Movies Released October 6, 2006

Written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, "Shortbus" explores the lives of several characters living in present-day New York as they navigate the comic and tragic intersections between love and sex. Male and female, straight and gay, the characters find one and other -- and eventually find themselves -- when they all converge at a weekly underground salon called "Shortbus," a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality.

Armed with a Winchester rifle, two Morrocan boys set out to look after their family's herd of goats. In the silent echoes of the desert, they decide to test the rifle… but the bullet goes farther than they thought it would.

In an instant, the lives of four separate groups of strangers on three different continents collide. Caught up in the rising tide of an accident that escalates beyond anyone's control are a vacationing American couple (Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett), a rebellious deaf Japanese teenager and her father, and a Mexican nanny who, without permission, takes two American children across the border. None of these strangers will ever meet; in spite of the sudden, unlikely connection between them, they will all remain isolated due to their own inability to communicate meaningfully with anyone around them.

Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) is a normal teenager who lives with his uncle, a nondescript bank manager… or so it seems until his uncle—Ian Rider (Ewan McGregor)—disappears under mysterious circumstances. Alex soon learns that his uncle was a spy for Britain's secret intelligence service MI6, and he is recruited to take on a dangerous mission for the British secret service to infiltrate the organization of a sinister billionaire (Mickey Rourke). Within days he's gone from schoolboy to super spy—but will Alex's first assignment be his last?

A suburban town is full of perfect parents who are fully devoted to rearing their children for Harvard futures and keeping them safe from predators. The adults escape the excruciatingly bore-fests their lives have become via Internet porn and extramarital affairs. A stay-at-home mom has an affair with an ex-jock stay-at-home dad who rebels against his wife's wishes that he become a big-bucks lawyer.

"The Departed" is set in South Boston, where the state police force is waging war on organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy is quickly gaining Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the gangsters and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy—and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

On one last road trip before they're sent to serve in Vietnam, two friends (Handley and Bomer) and their girlfriends (Baird and Brewster) get into an accident that calls their local sheriff (Ermey) to the scene. Thus begins a terrifying experience where the teens are taken to a secluded house of horrors, where a young, would-be killer is being nurtured.

For customers of Super Club, the largest high-volume, bulk-discount retailer in the country, membership has its privileges. For workers at the cavernous store, the most coveted honor is the "Employee of the Month" award, and having one's photo immortalized on the wall of fame in the staff lounge. Enter Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) and Vince Downey (Dax Shepard), two ultra competitive Super Club workers whose ten years of employment have resulted in drastically different career paths. While Vince—with the aid of his trusty sidekick Jorge (Efren Ramirez)—has advanced to become head cashier and winner of 17 consecutive "E of M" awards, Zack is the ultimate slacker whose scruffy appearance and laid back attitude has made him popular with his colleagues, but kept him stuck in the lowly ranks of the store's box boys. The duo's longtime rivalry comes to a bitter head when Amy (Jessica Simpson) – a beautiful new cashier with a reputation of only dating "Employee of the Month" winners—transfers to the store, immediately becoming the object of both Zack and Vince's affection and often comical gamesmanship.

While Vince instantly impresses Amy with his crowd pleasing, flamboyant style behind his checkstand register, Zack's feeble attempts to charm his beautiful new co-worker quickly backfire against him. With the race to win Amy's affections slipping away, Zack determines his only chance rests in winning the store's next "Employee of the Month" award. A battle to the end, "Employee of the Month" shows that the only failure in life is when one fails to try.