Actor Chris Cooper (1951)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) is an American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller, centered around TV presenter Fred Rogers. In 1998, during an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Mr. Rogers showcases a picture board with five doors. Three are opened to reveal familiar faces – Lady Aberlin, King Friday, and Mr. McFeely. The fourth door reveals the face of Lloyd Vogel, a troubled new friend of Mr. Rogers sporting a black eye and cut near his nose. Lloyd has been hurt (though not necessarily on his face) and is struggling to forgive the person who hurt him. After defining ...

Homecoming (2018–2020) is an American psychological thriller TV series based on the Gimlet Media podcast of the same name. It was created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg and first premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 2, 2018. Heidi Bergman, a former social worker, had worked at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center under the Geist Group – a live-in facility that supposedly helped soldiers adjust to civilian life. However, four years later, Bergman has moved on and now works as a waitress. She struggles to remember her time at Homecoming until a U.S. ...

Cars 3 (2017) is an American animated film by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. After competing in the World Grand Prix five years prior, Lightning McQueen, a seven-time Piston Cup champion, faces competition from rookie racer Jackson Storm. The new generation of racecars utilizes cutting-edge technology to enhance their performance, causing veterans to either retire or lose sponsorships as they are overshadowed by Storm’s success. In the final race at Los Angeles, Lightning struggles to keep up with Storm after both drivers make pit stops. Unfortunately, in his efforts to catch up, Lightning’s engine fails and he suffers a devastating ...

11.22.63 (2016) is a science fiction thriller miniseries based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name, consisting of eight episodes. It follows Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine who is given the opportunity by his friend Al Templeton to travel back in time to 1960. Jake is initially hesitant but eventually agrees in hopes of preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. However, as he settles into life in the past, he becomes torn between his mission and the new relationships he forms. To gather information without raising suspicion, he must carefully navigate through events and ...

Live by Night (2016) is a compelling crime drama featuring Ben Affleck as the writer, director, producer and star. Based on Dennis Lehane’s 2012 novel of the same title, it follows the story of Joe Coughlin, an Irish-American World War I veteran and son of Boston police captain Thomas Coughlin. In the year 1926, Joe falls for Emma Gould, the mistress of notorious gangster Albert White who he and his friends have been targeting through a series of robberies. Despite Thomas’ disapproval and warnings against Joe’s criminal activities, the love between Joe ...

August: Osage County (2013), a film directed by John Wells, is a tragicomedy based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Set in the scorching month of August in rural Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the story centers around Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet struggling with alcoholism. He hires Johnna, a young Cheyenne woman, to work as a live-in cook and caregiver for his wife Violet. Violet is battling oral cancer and a narcotic addiction. After Beverly disappears, Violet turns to her sister and daughters for help. Along with her husband Charles Aiken, Violet’s ...

The Company Men (2010), an American drama film written and directed by John Wells, follows the story of Bobby Walker. When his employer, the publicly held shipbuilding corporation GTX, undergoes downsizing during the recession, Walker finds himself among the many employees who are let go. As a white-collar worker with a high salary and family to support, he struggles to maintain his lavish lifestyle after losing his job. Despite receiving outplacement services from GTX, Walker is unable to secure another corporate position and gradually has to give up luxuries like his country club membership and Porsche. Eventually, he ...

Remember Me (2010) is an American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Allen Coulter and written by Will Fetters. In New York, Ally is a student at New York University, living with her detective father, Neil, in Queens. Meanwhile, Tyler is also attending NYU and works at the campus bookstore. His relationship with his businessman father, Charles, is strained, while Ally’s father often has to work long hours. One evening, Tyler and his roommate Aidan get into trouble and are taken into custody by Neil. Aidan contacts Charles for help in getting Tyler ...

The Town (2010) is an American crime thriller film co-written and directed by Ben Affleck, adapted from Chuck Hogan’s 2004 novel Prince of Thieves. Four lifelong friends from the neighborhood of Charlestown, Boston, Douglas ‘Doug’ MacRay, James ‘Jem’ Coughlin, Albert ‘Gloansy’ MacGloan, and Desmond ‘Dez’ Elden, rob a bank wearing masks. Against Doug’s wishes, Jem takes bank manager Claire Keesey hostage but later releases her unharmed. After finding out that Claire lives in their neighborhood, Doug ...

The American romantic comedy-drama anthology film, New York, I Love You (2008), showcases 11 short films directed by different filmmakers. Each of the shorts explores the theme of love and is set in one of the five boroughs of New York City. It first premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival in September and was later released in the United States on October 16, 2009. However, during a focus screening in New York, it was decided to cut two novellas from the original version: These Vagabond Shoes by Scarlett Johansson and Apocrypha by Andrei ...

Breach (2007) is a American spy thriller film directed by Billy Ray, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Adam Mazer and William Rotko. The movie follows Eric O’Neill, a young and ambitious FBI employee who is tasked with going undercover as a clerk to Robert Hanssen, a senior agent suspected of deviant behavior. Despite being recalled from his position at the State Department to head a new division focused on Information Assurance at FBI headquarters, Hanssen maintains a strict formality with O’Neill. He ...

Syriana (2005), an American political thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, is loosely based on Robert Baer’s 2003 memoir See No Evil. The movie was filmed in over 200 locations across five continents, including the Middle East, Washington D.C., and Africa. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Gaghan revealed that the film draws from his personal experiences meeting and interviewing powerful figures such as oil owners, media moguls, lobbyists, ...

Directed by Doug Liman and written by Tony Gilroy and William Blake Herron, The Bourne Identity (2002) is an action-thriller film based on Robert Ludlum’s 1980 novel of the same name. When Italian fishermen rescue a man with two gunshot wounds in the Mediterranean Sea, they discover that he has no memory of his identity but possesses advanced combat skills and fluency in multiple languages. Upon finding a laser projector embedded under his skin, displaying a safe ...

The Patriot (2000) is an American epic movie portraying historical events. Directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Robert Rodat, the film centers around Benjamin Martin during the American Revolutionary War. A veteran of both the French and Indian War and a widower with seven children, Martin is summoned to Charlestown to vote on a levy that would support the Continental Army. Uncertain about war with Great Britain and not wanting to compel others to fight when he himself will not, Martin refrains from voting. However, the levy passes and his eldest son Gabriel enlists ...

American Beauty (1999), a dark comedy-drama film, was written by Alan Ball and marked Sam Mendes’ debut as a feature director. The movie centers on Lester Burnham, an unsatisfied middle-aged executive living in suburbia and married to the high-strung real estate agent Carolyn. Their daughter Jane, who is 16 years old, has low self-esteem and harbors resentment towards her parents. Next door, retired Marine colonel Frank Fitts moves in with his wife Barbara and their teenage son Ricky. Ricky has a passion for capturing everyday moments on videotape with his camcorder ...

The film This Boy’s Life (1993) follows the story of a young boy named Tobias ‘Toby’ Wolff. In the 1950s, Toby and his mother Caroline are constantly on the move, but she desires to find stability for her son. They eventually settle in Seattle, where Caroline meets a man named Dwight Hansen who appears to be the perfect match. However, as Caroline is briefly away from home, Dwight’s true nature is exposed as he becomes emotionally, verbally, and physically abusive towards Toby. The marriage between Caroline and Toby progresses, and they settle down in Dwight’s home in Concrete, a small town near the north Cascades Mountains. Despite ...