Best Movies

Yellow Hair (Hangul: 노랑머리; RR: Norang Meori) is a 1999 South Korean film, written and directed by Kim Yu-min, and starring former child actress Lee Jae-eun. The film caused controversy for its strong sexual content, and was only approved for release after some of the more explicit material was cut. The film's English title is sometimes given as The Blonde.

A sequel, Yellow Hair 2, was released in 2001.

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendesand written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a 42-year-old advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenaged daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). Annette Bening co-stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney also feature. The film is described by academics as a satire of American middle-class notions of beauty and personal satisfaction; analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic, and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption.

Ball began writing American Beauty as a play in the early 1990s, partly inspired by the media circus around the Amy Fisher trial in 1992. He shelved the play after realizing the story would not work on stage. After several years as a television screenwriter, Ball revived the idea in 1997 when attempting to break into the film industry. The modified script had a cynical outlook that was influenced by Ball's frustrating tenures writing for several sitcoms. Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen took American Beauty to DreamWorks; the then-fledgling film studio bought Ball's script for $250,000, outbidding several other production bodies. DreamWorks financed the $15 million production and served as its North American distributor. American Beauty marked acclaimed theater director Mendes' film debut; courted after his successful productions of the musicals Oliver! and Cabaret, Mendes was, nevertheless, only given the job after 20 others were considered and several "A-list" directors turned down the opportunity.

Spacey was Mendes' first choice for the role of Lester, though DreamWorks had urged the director to consider better-known actors; similarly, the studio suggested several actors for the role of Carolyn until Mendes offered the part to Bening without DreamWorks' knowledge. Principal photography took place between December 1998 and February 1999 on soundstages at the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, and on location in Los Angeles. Mendes' dominant style was deliberate and composed; he made extensive use of static shots and slow pans and zooms to generate tension. Cinematographer Conrad Hall complemented Mendes' style with peaceful shot compositions to contrast with the turbulent on-screen events. During editing, Mendes made several changes that gave the film a less cynical tone than the script.

Released in North America on September 17, 1999, American Beauty was positively received by critics and grossed over $356 million worldwide. Reviewers praised most aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey, and Ball; criticism focused on the familiarity of the characters and setting. DreamWorks launched a major campaign to increase the film's chances of Academy Award success; at the 72nd Academy Awardsthe following year, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. It was nominated for and won many other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.

Lester Burnham is a middle-aged advertising executive and magazine writer who despises his job. He is unhappily married to Carolyn, a neurotic yet fiercely ambitious real estate broker who grows red roses in their yard; their teenaged daughter, Jane, abhors her parents and has low self-esteem. The Burnhams' new neighbors are homophobic retired United States Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts and his near-catatonic wife, Barbara. Their teenaged son, Ricky, constantly films his surroundings with a camcorder, collecting hundreds of recordings on videotapes in his bedroom. His job as a part-time bar caterer serves as a front for his secret marijuana dealings. Col. Fitts is a strict disciplinarian who previously sent Ricky to a military school and briefly committed him to a psychiatric hospital. Jim Olmeyer and Jim Berkley, a gay couple who live nearby, welcome the Fitts family to the neighborhood. On the way to school, Col. Fitts reveals his homophobia while he angrily discusses the incident with Ricky.

Lester becomes infatuated with Jane's vain friend, Angela Hayes, after seeing her perform a half-time dance routine at a high school basketball game with Jane. He starts having sexual fantasies about Angela, in which red rose petals are a recurring motif. Carolyn begins an affair with her married business rival, Buddy Kane. When Lester's boss and efficiency expert, Brad, tells him that he is to be laid off, Lester instead blackmails him for $60,000 and quits his job. Lester takes a minimum-wage job at a fast-food restaurant, trades in his Toyota Camry for his dream car, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird, and starts working out after he overhears Angela tell Jane that she would find him sexually attractive if he got in shape. He begins smoking marijuana supplied by Ricky. The girls' friendship wanes after Jane starts a relationship with Ricky. Jane and Ricky bond over what Ricky considers the most beautiful imagery he has filmed: a plastic bag being blown in the wind.

Lester discovers Carolyn's infidelity, but reacts indifferently. Buddy ends the affair, fearing an expensive divorce. Col. Fitts becomes suspicious of Lester and Ricky's friendship when he finds his son's footage of Lester lifting weights while nude, which Ricky captured by chance, leading him to believe that Ricky is gay. After spying on Ricky and Lester through Lester's garage window, the colonel mistakenly concludes the pair is sexually involved. He later confronts and beats Ricky for the supposed affair and accuses him of being gay. Ricky falsely admits the charges and goads his father into expelling him from their home. Meanwhile, Carolyn is sitting in her car in the rain, taking a gun out of the glove box while a voice on the radio talks about not being a victim. Jane argues with Angela about the latter's flirtation with Lester. In the midst of their argument, Ricky appears and convinces Jane to flee with him to New York City and assures Angela that she is ugly, boring, and ordinary.

Col. Fitts confronts Lester and attempts to kiss him; Lester rebuffs the colonel, who tearfully flees. Carolyn puts the gun in her handbag, shouting, "I refuse to be a victim!" Lester finds a distraught Angela sitting alone in their darkened living room; she asks him to tell her she is beautiful. He does, and they kiss.

Carolyn drives through the rain, rehearsing a confession to Lester. Just as Lester and Angela are about to have sex, the latter admits her virginity, prompting Lester to change his mind. He instead comforts her and the pair bond over their shared frustrations. Angela goes to the bathroom and Lester smiles at a family photograph in his kitchen. An unseen figure raises a gun to the back of his head, a gunshot sounds, and blood sprays on the wall. Ricky and Jane find Lester's body, while Carolyn breaks down crying in the closet. A bloodied Col. Fitts returns home, where a gun is shown to be missing from his collection. Lester's closing narration describes meaningful experiences during his life; he says that, despite his death, he is happy because there is "so much beauty" in the world.

American Pie is a 1999 teen sex comedy film written by Adam Herz and directed by brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, in their directorial film debut. It is the first film in the American Pie theatrical series. The film was a box-office hit and spawned three direct sequels: American Pie 2 (2001), American Wedding(2003), and American Reunion (2012).^[2] The film concentrates on five best friends (Jim, Kevin, Oz, Finch, and Stifler) who attend East Great Falls High. With the exception of Stifler (who has already lost his virginity), the guys make a pact to lose their virginity before their high school graduation. The title is borrowed from the song of the same name and refers to a scene in the film, in which the protagonist is caught masturbating with a pie after being told that third base feels like "warm apple pie". Writer Adam Herz has stated that the title also refers to the quest of losing one's virginity in high school, which is as "American as apple pie."

The film's theme song is "Laid" by James, which is also the theme for the entire franchise.

In addition to the primary American Pie saga, there are four direct-to-DVDspin-off films bearing the title American Pie Presents: Band Camp (2005), The Naked Mile (2006), Beta House (2007), and The Book of Love (2009).

In response to the success of American Reunion, a fifth theatrical film, under the working title American Pie 5 was announced on August 4, 2012.

Five high school seniors from West Michigan are good friends: Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs), an awkward, nerdy and sexually naïve character whose dad Noah (Eugene Levy) attempts to offer sexual advice including purchasing and giving him pornography; Chris "Oz" Ostreicher (Chris Klein), a member of the high school lacrosse team; Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas), the nerdy leader of the group who wants to lose his virginity to his girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid); Paul Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), a mochaccino-drinking sophisticate and nerd; and Steve Stifler (Seann William Scott), a raucous jock who often throws wild parties when his mother is away, and is also the only one of the five who has lost his virginity. At Kevin's prompting, Oz, Finch, Jim, and Kevin make a pact to lose their virginities before their high school graduation after a dorky classmate, Chuck Sherman (Chris Owen), claims to have done so at a party hosted by Stifler.

Vicky later accuses Kevin of being with her only for sex, so he must try to repair his relationship with her before the upcoming prom night, when the four plan to lose their virginity. He eventually succeeds. Oz, meanwhile, joins the school jazz choir in an attempt to find a girlfriend. From a college girl he tried to seduce, Oz learns about sensitivity and that it is about asking girls questions and listening to what they say. He soon wins the attention of Heather (Mena Suvari), a girl in the choir. However, he runs into problems when Heather learns about Oz's reputation and breaks up with him, although he manages to regain her trust when he leaves the lacrosse championship to perform a duet with her in a choir competition.

Jim, meanwhile, attempts to pursue Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), an exchange student from Slovakia who asks Jim for help to study for an upcoming history test. After being told by Oz that third base feels like "warm apple pie", he practices having sex with a pie, only to be caught by Noah (who lets him keep it a secret from his mother). Stifler persuades him to set up a webcam in his room so that they can all watch Nadia changing clothes. The plan suffers a hiccup, though, when Nadia discovers Jim's pornography collection and sits half-naked on his bed to read and masturbates to it. Jim is persuaded to return to his room, where he joins Nadia, unaware that he accidentally sent the webcam link to everyone on the school list. Nadia is interested in him, but he suffers premature ejaculation twice and is unable to have sex with her. Nadia's exchange family sees the video and sends her back home, now leaving Jim dateless for the upcoming prom and without hope of losing his virginity before high school is over.

In sheer desperation, Jim asks band camp geek Michelle Flaherty (Alyson Hannigan) to the senior prom as she is apparently the only girl at his school who did not see what happened. Finch, meanwhile, pays Vicky's friend, Jessica (Natasha Lyonne), $200 to spread rumors around the school of his sexual prowess, hoping that it will increase his chances of success. Unfortunately, he runs into trouble when Stifler, angry that a girl turned him down for the prom because she was waiting for Finch to ask her, puts a laxative into Finch's mochaccino. Finch, being paranoid about the lack of cleanliness in the school restrooms, and unable to go home to use the toilet as he usually does, is tricked by Stifler into using the girls' restroom. Afterwards, he emerges humiliated before a crowd of fellow students and is also left dateless.

At the prom, things seem bleak for the four boys until Vicky asks the girl that Chuck Sherman claimed to have bedded about her "first time." She proclaims to everyone at the prom that she and Sherman did not have sex at Stifler's party, leaving Sherman embarrassed and making him wet himself. The revelation takes the pressure off of Jim, Kevin, Oz and Finch, and they head to the post-prom party at Stifler's house with new hope.

At the after-party, all four boys fulfill their pledges. Kevin and Vicky have sex in an upstairs bedroom. Vicky breaks up with Kevin afterwards on the grounds that they will drift apart when they go to college. Oz confesses the pact to Heather, and renounces it, saying that just by them being together makes him a winner. They reconcile and wind up having sex. Oz, honoring his newfound sensitivity, never confesses to what they did.

Jim and Michelle have sex after he finds out that she is actually not as naïve as she let on and that she saw the "Nadia Incident" after all. She accepted his offer to be his date because of it, knowing he was a "sure thing" but makes him wear two condoms to combat his earlier "problem" with Nadia. Jim is surprised at Michelle's aggressiveness in bed. In the morning he wakes up to find her gone and realizes that she had used him for a one-night stand, which Jim thinks is "cool".

Dateless, Finch strays downstairs to the basement recreation room where he meets Stifler's mother (Jennifer Coolidge). She is aroused by his precociousness, and they have sex on the pool table. The next morning, while Stifler searches for his mom, he finds her on the pool table with Finch, and is so shocked that he faints. The morning after the prom, Jim, Kevin, Oz, and Finch eat breakfast at their favorite restaurant where they toast to the "next step".

From Slovakia, Nadia watches Jim stripping on his webcam: Noah walks in (to which Jim is completely oblivious) but happily walks out and also starts dancing.