Author Archives: rarefilm

Monkey Shines (1988) George A. Romero, Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi

Monkey Shines (1988)
When Allan becomes a quadriplegic he loses all hope for living until he meets Ella – a monkey trained to fetch and carry for him around the house, obeying him in all things. But Ella is part of another experiment, and when she starts responding to Allan’s underlying rage and frustration she has the ability to carry out her master’s darkest wishes.
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Wild Rovers (1971) Blake Edwards, William Holden, Ryan O’Neal, Karl Malden, Western

Wild Rovers (1971)
Ross Bodine and Frank Post are cowhands on Walt Buckman’s R-Bar-R ranch. Bodine is older and broods a bit about how he will get along when he’s too old to cowboy. Post is young and rambunctious and ambitious for a better life than wrangling cows. When one of their fellow cowboys is killed in a corral accident, Post suggests a way into a better life for himself and his friend: robbing a bank. Bodine reluctantly joins in the plan and the two contrive to rob the local bank. They make good their escape initially, but Walt Buckman and his two sons, John and Paul, are incensed at this betrayal by their own trusted employees. John and Paul set out to bring Bodine and Post to justice.
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Everyone Loves Alice / Alla älskar Alice (2002) Richard Hobert, Lena Endre, Mikael Persbrandt, Marie Richardson, Drama

Everyone Loves Alice (2002)
A dramatic love story of a man, two women and three children. When love suddenly explodes in these people’s lives it creates a pressure wave that changes the lives of everyone. Johan is married with Lotta and has two children, when Johan and his colleague Anna falls in love with one another. A love that causes anger, hate, joy and eventually new possibilities.
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Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1973) Samuel Fuller, Glenn Corbett, Christa Lang, Sieghardt Rupp, Crime, Thriller

Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1973)
Following Shark!, Sam Fuller’s luck getting films funded didn’t change much; Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street is Fuller’s only film of the ’70s. Technically, it’s not even a proper film, but if you didn’t know it was made as an episode of the German cop series Tatort (which is amazingly still running), you’d never have guessed it. Where American television stifled Fuller’s creative spirit and made him conform to the norms of whatever show he was working on, the producers of Tatort allowed Fuller the freedom to make whatever he wanted. He took this freedom and ran with it, crafting a unique, exciting picture unlike anything else in the Fuller catalog. Part crime thriller, part farcical comedy, Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street is a hidden gem in Fuller’s filmography.
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Abe ichizoku / The Abe Clan (1995) Kinji Fukasaku, Yumi Asô, Mariko Fuji, Renji Ishibashi, Drama, Action

Abe ichizoku AKA The Abe Clan (1995)
A Choice between Loyalty or Duty of the Samurai! Can the heartlessness of society crush the honor of an individual? In the spring of the 18th year of Kanei (Feb/30/1624 – Dec/16/1644), Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo area, died. Although Tadatoshi forbade his vassals to follow him in death before he died, they still committed seppuku one after the other. The new feudal lord, Mitsunao, Tadatoshi’s son, also gave the order forbidding seppuku. Abe Yaichiemon obeyed his former lord’s last wish but is now being called a coward by his comrades and finally decided to follow Tadatoshi in death in order to save his family’s honor. Mitsunao, upset by Yaichiemon actions, punished the Abe family unfairly. Objected to this, the Abe family shut themselves up in their manor as the lords troops moved in… This is the true story of what happened within the Hosokawa clan in early Edo era. A masterpiece by director Kinji Fukasaku that boldly depicts the struggle between humanity and the code of the Samurai.
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Le Voyou / The Crook (1970) Claude Lelouch, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Danièle Delorme, Charles Gérard, Crime, Thriller

Le Voyou AKA The Crook (1970)
When Simon (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is released from prison, he emerges with a bold kidnapping scheme. He enlists the help of an old cohort and his former lover, Martine (Christine Lelouch), to kidnap a young boy. The child’s father is an employee at a bank, and the three criminals blackmail the financial institution, demanding $1 million in ransom. Out of fear, the bank pays the sum, but the kidnappers may have bitten off more than they can chew.
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Deep Trap / Ham-jeong (2015) Hyeong-jin Kwon, Ji An, Han Sun Jo, Dong-seok Ma, Crime, Horror, Thriller

Deep Trap (2015)
Despite her will to become a mother, So Yeon cannot achieve her goal because of her husband’s uncooperative behavior. Even though he showed her no response, she tried many ways to reach pregnancy. Knowing her mind, her husband feels guilty for not being able to do anything more and then try to stay away from her and his remorseful conscience. As a last resort, So yeon finds an isolated restaurant on an isolated island. With the help of the restaurant’s owner, she draws a plan for her husband…
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