Universal Pictures (USA): 245

Directed by Ridley Scott, an American film House of Gucci (2021) is a biographical crime drama based on Sara Gay Forden’s book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed. Set in Italy during the year 1978, it follows Patrizia Reggiani as she works as an office manager for her father’s small trucking firm. At a party, she meets Maurizio Gucci, a law student and heir to 50% of the Gucci fashion house through his father Rodolfo. Patrizia aggressively pursues Maurizio and they fall in love. Despite warnings from Rodolfo ...

No Time to Die (2021) is the latest installment in the James Bond franchise, marking its twenty-fifth film produced by Eon Productions. Madeleine Swann, as a young girl, witnesses her mother’s murder at the hands of terrorist Lyutsifer Safin. Safin’s family was previously assassinated by Swann’s father, Mr. White, under orders from Ernst Stavro Blofeld. In self-defense, Swann shoots Safin and escapes but falls into a frozen lake where Bond rescues her. Years later, after Blofeld’s arrest, Swann joins Bond on a trip to Matera where she convinces him to visit the grave of his former lover ...

An American thriller film, Old (2021), was written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Adapted from the French-language graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters, it revolves around Guy and Prisca Cappa’s separation. Wanting to protect their young children, Maddox and Trent, from the news, the couple takes them on a final family vacation to a tropical resort. While staying at the hotel, they receive complimentary drinks and their kids make friends with Idlib, the ...

An American action film, F9: The Fast Saga (2021), was directed by Justin Lin and co-written by Daniel Casey. It is the ninth main installment and tenth overall in the Fast & Furious franchise, serving as a sequel to The Fate of the Furious (2017). In 1989, Jack Toretto’s sons Dominic and Jakob were part of his pit crew during a late model race on a short track. Dom got into an argument with rival racer Kenny Linder over his dirty tactics. During the race, Jack’s car crashed and burned after Linder clipped his bumper, resulting in his death. Dom ...

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 ...

Stephen Gaghan directed the American fantasy adventure film, Dolittle (2020). The screenplay was co-written by Gaghan, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, based on a story by Thomas Shepherd. Set in Victorian era Britain, the film follows Dr. John Dolittle, a Welsh veterinarian with the unique ability to communicate with animals. After his wife Lily’s death at sea, Dolittle isolates himself from human society and focuses solely on ...

The science fiction horror film, The Invisible Man (2020), is a new adaptation of the 1933 movie of the same name. Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, it is based on H.G. Wells’ novel with a similar title. In the film, Cecilia Kass finds herself in an abusive relationship with wealthy optics engineer and businessman, Adrian Griffin. He is also the CEO of Cobalt, a human-computer augmentation company. One night, she drugs Adrian with her diazepam and escapes his highly-secured house with her younger sister’s help. Cecilia seeks refuge at the home of her ...

Downton Abbey (2019) is a historical drama film written by Julian Fellowes, the series creator and writer of its TV counterpart, and directed by Michael Engler. Produced by Carnival Films and Perfect World Pictures, the movie picks up where the series left off, bringing back much of the original cast. Set in 1927, the Crawleys are thrilled to learn that King George V and Queen Mary plan to visit Downton as part of their royal tour of Yorkshire. Amidst preparations by the servants, Lady Mary feels Barrow, the house butler, is ill-prepared for such an important event and ...

The film The Highwaymen (2019), directed by John Lee Hancock and written by John Fusco, follows the story of notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. In 1934, after two years on the run, they break several associates out of Texas’ Eastham Prison Farm. To track them down, Chief Lee Simmons of the Texas Department of Corrections convinces Governor ‘Ma’ Ferguson to hire retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer. Despite his reluctance to leave retirement and his wife Gladys, Hamer joins the manhunt after a shootout in Missouri involving the fugitives. He ...

The American comedy-drama film, The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019), directed by Simon Curtis and written by Mark Bomback, is based on the 2008 novel by Garth Stein. In Seattle, a dying Golden Retriever named Enzo (after Enzo Ferrari) is eagerly waiting for his master and best friend, Denny to return home. As soon as Denny arrives, he notices that Enzo is unable to move and gently picks him up, assuring him that he will always be there for him. It triggers a memory for Enzo of a documentary he watched about belief in ...

Glass (2019), a superhero movie written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by Jason Blum, Marc Bienstock, and Ashwin Rajan, tells the story of David Dunn / The Overseer and his son Joseph as they search for the Horde. The Horde, a group of people who all worship the superhuman personality known as the Beast, are holding four cheerleaders hostage in an abandoned factory. Dunn manages to rescue the cheerleaders but finds himself face to face with the Beast before ...

Yesterday (2019) is a romantic comedy musical directed by Danny Boyle and written by Richard Curtis, based on a story by Jack Barth and Curtis. The film follows the journey of Jack Malik, a struggling singer-songwriter from Lowestoft who plays small shows. His childhood friend and manager, Ellie Appleton, encourages him to keep pursuing his dreams. During a rare power outage that lasted only twelve seconds, Jack is struck by a bus. After his recovery, he surprises his friends ...

An American animated comedy film, The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019), was created by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. Following the events of the first movie, Max and Duke’s owner, Katie, marries a man named Chuck and has a son named Liam. At first, Max disapproves of Liam but later develops overprotective feelings for him. To help with his symptoms, Katie takes Max to the vet and gets him a dog cone. But when the family goes on a road trip to Chuck’s uncle’s farm, Max is initially uncomfortable with the new environment. Welsh Sheepdog Rooster advises him to let go of his insecurities about Liam and removes his dog cone. After ...

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019) is an action comedy film directed by David Leitch and written by Chris Morgan, Drew Pearce, and Morgan himself. It is the first spin-off in the Fast & Furious franchise, taking place after the events of The Fate of the Furious (2017). MI6 agent Hattie Shaw and her team are tasked with retrieving a dangerous virus known as “Snowflake” from terrorist group Eteon in London. However, their ...

The Grinch (2018) is an animated Christmas comedy produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. In the lively town of Whoville, the human-like inhabitants known as Whos are eagerly anticipating their festive celebrations. However, there is one exception – the grumpy and green-furred Grinch, whose heart is notoriously ‘two sizes too small’. He resides in his cave with his faithful dog, Max, and typically only ventures into Whoville for essential errands or to annoy the locals. One day, young Cindy Lou Who notices her mother Donna struggling to care for herself and her infant twin brothers Buster and Bean. Initially, she plans to ...

Halloween (2018), a slasher film from director David Gordon Green, was co-written by Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride. On October 29th of that year, notorious killer Michael Myers, who had previously gone on a deadly rampage in Haddonfield and had been confined to Smith’s Grove Psychiatric Hospital for four decades, was scheduled to be transferred to a maximum-security prison. While at the hospital, true crime podcasters Aaron Korey and Dana Haines displayed ...

In 2018, director David Kerr brought us Johnny English Strikes Again (2018), a spy action comedy that sees the return of MI7’s older and retired agents due to a cyber attack. Among them is Johnny English, now working as a geography teacher who secretly trains his students in espionage. With the other inactive agents out of commission, English is left to embark on the mission himself. He enlists the help of his former sidekick and MI7 clerk, Angus Bough, and together they gather their equipment – which includes explosive jelly babies and a tracker cleverly disguised as a Sherbet Fountain. Leaving behind their ...

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) is a thrilling sci-fi action flick helmed by J. A. Bayona and penned by Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow. Following the events of 2015’s Jurassic World, a band of mercenaries set foot on the deserted Isla Nublar to retrieve Indominus rex DNA from its lagoon. However, their mission takes a dangerous turn when their submersible gets devoured by the Mosasaurus and their helicopter is attacked by Tyrannosaurus (Rexy). Despite facing these challenges, they are able to secure ...

Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) is an American science fiction film featuring monsters. Directed by Steven S. DeKnight, the movie marked his first time as a feature-film director and writer. Collaborating with Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, and T.S. Nowlin, DeKnight brings to life a story set in the year 2035 – exactly 10 years after the Battle of the Breach. This battle saw the closure of an inter-dimensional portal used by the ...

First Man (2018) is an American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle from a screenplay by Josh Singer, based on the book of the same name by James R. Hansen. It follows NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong in 1961 as he flies the X-15 rocket-powered spaceplane, which accidentally bounces off the atmosphere. Despite successfully landing in the Mojave Desert, his colleagues question his recent series of mishaps and suggest that his focus may be divided due to personal troubles. Armstrong’s daughter Karen is ...