Neighbors, 2014

Neighbors (released in some countries as Bad Neighbours) is a 2014 American bromantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The film stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron with Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse in supporting roles. The plot follows a couple who come into conflict with a fraternity that has recently moved in next door, which leads them into an all-out war.

Trailer

PLOT

Mac Radner and his Australian-born wife Kelly are adjusting to life with their infant daughter, Stella. The restrictions of parenthood make it difficult for them to maintain their old lifestyle, which alienates them from their friends Jimmy Blevins and his ex-wife, Paula. Delta Psi Beta, a fraternity known for outrageous parties, moves in next door. The fraternity's leaders, Teddy Sanders and Pete Regazolli aspire to join Delta Psi's Hall of Fame by throwing a massive end-of-the-year party.

The Radners ask Teddy to keep the noise down and to earn their favor, he invites them to join the party. Kelly meets Teddy's girlfriend Brooke Shy, and Teddy shows Mac his bedroom, which includes a stash of fireworks and a breaker box that controls the house’s power. Teddy agrees to manage the noise but has Mac and Kelly promise to always call him instead of the police. The following night, when the party next door keeps Stella awake, Mac is unable to reach Teddy. Kelly convinces Mac to call the police anonymously, but Officer Watkins identifies them to Teddy. Betrayed, Teddy leads Delta Psi in hazing Mac and Kelly, resulting in Stella nearly eating an unused condom after the fraternity dumps their garbage on the Radners’ lawn. Mac and Kelly go to the college dean Carol Gladstone, but the school has a “three strikes” policy before it will intervene; Delta Psi's first strike was burning down their old house.

Failing to force the fraternity to move by damaging their house, Kelly manipulates Pete and Brooke into having sex, and Mac leads Teddy to catch them in the act. Teddy and Pete fight and a barbecue grill injures a passing professor. This gives Delta Psi their second strike and places them on probation, effectively ending their party plans. Determined to shut down the fraternity, Mac, and Kelly enlist the help of Jimmy, who is jealous that Paula is sleeping with Delta Psi member Scoonie. To acquire evidence of Delta Psi's hazing, they hire a pledge nicknamed Assjuice to stand up to Teddy and record him threatening retaliation. When Teddy instead shows him kindness, he reveals that Mac and Kelly hired him and are trying to sabotage the fraternity. A vengeful Teddy violently pranks the Radners and Jimmy with airbags.

They send Teddy a counterfeit letter from Gladstone lifting Delta Psi’s probation. The fraternity prepares for its end-of-the-year party, which Mac, Kelly, and Jimmy widely publicize to ensure it will be out of control. Once the party is in full swing, they notify the police, but Teddy realizes what the Radners have done, and stops the party just as Watkins arrives. Jimmy throws himself from the balcony to distract Teddy, allowing Kelly to sneak into Teddy's bedroom as Mac fights him off. Unable to open the breaker box to restart the party and alert Watkins, Kelly shoots one of the fireworks at his patrol car. Paula convinces Scoonie to turn on the power, reigniting the party, and she reunites with Jimmy. Teddy takes the blame for the party, convincing Pete to flee with the others, and is arrested; the fraternity is shut down.

Four months later, Mac runs into Teddy, who is working as a shirtless greeter at Abercrombie & Fitch. They greet each other warmly and Teddy reveals he is attending night classes to complete his degree. Mac takes off his shirt and jokingly acts as a greeter with Teddy. Later, Mac and Kelly take pictures of Stella in various costumes for a calendar. They get a call from Jimmy and Paula inviting them to attend Burning Man. Mac and Kelly decline, accepting their new roles as parents.

Rating: 10 Stars

A Family Affair, 2024, Netflix Top 10

A Family Affair is a 2024 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard LaGravenese and written by Carrie Solomon. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Liza Koshy, and Kathy Bates. The film revolves around a widowed writer who begins a relationship with a young actor whom her daughter works for. It was released by Netflix on June 28, 2024.

Trailer

PLOT

24-year-old Zara, the personal assistant to self-absorbed Hollywood star Chris Cole, is tired of being underappreciated. She is expected to help him when he breaks up with women, and he doesn't heed her advice to get a different writer to rewrite a bad script. When Chris changes the gate code on her while she is talking to a writer, Zara quits.

A short time later, Chris goes to Zara's house to offer her an assistant producer position as he misses her but instead finds her widowed author mother Brooke, as Zara is running errands. Deciding to wait for her, he explains to Brooke that his script is bad, and they soon hit it off. By the time Zara returns, she unwittingly walks in on Brooke and Chris having sex.

Chris promises Zara it won't happen again, so Zara returns to work for him as associate producer. He invites Brooke to dinner, and they again connect intimately.

Zara discovers that Chris hired Brooke as his new writer and confronts them at a gala. Brooke says she's happy with Chris and hasn't been this happy since she was with her husband, disregarding her daughter's pain and her concern he will hurt Brooke as he often does with fans who date him.

The family and Chris visit Brooke's mother-in-law Leila's house for Christmas. Leila convinces Zara to let her mom have fun. Brooke tells her mother-in-law that she was having relationship problems with Zara's dad even before he died, and Zara overhears this conversation. Later, while putting bags in the car, Zara notices diamond earrings in Chris's bag.

At home, Zara tells Brooke and Chris how bad Chris is, claiming that he buys the same earrings for everyone he breaks up with and already has a pair ready. This revelation prompts Brooke to ask Chris to leave.

Later, at the studio, Zara is asked to find Chris, who is upset and alone. Chris confides in her, expressing doubt about playing the good guy. He clarifies that he wasn't planning to break up with Brooke; he just forgot the earrings were in his bag because he often ends relationships impulsively. Zara then goes to Brooke, admitting she was wrong about Chris, but Brooke refuses to listen.

Zara orchestrates an encounter between her, Chris, and Brooke at the supermarket, explains her mistake, and apologizes to them. Following this reconciliation, Chris and Brooke get back together, and a year later, their relationship is still going strong.

Rating: 10 Stars 

Pompeii, 2014 (Netflix Leaving Soon)

Pompeii is a 2014 epic romantic historical disaster film produced and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. An international co-production between the United States, Germany and Canada, it is inspired by and based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that destroyed Pompeii, a city of the Roman Empire. The film stars Kit Harington and Emily Browning, with Carrie-Anne Moss, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, Jared Harris and Kiefer Sutherland in supporting roles.

Pompeii shows clearly that the bad humans actions are not tolerated by the Nature. This Volcano gave them their judgement, they were all exterminated by their own actions. 

TRAILER

PLOT

In northern Britannia, 62 AD, Roman soldiers led by general Corvus wipe out a tribe of Celtic horsemen. Corvus personally kills the parents of a boy named Milo. Being the only survivor, Milo is later captured by slave traders.

Seventeen years later, in Londinium in 79 AD, the grown Milo becomes a popular gladiator. His owner, Graecus brings the gladiators to Pompeii. Also going there is Cassia and her servant Ariadne, who return after a year in Rome.

When Milo treats one of their horses with kindness, Cassia becomes enamored of him. Her parents are the city governor Severus and his wife Aurelia. One of their servants is later swallowed up when a quake from Mount Vesuvius opens up the ground under him.

In Pompeii, Milo develops a rivalry with Atticus, a champion gladiator who, by Roman law, will be given his freedom after he earns one more victory. The gladiators are shown off at a party where Corvus, now a Senator, announces that he will invest in Severus' plans to rebuild Pompeii. Cassia left Rome to escape Corvus' advances.

When an earthquake causes some horses to become anxious, Milo helps calm one down. He then takes Cassia on a ride. Being aware that they cannot be together, he returns her to the villa. Not recognizing Milo, Corvus is ready to kill him, but Cassia pleads for his life. Milo is lashed for his actions, and Atticus admits respect for his rival.

In the Amphitheatre of Pompeii, to punish Milo, Corvus orders him killed in the first battle, and trainer Bellator convinces Graecus to sacrifice Atticus, as well. The two men, and other slaves, are chained to rocks as other gladiators come out as Roman soldiers, to recreate Corvus' victory over the Celts. Working together, Milo and Atticus survive the battle, with the latter realizing the Romans will never honor his freedom.

Meanwhile, Corvus forces Cassia to agree to marry him by threatening to have her family killed for supposed treason against Emperor Titus. When Milo and Atticus win, Cassia defies Corvus by holding a “thumbs-up”, saving them from execution. Corvus has her locked up in the villa and has his officer Proculus fight Milo one-on-one. Their battle is interrupted when Mount Vesuvius erupts, creating tremors that cause the arena to collapse, sending Milo and Proculus crashing to the dungeons. Milo opens up the gates, allowing his fellow gladiators a chance to attack; Proculus escapes, while Bellator is killed. Enraged, Severus tries to kill Corvus, who stabs him instead and escapes.

Flaming debris rain down upon the city as everyone tries to flee to the harbor. One fireball sinks a ship, killing the escaping Graecus. Before dying, Aurelia tells Milo that Cassia is at the villa. There, Milo manages to save Cassia, but Ariadne is killed when the villa collapses into the Mediterranean Sea. Atticus tries to reach the harbor, which is destroyed with several ships when a tsunami created by the volcano smashes into the city. Reuniting with Atticus, Milo suggests searching the arena for horses to escape. As the gladiators face Roman soldiers at the arena, Cassia is abducted by Corvus. Milo chases after the chariot carrying the two while Atticus fights Proculus. Atticus is mortally wounded in the duel, but nonetheless manages to kill Proculus.

Cassia frees herself before the chariot crashes into the Temple of Apollo. Milo and Corvus duel as a fireball destroys the temple. Cassia chains Corvus to a building, as Milo reveals who he is. He declares that his gods are coming to punish Corvus. Milo and Cassia ride off as a pyroclastic surge races into the city, incinerating Corvus.

At the arena, Atticus proclaims that he dies a free man before being consumed with the city. At the outskirts, the horse throws off Milo and Cassia. Milo tells Cassia to leave him, realising the horse is not fast enough to carry them both. Instead, she sends the horse off, knowing they cannot outrun the surge.

Milo kisses Cassia as the surge engulfs them; as the dust settles their petrified bodies are shown in an eternal embrace.

Rating: 10 Stars. 

Gladiator, 2000 (Netflix Leaving Soon)

Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson. It stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, and Djimon Hounsou.

TRAILER

PLOT

In 180 AD, the Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against Germanic tribes near Vindobona. Emperor Marcus Aurelius tells Maximus that his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and that he wishes Maximus to succeed him, as regent, to restore the Roman Republic. Angered by this decision, Commodus secretly murders his father.

Commodus proclaims himself the new emperor and requests loyalty from Maximus, who refuses. Maximus is arrested by Praetorian Guards led by Quintus, who tells him that he and his family will die. Maximus kills his captors and, wounded, rides for his home near Turgalium, where he finds his wife and son executed. Maximus buries them and collapses from his injuries. He is found by slave traders, who take him to Zuccabar in the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis and sell him to the gladiator trainer Proximo.

Maximus reluctantly fights in local tournaments, his combat skills helping him win matches and gain popularity. He earns the nickname "the Spaniard" and befriends Juba, an African gladiator from Carthage. In Rome, Commodus organizes 150 days of gladiatorial games to commemorate his father and win the approval of the Roman public. Upon hearing this, Proximo reveals to Maximus that he was once a gladiator who was freed by Marcus Aurelius, and advises him to "win the crowd" to gain his freedom.

Proximo takes his gladiators to fight in Rome's Colosseum. Disguised in a masked helmet, Maximus debuts in the arena as a Carthaginian in a re-enactment of the Battle of Zama. Unexpectedly, he leads his side to victory and wins the crowd's support. Commodus and his young nephew, Lucius, enter the Colosseum to offer their congratulations. Seeing Lucius, Maximus refrains from attacking Commodus, who orders him to reveal his identity; Maximus removes his helmet and declares vengeance. Commodus is compelled by the crowd to let Maximus live. That evening, Maximus is visited by Lucilla, his former lover and Commodus's sister. Distrusting her, Maximus refuses her help.

Commodus arranges a duel between Maximus and Tigris of Gaul, an undefeated gladiator. Several tigers are set upon Maximus, but he prevails. At the crowd's desire, Commodus orders Maximus to kill Tigris, but Maximus spares his life in defiance. In response, the crowd chants "Maximus the Merciful", angering Commodus. To provoke Maximus, Commodus taunts him about the murder of his family, but Maximus resists the urge to strike him. Increasingly paranoid, Commodus instructs his advisor, Falco, to have every senator followed, and refuses to have Maximus killed for fear he will become a martyr.

Maximus discovers from Cicero, his ex-orderly, that his former legions remain loyal to him. He meets in secret with Lucilla and Gracchus, an influential senator. They agree to help Maximus escape Rome to join his legions in Ostia, topple Commodus by force, and hand power back to the Roman Senate. The Praetorians arrest Gracchus. Lucilla meets Maximus at night to arrange his escape; they share a kiss. Commodus becomes suspicious when Lucilla's son, Lucius, innocently hints at the conspiracy. Commodus threatens Lucilla and Lucius, and has the Praetorians attack the gladiators' barracks. Proximo and his men sacrifice themselves to enable Maximus to escape. Maximus is captured at the rendezvous with Cicero, where the latter is killed.

Commodus demands that Lucilla provide him with an heir. He challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum to win back public approval, and stabs him before the match to gain an advantage. Despite his injury, Maximus disarms Commodus during the duel. After Quintus and the Praetorians refuse to help him, Commodus unsheathes a hidden knife; Maximus overpowers Commodus and drives the knife into his throat, killing him. Before Maximus succumbs to his wound, he asks for political reforms, the emancipation of his gladiator allies, and the reinstatement of Gracchus as senator. As he dies, Maximus envisions reuniting with his wife and son in the afterlife. His friends and allies honor him as "a soldier of Rome" and carry his body out of the arena. That night, Juba visits the Colosseum and buries figurines of Maximus's wife and son at the spot where he died.

Rating: 10 Stars