A true story that proves a little determination goes a very, very long way.

Starring: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton, Dan Flannery, Everett McGill, Bill McCallum, Jane Galloway Heitz

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"The worst part of being old is remembering when you was young." - Alvin Straight

Why watch this? Sometimes, when you can't do what you used to, you do what you can.

Plot Summary: 73-year-old Alvin Straight learns that his estranged brother, Lyle, is gravely ill after suffering a stroke. Determined to reconcile before it's too late, Alvin, who is unable to drive due to poor eyesight and physical limitations, embarks on a journey from Iowa to Wisconsin on his riding lawnmower.

Asymmetrical Prod., Canal+, FilmFour, Ciby 2000,
Le Studio Canal+; Buena Vista Pictures Dist.

Sometimes, you have to lose your way to get back home

Starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Chris Thomas King, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, Daniel von Bargen, Wayne Duvall, Frank Collison, Stephen Root

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"You seek a great fortune, you three who are now in chains. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first... first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell." – Blind Seer

Why watch this? This is a fun, poetic American fable that feels very familiar.

Plot Summary: Loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, this comedy drama follows three escaped convicts – Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete, and Delmar – as they embark on a journey through Depression-era Mississippi. Their aim is to reach Everett’s home and recover a hidden treasure before the area is flooded to create a new lake. Along the way, they encounter a series of eccentric characters, evade a relentless lawman, and inadvertently become folk music sensations.

Touchstone Pics, Universal Pics, Studio Canal,
Working Title Films, Blind Bard Pictures;
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

the biggest entertainment ever to rock the screen with laughter!

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Buddy Hackett, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, Terry Thomas, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Dorothy Provine, Jim Backus, Peter Falk, Norman Fell, Jimmy Durante

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Listen, anything you got to say about your mother in-law, you don't have to explain to me. You know what I mean? Like if she were the star of a real crummy horror movie, I'd believe it." – Lennie Pike

Why watch this? It certainly IS madness... wonderful, calamity-filled comedy by the industry's comedic heavyweights.

Plot Summary: At the scene of an auto accident, escaped convict, Smiley Grogan, with his last breath, reveals to a group of witnesses that there's $350,000 buried underneath the "big W" in Santa Rosita State Park. This starts a madcap race to the park (several hundred miles away) by four desperate packs of money-grubbers, the likes the world has never seen. By car, plane, truck, these lunatics will do ANYTHING to get there first and nab the cash. All this attracts the attention of Police Captain T. G. Culpepper who is literally days from retiring.

Casey Productions; United Artists

They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God.

Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Carrie Fisher, Aretha Franklin, Henry Gibson, James Brown, John Candy, John Lee Hooker, Twiggy, Charles Napier, Steve Lawrence, Frank Oz

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers HAS been approved." - Police Dispatcher

Why watch this? Great blues music, edgy humor and the car crashes are off the charts!

Plot Summary: Newly released convict brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues, embark on a "mission from God" to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised from foreclosure. To do this, they must reunite their old band and perform to raise the $5,000 needed to pay the property taxes. Their efforts lead them on a chaotic adventure across Illinois, encountering a series of zany characters and being pursued by various groups, including the police, a vengeful ex-girlfriend, and a neo-Nazi group.

Robert K. Weiss; Universal Pictures

A duel is about to begin between a man, a truck, and an open road.
Where a simple battle of wits is now a matter of life and death.

Starring: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Gene Dynarski, Tim Herbert, Carey Loftin, Eugene Dynarski, Lucille Benson, Charles Seel

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'd like to report a truck driver who's been endangering my life." – David Mann

Why watch this? Few actors so show utter terror better than Dennis Weaver.

Plot Summary: David Mann is a traveling salesman, driving through the rural California desert to a business meeting. During his journey, he finds himself terrorized and pursued by the unseen driver of a rusty 18-wheeler semi-truck. What starts as an ordinary trip escalates into a relentless cat-and-mouse game between David and the unseen driver, pushing David to his limits as he fights for survival against the monstrous truck.

George Eckstein; ABC (TV)

Blood always follows money.

Starring: Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, Dale Dickey, William Sterchi, Buck Taylor, Kristin K. Berg

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I am a Comanche. Do you know what it means? It means 'Enemy to everyone'." - Bear

Why watch this? This is one, brutally great Texas crime film.

Plot Summary: After their mother's death, two brothers, a divorced father and an ex-con, desperately resort to bank robberies to prevent the foreclosure of their family ranch. Two Texas Rangers, one close to retirement and his loyal partner, investigate the crimes and pursue the brothers across West Texas. This creates a compelling cat-and-mouse narrative exploring themes of desperation, family loyalty, and societal injustice.
 

Dad's Preview: Texas, with its sparse, angry-poor landscapes, is such a great setting for crimes bred out of poverty. Hell folks, this is where I grew up. I recognized the signs to Coleman, Texas and I've walked those small town streets. Chris Pine and Ben Foster are stellar as two hard-scrapple brothers. There is a desperation in their nature. However, it is Jeff Bridges, as the seasoned Sheriff Hamilton, who delivers another unforgettable, career-defining, performance.

CBS Films, Sidney Kimmel Ent., OddLot Ent.,
Film 33, LBI Ent.; Lionsgate

The film about recklessness, friendship, hatred, fear.

Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli, Véra Clouzot, William Tubbs, Dario Moreno, Jo Dest, Antonio Centa, Luis De Lima

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You don't know what fear is. But you'll see. It's catching, it's catching like small pox! And once you get it, it's for life! So long, boys, and good luck." – Dick

Why watch this? Men pushed to the end of the line will do the most desperate things to live.

Plot Summary: Several unemployed men find themselves stuck in the isolated South American village of Las Piedras. A Frenchman, Mario, befriends an ex-mobster, Jo, a German. The only way escape is to be paid for hauling several cases of nitroglycerin to an oil well fire 300 miles away, over treacherous roads. Any bump can cause the volatile liquid to explode, so two more men are recruited to drive a second truck, because one truck will likely not make it.

Vera Film, Filmsonor, C.I.C.C.,
Fono Roma; Cinédis

A Story Of An Extraordinary Journey.

Starring: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford, Rebecca De Mornay, Kevin Cooney

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

DML Top 50 #36 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Trip to Bountiful

"I guess when you've lived longer than your house and your family, then you've lived long enough." - Mrs. Carrie Watts

Why watch this? ... this Texas tale captures our hearts as a woman longs see her home place.

Plot Summary: In 1940s Texas, an elderly woman named Carrie Watts lives in a cramped Houston apartment where she feels stifled by her overprotective son and resentful daughter-in-law. Desperate to visit her childhood home one last time, she manages to slip away from her family and embarks on a solo bus journey across the state. Along the way, she reflects on her past and finds unexpected kindness from strangers as she nears the small, fading town of Bountiful.

Bountiful Film Partners, FilmDallas Pics;
Island Pictures

Into the heart Into the soul

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian H. Dierker, Kristen Stewart, Hal Holbrook, Zach Galifianakis, Vince Vaughn

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences." – Christopher McCandless (aka "Alexander Supertramp")

Why watch this? The tale of this deep-thinking young man has lessons for all of us.

Plot Summary: There are those who are drawn to living life on the free edge, as close to nature as possible. Beautiful mountains. Scenic deserts. Raging rivers. One such person is Christoper McCandless, a man in his early twenties, disenchanted with modern America, and determined to experience life "off the grid". After graduating from Emory University, he burns his credit cards and embarks to see the wild, leaving behind no trail to follow. This devastates all those who love him, but he MUST do this to be honest with himself. He is a cheerful, intelligent kid who enamors the wayward folks he encounters, yet breaks their hearts when he moves on. His destination is Alaska.

River Road Ent., Square One C.I.H.,
Linson Films; Paramount Vantage

In the tradition of Shane and High Noon, a new Western Classic is born! BITE THE BULLET

Starring: Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Ian Bannen, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ben Johnson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"When I cross the finish line, I get to be a big man. Top man. A man to remember." – Mister (the old cowboy)

Why watch this? ... it's an outstanding Western cross-country race.

Plot Summary: This oater centers around a grueling 700-mile endurance horse race held at the turn of the century. A diverse group of participants with varying motivations and personalities enters the race, including two former Rough Riders, a woman of questionable virtue, a gunfighter, and an aging cowboy. As the competition pushes them to their limits, their true characters are revealed.
 

Dad's Preview: There were tons of Westerns made in the 1970's. Leone was making "Spaghetti Westerns". John Wayne was was still going strong. Some were masterpieces, some were cow dung. This little-known gem surprised me. It's a grand adventure, a cross-country race on horseback, plagued by natural hazards and man-made obstacles. This is one exciting film. We are blessed to have two great stars, Hackman and Coburn, both "men of action" who seek the $2,000 prize.

Persky-Bright Productions, Vista;
Columbia Pictures

If at first you don't succeed, lower your standards.

Starring: Chris Farley, David Spade, Bo Derek, Brian Dennehy, Dan Akyroyd, Rob Lowe, Julie Warner, Sean McCann, Zach Grenier

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I can practically hear you getting fatter." – Richard, to Tommy

Why watch this? I learned to never load an injured deer in your car's back seat.

Plot Summary: Tommy Callahan Jr., a somewhat naive and underachieving son of a successful auto parts magnate, returns home to work in the family business. However, after the sudden death of his father, the company faces financial ruin and a potential takeover. To save the factory and the jobs of its employees, Tommy embarks on a cross-country sales trip to secure a large order for a new brake pad division. He is begrudgingly accompanied by his father's tightly-wound assistant, Richard.

Lorne Michaels; Paramount Pictures

The strangest damned gang you ever heard of. They're young. They're in love. They rob banks.

Starring: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons, Denver Pyle, Dub Taylor, Gene Wilder

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks." - Clyde Barrow

Why watch this? To many Southwestern poor folks, the Barrow gangsters were heroes. Texas lawmen saw it differently.

Plot Summary: During the Great Depression, a bored waitress named Bonnie Parker meets ex-con Clyde Barrow and they begin a crime spree across America. As they rob banks and evade law enforcement, their exploits become more violent. The film follows their love story and growing notoriety as they become infamous criminals.

Warner Bros. Pics; Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

A tough bounty hunter. A sensitive criminal.

Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Well if you don't shut up, pretty soon you're gonna suffer from fistaphobia." – Jack Walsh to "The Duke"

Why watch this? The exchanges between Grodin and De Niro are priceless.

Plot Summary: Gruff bounty hunter, Jack Walsh, agrees to a seemingly easy job: retrieve a mob accountant from New York and bring him back to Los Angeles. However, the accountant, Jonathan "The Duke" Mardukas, turns out to be a demanding and eccentric individual with a fear of flying, forcing the two men on an arduous cross-country journey by various modes of transportation. As they travel, they are pursued relentlessly by the FBI, who want The Duke to testify against his former boss, and by the mob, who want to silence him permanently, all while facing off against a rival bounty hunter.

City Lights Films; Universal Pictures

THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE MAD

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on the Fury Road!" - Nux

Why watch this? I never saw this greatness coming, but there's no question - it's great!

Plot Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world where resources are scarce, Max is captured and enslaved by the tyrannical Immortan Joe. Simultaneously, Imperator Furiosa, one of Joe's lieutenants, defies him by absconding with five women, leading to a relentless pursuit across the desert. Max eventually becomes involved with Furiosa's escape, forging an uneasy alliance as they battle Joe and his forces in a desperate struggle for freedom and a better life.

Village Roadshow Pictures, RapPac-Dune
Ent., Kennedy Miller Mitchell; Warner Bros.

One of the Most Thrilling Pictures Ever Filmed!

Starring: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine, John Carradine, Thomas Mitchell, Louise Platt, George Bancroft, Donald Meek, Tim Holt

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Well, there are some things a man just can't run away from." - The Ringo Kid

Why watch this? This is the first great Wayne-Ford collaboration.

Plot Summary: This oater follows a diverse group of passengers on a stagecoach journey through the dangerous American frontier in the 1880s. The characters, including an outlaw, a prostitute, a gambler, a drunk doctor, and a banker, are forced to confront their prejudices and vulnerabilities as they face the threat of a looming Apache attack. Their perilous journey tests their courage and reveals surprising truths about human nature.

Walter Wanger Prod.; United Artists

The Joads step right out of the pages of the novel that has shocked millions!

Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin, Dorris Bowdon, Russell Simpson, John Qualen, Grant Mitchell, Ward Bond

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #28 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Grapes of Wrath

"If I was to pray, I'd pray for folks that's alive and don't know which way to turn." - Jim "Preacher" Casy

Why watch this? The Great Depression left a deep scar on an entire American generation.

Plot Summary: This deeply American story follows the Joad family, Oklahoma sharecroppers who lose their farm to foreclosure during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Led by newly paroled son Tom, they embark on a difficult journey to California, lured by the promise of work and a better life. However, upon arrival, they face immense hardship, poverty, exploitation, and social injustice alongside thousands of other migrant workers seeking the same elusive dream.

Darryl F. Zanuck, Nunnally Johnson;
20th Century Fox

In Search of Wine. In Search of Women. In Search of Themselves.

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh, Marylouise Burke, Jessica Hecht, MC Gainey

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #42 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Sideways

"Half my life is over and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing. I am a thumbprint on the window of a skyscraper. I'm a smudge of excrement on a tissue surging out to sea with a million tons of raw sewage." – Miles

Why watch this? ... comedy, wine, romance, golf, depression, infidelity, more wine...

Plot Summary: Two middle-aged friends, Miles and Jack, are on a week-long road trip through California's Santa Barbara wine country as a celebration of Jack's upcoming wedding. Miles, a wine enthusiast and struggling writer, hopes for a peaceful escape from his recent divorce and stalled career. Jack, a carefree actor, is more focused on having one last fling before getting married.

Michael London Productions;
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Just One Man Can Make A Difference.

Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Mike Preston, Max Phipps, Vernon Wells, Emil Minty, Kjell Nilsson, Virginia Hey, William Zappa

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"We've all lost someone we love. But we do it my way! Fear is our ally. The gasoline will be ours. Then you shall have your revenge.” – Lord Humungus

Why watch this? A bigger budget helped the second Max film cement its place in post-apocalyptic film lore.

Plot Summary: Following a global war and civilization's collapse, loner Max scavenges the Australian wasteland for fuel and supplies. He encounters a small community defending their oil refinery from a ruthless biker gang led by deformed Lord Humungus. Max, initially seeking only his own advantage, eventually agrees to help the community transport their precious fuel in a desperate bid for freedom and survival.

Kennedy Miller Productions; Roadshow
Film Dist., Warner Bros.

A family on the verge of a breakdown

Starring: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Beth Grant

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #33 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Little Miss Sunshine

"I'd like to dedicate this to my grandpa, who showed me these moves." - Olive Hoover

Why watch this? Imagine the family road trip from hell. Then multiply it by 100.

Plot Summary: The Hoover family embarks on a chaotic cross-country road trip to get their young daughter, Olive, to the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant in California. Along the way, the eccentric family faces a series of setbacks and personal struggles that force them to re-evaluate their notions of success and happiness. The journey culminates in Olive's unconventional performance at the pageant.

Big Beach Films, Bona Fide Prod., Third
Gear Prod.; Fox Searchlight Pictures

Steve Martin had no reason to panic... until John Candy came along.

Starring: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon, Dylan Baker, Carol Bruce

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"You got a free cab, you got a free room, and someone who'll listen to your boring stories. I mean, didn't you notice on the plane when you started talking, eventually I started reading the vomit bag?" - Neal

Why watch this? Martin's angry rants and Candy's long-winded yarns are precious!

Plot Summary: This comedy follows the misadventures of Neal Page, an uptight advertising executive desperate to return home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. However, bad weather forces his flight to divert, leading him to reluctantly team up with Del Griffith, a well-meaning but irritating salesman, to navigate various modes of transportation. Their chaotic journey involves a series of travel mishaps and comical conflicts.

Hughes Entertainment; Paramount Pictures

Somebody said get a life... so they did.

Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"You said you 'n' me was gonna get out of town and for once just really let our hair down. Well, darlin', look out, 'cause my hair is comin' down!" - Thelma

Why watch this? ... it has Elsie's "Golden Stamp of Approval". Ladies, time to cut loose!

Plot Summary: Two best friends, Thelma and Louise, decide to escape their mundane lives for a weekend getaway. Their plans take an unexpected turn when an act of self-defense leads them on the run from the law. As they flee towards Mexico, the women rediscover their strength and the unbreakable bond of their friendship while navigating a series of perilous encounters.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Pathé Ent., Percy Main Prod.,
Star Partners  III Ltd.; MGM-Pathé Comm.