Paper Man (2009)

Richard Dunn is a novelist with writer's block isolated in Long Island by his sensible, surgeon wife in order to get cracking on the new book that will revive his career. But Richard isn’t totally alone: along for the ride is a precocious local teen with issues of her own whose refreshing candor lifts him out of his stupor. And of course, Captain Excellent, Richard's closest confidante since childhood is never far, always encouraging him to grow up even if that means leaving him behind.

Directors: Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney
Writers: Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney
Stars: Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437405/

Pathfinder (2007)

Reared by the Wampanoag tribe following a failed attempt by the Vikings to raid coastal villages for slaves, a ten-year-old shipwreck survivor is nicknamed "Ghost" by his adoptive tribe due to his pale complexion and blond hair. Legend says that death and destruction will follow the boy wherever he travels, yet the peaceful people of the Wampanoag tribe selflessly take the frightened child in as if he is one of their own. Over the course of the following decade, the adopted young Norseman eventually grows into a strong warrior determined to prove his worth to the people he calls family. When the rampaging Vikings return to the New World to rain destruction down on the Native Americans and to claim the fertile land of the peaceful people, Ghost finds himself in the precarious position of having to stop his own people from destroying his village and ruthlessly slaughtering the woman he loves. Now, as Ghost's true destiny is revealed by the powerful shaman known as the Pathfinder, the fearless warrior sets out to stage a savage one-man war on the marauding Vikings and become the savior once prophesied to defend the Wampanoag people in their darkest hour.

Director: Marcus Nispel
Writers: Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) and Nils Gaup (1987 screenplay)
Stars: Karl Urban, Clancy Brown and Moon Bloodgood
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446013/

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Carmen recently remarried to sadistic army captain Vidal and soon to bear the cruel military man's child, shy young Ofelia is forced to entertain herself as her recently-formed family settles into their new home nestled deep in the Spanish countryside. As Ofelia's bed-ridden mother lies immobilized in anticipation of her forthcoming child and her high-ranking stepfather remains determined to fulfill the orders of General Francisco Franco to crush a nearby guerilla uprising, the young girl soon ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by the mythical faun Pan. Convinced by Pan that she is the lost princess of legend and that in order to return to her underground home she must complete a trio of life-threatening tasks, Ofelia sets out to reclaim her kingdom and return to her grieving father as Vidal's housekeeper Mercedes and doctor plot secretly on the surface to keep the revolution alive.

Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Guillermo del Toro
Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil and Sergi López
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/

They (2002)

 

Julia Lund is a college student studying psychology who, as a child, was haunted by night terrors, hideous nightmares so vivid they seem real. As Julia's life becomes more stressful, her childhood nightmares begin coming back; what's more, her friend Billy, who had similar dreams as a boy, also reports that his terrors have returned, complete with the same monsters he claims spirited him away for two days when he was little. Julia's boyfriend Paul is certain they're both just imagining things thanks to too much studying and too little sleep, but when Billy turns up dead, an apparent suicide, Julia is convinced something really is out to get them. Certain there really are monsters which come out to get people when the lights go off, Julia is determined to find and harness these creatures of the dark, while Paul is convinced his girlfriend has descended into madness.

Director: Robert Harmon
Writer: Brendan Hood
Stars: Laura Regan, Marc Blucas and Ethan Embry
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283632/

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

 

In the year 859 A.D., as the Tang dynasty is beset by rebellion, Leo and Jin are a pair of lawmen who have been given the task of ferreting out the leaders of a revolutionary faction known as the Flying Daggers. Working on a tip that members of the group are working out of a brothel called the Peony Pavilion, Jin arrives there in disguise and is introduced to a beautiful blind dancer named Mei. After watching Mei's performance following several drinks, Jin drunkenly attempts to have his way with her, and Leo is forced to intervene. After gaining Mei's trust in a game of skill, Leo arrests her and informs her that she'll be tortured if she doesn't tell all she knows about the Flying Daggers. Jin responds by helping Mei break out of prison, but he has an ulterior motive -- by following her, Leo and Jin are certain she'll lead them to the Flying Daggers. However, as he helps the blind girl find her way back home, Jin finds himself falling in love with Mei, and isn't certain if he's willing to betray her again.

Director: Yimou Zhang
Writers: Bin Wang and Yimou Zhang
Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385004/

City of Ember (2008)

 

The City of Ember was built over 200 year ago, deep below the earth, where the destruction of a mass-scale disaster couldn't reach it. Equipped with a massive generator and vast supplies, the people of Ember have thrived happily for generations -- but the city wasn't meant to be lived in forever. The generator is breaking down and the supplies are running out, but two centuries in isolation have robbed the Emberites of their knowledge -- nobody knows how the electric lights work anymore, and nobody understands that there's something beyond the city besides darkness. Nobody, that is, besides Lina and Doon, two teenagers who still have the hope that everyone else has lost to ignorance and apathy -- not to mention a sheet of instructions left by the Builders themselves explaining how to leave the city. But the 200-year-old paper is falling apart, and pieces are missing. So with the lights threatening to flicker out for the last time and leave Ember in darkness forever, Lina and Doon set out on an adventure through the streets, sewers, and dark caverns of Ember to put the pieces back together. To solve the mystery, they'll have to get inside the Builders' heads, and avoid the grasp of corrupt Mayor Cole, who wants to keep Ember the way it is -- no matter what the cost.

Director: Gil Kenan
Writers: Caroline Thompson (screenplay) and Jeanne Duprau (book)
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Toby Jones and Bill Murray
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970411/

Pulse (2006)

Followed by Pulse 2: Afterlife (2008). When wireless technology puts humans into contact with an unstoppable force that's determined to claim the lives of the living for the souls of the damned, it's up to a group of determined teens to close the gate before it's too late. A doorway between the human realm and the spiritual realm has been opened, and now the technology that once made humankind the ruler of the planet has become its digital Achilles heel. With every call made and every e-mail checked, life is slowly being stolen from the living and claimed for the dead. With no way of turning off the connection and no means of reasoning with a force they cannot understand, a desperate group of college students must discover a means of stopping the takeover before the entire planet is transformed into a cosmic haunting ground for wayward souls in search of a home.

Director: Jim Sonzero
Writers: Wes Craven and Ray Wright
Stars: Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder and Christina Milian
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454919/

The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Follows Hotel Chevalier (2007). A year after the accidental death of their father, three drug-addicted brothers -- each suffering from depression - meet for a train trip across India. Francis, the eldest, has organized it. The brothers argue, sulk, resent each other, and fight. The youngest, Jack, estranged from his girlfriend, is attracted to one of the train's attendants. Peter has left his pregnant wife at home, and he buys a venomous snake. After a few days, Francis discloses their surprising and disconcerting destination. Amid foreign surroundings, can the brothers sort out their differences? A funeral, a meditation, a hilltop ritual, and the Bengal Lancer figure in the reconciliation.

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Stars: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0838221/

Follows Wes Anderson's short film Hotel Chevalier, found just below:

   

Melancholia (2011)

 

A meditation on depression and the end of the world. The first half of the film focuses on the emotionally troubled newlywed Justine as her sister, Claire, throws her a lavish wedding party. As her lack of emotional stability begins to take a toll on Justine's brand new marriage as well as the party -- and old wounds are exposed -- Claire's wealthy husband John knows a great deal about a planet that is on a possible collision course with Earth. The second half of the movie focuses on Claire, who ends up taking her sister in after the marriage collapses, and also begins to fear that John is hiding apocalyptically bad news.

Director: Lars von Trier
Writer: Lars von Trier
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/

Drive (2011)

 

Driver is a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene, a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard. After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they're coming straight for Irene and her son-Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Writers: Hossein Amini (screenplay) and James Sallis (book)
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston
More info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/