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Release Date: November 30, 1999
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One of several 1978 films dealing with the Vietnam War (including Hal Ashby's Oscar-winning Coming Home), Michael Cimino's epic second feature The Deer Hunter was both renowned for its tough portrayal of the war's effect on American working class steel workers and notorious for its ahistorical use of Russian roulette in the Vietnam sequences. Structured in five sections contrasting home and war, the film opens in Clairton, PA, as Mike (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Stan (John Cazale, in his last film) celebrate the wedding of their friend Steve (John Savage) and go on a final deer hunt before the men leave for Vietnam. Mike treats hunting as a test of skill, lecturing Stan about the value of one shot deer slaying and brushing off Nick's urgings to appreciate nature's beauty. As Mike ruminates post-hunt, the film cuts to the horror of Vietnam, where the men are captured by Vietcong soldiers who force Mike and Nick to play Russian roulette for the V.C.'s amusement. Mike turns the game to his advantage so they can escape captivity, but the men are permanently scarred by the episode. Steve loses his legs; Nick vanishes in the Saigon Russian roulette parlors. Mike returns alone to Clairton a changed man, as he rejects the killing of the deer hunt and finds solace with Nick's old girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep). Disgusted by the antics of his male cohorts at home, Mike decides to bring Steve back from a veterans' hospital, and he returns to Saigon to find Nick. As Saigon falls, Mike discovers how far gone Nick is; the survivors gather in Clairton for a funeral breakfast, singing an impromptu rendition of God Bless America. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Starring:
Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Meryl Streep, Chuck Aspegren
Directed by:
Michael Cimino
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Runtime: 182 min
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Let Me In
A young boy has troubles at home and at school. Fortunately for him a little girl who has moved in next door just might be the friend he’s been looking for. Unfortunately for him, that little girl happens to be a vampire. This one’s a remake of a Swedish film – which was based on the Swedish novel “Let the Right One In.” Chloe Grace Moretz (she played the girl in “Kick Ass”) and Richard Jenkins star.
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February 1st, 2011
Conviction
This film is based on the real life case in which Betty Anne Walters, here played by Hilary Swank, put herself through law school to take on the case of her brother Kenny, played by Sam Rockwell, who was convicted of murder. Great performances by these two skilled actors are backed up by a terrific supporting cast that includes Juliette Lewis, Minnie Driver and – Melissa Leo, who just won Golden Globe and SAG trophies for her work in “The Fighter.” In this movie she plays the hard-nosed cop who made it her mission to convict a man of a crime that, as it turns out, he never committed.
Never Let Me Go
This is different kind of movie that takes place in sort of an alternate universe of the late 1970s and 1980s. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield are best friends who grow up together during this time at an English boarding school. However, the school has a chilling secret - and they find out how it is that people in general have an average lifespan that has now passed 100 years of age. And how they factor into that equation.
1 Disc DVD: Purchase
Welcome To The Rileys
Here is a quirky film about a dark subject. James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo (again!) are two people in a marriage that has been crumbling since the death of their 15-year-old daughter in a car crash. On a business trip to New Orleans, Gandolfini’s character wanders into a strip club and meets a hooker named Malory, played by Kristen Stewart. His intentions, however, are different then she at first guesses. He wants nothing carnal from her – but he does want a daughter! Soon he sells his business and moves into her apartment, paying her 100 dollars a day for the privilege!
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