Insights from the Cinematic World: _Drama

Jem and the Holograms

As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her band of sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden.

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I Smile Back

At the core of I Smile Back’s power is an indelible performance: Sarah Silverman reinvented herself as a dramatic actress in the career-defining, intensely layered and heartbreaking role of Laney.

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Woodlawn

Tony Nathan, portrayed by newcomer Caleb Castille is a gifted high school football player that must learn to boldly embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field in Woodlawn

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Reminiscent of his use of Forrest Gump’s own, unusual, voice to augment the narrative in that film, director Robert Zemeckis has Philippe Petit himself narrate moments in The Walk to add insight—especially to his inner thoughts on the wire.

The Walk

The Walk, an epic, big-screen cinematic spectacle, gives moviegoers the chance to go where only one man has been or ever will be – 110 stories in the air, on a wire, walking between the towers of the World Trade Center.

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Steve Jobs

Set backstage in the minutes before three iconic product launches spanning Jobs’ career—beginning with the Macintosh in 1984, and ending with the unveiling of the iMac in 1998—Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the man at its epicenter.

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Knock Knock

When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse.

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Freeheld

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Based on true story Freeheld is about a decorated New Jersey police detective, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and wants to leave her hard-earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie. However the county officials, Freeholders, prevent Laurel from doing this.

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The Intern

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In “The Intern,” De Niro stars as Ben Whittaker, a 70-year-old widower who has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin (Hathaway).

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Captive

When Brian Nichols (David Oyelowo) – a man on the run from a city-wide manhunt – takes recovering addict and single mom Ashley Smith (Kate Mara) hostage in her own apartment, they are both thrust into a tense and emotional fight to survive the night.

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The irreconcilable differences between struggling homeowners and wealthy realtors led writer-director Ramin Bahrani to his title. On the one hand, the title refers to the big payday Carver and Nash are hustling towards. But in addition, Bahrani liked that 99 HOMES echoes Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz’s coining of the now-ubiquitous phrase “the 99%” – referring to the vast majority of the world’s populace who don’t enjoy the mega-wealth of the 1%, who partake in nearly a quarter of the world’s riches.

99 Homes

A propulsive, timely thriller unfolds against an ageless story of greed, injustice and a man
confronting a corrupted system in 99 HOMES. The film showcases three electric performances as Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield and Laura Dern play out an escalating battle of money, morals and wills.

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Sicario

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In the lawless border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an idealistic FBI agent [Emily Blunt] is enlisted by an elite government task force official [Josh Brolin] to aid in the escalating war against drugs.

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Black Mass

“Black Mass” explores how a deal between ruthless gangster Whitey Bulger and FBI Agent John Connolly enabled Bulger to expand his criminal empire with complete impunity, as Connolly—blinded by his own ambition—shielded him from investigation, ignoring the rising body count.

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