Actor Viggo Mortensen (1958)

David Cronenberg’s science fiction body horror drama, Crimes of the Future (2022), takes place in an unspecified future where biotechnology has advanced greatly. This has resulted in the creation of machines and computers that can directly interface with and control bodily functions, making them commonplace. As a result, humans have also undergone unexplained biological changes. These include the disappearance of physical pain and infectious disease for a majority of people, allowing for safe conscious surgery in regular settings. However, some individuals have experienced more radical alterations to their ...

Thirteen Lives (2022) is a biographical survival film by director and producer Ron Howard, with a screenplay by William Nicholson. The movie tells the story of the Tham Luang cave rescue, which took place in 2018. On June 23rd of that year, twelve boys from the junior football team “Wild Boars” and their assistant coach Ekkaphon Chanthawong decide to explore the Tham Luang cave after practice. When they fail to show up for a birthday party arranged by their parents, their families head to the caves. To their horror, they discover that the boys are missing and ...

The Road (2009), an American post-apocalyptic film directed by John Hillcoat and written by Joe Penhall, is based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy. It follows a father and son as they struggle to survive in a world ravaged by an unspecified catastrophe that wiped out all plant and animal life. Together, they travel along a road towards the coast in search of safety, scrounging for resources and avoiding violent gangs of cannibals armed with guns. Years earlier, the man’s wife gives birth to their ...

The epic high fantasy adventure film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), was directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s third volume of the novel series, The Return of the King (1955), it follows the journey of Sméagol, a hobbit who becomes consumed by the power of the One Ring after murdering his cousin Déagol to obtain it. As ...

The film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson himself, is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s second volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, titled The Two Towers. In one of his dreams, Frodo Baggins envisions Gandalf battling a Balrog in Moria, before ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is an epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. It is based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, also titled The Fellowship of the Ring, which was published in 1954. The story takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth and revolves around the Rings of Power given to the ...

Director Ridley Scott brought to the big screen the action drama G.I. Jane (1997). As part of the candidate selection process for Secretary of the Navy, a Senate Armed Services Committee holds interviews. Senator Lillian DeHaven of Texas voices her criticism of the Navy’s lack of gender neutrality. Behind closed doors, a deal is made: If women can prove themselves equal to men through a series of tests, the military will fully integrate them into all Navy occupations. The first task is completing the rigorous training course for the U.S. Navy Combined Reconnaissance Team. Senator DeHaven personally selects ...

Based on the 1881 novel by Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady (1996) is a British-American film directed by Jane Campion and adapted by Laura Jones. Isabel Archer, a striking woman, has turned down multiple potential suitors including Lord Warburton and Caspar Goodwood, whom she had initially given hope to. Her close friend Henrietta arranges for Caspar’s visit, as she deeply cares for Isabel. Isabel’s fierce personality and independent nature are admired by her cousin Ralph Touchett, who convinces his father ...

In Rob Cohen’s American disaster film, Daylight (1996), residents of upstate New York face a hazardous situation as they attempt to illegally dispose of toxic waste in New Jersey. Among the many individuals caught in this high-stakes scenario are struggling playwright Maddy Thompson, a bus full of juvenile offenders, a vacationing family, an elderly couple and their dog, and sports retailer Roy Nord. Meanwhile, a gang of grungy criminals fleeing from the NYPD after mugging a gem buyer take off in his car and enter the tunnel beneath the Hudson River. In their chaotic escape, they crash into one of the trucks ...

The movie Crimson Tide (1995), directed by Tony Scott and produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, is an American submarine action thriller. An opening title card introduces the three most influential figures in the world: The U.S. President, the Russian President, and the captain of a U.S. nuclear submarine. In post-Soviet Russia, a civil war breaks out due to ongoing conflict in Chechnya. Loyal military units of Vladimir Radchenko, a Russian ultra-nationalist rebel leader, seize control of a nuclear missile ...

Carlito’s Way (1993) is an American crime drama film helmed by Brian De Palma and written by David Koepp. The screenplay is based on the novels Carlito’s Way (1975) and After Hours (1979) written by Judge Edwin Torres. Set in 1975 New York, the story follows Carlito Brigante’s release from prison after serving five years of a thirty-year sentence. His close friend and lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld, uses a legal loophole to get him out. Despite his initial plans to leave behind his criminal ways, ...

The crime drama film, The Indian Runner (1991), marks Sean Penn’s first venture into directing. Inspired by Bruce Springsteen’s Highway Patrolman, the movie portrays the complicated relationship between two brothers who find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Taking place in 1960s Nebraska, it centers around small-town deputy sheriff Joe and his criminal brother, Frank Roberts. Prior to the events of the story, Joe attempted to make a living through farming but was forced to give it up when he couldn’t pay off his debts and lost his ...

Director Jeff Burr and writer David J. Schow released Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990). During a chase, Leatherface takes the life of Gina as her sister Sara watches from a nearby window. Later on, a couple named Michelle and Ryan are passing through Texas and come across the Last Chance Gas Station where they meet hitchhiker Tex and the owner Alfredo. A fight breaks out between Tex and Alfredo when Tex catches Alfredo peeping at Michelle in the restroom. As Michelle and Ryan drive away, they witness what appears to be Alfredo shooting Tex with a ...