Actor Dwayne Johnson (1972)

Empire State (2013) is an American crime drama film that follows the story of two childhood friends who plot to rob an armored car repository, but are met with resistance from an NYPD officer. Chris Potamitis comes from a working-class family in Astoria, Queens, New York during the early 1980s. His immigrant father was recently fired from his job at a questionable Greek social club after ten years of service. Despite his attempts to join the police force, Chris is unable to due to a previous marijuana conviction. He settles for a low-paying job as a security guard at the poorly-run Empire Armored Car Company, where there is little security and morale is low. A tragic ...

The action thriller film Snitch (2013), directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Dwayne Johnson, is based on the real-life experiences of DEA informant James Settembrino. College student Jason Collins gets pulled into a dangerous situation by his friend Craig, who convinces him to receive a package of drugs at his house. However, the package also contains a tracking device. When DEA officers raid the house, Jason attempts to escape but is caught and arrested by Agent Cooper. Later on, while attending a barbecue with his estranged father John Matthews (who owns a ...

Pain & Gain (2013), an American action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, follows the story of ex-con and bodybuilder Daniel Lugo. In 1994, Lugo is hired by Sun Gym owner John Mese to manage the gym. While there, he befriends Adrian Doorbal, a trainer and bodybuilder who has recently been affected by steroid use. Lugo becomes envious of Victor Kershaw, one of the gym’s members whom he also begins to train. After being inspired by motivational speaker Jonny Wu to be more proactive in life, Lugo comes up with a plan to extort Kershaw for his wealth and luxurious lifestyle. With Doorbal’s help and the ...

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) is an action-packed film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. After their successful heist in Brazil, Dominic Toretto and his skilled team of criminals have fled around the globe and are living a peaceful life. Dom resides with Elena Neves, his sister Mia is with Brian O’Conner and their child Jack, Gisele Yashar and Han Lue are together, while Roman Pearce and Tej Parker enjoy a life of luxury. On the other hand, DSS agents Luke Hobbs and Riley Hicks are investigating the destruction of a Russian military convoy caused by ...

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) is an American science fantasy action-adventure film directed by Brad Peyton. Four years have passed since Sean Anderson’s previous adventure in the center of the earth. Now 17 years old, Sean gets into trouble with the police after attempting to access a satellite control center. He believes that his missing grandfather, Alexander Anderson, may have sent a coded signal and he wants to investigate further. Seeking to connect with Sean, his stepfather Hank Parsons helps decipher the code using three books: Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travels, and Jules Verne’s ...

Fast Five (2011) is an action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. While Dominic Toretto is being transported to Lompoc Prison on a bus, his sister Mia Toretto and friend Brian O’Conner launch an attack and free him. Evading authorities, the trio flees to Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile, Mia and Brian team up with their friend Vince and others for a robbery mission involving three cars on a train. However, they discover that DEA agents are pursuing the same cars as seized property. Dom arrives with his crew but their main target Zizi only wants one car ...

Faster (2010) is an American action thriller directed by George Tillman Jr. Upon his release from prison, James ‘Jimmy’ Cullen retrieves a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle, a gun, and a list of names. He then heads to a telemarketing office in Bakersfield, California where he kills Prescott Ashton, and proceeds to visit Roy Grone for more names. Detectives Cicero and Humphries are hot on Cullen’s trail, while hitman ‘Killer’ is also hired to take him down. Cullen manages to track down the next name on his list, Kenneth Tyson, who is known for producing personal snuff films. After eliminating Tyson, ...

The American fantasy comedy family film, Tooth Fairy (2010), directed by Michael Lembec, follows the story of Derek Thompson, a minor league ice hockey player with the nickname ‘Tooth Fairy’. Due to his aggressive playing style, he often knocks out opposing players’ teeth. One night, he takes a dollar from his girlfriend’s young daughter’s lost tooth and tells her that the tooth fairy isn’t real. Soon after, he finds a magical Summons under his pillow, giving him wings and transporting him to the world of tooth fairies. There, he meets his caseworker Tracy and head fairy Lily, who he ...

The Other Guys (2010) is a buddy cop comedy directed by Adam McKay, who also co-wrote the script with Chris Henchy. The film follows the story of two officers from NYPD – Allen Gamble, a mild-mannered forensic accountant, and Terry Hoitz, a hot-tempered detective. Terry earned the infamous nickname “Yankee Clipper” after mistakenly shooting Derek Jeter during the World Series, leading to him being paired with Allen as his partner. However, they receive little respect from their fellow officers, especially detectives Martin and Fosse. The rest of the ...

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 ...

Planet 51 (2009), an animated science fiction comedy directed by Jorge Blanco, features green extraterrestrials living peacefully in a society reminiscent of the 1950s United States. However, this planet and its inhabitants differ significantly from Earth, as their lack of knowledge about astronomy leads them to believe that the Universe only stretches for around 500 miles. When a mysterious spacecraft lands in the city of Glipforg, NASA astronaut Captain Charles T. ‘Chuck’ Baker emerges and is surprised to discover life on the planet. Chuck quickly escapes to the town’s planetarium where he meets Lem, ...

Get Smart (2008) is an American spy action comedy film directed by Peter Segal, with a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. It was produced by Leonard B. Stern, who also produced the original television series. The story follows Maxwell ‘Max’ Smart, an analyst for CONTROL – a top secret American intelligence agency. Despite his desire to become a field agent, Max is kept behind a desk due to his Chief’s appreciation for his analytical skills. ...

The American sports family comedy film, The Game Plan (2007), directed by Andy Fickman, follows the story of Joe Kingman, quarterback for the Boston Rebels. During the final game of the regular season against the New York Dukes, Joe chooses to score a touchdown instead of passing to open receiver Travis Sanders. This decision leads to an unexpected visit from eight-year-old Peyton Kelly the next morning. Claiming to be his biological daughter sent by his ex-wife Sara, Peyton throws a wrench in Joe’s carefully curated public image. His agent, Stella Peck, tries to distract him with the upcoming playoffs. However, ...

Directed by Phil Joanou, Gridiron Gang (2006) is an American biographical sports drama film that tells the story of Sean Porter, an employee at Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles. Frustrated by his inability to aid the troubled kids upon their release from the center – whether it be from street gangs or drug dealings – Porter devises a plan. He decides to form a football team, believing that it will instill in them the values of responsibility, maturity, and discipline. Carefully selecting individuals who he believes will benefit from this program, Porter gathers his team – the Kilpatrick ...

Written and directed by Richard Kelly, Southland Tales (2006) is a dystopian black comedy thriller film. In an alternate reality of the United States on July 4, 2005, twin nuclear attacks destroyed two Texas towns (El Paso and Abilene) causing mass destruction and loss of life. This triggered a catastrophic chain of events that threw the country into chaos and panic, leading to a Third World War (based on the effects of the War on Terror). As a result, the draft was reinstated by the government, while US-IDent, a new agency with extended powers under the PATRIOT Act, constantly monitors citizens’ activities ...

Doom (2005), a science fiction film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, is loosely based on the video game series of the same name by id Software. In 2026, a wormhole portal known as the Ark is discovered deep below the Nevada desert, leading to an ancient city on Mars. Two decades later, the 85 personnel at Union Aerospace Corporation’s (UAC) research facility on Mars are ambushed by an unknown attacker. In response to a distress call from Dr. Carmack, a team of eight marines is dispatched to the facility. The group includes squad leader Sgt. Asher ‘Sarge’ Mahonin as well as ‘Duke’, ...

Be Cool (2005) is an American crime comedy film based on Elmore Leonard’s novel of the same name. It serves as the sequel to Leonard’s 1990 novel Get Shorty, which was also adapted into a film in 1995. The story centers around Chili Palmer, a mobster who becomes disenchanted with filmmaking and turns to the music industry following the public murder of his friend Tommy Athens, who owned a struggling record label. Chili offers to help Tommy’s widow, Edie Athens, revive the business which is in debt to hip-hop producer Sin LaSalle for $300,000. ...

The American vigilante action film Walking Tall (2004), directed by Kevin Bray, is a remake of the 1973 movie with the same title. The story follows Sergeant Chris Vaughn, a former U.S. Army Special Forces member who returns to his hometown in Kitsap County, Washington. After finding out that the local cedar mill has closed down, Chris discovers that the owner, Jay Hamilton, now runs a casino that generates most of the town’s income. As Chris and Hamilton were school friends, the latter invites him for a night of fun at the casino. While exploring the VIP lounge, Chris runs into Deni, his childhood friend who ...

The Rundown (2003) is a film directed by Peter Berg and written by James Vanderbilt and R.J. Stewart. Beck, a ‘retrieval expert’ who works for Billy Walker, is sent to a nightclub to collect a championship ring from a football player. During the job, he is attacked by one of Walker’s other collectors and decides that he wants to leave the business. However, Walker convinces Beck to take on one final task – retrieve his son Travis from a small mining town in Brazil and he will provide enough money for Beck ...

The Scorpion King (2002), an action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, features Dwayne Johnson in the lead role. Set before the time of the pyramids, it tells the story of a powerful conqueror named Memnon who terrorizes local tribes with his sorcerer’s foresight. Only three true Akkadians, Mathayus, Jesup, and Rama, are left to face the threat and are hired by King Pheron to kill Memnon’s sorcerer for twenty blood rubies. Sneaking into Memnon’s camp, they are ambushed by guards who were warned by Pheron’s son Takmet, a traitor who kills his ...