#980 – 24 Hour Party People, 2002, Michael Winterbottom
In 1976, Tony Wilson sets up Factory Records and brings Manchester’s music to the world.
#981: Like Someone in Love
#981 – Like Someone in Love, 2012, Abbas Kiarostami
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of twenty four hours bears no relation to the circumstances of their encounter.
#982: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
#983 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015, J.J. Abrams
Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers.
#983: Night and the City
#983 – Night and the City, 1950, Jules Dassin
Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry’s schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan. His latest ploy, promoting an aging Greek wrestler, goes awry when the wrestler dies and everyone points the finger at Harry. Hiding out in a riverfront barge, Harry sees his grand ambitions spiral into a nightmare of fear and desperation as the underworld closes in.
#984: Gate of Hell
#984 – Gate of Hell, (地獄門), 1953, Teinosuke Kinugasa
A samurai performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. The warrior falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is already married.
#985: The Bridge
#985 – The Bridge, (Die Brücke), 1959, Bernhard Wicki
A group of German boys are ordered to protect a small bridge in their home village during the waning months of the second world war. Truckloads of defeated, cynical Wehrmacht soldiers flee the approaching American troops, but the boys, full of enthusiasm for the “blood and honor” Nazi ideology, stay to defend the useless bridge.
#986: Linda Linda Linda
#986 – Linda Linda Linda, (リンダ リンダ リンダ), 2005, Nobuhiro Yamashita
Only three days before their high school festival, guitarist Kei, drummer Kyoko, and bassist Nozomi are forced to recruit a new lead vocalist for their band. They choose Korean exchange student Son, though her comprehension of Japanese is a bit rough! It’s a race against time as the group struggles to learn three tunes for the festival’s rock concert—including a classic ’80s punk-pop song by the Japanese group The Blue Hearts called “Linda Linda”…
#987: Center Stage
#987 – Center Stage, (阮玲玉), 1992, Stanley Kwan
The film is based on a true story: the tragic life of China’s first prima donna of the silver screen, Ruan Lingyu. This movie chronicles her rise to fame as a movie actress in Shanghai during the 1930s. Actress Maggie Cheung portrayed Ruan in this movie. Nicknamed the “Chinese Garbo,” Ruan Lingyu began her acting career when she was 16 years old and committed suicide at age 24. The film alternates between present scenes (production talks between director Kwan, Cheung, and co-star Carina Lau, interviews of witnesses who knew Ruan), re-creation scenes with Cheung (as Ruan, acting inside this movie), and extracts from Ruan’s original films including her final two films The Goddess and New Women.
#988: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
#988 – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1998, Terry Gilliam
Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.
JUMBO CACTUAR APPROVED FILM
#989: Ten
#989 – Ten, (ده), 2002, Abbas Kiarostami
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers.
Jumbo Cactuar Film Index 