Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[4] In this animated film from Japan, a teenaged boy tries to take care of his little sister after their mother dies in a bombing by the Americans during World War II. The children's father is a soldier at sea…
Talk Radio (1988)
[7] Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK) directed this underseen and underappreciated stage adaptation about a shock-jock radio deejay (Eric Bogosian) who riles up listeners with his harsh personal criticisms and grim social commentary. Bogosian, who wrote and starred in the one-act…
The Plague of the Zombies (1966)
[6] A professor and his daughter (Andre Morell and Diane Clare) travel to a village in Cornwall to investigate a deadly epidemic only to discover the dead are crawling back to life! Hammer Films' only zombie flick hits a lot…
The Night Porter (1974)
[6] A concentration camp survivor (Charlotte Rampling) rekindles a sado-masochistic relationship with a former SS officer (Dirk Bogarde) in The Night Porter. Thirteen years after the end of World War II, Rampling is married to a renowned music conductor when…
Explorers (1985)
[6] Three junior-high students interpret cryptic messages from outer space to build a ship and make first contact with extra-terrestrials in Explorers. Director Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) launched the notable careers of young co-stars Ethan Hawke (Training Day) and…
Scream 3 (2000)
[5] The Scream franchise creaks and bows under the strain of an increasingly incredulous plot in the concluding chapter of the original trilogy. Yet another killer is donning the Ghost Face mask, this time preying on the cast and crew…
Scream 2 (1997)
[7] Director Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) and screenwriter Kevin Williamson (Dawson's Creek) ratchet up the chills and thrills nicely in the first (and best) sequel in the Scream franchise. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is off to college,…
Keeper of the Flame (1942)
[5] In the second of their nine pairings, Spencer Tracy plays a highly-regarded journalist investigating the death of Katharine Hepburn's husband, a beloved national war hero. At first, information is hard to come by. But once he begins talking with…
The Perfect Storm (2000)
[6] Director Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One, The Neverending Story) pits George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg against a killer storm at sea in The Perfect Storm, a true story based on a novel by Sebastian Junger. Clooney plays the captain…
Fury (2014)
[7] Writer/director David Ayer (End of Watch, Suicide Squad) is far from the first filmmaker to present audiences with a taste of the harrowing, soul-crushing realities of warfare, but the subject is one worthy enough to bear much repeating. Fury…