Holy Unknown

Mr. Brooks (2007)   is a gripping psychological thriller directed by Bruce A. Evans and written by Evans and Raynold Gideon. The film follows Earl Brooks (Kevin Costner), a Portland businessman and devoted family man who harbors a secret: he is an addictive serial killer known as “The Thumbprint Killer.” His compulsion is fed by his bloodthirsty alter ego, Marshall, played with morbid humor by William Hurt. Brooks finds his double life threatened when a voyeur, Mr. Smith (Dane Cook), photographs him committing a murder. Instead of reporting him, Smith blackmails Brooks into taking him on as a protégé. Complicating matters further, the relentless Detective Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore) is determined to solve the case. The central tension is derived from Brooks’s genuine, earnest struggle to quit his violent “habit” while indulging the darkness embodied by Marshall. The film was shot in Shreveport, Louisiana, despite the story being set in Portland, Oregon. The blackmailer role proved ch...

Ratatoullie (2007)   is an animated comedy written and directed by Brad Bird. The film follows Remy ( Patton Oswalt ), a rat born with an extraordinary sense of taste and smell who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris. After being separated from his colony, Remy ends up inside the kitchen of a once-great restaurant made famous by the late chef Auguste Gusteau. He forms an unlikely partnership with Linguini ( Lou Romano ), a clumsy garbage boy who cannot cook, secretly controlling him during service. As the restaurant’s reputation begins to recover, attention arrives in the form of the feared critic Anton Ego ( Peter O’Toole ). With scrutiny tightening and secrets harder to contain, Remy and Linguini are forced to risk everything on one decisive service. Produced at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, the film was originally developed under director Jan Pinkava before Brad Bird took over mid-production. Pinkava departed the project after creative disagreements about st...

Shattered Glass (2003)   is a uniquely intriguing drama written and directed by Billy Ray. The film follows the true story of Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), a young, charismatic journalist working at the esteemed magazine, The New Republic . Glass is a prolific writer with a knack for sensational stories. His career unravels when a reporter from the new online publication, Forbes Digital Tool , investigates one of his articles and finds no evidence to support it. The magazine's editor, Chuck Lane (Peter Sarsgaard), realizes that Glass has fabricated not one, but dozens of stories over a period of three years. The film documents the methodical process of uncovering the lies and the quiet devastation it causes to a respected journalistic institution. The film was shot in Montreal, Canada, which convincingly served as the backdrop for Washington D.C. Director Billy Ray showed his cast and crew the 1976 film All the President’s Men to set the tone and mood for the production. Both...

Sideways (2004)   is a marvelous comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne and written by Payne and Jim Taylor. The story follows Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti), a struggling writer and devoted wine enthusiast, who sets out on a weeklong trip through California’s Santa Ynez Valley with his longtime friend Jack Cole (Thomas Haden Church), a fading television actor about to get married. Miles hopes the trip will be a quiet escape, while Jack treats it as a last burst of freedom before settling down. As they move from vineyards to roadside motels, Jack pursues a series of reckless encounters while Miles becomes cautiously drawn to Maya (Virginia Madsen). A single impulsive decision begins to unravel the trip, pushing both men into a series of confrontations that force them to deal with choices they’ve long avoided. Shot largely on location in California’s wine country, the production used real vineyards and small towns rather than built sets, completing the shoot in just over a month. ...

In & Out (1997)   is a delightful comedy directed by Frank Oz and written by Paul Rudnick. The film follows a well-liked high school English teacher, Howard Brackett, played by Kevin Kline, living a quiet life in a small town. Just days before he marries his fiancée, played by Joan Cusack, his life is turned upside down. A former student, now a famous actor, outs Howard as gay during his Oscar acceptance speech on live television, which comes as a shock to everyone, especially Howard. As his life becomes a media circus, Howard must navigate the scrutiny of his small, conservative town, all while trying to prove he is who everyone thinks he is. The film was shot in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, which provided the picturesque, small-town setting for the story. Frank Oz's direction was noted for balancing the film's humorous romantic-comedy with its heartfelt message. An interesting fact about the film is that the screenplay was inspired by a real-life event: Tom Hanks' Oscar...

Election (1999)   is a refreshing dark comedy directed by Alexander Payne and written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor. The film is set during a contentious student body presidential election at a suburban Omaha high school. Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a well-liked and dedicated history teacher, finds his professional and personal life unraveling when he decides to sabotage the campaign of the pathologically ambitious and overachieving student, Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon). Believing her to be unfit for office and personally disliking her intensity, he persuades Paul Metzler (Chris Klein), a popular but simple-minded football player, to run against her.  The film was shot on location in and around Omaha, Nebraska, director Alexander Payne's hometown. The school scenes were filmed at Papillion-La Vista High School, and many of the students seen in the film were actual students from the school. The screenplay is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by author Tom ...

The Truman Show (1998)   is a comedy-drama directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. The film follows the life of Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), an insurance salesman who is unaware that he is the sole star of a 24-hour reality television show. His entire life, from birth, has been an elaborate fabrication filmed within a massive, enclosed set. His friends, family, and everyone he knows are actors, and his every move is broadcast to the world. Laura Linney plays Meryl Burbank, his wife in the show. As Truman begins to notice odd occurrences in his seemingly perfect world, he grows suspicious and starts to question his reality, leading him on a quest to escape his meticulously crafted existence. The film's visionary concept was ahead of its time, predicting the rise of reality television. The town of Seahaven, where the film is set, was filmed in Seaside, Florida, a real-life planned community that already had the idealized, pristine look the filmmakers wanted. The role of ...

Parenthood (1989)   is a fantastic comedy-drama directed by Ron Howard and written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The film follows the interconnected lives of the extended Buckman family, focusing on their varied and often chaotic experiences with parenting. Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) is a conscientious father who is terrified of repeating the emotional neglect he felt from his own father, Frank (Jason Robards). Gil and his wife Karen (Mary Steenburgen) struggle with the fears of raising their three children, particularly their intense and neurotic son. Meanwhile, Gil's sister, the divorced single mother Helen (Dianne Wiest), deals with her sullen teenage daughter (Martha Plimpton), her daughter's aimless but good-hearted boyfriend Tod (Keanu Reeves), and her withdrawn, rebellious young son Garry (a very young Joaquin Phoenix, credited as Leaf Phoenix). His other sister Susan (Harley Jane Kozak) is married to the overly analytical Nathan Huffner (Rick Moranis), who is metic...

  Best in Show (2000)   is an inspiring comedy directed by Christopher Guest and written by Guest and Eugene Levy. The film follows five couples who travel across the country to compete in the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. Among them are a tightly wound couple, Meg and Hamilton Swan (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), a devoted husband and wife, Gerry and Cookie Fleck (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara), and a quiet fly fisherman, Harlan Pepper (Christopher Guest). The film follows their interactions and eccentricities as they prepare their dogs for competition, all of them hoping to take home the grand prize. Shot in Vancouver, Canada, the film was entirely improvised from a 15-page outline. The actors didn't know what their scene partners would say until the cameras were rolling. The character of the commentator, Buck Laughlin (played perfectly by Fred Willard), was based on the baseball announcer Joe Garagiola, who was known for his uninformed, off-the-cuff r...

Office Space (1999) is a workplace comedy written and directed by Mike Judge. The story follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston), a disengaged software engineer trapped in a soul-draining corporate job at the tech company Initech. After a hypnotherapy session leaves him permanently indifferent to work expectations, Peter stops pretending to care, setting off a chain reaction that alters his relationships with coworkers and management. Alongside his friends Samir (Ajay Naidu) and Michael Bolton (David Herman), Peter becomes involved in a plan to skim money from the company, believing it will be a quiet act of rebellion. As the scheme spirals beyond their control, the film tracks the small, absurd pressures of office life and how easily dissatisfaction turns into reckless action. Filmed primarily in Dallas, Texas, Mike Judge based much of the film on his own experiences working in tech offices, including specific frustrations with cubicles, management jargon, and performance reviews. The...

Truth (2015) is a political drama written and directed by James Vanderbilt , based on the memoir by journalist Mary Mapes. The film centers on Mapes ( Cate Blanchett ), a veteran producer for 60 Minutes II , and anchor Dan Rather ( Robert Redford ), as they pursue a report examining the military service of President George W. Bush . What begins as a confident investigation quickly turns into a crisis when questions emerge about the authenticity of key documents. As scrutiny intensifies, the newsroom shifts from certainty to defense, and Mapes finds herself at the center of a rapidly unraveling narrative. The film follows the internal mechanics of journalism under pressure, focusing on how decisions are made, challenged, and ultimately judged in the public arena. Filmed in Australia, primarily in New South Wales, the production used Fox Studios Australia in Sydney to recreate CBS newsroom interiors and corporate offices, with set designs based on archival reference from the actual 60 M...

What About Bob? (1991)   is a superb comedy directed by Frank Oz and written by Tom Schulman. The film follows Bob Wiley, a neurotic and clingy patient played by Bill Murray, who tracks down his psychiatrist, Dr. Leo Marvin, played flawlessly by Richard Dreyfuss, while he's on vacation with his family. As Bob worms his way into the family's affection, Dr. Marvin’s professional poise begins to unravel. The cast also includes Julie Hagerty as Dr. Marvin’s wife, Charlie Korsmo as their son, and Kathryn Erbe as their teenage daughter. The balance between Murray’s eccentric charm and Dreyfuss’s escalating rage drives the film’s absurd tension. Behind the scenes, the chemistry between the actors mirrored the on‑screen conflict—Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss famously clashed during filming. According to crew accounts, Murray would taunt Dreyfuss, throw things at him, and provoke him between takes. Dreyfuss described Murray as "drunken" and "irrational" at times, ...

Heat (1995)   is a crime drama written and directed by Michael Mann. The film follows the parallel lives of master thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) and obsessive LAPD Detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). Their lives are set on a collision course as Hanna hunts McCauley’s crew following a high-profile bank robbery. The film is a meticulously detailed look at professionalism and the emotional toll of a life consumed by work, capturing the tension, discipline, and isolation that define both men, culminating in a tense manhunt. The film was shot in over 65 locations in Los Angeles, with not a single scene filmed on a soundstage, lending the production a palpable authenticity and urban grit. To prepare for the bank robbery, the actors spent several weeks training with former British SAS operatives. Mann based the iconic coffee shop dialogue about destroyed marriages on his conversations with real-life, high-level detectives and criminals. The film’s legendary bank heist shootout was...

A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018) is a biographical comedy directed by David Wain and written by John Aboud and Michael Colton. The film chronicles the life of Doug Kenney (Will Forte), a co-founder of National Lampoon. As Kenney helps build the Lampoon brand alongside Henry Beard (Domhnall Gleeson) and Robert Hoffman (Thomas Lennon), the publication grows from a campus joke into a cultural force. The story follows Kenney’s increasing influence on comedy through projects like Animal House and Caddyshack, while charting the personal pressures and creative expectations that accompany success. Framed through an unconventional narrative device in which Kenney’s life is commented on by a fictionalized version of himself, the film moves toward an ending shaped by both legacy and loss. Filming took place in Toronto and surrounding areas, which doubled for multiple locations including Harvard, New York, and Los Angeles. Will Forte spent months researching Doug Kenney’s writing an...

Argo (2012)   is a political thriller directed by Ben Affleck and written by Chris Terrio. The film is based on the real CIA operation to extract six American diplomats who hid in Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), a CIA exfiltration specialist, is tasked with devising a plan to get the diplomats out without alerting Iranian authorities. Posing as a Canadian film producer scouting locations for a fake science-fiction movie, Mendez travels to Iran and coaches the group to assume new identities as part of the fabricated production. As tensions escalate and suspicion grows, the mission hinges on whether the cover story can hold long enough to get everyone safely out of the country. Filming took place in Los Angeles, Istanbul, and parts of California that doubled for Tehran. Ben Affleck worked closely with CIA Officer Tony Mendez before filming, studying his demeanor and operational habits to ground the performance in real tradecraft rather than c...

Fallen (1998)   is a supernatural thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Nicholas Kazan. The film follows Detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) after he witnesses the execution of a serial killer, Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas). Soon after, new murders begin that are eerily similar to the executed killer's work, and Hobbes starts to suspect that a sinister force is behind them. With the help of his partner, Jonesy (John Goodman), Hobbes uncovers the truth that an ancient demonic entity, named Azazel, is possessing people and committing the crimes. The demon can transfer from one person to another with a simple touch, making it a powerful foe that threatens to frame Hobbes for the murders. The film was shot primarily in Philadelphia, with some scenes shot in New Jersey. One notable feature is the recurring use of the song "Time Is on My Side" by The Rolling Stones, which serves as a sinister anthem for the demon Azazel. The ending of the film was a point of co...

Inside Out (2015)   is a nearly flawless animated journey directed by Pete Docter and written by Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley. The film places us inside the mind of Riley, an eleven-year-old girl whose life is upended when her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco. Inside her mind, five personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger—manage her inner “Headquarters” as she wrestles with homesickness, change, and the confusing space between childhood and growing up. The film traces how those emotions shift and realign as Riley begins to understand that life is not only about feeling happy, but about learning how to feel everything and still move forward. Behind the imaginative visuals and playful humor lies a carefully researched psychological foundation. Pixar’s creative team consulted with emotion scientists to understand how memories form, fade, and sometimes reshape themselves, and used those ideas to design the mental landscapes inside Riley’s mind. The filmma...

The Informant! (2009)  is a dark comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, based on the nonfiction book by Kurt Eichenwald. The story follows Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a rising executive at agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland who secretly becomes an FBI informant during a federal price-fixing investigation. While presenting himself as a heroic whistleblower, Whitacre steadily complicates the case through erratic behavior, grandiose self-narration, and hidden personal secrets. As the investigation drags on, Whitacre’s version of events begins to fracture, revealing contradictions that undermine both his credibility and the case itself. The film tracks the widening gap between what Whitacre believes he is accomplishing and what is actually happening around him. Filmed primarily in Illinois, including Decatur and Chicago, Steven Soderbergh was drawn to the project after reading early reports on the ADM case. Matt Damon, who gained 30 pounds for the r...

Stranger than Fiction (2006)   is a comedy-drama directed by Marc Forster and written by Zach Helm. It follows the peculiar life of Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), an IRS agent whose monotonous existence is turned upside down when he begins to hear a narrator describing his life. The voice belongs to a reclusive author, Karen Eiffel (Emma Thompson), who is struggling to finish her latest novel and plans to kill her main character—Harold. Harold must race against time to find Karen and change his fate. Along the way, he falls for a free-spirited baker, Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal). He seeks help from literature professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman). The film's writer, Zach Helm, was inspired by his own experience of hearing his thoughts narrated. The production was filmed primarily in Chicago. The film's characters are named after famous scientists and artists, such as Francis Crick and Blaise Pascal, a deliberate choice by Helm to engage the movie's form as much as its co...

The Ring (2002)  is a supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger, based on the Japanese film Ringu . The story follows Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), a journalist who investigates a videotape rumored to cause the death of anyone who watches it seven days later. After viewing the tape herself, Rachel begins tracing its origins while racing against time to save both herself and her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman). Her investigation leads her through a series of unsettling locations tied to the tape’s imagery, gradually revealing the story of Samara Morgan, a child whose past is connected to the curse. As the deadline approaches, Rachel believes she has uncovered a way to stop the deaths, only to realize the truth behind the tape is far more complicated. Filmed primarily in Oregon and Washington state, the production used real coastal towns, forests, and industrial sites. Director Gore Verbinski deliberately chose locations with persistent gray lig...