Actress Julia Roberts (1967)

Starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, Ticket to Paradise (2022) is a romantic comedy directed by Ol Parker and written by Parker and Daniel Pipski. The story follows divorced couple David and Georgia Cotton, who reluctantly come together to disrupt their daughter Lily’s upcoming Bali wedding. Lily, fresh out of college, goes on a vacation with her friend Wren and ends up stranded with local seaweed farmer Gede after ...

Homecoming (2018–2020) is an American psychological thriller TV series based on the Gimlet Media podcast of the same name. It was created by Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg and first premiered on Amazon Prime Video on November 2, 2018. Heidi Bergman, a former social worker, had worked at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center under the Geist Group – a live-in facility that supposedly helped soldiers adjust to civilian life. However, four years later, Bergman has moved on and now works as a waitress. She struggles to remember her time at Homecoming until a U.S. ...

Ben Is Back (2018), an American drama written and directed by Peter Hedges, follows Holly Burns as she returns from church on Christmas Eve to find her son Ben in the driveway. After spending months in rehab for prescription drug addiction, Ben’s sponsor suggested he take a trip home. While happy to see him again, Holly is also cautious of his past struggles and their effect on their family. She agrees to let him stay for 24 hours, under the condition that he does not leave her side. During a holiday shopping trip at the mall, Holly unexpectedly comes across Ben’s former doctor who is now suffering from ...

Smurfs: The Lost Village (2017) is a film based on the beloved comic series by Peyo. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and The Kerner Entertainment Company, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, this delightful animated fantasy takes audiences on an adventure with the lovable Smurfs who live in their peaceful village. Among them is Smurfette, created by the evil wizard Gargamel but redeemed by Papa Smurf. Despite her acceptance into the village, she struggles to find her purpose in life as the other Smurfs have. Meanwhile, Gargamel has his sights set on capturing the Smurfs and stealing their ...

Wonder (2017) is an American family drama directed by Stephen Chbosky, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Steven Conrad and Jack Thorne. Based on the novel by R. J. Palacio, it follows August ‘Auggie’ Pullman, a 10-year-old boy living in Brooklyn with his parents, older sister Via, and their dog Daisy. Auggie was born with a rare facial deformity called ‘mandibulofacial dysostosis’ and has undergone multiple surgeries to help him function. Due to his condition, he wears an astronaut helmet when out in public. After being homeschooled by his mother Isabel for most of his life, Auggie’s ...

Directed by Garry Marshall, the American romantic dramedy film Mother’s Day (2016) centers around a group of individuals in Atlanta as they navigate their relationships with their mothers. Among them is Sandy, a divorced mother of two sons named Mikey and Peter. Her ex-husband Henry has recently remarried to Tina, who is much younger than him. While still adjusting to this change, Sandy meets Bradley, a former Marine, at the supermarket. Bradley lost his wife Dana, a Marine Lieutenant, one year prior and is now raising their two daughters Vicky and Rachel on his own. Meanwhile, Kristin, who was adopted at birth, ...

Money Monster (2016), an American thriller directed by Jodie Foster and written by Jamie Linden, Alan Di Fiore, and Jim Kouf from a story by Di Fiore and Kouf, features Lee Gates, an ostentatious financial expert who hosts the show Money Monster. The day before the show, IBIS Clear Capital’s stock suddenly plummeted, causing investors to lose $800 million due to a trading ...

Billy Ray’s Secret in Their Eyes (2015) is a thriller film that serves as a remake of the 2009 Argentine film of the same name, which was based on Eduardo Sacheri’s novel La pregunta de sus ojos. Following the events of September 11th, FBI counterterrorism agent Ray Kasten and his friend Jess Cobb, an investigator for the Los Angeles district attorney’s office, cross paths with new ADA Claire Sloan. The two are called to investigate an unidentified female body found near a mosque that could potentially have ties to terrorism. Sadly, they ...

The Normal Heart (2014) is an American television drama film directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Larry Kramer, based on his 1985 play of the same name. In the summer of 1981, Alexander ‘Ned’ Weeks, an openly gay writer from New York City, heads to Fire Island for his friend Craig Donner’s birthday celebration at a beach house. Other guests include Mickey Marcus and the charming Bruce Niles, who is now dating young and seemingly healthy Craig. However, while strolling on the beach, Craig suddenly feels lightheaded and falls down. Later, during his ...

August: Osage County (2013), a film directed by John Wells, is a tragicomedy based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Set in the scorching month of August in rural Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the story centers around Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet struggling with alcoholism. He hires Johnna, a young Cheyenne woman, to work as a live-in cook and caregiver for his wife Violet. Violet is battling oral cancer and a narcotic addiction. After Beverly disappears, Violet turns to her sister and daughters for help. Along with her husband Charles Aiken, Violet’s ...

The American fantasy comedy film, Mirror Mirror (2012), is based on the classic fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm. The story opens with narration from Clementianna, a beautiful but wicked enchantress who married the widower king. However, the king never returned after leaving to fight an invading evil, and Clementianna becomes queen in his absence. She rules the land while keeping her stepdaughter, Princess Snow White, confined to the palace. Ten years later, Snow White is now a young woman determined to explore her kingdom. She sneaks out of the palace and meets Prince Andrew Alcott of Valencia in ...

The American romantic comedy film, Larry Crowne (2011), centers on middle-aged Navy veteran, Larry who is suddenly fired from his job at a big-box store. His termination is due to a lack of college education, despite his seniority and exceptional work ethic. Produced and directed by Hanks himself, the film’s screenplay was co-written with Nia Vardalos. The inspiration for the story comes from Hanks’ own experience studying at Chabot College. Facing unemployment and the potential loss of his home, Larry turns to ...

The movie Eat Pray Love (2010), based on the memoir of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, portrays a woman named Liz in her journey of self-discovery. Despite having a husband, house, and successful career, Liz feels lost and uncertain about her true desires. She asks for a divorce from her husband, Stephen, who struggles to accept it. During this time, she has a brief relationship with David, an actor. Newly divorced and unsure of where to go next, Liz takes a daring trip to Italy, India and Bali. In Italy, she indulges in the pleasures of eating pasta and gelato for four months and even learns Italian from a private ...

Valentine’s Day (2010), a romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall, features a screenplay and story written by Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, and Marc Silverstein. Florist Reed Bennett proposes to his girlfriend Morley Clarkson and she accepts, while his friends Alfonso Rodriguez and Julia Fitzpatrick are not surprised when Morley has a change of heart and leaves later that day. During her short leave from the U.S. Army, Kate Hazeltine meets Holden Wilson on her flight ...

Tony Gilroy wrote and directed Duplicity (2009), an American romantic crime comedy starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Five years prior to this, Ray Koval, an MI6 agent, crossed paths with CIA officer Claire Stenwick at a party in Dubai. Unaware of her identity, he tried to seduce her but ended up being drugged and robbed of classified documents. Their next encounter is three years later in Rome, where they spend several days together at a luxurious hotel. As they consider leaving their government jobs for the cut-throat ...

In the American drama film Fireflies in the Garden (2008), written and directed by Dennis Lee, we see a strained relationship between English professor Charles and his son Michael. Since their boyhood road trip, when young Michael falsely claimed to have lost his glasses, their interactions have been filled with rule breaking and retaliation. When Lisa’s younger sister Jane stays with them while she is pregnant, she becomes close with Michael and takes his side against Charles. This tension only escalates when Michael embarrasses Charles in front of his colleagues by claiming to have written a Robert Frost poem. ...

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), an American biographical comedy-drama, tells the story of Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. The duo worked together to establish Operation Cyclone, a program aimed at supporting Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989). Directed by Mike Nichols and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on George Crile III’s book, the film follows Congressman Wilson in 1980 as he focuses more on partying than his legislative duties. His lavish lifestyle eventually ...

The Ant Bully (2006), an American animated film written and directed by John A. Davis, is based on the eponymous children’s book by John Nickle from 1999. When Lucas Nickle’s parents go to Puerto Vallarta for their anniversary, he is left with his sister Tiffany and grandmother. Neglected and bullied by Steve, Lucas takes out his anger on an anthill in his yard. Zoc, an odd sorcerer ant, wants to retaliate while Hova, a nurse ant fascinated by humans, desires to communicate with him. To shrink Lucas down to ant size, the colony leader decides to use ...

The fantasy comedy-drama film Charlotte’s Web (2006) is an adaptation of E. B. White’s novel of the same name. In the springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, Fern Arable discovers her father John poised to kill a runt from a litter of newborn pigs. She pleads with him to spare the piglet’s life, naming him Wilbur and caring for him tenderly. The following day, Fern sneaks Wilbur into her school desk and when her teacher overhears his squeals, she demands to know what is inside. Fern lies and claims there is nothing in her desk, causing the teacher to angrily send them both to the ...

The American film Closer (2004), directed and produced by Mike Nichols and written by Patrick Marber, is based on his award-winning 1997 play of the same title. In London one busy morning, writer Dan Woolf encounters a striking American woman who has been hit by a car due to unfamiliarity with driving on the opposite side of the road in England. On their way back from the hospital, they take a detour to Postman’s Park. Dan learns her name is Alice Ayres and they begin a romantic relationship. One year later, Dan writes a novel inspired by Alice’s life. While ...