Amazing Grace 2007   PG, 111 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Apted
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N'Dour, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Nicholas Farrell, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Jeremy Swift, Stephen Campbell Moore, Bill Paterson, Nicholas Day, Nicholas Woodeson
Eighteenth-century social reformer William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) tries to convince Parliament that the slave trade should be outlawed. While the British do not own slaves, British industries profit greatly from the shipping trade that hauls thousands of slaves to the West Indies and American colonies. Through compromise, Wilberforce continues his work over the years, and his crusade is suspenseful because, despite physical disabilities, Wilberforce will not renege on his dream.
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City of Ember 2008 PG, 95 min.
Genre: Family / Adventure / Fantasy
Director: Gil Kenan
Cast: Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins, Harry Treadway, Liz Smith, Martin Landau, David Ryall, Ian McElhinney, B.J. Hogg, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, Lucinda Dryzek, Matt Jessup, Lara McIvor, Myles Thompson
Ember is a dark place covered with dirt–an underground world that began a number of generations ago. Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) appears to be in charge, but he follows the orders of bureaucrat Sul (Martin Landau) in a world where power outages are common and food supplies are getting low. Although Loris Harrow (Tim Robbins) and his teenage son Doon (Harry Treadway) run their house on steam and rust, the outlook is not good. Doon and classmate Lina (Saoirse Ronan) want to escape, but they know that if they fail, BIG problems will result. Nevertheless, they piece together a plot that involves a metal box that just may provide the answers to their problems.
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Frost/Nixon 2008 R, 122 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Patty McCormack, Andy Milder, Kate Jennings Grant, Geoffrey Blake, Gabriel Jarret, Jim Meskimen, Clint Howard
This film analyzes events before, during, and after the 1977 television interview of Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) by David Frost (Michael Sheen) during which they dealt with questions about the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon's presidency. Nixon chose Frost as the man to interview him, and the result, as is demonstrated in this film, was a battle of wits. The film received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Actor (Langella), and Director
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Infamous 2006  R, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Douglas McGrath
Cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver, Hope Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Daniels, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lee Pace, John Benjamin Hickey, Michael Panes, Juliet Stevenson
In 1959, after reading a newspaper article about the murders of a Kansas family of four, young writer Truman Capote (Toby Jones) and friend Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock) head for Kansas to investigate the case. After interviewing the killers–Dick Hickock (Lee Pace) and Perry Smith (Daniel Craig)–Capote forms a bond with Smith. Later, following the executions of Smith and Hickock, Capote is inspired to write "In Cold Blood."
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Ladies in Lavender 2004 PG-13, 103 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Charles Dance
Cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Natascha McElhone, Daniel Bruhl, Miriam Margolyes, Freddie Jones, David Warner, Clive Russell, Richard Pears, Toby Jones, Geoffrey Bayldon, Timothy Bateson
Spinster sisters Ursula and Janet (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith) live in a cottage in a Cornish seaside village in 1936. One day, a foreigner, Andrea (Daniel Bruhl), washes ashore, and the sisters rescue and nurse him back to health. They dote on Andrea; but, while Janet's attentions are motherly, Ursula becomes romantically stimulated. Problems lie ahead for Andrea who, after all, is an illegal alien during an era when World War II looms.
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The Mist 2007 R, 127 min.
Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
aka: Stephen King's The Mist
Director: Frank Darabont
Cast: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Alexa Davalos, Nathan Gamble, Chris Owen, Sam Witwer
In a peaceful Maine town, following a powerful storm, townsfolk and out-of-towners gather at a local supermarket to get supplies and find themselves trapped inside when Dan Miller (Jeffrey DeMunn) arrives and warns, "Don't go out there, there's something in the mist." The power is out, and a thick mist has engulfed the town. Inhuman creatures lurk in the mist, and those who try to travel through the mist are disappearing. Among the shoppers inside the store is commercial artist David Draton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble). David represents the common-sense approach of dealing with the frightening situation, but religious fanatic Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden) stirs up opposition and tells them that only a human sacrifice will end the terror they are experiencing. Now those creatures begin to appear, and some shoppers divide into forces behind David who supports cautious pro-action, others support Mrs. Carmody, and still others listen to New York lawyer Brent Norton (Andre Braugher) who insists there must be a simple explanation for what is going on. The creatures are one thing, but how the trapped shoppers behave toward each other is another step beyond frightening. Another Stephen King thriller.
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Naked 1993  N/R, 126 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell, Claire Skinner, Peter Wight, Elizabeth Berrington, Ewen Bremner, Susan Vidler, Deborah MacLaren, Gina McKee, Carolina Giammetta, Peter Whitman, David Foxxe, Toby Jones
Johnny (David Thewlis) is a drifter who heads to London to escape from the family whose daughter he has raped. He looks up his old girlfriend Louise (Lesley Sharp), seduces her roommate Sophie (Katrin Cartlidge), and then roams London's streets where he meets people who seem to be living on or over the edge. Finally, Johnny returns to Sophie's home and meets Jeremy (Greg Cruttwell) whose life is a mirror image of his own defiant lifestyle. There is comedy mixed with pathos in this well-acted, philosophical story that exposes the deeper psychological sides of its characters.
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The Painted Veil 2006 PG-13, 125 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: John Curran
Cast: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Diana Rigg, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Xia Yu, Alan David, Catherine An, Juliet Howland, Maggie Steed
W. Somerset Maugham's novel is brought to the screen with Naomi Watts playing the frivolous, upper-class Kitty who marries the middle-class doctor, Walter Fane (Edward Norton). When the couple moves to Shanghai and Walter immerses himself in his cholera research, spoiled Kitty begins an affair with diplomat Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber). Walter discovers the affair and threatens Kitty with divorce if she doesn't move with him to a remote village in China that is ravaged by cholera. Kitty joins Walter on the expedition and, in the harsh environment, gains a social conscience and finds a purpose in their lives.
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Simon Magus 1999   N/R, 106 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Ben Hopkins
Cast: Noah Taylor, Stuart Townsend, Sean McGinley, Embeth Davidtz, Amanda Ryan, Rutger Hauer, Ian Holm, Terence Rigby, Toby Jones, Jim Dunk
Set in Europe during the 19th century, this story revolves around a small town divided between its Jewish and Christian communities. Matters come to a head over the arrival of a local railway. Simon, who claims he talks to the devil and can put curses on crops, becomes a central player in the controversy.
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W. 2008 PG-13, 130 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks, Richard Dreyfuss, Toby Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, Thandie Newton, Stacy Keach, Ellen Burstyn, Sayed Badreya, Dennis Boutsikaris, Jessie Bradford, Jonathan Breck, Wes Chatham
The life of George W. Bush is documented in this film with Josh Brolin playing the title role. The story examines Dubya's somewhat checkered past–from his days as a student at Yale, to his early years involved with alcohol, his courtship of Laura (Elizabeth Banks), and then his new world of sobriety and Christianity. Director Oliver Stone presents his version of Bush's presidency as Dubya having psychological problems following his father George H.W. Bush's (James Cromwell) loss to Bill Clinton, and now, as President, Dubya seeking to regain the family honor.
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| 1. Amazing Grace (2007)
2. City of Ember (2008)
3. Frost/Nixon (2008)
4. Infamous (2006)
5. Ladies in Lavender (2004)
6. The Mist (2007)
aka: Stephen King's The Mist
7. Naked (1993)
8. The Painted Veil (2006)
9. Simon Magus (1999)
10. W. (2008)
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