Actor Ciarán Hinds (1953)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), also known as the Snyder Cut, is a director’s cut of the 2017 American superhero film Justice League, which is part of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) based on DC Comics’ team of the same name. Centuries ago, Darkseid and his Parademons attempted to conquer Earth by harnessing the power of three Mother Boxes. However, they were thwarted by a united force consisting of Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, humans and extraterrestrial beings. Afterwards, the Mother Boxes were scattered and concealed in different locations. In present day, Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday[d] ...

Red Sparrow (2018) is an American spy thriller directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. In modern-day Russia, Dominika Egorova is a renowned ballerina who cares for her sick mother. After sustaining a career-ending injury, she is approached by her uncle Ivan, the deputy director of the SVR. Ivan tasks her with seducing Russian gangster Dimitry Ustinov to secure her mother’s ongoing medical treatment. During this mission, Ustinov is killed by ...

First Man (2018) is an American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle from a screenplay by Josh Singer, based on the book of the same name by James R. Hansen. It follows NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong in 1961 as he flies the X-15 rocket-powered spaceplane, which accidentally bounces off the atmosphere. Despite successfully landing in the Mojave Desert, his colleagues question his recent series of mishaps and suggest that his focus may be divided due to personal troubles. Armstrong’s daughter Karen is ...

Based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name, Justice League (2017) is an American film. It opens with footage taken by two kids using their camera phone, capturing Clark Kent/Superman after one of his heroic missions. In an interview, one of the kids asks Superman about his favorite thing on Earth, but before he can answer, the footage abruptly ends. Fast forward several months later in Gotham City where a robbery has just taken place. Perched on a gargoyle, Bruce Wayne/Batman confronts the perpetrator and engages him in a fight. Using fear as his ally, Batman dangles the man over the edge of a building and lures out a strange winged creature. After ...

Silence (2016) is an epic historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. The story follows two devout Portuguese Catholic priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francisco Garupe, who embark on a journey to Japan in 1633. Their mission: to uncover the truth behind their mentor Father Cristovão Ferreira’s abrupt end of correspondence. Despite hearing rumors of Ferreira’s apostasy, the determined Jesuit missionaries press on, facing brutal anti-Christian purges in their search for their friend and ...

The popular movie Frozen (2013), released by Walt Disney Pictures, tells the story of Princess Elsa from Arendelle who possesses magical abilities over ice and snow. After unintentionally hurting her sister Anna with her powers, their parents, the King and Queen, take them to a group of trolls led by Grand Pabbie for help. He uses his magic to heal Anna’s injury by removing her memories of Elsa’s abilities. As a precautionary measure, the King and Queen decide to keep Elsa isolated within the castle until she learns to control her powers. This isolation causes a rift between the sisters that continues into their adulthood. Sadly, their parents perish in a ...

Directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman, The Woman in Black (2012) is a gothic supernatural horror film. It tells the story of lawyer Arthur Kipps, who is sent to the village of Crythin Gifford in 1889 to retrieve documents from the late owner of Eel Marsh House, Alice Drablow. During his visit, three young girls tragically pass away after seemingly being hypnotized by a mysterious presence. In 1906, Arthur’s wife Stella dies after giving birth to their son Joseph, and four years later he makes his journey to Crythin Gifford. Despite being met with ...

A movie John Carter (2012) tells the story of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ uncle who passed away unexpectedly. The film was directed and written by Andrew Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon respectively, and is based on the Barsoom novel series. At the time of his uncle’s death in 1881, Burroughs learned that John had requested to be buried in a tomb that only he could open from inside. He was also given John’s personal journal to read by his lawyer. The plot then rewinds back to 1868 when Carter ...

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) is a British Cold War spy thriller film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The script was written by Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, adapted from John le Carré’s novel of the same name. In 1973, ‘Control’, head of British intelligence, sends agent Jim Prideaux to Budapest on a mission to uncover a mole within their ranks. However, Prideaux is shot during the operation and Control subsequently dies. Sir Percy Alleline ...

In the fantasy film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011), directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, our hero must seek help from the goblin Griphook after burying Dobby. With Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger by his side, Harry suspects a Horcrux is hidden in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault at Gringotts bank. Griphook agrees to assist them, on the condition that he receives the Sword of Gryffindor in return. Ollivander informs Harry that two wands previously belonging to Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy were taken from Malfoy Manor; sensing a ...

Race to Witch Mountain (2009), directed by Andy Fickman, is an American sci-fi adventure thriller. In the small town of Searchlight, Nevada, an alien spacecraft crashes just outside of Las Vegas. In response, Project Moon Dust – a covert Defense Department group under the command of Henry Burke – arrives in black helicopters. Without hesitation, the men in black take control of the spaceship and begin their search for its occupants, determined to exploit their DNA and abilities. Meanwhile in Vegas, ex-convict Jack Bruno has turned his life around as a taxi cab driver to avoid returning to jail. Along his ...

The American comedy-drama film, Margot at the Wedding (2007), was both written and directed by Noah Baumbach. The main character, Margot, is a accomplished writer who is often preoccupied with her own thoughts and feelings. It is hinted that she may have borderline personality disorder. Margot decides to bring her 11-year-old son Claude with her for a weekend visit to her sister Pauline’s home on Long Island, New York. Pauline is set to marry Malcolm, an unrewarding musician whom Margot finds unappealing. During her stay in town, Margot participates in a public interview at a local bookstore with Dick Koosman, a ...

The movie Miami Vice (2006) was written, directed, and co-produced by Michael Mann. Based on the hit TV show from the 1980s, for which Mann served as executive producer. While undercover at a club to arrest a pimp named Neptune, Miami-Dade detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Tubbs receive an urgent call from their former informant Alonzo Stevens. Worried for his wife’s safety, Stevens reveals he is leaving town and asks Rico to check on her. It turns out that Stevens had been working as an FBI informant but has now been compromised. The detectives quickly contact FBI ...

The epic historical drama film, Munich (2005), was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth. It is based on Vengeance, a 1984 book by George Jonas that details Mossad assassinations in the aftermath of the Munich massacre. The events take place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where a terrorist attack by the Palestinian militant group Black September resulted in the deaths of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. To carry out this mission, Mossad agent Avner Kaufman, ...

The biographical crime film, Veronica Guerin (2003), directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Cate Blanchett in the titular role, focuses on the intrusion of the illegal drug trade into the lives of working class individuals and their children. Determined to uncover those responsible, Guerin conducts interviews with young addicts who shoot up in public or empty buildings within their housing communities. Through her investigation, she uncovers key suppliers and meets John Traynor, a man with insider knowledge of the criminal world. While he agrees to assist her to a ...

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), an action adventure film directed by Jan de Bont and based on the popular video game series, takes place on Santorini island in Greece. A powerful earthquake reveals the Luna Temple, originally constructed by Alexander the Great to house his most treasured possessions. One of these treasures is a luminous orb adorned with a cryptic pattern. While treasure-hunting archaeologist Lara Croft and her team uncover this orb, they are ambushed by Chen and Xien Lo, leaders of the Chinese crime syndicate Shay Ling. Despite their efforts, Lara manages to evade capture with an ...

The Sum of All Fears (2002) is a gripping American spy thriller helmed by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name, the film follows a complex plot involving a lost nuclear bomb and international political tensions. It all begins with an Israeli warplane being shot down during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Decades later, a Syrian scrap collector comes across the unexploded bomb buried in the Golan Heights. He sells it to a South African arms trafficker, who recognizes its significance and passes it on to neo-nazi group leader Richard Dressler. ...

The romantic drama film, Oscar and Lucinda (1997), directed by Gillian Armstrong, follows the lives of two individuals – Lucinda Leplastrier and Oscar. As a child growing up in Australia, Lucinda is captivated by a Prince Rupert’s Drop, which sparks her lifelong passion for glass. Sadly, her parents pass away and she inherits great wealth when her guardians sell off their family farmland. With her newfound riches, Lucinda purchases a glass factory and becomes involved in gambling after being introduced to it by her accountant. Meanwhile, Oscar is raised by his father as a Plymouth Brother but eventually ...