The Shawshank Redemption
It’s a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The film has been adapted from the Stephen King novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” and tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a successful banker, whose life changes drastically when he’s convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover.[break]
He spends nearly two decades in the Shawshank State Prison where he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation. The two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. Set in the 1940s, the film shows how Andy, with the help of his friend Red, the prison entrepreneur, turns out to be a most unconventional prisoner.
Hugo
Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton (mechanical man). Directed by Martin Scorsese, this is a 2011 American 3D historical adventure drama film based on Brian Selznick’s novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Hugo, played by Asa Butterfield, is an orphan who learnt to fix clocks and other gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use by keeping the train station’s clocks running. The only thing that he has left that connects him to his dead father is an automaton that doesn’t work without a special key which Hugo needs to find to unlock the secret he believes it contains. Thus, on his adventure, he meets a shopkeeper, George Melies, who works at the train station and his adventure-seeking goddaughter. Hugo finds that they have a surprising connection to his father and the automaton, and he discovers it unlocks some memories the old man has buried inside regarding his past.
A Clockwork Orange
The movie is a 1971 crime film written and directed by Stanley Kubrick, adapted from Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novella of the same name. It features disturbing, violent images, facilitating its social commentary on psychiatry, youth gangs, and other social, political, and economic subjects in a dystopian, future Britain.
Malcolm McDowell is in the role of protagonist Alex who is an “ultraviolent” youth in futuristic Britain. As with all luck, his eventually runs out and he’s arrested and convicted of murder and rape. While in prison, Alex learns of an experimental program in which convicts are programmed to detest violence. If he goes through the program, his sentence will be reduced and he’ll be back on the streets sooner than expected. But Alex’s ordeals are far from over once he hits the mean streets of Britain that he had a hand in creating.
The Mystic River
It’s a 2003 American drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon. Childhood friends Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle reunite following the death of Jimmy’s oldest daughter, Katie. Sean is a police detective on the case, gathering difficult and disturbing evidence; he’s also tasked with handling Jimmy’s rage and need for retribution.
Though they had drifted apart while still living in Boston, and with a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, the three men are reunited by a circumstance when one of them goes through a tragic situation.
Taxi Driver
Set in New York City soon after the Vietnam War, this 1976 American psychological thriller film is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro and features debuting Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd.
Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and a Vietnam Veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night and during the day thinks about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He’s mentally unstable, and after an incident with Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to make the world a better place. The perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage prostitute (played by Jodie Foster) in the process.
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