griggs's - Rented List
-
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)Mad Max 3
Two men enter. One man leaves. That's the law in Bartertown's Thunderdome arena. But lawmaker Aunty Entity will soon add another. Don't get Max mad! 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome' stars Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, Maverick) for his third go-round as the title hero who takes on the barbarians of the post-nuclear future - and this time becomes the saviour of a tribe of lost children. Music superstar Tina Turner steals what's left of the screen as Aunty Entity, a power-mad dominatrix determined to use Max to tighten her stranglehold on Bartertown. Directors George Miller and George Ogilvie deliver another rousing final apocalypse-on-wheels and one of the best movie fight scenes ever, as Max and the gladiatorial Blaster face off with maces, chainsaws and anything not nailed down inside Thunderdome. 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome': watch and you'll agree with the soundtrack song that "We Don't Need Another Hero". - Director:
- George Miller
- Cast:
- Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence
- Formats:
-
-
The 4 Marx Brothers at Paramount: 1929-1933 (1933)The Cocoanuts / Animal Crackers / Monkey Business / Horse Feathers / Duck Soup
The Marx Brothers - Chico, Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo - are one of the cornerstones of American comedy. Starting out in vaudeville, they conquered Broadway and the big screen in their own inimitable style, at once innovative, irreverent, anarchic, physical, musical, ludicrous and hilarious. With the advent of the 'talkies', the Brothers signed to Paramount Pictures and brought their stage act to cinema audiences. They made five films in five years, all of which are collected here: 'The Cocoanats' (1929), 'Animal Crackers' (1930), 'Monkey Business' (1931), 'Horse Feathers' (1932) and one of the greatest comedies of all time, 'Duck Soup' (1933). The Paramount era represents the Marx Brothers at their absolute finest, retaining all of the energy and controlled chaos of their stage shows. Plots are unimportant - it's the gags, set-pieces and one-liners that matter: "Why a duck?", "Hello, I Must Be Going", "Hooray for Captain Spaulding", "That's the bunk!", 'Horse Feathers', "Swordfish" scene and classic mirror sequence in 'Duck Soup'. - Director:
- Robert Florey
- Cast:
- Maurice Chevalier, Zeppo Marx, Groucho Marx
- Formats:
-
-
It happens with a startling swiftness and violence. An armed cadre seizes state control. Fortunately, a coup d' etat can't happen here. Or can it? A classic of suspense directed by John Frankenheimer and written for the screen by Rod Sterling , 'Seven Days in May' tautly explores that possibility. At odds are a popular general and joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman (Burt Lancaster) and an unpopular President (Fredric March) with a pacifist agenda. At stake is the survival of the Republic. A vigilant colonel (Kirk Douglas) uncovers the scheme. But are the seven fateful days ahead enough time to derail a takeover? The clock is ticking. - Director:
- John Frankenheimer
- Cast:
- Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March
- Formats:
-
-
Carlos the Jackal (2010)"Carlos"
For two decades, Carlos was the most wanted terrorist on earth. In various disguises and under numerous pseudonyms he headed a worldwide organisation responsible for ruthless killings, hijackings and bombings. Professional revolutionary, playboy, dandy and assassin, he left a trail of destruction and broken hearts in his wake as he went about his lethal travels across the world. This is the story of Carlos the Jackal. - Director:
- Olivier Assayas
- Cast:
- Édgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Fadi Abi Samra
- Formats:
-
-
"The Crimson Kimono" stars Glenn Corbett and James Shigeta as Korean War army buddies, working side by side with the LA homicide squad. When stripper Gloria Pall is murdered, Corbett and Shigeta are sent to investigate. Both are smitten by the lovely Victoria Shaw, who is implicated in the crime. Corbett becomes jealous of Shigeta, who is deeply hurt, feeling that Corbett's animosity is borne of racism. Their friendship, and the central romance, is resolved after the detectives bring the murderer to heel in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. Samuel Fuller's love of oriental exotica is never more pronounced than in the climactic sequences, staged before the backdrop of the Japanese New Year celebration. - Director:
- Samuel Fuller
- Cast:
- Victoria Shaw, Glenn Corbett, James Shigeta
- Formats:
-
-
Spring in a Small Town (1948)Xiao cheng zhi chun
Regarded as the finest work from the first great era of Chinese filmmaking, Fei Mu's quiet, piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guilt-ridden despair is a remarkable rediscovery, often compared to David Lean's 'Brief Encounter'. After eight years of marriage to Liyan (Yu Shi) - once rich but now a shadow of his former self following a long, ruinous war - Yuwen (Wei Wei) does little except deliver his daily medication. A surprise visit from Liyan's friend Zhang (Wei Li) re-energises the household, but also stirs up dangerously suppressed longings and resentments. Director Fei Mu's deft use of locations, dissolves and camera movements makes for a fraught, febrile mood of hesitant passion, entrapment and ennui. - Director:
- Mu Fei
- Cast:
- Chaoming Cui, Wei Li, Yu Shi
- Formats:
-
-
Blood for Dracula (1974)Dracula Cerca Sangue di Vergine / Dracula / Andy Warhol's Young Dracula
The ailing Count Dracula (Udo Kier) and his conniving aide, Anton (Arno Juerging), journey to Italy in pursuit of virgin blood. Their path leads them to the decaying mansion of the indebted Marchese Di Fiore (Vittorio De Sica), who's keen to wed his daughters to wealthy suitors. Yet, what awaits are not chaste maidens, but rather incestuous lesbians tainted by impure blood. - Director:
- Paul Morrissey
- Cast:
- Joe Dallesandro, Udo Kier, Vittorio De Sica
- Formats:
-
-
The Dance of Reality (2013)La danza de la realidad
From the mind of the legendary cult filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky, comes an epic imaginary autobiography depicting both the wonders and the hardships of existing in the substance we all call reality. True to form, Jodorowsky takes us on a strange, mystic, fantastic and deeply surreal journey that no one else could, except this time the subject is his own early life, being raised by his strict, Stalin-adoring father who has plans to assassinate the right-wing Chilean president. - Director:
- Alejandro Jodorowsky
- Cast:
- Brontis Jodorowsky, Pamela Flores, Jeremias Herskovits
- Formats:
-
-
An incedendiary array of stars - including Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys and Common - make Smokin' Aces the most explosive action DVD of the year, from Joe Carnahan, the acclaimed director of Narc. When a Mob boss takes out a million dollar hit on Buddy 'Aces' Israel - a sleazy Vegas showman turned FBI snitch - the Feds place Buddy in protective custody at a penthouse hide-out. While Buddy kills time with hookers, booze and drugs, an outrageous rogue's gallery of ultra-violent mobsters, smoking hot assassins and ruthless hit men are bring chainsaws, grenades, shotguns, knives and more to the hunt to rub out Aces and collect that cool million bucks. - Director:
- Joe Carnahan
- Cast:
- Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta
- Formats:
-
-
The Wild Pear Tree (2018)Ahlat Agaci
Sinan (Dogu Demirkol) returns from his studies in the city of Canakkale to his parents' home in the small rural town of Can. He hopes to publish a book of essays and short stories (or what he describes as a "quirky auto-fiction meta-novel"). But his teacher father Idris (Murat Cemcir) is an addictive gambler, so much so that his mother and sister have become reluctantly accustomed to making do without food or electricity. And so Sinan, with his writing dreams, worrying that we will be reduced after army service to teaching in the remote East, wanders around town, visiting his grandparents, encountering old friends, all the while looking for funding for his book. - Director:
- Nuri Bilge Ceylan
- Cast:
- Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yildirimlar, Dogu Demirkol
- Formats:
-
-
Something hideous is changing law-abiding citizens into monstrous, hyper-violent psychopaths. A series of bizarre, inexplicable robberies and murders have L.A. police detective, Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) totally baffled. And it doesn't help when mysterious FBI agent, Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan) tells him that a demonic extraterrestrial creature is invading the bodies of innocent victims - and transforming them into inhuman killers with an unearthly fondness for heavy-metal music, red Ferraris and unspeakable violence. - Director:
- Jack Sholder
- Cast:
- Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian
- Formats:
-
-
Nikita (1990)La Femme Nikita
After being convicted of killing a cop, street-tough Nikita (Anne Parillaud) must choose between her own execution or training with a top-secret government agency to become an assassin. Given a new identity, new skills, and a new life by her mentor Bob (Tcheky Karyo), Nikita becomes "Josephine", a seductive, sophisticated knockout who's also a brutally efficient killing machine. - Director:
- Luc Besson
- Cast:
- Anne Parillaud, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana
- Formats:
-
-
Gozu (2003)Gokudô kyôfu dai-gekijô: Gozu
Senior Yakuza, Ozaki, appears to be going mad. What began as minor eccentricities have become major problems endangering not only himself but also members of his brotherhood. There is only one option left to the boss - to dispose of him. He orders Minami to take Ozaki to the Yakuza disposal dump in Nagoya and to report him once the job is done. On the way to Nagoya, Ozaki is killed accidentally. After Minami reports the news to his boss, he returns to the car to find that the body has gone. From here, we enter a surreal world of bizarre characters and unnatural goings-on, where the only people stranger than the lactating inn owner and the autistic spiritual medium are the mysterious cow-headed demon and the Yakuza who can't make love without a strategically placed ladle for added stimulation... If you thought you'd seen it all - think again. - Director:
- Takashi Miike
- Cast:
- Yûta Sone, Shô Aikawa, Kimika Yoshino
- Formats:
-
-
Trick 'r Treat (2007)Trick 'R Treat / Trick or Treat
"Trick 'r Treat" takes the Creepshow/Tales from the Crypt approach to wicked new depths with four interwoven tales set on Halloween night: a high school principal (Dylan Baker) moonlights as a vicious serial killer; the quest of a young virgin (Anna Paquin) for that special someone takes a gruesome turn; a group of teens carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences; and a cantankerous old man (Brian Cos) battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon. - Director:
- Michael Dougherty
- Cast:
- Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker
- Formats:
-
-
Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) collects Renaissance Art, Ancient Egyptian pendants, lovers, souls. Alive and fashionably chic in Manhattan, Miriam is an ageless vampire. "Vampire" is not a word you'll hear in this movie based on the novel by Whitley Strieber. Instead, debuting feature director Tony Scott stakes out a hip, sensual, modern-gothic makeover. Catherine Deneuve readiates macabre elegance as Miriam, blessed with beauty, cursed with bloodlust. David Bowie is fellow field and refined husband John. In love, in life, in loging they are inseparable. But when John abruptly begins to age and turns to a geriatrics researcher for help; Miriam soon eyes the woman as a replacement for John. 'The Hunger' is insatiable. - Director:
- Tony Scott
- Cast:
- Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon
- Formats:
-