Actor Kevin Spacey (1959)

Baby Driver (2017) is an action-packed film written and directed by Edgar Wright. The main character, Baby, is a skilled getaway driver in Atlanta who works for criminal mastermind Doc. His job involves driving robbers to their heists, as payment for stealing a car filled with Doc’s illegal merchandise. Due to a childhood car accident that resulted in the death of his parents, Baby suffers from tinnitus and finds comfort in music. He often uses his iPods to drown out the ringing, which doesn’t sit well with some of the robbers he works with. When not working as a driver, Baby enjoys creating remixes of ...

House of Cards (2013–2018), an American political thriller streaming television series, was created by Beau Willimon and is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs. It is also an adaptation of the 1990 BBC series, which was based on the novel by Andrew Davies. The first season, consisting of 13 episodes, premiered on February 1, 2013, exclusively on Netflix. This marked the first time a TV series had been produced by a studio for the streaming service. House of Cards received rave reviews and garnered ...

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) is a satirical black comedy war film directed by Grant Heslov and adapted by Peter Straughan. It begins with U.S. Army General Dean Hopgood’s failed attempt to use paranormal abilities to pass through a solid wall. Ann Arbor Daily Telegram reporter Bob Wilton is left by his wife for the editor, leading him to fly to Kuwait to cover the Iraq War. There, he crosses paths with retired U.S. Army Special Forces operator Lyn Cassady, who shares that he was part of a unit training psychic spies in skills such as invisibility and remote ...

The Shipping News (2001), directed by Lasse Hallström, is a romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by E. Annie Proulx. As a child, Quoyle’s father Guy expected him to naturally swim when he was thrown into a lake. But the memories of nearly drowning still haunt Quoyle whenever he’s stressed. Now living in Poughkeepsie, New York and working as an ink setter for a small newspaper, Quoyle leads a solitary life. He falls for Petal, a lively woman from town whom he eventually marries. However, Petal turns out to be unfaithful and neglectful to their ...

K-PAX (2001), a science fiction mystery film based on Gene Brewer’s novel of the same name, follows prot (not capitalized and pronounced with a long O, rhyming with boat) as he is sent to the Psychiatric Institute of Manhattan after claiming to be an extraterrestrial from the planet ‘K-PAX’, located 1,000 light years away in the Lyra constellation. Dr. Mark Powell, his psychiatrist, attempts to cure him of his supposed delusions but prot remains steadfast in his ability to provide coherent explanations about himself, K-PAX, and its civilizations. During his medical examination, it becomes clear that ...

American Beauty (1999), a dark comedy-drama film, was written by Alan Ball and marked Sam Mendes’ debut as a feature director. The movie centers on Lester Burnham, an unsatisfied middle-aged executive living in suburbia and married to the high-strung real estate agent Carolyn. Their daughter Jane, who is 16 years old, has low self-esteem and harbors resentment towards her parents. Next door, retired Marine colonel Frank Fitts moves in with his wife Barbara and their teenage son Ricky. Ricky has a passion for capturing everyday moments on videotape with his camcorder ...

An American animated comedy film, A Bug’s Life (1998), was produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It follows the story of a colony of ants, led by the elderly Queen and her daughter Princess Atta, who reside in a dry creekbed on ‘Ant Island’. The ants are forced to give food every summer to a gang of grasshoppers, headed by Hopper. One fateful day, Flik, a clumsy inventor ant, accidentally ruins their offering with his grain harvester. When Hopper finds out, he demands double the amount as compensation. Flik suggests enlisting bigger bugs’ help to fight the grasshoppers, prompting Atta to send him away. Flik then heads ...

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 ...

Set in 1953 Los Angeles, L.A. Confidential (1997) is a classic neo-noir crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Curtis Hanson. The story follows the LAPD as they work to repair their public image after years of corruption. Sergeant Edmund Exley, known for his ambition and drive, is constantly compared to his late father who was also a well-respected detective. It is believed that his father’s killer goes by the name ‘Rollo Tomasi’, a symbol of all elusive criminals. Meanwhile, narcotics sergeant Jack Vincennes is more interested in chasing fame and collaborating with tabloid journalist Sid ...

A Time to Kill (1996), an American legal drama film, is based on John Grisham’s 1989 novel of the same name. In Canton, Mississippi in 1984, ten-year-old African American girl Tonya Hailey is assaulted by two local white men, Billy Ray Cobb and James Willard, while returning home from running errands. Despite their attempt to hang her and leave her in a nearby river, Tonya manages to survive and the two men are apprehended by Sheriff Ozzie Walls. Seeking justice for his daughter, Tonya’s father Carl Lee Hailey enlists the help of Jake Brigance, a white lawyer who previously defended his brother Lester. ...

In David Fincher’s Seven (1995), a crime thriller set in an unnamed city consumed by violence and corruption, veteran detective William Somerset is approaching retirement. He is joined by his new partner, the passionate yet quick-tempered detective David Mills, who recently moved to the city with his wife Tracy. On Monday, they are summoned to investigate the death of an obese man who was forcibly overfed until his stomach burst, with the word ‘gluttony’ scrawled on the wall. Somerset finds it too extreme for his final case and requests a different assignment, but is denied. The next day brings another ...

The crime thriller film, The Usual Suspects (1995), directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie, follows a group of criminals. One of them, Dean Keaton, is found dying on a ship in San Pedro Bay after a confrontation with a mysterious figure known as ‘Keyser’. The ship is set on fire, leaving only two survivors: Arkosh Kovash, a Hungarian mobster with severe burns, and Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, a con artist with physical disabilities. U.S. Customs agent Dave Kujan flies from New York City to Los Angeles to interrogate Verbal while FBI ...