Pictures

My pick. Tonally broad but incredible set pieces that hold up to this day. The scene where Jack and David say goodbye and Jack meets his family are both genuinely emotional.

Creative filmmaking and title cards that elevate a story that is ultimately about staying within your own geography/class and the evil of city women.

The tale of a very remarkable fellow.

The Crowd has some masterful shots of crowds and NYC. Mary's performance and the situation between the couple doesn't quite match in tone, but a good watch for the early cinematography.

Pre-Code film that engages with internal corruption at the police and government level with clear references to Al Capone and moonshining during Capone's/Prohibition's era. A jaded sassy dame elevates the occasion.

An attempt at ethnography that veers into racism. It's unapologetic about its move to compose a narrative—and more obvious about it than Nanook of the North--but still slides into creating a "real" image of a "primitive" people.

My pick from enjoyment. More of a glimpse into the early Hollywood system, experiments with visuals and spectacle, and celebrities who have stood the test of time than a revue that inherently stands on its own today, though some sketches continue to shine.

My pick as a narrative film. The first outdoor talkie, with an evil lady, a bandit (in brownface), and a soldier.

Hurt in part by a poor print. Occasionally nice shots and a strong opening can't overcome the rough acting and moralism.

Wooden performances and a "forbidden romance" with zero charisma and a meandering ending.

A lost film; trailer suggests a spectacle of grand sets and sinister behaviors as a character murders another for "the good of his country."

My pick. A wartime epic that has stood the test of time for a reason. It feels slow at times but never enough to take away from its mood. A final scene/shot that goes down in the history books.

Strong dialogue, deeply inconsistent morals (might know it?), strong performances, and competent-to-good cinematography.

Crime drama that is competently made, has well-crafted performances, and tells a cohesive story. A bit too moralistic and shallow, but a good watch.

Flush to hagiography, but some snappy writing that makes dialogue fun. There is some armchair intrigue.

Its moral is "women should not lead," but it is occasionally insane in a captivating way.

A premier gangster film with a strong ending scene.

My pick in a poor year. A His Girl Friday where the Friday does very little. A reporter trying to go into advertising is pulled in for a big scoop about a man framed for hanging.

Classic gangster film with a classic eneding.

A melodrama that has some of the atmosphere of Rebecca in its first half. Confused focus and a thin momentum forward to try to justify the plot.

While it seems like a familiar feel-good film--and may think itself one--it does offer one or two well-acted performances. Penny's fate did genuinely surprise.

The racism really left me breathless.

One of the most racist films I've ever seen, on top of its cruelty to animals, proliferation of disease, and unapologetic colonialism.

Well shot and well acted, you see why Scarface has stood the test of time.

Thin on some plot but gorgeous to look at--Dietrich and Wong are mesmerizing in the von Sternberg lighting.

An ensemble film with some excellent performances and beautiful shots. Some scenes especially shine--"I want to be alone" is not among its best.

Anti-tabloid story with some inspired shots and some speeches that stick with you.

A classic for a reason. Karloff gives the Monster a pathos and intimidation.

Some great Chaplin slapstick that is really a series of scenes loosely held together by a thin plot—but very watchable.

Coming to Arrowsmith fresh off the 1930s draws so much attention to Ford's capacity as a director. A problematic film well told.

The most charming of the Chevalier musicals of the last two years.

Today we've seen films like this, and it wasn't brand new when The Champ was made. It is well acted and mostly well told, however, just unlikely to bring in a new audience.

Moves quickly in the beginning and then quite slow for such a short film, but a fun watch.

A series of misunderstandings spiral out of hand. A little bit tedious.

Chevalier plays a very similar character and has a semi-similar plot to The Love Parade. There are a few things to make you laugh or smile, but on the whole this one doesn't move me.

A bit heavyhanded today, but incredible in what it manages to accomplish given the politics of the time and the growing push for censorship. Often thoughtfully shot.

A film that has stood the test of time for a reason, though its racism remains apparent. There's room here for a more complicated reading, and its special effects and lighting hold up remarkably well today.

A largely faithful adaptation, though the speed at which it moves makes some of the beats (and most famous scenes from the book) lighter. The worst part, as in the book itself, is Jo and the Professor.

Charming and genuinely emotional farce. You can feel Capra's influence.

My favorite of the Lubitsch films thus far. Kay Francis is eminently likeable.

A Marx Brothers classic for a reason. Ends abruptly and its set-up is insensible (as always), but that's not why you're here anyway.

Good cinematography, apparent even in the colorized version and well acted. Deeply melodramatic but unashamed.

I thought perhaps that I wasn't made for the musicals of the 1920s and 30s, but 42nd Street is a genuine delight. Ginger Rogers does admittedly steal the show and the plot is what might be called "convenient" A fun time all the same.

Short and breezy with the epitome of the brassy dame.

A bit insane in its plot but watchable. A State Fair sweetheart delights me.

The character walking around and posing like their portraits is both a plus and a negative. A film that is ultimately sympathetic to Henry, strangely, though also to Anne of Cleves.

A melodrama that borrows overlay techniques from better films to clumsily tell a story about the last forty years of British history. "Twentieth century Blues" or the final toast tell you everything you need to know.

A competent melodrama that sometimes goes too far to underline its point. There's nothing new here (literally, in some ways, in that it's a remake of a silent film of a play), but it tells its story capably well.

A fun romp with a witty script.

A foundational film that remains influential and remains funny and fast.

Astaire and Rogers are so charming you forget that half the movie is The Continental.

Sumptuous to look at with Colbert at high vamp.

Surprising in its odd accuracies more than the opposite, the melodrama is thick as the facial hair glue.

I have no idea how to begin to rate this film, given its strange acknowledgement of and participation in racial inequality. Fitting somehow that the last line is "I want my quack quack."

A farce about a successful Navy man who thinks the Navy is stupid.

A strange film with its heart in the right place but an odd rhetorical position that places sacrificing one's life and one's currency as functionally the same. A good film to exist at the point of Hitler's rise all the same.

You understand when you've seen it why it was boycotted in Mexico--its character assassination of Pancho Villa unfortunately overwhelms the artistry of some of its shot compositions and the successful melodramatic work in its ending scene.

A diagetic musical/Army propaganda piece. Unbelievable but frothy.

Truly no one is likeable and the charisma is dead.

Beautiful and thoughtfully made. I loved the insistence on "not knowing" to cope with the reality of who someone is when they do know.

A charming screwball comedy that remains funny and touching today.

More than a bit silly but moves quickly.

Visually impressive if a bit muddled.

Funny and well-filmed with genuinely rich double-casting. BoF is a classic for a reason.

Beautifully shot in places and high melodrama.

A showcase of the Marx mayhem, talent, and love of music.

A dancing spectacle that's exactly what you hope for from a MGM mega-musical.

Leave for Dick Powell, stay for James Cagney and the cellophane.

This is not the place for reserved or realistic acting, and everyone involved knows it. There is not a minute wasted as the film races to the finish.

Not quite as springy or quick as The Gay Divorcee a year prior, though a fun romp in its own right.

It manages to create a good picture of the pain of social ostracization and then undermines it with the benevolence of the wealthy.

The chemistry between the leads works, but the operatic music does not quite. Otherwise, this is a conventional plot that has been seen before even in the 30s.

A piece of nationalism set in British-occupied India.

A charming movie that's fun and sweet from start to finish.

A movie essentially arguing for no-fault divorce and reflecting on the distance between people that develops over (and because of) years.

A farewell to the Tramp and a walk into the mountains rather than a ride into the sunset. Some of the most famous Chaplain bits are here.

Well-paced despite its length with an ending that uplifts the whole enterprise.

A screwball comedy that reunited Myrna Loy and William Powell again. Fizzy and fun but nothing extraordinary.

A class-based screwball reflecting on the Depression, the instability of wealth, and all wrapped up in a happy (sudden) ending.

Despite accusations of being overstuffed, the three hours go by surprisingly quickly and William Powell does an excellent job. The surprise blackface is a negative shock.

The age of the actors is notably strange in this one, as are some elements of the performances, but it is largely faithful to the play and well directed.

A bit overwrought but a film that works fine at what it hopes to achieve.

The proto-disaster movie elements are very well done, and Spencer and Clark give solid performances. There is just too much time with opera and meandering.

This film is challenged by having seen the Parent Trap before, and a trio of girls that I sadly find unlikeable.

A flawed film that goes on too long and is moralistic in a way that is at once overbearing and passive.

An undeniable animation milestone lush with details that are beautiful and scary in turns.

The first color picture nominated for the Oscar and perhaps the most naval-gazing yet, the original A Star Is Born has an excellent script and a relationship that resists the easy pull of big egos leading two people onto a path to descent. You really do think maybe things could have been different if they'd met sooner.

A fun and finely crafted fisherman's story with strong albeit insane performances. Tracy's Portuguese accent doesn't hold up, but the rest of the movie certainly does.

William Wyler is an exceptional director once again. The film is frequently beautiful and concludes with a memorable and uncertain ending, despite its adherence to the strengthening code.

A film that resists a traditional happy ending for an up-and-comer, focuses on women, and to a degree admits that money is the easiest way to make yourself a success in the world of acting.

There are some questions that go unanswered and it's off the rails, but it will make you laugh.

A movie that is not for me (much like Three Smart Girls, though not as personally enjoyable), but competently made. An orchestra fan would potentially find much to enjoy.

Worth the work of restoring and beautiful to look at, the film is hurt by its very slow pace and lightning-quick ending. Shangri-La itself imagines an utopia that is simultaneously Orientalist and the work of a single great white man--to be replaced by another single great white man.

Earning three stars because it acknowledges the antimsemitism at the core of the Dreyfus Affair (albeit briefly) and is staunchly on the side of anti-government power--at least in France. But this is up there in terms of films that bend themselves backwards to become hagiography, even in areas where flaws would have served the film well.

A repeat in some ways of San Francisco with an Irish immigrant/mob flavor. It's inoffensive, but difficult to feel connected to any of the characters. The bombastic ending is what we are meant to leave with.

There are reviewers today who can look past the yellowface and find something to enjoy here, but the acting and storytelling are too thickly spoiled to make the good worth the bad.

A film that is small in scope and beautiful to look at that's interested in what separated and unites us within manufactured communities/rules.

Light and often funny, The Lady Vanishes is a classic that keeps you engaged and delights in Britishness.

An excellent screwball comedy that holds up to the test of the time.

A faithful adaptation (with good reason, given the playwright is the screenwriter) and the best Henry Higgins.

The standard for Robin Hood stories that continues to be referenced today, and a colorful spectacle besides.

John Garfield's first film may have given me overhigh expectations, but it's much better than its treacle opening would suggest, and makes great use of the conventions of the musical sister stories that came before a la Three Smart Girls to upset expectations.

A more successful approach than The Life of Louis Pasteur, while hitting some of the same familiar beats within the medical field.

It has some shining moments but hasn't stood the test of time as well as other Capra pieces, despite some solid direction and a first outing with Stewart.

There is something about plane movies that really showcases the love between two men more than the woman in the middle.

It's a film that approaches the antebellum South with a Gone with the Wind-style nostalgia, though complicated sometimes by the actual composition of the shots themselves. Bette Davis does a good job, but there's not enough "there" there to warrant a lot of attention. One or two standout scenes give you something to think about, but not necessarily something to enjoy.

Some quality boy crying can't quite elevate Boys Town.

If you're here for a revue of Berlin's music, it is fine. If you want a narrative or a version of ragtime or jazz with any POC, you're not going to find it here. Ethel Merman is a delight, however.

The film makes its techniques look effortless and puts together a farce (mostly) about the rich, the idle, and the destruction they often lay in their wake.

Unapologetically patriotic and canny to the political machine, it's hard to find much that could have been done better with its material than Mr. Smith.

I struggle with rating this film given its reflection of a wickedness that endures today near verbatim. The costuming is flawless, the pacing is well-executed, the performances are strong, the direction is wonderful, and the cinematography will stay with you. It is also unapologetically racist, and portrays the North winning the Civil War--and the freedom of Black people to be treated as people--as a cultural travesty. How do you hold those things side by side and say "five stars"? How do I have the gall to say four?

Stagecoach is solidly acted, even Wayne, and has some beautiful shots.

A near perfect adaptation of the novella, with largely excellent performances throughout.

What can you say? The Wizard of Oz is a classic.

An interesting curiosity with a stacked female cast and some killer one-liners. Not necessarily something that sticks hard in the memory, however.

Wuthering Heights is interesting in its casting choices and its clear interest as Heathcliff as a Romani child, but it's also often slow and not quite as wildly gothic as the novel would allow.

Everyone does a capable job in this pro-capitalist film poking fun at the Soviets, but there's not enough depth or humor here to elevate the piece above watchable for me. Its reputation is much better than my evaluation.

A perfectly fine if unremarkable film about the life of a teacher at a boarding school for boys. I liked Boys Town better.

Highly melodramatic, but with some unexpected loyalties to the realities of brain tumors (and some big swings away).

Some outstanding moments in what is for the most part a conventional romance, complete with Hays Code punishments.

I don't think it's possible to watch the entirety of Fantasia and avoid amazement. Even its weakest moments are musically magical.

Beautifully shot and well-acted, a phenomenal adaptation with scenes that stay with you and a message that rings true today.

One of Chaplin's most narratively consistent and funny films, with a speech and commentary that still somehow hits today.

Rebecca is a classic for a reason and a fantastic ghost story. Well acted, creepy, and gorgeous, it remains well worth a watch.

Kath Hepburn has great chemistry with Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant has great chemistry with everyone. A very enjoyable (re)marriage plot.

A fun improvement on The Front Page that moves at breakneck speeds. There is some tonal whiplash in the mix, but never enough to curb your enjoyment.

Beautifully shot and some standout moments, but sags in some places from overdone performances and a bit too on-the-nose foreshadowing. It took me more than an hour to understand that John Wayne was meant to be Swedish.

Really interesting and dynamic staging and camera work and a very loyal adaptation. Hurt a bit by the ghost effect and its ending.

The Hays Code rears its ugly head in this film, but the Rebecca-esque murder recounting (in the same year as Rebecca, in fact) and the dark, tense final minutes of the film are excellent filmmaking.

You've Got Mail is in some way the better of the two versions, but it absolutely feels like a Nora Ephron story for the 1940s.

High melodrama on an interesting historical moment. The focus on a love story without consummation is interesting, but the full effect leaves something to be desired.

Not one of Hitchcock's best as a caper, with characters that are overall loosely sketched and not terriby memorable or charismatic. The ending stands out as a call to action, which I found effective but others might find schmaltzy.

Well-crafted with a strong performance from Ginger Rogers, but a story that is ultimately about the making the Hays Code-approved choice, with one or two charming bits thrown in.

I came in with an open heart, but it really is muddled and often grotesque.

What are you going to do? It's a tightly crafted, beautiful, odd, and unique film. Citizen Kane continues to stand the test of time.

John Huston's first outing is impressive and genre-defining. Bogart is perfect and the dialogue is top notch in this unraveling story.

A film that is almost brilliant with one outstanding, beautifully composed scene and some genuine uncertainty about the nature of Cary Grant's character. You feel the production's meddling with the final scene, but it's not enough to totally undermine the possibility of something sinister still lurking.

High melodrama with its play origins unapologetically on display, The Little Foxes is elevated by its performances--the actors know the movie they're in--and some clever shot composition. A particular shoutout to the piano playing scene.

Madcap like Sullivan's Travels and a fun time. Just don't think too much about the plot.

Its budget and its era show, but Pink Elephants on Parade still hits, as do (many of) its emotional beats.

A come-to-Jesus war movie for all American fathers.

An odd story of a wrestler who (briefly) switches bodies with a multi-millionaire. Fun without the staying power of something like It's a Wonderful Life.

A bit too all over the place and its thesis is on the nose, but there is definitely a romp here for people ready to enjoy some whackiness.

Remembered more harshly than it deserves because it beat Citizen Kane, the main reason to watch is cinematography. Many shots are immaculate.

A biopic that's high in melodrama and concludes it is simply impossible to have a child and run an orphanage as a single woman.

This film's greatest sin was boring me.

A biopic about a guy who sucks and the family that suffers under him.

I can't help but want the "real" version of this film back, to go looking in the cracks and fades for what's gone. In searching so hard for what "should" be there, it can be easy to miss the excellent things that are.

It's not breaking any new ground or getting away with its surprise blackface, but Cagney is immediately charming and magnetic throughout.

A 5 star film in terms of animation, but the spring section is largely skippable and embarrassing.

Silly and a true love triangle, with Cary Grant gamely playing the very familiar falsely accused escaped convict.

A strange film that is part advertisement for Canada, part Odyssey, and part anti-Nazi propaganda.

You're not going to find much new here if you've watched a baseball movie in the past, but it's about a nice guy and has a strong ending.

There is something about its smallness that makes this propaganda film work better than it ought to.

The quality of Greer's acting works to obscure how absolutely silly the plot is.

A propaganda film that makes the interesting choice to focus on a very recent surrender by the U.S. The fighting is well crafted and it's effective, but there is not much beyond what it says on the tin.

Odd propaganda film about child refugees and a grumpy old man.

I can't in good conscience give it 1 star because the cinematography is capable, but what a slow, melodramatic muddle through two hours.

Brutal, beautiful, and unrelenting.

One of my all time favorite films.

The many quotes from the tight dialogue, the music, the chemistry. Casablanca endures.

Unapologetic in its position that anti-fascism should be fought, even violently, and even with great sacrifice, as the US has yet to learn that lesson.

A very effective wartime film that succeeds at its "stiff upperlip" message. If you're not a fan of war stories, this one won't convert you, but its framing of the life to death of a battleship is more novel than others.

Marie Curie is the better biopic of this year, and the process of discovering radium is genuinely interesting, as is Greer's acting in the film's most emotional moments. As a biopic, however, it is not breaking new ground.

Very strong work for a Lubitsch piece with some genuinely funny moments.

The final short is beautiful and it's great to see so many illustrations by artists touring South America, but it is not (and really doesn't claim to be) a film, nor can it escape its exoticism.

Not the most engaging of screwball comedies, though it has a strong start and some genuinely funny moments despite plodding along in places.

It is a strong albeit long adaptation of the film with capable framing and beautiful technicolor. However, if you are not a fan of For Whom the Bell Tolls--or long romantic monologues professing undying love--this is likely not the film for you.

Some effective moments, but primarily a small town Americana story about why you should buy war bonds...and a very strange orphan.

If you're not on board with what Bernadette is selling, you're going to have a hard time looking past the repetition. If you are on board, you'd still likely have a more enjoyable time if the film were an hour shorter.

A gold standard noir with all the twists and turns that make the genre compelling, as well as its deep suspicion of beautiful dames.

Filled with suspense and at times difficult to watch. Ingrid Bergman gives a standout performance.

You don't need to dig very deeply to see the shades of Twin Peaks peeking out from this classic, twisty noir.

A couple of fun songs and a great scene where one boy smacks the shit out of another boy.

That little girl was entirely unhinged.

Scraping by with three stars because the cinematography is often beautiful, but this "epic" does not justify its runtime.

There's not much here to hold you besides perhaps the Wilson impression. All of the president's problems, his racism, his unsportsmanlike behavior, his opposition to progress, are erased or sanded off. He is the most boring kind of person to do a biopic on in this--an uncomplicated one. There is much better propaganda to watch during the war years.

A film about the relationship between a mother and her daughter that is more importantly about capital's relationship to our moral capacity.

Who doesn't love a film about psychoanalyst? Or Ingrid Bergman? Or Gregory Peck? It's a flawed, exaggerated film, but an excellent experience.

Time has dampened the power of the film some, but it manages to retain some powerful imagery and strong cinematography.

Ingrid Bergman is a delight from T to B. Let's not tell her she has TB.

Most groundbreaking in its animation, oddly, but not without some camp to keep you interested.

Much more psychedelic and hornier than you would either expect or remember.

Though it's difficult to bear the people who champion this film as an example of the power of prayer over care, IAWL still shines despite my scrooginess.

Notoriously good. Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman especially, and Claude Rains are excellent. The love story is a little dry, but the drama is strong.

The Big Sleep is not a mystery that's meant to be followed so much as experienced, with the chemistry between the leads pushing you on.

Gilda relies on Hayworth's performance to keep momentum going and keep your attention, and she accomplishes the role in spades. You can't help but fall in love with her.

The love story is a lot to swallow, but its interest in PTSD, the difficult return to normalcy, and the shifting world beneath veterans is worthwhile.

As with all Ford films, the cinematography is often beautiful. While a bit slow in places, the highlights are well worth it.

That Nazi got stabbed right in the chest by a clock. God bless.

You won't enjoy Henry's haircut, but you will enjoy the sets and the performance.

Finely crafted "literary" film that touches on adjusting to changing times, but ultimately flails in the same year as something like The Best Years of Our Lives.

You have seen this movie before, usually with a dog.

It is no Fantasia and its approach to "music" is inconsistent, but some of the shorts are very fun to watch.

It's as racist as its reputation, and also terriby boring.

Twisty with a femme fatale for the ages.

Well-shot with frequently excellent dialogue and an engaging approach to the narrative timeline.

You can already see Italian neorealism in its polished form. The performances are strong, as is its view of juvenile detention centers as a place that ultimately destroys children--or at least their childhoods.

A more complex film than it needs to be, with strong performances and a fun story that works for all ages.

It feels like Dickens with all that entails, though I'll admit to finding Pip and Estella's performances unmoving. Shout out to Mrs H, Magwitch, and Mr Pocket.

Its heart is in the right place and it tries to point blame at the embedded, passive versions of anti-Semitism in the country on the cusp of McCarthyism's rise. But at the end of the day, this is Gregory Peck teaching a lesson about anti-Semitism in America to a Jewish woman after a couple of weeks cosplaying a Jewish man.

A Christmas movie with the unusual (though perhaps not totally novel) conceit that an angel will have sex with your wife if you don't get your life together.

As a feature film, Fun and Fancy Free leaves much to be desired. There are still creative and well-animated moments--the small bean sandwich and the growing beanstalk come to mind--but on the whole this is a skippable experience.

One of those perfect parables, and well shot and acted to boot.

There is so much about The Red Shoes that feels like it belongs to movies that come 20-30 years later. The ballet will stay with you and remains impressive.

One of the very best of the John Wayne Westerns, full of queer masculinity and oedipal desire.

A very proto-Lynchian outing in its style, and more a mood poem than a traditional narrative--if one is coming to things looking for true coherence.

It makes a meal of every scene and, as they say, leaves no crumbs.

Its conceit is perhaps the definition of "Oscar bait," but Jane Wyman's performance is excellent, as is its sketch of the town.

Right on the edge of a 3 for its criticism of the mental health institution, though the approach to psychiatry/psychoanalysis here is dated and, at times, difficult to watch. An early version of the Nurse Ratched type is here, which spurs some interest.

This film is unapologetic in its position that poor and sick people deserve humanity and the clothes and, often, the scenery is strong. if you are looking for a Saint Movie, you could do worse. But most of us are rarely looking for a Saint Movie.

Some vignettes are superior to Fun and Fancy Free and some very much are not. Flight of the Bumblebee is creative fun, but the rest are missable.

Its ending feels inevitable from the start, and that's perhaps what makes it so good.

If you have any uncertainty about whether or not you're living under the whims of a demagogue, Willie Stark can clear that up for you.

An explosive gangster movie that takes the genre to 11 with a mad character made a better gangster, in some ways, through his madness.

Short but effective vignettes with the compelling, ghostly presence of Addie Roth.

This is a solid "I'll Make a Man Out of You" movie for dads.

I could pull scenes from Macbeth and convince you it is a masterpiece par excellence, but the whole does not equal the sum of its at times brilliant iconography.

A fine film in which OdH is Acting, and that's not always what the world needs right now.

Capably directed by WW with real humanity. If war movies have exhausted you, however, this one will not win you back--unless you wish for a film about a different kind of war exhaustion.

Watching The Fountainhead is undeniably fun, and your feel Rand's heavy hand on the screenplay. As an adaptation, it reveals the seams of the novel's failures, Howard and Paul are clearly miscast, and there is a general sense of checking novel beats off a list as quickly as possible.

Not an unbearable experience, but it's ultimately a forgettable one. The Headless Horseman is the best part stylistically, and it's less than the last 10 minutes of the film. (Additionally shout-out to the Bing Crosby headless horseman song.)

In a year dominated by pomo, Sunset Blvd. is one of the best and pomo-iest of them all.

A fantastic script, excellent performances, and delicious conniving. Bette Davis is a queen.

Very charming and carried by Holliday's fantastic comedic timing.

After so many quickly made films composed of animated shorts, a truly feature length story drawn and painted with real craft is especially welcome.

Currently difficult to see in good quality in the U.S., which did impact my experience. It did make me very hungry for spaghetti and very impressed with just how huge lira bills really were.

There is some creative filmmaking that flashes through FotB, and it is nice to watch the occasional feel good movie. In terms of what the film has to say or the experience watching it, however, it will mostly skim the surface of your thoughts.

Beyond some of the Technicolor footage of Africa, there's not a lot here that Indiana Jones didn't do better--and (somewhat) less racistly.

A film that changed cinema in a cinema-changing year.

Marlon Brando changes the face of acting permanently--for good and for ill.

It's a genuinely weird and at times quite brave, with excellent dancing (of course).

Strangers on a Train is one of Hitchcock's most beautiful films, merry-go-round ending and all.

Charming, fun, and just a little bit menacing. What a delight.

I love that robot.

Often visually creative and nice to look at.

The cinematography is quite beautiful in many places and the class consciousness is interesting, but your mileage for melodrama and men being extremely stupid may vary.

I sure did watch that movie. Nero was fun, and there were about as many women in this as are in the Bible!

The moral of this movie is "not all treason is bad treason."

One of the greatest musicals of all time and Lina Lamont is a legend.

One of the truly great Westerns and a real break from the formula.

This ain't your great-granddad's Errol Flynn Robin Head. This is your granddad's basically also Robin Hood (non-derogatory).

What's here is, in my opinion, more interesting than his Macbeth, but there's no way to really overcome blackface, Hays Code or no.

A retrograde relationship with classic Wayne "acting" (but unique in Ford's filmography). Stay for the whimsical fistfight?

An unrelenting bummer of an experience.

A completely adequate biopic. The cinematography and costuming are the reason to opt in here.

I can honestly say I didn't expect to see what I saw.

Taut and well-acted; there's a real argument here for Julius Caesar as one of the all-time best of the Shakespeare adaptations.

A solid Western that spends most of its runtime with the guns holstered. Maybe a half-star off for that kid's weird head.

Charming and elevated by its ending.

I really liked the bugling.

It is a return to form for Disney animation and the epitome of "enjoyable with some reservations," and the "reservations" are in all the casual racism and misogyny.

Mostly notable as the first use of CinemaScope.

One of Hitchcock's tightest and best put together films.

One of cinema's defining performances.

A film made more interesting in some ways by coming out the same year as the remake of A Star of is Born, and the surprisingly effective way it introduces and evolves Grace Kelly's character--at least initially. Boo to the men, however.

It isn't breaking new ground and its faithfulness is sometimes to its own detriment, but the Judy Garland numbers are iconic--in no small part because of their creative staging.

Melodramatic and obsessive with impeccable costuming.

A story glorifying the honor of the Navy with some genuinely excellent performances and a strong courtroom drama closer. Hurt only by the confusing addition of a romance subplot and a clear anxiety about implying any kind of criticism of the U.S. Navy.

Some of the acrobatics are really cool and there are some standout numbers. It's just a shame about all the abductions.

One of these secretaries did not deserve happiness.

Worth seeing for the performances alone. Whether the ending helps or hurts its quality, that's up to the viewer to decide.

Beautiful and epic, though the few women are unfortunately tedious.

An interesting companion to Disney's later 101 Dalmatians in terms of narrative and animation. It is proudly pro-dog and pro-tramping, though its ethnic/racial stereotypes are unignorable.

I find myself unable to pick a highlight—Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing is not a very interesting thing.

Strange, broken, but interesting. The ending still works.

You see how much Lynch draws from Ray when you watch Rebel. It's well worth a watch, but the film itself is hugely divorced from the aura/identity it has developed in modern culture.

The most memorable part of this film is Kim Novak's truly awful hair.

Not Tennessee Williams at his best. Burt Lancaster is actively hard to watch.

James Cagney, William Powell, Henry Fonda, and almost no dames. You sure do feel John Ford in this story about boys and men.

Beautifully shot with clear influence from Kurosawa when composing groups of people in dynamic ways. The heat is oppressive and captures the mood to heighten the drama. The focus on an imperfect, Brown defendant resonates today. Highlight performances from Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb.