Titles that don't mean what you think they mean
These are movies and TV shows in which the title is technically a word, but in this case it only refers to the character's name.
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16 titles
- CreatorAndrew W. MarloweStarsNathan FillionStana KaticSusan SullivanWhen a psychopath commits murders based on novelist Castle's books, Detective Beckett seeks his help to solve the case. He decides to work with her and uses his experiences as research for his novels.He doesn't live in a castle
- CreatorAndy BreckmanStarsTony ShalhoubJason Gray-StanfordTed LevineThe series follows Adrian Monk, a brilliant former San Francisco detective, who now consults the police as a private consultant whilst battling with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.He isn't a monk
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsElijah WoodBruce WillisJason AlexanderSick of the neglect he receives from his mom and dad, a young boy leaves home and travels the world in search of new parents.He goes in a lot of directions, not just north
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.He doesn't drink that much milk
- CreatorDavid ShoreStarsHugh LaurieOmar EppsRobert Sean LeonardUsing a crack team of doctors and his wits, an antisocial maverick doctor specializing in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way.He doesn't build houses
- DirectorMichael TollinStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Ed HarrisDebra WingerThe story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man who he took under his wing.He's not the inventor of the radio
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff BridgesElizabeth BanksTrue story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.It's not a cracker eaten by sailors
- DirectorPeter BergStarsWill SmithCharlize TheronJason BatemanHancock is a superhero whose ill-considered behavior regularly causes damage in the millions. He changes when the person he saves helps him improve his public image.It's not a biopic about the statesman John Hancock, or a study of people's signatures
- DirectorTodd FieldStarsCate BlanchettNoémie MerlantNina HossSet in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra.It's not about tar pits
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsDenzel WashingtonVicellous ShannonDeborah Kara UngerThe story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.It's not about a storm
- DirectorGreta GerwigStarsSaoirse RonanLaurie MetcalfTracy LettsIn 2002, an artistically inclined 17-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.It's not about birds, or about Lyndon Johnson's wife
- DirectorGarth DavisStarsDev PatelNicole KidmanRooney MaraA five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.It's not about a lion, or any kind of wild animal
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.It's not about an elevator shaft, or a pole
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsAngelina JolieLiev SchreiberChiwetel EjioforA CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.It's not about sodium chloride
- DirectorTim Blake NelsonStarsMekhi PhiferJulia StilesMartin SheenAn update of Shakespeare's 'Othello' with a young cast, set in an upper class prep school, & centered around basketball player Odin.It's not about the importance of the letter "O" (like, say, the James Thurber book)
- DirectorHunter RichardsStarsJessica BielChris EvansJason StathamAt a drug laden party in a New York loft, a young man tries to win back his ex-girlfriend.It's not about the city in England