Tag: DRAMA

VALHALLA RISING (2009)

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valhallarising_03

Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn
Written by: Roy Jacobsen & Nicolas Winding Refn
Cinematography By: Morton Soborg
Editor: Matthew Newman

Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Alexander Morton

1000 AD, for years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together he and Are escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel, but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the new world reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self. 

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UNCUT GEMS (2019)

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UNCUT GEMS

Directed By: Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie
Written By: Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein
Cinematography: Darius Khondji
Editor: Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie 


Cast: Adam Sandler, Lakeith Stanfield, Eric Bogosian, Idina Menzel, Julia Fox, The Weeknd, Kevin Garnett, Noa Fisher, Keith Williams Richards, John Amos, Judd Hirsch 


From acclaimed filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie comes an electrifying crime thriller about Howard Ratner, a charismatic New York City jeweler always on the lookout for the next big score. When he makes a series of high-stakes bets that could lead to the windfall of a lifetime, Howard must perform a precarious high-wire act, balancing business, family, and encroaching adversaries on all sides, in his relentless pursuit of the ultimate win.

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THE LAUNDROMAT (2019)

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the-laundromat-1567092545

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh
Written By: Scott Z. Burns
Based on the Book “Secrecy World: Inside The Panama Papers Investigation Of Illicit Money Networks and The Global Elite”  By: Jake Bernstein
Cinematography: Peter Andrews
Editor: Mary Ann Bernard

Cast: Meryl Streep, Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman, Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer, James Cromwell, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Larry Wilmore, Rosalind Chao, Matthias Schoenaerts, Nonso Anozie, Miracle Washington, Jessica Allain,  Jay Paulson, Melissa Rauch, Will Forte, Chris Parnell

A widow investigates an insurance fraud, chasing leads to a pair of Panama City law partners exploiting the world’s financial system.

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THE INTOUCHABLES (2012)

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theintouchables

Written & Directed By: Oliver Nakache & Eric Toledan
Cinematography By: Ludovico Einaudi
Editor: Dorian Rigal-Ansous

Cast: Francois Cluzet, Omar Sy, Audrey Fleurot, Anne Le Ny, Clotide Mollet

In Paris, the aristocratic and intellectual Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire that is interviewing candidates for the position of his caretaker with his red-haired secretary Magalie. Out of the blue, the rude African Driss cuts the line of candidates and brings a document from the Social Security and asks to Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job position to receive his unemployment insurance. Philippe challenges Driss and offers a period of adaptation of one week to him to gain experience helping him. Then Driss would decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the bet and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe and his employees.

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BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON (2019)

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brittany-runs-a-marathon

Written & Directed By: Paul Down Colazzio
Cinematography: Duncan Thum
Editor: Seamus Tierney

Cast: Jillian Bell, Jennifer Dundas, Patch Darragh, Alice Lee, Michaela Watkins, Mikey Day, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock, Kate Arrington, Utkarsh Ambudkar

Hilarious, outgoing and always up for a good time, New Yorker Brittany Forgleris everybody’s best friend — except maybe her own. At 27, her hard-partying ways, chronic underemployment and toxic relationships are catching up with her, but when she stops by a new doctor’s office to try to score some Adderall, she gets slapped with a prescription she never wanted: Get healthy. Too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Brit is at a loss, until her seemingly together neighbor Catherine pushes her to lace up her Converse sneakers and run one sweaty block. The next day, she runs two. And soon, after finishing her first mile, she sets an almost unthinkable goal: running in the New York City Marathon.

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20TH CENTRUY WOMEN (2016)

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20thcentruy

 

Written & Directed By: Mike Mills
Cinematography By: Sean Porter
Editor: Leslie Jones 


Cast: Annette Bening, Lucas Jade Zumann, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Alison Elliott, Alia Shawkat 


The story of a teenage boy, his mother, and two other women who help raise him among the love and freedom of Southern California of 1979. The film is semi-autobiographical, according to Michael Mills. The main cast members are based on one or multiple influences upon Mills from his childhood. Annette Bening’s character in particular is based partly on his mother, but with the emphasis on Bening’s particular spin on her character.

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THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999)

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straight-story-header

Directed By: David Lynch
Written By: John Roach & Mary Sweeney
Cinematography By: Freddie Francis
Editor: Mary Sweeney

Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton, Everett McGill

“The Straight Story” chronicles a trip made by 73-year-old Alvin Straight from Laurens, Iowa, to Mt. Zion, Wis., in 1994 while riding a lawn mower. The man undertook his strange journey to mend his relationship with his ill, estranged, 75-year-old brother Lyle.

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NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (2009)

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Nothingbutthetruth

Written & Directed By: Rod Lurie
Cinematography By: Alik Sakharov
Editor: Sarah Boyd

CAST: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, David Schwimmer, Alan Alda, Vera Farminga, Noah Wyle, Jamey Sheridan, Courtney B. Vance, Angela Bassett

The Film revolves around a reporter who refuses to give up her source in a story that reveals a CIA agent’s identity and is prosecuted and jailed for it. For standing up to the government and refusing to name her source. Behind bars her life falls apart as does her marriage. We also see what kind of damage it does to the ousted CIA agent’s life as she even becomes a suspect to being the anonymous source.

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JOKER (2019)

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joker1

 

Directed By: Todd Phillips
Written By: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
Based On Characters Created By: Bob Kane, Bill Finger & Jerry Robinson
Cinematography: Lawrence Sher
Editor: Jeff Groth 


Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Robert DeNiro, Brett Cullen, Francis Conroy, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp, Josh Pais, Marc Maron, Bryan Callen, Glenn Fleshler, Chris Redd, Brian Tyree Henry, April Grace 


Joker centers around an origin of the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Todd Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale. If you are looking for a comic book tale. You will be disappointed. While it doesn’t include the joker and the Wayne family as well as Gotham and arkham. It seems more tied into a psychological character study thriller. That uses all those comic book elements and storyline as a frame for it’s own ideas.

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