The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part epic masterpiece, Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieslowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.
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Tag Archives: 1990s
Two Bits (1995) James Foley, Al Pacino, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Jerry Barone, Drama
It’s a hot summer day in 1933 in South Philly, where 12-year old Gennaro lives with his widowed mom and his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding tight to his last quarter, which he’s promised to Gennaro and which Gennaro would like to have to buy a ticket to the plush new movie theater. But grandpa’s not ready to pass on the quarter or pass on to his final reward: he has some unfinished business with a woman from his past, and he enlists Gennaro to act as his emissary.
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Stella Does Tricks (1996) Coky Giedroyc, Kelly Macdonald, James Bolam, Hans Matheson, Drama
Stella, a young Glaswegian girl working as a prostitute in London, heads back to Glasgow with her new boyfriend and attempts to start a new life, but finds it difficult to break free of the cycle of abuse she has become trapped in.
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Stephen King’s It (1990) Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O’Toole, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
In 1960, a group of social outcasts who are bullied by a gang of greasers led by Henry Bowers are also tormented by an evil demon who can shape-shift into a clown and feed on children’s fears and kill them. After defeating the demonic clown as kids, it resurfaces 30 years later and they must finish it off as adults once again.
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Qing shao nian nuo zha / Rebels of the Neon God (1992) Ming-liang Tsai, Chao-jung Chen, Chang-bin Jen, Kang-sheng Lee, Crime, Drama
Defying his parents, Hsiao Kang drops out of the local crammer to head for the bright lights of downtown Taipei. He falls in with Ah Tze, a pretty hood and their relationships is a confused mixture of hero-worship and rivalry that soon leads to trouble.
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Waga ai no uta – Taki Rentaro monogatari / Bloom in the Moonlight: The Story of Rentaro Taki (1993) Shin’ichirô Sawai, Tôru Kazama, Isako Washio, Ryo Amamiya, Biography, Drama, Music
In April 1895, the talented young Rentaro Taki comes to Tokyo from his home in Kyushu to enrol in the prestigious National Academy of Music. Hoping to become a pianist, he meets another student there, Yuki Nakano, who shares the same aspirations. With his elder classmate Suzuki’s encouragement, Rentaro practices furiously to perfect his technique, but loses his health in the process. Over the years, his health, as well as his devotion to and achievement level in music, fluctuates, as two friends adjust to the varying roles they can each potentially play in his life. Yuki receives the Japanese government’s first music scholarship to study in Berlin. At the same time, Rentaro composes wonderful music and songs like Bloom in the Moonlight which are still very popular in today’s Japan, while Suzuki quits the music school and becomes a hard labourer due to family crisis.
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Sorceress (1995) Jim Wynorski, Linda Blair, Edward Albert, Julie Strain, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Erotic
This is another look at the occult as inspired by Roger Corman and his view of the dark side. Jealous witch Erica uses her powers to influence her unwitting husband Larry and his colleagues, who all work for a big law firm.
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Warlock: The Armageddon (1993) Anthony Hickox, Julian Sands, Chris Young, Paula Marshall, Fantasy, Horror
Every six hundred years, a great evil has the opportunity to escape and unleash Armageddon. A group of five stones has the power to either free the evil, or banish it for another six hundred years. An order of Druids battles with a Warlock determined to unleash his father upon the world.
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Hook (1991) Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Adventure, Comedy, Family
Peter Pan (Williams) has grown up to be a cut-throat merger and acquisitions lawyer, and is married to Wendy’s granddaughter. Captain Hook (Hoffman) kidnaps his children, and Peter returns to Never Land with Tinkerbell (Roberts). With the help of her and the Lost Boys, he must remember how to be Peter Pan again in order to save his children by battling with Captain Hook once again.
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Sib / The Apple (1998) Samira Makhmalbaf, Massoumeh Naderi, Zahra Naderi, Ghorban Ali Naderi, Drama
This unusual Iranian documentary/drama is based on the true story of a poor and religious 65-year-old father who kept his two 12-year-old daughters locked in their small house from the day that they were born. Their blind mother agreed with the arrangement since she was unable to supervise them in any other way. Thanks to the concern of neighbors over the plight of Massoumeh and Zahra, a social worker looked into the matter and found the girls unable to talk or walk properly. They were given the first baths in their lives and then returned to their home. The father, believing that he has been publicly shamed by his neighbors, promises not to keep them imprisoned anymore.
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