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Drama

This category contains 12 posts

Side Effects (2013)

Elevator Pitch. A psychiatrist perscribes a contoversial anti-depressant to a young woman who appears to have suicidal tendencies, which intensify after her financier husband is released from jail. The drug improves her life and that of her husband, but it appears that she sleepwalks, and during one such event stabs him to death. The police … Continue reading →

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

Elevator Pitch Shortly after WWII a successful author enters into a correspondence with a member of “The Guernsey Literary and PPP Society”, which results in her visiting the island and feeling the need to record the experiences of the group during the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans during the war. She encounters … Continue reading →

First Man (2018)

Elevator Pitch The life of Neil Armstrong between 1961 and 1969 when he made it to the moon is presented sequentially, including a flight in the X15 and with others his flights of the Gemini space missions in preparation for the big event. He suffers a family tragedy and the loss of some of his … Continue reading →

The Wife (2018 in Spain)

Elevator Pitch An extremely successful American author wins the Nobel Prize in Literature and takes Concorde to Europe with his wife, who up to now has remained fairly tight-lipped and distant from the whole business. They are housed in a luxurious hotel enduring the preparations for the event while being pursued by a journalist who … Continue reading →

Before I Go to Sleep (2014)

Elevator Pitch: A woman wakes up in bed next to a man who she does not know. What is going on?  He explains that he is her husband and that she had an accident years ago which resulted in her waking up every day with no memory of anything from the previous day or before. She … Continue reading →

A Simple Favour (2018)

Elevator Pitch. Stephanie, a single mom, vlogger and serial social volunteer, becomes friendly with Emily, a corporate high flyer, due the the friendship of their sons. The favor is that she has to collect Emily’s son from school and look after him for a day or two, but when Emily fails to collect her offspring … Continue reading →

Spartacus (1960)

  Elevator Pitch In 73 BC Spartacus, a slave in gladiator school, rebels against his masters and, with his fellow trainees, defeats their guards and forms an army which picks up recruits from the countryside eventually making up a formidable force which threatens the security of Rome. The senate makes the error of sending out … Continue reading →

Dirty Harry 2: Magnum Force (1973)

Elevator Pitch Harry Callahan and his partner are nominally on stake-out duty due to the perception by his boss that he is a maverick, but when villains begin to be gunned down he is recalled and given the job of arresting a mobster who might possibly be carrying out the hits. Things do not go … Continue reading →

On Frozen Ground (2013)

  Elevator Pitch. In Alaska a serial killer is preying on young women, abducting them, subjecting them to sexual assault and then killing them, apparently without being detected. But when a body is unearthed in the outback, and one of his a victims escapes, an Alaskan detective gets on the case and begins to uncover … Continue reading →

Madame (2017)

Elevator Pitch. Bob and Anne are a rich American couple at least temporarily living in a luxury residence in Paris. Anne is Bob’s second wife, but their marriage seems to have hit a rocky patch and both are looking round for excitement. In addition Bob is selling a valuable painting to overcome a temporary financial … Continue reading →

Beirut (2018)

Elevator Pitch. Mason Skiles a former diplomat, now a labour arbitrator in New England, gets a call to give a lecture in Lebanon, where ten years earlier events had resulted in the death of his wife and the termination of his career. He is aware that the reason for the visit may not be the … Continue reading →

Bastille Day (2016)

Elevator Pitch. When a terrorist bomb kills four people in Paris, the French police tag an American as the perpetrator setting a wayward CIA agent on his trail. But everything is not as it seems, the American is a minor criminal, specialising in pickpocketing and he has accidentally stolen the bomb which should have been … Continue reading →

Ocean’s Eight (2018)

  Elevator Pitch. When Debbie Ocean, Danny Ocean’s sister, is paroled after five years in prison for  crime she did not commit, she collects a group of friends in order to carry out an audacious heist at a charity dinner; the talented women involved must ensure that a celebrity is going to wear the necklace … Continue reading →

The Cold Light of Day (2012)

Elevator Pitch. After a family holiday on a large yacht in the Costas goes disasterously wrong, Will, a young man with business problems finds himself on the run in Madrid after his father has been shot, chased by the CIA and in pursuit of a brief case, which, if he can retrieve it, will result … Continue reading →

Eye in the Sky (2015)

  Elevator Pitch. After the death of one of their spies on the ground in Kenya the British military are prepared to use the American technology manifest in a drone piloted from the USA and the local secret service who have deployed an ornithopter, to follow the activities of a terrorist group, with the intent … Continue reading →

Australia (2008)

Elevator Pitch. A young aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley, travels to the Northern Territory of Australia, to take over the cattle ranch developed by her husband who has been murdered, and on arrival finds that her cattle are being stolen and attempts made to take over her property, so she must gain the assistance of a … Continue reading →

The Samaritan (2012)

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 →

Tully (2018)

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 →

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)

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 →

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)

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 →

The Bag Man (2014)

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 →

Disobedience (2018 in Spain)

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 →

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

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 →

Criminal (2016)

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 →

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017)

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 →

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

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 →

The Recruit (2003)

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 →

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

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 →

Rage (2014)

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 →

Lady Bird (2017)

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 →

The Life of Pi (2012)

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 →

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Duration 1h 51m Rating (UK) X Source of story Actual events in the the real life of these two people – slightly more than “inspired by real events”. Writers/Script David Newman, Robert Benton (and Robert Towne uncredited) Additional Info The production costs are estimated at $2,500,00 and the film grossed more than $50,000,000, a result … Continue reading →

Bond 18: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Duration 1h 59m Rating (UK) 13 Source of story Earlier Bond films – retaining the characters of 007, M, Q and Miss Moneypenny but little else. Writers/Script Bruce Feirstein Additional Info The car enthusiasts tell us that 17 BMW 7 Series were used in the film, most of them for a set piece in a … Continue reading →

Wedlock (1991)

Duration 1h 41m Rating (UK) 18 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Broderick Miller Additional Info This was a made for TV film for HBO. It was apparently reissued in 2004. Director Lewis Teague Starring Rutger Hauer, Mimi Rogers, Joan Chen, James Remar, Stephen Tobolowsky Elevator Pitch The leader of a trio of bank … Continue reading →

The Tall Man (2012)

Duration 1h 46m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Pascal Laugier Additional Info William B. Davis, who is the sherriff, was “the smoking man” in the X-Files. Director Pascal Laugier Starring Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, Stephen McHattie, William B. Davis, Samantha Ferris Elevator Pitch Cold Rock is a former mining town … Continue reading →

Nerve (2016)

Duration 1h 36m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story A book of the same name by Jeanne Ryan Writers/Script Jessica Sharzer Additional Info Emma Roberts is the niece of Julia R. Director Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman Starring Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily Meade, Miles Heizer, Juliette Lewis, Colson Baker Elevator Pitch When an extrovert high … Continue reading →

Falling Down (1993)

Duration 1h 53m Rating (UK) 18 Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Ebbe Roe Smith Additional Info Someone posted the scene where the Michael Douglas character asks for “Breakfast” in a burger joint but they had stopped serving it three minutes earlier. It has been watched over 3 milion times. I Want Breakfast Director Joel … Continue reading →

Dirty Harry (1971)

Duration 1h 42m Rating (UK) X Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Harry Julius Fink, Rita M. Fink, Dean Riesmer (other versions by Terrence Malick, John Milius plus a story version by Jo Heims) Additional Info This film was in development for years with Frank Sinatra being attached to it for  a while. Many … Continue reading →

The Brothers Bloom (2008)

Duration 1h 54m Rating (UK) 12A Source of story An original screenplay Writers/Script Rian Johnson Additional Info The director has subsequently been employed to write and direct the latest trio of StarWars films. Director Rian Johnson Starring Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell Elevator Pitch A couple of brothers … Continue reading →

Land and Freedom (1995)

Duration 1h 49m Rating (UK) 15 Source of story An original screenplay – but based on aspects of the Spanish Civil War Writers/Script Jim Allen Additional Info This film had a very limited release and so was not much reviewed, or generally commented on. Director Ken Loach Starring Ian Hart, Rosana Pastor Elevator Pitch A … Continue reading →

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