Daily Archives: May 30, 2016

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) John Ford, James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Western

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
When Senator Ransom Stoddard returns home to Shinbone for the funeral of Tom Doniphon, he recounts to a local newspaper editor the story behind it all. He had come to town many years before, a lawyer by profession. The stage was robbed on its way in by the local ruffian, Liberty Valance, and Stoddard has nothing to his name left save a few law books. He gets a job in the kitchen at the Ericson’s restaurant and there meets his future wife, Hallie. The territory is vying for Statehood and Stoddard is selected as a representative over Valance, who continues terrorizing the town. When he destroys the local newspaper office and attacks the editor, Stoddard calls him out, though the conclusion is not quite as straightforward as legend would have it.
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
The film opens with a montage of protests regarding the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, before cutting to Raoul Duke (Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Del Toro) speeding down the desert of Nevada. Duke, under the influence of mescaline, complains of hallucinating a swarm of giant bats, before going through the pair’s inventory of psychoactive drugs. Shortly afterward, the duo stop to pick up a young hitchhiker (Tobey Maguire), and explain what they are doing. Duke has been assigned by an unnamed magazine to travel to Las Vegas and cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race. However, they have also decided to take advantage of this trip by purchasing countless drugs, and rent a brand new Chevy Impala convertible. The young man soon becomes terrified of the drug-filled antics of the duo, and flees on foot. Trying to reach Vegas before the hitchhiker can go to the police, Gonzo gives Duke a tab of “Sunshine Acid”, then informs him that there is little chance of making it before the drug kicks in. By the time they reach the strip, Duke is in full throes of his trip, and barely makes it through the check-in; all the while hallucinating that the hotel clerk is a moray eel, and that his fellow bar patrons are hideous lizards in the depths of an orgy.
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You’ve Got Mail (1998) Nora Ephron, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Comedy, Drama, Romance

You've Got Mail (1998)
The owner of a large bookstore chain starts putting the owner of a small local bookstore out of business. Meanwhile they have been corresponding over the internet without knowing who either of them are. They can’t stand each other in person but over the internet they are very attracted. He finds out who she is but she doesn’t know. He starts to like her more but she still hates him. He has to fix it.
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Red Angel / Akai tenshi (1966) Yasuzô Masumura, Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, Yûsuke Kawazu, Drama, Romance, War

Red Angel (1966)
In 1939, Sakura Nishi is a young army nurse who is sent to the field hospitals in China during the Sino-Japanese war. She has to assist the surgeon Dr. Okabe with an incredible number of amputations. In the crowded wards, she gives sympathy to some of the soldiers, including sexually servicing one who has lost both arms and has no hope of returning home. She falls in love with Dr. Okabe, and follows him to the front, even though he is impotent from his morphine addiction.
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The Champ (1931) King Vidor, Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Drama, Family, Sport

The Champ (1931)
Dink Purcell loves his alcoholic father, ex-heavyweight champion Andy “Champ” Purcell, despite his frequent binges, his frequent gambling and their squalid living conditions. And there’s nothing Andy wouldn’t do for Dink. When Andy wins a race horse gambling, he gives it to Dink and they race it at a Tijuana track. There, Dink meets Linda Carleton, a race horse owner herself, and they have an immediate rapport. But Linda’s rich husband sees Andy and realizes Dink is Linda’s son, who she gave up when she and Andy divorced. Andy is bribed $200 to allow Dink to visit with Linda, but refuses to allow Dink to spend six months with the Carletons. When Andy loses the horse gambling and winds up in jail after a drunken tirade, he realizes Dink’s place is with his mother. Dink tearfully goes but sneaks out and returns at his first opportunity, filling a depressed Andy with a desire to make good. So Andy goes into training after his managers arrange a boxing match with the Mexican champion.
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Rejs / A Trip Down the River (1970) Marek Piwowski, Stanislaw Tym, Jolanta Lothe, Wanda Stanislawska-Lothe, Comedy

Rejs AKA The Cruise (1970)
A stowaway (Stanis?aw Tym) sneaks aboard a ship departing on a cruise down the Vistula River. The captain takes him for a Communist Party cultural coordinator and the intruder gladly adapts to his new role, immediately setting to work at manipulating the passengers and crew into silly and vaguely humiliating games. Before long, Tym has got everyone under his thumb and created his own comedic dictatorship.
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