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What stands out first about The Twilight Samurai is the confidence with which Yôji Yamada establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Twilight Samurai asks Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Twilight Samurai is established with useful clarity: As the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mot

What stands out first about Poolhall Junkies is the confidence with which Mars Callahan establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Poolhall Junkies asks Mars Callahan and Chazz Palminteri to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Poolhall Junkies is established with useful clarity: A talented pool hustler who has stayed out of the game for years must return to his old ways when his little brother gets involved with his enemy th

What stands out first about The Cat Returns is the confidence with which Hiroyuki Morita establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Cat Returns asks Chizuru Ikewaki and Yoshihiko Hakamada to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Cat Returns is established with useful clarity: After helping a cat, a seventeen year old girl finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat Prince in a magical world where her only

What stands out first about The Weather Underground is the confidence with which Sam Green establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Weather Underground asks Lili Taylor and Pamela Z to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Weather Underground is established with useful clarity: The remarkable story of The Weather Underground, radical activists of the 1970s, and of radical politics at its best and most disastrous

What stands out first about Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion is the confidence with which Tom Piozet establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion asks Edward Edwards and Ed Harris to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion is established with useful clarity: A film about the state of Chinese occupied Tibet and its history of oppression and resistance. That direct approach let

What stands out first about Swept Away is the confidence with which Guy Ritchie establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Swept Away asks Madonna and Adriano Giannini to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Swept Away is established with useful clarity: A snooty socialite is stranded on a Mediterranean island with a communist sailor. That direct approach lets Swept Away use its 1h 29m running time for character, atmosphere a

What stands out first about Below is the confidence with which David Twohy establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Below asks Bruce Greenwood and David Crow to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Below is established with useful clarity: The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine in World War II rescues survivors from a sunken ship, only to face a series of mysterious deaths and supernatural occurrences. That direct approach

What stands out first about Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is the confidence with which Sijie Dai establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress asks Xun Zhou and Kun Chen to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is established with useful clarity: Two youths sent for a Maoist "re education" in the mountains fall in love with the village t

What stands out first about Shanghai Ghetto is the confidence with which Dana Janklowicz Mann establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Shanghai Ghetto asks Stephen Chang and Irene Eber to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Shanghai Ghetto is established with useful clarity: Stripped of possessions and rights, German and Eastern European Jews flee to an unlikely destination to avoid persecution from the Nazis. That di

What stands out first about Lost in La Mancha is the confidence with which Keith Fulton establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Lost in La Mancha asks Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Lost in La Mancha is established with useful clarity: Terry Gilliam's doomed attempt to get his film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), off the ground. That direct approach lets Lost in La Mancha

What stands out first about And Now Ladies & Gentlemen is the confidence with which Claude Lelouch establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, And Now Ladies & Gentlemen asks Jeremy Irons and Patricia Kaas to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of And Now Ladies & Gentlemen is established with useful clarity: A jazz singer and a British jewel thief are brought together by their mutual desire to forget the past. That direct app

What stands out first about Pokémon Heroes is the confidence with which Jim Malone establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Pokémon Heroes asks Eric Stuart and Madeleine Blaustein to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Pokémon Heroes is established with useful clarity: Two thieves take control of an ancient weapon designed to defend the canal city of Altomare. That direct approach lets Pokémon Heroes use its 1h