HAPPY ENDINGS begins with a woman running hysterically down the street before being knocked down by a car.  The audience does not get a look at her face, but (the audience) is told that she lives.  As the film flashbacks 20 years earlier – a device used many times in films to create a sense of anticipation of who this person might turn out to be by the last reel – we learn that the story actually concerns a multitude of characters whose lives are intertwined in one way or other. 

Plot: In the Philippines in 1945, Military Rangers undertake a risky mission under the command of Lt. Colonel Henry Mucci (Benjamin Bratt).  Their mission is to free more than 500 American prisoners of war from the notorious Japanese P.O.W. camp at Cabanatuan. It is based on true events.

Plot: A beautiful young girl named Mayumi joins a top-notch school with draconian disciplinary standards. Because she spent her childhood abroad, Mayumi soon falls behind the rest of her classmates. Though subjected to merciless flayings by her teachers, she continues in her quest to become an anchorwoman. While being beaten by an especially cruel teacher, a woman appears identifying herself as the “Kekko Kamen.” Kekko Kamen, a crime fighter, stands up to defend the tormented Mayumi and battle the sadists of Manglifon school.

MURDERBALL, invented by the Canadians and around for more than 10 years, is quadriplegic rugby played in armoured wheelchairs like the bloodied sports of the gladiators of old.  The activity has grown tremendously, aided by publicity from media like films of this sort, leading to quad-rugby competitions held the world over.  Directors trace the members of the U.S. team and their defecting (to Canada) coach for two years as they fight, argue, live and cry out their lives and their game.  For most of these guys, this game is their entire life.  And they would not go back to their normal lives otherwise, as many players claim, during interviews.

Plot: When an experimental space voyage goes wrong, four people are changed genetically by cosmic rays. With unusual power they inherit, they become Fantastic Four.

After some bumpy roads (BLADE TRINITY, ELEKTRA, CATWOMAN), the superhero film has been intelligently revitalized by directors like Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan. Now where does FANTASTIC FOUR, the latest superhero movie stand? Somewhere in between.