Touchstone Pictures (USA): 60

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 ...

Open Range (2003) is a film set in Montana during the late 1800s. It was directed and co-produced by Kevin Costner, with a screenplay by Craig Storper based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. The story follows ‘Boss’ Spearman and his hired hands, Charley Waite, Mose, and Button, as they drive a herd of cattle across the country. While Boss is an experienced rancher, Charley carries heavy guilt from his time as a soldier in the Civil War. When Boss sends Mose to nearby Harmonville for ...

Reign of Fire (2002) is a post-apocalyptic science fantasy film directed by Rob Bowman. During one of his visits to a London Underground construction site, Quinn Abercromby witnesses the awakening of a massive dragon from its dormant state. Tragically, most of the workers are killed by its fiery breath, leaving Quinn as the sole survivor. His mother Karen, who was also working on the project, sacrifices her life to protect him. After emerging from the Underground, the dragon is soon joined by others and humanity finds itself on the brink of extinction. Despite numerous attempts by military forces to stop their spread ...

Signs (2002), an American sci-fi horror movie, was both written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Graham Hess, a former Episcopal priest, resides on a rural farmland in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with his asthmatic son Morgan and daughter Bo. Since the tragic death of his wife Colleen in a car accident six months ago, Graham’s brother Merrill has been assisting the family. The incident caused Graham to leave the church behind. Initially, the appearance of large crop circles in their cornfield was attributed to vandals, but soon similar formations were reported globally, accompanied by hovering lights over cities. ...

The film Pearl Harbor (2001) was directed by Michael Bay and produced by both Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer. Written by Randall Wallace, the story takes place in Tennessee in 1923 where two close friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, often play together in Danny’s father’s old biplane, pretending to be heroic pilots. Danny’s father is a World War One Veteran struggling with PTSD. Fast forward to January 1941 during the height of World War II, both Rafe and ...

The American comedy-drama film, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), was directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. In the film, Royal Tenenbaum informs his three teenage children, Chas, Margot, and Richie, about his impending separation from his wife Etheline. Each of the children had achieved impressive accomplishments at a young age. Chas was a genius in both math and business, but Royal would often steal money from him. Margot, who was adopted, had received a grant for a play she wrote in ninth grade. Meanwhile, Richie excelled as a tennis prodigy and artist ...

Unbreakable (2000), an American superhero thriller film was both written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Set in 1961 Philadelphia, baby Elijah Price is born with Type I osteogenesis imperfecta, leaving his bones extremely fragile and prone to fractures. In present day, former star quarterback and security guard David Dunn returns home from a job interview in New York on the Eastrail 177 train when it suddenly speeds up. He awakens in a hospital room without a scratch, and the doctors inform him that he is the only survivor of the derailment that killed all other 131 passengers. After attending a memorial service for ...

The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) is a clever mix of satire and drama, written, produced, co-edited, and directed by the talented duo Joel and Ethan Coen. Three prisoners – Pete, Delmar, and their leader Ulysses Everett McGill – flee from a chain gang in order to find a hidden fortune before the area is flooded. Along the way, they receive help from a blind man on a railway handcar who warns them that their reward may not be what they expect. Seeking refuge at Wash’s home – Pete’s cousin – the trio incurs the wrath of Sheriff ...

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) is an American action heist film directed by Dominic Sena and written by Scott Rosenberg. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, it is a loose remake of the 1974 H.B. Halicki film of the same name. Car thief Kip Raines and his gang are hired by British gangster Raymond Calitri in Long Beach, California, to steal 50 high-end cars. However, their plan goes awry when Kip unknowingly leads the police to their warehouse after taking a Porsche 996 from a showroom. ...

The American sci-fi adventure film, Mission to Mars (2000), directed by Brian De Palma, tells the story of the Mars I mission. In 2020, the mission is launched with Luke Graham as its commander. Upon reaching Mars, the team stumbles upon a bright white formation in the Cydonia region. They believe it could be an extrusion from a subsurface geothermal column of water that could be beneficial for future human colonization efforts. The team alerts the Earth-orbiting World Space Station before going to investigate further. However, while exploring the formation, they hear a strange sound on their communications system. ...

Keeping the Faith (2000) is an American romantic comedy film written by Stuart Blumberg. In a New York City bar, a drunken Catholic priest named Brian Finn fills the bartender in on the ongoing love triangle involving himself, his best friend Jake Schram (a Jewish rabbi), and their childhood friend Anna Reilly. While Brian has been devoted to his calling as a priest since childhood, he shares his duties at the parish with an elderly priest named Father Havel. Jake, who has been inseparable from Brian since they were kids, is now the youngest rabbi at his synagogue and focuses heavily on his work to the disappointment of ...

The American romantic comedy film, The Other Sister (1999), directed by Garry Marshall, follows the story of Carla Tate. After graduating from a sheltered boarding school, Carla returns to her overprotective and slightly snobby mother Elizabeth’s home. Despite her ambition and mild mental disability, Carla is met with discomfort from Elizabeth as she seems ashamed of her youngest daughter’s condition. This uneasiness is likely due to past experiences of Carla being bullied as a child. Meanwhile, Radley – a dentist and recovering alcoholic – serves as Carla’s father. Determined to gain more ...

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 ...

Play It to the Bone (1999) is an American sports comedy-drama directed and written by Ron Shelton. Close friends Vince Boudreau and Cesar Dominguez, both aging prizefighters, often regretted not having one last chance in the ring. That opportunity unexpectedly presents itself when boxing promoter Joe Domino faces a predicament. The fighters scheduled for his Las Vegas undercard, leading up to heavyweight Mike Tyson’s main event, suddenly pull out. In desperate need of replacements, Vince and Cesar are contacted from Los Angeles. With both willing to step into the ring, Domino decides to pit them against each ...

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 ...

The American sports drama film, He Got Game (1998), was written, produced, and directed by Spike Lee. It centers around Jesus Shuttlesworth, an exceptional high school basketball player being heavily recruited by top college programs. However, his father Jake is currently serving time at Attica Correctional Facility for accidentally killing Jesus’ mother Martha six years ago. The governor of ‘Big State’, one of the schools vying for Jesus’ talents, grants Jake a work release in hopes that he can convince his son to sign with their program and secure an early release from prison. As soon as he is ...

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 ...

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 ...

Armageddon (1998), an American science fiction disaster film, was both produced and directed by Michael Bay with Jerry Bruckheimer also on board. In the film, a colossal meteor shower obliterates the orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis and proceeds to pummel various cities including New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Moncton, Halifax, and Newfoundland. Later in the film, we learn that these meteors were knocked out of the asteroid belt due to a collision with a rogue comet. In addition, this same collision caused a massive asteroid – comparable in size to Texas ...

The film, Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), directed by Ivan Reitman, follows the story of Robin Monroe and her boyfriend Frank as they vacation in the South Pacific island of Makatea. They are joined by middle-aged American pilot Quinn Harris and his girlfriend Angelica on their journey to the island. On their first night there, Frank proposes to Robin but later a drunken Quinn mistakes her for someone else and makes a pass at her. Despite this awkward encounter, Robin’s boss Marjorie calls the next morning and asks her to oversee a fashion shoot in Tahiti. In need of transportation, Robin enlists Quinn’s ...