dry backdrop

Movies with dry vibe

Role Models

1511. Role Models

Comedy Adult Comedy
6.8

20081h 39min

United States

Director: David Wain

Two salesmen trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn't look half bad.

Themes

Dead-end work pressure, Fathers abandonment trauma, Mentorship obligations vs desire, Creative play vs reality, Youth mentorship bonds, Group belonging identity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Futurama: Bender's Game

1512. Futurama: Bender's Game

Animation Comedy Science Fiction Action Fantasy
7.3

20081h 28min

United States

Director: Dwayne Carey-Hill

When Leela is insulted by a group of space-rednecks (like regular rednecks, but in space), she enters the Planet Express ship in a demolition derby. Leela emerges victorious, but when she brings the damaged ship home, and the Professor sees the fuel gauge, he's enraged by the hit he's going to take at the Dark Matter pump. Now the crew have to find a way to break Mom's stranglehold on starship fuel, even if they have to wade through a Lord of the Rings-inspired fantasy-land to do it!

Themes

Corporate control of resources, Role playing as escape, Fantasy world as hazard, Memory erasure as concealment, Science powering fantasy conflict, Reality vs fantasy boundary


Frost/Nixon

1513. Frost/Nixon

Drama History Historical Drama Political History
7.6

20082h 2min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Ron Howard

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Themes

Reputation salvage under pressure, Interview as battleground, Media spectacle and politics, Private funding and sponsorship, Ethical compromises in journalism, Public image versus accountability

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Hurt Locker

1514. The Hurt Locker

Drama Thriller War Modern Conflicts Political Thriller
7.5

20082h 11min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

Themes

Loyalty under strain, Duty under pressure, Survivor guilt, Combat trauma, Trust vs control, Risk and restraint

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A man tours clubs around the globe with his manager and girlfriend. On the eve of their largest album release he is admitted to a psychiatric clinic after overdosing at a gig.

Themes

Institutional control, Addiction and relapse, Fame versus therapy, Relationship strain under crisis, Production pressure, Club culture excess

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Baader Meinhof Complex

1516. The Baader Meinhof Complex

Action Crime Drama History Thriller
7.3

20082h 29min

Czechia, France

Director: Uli Edel

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

Themes

Journalism versus militancy, State repression of protests, Terrorism as political instrument, Prison hunger strike dynamics, Leftist radicalism and violence, Foreign training and guerrilla tactics

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Appaloosa

1517. Appaloosa

Drama Western Crime Revisionist Western Police Procedural
6.7

20081h 55min

United States

Director: Ed Harris

Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

Themes

Rancher power and fear, Loyalty and trust under duress, Frontier justice and order, Vigilantism vs formal authority, Gender dynamics and survival, Community resilience under threat

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Ghost Town

1518. Ghost Town

Comedy Romance Drama Fantasy Dark Comedy
6.7

20081h 42min

United States

Director: David Koepp

Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Urban isolation, Unfinished business, Cynicism and empathy, Supernatural interference, Career vs personal life, Romantic entanglement

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Departures

1519. Departures

Drama Tragic Drama
8.0

20082h 10min

Japan

Director: Yojiro Takita

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

Themes

Ostracism of funeral work, Memory through ritual, Duty and personal longing, Professional identity struggle, Emotional labor and gratitude, Family strain and acceptance

Available on

Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Burn After Reading

1520. Burn After Reading

Comedy Drama Dark Comedy
7.0

20081h 36min

United States, United Kingdom

Director: Ethan Coen

A former CIA analyst wants his quiet new life back. A desperate gym employee wants a payday big enough to rewrite her body and her future. When one lost disc ties their fates together, do they cash in on chaos—or burn everything to keep the truth buried?

Themes

Paranoia and blackmail, Divorce and betrayal, Memory and memoirs, Deception and information, Institutional cover-ups

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.