Actor Ed Harris (1950)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022), an American action drama directed by Joseph Kosinski, tells the story of United States Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Despite his impressive career as a test pilot and numerous accolades, Maverick’s repeated insubordination has hindered him from advancing in rank. Fortunately, his former TOPGUN rival, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, who now commands the U.S. Pacific Fleet, often comes to his aid to prevent him from being grounded. However, Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain steps in and cancels Maverick’s “Darkstar” scramjet ...

Directed, cowritten, and coproduced by Dean Devlin, Geostorm (2017) is an American science-fiction disaster film that centers around a system of climate-controlling satellites called ‘Dutch Boy’. In 2019, an international coalition commissions the satellites following a series of devastating natural disasters. After successfully neutralizing a typhoon in Shanghai, chief architect Jake Lawson is reprimanded by a Senate sub-committee for acting without authorization. He is replaced by his brother Max, who works alongside Secretary of State Leonard Dekkom. Three years later, while stationed in the Registan ...

Westworld (2016–2022) is an American dystopian science fiction Western TV show created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy that premiered on HBO on October 2, 2016. It is based on the 1973 film by Michael Crichton with the same title. In the year 2050, Delos Inc. manages a number of theme parks, including Westworld, which simulates the American Old West. The park is populated by biomechanical robots known as ‘Hosts’ who are virtually indistinguishable from humans. These Hosts are designed to fulfill every wish of the ...

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 ...

Man on a Ledge (2012) is an American action thriller directed by Asger Leth. After checking into the Roosevelt Hotel, a man named Joe Walker makes his way to the 21st floor and steps out onto the ledge, seemingly prepared to end his life. Concerned bystanders alert the police, who send in Dante Marcus and Jack Dougherty to handle the situation. However, it is revealed that Walker is actually ex-policeman Nick Cassidy, who recently escaped from prison after being sentenced for stealing a diamond from businessman David Englander. Negotiator Lydia Mercer, still reeling from her failure to save a suicidal policeman, is ...

Gone Baby Gone (2007), an American neo-noir thriller, marks the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. Adapted from Dennis Lehane’s 1998 novel by Affleck and Aaron Stockard, the film is set in Dorchester, Boston. Private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro are drawn into a search for four-year-old Amanda, whose mother Helene McCready pleads for her safe return on television. When Helene’s sister and brother-in-law hire the detectives to find Amanda, they ...

Director Jon Turteltaub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer released National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007), an American action-adventure film. The story takes place five days after the Civil War’s end, as John Wilkes Booth and Michael O’Laughlen, members of the KGC, ask Thomas Gates to decipher a message copied into Booth’s diary. Though Thomas decodes the Playfair cipher, he realizes that Booth and O’Laughlen have ulterior motives to aid the Confederacy. In a race against time, Thomas burns the cipher pages and shares the keyword with his son ...

Stepmom (1998), an American drama directed by Chris Columbus, follows the story of Jackie and Luke Harrison. The New York City couple is navigating the difficulties of co-parenting their two children, daughter Anna and son Ben. Luke, an attorney, now lives with Isabel Kelly – his girlfriend of one year. Isabel, a successful fashion photographer who is younger than Luke, never desired to be a mother. Despite this, she makes an effort to bond with Anna and Ben. However, Anna consistently rejects her while Ben’s playful behavior adds another layer of complexity. Around Jackie, Isabel is cautious yet disdainful ...

The Truman Show (1998) is an American comedy drama film written by Andrew Niccol and directed by Peter Weir. The film focuses on the life of a man named Truman Burbank who was selected at birth and adopted by a television studio after an unwanted pregnancy. Unbeknownst to him, he is the main star of a reality TV show called The Truman Show. This program is broadcasted globally via approximately five thousand hidden cameras that capture every moment of Truman’s life. The creator and executive producer, Christof, aims to showcase Truman’s genuine emotions as a ...

Absolute Power (1997) is an American political action thriller film starring Clint Eastwood as a master jewel thief who witnesses the killing of a woman by Secret Service agents. In Washington, D.C., Luther Whitney breaks into the mansion of billionaire Walter Sullivan, only to find himself in hiding when Sullivan’s wife Christy arrives for a drunken rendezvous with Alan Richmond, the President of the United States. From his vantage point behind the bedroom vault’s one-way mirror, Whitney watches as Richmond becomes violent and Christy defends herself by wounding him with a letter opener. The situation ...

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 ...

Apollo 13 (1995), a docudrama directed by Ron Howard, follows the journey of astronaut Jim Lovell as he prepares for his next space mission after having orbited the Moon on Apollo 8. Excitement builds as Lovell and his guests gather to watch Neil Armstrong’s historical steps on the Moon from Apollo 11. Lovell shares with his wife Marilyn his desire to one day walk on the lunar surface. However, a twist of events occurs when Lovell’s crew is informed that they will be flying Apollo 13 instead of their initially assigned mission, due to a swap with Alan Shepard’s crew. Alongside Ken Mattingly and Fred ...

Oliver Stone’s American epic historical drama film, Nixon (1995), follows the events of the Watergate scandal. In 1972, members of the White House Plumbers break into The Watergate and are arrested. A year and a half later, Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff, Alexander Haig, provides Nixon with audio tapes regarding the scandal. As they discuss the chaos that ensued from Watergate and the passing of J. Edgar Hoover, Nixon expresses his anger towards John Dean, James McCord, and others involved in the scandal. He even questions why he has not been given a pistol to end his own life like an honorable soldier. Most ...

Based on Stephen King’s 1991 novel of the same name, Needful Things (1993) is an American horror film directed by Fraser C. Heston. In the small town of Castle Rock, Maine, a mysterious man named Leland Gaunt arrives in a sinister-looking black car and opens an antique store called ‘Needful Things’. The establishment offers various items with great personal value to its residents, some clearly possessing supernatural abilities like a pain-relieving pendant or a toy that predicts horse race outcomes. However, these items come at a price – both in ...

Sydney Pollack directed The Firm (1993), an American legal thriller. Mitch McDeere, a top Harvard Law School graduate, is offered a lucrative position by boutique law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke in Memphis, Tennessee. He and his wife Abby relocate there as he prepares for the Tennessee bar exam. Mitch receives guidance from senior partner Avery Tolar on the firm’s strict values of loyalty, confidentiality, and high fees. Despite the enticing perks such as a new house, a Mercedes-Benz, and paid-off student loans, Abby resents the firm’s interference in employees’ personal lives. Despite working long hours, Mitch passes the bar exam but this ...

The Abyss (1989) is an American science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. In January 1994, the U.S. Ohio-class submarine USS Montana encounters an unidentified submerged object and sinks near the Cayman Trough. As Soviet ships and a hurricane approach, the U.S. government dispatches a SEAL team to Deep Core, a privately owned experimental underwater drilling platform near the Cayman Trough, to use as their base. The team is joined by Dr. Lindsey Brigman, designer of the platform and estranged wife of current foreman Virgil ‘Bud’ Brigman. While investigating Montana, a power outage in their submersibles causes Lindsey to see an unfamiliar ...

The film Creepshow (1982), directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, marked King’s first foray into screenwriting. After young Billy Hopkins is caught reading the horror comic of the same name, his abusive father Stan disciplines him and throws the comic in the trash. As Billy sits upstairs, wishing his father ill will, he suddenly hears a noise at the window. The source of the sound is revealed to be none other than the Creep, beckoning Billy closer and removing the lid from the trash can.

Knightriders (1981), an American action drama film by George A. Romero, follows the story of Billy and his traveling motorcycle jousting troupe. As their leader, Billy takes on the persona of ‘King William’ and strives to uphold Arthurian ideals within the group. However, with the demands of modern life and financial struggles, tensions have started to rise among the troupe. Billy’s recurring dream of a black bird adds to his personal turmoil. To make matters worse, a promoter named Bontempi arrives and further complicates things. Despite being injured, Billy continues to push himself, causing even ...