Actor Mako (1933)

Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) is an animated series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. A century ago, the young Avatar Aang fled from his home due to fear of his new responsibilities. Caught in a storm while at sea, he and his sky bison Appa were encased in an iceberg near the South Pole. At the same time, Fire Lord Sozin began a world war in order to expand his nation’s empire. As it was prophesied that the Avatar would be an Air Nomad, Sozin orchestrated a genocide against their people ...

The film Pearl Harbor (2001) was directed by Michael Bay and produced by both Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer. Written by Randall Wallace, the story takes place in Tennessee in 1923 where two close friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, often play together in Danny’s father’s old biplane, pretending to be heroic pilots. Danny’s father is a World War One Veteran struggling with PTSD. Fast forward to January 1941 during the height of World War II, both Rafe and ...

Seven Years in Tibet (1997) is an American biographical war drama film, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. It is based on the 1952 memoir of Austrian mountaineer and Schutzstaffel (SS) sergeant Heinrich Harrer, detailing his experiences in Tibet from 1944 to 1951. In 1939, Harrer leaves behind his pregnant wife to join Peter Aufschnaiter in an expedition to summit Nanga Parbat in British-ruled India (now part of Pakistan). However, when World War II begins, the British authorities arrest them as ‘enemy aliens’ – citizens of a country at war with the British Empire. The duo is then imprisoned in a camp ...

Rising Sun (1993), an American buddy cop crime thriller directed by Philip Kaufman, takes place at the newly opened Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a Japanese keiretsu. At a commencement gala, call girl Cheryl Lynn Austin is discovered dead after an apparent violent sexual encounter. LAPD Lieutenant Webster ‘Web’ Smith and John Connor, a former police captain with expertise in Japanese affairs, are tasked with acting as liaisons between the Japanese executives and the investigating officer – Smith’s former partner Tom Graham. As they begin their investigation, Connor and Smith review ...

Pacific Heights (1990) is an American psychological thriller directed by John Schlesinger and written by Daniel Pyne. During their time in San Francisco, unmarried couple Drake Goodman and Patty Palmer purchase an expensive 19th-century Victorian house in the exclusive neighborhood known as Pacific Heights. As they settle into their new home, they also rent one of the building’s first-floor apartments to the Watanabes, a friendly Japanese couple. However, things take a dark turn when Carter Hayes visits to view the remaining vacant unit. Despite driving an expensive ...

Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) is a biographical comedy-drama movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Detroit’s Preston Tucker harbored a passion for car-making since his youth. During the Second World War, he created an armored vehicle for the military and earned profits producing gun turrets for planes in a small workshop near his Ypsilanti residence. With the unwavering support of his extended family, especially his wife Vera, children Preston Jr., Noble, and Marilyn Lee, Tucker embarks on a mission to create the ‘car of tomorrow’. The ‘Tucker Torpedo’ boasts groundbreaking safety ...

Testament (1983), a drama film, is based on a three-page story titled The Last Testament by Carol Amen and directed by Lynne Littman. Set in the fictional suburb of Hamelin, California, the film follows the Wetherly family: husband Tom, wife Carol, and their children Brad, Mary Liz, and Scottie. Tom works in San Francisco as the main provider for the family. One afternoon, while Carol is at home, she receives an answering machine message from Tom saying he will be back for dinner soon. At the same time, Scottie is watching Sesame Street on TV when suddenly it is interrupted by white noise. The screen then ...