Tag: DRAMA

SELAH & THE SPADES (2020)

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selah

Written & Directed By: Tayarisha Poe
Cinematography: Jomo Fray
Editor: Kate Abernathy 

Cast: Lovie Simone, Jharrel Jerome, Celeste O’Connor, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Jesse Williams, Gina Torres, Nekhebet Kum Juch, Evan Roe, Francesca Noel, Henry Hunter Hall 


Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction – The Spades – sits Selah Summers. By turns charming and callous, she chooses whom to keep close and whom to cut loose, walking the fine line between being feared and loved.

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JEZEBEL (2019)

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jezebel
Written & Directed By: Numa Perrier
Cinematography: Brent Johnson
Editor: Brittany Lyles 

Cast: Tiffany Tenille, Numa Perrier, Stephen Barrington, Bobby Field, Zoe Tyson, Rockwelle Dortch, Charlie Taylor 

In the last days of her mother’s life, 19 year old Tiffany crashes with five family members in a Las Vegas studio apartment. In order to make ends meet, her older sister, a phone sex operator, introduces her to the world of internet fetish cam girls. Tiffany becomes popular as the only “live black model” at the new adult site and soon becomes too close to one of her frequent callers. Dynamics shift in the sister relationship as each woman explores and exploits their sexuality, using their created fantasy worlds as an escape from the realities of their challenging real life circumstances. This bizarre coming of age story depicts sisterhood in a most unusual way.

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IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (2018)

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if-beale-street-could-talk

Written & Directed By: Barry Jenkins
Based on the Novel By: James Baldwin
Cinematography: James Laxton
Editor: Joi McMillon & Nat Sanders
Music By: Nicholas Britell 


Cast: Stephen James, KiKi Layne, Regina King, Michael Beach, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Aunjaune Ellis, Diego Luna, Dave Franco, Brian Tyree Henry, Ed Skrein, Emily Rios, Finn Wittrock, Ebony Obsidian 


African-American teen sweethearts Fonny and Tish are ripped apart when Fonny is wrongly arrested for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman because of the machinations of a racist cop. While seeking justice for Fonny, a pregnant Tish relies on her Harlem community, including her sister, mother Sharon and future mother-in-law.

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NINA (2016)

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nina

Written & Directed By: Cynthia Mort
Cinematography By: Mihai Malaimere Jr.
Editor: Josh Rifkin, Mark Helfrich & Susan Littenberg 


Cast: Zoe Saldana,David Oyelowo, Keith David, Ella Joyce, Mike Epps, Ronald Guttman, Ella Thomas, Michael Vartan, Matthew Hoffman 

 

The story of the late jazz musician and classical pianist Nina Simone including her rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.

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HOLD THE DARK (2018)

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holdthedark1

Directed By: Jeremy Saulnier
Written By: Macon Blair
Based On The Book By: William Giraldi
Cinematography: Magnus Nordenhof Jonck
Editor: Julia Bloch 


Cast: Jeffrey Wright, James Badge Dale, Alexander Skarsgard, Riley Keough, Beckham crawford, Anabel Kutay, Julian Black Antelope 


Retired naturalist and wolf expert Russell Core journeys to the edge of civilization in northern Alaska at the pleading of Medora Slone, a young mother whose son was killed by a pack of wolves. As Core attempts to help Medora track down the wolves who took her son, a strange and dangerous relationship develops between the two lonely souls. But when Medora’s husband Vernon returns home from the Iraq War, the news of his child’s death ignites a violent chain of events. As local cop Donald Marium races to stop Vernon’s vengeful rampage, Core is forced on a perilous odyssey into the heart of darkness.

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OUT OF THE FURNACE (2013)

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furnace

Directed By: Scott Cooper
Written By: Scott Cooper & Brad Ingelsby
Cinematography By: Masanobu Takayanagi
Editor: David Rosenbloom 


Cast: Christian Bale, Zoe Saldana, Woody Harrelson, Forrest Whitaker, Casey Affleck, Willem Dafoe, Sam Shephard, Tom Bower, Boyd Holbrook

Russell and his younger brother Rodney live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, his brother becomes involved with one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast – a mistake that will cost him everything. Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom, or risk it all to seek justice for his brother.

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GANGSTER NO. 1 (2000)

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gangster1

Directed By: Paul McGuigan
Written By: Louis Mellis & David Scinto
Adaptation By: Johnny Ferguson
Cinematography: Peter Sova
Editor: Andrew Hulme 


Cast: Paul Bettany, Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Saffron Burrows, Eddie Marsan, Andrew Lincoln, Jamie Foreman, Ken Granham 


A middle-aged crime boss smugly reflects back from 1999, narrating the brutality which made him triumphant – and feared. As an unnamed young hood in Swinging 60’s London, he aped his mod boss Freddie Mays, and seemed to do anything for him. But his narration exposes all-consuming envy: of Freddie’s supremacy, and especially his tall bird. The baby shark develops his viciousness and backstabbing, scheming to be Gangster No. 1.

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THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)

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untouchables

Directed By: Brian DePalma
Written By: David Mamet
Suggested By A Book By: Elliot Ness & Oscar Fraley
Cinematography: Stephen H Burum
Editor: Jerry Greenberg & Bill Pankow 

Cast: Kevin Costner, Robert DeNiro, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Bradford, Billy Drago, Patricia Clarkson, Don Harvey, Jack Kehoe, Del Close 

During the era of Prohibition in the United States, Federal Agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone and, because of rampant corruption, assembles a small, hand-picked team to help him. Continue reading “THE UNTOUCHABLES (1987)” →

ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002)

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about-schmidt

Directed By: Alexander Payne
Written By: Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor
Based on the Novel By: Louis Begley
Cinematography: James Glennon
Editor: Kevin Tent 


Cast: Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Dermont Mulroney, Hope Davis, June Sqibb, Howard Hesseman, Harry Groener, Connie Ray, Len Cariou 


Warren Schmidt has led a safe, predictable life working in the insurance industry in Omaha, Nebraska for many years, yet now faces retirement. At the same time, he is forced to take a hard look at his wife, his life, and his relationship with his estranged daughter. An often hilarious series of events follow as Schmidt embarks on an unpredictable RV journey to attend his daughter’s wedding in Denver, Colorado

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