The Old Dark House (1932)

The Old Dark House (1932)

[8] Five travelers end up stranded at our title location after a fierce night-time storm makes driving the English hillsides too dangerous. The family that lives there is less than hospitable, with secrets that make the evening increasingly frightening. The…
The Northman (2022)

The Northman (2022)

[9] Before seeing The Northman, I already considered director Robert Eggers the most exciting director working today. His debut film, The Witch, is my favorite film of the 21st century thus far, and The Lighthouse is a fascinating follow-up. With…
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…
The Power of the Dog (2021)

The Power of the Dog (2021)

[8] Just as she did with The Piano nearly thirty years ago, director Jane Campion exposes the tragic consequences of rigid gender conformity in The Power of the Dog. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a deeply closeted gay cattle rancher in…
The Hunger (1983)

The Hunger (1983)

[8] Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie play vampire lovers living in modern-day New York who seek the help of a gerontologist played by Susan Sarandon. If that sounds oxymoronic, therein lies the rub. Bowie's character has suddenly begun aging, following…
Licorice Pizza (2021)

Licorice Pizza (2021)

[8] Hollywood often waters down characters and storylines to make them universally appealing. Filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson with Licorice Pizza, or David O. Russell with Joy and The Fighter, are challenging that notion with stories of tremendous specificity --…
The Defiant Ones (1958)

The Defiant Ones (1958)

[8] Socially-conscious filmmaker Stanley Kramer (Inherit the Wind, Judgment at Nuremberg) made an impact early in his directing career with this dramatic chase story of two escaped convicts evading authorities while chained together at the wrists. The twist? One prisoner's…
Hollywoodland (2006)

Hollywoodland (2006)

[8] Adrien Brody (The Pianist, The Thin Red Line) plays a '50s Hollywood detective investigating the mysterious death of actor George Reeves, played by Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, The Town). Hollywoodland is based on the true story of Reeves, who…
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

[8] Teresa Wright (Mrs. Miniver) plays a bored teenager who's over-joyed when her favorite Uncle (The Third Man's Joseph Cotton) comes to stay with her family. But the warmth of family reunion soon gives way to cold suspicion when Cotton…
Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation (2018)

[8] Writer/director Alex Garland (The Beach, Sunshine) casts Natalie Portman as a biologist who joins a team of other female scientists into a mysterious, growing dome called 'the shimmer'. Inside they quickly learn that the phenomenon is altering the DNA…