Summit Entertainment (USA): 56

The American science fiction thriller film, Knowing (2009), was directed and co-produced by Alex Proyas and starred Nicolas Cage. In 1959, a Lexington, Massachusetts elementary school held a competition for students to envision the future through drawings. One student, Lucinda Embry, ignored the task and instead listened to whispering voices that guided her to write out a series of numbers. The teacher collected all the drawings before Lucinda could finish writing the final numbers. The next day, she etched the remaining numbers into a closet door with her fingernails. ...

Catherine Hardwicke directed the American romantic fantasy film Twilight (2008), which was based on Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel and written by Melissa Rosenberg. Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to live with her father, Charlie, who is the police chief in Forks, Washington. Her mother Renée is remarried to a minor league baseball player named Phil. In Forks, Bella reunites with her childhood friend Jacob Black, who lives on the nearby Quileute Indian Reservation with his father Billy. At ...

Paul Haggis wrote and directed the American crime drama film, In the Valley of Elah (2007). The story follows Hank Deerfield, a retired military police sergeant living in Monroe, Tennessee with his wife Joan. On November 1, 2004, Hank receives news that his son Mike, a soldier who had recently returned from Iraq, is missing. Determined to find him, Hank makes the trip to New Mexico where Mike’s base is located. Along the way, he stops to help a school custodian raise the American flag correctly. At Fort Rudd, he meets Mike’s squad and manages to sneak away with his son’s cell phone from his belongings. ...

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2003) is a slasher film directed by Joe Lynch. Following the tragic events in the West Virginia forest, reality TV contestant Kimberly is driving through the backcountry of that same state in search of her next project location. While on her way, she accidentally hits a teenager and stops to help him. However, she soon realizes that he is one of the inbred cannibal locals. In an attempt to escape, she runs into Three Finger, who brutally kills her with his axe. Meanwhile, ex-military man Colonel Dale Murphy is hosting a survival game show called The Apocalypse: Ultimate Survivalist in the same ...

The period thriller, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), follows the life of notorious murderer Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. Directed by Tom Tykwer and written in collaboration with Andrew Birkin and Bernd Eichinger, the film is based on Patrick Süskind’s novel of the same name. Grenouille’s story is told through flashbacks, beginning with his sentencing for his crimes. Abandoned at birth in a French fish market ...

Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) is a German English-language psychological horror thriller film directed by Hans Horn, inspired by the short story Adrift by Japanese author Koji Suzuki. Though the original title was taken from the story, promotional posters claimed it was based on actual events. The film has no connection to Open Water (2003) and its script had been written before the release of the latter. A group of friends, including Amy, James, Zach, Lauren, Dan, and his new girlfriend Michelle, embark on a weekend cruise on Dan’s new yacht. While ...

The Brothers Grimm (2005) is a fantasy adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam. The two main characters, Will and Jake Grimm, are skilled con artists who use Jake’s extensive knowledge of folklore to swindle unsuspecting individuals. Along with their companions Hidlick and Bunst, they roam through French-occupied Germany in the early 19th century. In the town of Karlstadt, they successfully deceive the villagers by pretending to ‘defeat’ a witch’s ghost. However, their luck runs out when they are captured by Italian torturer Cavaldi and brought before the French General Delatombe. Delatombe ...

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) is an American action comedy film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg, following the story of John and Jane Smith. The couple, who have been married for five or six years, attend marriage counseling to address their troubled relationship. Despite their initial claims of meeting in Bogotá, Colombia and falling in love, it is revealed that they are actually highly skilled field operatives working for separate contract-killing firms. They have successfully kept their true professions hidden from each other. The Smiths live in a ...

The American documentary film, Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), was produced by Walden Media and directed by James Cameron, known for his 1997 film Titanic. In August and September of 2001, Cameron and a team of scientists embarked on an expedition to the RMS Titanic wreckage, utilizing Russian deep-submersibles to capture unprecedented images. The documentary showcases the use of two purpose-built remotely operated vehicles to provide a unique perspective of the shipwreck, and incorporates CGI technology to recreate the original appearance of the Titanic. Narrated by ...

Wrong Turn (2003), a slasher film directed by Rob Schmidt and written by Alan B. McElroy. In this installment, two college students, Rich Stoker and Halley Smith, are rock climbing in the remote forests of West Virginia. As Rich reaches the top of a cliff, he is suddenly murdered while trying to help Halley up. She is then forced to cut the rope and falls to the ground. However, her escape attempt is cut short when she becomes entangled in barbed wire and dragged back into the woods with screams echoing through the trees. Jumping ahead in time, we meet Chris Flynn – ...

Stark Raving Mad (2002) is a film from A Band Apart. It centers around a heist planned during a rave. Drew Daywalt took on the role of director and writer for this movie. The story follows the events of one night at a nightclub where the main character, Ben, has rented out the venue. The club owner is not pleased with the noise levels, fearing consequences for his license. However, this noise serves as a cover for an elaborate bank heist orchestrated by Ben in order to pay off his own debts and those of his deceased brother to a local Chinese crime boss. Time is of the essence as Ben must complete the mission before ...

Insomnia (2002), a psychological thriller directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Hillary Seitz, stands out in Nolan’s filmography as the only project he did not also write. It is a remake of the similarly titled 1997 Norwegian film. Set in the small fishing village of Nightmute, Alaska, the story begins with the murder of 17-year-old Kay Connell. Detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart from the LAPD are called in by their old friend and chief of police, Nyback, to assist with the investigation. Meanwhile, Dormer ...

The American science fiction psychological thriller film, Vanilla Sky (2001), was both directed and written by Cameron Crowe. It is a remake of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes, released in 1997 by Alejandro Amenábar. The movie centers around David Aames, who inherited his father’s successful publishing company. After being imprisoned, David shares his life story with Dr. Curtis McCabe, a court psychologist, while wearing a prosthetic mask. Through flashbacks, we see how David passed off the responsibilities of his company to his father’s colleagues ...

Memento (2000), a neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Christopher Nolan and based on the short story Memento Mori by his brother Jonathan Nolan, introduces us to a Polaroid photo of a deceased man. As we watch the sequence in reverse, the photo transforms back into its undeveloped state, ultimately returning to the camera before the man is fatally shot. The film then proceeds with alternating black-and-white and color scenes. The black-and-white portions feature Leonard Shelby, a former insurance investigator with anterograde amnesia caused by an attack ...

The film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) was released, based on Hunter S. Thompson’s novel of the same name. The story follows Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo as they speed through the Mojave Desert in 1971. While under the influence of mescaline, Duke shares his encounters with giant bats and takes stock of their drug supply. In their rented red Chevrolet Impala convertible, they pick up a hitchhiker and reveal their assignment from a magazine to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race in Las Vegas. However, their excessive drug use causes the hitchhiker to flee on foot. Desperate to reach their destination before any ...

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) is a popular British crime film both written and directed by Guy Ritchie. The movie not only gained international recognition for Ritchie, but also marked the feature film debuts of actors Jason Statham and  Vinnie Jones, both known for their previous careers as a diver and footballer, respectively. With a modest budget of $1.35 million, the film proved to be a major hit by earning over $28 million at the box office. Its plot ...