Better Off Dead is the kind of movie that people won’t really fess up to liking, but I’ve rarely met anyone who didn’t secretly love it passionately.

It’s hard to underestimate how knowledgeable this movie is about the difference between what people think they want and what they really want.

This could have been an unmitigated disaster, but Hughes' way with the material ensured it a special place in the heart of just about everyone who happened to be in high school while Ronald Reagan was President.

No one portrays and skewers really intelligent morons the way Albert Brooks does. Oddly enough Lost in America has a lot of similarities to everybody’s favorite TV show Green Acres. They are both about men who have dropped out of society and their inability to convince all the insane people in their world about the usefulness of common sense and rationality in an insane world.

The entire film seems to be the book’s narrative highlights strung together but rarely spotlights any of the themes or subtext from the book (if there are any). I don’t think this David Lynch film is Lynchian in any way. To me, Dune is a straightforward adventure with very little depth or character motivation outside the genre’s tropes.

This moves along pretty quickly and has a lot of over-the-top action and explosions. There’s a whole Missing in Action trilogy, but I can’t see how someone could sit through a second one.

The Brother from Another Planet profoundly illustrates, modern life is more unfair than it needs to be….It may not be the perfect John Sayles film, the perfect science fiction movie or the perfect film about black life — but it manages to seamlessly mix wit, slapstick, poignancy and politics.

Levinson doesn’t seem to care about redemption, guilt, or any of that other nonsense. He wants to make “the great American baseball hero movie.” He wants to say something about old neighborhoods and fathers and sons playing catch in the late summer evening. The cinematography is lush, the Randy Newman score is epic. The period detail and baseball scenes are top notch.

If anyone can figure out the cosmic significance of the film's omnipresent pine tree car fresheners, you're a better man than me.

A towering achievement in cinema, music, and life art. Funnier and more prescient every time I see it.

Cosmatos, surprisingly, manages to create something resembling a suspenseful atmosphere, all while managing to get Shannon Tweed naked in the first three minutes. Whether you like giant rats or Canadian Playmates, this movie has something for everyone.

Krull provides much swashbuckling cheese. But that’s precisely what gives the film a coy, relative appeal. Despite his role’s poor definition, Ken Marshall delivers Colwyn with some charisma. Krull also features engaging art direction, including The Beast’s jagged, globe-hopping fortress, and ambitious make-up effects that–if nothing else–seems a real challenge to function in.

Lester takes all the wrong approaches.

Unfortunately, the problems with Jedi cannot be fixed even with the best digital software in the galaxy: the weak story (another death star assault, another visit to Dagobah, the exotic planet of the trees, annoying teddy bears), the bad performances..., the burp jokes (three in the first half hour--I guess I missed the toilet humor in the first two) and Luke's bizarre-looking hair mop. It's sad. [Special Edition]

One of the funniest things I have ever seen was Dustin Hoffman weeping uncontrollably as he recounted how he never truly understood the inner pain and torment of what it felt like to be an ugly woman until he made “Tootsie.” I wouldn’t trade that thirty seconds for the entire film. Tootsie is funny enough and Hoffman truly does make an scary awe inspiring wreck of a woman, but people would have you believe this film was the Rosetta Stone of comedy, whereas it’s really just an ok film dominated by television actors and desperately lucky to have caught Bill Murray on a free afternoon.

Sean Penn's scenes are still so stunning...His Jeff Spicoli is an unabashed kick every second he is on the screen.

The story itself holds up fairly well though, twenty years later, does come off as thinner than I recalled. [2002 re-release]

Even after over four decades, Diva still impresses with Beineix’s masterful mix of highbrow and lowbrow. With the stunning new 4K restoration, Diva retains its well-deserved status as a late 20th-century movie masterpiece.

An endearing view of a past time and filmmaking style – think Corman with a heart – Eating Raoul offers a bare Woronov, a prime slice of sexy-ugly that can never be duplicated, just like this film.

The Loveless is far from Bigelow or Dafoe's best work but still remains an impressive debut for both. Thanks to the deliberately subdued pace and reworking of the biker genre, The Loveless deserves to be given a second chance.

Time Bandits has a wonderful, Zelig-like quality to be whatever you want it to be. Do the diminutive bandits represent the Pythons? Sure, probably, to some extent. Is the film a fairy tale disguised as a revisionist history lesson? Yes, you can see it that way. Does it offer a commentary on the ills of modern society? I think so. Is it a combination of all those things and more? Very likely.

Aside from the over abundance of rather large glasses and sweaty actors, Body Heat succeeds fabulously, not only as an excellent example of a classic film noir but as a solidly executed production in its own right.

Bill Murray is as funny here as anyone has ever been funny and I can’t see anyone else getting away with half the things he says here much less have them sound so cool and inspired.

In many ways, Dragonslayer is a realistic fairy tale. All of the classic pieces are here: heroes, bad guys, monsters, virgins in peril, mysticism and staggering odds.

Max von Sydow is flawless as Ming, playing him with the perfect blend of malevolence and evil glee.

Cimino fashioned a deep, multi-textured screenplay rich with fully dimensional characters. His ensemble cast brought the story to vivid life. Kristofferson gave a career peak performance here as a man who seems perpetually out of his element.

Who thought that New Kids On the Block would turn out to be the most influential group of the ’90s? Anyone who was paying attention to history, of course. That’s why The Idolmaker is so fascinating. Based on the guy who gave us Fabian and Frankie, it understands the inevitable pattern that repeats itself time and time again.

What it lacks in plot and character development, is more than made up for with charm, cleverness and extensive bloodletting.

How does Xanadu qualify as the greatest movie musical? Simple: it offers nothing but pure wall-to-wall fun and nonsense to keep a smile on one’s face from the opening credits (which cleverly spoof the logo of Universal Pictures) through the end of the picture. [11 Aug 2005]

If you get half of the jokes flung your way, and laugh at half of those you’re still in much better shape than the very best episode of Three’s Company. If you truly study this movie and love it all, you probably haven’t done much with your life, but at least you’re smiling.

Subtle, neurotic and multi-layered, every scene in The Stunt Man is about multiple things at once. Paranoia, obviously, but also the stress of filmmaking and simply living.

Bronco Billy is an odd salute to those clean hearted good guy cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, and Clint manages to revel in the glory of that myth despite the fact that he is probably more responsible for making that kind of Western unworkable in modern cinema than anyone else I can think of.

Quite frankly, the film looks terrible and moves with painful slowness, while the voice performances by both the juvenile and adult actors are so lacking in character that one could almost assume the cast performed their lines phonetically.

For a supposed mainstream movie, Kubrick’s The Shining isn’t very audience friendly. Half the time you have to guess what the hell is going on, and if you're not familiar with Kubrick's narrative style you’ll be completely lost.

It was incredible to see what is arguably the best of the Star Wars films, on the big screen again. However, I do not believe that any of the minor changes make the film any better. [Special Edition]

This is a perfect film for those who love the New Hollywood era and exhilarating crime flicks. Night of the Juggler is an entertaining rediscovery with a strong storyline and an amazing time capsule of New York during its worst days.

The Europeans expects you to meet it halfway. When you do, you’re rewarded with a story that’s rich with complicated emotions, despite its self-confident exterior. It’s like its characters in that way, and also in the way, it thinks highly of itself and presents itself accordingly. Modesty never did a movie good.

While not a remarkable action/race film, Fast Company does boast some innovative and impressive footage captured from inside a dragster that would not have been the same directed by anyone else.

This is a five star film because it is one of the most perfect science fiction thrillers of all time.

A loopy plot trail leads us to Ferrara’s attempt at creating a cult psycho. His lack of commitment to his creation, haphazard and impulsive as Reno’s first plunge into a victim, suggests that the filmmaker was distracted by his own future aspirations.

Jarman’s sophomore film Jubilee, is a Molotov Cocktail of celluloid – a film that practically dares you to watch it.

For me personally, It’s one film that can’t be redone for the simple fact, there isn’t a living director that can capture what made this movie work! If you’ve never seen this film, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s definitely in my TOP 5 of “All time greatest movies.”

As tired as we are now of origins, Superman set the gold standard for such stories.

Magic is one of the top-notch films of the 1970s. And if you haven’t heard of it by now, you should never forget the name at this point. It isn’t one of those psychological thrillers out to tie knots in your stomach right off. Like any good magic trick, the excitement comes with the waiting.

Arguably, the greatest horror film of the past thirty years.

The 1978 film musical Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is a mess…but it is a wonderfully fascinating mess, a mother lode of undiluted insanity.

Until they get that epic version of The Big Bopper’s life and career off the table, this is still the best Rock and Roll biography ever filmed.

The primary problem with “Rabbit Test” was that it was based on a hoary one-joke concept – in this case, a man becomes pregnant. But Rivers had no clue how to take the concept and expand it into a flowing, coherent comedy script.

You cannot laugh along, MST3K-style, at its awfulness. Instead, you are left numb, dumb and completely baffled at the thorough incoherence and painful lethargy of this endeavor.

Let's discuss those extra four minutes for a second, shall we? I found them incredibly distracting. [Special Edition]

It’s not as grueling as its big brother, but if Chainsaw is a five star movie then Eaten Alive is at least worthy of four. It’s only within the context and confines of Chainsaw and director Tobe Hooper that Eaten Alive seems to fall short of anything at all. On its own the film stands heads and shoulders above many others of the horror genre.

This is a good move because while I and many others believe in civil liberties, no one likes a cop who goes by the book. Besides, Harry seems to have realized that if you kill the criminals then you never have to bother with prosecuting them. It’s only when people live that Harry gets hassled.

The film itself is unremarkable, except for its good fortune of presenting John Travolta in his first starring role.

Matthau should get points for allowing himself to be filmed as such an unlikable cuss, and Vic Morrow, as usual, is just short of psychotic.

Forman’s classic has not aged one bit. In fact, it’s become more relevant than ever, considering today’s tumultuous climate.

Swept Away is truly an amazing movie that is still as potent at 50 years old as it was back in the day.

Even with its amateurish presentation and off-kilter action, Dolemite is far more fun than a good many of the high-stakes, high-budget films that the big studios roll out every month or so. Personality goes a long way.

What Black Christmas retains is the competent pacing and pure chaos that’s dealt in whispers and brutality, and what it lacks is a younger audience who just can’t quite understand that some horror films require imagination, suspense, and no explanation to hold our hand with.

A black-humored, unflinching look at the Ugly American at his psychotic worst. And Tobe Hooper is at his best as a writer and director here.

Not really a horror film at all, but a dark religious thriller with a creepy edge and a song in its heart. The film wittily mixes the starkest possible religious conflict with enchanting 70’s era folk music, creating the first comparative religions quasi-musical thriller.

I have always been of the belief that the best way to get things done would be to have some benevolent dictator running things. The problem is always finding the right sage magician for the job. Harry Callahan probably wouldn’t be my first choice, but he sure is entertaining when he shoots people.

Clint Eastwood is the ultimate thinking man’s cinematic killing machine. High Plains Drifter is his spooky, dark, and vicious version of the Sergio Leone Man With No Name Spaghetti Westerns he once starred in, and a moody existential meditation on gunplay, revenge and karma. Payback! 

A thought-provoking movie that is still relevant with the many environmental concerns that are out there now.

One warning however: James Caan's shoulder hair, when seen on this size screen, may frighten children considerably (you'll at least want to discuss it openly after the show, answering any questions your kids may have in an honest and direct manner).

I can see why this movie scared so many people. I’m fairly liberal and I find Clint’s super-cop infinitely appealing. Imagine how this movie goes down with people who already have one foot in the door of the local militia or Klan auxiliary. Even Pauline Kæl would have to admit that politics aside, this is a pretty damn effective action movie. This is Clint at maybe his best looking and healthiest, and his Inspector Callahan is perhaps every rebel’s dream.

Brian’s Song can melt the hearts of the coldest, most emotionally stunted men in the universe, leaving them sobbing in delicate, weeping hordes of sadness. It’s the Old Yeller of adult males, and no real man will ever fault another for getting a bit misty in it’s presence.

This minimalist masterpiece is one of the greatest American films to come out of the 1970’s.

Blends the uncanny staging of home movies with a French New Wave perspective on iconography and metaphors.

Enough about the CGI tweaking, is this film really Lucas's unloved masterpiece? The film that got lost in the shadow of "American Graffitti" and "Star Wars" while, actually, being a better film?

In many ways, Let it Be is the best Beatles film of all since they are not playing the Beatles but rather are being themselves.

One cannot deny the historic importance of The Boys in the Band – for better or worse, this is the starting point of queer cinema. But, quite frankly, one wishes the genre had a more dignified and less bitchy way of launching – these are not the type of gay boys you want to take home to mother.

To watch Midnight Cowboy is to find one of the great rewards of the movies, two of the finest performances ever seen, and a city made new every time you watch it.

For all of its groovy fun, Yellow Submarine offers a subliminal reminder that the power of love never goes out of fashion.

Without flaw, Woodward delivers her character’s need for change with authenticity and a sense of progression.

An amazing accomplishment by Newman as the best fight man has left in him. There’s also an Oscar winning performance by champion Foghorn Leghorn sound alike George Kennedy.

Seeing von Stroheim’s unfinished film get its chance in the limelight is amazing. Please check out this captivating and wonderfully absurd drama from the last days of the silent era.

Masculine, Feminine could be viewed as Godard's reaction to his own success and the state of the world around him.

The Cincinnati Kid is one of the definitions of what made Steve McQueen who he was. Through the roles he chose, he fit snugly in them, using his calm wits and all else of him to turn himself into the ultimately cool actor.

Great cinema it isn’t. Great fun, great music and great company more than make up for that though.

Sanjuro doesn’t offer as much complexity and nuance as its predecessor, but it’s still a fun ride that shows Kurosawa’s consummate skills, even when he was simply satisfying Toho’s constant demands that he make more commercially-appealing films.

Producer/director Robert Aldrich acknowledged the two performers’ “monstrous” potential – and by unleashing them face-to-face, he became a ringmaster.

Complaints? Sure, I had a few: The liberal use of insta-sweat whenever the character in question is experiencing tension, Harvey's aforementioned accent, one over-used shot composition that places the action at a great distance with a giant-headed supporting actor in the extreme foreground. [Re-release]

The film is never less than gripping, and past a certain point, you have no idea where this movie is going. With neither the budget nor the technology for flashy effects, the filmmakers had to fall back on quality acting, writing, directing, and editing. They succeeded.

What makes Breathless a masterpiece along with its style is how Godard captures the overall malcontent, which still resonates with much of modern life as we know it and ultimately leaves us all breathless.

Like a TV sitcom where the locations of commercial breaks can be foreseen, after about twenty minutes of Butterfield 8, you can predict when a transition will conclude a scene.

The low-key, natural performances are dramatically offset by the mercurial and incandescent Lelia Goldoni, the emotional heart of the film.

It is so bad that it’s flawless.

Rarely has a film been cast with so many gifted performers who are either wrong for their roles or are given nothing to do.

It still has everything a viewer could want from a movie experience.

Room at the Top remains a highly satisfying and beautifully conceived study of the human experience. It is one of the most important films in the history of British cinema and, mercifully, it is still one of the most remarkable dramatic productions of all time.

Luckily, the attitude, the aggression, and the sex were let out in a burst of fire and they got it all on film.

For the performances and the atmosphere, it’s worth it.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is the story that began it all, laying the themes of Japanese kaiju that would endure for decades.