Thunderheart (1992)
[7] Val Kilmer stars as an FBI agent with Sioux heritage sent to help another agent (Sam Shepard) solve a murder committed on tribal land in South Dakota. Shepard's character thinks it's an open and shut case, but Kilmer is…
The Notebook (2004)
[7] Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams star as young lovers from different social backgrounds whose relationship is torn apart by interfering parents and World War II. When they reunite many years later, she's engaged to another (James Marsden), but their…
Out of the Furnace (2013)
[7] In this revenge drama from writer/director Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Black Mass), Christian Bale seeks vigilante justice after Woody Harrelson murders his brother over gambling debt. Casey Affleck plays the brother, a young man suffering from post-traumatic stress after…
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
[7] Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck star in Andrew Dominik's dramatization of the last months of famous outlaw Jesse James' life. Pitt plays James and Affleck plays his admirer-turned-assassin, Robert Ford. The young Ford character is smitten from the outset,…
The Return (2006)
[4] Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) stars as a woman who has visions of a murder, eventually coming to realize the murderer may be coming for her, too. This supernatural thriller is okay for the first half-hour, but…
Midnight Special (2016)
[6] Writer/director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) serves up a supernatural drama about a father (Michael Shannon) trying to smuggle his son cross-country while avoiding both the government and the religious cult from which they escaped. Turns out the boy…
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…
Cold in July (2014)
[7] Cold in July is hard to summarize, and that's a big part of why it's interesting. It starts off with a bang, as Michael C. Hall (TV's Dexter) is forced to protect his home from an intruder. No sooner…
Mud (2013)
[9]
Two Arkansas boys discover a wanted man (Matthew McConaughey) hiding out on an island who needs their help to find his girlfriend and escape a small army of bounty hunters. There’s a resounding echo of Shane here, with McConaughey putting in another fine performance after his career-turning appearances in Magic Mike and Killer Joe last year. (Welcome back, Matthew!)
August: Osage County (2013)
[9] I love me some ensemble dramas, and August: Osage County does not disappoint -- even if it does hit a little too close to home for comfort... but then whose life isn't affected by drugs and closeted skeletons these…