WarGames (1983)

“Shall we play a game?”

Synopsis:
After accidentally hacking into a governmental ‘game’ called “Global Thermonuclear Warfare”, a high school senior (Matthew Broderick) and his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy) are accused of spying for the Russians, and must find the only scientist (John Wood) who can shut the computer down in time to avoid nuclear war.

Genres:

Cold [...]

You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939)

“You can’t cheat an honest man. Never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump.”

Synopsis:
Larson E. Whipsnade (W.C. Fields) attempts to save his seedy circus from financial ruin while feuding with his ventriloquist employee (Edgar Bergen) and Bergen’s dummy (Charlie McCarthy).

Genres:

Carnivals and Circuses
Comedy
Con-Artists
Puppets and Ventriloquism
W.C. Fields Films

Response [...]

Yol (1982)

Synopsis:
Several Turkish prisoners return home to their families for a week’s leave, and must deal with the consequences of their long absence.

Genres:

Middle Eastern Films
Homecoming
Infidelity
Prisoners

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, this award-winning Turkish film is “fascinating, brutal, [and] depressing” — truly a provocative viewing experience. Its very premise – prisoners “on [...]

Zardoz (1974)

“The gun is good, the penis is evil!”

Synopsis:
In the year 2293, Zed (Sean Connery), an Exterminator in the class of Primitive Brutals, sneaks past the mouth of the stone god Zardoz into the Vortex, where Eternals live forever but cannot reproduce.

Genres:

Class Relations
Dystopia
Revolutionaries
Science Fiction
Slavery

Response to Peary’s Review:
It’s hard not to [...]

Woman of Paris, A (1923)

Synopsis:
Believing she has been jilted by her fiance (Carl Miller), a young woman (Edna Purviance) moves to Paris and becomes the mistress of wealthy playboy Pierre Revel (Adolph Menjou). When she runs into her fiance a year later, she must decide whether to leave her life of comfort with Revel for a chance at marital [...]

Reuben, Reuben (1983)

“You have reduced me to that most contemptible of creatures – the love-sick swain!”

Synopsis:
Gowan McGland (Tom Conti), a well-known but penniless Scottish poet, ekes by on the remnants of his fame, drinks excessively, beds middle-aged housewives, and falls in love with a woman (Kelly McGillis) much younger than himself.

Genres:

Character Studies
Comedy
May-December Romance
Nonconformists
[...]

Who’s Minding the Mint? (1967)

Synopsis:
When a U.S. mint worker (Jim Hutton) accidentally destroys $50,000 in new bills, he enlists the help of his buddy (Walter Brennan), his co-worker (Dorothy Provine), and others to reprint the cash.

Genres:

Comedy
Counterfeiting
Ensemble Cast
Thieves and Criminals

Response to Peary’s Review:
Be prepared to suspend all disbelief while watching this outrageous slapstick comedy, which [...]

Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)

“This is a land of great opportunity, where all are created equal!”

Synopsis:
Marmaduke Ruggles (Charles Laughton), valet to the Earl of Burnstead (Roland Young), is gambled off to an American couple in Paris, who bring him back to their hometown of Red Gap, Washington. Once there, Ruggles is mistaken for a British colonel, and able to [...]

Murder! (1930)

“Life permits a beautiful and unfortunate girl to go to the gallows… Unless art, for once, can bring its technique to bear!”

Synopsis:
After helping to convict an aspiring actress (Norah Baring) of murder, well-known actor Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall) becomes convinced of her innocence, and tries to hunt down the true culprit.

Genres:

Actors and Actresses
[...]

Young and Innocent / The Girl Was Young (1937)

“If it’s any consolation to you, I want you to know that I’m innocent…”

Synopsis:
When a young writer (Derrick De Marney) is falsely accused of murder, the local constable’s daughter (Nova Pilbeam) helps him track down the true culprit.

Genres:

Amateur Sleuths
Falsely Accused
Fugitives
Hitchcock Films
Murder Mystery

Response to Peary’s Review:
As Peary notes, [...]