The Sting (1973)

The Sting (1973)

[7] Robert Redford and Paul Newman play Chicago con artists who team up to bankrupt a crime boss (Robert Shaw) who authorized the killing of Redford's grifting partner. Several other con artists join in on the elaborate betting scheme, which…
Frisco Kid (1935)

Frisco Kid (1935)

[4] James Cagney (The Public Enemy, The Mayor of Hell) stars as an aimless sailor who makes a name for himself in 1850s San Francisco, running bars and casinos on the notoriously violent Barbary Coast. He falls in love with…
Striptease (1996)

Striptease (1996)

[4] Demi Moore received a whopping $12.5 million to appear topless in this film about a woman who starts strip-dancing to make ends meet after a judge grants full custody of her young daughter (played well by Moore's real life…
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

[10] James Dean gives one of the most iconic performances in movie history as Jim Stark, an angst-ridden teenager who quarrels with his parents almost as much as he tangles with high school bullies. I normally hate tough guy movies,…
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

[7] Michael Rooker (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) gives a chilling performance in this gritty, 16mm film based loosely on the confessions of convicted murderer Henry Lee Lucas. As Henry, Rooker lives in a dingy apartment with a…
Missing (1982)

Missing (1982)

[7] Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek star in this true story about the disappearance of American journalist Charles Horman (John Shea) who went missing during the U.S.-sponsored 1973 Chilean coup. Spacek plays Horman's wife and Lemmon plays his father. When…
Backdraft (1991)

Backdraft (1991)

[6] Director Ron Howard (Cocoon, Apollo 13) delivers peak-level pyrotechnics wrapped in corny melodrama with Backdraft. Kurt Russell and Daniel Baldwin co-star as quarreling brothers who follow their late father into firefighting careers. Baldwin plays the younger brother, embarrassed by…
10 to Midnight (1983)

10 to Midnight (1983)

[7] Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven) headlines this above-average low-budget thriller about a veteran L.A. cop in pursuit of a serial killer who stalks women in the nude. Early in the film, Bronson tells his boss (Wilford Brimley) that the…
Kes (1969)

Kes (1969)

[5] I put off watching Kes for many years because, as a 'bird person', I knew the title falcon died at the end of the movie. I finally gathered the courage to see the film, and I'm surprised to report…
Hugo (2011)

Hugo (2011)

[8] In 1931 Paris, an orphaned boy named Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives in a train station and gets caught up in a mystery involving a broken automaton and a cranky old toy-maker (Ben Kingsley). With the help of an adventurous…