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Showing posts from May, 2024

Shawshank Redemption (1994)

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Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.  Written & Directed:   Frank Darabont ( The Green Mile ) Original Novel by:   Stephen King  ( Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ) Original Score:   Thomas Newman ( Scent of a Woman, The War, Meet Joe Black, WALL-E, & so much more ) Cinematographer:   Roger Deakins  ( Blade Runner 2047, Skyfall, 1917, A Beautiful Mind, and so much more ) Editor:   Richard Francis-Bruce  ( Se7en, The Green Mile ) Production Designer:  Terence Marsh  ( The Green Mile, Clear and Present Danger, Spaceballs, A Bridge Too Far ) Genre:   Drama MPAA Rating:   R, For language and prison violence Starring:        Tim Robbins   as Andy Dufresne      Morgan Freeman   as Red      Bob Gunton   as Warden Norton      Clancy Bro...

Good Will Hunting (1997)

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Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. Directed:   Gus Van Sant Writers:   Matt Damon & Ben Affleck  (The Town, The Last Duel) Original Score:   Danny Elfman  ( Spider-Man, Nightmare Before Christmas, kinda a lot ) Cinematographer:   Jean-Yves Escoffier  (Music Video for  Johnny Cash's "Hurt" ) Editor:   Pietro Scalia  ( The Martian, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Solo, Kick Ass ) Production Designer:  Missy Stewart  ( Legally Blond ) Genre:   Drama, Romance MPAA Rating:   R,  For strong language, including some sex-related dialogue Starring:        Matt Damon  as Will      Robin Williams  as Sean      Ben Affleck  as Chuckie      Stellan Skarsgård  as Professor Lambeau      Minnie Driver  as Skylar Plot One of these day...

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

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REPLICANTS  are bioengineered humans. Designed by Tyrell Corporation for use off-world. Their enhanced strength made them ideal slave labor.   After a series of violent rebellions, their manufacture became prohibited and Tyrell Corp went bankrupt.   The collapse of ecosystems in the mid 2020s led to the rise of industrialist Niander Wallace, whose mastery of synthetic farming averted famine.   Wallace acquired the remains of Tyrell corp and created a new line of replicants who obey.   Many older model replicants — Nexus 8s with open-ended lifespans — survived. They are hunted down and 'retired'.   Those that hunt them still go by the name...   BLADE RUNNER Have you ever been in an institution? Cells. Directed:   Denis Villeneuve  (Prisoners,  Arrival, Sicario, Dune & Dune: Part 2 ) Inspired by:   Philip K. Dick ( Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ) Writers:   Hampton Fancher  (Blade Runner) & Michael Green (Loga...

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (1982)

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Early in the 21st Century, THE TYRELL CORPORATION advanced robot evolution into the NEXUS phase - a being virtually identical to a human - known as a Replicant . The NEXUS 6 Replicants were superior in strength and agility, and at least equal in intelligence, to the genetic engineers who created them. Replicants were used Off-World as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. After a bloody mutiny by a NEXUS 6 combat team in an Off-World colony, Replicants were declared illegal on earth - under penalty of death. Special police squads - BLADE RUNNER UNITS - had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection, any trespassing Replicant. This was not called execution. It was called retirement. Directed:   Ridley Scott  ( The Martian, Gladiator, Alien, American Gangster, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, & so much more ) Original Novel by:   Philip K. Dick ( Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep ) Writers:   Hampton Fancher & David Peop...

Wind River (2017)

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A wildlife officer teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation. Written & Directed:   Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Yellowstone, Sicario) Original Score:   Nick Cave (Lawless, The Assassination of Jesse James, Yellowstone) & Warren Ellis (Hell or High Water, Lawless) Cinematographer:   Ben Richardson (Yellowstone) Film Editor:   Gary Roach (Invictus, American Sniper, Yellowstone) Production Designer: Neil Spisak ( Hancock, Spider-Man 1-3, Heat) Genre:   Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller MPAA Rating:  R, for strong violence, rape, disturbing images, and language Starring:        Jeremy Renner as Cory Lambert           Elizabeth Olsen as Jane Banner      Apesanahkwat as Dan Crowheart      Tantoo Cardinal as Alice Crowheart      Graham Greene as Lighthorse Officer Ben      ...

Captain Fantastic (2016)

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In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent. Written & Directed:  Matt Ross Original Score:   Alex Somers Cinematographer:   Stéphane Fontaine ( Jackie ) Editor:   Joseph Krings Production Designer: Russel Barnes ( Sweet Tooth) Genre:   Comedy, Drama MPAA Rating:   R, for language and brief graphic nudity Starring:        Viggo Mortensen as Ben Plot Captain Fantastic begins boldly in the midst of a fantasy realized; one  we all share , I imagine. Saying "Fuck this," and upending our entire lives when the trials of life become overbearing. Ben moved his entire life and family out into the wilderness, completely isolated from society. A wonderful cast of novice actors make up his very feral children, learning academics as well as surviva...