Movie Recommendations

Surreal movie about the tribulations of making an independent movie is also an entertaining glimpse at the world of special effects.

Barry Levinson’s pæan to 1950s Baltimore features a human script and a nice ensemble of young actors.

Fun fantasy of doomed lovers Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer and their attempt to escape an evil bishop’s curse with the help of thief Gaston the Mouse (Matthew Broderick).

In this examination of the subjectivity of reality, a samurai, his wife, a bandit, and a woodcutter offer varying accounts of a rape and murder. (subtitled)

Once again, Richard Lester shot both movies simultaneously; Superman II is actually a better film, with villains who are really evil and a culmination of the Superman-Lois romance.

First-rate Chaplin opus typically combines great comic bits with overly sentimental (maudlin?) ones; one of The Tramp’s three best films (with The Gold Rush and Modern Times).

Strong dramatic fare about the mob-controlled union of dockworkers. Brando stars as Terry, the man who finally stands up to the crooked union boss (played brilliantly by Lee J. Cobb). Rod Steiger is Terry’s brother, a crony of Cobb to whom Brando utters one of the most famous lines of all time: I coulda been…

Excellent adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel by star Emma Thompson, adroitly directed by Ang Lee. Sense is actually a contrast with sensibility, as it refers to sensitivity and living by emotions rather than acting sensibly.

Delightful songs (e.g., “Cheek to Cheek”) and dance numbers more than compensate for the silly mistaken-identity plotline. Though Swing Time is my favorite Fred & Ginger outing, this film is probably their best-known.

This ’90s take on Jane Austen follows a set of NYC debutantes, their escorts, and the lower-class radical socialist who accidentally joins their circle.