Plot
Rupert Marshetta is the black sheep son of a miner, precocious and misunderstood. He is frustrated with his parents, Gary and Pam, has dropped out of high school and doesn't fit in with the other teens in his town. Rupert is also in love with an older woman, the free-spirited Carla, who operates a run-down roadside ice cream kiosk. Carla also has a young daughter with her ex-boyfriend Joe, a state trooper.
One day Gary tells Rupert he sees himself as the king of Pennsylvania, his wife as the queen, and Rupert as the prince who will inherit his kingdom. Both father and son know that Pam has been sleeping with young miner Jack Sike, who has a newborn baby with his wife.
Gary owns land left by his father, but has no intention of selling it. An increasingly frustrated Rupert, who has no plans to follow his father into mining, schemes with Carla to kidnap his father for $200,000 (the amount the land is worth) and use the ransom money to escape the town and live together.
The duo successfully kidnap Gary and he is held in a trailer. He soon tells his mother, who agrees to go along, as Rupert says she can have half to money so she and Jack can abandon their families and run off together. However, Rupert and Pam learn that Gary sold the land for cash a week earlier, with no information as to where he put the money.
Rupert and Carla take Gary to the mine and held him near a portable toilet. Rupert eventually thinks the money has been hidden in the toilet, which is chained closed. He prepares dynamite to blow open the toilet, but mine rescue workers and police arrive on the scene warning that the mine’s high levels of methane gas will trigger a massive explosion once the dynamite goes off. Although Gary is able to pull his son to safety, Carla is presumed dead in the blast.
The next day, Gary and Pam have reconciled. Rupert runs away, and is surprised to find that Carla is still alive, but only Joe knows; they, too, have reconciled, and are leaving for Sacramento to be closer to her daughter. A heartbroken Rupert hugs Carla goodbye and says would rather be handcuffed to a fridge than talk to her ever again. After Carla and Joe drive away, Rupert walks along the road and encounters a lone female biker girl he befriended earlier; he accepts her offer of a ride to Pittsburgh.
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades in a career spanning four decades. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him as the fourth-greatest actor of the 21st century, and in 2022 Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Reeves is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public image, and his philanthropic efforts.
Don't Say a Word is a 2001 American psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel Don't Say a Word by Andrew Klavan. It was directed by Gary Fleder and written by Anthony Peckham and Patrick Smith Kelly. It was released on September 28, 2001, receiving negative reviews from critics and grossing $100 million against its $50 million budget.
Sid and Nancy is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, and his destructive relationship with girlfriend Nancy Spungen. The film also features supporting performances from David Hayman, Xander Berkeley, and Courtney Love.
Prick Up Your Ears is a 1987 British film, directed by Stephen Frears, about the playwright Joe Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell. The screenplay was written by Alan Bennett, based on the 1978 biography by John Lahr. The film stars Gary Oldman as Orton, Alfred Molina as Halliwell, Wallace Shawn as Lahr, and Vanessa Redgrave as Peggy Ramsay.
Joe Dirt is a 2001 American adventure comedy film, directed by Dennie Gordon, starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Adam Beach, Brian Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly, Erik Per Sullivan, and Kid Rock. The film was written by Spade and Fred Wolf, and produced by Robert Simonds. The plot revolves around a poor young man, Joe Dirt, who at first seems to be a loser. As he travels in search of his parents, his finer qualities are increasingly revealed. He ends up with a new family of close friends, people he has helped and who respect him. While critical reception was mostly negative, the film was a modest financial success, eventually becoming a cult favorite. A sequel, Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, premiered on Crackle on July 16, 2015.
Ransom is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Ron Howard from a screenplay by Richard Price and Alexander Ignon. The film stars Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo, Lili Taylor, Brawley Nolte, Liev Schreiber, Donnie Wahlberg and Evan Handler. Gibson was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The film was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1996 in the United States. The original story came from a 1954 episode of The United States Steel Hour titled "Fearful Decision". In 1956, it was adapted by Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum into the feature film, Ransom!, starring Glenn Ford, Donna Reed, and Leslie Nielsen.
The Clearing is a 2004 American thriller drama film and the directorial debut of film producer Pieter Jan Brugge. The film is loosely based on the real-life kidnapping of Gerrit Jan Heijn that took place in the Netherlands in 1987. The screenplay was written by Justin Haythe.
Prince of the City is a 1981 American epic neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the life of Robert Leuci, called ‘Daniel Ciello’ in the film, an officer of the New York Police Department who chooses, for idealistic reasons, to expose corruption in the force. The screenplay, written by Lumet and Jay Presson Allen, is based on a 1978 non-fiction book, by former NYPD Deputy Commissioner Robert Daley.
Coffy is a 1973 American blaxploitation action film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.
I Love You to Death is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring an ensemble cast featuring Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, William Hurt, and Keanu Reeves.
High Hopes is a 1988 British comedy drama film directed by Mike Leigh, focusing on an extended working-class family living in King's Cross, London, and elsewhere.
Dreamcatcher is a 2003 American science fiction horror film based on Stephen King's 2001 novel of the same name. Directed by Lawrence Kasdan and co-written by Kasdan and screenwriter William Goldman, the film stars Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis and Timothy Olyphant as four friends who encounter an invasion of parasitic aliens. It also features Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore and Donnie Wahlberg.
Permanent Record is a 1988 American drama film starring Pamela Gidley, Michelle Meyrink, Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Rubin, and Alan Boyce. It was filmed on location in Portland, Oregon and Yaquina Head near Newport on the Oregon Coast. The film primarily deals with the profound effect of suicide, and how friends and family work their way through the grief.
Oliver! is a 1968 British period musical drama film based on Lionel Bart's 1960 stage musical of the same name, itself an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1838 novel Oliver Twist.
Heartbreak Hotel is a 1988 American comedy film written and directed by Chris Columbus, and stars David Keith and Tuesday Weld. Set in 1972, the story deals with one of the many "legends" involving Elvis Presley (Keith) about his fictional kidnapping, and his subsequent redemption from decadence.
Along Came a Spider is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori. It is the second installment in the Alex Cross film series and a sequel to the 1997 film Kiss the Girls, with Morgan Freeman and Jay O. Sanders reprising their roles as detective Alex Cross and FBI-agent Kyle Craig. The screenplay by Marc Moss was adapted from the 1993 novel of the same title by James Patterson, but many of the key plot elements of the book were eliminated. The film was a box office success, despite receiving mixed-to-negative reviews from critics like its predecessor.
Elvira Madigan is a 1967 Swedish romantic drama film directed by Bo Widerberg and starring Pia Degermark and Thommy Berggren. It is based on the tragedy of the Danish slackrope dancer Hedvig Jensen, working under the stage name of Elvira Madigan at her stepfather's travelling circus, and her romance with Swedish nobleman lieutenant Sixten Sparre.
A Tiger's Tale is a 1987 American comedy-drama film starring Ann-Margret and C. Thomas Howell, written and directed by Peter Douglas, based on the novel Love and Other Natural Disasters by Allen Hannay III.
Henry's Crime is a 2010 American romantic comedy crime film directed by Malcolm Venville and starring Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga, and James Caan. The film follows Henry (Reeves), who goes to jail for a bank robbery he did not commit. Once released, he plans to rob the same bank with his former cellmate Max (Caan). The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2010, and was given a limited release in the United States on April 8, 2011.
Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor who has appeared in films, television series and video games. He made his film debut in the short One Step Away in 1985. The following year, Reeves appeared in the crime film River's Edge, and the television films Babes in Toyland, Act of Vengeance, and Brotherhood of Justice. His first lead role was as a teenager dealing with his best friend's suicide in the 1988 drama Permanent Record. His breakthrough role came when he played time-travelling slacker Ted "Theodore" Logan in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) with Alex Winter, which was an unexpected commercial success. Reeves followed this with a supporting role in Ron Howard's comedy Parenthood. In 1991 he starred in the action film Point Break with Patrick Swayze, the science fiction comedy sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and the independent drama My Own Private Idaho.
