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Favorite Journalism Films

Movie list created by kathy

Sort by: Showing 16 items

Decade: Rating: List Type:

117

6.9

Absence of Malice (1981)

Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Paul Newman, Sally Field, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Luther Adler, Barry Primus, Josef Sommer, Don Hood and Wilford Brimley

Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his supposed crime was committed but it involves an innocent party, Teresa Perrone. When Perrone tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher.

kathy's rating:

479

8.3

8.1

Ace in the Hole (1951)

[Also known as 'The Big Carnival']
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Ray Teal, Gene Evans, Lewis Martin, John Berkes, Frances Dominguez, Frank Jaquet, Harry Harvey, Bob Bumpas and Geraldine Hall

Charles Tatum, a down-on-his-luck reporter, takes a job with a small New Mexico newspaper. The job is pretty boring until he finds a man trapped in a mine. He jumps at the chance to make a name for himself by taking over and prolonging the rescue effort, and feeding stories to major newspapers. He creates a national media sensation and milks it for all it is worth.

kathy's rating:

1036

7.7

7.9

All the President's Men (1976)

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards and Jane Alexander

In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defence case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organisers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.

kathy's rating:

329

6.8

7.2

Broadcast News (1987)

Director: James L. Brooks
Starring: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky, Lois Chiles, Joan Cusack, Peter Hackes, Christian Clemenson, Jack Nicholson, Leo Burmester, Marita Geraghty, Glen Roven, Marc Shaiman and John Cusack

Satirical comedy about three ambitious newscasters: Tom Grunick, a rising anchorman, has plenty of on-camera savvy, personality and good looks but little in the way of brains. He may be dumb as a doornail but Tom's got the star presence his network needs. Then there's Aaron Altman, a less than good-looking newsman, who's dedicated, diligent and down-to-earth. Aaron would love to be an anchor but he freezes up the moment he's in front of the camera. Spunky, smart news producer Jane Craig is excellent at her job but has difficulty handling the pressure. Can these workaholics mask their personal quirks long enough to jump-start their professional lives?

kathy's rating:

206

7.3

The Front Page (1974)

Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Charles Durning, David Wayne, Susan Sarandon, Austin Pendleton and Carol Burnett

Successful Chicago newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson is hanging up his journalist's hat to marry Peggy Grant. When his editor, the arrogant, self-important Walter Burns, learns of Hildy's plans, he goes to great lengths to keep his star writer. They learn that the notorious (but possibly wrongfully accused) criminal, Earl Williams, has escaped on the eve of his execution, and Hildy can't resist this one last sensational story.

kathy's rating:

935

7.4

7.7

Frost/Nixon (2008)

Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell

In 1977, three years after the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency, Richard Nixon selects British TV personality David Frost to conduct a one-on-one, exclusive interview. Though Nixon believes it will be easy to mislead Frost, and the latter's own team doubts that he can stand up to the former president, what actually unfolds is an unexpectedly candid and revealing interview before the court of public opinion.

kathy's rating:

670

7.1

7.3

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Annika Hallin, Sofia Ledarp, Jacob Ericksson, Georgi Staykov, Aksel Morisse, Niklas Hjulström, Micke Spreitz, Anders Ahlbom, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Hans Alfredson and Tehilla Blad

After taking a bullet to the head, Salander is under close supervision in a hospital and is set to face trial for attempted murder on her eventual release. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist and his researchers at Millennium magazine, Salander must prove her innocence. In doing this she plays against powerful enemies and her own past.

kathy's rating:

801

6.9

7.2

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson, Per Oscarsson, Georgi Staykov, Sofia Ledarp, Yasmine Garbi, Annika Hallin, Tanja Lorentzon, Paolo Roberto, Johan Kylén, Magnus Krepper, Ralph Carlsson, Micke Spreitz, Anders Ahlbom and Tehilla Blad

Mikael Blomkvist, publisher of Millennium magazine, has made his living exposing the crooked and corrupt practices of establishment Swedish figures. So when a young journalist approaches him with a meticulously researched thesis about sex trafficking in Sweden and those in high office who abuse underage girls, Blomkvist immediately throws himself into the investigation.

kathy's rating:

1801

7.5

7.8

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Ewa Fröling, Lena Endre, Sven-Bertil Taube, Peter Haber, Peter Andersson, Marika Lagercrantz, Ingvar Hirdwall, Björn Granath, Annika Hallin, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Tomas Köhler and Tehilla Blad

Wealthy Swedish recluse Henrik Vanger needs closure. Forty years ago, his beloved niece disappeared, never to be seen again - and circumstances have led him to believe that a member of his own repugnant family must be responsible. Vanger hires stoic journalist Mikael Blomkvist and scrappy, chain-smoking hacker Lisbeth Salander to come to his island, dig deep into chilling family secrets and unmask the killer once and for all.

kathy's rating:

656

7.9

7.8

His Girl Friday (1940)

Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Clarence Kolb, Abner Biberman, John Qualen, Helen Mack, Porter Hall, Regis Toomey and Marion Martin

Walter Burns, editor of a major Chicago newspaper, is about to lose his ace reporter and former wife, Hildy Johnson, to insurance salesman Bruce Baldwin, but not without a fight! The crafty editor uses every trick in his fedora to get Hildy to write one last big story, about murderer Earl Williams and the inept Sheriff Hartwell. The comedy snowballs as William's friend, Molly Malloy, the crooked Mayor, and Bruce's mother all get tied up in Walter's web.

kathy's rating:

232

6.5

Money Monster (2016)

Director: Jodie Foster
Producers: George Clooney, Daniel Dubiecki, Lara Alameddine and Grant Heslov
Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O'Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe and Giancarlo Esposito

Financial TV personality Lee Gates, who offers up stock advice on his hit show "Money Monster," is held hostage by a viewer, Kyle Budwell, who lost all of his money following a bad tip from Lee during his show.

kathy's rating:

1166

7.6

7.8

Nightcrawler (2014)

Director: Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed, Michael Hyatt, Ann Cusack, Kevin Rahm, Kathleen York, Eric Lange, Bird York, Carolyn Gilroy and Jonathan Coyne

When Lou Bloom, a driven man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.

kathy's rating:

900

5.9

6.2

The Rum Diary (2011)

Director: Bruce Robinson
Starring: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, Bill Smitrovich, Julian Holloway and Karen Austin

American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1960s and struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there.

kathy's rating:

760

7.7

8.1

Spotlight (2015)

Director: Tom McCarthy
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup, Richard Jenkins, Paul Guilfoyle and Len Cariou

The true story of how the Boston Globe's "Spotlight Team" reporters spent a year interviewing child abuse victims and reviewing thousands of pages of documents and discovered years of cover-ups by the leadership of the Catholic Church in America. Their reporting eventually led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law, who had hidden years of serial abuse by other priests, and opened the floodgates to revelations of molestation and cover-ups worldwide that still reverberate today.

kathy's rating:

746

6.7

7.1

State of Play (2009)

Director: Kevin MacDonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Wendy Makkena, Viola Davis and Helen Mirren

A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story.

kathy's rating:

213

7.1

The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)

Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hunt, Bill Kerr, Michael Murphy and Noel Ferrier

Guy Hamilton is a journalist on his first job as a foreign correspondent. His apparently humdrum assignment to Indonesia soon turns hot as President Sukarno electrifies the populace and frightens foreign powers. Guy soon is the hottest reporter on the story with the help of his photographer, half-Chinese dwarf Billy Kwan, who has gone native. Guy's affair with diplomat Jill Bryant also helps. Eventually Guy must face some major moral choices and the relationship between Billy and him reaches a crisis at the same time the politics of Indonesia does.

kathy's rating: