Actress Meryl Streep (1949)

An American film Don’t Look Up (2021), written and directed by Adam McKay in collaboration with David Sirota, follows the story of Kate Dibiasky. Dibiasky, a doctoral candidate at Michigan State University, makes a shocking discovery about an unknown comet. Her mentor Doctor Randall Mindy confirms this discovery: the comet will collide with Earth in six months, causing a global extinction event. NASA verifies the findings and invites Dibiasky, Mindy, and Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (head of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office) to present their research to the White ...

The American political thriller film, The Post (2017), centers around the publication of the Pentagon Papers by The Washington Post. During the Vietnam War in 1966, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg joins American troops in combat and records their progress for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Despite privately admitting the war is futile on their flight home, McNamara publicly expresses confidence in the effort upon landing. This stark contradiction causes Ellsberg to lose faith. Years later, as a civilian contractor at RAND Corporation, Ellsberg discreetly copies hundreds of classified reports detailing the country’s extensive involvement in the ...

The American musical fantasy film, Into the Woods (2014), from director Rob Marshall and screenplay by James Lapine, is a retelling of the timeless tale. The story follows the Baker and his wife who long for a child but are plagued by a curse placed upon them by the Witch. As it goes, the Witch caught the Baker’s father stealing from her garden while his mother was pregnant and demanded their unborn child as payment. But that wasn’t all – in addition to the baby, the Baker’s father took some enchanted beans which resulted in the Witch being cursed with age and ugliness. With no other option, she ...

The Homesman (2014), a Western historical drama film directed by Tommy Lee Jones, takes place in 1850s Midwest. Mary Bee Cuddy, a 31-year-old unmarried teacher from New York seeking new opportunities, owns ample land and is financially secure in the small farming community of Loup in the Nebraska Territory. Despite her appearance of strength and independence, she battles depression and loneliness. When she asks her neighbor Bob Giffen to dinner and proposes marriage, he declines due to her plain looks and assertive nature. Disheartened, he sets off to find a bride elsewhere. As winter brings harsh conditions, three ...

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 ...

It’s Complicated (2009) is an American romantic comedy written and directed by Nancy Meyers. The film follows Jane, a successful bakery owner in Santa Barbara, California, and Jake Adler, an accomplished attorney who have been divorced for a decade. The former couple shares three children – two girls and a boy. With their youngest child off to college, Jane is left feeling lonely. Meanwhile, Jake has remarried Agness, the much younger woman he had an affair with during his marriage to Jane. While attending their son Luke’s graduation in New York City, Jane and Jake reconnect over drinks and share ...

Wes Anderson directed Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), an American stop-motion animated comedy film. While pilfering Berk’s Squab Farm, our cunning protagonist sets off a fox trap, inadvertently trapping himself and his wife Felicity. In the midst of their escape, she reveals her pregnancy and implores her husband to find a less hazardous job. He agrees and two human years (12 fox years) later, the Fox family, now including their son Ash, is residing in a cozy hole. Despite warnings from their lawyer Clive Badger about the dangers of being close to three farmers – Walt Boggis, Nate Bunce, and Frank Bean – Mr. ...

Doubt (2008) is an American drama film that was written and directed by John Patrick Shanley. The movie is based on Shanley’s stage play Doubt: A Parable, which won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award in 2004. Set in 1964 during a Catholic mass in The Bronx, Father Brendan Flynn delivers a homily on the topic of doubt. He remarks that it can serve as a unifying force, much like faith. However, Sister Aloysius, the stern principal of the church’s parish school, becomes concerned when she witnesses a young boy avoiding contact with Father Flynn in ...

Lions for Lambs (2007), an American war drama film directed by Robert Redford, delves into the intertwined lives of a U.S. senator, soldiers in Afghanistan, a reporter, and a college professor in California. Dr. Malley, the idealistic professor, encourages his students Arian and Ernest to make a meaningful impact in the world after their graduation from West Coast University. Despite coming from different backgrounds, they both choose to enlist in the army and serve in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Dr. Malley also tries to connect with another student named Todd Hayes. Unlike Arian and Ernest, Todd comes from a privileged ...

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 ...

Richard Condon’s 1959 novel, The Manchurian Candidate (2004), is a political thriller that tells the story of a prominent U.S. political family and their son’s involvement in a Communist conspiracy. The novel has been adapted into two feature films with the same title, released in 1962 and 2004 respectively. In the story, Major Bennett Marco and his infantry platoon are captured during the Korean War in 1952 by an elite Soviet commando unit. They are eventually brainwashed into believing that Sergeant Raymond Shaw saved their lives in combat, leading to him receiving the Medal of Honor. Years later, Marco, ...

Marvin’s Room (1996) is an impactful American drama helmed by Jerry Zaks. John Guare penned the screenplay, adapted from Scott McPherson’s play of the same name. The story revolves around Marvin, a man who suffered a stroke two decades ago and has been confined to his bed ever since. His daughter Bessie has dedicated herself to taking care of him in their Florida home, while his other daughter Lee moved away with her husband to Ohio and has not been in touch with her family since. Unfortunately, Bessie receives devastating news from her doctor – she has leukemia, the same illness that claimed their ...

The film adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County (1995) follows the story of the 1992 best-selling novel written by Robert James Waller. In the present time, Michael and Carolyn Johnson, adult siblings, travel to their mother’s farmhouse in Iowa after her passing to handle her affairs. To their surprise, Francesca had requested to be cremated and have her ashes scattered from Roseman Covered Bridge instead of being buried next to her late husband, Richard. Despite Michael’s initial refusal, a discovery is made while going through Francesca’s safe deposit box. Inside is an envelope containing ...

The River Wild (1994), an American thriller directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Denis O’Neill, tells the story of a Boston couple, Gail and Tom Hartman. Due to Tom’s demanding job as an architect, their marriage is strained. To escape the tension, Gail takes their son Roarke on a rafting trip down Idaho’s Salmon River. Accompanied by their dog Maggie, they leave behind their daughter Willa with Gail’s parents in Idaho. Unexpectedly, Tom joins them at the last minute after staying in Boston. During their journey, they encounter three friendly ...

Mike Nichols directed Silkwood (1983), an American biographical drama. The film stars Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher. Karen Silkwood works at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site near Crescent, Oklahoma. She resides in a rundown house with her boyfriend Drew Stephens and lesbian friend Dolly Pelliker. Her job involves manufacturing MOX fuel rods for nuclear reactors, exposing her to radiation. As a union activist, she voices concerns about the potential ...

Manhattan (1979) is a charming romantic comedy-drama from the renowned director Woody Allen and producer Charles H. Joffe. The movie opens with captivating scenes of New York City, set to the delightful tune of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. As the camera pans over the city, we hear Isaac Davis, our main character, narrating an introduction for his book on a man who adores this vibrant metropolis. A 42-year-old television writer and two-time divorcee, Isaac decides to leave his unfulfilling job. He’s currently dating Tracy, a young student at Dalton ...

The American epic war drama film, The Deer Hunter (1978), was co-written and directed by Michael Cimino. Set in late 1968 in a tight-knit Slavic American community in Western Pennsylvania, it follows the story of three friends: Mike Vronsky, Steven Pushkov, and Nikanor ‘Nick’ Chevotarevich. The trio works at a steel mill and often goes hunting with their co-workers – Stanley (‘Stan’), Peter ‘Axel’ Axelrod, and John Welsh. As they prepare to leave for military service in Vietnam, Steven is engaged to Angela Ludhjduravic who has been secretly impregnated by another man. Meanwhile, ...