Actor Dennis Hopper (1936)

The American drama film, Sleepwalking (2008), follows the struggles of Tara Reedy and her mother Joleen, who have been forced to leave their previous home due to Joleen’s boyfriend’s arrest for growing marijuana. With nowhere else to turn, Joleen persuades her younger brother James to take them in. However, after settling into James’ apartment, Joleen disappears with a truck driver, leaving Tara in the care of her uncle who works on a road-building crew. Unfortunately, he loses his job and is forced to stay with his married best friend Randall. Meanwhile, Tara is placed in a foster home where she faces bullying and desperately yearns to be reunited ...

Swing Vote (2008) is an American comedy-drama film directed by Joshua Michael Stern, depicting a fictional U.S. presidential election. In this alternate version of the year 2008, the entire contest rests on the vote of one man – Ernest ‘Bud’ Johnson from Texico, New Mexico. Bud is a simple, unemployed man with no interest in politics until his twelve-year-old daughter Molly inspires him to take a more serious approach to life. Despite her efforts, Bud remains apathetic towards voting and Molly takes matters into her own hands on election day by attempting to cast a ballot for her father at their local ...

Land of the Dead (2005) is a post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Following the zombie apocalypse, human civilization has reorganized and established a chain of protected city-states across America. One such sanctuary is located within the triangular peninsula of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a feudal-like government governs its citizens. Surrounded on two sides by rivers and barricaded on the third with an electrified fence guarded by a militia, this city provides relative security for its inhabitants. Beyond its borders lies a desolate landscape with abandoned suburbs and ...

Firestarter: Rekindled (2002) is a two-part American television miniseries, serving as a sequel to the 1984 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Firestarter. Vincent Sforza, employed by a prominent research firm, has been tasked with locating individuals involved in an old experiment from the 1970s. This experiment involved administering a chemical known as LOT-6 to a group of college students. These individuals are now part of a class action lawsuit and require contact for monetary compensation. Among those on the list is Charlene ‘Charlie’ McGee, the daughter of two participants in the ...

The Source (1999), a documentary directed by Chuck Workman, follows the lives of influential Beat writers, from their first meeting at Columbia University in 1944 to their deaths. Through dramatic interpretations by three actors, the film delves into their friendships, rise to prominence in American culture, travels, frequent parodies, and eventual passings of Kerouac and Ginsberg. Their movement intersected with bebop music, John Cage’s compositions, abstract expressionism art, and experimental theater. In recent interviews with figures such as Jerry Garcia and Tom Hayden, the likes of Ginsberg, Burroughs, Kesey ...

Directed by Abel Ferrara, The Blackout (1997) is an American drama film starring popular actor Matthew Modine. It was featured at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, but not in competition. Matty, tired of the Hollywood lifestyle, relocates to Miami and proposes to his French girlfriend, also named Annie. However, she declines and reveals that she had an abortion. Feeling devastated about losing their baby (despite initially suggesting the abortion), Matty and his friend Micky decide to go on a wild night out. While at a nightclub, they meet another waitress named Annie and ...

Waterworld (1995) is an American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. In the year 2500, rising sea levels have submerged every continent on Earth, leaving only rugged, floating communities known as atolls for human civilization to survive on. Many believe in the existence of a mythical ‘Dryland’ somewhere in the vast ocean, but others dismiss it as mere legend. The Mariner, a lone wanderer, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran with a valuable ...

In the American action thriller film, Speed (1994), directed by Jan de Bont, LAPD SWAT officers Jack Traven and Harry Temple stop an extortionist bomber from detonating a bomb in a crowded elevator for a $3 million ransom. During the confrontation, the bomber takes Harry hostage. To save his partner, Jack shoots Harry in the leg, causing the bomber to flee and set off the bomb. Though it appears that the bomber perishes in the explosion, he survives and watches Jack and Harry’s heroic actions on TV. As a result of their bravery, Lieutenant ‘Mac’ McMahon praises them and promotes Harry to Detective ...

True Romance (1993) is an American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. In a Detroit theater showing kung fu films, Alabama Whitman meets Clarence Worley, an Elvis Presley fanatic. After spending the night at his downtown apartment, Alabama tearfully reveals that she is a call girl hired as a birthday present but has fallen in love with Clarence. The two tie the knot at City Hall the next day. Guided by an apparition of Elvis, Clarence decides to take revenge on Alabama’s abusive pimp Drexl Spivey. He finds Drexl at the ...

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 ...

The American romantic comedy drama film, The Pick-up Artist (1987), was produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written and directed by James Toback. Jack Jericho, a 21-year-old womanizer, constantly refines his craft. Driving around the city in a red convertible, he smoothly charms women wherever he goes. Unfortunately, this behavior doesn’t sit well with the principal at his school who reprimands him for hitting on students’ mothers. One night while out and about, Jack approaches Lulu as she waits in her mobster boyfriend Alonzo’s convertible. As Alonzo approaches and threatens him, Jack ...

River’s Edge (1986), an American crime drama film directed by Tim Hunter and written by Neal Jimenez, is set in Northern California. One day, pre-teen Tim tosses his sister’s doll into a nearby river and spots a teenager named John smoking on the other side. Later, at a convenience store, Tim sees John getting denied the sale of beer and decides to steal two cans for himself. When John leaves the store and heads towards his car, he discovers that Tim has placed the stolen beer on his front seat. Taking advantage of their encounter, Tim joins John on a trip to ...

The American black comedy slasher film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986), was co-composed and directed by Tobe Hooper, with a screenplay by L.M. Kit Carson. While on their way to the Dallas Cotton Bowl for the Texas-OU football game, two high school seniors named Buzz and Rick encounter a pickup truck on a desolate stretch of Texas highway. In their drunken state, they use their car phone to harass radio DJ Vanita ‘Stretch’ Brock live on air. Despite her attempts to get them to hang up, Stretch is forced to keep the line open. Suddenly, Leatherface appears ...

Rumble Fish (1983), an American drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rusty James is the younger brother of ‘The Motorcycle Boy’, a well-known figure among the local gangs who had previously brought peace between them. When the Motorcycle Boy mysteriously disappears for two months, chaos ensues as heroin takes over the streets and Rusty James struggles to maintain his reputation. As he battles a rival gang leader and gains the upper hand, he is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected ...

The American epic war film, Apocalypse Now (1979), was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It begins in Saigon, South Vietnam in late 1969 where U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard has returned on another combat tour during the Vietnam War. He openly admits that he is unable to readjust to society in the USA and shares that his marriage has ended. In his room, he drinks heavily, chain-smokes, and experiences hallucinations alone until one day when he becomes upset and injures himself by shattering a large mirror. Soon after, two military policemen arrive to escort him to an ...