Actress Marcia Gay Harden (1959)

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Magic in the Moonlight (2014) is a romantic comedy set in 1928. As Wei Ling Soo, an illusionist with a world-renowned magic act, performs to a crowd in Berlin, little do they know that he is actually Stanley, a British man who dons a disguise for his performances. In his dressing room, Stanley is reunited with old friend and fellow illusionist Howard Burkan. Howard invites Stanley to join him on a trip to the French Riviera where the wealthy Catledge family has been beguiled by the clairvoyant Sophie. Howard confesses he has been unable to expose Sophie’s secrets and wonders if ...

The Maiden Heist (2009) is an American crime comedy film directed by Peter Hewitt, following the story of Roger, a security guard at an art museum. His job involves constantly monitoring the precious artwork on display. One particular painting catches his eye – The Lonely Maiden, a beautiful woman gazing out into the distance with a sense of longing. Despite being happily married to Rose, Roger finds himself fixated on this painting. However, Rose is eager for Roger to retire so they can start their new life in Florida. One day, Roger receives news that The Lonely Maiden and several other pieces will be ...

The teen supernatural thriller, The Invisible (2007), directed by David S. Goyer, hit theaters on April 27th of that year. This film is based on a Swedish young adult novel by Mats Wahl, which was previously made into another Swedish film with the same title. Nick Powell, a high school senior, has plans to skip his graduation and attend a writing program in London. However, his controlling mother Diane strongly disapproves and maintains an emotionally distant relationship with him. Pete Egan, Nick’s best friend, confides in him about being bullied by Annie Newton, a ...

The Mist (2007) is an American science-fiction horror film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novella. A severe thunderstorm hits Bridgton, Maine, causing a tree to crash into the lakeside home of artist David Drayton, his wife Stephanie and their eight-year-old son Billy. The next morning, as they assess the damage, they spot a thick mist rolling over the lake. To prepare for potential power outages, David and Billy head to town with their neighbor Brent Norton to purchase supplies. While inside the supermarket, they witness police cars speeding through the streets. A terrified local named Dan Miller rushes into ...

The American biographical adventure drama film, Into the Wild (2007), was written, co-produced, and directed by Sean Penn. Based on the 1996 non-fiction book by Jon Krakauer of the same name, it tells the story of Chris McCandless who arrives in Healy, a remote area just north of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Upon realizing McCandless’ lack of preparedness, the man who gives him a ride provides him with gumboots. McCandless then sets up camp in an abandoned city bus that he dubs ‘The Magic Bus’. Enjoying his solitude and surrounded by ...

Mona Lisa Smile (2003), an American drama directed by Mike Newell and written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, follows the story of Katherine Ann Watson. Upon accepting a teaching position at Wellesley College in 1953, Katherine realizes her students have already mastered the textbook and syllabus. Determined to push boundaries, she introduces modern art and encourages open discussions on the definition of quality artwork. Despite facing opposition from traditionalist student Betty Warren, Katherine remains steadfast ...

Mystic River (2003) is an American neo-noir crime drama film helmed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood. Set in Charlestown, Boston, the film follows three childhood friends, Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle as they play street hockey one day in 1975. While writing their names on a patch of wet concrete, Dave is taken by two men posing as police officers and subjected to four days of abuse before finally managing to escape. Fast forward twenty-five years and we find Jimmy, now a former inmate running a local convenience store; Sean, a detective for the Massachusetts State Police facing marital issues after his ...

Space Cowboys (2000), an American adventure drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, tells the story of two U.S. Air Force pilots and aspiring astronauts- William ‘Hawk’ Hawkins and Frank Corvin. In 1958, while testing a modified Bell X-2, Hawk decides to attempt breaking speed and altitude records. However, the plane stalls and they are forced to eject, narrowly missing a Boeing B-50 Superfortress with navigator ‘Tank’ Sullivan. After landing safely on the ground, Frank throws a punch at Hawk but their fight is interrupted by flight engineer Jerry O’Neill. Their superior, Bob ...

The film Desperate Measures (1998) directed by Barbet Schroeder, follows the story of Frank Conner, a police officer and single father in San Francisco. In a race against time to find a bone marrow donor for his son Matt, who is battling leukemia, Frank resorts to extreme measures. He breaks into FBI headquarters and discovers a potential match in the form of Peter McCabe – a notorious sociopath serving life in prison for multiple murders. McCabe’s record includes numerous escape attempts and killings of guards and inmates, resulting in him being restricted with multiple restraints while out of his cell in ...

The film Meet Joe Black (1998), directed and produced by Martin Brest, tells the story of media mogul Bill Parrish. He’s considering a merger while his daughter Allison plans his 65th birthday bash. The younger daughter, Susan, is a resident in internal medicine who is dating Drew, a member of Bill’s board. As Bill observes Susan’s relationship with Drew and realizes she may not be truly in love, he encourages her to wait for true love instead. During their helicopter ride, Bill hears a mysterious voice but tries to brush it off. Later at the office, he experiences chest pains and hears the voice again ...