THE ICE STORM (1997)
Ang Lee directs a “comedy of manners” about two families crashing into each other over Thanksgiving weekend.
FOOTLOOSE (1984)
Is it a hard hitting drama about small town life? Is it a musical? The answers lie in Kevin Bacon’s angry dancing.
THE SILENCES OF THE PALACE (1994)
The story of women trapped and exploited in a gilded cage, the first film by a female director to come out of the Arab World.
RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
A live action cartoon from the Coen Brothers about Nicolas Cage kidnapping babies, but for love. A personal favorite.
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925)
A Soviet propaganda film that basically invented the modern action sequence.
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
A surprisingly universal and human story of three soldiers returning to their home town after World War II, from decades before “PTSD” was a term.
BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991)
John Singleton’s slice-of-life drama about young men dealing with life South Central Los Angeles received wide acclaim and maybe changed Hollywood a little.
THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964)
Roger Corman and Vincent Price team up for a movie about rich people torturing peasants and partying during a plague.
