Living for the Cinema

Oscar-Winning legend Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon, Taxi Driver, The Departed) directs this epic tale about The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas, based on true events.  It's the story of how mafia handicapper Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) took over the Tangiers casino on The Strip and helped bring it to unprecendented sucess, helped by mafia enforcer Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci).  He falls in love with a local hustler named Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) and over time, their relationship deteriorates as does his handle on many crazy things being done by Nicky....and eventually the Mob no longer had power in Las Vegas.  Nominated for one Oscar (Sharon Stone, Best Actress), this was initially met with some disappointment upon release as many compared it to Scorsese's similarly themed classic mob epic Goodfellas from five years prior.  Over time, its reputation has grown thanks to several memorable scenes and performances - the stacked cast also includes James Woods, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, Alan King, and Frank Vincent.

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey) returns to the Universe of the the Predator with an interesting new take.....what if we embarked on a hunting adventure with the Predator itself as the main protagonist?  Actually the Predators are officially know as "Yautja" species and this particular Yautja is the runt of his clan named Dek played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatan.  After some unexpected family turmoil on his home planet, he is inadvertently whisked away to a very dangerous planet named Genna where he has decided to embark on his first hunt for a very rare creature.  Along the way, he aligns with a synthetic human named Thia (Elle Fanning) whom is more of an expert on this paritcular creature.  And much creature-on-creature violence ensues....though rated PG-13?

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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This is the true story of how a special investigative unit (called "Spotlight") of the Boston Globe spent upwards of almost two years working to uncover a massive scandal developing within the Catholic Church involving accusations of priests who were molesting children....and the systemic cover-up to protect those priests.  And it was not only an important story but highly acclaimed to the point where this would win the Oscar for Best Picture that year.  Directed by Tom McCarthy (The Visitor, The Station Agent, Stillwater), it also features an all-star cast lead by Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Thirty years ago this November, a brand new James Bond took the world by storm and he was played by Pierce Brosnan.  Only eight years after the former television star of "Remington Steele" was initially set to take on the role but then couldn't because of unexpected issues with his former network, a man who seemed born to play 007 was finally able to take on the role.  And this time around, Bond had a new actress playing his boss M, none other than Oscar-winner Dame Judi Dench.  Not only that, but also some promising new villains played by Sean Bean (Fellowship of the Ring, The Martian, Game of Thrones) and Famke Janssen (X-Men, Rounders).  AND a brand new director from New Zealand who cut his teeth on British television, Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro, Green Lantern, Casino Royale) helming his first big budget feature film for the first time.  And everybody loved it?  Let's head back to the mid '90's for the first post-Cold War reboot of one of the most enduring franchises in cinema history.....     

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Frank White (Christopher Walken) is a drug kingpin who just got out of prison and is eager to restart his criminal enterprise with his long-term lietenant Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) helping to lead the way.  And off the bat, he goes hard after every rival gang and starts to see success.....only there's crew of NYPD cops who are after him lead by Roy Bishop (Victor Argo) and they're getting close.  And what results is a hyper-violent crime drama featuring an all-star cast including David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, and Steve Buscemi.  Directed by New York legend and long-timer indie auteur Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant, Ms. 45), this came out in the Fall of 1990 amidst a glut of more celebrated gangster movies (Goodfellas, Miller's Crossing, New Jack City) so it got lost in the shuffle but it has since gone on to develop a devoted cult following.  So let's head back to the mean streets of late '80's New York and find out....who becomes The King! 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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Just over a year after the runaway success of his previous effort, The Sixth Sense, Oscar-nominated writer/director M. Night Shyamalan decided to follow it up with this genuinely unique thriller which had decent reviews and solid box office but was considered a bit of a disappointment mainly because the story was not at all what many audiences expected.  However over time, it developed enough of a following that the filmmaker evetually decided to make a proper sequel.  This is the strange tale of David Dunn (Bruce Willis), a mild-mannered security officer who has just survived a horrific train crash.  No one really understands why or how he was the ONLY survivor of an incident which resulted in the deaths of every one else on board, except......one eccentric comic book art collected/store owner named Elijah Price (Samuel) who might have a theory.  Their lives become intertwined and what results is a genuinely original tale of good and evil. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

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From Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Point Break) comes her first feature film in in more than eight years and it might very well be THE scariest film of the year. :o The premise is simple: a lone nuclear missile has been launched from somewhere in the Pacific and is on a trajectory to land somewhere in the continental United States....in twenty minutes.  This nuclear thriller takes us through the various corridors of power of the governernment and those in the most responsive positions in the military - we watch as they scramble not only how to figure out how to prevent this weapon from hitting its target, but also how our military should respond if it DOES hit its target, possibly resulting in the instant deaths of millions of civilians.  It's a terrifying sceanario and Bigelow has assembled a top-flight cast lead by Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Tracey Letts, Gabriel Basso, Anthony Ramos, Greta Lee, and Jared Harris.  The clock is ticking.....

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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A Yale college professor (Oscar-winner Julia Roberts) finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil (Emmy-winner Ayo Edibri) levels an accusation against one of her colleagues (Oscar-nominated Andrew Garfield) and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light.  Directed by Oscar-nominee Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers, Suspiria), this tense workplace drama also touches on many current hot-button issues and co-stars Emmy-nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, The Shape of Water) and Oscar-nominee Chloe Sevigny (Boy's Don't Cry, The Last Days of Disco).  

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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For the first time in fifteen years (Tron Legacy, 2010), we are finally returning to The Grid.  Though this time around, we are doing so with some new characters including the titular Ares (Oscar-winner Jared Leto) who is a digital soldier created by Dillinger Systems to be the ultimate "expendable" soldier to serve our military in the real world.  Unfortunately to the consternation of his creator Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), Ares is still in need of ONE code in particular to ensure that he can actually last for more than 29 minutes in the real world before deresolution.  And that's where Eve Kim (Greta Lee) comes in as she's the CEO of the rival corporation ENCOM...yes the same ENCOM featured in the first two Tron films where the legendary Kevin Flynn (Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges) used to work.  Guess WHO might have actual posession of this "permanence code?"  As directed by Joachim Ronning (Kon-Tiki, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales) and featuring music by Nine Inch Nailes, the race for the future is ON....and this time, it spills into the real world!

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Loosely based on the Oscar-winning 1985 drama of the same name and DIRECTLY based on the Tony-winning '90's musical of the same name, this prison drama/musical tells the story of a drifter named Molina (Tonatiuh) and a political prisoner named Valentin (Diego Luna) who share a cell in an Argentinian prison in the midst of a revolution which occurred in the early '80's.  Together they share a unlikely bond as Molina helps pass the time by recounting his favorite movie named "Kiss of the Spider Woman" starring his favorite actress Ingrid Luna.  Ingrid is played by Jennifer Lopez who also portrays the titular spider woman.  And what results is a genuinely unique blend of genres featuring several memorable song and dance numbers....often lead by J-Lo herself.  This latest version of a classic story was both directed and adapted for the big screen by Oscar-winner Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Kinsey, Gods and Monsters).

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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