Actor Tom Hanks (1956)

Elvis (2022) is a biographical drama film co-produced and directed by Baz Luhrmann, chronicling the life of American rock and roll singer and actor Elvis Presley. On his deathbed in 1997, Presley’s former manager Colonel Tom Parker reflects on their initial meeting and the rise to fame under his management. Growing up in poverty-stricken areas of Mississippi with a nurturing mother, Presley found solace in comic books and music, particularly African-American genres from Beale Street. It wasn’t until Parker, a self-proclaimed modern-day P. T. Barnum, heard ...

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik, Finch (2021) is an American post-apocalyptic survival film written by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. After a devastating solar flare destroyed the ozone layer, Earth became a desolate wasteland ravaged by harsh weather and intense UV rays. Finch Weinberg, a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors, resides in an underground laboratory in St. Louis with only his loyal dog Goodyear and helper-robot Dewey for company. While battling an undisclosed illness (hinted at through his reading on ...

News of the World (2020) is an American Western film directed and co-written by Paul Greengrass. Based on Paulette Jiles’ 2016 novel of the same name, the story follows Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a former Confederate officer. Kidd earns a modest living by traveling around Texas and reading newspaper stories to locals for a ten-cent fee. While journeying from Wichita Falls, he stumbles upon an overturned wagon on the road, with its driver, a freed black man, lynched. He also discovers a young white girl named Cicada, who speaks Kiowa and reveals herself to be Johanna Leonberger. Through her papers, Kidd learns ...

Greyhound (2020), an American war film directed by Aaron Schneider and starring Tom Hanks, tells the story of convoy HX-25 in February 1942. The convoy is comprised of 37 Allied merchant and troop ships on their way to Liverpool, navigating through the ‘Black Pit’, a dangerous zone without air cover for five days. Commander Ernest Krause of the USS Keeling (DD-548), also known as ‘Greyhound’, leads the escort team which includes the British destroyer HMS James F80 (“Harry”), Polish destroyer ORP Viktor H34 (‘Eagle’), and ...

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) is a satirical comedy directed by Jason Woliner. It follows the story of Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev, who is released from a gulag after being imprisoned for fourteen years due to his previous trip to the United States. His country’s president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, tasks him with delivering Minister of Culture Johnny the Monkey to President Donald Trump in an attempt to restore Kazakhstan’s honor. However, Borat’s plan goes awry when he is unable to get close to Trump and instead decides to give the monkey to Vice President Mike Pence. While attempting this, ...

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) is an American biographical drama film directed by Marielle Heller, centered around TV presenter Fred Rogers. In 1998, during an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Mr. Rogers showcases a picture board with five doors. Three are opened to reveal familiar faces – Lady Aberlin, King Friday, and Mr. McFeely. The fourth door reveals the face of Lloyd Vogel, a troubled new friend of Mr. Rogers sporting a black eye and cut near his nose. Lloyd has been hurt (though not necessarily on his face) and is struggling to forgive the person who hurt him. After defining ...

Toy Story 4 (2019) is an American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Following the events of the previous films, Woody and Bo Peep team up to rescue Andy’s remote control car, RC, during a storm. Eventually, Bo and her lamp find a new owner through donation. Though Woody is heartbroken, Bo has accepted her role as a toy with grace. As they part ways, Woody shares a heartfelt goodbye with her. Fast forward nine years and college-bound Andy has passed on his beloved toys to Bonnie. However, Woody struggles to adjust as Bonnie shows little interest in playing with him. When Bonnie creates a toy out of a spork ...

The American techno-thriller film, The Circle (2017), was directed by James Ponsoldt with a screenplay written by both Ponsoldt and Dave Eggers. It was based on Eggers’ 2013 novel of the same name. Through her friend Annie, Mae Holland secures a customer support position at The Circle, a tech and social media company. Mae takes the job to support her parents, particularly her father who suffers from multiple sclerosis. However, her longtime friend Mercer is not as ...

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 comedy-drama film, A Hologram for the King (2016), is a creation of writer, director, and co-composer Tom Tykwer. It is based on the novel by Dave Eggers published in 2012. Starring American salesman Alan Clay, the film follows his mission to sell a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi government and present it to their King. Clay was offered this opportunity due to his brief encounter with one of the King’s nephews. However, he carries baggage from a previous job where he witnessed layoffs and financial ruin caused by outsourcing production. ...

Directed by Clint Eastwood and written by Todd Komarnicki, Sully (2016) is an American biographical drama film based on the 2009 autobiography Highest Duty by Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles. The movie follows the events of January 15, 2009, when Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles took off in US Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport. Shortly after takeoff, their Airbus A320 collided with a ...

Inferno (2016), an American action mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by David Koepp, is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Dan Brown. Following his involvement in halting an antimatter threat at the Vatican, Harvard professor Robert Langdon wakes up in a Florence hospital with no recollection of recent events, but haunted by terrifying visions. His attending physician, Dr. Sienna Brooks, explains that his amnesia is a result of being shot in the head. A staff member warns them that police have arrived to question Langdon, but it turns ...

Ithaca (2015), an American drama directed by Meg Ryan and written by Erik Jendresen, is based on the 1943 novel The Human Comedy by William Saroyan. Set in a small fictional town of Ithaca, CA in the 1940s during World War II, the story follows 14-year-old Homer Macauley who is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger. His motivation comes from his desire to take care of his widowed mother Katie, his older sister Bess, and his youngest brother Ulysses. Unfortunately, Homer’s older ...

The film Bridge of Spies (2015) is an American historical drama directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg. It was written by Matt Charman and the Coen brothers. Set in New York City in 1957, the story follows the arrest of Rudolf Abel on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. James B. Donovan, an insurance lawyer, is appointed as Abel’s legal counsel. Despite pressure from the CIA to violate client confidentiality, Donovan remains committed to providing a vigorous defense for Abel. Ultimately, Abel is convicted ...

The American computer-animated Christmas television special, Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and aired on ABC on December 2, 2014. Trixie, a toy triceratops, is frustrated with Bonnie’s lack of dinosaur playtime. A few days after Christmas, Bonnie brings Trixie, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, and Christmas ornament Angel Kitty to her friend Mason’s house for a play date. However, instead of playing with her toys, Bonnie joins Mason in playing his new video game console and leaves the toys in Mason’s playroom. There, they encounter a large ‘Battlesaurs’ playset that Mason received for Christmas. This ...

Director John Lee Hancock created the biographical drama film, Saving Mr. Banks (2013). The screenplay was written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. At this time, Diarmuid Russell, a agent in London, urges Pamela ‘P. L.’ Travers to travel to Los Angeles and meet with Walt Disney. For the last twenty years, Disney has been pursuing the film rights to her Mary Poppins stories after promising his daughters he would make a movie based on them. Despite her financial struggles and dwindling book royalties, Travers has ...

Directed by Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips(2013) is a biographical action-thriller film that chronicles the events of the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking. It follows the journey of Captain Richard Phillips, an American merchant mariner who was captured by Somali pirates. Assigned to command the MV Maersk Alabama from Oman’s Port of Salalah, Phillips and First Officer Shane Murphy are vigilant about pirate activity in the Horn of Africa. As part of their security protocol, they conduct a practice drill and soon notice two skiffs following their unarmed container ...

The Halloween special Toy Story of Terror (2013) is a collaborative effort between Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Television Animation, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. During a road trip to visit Bonnie’s grandmother, she has tagged along her beloved group of toys – Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Rex, Mr. Pricklepants, Mr. Potato Head, and Trixie. While on the journey, the toys are engrossed in a horror movie on a portable DVD player kept in the car’s trunk. As fate would have it, their trip is cut short due to a flat tire and they are forced to spend the night at the Sleep Well roadside motel since help won’t arrive until morning. As ...

Cloud Atlas (2012) is an epic science fiction film helmed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. Adapted from David Mitchell’s 2004 novel, it tells a complex story with multiple plots taking place across six different time periods. As the narrative jumps between these eras, spanning centuries, each storyline gradually reaches a resolution. Interestingly, we see characters from previous eras appear in future ones through their writings. These recurring characters often have changed relationships with one another, with ...

The animated short film Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex (2012) was written and directed by Mark Walsh. In the film, Rex is worried about making a mess with bubbles and is scolded by his fellow toys, who call him ‘Partypooper Rex’. When Bonnie starts preparing for a bath, the other toys scatter, leaving Rex alone. But then Bonnie plays with him and her bath toys until it’s time to go to her grandma’s. The bath toys are happy to have a visitor but become sad when all the water drains out. Since they need water to move and don’t have any arms, they wish someone could refill the tub. At first, ...