Actor Denzel Washington (1954)

The American thriller drama film, John Q. (2002), was written by James Kearns and directed by Nick Cassavetes. In the movie, a motorist driving recklessly on a freeway is fatally struck by a truck. Prior to this tragic event, John Quincy Archibald and his wife Denise were struggling financially in Chicago. Despite their challenges, they remained devoted parents to their young son Michael, who collapses at his baseball game one day after church. At the hospital, they receive devastating news from cardiologist Dr. Raymond Turner and administrator Rebecca Payne – ...

Antwone Fisher (2002), the subject of an American biographical drama film, made his directorial debut with Denzel Washington at the helm. The protagonist is a passionate but troubled young man from Cleveland, Ohio, who has a history of violence and is currently serving in the U.S. Navy. His father’s untimely death occurred before his birth and his teenage mother, Eva Mae Fisher, was arrested and imprisoned shortly after giving birth to him. He spent his first years in an orphanage until his mother’s release allowed her to take him in. However, she failed to do so by the time he turned two, and he was placed ...

In the crime film Training Day (2001), directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer, ambitious police officer Jake Hoyt is assigned to work with decorated narcotics detective Alonzo Harris for a one-day evaluation. As they patrol in Alonzo’s Monte Carlo, they come across some college kids buying marijuana, which Alonzo takes and encourages Jake to smoke. When Jake refuses, Alonzo threatens him at gunpoint, explaining that rejecting drugs on the streets could result in his death. Eventually, Jake gives in and smokes the laced pipe while Alonzo laughs. Moving ...

Remember the Titans (2000), an American biographical sports comedy-drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin, tells the story of a high school football team. In 1981, a group of former coaches and players attend a funeral for one of their own. The events leading up to this moment begin ten years earlier in the summer of 1971, when head coach Bill Yoast is leading his white players in summer workouts at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. However, things take an unexpected turn when Herman Boone is assigned to Yoast’s ...

The American biographical sports drama film, The Hurricane (1999), was directed and produced by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Rubin ‘The Hurricane’ Carter, a middleweight boxer wrongfully convicted of a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey. After spending nearly two decades in prison, his sentence was finally overturned. The film focuses on Carter’s life from 1966 to 1985 as he fights against the unjust conviction. In parallel, we follow the journey of Lesra Martin, an underprivileged Afro-American youth from Brooklyn now living in Toronto. In the 1980s, Lesra becomes intrigued by ...

The Bone Collector (1999), a crime thriller, was helmed by director Phillip Noyce. Set in New York City the year prior, the protagonist Lincoln Rhyme is left paralyzed from the neck down following an accident. While on patrol duty, Amelia Donaghy uncovers a mutilated body at an old Civil War-era railroad site. With Rhyme confined to his bed, he guides her through the investigation via video and audio feeds from her patrol car. Upon finding evidence that suggests foul play, Rhyme enlists Amelia’s help despite her initial hesitation. The killer poses as a taxi driver and kidnaps a married couple before our ...

The Siege (1998), directed by Edward Zwick, follows a fictional scenario in which New York City is plagued by terrorist attacks. FBI Special Agent Anthony Hubbard and his partner Frank Haddad find themselves at the center of the action as they intervene in a hijacking of a bus loaded with passengers and rigged with an explosive device. Despite their efforts, the terrorists manage to escape when the bomb turns out to be nothing more than paint. However, things escalate when Sheikh Ahmed bin Talal, a suspect in an earlier bombing, is demanded to be released by the FBI. As tensions rise, Hubbard clashes with CIA operative ...

The American sports drama film, He Got Game (1998), was written, produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It centers around Jesus Shuttlesworth, an exceptional high school basketball player being heavily recruited by top college programs. However, his father Jake is currently serving time at Attica Correctional Facility for accidentally killing Jesus’ mother Martha six years ago. The governor of ‘Big State’, one of the schools vying for Jesus’ talents, grants Jake a work release in hopes that he can convince his son to sign with their program and secure an early release from prison. As soon as he is ...

The American supernatural thriller film, Fallen (1998), directed by Gregory Hoblit, tells the story of Philadelphia Police Detective John Hobbes and his encounter with serial killer Edgar Reese. Many years after capturing Reese, Hobbes visits him on death row where he is met with a surprisingly upbeat demeanor. During their conversation, Reese grabs Hobbes’ hand and delivers a spiteful monologue in an unknown language, later identified as Syrian Aramaic. As Reese is executed, he taunts the onlookers and sings ‘Time Is on My Side’ by The Rolling Stones. After a series of murders resembling Reese’s ...

The American Christmas comedy-drama film, The Preacher’s Wife (1996), directed by Penny Marshall, tells the story of Reverend Henry Biggs and his struggles as the pastor of a small African American Baptist church in a poverty-stricken area of New York City. With declining membership, financial issues, and constant demands from his parishioners, Henry is feeling overwhelmed. To make matters worse, real estate developer Joe Hamilton is pressuring him to sell the church’s property for luxury condos. As a result, Henry has become neglectful towards his wife Julia and their son Jeremiah. Julia fears that their ...

Edward Zwick’s film, Courage Under Fire (1996), tells the story of Lieutenant Colonel Serling during his time in the Persian Gulf War. In a chaotic nighttime battle, Serling mistakenly strikes and destroys a tank belonging to his own team. Tragically, this action results in the death of his friend, Lieutenant Boylar. The Army tries to conceal the details of the incident and honors Serling with a bravery medal before moving him to a desk job. Later on, he is assigned to investigate whether Captain Karen Walden should be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor as she was the leader of a rescue mission for a downed ...

Virtuosity (1995), an American sci-fi action flick helmed by Brett Leonard, follows Parker Barnes, an ex-cop imprisoned for taking the life of political terrorist Matthew Grimes. Grimes was responsible for the deaths of Parker’s wife and daughter. Despite also accidentally shooting two journalists during the altercation, Barnes received a severe sentence of 17 years to life. In 1999, Barnes and his colleague John Donovan are testing a virtual reality system designed to train police officers. While pursuing serial killer SID 6.7 in a simulated restaurant setting, Donovan falls into shock and dies at the hands of ...

Devil in a Blue Dress  (1995), an American neo-noir mystery thriller film, was written and directed by Carl Franklin based on Walter Mosley’s novel of the same name. Set in the Summer of 1948 in Los Angeles, it follows Ezekiel ‘Easy’ Rawlins after he is laid off from his job at Champion Aircraft and needs to make ends meet. Easy’s bartender friend Joppy introduces him to DeWitt Albright, a white P.I. who is searching for Daphne Monet, a missing white woman. Despite feeling anxious about meeting Albright due to past experiences with someone similar, ...

The movie Crimson Tide (1995), directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, is an American submarine action thriller. An opening title card introduces the three most influential figures in the world: The U.S. President, the Russian President, and the captain of a U.S. nuclear submarine. In post-Soviet Russia, a civil war breaks out due to ongoing conflict in Chechnya. Loyal military units of Vladimir Radchenko, a Russian ultra-nationalist rebel leader, seize control of a nuclear missile ...

The American legal drama film, Philadelphia (1993), was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. Andrew Beckett, a senior associate at the largest corporate law firm in the city, keeps his homosexuality and status as an AIDS patient hidden from his colleagues. Despite attributing a lesion on his forehead to a racquetball injury, it is actually Kaposi’s sarcoma, a defining condition of AIDS. Beckett takes several days off work to try and conceal the lesions and manages to finish the paperwork for an assigned case. He then instructs his assistants to ...

The romantic comedy film, Much Ado About Nothing (1993), is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. After quashing an uprising led by his half-brother Don John, Don Pedro of Aragon and his comrades pay a visit to their friend Leonato in Messina. Accompanying Don Pedro is Benedick, a quick-witted man who has a history with Leonato’s clever niece, Beatrice. Claudio, a young count and friend of Benedick’s, also joins them. Despite his previous rebellion, Don John seems to have reconciled with his brother. Claudio has been enamored with Hero, Leonato’s daughter, since before he ...

The American legal thriller film, The Pelican Brief (1993), is an adaptation of John Grisham’s 1992 novel. It was directed by Alan J. Pakula. In the film, two elder Supreme Court justices, Jensen and Rosenberg, are killed by an assassin named Khamel. Tulane University law student Darby Shaw writes a legal brief outlining her theory on the motive behind their murders. Her lover and former clerk of Rosenberg’s, Thomas Callahan, reads the brief and passes it on to Gavin Verheek, special counsel to the director of the FBI. Shortly after, Callahan is killed in a ...

Malcolm X (1992) tells the story of an African-American activist and is directed and co-written by Spike Lee. Born in rural Michigan, Malcolm Little is raised by his Grenadian mother and African-American father in a strong household. Tragically, their home is destroyed and Malcolm’s father, a passionate advocate for black rights, is killed by the Black Legion. Despite this injustice, his death is recorded as a suicide and the family receives no compensation. With his mother’s mental health deteriorating, Malcolm and his siblings are placed in protective care. Despite facing numerous challenges, Malcolm ...

Mira Nair’s romantic drama film, Mississippi Masala (1991), follows the story of Jay, Kinnu, and their daughter Mina, a family of Ugandan Indians. After dictator Idi Amin expels Asians from Uganda in 1972, the family tearfully leaves their home behind and settles in Greenwood, Mississippi with relatives who own motels there. Despite spending years in England before arriving in America, Jay struggles to adapt to his new life and longs to return to Kampala. His distrust towards black people stems from the effects of Amin’s rule. Meanwhile, Mina has fully embraced American culture and has a diverse group of ...

Ricochet (1991), an action crime thriller directed by Russell Mulcahy, follows the story of Nick Styles. Nick, a rookie police officer and law student in Los Angeles, meets Alice and falls out of touch with his childhood friend Odessa, who has turned to drug dealing in South Central. While patrolling a carnival, Nick and his partner Larry Doyle come across hitman Earl Talbot Blake and his accomplice Kim. A tense standoff ensues when Blake takes a hostage after killing drug dealers. Stripping off his equipment and uniform, Nick relies on a hidden gun in his athletic supporter to shoot Blake in the knee and ultimately ...