Possibly Louis Malle’s best film, the Oscar-nominated semi-autobiographical drama Au Revoir les Enfants focuses on the tragic friendship between two boys.
Pedro Almodóvar’s brazen 2004 ‘gay film noir’ Bad Education is 1 of the most daring exemplars of the noir genre. Gael García Bernal and Fele Martínez star.
Actress-filmmaker Radha Blank’s semi-autobiographical midlife-crisis tale The Forty-Year-Old Version evokes memories of Woody Allen + Paul Mazursky.
Starring Chadwick Boseman and standout Michael B. Jordan, Ryan Coogler’s movie history-making Black Panther gives new life to the superhero genre.
Starring an excellent Michael Fassbender in a dual role, Ridley Scott’s suspenseful Alien: Covenant takes the franchise in a more discerning direction.
The Wolverine Hugh Jackman is at the embittered heart of James Mangold’s surprisingly violent Logan, one of the best superhero movies out there.
Don’t wet your seat while watching Fede Alvarez’s cleverly assembled Detroit-set horror thriller Don’t Breathe. Cast: Stephen Lang and Dylan Minnette.
Fritz Lang’s two-part semi-historical epic tragedy Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Kriemhild’s Revenge is a cinematic masterpiece.
Best Actress Oscar winner Joan Crawford is terrific as the devoted mother of psycho daughter Ann Blyth in Michael Curtiz’s 1945 melo noir Mildred Pierce.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s capably acted urban family drama Tokyo Sonata exposes the seemingly inexorable unraveling of Japan’s traditional social fabric.
Inspired by the Bugsy Siegel and Virginia Hill affair, Vincent Sherman’ skillful crime drama The Damned Don’t Cry is Joan Crawford’s second best Warners movie.
Starring gay MGM contract actor William Haines, the pre-Code comedy Western Way Out West features gay innuendoes just about everywhere you look.
The genius of Lon Chaney and the best production values that MGM could buy make William Nigh’s ‘exotic’ Mr. Wu movie adaptation a must-see.
Silent era veterans Erich von Stroheim and Betty Compson deliver quality performances in James Cruze’s engrossing psychological drama The Great Gabbo.
MGM star Ramon Novarro delivers a charismatic performance in Fred Niblo’s still impressive silent era mega-blockbuster Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
Man of a Thousand Faces Lon Chaney delivers another phenomenally creepy portrayal in Wallace Worsley’s top-notch revenge thriller The Penalty.
A capable ensemble of below-the-title names is put to good use in the Damon Runyon-esque B comedy Sing and Like It. ZaSu Pitts stars.
One man’s disastrous romantic heartbreak is great comedy fodder in Nicholas Stoller”s Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Jason Segel and Kristen Bell star.
Featuring an unusual cast, the anti-bigotry melodrama Night of the Quarter Moon succeeds as a tabloid version of more serious-minded ‘race dramas.’
Werner Herzog’s ‘minor’ period psychological drama Woyzeck is superior to most acclaimed Hollywood fare. Klaus Kinski and Eva Mattes star.
9 (mostly) hard-to-find movies worth digging include titles starring Jean Harlow, Douglas Fairbanks and Clint Eastwood precursor William S. Hart.
Michelangelo Antonioni’s acclaimed 1957 neorealist drama Il Grido stars an outstanding Steve Cochran. Also in the cast: Alida Valli and Betsy Blair.
Ingmar Bergman’s sumptuous big-screen swan song, the 1982 period family drama Fanny and Alexander is even more engrossing in its longer form.
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s 2007 action comedy Hot Fuzz is a riotously funny and unusually creative spoof of Hollywood’s buddy movies.
Meet the Robinsons’ eccentric characters are key a reason for the enjoyment of Disney’s (Pixar-influenced) futuristic family adventure comedy.
Starring the German Mary Pickford, Ernst Lubitsch’s The Doll movie is a satirical fantasy featuring inventive art direction and jabs at the Catholic Church.
Remarkable women’s suffrage movie Mothers of Men dismisses the notion that the female right to vote would destroy American families and society.
Contemplative Woody Allen comedy Stardust Memories is one of the most profound films ever. Charlotte Rampling + Marie-Christine Barrault costar.
An homage to unconventional families mixed with social commentary, Charles Chaplin’s 1921 movie The Kid remains just as touching 9 decades after its release.
Samuel Fuller’s B crime drama The Naked Kiss is an underrated gem that teaches audiences a couple of valuable lessons re: Good Citizens and phones.
‘Lurid’ is an understatement when describing Screaming Mimi, Anita Ekberg’s 1958 foray into the realm of American B noir. Philip Carey and Gypsy Rose Lee costar.
Zombie movie 28 Weeks Later offers flesh-eaters and gore with a side of some unsettling sociopolitical commentary. Jeremy Renner and Rose Byrne star.
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