agpw's - Rented List

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Loosely based on a short story by American novelist William Saroyan, 'The Banishment' is a powerful and atmospheric portrait of an unraveling marriage. Having left the city, Alex and Vera set up home with their children in a remote but idyllic-seeming country house.

But then one day Vera makes a shocking confession, setting in motion a chain of events that will lead to tragedy. Acclaimed director Andrey Zvyagintsev confirms his position as an absolute master of style and mood with this award-winning and stunningly photographed story of masculine pride, morality and betrayal.

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Summer, 1946. The Cousteau family live in their beautiful house by the Mediterranean Sea. By day they dive, by night they watch the stars. It's paradise on earth. But Jacques (Lambert Wilson) is never content. He lives and breathes adventure and believes absolutely in the virtues of progress.

With his invention, the aqualung, his recently acquired vessel the Calypso, and a crew of free-spirited adventurers he is ready to cross the world's oceans. Despite their mutual love and admiration, conflict between The family is inevitable. But on their greatest adventure together they will find each other, before tragedy strikes.

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He cut his teeth as an assistant on some of the greatest films in cinema history: Visconti's 'Obsession', Rossellini's 'Rome', 'Open City' De Sica's 'Bicycle Thieves'.

His eye for black-and-white film was masterful, but it was his innovations in colour with Antonioni's 'Red Desert' and 'Blow-Up', in the mid-1960s, that set him apart as a genius of the medium.

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It's common knowledge that prominent actors and directors approach interviews, especially on television, with some caution.

Over twelve years, presenting more than 200 of the most illustrious stars of film, theatre, television and music, Inside the Actors Studio has earned the reputation of being a forum where guests can speak fearlessly, openly and honestly about the things that matter most to them: their craft and the crucial events of their lives and careers that shaped them as people and artists.
As Pacino and De Niro have shown the way to their generation, Sean Penn has shown the way to his. With four Academy Award nominations, and an Oscar for his performance in Mystic River, he has, like Pacino and De Niro, chosen the road less taken by most actors - to the challenges of character roles that render the actor invisible beneath the brilliant illumination of the part. In films as varied as Fast Times At Ridgemont High, I Am Sam and Dead Man Walking, he has shown us the many faces of Sean Penn.
Like many of the truly great actors, Sean Penn is rarely sighted in a public setting and like all of the guests he has proven to be a frank and giving subject on the stage of Inside the Actors Studio.

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Soured by civilisation, Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford) sets out in the mid-1800's to be a mountain man, seeking solitude in a wilderness whose purity he never questioned. His first Rocky Mountain winter almost kills him.

Starving and nearly frozen, he finds refuge with a wily old trapper (Will Geer) whose survival teaching includes going eyeball to eyeball with a grizzly.

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In Atwood's nightmarish fable, the United States of America has become The Republic of Gilead, a right-wing totalitarian state, Women are subjugated and powerless in this society.

The world is rife with disease and infection, and few women remain who can have children; these who can are taken by the government, and christened 'handmaids'. Kate, a handmaid, is sent to the house of Fred, the commander. There she must submit to his demands, and those of Serena Joy (Faye Dunaway), his jealous, vindictive wife. But some things cannot be controlled by The Republic - like Kate's growing feelings for The Commander's chauffeur Nick. Or the secret resistance, who meet under darkness.

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As a litte girl, Emma Brody (Madeleine Stowe) was blinded by her abusive mother. For twenty years she had lived in darkness but thanks to the miracle of Medical Science she has her eyesight restored by an eye surgeon (Peter Friedman) who offers her a cornea transplant to restore her vision.

Soon after, Emma witnesses intruders in her next door neighbours flat, she sees the face of the suspect, but not until the day after the killing. Her eyes will physically see the image before the brain is able to encode it. The case hinges on Emma's evidence and the frustrated detective John Hallstrom (Aidan Quinn) is relying on her statement. As the case develops Emma herself is unconvinced about the reliability of her own observations. Leading a tightrope case Detective Hallstrom tries to unravel the truth relying on the love-hate relationship of his only hope to crack the case, Emma.

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Is there a secret you would kill to know? In this electrifying, suspense-packed thriller from director Christopher Nolan, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play magicians whose cutthroat attempts to better each other plunge them into deadly deceptions.

Scarlett Johansson also stars as the stage assistant who's both a pawn and player in their rivalry. A brilliant supporting cast (including Michael Caine and David Bowie). An ingenious story. An astonishing payoff. Once you see The Prestige, you'll want to see it again. Watch closely.

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An enigmatic loner (Isaach de Bankole) arrives in Spain, instructed to make contact with a series of strangers in different locations throughout the country, each of whom provides a cryptic clue which propels him further towards his mysterious goal.

But who is the Lone Man? Why is he here? And how does the recurring figure of an alluring femme fatale (Paz de la Huerta) fit into the puzzle?

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In 1964, while on a short trip to Paris, the American writer and art-lover James Lord (Armie Hammer) is asked by his friend, the world-renowned artist Alberto Giacometti (Geoffrey Rush), to sit for a portrait. The process, Giacometti assures Lord, will take only a few days.

Flattered and intrigued, Lord agrees. So begins not only the story of a touching and offbeat friendship, but, seen through the eyes of Lord, a uniquely revealing insight into the beauty, frustration, profundity and, at times, downright chaos of the artistic process. 'Final Portrait' is a bewitching portrait of a genius. It is a film which shines a light on the artistic process itself, by turns exhilarating, exasperating and bewildering, questioning whether the gift of a great artist is a blessing or a curse.

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Paris, August 1944. With the allied army closing in, German commander and art fanatic Colonel Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) steals a vast collection of rare French paintings and loads them onto a train bound for Berlin.

But when a beloved French patriot is murdered while trying to sabotage Von Waldheim's scheme, Labiche (Burt Lancaster), a stalwart member of the Resistance, vows to stop the train at any cost. Calling upon his vast arsenal of skills, Labiche unleashes a torrent of devastation and destruction - loosened rails, shattered tracks and head-on collisions - in an impassioned, suspense-filled quest for justice, retribution and revenge.

Research scientist Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) believes other states of consciousness are as real as everyday reality. Using sensory deprivation, then adding powerful, hallucinogenic drugs, he explores these altered states...and endures experiences that make madness seem a blessing.

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In For Your Consideration, buzz of a potential Oscar nomination sends the cast and crew of the low-budget indie film Home For Purim into a wide-eyed frenzy. Catherine O'Hara, Harry Shearer and Parker Posey play Purim's lead actors who ride the wave of buzz with odd and oddly touching results.

Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban and Fred Willard round out the cast of Hollywood types more than happy to exploit, bask in and leverage the Oscar hype.

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Rebel Music tells the fascinating and heart-wrenching story of legendary reggae superstar, Bob Marley, his extraordinary life and revolutionary music.

Stirred by global politics and domestic strife, he became spokesman for the people of Jamaica using his brilliant and evocative music as a powerful way to deliver a universal message of peace and love. At the height of his popularity, and after a lifetime of overcoming political adversity, he was struck down by cancer, dying at the age of 36. Featuring previously unheard recordings, new footage of the time and live performances of many of Bob Marley's classic hits. Also features previously unseen footage of life with his family and early years in "Trenchtown" as well as exclusive interviews with his wife Rita Marley, former girlfriends, Lee Scratch Perry, Chris Blackwell and the original members of his band, The Wallers.

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Following the closure of a gypsum mine in the Nevada town she calls home, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road in this "exquisite film" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

Exploring an unconventional life as a modern-day nomad, Fern discovers a resilience and resourcefulness unlike any she's known before long the way, she meets other nomads who become mentors in the vast landscape of the American West.