ectonplasm's - Rented List

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"Nine" is a vibrant and provocative film that follows the life of world famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he reaches a creative and personal crisis of epic proportion, while balancing the numerous women in his life including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope

Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) and his mother (Sophia Loren).

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From acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, a stunning valentine to femininity in all its disguises, motherhood in all its glory and to classic Hollywood melodramas and their diva actresses.

A birthday treat turns into heart-rending tragedy for single mother Manuela (Cecilia Roth) when her teenage son is killed in a car accident after a performance of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' starring his favourite actress Huma Roja (Marisa Paredes). Determined to exorcise her overwhelming guilt, Manuela goes to Barcelona to finally tell his father about the son he never knew he had. There, the reason why she has kept the identity of her forbidden lover a secret for so long is revealed. He is a transvestite named Lola who is dying from an AIDS related illness. However in confronting her own past, Manuela forges a new future with Lola's transsexual best friend Agrado (Antonia San Juan), church social worker Sister Rosa (Penelope Cruz) and Huma, when her play comes to town But even as the women from different fringes of society form a bond, further heartbreak, misfortune and ultimate joy lies in store for each. Considered by critics world wide to be the finest movie Almodovar has directed in his entire glittering career, and featuring glorious acting from the cream of Spanish cinema, All About My Mother combines warmth, love, tears and humour as it builds to an unforgettable emotional crescendo.

Nicole Kidman is Isabel Archer, a young woman of daring independence and equally fierce desires. But her headstrong innocence is no match for the manipulations of her duplicitous friend Madame Merle (Barbara Hershey) and the devious Gilbert Osmond (John Malkovich).

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It was 1965 in rural Australia. "Flirting", the sequel to "The Year My Voice Broke", follows the adolescent Danny Embling (Noah Taylor) as the 'the school dag' at a strict boys' boarding school.

Relief from peer group pressure comes from Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton), daughter of an African nationalist lecturer, who is 'doing time' at the girl's boarding school nearby. Danny and Thandiwe become kindred spirits, lovers and problems for their teachers, whose methods of maintaining control are long detention sessions and a good thrashing with the cane. The only support the couple receive is from Nicola Radcliffe (Nicole Kidman), the head prefect who is sympathetic to their plight.

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While awaiting her husband's return from war, Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her two young children live an unusually isolated existence behind the locked doors and drawn curtains of a secluded island mansion.

Then, after three mysterious servants arrive and it becomes chillingly clear that there is far more to this house than can be seen, Grace finds herself in a terrifying fight to save her children and keep her sanity.

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In an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning performance, Casey Affleck stars as Lee, a man whose spare existence is suddenly ruptured when the death of his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) forces him to return to the hometown he abandoned years before.

Rocked by contact with his estranged ex-wife (Michelle Williams) and the revelation that Joe has made him guardian of his teenage son (Lucas Hedges), Lee is forced to face up to painful memories and newfound levels of responsibility as he reconnects with his family. Kenneth Lonergan's critically acclaimed masterpiece is an extraordinary journey of grief, love and wit that will stay with you long after watching.

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Winner of three Academy Awards including best picture, "Moonlight" is a breath-taking coming-of-age story and the best reviewed film of the year.

"Moonlight" follows the story of Chiron (Ashton Sanders) from his early childhood in his depressed Miami neighbourhood to adulthood in Atlanta as he navigates the dangers of drugs, violence, family, love and sexuality.

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Set in 1970's Santa Barbara, '20th Century Women' is the story of Dorothea (Annette Bening), a single mother, and her son Jamie, as he comes of age at a time brimming with cultural change and rebellion.

As life challenges both of them in new ways, Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women in Jamie's upbringing; Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a free-spirited punk artist living as a lodger in their home, and Julie (Elle Fanning), a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour.

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From writer/director J.C. Chandor comes "A Most Violent Year", a riveting crime thriller set in New York City during the winter of 1981, the most dangerous year in the city's history.

Starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, this gripping story shows one man's determined battle to build his business in the midst of corruption and mob rule whilst protecting his family, without resorting to the violence that surrounds them.