| Movie | Description (Director Year) (OC) alerts you that the movie includes "Objectionable Content". Movie Types: 1-Inspiring 2-Excellent 3-Enjoyable=> | T |
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| Absolutely Anything - A funny mix of aliens, a dog, a wimpy but nice high school teacher, and a beautiful woman makes for a delightful funny comedy. (Terry Jones 2017 Amazon Prime) | 3 | |
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A bottle in the Mediterranean leads to contact between a Palestinian and a French-Jewish teen ager. The enlightening conversation that ensues shows us that peace is a choice that breaks the chain of totally justified animosity and violence on both sides. The advice from Jesus to break the cycle of violence was "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." (Matthew 5:39). Was Jesus naive? (Thierry Binisti 2011) | 3 |
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Adam - A young man with aspergers syndrome, a psychological problem that blocks perception of emotions, encounters a neighbor and they become friends and help each other through their respective crisis. The help is successful and they both are able to cope better with their lives through their friendship. | 3 |
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Adore - The film version of this Doris Lessing short story is an amazing tour de force of beauty. A gorgeous beach house in Australia, a gorgeous two friends, their gorgeous two sons. Can one get tired of watching the mysterious presence of beauty? Is the power of beauty self-justifying? Where does beauty come from that it has such a hold on us? (Anne Fontaine 2013) (OC) | 3 |
| A Fortunate Man - Danish entry for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film in 2019. Beautiful early 20th century film about the damaged son of a fire and brimstone minister who moves to Copenhagen to study and originates a superb civil engineering project, becomes engaged to a rich woman, and everything seems to be going well for him. But in the end he has a problem overcoming his father's strict upbringing. Delightful period film based on a famous Danish novel. (2018 Bille August Netflix Streaming) | 3 | |
| After the Ball - Nice, funny Canadian modern version of Cinderella with a good plot twister added that enhances the tale, and very good actors to help the effect. Nothing but enjoyment except for the early sequences which overwork the humiliations of Cinderella. Be patient, the plot takes off after the heaviness of the rejection. (2015 Sean Garrity) | 3 | |
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Aloha - Interesting movie about a guy that abandons his Hawaian girlfriend to follow an adventure into the military in Afghanistan. His adventure turns out sour and he regrets his betrayal. But now old and cynical he is selling himself to betray the native Hawaians with a ruthless businessman. But...as part of the package is an idealistic Hawaian air force officer (Emma Stone) who is assigned to work with him and becomes his conscience. Eventually, the betrayer recovers his soul stops the business deal and protects the family of his old girlfriend in a very honorable way. Emma Stone is cast in a very difficult role to pull and does a great job on it. Inspiring movie. (Cameron Crowe 2015) |
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Amazing Grace - This is the true story of forward thinking William Wilberforce, a leader in the English Parliament who started a drive to end slavery in England. The campaign was successful. To support his case he interviewed an ex-captain of a slave ship who had turned against slavery. The captain composed the famous hymn Amazing Grace. (Michael Apted 2006) | 1 |
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America's Sweethearts - Two Hollywood stars are famous as America's Sweethearts. Only problem is she just had an affair that broke his heart and they want nothing to do with each other. But they just finished a movie together which needs to be sold...so they have to keep appearances. In the meantime, her private secretary (Julia Roberts) is attracted to the husband but would never in her wildest dream consider that he could go for her. Enjoy watching this complex comedy unravel these situations to arrive a very satisfying solution. (Joe Roth 2001) | 3 |
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And so it Goes - Michael Douglas as an impervious old rich realtor next to Diane Keaton as a sensitive night club singer who has a hard time finishing her songs because she starts crying. Each has what the other one needs but will they be able to move past their defenses to get it...a delicious dance of two actors at their peak. (Rob Reiner 2014) | 1 |
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A Night in Old Mexico - Robert Duval and a script full of unexpected turns make this movie enjoyable. A ruined old Texan headed for a retirement trailer community "does not go gentle into that good night but burns and raves at close of day and rages and rages against the dying of the light.like Dylan Thomas suggested. He takes his grandson to a Mexican border town whorehouse for a final rebellious party and the predictable movie we were afraid of becomes an unpredictable romp for the two texans and a beautiful mexican (Emilio Aragon 2013). | 3 |
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An Interview with God - Constantly intriguing dialogue between a theologically well informed interviewer and God. The interview is embedded in the journalist's complex marital situation so it keeps approaching becoming personal and retreating into professional impersonality. Eventually it lands square into the personal, which one would expect from a contact with God. Superb treatment of a tricky subject. (2018 Perry Lang; Netflix) |
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A Prairie Home Companion - A winsome last show of the program "A Prairie Home Companion" created by Garrison Keillor, is re-enacted in this comedy which has all the character of the show, including Garrison Keillor who plays himself with the added bonus that there are many famous actors in the cast who do a beautiful job or rendering the atmosphere of the beloved radio program. (Rober Altman 2006) | 2 |
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Aqui Entre Nos (Here Between Us) - A sophisticated comedy from a talented Mexican lady director. The upper middle class Guerra family in Mexico City navigates the raising of three lovely daughters while working out the middle-age conflicts of the parents: an overworked architect and a charming mother. The comic timing is precise and before long we are rooting for them all as they unravel their mid-life crisises. Charming and quite polished. (Patricia Martinez de Velasco 2012) | 3 |
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Arbitrage - Corruption is the subject. Money is everything. The beautiful WASP family, the business they own, the patriarch who does a high wire act to get away with fraud. When he needs to be saved, he calls on the only person he knows is not corrupt - a young black kid. (Nicholas Jarecki 2012) |
3 |
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Arranged - An Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman, meet and discover they are both facing arranged marriages. They become friends, help each other navigate their families' mistakes and make sense of it all. (Stefan Schaefer, Diane Crespo 2007) | 1 |
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A Shine of Rainbows - An ostracized orphan finds his colorless life transformed after spirited Maire adopts him and instills him with confidence and magic in this inspirational tale, set in heavenly Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland. (Vic Sarin 2009) | 1 |
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As it is in Heaven - Internationally famous conductor Daniel retires to a small town and helps in the Holy Spirit’s transformation of the church’s choir. His dream to “create music that opens people’s hearts” becomes a reality in a very unusual way, and we experience what “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” might mean. A jewel of a film which you will not easily forget. (Kay Pollak 2005) |
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A Summer in Genoa - On a playful winter ride a mother and her two daughters play a game of guessing the color of a car approaching while either of the sisters covers the others eyes. The teen ager guesses right every time. In the excitement of the game the very young one ask her mother to guess while she covers her eyes from the back seat causing a fatal accident where the mother is killed. The older daughter never tells what happened but she never forgives her sister. To deal with their grief the father and the two daughters go for a year in Genoa, Italy. In the streets of Genoa, the older sister who has spiritual powers unconsciously begins making the image of the mother appear for the younger sister. The disturbing element is that this image of the mother lures the younger sister into situations that endanger her - as if the older daughter wanted to kill the younger one. (Michael Winterbottom 2008) | 3 |
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A True Story - A trite story of a scriptwriter facing the Hollywood movie industry monster and getting chewed to pulp? Wait, this is different!, this true story has two scriptwriter friends and... strange thing, the odds are now more even. The monster fumes and spits but the friends hold. Throw in a false girlfriend to pull the carpet from under one of the friends, but the friends again together manage to hold. An engaging celebration of the power of friendship against the stinking odds of life. And yes, talent and confidence help too... a lot. Excellent scriptwriting and acting, great comic timing, sharp directing and cutting and "simpatico" characters - a delight to watch. Do not let the initial somewhat slow sequences put you off - this movie delivers. Modern expletives might offend an older audience but are essential to the realism of the environment. (Malcolm Goodwin 2013) | 2 |
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Australia - A tale where an upper class gutsy British lady is forced to take over a remote ranch in the middle of Australia in the 1930's. She has a flaming love affair and some epic adventures during a cattle drive and during the Japanese attack of Darwin in WWII. Central to the story is her successful defense of her aboriginal servants against the prejudices of white Australians. The only negative is the technique of using a few misleading false hints to increase the suspense. | 3 |
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A Walk in the Clouds - A grand old story of love, work and a Napa family wine estate. After World War II, Paul (Keanu Reeves) returns to San Francisco and his prior life. But twists of destiny send him on his way to the Napa wine estate of Anthony Quinn where he finds a meaningful life in the making of wine. A delightful, feel-good movie. (Alfonso Arau 1995) | 1 |
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Bad Words - An intriguing mystery movie where an adult enters a spelling bee championship with a secret agenda which is only revealed towards the end. The joy of the movie is his relationship with a charming 12 year old Hindu child with whom he competes for the championship. | 3 |
| Barefoot - An incredible love story where actors, director, and writer manage to make work a plot in which the black sheep of a rich family boasts to his estranged parents that he is an administrator at a mental hospital and he has a girlfriend. The truth is he works as a janitor at the mental hospital and is about to be killed by debt collectors. His parents invite him to his brothers wedding and ask him to bring his girlfriend, which on impulse he agrees to. No woman who knows him wants to go anywhere with him. However, a young mental patient is ready to go with him. Out of this crazy plot, they are able to make a beautiful love story - do not miss it. (Andrew Fleming 2014 Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Beautiful Creatures - The most delightful story with Jeremy Irons and an unforgettable Emma Thompson playing a warlock and a witch. Deep South Carolina, a Civil War love story continued by modern descendants, forces of evil and good possesing the world ...we must not let either win. A surprise at every turn. (Richard LaGravenese2013) |
2 |
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Because I said so - A Diane Keaton delight where she shows her gift for comedy. Some excessive silliness towards the beginning does not last long. The story of a mother of several daughters who is working on getting a man for the one who is too honest to catch one. Discussions of female orgasm might offend some. | 3 |
| The Beautiful Fantastic - A magical interlude that shows only the part of reality we live for. An abandoned baby girl left in a park in a box is kept warm by ducks who sit on her to keep her warm. Life is created by a beneficent spirit who protects the abandoned parts of us. The ducks are replaced by friendly men that support the grown up Bella in her dream of writing children stories. The Beautiful Fantastic story is charmingly satisfying in giving us the spiritually attractive parts of life and love. The movie shows the charm of a single-voice director who understands what he wants to say and says it without a committee to double guess him. Delightful. (2017 Simon Aboud - Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Beauty Shop - Queen Latifah is at her most charming in this comedy where she opens her own beauty shop. (Billie Woodruff 2005) | 3 |
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Big Sur - Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy, the buddies from the best seller "On the Road" as they continue their unusual lives of exploration of the outer boundaries of human life and friendship. A brilliant adaptation of Jack Kerouac's 1962 book Big Sur. Hard to believe that such a difficult book of the deterioration of a life could be made so interesting to watch. (Michael Polish 2013) | 3 |
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BOND, JAMES - Golden Eye - Pierce Brosnan investigates the destruction of a Russian satellite weapons base. Classic Bond suspense. (Martin Campbell 1995) | 3 |
| The Bookshop - Strangely, these story’s
failures are the tools intended by the director to make one reflect. This
is a disturbing way to wo-manhandle a story but it works. The key statement
is made by the sad Mr. Brundish while commenting on trying to sell Lolita
to a town of non-readers: “they will not understand it but that is
not bad; understanding makes the mind lazy.” Another loose comment
heard in the movie hints that the failures of this world help one focus
on what exists outside of it. A haunting 1950’s small town in the
English coast serves as palliative scene for the disturbing struggle between
a widow’s enjoyment of her bookshop and the rich lady intent on acquiring
it. (Isabel Coixet 2017 Source: Public Library) |
3 | |
| Boynton Beach Club - Several elderly residents in a Florida retirement community awkwardly rejoin the dating life after their partners pass away. This sweet movie, using great tact from a woman director, explores the human side of starting late new relationships with several well written parts and good actors. (Susan Seidelman 2005) | 3 | |
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Bread and Tulips - Rosalba gets left behind while on a boring bus tour and decides to reach for her dream and visit Venice. She finds all that she has been missing by avoiding adventure and settling for a conventional life. A wonderful movie about the perils of being conservative and the rewards of just daring to follow our heart. (Silvio Soldini 2000) | 1 |
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Bride and Prejudice - A most delightful Indian Bollywood ("Bombay-Hollywood") re-work of the Pride and Prejudice classic. (2004) |
2 |
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Burn after Reading - The Coen brothers had written a comic script about the obsessions of the intelligence community and the obsessions of the gymn crowd in Washington. And suddenly they found that all their favorite actors had a free slot at a convenient time and could not resist doing the film. It appears like a challenge to see which excellent actor can play really dumb characters with more gusto. This is a delightful comedy with the reservation that a dildo has a short appearance which might offend some. (Coen brothers 2008) | 2 |
| Captain Fantastic - Conservative author James Dobson teaches that it is the duty of a father to discipline his children not to do bad even using punishment when needed. This movie shows a strict father that trains his 7 children to always do good, by being a role-model on how to survive in the wilderness where they live, and by home schooling them to be more advanced than with conventional schools. Raising children is always where our ideologies are tested and this movie does a good job of balancing the pros and cons of a strict father method. In the end the father is saved by his children who internalze his impartial honesty in confronting problems well enough to show him where he failed. (Matt Ross 2016) | 3 | |
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Carol's Journey - Carol is a 12 year old whose New York parents split and she is forced to go with her mother to Spain at the beginning of the Civil War in the 1930's. She makes up for missing her beloved father by opening to a nice grandfather and a charming boy. An interesting view of the time and a touching film. (Imanol Uribe 2004) | 3 |
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Casanova - A great director tackles the old Venetian classic and creates a sensational story that is full of life and attraction. Do not miss it. (Lasse Hallstrom 2005) | 2 |
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Charlie Chaplin-The Forgotten Years - Chaplin left the US in 1952 and lived his life in Switzerland until his death in 1977. This documentary records his life during those years. a fascinating film. (Felice Zenoni, Beat Hirt 2003) | 3 |
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Cherry Blossoms - In this German movie, the deaths of an older couple are presented in a story that achieves the incredible feat of letting us see through to the mystery behind life by using Japanese powerfully expressive butoh dance against the background of ghostly Mount Fuji. The mountain can only can be seen when rare atmospheric conditions prevail. Butoh is a very modern but ancient-looking japanese dance style that was developed by two brilliant dancers after World War II. Its performance with whitened faces can suggest the mystery of feelings that can survive death, feelings that are as fragile as cherry blossoms or as sacred as Mount Fuji. A surprisingly moving exploration of life. (Doris Dorrie 2008) | 3 |
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Citizen X - The strange true story of a serial murderer in the USSR. The interesting investigation proceeds up to a point where the soviet bureaucracy gums up the works. It then ends in a surprise.. (Chris Gerolmo 1995) | 3 |
| City Island - Andy Garcia plays a prison guard in the Bronx with a several unusual but harmless secrets that he has kept from his family for fear of consequences. The other members of the family sense something is amiss and imagine the worse. The snowball effect of their suspicions create a final unexpected climax where in one scene all the problems are resolved into a well crafted satisfying happy ending. The plot lines are very artfully managed and keep ones interest to the end. (Raymond de Felitta 2010 Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Clash of Titans - Magnificent version of the Greek myth of Perseus and the Medussa with top actors and the most incredible special effects that make even Pegasus, the flying horse, seem as real as any flying bird. (Louis Leterrier 2010) |
3 |
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Crimson Tide - In the middle an international crisis, a US nuclear submarine, receives orders to attack Russia with atomic bombs, and then loses radio contact with the Pentagon. The captain Gene Hackman and the operations chief Denzel Washington disagree about sending the missiles without a second confirming message. The tense duel of these two at the command of the submarine is suspenseful and fascinating. A classic movie - do not miss it. | 1 |
| Cross Creek - In 1928 a elite journalist from New York who is distracted by her exciting life from concentrating on her literary ambition, buys a remote orange grove in Cross Creek, Florida, where she will surely have no distractions from her work and get a chance to become a great American novelist. This endearing movie is the story of the vocation of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings who eventually succeeded in writing a successful story in the lonely swamps of Central Florida. Mary Steenburgen played Rawlings and worked with a great cast and made the movie easy to like. (1983 Martin Ritt, Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Dallas Buyers Club - A fascinating look at the life of a high IQ rodeo cowboy/con man who unexpectedly gets AIDS, His wits enable him to work around a medical official establishment that does not have his best interest at heart. The star won a deserved Oscar for best actor for this role. The picture at left shows the amazing transformation of star McConaughey from large muscle man cowboy to skinny AID's patient that he played in this movie. (Jean-Marc Vallee 2013) | 3 |
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Darling Companion - Except for the unfortunate title that suggests a tragic pet death (not true), this is a delightful marriage comedy between Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. (Lawrence Kasdan 2012) | 3 |
| Death at a Funeral - Very funny British comedy that takes place at the funeral of the father of the family. (Frank Oz 2007 Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
| Definitely, maybe - A romantic comedy told from the point of view of a grade school girl trying to find out who her mother was among three possible girlfriends her father dated. The girl forces her father to tell her the story of all his dating and we get to see it at the same time. Interesting stories and well done so up until the very end we do not know who the mother of the girl is. (Netflix 2008 Adam Brooks) | 2 | |
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Diplomacy - German General von Choltitz was in charge of destroying Paris when the Allies approached in 1944. The Swedish Consul Nordling comes calling to convince Choltlitz to not do it. A fascinating episode of diplomacy from World War II where the arguments for the best in human nature are stacked against the worst in human nature. The two actors playing both side and the dialogue is totally convincing - we are at a crucial crossroads of history, where two huge men debate the fate of Paris. (Volker Schlondorff 2014) | 1 |
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Dolores Clairborne - Kathy Bates gives an emotional performance as a mother accused of murder in a remote location in Maine. Her daughter tries to understand and eventually find the ancient mysteries hidden in her mother's life. (Taylor Hackford 1995) | 2 |
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Downfall - After the end of WWII Stalin ordered the fate of Hitler kept secret partly to prevent Germans from making a shrine of his burial place in the German Chancellery. The shrouding kept Hitler's final fate a mystery outside of Russian intelligence services for several decades. Little by little tales of his death reached the west in pieces until in 1989 Traudi Junge, Hitler's young secretary, completed a process of gradual acceptance of what her old boss had been responsible for and issued detailed memories of life in Hitler's bunker in the last days before the Soviet overrun. These memories became the basis for this German film about Hitler's last days. A strong and dark view of insanity. (Oliver Hirschbiegel 2004) | 3 |
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Drumline - A Harlem drum wizard enrolls in a Southern University expecting to really rock their marching band. He is surprised by the band's administration resistance to his brilliant unconventional drumming which could win them the best band trophy in nationwide competition. After many trials he learns to work through the problems in a very well made delightful and satisfying story. (Charles Stone III 2002) | 2 |
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Elsa & Fred - "If a man does not have the vitality of youth he should lie down and wait for death" says Christopher Plummer. Shirley McLaine begs to disagree and convinces him otherwise. Need we say more? Superb actors, engaging story, not to be missed. (Michael Radford 2014) | 1 |
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Elysium - A South African director of science fiction movies creates and allegory of a large american city where the privileged extract themselves into an ideal space station and leave all the poverty and crime behind. Matt Damon and Sigorney Weaver give weight to this well executed metaphor. | 3 |
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Emma - The classic Jane Austen novel played by charming Gyneth Paltrow. Emma enjoys amateur matchmaking in early 1800's England. One match confirms her guess and encourages her to try to do more. We watch only to find out that matchmaking is a deifficult art. (Douglas McGrath 1996) | 2 |
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Emperor - General Douglas MacArthur must transform mortal enemy Japan into Japan the ally. The task appears impossible after the blanket bombing raids of the last days of the war and two atomic bombs. And it is impossible. MacArthur musters all his intelligence and heart to try to change the odds with the help of an american general who loves and understands Japan. Very inspiring to see Americans behaving so honorably. (Peter Webber 2012) | 1 |
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Enough Said - A delightful comedy where a couple made up of Gandolfini (of Tony Soprano fame), a bull of a man, plays a light touched butterfly, and Dreyfus (Seinfeld's Elaine) a tiny little fairy of a woman, plays a bull in a china shop. These two refined actors manage to make their characters delighfully believable under the very fresh direction of Holofcener. Enjoy! (Nicole Holofcener 2013) | 3 |
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Evelyn - Pierce Brosnan is a single father
trying to take care of his three children. Evelyn, the eldest, easily
wins our hearts. Legal case and love story set in old-time Ireland. Adding
to the attraction, Alan Bates, Aidan Quinn, and Stephen Rea complete the
excellent cast. . (Bruce Beresford 2002) |
2 |
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Fados - After centuries of purifying the essence of life into music and song, Portugal arrived at the fado, song and music that uncovers what God felt after He created humans and called it good. It is impossible to describe until you feel the energy of these songbirds who pour themselves into tears and melancholy until nothing is left to be known - you know the beauty of the world alive, pulsating, life soft and red found at a crossroads in the lonely night when you follow the sound in the distance and in the darkness you find yourself uncovered by the singer in all your gorgeous tenderness. (Carlos Saura 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3W_vVMUroI) | 1 |
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Finding Forrester - A high school jock runs into a reclusive famous author (Sean Connery). The author is impressed with the potential of the youngster and mentors him in writing. The younster in turn gives the burnt out author his enthusiasm. (Gus Van Sant 2000) | 2 |
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Friends with Children - In this romantic comedy, three couples are best friends in New York. Two couples marry and have kids. The third couple who are best friends but not lovers are appalled at how the children make their friends funny crazy by their demands. They decide to avoid the problem by having a child together but avoiding marriage and continue to date other people. The ploy seems to work for a while but soon their feelings are hurt and the project unravels. Good acting with great comic timing. (Jennifer Westfeldt 2011) |
2 |
| Founder - A powerful story about the value of a businessman's handshake or the morality tale of how the creation of honest fast food by the McDonald brothers in California became the dishonest multi billion dollar franchise McDonalds is today. Michael Keaton creates the unforgettable character of driven businessman Ray Kroc the con, who manages to con everybody in the country. A fascinating movie about the transformation of an obsessed con into a Kroc. (John Lee Hancock 2016) | 1 | |
| Fugitive Pieces – A beautiful exploration of how a Jewish boy who tragically lost his family in WWII is healed by life through the kindness of a Greek professor who rescues him and teaches him that when depression comes writing poetry about our pain can help. Dreadful dreams of his lost sister Bella haunt him. As an adult many years later in a dream Bella tells him the old Greek saying that "the mystery of wood is not that it burns but that it floats" - humans can be destroyed but there is hope: their spirit can live on.. In a dream Bella tells him to expect salvation. He meets a woman, falls in love and is able to hope for the new life a child will bring him - they will name it Bella! A miracle... (Canadian - Jeremy Podeswa 2007) | 1 | |
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Fury - Some of the last surviving tank crews from WWII taught 5 actors what the extreme life of war in a tank was like. The five talented actors faithfully reproduce the suffering and heroism of subordinating everything to one's duty and drive for survival. Brad Pitt gives a masterful performance as tank commander. (David Ayer 2014) | 2 |
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Gandhi - One evening in Richard Attenborough's India home his friend Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) comes to visit, we are introduced, and we share tea and memories with them. The two friends tell us of the long struggle to make India and England recognize how much they loved each other. How the struggle of Gandhi culminated in 1948 when India became independent by mutual consent with England. If you had been in India at that time, you would not have been able to be this close to the man and the events. This is the best that movies can do - make you live the life from the inside. A classic, not to be missed. (Richard Attenborough 1982) | 1 |
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Get Low - A must see with Robert Duval as a tormented old man at the moment of redemption and Bill Murray as his enabler who surprises you every second with slight changes of expression. Stupendous acting keeps you on the hook and struggling until they fish you out of the creek and bag you in a grand finale worth all the excitement of the struggle. (Aaron Schneider 2009) | 3 |
| Get Out - An incredibly engaging horror movie that explores white people's discomfort about blacks while at the same time being very original and entertaining (Jordan Peele 2017) | ||
| Gifted - Wonderful story about a man trying to keep his word to his deceased sister about how to raise her daughter after she dies. The twists and turns of the story are fascinating with surprises at every turn. Not to be missed. (Mark Webb 2018) | 1 | |
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Greenfingers - English farce with prisoners becoming gardeners and ensnaring beautiful young genteel women while their mother (Helen Mirren) worries. (Joel Hershman 2000) | 3 |
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Gridiron Gang - Inspirational movie about how Dwayne Johnson, the "rock", creates a successful football team to get prisoners to believe in themselves. (Phil Joanou 2006) | 3 |
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Hachi, A Dog;s Story - A superb illumination of the spiritual dimension of beings through the story of a man and his loyal dog. It is hard to imagine a better way to express how humans and dogs make the living image of God shine and illuminate the whole of the earth.. Moviemaking does not get better than this. (Lasse Hallstrom 2009) | 1 |
| Hell or High Water - Two Texas rangers after two bank robbers. This simple plot is a vehicle to explore the poor American male's deadly addiction to violence as the only escape from a life of endless put downs in the drab landscape of West Texas. (David McKenzie 2016) | 1 | |
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Her - Theodore, heartbroken by the end of a relationship, purchases a program that generates a female character called Samantha. The program allows Samantha to learn based on her experiences and the access to millions of records of information on the internet. Pretty soon Samantha has learned at a vertiginous rate how to be a woman in love with Theodore and an intimate relationship develops. The script is very well written to give reality to Samantha as she interacts with Theodore. It won an Oscar. | 3 |
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Hope Springs - Merryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones give a superb acting performance as a conventional accountant and his conventional stay-at-home wife who have let the years drift them apart at home. She wants more and she forces him into a trip to a marriage counselor. The ensuing x-ray of their marriage is shocking and humorous but they make it so real that we all recognize syndromes of our own relationships even in their extreme portrait of marital isolation. A warm and engaging film. (David Frankel 2012) | 3 |
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House of D - An American artist living in Paris experiences unresolved flashbacks of his childhood in the streets of New York. He remembers the liberation from his routine life that he felt when a retarded delivery man (Robin Williams) would take him in his trycicle to make deliveries. There are more secrets uncovered in these memories. (David Duchovny 2004) | 3 |
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Hysteria - In Victorian England, when wealthy women suffered depressions of indeterminate cause they were diagnosed as suffering from "hysteria". A reputable doctor experiments with manipulation of sexual organs to produce "paroxysms" that seem to cure the problem. Afflicted with carpal tunnel syndrome the doctor tests an electric vibrator to achieve the cures without harming his hand. This is the true story of the invention of the electric vibrator by a Victorian doctor. There is a parallel story of charity, social justice, and also a delightful love story. If you can handle explicit statements about female sexuality you will find this movie endearing and amusing. Otherwise best to not to go there... (Tanya Wexler 2011) | 3 |
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Ida - An earthshaking comparison of the life of the world and the life of the spirit. Ida, a catholic novice about to make her last vows, finds out she is really jewish, and her only relative is an aunt that has been a brilliant communist state prosecutor in Poland and is still an influential judge. The mother superior orders Ida to go spend some time with her aunt Wanda before she makes her final vows. The comparison of their lives is the occassion for a meditation on the depth of the religious life versus the secular life. A jewel of a film. Gorgeous moving making that illuminates the depth of our lives. (Pawel Pawlikowsky 2014) | 1 |
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Ides of March - Julius Caesar was assasinated in the middle of the month of March (the "ides of March"). This is an exciting political thriller giving a flavor of presidential candidacy primary maneuvering. Primaries used to be a good elimination process to arrive at the best party candidates. This worked until deep pocket investors found that they could manipulate primaries much easier than elections. Now they are just one more tool of the powerful to control democracy on behalf of their interests. This thriller shows how alliances are made and broken during an exciting state primary. While entertained watching a fictional democratic party primary one learns the darker currents of american politics. (George Clooney 2011) | 3 |
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In her Shoes - Two sisters grow up in different paths, one serious, the other irresponsible. This movie shows the point at which they have to stop avoiding each other and work out their relationship. Their grandmother whom they did not know, Shirley MacLaine, engineers their reconsiliationr future life as sisters. Pleasant watch. (Curtis Hanson 2005) | 3 |
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Interstellar - A modern 2001 Space Odyssey pulled off very elegantly. Lots of suspense, intricate plot, top actors McCouneghy, Matt Damon, Michael Caine. Worth your time. | 3 |
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In the Land of Women - A nice guy gets his heart broken and finds out that there are many women in his life that can help him. His mother tells him "women are attracted to you - you will do fine." He cooks for his granma, befriends a neighbor's wife and her daughters, a teenage and a delightfully precocius little girl, and finds they can all help him... and he can help them. A wonderful movie about how friendship between men and women can make our lives great. | 1 |
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Invictus - South African Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years in 1990 and became President of a deeply divided country in 1994. He started to heal the split by convincing the blacks to support the white rugby team of the Afrikaners and by inspiring the team to win the 1996 Rugby World Cup against great odds. Mandela showed that it is possible to achieve instances of re-unification in spite of 50 years of venomous racial hatred. This movie shows how to do it... (Clint Eastwood 2009) |
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Jack Reacher - An extraordinary suspense movie where a complex crime is presented so brilliantly one can follow each of many exciting developments with great clarity. An ex army sniper kills an unconnected group of individuals with great accuracy and is on his way to hang. But somebody who does not like him notices some loose ends and wants to set things straight. By the end we have even met Robert Duvall in a superb cameo role as a likeable old codger...and enjoyed every second of it. (Christopher McQuarrie 2012) | 2 |
| Joshua - is a stranger that shows up in the small town of Auburn and without being asked starts rebuilding a demolished Baptist Church. The Church's parishioners hear about it, come and challenge him. He reassures them that he is not interested in destroying the remaining ruin but rather rebuilding the church. Soon this turns into a community project that binds the people together. This pattern repeats when he meets other challengers. He seems to see past gruff manners and perceive in everybody a desire to love and help others. Once he recognizes this innate instinct, detractors seem relieved and begin to enjoy their own loving nature. This delightful movie will help you perceive the world differently. Strangely, it got 22% in Rotten Tomatoes, but 92% of viewers in Amazon liked it... . Somebody in Rotten Tomatoes is out of touch? (2002 Jon Purdy Amazon Prime) | 1 | |
| Joy - As children many of us were recognized as having a special talent. Then life happened and we were squeezed to fit into a box that allowed us a conventional way to pay the bills. Our talent was forgotten and we only remembered it when alone in our rooms that sense of being unfaithful to life crept up on us. The talent is still there but the courage required to pusue it has to be inmense to overcome all the obstacles that the world, our family, even our friends will put in front of us. This is the true story of a woman who succeeded at this most challenging of life's ordeals. Unforgettable. (David O. Russell 2015) | 1 | |
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Just like a Woman - A sweet Thelma and Louise theme between two beautiful young women with troubles at home who escape into a road trip from Chicago to Santa Fe. Adifficult movie to make that turns into a charming song to friendship. (Rachid Bouchareb 2012) |
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| Knight of Cups - Terrence Malick, the current Fellini of Hollywood, shoots another film where all his actors are delighted to not have to act (check out the special features). The orienting thread quoted at the very beginning: "The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream" sets the stage. If you watch it as how we move through life from birth to death and beyond not knowing well what the spiritual meaning of our experience might be, you might have a satisfactory viewing of this very special film. Insofar as it is very difficult to show the life of our souls, one must grant that this movie does succeed at approximating that difficult goal. The Knight of Cups is a Tarot card of a knight with armour of fish, symbol of water for creativity and imagination, and on a white horse, white being symbol of spirituality. (Terrence Malick 2015) | 3 | |
| A Knight's Tale - Very loosely based on the section of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales of the same title, this movie full of originality about a daring commoner passing himself off as a jousting nobleman in the 1300's is fun to watch. Usually attempts to bring to the movies the famous early middle ages tales from Bocaccio or Chaucer run into problems when they try to present the crass sensibilities of those times to a modern audience. This movie avoids the problem by presenting the crass features blended into a more modern style. It works better to give us a view of the originality of those early plays without losing us with too much rawness. Fun to watch. (2001 Brian Helgeland) | 3 | |
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Ladies in Lavender - The ladies are Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. In his review in the New York Times, Stephen Holden said: " This amiably far-fetched film... heralds the return of the Comfy Movie (increasingly rare nowadays), the cinematic equivalent of a visit from a cherished but increasingly dithery maiden aunt. In this fading, sentimental genre peopled with grandes dames (usually English) making "grande" pronouncements, the world revolves around tea, gardening and misty watercolor memories." A pleasure for those of us who love "Comfy" movies. (Charles Dance 2004) | 2 |
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Lagaan - The power of nobility over small-mindedness is demonstrated by Indian villagers in the 1800's when they are forced into a capricious bet by a pompous British military officer. The Indian peasant leader overcomes the odds by behaving always correctly. This behavior wins the heart of his Indian fiancee, and inadvertenly also of the British officer's sister, and ultimately also our hearts. A pleasure to watch and you also learn quite a lot about the game of crickett. (Ashutosh Gowariker 2001) |
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| Lars and the Real Girl - A shy guy loves an inflatable doll...and wins our heart in the process. An unusual movie. | 3 | |
| Last Chance Harvey - Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson in a delightful love story. The movie gets going about a fourth of the way and never quits from there, so be patient. | 2 | |
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Last Love - Michael Caine is a retired widowed Princeton philosophy professor who meets a young french woman in her prime in Paris and begins to remember the taste of life. A moving quiet film about the sweetness of life and the pain of death. (Sandra Netelbeck 2013) | 3 |
| Late Night - Emma Thompson is fun to watch as a successful Late Night show hostess who has overstayed her welcome and is about to lose her job. She shows very believably the sharp mind and huge ego that made her a success, but also lulled her into being out of touch with a younger generation. Mindy Kaling wrote the perceptive screenplay and also starts opposite Emma as the Indian scriptwriter trying to make it in the TV world. (2019 Nisha Ganatra, Amazon movie) | 3 | |
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La Vie en Rose - The life of French singer Edith Piaf from her childhood in a Normandie whorehouse to her becoming the most loved french singer of the 40's and 50's and forever... A difficult life that never ceased from being a struggle in spite of fame and fortune. Good acting that captures the tragedy and success of a very gifted woman. | 3 |
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L.B.J. The Early Years - A portrait of this surprisingly colorful and interesting US President. (Peter Werner 1987) | 3 |
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Leap Year - A romantic comedy that after battling sloppy lines at the beginning rewards you with the charm of the main couple which comes through after the initial ill conceived situations. A road movie on our way from a tiny town on the coast of Ireland to Dublin.The beauty of the Irish countryside helps a lot .(Anand Tucker 2010) | 3 |
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Liberal Arts - Kenyon College, Ohio, one of the best liberal arts schools in the U.S. and its beautiful campus, is the most appropriate setting for this delightful romantic story. The movie gives us a very good feel for the value and the pitfalls of a liberal arts education while acquainting us with several most interesting characters. (Josh Radnor 2012) | 1 |
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Lincoln - Lincoln's life is defined by his greatest achievement, the brilliant engineering of the passage by the House of Representatives of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution so that slavery could not be reinstated after the Civil War by southern states that would fight for it after being reincorporated in the Union. A fascinating historical film that makes you live the momentous events of the end of the Civil War. The details are so convincing one feels transported to that era and will forever keep a memory of the great man Lincoln in action. Steven Spielberg 2012) | 2 |
| Little Italy - The eternally interesting plot of Romeo and Juliet descends in the Little Italy neighborhood of a city. Two close friends make the best pizza in town. They have a fierce fight and never speak to each other again. Their families continue to be close but have to hide their interactions from the leaders of their families. After many unexpected turns the members of the families force the alpha males to stop fighting. Very well written lines help a lot to keep the plot moving and agile. Delightful feel good movie. (Amazon Prime 2018 Canada) |
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Letters to Juliet - This enchanting 2010 spin on Romeo and Juliet has Vanessa Redgrave in Verona and surrounding countryside searching for a love lost 50 years earlier (Gary Winick 2010) | 3 |
| Local Color - The true story of George Gallo, the director/writer of this film. When he was an aspiring 18 year old painter he was able to convince George Cherepov, a retired famous Russian impressionist to help him with his paintings. Gallo's dialogs about art between those two characters, are the most fascinating learning experience on the nature of art by an expert in both movie-making and art. An so are the movie frames of the countryside which are used within the movie to illustrate the power of visual images and composition. Local Color is a term used in the film to mean the true color of a scene without any of the disturbances from reflections, shadows, etc. In this source the artist can find power.(George Gallo 2006) | 1 | |
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Lord of War - Nicholas Cage plays a ukranian immigrant who takes a chance to become an arms dealer as an escape from his dead end life. Slowly he begins to see that there are hidden costs to his new job. A thoughtful view of the moral implications of our acts. (Andrew Niccol 2005) | 3 |
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Lucky Numbers - John Travolta is a fast operator whose snowmobile dealership tanks. To get money to bail himself out he creates a scheme to rig the state lotto with the help of a ditzy lady clerk that works at the lotto office. The usual entertaining atmosphere of Nora Ephron movies. (Nora Ephron 2000) | 3 |
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Each element of 1950's South African Apartheid is represented by a member of a family. Apartheid itself is the racist crippled white father whom the mother, who represents the "mother-country" misguidedly forces on her adolescent son who represents the white population. The boy, who loves his dignified black servant as a surrogate father, and with whom he envisions a world where leaders guide us into a true unity of all races, experiences a crisis of conscience in having to chose between his racist father and his wise servant. He lashes out in frustrated adolescent angst and uses his father's racist jokes to humiliate the servant.. Showing how Apartheid leads to adolescent crisis of conscience in healthy individuals is a fascinating insight (Lonny Price 2010) | 2 |
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Michael Clayton - A George Clooney criminal corporation thriller with a priceless final scene of redress. Interesting cat and mouse plot integrated with personal financial troubles. (Tony Gilroy 2007) | 3 |
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Mid-August Lunch - Gianni needs cash and takes the only way out. Several people will pay him to cook and serve a lunch for their elderly relatives that they cannot accomodate. Gianni serves them and listens to their unconventional views during this protracted lunch. An interesting look at Italian culture. (Gianni di Gregorio 2008) | 3 |
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Mrs. Dalloway - Clarisse Dalloway carefully prepares a formal party for many important guests. As the preparations progress we begin to see that her character is suffering from unresolved emotions. In marrying a safe and wealthy man, she repressed her feelings for another suitor who was not as solid a match but whom she loved more. This inauthenticity haunts her because she realizes she took the easy road and sacrificed her true feelings. This is a work by Virginia Wolf and Vanessa Redgrave does it honor. (Marleen Gorris 1997) | 2 |
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Mrs. Henderson Presents - Judi Dench plays an aristocratic lady who becomes a widow in London during the 1940's. To give herself something to do she purchases a theater. When the theater begins failing, she suggests to her stage manager to introduce nude ladies. She gets permission to do it in the very proper London of the 1940's as long as she keeps to one inviolable condition. A delightful tale that happens to be based on a true story. .(Stephen Frears 2005) | 2 |
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Mud - An exploration of father son relationships on the banks of the Mississippi where men are real men and women are even tougher.. A 13 year old experimenting with girls, finds a mysterious runaway who needs his help. There is a story of a shooting for love that has the stranger on the run. The brave kid resonate with love problems and decides to help. A rapport develops between the courageous kid and the stranger but the stranger's father wants nothing to do with the fugitive. The suspenseful adventures that follow willl keep you on the edge of your seat while you enjoy the beautiful background of Ol' Man River. (Jeff Nichols 2012). | 3 |
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Music and Lyrics - Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore in a romantic movie where delightful comic timing works like magic. He is an old singer playing his old hits in amusement parks. She is a plant caretaker with a talent for songwriting. Fate gets them into some very funny times together. (Marc Lawrence 2007) | 3 |
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Music from the Inside Out: - Do you think you might have as much joy in your work as a gifted musician would? Find out as this movie follows the musicians of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra in their fascinating private lives (Daniel Anker 2004) | 1 |
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My House in Umbria - We are told He associated with sinners but we don't get a real sense of who they are. Maggie Smith is a sinner with a house in Umbria and her story shines with the beauty Jesus saw in sinners. (Richard Loncraine 2003) |
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Nebraska - The real lives of American country people are explored in a very entertaining simple story. An old man wins a million dollars and his son helps him make a trip to collect it. In the process he becomes his father's friend and is surprised to discover how much he has inherited of his father's goodness and toughness of character. A very realistic and touching tribute to the hard life of American country people.(Alexander Payne 2013) | 1 |
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Neverwas - An alternate reality provides a kingdom for escapees from humdrum life.. A boy grows up haunted by this kingdom created by his father for him before dissappearing into mental illness. The boy grows up and has to find the lost kingdom where his father dissappeared. A fascinating story on the edge between fantasy and reality, that shows how at our best we can reach the favor of the gods when we follow our inspiration for honoring the free and the good. (Joshua Michael Stern 2005) | 3 |
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New in Town - Renee Zellweger plays a lady management consultant who is sent to a Minnesota town to close the local plant and ends up finding the locals have much to teach her. A nice comedy with inspirirng wisdom. (Jonas Elmer 2009) | 1 |
| Our Souls at Night - Robert Redford and Jane Fonda give us superb performances in a very sensitive movie about two older widowed small town people that due to the very creative initiative of the woman begin talking to each other daily in the most delightful friendship. We are drawn into their conversation as we experience full older lives as they should be as opposed to a condemnation to isolated, lonely survival. | 1 | |
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Papadopoulos & Sons - A charming small British movie about the relationship between two Greek brothers. One is a successful but cold businessman and the other an unsuccessful warm happy man. If you like Greek music you will love it, otherwise you should still like it. One interesting scene between the brothers includes step 5 of AA's 12 steps program (Markus Markou 2012) |
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Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding - Jane Fonda plays an epic hippie grandmother with great verve, a lively script, and superb impact. She still lives in Woodstock, the town whose name is a symbol for the climax of the hippie flower movement of the 60's because for three marvelous days half a million hippies were able to live in peace and harmony. You might find yourself trying to justify the imprisonments of your life, the truth is so well integrated with nice sight gags about hippie life. Entertaining and amusing. (Bruce Beresford 2011) | 3 |
| Photograph - A very patient slow detailed immersion into Indian class differences between a poor village emigrant to Mumbai and the rich Mumbai daughter of a burgeois family who is a star accounting student. Both are pure good sweet people who meet and help each other while having to keep their acquaintance secret because their worlds are incompatible. The movie becomes a "photograph" where the two worlds are made to exist briefly side by side showing their differences. If you are interested in class distinctions in India you will find this movie worthwhile - but you must accept the slow pace and quiet aura that tries to show more through telling images than action. (2019 Ritesh Batra Amazon Prime) | 3 | |
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Proof - 2005 Movie - Anthony Hopkins is mentally ill after a brilliant career as a mathematician.and his equally gifted mathematician daughter Gwyneth Paltrow takes care of him. She is afraid she might also be losing her mind. The father has one year of lucidity during which he tackles a famous proof. After his death, the successful proof is found among his notebooks in his daughters handwriting. She claims to have derived it herself. Did her father dictate it to her in his one year of lucidity or did the daughter actually come up with this revolutionary mathermatical proof herself? The mystery makes for a delightful thriller with great actors. (John Madden 2005) | 3 |
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Quartet - Dustin Hoffman directs a brilliant cast including Maggie Smith and many top British actors in a tender love story with a soundtrack of moving classical and opera music against the background of a gorgeous English mansion. (2012) |
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Ring of Fire - The story of June Carter and Johnny Cash, the famous country music couple, shown with much tact and dignity. Beautiful versions of "Will the Circle be unbroken, by and by Lord, by and by, there's a better home awaiting, in the sky Lord, in the sky", to the famous "Ring of Fire" and many others that give the movie a pace that fulfills our expectations. An uplifting movie about a very significant Lady of country music. (Allison Anders 2013) | 3 |
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Safety not Guaranteed - A real sleeper that starts small and delivers big. Starts as a crazy idea but develops as a deep exploration of human relationships. By the end you have seen how human love cures alienation in the face of insanity, how casual sex increases alienation while superficially hiding it, and even how true feelings might connect and be worthwhile even in spite of incredible odds against them by using artificial fashion objects to look cool... Safety is never guaranteed! (Colin Trevorrow 2012) | 3 |
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Saint Ralph - Ralph, whose mother is seriously ill, vows to run the Boston marathon if God will prevent his mother's death (Michael McGowan 2004). | 1 |
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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - A top director turns an unusual UK best-seller into a delightful love story. Four excellent actors, a Scottsman, two British ladies, and an Arab heartthrob, come together in a charming story where the hero switches his uninspiring job for the job of his dreams. (Lasse Hallstrom 2011) |
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Saraband - The last movie of Bergman, the famous Swedish director. A complex tale of family relations with flashbacks and beautiful settings. You would think after being so famous he would relax but anything less that perfection is not acceptable for him. An incredible film. (Ingmar Bergman 2003) | 1 |
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Saving Grace - British comedy where a widow finds out her husband has left her deep in debt. With the help of her gardener she plants marijuana and recovers her solvency while navigating many funny situations. (Nigel Cole 2000) | 3 |
| Second Time Around - Beautiful love story between an opera lover and a retired tailor. If it sound unusual is because it is. It will not disappoint you. The director has a good feel for opera and uses it well as background music for many good scenes culminating in the famous "Let's Drink" party scene from La Traviata. A delight. | 1 | |
| The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Delightful movie based on a James Thurber story. An employee of Life magazine does his small job well for 30 years, but when the magazine is about to close he is given no credit, except that his contribution becomes important for the last issue. To do so he must perform heroically and transform himself into a super hero. (2013 Ben Stiller Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Seven Pounds - The team of the Pursuit of Happiness, Will Smith and Director Gabriele Muccino, in another interesting movie. A mysterious plot gradually lets you see more bit by bit. Somewhere around the middle of the movie the puzzle starts to resolve faster in a wave that carries you to shore smoothly and that is fascinating to watch. (Gabriele Muccino 2008) | 3 |
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Seven Years in Tibet - Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountaneer in the North of India, is imprisoned by the British in 1939 since he is a German citizen. In 1944, he escapes to Tibet, by chance meets the Dalai Lama who was just a young boy, becomes his tutor and lives in Tibet for 7 years. This is the interesting story of those years. (Jean-Jacques Annaud 1997) | 3 |
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Shana, The Wolf's Music - Swiss-Canadian movie about a young Creek who lost her mother, a violin player with a wolf's name. Shana also plays the violin but she is so traumatized by the loss of her mother that she has lost the taste for life. A new teacher is able to inspire to awaken to life again with the help of the spirit of her mother, a beautiful white wolf. Delightful inspiring story in the Canadian Creek Reservation. (Nino Jacuzzo 2014 Amazon Prime) |
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| The Silver Brumby - Australian movie about a beautiful wild white horse and Russell Crowe as the man obsessed with capturing it. It has the most incredibly beautiful wild horse racing, jumping, stallions fighting. (Amazon Prime) | ||
| Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks - Gena Rowlands came out of retirement for this film. An elderly Florida woman who used to love dancing, hires a young dance instructor for six lessons. But he has been forced to survive giving dancing lessons after the tragic loss of his life partner and is extremely bitter. The awkward relationship that ensues eventually successfully turns into the friendship they both need. (Arthur Allan Seidelman 2014) | 3 | |
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Songcatcher - While visiting Appalachia a musician stumbels over a treasure trove of ancient Scottish songs that have been preserved because in their isolation the people have preserved their traditions from 100 years ago. (Maggie Greenwald 2000) | 3 |
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Space Cowboys - NASA is in trouble, it cannot afford an old satellite to fall to earth but it does not have anybody that could prevent it except for a retired engineer that use to be able to handle this type of difficult assignments. But he is not comfortable doing it with green guys he does not trust. On the other hand if he can do it with his old buddies whom he trusts he would consider it. So all four of these old unruly buddies go up into space and play their pranks again. This is a lot of fun! (Clint Eastwood 2000) | 3 |
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Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - This is an animated feature but the story is worth the trip. A wild stallion is captured by the US Cavalry, is rescued by a Lakota indian, and finally returns to his herd of wild horses. Emotionally deep tale of loss and recovery. (Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook 2002) | 3 |
| Stardust - Fascinating fairy tale about a teenager that dares to defy convention and spend a night outside the city walls of his little town. His escapade initiates a complex tale and many entertaining adventures until we arrive at a grand finale where all the elements come together in the most delightful manner. Superb acting and film making. (Matthew Vaughn 2007) | 1 | |
| Stepping High - Sima, a superb dancer fails to make it in Broadway and has to settle for teaching dance at a high school. But there she finds a cadre of excellent student dancers and is able to motivate them to become a brilliant dance ensemble. The opposition from the conservative parents dissolves when the dance troupe attracts generous funding for the school (Henri Charr 2013) | 3 | |
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Stranger than Fiction - Emma Thompson plays a novelist that begins talking to herself wondering how to kill the main character in the book she is writing. This movie then steps off the edge with an approach so fresh we found it delicious to watch. Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and other lights complete the great cast. (Marc Forster 2006) | 2 |
| Surviving Love (Alt title It Must be Love)- Wife and husband good friends decide to end their marriage in a very civilized way. Instead and maybe because of the way they planned to work on their separation as an amicable transaction they rediscover how much they love each other after all. Mary Steenburgen plays the wife and Ted Danson the husband (Steven Schachter 2004 Amazon Prime) | 2 | |
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Sweet Home Alabama - A winning "comfy" movie where the allure of sophisticated NY pulls small town wife Melanie away for a dizzying spin. Dissappointments are handled well and the movie is a charmer. (Andy Tennant 2002) | 1 |
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Sword of Desperation - During the Edo Period (17th to 19th century) Japan had a golden age. The Samurai code of service became the basis for high culture. This epic movie visually shows us that mythical society as Master swordsman Kanemi fights injustice and treason in a bloody tale of great beauty and power. The presentation of sword fights is very bloody - even though appropriate to the subject. Not for the faint of heart. .(Hideyuki Hirayama 2010) |
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| T-34 - This is the model number of the famous Russian tank that was better than the German Panzers when it was deployed in WWII. This is the story of a very sharp Russian tank commander that destroyed a whole squadron of Panzers during the battles for Moscow before being taken prisoner. This is already an epic movie by itself. But then the second part of the movie starts. The T-34 commander gets a chance to steal a captured Russian tank and uses it to escape the concentration camp in a suspensefull race to the Tchekoslovakian border. This a beautiful Russian movie which will delight you. Amazon Prime. | 2 | |
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Tadpole - At 15 years of age Oscar is a charming youngster that gets a lot of attention from women. But it is his stepmother Eve (Sigourney Weaver), who owns his heart. (Gary winick 2002) | 3 |
| Thanks for Sharing - Gyneth Paltrow has to make up her mind to date sex addict Mark Ruffalo, who is in a sex anonymous group. The movie does a good job of presenting this difficult subject in a very tactful way. We get to see how a successful sex anonymous 12-step meeting works to support its members, control the addictions, and eventually have a community of friends that can help overcome the problems with the help of a higher power is presented in a clear fashion. An adult but essentially an encouraging and up movie (Stuart Blumberg 2012) | 2 | |
| The Accountant - A super hero "edge of your seat" suspense film tied to a coming of age story. Ben Affleck makes an asperger's victim the poster boy for a conservative strict father upbringing. The tightly wound father ignores a psychiatrist's advice and gives his son the choice to refuse to be a victim. A fascinating, mysterious story about overcoming incredible odds through the legacy of a father's unshakeable strength against life's toughest demands. Can be seen as conservative family values vs progressive family values.(Gavin O'Connor 2016) | 2 | |
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The Adjustment Bureau - Brilliant dramatization of the argument for human free will. You love somebody deeply. You are given the choice to improve the world but only if you choose to never see your love again. Do you choose wisely or selfishly, or ...what is wise or selfish when love and another person is involved. Martin Buber thought people cannot be used as means to anything, that they are always ends in themselves. This masterpiece examines that question in the most fascinating way. (George Nolfi 2011). | 1 |
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The Band's Visit - An Egyptian police band on their way to a concert looses their way and has to spend the night in a small Israeli town. They are forced to ask for help of the locals and the meetings and conversations that ensue give rise to some charming interactions. The director shows unusual sensitivity in obtaining from his excellent actors superb understated performances. It is a slow movie that tells a lot with minimal gestures.(Eran Kolirin 2007) | 1 |
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The Banger Sisters - Goldie Hawn in a superb comic performance as a rock and roll groupie coping with middle age. Her groupie buddy, Susan Sarandon, married a rich man and repressed her wild streak to become a society matron. Years later the bosom friends reunite for some very interesting experiences. Overt references to the sexual experiences of groupies might shock some. | 2 |
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The Bourne Identity - A U.S. secret agent is betrayed by his agency and barely escapes his intended murder. His lonely search for the cover up of his betrayal is one of the most exciting suspense movies of the decade - (2002). | 2 |
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The Bourne Supremacy - If you liked The Bourne Identity you will like this one also. (2004) | 2 |
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The Bourne Ultimatum - If you liked The Bourne Supremacy you will like this one also. (2007) |
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The Bridges of Madison County - A photographer (Clint Eastwood) come to do a reportage in Iowa, gets lost and finds his way in the kitchen of Merryl Streep, a country wife, and then again loses his heart to her. (Clint Eastwood 1995) | 3 |
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The Citizen - Ibrahim emigrates to NY on the day before 9/11 and is persecuted as he fights to make a life for himself. Finally, when he is up for citizenship, the Inmigration department decides to deport him on the basis that a cousin of his with whom Ibrahim had no contact, had unknowingly sheltered one of the terrorists. A trial ensues where the people that Ibrahim had helped stick up for him. An uplifting movie about a charming man. (Sam Kadi 2012) | 3 |
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The Class (Entre les Murs) - A junior high teacher in an immigrant neighborhood in Paris plays himself in an "improv" movie while 3 cameras shoot a selected group of students. The achievement of actual life feeling is amazing and incredibly interesting. The teacher wrote his experiences in a novel which was the basis for the film. And the film came up good enough to be accepted for competition in the 2008 Cannes Festival. And the film won the highest prize for 2008! It achieves incredible sequences for a large part of the film. (Laurent Cantet 2008) | 2 |
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The Closet - A boring accountant is about to be fired from a large company. He spreads the rumor that he is gay and the company hesitates due to their liability if this fact is tied to his firing. He saves his job but other complications arise as a result and get resolved in this pleasant comedy with some of France's top actors. (Francis Veber 2001) | 3 |
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The Company Men - The 2008 recession from the point of view of the white collar workers laid off. Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Affleck do a great job of portraying two such workers, their efforts to cope and the hope they find in their struggle. Very relevant look for current US job market storms. Every now and then okfinds comes across characters in a movie that embody the idea of the "breath of God on earth". The wife of Affleck in this movie is one of these characters - study how well she supports him with her love. (John Wells 2010) | 1 |
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The Conquest - Sarkozy conquered the presidency of France from 2007-2012. This is the story of how this man of aristocratic hungarian descent managed to outmaneuver incumbent President Chirac and several other powerful candidates with his hunger for success. The movie is highly unusual because the main actor manages to show Sarkozy's power in conversations with his opponents using gestures that are not familiar in these encounters and that yet seem totally natural in the movie and convey his unshakeable self-confidence. A fascinating film which will acquaint you with recent French politics. (Xavier Durringer 2011) | 3 |
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The Constant Gardener - A British high official investigates the murder of his wife in Africa and uncovers a dangerous conspiracy.. (Fernando Meirelles 2005) | 2 |
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The Contract - Through a strange coincidence, a man and his son get their lives entangled with a professional killer for hire on his way to deliver a contract murder. The killer does not want to hurt them but he is serious professional and duty bound to complete his contract. Their mingling lives provide a dangerous ballet of high suspense. (Bruce Beresford 2006) | 3 |
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The Debt - The story of three Israeli secret agents and their botched attempt to extract a Nazi criminal from East Berlin after WWII. The failure is covered up and the emotional repression takes its toll on their soul. Many years later the secrets come out in a way that modifies their lives. | 3 |
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The Descendants - George Clooney plays the leader of a white upper class Hawaian clan facing the death of his wife. He has to take over the education of his two daughters, whom he has not been close to up to that point, and face some very serious personal problems. In the midst of a riveting plot, the movie gives one a deep look into the lives of the privileged white Hawaian aristocracy. Vulgar language is cleverly used to achieve dramatic effects instead of vulgar images. (Alexander Payne 2011) | 2 |
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The Double - A famous Russian spy assassin shows up after retired CIA Richard Gere presumably put him out of action. Gere has to has to come out of retirement because he is the only one who knows all his behaviors and can trap him again. (Michael Brandt 2011) | 3 |
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The East - Wouldn't you like to see CEOs of companies that market drugs that damage your brain be given those drugs, or those that dump pollution that causes cancer into a town's water supply be forced to have to swim in that water, or officials that started the war in Iraq have their sons and daughters sent with the occupying army for the whole time of the war? If this were done such irresponsibility would not exist is the vision of this movie. "East" refers to the evil coming from the wicked witch of the East which these anarchists fight (Zal Batmanglij 2013) | 2 |
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The Equalizer - Denzel Washington creates an impressivecharacter whom a friend of his deceased wife tells him "she had problems with half your traits, but loved your other half.... go be the half she loved." That loved half was a defender of the unjustly abused, and this amazing violent movie shows how satisfying it can be to see bullies dethroned by somebody good. We have a strong strain that thirsts for justice and love to watch injustice undone. | 3 |
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The Girl from Paris - French version of a woman who is tired of the city, wants to move to the country, and buys a farm not knowing much about farming. The first winter teaches her more than she would have wanted but she is persistent enough to see the spring. (Christian Carion 2001) | 3 |
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The Girl on the Bridge - Black and white French movie full of surprises. A girl about to commit suicide is rescued by a guy that needs a model for his blind knife throwing act. They get along well and the knife throwing is an amazingly good cinematic proxy for sex. Some scenes and music seem to reference classic Italian movies. The mood of those memories is delightful for those familiar with them.. (Patrice Leconte 1999) | 3 |
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The Giver - An important movie about an important book. I was surprised to find out that the book is used in US High Schools to demonstrate the achievement of peace through tranquilizing the people by eliminating all emotions. Merryl Streep plays the strong leader that controls the blockage of all emotions. Fascinating work. | 3 |
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The Great Beauty - Decades after La Dolce Vita an italian director creates a similar masterpiece. A journalist in Rome's high society traverses the universes of its characters. One scene of a party seemed overly long but most others are fascinating as a canvas of Roman society. | 3 |
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The Greatest (2009) - Sarandon and Brosnan lose their son in this perceptive story. Chaos is all there is, each of the survivers lost in their own pain. But when they join together life somehow recovers its breath and relief is at hand.. An incredibly view of how humans can resurrect from grief back to life when they do it together, as a group, but not as loners. (Shana Feste 2009) |
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The Hundred-foot Journey - One hundred feet is all the distance we have to go to meet our neighbours and make friends with them...but we seldom do. A brilliant exploration of how our principles, by setting limits to how far we will go to condone foul play, will bring us back into the light and open a new possibility of full life to us. A superbly entertaining movie even if it did not have a powerful moral teaching in its joyful story. Hellen Mirren demonstrates why she is considered an excellent actress. (Lasse Hallstrom 2014) | 1 |
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The Hunger Games - The first movie of Suzanne Collins best selling trilogy. Donald Sutherland says these movies are an allegory of the declining U.S. Empire where the 0.1% exerts strong indirect power over the rest. It is also an allegory of war where young people from poor districts are sent far away to fight to the death. This allegory has captured the imagination of the young. A powerful allegory that models the tensions in our US culture. (Gary Ross 2012) | 2 |
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The Hurt Locker - Bomb squad in Iraq goes around defusing explosives in an atmosphere of high suspense. The unconventional behavior of the main character is fascinating to watch against the intense danger surrounding his work. Was the hero "John-Waynized" just to increase the drama or do these insane characters actually exist? An important movie about the life of the people who serve in the military. (Kathryn Bigelow 2008) | 3 |
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The Joneses - A beautiful couple with two gorgeous, well-behaved, perfect teen agers just moved into the superb new house next door. Of course you ring their door with your wife to welcome them and cannot believe how nice, healthy, and friendly they are. They welcome you two with open arms into their magic kingdom of a life.. You think, of course, when both are totally healthy, of course you get the most wonderful children, the best cars, the best lawn, the best life. Thank you God for letting us see how rewarding complete health can be. There is a God! Of course there is, when this can happen. Or can it....? A powerful dramatization on how marketing controls our life. (Derrick Borte 2009) | 2 |
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The King's Speech - King George VI of England had a serious speech impediment. This is the fascinating story of how he was able to overcome it so he could function as King.. (Tom Hooper 2010) | 2 |
| The Lamp, Just believe - A moving film about a couple who loses a child and after several years of grief ends up blocked in negativity. Until, a mysterious lamp shows up at their doorstep and helps them to come back. Worth watching. (Amazon Prime 2018) | 1 | |
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The Last brickmaker in America - Sidney Poitier, the last manual brickmaker in America, has lost his spirit since his wife died 3 months ago. A 13 year old in trouble, his parents, and a whole town are needed to heal his soul. While experiencing the greatness of the human spirit we learn to make beautiful bricks. (Gregg Champion 2001) |
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The Last Castle - Robert Redford, an honorable three star general, forces himself to serve a prison term for having disobeyed an order. He ends up in the prison of Gandolfini (of Tony Soprano's fame). This masterpiece shows the riveting power game between these two giants. A rare jewel of a movie about the human character. (Rod Lurie 2001) | 1 |
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The Law - Go back in time to watch Gina Lolobrigida and her bouncy personality in this classic italian movie comedy about rightful and unrightful loves. (Jules Dassin 1960) | 3 |
| The Light Between the Oceans – A returning soldier gets a job running a remote lighthouse in Australia in an attempt to forget all the death of World War I. His job is to be the strong light that saves people from death. Then he breaks his vow by choosing his wife over a woman in distress. But he is forgiven through the legacy of a lazy wise man who once mentioned that it is much easier to forgive because you only do it once and life returns, whereas to fight against life demands 24/7 work. A superb film. | 2 | |
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The Net - Sandra Bullock as a crack programmer who stumbles into a shocking conspiracy that ensnares her. Only her ability keeps her ahead of a most dangerous cat and mouse game. (Irwin Winkler 1995) | 2 |
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The Other Man - A woman always has to choose between men that embody different levels of rational, refined, ethical, passionate and elegant. Or does she? In The Other Man, two very different complementary noble men manage to make one woman, who needs them both, totally happy. How to tell such a subtle story with mystery, suspense, refinement, and respect for all three characters, is solved in this masterpiece, partly by using as backgrounds, a world capital of elegance, a world capital of rationality, and more importantly by receiving unbelievable performances from three gifted actors. A delight.. (Richard Eyre 2008) |
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The Other Woman - A spicy comedy about a cheating husband getting his comeuppance from the wife, the mistress, and the girlfriend. A very satisfying racy comedy. Specially notable is the character of the wife who manages to surprise us at every turn with totally unexpected cute reactions. (Nick Cassavetes 2014) | 3 |
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The Peacemaker - A nuclear explosion in Russia is used to cover up the theft of atomic bombs from the Russian military. Special agent Clooney and Nicole Kidman work together to recover them. A very good international suspense film - the first one made by Dreamworks. (Mimi Leder 1997) | 2 |
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The Physician - The epic tale of the education of an English physician in the Middle Ages when the best knowledge of medicine was only available in the Middle East. To really become a doctor one had to travel to the Middle East to become an apprentice to one of the famous physicians of that area. Physicians were rare and well trained ones were even less common. This fascinating story shows the determination required to become one of those few trained physicians. | 3 |
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The Pool - A Sundance Special Dramatic Jury Prize winner. A window into the daily life of two adolescents in Southern India. A young american director wanted to study how our motivations can lead our lives in unexpected and welcome directions. And because he had experience in the country he thinks it might be done in India. From such adventurous beginning came this totally fresh movie that employs a combination of experienced Indian stars and new actors. The result is captivating and will give you a feel for India. (Chris Smith 2007) | 3 |
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The Proposition - (1998 movie) - Brilliant period piece showing a woman's struggle to introduce feminine humanity both into her family and her catholic church. A pleasure to watch and to figure out the complex plots (Lesli Linka Glatter 1998) |
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The Pursuit of Happiness - Will Smith delivers a marvelous movie as the father of a young kid that loses his job and becomes homeless. Desperate he takes an intern job at a stockbroker company and is able to lift himself and his kid out of homelessness. This inspiring story has a special twist...it actually happened. (Gabriele Muccino 2006) | 1 |
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The Rainmaker - A young lawyer (Matt Damon) learns the ropes from an experienced one (Danny deVito). A moral tale where lawyers and business are on trial: Is it worth it to gain the whole world but lose your soul? (Francis Ford Coppola 2002) |
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The Reader - The German best seller analyzing the feelings of the generation that lived through WWII is rendered into a fascinating movie by great actors. A challenging movie with a complex plot that unfolds like a mystery. Nudity and lovemaking. (Stephen Daldry 2008) | 3 |
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The Sapphires - In 1968 a group of 4 Australian aborigine girlfriends with golden voices teams together with a lanky, nerdy white soul-music-loving manager to sing for US black troops in Vietnam. If you are breathing and still warm, this quintet will knock your socks off with their beautiful story, their humanity and their singing .(Wayne Blair 2012) |
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The Scapegoat- An English nobleman's chance encounter with a man that looks exactly like him inspires the prank of temporarily switching lives with each other. Fascinating meditation on what lies behind appearances.(Charles Sturridge 2012) | 1 |
| The Secret of the Cave - Nice movie about a boy who spends a summer in a beautiful Irish seaside village with his uncle and discovers the benefactor who keeps giving gifts to the villagers even after his death. It is all nicely connected to a mysterious sea cave. In the process we are captivated by the gorgeous coast which the director uses to great advantage. A magical trip. (Zach C. Gray 2006) | 2 | |
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The Sessions - A sensitive lady psychotherapist-surrogate helps a man in an iron lung since childhood discover the blessings of sexuality and love. (Ben Lewin 2012) | 2 |
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The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - The British have a gift for spy movies, the Italians for earthy extravagant life, and the French really understand romance. In this movie both romance and operatic power achieve charming great heights. It was a pleasure to watch Catherine Deneuve give her heartbeat to this movie. A classic. (Jacques Demy 1964) | 2 |
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The Way, Way Back - A 14 year old gets dragged by his mother and her overbearing boyfriend to his beach house. Mistreated, made fun of, misunderstood it starts as a miserable summer prequel to a miserable life with a new obnoxious father. But this movie leaves us room to breathe; he gets some allies along the way. And he explores, finds and receives gifts from kind strangers and turns the tables on his enemies. A delight to see underdogs sometimes not only survive but become budding alpha males. (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash 2013) | 1 |
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The Whole Shebang - When an italian patriarch in New Jersey runs into problems with the family fireworks business, a cousin from Italy shows up to save him. This is a soft comedy that will endear itself to you if you like Italian culture and dreaming. (George Zaloom 2003) | 3 |
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Timeline - A man born in the 20th century lives in the present until 1971 when he travels to the past (1357 in France) and decides he likes it better. He stays until his death in 1382 after a full life. Around this anchoring point an interesting action-adventure plot is interwoven both in the past (the siege of a fortress) and in the present (a corporation trying to develop the time machine) Based on a Michael Chrichton novel. (Richard Donner 2003) | 3 |
| To the Wonder - Terrence Malick sees the world with the eyes of God and brings that view to this movie. Accordingly he tells his actors to just improvise based on some core guidelines and he films the surprising results. His actors catch on and become sold on the process. The product is an incredible demostration of how God sees his world, if one is sensitive to that viewpoint. It helps that the director and the cinematographer both see beauty and rythm everywhere and so their images make it credible that this is the vision of God. The "Wonder" is the English translation of the nickname of the church on Mont St. Michel which in French was called "La Merveille" since the Middle Ages. That is a strong hint of what Malick is intending to give us in this movie - the way God sees his creation. Whether you agree with Malick, as I did, or not it is a superb movie from a very different point of view (2012). | 1 | |
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Touching the Void - True story of two insane brits who climb a huge mountain in the Peruvian Andes and stand at the top. But 80% of climbing accidents happen on the descent, and the accident that awaits this pair pushes them both beyond their limits. An incredible feat of movie directing since at every second of the movie we have the feeling of being a spirit that can dart between the two friends and hover over their overwhelming individual drama while the hellish howling winds of the Andes pummel and bury them in snow as they slide down the mountain.in fits and starts. A mountain climbing movie for people who hate mountain climbing movies - it manages something wonderful - see it! (Kevin MacDonald 2004) |
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Train of Life - During World War II, a Jewish village in Nazi occupied Romania buys and old train and attempts to self-deport itself out of the German occupied zone. A cheerful celebration of the life that makes God smile at humans. (Radu Mihaileanu 1998) | 1 |
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Traitor - A superb suspense-action movie where the main character, a devout Muslim, clearly states that killing even one innocent man is strictly prohibited in Islam. The involved plot of double identity creates many fascinating surprises. Very well done. (Jeffrey Nachmanoff 2008) | 3 |
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Tumbledown - A young folksinger died young in a hiking accident in Tumbledown ravine leaving 12 songs that have sparked a cult following and a distraught Maine widow in the house which they shared. A professor wanting to write a chapter in a book of singers who died young comes to town to interview the widow. The widow, who after several years is still grieving the love of her life is offended to hear her husband as "one chapter" in somebody's research book and refuses to help the professor violently. But some draft pages are left accidentally and show her he actually was sensitive to her husband's art. So the story moves forward with several surprises. A most interesting movie. (2015 Sean Mewshaw) Ebert's review is of this movie was very good here is the link here if you are interested https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tumbledown-2016 |
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Twin sisters - Twin german sisters are separated by fate during WWII. Unthinking prejudice drives a wedge between them and dries up their love until almost the end of their lives. How long will we suffer the unthinking, easy bad choice for hatred when as this movie shows it is so simple to allow doubt, talk to each other, and choose life. The advice from Jesus to break the cycle of violence was "But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." (Matthew 5:39). Was Jesus naive? (Ben Sombogart 2002) | 1 |
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Unfinished Song (Song for Marion)- She (Vanessa Redgrave) laughs a lot, he is just serious. She is dying of cancer and worried about him after she goes but she manages to inject a huge amount of life into every frame while in the process of dying.. She sings in a lively choir of seniors, he just takes care of her. The choir director is a magnificent, sensitive, charming, supportive, always there, full of life lady. If you are weighed down with problems you will walk on clouds after you see this inspiring movie. (Paul Andrew Williams 2012) | 1 |
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Up in the Air - George Clooney flies all over the US as a consultant in charge of firing whole departments in a completely sanitized, anit-septic way. But when he falls for a woman that seems to like him he faces the surprise of his life - she might be as good at this as he is... (Jason Reitman 2009) | 3 |
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Ushpizin (Holy Guests) - An inside look at an orthodox jewish husband and wife as they navigate humorous tests from God and are richly rewarded in the end. A rare and delightful view into the life of jewish orthodox spirituality (Gidi Dar 2004) | 1 |
| Untamed Heart - Marisa Tomei plays an unlucky in love waitress in a Minneapolis diner who finally falls for the quiet dishwasher orphan with a beautiful heart. A delightful love story with more than enough charm to enchant you (1993 Amazon Prime Streaming) | ||
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Warm Springs - Franklin Delano Roosevelt has contracted polio and while looking for a cure happens into an old resort in Georgia that had claimed to help paralysis conditions. He finds it is not a cure, but it does help, and begins to envision that his status as a public figure might allow him to guide people with polio that do not have his education and resources towards the few treatments that help. An inspiring film about a charismatic, powerful man. (Joseph Sargent 2005) | 1 |
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When do we Eat? - A conservative patriarch has a religious experience when somebody slips him LSD during the family passover seder. He then shows a loving side that his family had never seen before. Laughs mixed with wisdom. (Salvador Litvak 2005) | 3 |
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When in Rome - A lighweight delightful romantic comedy shot in Italy and the US. A charming woman gets a magic coin from a fountain that should get her a beau. She really does not believe in it but several nice men start to pay attention to her. Eventually her skepticism starts to break just when the one destined for her actually tries his luck. A nice movie. (Mark Steven Johnson 2010) | 3 |
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Whiplash - Damien Chazelle's movie about a conservatory drummer youngster striving for perfection in his drumming. Does not seem like something that would be that interesting. Yet Chazelle managed to make a superb movie out of it that will take your breath away. This movie gave him the credibility to be able to try La La Land next. Chazelle knows how to make movies... |
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Wild - An excellent movie of the huge best seller book about a young woman who loses her way in life and looking for a way out decides to hike the Pacific Coast Trail by herself. With no backpacking experience but only her desperate drive after much suffering she arrives at the Bridge of the Gods in Portland Oregon and is redeemed. An inspiring true story. (Jean-Marc Valee 2014). | 2 |
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Wild Tales - Only divine love can produce such a creation where there are beings that are capable of such divine anger. And this movie is able to show us what divine anger looks like in the person whose life is despised, in the person who has been bullied all their life, in the person who has been gratuitously insulted or the person who has been looked down upon by the rich all their life, in the person who has been unfairly treated by work, family, and society, in the person who has lost loved ones through the cupidity of the rich that corrupts whatever it touches, and finally divine anger at the duplicity of a lover who of course cannot resist a partner who can throw a rival through a plate glass window, who could! To be able to make divine anger come alive in such complex situations through cinema, through actors, through movie professionals and through a visionary director is incredible and worthy of divine love. (Damian Szifron 2014) | 2 |
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Wish I were Here - Interesting film about a Grandfather, Father and kids in a well observed unusual jewish family. The most interesting twist is that the wife believes in the husbands artistic bend even when there is little money in the family. Others disparage of his acting career but she believes in his talent and his specialness. A refreshing twist. | 3 |
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Won't Back Down - A single mother will not take no for an answer when wanting a better grade school education for her only daughter. Against overwhelming inertia she won't back down and organizes the teachers and the parents of Adams grade school in Pittsburgh to provide more effective learning for the children. Based on actual events. (Daniel Barnz 2012. | 1 |