Paramount Pictures (USA): 203

The action adventure film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), is based on the popular video game series of the same name. The film follows adventurer Lara Croft, played by Angelina Jolie, as she faces challenges and defeats a robot in an Egyptian tomb. This turns out to be a training exercise in her family manor, where she lives with her technical assistant Bryce and butler Hillary. As the Illuminati search for a key to join halves of a mysterious artifact known as ‘the Triangle’, Lara finds herself in Venice during the first phase of a planetary alignment. The cabal’s leader, Manfred Powell, claims to ...

Directed by Frank Oz, The Score (2001) is an American neo-noir heist action comedy film. Following a close call during a burglary, master safe-cracker Nick Wells contemplates retirement and settling down with his girlfriend Diane to run his Montréal jazz club legitimately. Despite turning down his fence Max’s offer for another job, Nick is approached by fellow thief and ambitious mastermind Jack Teller. Attempting to scare Jack off, Nick sends his associate Burt, but Jack gains the upper hand and ends up at Nick’s home, persuading him to change his mind. In exchange for complete control of the operation and ...

The American action crime thriller film, Shaft (2000), was both co-written and co-produced by John Singleton. In the initial investigation of Trey Howard’s brutal attack outside a restaurant in 1998, NYPD Detective John Shaft apprehends Walter Wade Jr., the son of a wealthy real estate mogul, after noticing blood on his person. Claiming self-defense, Wade is taken into custody by Shaft. While surveying the scene, Shaft notices an injured waitress named Diane Palmieri who appears to be eyeing Wade. Attempting to gather crucial information from her, Shaft is unsuccessful in coaxing a statement. A friend of ...

What Women Want (2000) is an American romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Nancy Meyers, and featuring the talents of Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. Nick Marshall, a Chicago advertising executive, was raised by his mother, a showgirl in Las Vegas. Surrounded by beautiful women who treated him as their cherished mascot, and with rough casino men as his guides, Nick grew up to become a skilled chauvinist who excels at selling products to men and wooing women. When his boss at Sloane Curtis unexpectedly hires top competitor ...

In Mission: Impossible II (2000), a thrilling spy movie directed by John Woo, Tom Cruise takes on the roles of both producer and star. Here, bio-genetics scientist Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich reaches out to the IMF agency to warn his old friend Dimitri (Ethan Hunt) about his employer’s nefarious plans. Biocyte Pharmaceuticals has coerced him into creating a biological weapon for their own financial gain. Desperate to stop them, Nekhorvich injects himself with the Chimera virus and carries its antidote, Bellerophon, in a bag. However, things take a dangerous turn when ...

In the film Wonder Boys (2000), director Curtis Hanson and writer Steve Kloves showcase the life of Grady Tripp, a creative writing professor at an unnamed Pennsylvania university. Grady is in a relationship with Sara Gaskell, the university chancellor. However, her husband Walter is also involved in their professional lives as chairman of the English department where Grady teaches. Recently, Grady’s third wife Emily has left him and he struggles to replicate the success of his first novel. Currently, he is diligently working on his second novel but cannot seem to ...

The film Runaway Bride (1999) directed by Garry Marshall tells the story of Maggie Carpenter, a lively and attractive woman who has endured numerous unsuccessful relationships. She gained local notoriety and the nickname ‘The Runaway Bride’ for leaving three fiancés at the altar on their wedding day. When a man in a bar tells cynical New York columnist Ike Graham about Maggie’s reputation, he writes an unflattering article about her without fact-checking. However, this man turns out to be one of Maggie’s jilted exes and his account is filled with inaccuracies. After Maggie sends a fiery response ...

South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999) is an American adult animated musical comedy film based on the animated sitcom South Park. One morning in the Colorado town of South Park, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, his adopted brother Ike, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick head to the movie theater to catch Terrance and Phillip’s R-rated flick, Asses of Fire. Despite initially being turned away for not meeting the age requirement, the boys enlist a homeless man to join them. After viewing the film, they become fond of using profanity. Their peers are amazed and follow suit by watching the movie as well, except for Wendy Testaburger who spends time with ...

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 ...

Tim Burton’s gothic supernatural horror film, Sleepy Hollow (1999), is a loose adaptation of Washington Irving’s short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Set in 1799, the film follows New York City police constable Ichabod Crane as he investigates a string of brutal murders in the upstate Dutch hamlet. Among the insular town elders who receive him are wealthy Baltus Van Tassel, town doctor Thomas Lancaster, Reverend Steenwyck, notary James Hardenbrook, and magistrate Samuel Philipse. According to local beliefs, the killer is an undead headless ...

The American mystery thriller film, The General’s Daughter (1999), was helmed by director Simon West. During his time in Georgia, undercover agent Chief Warrant Officer Paul Brenner from the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division Command assumes the identity of First Sergeant Frank White to orchestrate a forbidden weapons exchange with a rebel leader. While at Fort MacCallum, Brenner experiences car trouble and receives assistance from Captain Elisabeth Campbell, who serves as a psychological operations officer and is also the daughter of Lieutenant General Joseph ‘Fighting Joe’ Campbell, ...

Double Jeopardy (1999) is a crime thriller movie and directed by Bruce Beresford. The main characters, Nick and Libby Parsons, are a wealthy couple living on Whidbey Island, Washington. In order to have some alone time together sailing, Libby’s friend Angela offers to take care of their son Matty for the weekend. However, when Libby wakes up she finds blood all over and Nick is nowhere to be found. The Coast Guard arrives and discovers Libby with a bloody knife in her hands. Despite the fact that Nick’s body is never found, Libby is convicted of murder. The belief is that she killed him for his $2 million ...

Bringing Out the Dead (1999) is an American psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. It is based on the 1998 novel by Joe Connelly. Set in Manhattan, it follows the story of paramedic Frank Pierce who is struggling with depression, insomnia, and burnout after a failed attempt to save a homeless teen named Rose. Now haunted by her ghost, Frank continues to work alongside his partner Larry and responds to a call from the family of Mr. Burke, who has suffered cardiac arrest. At the ...

An American legal drama film, A Civil Action (1998), directed and written by Steven Zaillian, is based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Harr. The movie depicts a true court case in Woburn, Massachusetts during the 1980s regarding environmental pollution. The city’s water supply becomes contaminated with toxicants which are eventually linked to a series of local children’s deaths. Anne Anderson, a resident of Woburn, approaches cocky Boston attorney Jan Schlichtmann and his small firm of personal injury lawyers for help in taking legal action against ...

The Truman Show (1998) is an American comedy drama film written by Andrew Niccol and directed by Peter Weir. The film focuses on the life of a man named Truman Burbank who was selected at birth and adopted by a television studio after an unwanted pregnancy. Unbeknownst to him, he is the main star of a reality TV show called The Truman Show. This program is broadcasted globally via approximately five thousand hidden cameras that capture every moment of Truman’s life. The creator and executive producer, Christof, aims to showcase Truman’s genuine emotions as a ...

Snake Eyes (1998) is an American mystery thriller film directed and produced by Brian De Palma. On a stormy night in Atlantic City, corrupt police detective Rick Santoro attends a boxing match at the Atlantic City Arena between champion heavyweight Lincoln Tyler and challenger Jose Pacifico Ruiz. He runs into his childhood friend, U.S. Navy Commander Kevin Dunne, who is assisting the Department of Defense in escorting Defense Secretary Charles Kirkland and Arena director Gilbert Powell to the fight after their trip to Norfolk, Virginia. As the first round commences, Kevin becomes captivated by an alluring redhead named ...

Directed by Mimi Leder, Deep Impact (1998) is an American science fiction disaster film. During a star party in Virginia, teenage amateur astronomer Leo Biederman notices an unidentified object in the night sky and sends a picture to astronomer Dr. Marcus Wolf. Upon realizing it is a comet headed for Earth, Wolf rushes to warn others but tragically dies in a car accident. One year later, MSNBC journalist Jenny Lerner begins investigating Secretary of the Treasury Alan Rittenhouse for his connection with ‘Ellie’, whom she assumes to be his mistress. However, she becomes confused when she sees Rittenhouse and ...

Hard Rain (1998), an action thriller flick by former cinematographer-turned director Mikael Salomon and written by Graham Yost, follows the story of armored truck drivers Tom and his uncle Charlie. Braving conditions of heavy rain and flooding, they are on a mission to collect money from banks in an evacuated Huntingburg, Indiana. However, things take an intense turn when they are ambushed by a gang of armed robbers led by Jim and accompanied by Kenny, Mr. Mehlor, and Ray. In the midst of chaos, Charlie calls for help but is tragically killed by Kenny while Tom narrowly ...

The director Steven Spielberg and writer Robert Rodat collaborated on Saving Private Ryan (1998), an epic American war film. During the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army faced heavy losses at Omaha Beach from German artillery and machine gun fire. Amidst the chaos, Captain John H. Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion takes charge of a surviving group and strategically infiltrates behind enemy lines for a successful victory. Unfortunately, word reaches the United States Department of War that three out of four Ryan brothers have been killed in action, with ...

In Star Trek IX: Insurrection (1998), a science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes, Lieutenant Commander Data is temporarily transferred to an undercover mission observing the peaceful Ba’ku people. However, he experiences a malfunction and inadvertently reveals the presence of a joint Federation-Son’a task force also observing the Ba’ku. Admiral Matthew Dougherty reaches out to the USS Enterprise-E for Data’s schematics, but firmly asserts that their assistance is not necessary. Despite this, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to defy orders and retrieve Data with the Enterprise. As Picard ...