Operation Condor: Armour of God II
M
Hong Kong, 1991
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Language: Chinese
Director: Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Carol Cheng, Eva Cobo de Garcia, Shoko Ikeda, Aldo Sambrell, Ken Goodman, Bruce Fontaine, Gregory Tartaglia, Christian Perrochaud, Jonathan Isgar, Daniel Mintz, Mark King, Bryan Baker
What's it about?
Agent Jackie is hired to find WWII Nazi gold hidden in the Sahara desert. He teams up with three women who are all connected in some way. However, a team of mercenaries have ideas on the ownership of the gold. A chase ensues as to who gets there first.
Airs Monday 16 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (or stream it now at SBS On Demand).
The City of Lost Children
M
France, 1995
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Adventure
Language: French
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Ron Perlman
What's it about?
On a mist-shrouded rig in the sea, beyond an old minefield, Krank ages prematurely because he lacks one vital function: the ability to dream. And so he kidnaps children from the harbour town, to steal their happy dreams from them...
Airs Tuesday 17 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (or stream it now at SBS On Demand).
[link title="The City of Lost Children Review" url="node/2685"]
Run Lola Run
M
Germany, 1998
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Language: German
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Ludger Pistor
What's it about?
A woman races against the clock to meet her boyfriend, who has fallen foul of his gangster boss and needs big money, fast. The film plays out in three scenarios, which demonstrate the repercussions of tiny choices and missed opportunities.
Airs Wednesday 18 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (or stream it now at SBS On Demand).
[link title="Run Lola Run Review" url="node/3784"]
Twelve Monkeys
M
USA, 1995
Genre: Sci-Fi
Language: English
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt
What's it about?
In the year 2035, an unknown virus has wiped out 99 percent of Earth’s population. A criminal reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to determine the origin of the epidemic, and obtain information that may contain the spread of the virus. He is accidentally sent back six years earlier than expected, and is arrested and locked up in a mental institution, where he meets Dr Kathryn Railly, a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous scientist and virus expert.
Airs Thursday 19 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (will not be available for catch-up at SBS On Demand).
[link title=" Twelve Monkeys review: An exhilarating time travel tale from the king of chaos, Terry Gilliam " url="node/95626"]
Postcards from the Edge
M
USA, 1990
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Mary Wickes, Conrad Bain, Annette Bening, Simon Callow, Gary Morton, Dana Ivey
What's it about?After leaving rehab, Suzanne Vale struggles to maintain sobriety while living with her champion-drinker of a mother.
Airs Friday 20 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (or stream it now at SBS On Demand).
High Heels
MA15+
Spain, 1991
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance
Language: Spanish
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Victoria Abril, Marisa Paredes, Miguel Bosé, Féodor Atkine, Anna Lizaran, Mayrata O'Wisiedo, Cristina Marcos, Bibiana Fernández
What's it about?
Fifteen years after leaving her daughter, Rebecca, in Madrid to pursue a career, an ageing actress returns to the city to learn that she has married one of her former flames. Both women wind up as suspects in the man's murder.
Airs Monday 23 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (or stream it now at SBS On Demand).
Delicatessen
M
France, 1991
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Romance, Horror, Fantasy
Language: French
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro
Starring: Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Pascal Benezech, Karin Viard
What's it about?
Clapet is a butcher who owns a run-down apartment building in post-apocalyptic France. The building is in constant need of a handyman, because Clapet routinely butchers them and sells them as food. The latest in the long line of disposable workers is Louison, a former circus clown desperate for work and lodging. But this time Clapet's plan hits a snag when his young daughter falls head over heels for the lovable Louison.
Airs Tuesday 24 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (will not be available for catch-up at SBS On Demand).
Being John Malkovich
M
USA, 1999
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich
What's it about?
Craig Schwartz is a puppeteer whom the world shuns, and whose marriage to Lotte has become rather dull – even the chimp and the dog and the bird and the other animals Lotte, a pet shop employee, brings home fail to lift life above survival levels. Lotte urges him to get a job; he does, in a strange filing company 'half way between floors' in a large building where he meets the enigmatic and attractive, but unavailable (to him), Maxine. He also discovers a secret door that whisks him inside the brain of famous actor John Malkovich. Things take a turn for Craig now, and with Maxine's help, he turns the 'portal' to Malkovich into a business. But that's just the start of it.
Airs Wednesday 25 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (will not be available for catch-up at SBS On Demand).
[link title="Being John Malkovich Review" url="node/4164"]
White Men Can't Jump
M
USA, 1992
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: English
Director: Ron Shelton
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez, Wesley Snipes, Marques Johnson, Duane Martin, Jon Hendricks, Alex Trebek
What's it about?
Billy Hoyle and Sidney Deane are an unlikely pair of basketball hustlers. They team up to con their way across the courts of Los Angeles, playing a game that's fast, dangerous and funny.
Airs Thursday 26 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (will not be available for catch-up at SBS On Demand).
[link title="'White Men Can't Jump' remake in the works with Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil" url="node/108800"]
The Fifth Element
PG
France, 1997
Genre: Romance, Adventure, Action, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Ian Holm, Gary Oldman
What's it about?
In the 23rd century, in a strange and colourful universe where all hope of survival is impossible without the discovery of the Fifth Element, an unusual hero confronts evil to save mankind.
Airs Friday 27 August at 9:30pm on SBS World Movies (will be available for 30 days catch-up at SBS On Demand after broadcast).
[link title="My Favourite Film: The Fifth Element" url="node/735"]
[link title="Why 'The Fifth Element' improves the more you watch it" url="node/203480"]
BONUS 90s MOVIE!!
Backdraft
M
USA, 1991
Genre: Drama, Action
Language: English
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glenn, Rebecca De Mornay
What's it about?
Ron Howard directs an all-star cast in this acclaimed action-thriller. Kurt Russell and William Baldwin star as two feuding brothers carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these explosive crimes. Also stars Robert De Niro and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Airs Saturday 28 August at 8:30pm on SBS World Movies (not available for catch-up at SBS On Demand).
