THE MATRIX (1999)

Perhaps the definitive modern action movie, and also maybe the one with the action sequences that I have loved most over the years, which somehow also has literally many treatises’ worth of material going on just below the surface.

THE HAUNTING (1963)

Horrorfest ’21 begins with this classic haunted house story that steadfastly refuses to show us any ghosts or really tell us what’s going on.

PORTRAIT OF JASON (1967)

A very influential documentary that was far ahead of its time in both its talking head approach and its LGBT themes, though for few films am I more confident saying “your mileage may vary.”

CAR WASH (1976)

A small but really interesting comedy about the workers on one long day at a car wash, with an ultra-famous disco track for a title song.

MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985)

Daniel Day-Lewis had his first starring role in this low-key 1980s British LGBT romance.

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)

It earned an X-rating for its “homosexual frame of reference,” but I mostly found unrelentingly depressing.

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)

James Dean’s most famous role, in the movie that kind of invented being a teenager.

DEATH BECOMES HER (1992)

A breakthrough in special effects is used in service of a story that… what is this?