Actor Giovanni Ribisi (1974)

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024) is an epic Western directed and produced by Kevin Costner. Co-written with Jon Baird, it’s based on a story by the pair and Mark Kasdan. In 1859, surveyors mark stakes in the San Pedro Valley to outline the borders of Horizon, a forthcoming frontier town. Soon after, Desmarais, a missionary, discovers the deceased surveying party and buries them before establishing Horizon. Four years later, an Apache raid led by Pionsenay strikes the now-flourishing town and kills ...

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), an American epic science fiction film, is co-produced and directed by James Cameron. Together with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Cameron co-wrote the screenplay based on a story they created with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Sixteen years have passed since the Na’vi successfully defended Pandora against the Resources Development Administration (RDA). Jake Sully, now chief of the Omatikaya clan, lives happily with his family consisting of his wife Neytiri and their children Neteyam, Lo’ak, Tuk, and Kiri (born from Grace Augustine’s inert avatar). The late Colonel ...

The American dystopian thriller film, The Bad Batch (2016), is both directed and written by Ana Lily Amirpour. Following her exile to a desert outside Texas, a young woman named Arlen finds herself in a region known as the ‘bad batch’, where those rejected by society must fend for themselves. A sign clearly marks the area as outside of the US, exempt from American laws and citizenship. Despite this, Arlen is eventually taken captive by two women on a golf cart. Fortunately, she is rescued by a mute hermit who leads her to Comfort, a makeshift settlement known for its all-night raves. After five months pass ...

In the film A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) director Seth MacFarlane teams up with writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild. Set in 1882 in Old Stump, Arizona, the story follows timid sheep farmer Albert Stark as he deals with his girlfriend Louise’s breakup due to his unwillingness to engage in a duel. Frustrated with life on the frontier, Albert plans to move to San Francisco. Meanwhile, notorious outlaw Clinch Leatherwood kills an old prospector for a single gold nugget and sends his right-hand man Lewis to ...

The film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1998 novel, The Rum Diary (2011), was directed by Bruce Robinson. Paul Kemp is a struggling author who takes a job at a newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is quickly introduced to the ins and outs of the newspaper world by Sala, a staff photographer who predicts the newspaper’s eventual downfall. After settling into a hotel, Kemp crosses paths with Chenault, an alluring woman he meets while lounging on a boat in the ocean. Despite getting off on the wrong foot with his editor, E.J Lotterman, due to a night of ...

Avatar (2009) is an epic science fiction film directed, written, co-produced and edited by James Cameron. Set in 2154, the Earth’s natural resources have been depleted and the planet is facing ecocide. To mine the valuable mineral unobtanium on Pandora, a moon in the Alpha Centauri star system, the Resources Development Administration (RDA) has been established. However, Pandora’s atmosphere is unsuitable for human life. The inhabitants of Pandora are the Na’vi – a species of 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned, intelligent beings who live harmoniously with their natural surroundings. In order to interact ...

The science fiction action-adventure film, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), marked Kerry Conran’s directorial debut. Set in a technologically advanced 1939, the zeppelin Hindenburg III docks atop the Empire State Building. On board is Dr. Jorge Vargas, who arranges for a package containing two vials to be delivered to another scientist, Dr. Walter Jennings. However, after delivering the package, Dr. Vargas disappears. Meanwhile, reporter Polly Perkins from The Chronicle is investigating the disappearances of not only Dr. Vargas but also five other renowned scientists. A mysterious message leads her to ...

Sofia Coppola’s romantic comedy-drama, Lost in Translation (2003), follows the story of Bob Harris, a fading American movie star. In pursuit of lucrative advertisements for Suntory’s Hibiki whisky, Bob finds himself in Tokyo staying at the luxurious Park Hyatt hotel. However, his stay is plagued by personal issues within his 25-year marriage and a midlife crisis. Charlotte, also an American and guest at the hotel, is accompanying her husband John who works as a celebrity photographer. As a young Yale graduate in philosophy, Charlotte too is struggling with disillusionment towards her marriage and concerns ...

Basic (2003) is a mystery-action thriller directed by John McTiernan and written by James Vanderbilt. During a live fire exercise in the jungles of Panama, Army Rangers trainees are led by their instructor and Master Sergeant Nathan West. Sergeant Ray Dunbar emerges from the jungle with wounded Second Lieutenant Levi Kendall, pursued by Sergeant Mueller whom Dunbar kills in self-defense. Although no other casualties are found, West’s team is presumed dead. Dunbar refuses to cooperate with Military Police investigator Captain Julia Osborne and requests to speak with ...

Starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi, Heaven (2002) is a romantic thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer. Co-screenwriter Krzysztof Kieślowski intended it to be the first part of a trilogy, but unfortunately passed away before its completion. This Italian-set film begins with a prologue showing Filippo, a young Carabinieri clerk, learning to fly a helicopter using a simulator. After crashing due to his overly ambitious ascents, his instructor warns him against excessive ...

The Gift (2000) is the American paranormal thriller film, directed by Sam Raimi and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, centers around widow Annie Wilson, a clairvoyant in Brixton, Georgia. She has visions of her grandmother and uses her abilities to help others. After Jessica King, the fiancée of the school principal Wayne Collins, goes missing, Annie receives a vision that she has been killed and thrown into the pond. Despite initial skepticism from local sheriff Pearl Johnson, Annie informs him of her vision ...

Boiler Room (2000) is an American crime drama film written and directed by Ben Younger. In the late 90s, Seth Davis, a 19-year-old Queens College dropout, runs an unlicensed casino in his home near campus, catering to fellow students. Despite his successful career, he is viewed as a disappointment by his father Marty, a New York City federal judge. One evening, Seth’s cousin Adam brings wealthy associate Greg Weinstein to the casino to play blackjack. Impressed by Seth’s skills, Greg offers him a job at J.T. Marlin, a brokerage firm located off the Long Island Expressway with the promise of getting rich ...

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) is an American action heist film directed by Dominic Sena and written by Scott Rosenberg. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it is a loose remake of the 1974 H.B. Halicki film of the same name. Car thief Kip Raines and his gang are hired by British gangster Raymond Calitri in Long Beach, California, to steal 50 high-end cars. However, their plan goes awry when Kip unknowingly leads the police to their warehouse after taking a Porsche 996 from a showroom. ...

The American romantic comedy film, The Other Sister (1999), directed by Garry Marshall, follows the story of Carla Tate. After graduating from a sheltered boarding school, Carla returns to her overprotective and slightly snobby mother Elizabeth’s home. Despite her ambition and mild mental disability, Carla is met with discomfort from Elizabeth as she seems ashamed of her youngest daughter’s condition. This uneasiness is likely due to past experiences of Carla being bullied as a child. Meanwhile, Radley – a dentist and recovering alcoholic – serves as Carla’s father. Determined to gain more ...

The director Steven Spielberg and writer Robert Rodat collaborated on Saving Private Ryan (1998), an epic American war film. During the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army faced heavy losses at Omaha Beach from German artillery and machine gun fire. Amidst the chaos, Captain John H. Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion takes charge of a surviving group and strategically infiltrates behind enemy lines for a successful victory. Unfortunately, word reaches the United States Department of War that three out of four Ryan brothers have been killed in action, with ...

That Thing You Do! (1996) is an American musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, making his debut as a feature writer and director. Set in 1964, the story follows Guy Patterson, a budding jazz drummer from Erie, Pennsylvania who works at his family’s appliance store. One day, his friends Jimmy and Lenny ask him to fill in for their regular drummer Chad, who broke his arm, at a talent show where they plan to perform a song Jimmy wrote. The trio practices the slow-tempo ballad ‘That Thing You Do!’ in Jimmy’s garage. In need of a band name, Jimmy’s girlfriend Faye suggests ...