Deep Impact (1998)
[7] Deep Impact feels like an old-fashioned Irwin Allen disaster flick -- and I dig that. Basically, the world learns that an asteroid is headed toward earth and we have one year before we can attempt to destroy it with a…
True Grit (1969)
[7] John Wayne took home the Oscar for his performance as crotchety Rooster Cogburn, an alcoholic US Marshall recruited by a young girl (Kim Darby) to capture her father's killer and bring him to justice. Wayne is low key as…
Bullitt (1968)
[6] Steve McQueen stars as a San Francisco cop charged with protecting a mobster who is about to squeal for a US senator. When the witness is killed, McQueen works around the clock to discern the identity of the killers…
Network (1976)
[10] A suicidal TV news anchorman strikes a nerve with the public, prompting his network to bastardize their news hour with his crackpot proselytizing. Before long, the network embraces pure tabloid sensationalism -- live assassinations and all. Network is now…
The Godfather (1972)
[9] The Godfather balances the private lives of its characters with their sensational 'occupation', and that's why I like it more than other 'tough-guy' movies. If I didn't care about the family members, no amount of horse beheadings or car…
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
[10]
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is lovingly adapted to film by director Robert Mulligan, screenwriter Horton Foote, and producer Alan J. Pakula. Gregory Peck earned the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, a lawyer of uncompromising morals who puts the safety of his family on the line to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of raping a white woman. Finch is also a widower, raising his two young children with the help of his maid Calpurnia (Estelle Evans). The narrative is made a coming-of-age story through the eyes of Finch’s youngest, the feisty Jean Louise — or Scout (Mary Badham) as she’s nicknamed. Scout’s perspective on racism is balanced with her own fear and ignorance surrounding a neighbor named Boo Radley (Robert Duvall), who turns out to be her salvation when she and her brother are attacked by a bigot seeking revenge on their father.