Actor J.K. Simmons (1955)

The American comedy-drama film, Up in the Air (2009), directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, is based on Walter Kirn’s 2001 novel of the same name. The protagonist, Ryan Bingham, is employed at an American human resources consultancy firm that specializes in assisting with employment terminations. As part of his job, Ryan frequently travels around the country to conduct layoffs on behalf of companies. In addition to his work ...

Burn After Reading (2008) is a black comedy film created by the Coen brothers. When Osbourne Cox gets demoted for drinking, he quits his job as a CIA analyst and decides to write a memoir. His wife Katie secretly files for divorce and resumes her affair with U.S. Marshal Harry Pfarrer, who is prone to paranoia. Katie gives her lawyer a copy of Osbourne’s digital records and other personal files, which include an early draft of his memoir. The lawyer’s assistant copies the files onto a CD-R and accidentally leaves it at Hardbodies gym. Personal trainer Chad Feldheimer and coworker Linda Litzke come across the ...

Spider-Man 3 (2007) is an American superhero film based on the popular Marvel Comics character. The movie was a joint effort between Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, and Laura Ziskin Productions, with distribution by Sony Pictures Releasing. It was directed by Sam Raimi, who also co-wrote the script with his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent. The plot follows Peter Parker as he plans to propose to Mary Jane Watson after a year since their last adventure involving the defeat of Otto Octavius. However, their peaceful moment in ...

Juno (2007) is a comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. In Elk River, Minnesota, the sixteen year old high-schooler discovers she is pregnant by her friend and longtime admirer Paulie Bleeker. She initially considers an abortion, but then decides to visit a local women’s clinic where she encounters a schoolmate protesting against abortion. After discussing her options with the clinic staff, Juno ultimately chooses to give the baby up for adoption. With the help of her friend Leah, she searches for potential adoptive parents in the ...

Harsh Times (2005) is an American action crime film written and directed by David Ayer in his directorial debut. The film follows former U.S. Army Ranger and GWOT veteran, Jim Davis, who struggles with PTSD. Determined to marry his Mexican girlfriend, Marta, and start a new life together in the United States, Jim returns to Los Angeles, California. There he reunites with his best friend Mike Alonzo and Mike’s girlfriend Sylvia – a young attorney who urges Jim to help Mike hand out resumes as he recently lost his job due to outsourcing. Despite Jim getting denied for a position at the LAPD because of his ...

The American satirical black comedy film, Thank You for Smoking (2005), written and directed by Jason Reitman, follows the story of Nick Naylor. As a Big Tobacco spokesman, Naylor relies on ‘research’ from the ‘Academy of Tobacco Studies’, where he serves as vice-president. Despite increasing pressure from anti-tobacco campaigns and declining numbers of young smokers, Naylor remains confident in his job. He meets regularly with his friends – firearm lobbyist Bobby Jay Bliss and alcohol lobbyist Polly Bailey – playfully referring to themselves as the ‘Merchants of Death’ or ...

The Coen brothers‘ film, The Ladykillers (2004), features an unlikely group of characters. When stern and devout widow Mrs. Marva Munson rents a room to Professor Goldthwaite Higginson Dorr, she has no idea he plans to use her root cellar for rehearsals with his early music ensemble. What Mrs. Munson doesn’t realize is that this “ensemble” is actually a gang of criminals. Led by Dorr, the group includes Lump, a not-so-bright football player serving as their muscle; Garth Pancake, an overconfident movie effects technician with IBS; the crude and disheveled Gawain McSam as their inside man; and ...

Spider-Man 2 (2004) follows the story of Peter Parker, a young man who gained superhuman abilities two years prior and now goes by the name Spider-Man. Peter is currently struggling with strained relationships with both his love interest, Mary Jane Watson, and his best friend, Harry Osborn. To add to his troubles, he discovers that his Aunt May is facing eviction. In addition to these personal challenges, Peter also finds himself experiencing sudden bouts of power loss at critical moments. Meanwhile, Harry has taken over as head of Oscorp’s research division and is funding a project led by nuclear scientist Otto Octavius. Octavius soon becomes a mentor to Peter ...

Based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the American superhero film Spider-Man (2002) follows high school senior Peter Parker on a school trip to a genetics laboratory at Columbia University with his friends Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson. After being bitten by a genetically engineered spider, Peter falls ill upon returning home. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn, a scientist and owner of Oscorp, is trying to secure a military contract and tests a performance-enhancing chemical on himself, resulting in him becoming insane and killing his ...

The Mexican (2001), an American dark comedy adventure crime film by Gore Verbinski, takes place in Los Angeles. You hear a car accident off-screen as a traffic light turns red. Five years pass and Jerry Welbach has been paying off his debt to Arnold Margolese, a mob boss now behind bars. But when Jerry messes up his last task, Bernie Nayman, Margolese’s right-hand man, assigns him a new final mission: retrieve an antique pistol named ‘the Mexican’ from a man called Beck in Mexico. This job pushes Jerry’s girlfriend Sam over the edge and she leaves for Las Vegas. Upon arriving in Mexico, Jerry ...

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 ...

The film adaptation of John Irving’s 1985 novel, The Cider House Rules (1999), was directed by Lasse Hallström and follows the life of Homer Wells at St. Cloud’s orphanage in Maine. Under the guidance of Dr. Wilbur Larch, a kindly father figure, Homer grows up surrounded by love and respect. Despite being returned to St. Cloud’s twice by foster parents, who either found him too quiet or mistreated him, Homer finds solace in his extended family at the orphanage. With older children like Buster looking after the younger ones, including Fuzzy Stone who was ...

The film For Love of the Game (1999), directed by Sam Raimi and written by Dana Stevens, is based on Michael Shaara’s novel of the same name. The Detroit Tigers are scheduled to play a final series against the New York Yankees in New York City. Despite their 63-97 record, which eliminates them from any chance at the playoffs, they take pride in facing the Yankees who are vying for the American League East title. In his Manhattan hotel suite, 40-year-old pitcher Billy Chapel waits for his girlfriend Jane Aubrey, but ...

Celebrity (1998), an American comedy-drama film by Woody Allen, follows the story of a divorced couple who take different paths in life. Lee Simon, an unsuccessful novelist who turns to travel writing after his midlife crisis and split from his insecure ex-wife, Robin, a former English teacher of sixteen years. As he navigates the world of celebrity journalism, Lee’s search for purpose is hindered by his constant pursuit of fame and struggles with insecurities and neuroses, causing him to miss out on multiple opportunities. As she moves forward, Robin sheds her numerous neuroses ...