jdl's - Rented List

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From director Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider) and writer Gabriel Sherman (The Loudest Voice in the Room) comes the story of a young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), eager to make his name as a hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York.

He comes under the spell of Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protege: someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

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Perhaps the most stately of Fritz Lang's two-part epics, the five-hour Die Nibelungen (The Nibelungen) is a courageous and hallucinatory work, a film in which every single shot might alone endure as an exemplar of visual art.

Its extraordinary set-pieces, archetypal themes, and unrestrained ambition have proven an inspiration for nearly every fantasy cycle that has emerged on-screen since - from 'Star Wars' to 'The Lord of the Rings'. In Part One, 'Siegfried', the film's eponymous hero acquires the power of invincibility after slaying a dragon and bathing in the creature's blood. Later, an alliance through marriage between the hero and the royal clan of the Nibelungen turns treacherous, with Siegfried's sole weakness exploited. Adapted from the myth that served as the basis for Wagner's Ring cycle (though not an adaptation of the operas themselves), Lang's picture employs its own counterpoint through a systematic, viral series of deranged geometrical patterns and the arresting, kabuki-like quality of the actors' performances. The result is a film of startling expressionistic power, and a summit of Fritz Lang's artistry.

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A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, passionate affair in post war Hiroshima.

Their deeply intense connection brings out scarred but fading memories of love and suffering, which Resnais communicates with the use of flashback techniques innovative to the time.

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An alien entity inhabits the earthly form of a seductive young woman who combs the Scottish highways in search of the human prey it is here to plunder. It lures its isolated and forsaken male victims into an otherworldly dimension where they are stripped and consumed.

But life in all its complexity starts to change the alien. It begins to see itself as 'she', as human, with tragic and terrifying consequence. 'Under the Skin' is about seeing ourselves through alien eyes.

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"2001: A Space Odyssey" is a countdown to tomorrow, a road map to human destiny, a quest for the infinite. It is a dazzling, Academy Award-winning visual achievement, a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion.

It may be the masterwork of director Stanley Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) and it will likely excite, inspire and enthrall for generations. To begin his voyage into the future, Kubrick visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived) into colonized space, and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted realms of space, perhaps even into immortality.

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Rudolf Klein-Rogge plays Dr. Mabuse, the criminal mastermind whose nefarious machinations provide the cover for - or describe the result of - the economic upheaval and social bacchanalia at the heart of Weimar-era Berlin.

Initiated with the arch-villain's diabolical manipulation of the stock-market, and passing through a series of dramatic events based around hypnotism, charlatanism, hallucinations, Chinese incantations, cold-blooded murder, opiate narcosis and cocaine anxiety, Lang's film maintains an unrelenting power all the way to the final act...which culminates in the terrifying question: "Where is Mabuse?!"

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In the not-so-distant future, Earth is barren of all flora and fauna, with what remains of the planet's former ecosystems preserved aboard a fleet of greenhouses orbiting in space.

When the crews are ordered to destroy the remaining specimens, one botanist, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern), rebels and flees towards Saturn in a desperate bid to preserve his own little piece of Earth that was, accompanied only by the ship's three service robots.

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Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale soar in this true story of the legendary rebel billionaire. Howard Hughes (DiCaprio) grew famous for his Hollywood movies, aviation records and glamorous women.

He held a bold vision of the future and lived his dreams believing nothing could stop him.

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In this wild and incredible tale, young Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) is brought back to live by a brilliant and unorthodox scientist.

Eager to learn and hungry for the worldliness she lacks, Bella runs off on an adventure that inspires in her a fantastical evolution leading to a fierce dedication to equality and liberation.

Sweeping and visually resplendent, 'The Mission' is a powerful action epic about a man of the sword (Robert DeNiro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons) who unite to shield a South American Indian tribe from brutal subjugation by 18th Century colonial empires.

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Comedy director John Sullivan (Joel McCrea) decides to give up his life of luxury and sets off on the road to research how the other half live. He plans to make "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?", a somber, social conscious movie inspired by his experiences of poverty and desperation.

A chance encounter with failed starlet (Veronica Lake) enables him to escape the studio publicity machine and learn at first hand the true value of entertainment.

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"Conclave" follows one of the world's most secretive and ancient events-selecting a new pope. The Church's most powerful leaders have gathered from around the world, locked together in the Vatican halls.

Tasked with running this covert process, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) finds himself at the centre of a conspiracy and discovers a secret that could shake the very foundation of The Church. Also starring Stanley Tuccl, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front).

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"Flee" recounts the story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he's kept hidden for 20 years, one that could threaten to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon-to-be husband.

Depicted mostly through animation, the film shows Amin finally sharing the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan with his close friend, Flee's director Jonas Poher Rasmussen.

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Michael Clayton (George Clooney) has done his law firm's dirty work for years. Now the top lawyer's gone insane and there's a conspiracy against their biggest client from the inside.

'Michael Clayton' is heart-pounding, action-packed thriller that cuts a vicious path to the darkest heart of New York City.

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Devastated by the brutal murder of his wife, John Luther returns to policing in a different world. After Zoe's death and best friend Ian Reed's betrayal, Luther spent some time working on cold cases.Now he's back. His old unit has gone and he's working in the newly created Serious and Serial unit.

Headed by former police complaints officer Martin Schenk (Dermot Crowley), it is Luther's chance for a fresh start. But is it one he really wants?Luther quickly gathers together his team, rescuing his old partner Detective Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) from career oblivion. Joining them is ambitious Detective Erin Gray (Nikki Amuka-Bird). She's heard of Luther's reputation, seen what's happened to Ripley and doesn't want her own job prospects tarnished in the same way. It's not long before they're dealing with their first case. A masked man wanders the streets of London, carrying out ritualistic murders in historic locations - Smithfield, Petticoat Lane... He's taking Luther on a tour through the narrow alleyways and back streets of the city, using murders to mark out his territory and working up to one final masterpiece...