Actor John Cusack (1966)

The American thriller film, The Frozen Ground (2013), marks Scott Walker’s directorial debut. In a 1983 Anchorage motel room, Cindy Paulson, a 17-year-old prostitute, is found handcuffed and screaming for help. She is saved by an Anchorage Police Department patrol officer who takes her to the hospital and collects her clothes for a rape kit. However, Paulson’s credibility is questioned due to her profession and false age. As a result, the detectives dismiss her claims against Robert Hansen, the man she identified as her abductor. Despite evidence supporting Hansen’s innocence, the APD patrol officer is ...

The Raven (2012), a American crime thriller film directed by James McTeigue and written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare, is based on the final days of Edgar Allan Poe’s life. The poet and author finds himself aiding the police in their pursuit of a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by his stories. Though the plot is fictional, it draws from real-life events surrounding Poe’s mysterious death. Set in 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, police uncover a ...

2012 (2009) is a science fiction film directed and written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser. American geologist Adrian Helmsley travels to East India in 2009 to meet with astrophysicist Satnam Tsurutani, where he learns about a new type of neutrino causing the Earth’s core to heat up. Upon his return to Washington D.C., Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser and President Thomas Wilson. The following year, over forty-six nations work together to build nine arks in Tibet and secure important artifacts. Nima, a Buddhist monk, is evacuated with his ...

1408 (2007) is an American psychological horror film based on Stephen King’s 1999 short story of the same name. Mike Enslin, a cynical and skeptical author known for his niche books about supernatural events, receives an anonymous postcard while promoting his latest book in Hermosa Beach, California. The postcard features The Dolphin, a hotel located on Lexington Avenue in New York City, with one simple message: ‘Don’t enter 1408’. Seeing this as a personal challenge, Mike decides to visit The Dolphin and specifically requests room 1408. However, the hotel manager Gerald Olin tries to dissuade ...

America’s Sweethearts (2001), directed by Joe Roth, is a romantic comedy. Lee Phillips, a seasoned publicist, gets fired from his job at a major film studio. Afterwards, studio head Dave Kingman invites him for a private screening of Time Over Time, a new time travel thriller starring the beloved husband-and-wife team Eddie Thomas and Gwen Harrison. However, their marriage ended when Gwen had an affair with her co-star Hector, causing Eddie to have a mental breakdown and seek treatment at a remote New Age wellness retreat. Despite Lee’s arrival, Kingman has nothing to show as the film’s director Hal ...

Pushing Tin (1999), directed by Mike Newell, tells the story of Nick ‘The Zone’ Falzone and his colleagues at the New York TRACON. These air traffic controllers are known for their remarkable ability to handle the immense pressure of controlling one of the busiest airspaces in the country. In fact, they boast about the 50% drop-out rate among new staff who can’t cope with the stress. However, their dynamic is disrupted when Russell Bell, a quiet and confident veteran from Western US TRACONs, joins their team. Russell’s unorthodox and risky methods quickly prove him to be a highly capable ...

The Thin Red Line (1998), an American epic war film by Terrence Malick, is the second adaptation of James Jones’ 1962 novel. Private Witt of the United States Army goes AWOL in 1942 and lives amongst Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. However, he is eventually discovered and confined on a troopship by First Sergeant Welsh. Due to his actions, Witt is not allowed to rejoin his unit and is instead assigned as a stretcher bearer for an upcoming campaign. C Company, led by Capt. James Staros, has been called to Guadalcanal to reinforce the efforts in securing ...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), an American mystery thriller directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, stars John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. The screenplay was adapted from John Berendt’s 1994 book of the same name. Set in Savannah, the story centers around a fatal shooting and the ensuing trial of Jim Williams—self-made man, art collector, antiques dealer, bon vivant, and semi-closeted homosexual. New York magazine reporter, John Kelso—author of Before the ...

Bullets Over Broadway (1994) is a comedic, crime-themed film helmed by acclaimed director Woody Allen. It tells the story of David Shayne, an aspiring playwright who moves to New York City in 1928 with high hopes for his newest work, God of Our Fathers. In his search for financial backing, he is persuaded by producer Julian Marx to hire Olive Neal, the girlfriend of notorious gangster Nick Valenti, for a minor role. Despite Olive’s lack of talent and Shayne’s mounting frustration, he finds solace in casting faded star Helen Sinclair as the lead and dieting British actor Warner Purcell. However, complications ...

Shadows and Fog (1991), an American black-and-white comedy film by Woody Allen, is based on his one-act play Death (1975). Kleinman is awakened by a vigilante mob in search of a serial killer, enlisting his help. His landlady gives him a bag of pepper. Meanwhile, circus performers Irmy and her boyfriend Paul argue about marriage and having children. When Paul leaves for another tent and has sex with fellow artist Marie, Irmy runs away to the city and ends up in a brothel. There, she catches the eye of student Jack who becomes infatuated with her. He offers her increasingly larger sums of money until she finally ...

Stand by Me (1986) is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella The Body. In 1985, writer Gordon ‘Gordie’ Lachance reads a newspaper article about the fatal stabbing of his childhood friend, Chris Chambers. He reminisces about an incident from when they were 12 years old, searching for the body of Ray Brower alongside their friends Teddy Duchamp and Vern Tessio, during Labor Day weekend in1959 near Castle Rock, Oregon. As a child, Gordie’s parents were preoccupied with the death of his older ...