War
Horse is a 2011 war drama film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is an
adaptation of British author Michael Morpurgo's 1982 children's novel of the
same name set before and during World War I.
The
film's cast includes David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch,
Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Toby Kebbell, David Kross and Peter
Mullan. The film is produced by Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, and executive
produced by Frank Marshall and Revel Guest. Long-term Spielberg collaborators
Janusz Kamiński, Michael Kahn, and John Williams all worked on the film.
War
Horse became a box office success and was met with positive critical consensus.
The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, two
Golden Globe Awards and five BAFTAs.
IMDB
rank: 7.2/10
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Stars:
Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson and David Thewlis
The
Aviator is a 2004 American biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese,
written by John Logan, produced by Graham King and Michael Mann and featuring
an ensemble cast starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale,
Alan Alda, John C. Reilly and Alec Baldwin. It is the true story of aviation
pioneer Howard Hughes, drawn largely upon numerous sources including a
biography by Charles Higham.
The
film centers on Hughes' life from the late 1920s to 1947, during which time he
became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate while simultaneously
growing more unstable due to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Aviator
was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for
Scorsese, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best
Supporting Actor for Alan Alda and winning five for: Best Cinematography, Best
Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction and Best Supporting
Actress for Cate Blanchett.
IMDB
rank: 7.5/10
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale
The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a 2011 American mystery thriller film. Based on
the Swedish novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson, the film adaptation was
directed by David Fincher and written by Steven Zaillian. Atticus Ross and
Trent Reznor provided the soundtrack. The film stars Daniel Craig and Rooney
Mara and tells the story of journalist Mikael Blomqvist's (Craig) mission to
find out what happened to a woman from a wealthy family who disappeared over
forty years ago. He works with the help of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander
(Mara).
A
concerted effort by Sony Pictures Entertainment associates Michael Lynton and
Amy Pascal to create the film started in 2009. It took the company a few months
to obtain rights to the novel, during which they recruited Zaillian and
Fincher. The casting process for the lead roles was exhaustive and intense;
Craig initially faced scheduling conflicts, while a plethora of actresses
sought the role of Lisbeth Salander. The film's script took over six months to
write, which included three months of analyzing the novel. With a production
budget of $90 million, filming took place in Sweden, Switzerland and Norway
over seven months.
Pre-release
screenings occurred in London, New York City, and Stockholm. Critics positively
reviewed the film, applauding its dark, grim tone. Mara and Craig's
performances also received kudos from commentators. The film grossed $232.6
million over its theatrical run. In addition to being included in the best-of
lists in several publications, the film was a candidate for numerous awards,
ultimately winning seven accolades including an Academy Award for Best Film
Editing.
IMDB
rank: 8.0/10
Director:
David Fincher
Stars:
Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer
Moneyball
is a 2011 biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and
distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on Michael Lewis's 2003
book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002
season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a
competitive team. In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant GM Peter Brand
(Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise's unfavorable financial situation, take
a sophisticated sabermetric approach towards scouting and analyzing players,
acquiring "submarine" pitcher Chad Bradford (Casey Bond) and former
catcher Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), and winning 20 consecutive games, an
American League record.
Columbia
Pictures bought the rights to Lewis's book in 2004. After a number of years in
development, the film was featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film
Festival and was released on September 23, 2011 to a box-office success and
positive reviews. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best
Actor and Best Picture on January 24, 2012.
The
Bourne Legacy is a 2012 American action thriller film and the fourth
installment in the Bourne film series, which is based on Robert Ludlum's Jason
Bourne novels. It is directed by Tony Gilroy, screenwriter of the first three
films and is due to be released on August 8, 2012 in the Philippines, and
Singapore, August 9, 2012 in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Czechia, August 10, 2012 in
the US and August 13, 2012 in the UK.
The
film uses the same title as The Bourne Legacy, a later Bourne novel written by
Eric Van Lustbader, and like the previous three films in the franchise, it has
a completely different plot from the eponymous novels.
Cocktail
is a 1988 romantic drama film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by
Roger Donaldson, the film is based on the book of the same name by Heywood
Gould, who also wrote the screenplay. It stars Tom Cruise as a talented and
ambitious bartender who aspires to working in business and finds love with
Elisabeth Shue while working at a bar in Jamaica. The original music score was
composed by Maurice Jarre.
The
Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who
co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with
David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the third
and final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and is a sequel to Batman
Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role
of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred
Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and
Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane. The film introduces the character of
Selina Kyle, played by Anne Hathaway, a cat burglar whose appearance in Gotham
City sets in motion a chain of events that will lead Batman to come out of
retirement, and Bane, played by Tom Hardy, the story's antagonist.
Christopher
Nolan was initially hesitant about returning to the series for a third time,
but agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother and Goyer
that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note. Nolan drew
inspiration from Bane's comic book debut in the 1993 Knightfall storyline, the
1986 series The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1999 storyline No Man's Land.
Filming took place in various locations, including Jodhpur, London, Nottingham,
Glasgow, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, and Pittsburgh. Nolan utilized
IMAX cameras for much of the filming to optimize the quality of the picture. As
with The Dark Knight, viral marketing campaigns began early during production
to help promote the upcoming film. When filming concluded, Warner Bros.
refocused its campaign; developing promotional websites, releasing the first
six minutes of the film and theatrical trailers, and sending random pieces of
information regarding the film's plot to various companies.
The
Dark Knight Rises premiered in New York City on July 16, 2012. The film was
released in Australia and New Zealand on July 19, 2012, and in North America
and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012 to mostly positive reviews.
IMDB
rating: 8.9/10
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway
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