East of Eden (1955)
[10] James Dean received the first posthumous acting nomination from the Academy Awards for his riveting performance as the troubled Cal in East of Eden, his first major film role. (He died in a car accident just a few months…
Fantasia (1940)
[7] Walt Disney was somewhat ahead of his time experimenting with music and animation in Fantasia, an experimental achievement of artistry, craftsmanship, and innovation in animation. It's essentially a series of MTV-style music videos -- some narrative, some more abstract…
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
[10] James Dean gives one of the most iconic performances in movie history as Jim Stark, an angst-ridden teenager who quarrels with his parents almost as much as he tangles with high school bullies. I normally hate tough guy movies,…
Missing (1982)
[7] Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek star in this true story about the disappearance of American journalist Charles Horman (John Shea) who went missing during the U.S.-sponsored 1973 Chilean coup. Spacek plays Horman's wife and Lemmon plays his father. When…
Kes (1969)
[5] I put off watching Kes for many years because, as a 'bird person', I knew the title falcon died at the end of the movie. I finally gathered the courage to see the film, and I'm surprised to report…
Michael (2026)
[8] The undisputed 'King of Pop' gets a music-heavy biopic from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) that covers his life from the early days of the Jackson 5 in Gary, Indiana, up to the 'Bad' tour in 1988, with the…
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
[9] Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal star as Ennis and Jack, young cowboys who take a job herding sheep in the mountains of Wyoming during the summer of 1963. Isolated from the rest of the world for months on end,…
Revenge of the Creature (1955)
[6] The first sequel to The Creature from the Black Lagoon finds the Gill Man captured and put on display in a Florida theme park. There he's studied by a couple of smitten scientists (John Agar and Lori Nelson) who…
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
[7] Scientists discover a prehistoric 'man-fish' in the Amazonian jungle and attempt to capture him for study. But we all know how that goes, right? When the creature takes a fancy to the lone woman in the expedition crew (Julia…
Inherit the Wind (1960)
[9] Conscientious director Stanley Kramer (Judgment at Nuremberg, The Defiant Ones) tackles America's clashing beliefs in evolution and creationism in Inherit the Wind, a stage play adaptation inspired by the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey Trial'. Names and locations are changed and…