Tea and Sympathy (1956)

Tea and Sympathy (1956)

[6] Vincente Minnelli sheds a bright light on gender politics in this story of a bullied teenager who finds solace with his college housemaster's wife. It is fascinating to watch a film deal with mysogyny and homophobia at a time when these…
The Hurt Locker (2009)

The Hurt Locker (2009)

[7] Kathryn Bigelow (Strange Days, Near Dark) won the Oscar for directing this suspense thriller about three soldiers who disarm bombs in Iraq. The movie also won Best Picture, maybe just because nothing better came out during the year (except the REAL…
Precious (2009)

Precious (2009)

[7] Precious is the kind of movie a studio exec must dread hearing a pitch about: "So, there's this girl, and she's really sad, her daddy raped her, she named her down syndrome baby Mongo, her mother violently abuses her, she's HIV-positive,…
Whip It (2009)

Whip It (2009)

[6] Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with what is basically a high school sports movie. It reminded me of those '80s flicks where the young guy (be it Cruise, Bacon, Lowe, or Modine) commited himself to a sport his parents frowned…
The Blind Side (2009)

The Blind Side (2009)

[5] Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for her performance in this film, and that's pretty much the best reason to see this movie. I'm not sure if it was the best performance of the year, but she is certainly very good --…
The Little Minister (1934)

The Little Minister (1934)

[5] A young minister (John Beal) falls in love with a gypsy (Katharine Hepburn) and begins a village scandal. Hepburn and Beal are fairly matched and the rural setting is lovingly evoked through impressive indoor sets. The story, based on a novel…
Mystic River (2003)

Mystic River (2003)

[8] A family tragedy reunites three men who share a traumatic childhood experience in Mystic River. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins took home richly-deserved Oscars for their performances in this Oscar-nominated best picture from the ever-reliable Clint Eastwood. Mystic River is a…
This Boy’s Life (1993)

This Boy’s Life (1993)

[6] This film, along with What's Eating Gilbert Grape, both released the same year, made young Leonardo DiCaprio a star. DiCaprio holds his own against the formidable Robert DeNiro, here playing an abusive step-father. The performances are good, but the story (based…
Iris (2001)

Iris (2001)

[6] Judi Dench and Jim Broadbent star in this true but tragic love story about lovers of 40 years who are torn apart by Alzheimer's Disease. Dench is portraying novelist Iris Murdoch, a lover of language who begins losing her ability to…
The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)

The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)

[6] Katharine Hepburn stars in this odd duck of a movie about an eccentric Countess who catches wind of a conspiracy to destroy Paris in the name of oil drilling and decides to take matters into her own hands... by killing all…