The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

[7] A claustrophobic mystery featuring a career-launching performance from Humphrey Bogart. Characters like Sam Spade can often be played over the top, but Bogart keeps it grounded and accessible for me. I also like the ensemble of supporting players, including…
Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

[7] Ryan Gosling stars as Lars, a young man who begins seriously dating a life-size doll. His friends and family are instructed by a doctor to go along with it until they can figure out why he has engaged in…
Dragonwyck (1946)

Dragonwyck (1946)

[6] Writer/producer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir) made his directorial debut with Dragonwyck, a gothic romance with a dash of horror/suspense. Gene Tierney plays a farm girl summoned by a distant relative to help…
Red-Headed Woman (1932)

Red-Headed Woman (1932)

[5] Jean Harlow plays such a nasty little character in Red-Headed Woman, sleeping her way to the top of the workforce while ending marriages left and right. She's so cold and calculating, I almost wish the movie would have been…
The Rainmaker (1956)

The Rainmaker (1956)

[5] Burt Lancaster stars as a conman promising rain for dollars to struggling farmers in the drought-ridden South. He almost gets away with his latest swindle, but burgeoning feelings for one of the farmer's daughters (Katharine Hepburn) threatens to make…
Ghost Story (1981)

Ghost Story (1981)

[7] Four old men and their families are haunted by the ghost of a woman the men accidentally killed decades ago in this John Irvin film of the Peter Straub story. It could have benefited from a more visionary director,…
Red Dawn (1984)

Red Dawn (1984)

[5] The Russians invade America and spark World War III in this Cold-War emblem from writer/director John Milius (Conan the Barbarian, Big Wednesday). Political correctness aside, the opening of this movie -- the Russian invasion -- is very effective. But…
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

[4] Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson star in this Disney live-action/animation hybrid about a witch, a conman, and three children who search for the missing ingredient to a spell that could help England during the siege of WWII. Call me…
City of the Living Dead (1980)

City of the Living Dead (1980)

[4] A priest's suicide triggers a zombie apocalypse in this loose sequel to Zombie (aka, Zombie 2), both directed by Lucio Fulci. The story here is silly and the movie takes a lot of detours. The dead priest opening the…
Father Goose (1964)

Father Goose (1964)

[5] I like the premise of this one. Cary Grant plays a beach bum who relays Japanese radio messages to the military during WWII. His life is a solitary one until a plane crashes on the island, introducing him to…