Production Company(ies)
Guangxi Film Studio, Beijing New Picture Film
 
Distributor
Columbia TriStar Home Video, Sony Pictures Classics
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
G
 
Year of Release
1999
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Minzhi Wei, Zhang Huike, Tian Zhenda, Gao Enman, Sun Zhimei, Feng Yuying, directed by Yimou Zhang, written by Xiangsheng Shi, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, Rick Groen, Leslie Camhi, Eleanor Ringel Cater, A.O Scott, Wesley Morris, Dennis Lim, Yasser Medina, Sarah Boslaugh, Michael Dequina, John A Nesbit, Frank Swietek, G MPAA rating, poverty-stricken village, teacher, literacy, teenage girl, education, Chinese language, Columbia TriStar Home Video, Sony Pictures Classics, produced by Yu Zhao
 

Cast & Crew

Minzhi Wei

Zhang Huike

Tian Zhenda

Gao Enman

Sun Zhimei

Wei Minzhi

Zhang Huike

Village Chief

Teacher Gao

Sun Zhimei

Minzhi Wei – Wei Minzhi
Zhang Huike – Zhang Huike
Tian Zhenda – Village Chief
Gao Enman – Teacher Gao
Sun Zhimei – Sun Zhimei
Feng Yuying – TV Receptionist

 

Yimou Zhang

Xiangsheng Shi

Yu Zhao

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Yimou Zhang
 
Writer(s)
Xiangsheng Shi
 
Producer(s)
Yu Zhao

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
17 wins & 6 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

Rick Groen

Leslie Camhi

Eleanor Ringel Cater

A.O. Scott

Entertainment Weekly

Globe and Mail

Village Voice

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New York Times

NOT ONE LESS
  All Critics (46) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (2)
  September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
 
  Owen Gleiberman
  Entertainment Weekly
  TOP CRITIC
  This thematic ‘lesson’ is served up with non-didactic grace complemented by tiny bursts of humour.
 
  March 22, 2002 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Rick Groen
  Globe and Mail
  TOP CRITIC
  With Not One Less, Zhang Yimou has fashioned what feels like an uncannily accurate portrait of a culture where Communist ideology has vanished like a brief dream, as traditional community values clash with the burgeoning cult of money.
 
  January 1, 2000
 
  Leslie Camhi
  Village Voice
  TOP CRITIC
  Small movie, big impact.
 
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: A-
 
  Eleanor Ringel Cater
  Atlanta Journal-Constitution
  TOP CRITIC
  Despite its deliberate austerity, Not One Less is extraordinarily rich.
 
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5
 
  A.O. Scott
  New York Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Zhang has constructed another startling showcase for a woman under siege that stands nicely beside Ju Dou or Shanghai Triad.
 
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Wesley Morris
  San Francisco Examiner
  TOP CRITIC
  Wei sets off on a rescue odyssey that derives humor from the young heroine’s alarmingly steely determination and pathos from the film’s stark depiction of life on the street.
 
  May 24, 2022
 
  Dennis Lim
  Out Magazine
  Zhang Yimou directs this excellent film in a style very close to neorealism and docufiction. It forms a highly intelligible hybrid between documentary and subtler narrative fiction. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  July 19, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Yasser Medina
  Cinemaficionados
  The relentlessly small scale of Not One Less is essential to its power.
 
  April 3, 2017 | Rating: 7/10
 
  Sarah Boslaugh
  Playback:stl
  That these non-actors are able to so convincingly bring this highly emotional fictional story to life is the true mark of a master filmmaker at work.
 
  January 3, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Michael Dequina
  TheMovieReport.com
  no one makes more beautiful films than Zhang Yimou. No one captures the intrinsic character of the Chinese people more indelibly as well
 
  April 4, 2007 | Rating: B
 
  John A. Nesbit
  Old School Reviews
  July 24, 2006 | Rating: B+
 
  Frank Swietek
  One Guy’s Opinion…

 

Plot
In a poverty-stricken village, a barely literate teenage girl takes over as teacher when the regular teacher goes away for a month in Not One Less.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features non-professional actors, including the lead actress Minzhi Wei who was discovered in a schoolyard.
 

 
Yimou-Zhang.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Independent Film Channel, Channel, Four Fourth Floor Pictures,
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements
 
Year of Release
2000
 

 
Genre(s)
Documentary
 
Keyword(s)
starring, directed by, written by, documentary, PG-13, Errol Morris, Fred A Leuchter Jr., Robert Jan Van Pelt, David Irving, Caroline Leuchter, James Roth, Shelly Shapiro, Dorothy Aufiero, David Collins, Kathy Trustman, Michael Williams, Universal Pictures, box office, gross USA, budget, critic reviews, Roger Ebert, Owen Gleiberman, Todd McCarthy, Jay Carr, Edward Guthmann, James Berardinelli, Emily Drabinski, Pablo Villaça, Emanuel Levy, Moriarty, Robin Clifford, audience reviews, controversy, capital punishment, electric chair, Holocaust denier, antisemitism, meek man, authority, execution, thought-provoking, fascinating
 

Cast & Crew

Fred A. Leuchter Jr.

Robert Jan Van Pelt

David Irving

Caroline Leuchter

James Roth

Fred A. Leuchter Jr

Robert Jan Van Pelt

David Irving

Caroline Leuchter

James Roth

Fred A. Leuchter Jr. – Self
Robert Jan Van Pelt – Self
David Irving – Self
Caroline Leuchter – Self
James Roth – Self
Shelly Shapiro – Self

 

Errol Morris

NA

Dorothy Aufiero

David Collins

Errol Morris

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Errol Morris
 
Writer(s)
NA
 
Producer(s)
Dorothy Aufiero, David Collins, Errol Morris, Kathy Trustman, Michael Williams

 

Film Festivals
Sundance
 
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 8 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Roger Ebert

Owen Gleiberman

Todd McCarthy

Jay Carr

Edward Guthmann

Chicago Sun-Times

Entertainment Weekly

Variety

Boston Globe

San Francisco Chronicle

MR. DEATH: THE RISE AND FALL OF FRED A. LEUCHTER, JR.
  All Critics (42) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (42)
  Like all of Morris’ films, “Mr. Death” provides us with no comfortable place to stand.
 
  January 4, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Roger Ebert
  Chicago Sun-Times
  TOP CRITIC
  September 7, 2011 | Rating: A
 
  Owen Gleiberman
  Entertainment Weekly
  TOP CRITIC
  Ultimately, Leuchter comes across not as a fundamentally bad man, just a hopelessly deluded one, a technician overly impressed with his own expertise and infallibility, a small figure blindly sucked into the vortex of consummate evil…
 
  July 6, 2010
 
  Todd McCarthy
  Variety
  TOP CRITIC
  June 18, 2002 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Jay Carr
  Boston Globe
  TOP CRITIC
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Edward Guthmann
  San Francisco Chronicle
  TOP CRITIC
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  James Berardinelli
  ReelViews
  TOP CRITIC
  Unfortunate didactic turns undercut what could have been Morris’ best film yet, but his subject’s disarming candor and misplaced vanity don’t fail to fascinate.
 
  May 27, 2022
 
  Emily Drabinski
  Out Magazine
  Morris, com sua habilidade narrativa habitual, conta a interessante mas incmoda histria de um homem destrudo pela prpria ignorncia.
 
  January 30, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Pablo Villaça
  Cinema em Cena
  June 30, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Emanuel Levy
  EmanuelLevy.Com
  June 25, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Moriarty
  Ain’t It Cool Movie Reviews
  March 9, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Robin Clifford
  Reeling Reviews
  Fascinating stuff.
 
  October 13, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Mark Robison
  Reno Gazette-Journal…

 

Plot
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. is a documentary about a man who became an authority on capital punishment and execution methods, but was discredited when he got involved on the wrong side of a court case involving a Holocaust denier.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features interviews with Fred A. Leuchter Jr., Robert Jan Van Pelt, David Irving, Caroline Leuchter, James Roth, and Shelly Shapiro.
 

 
Errol-Morris.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Selznick International Pictures,, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
 
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
 
Filming Location(s)
North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
 
Year of Release
1940
 

 
Genre(s)
Romance
 
Keyword(s)
Gone with the Wind, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, directed by Victor Fleming, written by Sidney Howard, produced by David O Selznick, romance, Civil War, Reconstruction, Southern belle, plantation, Ashley Wilkes, Rhett Butler, Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, Gerald O’Hara, Ellen O’Hara, Mammy, KKK, slavery, racism, historical accuracy, feminist message, box office gross, budget, critic reviews, reviewed by Sydney Morning Herald, Chicago Tribune, Guardian, New York Post, New York Daily News, Time Out, Deep Focus Review, Cleveland Plain Dealer, JoBlo’s Movie Network, World Socialist Web Site, MPAA rating G, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 

Cast & Crew

Clark Gable

Vivien Leigh

Leslie Howard

Olivia de Havilland

Thomas Mitchell

Rhett Butler

Scarlett O’Hara

Ashley Wilkes

Melanie Hamilton Wilkes

Gerald O’Hara

Clark Gable – Rhett Butler
Vivien Leigh – Scarlett O’Hara
Leslie Howard – Ashley Wilkes
Olivia de Havilland – Melanie Hamilton Wilkes
Thomas Mitchell – Gerald O’Hara
Barbara O’Neil – Ellen O’Hara

 

Victor Fleming

Sidney Howard

David O. Selznick

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Victor Fleming
 
Writer(s)
Sidney Howard
 
Producer(s)
David O. Selznick

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 10 Oscars
21 wins & 12 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Art Direction Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Cinematography Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

SMH Staff

Michael Wilmington

Guardian Staff

Lou Lumenick

Kate Cameron

Sydney Morning Herald

Chicago Tribune

Guardian

New York Post

New York Daily News

GONE WITH THE WIND
  All Critics (103) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (93) | Rotten (10)
  Clark Gable sends a refreshing blast of cynicism through a narrative which otherwise would have been over-sweet.
 
  February 5, 2020
 
  SMH Staff
  Sydney Morning Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  “Gone With the Wind” offers the kind of big, rich, opulent experience the movies are in a unique position to offer but seldom do.
 
  January 29, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Michael Wilmington
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  If the story had been cut short and tidied up at the point marked by the interval, and if the personal drama had been made subservient to a cinematic treatment of the central theme, then Gone With the Wind might have been a really great film.
 
  March 1, 2018
 
  Guardian Staff
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  The film’s subtle racism is insidious, going to great lengths to enshrine the myth that the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery – an institution the film unabashedly romanticizes.
 
  June 27, 2015 | Rating: 2/4
 
  Lou Lumenick
  New York Post
  TOP CRITIC
  There has never been a picture like David O. Selznick’s production of Gone With the Wind.
 
  February 22, 2015 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Kate Cameron
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  No one watches Gone with the Wind for historical accuracy. What keeps us coming back is four-hours of epic romance in gorgeous Technicolor.
 
  February 22, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Cath Clarke
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  It remains the most seen film in cinema history, not only because Selznick produced a monumental motion picture of immaculate quality, but because he knew how to sell it as an event.
 
  March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  The entire cast is about as flawless as I have ever seen in one picture.
 
  February 5, 2022
 
  W. Ward Marsh
  Cleveland Plain Dealer
  It is a film so misguided and ignorant that odds are that if you have seen it, you likely only remember one or two iconic scenes and have nary a recollection of the rest. Gone With The Wind is quite literally not worth giving a damn.
 
  May 4, 2021
 
  Alex Maidy
  JoBlo’s Movie Network
  One of the first technicolor films made by Hollywood, the panning shot of injured and dead soldiers littering a street remains unforgettable…
 
  August 7, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Tom Meek
  Cambridge Day
  One of the first technicolor films made by Hollywood, the panning shot of injured and dead soldiers littering a street remains unforgettable…
 
  August 7, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Joanne Laurier
  World Socialist Web Site
  No other movie has had quite the impact, the influence, or the epic feel (perhaps as only a nearly four-hour-long production could create) of this unmistakable masterpiece.
 
  July 27, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins…

 

Plot
Scarlett is a woman who can deal with a nation at war, Atlanta burning, the Union Army carrying off everything from her beloved Tara, the carpetbaggers who arrive after the war. Scarlett is beautiful. She has vitality. But Ashley, the man she has wanted for so long, is going to marry his placid cousin, Melanie. Mammy warns Scarlett to behave herself at the party at Twelve Oaks. There is a new man there that day, the day the Civil War begins. Rhett Butler. Scarlett does not know he is in the room when she pleads with Ashley to choose her instead of Melanie.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
One of the critic reviews says that Clark Gable’s character sends a refreshing blast of cynicism through a narrative which otherwise would have been over-sweet.
 

 
Victor-Fleming.jpg

 
Tagline

 
Production Company(ies)
Foreign Language, Netflix
 
Distributor
Sarigama Cinemas
 
Release Type
STREAMING, STREAMING (NETFLIX), THEATRICAL, THEATRICAL (LIMITED)
 
Filming Location(s)
Hyderabad, India; Bulgaria; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Ukraine
 
MPAA / Certificate
NR
 
Year of Release
2022
 

 
Genre(s)
Action, Drama
 
Keyword(s)
RRR, action, drama, Telugu, S.S. Rajamouli, D.V.V. Danayya, S.S. Rajamouli, Sai Madhav Burra, N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgan, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, box office, budget, Dolby Atmos, Scope, 2.35:1, Sarigama Cinemas, reviewed by Alison Herman, Randy Myers, James Berardinelli, Nicholas Barber, Adam Kempenaar, Frank Scheck, Matt Brunson, Rahul Desai, Mukesh Manjunath, Robert Roten, Emiliano Basile, starring N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgan, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, directed by S.S. Rajamouli, produced by D.V.V. Danayya, MPAA rating, freedom fighters, Komaram Bheem, Alluri Sitarama Raju, top-notch singing, dancing, entertainment, 3-hour runtime, colonizers, insane action sequences, Bollywood style musical numbers, fantastical spectacle, adventure
 

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Song Winners, Oscar Winners
 

 

Synopsis (Warning: Spoilers!)

 
Trivia

 
Goofs
Brazil, but not Belize, is marked as part of the British Empire in the large map on the meeting hall. Brazil was never a colony, protectorate or a client state of the UK, unlike Belize.
 
Quotes
Komaram Bheem: Your friendship is more valuable than this life, brother. I’ll die with pride.
 
Credits

 
Alternate Versions
The Hindi version released on Netflix has some changes made to it. The title card mentioning “Rise Roar Revolt” has been translated to English, the intermission has been removed, the ending song and end credits are played separately, and the overall film is presented in an open matte format, as opposed to the theatrical version.
 
Soundtracks
NA
 

Streaming Platforms
Netflix
 
Watch Now

(Click to Watch)

 
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Ci By 2000 Thin Man Films,
 
Distributor
October Films
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Junction of Whitehouse Way and Hampden Way, Southgate, London, England, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
 
Year of Release
1997
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama
 
Keyword(s)
starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook, Ron Cook, Timothy Spall, directed by Mike Leigh, written by Mike Leigh, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Adam Mars-Jones, Owen Gleiberman, Eric Henderson, Kenneth Turan, Mike Clark, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Noël Herpe, Tom Cassidy, David Harris, James Kendrick, Nick Levine, Matt Brunson, producer Simon Channing Williams, MPAA rating R, social issues, family, adoption, identity, race, roots, class, emotional, improvised, human drama, character portrayals, nuanced, engaging, surprising, good humor, high quality, storytelling, literary, original, human comedy, masterpiece
 

Cast & Crew

Timothy Spall

Brenda Blethyn

Phyllis Logan

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Claire Rushbrook

Maurice Purley

Cynthia Rose Purley

Monica Purley

Hortense Cumberbatch

Roxanne Purley

Timothy Spall – Maurice Purley
Brenda Blethyn – Cynthia Rose Purley
Phyllis Logan – Monica Purley
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hortense Cumberbatch
Claire Rushbrook – Roxanne Purley
Ron Cook – Stuart

 

Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh

Simon Channing Williams

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Mike Leigh
 
Writer(s)
Mike Leigh
 
Producer(s)
Simon Channing Williams

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 5 Oscars
36 wins & 47 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Adam Mars-Jones

Owen Gleiberman

Eric Henderson

Kenneth Turan

Mike Clark

Independent

Entertainment Weekly

Slant Magazine

Los Angeles Times

USA Today

SECRETS & LIES
  All Critics (44) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (2)
  Secrets and Lies is a beautifully constructed sentimental melodrama, with none of the rough edges that Mike Leigh has insisted on in the past.
 
  November 15, 2017
 
  Adam Mars-Jones
  Independent (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  September 7, 2011 | Rating: B
 
  Owen Gleiberman
  Entertainment Weekly
  TOP CRITIC
  Secrets & Lies is littered with scenes that begin at a fever pitch before descending into a becalmed, meditative state.
 
  February 19, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Eric Henderson
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  February 14, 2001 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Kenneth Turan
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Leigh’s best work yet is indisputably screen art, but it’s a flesh-and-blood ‘people’ movie, too.
 
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Mike Clark
  USA Today
  TOP CRITIC
  January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Jonathan Rosenbaum
  Chicago Reader
  TOP CRITIC
  This is exactly the challenge taken up by Leigh: bring film back to its community calling and remember that, beyond the confusion of images and identities, there are… people with pasts, sufferings, things to say, families — and we are all part of it.
 
  May 3, 2022
 
  Noël Herpe
  Positif
  A benchmark for comedy dramas, this award-winning 1996 film is a bonafide masterpiece.
 
  March 4, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Tom Cassidy
  Common Sense Media
  Much of Secrets & Lies unfolds as if we’re peeking around corners, watching Mike Leigh’s characters struggle with personal, yet hidden, pain. Everyone in the film is hurting but unwilling to reach out to others in the family.
 
  October 12, 2021
 
  David Harris
  Spectrum Culture
  a masterful dramedy about that wonderfully, terribly complex thing we call family
 
  June 19, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  James Kendrick
  Q Network Film Desk
  It’s a beautifully performed British film which sensitively explores issues surrounding identity, race, roots and class.
 
  May 10, 2021
 
  Nick Levine
  NME
  Secrets & Lies is a mesmerizing film, with the emotional stakes raised so high that each confrontation or revelation generates as much (or more) genuine suspense as anything found in Hollywood’s latest thriller-of-the-week.
 
  April 3, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy…

 

Plot
Cynthia lives in London with her sullen street-sweeper daughter. Her brother has been successful with his photographer’s business and now lives nearby in a more upmarket house. But Cynthia hasn’t even been invited round there after a year. So, all round, she feels rather lonely and isolated. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Hortense, adopted at birth but now grown up, starts to try and trace her mother.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste both received Oscar nominations for their performances in Secrets & Lies.
 

 
Mike-Leigh.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Figment Films, The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company,
 
Distributor
Miramax Films
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Corrour Station, Highland, Scotland, UK
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence
 
Year of Release
1996
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
 
Keyword(s)

Cast & Crew

Ewan McGregor

Ewen Bremner

Jonny Lee Miller

Kevin McKidd

Robert Carlyle

Mark “Rent-boy” Renton

Daniel “Spud” Murphy

Simon David “Sick Boy” Williamson

Tommy MacKenzie

Francis (Franco) Begbie

CAST & CREW

Ewan McGregor – Mark “Rent-boy” Renton
Ewen Bremner – Daniel “Spud” Murphy
Jonny Lee Miller – Simon David “Sick Boy” Williamson
Kevin McKidd – Tommy MacKenzie
Robert Carlyle – Francis (Franco) Begbie
Kelly Macdonald – Diane

 

Danny Boyle

John Hodge

Andrew Macdonald

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Danny Boyle
 
Writer(s)
John Hodge
 
Producer(s)
Andrew Macdonald

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
23 wins & 35 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Chris Cabin

Wendy Ide

Peter Bradshaw

Ann Hornaday

Neil Jeffries

Slant Magazine

Observer (UK)

Guardian

Baltimore Sun

Empire Magazine

TRAINSPOTTING
  All Critics (88) | Top Critics (29) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (8)
  The film finds pitch-black humor, horror, tragedy, and violence in a series of asides and digressions.
 
  July 5, 2021
 
  Chris Cabin
  Slant Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  What’s interesting, viewing the film now, is how it manages to be both inarguably of its time, the mid 90s, but also has not dated nearly as badly as most youth culture movies tend to.
 
  January 16, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Wendy Ide
  Observer (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Trainspotting is supercharged with sulphurous humour and brutal recklessness: it charges at you like Ewan McGregor’s Renton sprinting from store detectives in the opening sequence.
 
  January 12, 2017 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  Brazen, hilarious, disgusting, audacious, altogether fresh.
 
  June 26, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Ann Hornaday
  Baltimore Sun
  TOP CRITIC
  An unprecedented and unrivalled piece of entertainment.
 
  June 26, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Neil Jeffries
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Trainspotting’s saving grace is that there’s a heck of a lot of entertainment value in this particular form of shallowness.
 
  June 26, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  The film resists a moralized discussion of drug use to instead presents a story whose ugly, darkly comic details pulse with Boyle’s kinetic touch.
 
  March 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  The screenplay by John Hodge has this incredibly intoxicating eloquence to it, and despite being aimless addicts, most of the characters in this film have such strong personalities, it just makes them stand out.
 
  August 14, 2021 | Rating: 8.3/10
 
  Nicholas Oon
  Maximum Hype (YouTube)
  I’ve seen it in all formats — at the movies, on a VCR, on a DVD, streaming– and it still fills me with a giddy appreciation for its director Danny Boyle’s frisky energy, wit, and agility.
 
  July 20, 2021
 
  Kyle Smith
  National Review
  Trainspotting gives insight into the rationale of an addict and even sympathizes with them in some ways. But viewers are also sucked in to the terrifying and surreal lows of withdrawal, as well as the real life consequences of addiction.
 
  April 1, 2020
 
  Ed Travis
  Hollywood Jesus
  As in his first film, Shallow Grave, Boyle’s up-your-nose style of filmmaking is a ghoulish hoot.
 
  October 25, 2019
 
  Michael Atkinson
  Spin
  Like a 20th-century magical realist version of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy narrated by a lad from Edinburgh hooked on skag.
 
  May 1, 2019
 
  C.H. Newell
  Father Son Holy Gore…

 

Plot
A wild, freeform, Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life, focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit, and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends: Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy, dimbulb Spud, psycho Begbie, 14-year-old girlfriend Diane, and clean-cut athlete Tommy, who’s never touched drugs but can’t help being curious about them…
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
 

 
Danny-Boyle.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
NA
 
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-MA
 
Year of Release
1996
 

 
Genre(s)
Action/Anime
 
Keyword(s)
starring Mimi Woods, Richard George, Richard Epcar, William Frederick Knight, Tom Wyner, Christopher Joyce, Michael Sorich, directed by Mamoru Oshii, written by Kazunori Itô, action, anime, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Willow Maclay, Gene Siskel, Noel Murray, Robbie Collin, Peter Bradshaw, Tom Huddleston, Brian Eggert, David Hogan, Panos Kotzathanasis, Andrew Heskins, Mike Massie, Charles Solomon, MPAA rating, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Ken Iyadomi, Ken Matsumoto, Yoshimasa Mizuo, produced by, cyborg, federal agent, The Puppet Master, computerized minds, hybrids, identity, Japanese, bodily displacement, roboticized culture, hard-edged sexuality, consciousness, artificial intelligence
 

Cast & Crew

Richard Epcar

Mimi Woods

William Frederick Knight

Tom Wyner

Christopher Joyce

Bateau

Major Motoko Kusanagi

Chief Aramaki

Project 2501

Puppet Master

Richard Epcar – Bateau (Voice)
Mimi Woods – Major Motoko Kusanagi (Voice)
William Frederick Knight – Chief Aramaki (Voice)
Tom Wyner – Project 2501, Puppet Master (Voice)
Christopher Joyce – Togusa (Voice)
Michael Sorich – Ishikawa (Voice)

 

Mamoru Oshii

Kazunori Itô

Mitsuhisa Ishikawa

Ken Iyadomi

Ken Matsumoto

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Mamoru Oshii
 
Writer(s)
Kazunori Itô
 
Producer(s)
Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, Ken Iyadomi, Ken Matsumoto, Yoshimasa Mizuo

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Willow Maclay

Gene Siskel

Noel Murray

Robbie Collin

Peter Bradshaw

RogerEbert.com

Chicago Tribune

The Dissolve

Daily Telegraph (UK)

Guardian

GHOST IN THE SHELL
  All Critics (59) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (2)
  Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell will always strike a chord with those directly affected by bodily displacement.
 
  March 8, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Willow Maclay
  RogerEbert.com
  TOP CRITIC
  The drawing style is remarkable in a story that reveals a Japanese preoccupation with roboticized culture and hard-edged sexuality.
 
  August 16, 2017 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Gene Siskel
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  Ghost In The Shell is an ultra-violent, rocket-paced film-over and out in just over 80 minutes-but it’s a poetic one, too.
 
  September 29, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Noel Murray
  The Dissolve
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a work of profound and melancholic beauty; every bit as essential in the 21st century as it was in the 20th.
 
  September 26, 2014 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Robbie Collin
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  I confess I find it too opaque to make the kind of investment that would qualify me as a real fan. But it should be seen.
 
  September 25, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Peter Bradshaw
  Guardian
  TOP CRITIC
  For sheer mind-expanding sci-fi strangeness this is hard to beat
 
  September 23, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Tom Huddleston
  Time Out
  TOP CRITIC
  Ghost in the Shell is part of a long tradition of science-fiction films that consider the limits of humanity, technology, and the potential for consciousness within an artificial intelligence
 
  April 4, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  Top notch animation, soundtrack and a story full of action and thought provoking ideas, this 90 minute film from 1995 is still just as good now as it was then. A must watch.
 
  November 12, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  David Hogan
  hoganreviews.co.uk
  “Ghost in the Shell” is a true masterpiece, the epitome of the heights an anime can reach and in that fashion, a classic of Japanese and world cinema.
 
  February 21, 2021
 
  Panos Kotzathanasis
  Asian Movie Pulse
  Mamoru Oshii’s classic original anime, often rightly regarded as one of the best ever made…
 
  September 23, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Andrew Heskins
  easternKicks.com
  The plot seems at times to be as complex as the human brain – and the idea of reprogramming it or manipulating memories is difficult to comprehend.
 
  September 14, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  It’s dark, violent, a lot of nudity, but it’s very powerful filmmaking and a very important film.
 
  July 18, 2020
 
  Charles Solomon
  FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)…

 

Plot
In this Japanese animation, cyborg federal agent Major Motoko Kusanagi pursues “The Puppet Master,” a hacker who illegally hacks into the computerized minds of cyborg-human hybrids, leading her to question her own identity and what it means to be human.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Mimi Woods voices the lead character, Major Motoko Kusanagi, in the film.
 

 
Mamoru-Oshii.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Poly Gram Filmed Entertainment, Spelling Films, International, Blue Parrot
 
Distributor
Gramercy Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and a substantial amount of strong language
 
Year of Release
1995
 

 
Genre(s)
Drama/Crime
 
Keyword(s)
starring Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, directed by Bryan Singer, written by Christopher McQuarrie, drama, crime, mystery, thriller, R rating, box office gross, budget, reviewed by Rene Rodriguez, Doug Thomas, Jay Boyar, Anthony Lane, Michael Wilmington, Jack Kroll, Sheila Reid, Quentin Crisp, Margaret A McGurk, Mike Massie, Fico Cangiano, Steph Cozza, expertly shot, edited, layers of deceit, twists, violence, con man, crime lord, heist, explosion, San Pedro Harbor, multi-million dollar, mythic, corrupt, betrayal, flashback, Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR, Scope (2.35:1), Michael McDonnell, produced by Bryan Singer, Gramercy Pictures, English, original language, runtime 1h 45m
 

Cast & Crew

Stephen Baldwin

Michael McManus

Gabriel Byrne

Dean Keaton

Chazz Palminteri

Michael McManus

Dean Keaton

Dave Kujan

Todd Hockney

Kobayashi

Stephen Baldwin – Michael McManus
Gabriel Byrne – Dean Keaton
Chazz Palminteri – Dave Kujan
Kevin Pollak – Todd Hockney
Pete Postlethwaite – Kobayashi
Kevin Spacey – Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint

 

Bryan Singer

Christopher McQuarrie

Michael McDonnell

Bryan Singer

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Bryan Singer
 
Writer(s)
Christopher McQuarrie
 
Producer(s)
Michael McDonnell, Bryan Singer

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
37 wins & 17 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Winners, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Rene Rodriguez

Doug Thomas

Jay Boyar

Anthony Lane

Michael Wilmington

Miami Herald

Seattle Times

Orlando Sentinel

New Yorker

Chicago Tribune

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
  All Critics (78) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (9)
  The Usual Suspects flirts with greatness but attempts too much. It’s a fascinating failure.
 
  August 18, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
 
  Rene Rodriguez
  Miami Herald
  TOP CRITIC
  An imaginative, entertaining crime mystery with plenty of nerve and vigor.
 
  June 18, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Doug Thomas
  Seattle Times
  TOP CRITIC
  If the pleasures of The Usual Suspects are the more superficial ones of ingenuity and style, those are abundantly available. The twists and turns of the plot are an awful lot of fun, while the ending is genuinely satisfying and surprising.
 
  June 18, 2013
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  In a season of fat blockbusters, a picture as brainy, bitter, and compact as this one comes as a shock and a treat.
 
  June 18, 2013
 
  Anthony Lane
  New Yorker
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s a nerve-shredding suspense movie about corruption, a bravura actor’s show full of deliciously twisted cops and robbers, and a complex riddle packed with unexpected turns.
 
  June 18, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Michael Wilmington
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  For many true movie fiends, noir is the key American movie type, and the most fun when it’s done right. The Usual Suspects is done right.
 
  January 18, 2013
 
  Jack Kroll
  Newsweek
  TOP CRITIC
  Never a dull moment in this one!
 
  May 13, 2022
 
  Sheila Reid
  Women in the Life
  It is a wonderful film, with a plot as complicated as Farewell My Lovely and as violent as any of Mr. Stallone’s pictures.
 
  April 25, 2022
 
  Quentin Crisp
  Christopher Street
  Singer uses a clever combination of flashback and straight narrative to keep his tale of crime and betrayal moving through a tangle of blind alleys and false leads.
 
  August 19, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Margaret A. McGurk
  Cincinnati Enquirer
  Features perhaps the most famous of all movie lineups and the most unforgettable series of unpredictable twists.
 
  September 25, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  One of the best heist films ever made. Includes one of the all-time best twists/reveals in film history. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  September 2, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Fico Cangiano
  CineXpress Podcast
  In all of my heist movies research, and all of the things that I’ve watched recently, I think The Usual Suspects might be the best heist movie of all time.
 
  May 15, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Steph Cozza
  Aggressive Comix…

 

Plot
Following a truck hijack in New York, five criminals are arrested and brought together for questioning. As none of them are guilty, they plan a revenge operation against the police. The operation goes well, but then the influence of a legendary mastermind criminal called Keyser Söze is felt. It becomes clear that each one of them has wronged Söze at some point and must pay back now. The payback job leaves 27 men dead in a boat explosion, but the real question arises now: Who actually is Keyser Söze?
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of The Usual Suspects includes Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, and Pete Postlethwaite.
 

 
Bryan-Singer.jpg