Punitive populism in movies
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- DirectorSean WilsonStarsWilliam Van NolandPeter QuartaroliSam McBrideA street hustler who makes all the wrong moves finds himself doing hard time in the penitentiary in this hard-edged drama. Slim is a small time drug dealer who tries to make that one big deal that is going to put him on easy street. With his partner in crime Paulie they think they have a major dope deal set up but unfortunately for them the deal goes terribly wrong and they are lucky to come away with their lives. They get busted and Slim later finds out that Paulie testified against him to save his own skin. Slim's best efforts at plea-bargaining still leave him with a eight year sentence in San Quentin one of California's most notorious prisons. Slim quickly discovers that life in prison is divided along strict racial lines. Slim does his best to stay away out of all the racially inspired violence and stay to himself. But one of his fellow convicts KC pulls a dope fiend move that puts Slim on the enemies list of Sammytown, who is the brutal leader of the prison's white supremacist population. Slim tries his best to survive his time behind the walls, passing the time playing cards with a odd ball group of convicts, Big Mario, Eddie, and Hillbilly Kenny, Telling Jokes to break up the oppressive boredom of prison life. Then his former partner visits him in prison and tries to talk him out of the location of the money that was never recovered from their botched dope deal. Slim doesn't want anything to do with his past life or his ex-crime partner but upon his release Paulie and his old girlfriend have other plans in store for him.
- DirectorMarvin BakerBret MichaelsStarsBret MichaelsMartin SheenKristi GibsonA psychological thriller (...or is it?) that takes you through the mind of convicted killer, Michael Raine, and his experiences on death row... or does it? Was he guilty of killing his girlfriend or was he a victim of a conspiracy to frame him for a crime he didn't commit? As the story unfolds...or does it? Jessica Foster, an assistant to the Governor of Tennessee begins to interview Raine while on death row, claiming that she's writing a book about the inmates...Or is she? Through various circumstances, Raine puts two and two together and builds a case that he believes can prove his innocence...or does he? Ms. Foster is the only one on the 'outside" who can give Raine a voice, but is she working for those who framed him? As time draws near to the date of his execution, in his most desperate hour Raine finds the missing pieces to the puzzle to prove his innocence, but is it too late...? Was this story told from Raine's point of view or from the book writers or from yours, the viewer - you decide. All I know is - Damn I want that defense attorney when I'm on trial! Part of the Death Row Universe. Nominated for the little_cc 'Movie of the Decade' & loved among all 5 Poison fans.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsDanny HochElvis CostelloQ-TipA young man lives and learns while growing up on the street and in and out of correctional facilities.
- DirectorArne GlimcherStarsSean ConneryLaurence FishburneKate CapshawA Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after twenty-five years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death for the horrific murder of a child.
- DirectorBarry SkolnickStarsVinnie JonesDavid KellyDavid HemmingsA football star jailed for assault leads a group of inmates in a match against prison guards.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsChris O'DonnellGene HackmanFaye DunawayA young man fresh out of law school tries to win a reprieve for his racist grandfather who is on death row.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsSharon StoneRob MorrowRandy QuaidA lawyer assigned to the clemency case of a woman on death row finds himself forming a deep friendship with her while he tries to prevent her impending execution.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsKevin SpaceyKate WinsletLaura LinneyA man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.
- DirectorTim RobbinsStarsSusan SarandonSean PennRobert ProskyA nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
- DirectorMarc LevinStarsSaul WilliamsSonja SohnBonz MaloneGrand Jury Prize, 1998 Sundance Film Festival. A talented youth (Saul Williams) copes with urban crime and despair by competing in poetry slams. Sonja Sohn of "The Wire" costars.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsEddie MurphyMartin LawrenceObba BabatundéIn 1932, two strangers are wrongfully convicted and develop a strong friendship in prison that lasts them through the 20th century.
- DirectorSteve BuscemiStarsWillem DafoeEdward FurlongDanny TrejoA young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsEdward NortonBarry PepperPhilip Seymour HoffmanCornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsChristopher LambertBeth ToussaintWillie Garson7 years after the original Fortress movie, Brennick along with the rebels are captured and sent to a new, more sophisticated fortress prison, in outer space.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsChristopher LambertLoryn LocklinKurtwood SmithIn a future, private underground prison/Fortress, the inmates are computer controlled with CCTV, dream readers and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife are inside but want to escape before birth.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsChristopher LambertLoryn LocklinKurtwood SmithIn a future, private underground prison/Fortress, the inmates are computer controlled with CCTV, dream readers and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife are inside but want to escape before birth.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsDenzel WashingtonVicellous ShannonDeborah Kara UngerThe story of Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, a boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsWesley SnipesVing RhamesPeter FalkWhen heavyweight champion George "Iceman" Chambers lands in prison, the resident gangster arranges a boxing match with the reigning prison champ.
- DirectorHenri CharrStarsWendi WestbrookBarbara NivenTaylor LeighA drug lord's prison connections make this a dangerous and deadly assignment for undercover FBI agent Danielle Peters.
- DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobert De NiroKevin BaconBrad PittAfter a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
- DirectorTony GoldwynStarsHilary SwankSam RockwellMelissa LeoA working mother puts herself through law school in an effort to represent her brother, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and has exhausted his chances to appeal his conviction through public defenders.
- CreatorBrett JohnsonMichael TolkinStarsBenicio Del ToroPatricia ArquettePaul DanoA female prison employee in upstate New York becomes romantically involved with a pair of inmates and helps them escape.