Tender Mercies (1983)

Tender Mercies (1983)

[7] Robert Duvall earned the Best Actor Oscar for his subtle but moving performance in Tender Mercies, the story of a divorced, alcoholic country singer who hits rock bottom before slowly rebuilding his life. A single mother (Tess Harper) hires…
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

[9] Here we have a horror film so well executed, it swept the Academy Awards. Anthony Hopkins (The Lion in Winter) and Jodie Foster (The Accused) each deliver career-defining performances as cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter and neophyte FBI agent…
Promising Young Woman (2020)

Promising Young Woman (2020)

[8] Carey Mulligan (Shame, Never Let Me Go) is equal parts sympathetic and terrifying in writer/director Emerald Fennell's psychological thriller Promising Young Woman. Mulligan stars as Cassandra, a medical school dropout whose life was derailed after the sexual assault of…
One Battle After Another (2025)

One Battle After Another (2025)

[3] It's possible I'll see this movie again in the future and understand it better. I have to assume this is possible, because I love several other Paul Thomas Anderson movies, including Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and…
Sinners (2025)

Sinners (2025)

[7] In this period horror film from writer/director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Black Panther), twin Chicago gangsters named Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their Depression-era Mississippi home town to create a more legitimate life…
Dead Poets Society (1989)

Dead Poets Society (1989)

[9] Robin Williams headlines this period drama from Australian auteur Peter Weir (Witness, Picnic at Hanging Rock) centered around teen boys coming of age at a late 1950s New England prep school. Williams plays Professor Keating, their inspirational English teacher,…
Going My Way (1944)

Going My Way (1944)

[8] Jaded or cynical viewers may want to skip this movie, but anyone looking for a feel-good comedy/drama from a simpler time may enjoy director Leo McCarey's Going My Way. Crooner Bing Crosby stars as Father Chuck O'Malley, a young…
Witness (1985)

Witness (1985)

[8] Harrison Ford must hide among the Amish after he discovers corruption within his police department. Witness was an opportunity for Ford to show his acting chops, and it remains one of his best performances. This was the first American…
The Big Short (2015)

The Big Short (2015)

[7] Director Adam McKay (Vice, Don't Look Up) adapts Michael Lewis' bestselling novel about the men who predicted the 2008 mortgage implosion and near-collapse of the world economy. If this sounds like dreary, heady, political stuff, that's because it is.…
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

[8] Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) plays Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner taking care of her elderly father (James Hong), quarreling with her daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and teetering on divorce with her husband (Ke Huy Quan). To top things…