Actor Pete Postlethwaite (1946)

The Town (2010) is an American crime thriller film co-written and directed by Ben Affleck, adapted from Chuck Hogan’s 2004 novel Prince of Thieves. Four lifelong friends from the neighborhood of Charlestown, Boston, Douglas ‘Doug’ MacRay, James ‘Jem’ Coughlin, Albert ‘Gloansy’ MacGloan, and Desmond ‘Dez’ Elden, rob a bank wearing masks. Against Doug’s wishes, Jem takes bank manager Claire Keesey hostage but later releases her unharmed. After finding out that Claire lives in their neighborhood, Doug ...

Inception (2010), a science fiction action film by Christopher Nolan, features Cobb and Arthur as skilled ‘extractors’ hired for corporate espionage. They use innovative dream-sharing technology to delve into the subconscious minds of their targets and extract valuable information. Their current task is impressing Saito, who is interested in Cobb’s ability to create multiple layers of dreams. Saito then offers Cobb a seemingly impossible job: to implant an idea into the mind of Robert Fischer, the son of his competitor Maurice Fischer, with the goal of dissolving his father’s company. In exchange ...

Based on the character originally created by Robert E. Howard in 1928, the action-adventure film Solomon Kane (2009) follows the story of English privateer Solomon Kane. In 1600, Kane leads his crew into battle against Ottoman defenders in North Africa, eventually raiding a fortress where they encounter demons. Despite defeating the demons and reaching the throne room, Kane is stopped by a demon known as the ‘Devil’s Reaper’ who reveals that his soul belongs to Satan due to past sins. Refusing to accept this fate, Kane escapes by jumping out of a window. A year later, he seeks redemption by renouncing ...

The Omen (2006) is an American supernatural horror film helmed by director John Moore and penned by David Seltzer. It tells the tale of Robert Thorn, an American diplomat stationed in Italy. Upon learning that his son was stillborn, Robert secretly adopts an orphaned infant on the advice of a Catholic priest, Father Spiletto. The child, named Damien, is raised by Robert and his wife Katherine. Over the next five years, Robert’s career flourishes as he is appointed Deputy Ambassador to the Court of St. James’s in the United Kingdom. He moves into a large estate ...

Dark Water (2005) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Walter Salles and written by Rafael Yglesias. A remake of the 2002 Japanese film, it tells the story of Dahlia, who finds herself in a custody battle with her ex-husband Kyle over their daughter Cecilia. While Kyle wants Cecilia to live near his apartment in Jersey City, Dahlia has found a more affordable option on Roosevelt Island, where she has also discovered a good school for her five-year-old. Eventually, they settle on an apartment just blocks away from Cecilia’s new school, but as they ...

Æon Flux (2005), an American science fiction action film, is based on the animated TV series of the same name created by Peter Chung. In 2011, a deadly pathogenic virus wiped out 99% of humanity, forcing the survivors to scatter and regroup across Earth. Eventually, five million humans settled in Bregna, a walled futuristic city ruled by scientists. Though Bregna may seem like an idyllic place compared to the destroyed Earth, people still go missing and suffer from nightmares. Æon Flux is a skilled warrior and part of the Monicans, an underground rebel group led by the Handler that uses telepathy technology to ...

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 ...

Based on the events in 1839, Amistad (1997) is an American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It depicts the story of Mende tribesmen who were abducted for the slave trade aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad. The men managed to overpower their captors and take control of the ship off the coast of Cuba. This led to an international legal battle after their capture by a U.S. revenue cutter named Washington. Eventually, the case was resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841. The film follows Cinqué, a captive who leads an uprising against the crew, resulting in most of them being killed. Pedro Montes and ...

The American science fiction action film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), takes place four years after the events on Isla Nublar. A British family unknowingly anchors their yacht near the nearby Isla Sorna, which is home to genetically engineered dinosaurs. During their visit, their daughter wanders off and is attacked by a pack of Compsognathus. Dr. John Hammond, who created the dinosaurs through his company InGen, invites mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm to his residence to discuss the incident. However, following the incident, Hammond’s nephew Peter Ludlow takes over control of InGen from him. Ian discovers that besides Isla Nublar, InGen also had a ...

Romeo + Juliet (1996) was directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Set in Verona Beach, the story follows two rival business empires: the Capulets and Montagues. The younger generation of these families feel the animosity held by their elders, Fulgencio and Gloria Capulet and Ted and Caroline Montague. Things escalate when a shootout breaks out between Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin from the Montague family, and Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin from the Capulet family, causing chaos in the city. The Chief of Police, Captain Prince intervenes by arresting both Benvolio and Tybalt and reprimanding their ...

James and the Giant Peach (1996) is a musical fantasy animated film, based on Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name, and directed by Henry Selick. In the summer of 1948, James Henry Trotter, an English orphan, lives with his cruel aunts Spiker and Sponge after his parents were devoured by a flying rhinoceros on his birthday. One day, while saving a spider from his aunts’ wrath, James receives enchanted ‘crocodile tongues’ from a mysterious stranger. These magical objects have the ability to make anything they touch grow to enormous proportions. But ...

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 ...

Alien 3 (1992) is an American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. The movie encountered various challenges during production, such as filming without a script and the involvement of different screenwriters and directors. Fincher, who was making his feature directorial debut, stepped in to direct after Ward’s ...

Treasure Island (1990) is a film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s well-known novel, directed by Fraser C. Heston. The story centers around Jim Hawkins and his mother, who run the Admiral Benbow inn. Their peaceful days are disrupted when an aging pirate known as Captain Bones shows up, constantly on guard for a one-legged foe and causing trouble for the locals. When another pirate, Black Dog, engages in a fierce sword fight with Bones before fleeing, it becomes clear that danger lurks at every turn. Tragedy strikes when Bones suffers a heart attack and hands ...