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Lessons are learned when cadets at a military school stand up for their values and traditions. [more inside]
posted by Stuka on Feb 26, 2023 - 11 comments

Charismatic Southern politician Willie Stark's (Sean Penn) idealism and good intentions give way to corruption after he becomes governor of Louisiana. Unfortunately for Stark, his right-hand man (Jude Law) retains the same good moral fiber he had when the men both entered the political arena. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Nov 15, 2022 - 1 comment

Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), son of wealthy parents (Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt), graduates from Emory University as a top student and athlete. However, instead of embarking on a prestigious and profitable career, he chooses to give his savings to charity, rid himself of his possessions, and set out on a journey to the Alaskan wilderness. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Nov 1, 2022 - 13 comments

A bored, retired goth rock star (Sean Penn) sets out to find his father's executioner, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on Jun 20, 2022 - 3 comments

Based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe, Fast Times follows a group of high school students growing up in Southern California. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. At the center of the film is Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer who faces-off with the resolute Mr. Hand, a man convinced that everyone is on dope. [more inside]
posted by box on Jun 7, 2022 - 21 comments

As John Mitchell and his subordinates struggle to manage the Watergate cover-up, Martha finds herself in a dangerous situation; John Dean puts his relationship on the back-burner.
posted by geoff. on May 8, 2022 - 2 comments

Martha Mitchell struggles to balance the demands of a re-election campaign and her marriage. John Dean's ambition as White House Counsel is tested when he's unknowingly drawn into a re-election campaign conspiracy for Richard Nixon.
posted by geoff. on Apr 25, 2022 - 2 comments

A precocious former child TV star meets and forms an unlikely friendship-possible-relationship with a 25 year old woman in early 1970s San Fernando Valley. [more inside]
posted by dnash on Jan 6, 2022 - 25 comments

This week, again in the white void: A grand jury declined to indict the perpetrators over the death of Breonna Taylor, heaping more fuel onto the Black Lives Matter protests. Main story: the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, giving Republicans a third Supreme Court pick during Trump's term, largely and ultimately due to the machinations of "mule piss" Mitch McConnell and the weird anti-democratic games the US system plays to preserve power to the powerful. And Now: An Unexpected Update Regarding Peeps. Finally, the Census, and the importance for US residents to fill it out. 14 million households haven't yet despite its tremendous importance to our systems to have an accurate count of people. You can complete it, probably in just a couple of minutes, at my2020census.gov. To help encouraage viewers to do that, the show played a couple of minutes of the audiobook version of Sean Penn's novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff (hoo boy), to drive people away in order to do this essential thing. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Sep 29, 2020 - 5 comments

The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
posted by ob1quixote on Apr 15, 2020 - 6 comments

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Mar 9, 2016 - 1 comment

A Puerto Rican former convict, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of N.Y.C. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Feb 26, 2016 - 3 comments

Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War. [more inside]
posted by MoonOrb on Feb 20, 2016 - 13 comments