Author: John Spry
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“City of Industry” (1997) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 97 minutes Written by: Ken Solarz Directed by: John Irvin Featuring: Harvey Keitel, Stephen Dorff, Timothy Hutton, Famke Janssen and Wade Dominguez Lee Egan: “We’ll give him a little crash course in free enterprise. Besides, it’s the black market. What’s he gonna do? Go to the consulate?” City…
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“Freeway” (1996) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 104 minutes Written and directed by: Matthew Bright Featuring: Kiefer Sutherland, Reese Witherspoon, Wolfgang Bodison, Dan Hedaya, Amanda Plummer, Brooke Shields, Michael T. Weiss, Bokeem Woodbine and Brittany Murphy Vanessa Lutz: “Holy shit! Look who got beaten with the ugly stick! Is that you, Bob? I can’t believe such a…
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“Mulholland Falls” (1996) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 107 minutes Written by: Pete Dexter Directed by: Lee Tamahori Featuring: Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Andrew McCarthy and John Malkovich Lieutenant Max Hoover: “See, that’s federal property. This isn’t. This is L.A. This is my town. Out here you’re…
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“The Getaway” (1994) Drama / Action Running Time: 116 minutes Written by: Walter Hill and Amy Holden Jones Directed by: Roger Donaldson Featuring: Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tilly, Richard Farnsworth and James Woods Carol: “I’m not spending the next twenty years without you.” There are some films that exist almost entirely in the shadow…
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“Unlawful Entry” (1992) Drama Running Time: 112 minutes Written by: Lewis Colick Directed by: Jonathan Kaplan Featuring: Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe Officer Pete Davis: “Arrest you? I could kill you.” There is something particularly effective about a thriller that takes an ordinary source of security and turns it into a source of fear. In Unlawful…
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“Wild at Heart” (1990) Drama Running Time: 124 minutes Written & Directed by: David Lynch Featuring: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe, Crispin Glover, Diane Ladd, Isabella Rossellini and Harry Dean Stanton Lula: “This whole world’s wild at heart and weird on top.” David Lynch’s Wild at Heart is one of those films that seems to become more fascinating…
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“1408” (2007) Horror Running Time: 104 minutes Written by: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Directed by: Mikael Håfström Featuring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack and Tony Shalhoub Room 1408: “Even if you leave this room, you can never leave this room!” Few Stephen King adaptations have surprised audiences quite like 1408. Released in 2007…
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“Dark Blue” (2002) Drama Running Time: 118 minutes Written by: David Ayer Directed by: Ron Shelton Featuring: Kurt Russell, Brendan Gleeson, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovich and Ving Rhames Det. Sgt. Eldon Perry Jr.: “That’s my daddy’s gun… and the only reason this city’s here is because they built it with bullets!” There are crime thrillers…
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“Ruby” (1992) Drama Running Time: 110 minutes Written by: Stephen Davis Directed by: John Mackenzie Featuring: Danny Aiello, Sherilyn Fenn and Arliss Howard Sheryl Ann DuJean: [to Ruby] “I’m Candy Cane, fresh out of nowhere. An hour ago you billed me as Las Vegas hot sauce. Tomorrow you headline me as a virgin schoolgirl from Carolina. I’m…
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“The Fourth Protocol” (1987) Drama / Thriller Running Time: 119 minutes Written by: Frederick Forsyth Directed by: John Mackenzie Featuring: Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Ned Beatty, Ian Richardson and Joanna Cassidy Tom McWhirter: “Don’t tell me you reached your limit, Jimmy boy.” Valeri Petrofsky: “I usually try to keep my limit to a gallon or so.” During…
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“The Honorary Consul” (1983) Drama Running Time: 114 minutes Written by: Christopher Hampton Directed by: John Mackenzie Featuring: Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins and Elpidia Carrillo Colonel Perez: “I have to take every possibility into account, doctor. Even a crime of passion.” Dr. Eduardo Plarr: “Passion? I’m an Englishman.” When discussing the career of director John…
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“The Long Good Friday” (1980) Drama Running Time: 114 minutes Written by: Barrie Keeffe Directed by: John Mackenzie Featuring: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson and Eddie Constantine Harold: “What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more…
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“Ghosts: Season One – Four” (2022) Comedy Sixty Two Episodes Developed by: Joe Port and Joe Wiseman Featuring: Rose McIver, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Brandon Scott Jones, Danielle Pinnock, Richie Moriarty, Asher Grodman,Sheila Carrasco, Devan Chandler Long, Rebecca Wisocky and Román Zaragoza Isaac: “Nigel…” Nigel: “Yes, Isaac?” Isaac: “Will you make me the happiest ghost on the entire property?” Nigel: “No, I will make you the second happiest.…
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“The Onedin Line” (1971 – 1980) TV Series / Drama Episodes: Ninety One Created by: Cyril Abraham Featuring : Peter Gilmore, Anne Stallybrass, Jessica Benton and Howard Lang James Onedin: “The wind blows free for any man’s use.” There are television dramas that entertain for a season, others that capture a particular era, and then…
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“Vampire Circus” (1972) Horror Running Time: 87 minutes Written by: Judson Kinberg Directed by: Robert Young Featuring: Adrienne Corri, Laurence Payne, Thorley Walters, John Moulder-Brown, Anthony Higgins and Lynne Frederick Michael: “The Circus of Nights! A hundred delights!” Few studios are as synonymous with Gothic horror as Hammer Films. During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s,…
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“Nouvelle Vague” (2025) Drama Running Time: 106 minutes Written by: Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo Directed by: Richard Linklater Featuring: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin Jean-Luc Godard: “We control our thoughts, which mean nothing. Not our emotions, which mean everything.” Few movements in cinema have had as profound an influence on filmmaking as the French…
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“Lust, Caution” (2007) Drama Running Time: 158 minutes Written by: Wang Hui-ling and James Schamus Directed by: Ang Lee Featuring: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei, Anupam Kher, Joan Chen, Wang Leehom and Shyam Pathak Kuang Yu Min: “We must all pitch in. Our soldiers are fighting for their lives at the front… while these Hong Kongers continue…
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“Karen Pirie Series 1 and 2” (2022 – 2025) TV Series / Drama Episodes: Six Based on Inspector Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid Featuring : Lauren Lyle, Chris Jenks and Zach Wyatt “You are maddening, Pirie, you know that right? You’re blinkered, you’re obsessive. And sometimes you are extraordinarily rude. But… you, and I will…
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“The Fabulous Baker Boys” (1989) Drama Running Time: 114 minutes Written and directed by: Steve Kloves Featuring: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer and Beau Bridges Jack Baker: “You let that guy turn us into clowns tonight. We were always small time, but we were never clowns.” Some films announce themselves with spectacle. Others quietly slip into your memory…
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“Summertime” (1955) Drama Running Time: 100 minutes Written by: David Lean and H. E. Bates Directed by: David Lean Featuring: Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Darren McGavin and Isa Miranda Renato de Rossi: “You are like a hungry child who is given ravioli to eat. ‘No’ you say, ‘I want beefsteak!’ My dear girl, you are hungry. Eat…
