Linus Roache

As Great Britain's forces were stretched thin during World War II, Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executive began to enlist women as spies. Their daunting mission: conduct sabotage and build a resistance. Spymistress Vera Atkins, later the inspiration for Ian Fleming's Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond franchise, was the chief recruiter for this secret army. Atkins selected two unusual candidates: Virginia Hall, an American journalist from Baltimore with a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan, a wireless officer of Indian descent and an avowed pacifist.

Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents.

A pampered life in London collides with the stark realities of poverty and hunger in the world's most dangerous hot spots in Beyond Borders, a sweeping romantic adventure starring Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie (Lara Croft Tomb Raider). While attending a fundraising gala, Sarah Jordan (Jolie), a naive, married American socialite living in England, witnesses a fiery plea delivered by an intruder-a renegade humanitarian, Dr. Nick Callahan (Clive Owen, The Bourne Identity). His plea, made on behalf of impoverished African children under his care, turns Sarah's life upside down.