Movie Recommendations

A top musical, albeit suffused with a colonial mindset that modern viewers may find disturbing. Yul Brynner is superb in his signature role as the King of Siam, and Deborah Kerr is very good indeed as the British governess/tutor for his many children. Beautiful Rodgers and Hammerstein score.

Perhaps the first psychological western. John Ford took a fairly hackneyed story and breathed new life into the western. What makes it a standout are the portrayals of the almost stereotypical cast of characters. John Wayne went from B western hero to major movie star with this one film; Claire Trevor is excellent as the…

Rob Reiner’s modern take on It Happened One Night sets John Cusack cross-country for a sure fling; but traveling companion Daphne Zuniga may be his real interest.

The first installment may even deserve an A for its inventiveness and humor. As usual, additional installments were progressively less appealing.

An NYC subway train is hijacked. But with their every move tracked, how will the crooks escape with their ransom?

Kevin Costner is a Pentagon official who becomes the subject of a manhunt when his lover is murdered.

A caper that might seem tame by today’s standards comes to life in this [fictionalized] gripping step-by-step account of the first train robbery.

Offbeat Jim Jarmusch narrative weaves together three stories set in Memphis, Tenn., over the course of a single day.

Fun adapations of the Marvel comic character. CGI brings this highly acrobatic superhero to life, but the best part is the chemistry between stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. (Spider-Man 3 ruined everything. Why do so many super-hero sequels try to cram in so many villains? Never works.)

THE film about the American theater. Great performances all around, esp. by George Sanders, with Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Anne Baxter, and a very young Marilyn Monroe. Has Davis’s classic line: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy evening.