Paramount Pictures (USA): 203

Shutter Island (2010) is a gripping neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Martin Scorsese and adapted by Laeta Kalogridis from the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehan. The film follows U.S. Marshal Edward ‘Teddy’ Daniels and his new partner Chuck Aule as they are sent to investigate the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando at Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, Boston Harbor. Despite encountering resistance from the hospital staff, particularly from psychiatrist Dr. John ...

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) is a military science fiction action film based on the popular G.I. Joe toy line. Weapons expert James McCullen has developed a highly advanced weapon using nanotechnology called nanomites, designed to destroy metal and other materials, including tanks and entire cities. These destructive bots can only be stopped by activating the kill switch. McCullen’s company, M.A.R.S., sells four of these warheads to NATO forces, which are being delivered by American soldiers Duke and Ripcord. However, their mission is compromised when they are ambushed by the Baroness, who Duke recognizes as his former fiancée Ana Lewis. ...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) is an American science fiction action film, inspired by Hasbro’s popular Transformers toys. In ancient times, the Primes, highly regarded leaders of Cybertronians, obtained their energy known as Energon through star harvesters. However, there was a rule among the Primes to never deplete stars that support life. One Prime broke this rule by constructing a star harvester on Earth and thus became known as ‘the Fallen’, the first Decepticon. Fast forward to 2009, two years after the battle in Mission City, the Autobots and humans have joined forces to form NEST (Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species ...

Friday the 13th (2009) is a slasher film, helmed by director Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. On this ominous date in June of 1980, a young Jason Voorhees witnesses his mother’s beheading at the hands of a camp counselor, who was trying to escape Mrs. Voorhees’s murderous rampage around Camp Crystal Lake. Nearly three decades later, five friends—Wade, Richie, Amanda, Mike, and Whitney—arrive for a camping trip at Crystal Lake with hopes of stumbling upon a hidden marijuana crop in the ...

The American superhero film Watchmen (2009) is based on the series of the same name created by Dave Gibbons and published by DC Comics from 1986 to 1987. Set in 1985, it follows a man living in a Manhattan apartment as he watches news about escalating Cold War tensions and the response from President Richard Nixon when an unknown assailant attacks him and throws him to the street below. As the opening credits roll, a montage explores the history of costumed crime-fighters from 1939 to 1977, leading up to public backlash and the enactment of an anti-vigilante act. One vigilante detective, Rorschach, who operates outside ...

The American comedy-drama film, Up in the Air (2009), directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner, is based on Walter Kirn’s 2001 novel of the same name. The protagonist, Ryan Bingham, is employed at an American human resources consultancy firm that specializes in assisting with employment terminations. As part of his job, Ryan frequently travels around the country to conduct layoffs on behalf of companies. In addition to his work ...

The American science fiction action film, Star Trek (2009), was directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Serving as the 11th installment in the Star Trek franchise, it marks a reboot featuring a new cast portraying the main characters from the original television series. In the year 2233, while investigating a mysterious ‘lightning storm’ in space, the Federation starship USS Kelvin is unexpectedly attacked by a Romulan ship called Narada. The commanding officer of Narada, ...

Stop-Loss (2008), directed by Kimberly Peirce, is a war drama following U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Brandon King and his squad stationed in Tikrit during the Iraq War. The film opens with footage from their tour, highlighting their remaining 28 days before they return home to the United States. While on duty at a checkpoint, they encounter gunshots as a car filled with insurgents speeds past. In response, the squad pursues them into an alley where they are ambushed from rooftops. Amidst the chaos, two soldiers are killed when an RPG is fired and another is injured when an Iraqi vehicle explodes. Fortunately, Pvt. Rico ...

The American fantasy romantic drama film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), directed by David Fincher, follows the loosely based storyline by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story of the same name. In August 2005, Daisy Fuller shares with her daughter Caroline the tale of Mr. Gateau, a blind clockmaker commissioned to create a train station clock in 1918 as a tribute to those who lost their sons in World War I, including Gateau ...

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) is a American action adventure film helmed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by David Koepp based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. In 1957, Soviet agents, led by Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko, abduct beloved archaeologist Indiana Jones along with his partner, George ‘Mac’ McHale. They infiltrate Hangar 51 in Nevada to coerce Jones into locating a mummified alien from Roswell. Despite being ...

Cloverfield (2008) is a found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J. J. Abrams. The movie follows the events captured on a personal camcorder recovered by the U.S. Department of Defense in the ‘formerly known as Central Park’ area, with a disclaimer explaining multiple reports of an incident known as ‘Cloverfield’. The camera contains two sets of recordings, one from April 27, 2008 and the other from May 22, 2008. The earlier footage shows Robert ‘Rob’ Hawkins and Elizabeth ‘Beth’ McIntyre waking up ...

The American superhero film, Iron Man (2008), is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It was produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, making it the first installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony Stark has taken over his father’s company, Stark Industries, and is in Afghanistan with his friend and military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, to showcase their new ‘Jericho’ missile. However, during the demonstration, Stark’s convoy is attacked with a missile from their own company and he is gravely injured. The attackers are members of a terrorist group called the Ten Rings who ...

Beowulf (2007) is an American animated fantasy action film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. It is based on the Old English epic poem of the same name. In 507, the legendary Geatish warrior Beowulf embarks on a journey to Denmark with his soldiers, including his closest companion Wiglaf. King Hrothgar seeks Beowulf’s help in defeating Grendel, a deformed and powerful troll who has been terrorizing the kingdom and killing many of Hrothgar’s warriors during a feast at the mead ...

Transformers (2007), an American sci-fi action film based on Hasbro’s toy line, follows the epic story of two factions of sentient robots – the Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the Decepticons led by Megatron. A brutal civil war on their home planet Cybertron has left it devastated and in ruins, as both sides fight for control of the AllSpark – a powerful cube that holds the key to their existence. The Autobots seek to use it for healing and peace, while the Decepticons aim to use its power for destruction and domination. But fate brings them to Earth when Megatron crash-lands in the Arctic Circle, where he remains frozen until discovered by Captain ...

Zodiac (2007) is an American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by James Vanderbilt, based on the nonfiction books by Robert Graysmith: Zodiac (1986) and Zodiac Unmasked (2002). The movie opens on July 4, 1969, when an unknown man attacks Darlene Ferrin and Mike Mageau with a handgun at a lovers’ lane in Vallejo, California. Only Mike survives. A month later, the San Francisco Chronicle receives encrypted letters from the killer who calls himself ‘Zodiac’. In these letters, he threatens to kill twelve ...

Stardust (2007) is a romantic fantasy adventure co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman. The film is based on Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same title and takes place in the English village of Wall, near a stone wall that marks the border of the magical kingdom of Stormhold. Despite being forbidden to cross, Dunstan Thorne manages to deceive the guard and sets foot in the marketplace beyond. There, he meets Una, a princess enslaved by a witch who offers him a glass snowdrop in exchange for a kiss. ...

The fantasy comedy-drama film Charlotte’s Web (2006) is an adaptation of E. B. White’s novel of the same name. In the springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, Fern Arable discovers her father John poised to kill a runt from a litter of newborn pigs. She pleads with him to spare the piglet’s life, naming him Wilbur and caring for him tenderly. The following day, Fern sneaks Wilbur into her school desk and when her teacher overhears his squeals, she demands to know what is inside. Fern lies and claims there is nothing in her desk, causing the teacher to angrily send them both to the ...

Dreamgirls (2006) is an American musical drama film written and directed by Bill Condon, and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. It is adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name. The story follows car salesman Curtis Taylor Jr., who in 1962 Detroit meets a promising Black girl group called ‘The Dreamettes’ at an R&B amateur talent show. The trio, consisting of lead singer Effie White, and backup singers Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson, catches his eye. Impressed with their talent, Curtis presents himself as their new manager and hires them to sing ...

The American docudrama disaster film, World Trade Center (2006), was directed by Oliver Stone and written by Andrea Berloff. It portrays the harrowing experience of a team of New York City police officers during the September 11 attacks, when they became trapped in the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center. Dispatched to Downtown Manhattan on that fateful day, members of the Port Authority Police received news en route that both towers had been hit by planes. Led by Sergeant John McLoughlin, a veteran of the 1993 bombing, a group of volunteers including officers ...

Mission: Impossible III (2006) is an American action spy film directed by J. J. Abrams, produced by and starring Tom Cruise, from a screenplay written by Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci. In the film, Hunt is restrained in a chair while a man holds a woman hostage across from him. The man demands the location of the ‘Rabbit’s Foot’. When it becomes clear that Hunt is not aware of its whereabouts, the ...