Politics is a dirty, mean-spirited, no-good business, and even the purest of souls who enter come out the other end tainted by the unavoidable compromises necessary to survive the experience. This comes as news to no one of course, least of all the filmmakers behind the new film Knife Fight… but that doesn’t mean they fully agree with it. Paul Turner (Rob Lowe) is a campaign manager happily saddled with the nickname “The Master of Disaster.” When politicians are discovered in bed with a dead girl, a live boy or a quadriplegic orangutang Turner and his assistant Kerstin (Jamie Chung) are the ones they rely on to spin things back in their favor. His current slate includes an infidelity-prone Kentucky governor (Eric McCormack) in a tight re-election race and a California Senator (David Harbour) accused of sexual impropriety during a massage. Also begging for his assistance is a Mission District doctor (Carrie-Ann Moss) who’s decided she can reach and help the most people by running for governor. When Turner’s actions lead directly to a near tragedy though he’s forced to reconsider how best to employ his particular skill set.

The Mayans, the wise race of ancients who created hot cocoa, set December 21st, 2012 as the end date of their Calendar, which the intelligent and logical amongst us know signifies the day the world will end, presumably at 12:21:12am, Mountain Time. From now until zero date, we will explore the 50 films you need to watch before the entire world perishes. We don’t have much time, so be content, be prepared, be entertained. The Film: Memento (2000) The Plot: Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is a man with some problems. Foremost, he has an inability to formulate new memories, which means his entire life is dictated by his note taking abilities and his tattoo reminders. A close second is the fact that he’s hunting the man who murdered his wife.

The Mayans, the wise race of ancients who created hot cocoa, set December 21st, 2012 as the end date of their Calendar, which the intelligent and logical amongst us know signifies the day the world will end, presumably at 12:21:12am, Mountain Time. From now until zero date, we will explore the 50 films you need to watch before the entire world perishes. We don’t have much time, so be content, be prepared, be entertained. The Film: The Matrix (1999) The Plot: At the tail end of hacking being considered cool, a cool hacker is approached by other cool, smartly dressed hackers about fighting the man. But seriously now, Neo, a whipsmart hacker, is recruited by an underground movement only to realize his entire existence has been lived inside of a machine. Foreseen to be “The One” who will free humanity, Neo must master himself within the virtual world to topple the evil computer overlords.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column about movie news. It will not try to sew your face to someone else’s butt. It will, however, make your hind quarters sore. So give yourself over to it — it will be gentle, at first. Fox’s upcoming Planet of the Apes prequel, previously titled Rise of the Apes, has been retitled to give it that ole’ familiar ring. It will now be called Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which should hold until they can figure out a less concise way to title it. Either way, it’s got James Franco, so I’m seeing it.