The Heroes of Telemark (1965)

The Heroes of Telemark is a 1965 war film based on the story of the Norwegian heavy water sabotage during World War II.

Norwegian resistance fighters sabotage the Norsk Hydro plant in Telemark, Norway, which the Nazis used to produce heavy water to make a nuclear bomb. Snowy Norwegian locations serve as a backdrop for the plot. Kirk Douglas plays the role of a Norwegian physics professor who, though originally content to wait out the war, is soon pulled into the struggle.

The movie bears only a cursory resemblance to the actual events. For instance, the sabotage on the plant itself was achieved without a shot being fired, unlike the gun battle portrayed in the film. The love story involving Douglas' character was also entirely invented. Understandably the film was a big hit in Norway, but was unsuccessful outside Europe.

Eastern Promises (2007)

Eastern Promises is a 2007 drama and thriller feature film directed by David Cronenberg. The screenplay was written by Steve Knight. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts and Vincent Cassel.

Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a midwife at a London hospital, delivers a baby girl from an unconscious and hemorrhaging fourteen-year-old. The teenager dies during childbirth and has no identification other than a diary, written in Russian and a business card for a restaurant called Trans-Siberian. Wanting to find relatives for the new-born girl, Anna sets out to uncover the mother's identity. Anna visits the restaurant, owned by charismatic Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a boss in the Russian Mafia or vor v zakone ("thief in law"), who offers to help by translating the diary.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

The Heartbreak Kid is a 2007 comedy film and is a remake of the 1972 film of the same name starring Ben Stiller. The film was directed by Bobby and Peter Farrelly and stars Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Michelle Monaghan, Jerry Stiller and Carlos Mencia.

Eddie (Ben Stiller), the owner of a sports shop, is single and indecisive about starting a relationship. While walking down the street he witnesses a purse snatcher victimizing Lila (Malin Akerman). After failing to retrieve the purse, they exchange pleasantries and eventually date. They quickly become serious, as they seem perfect for each other. Pushed by the urging of his father (Jerry Stiller) and best friend (Rob Corddry), Eddie proposes to Lila and they are married. However, during their honeymoon in Mexico Eddie begins to question his decision, as it becomes increasingly apparent how mismatched the couple is.

Training Day (2001)

Training Day is an Academy Award-winning 2001 film starring Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris, a corrupt Los Angeles police officer, and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, his new green recruit looking to become a part of Harris' elite narcotics unit. The entire movie takes place over a single, intense 24-hour period in Los Angeles that forever changes the lives of both officers. The movie was written by David Ayer and directed by Antoine Fuqua, both of whom grew up in gang neighborhoods.

Training Day presents the moral dilemma of committing minor crimes to prevent larger ones and getting things done even if it means making moral compromises. Denzel Washington won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ethan Hawke was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Adam Sandler and Emily Watson star. Anderson regulars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear.

Barry Egan (Sandler) owns a company that markets themed toilet plungers ("fungers") and other novelty items. He has seven overbearing sisters who ridicule him regularly, and leads a very lonely life punctuated by fits of rage. In the span of one morning, he witnesses a bizarre car accident, picks up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and encounters Lena Leonard (Watson), who he later learns orchestrated the meeting after seeing him in a family picture belonging to his sister Elizabeth (Mary Lynn Rajskub), a co-worker of Lena's.

Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Velvet Goldmine is a 1998 film directed and co-written by Todd Haynes. The film tells the story of a popstar based mainly on David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' character and is set in Britain during the days of glam rock in the early 1970s.

The film centers on Brian Slade, a bisexual folk minstrel-cum-glitter icon patterned after David Bowie and to a lesser extent, Marc Bolan and Brian Eno, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, in a career breakout performance. Ewan McGregor co-stars in the role of Curt Wild, a glam-rock performer who doesn't back down from sex, nudity or drugs on or off stage, and whom many consider to be loosely based on Iggy Pop, with a dash of Lou Reed, Mick Ronson and Alice Cooper. Also featured are Toni Collette as Slade's wife, and Eddie Izzard as his manager. The tale strongly parallels Bowie and Pop's relationship in the 1970s and 1980s, with parallel stages in both stories including "folk singer takes illegal substances" and "open-minded glam rocker becomes bland straight guy." Brian Slade's gradually overwhelming on-stage persona of "Maxwell Demon" and his backing band, "Venus in Furs", likewise bear a resemblance to Bowie's similar persona and backing band, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The film is also strongly influenced by the ideas and life of Oscar Wilde (seen here as a progenitor of glam rock), with a dash of Jean Genet influence.