Columbia Pictures (USA): 161

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 ...

After Earth (2013) is an American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and co-written with Gary Whitta. Loosely based on an original idea by Will Smith, the story follows a father-and-son journey in a futuristic world where humans have evacuated Earth due to a massive environmental disaster. Set 1,000 years later on the human-populated space colony Nova Prime, the S’krell extraterrestrial race threatens to take over using their fierce creatures known as Ursas, who hunt by sensing fear. The ...

Hotel Transylvania (2012) is an American animated monster comedy film jointly produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. Following the tragic death of his wife Martha at the hands of a human mob, Count Dracula erects a grand hotel exclusively for creatures in Transylvania. Here, he raises his daughter Mavis and provides a refuge for monsters seeking to escape persecution from humans. Regular guests at the hotel include iconic monsters such as Frankenstein, Wayne and Wanda Werewolf, Griffin the Invisible Man, and Murray the Mummy. On Mavis’ 118th birthday, she expresses her desire to explore the human ...

Men in Black 3 (2012) is a sci-fi action comedy film based on the popular Marvel Comics series. After escaping from a top-security prison on the Moon, alien criminal Boris the Animal sets out to seek revenge on Agent K for past incidents involving his capture and the removal of his left arm. Despite being warned by Boris that he is already ‘dead’, K refuses to reveal any further details about their encounter from over four decades ago. Meanwhile, J discovers evidence that implicates K not only in Boris’s capture but also in preventing a deadly invasion by deploying an interplanetary shield known as the ‘ArcNet’. In a desperate attempt to ...

Based on the popular Marvel Comics character, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) is a superhero flick that also shares its name with the long-running comic book series. After discovering his father’s office has been ransacked, a young Peter Parker is taken in by his aunt and uncle along with some secretive documents left behind by his parents. Years go by and Peter is now a teenager attending Midtown Science High School where he excels in academics but struggles socially due to being constantly bullied. He harbors feelings for Gwen Stacy, who reciprocates his affections. Through an unexpected turn of events, Peter learns of his father’s connection to Dr. Curt ...

Django Unchained (2012), a Quentin Tarantino production, takes us to 1858 Texas where two brothers, Ace and Dicky Speck, are seen driving enslaved men and women. One of these slaves is Django, who has been torn apart from his wife Broomhilda von Shaft – an English and German-speaking house slave. The group is stopped by Dr. King Schultz, a former dentist turned bounty hunter, who is looking to buy Django for his knowledge on the notorious Brittle brothers. When Ace refuses to cooperate, Schultz takes matters into his own hands by killing him and using Dicky’s horse as leverage. He then advises the rest of ...

Skyfall (2012) is the twenty-third installment in the iconic James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. Starring Daniel Craig as the titular MI6 agent and featuring Javier Bardem as his adversary Raoul Silva, the film sees Judi Dench reprising her role as M. Under the direction of Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and

The fantasy adventure comedy film, The Smurfs (2011), is based on the comic series by Belgian artist Peyo. In their village, the Smurfs are getting ready for their annual Blue Moon Festival when Papa Smurf has a vision of Clumsy Smurf and an evil wizard named Gargamel. His vision involves Clumsy accidentally leading Gargamel to the village while picking smurfroot. Papa Smurf sets up traps and flings Gargamel into the air, allowing the rest of the Smurfs to escape. However, Clumsy unknowingly runs towards the Forbidden Falls with a group of other Smurfs following him – Papa, Smurfette, Grouchy, Brainy and Gutsy. As ...

The animated Christmas comedy film, Arthur Christmas (2011), was co-produced by Sony Pictures Animation and Aardman Animations. Instead of a single individual, the title of Santa Claus has been passed down for generations to gift-givers. Currently on his seventieth mission, the current Santa, Malcolm Claus, holds more of a ceremonial role. The traditional sleigh and reindeer have been replaced by the S-1, a state-of-the-art vessel operated by hundreds of elves who use advanced equipment and military precision to deliver presents. All the intricate details of Christmas are meticulously managed from Mission Control at the North Pole by Malcolm’s eldest son, Steve. ...

Anonymous (2011), a period drama directed by Roland Emmerich and written by John Orloff, tells a fictionalized tale of the life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. The film suggests that de Vere was actually the true author of William Shakespeare’s plays. In modern-day New York, Derek Jacobi delivers a monologue at a theatre questioning the lack of written manuscripts from Shakespeare, despite his unparalleled success as a playwright. Meanwhile, Ben Jonson prepares to take the stage. The narrator offers to lead the audience on a journey through an alternative ...

The Ides of March (2011), directed by George Clooney, is an American political drama. The screenplay was written by Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, based on Willimon’s play Farragut North. The film follows the story of Stephen Meyers, the junior campaign manager for Governor of Pennsylvania Mike Morris, as he competes against Arkansas Senator Ted Pullman in the Democratic presidential primary. Both ...

Moneyball (2011) is an American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller. The script was written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, based on a story by Stan Chervin. The inspiration for the film comes from Michael Lewis’ nonfiction book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, published in 2003. The book recounts the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their general ...

The American fantasy comedy film Zookeeper (2011), directed by Frank Coraci, tells the story of Griffin Keyes, a dedicated head zookeeper at Franklin Park Zoo. Despite his love for the animals under his care, Griffin’s heart is broken when his girlfriend Stephanie turns down his proposal due to his job. Five years later, during an engagement party for his brother Dave, Griffin panics upon seeing Stephanie on the guest list. Dave suggests that Griffin leave the zoo and work with him at the car dealership to win back Stephanie. However, the animals hold a meeting and decide to help their beloved zookeeper find a way ...

Directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Chris Bertolini, Battle: Los Angeles (2011) is an American military science-fiction action film set in a world where hostile alien spacecraft suddenly make landings off the coasts of major cities. As Los Angeles is evacuated, a group of Marines from Camp Pendleton, led by Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, are called in. Despite his plans to retire, Nantz is assigned to the 1st Platoon, Echo Company, of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines under the command of 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez. The platoon sets up a forward operating base ...

The film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) is based on the novel by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. Directed by David Fincher and written by Steven Zaillian, it follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist in Stockholm as he deals with the consequences of a libel suit against businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. To resolve this issue, wealthy Henrik Vanger offers Blomkvist a unique task: investigating the 40-year-old disappearance of his grandniece Harriet, who is believed to have been murdered. Each year on his birthday, Vanger ...

30 Minutes or Less (2011) is an American action comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer. It follows Nick Davis, a pizza delivery driver who struggles to meet the ’30 Minutes or Less’ policy, much to the dissatisfaction of his boss. In the midst of this, Nick’s longtime friend Chet learns that Nick had a fling with his twin sister, Kate, on their high school graduation night – leading Chet to end their friendship. Meanwhile, Dwayne Mikowlski and Travis Cord are unhappy and resentful living under Dwayne’s domineering father, Jerry ‘The Major’, who won big in the lottery a decade ...

The animated film, The Adventures of Tintin (2011), is based on Hergé’s comic book series of the same name. Set in 1938 Brussels, Belgium, it follows young journalist Tintin and his trusty dog Snowy as they explore an outdoor market. Despite being approached by Interpol officer Barnaby and ship collector Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, both eager to purchase a miniature model of a ship called the Unicorn, Tintin manages to secure the item for himself. But upon returning home with the model, it is accidentally broken during a chase between Snowy and a cat. As Tintin searches for the missing pieces, he discovers a ...

The movie Eat Pray Love (2010), based on the memoir of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert, portrays a woman named Liz in her journey of self-discovery. Despite having a husband, house, and successful career, Liz feels lost and uncertain about her true desires. She asks for a divorce from her husband, Stephen, who struggles to accept it. During this time, she has a brief relationship with David, an actor. Newly divorced and unsure of where to go next, Liz takes a daring trip to Italy, India and Bali. In Italy, she indulges in the pleasures of eating pasta and gelato for four months and even learns Italian from a private ...

The Other Guys (2010) is a buddy cop comedy directed by Adam McKay, who also co-wrote the script with Chris Henchy. The film follows the story of two officers from NYPD – Allen Gamble, a mild-mannered forensic accountant, and Terry Hoitz, a hot-tempered detective. Terry earned the infamous nickname “Yankee Clipper” after mistakenly shooting Derek Jeter during the World Series, leading to him being paired with Allen as his partner. However, they receive little respect from their fellow officers, especially detectives Martin and Fosse. The rest of the ...

The Tourist (2010), an American romantic thriller movie co-written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, follows the story of Elise Clifton-Ward, a British woman. As she walks through downtown Paris, she is trailed by French police working with Scotland Yard under the command of Inspector John Acheson. Acheson has tirelessly searched for Alexander Pearce, Elise’s boyfriend who owes £744 million in unpaid taxes. Pearce is also being pursued by Reginald Shaw, a mobster from whom he stole $2.3 billion and who wants revenge. In a Parisian café, Elise receives instructions from Pearce to board a train to ...