griggs's - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List
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It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone) hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity. - Director:
- Sean Baker
- Cast:
- Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian
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Director George Miller, originator of the post-apocalyptic genre and mastermind behind the legendary Mad Max franchise, returns to the world of the Road Warrior. Haunted by his turbulent past. Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) wanders alone until he's swept up with a group, led by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). fleeing across the Wasteland. In hot pursuit: a warlord who gathers his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly, leading to a high-octane road war. - Director:
- George Miller
- Cast:
- Tom Hardy, Lee Perry, Charlize Theron
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Son of Saul (2015)Saul Fia
Saul Auslander (Géza Röhrig) is a member of the Sonderkommando, the Jewish prisoners forced to assist in the machinery of the Nazi concentration camps. While at work, he discovers the body of a boy he recognises as his son. As the Sonderkommando plan a rebellion, Saul vows to carry out an impossible task: to save the child's body from the flames and to find a rabbi to offer the boy a proper burial. - Director:
- László Nemes
- Cast:
- Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn
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"Toni Erdmann" is a touching and remarkably funny portrait of an offbeat father-daughter relationship. Sandra Huller plays Ines, a highly-strung career woman whose life in corporate Bucharest takes a turn for the bizarre with the arrival of her estranged father Winfried (Peter Simonischek). An incessant practical joker, Winfried attempts to reconnect with Ines by introducing the titular eccentric alter ego to catch her off guard, unaware of how capable she is of rising to the challenge... This breakout German comedy, which has been met with universal critical acclaim, is as humanist as it is absurdist - a film about the importance of celebrating the humour of the everyday. - Director:
- Maren Ade
- Cast:
- Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn
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Winner of 6 Academy Awards including Best Director for writer/director Damien Chazelle, and winner of a record-breaking 7 Golden Globe Awards, "La La Land" is more than the most acclaimed movie of the year - it's a cinematic treasure for the ages that you'll fall in love with again and again. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling star as Mia and Sebastian, an actress and a jazz musician pursuing their Hollywood dreams - and finding each other - in a vibrant celebration of hope, dreams and love. - Director:
- Damien Chazelle
- Cast:
- Ian Wolfe, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone
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Winner of three Academy Awards including best picture, "Moonlight" is a breath-taking coming-of-age story and the best reviewed film of the year. "Moonlight" follows the story of Chiron (Ashton Sanders) from his early childhood in his depressed Miami neighbourhood to adulthood in Atlanta as he navigates the dangers of drugs, violence, family, love and sexuality. - Director:
- Barry Jenkins
- Cast:
- Mahershala Ali, Shariff Earp, Duan Sanderson
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It's the summer of 1983 in Italy, and Elio (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17-year-old, spends his days in his family's villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father, an eminent professor. Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever. - Director:
- Luca Guadagnino
- Cast:
- Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
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When Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young African-American man, visits his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) family estate, he becomes ensnared in the more sinister, real reason for the invitation. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behaviour as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined. - Director:
- Jordan Peele
- Cast:
- Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener
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Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) fights against but is exactly like her wildly loving, deeply opinionated and strong-willed mum (Laurie Metcalf), a nurse working tirelessly to keep her family afloat after Lady Bird's father (Tracy Letts) loses his job. 'Lady Bird' is an affecting look at the relationships that shape us, the beliefs that define us, and the unmatched beauty of a place called home. - Director:
- Greta Gerwig
- Cast:
- Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts
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Set in the glamour of 1950's post-war London, renowned dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) are at the centre of British fashion, dressing royalty, movie stars, heiresses, socialites, debutants and dames with the distinct style of The House of Woodcock. Women come and go through Woodcock's life until he comes across a young, strong-willed woman, Alma (Vicky Krieps), who soon becomes a fixture in his life as his muse and lover. Once controlled and planned, he finds his carefully tailored life disrupted by the scariest curse of all...love. And so begins a Gothic Romance of twists, turns and power struggles of "pure, delicious pleasure" that is "devilishly funny and luxuriantly sensuous". - Director:
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Cast:
- Vicky Krieps, Daniel Day-Lewis, Lesley Manville
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After tragedy forces young Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to assume Wakanda's throne, he is faced with the ultimate test, putting the fate of his country and the entire world at risk. Pitted against his own family, the new king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and embrace his future as an Avenger. - Director:
- Ryan Coogler
- Cast:
- Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
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With his eighth and most personal film, Alfonso Cuaron recreated the early-1970's Mexico City of his childhood, narrating a tumultuous period in the life of a middle-class family through the experiences of Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio, in a revelatory screen debut), the indigenous domestic worker who keeps the household running. Charged with the care of four small children abandoned by their father, Cleo tends to the family even as her own life is shaken by personal and political upheavals. Written, directed, shot, and coedited by Cuaron, 'Roma' is a labor of love with few parallels in the history of cinema, deploying monumental black-and-white cinematography, an immersive soundtrack, and a mixture of professional and nonprofessional performances to shape its author's memories into a world of enveloping texture, and to pay tribute to the woman who nurtured him. - Director:
- Alfonso Cuarón
- Cast:
- Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey
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In this fresh, unfiltered modern comedy, best friends and academic overachievers Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) realise they've missed out on pretty much all fun during high school. So, on the eve of graduation, they decide to make up for lost time with one wild adventure in this hilarious coming-of-age story about the meaningful bonds we create, also starring Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis. - Director:
- Olivia Wilde
- Cast:
- Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams
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"For Sama" is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab's life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice - whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter's life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much. - Director:
- Waad Al-Khateab
- Cast:
- Waad Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Sama Al-Khateab
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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2020)Portrait de la jeune fille en feu
Painter Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is commissioned by an affluent countess to paint the wedding portrait of her sheltered but headstrong daughter Héloïse (Adele Haenel). While posing as her hired companion, Marianne is instructed to complete the portrait in secret, observing Héloïse by day and painting her by night. However, as the two women grow closer, their intimacy and attraction begins to blossom, paving the way for a simmering, star-crossed romance. - Director:
- Céline Sciamma
- Cast:
- Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
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