Actor Harrison Ford (1942)

In December 2022, Paramount+ premiered an American Western drama series titled 1923 (2022–2023). Serving as a prequel to Yellowstone and sequel to 1883, the show features Isabel May reprising her role as narrator Elsa Dutton. The series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes in February 2023. During the Nineteenth Century, several reform movements emerged in America with the goal of promoting social improvement. These efforts often had roots in Protestant churches and were accompanied by attempts to convert new members based on religious beliefs. Some denominations also sought government ...

The film The Call of the Wild (2020) is based on Jack London’s novel from 1903 and tells the story of Buck, a large and gentle mix of Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd. He lives happily with his master, Judge Miller, in Santa Clara, California during the late 19th century. However, one night he is taken away and ends up on a ship bound for the Yukon. On the journey, a crew member uses violence to maintain discipline towards Buck. When they eventually reach Alaska, John Thornton loses his harmonica which Buck retrieves for him just before being sold to Perrault and Francoise. They run a dog sled team that delivers ...

An American animated comedy film, The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), was created by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. Following the events of the first movie, Max and Duke’s owner, Katie, marries a man named Chuck and has a son named Liam. At first, Max disapproves of Liam but later develops overprotective feelings for him. To help with his symptoms, Katie takes Max to the vet and gets him a dog cone. But when the family goes on a road trip to Chuck’s uncle’s farm, Max is initially uncomfortable with the new environment. Welsh Sheepdog Rooster advises him to let go of his insecurities about Liam and removes his dog cone. After ...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017), a neo-noir sci-fi masterpiece from 2017, was directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. It takes place in a world approximately two decades after the downfall of the Tyrell Corporation, the original creators and manufacturers of replicants – bioengineered superhumans. The collapse of natural ecosystems prompted industrialist Niander Wallace to develop a new generation of replicants for synthetic farming, effectively saving the planet. While the earlier ...

The American epic space opera film, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens  (2015), was co-produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. Three decades after the Battle of Endor, the once-defeated Galactic Empire has been replaced by the First Order, determined to overthrow the New Republic. In opposition, General Leia Organa leads the Resistance with support from the Republic. Searching for her missing twin brother Luke Skywalker, Leia enlists help from an old ally on Jakku, where Resistance pilot Poe Dameron receives a map to Luke’s whereabouts. However, their plans are interrupted when Kylo Ren ...

The Expendables 3 (2014) is an American action film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt and Sylvester Stallone. Led by Barney Ross, the team of mercenaries includes Lee Christmas, Gunner Jensen, and Toll Road. They successfully extract their former member Doctor Death from a dictator’s fortress prison-camp while he is being transported on a train. Doctor Death, who specializes in medicine and knives, joins them to help ...

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) is a American action adventure film helmed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by David Koepp based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. In 1957, Soviet agents, led by Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko, abduct beloved archaeologist Indiana Jones along with his partner, George ‘Mac’ McHale. They infiltrate Hangar 51 in Nevada to coerce Jones into locating a mummified alien from Roswell. Despite being ...

The film, Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), directed by Ivan Reitman, follows the story of Robin Monroe and her boyfriend Frank as they vacation in the South Pacific island of Makatea. They are joined by middle-aged American pilot Quinn Harris and his girlfriend Angelica on their journey to the island. On their first night there, Frank proposes to Robin but later a drunken Quinn mistakes her for someone else and makes a pass at her. Despite this awkward encounter, Robin’s boss Marjorie calls the next morning and asks her to oversee a fashion shoot in Tahiti. In need of transportation, Robin enlists Quinn’s ...

The Devil’s Own (1997), directed by Alan J. Pakula, tells the story of Frankie McGuire and his involvement in the IRA. As a child, Frankie witnessed his father’s murder because of their republican beliefs. Twenty years later in Belfast, he and three other IRA members face an ambush by British forces. Despite losing two comrades, Frankie and Sean Phelan manage to escape with a British Army helicopter hot on their trail. In order to combat the British Army, Martin MacDuff decides that Stinger missiles are necessary for the IRA. Adopting the identity of ‘Rory Devaney’, Frankie heads to New York City ...

The action thriller film Clear and Present Danger (1994), directed by Phillip Noyce, is based on Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name. The plot centers around a United States Coast Guard vessel in the Caribbean Sea, which discovers an American yacht with evidence that its owner and passengers – businessman Peter Hardin and his family – were killed by the Colombian crew on board. CIA analyst Jack Ryan uncovers that Hardin was involved in money laundering for the notorious Cali Cartel in South America. It is revealed that drug lord Ernesto Escobedo ordered ...

The American action thriller film, The Fugitive (1993), was directed by Andrew Davis and written by Jeb Stuart and David Twohy. After returning home in January 1992, Chicago surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble discovers his wife, Helen, has been murdered by a one-armed assailant who escapes capture. Despite Kimble’s explanation of events, there is no evidence of forced entry and his account is disregarded. Due to a misinterpreted 911 call and Helen’s large life insurance policy, Kimble is falsely accused and wrongfully ...

Patriot Games (1992), an American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy’s novel of the same name, follows Jack Ryan. He is a former CIA analyst who now teaches history at the United States Naval Academy. While in London with his physician wife, Cathy, and young daughter Sally, Ryan witnesses and intervenes in a terrorist kidnapping attempt on Lord William Holmes. He is wounded but manages to disarm one terrorist and fatally shoot two others before subduing Sean Miller. The attack was carried out by a radical IRA splinter cell led by ...

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) is a classic action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg with a screenplay by Jeffrey Boam. The story, originally conceived by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes, follows young Indiana Jones as he stumbles upon a group of grave-robbers while exploring caves in Utah in 1912. Despite evading the robbers and returning home with the stolen gold crucifix, Indy is eventually forced to hand it over to their employer, the town’s ...

The American action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, based on a story by George Lucas. In 1935, Indiana Jones, an American archeologist, narrowly escapes a murder attempt from Shanghai crime boss Lao Che, who had hired him to retrieve the remains of Nurhaci. Accompanied by young orphan Short Round and nightclub singer Willie Scott, Indy flees the city without knowing that ...

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) is an American space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas based on a story by Lucas, who also served as the executive producer. One year after Han Solo’s capture, C-3PO and R2-D2 are sent by Luke Skywalker to rescue him from Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine in exchange for a trade. Disguised as a male bounty hunter, Princess Leia joins in ...

Blade Runner (1982), a science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, has a complex history due to the involvement of studio executives. The controversy resulted in seven different versions of the film, including a director’s cut in 1992 which was released after positive feedback on a test screening of a workprint. The movie gained popularity through video rentals and was one of the first to be released on DVD. In 2007, Warner Bros. released The Final Cut, a ...

In the action-adventure film Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan (based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman), American archaeologist Indiana Jones retrieves a Golden Idol from a booby-trapped Peruvian temple. However, rival archaeologist René Belloq steals the idol, forcing Jones to escape in a waiting float plane. Upon his return to the US, Jones is briefed by two Army Intelligence agents ...

The American epic space opera film, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), was directed by Irvin Kershner and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas.Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Darth Vader and the Imperial fleet send out probe droids to find the Rebel Alliance. The probe locates their base on Hoth, an ice planet. Luke Skywalker falls into the clutches of a wampa, but he uses the Force to ...

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 ...

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) is an American epic space opera film directed and written by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox. Serving as the first installment in the Star Wars series, it is the fourth chapter in the Skywalker Saga. The story takes place during a galactic civil war, where the Rebel Alliance has obtained plans to the Death Star from Imperial spies. This massive space station has been constructed by the tyrannical Galactic Empire and has the capability to annihilate entire planets. Among those involved in retrieving these ...