Actor Kevin Costner (1955)

Rumor Has It (2005) is an American romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner. In 1997, Sarah Huttinger, a writer for The New York Times, returns to her hometown of Pasadena, California for her sister Annie’s wedding with her fiancé Jeff Daly. While in town, Sarah confides in her grandmother Katharine Richelieu about her doubts regarding marriage. To Sarah’s surprise, Katharine reveals that Sarah’s mother Jocelyn also had cold feet and ran off to Cabo San Lucas a week before her own wedding. Seeking more information, Sarah seeks out her mother’s old friend Aunt Mitsy who confirms that Jocelyn spent ...

The romantic comedy-drama film The Upside of Anger (2005), written and directed by Mike Binder, opens with Terry Wolfmeyer, her four daughters, and their friend Denny Davies attending a funeral. However, the story quickly flashes back to three years earlier when Terry’s heavily intoxicated confession to her daughters revealed that their father, Grey, had left the family for his secretary in Sweden. Terry turns to alcohol to deal with her anger and heartbreak, causing her daughters to resent her. She finds solace in her neighbor Denny, a retired baseball player and fellow heavy drinker who hosts a radio talk show. ...

Open Range (2003) is a film set in Montana during the late 1800s. It was directed and co-produced by Kevin Costner, with a screenplay by Craig Storper based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. The story follows ‘Boss’ Spearman and his hired hands, Charley Waite, Mose, and Button, as they drive a herd of cattle across the country. While Boss is an experienced rancher, Charley carries heavy guilt from his time as a soldier in the Civil War. When Boss sends Mose to nearby Harmonville for ...

Dragonfly (2002), a supernatural thriller film directed by Tom Shadyac based on a story by Brandon Camp and Mike Thompson, follows the story of doctors Joe and Emily Darrow. While seven months pregnant, Emily travels to Venezuela to assist natives in the Amazon area but tragically dies in a bus accident. Despite her body never being found, Joe returns to work without taking time to grieve. One night, he is startled by his wife’s dragonfly paperweight rolling across the room – a reminder of her love for ...

Demian Lichtenstein directed and co-produced the American action comedy film, 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001). Recently released from prison, Michael Zane makes a stop at a rundown desert motel near Las Vegas. While there, he encounters a young boy named Jesse trying to steal from his car. Michael follows Jesse back to his mother, Cybil Waingrow, and ends up seducing her. The next day, Michael is joined by four men – Murphy, Hanson, Gus, and Franklin – who are all dressed as Elvis for their planned robbery of the Riviera hotel during an Elvis convention. A shootout ensues and Franklin is killed during their ...

Thirteen Days (2000), directed by Roger Donaldson, is an American historical political thriller film. In October 1962, U-2 aerial surveillance photos show the Soviet Union’s placement of intermediate-range ballistic missiles carrying nuclear weapons in Cuba. As a result, President John F. Kennedy and his team must devise a plan to prevent their activation and demonstrate that the United States will not tolerate a missile threat. The Joint Chiefs of Staff advise immediate military strikes against the missile sites followed by an invasion of Cuba. However, Kennedy hesitates as this could provoke the Soviets to ...

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 ...

Message in a Bottle (1999), a romantic drama directed by Luis Mandoki, is based on Nicholas Sparks’s novel of the same title. Theresa Osborne, a former reporter for the Chicago Tribune, discovers a compelling love letter in a bottle while vacationing in Cape Cod. Entranced by its contents, she shares it with her coworkers and without her knowledge, they publish the letter in their newspaper. The response is overwhelming and among the many letters received is one with an attached note addressed to Catherine on the same notepad and written in the same style as the ...

The American epic post-apocalyptic adventure film, The Postman (1997), was produced and directed by Kevin Costner in which he also plays the lead role. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in 2013, an unidentified nomad roams the scattered communities of the Utah flatlands, trading performances of long-forgotten Shakespearean plays for food and water. After being held at gunpoint by the Holnists, a neo-feudalist militia, the nomad is forcefully recruited into their ranks and marked with their emblem, a figure 8, on his shoulder. Led by General Bethlehem, the Holnists hold control over the region and demand tribute and new ...

Tin Cup (1996) is a romantic comedy and sports film that was co-written and directed by Ron Shelton. It follows the story of Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy, a former golf prodigy living a directionless life. After making a risky move during the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, he lost his chance at becoming a professional golfer. Currently, he spends his time drinking and hanging out with his friend Romeo Posar and their group of friends at his run-down driving range in West Texas. One day, Molly Griswold, a clinical psychologist, shows up seeking golf lessons. She happens to be dating David Simms, a top professional ...

Waterworld (1995) is an American post-apocalyptic action film directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. In the year 2500, rising sea levels have submerged every continent on Earth, leaving only rugged, floating communities known as atolls for human civilization to survive on. Many believe in the existence of a mythical ‘Dryland’ somewhere in the vast ocean, but others dismiss it as mere legend. The Mariner, a lone wanderer, arrives at an atoll on his trimaran with a valuable ...

The American epic biographical Western drama film, Wyatt Earp (1994), was directed and produced by Lawrence Kasdan and co-written by Kasdan and Dan Gordon. As a teenager during the American Civil War, Wyatt lived on his family’s farm in Pella, Iowa while his older brothers served in the Union Army. He attempted to join them by lying about his age but was caught by his father. After the war, his brothers returned home with James being severely injured. The family then relocated out west. One day, Wyatt witnessed a man ...

The War (1994) is an American drama film directed by Jon Avnet. Stephen Simmons, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, returns home after voluntarily seeking treatment for his war-related nightmares. Due to his hospitalization, he lost three consecutive jobs. In need of income, Stephen accepts a new job as a custodial engineer at a grammar school. However, he is forced to leave this job within one week due to a law prohibiting individuals with mental health history from working near children. Despite the challenges, the Simmons family’s financial situation drives Stephen to continue searching for employment. He ...

A Perfect World (1993), an American crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, follows the story of convicts Robert ‘Butch’ Haynes and Terry Pugh who escape from a Texas state penitentiary in 1963. While fleeing, Terry stumbles upon Phillip Perry’s home where he lives with his devout Jehovah’s Witness mother and two sisters. Seizing an opportunity for a hostage, Butch takes the young boy along with them. However, things take a turn when Butch is forced to kill Terry after an attempt to harm Phillip. Now on the run from police, the unlikely pair continues their journey through the Texas highway. ...

The American romantic thriller drama film, The Bodyguard (1992), is directed by Mick Jackson and written by Lawrence Kasdan. It follows the story of Rachel Marron, an Academy Award-nominated actress and music superstar who is being targeted by a stalker. In the wake of a bomb explosion in her dressing room, Bill Devaney, her manager, enlists the help of Frank Farmer, a professional bodyguard with prior experience working for the Secret Service during Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan’s presidential terms. Despite initial hesitations, Frank takes on the job to protect ...

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) is an American action adventure film based on the timeless English folk tale from the 12th century. The film’s director, Kevin Reynolds, sets the story in 1194, where we meet our protagonist Robin of Locksley, a nobleman who had been imprisoned in Jerusalem for years after following King Richard on the Third Crusade. Along with his companion Peter Dubois, they manage to escape with the help of a fellow prisoner named Azeem, whom they save from mortal danger. Before passing away from his injuries, Peter makes Robin promise to protect his sister Marian. With Azeem by his side ...

The American epic political thriller film, JFK (1991), written and directed by Oliver Stone, delves into the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The New Orleans district attorney, Jim Garrison, becomes convinced that there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy and that Lee Harvey Oswald was used as a scapegoat. Outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower had warned about the dangers of the military-industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address. However, Kennedy takes over as president and is faced with challenges such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis before his tragic assassination in ...

Revenge (1990) is an American romantic thriller film directed by Tony Scott. Michael J. ‘Jay’ Cochran, a U.S. Navy aviator, decides to leave after 12 years of service. As a parting gift, he receives matching Beretta shotguns and an invitation from his wealthy friend Tiburon ‘Tibey’ Mendez to stay at his lavish hacienda in Mexico. Tibey, a powerful crime boss, surrounds himself with bodyguards for protection. During his stay, Jay meets Miryea, Tibey’s beautiful young wife who is unhappy due to her husband’s lack of desire for children to preserve her appearance. Jay presents Tibey with ...

Kevin Costner’s feature directorial debut, Dances with Wolves (1990), is an American epic Western film adapted from Michael Blake’s 1988 novel of the same name. In the film, set in 1863 during the American Civil War, 1st Lieutenant John J. Dunbar of the Union Army is severely injured at St. David’s Field in Tennessee. The surgeon plans to amputate his leg, but Dunbar chooses to risk death in battle instead. He steals a horse and charges out in front of the Confederate lines, narrowly missing their bullets. This act distracts the Confederates and allows ...

Field of Dreams (1989) is an American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe. Ray Kinsella resides with his wife, Annie, and daughter, Karin, on their corn farm in Dyersville, Iowa. Struggling with his strained relationship with his deceased father John, a devoted baseball enthusiast, Ray is afraid of not accomplishing anything meaningful in his life. One evening while strolling through the cornfield, he hears a voice whispering, ‘If you build it, he will ...