The Rainmaker (1956)

The Rainmaker (1956)

[5] Burt Lancaster stars as a conman promising rain for dollars to struggling farmers in the drought-ridden South. He almost gets away with his latest swindle, but burgeoning feelings for one of the farmer's daughters (Katharine Hepburn) threatens to make…
Time After Time (1979)

Time After Time (1979)

[7] H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) travels through time to 1979 in hot pursuit of Jack the Ripper (David Warner), who's hell-bent on continuing his murderous rampage in a whole new century. In the hands of director/screenwriter Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek…
To Catch a Thief (1955)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

[7] Cary Grant stars as an ex-jewel thief trying to clear his name after precious jewels start disappearing in the French Riviera. This outing for Alfred Hitchcock succeeds more in character than in suspense set pieces, though you'll get some…
Carol (2015)

Carol (2015)

[8] Cate Blanchett headlines as the title character in this Todd Haynes (Safe, Far from Heaven) adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. She's perfect in the role, functioning as the beguiling older woman who catches the curious fancy of a…
Steel Magnolias (1989)

Steel Magnolias (1989)

[8] The film adaptation of Robert Harling's play is unabashedly melodramatic, nostalgic, and sentimental. Some of those qualities usually annoy the hell out of me, but the ensemble of great actresses and the slew of memorable one-liners make Steel Magnolias…
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

[7] Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson star in this Howard Deutch-directed film from writer/producer/'80's teen titan' John Hughes. Stoltz is a high schooler pining for a popular girl (Thompson), all while his tom-girl best friend pines for…
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

[6] Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) takes us once more to the Marigold well, reuniting all the original cast members and throwing Richard Gere into the mix. Gere plays a mysterious American who may or may not be a…
Fire with Fire (1986)

Fire with Fire (1986)

[7] This is the kind of '80s cheese that works for me. Virginia Madsen plays a girl trapped in Catholic school. Craig Sheffer plays a convict in a correctional camp pretty close to Madsen's school. The two meet in the…
Splash (1984)

Splash (1984)

[6] Splash is a sweet-enough fantasy rom-com from Ron Howard (his second feature). Tom Hanks stars as a man who falls in love with a mysterious woman who just happens to be a mermaid. Darryl Hannah plays the fish; John…
Behind the Candleabra (2013)

Behind the Candleabra (2013)

[7] Michael Douglas plays Liberace for director Steven Soderbergh in this fast-paced tragi-romantic-dark comedy about the famed pianist's five-year relationship with a man forty years his senior. Matt Damon plays young Scott Thorson, the naive pretty boy who falls under…