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 in the…
Swamp Thing (1982)

Swamp Thing (1982)

[3] In this adaptation of the DC Comics series, a scientist working on a bio-engineering experiment is killed in a lab explosion that turns him into a creature, half-man and half plant. Super-strength and the ability to heal people are perks of…
Dragonslayer (1981)

Dragonslayer (1981)

[4] A sorcerer's apprentice confronts a fire-breathing dragon that likes to eat virgins. If only Dragonslayer were as exciting as it sounds. Peter MacNicol (Sophie's Choice, Ghostbusters II) plays the apprentice with all the charisma and screen presence of driftwood, not that…
9 to 5 (1980)

9 to 5 (1980)

[6] Writer/director Colin Higgins (Harold & Maude, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) serves up an office space comedy starring national treasures Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton as three women who enact revenge on their sexist, egotistical boss (Dabney Coleman).…
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 -- specificity of…
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

[7] Tom Holland, my personal favorite Spider-Man, returns in his third official film -- although his character has also appeared in many other Marvel movies that don't have his name in the title. This time, the young webslinger is dealing with the…
Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln (2012)

[7] Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood) won his third Oscar for his convincing portrait of America's 16th president during the final months of the Civil War. Lincoln is a decades-long pet project for director Steven Spielberg, who chose…
Atonement (2007)

Atonement (2007)

[7] Thirteen-year-old aspiring writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he didn't commit, effectively condemning him to years of prison and compulsory military service. The lovers (Keira Knightley and James McAvoy) stay connected through letter-writing, but…
Quick Change (1990)

Quick Change (1990)

[5] Bill Murray stars in and co-directs (with screenwriter Howard Franklin) this comedy of errors about a trio of bank robbers who successfully pull off a heist, only to find themselves utterly jinxed in their escape from New York City. Geena Davis…
Just Between Friends (1986)

Just Between Friends (1986)

[2] Mary Tyler Moore (Ordinary People) and Christine Lahti (Running on Empty) star as newfound friends who discover a terrible coincidence -- that the man Lahti is having an affair with is none other than Moore's husband (Cheers's Ted Danson). Lahti is…