he is rendered unable to fly. Soren grabs Kludd's foot and Kludd tricks him into pulling him up, only to attack Soren. Soren dodges Kludd's attack and tries to save his brother before Kludd accidentally falls into the forest fire, as the branch he was clinging to had snapped.

Furious at Kludd's "death" and at hearing Metal Beak and Nyra fighting Ezylryb, Soren returns to the Guardian's aid, and attacks Metal Beak just in time before the latter could finally murder Soren's hero. However, Metal Beak descends and is about to kill Soren when the younger owl manages to impale the enemy leader on a burning stick from the fire, killing him. Meanwhile, Digger, Gylfie and Twilight fend off the impending bats. Nyra calls the attack to a retreat and The Band return to the tree. Soren, Gylfie, Twilight and Digger are honored as Guardians of Ga'Hoole. While Soren says that Kludd's body was never found, he is shown to be alive, but scarred from the fire. Now with the glowing red eyes of the other Pure Ones, he stares at Metal Beak's mask.

136. Avatar (Series Film)

Title: Avatar (Series Film)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Animation
Year: 2005, 2010

Summary:

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a world home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. Human civilization is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. Each nation has a distinct society, wherein people known as "benders" have the ability to manipulate and control the element of their nation using the physical motions of martial arts. The show's creators based each bending style on an existing martial art, leading to clear visual and physical differences in the techniques used by Waterbenders (T'ai chi ch'uan), Earthbenders (Hung Ga kung fu, for the most part), Firebenders (Northern Shaolin kung fu) and Airbenders (Baguazhang).

At any given time, there is only one person in the world capable of bending all four elements - the Avatar. The Avatar is the divine spiritual entity of the world continuously reborn and reincarnated in human form. When an Avatar dies, this almighty and divine spirit/soul is reborn and reincarnated into the next nation in the Avatar Cycle, according to the implied correspondence of seasons to the nations' cultures (Winter/Water Tribe; Spring/Earth Kingdom; Summer/Fire Nation; and Autumn/Air Nomads) and must master each bending art in seasonal order, starting with their own native/birth element. Additionally, the Avatar possesses an immensely powerful spiritual ability called the Avatar State, which briefly endows them with all of the knowledge and abilities of all past Avatars as a self-triggering defense mechanism, which can be made subject to the will of the user by extensive trial and training in total chakra energy harmony. If an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, the reincarnation cycle is broken, and the Avatar identity will cease to exist. Through the ages, the succeeding Avatars have served to keep a relative equality among the nations; whereas in the story's mythology, the Avatar connects the material to the spiritual world, and vice versa.

Avatar: The Legend of Korra: The series opens with a montage introducing Korra as the Avatar and showing that she has mastered every element except airbending. It is then revealed that due to problems in Republic City, Tenzin will not be able to move to the Southern Water Tribe and teach Korra airbending. As a result, Korra sneaks out and runs away to Republic City so that Tenzin can train her there. Once there, Korra clashes with police chief Lin Beifong (the daughter of Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender) after dispensing vigilante justice to the local triads. Shortly thereafter, the two main antagonists of the season are introduced: the Equalists, an underground activist movement; and Tarrlok, an ambitious politician. The Equalists are non-benders led by a mysterious masked man, Amon. Their goal is to bring about "equality" between benders and non-benders. Councilman Tarrlok believes in aggressive tactics for bringing the Equalists to justice, despite protests from his pacifist colleague Tenzin, Korra's airbending trainer. As Korra explores Republic City, she meets the brothers Mako and Bolin and joins their pro-bending team, the "Fire Ferrets". They are successful in the league, but romantic tensions among them and Asami, Mako's girlfriend, put a strain on their relationship.

As the story progresses, Korra discovers that Amon has the power to remove a person's bending ability. Tarrlok cajoles Korra to join his anti-Equalist "task force", and the Equalists begin using terrorist tactics, climaxing in an attack on the pro-bending arena, where Amon strips the winning team of their bending. But when Tarrlok continues indiscriminately repressing non-benders, Korra refuses to continue supporting him. After Tarrlok imprisons her friends to blackmail her, they fight. Tarrlok overpowers Korra with bloodbending, an illegal form of waterbending, and kidnaps her, framing the Equalists. Tenzin, Lin, and Korra's friends eventually discover that Tarrlok is lying, but as they do Amon arrives at Tarrlok's hideout and removes Tarrlok's bending. Korra escapes, only to find Republic City facing an Equalist military coup.

In the two-part finale of Book One: Air, naval reinforcements from the United Forces, led by Zuko's grandson Iroh, are defeated by Equalist sea mines and biplanes. Attempting to find Amon, Korra learns that Tarrlok and Amon are both sons of the bloodbender Yakone, who was defeated some 40 years ago by Avatar Aang, as well as water- and bloodbenders. In a showdown with Amon at one of his rallies, Amon is able to strip Korra of her power to bend all elements but in desperation she unlocks her airbending. After Mako and Korra manage to overpower and publicly unmask Amon as a waterbender, Amon flees with Tarrlok, who later detonates their boat on the open sea. The despondent Korra finally manages to establish spiritual contact with her predecessor, Aang, who restores her bending powers, allowing her to do the same for Amon's other victims.

135. Gnomeo & Juliet

Title: Gnomeo & Juliet
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Year: 2011

Summary: Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet are two elderly neighbors who despise each other. When they leave the garden, objects come alive in both their gardens. The Montague garden is filled with blue garden gnomes, and the Capulet garden houses red garden gnomes. Later, both blue and red gnomes attend a lawnmower race. Representing the blues is Gnomeo and representing the reds is Tybalt. During the race, it looks like Gnomeo is winning; however, Tybalt cheats and wins the race, destroying Gnomeo's lawnmower. Gnomeo and his best friend, Benny, insult Tybalt for cheating, but Tybalt ignores them. Benny watches Mrs. Montague ordering a new cheap lawnmower called The Kitten Clipper, disappointed.

Later that night, Gnomeo and Benny infiltrate the red garden in disguise, with blue spray cans. Benny sprays Tybalt's well and accidentally triggers a security light in the process, alerting the red gnomes to attack. During the escape Gnomeo ends up in a nearby neglected garden. He bumps into a disguised Juliet, the daughter of the red gnomes leader Lord Redbrick. Juliet is attempting to retrieve a unique orchid, and the two romantically fight over it. They each discover the other's colour before fleeing the garden. When they both go back to their gardens, Juliet tells her frog friend Nanette about her newfound love. Nanette states that the relationship is romantically tragic.

Gnomeo and Juliet then have secret meetings in a secret garden, where they meet a pink plastic flamingo named Featherstone. He encourages their love, and the two begin to meet regularly. Though when the two of them are getting ready for a date, Lord Redbrick introduces Juliet to Paris, a red gnome that Nanette has fallen for, though Juliet manages to get away. Later, when the two return back to their gardens, Gnomeo finds his mother Lady Bluebury, who is distraught after the reds infiltrated the garden and destroyed the plant Gnomeo's deceased father planted. The blues want Gnomeo to take revenge on the reds, and he realizes that he cannot refuse unless he tells his secret. He tunnels underneath to reach the red garden, but just as he is about to spray the prized flowers of the reds, Juliet sees him. He backs out suddenly, telling Benny that the nozzle on the spraying bottle was jammed.

When he and Juliet meet up again, they briefly argue until Featherstone stops them, telling them that other people's hate destroyed his love. He and his girlfriend were separated when the two people living in the house, where their garden was, got divorced. After he has explained this, Gnomeo and Juliet apologize, but when they are about to kiss, Benny sees them, distracts them, then runs into the alleyway, where Tybalt is waiting with his lawnmower. Tybalt drives at Benny, chops his hat clean off with a trowel, and attempts to run him down with his lawnmower. Tybalt is interrupted by Gnomeo, and he is destroyed when crashing into a wall. The reds attempt to attack Gnomeo, but Juliet, to the surprise of her father and clan, defends Gnomeo, saying that she loves him. A woman suddenly jogs along, so all gnomes become still and inconspicuous. Gnomeo ends up on a road, and everyone believes he was run over by a truck. Lord Redbrick has Juliet glued to her fountain because he does not want to lose her like her mother. Gnomeo's pet, a mushroom named Shroom, is left alone and goes on the road, where he realizes that what appeared to be Gnomeo is actually a broken blue teapot, and that Gnomeo is still alive. Gnomeo eventually ends up in a park, and climbs onto a Statue of William Shakespeare and tells him his story. Shakespeare tells Gnomeo that his story is very similar to Romeo and Juliet and that it is likely Gnomeo's will have a sad ending as well. However, Gnomeo refuses to accept that sort of ending. Shroom and Featherstone come to find him.

Benny, meanwhile, cancels the order of the Kitten Clipper and buys the Terrafirminator lawnmower using the computer, to get revenge on the Red Gnomes, despite Shroom trying to convince him that Gnomeo is still alive. The Terrafirminator goes out of control and destroys most of the two gardens while the gnomes wage a full scale war. Gnomeo makes it back to Juliet to try to un-glue her, but he is unable to. She tells him to go, but he refuses, and they kiss just as the lawnmower crashes into the fountain, self-destructing in the process. Everyone believes that both are dead. Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury, both realizing that their feud was responsible for this, decide to end the feud. As they do, they accidentally trigger a switch, which causes a massive tropical castle display to rise up from the remains of Juliet's pedestal. Much to the astonishment of all the gnomes, both Gnomeo and Juliet are revealed to have survived as they rise from the ruins. The residents of the gardens celebrate and Gnomeo and Juliet kiss just as Mrs. Montague and Mr. Capulet return to find their yards destroyed.

The film ends happily with the red and blue gnomes finally coming together to celebrate their newfound peace. Tybalt is also revealed to still be alive having been glued back together (and presumably has a more pleasant disposition). Featherstone is also reunited with his girlfriend after Benny finds and orders her online. Meanwhile, Gnomeo and Juliet are married on a purple lawnmower, which symbolizes the new union of both gnome clans.

134. Arthur Christmas

Title: Arthur Christmas
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Year: 2011

Summary:

Set on Christmas Eve, the film opens with hundreds of elves helming the command centre of Santa's mile-wide, ultra–high-tech sleigh, the S-1. Santa and the elves deliver presents to every child in the world using advanced equipment and military precision. These complex operations are micromanaged by Santa's oldest son Steve and his obsequious elfin assistant Peter (amongst thousands of more elves) at mission control underneath the North Pole, while Steve's clumsy and panophobic younger brother Arthur answers the letters to Santa. During a delivery operation, when a child wakes up and almost sees Santa, an elf back in the S-1 inadvertently presses a button, causing a present to fall off a conveyor and go unnoticed.

Having completed his 70th mission, Santa is portrayed as far past his prime and whose role in field operations now is largely symbolic. Nonetheless, he is held in high esteem, and delivers a congratulatory speech to the enraptured elves. Much to Steve's frustration, who has long anticipated succeeding his father, Santa announces he looks forward to his 71st. During their family Christmas dinner, Arthur's suggestion for the family to play a board game degenerates into a petty quarrel between Santa and Steve, while Grand-Santa, bored by retirement, resentfully criticises their over-modernisation. Distraught, the various family members leave the dinner table. When Arthur humbly compliments Steve that he believes he will be a great Santa Claus, Steve rudely dismisses Arthur's overture; later, their father shares with Mrs. Claus his grave doubts about his self-identity should he retire.

Meanwhile, an elf named Bryony finds the missed present—a wrapped bicycle that has yet to be delivered—and alerts Steve and his elf-assistant to the problem. Arthur is alarmed when he recognises the present as a gift for Gwen, a little girl to whom he had personally replied. Arthur alerts his father, who is at a loss as to how to handle the situation; Steve argues that one missed present out of billions is an acceptable error whose correction can wait a few days. Grand-Santa, on the other hand, proposes delivering the gift using Evie, his old wooden sleigh, and the descendants of the original eight reindeer, forcefully whisking away a reluctant Arthur and a stowaway Bryony. They get lost, lose reindeer, and land in danger several times, ultimately being mistaken for aliens and causing an international military incident. Through all this, Arthur eventually learns to his compounding disappointment that Grand-Santa's true motive is to fulfil his ego, that Steve refuses to help them out of petty resentment, and that his own father has gone to bed, apparently content.

Finally, stranded in Cuba after losing the sleigh, Arthur renews his sense of purpose—that it all comes down to preventing a child's disappointment—and with Grand-Santa's help manages to recover the sleigh. Meanwhile, the elves grow increasingly alarmed at rumours of this neglected delivery and the Clauses' unthinkable indifference, sending them into a panic. In response, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Steve take the high-tech sleigh to deliver a superior present—to the wrong child. Santa's navigation error and Steve's mishandling of the mistaken identity throw into sharp relief their intentions against those of Arthur.

After much difficulty, and ultimately with Mrs. Claus' and Bryony's help, all the male Clauses arrive at Gwen's house before she awakens, only to have all but Arthur quarrel about who gets to actually place the gift. Noticing that only Arthur truly cares about the girl's feelings, the elder Clauses collectively realise that he is the sole worthy successor. As a result, Santa gives Arthur the honour and Steve forfeits his birthright to his brother. In a fitting conclusion, Gwen glimpses a snow-bearded Arthur in a wind-buffeted sweater just before vanishing into the night.

With the crisis resolved, Santa goes into a happy retirement with Mrs. Claus; he also becomes grand-Santa's much-desired new companion. Meanwhile, Steve finds true contentment as Chief Operating Officer while Bryony is promoted to Vice-President of Packing. In a nod to traditionalism once neglected, the high-tech S-1 is re-christened EVIE and refitted to be pulled by a 5000-reindeer team—led by the original eight reindeer, all of whom managed to return safely via innate homing abilities. Finally, Arthur happily guides the entire enterprise in the proper spirit as the new Santa.