Actor David Morse (1953)

Concussion (2015), an American biographical sports drama film written and directed by Peter Landesman, is based on the exposé Game Brain by Jeanne Marie Laskas, originally published in 2009 by GQ magazine. The story follows retired Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who is found dead in his pickup truck in 2002. Prior to his death, fellow former football player Justin Strzelczyk confides in Webster about suffering from memory loss and exhibiting unusual behavior towards his family. During their conversation, Webster responds by reciting a line ...

World War Z (2013) is a gripping American film directed by Marc Forster. It is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks and was written by Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski. The story follows Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator, as he navigates through a world overrun by zombies with his wife Karin and two daughters, Rachel and Connie. One particular moment that stands out to Gerry during this chaos is how quickly someone can turn into an infected ...

The American television miniseries John Adams (2008) follows the political journey of U.S. president John Adams and his pivotal role in the establishment of the United States. Directed by Tom Hooper and starring Paul Giamatti as Adams, the series was adapted from David McCullough’s 2001 book of the same name by Kirk Ellis. Over seven episodes, HBO brought to life both the biopic of Adams and the first 50 years of America’s history. Garnering widespread critical ...

16 Blocks (2006), an American action thriller film directed by Richard Donner, follows Jack Mosley, an alcoholic and jaded NYPD detective. Despite working a late shift the night before, his lieutenant orders him to escort Eddie Bunker, a witness in a police corruption case, from local custody to the courthouse 16 blocks away for a 10 a.m. grand jury hearing. Bunker tries to connect with Mosley by sharing his dreams of becoming a cake baker in Seattle with his sister whom he has never met. However, Mosley remains uninterested and makes a stop at a liquor store. Suddenly, they are attacked by a gunman and seek refuge in a ...

Hearts in Atlantis (2001), directed by Scott Hicks, is an American mystery drama film loosely based on Stephen King’s Low Men in Yellow Coats, a story from his 1999 collection of the same name. In the film, middle-aged photographer and businessman Robert ‘Bobby’ Garfield returns to his hometown after learning about the death of his best friend, decorated soldier John ‘Sully’ Sullivan, in a car accident. As he visits his childhood home, now abandoned, Bobby reflects on his past. During one summer in the 1960s, eleven-year-old Bobby ...

The Green Mile (1999), an American fantasy drama film based on the novel with the same title by Stephen King, was written, directed and co-produced by Frank Darabont. In 1935, at Cold Mountain Penitentiary’s death row, nicknamed ‘The Green Mile’, retiree Paul Edgecomb served as an officer. Whilst watching the film Top Hat in 1999 at a Louisiana assisted-living home, Paul begins to cry. His companion Elaine becomes concerned and he explains that it reminded him of events he witnessed during his time as an officer. He worked alongside corrections officers ...

The Rock (1996) is an American action thriller movie, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It tells the story of Brigadier General Francis Hummel and his subordinate Major Tom Baxter, who lead a rebellious group of U.S. Force Recon Marines in a mission to steal fifteen VX gas-loaded M55 rockets from a heavily guarded naval weapons depot. The following day, Hummel takes over Alcatraz Island, capturing tourists and guards as hostages. He then contacts both the FBI and the Pentagon, making ...

The Langoliers (1995), a two-part horror miniseries, was both directed and written by Tom Holland. It is based on the novella by Stephen King from the book Four Past Midnight, which consists of four parts. During a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, most of the passengers and crew disappear after flying through a strange light. Their personal belongings are all that remain. The remaining passengers were asleep during the event and include pilot Brian Engle, deadheading on the flight, an enigmatic Englishman named Nick, schoolteacher Laurel Stevenson, tool ...

Directed by Terry Gilliam, 12 Monkeys (1995) is an American science fiction thriller film that depicts a world devastated by a deadly virus. The survivors are forced to live underground while rumors circulate about the Army of the Twelve Monkeys being responsible for the outbreak. In 2035, James Cole is chosen from among the prisoners living in an underground compound beneath Philadelphia to travel back in time and locate the original virus. He agrees to do so in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, he is troubled by recurring dreams involving a foot chase and shooting at an airport. When he finally arrives in ...

The Crossing Guard (1995) is an American independent drama film written and directed by Sean Penn, who also co-produced it. The story revolves around Freddy Gale, a former devoted husband and father who has become an alcoholic in the five years since his daughter Emily passed away. He spends his nights at strip clubs and having flings with the dancers. When John Booth, the drunk driver who killed Emily, is released from jail, Freddy tells his ex-wife Mary that he intends to seek revenge. Despite her pleas to reconsider, they end up in a heated argument which results in her new husband kicking Freddy out of their house. ...

Roger Donaldson’s film, The Getaway (1994), is an American action thriller based on Jim Thompson’s novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Walter Hill and Amy Holden Jones. As Doc McCoy and his wife Carol practice shooting, Rudy approaches them with a proposal to break a Mexican drug lord’s nephew out of jail for a payment of $300,000. The job is successful, but it turns out that the drug lord wanted his nephew freed in order to kill him. ...

The crime drama film, The Indian Runner (1991), marks Sean Penn’s first venture into directing. Inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Highway Patrolman, the movie portrays the complicated relationship between two brothers who find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Taking place in 1960s Nebraska, it centers around small-town deputy sheriff Joe and his criminal brother, Frank Roberts. Prior to the events of the story, Joe attempted to make a living through farming but was forced to give it up when he couldn’t pay off his debts and lost his ...

Directed by Michael Cimino, Desperate Hours (1990) is an American neo-noir action thriller film. This remake of the 1955 film and adaptation of the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes was written by Hayes himself and co-written by Cimino. In Utah, defense lawyer Nancy Breyers finds herself inexplicably infatuated with her client, intelligent yet sociopathic convict Michael Bosworth. During a courtroom hearing, Nancy slips Bosworth a gun and they escape together when he savagely kills ...

St. Elsewhere (1982–1988) is an American medical drama television series originally airing on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. Created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, it follows the lives of staff at the fictional St. Eligius Hospital in Boston’s South End neighborhood. The hospital’s nickname, ‘St. Elsewhere’, is a slang term in the medical field for hospitals that may not have the same resources as others, but still provide care to patients who are turned away elsewhere. This term can also be used in medical academia for teaching ...