jwc's - Rented List
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Director Curtis Hanson and a terrific cast serve up a 'ravishing, thrilling tale of police corruption and Hollywood glamour' (Marshall Fine, Gannett Newspapers) in this film version of James Ellroy's novel. Three cops (Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce), a call girl (Kim Basinger), a mysterious millionaire (David Strathairn), a tabloid journalist (Danny DeVito), and the Chief of Detectives (James Cromwell) fuel a labyrinthine plot rife with mystery, ambition, romance and humor. - Director:
- Curtis Hanson
- Cast:
- Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce
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From acclaimed director Ken Loach comes this astonishing story of triumph and adversity in modern day Britain. Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) has worked as a joiner for most of his life in Newcastle. Now, for the first time ever, he needs help from the State. He crosses paths with single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) who is battling to keep her two young children fed. Daniel and Katie find themselves in a no-man's land, striving to pull themselves out of the welfare bureaucracy of modern day Britain. - Director:
- Ken Loach
- Cast:
- Dave Johns, Hayley Squires, Sharon Percy
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The Wind Rises (2013)Kaze Tachinu
Jiro (voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni (voiced by Stanley Tucci). Nearsighted from a young age and thus unable to become a pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world's most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events including The Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic, and Japan's plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko (voiced by Emily Blunt) and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo (voiced by John Krasinski). - Director:
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast:
- Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto
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On the 26th November 2008, a wave of devastating terror attacks throughout Mumbai catapulted the bustling Indian metropolis into chaos. In the heart of the city's tourist district, Jihadist terrorists laid siege to the iconic Taj Palace Hotel, whose guests and staff became trapped in a heroic, day-long fight for survival. - Director:
- Anthony Maras
- Cast:
- Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi
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With stunning special effects this gritty realistic film plunges us into a world where aliens have landed...only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet. - Director:
- Neill Blomkamp
- Cast:
- Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope
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Forty-two-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) he doesn't love, and a lesbian ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) who's writing a tell-all book about their marriage... and whom he'd like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend's sexy, intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginning of Isaac's quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gate to true love... is a revolving door. - Director:
- Woody Allen
- Cast:
- Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway
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Henry Horatio Hobson (Charles Laughton) is the owner of a well established boot shop in nineteenth century Salford, Lancashire and the father of three daughters. The oldest, Maggie (Brenda De Banzie), shoulders both home and business responsibilities while Hobson whiles the time away at the local pub. The younger sisters are both being courted by neighbours, but Hobson refuses to give the couples settlements. Maggie becomes tired of his oafish behaviour and decides to take matters into her hands by seeking a husband. Much to the hilarity and consternation of her father, aged spinster Maggie sets her sights on shy Will Mossop (John Mills), Hobson's master boot-maker. Mossop is at first stunned by the suggestion, but eventually agrees to Maggie's authoritative persuasion, and together they set up a rival boot shop. - Director:
- David Lean
- Cast:
- Charles Laughton, John Mills, Brenda De Banzie
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From Oscar winning writer/director Adam McKay (The Big Short) comes 'Vice', an audacious and darkly comedic look at former US Vice President Dick Cheney's stealthy rise from Washington intern to the most powerful man on the planet. Oscar winner Christian Bale leads an all-star cast that includes Oscar nominees Steve Carell as the affable, yet steely Donald Rumsfeld, Amy Adams as Cheney's ambitious wife, and Oscar winner Sam Rockwell as the malleable George W. Bush. Spanning a half-century, Cheney's journey from rural Wyoming electrical worker to de facto President of the United States is a hilariously terrifying true tale of the use and misuse of institutional power. - Director:
- Adam McKay
- Cast:
- Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell
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The Hunt (2012)Jagten
"The Hunt" unfolds in a small provincial town in the days leading up to Christmas. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), a forty year old divorcee, is finally getting his life under control. He's got himself a new girlfriend, a new job and is in the process of re-building his relationship with his teenage son, Marcus. But things soon start to unravel. Nothing significant, just a slight comment here, a random lie there. And as the snow falls and the Christmas lights are lit, the lie spreads like an invisible virus. The shock and mistrust gets out of hand, and the small community suddenly finds itself in a collective state of hysteria, while Lucas fights a lonely fight for his life and dignity. "The Hunt" is a disturbing depiction of how a lie can quickly become truth - a modern tale of a witch-hunt, injustice, guilt and, ultimately, forgiveness. A fable on how fragile a community can become when gossip, doubt and malice are allowed to flourish. It is a stirring portrait of a man struggling to exonerate himself, and a father and a son reaching out for one another as their world crumbles. - Director:
- Thomas Vinterberg
- Cast:
- Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp
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Emil Forester (Matthew Macfadyen) is an award winning film director in the midst of a long creative block when he receives an invite to the first film festival of the Autonomous Republic of Karastan. After meeting the enigmatic dictator (Richard van Weyden) he soon finds himself directing an epic film about Karastan's medieval founder, played by a drunken Hollywood actor (Noah Taylor). Despite the help of the President's aide (MyAnna Buring) Forester soon finds himself well out of his depth trying to make a blockbuster in a language he doesn't understand, with a questionable cast and crew, against a concerning political backdrop... - Director:
- Ben Hopkins
- Cast:
- Matthew Macfadyen, MyAnna Buring, Noah Taylor
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Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, an ageing silent film queen, and William Holden as the struggling writer who is held in thrall by her madness, created two of the screen's most memorable characters in Sunset Boulevard. Winner of three Academy Awards, director Billy Wilder's orchestration of the bizarre tale is a true cinematic classic. From the unforgettable opening sequence through the inevitable unfolding of tragic destiny, the film is the definitive statement on the dark and desperate side of Hollywood. Erich von Stroheim as Desmond's discoverer, ex-husband and butler, and Nancy Olson as the bright spot in unrelenting ominousness, are equally celebrated for their masterful performances. - Director:
- Billy Wilder
- Cast:
- William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
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When her husband jumped out of a plane without a parachute, Grace Trevethen (Brenda Blethyn) knew life would get tough, but she had no idea just how tough. Left with a manor on the Cornish coast, a mountain of debt and dozens of creditors on her heels, she is about to lose everything. But with Matthew (Craig Ferguson), the manor's caretaker, Grace hatches an outrageous idea: why not use her renowned green thumb to plant a cash crop and pay off her debts? Soon her greenhouse becomes a hot bed of illegal activity - and business starts blooming. But if the buzz gets too big, these budding entrepreneurs just might have to watch their dreams go up in smoke! - Director:
- Nigel Cole
- Cast:
- Brenda Blethyn, Craig Ferguson, Martin Clunes
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Hugh Jackman leads an all-star cast in this bold and original musical filled with infectious showstopping performances that will bring you to your feet time and time again. Inspired by the story of P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and celebrating the birth of show business, the film follows the visionary who rose from nothing to create a mesmerising spectacle. - Director:
- Michael Gracey
- Cast:
- Hugh Jackman, James Babson, Michelle Williams
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After avenging his family's brutal murder, Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) is on the run, pursued by a pack of killers. He travels alone, but a ragtag group of outcasts Laura Lee and Lone Watie (Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George) is drawn to him - and Wales can't leave his motley surrogate family unprotected. - Director:
- Clint Eastwood
- Cast:
- Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George
- Formats:
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Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)Atanarjuat
The first ever Inuit film to receive a theatrical release, whereupon It Instantly became one of the most critically lauded films of the year, Atanarjuat Is a truly epic piece of storytelling and a wonderfully lyrical cinematic experience. The film Is a recreation of the ancient Inult legend of Atanarjuat - a classic quest story set In the Arctic at the dawn of the first millennium. Evil In the form of an unknown shaman divides a small community; two brothers, Amaqjuaq (the Strong One) and Atanarjuat (the Fast Runner) rise up to challenge this order. However, when his brother Is murdered, Atanarjuat must flee the community - can the Fast Runner end his exile and vanquish the evil that haunts his community? Zacharias Kunuk's film was shot using digital cameras entirely on sea Ice in Arctic conditions and utilised local cast and crew from the Inult community of Igloolik. Dealing with universal themes and emotions with a rare Insight and compassion, Atanarjuat Is both an extremely Idiosyncratic and yet utterly universal work that truly rivals Lord of the Rings for its epic qualities and sheer visual mastery. - Director:
- Zacharias Kunuk
- Cast:
- Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq
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