The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Toshiro Mifune, Misa Uehara
Rated: NR (Suggested PG-13)
Running Time: 2 h 19 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Writing, Characters, Blocking, Cinematography, Directing
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
Two peasants help a general and a princess sneak across enemy lines while carrying two hundred pieces of gold.
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The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyoko Kagawa
Running Time: 2h 31m
Rated: NR (best guess, PG)
TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5 (I liked it)
STRENGTHS: Character Development, Theme
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
Everyone knows that something corrupt is going on at Public Land Corporation, all they need is a whistle blower. As mysterious disappearances, ghostly apparitions, and bold accusations are levied at the heads of the company, will any of them submit to disgrace and turn the rest in, or will they continue to honorably kill themselves to hide their shame and save face for their superiors?
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Seven Samurai (1954)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
Running Time: 3h 27m
Rated: NR (best guess, R)
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Character Development, Cinematography
WEAKNESSES: Pacing. Maybe.
Bandit raids have brought a dirt poor village of farmers to the point of starvation. Are there any Samurai of honor who will help because of principle rather than pay?
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Ran (1985)
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu
Rated: R
Running Time: 2 h 42 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Acting, Production Design, Cinematography
WEAKNESSES: -
Akira Kurosawa’s spellbinding adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
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Deadpool (2016)
Directed by: Tim Miller
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, TJ Miller, Ed Skrein
Rated: R for Strong Violence and Language Throughout, Sexual Content and Graphic Nudity
Running Time: 1 h 48 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Meta-Writing, Pulls No Punches, Surprisingly Sweet
WEAKNESSES: Familiar Story, Rather Forgettable Villain
An irreverent mercenary undergoes an experimental surgery that grants him superpowers and cures his cancer, only to find out the surgeon is a sadistic villain who plans on selling him into slavery when he’s cured.
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Silence (2017)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson
Rated: R for Some Disturbing Violent Content.
Running Time: 2 h 41 m
TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Cinematography, Acting, Grueling Pacing
WEAKNESSES: Grueling Pacing
In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests from Portugal travel to Japan to find their mentor, who is rumored to have apostatized.
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Deep Red (1975)
Directed by: Dario Argento
Starring: David Hemmings, Daria Nicolodi, Macha Meril
Rated: R
Running Time: 2 h 6 m
TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Writing, Directing, Soundtrack, Ridiculousness
WEAKNESSES: Also Ridiculousness
After witnessing the murder of a psychic, composer Marcus Daly teams up with reporter Gianna Brezzi to investigate the crimes of a serial killer.
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Overboard (2018)
Directed by: Rob Greenberg
Starring: Eugenio Derbez, Anna Faris,Eva Longoria, Mel Rodriguez
Running Time: 1h 52m
Rated: PG13
TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Eugenio Derbez, Meta Humor, Charm
WEAKNESSES: Anna Faris, General Silliness, Wraps Up Too Neatly
A playboy billionaire is afflicted amnesia and duped into playing the blue-collar-hardworking-husband to a disgruntled ex-employee, who convinces him that she is his wife.
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Tully (2018)
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Starring: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, Ron Livingston
Rated: R for Language and Some Sexuality/ Nudity
Running Time: 1 h 36 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Acting, Writing, Directing
WEAKNESSES: Somewhat Predictable Ending
A mother of three hires a night nanny to help with her newborn.
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Tokyo Story (1953)
Directed by: Yasujiro Ozu
Starring: Chishu Riyu, Chieko Higashiyama, So Yamamura
Running Time: 2h 16m
Rated: NR (best guess: PG)
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Direction, Cultural Interest, Theme
WEAKNESSES: Acting, Pacing
An aging couple travel from their country village to Tokyo, to visit their adult children. As they vacation in the big city, they realize what lives their children lead, what attitudes they have toward their parents, and how they feel about their own lives as they near their departure.
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The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Directed by: Victor Erice
Starring: Fernando Fernan Gomez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent
Rated: NR (Suggested Rating: PG)
Running Time: 1 h 38 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Cinematography, Writing, Directing
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
During the Spanish Civil war, Ana, a young girl living in a small, isolated village, lives her life in through her imagination while trying to understand the world around her.
Come and See (1985)
Directed by: Elem Klimov
Starring: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius
Rated: NR (Suggested Rating: R)
Running Time: 2 h 22 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Cinematography, Directing, Writing, Acting, Unique Perspective
WEAKNESSES: -
After finding an old rifle buried in the sand, a young boy named Florya is recruited by the Soviet resistance to help fight the Nazis.
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You Were Never Really Here (2017)
Directed by: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Judith Roberts, Ekatarina Samsonov
Running Time: 1h 29m
Rated: R
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Acting, Direction
WEAKNESSES: None
A tortured soul of a fixer, is hired to rescue a senator’s 14 yr. old daughter from a “specialized” brothel. When the job goes sideways he has to decide whether to give in to his inner demons or face down the real ones who are trafficking in underage girls.
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Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman... (Too many to list)
Rated: PG-13 for Intense Sequence of Sci-Fi Violence and Action Throughout.
Running Time: 2 h 29 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Visual Effects, Writing, Pacing, Stakes
WEAKNESSES: Also Stakes, Alienates Viewers That Haven't Seen All Marvel Movies
The Avengers face off against their deadliest foe: Thanos.
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Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper
Running Time: 2h 49m
Rated: R
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Everything
WEAKNESSES: Maaaaaaybe some pacing issues? Maybe?
Captain Miller and his squad, after surviving the assault on Normandy, must cross France in a desperate search for Private Ryan, whose three brothers were killed in action.
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Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Allison Doody
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 2 h 7 m
TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Pacing, Directing, Character Chemistry, Music
WEAKNESSES: Plausibility (?)
When Indiana Jones’s father goes missing while in search of the Holy Grail, our titular hero takes a trip around the globe in search of his father and the truth about what happened to the Grail.
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Jurassic Park (1993)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Running Time: 2h 7m
Rated: PG-13
TMM Score: 5 Stars
STRENGTHS: Everything
WEAKNESSES: Maaaaaaybe some logic problems?
An accident at a new tourist attraction leads a group of scientists to investigate the wisdom of a theme park which showcases real-life dinosaurs.
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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor
Rated: PG-13 for Some Sexual Content and Violent Images
Running Time: 2 h 26 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: World Building, Themes, Writing, Characters
WEAKNESSES: Pacing, Dated Visuals
A robotic boy who’s programmed to love navigates a futuristic landscape trying to find a person who he believes can make him real.
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Jaws (1975)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw
Rated: PG
Running Time: 2 h 4 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Pacing, Direction, Writing, Music
WEAKNESSES: -
The Sheriff of Amity Island teams up with a marine biologist and a local captain to hunt down a shark that’s terrorizing the beaches.
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Isle of Dogs (2018)
Directed by: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum
Running Time: 1h 41m
Rated: PG-13
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Theme, Animation
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
In an alternate universe stop motion Japan, every dog has been exiled to trash island as the last step toward cleansing the island of Japan from the canine infestation. One dog, however, has a master that will not allow him to go silently into the night.
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