#1. Shoah (1985)

Storyline: Claude Lanzmann directed this 9 1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust without using a single frame of archive footage. He interviews survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis (whom he had to film secretly since they only agreed to be interviewed by audio). His style of interviewing by asking for the most minute details is effective at adding up these details to give a horrifying portrait of the events of Nazi genocide. He also shows, or rather lets some of his subjects themselves show, that the anti-Semitism that caused 6 million Jews to die in the Holocaust is still alive and well in many people who still live in Germany, Poland, and elsewhere.—Gene Volovich <volovich@netcom.com>

Plot Keywords: victim, survivor, nazi, bystander, guard, brooding, shocking ...

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#3. Children of Men (2006)

Storyline: London, 2027. In this dystopian world, humans have been incapable of reproducing for eighteen years for an unknown reason, meaning the imminent extinction of the species. Britain is the one remaining civilized society on the planet, which has resulted in people wanting to immigrate there. As such, it has become a police state in order to handle the immigrants, who are placed into refugee camps. Lowly government bureaucrat Theo Faron, once an activist, is approached by the Fishes, deemed a terrorist group, led by his ex-wife Julian Taylor, who he has not seen in close to twenty years, their marriage which disintegrated following the death of their infant son Dylan during the 2008 flu pandemic. Although the Fishes did use terrorist means in their on-going revolution against the state in the fight for immigrant rights, Julian vows that they now garner support solely by speaking to the people. What she wants is for Theo to use his connections to get transit papers for a young immigrant ...

Plot Keywords: bureaucrat, hippie, refugee, revolutionary, bleak, uplifting, suspenseful ...

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#4. Friday (1995)

Storyline: It's Friday and Craig Jones (Ice Cube) has just gotten fired for stealing cardboard boxes. To make matters worse, rent is due, he hates his overbearing girlfriend, Joi (Paula Jai Parker), and his best friend, Smokey (Chris Tucker), owes the local drug dealer money -- and that's all before lunch. As the hours drag on, Jones and Smokey experience the gamut of urban life, complete with crackheads, shoot-outs and overly sexual pastors, concentrated into one single, unbelievable Friday.

Plot Keywords: man, drug addict, neighbor, girlfriend, pastor, best friend, lighthearted ...

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#5. The Five Heartbeats (1991)

Storyline: In the early 1960's, a quintet of hopeful young African American men form an amateur vocal group called The Five Heartbeats. After an initially rocky start, the group improve, turn pro, and rise to become a top flight music sensation. Along the way however, the guys learn many hard lessons about the reality of the music industry with it's casual racism and greed while the personal weaknesses of the members threaten to destroy the integrity of the band.—Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

Plot Keywords: singer, manager, record producer, groupie, friend, gritty, moving ...

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#6. Precious (2009)

Storyline: In Harlem, 1987. Sixteen year old Claireece Jones - who goes by her middle name Precious - is illiterate and overweight. She is pregnant with her second child, both children fathered by her biological father, who has continually raped her since she was a child, but who she doesn't see otherwise. Her infant daughter, Mongo - such named since she has Down Syndrome - lives with Precious' grandmother. Precious lives with her mother Mary, who abuses Precious both physically and emotionally. Mary does nothing but smoke, watch television and collect welfare through fraud (as she doesn't ever look for a job) and believes that education does nothing for Precious, who she would rather also collect welfare if only to bring money into the household. To escape her life, Precious often daydreams of herself in glamorous situations. Because of her current pregnancy, Precious' principal transfers her into an alternative school. In dealing with the school's sympathetic teacher Miss Blu Rain, Precious ...

Plot Keywords: teenager, stepfather, mother, teacher, uplifting, inspiring, intense ...

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#8. Jacob the Liar (1974)

Storyline: A Jewish ghetto in central Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central Europe. In order to keep his companion in misfortune, Mischa, from risking his life for a few potatoes, he tells him what he heard and announces that he is in possession of a radio - in the ghetto a crime punishable by death. It doesn't take long for word of Jakob's secret to spread - suddenly, there is new hope and something to live for - and so Jakob finds himself in the uncomforting position of having to come up with more and more stories.—c.winter

Plot Keywords: jew, military officer, nazi, friend, bleak, witty, poland ...

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#9. Banlieue 13 (2004)

Storyline: In the near future, the worst ghettos of Paris, France are literally walled off and among the worst is District B13. Controlled by the ruthless crime lord, Taha, a young righteous punk named Leïto is determined to bring him down. When the boss retaliates by kidnapping his sister, Lola, a rescue attempt by Leïto is destroyed by betrayal that gets him arrested and Lola kept in the clutches in Taha. Six months later, a crackerjack undercover cop named Damien is given a urgent mission: a neutron bomb has been stolen by Taha in District B13 which has an automatic timer function engaged and set to detonate in less than 24 hours. Now with time running out, Damien and Leïto must work together to find and stop the bomb, but there is far more to this crisis than any of the field players realize.

Plot Keywords: criminal, police officer, civilian, sister, gangster, tense, suspenseful ...

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#11. Sucker Free City (2004)

Storyline: Nick (Ben Crowley), a white mailroom clerk who rips off his coworkers' credit card numbers on the side, moves to a mostly African-American neighborhood and is terrorized by a local gang called the V-Dubs. He befriends K-Luv (Anthony Mackie), a black gang member to whom Nick helps sell bootlegged CDs, and they soon build a relationship with Lincoln (Ken Leung), a low-level Chinese gangster. But tension becomes palpable as the trio begin committing crimes on one another's turf.

Plot Keywords: thief, drug dealer, gang member, lover, mailroom clerk, young man, crafty ...

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#12. Street Kings (2008)

Storyline: LAPD detective Tom Ludlow is a ruthlessly efficient, unorthodox undercover cop. Captain Jack Wander always covers for Ludlow, as do even his somewhat jealous colleagues. After technically excessive violence against a vicious Korean gang during the liberation of kidnapped child sex slaves, Ludlow becomes the target of hotshot Internal Affairs captain James Biggs, who feels passed over after Wander's promotion to chief. Ludlow's ex-patrol partner, Terrence Washington, sides with IA but is killed during a shop robbery in Ludlow's presence. Ludlow works his way through the twisted rungs of the police and the deadly streets of Los Angeles for answers that lead to more and more questions.

Plot Keywords: police detective, cop, captain, friend, sergeant, criminal, intense ...

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#13. Bulworth (1998)

Storyline: Senator Jay Bulworth is facing speculation-induced financial ruin, so he puts out a contract on his own life in order to collect a large, new insurance policy for his family. Living each moment on borrowed time, he suddenly begins spouting raw, unfiltered--and sometimes offensive in word but satirical in spirit -- thoughts to shocked audiences and handlers in the speech of hip-hop music and culture. His newfound uninhibitedness and new relationship with Nina carry him on a journey of political and spiritual renewal.

Plot Keywords: senator, chief of staff, young woman, mafia boss, rapper, suicidal person, amusing ...

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