Strange Days (1995)

Strange Days (1995)

[8] Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett star in this tech-noir thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, The Hurt Locker) and writer James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar). It's late in the year 1999 (four years into the future for when the film was…
Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

[8] Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige and writer/directors Joe and Anthony Russo hit a home run that should satisfy all Marvel fans with Avengers: Endgame, the climactic finale to what is essentially an 11-year story arc. It begins with the Avengers --…
Billy Budd (1962)

Billy Budd (1962)

[8] Peter Ustinov directs and co-stars in this adaptation of Herman Melville's unfinished novel of the same name. Ustinov plays the captain of a British ship sailing to battle against France. His master-at-arms, John Claggart (The Wild Bunch's Robert Ryan), is a…
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

[8] Jacob's Ladder is a terrific example of what can happen when an inspired screenplay gets into the hands of a great director and a capable leading actor. I'm talking about Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost), Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction), and Tim Robbins…
Shazam! (2019)

Shazam! (2019)

[8] A young teen Billy (Asher Angel) is called upon by mystical forces and given the ability to turn into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) at will. Together with help from his new foster brothers and sisters, he learns how to handle…
The Chumscrubber (2005)

The Chumscrubber (2005)

[8] Jamie Bell (Billy Elliott) leads an all-star ensemble in this surreal, satiric look at the breakdown of suburban existence. The Chumscrubber is an ambitious conceptual piece, not unlike American Beauty in tone and style. But where American Beauty centered on one…
Love Actually (2003)

Love Actually (2003)

[8] A bunch of British people fall in love, out of love, and do lovey-dovey things in the month leading up to Christmas. Now, if you're like me, that's a description that will keep you from ever wanting to watch Love Actually.…
Antichrist (2009)

Antichrist (2009)

[8] Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg star as a man and woman who retreat to their cabin in the woods to grieve the death of their young son. Dafoe's character is a therapist and tries to offer techniques to help Gainsbourg's character…
Vice (2018)

Vice (2018)

[8] Christian Bale once again transforms himself completely to become former vice-president Dick Cheney in Adam McKay's (The Big Short) new film, Vice. The film is a pastiche of Cheney's political career, driven in large part by his relationship with wife Lynne…
Elle (2016)

Elle (2016)

[8] Isabelle Huppert stars as a woman trying to learn the identity of the man who raped her. Based on that description, I pegged Elle for a revenge story, but it's much more complicated and interesting than that. As the film unfolds,…