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Elevator Pitch. Dave Skylark, the presenter of a popular celebrity show on US TV is invited to North Korea to interview the president Kim Jong-un, and after his producer meets with the female head of the president’s media organisation, the arrangements are made for the show to go ahead, but they are derailed by a … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch. When the younger of two children is beheaded in a bizaar car accident the family, already struggling after the death of the wife’s mother, is thrown into chaos, and the situation takes an even darker turn when Annie, the wife, is introduced to a technique which allows her to contact the dead child … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch. A couple of bank robbers who have recently escaped from prison hit on the idea of taking the manager hostage, and then getting to the bank first thing in the morning, but when they accidentally pick up a bored housewife to whom they are both attracted, and their get away driver is distracted … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch. Foley, a former con artist who has served 25 years in prison for killing his former partner is released more or less into the hands of the murdered man’s son, who wants him to conduct a scam; in addition he becomes friendly and then more with a young woman, with whom it appears … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch. A wilful and intelligent young woman, the second of five daughters of a Derbyshire landowner, all of whom their mother wants to marry off, rejects a possible suitor and comes to the attention of a rich but reticent young aristocrat, who is attracted to her despite her more lowly birth; when he insults … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch. An adventurer, obsessed with a search for Spanish treasure in the Bahamas finds himself divorced, his now former wife having taken a job as steward on a rich Brit’s yacht, but during his last dive, when his boat was sunk he found evidence of the sunken gallion he has been seeking, and convinces … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch Marlo, a mother with two children, one of them “quirky”, has just given birth to a third and is finding life difficult, so welcomes help from her rich brother, who suggests that she will benefit from the services of a “night nanny”; Tully, the nanny, arrives after dark, and magically Marlo’s life is transformed, … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch Jack an absent-minded young farm hand, comes into the possession of some magic beans which, legend has it, will connect his world with that of the giants, and sure enough while a runaway princess is sheltering in hs cottage, one of the beans sprouts and transports the hovel, and the princess up into … Continue reading
Elevator Pitch After receiving medical attention Katniss is tasked with continuing as the symbolic leader of the rebellion against the Capitol, and joins a group of old friends who have the job of following the front line while being filmed for propoganda purposes, but their progress towards the centre is impeded by booby traps, which … Continue reading
Duration 1h 57m Rating (UK) 18 Source of story The first film, and the Marvel characters. Director Guillermo del Toro Writers/Script David S. Goyer ( Characters by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan) Starring Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Ron Perlman, Leonor Varela, Thomas Kretschmann, Luke Goss, Danny John-Jules, Santiago Segura Elevator Pitch Blade, the half human, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 36m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Director David Lowery Writers/Script David Lowery Starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine Elevator Pitch When a couple are chased down by the police after taking part in a robbery in Texas, the female shoots and wounds a policeman for which … Continue reading
Duration 1h 58m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story Real events and a book by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter Director George Clooney Writers/Script George Clooney, Grant Heslov Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Hugh Bonneville, Bob Balaban, Miles Jupp Elevator Pitch Towards the end of WWII … Continue reading
Duration 2h 30m Rating (UK) PG Source of story An adaptation of the Carl Sagan novel of the same name. Director Robert Zemeckis Writers/Script James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg (story by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan) Starring David Morse, Jodie Foster, William Fichtner, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, James Woods, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe, Jake Busey, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 48m Rating (UK) 18 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script David Grovic, Paul Conway (and an original screenplay “Motel” by James Russo) Additional Info Rebecca Da Costa is an almost unfeasibly tall Brazilian model. I thought she did OK. Director David Grovic Starring John Cusack, Rebecca Da Costa, Robert De Nero, Crispin … Continue reading
Duration 1h 54m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story A novel of the same name by Naomi Alderman Writers/Script Sebastián Lelio, Rebecca Lenkiewicz Additional Info No-one is saying what sort of a Jewish community this is, but more than 20,000 Haradi Jews live in an enclosed community in Stamford Hill, London. Director Sebastián Lelio Starring … Continue reading
Duration 1h 32m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story Yet another screenplay about a secret code which will be capable of taking over the world. Writers/Script Max Adams, Umair Aleem Additional Info I had thought that Bruce Willis would have filmed his scenes in a couple of days, but actually he had managed to do … Continue reading
Duration 1h 37m Rating (UK) 12 Source of story Apparently this is a teen version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”. Writers/Script Karen McCullah, Kirsten Smith Additional Info I am a bit of a pushover for American marching bands, and a real one appears in this movie. I can’t help adding a link to … Continue reading
Duration 1h 55m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story The characters from the Marvel comics Writers/Script Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne (with story by J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Protosevich and characters by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby) Additional Info As usual with Marvel stuff the IMDb trivia is endless, but my favourite item … Continue reading
Duration 1h 40m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story Loosely based on the folk tale of the same name. Writers/Script David Leslie Johnson Additional Info This film made money and a book written to accompany the release debuted at No 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Director Catherine Hardwicke Starring Amanda Seyfried, Gary … Continue reading
Duration 1h 49m Rating (UK) 12 Source of story A sort of original screenplay, although said to have been lifted from a short story and have some similarities to Logan’s Run. Writers/Script Andrew Niccol Additional Info Photography by Roger Deakins. No matter how hard the makers tried, the nerds have found many errors in the … Continue reading
Duration 2h 12m Rating A 12 where so far released Source of story Loosely based on the Cervantes story, although essentially a film about film making. Writers/Script Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni Additional Info Just for those who have recently arrived from another planet this is a celebrated Terry Gilliam project, famously failing in the past … Continue reading
Duration 2h 14m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script David Ayer Additional Info Four real Shermans, and one real Tiger, from the Bovington Tank Museum took part in the movie. Here are a couple of links, the first to the Fury tank battle Sherman v Tiger in Fury, and the second … Continue reading
Duration 2h 30m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story The book of the same name (of the Bible) Writers/Script Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine, Steven Zaillian Additional Info This movie is better known for the accusation that it engaged in “whitewashing” than for anything else, but actually according to some historians the Egyptians of … Continue reading
Duration 1h 57m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story The duo of 1980s Robocop films. Writers/Script Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner (with nods to the 1987 writers – the last two above) Additional Info Apparently the director was constantly annoyed at having his good ideas vetoed, this as the costs balooned and the studio … Continue reading
Duration 1h 53m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Douglas Cook, David Weisberg Additional Info I like to look at the IMDb trivia to see if there is anything interesting that people have uploaded. This film seems to have garnered a mass of what look like press releases, so here’s a … Continue reading
Duration 1h 41m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story Very loosely based on abook by Valerio Manfredi Writers/Script Jez and Tom Butterworth (Story by Carlo Carlei, Peter Rader, Valerio Manfredi) Additional Info This outing seemed to be edging towards King Arthur, and the film of that name made in 2004 also involved Hadrian’s Wall which, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 45m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story A book of the same name by Peter Turner Writers/Script Matt Greenhalgh Additional Info The book was first optioned many years ago and is only the third non-Bond film made by Eon Productions. It bombed at the box office, but I expect they can afford it. … Continue reading
Duration 2h 22m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story The characters and stories in the Marvel comics, and the first of these two reboots of the franchise. Writers/Script Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner (story by the scriptwriters plus James Vanderbilt. And not forgetting the Marvel men Stan Lee and Steve Ditko) Additional Info This … Continue reading
Duration 2h 37m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story Based on real events Writers/Script Mark Boal Additional Info The script writer was offered, and received co-operation from the CIA in the development of the story and, some would say, it shows. Director Kathryn Bigelow Starring Jason Clarke, Reda Kateb, Jessica Chastain, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 58m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Gary Whitta Additional Info This movie’s production costs were $80 million and it grossed double that, so it probably made money. Director The Hughes Brothers Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Francis de la Tour, Michael Gambon, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 55m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story An orignal screenplay Writers/Script Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer, Mitch Glazer Additional Info Said to be watched by CIA recruits as light entertainment. Director Roger Donaldson Starring Al Pacino, Colin Farrell, Bridget Moynahan, Gabriel Macht Elevator Pitch A group of young men and women are recruited to … Continue reading
Duration 1h 46m Rating (UK) 12 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Chuck Pfarrer, Jonathan Lemkin (story Cuck Pfarrer) Additional Info This outign cost $80 million and did not recover its costs. Director Antony Hoffman Starring Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker, Terence Stamp Elevator Pitch A Mars expedition suffers … Continue reading
Duration 1h 35m Rating (UK) 12 Source of story A not very original screenplay Writers/Script Robert Foreman (story by Daniel Sadek) Additional Info The producer, Daniel Sadek, was the operator of “Quick Loan Funding” a subprime loan company. The film used, and in some cases crashed, part of his collection of supercars. He was bankrupted … Continue reading
Duration 2h 18m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story A book of the same name by maritime author and former US Naval officer Peter Huchthausen (died 2008) Writers/Script Christopher Kyle (story Louis Nowra) Additional Info A real former Russian submarine was used for the film, and at one point another submarine was actually required to … Continue reading
Duration 1h 48m Rating (UK) 18 Source of story The style and characters from the previous outings of this franchise Writers/Script Leigh Whannell (with story by Leigh Wannell, James Wan) Additional Info With a production cost of $10 million and an opening weekend of $33.6 million this outing was on line to be a big … Continue reading
Duration 1h 38m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Jim Agnew, Sean Keller Additional Info You might have seen Pasha D. Lynchikoff in “Big Bang”, he really is a Moscow trained Russian actor, but admirably upped sticks and emigrated to America to further his career. Director Paco Cabezas Starring Nicolas Cage, … Continue reading
Duration 1h 30m Rating (UK) 12 Source of story A remake of the 1970 Neil Simon script, itself based on a component of “Plaza Suite” which did not make it into the play. Writers/Script Marc Lawrence (based on the Neil Simon original) Additional Info One of the few high points in this movie is the … Continue reading
Duration 1h 34m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Greta Gerwig Additional Info This film was nominated for numerous awards including five Oscars. I am very pleased for Laurie Metcalf who, at the age of 62, has won a number of “Best Suporting Actress” awards. I have been a fan of … Continue reading
Duration 2h 2m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story Loosely based on the story of a man spirited away by the CIA because his name was similar to that of a man who had, apparently, been in contact with two 9/11 suspects. He was held for 5 months in a covert prison where he was … Continue reading
Duration 2h 7m Rating (UK) PG Source of story A book of the same name by Yann Martel Writers/Script David Magee (and previous efforts by almost too many scriptwriters to mention). Additional Info The writer of the book knows a lot about animals but nothing about being on a ship, nor did the scriptwriter or … Continue reading
A MOTION PICTURE LIST 