Universal Pictures (USA): 245

In the 2017 animated comedy Despicable Me 3 (2017), produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, married AVL agents Felonious Gru and Lucy Wilde are tasked with recovering the Dumont Diamond from Balthazar Bratt, a former child star turned super-villain. While Gru successfully retrieves the diamond, Bratt manages to escape. Upon returning to AVL headquarters, director Silas Ramsbottom reveals his retirement and appoints Valerie Da Vinci as his successor. Da Vinci dismisses Gru and Lucy due to their failure to capture Bratt. Back at home, the couple informs their adopted daughters Margo, Edith, and Agnes of their dismissal but assures them that they ...

The American musical comedy film, Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), was directed by Trish Sie and written by Kay Cannon and Mike White. The third installment of the ‘Pitch Perfect’ franchise starts off somewhere off the coast of France. On a yacht, the Bellas perform Britney Spears’ “Toxic” for three men. As they finish, Fat Amy bursts through the ceiling and sprays the men with a fire extinguisher, causing an explosion. Quickly jumping ship, the movie then opens with a snapshot of the title PITCH ...

The film directed by Alex Kurtzman, The Mummy (2017), is an American fantasy action-adventure. David Koepp, Christopher McQuarrie, and Dylan Kussman wrote the screenplay with a story also by Kurtzman, Jon Spaihts, and Jenny Lumet. It is a reboot of the Mummy franchise and was originally part of Universal’s Dark ...

The Fate of the Furious (2017) is an action film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Chris Morgan. While enjoying their honeymoon in Cuba, newlyweds Dominic Toretto and Letty Ortiz are unexpectedly faced with a betrayal from a mysterious woman that forces them to confront their past. With the help of Mr. Nobody and Deckard Shaw, the team embarks on a journey from New York City to the icy plains of the Barents Sea to bring back their beloved family member, Dom. During their time in Havana, Dom’s cousin Fernando finds himself in trouble with local racer Raldo over ...

The Huntsman: Winter’s War (2016) is an American fantasy action-adventure film that serves as both a prequel and sequel to Snow White & the Huntsman (2012). Queen Ravenna’s evil sorcery reveals her sister Freya’s involvement in an affair with engaged nobleman Andrew, despite her own powers not being fully developed. After Freya gives birth to a baby girl, she discovers that Andrew has not only broken his promise to elope with her but also murdered their child. Devastated and consumed by anger, Freya uses her newfound ability to control ice and freezes Andrew to death. In a merciless act of disloyalty, ...

Split (2016) is an American psychological horror thriller film written, directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie begins with a birthday celebration for Claire, where her classmate Casey is also present. While talking to her father, Claire mentions that Casey often gets into trouble with teachers and ends up in detention. When Casey asks for a ride home, she is informed that the car has broken down. Later, as they are about to take the bus, Claire’s dad insists that they come home with them. On the way, an unknown man named Kevin approaches Claire’s dad, who then gets into the car with them. ...

Hail, Caesar! (2016) is a period black comedy film that takes place in 1951 Hollywood. Eddie Mannix, head of property protection at Capitol Pictures, has the crucial job of shielding the studio’s stars from scandal and upholding their desired public image. Unfortunately, this responsibility leads him to frequent visits to the Catholic church confessional, much to the chagrin of the clergy. Despite his wife’s urgent requests, Eddie struggles to quit smoking on a day that’s even worse than usual – and ‘usual’ is already pretty bad for him. To add to his troubles, DeeAnna Moran, the wholesome and unmarried ‘mermaid’ of the ...

The 2016 animated comedy film The Secret Life of Pets (2016), produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, follows the story of Max, a Jack Russell Terrier living with his owner Katie in a New York City apartment. When Katie adopts the mongrel Duke, Max becomes jealous. In an attempt to get rid of him, Duke leads Max into an alley where they are attacked by a group of cats led by Sphynx cat Ozone. Both dogs have their collars removed and are left to be caught by Animal Control. Duke fears for his life and doesn’t want to go back to the pound. Meanwhile, Gidget, a white Pomeranian who has feelings for Max, notices he is missing ...

Central Intelligence (2016) is an American buddy action comedy film directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and written by Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen. In 1996, Calvin ‘The Golden Jet’ Joyner, a star athlete, was being honored at his high school. During his speech, a group of bullies led by Trevor Olson decided to play a cruel prank on the morbidly obese Robbie Weirdicht, who was happily dancing in the locker room shower. They threw him naked into the gymnasium in front of the entire school. While everyone else ...

The American action-thriller film, Jason Bourne (2016), was directed and written by Paul Greengrass and Christopher Rouse respectively. This movie is the fifth installment in the Bourne franchise and serves as a direct sequel to The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). After revealing Blackbriar’s corruption twelve years ago, ex-CIA agent Jason Bourne has finally regained his memories and now lives in isolation in Greece working as a street fighter. In Reykjavík, Nicky Parsons – a Treadstone technician – hacks into the CIA’s server with the ...

Sing (2016) is an American animated jukebox musical comedy film produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. In Calatonia, a city of anthropomorphic animals, koala Buster Moon faces financial struggle with his theater. Bank representative llama Judith threatens foreclosure. To save his theater, Buster decides to hold a singing competition with a grand prize of $1,000. However, a mistake made by his assistant iguana Miss Crawly causes the flyers to advertise a prize of $100,000 instead. The flyers are unfortunately blown out of the window before proofreading can take place, causing animals from all over the city to show up for ...

Curve (2015) is an American horror-thriller film directed by   and written by Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson and Lee Patterson. Mallory, a young bride-to-be, is on her way to Denver for her wedding rehearsal. While traveling, she video chats with her sister Ella, who reveals that she hasn’t bought her plane tickets yet. Concerned about Mallory’s happiness, Ella wants to make sure that she truly loves her partner. In response, Mallory puts on a fake voice and ends the call. However, shortly after, her car breaks down and she has no service to call AAA. As she attempts to change clothes at the back of the car, she meets Christian and explains her ...

An animated comedy film, Minions (2015), was produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. These small, yellow pill-shaped creatures have been around since the beginning of time, evolving from single-celled organisms into servants for history’s most sinister rulers. However, their loyalty towards their masters backfires as they accidentally cause their demise; rolling a Tyrannosaurus into a volcano, allowing a caveman to be attacked by a bear, crushing a Pharaoh and his subjects with a pyramid, and exposing Count Dracula to sunlight. The Minions are forced into hiding after shooting a cannon at Napoleon in Russia and find ...

Set in 1960s France, By the Sea (2015) is an American romantic drama film that follows an American couple, Vanessa and Roland, as they embark on a seaside vacation. Written and directed by Angelina Jolie, the film also stars Jolie and Brad Pitt, who also produced it. The pair have rented a luxurious suite at a local hotel with the hopes of inspiring Roland’s writing. However, their relationship is strained; former dancer Vanessa is withdrawn and grieving for unknown reasons while struggling author Roland spends his ...

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) is an American musical comedy directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks, marking her feature directorial debut (not counting her involvement in Movie 43). The screenplay, written by Kay Cannon, follows the Barden Bellas three years after their first championship win. This time around, they are under the leadership of senior Beca Mitchell and three-time super senior Chloe Beale. Having dominated the ICCA National competition for three consecutive years, the group faces a national controversy (nicknamed ‘Muffgate’) when Patricia ...

Directed by Danny Boyle, Steve Jobs (2015) is a biographical drama based on the life of Apple Inc. co-founder, Steve Jobs. Written by Aaron Sorkin, the film is a British-American co-production that was adapted from Walter Isaacson’s 2011 biography and interviews conducted by Sorkin. It covers fourteen years in Jobs’ life, leading up to three press conferences – the unveiling of the Macintosh 128K in 1984, the NeXT Computer in 1988, and the iMac G3 in 1998. ...

Jurassic World (2015) is an American science fiction action film helmed by director Colin Trevorrow. During their winter break, brothers Zach and Gray Mitchell take a trip to Isla Nublar’s dinosaur theme park, where their aunt Claire Dearing works as the operations manager. Claire assigns her assistant Zara to accompany the boys but they decide to explore on their own. Meanwhile, former Navy veteran and ethologist Owen Grady has been training a team of Velociraptors – Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo – and studying their intelligence. InGen security chief Vic Hoskins sees potential in weaponizing the ...

The American epic biographical drama film directed by F. Gary Gray, Straight Outta Compton (2015), tells the story of the rise and fall of N.W.A., a hip hop group. Set in 1986, Compton, California is depicted as a chaotic dystopia overrun by street gangs, drug dealers, and police brutality. One night, Eazy-E narrowly escapes a police raid at a crack house. The following day, Dr. Dre is at a crossroads in life and is confronted by his mother for missing a job interview. Meanwhile, high school senior Ice Cube dreams of becoming a rapper. When Dre hears Cube’s ‘reality raps’ about the struggles faced by ...

Furious 7 (2015) is an action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. After defeating Owen Shaw and securing pardons for their past crimes, Dominic Toretto, Brian O’Conner and the team have returned to the US to lead normal lives. Dom helps Letty Ortiz regain her memory while Brian adapts to fatherhood. Deckard Shaw, Owen’s older brother, seeks revenge by breaking into the hospital where Owen is being held in London. He also obtains profiles of Dom’s crew from the DSS field office in Los Angeles after a fight with Agent Luke Hobbs. A bomb ...

Endless Love (2014) is an American romantic drama film directed by Shana Feste and co-written by Feste with Joshua Safran. It tells the story of Jade Butterfield and David Elliot, who both recently graduated from the same Atlanta high school. Despite being in the same class for four years, they never had a chance to get to know each other. Jade comes from a wealthy family, with her father Hugh being a cardiologist and her mother Anne being a published novelist. She has dedicated herself to academic pursuits in hopes of ...