• Magnus von Horn – Sweat (2020)

    2011-2020DramaMagnus von HornPoland

    This insightful drama about loneliness and insecurity in the digital age chronicles three days in the candy-colored life of social media celebrity Sylwia Zajac. The beloved fitness instructor preaches positivity and acceptance to her 600,000 followers as she documents her every move, thought, and feeling. To the dismay of her sponsors, she holds back nothing from her fans—from her desire for a boyfriend to her family squabbles—and a video of her breaking down in tears goes viral. Will the sudden appearance of a stalker prompt Sylwia to reconsider her choices? Stage actress Magdalena Kolésnik delivers a mesmerizing turn as the self-obsessed internet star, exposing what it means to live a life online.Read More »

  • Jan Komasa – Sala samobójców. Hejter AKA The Hater (2020)

    Drama2011-2020Jan KomasaPolandThriller

    Quote:
    A young man searches for purpose in a net of hatred and violence that he tries to control.Read More »

  • Robert Emmett Tansey – Federal Man (1950)

    1941-1950CrimeRobert Emmett TanseyUSA

    Plot Synopsis:
    Former juvenile star William Henry is the all-grown-up hero of Federal Man. Henry is cast as a government agent who dogs the trail of illegal narcotics peddlers. This requires several trips south of the US-Mexico border and back again. Scenes of startlingly vivid violence are counterpointed with prosaic shots of the scientific paraphernalia used by modern-day crime fighters (“modern,” of course, by 1950 standards). Though leading lady Pamela Blake is ill-served by her bland dialogue, veteran utility player George Eldredge enjoys one of the largest assignments of his career as the slimy gang leader. Like many crime films of the era, Federal Man adopts a documentary approach to its scripted scenes.
    by Haal EricksonRead More »

  • Del Lord – Trapped by Television (1936)

    1931-1940Del LordDramaSci-FiUSA

    Quote:
    This film tries to blend comedy with drama, and the result is an uneasy tossed salad rather than a smooth pudding. Lyle Talbot is so stalwart and large it is difficult to feature him as a TV inventor — but he more than makes up for this in the fight scene, where, with his usual technique, he just beats the dickens out of the other actors for five or ten minutes. Nat Pendelton is wonderful as the dim-witted bill collector turned science hobbyist. Mary Astor, playing closer to her “Thin Man” arch smile than to her “Maltese Falcon” dramatic style, is a scheming but lovable promoter of potato peelers who decides to back this newfangled thing called television. All in all, this makes a better comedy than a drama, but the direction pulls it both ways, and thus it fails to satisfy either audience altogether.Read More »

  • Gustav Machatý – Within the Law (1939)

    1931-1940CrimeDramaGustav MachatýUSA

    Plot Synopsis:
    In this crime drama, a thieving employee sticks her stolen goods into the locker of a co-worker and causes all sorts of trouble. The stolen items are found in the locker of a store clerk who ends up imprisoned. The store owner’s son knows that she is innocent, but he says nothing. The enraged clerk spends her three imprisoned years studying law and learns all about the ins and outs of legal loopholes. Upon her release, she begins using her new-found knowledge. She also tries to seduce the owner’s son. Despite her vengeful efforts, the poor woman makes a lousy criminal and again is punished. by Sandra BrennanRead More »

  • Doug Liman – Getting In (1994)

    1991-2000ComedyCrimeDoug LimanUSA

    Gabriel Higgs comes from a rich family and is expected to attend Johns Hopkins medical school just as every male member of his family has for the last six generations. Unfortunately he bombs on his entrance exam and gets stuck on the waiting list for admittance. When the people ahead of him on the list start dropping dead he becomes the prime suspect.Read More »

  • Giuseppe Tornatore – La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano AKA The Legend of 1900 (1998)

    Drama1991-2000Giuseppe TornatoreItalyMusical

    Plot Synopsis :

    On the 1st of January in 1900, Danny Boodmann (Bill Nunn), the mechanic of the transatlantic liner Virginian bound for America, finds an abandoned baby on board and decides to keep him. Nicknamed Novecento (1900), the boy grows up on the ship hidden from everyone. His presence is revealed when Danny dies in an accident. The young ‘1900’ manages to hide again despite threats from the captain. Discovering a passion for music, he teaches himself to play the piano without being able to read the notes, and he soon becomes a virtuoso whose reputation spreads beyond the confines of the ship. Even the famous jazz piano player, Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), gets on board for a challenge because he has heard rumors about the greatest piano player in the world living on a ship. Read More »

  • Mehrdad Oskouei – Hamishe Baraye Azadi Dir Ast AKA It’s Always Late For Freedom (2006)

    2001-2010DocumentaryIranMehrdad Oskouei

    The portrait of three teenage boys being held in a youth corrections centre in Teheran, It’s Always Late for Freedom depicts the distress of a generation sacrificed on the altar of Iran’s profound social problems. Hardcore drugs, poverty, violence… these young men, hardly more than boys, seem more like victims than perpetrators. Entirely immersed in the everyday life of the prison, filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei (The Other Side of Burka) won the young men’s trust, and they hold nothing back of their hurts, frustrations, hopes and confusion. The camera records their childish schemes, conversations with family, and the routine of prison life with intimate close-ups of faces and bodies that reveal their secret pain. A gripping story of childhood laid bare.Read More »

  • Atom Egoyan – Guest of Honour (2019)

    Drama2011-2020Atom EgoyanCanada

    A man’s daughter a high school teacher who is accused of abusing her position of authority with a student. When Veronica rebuffs Jim’s attempts to secure her early release, Jim begins to take out his frustrations through his work as a food inspector.Read More »

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