Actor Michael Murphy (1938)

In the action-packed film White House Down (2013), directed by Roland Emmerich and written by James Vanderbilt, U.S. President James Sawyer stirs up controversy with his proposal to sign a peace agreement that would remove military forces from the Middle East. John Cale, a divorced Capitol Police officer, strives to impress his daughter Emily by interviewing for the Secret Service and getting them tickets for a White House tour. However, his college acquaintance and interviewer Deputy Special Agent-in-Charge Carol Finnerty deems him unfit for the job. As chaos erupts in Washington, D.C. with a bomb detonating at the United States Capitol, Finnerty takes Speaker of the ...

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) is a superhero film based on Marvel Entertainment Group’s comic books. In 1986, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr invite a young Jean Grey to join their school, the X-Mansion, at her parents’ house. Ten years later in 1996, industrialist Warren Worthington II discovers his son’s mutant abilities when he tries to remove his wings. In the present day, Worthington Labs announces a ‘cure’ for mutants and offers it to those who are interested in suppressing their X-gene. This piques the interest of certain mutants such as Rogue, who struggles with her harmful touch, while others are cautious. Magneto gathers a new ...

Live from Baghdad (2002) is an American TV war drama film directed by Mick Jackson and co-written by Robert Wiener, based on his book of the same name. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait City, prompting CNN to select Wiener and his team for coverage. At the Rome International Airport, Wiener meets his producer Ingrid Formanek before arriving in Baghdad on August 23 and settling into their rooms at the Al-Rasheed Hotel. However, they soon realize they are being monitored. Their first story focuses on a young British boy being held captive by Saddam Hussein. As ...

Tim Burton directed Batman Returns (1992), a superhero movie with a screenplay by Daniel Waters. Set in Gotham City, the film tells the story of two wealthy parents who reject their deformed son Oswald and leave him to be raised by penguins in the sewers. Thirty-three years later, during the holiday season, a powerful businessman named Max Shreck is kidnapped by the Red Triangle gang – a former circus troupe known for abducting children across the country – and taken to an abandoned zoo. The leader of the gang, Oswald (now going by the name Penguin), uses evidence of ...

Salvador (1986) is a war drama film, co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. Richard Boyle, a seasoned photojournalist with two decades of experience, has had his fair share of success. However, struggles with substance abuse and an air of arrogance have damaged his reputation and made it hard for him to find work. One day, he discovers that his wife has left him and taken their child. With no money or job prospects, Boyle turns to his friend Doctor Rock, a former radio host also facing unemployment. Together, they decide to venture to El Salvador, where Boyle believes he can freelance during the country’s ...

The romantic drama film, The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), was both directed and co-written by Peter Weir alongside David Williamson. Based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Christopher Koch, it tells the story of Guy Hamilton, a novice foreign correspondent sent to Jakarta by his Australian TV network. In Jakarta, he is welcomed into a tight-knit community of fellow correspondents from various countries, as well as diplomatic personnel and Billy Kwan, a highly intelligent Chinese Australian man with dwarfism and a ...

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 drama film The Front (1976) takes place during the Hollywood blacklist of the 1950s, when individuals in the entertainment industry were deemed unemployable due to allegations of Communist sympathies or affiliations. Written by Walter Bernstein and directed by Martin Ritt, the film features Woody Allen, Zero Mostel, and Michael Murphy. In 1953 New York City, television writer Alfred Miller is unable to find work ...