Backdraft (1991)

Backdraft (1991)

[6] Director Ron Howard (Cocoon, Apollo 13) delivers peak-level pyrotechnics wrapped in corny melodrama with Backdraft. Kurt Russell and Daniel Baldwin co-star as quarreling brothers who follow their late father into firefighting careers. Baldwin plays the younger brother, embarrassed by…
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

[9] Here we have a horror film so well executed, it swept the Academy Awards. Anthony Hopkins (The Lion in Winter) and Jodie Foster (The Accused) each deliver career-defining performances as cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter and neophyte FBI agent…
The Hunt for Red October (1990)

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

[8] Alec Baldwin takes on the mantle of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan in the action-thriller The Hunt for Red October. One of the joys of this movie is seeing Baldwin, previously known mostly for co-starring in Beetlejuice, become a leading…
Silverado (1985)

Silverado (1985)

[7] Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill, Grand Canyon) takes a stab at the American western with Silverado. His ensemble cast includes Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, and Kevin Costner as misfit cowboys who end up riding together against…
Greenland (2020)

Greenland (2020)

[7] Gerard Butler (300) and Morena Maccarin (Firefly) star in this end-times thriller about a family trying to find shelter before a comet smashes into Earth. We've seen this plot play out in movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, but…
The Paperboy (2012)

The Paperboy (2012)

[7] Lee Daniels (Precious, The Butler) directs this moody piece about a college dropout who helps his older brother investigate the murder of a police officer. The convicted killer's girlfriend joins the investigation to help prove his innocence. Zac Efron…
The Shipping News (2001)

The Shipping News (2001)

[6] Kevin Spacey stars in this Lasse Hallström film based on the Annie Proulx novel about a widower who moves with his young daughter to his ancestral home in Newfoundland to start a new life. Judi Dench plays Spacey's aunt who…
Into the Grizzly Maze (2015)

Into the Grizzly Maze (2015)

[3] James Marsden, Thomas Jane, and Piper Perabo star in this wannabe animal attack movie that's really just an overwrought drama about estranged brothers burying the hatchet. The squabbling between the two men (all the men in the movie, actually)…
Urban Cowboy (1980)

Urban Cowboy (1980)

[6] John Travolta and Debra Winger star as impetuous young lovers who meet at a Houston honky-tonk bar, get married, and struggle to keep their relationship together. I enjoyed the first half of the movie more than the second. You…
Training Day (2001)

Training Day (2001)

[7] Ethan Hawke plays a freshman L.A. narcotics officer crash-coursing with a rogue, undercover detective played by Denzel Washington. Training Day hits the ground running and turns into a taut, character-driven thriller that throws a few twists and surprises I…