Actor Ian McKellen (1939)

Animal Crackers (2017) is an animated comedy-fantasy film directed by Scott Christian Sava and Tony Bancroft, written by Sava and Dean Lorey and based on the animal-shaped cookie. In 1962, brothers ‘Buffalo’ Bob and Horatio Huntington run a successful traveling circus together, despite their contrasting personalities. After one of their shows, Esmerelda, the circus’ fortune teller introduces her beautiful niece Talia to the brothers in hopes of finding her ...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) is an epic high fantasy adventure film, directed by Peter Jackson with a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro, and Jackson himself. It is based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel of the same name. As Smaug sets Laketown ablaze, Bilbo and the Dwarves watch from the Lonely Mountain. Bard manages to escape ...

Directed and co-produced by Bryan Singer and written by Simon Kinberg, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics team. The fifth installment in the X-Men series, it serves as both a sequel to 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand and 2011’s X-Men: First Class, as well as a follow-up to 2013’s The Wolverine. Set in a dystopian version of 2023, the film follows robot Sentinels who hunt and kill those with mutant potential or those who protect them. In Moscow, this results in an attack on ...

Director Peter Jackson brought us an epic high fantasy adventure film titled The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013). Adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel, it was written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro, and Jackson himself. As Thorin Oakenshield and his companions flee from Azog and his Orc party, they seek refuge in the home of Beorn – a ...

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) is an epic high fantasy adventure film helmed by director Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro, and Jackson himself. Adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel of the same name, it serves as a prequel to Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings ...

The mystery thriller film, The Da Vinci Code (2006), was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. It is based on Dan Brown’s 2003 novel of the same name. In the story, Jacques Saunière, a curator at the Louvre, is being pursued by an albino Catholic monk named Silas. Silas is determined to find the ‘keystone’ and destroy the Holy Grail. However, Saunière gives him false information before being tragically murdered. The police discover his body in a pose resembling Da Vinci’s Vitruvian ...

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) is a superhero film based on Marvel Entertainment Group’s comic books. In 1986, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr invite a young Jean Grey to join their school, the X-Mansion, at her parents’ house. Ten years later in 1996, industrialist Warren Worthington II discovers his son’s mutant abilities when he tries to remove his wings. In the present day, Worthington Labs announces a ‘cure’ for mutants and offers it to those who are interested in suppressing their X-gene. This piques the interest of certain mutants such as Rogue, who struggles with her harmful touch, while others are cautious. Magneto gathers a new ...

The epic high fantasy adventure film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), was directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s third volume of the novel series, The Return of the King (1955), it follows the journey of Sméagol, a hobbit who becomes consumed by the power of the One Ring after murdering his cousin Déagol to obtain it. As ...

X2: X-Men United (2003) is a Bryan Singer-directed American superhero film, based on the Marvel Comics’ X-Men team. At the White House, a mind-controlled Nightcrawler attacks the President, causing injuries to several agents before fleeing after being shot. Meanwhile, Logan searches for answers about his past at an abandoned military facility in Alberta, but comes up empty-handed. Jean Grey’s increasing difficulty controlling her powers leads to premonitions and distractions. After returning to Professor Xavier’s school, Logan joins forces with Cyclops and Xavier to track down Nightcrawler using ...

The film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson himself, is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s second volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, titled The Two Towers. In one of his dreams, Frodo Baggins envisions Gandalf battling a Balrog in Moria, before ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is an epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. It is based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, also titled The Fellowship of the Ring, which was published in 1954. The story takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth and revolves around the Rings of Power given to the ...

X-Men (2000) is an American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by David Hayter and a story by Singer and Tom DeSanto, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In 1944 Nazi-occupied Poland, 14-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is separated from his parents upon entering the Auschwitz concentration camp. While trying to reach them, ...

The American thriller film, Apt Pupil (1998), directed by Bryan Singer and starring Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro, is based on the 1982 novella of the same name by Stephen King. Set in Southern California in 1984, 16-year-old high school student Todd Bowden makes a shocking discovery about his elderly neighbor, Arthur Denker. It turns out that Denker is actually Kurt Dussander—a former Nazi concentration camp commandant who has fled from justice. Intrigued by the horrors of ...

Richard III (1995), a British Technicolor film based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name, depicts King Edward IV’s ascension to the throne with the aid of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Following Edward’s coronation in the Great Hall, where his siblings George and Richard bear witness, he departs alongside his wife and children. Meanwhile, Richard gazes upon the throne with contemplation before turning towards the audience and delivering a speech detailing his physical deformities – a hunched back and withered arm. He confesses to harboring envy towards his brother’s ...

Directed by Michael Hoffman with a screenplay by Rupert Walters, Restoration (1995) is a historical drama adapted from Rose Tremain’s namesake novel published in 1989. Robert Merivel, a young doctor, enters into the service of King Charles II of England after rescuing his beloved spaniel. Initially consumed by indulgent behavior and popularity at court, Merivel’s lifestyle takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to marry Celia, a royal mistress who has fallen out of favor. The purpose of this orchestrated ...

The film Six Degrees of Separation (1993) was directed by Fred Schepisi for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is an adaptation of John Guare’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play from 1990 with the same title. Ouisa Kittredge and her husband Flan, well-known socialites on Fifth Avenue, have two children attending Harvard and one at Groton. Their exclusive circle and reputation as art enthusiasts make them easy targets for Paul, a clever scammer who shows up at their door one night claiming to be a good friend of their college-aged kids and the son of Sidney Poitier.