Secretary (2002)

Lee Holloway is a shy young woman, who, after a brief spell in a mental institution, is released in the care of her overprotective mother and hard-drinking father. Hoping to make good on her own, Lee begins looking for a job, and in her free time indulges in her odd habit of inflicting pain upon herself in various ways. Lee is hired as a secretary by E. Edward Grey, a grim and ruthlessly efficient attorney who warns her that her work will be both dull and demanding. Lee takes to the job with genuine enthusiasm, and while she's recently acquired a new boyfriend, Peter, she's far more intrigued by Grey's coldly patrician demeanor. While Grey often criticizes Lee, she seems to thrive on his abuse, but one day he crosses a line when he insists upon spanking her after some minor mistake. Lee quite enjoys the treatment, and wants it to continue, but Grey can no longer take pleasure humiliating Lee when he knows that she likes it; he fires her, despite her pleas to be allowed to stay. Finally discovering the key to her sexual and emotional needs, Lee tries to persuade Peter to be rough with her, but he simply doesn't have the taste or talent for it, and Lee soon maps out a last-ditch effort to win back her position with Grey, whatever the cost.

Director: Steven Shainberg
Writers: Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay) and Mary Gaitskill (short story)
Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Spader and Jeremy Davies
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274812/

The American (2010)

As an assassin, Jack is constantly on the move and always alone. After a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, Jack retreats to the Italian countryside. He relishes being away from death for a spell as he holes up in a small medieval town. While there, Jack takes an assignment to construct a weapon for a mysterious contact, Mathilde. Savoring the peaceful quietude he finds in the mountains of Abruzzo, Jack accepts the friendship of local priest Father Benedetto and pursues a torrid liaison with a beautiful woman, Clara. Jack and Clara's time together evolves into a romance, one seemingly free of danger. But by stepping out of the shadows, Jack may be tempting fate.

Director: Anton Corbijn
Writers: Rowan Joffe (screenplay) and Martin Booth (novel)
Stars: George Clooney, Paolo Bonacelli and Violante Placido
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440728/

Gigantic (2008)

Do we ever get what we want? Brian sells mattresses in a warehouse store. His father and older brothers have material success; he wants a child. He's applied to adopt a baby from China. A man who appears homeless seems to be stalking Brian with violent intent. He meets Happy, the daughter of a rich, quirky customer. She doesn't stick to anything, but she and Brian hit it off, except for her vomiting when she learns about his adoption idea. He wants her to meet his family, and there's a call about the adoption. What will Happy do?

Director: Matt Aselton
Writers: Adam Nagata and Matt Aselton
Stars: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel and John Goodman
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176251/

Kissing Cousins (2008)

Amir is a heartbreaker... literally. As a relationship termination specialist, he provides dumping services for disgruntled daters and spends his days delivering the bad news to unsuspecting lovers across Los Angeles. Though Amir claims he is just the messenger, the job makes him cynical and, as a result, the last bachelor in his group of friends. This becomes clear when his recently-engaged best friends tells him he can no longer be his Best Man because of bad relationship karma. When Amir returns to his family's home for Thanksgiving, he is reunited with his long-lost cousin, Zara, who decides to hitch a ride back to LA with him. As a joke, the two cousins pretend to be a couple in front of Amir's friends and their charade comes dangerously close to going too far.

Director: Amyn Kaderali
Writer: Amyn Kaderali
Stars: Samrat Chakrabarti, Rebecca Hazlewood and Rachael C. Smith
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822819/

Tristan & Isolde (2006)

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, King Donnchadh of Ireland has become the de facto ruler of England, but one of his underlings, Lord Marke, dreams of uniting British forces with an eye toward self-rule. One of Marke's most valuable allies is Tristan, Marke's protégé, who has become a brave warrior since he was rescued by the lord after his parents were murdered by Irish forces during a battle. While Marke and Tristan dream of banishing Ireland's presence in England, Tristan has a secret he's been hiding from Marke -- after suffering serious wounds during a hard-fought battle, he was rescued and nursed back to health by Isolde, King Donnchadh's daughter, and the two fell deeply in love. But the couple were separated after Tristan returned to England, and when Donnchadh attempts to quell the British uprising by staging a tournament among the nation's greatest warriors, an extreme and rather personal surprise is in store for Tristan.

Director: Kevin Reynolds
Writer: Dean Georgaris
Stars: James Franco, Sophia Myles and Rufus Sewell
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375154/

Open Range (2003)

Boss Spearman, a rugged old-timer who free-grazes cattle, and Charley Waite have been partners for ten years. As the film opens in the 1880s, the pair and their employees -- the beefy, rugged, likable Mose and the impetuous Mexican teenager Buttons -- are driving cattle across the West. Mose is attacked and thrown in jail during a visit to a town. The local cattle rancher Baxter wants the free grazers off his land and warns Charley and Boss when they retrieve Mose that they have until the next day to be out of the area. Boss decides to fight back, especially after Baxter's men do harm to the foursome. Charley confesses his past as a killer during the Civil War and strikes up a tentative romance with Sue Barlow -- the sister of the town doctor.

Director: Kevin Costner
Writers: Lauran Paine (novel) and Craig Storper (screenplay)
Stars: Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall and Diego Luna
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316356/

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Sidney Young is a disillusioned intellectual who both adores and despises the world of celebrity, fame and glamor. His alternative magazine, Post Modern Review, pokes fun at the media obsessed stars and bucks trends, and so when Young is offered a job at the diametrically opposed conservative New York based Sharps magazine its something of a shock! It seems Sharps editor Clayton Harding is amused by Young's disruption of a post-BAFTA party with a pig posing as Babe. Thus begins Sidney's descent into success - his gradual move from derided outsider to confidante of starlet Sophie Maes. Initially helping him out at Sharps is colleague Alison Olsen, who has her own secret. Wither their friendship?

Director: Robert B. Weide
Writers: Peter Straughan (screenplay) and Toby Young (book)
Stars: Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455538/

Lo (2009)

Love presents many challenges to couples...but none so daunting as the one Justin faces with his girlfriend April. Kidnapped by demons, April's mystery begins to unfold when he finds an ancient book that she has left behind. Using the book, he contacts the demon Lo, ordering it to help him rescue his girl from the fiery pits. However, Lo has ideas of its own, particularly on the subject of whether Justin is master or dinner.

Director: Travis Betz
Writer: Travis Betz
Stars: Jeremiah Birkett, Sarah Lassez and Ward Roberts
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1047490/

The Girl Next Door (2004)

 

Matthew Kidman is a straight-laced and highly ambitious high school student who plans to study at Georgetown University and dreams of a career in politics. While most of his classmates are in the throes of an epidemic of senioritis, Matthew is obsessed with schoolwork and has a hard time relaxing and having fun. But he finds himself a bit less focused on his future career when Danielle, a beautiful 19-year-old blonde, moves in next door. Danielle is playful, spontaneous, and doesn't always remember to draw her shades, and before long Matthew is head over heels in love. Danielle soon finds herself taken with Matthew as well, but their relationship takes an unusual turn when he discovers that, before she moved to town, Danielle had a successful career as a porn actress. Matthew is able to convince Danielle that she's cut out for better things in life than appearing in porn videos, but his advice doesn't especially please Kelly or Hugo, two porn moguls who figure Matthew owes them big-time after convincing their leading lady to drop out of the adult industry.

Director: Luke Greenfield
Writers: David Wagner and Brent Goldberg
Stars: Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Downs and Elisha Cuthbert
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265208/

The Fountain (2006)

 

Three stories - one each from the past, present, and future - about men in pursuit of eternity with their love. A conquistador in Mayan country searches for the tree of life to free his captive queen; a medical researcher, working with various trees, looks for a cure that will save his dying wife; a space traveler, traveling with an aged tree encapsulated within a bubble, moves toward a dying star that's wrapped in a nebula; he seeks eternity with his love. The stories intersect and parallel; the quests fail and succeed.

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414993/

Extract (2009)

Joel, the owner of an extract manufacturing plant, constantly finds himself in precarious situations that steadily worsen by the minute. First, his soon-to-be floor manager acquires a serious injury in a machine malfunctioning accident that subsequently endangers the wellbeing of his company. Second, his personal life doesn't fair much better when he takes the advice of his bartending friend Dean during a drug-induced brainstorming session on how to test his wife's faithfulness. Finally, compounding these catastrophes is new employee Cindy, who happens to be a scam artist intent on milking the company for all its worth. Now, Joel must attempt to piece his company and his marriage back together all while trying to figure out what he's really after in life.

Director: Mike Judge
Writer: Mike Judge
Stars: Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and Mila Kunis
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1225822/

Cyrus (2010)

John is a middle-aged lonely divorced guy who gets dragged to a party by his remarried ex-wife -- who remains his best friend. After a few clumsy, drunken passes at a variety of women, John encounters Molly, an attractive single-mom who finds John's social awkwardness appealing. They hit it off, and quickly begin a tender new relationship. Problems soon arise in the form of Cyrus, Molly's twentysomething son, who has an off-puttingly close relationship to his mom. Soon the jealous Cyrus sets about trying to break them up, and John must figure out how to deal with this unhinged and unexpected rival.

Directors: Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass
Writers: Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass
Stars: John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei and Jonah Hill
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1336617/

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

During the latter days of the Tang dynasty, the Emperor returns home from the war with his son Prince Jai in tow. However, the monarch gets a chilly reception from the Empress; though she's eager to see her son, her marriage has become deeply acrimonious, and she's taken a lover, Crown Prince Wan, her stepson from the Emperor's first marriage. The Emperor, meanwhile, has his own plan for dealing with his failing marriage -- he's ordered the Imperial Doctor to find an exotic drug that will drive the Empress insane and administer it to her without her knowledge. However, the doctor's ethical dilemma is intensified by the fact his daughter Chan has fallen in love with Crown Prince Wan and the two wish to elope. As the Emperor and Empress allow their estrangement to sink into violence and retribution, their youngest son, Prince Yu, struggles to keep the peace in the household.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Writers: Yu Cao (play) and Yimou Zhang
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Li Gong and Jay Chou
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473444/

Choke (2008)

Victor Mancini has got some problems, when he's not at Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings hunting for women to bed, he masquerades as a choking victim in restaurants as a scheme to gather money from unsuspecting strangers, which he uses to keep his ailing mother in a high-end, extended-care facility for her extreme dementia. But what happens when this messed up Colonial-era theme-park employee finds Mrs. Right in the guise of his mother's doctor, and how can he give their relationship a try when she tells him he's the next coming of Jesus Christ?

Director: Clark Gregg
Writers: Clark Gregg (screenplay) and Chuck Palahniuk (novel)
Stars: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston and Kelly Macdonald
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024715/

The Constant Gardener (2005)

In a remote area of Northern Kenya, activist Tessa Quayle is found brutally murdered. Tessa's companion, a doctor, appears to have fled the scene, and the evidence points to a crime of passion. Members of the British High Commission in Nairobi assume that Tessa's widower, their mild-mannered and unambitious colleague Justin Quayle, will leave the matter to them. They could not be more wrong. Haunted by remorse and jarred by rumors of his late wife's infidelities, Quayle surprises everyone by embarking on a personal odyssey that will take him across three continents. Using his privileged access to diplomatic secrets, he will risk his own life, stopping at nothing to uncover and expose the truth - a conspiracy more far-reaching and deadly than Quayle could ever have imagined.

Director: Fernando Meirelles
Writers: Jeffrey Caine (screenplay) and John le Carré (novel)
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz and Danny Huston
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387131/

Adventureland (2009)

In 1987, James Brennan's dreams of a summer European tour before studying at an Ivy League school in New York City are ruined after his parents have a severe career setback. As a result, James must get a summer job to cover his upcoming expenses at the decrepit local amusement park, Adventureland, where he falls in love with a witty co-worker, Emily Lewin. In that bizarrely shady workplace, the young carnies have unforgettable and painful learning experiences about life, love and trust while James discovers what he truly values.

Director: Greg Mottola
Writer: Greg Mottola
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart and Ryan Reynolds
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091722/

Numb (2007)

Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly and strangely finds himself without any emotional feelings. He tries doctor after doctor and shrink after shrink, but nothing works. The Golf Channel, lesbian exercise classes and a dizzying variety of pills get him through the day, but don't quite solve his problem. His writing partner tries everything to get him back to normal, but it's not until Hudson meets Sara that he finds a real motivation to get better and to actually start feeling again.

Director: Harris Goldberg
Writer: Harris Goldberg
Stars: Matthew Perry, Lynn Collins and Kevin Pollak
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795439/