Actress Cate Blanchett (1969)

Directed by Ron Howard, The Missing (2003) is a gritty American Western. Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett, the film is adapted from Thomas Eidson’s novel The Last Ride, published in 1996. Set in late 19th-century New Mexico, the story follows Samuel Jones as he seeks to reconcile with his daughter Magdalena ‘Maggie’ Gilkeson, after leaving her and her mother many years ago. However, Maggie refuses to forgive him for causing her ...

The biographical crime film, Veronica Guerin (2003), directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Cate Blanchett in the titular role, focuses on the intrusion of the illegal drug trade into the lives of working class individuals and their children. Determined to uncover those responsible, Guerin conducts interviews with young addicts who shoot up in public or empty buildings within their housing communities. Through her investigation, she uncovers key suppliers and meets John Traynor, a man with insider knowledge of the criminal world. While he agrees to assist her to a ...

The epic high fantasy adventure film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), was directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s third volume of the novel series, The Return of the King (1955), it follows the journey of Sméagol, a hobbit who becomes consumed by the power of the One Ring after murdering his cousin Déagol to obtain it. As ...

Starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi, Heaven (2002) is a romantic thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer. Co-screenwriter Krzysztof Kieślowski intended it to be the first part of a trilogy, but unfortunately passed away before its completion. This Italian-set film begins with a prologue showing Filippo, a young Carabinieri clerk, learning to fly a helicopter using a simulator. After crashing due to his overly ambitious ascents, his instructor warns him against excessive ...

The film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair, and Jackson himself, is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s second volume of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, titled The Two Towers. In one of his dreams, Frodo Baggins envisions Gandalf battling a Balrog in Moria, before ...

The British drama film, Charlotte Gray (2001), directed by Gillian Armstrong, is based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Sebastian Faulks. In 1942, a young Scot, Charlotte Gray, travels to London to work in a surgery. During her train ride, she meets Richard Cannerley who is intrigued by her fluency in French and gives her his business card for a book launch party. At the party, Cannerley introduces Charlotte to his acquaintances and asks her to keep in touch. Later on, she enters into a brief romance with Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Peter Gregory whom she met ...

The Shipping News (2001), directed by Lasse Hallström, is a romantic drama based on the novel of the same name by E. Annie Proulx. As a child, Quoyle’s father Guy expected him to naturally swim when he was thrown into a lake. But the memories of nearly drowning still haunt Quoyle whenever he’s stressed. Now living in Poughkeepsie, New York and working as an ink setter for a small newspaper, Quoyle leads a solitary life. He falls for Petal, a lively woman from town whom he eventually marries. However, Petal turns out to be unfaithful and neglectful to their ...

Bandits (2001), directed by Barry Levinson and written by Harley Peyton, is an American crime comedy-drama film. Two friends and convicts, Joe and Terry, escape from Oregon State Penitentiary in a concrete mixing truck to embark on a bank robbing spree in pursuit of their shared dream. They become notorious as the ‘Sleepover Bandits’ due to their unique approach: they abduct the bank manager the night before the heist and spend the evening with their victim’s family. The next morning, they accompany the manager to the bank to retrieve their stolen funds. ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) is an epic fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson and written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. It is based on the first volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, also titled The Fellowship of the Ring, which was published in 1954. The story takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth and revolves around the Rings of Power given to the ...

The Gift (2000) is the American paranormal thriller film, directed by Sam Raimi and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, centers around widow Annie Wilson, a clairvoyant in Brixton, Georgia. She has visions of her grandmother and uses her abilities to help others. After Jessica King, the fiancée of the school principal Wayne Collins, goes missing, Annie receives a vision that she has been killed and thrown into the pond. Despite initial skepticism from local sheriff Pearl Johnson, Annie informs him of her vision ...

The drama film, The Man Who Cried (2000), written and directed by Sally Potter tells the story of Fegele Abramovich, a Russian Jew who becomes separated from her father in 1927. As her father seeks his fortune in America, he promises to bring Fegele and her grandmother to join him. Before departing, he sings ‘Je Crois Entendre Encore’ from Les pêcheurs de perles by Bizet to his daughter. Tragically, a pogrom strikes their village after he leaves, and Fegele is forced to flee with the help of kind neighbors. Despite facing numerous obstacles on her journey, she eventually boards a ship bound for Britain with ...

The British film An Ideal Husband (1999), based on the 1895 play by Oscar Wilde, follows a group of upper-class individuals before the turn of the 20th century. At a fashionable park outing, Lady Markby reconnects with Mrs. Laura Cheveley, an old school acquaintance. Laura is eager to meet Gertrude’s husband, Sir Robert Chiltern, and Lady Markby suggests bringing her to the evening’s ball. Although Gertrude initially hesitates, she ultimately cannot refuse without appearing rude. At the extravagant party at the Chiltern residence, Laura tries to manipulate Sir Robert into supporting a bill for a questionable ...

Pushing Tin (1999), directed by Mike Newell, tells the story of Nick ‘The Zone’ Falzone and his colleagues at the New York TRACON. These air traffic controllers are known for their remarkable ability to handle the immense pressure of controlling one of the busiest airspaces in the country. In fact, they boast about the 50% drop-out rate among new staff who can’t cope with the stress. However, their dynamic is disrupted when Russell Bell, a quiet and confident veteran from Western US TRACONs, joins their team. Russell’s unorthodox and risky methods quickly prove him to be a highly capable ...

The American psychological thriller film, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), was written and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name, and tells the story of Tom Ripley, a man who is approached by shipbuilding magnate Herbert Greenleaf in 1958 New York City. Greenleaf believes that Ripley attended Princeton with his son Dickie and offers him one thousand dollars to travel to Italy and convince Dickie to return to the United States. While on a luxurious ocean liner, Ripley assumes the identity of Dickie and forms ...

Elizabeth (1998), a British biographical period drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Michael Hirst, tells the story of Catholic Queen Mary I of England’s death in 1558. The forty-two year old daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon is believed to have died from a cancerous tumor in her womb. With Mary gone, her twenty-five year old half sister Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, is released from house arrest for suspected involvement in Thomas Wyatt the Younger’s rebellion. As the new Queen of England, Elizabeth inherits a ...

Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997), an Australian romantic comedy film directed by Cherie Nowlan, follows the story of Guy as he marries Lizzie. The dreamy groom reminisces at his wedding reception about the girlfriend he once lost and his past relationship with Jenny, a warm and funny long-time partner.

In Paradise Road (1997), an Australian war film directed by Bruce Beresford, a group of women from England, America, the Netherlands, and Australia are imprisoned by the Japanese in Sumatra during World War II. During a dance at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore for soldiers and their families, they are abruptly forced to flee when the Battle of Singapore breaks out and a bomb explodes outside. The women and children are quickly taken away on a boat for safety. However, the boat is soon bombed by Japanese fighter planes, causing them to jump into the water. Among them are three women – Adrienne Pargiter, Rosemary ...

The romantic drama film, Oscar and Lucinda (1997), directed by Gillian Armstrong, follows the lives of two individuals – Lucinda Leplastrier and Oscar. As a child growing up in Australia, Lucinda is captivated by a Prince Rupert’s Drop, which sparks her lifelong passion for glass. Sadly, her parents pass away and she inherits great wealth when her guardians sell off their family farmland. With her newfound riches, Lucinda purchases a glass factory and becomes involved in gambling after being introduced to it by her accountant. Meanwhile, Oscar is raised by his father as a Plymouth Brother but eventually ...