[5] Paul Newman stars in this L.A. detective story from director Robert Benton (Kramer vs Kramer), about a down-on-his-luck P.I. who lives with two movie stars (Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman) who are married to each other. Newman starts to get suspicious, though, when Hackman sends him to deliver money to someone, only to discover a murder has taken place. The murder leads to clues …
[6] Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner team up for this absurdist, serendipitous comedy about a poor country boy who leaves his family to discover what the big city has to offer him. Martin’s character is an oblivious man-child whose ignorance and confusion sees him through a series of comic set-pieces that give The Jerk a skit-comedy feel for a while. Highlights include a gas …
[8] I think one of the hardest stories to tell is a good murder mystery story. That’s why we see so few of them turned into movies. Rian Johnson’s (The Last Jedi, Looper) Knives Out is a beguiling blend of classic and farce, reminding me at times of both Clue and Murder on the Orient Express. Remarkably, its dark comedy never undercuts its dramatic tension. …
[4] Robin Williams and Kurt Russell star in this alleged comedy about a loser (Williams) who decides to recreate the high school football game in which he dropped the ball and lost the game, sentencing his community to years and years of misery and heartache. To care much about The Best of Times, you have to believe that the lost game really sent the town …
[8] The Coen Brothers broke onto the film scene with this claustrophobic mystery/thriller featuring Frances McDormand, John Getz, and Dan Hedaya in a murderous love triangle. M. Emmet Walsh complicates matters for all of them as a hitman for hire. The concept is simple, but mined for every ounce it’s worth — just how hard is it to kill someone? Everything you love about the …
[9] Julia Roberts stars in this devilish romantic comedy from director P.J. Hogan (Muriel’s Wedding) and writer Ronald Bass (Rain Man) about a jealous woman who tries to stop her best friend from marrying another woman. Dermot Mulroney plays the best friend who invites Roberts to be his ‘best man’. She is quickly adored by the fiancée’s entire family, but that doesn’t detract from her …
[10] Blade Runner tackles one of science fiction’s biggest questions: what makes us human? The story by Philip K. Dick is a sci-fi allegory for soldiers returning home with post-traumatic stress, wrapped in the veneer of a neo-noir detective story — all in all, a beguiling blend of genres and content. Harrison Ford plays the detective, Dekkard, a world-weary loner hired to hunt androids (here …
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