Saving Private Ryan: Spielberg in Combat

Tom Sizemore and Tom Hanks. Photo: DreamWorks Steven Spielberg directed several masterpieces over the years, but this one might be the most controversial. The general sentiment expressed by snobs is…

The King’s Speech: Royal Pains

Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Photo: The Weinstein Company After watching this brilliant drama, I knew I had to consult YouTube for the speech King George VI made after Britain's…

Max Manus: Man of War 

Shortly after the German occupation of Norway in 1940, Max Manus (Aksel Hennie) and his friends join the organized resistance and become a thorn in the side of the Nazis.…

Marty: Breaking the Rut

Betsy Blair and Ernest Borgnine. Photo: MGM Paddy Chayefsky originally wrote this story as a teleplay, which was filmed in 1953 as part of The Goodyear Television Playhouse, an anthology…

Ben-Hur: The Gospel of Judah

Charlton Heston. Photo: MGM The kind of film that starts with a five-minute overture, Ben-Hur is about as classic a 1950s Hollywood blockbuster as they come. Burt Lancaster was reportedly…

The Karate Kid 

Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson) move to China; the boy is bullied in school by a kid who doesn't like the newcomer, but Dre turns…

Last Year at Marienbad: Haunting Memories

Photo: Cocinor I remember watching this French New Wave classic in film school, being oddly fascinated by it even though we watched many other similarly slow-going movies that were anything…

The Serpent’s Way 

In 19th century northern Sweden, a widow (Stina Ekblad) loses her home to a salesman (Ernst Günther) who makes her a deal; it’s the beginning of a humiliation that will…

Glowing Stars 

Liv (Annika Hallin) and her 13-year-old daughter (Josefine Mattsson) are planning a trip to Thailand, but when Liv’s cancer gets worse they temporarily move in with her strict mother (Anki…