Rumania’s entry in the 1958 Cannes Film Festival was the excessively melodramatic Ciulinii Bărăganului. The title translates as Fools of Bărăgan, in reference to a band of beleaguered feudal Rumanian peasants. But these are no fools: instead, they are fearless freedom fighters, organizing a brave (though foredoomed) revolt against the tyranny of the landowners. The parallels drawn between the people of Bărăgan and Russia’s revolutionary leaders are all but impossible to miss. It would have been nice, however, if the story had not been told in such a heavy-handed, spell-it-all-out fashion.

In 1879, during the Zulu wars, man of the people Lt. John Chard (Stanley Baker) and snooty Lt Gonville Bromhead (Michael Caine) were in charge of defending the isolated Natal outpost of Rorke’s Drift from tribal hordes, holding out during an Alamo-like siege until they are overwhelmed, losing the battle, but going down in history as heroes. 150 soldiers defended a supply station against some 4000 Zulus, aided by the Martini-Henry rifle “with some guts behind it”. In the hundred years since the Victoria Cross was created for valour and extreme courage beyond that normally expected of the British soldier in face of the enemy only 1344 have been awarded. Eleven of these were won by the defenders of the mission station at Rorke’s Drift, Natal, January 22nd to the 23rd 1879.

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his disfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends the wrong application.

Darryl Stephens plays Pete Logsdon-just a guy in Philadelphia who happens to have a history of getting involved with married men. His father, played by veteran Richard Lawson and his soon-to-be step mom, Leslie Zemeckis, are on him to find someone who’s actually available and to settle down. Instead, he finds a man named Jack who is fifteen years into a perfect marriage with two beautiful children and an enviable wife.

A singer in New York gets a grim diagnosis that puts her life and dreams into perspective.

Angelina is tired of long serious relationships. One day she is brutally raped and she changes dramatically. Suddenly she is getting involved in more and more dangerous relations with unknown men until her behavior leads to a fatal crime.

Susan Morrow receives a book manuscript from her ex-husband – a man she left 20 years earlier – asking for her opinion of his writing. As she reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of Tony Hastings, a mathematics professor whose family vacation turns violent.

Attempting to surpass his father’s legacy, an Indian American neuroscientist becomes entangled in his own experiment, pitting ten fragments of his consciousness against each other.

A young rock singer is not appreciated by her band, and gets a postcard from Japan saying “wish you were here”. She takes what little money she has including ex-boyfriend’s rent money and goes to Tokyo. She has numerous cross-cultural adventures and ends up singing with a Japanese rock group looking for a gaijin gimmick.

Ted Hayden impersonates a wanted man and joins Gentry’s gang only to learn later that Gentry was the one who killed his father.

Jeffrey Hansen has had a lot of bad days in his life. He is having another one today. A minor setback that seems easy enough for anyone else to overcome breaks Jeffrey’s spirit. He is sent spiraling into memories of lost loves, ruined lives, casualties of war, and the heartache of never being enough. As he wrestles with his past, he is plunged into an epic battle with himself that ends with an act of mercy.

Harmony is tricked into auditioning for the Holiday Chorus — directed by an ex-boyfriend. By Christmas Eve, they could be harmonizing in the key of love.