Movies: 2833

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 ...

Daddy’s Home (2015) is an American comedy directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders, Brian Burns, and John Morris. Brad Whitaker, a mild-mannered radio executive, strives to be a good stepfather to his wife Sara’s children, Megan and Dylan. Despite a previous accident affecting his fertility, Brad has been growing closer to the kids recently. Dylan has confided in him about bullies at school and Megan has even asked him to take her to the father/daughter ...

The American documentary film Best of Enemies (2015), co-directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, delves into the televised debates between intellectuals Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. during the 1968 United States presidential election. Despite facing challenges in funding, securing interviews, and uncovering archival footage, the film was successfully completed after five years. Critics have given Best of Enemies high praise, with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 118 reviews and an average score of 7.61/10. According to the website’s consensus, ...

The American biographical crime drama film, Black Mass (2015), tells the story of notorious mobster Whitey Bulger. Directed by Scott Cooper and written by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, it is based on Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 book Black Mass: The True Story of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob. Set in 1975, the film follows James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, leader of the ...

Bone Tomahawk (2015) is a Western movie written and directed by S. Craig Zahler in his directorial debut. Set in the 1890s, outlaws Purvis and Buddy come across a Native American burial ground. While escaping an ambush, Buddy is killed and Purvis manages to reach the nearby town of Bright Hope. He hides his stolen goods and is caught by Deputy Chicory. Sheriff Franklin Hunt shoots Purvis, who calls himself Buddy, in the leg when he tries to run away. The sheriff then sends skilled gunslinger John Brooder to get the town’s doctor, but instead Brooder finds Samantha O’Dwyer, the doctor’s daughter and ...

Directed by Ryan Coogler and co-written by Aaron Covington, Creed (2015) is an American sports drama film that serves as the first spin-off in the Rocky franchise. Adonis ‘Donnie’ Johnson, the illegitimate son of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, meets his father’s widow Mary Anne while serving time in a Los Angeles youth detention center in 1998. Despite her initial reluctance, she offers to take him in. Fast forward to 2015 and Adonis is training for an amateur boxing bout in Tijuana. After returning from the fight, he quits his job at ...

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. ...

Mistress America (2015), an American comedy film directed by Noah Baumbach and written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, follows college freshman Tracy Fishko as she struggles to adjust to life at Barnard. Feeling lonely after developing a crush on fellow student Tony, who begins dating someone else, Tracy reaches out to her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke in New York. Captivated by Brooke’s lifestyle, Tracy takes her mother’s advice and gets closer to her. Inspired by their time together, Tracy writes a short story ...

De Palma (2015), an American documentary directed by Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow, explores the career of famed director and screenwriter Brian De Palma. The film made its debut at the 72nd Venice Film Festival where it was screened out of competition. According to review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 95% approval rating with an average score of 8.0/10 based on 114 reviews. Critics praise the film for its entertaining stories from De Palma’s career, earning it a consensus of ‘universal ...

Irrational Man (2015), an American mystery comedy-drama film by Woody Allen, tells the story of Abe Lucas, a philosophy professor who begins teaching at a small-town college in New England. Struggling with an existential crisis and battling depression, he turns to heavy drinking for comfort. Despite his troubled state, Abe attracts the attention of two women: Rita Richards, a chemistry professor dissatisfied with her marriage, and Jill Pollard, one of his students who is in a serious relationship and lives with her parents. While Abe sleeps with Rita, he maintains a strictly platonic connection with Jill. His depression ...

Terminator Genisys (2015), the American science fiction action film, is the fifth installment in the Terminator franchise. Acting as a reboot, it takes a different direction from the original film and disregards events depicted in previous sequels. In 2029, Human Resistance leader John Connor leads a final offensive against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence system set on destroying humanity. However, just before victory is within their grasp, Skynet activates a time machine and sends a T-800/Model 101 Terminator back to 1984 to eliminate John’s mother, Sarah. To protect her, John’s loyal companion Kyle Reese volunteers to go back in time. ...

Sicario (2015) is an American action thriller film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Taylor Sheridan. Set in Chandler, Arizona, it follows FBI Special Agents Kate Macer and Reggie Wayne as they lead a raid on a Sonora Cartel safe house, where they make a gruesome discovery. During the operation, two police officers are killed by an explosive booby trap. As a result of her performance, Kate joins a Joint Task Force run by CIA Officer Matt Graver and former Mexican prosecutor turned CIA-trained assassin Alejandro Gillick. Together, they aim to locate and capture ...

Youth (2015) is a comedy-drama film by writer and director Paolo Sorrentino. This marks his second English-language work. The story follows septuagenarian friends Fred Ballinger and Mick Boyle, who are currently vacationing at a luxurious spa in the Swiss Alps called Wiesen. Fred, a retired classical music composer, is approached by a representative for Queen Elizabeth II during their stay. The Queen wishes to grant him a knighthood and invites him to perform his popular composition ‘Simple Song #3’ at Prince Philip’s birthday concert. However, Fred declines the offer, stating that he has no interest ...

A Bigger Splash (2015) is a psychological drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino with a screenplay by David Kajganich, based on a story by Alain Page. Set in an isolated villa on the small Italian island of Pantelleria, the film follows world-famous rock singer Marianne Lane and her filmmaker lover Paul De Smedt as they vacation together. Marianne is recovering from surgery and has lost her voice, communicating through signs and whispers. Meanwhile, Paul is overcoming alcohol addiction and a recent suicide attempt. Despite ...

Norwegian disaster film, The Wave (2015), by director Roar Uthaug, was Norway’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards. Despite this, it failed to secure a nomination. Geologist Kristian Eikjord’s last day in the popular tourist spot Geiranger takes an unexpected turn when sensors on the mountain signal a disappearance of groundwater at Åkerneset. With his wife Idun still working at the local hotel for a few more days and his children Sondre and Julia with him, Kristian realizes something is amiss and quickly heads back to the geology center. ...

Spotlight (2015) is a biographical drama film directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy. It follows the story of a group of journalists in Boston, who uncover a scandal involving sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. In 1976, two police officers discuss the arrest of Fr. John Geoghan for molesting children. An important church official meets with the victims’ mother, and an assistant district attorney enters to stress the significance of keeping this information from the media. Despite the severity of the situation, Geoghan is freed and no public statement is made. Fast forward to 2001, when Marty Baron takes ...

Solace (2015) is an American mystery thriller film directed by Afonso Poyart. It revolves around Dr. John Clancy, who has been living in isolation since his daughter’s passing two years ago. Despite being hesitant, FBI special agent Joe Merriwether reaches out to Clancy for assistance in tracking down a serial killer with intricate methods. When Merriwether’s partner, Katherine Cowles, touches Clancy’s shoulder while presenting him with the case files, he has a vision of her future involving violence and bloodshed on her forehead. Despite initial reluctance, Clancy eventually agrees to help. Though ...

The film The Longest Ride (2015), directed by George Tillman Jr. and written by Craig Bolotin, follows the story of Luke Collins, a professional bull rider who crosses paths with Sophia Danko, an art student at Wake Forest University, at a PBR event. On their first date, they come across a car crash in the woods and together rescue an elderly man and a box of letters from his vehicle. At the hospital, Sophia meets the 91-year-old man, Ira Levinson, whom she helped save. He shares that the letters are his teenage writings to his late wife, Ruth. Seeing that Ira is unable ...

The historical adventure-drama film In the Heart of the Sea (2015), directed and produced by Ron Howard and written by Charles Leavitt, is based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s non-fiction book The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. This true story follows the sinking of the American whaling ship in 1820, which served as inspiration for Herman Melville’s famous novel Moby-Dick. In 1850, Melville seeks out Thomas Nickerson, the last surviving member of the ...

The American biographical comedy-drama film, A Walk in the Woods (2015), directed by Ken Kwapis, follows author Bill Bryson’s return to the US after living in the UK for ten years. Now in his 60s and settled in New Hampshire, Bryson’s peaceful life is interrupted when a TV interview reports on his successful books and speculates about future writing plans. Despite this attention, Bryson has no intentions of writing more and instead focuses on attending a funeral with his wife Catherine. During their walk afterwards, he becomes inspired to hike the entire length of the nearby Appalachian Trail. While ...