These flix will move you
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” ―Alfred Hitchcock
Trainspotting
(1996) Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.
Runtime: 1h 36m Rated: R
Trainspotting is a gritty, dirty, classic character piece. This film is about choice….life chooses and what happens when you choose the wrong life. Don’t mistake this movie for celebrating drugs in any manner. This movie is a real look at what life can be like if you had made the wrong choices. Some of the scenes are unpleasant but delivered in a very intelligent way.
The Big Short
(2015) Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight.
Runtime: 2h 2m Rated: R
Great cast, great directing and a story that brought the Wall Street to its knees. If you don’t know the story of the sub-prime mortgage bubble pop then this is an excellent way to inform yourself.
Casino
(1995) Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends, a mafia underboss and a casino owner, for a trophy wife over a gambling empire.
Runtime: 2h 58m Rated: R
Casino is hands down a masterpiece of American cinema. Deniro, Pesci, Woods, and Sharon Stone are completely flawless delivering their complex characters. This movie is deep, threatening, powerful, violent and can even be humorous. Casino is one of the many reasons Martin Scorsese is considered to be one of the greatest directors in film history.
Whiplash
(2014) A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential.
Runtime: 1h 46m Rated: R
I consider Whiplash to be a brilliant character piece between an unrelenting force and an immovable object. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons are perfect in their roles as the force and the object, you decide who is who. Our young director Damien Chazelle put you right at the point of impact for the whole thrilling ride. This was up for many Oscars for good reason.