Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

[7] The skeleton crew of an isolated police precinct battle a vengeful street gang that lay siege to the building. John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) writes and directs this simple, straight-forward, solidly executed action/thriller, imbuing it with his love of…
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)

Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)

[6] A passenger plane crashes after a close encounter with a UFO. The survivors are left in a remote desert to defend themselves against a blob-like alien that creates a vaginal slit in its victims' foreheads before crawling inside their…
Ivanhoe (1952)

Ivanhoe (1952)

[5] The disgraced Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades to learn King Richard the Lionheart is imprisoned in Austria. He goes to the court of King John to plea for Richard's ransom, but King John is pretty keen to keep the…
The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

[7] The Reluctant Dragon is an odd but interesting hybrid of anthology feature and behind-the-scenes documentary. It's about a man whose wife convinces him to take a children's storybook titled The Reluctant Dragon to Walt Disney so that he can…
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)

[4] This short feature presentation from Disney Animation is really two short stories slammed together. Up first, we have "The Wind in the Willows," narrated by Basil Rathbone. It's a fast-paced story about three stuffy critters -- a badger, a…
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

[5] This early Best Picture Oscar winner is a three-hour mix of song, dance, and narrative, much like Broadway Melody before it. I was expecting a real stinker, especially when the opening credits revealed "Fashion Parades by Adrian". But apart…
Flight (2012)

Flight (2012)

[6] Denzel Washington stars in this Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) film about an airplane pilot who makes a 'miracle landing' after a mid-air collision, saving over a hundred lives from almost certain death. But here's the…
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

[7] The Place Beyond the Pines, from writer/director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), is a family epic of sorts. The first third of the film follows a low-life motorcycle showman, played by Ryan Gosling, who turns to crime to try and…
Henry & June (1990)

Henry & June (1990)

[6] Philip Kaufman (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Right Stuff, Quills) directs this adaptation of Anais Nin's autobiography, about her sexual escapades with Henry Miller and his wife June in 1930s Paris. Movies that turn sex into some sort…
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

[7] J.J. Abrams (Lost, Super 8) takes the directing reigns from creator George Lucas and delivers a better film than any of the prequels. Original core cast members join new players in a script co-written by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan,…