The power of seven become a league of one

Starring: Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Shane West, Jason Flemyng, Richard Roxburgh, Tom Goodman-Hill

DML Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ - above average

"You're sweet... and you're young. Neither are traits that I hold in high regard." - Mina Harker to Tom Sawyer's flirty advances

Why watch this? Any chance to see our greatest literary heroes together is a good thing.

Plot Summary: In an alternate 1899, a shadowy figure known as the Fantom, aka "M", orchestrates events to ignite a world war. British Intelligence recruits adventurer Allan Quatermain to assemble a team of legendary characters including Captain Nemo, Mina Harker, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This extraordinary League must unite their unique abilities to stop the Fantom's destructive plans and save the world.

Don Murphy, Trevor Albert;
20th Century Fox

Travel back through time and space to the edge of man's beginnings...
discover a savage world whose only law was lust!

Starring: Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Percy Herbert, Robert Brown, Martine Beswick, Jean Wladon, Lisa Thomas

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Their laws are simple: the strong take everything. This is Akhoba, leader of the Rock Tribe..." - Narrator

Why watch this? Volcanoes. Dinosaurs. Cave People in fur swimsuits... I am way in!

Plot Summary: This pre-historic tale focuses on Tumak, a caveman banished from his violent Rock tribe after a confrontation with his father, the leader. Wandering a dangerous prehistoric world inhabited by dinosaurs, he eventually encounters Loana, a member of the more civilized and gentle Shell tribe. Despite initial cultural clashes, their connection sparks a romance that challenges the established traditions of both tribes.

Hammer Film Productions, Seven Arts;
Warner-Pathé Dist.

What if...

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek, Makenzie Vega, Lisa Thornhill, Saul Rubinek, Josef Sommer

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"I choose us." - Kate

Why watch this? This modern day It's A Wonderful Life (1946) is poignant and endearing.

Plot Summary: Jack Campbell is a wealthy, single Wall Street executive who seemingly has it all. However, on Christmas Eve, he wakes up in an alternate reality where he's a married man with children, living a more modest suburban life in New Jersey with the girlfriend he let go 13 years prior. This unexpected transformation forces him to confront his priorities and examine the life he chose versus the life he could have had.

Beacon Pictures, Saturn Films;
Universal Pictures

Little arms big attitude

Starring: Raymond Ochoa, Jack Bright, Sam Elliott, Anna Paquin, A. J. Buckley, Steve Zahn, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Sometimes you got to get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side." - Poppa

Why watch this? ... this kinda flew under the radar, but once I discovered it, my heart was glad.

Plot Summary: In an alternate history where dinosaurs never went extinct, a young Apatosaurus named Arlo, the runt of his farming family, finds himself separated from his home and loved ones after a tumultuous event. Lost and facing many dangers, Arlo must overcome his fears and learn to survive in the wild. Along his journey, he forms an unlikely friendship with a resourceful human boy, he names Spot, and together they navigate a challenging landscape in a quest to reunite Arlo with his family.

Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney
Studios Motion Pictures

Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.

Starring: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles Durning, Victor Mohica, James Coleman, Soon-Tek Oh, Joe Lowry, Alvin Ing

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"This phenomena is the storm in which the Nimitz went through less than 18 hours ago, the storm has had some effect on time as we know it, it created a portal, a door into another era. Today is December 7, 1941..." – Capt. Yelland

Why watch this? A U.S. Aircraft Carrier. A time-travel portal. I'm in for this one!

Plot Summary: The modern U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz encounters a mysterious storm and is transported back in time to December 6, 1941, the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The crew faces a profound moral and ethical dilemma about whether to intervene in history and potentially prevent the attack using their superior technology.

The Bryna Company; United Artists

Would You Give Up Everything You Have... For Everything You've Ever Wanted?

Starring: James Belushi, Linda Hamilton, Jon Lovitz, Hart Bochner, Michael Caine, Courtney Cox, Bill McCutcheon, Rene Russo, Jay O. Sanders

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Well, you see Larry, one's destiny is a very complicated thing. Every incident in a person's life affects everything else that follows it." - Mike the Bartender

Why watch this? This is Jim Belushi's (John's younger brother) best film.

Plot Summary: Larry Burrows is an ordinary man who, on his 35th birthday, meets a mysterious individual who grants his wish to see how his life might have turned out if he had hit a home run in a pivotal high school baseball game. Larry finds himself in an alternate reality where he is wealthy and successful, but quickly realizes that this new life is not as fulfilling as he imagined.

Touchstone Pics, Silver Screen Partners IV,
Laurence Mark Prod.; Buena Vista Pictures Dist.

Witness the origin

Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Oliver Platt, Alex Gonzalez, Jason Flemyng, Zoë Kravitz, Morgan Lily, Nicholas Hoult

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"There's so much more to you than you know, not just pain and anger. There's good in you too, and you can harness all that. You have a power that no one can match, not even me." – Eric Lehnsherr (aka Magneto)

Why watch this? This new direction takes us back to the X-Men origin story with a new cast.

Plot Summary: During the Cold War in the 1960s, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, two young mutants with extraordinary powers, meet and form a close bond as they work to find and recruit other individuals like them. Aided by the CIA, they assemble a team to confront a powerful mutant villain who threatens to trigger a nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union.

Marvel Ent. Group, The Donner's Co., Bad Hat
Harry Prod., Dune Ent., Ingenious Film Partners;
20th Century Fox

You are not welcome here.

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"When dealing with aliens, try to be polite, but firm. And always remember that a smile is cheaper than a bullet." - MNU Instructional Voice

Why watch this? Benevolent aliens reach Earth, and humans are never gracious hosts.

Plot Summary: After aliens arrive on Earth seeking refuge, they are placed in a segregated internment camp near Johannesburg, South Africa, known as District 9. A government bureaucrat, tasked with relocating the aliens, is exposed to an alien substance that begins to transform his DNA. This leads to him being hunted by his own government and seeking refuge within District 9, where he learns more about the aliens and their treatment.

TriStar Pictures, QED International,
WingNut Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

The 9th Film from Quentin Tarantino.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Nicholas Hammond, Samantha Robinson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Anybody accidentally kills anybody in a fight, they go to jail. It's called manslaughter. I think all that lethal weapon horseshit is just an excuse so you dancers never have to get in a real fight." - Cliff Booth to actor, Bruce Lee

Why watch this? Tarantino's 9th film is a what-if tale of 1960's Hollywood and gap between haves and wanna-haves.

Plot Summary: Set in 1969 Hollywood, we follow Western TV star, Rick Dalton, and his stuntman, Cliff Booth. Rick's still acting, but he's burnt out and drinking hard. His stuntman Cliff also serves as his driver and is basically Rick's best friend. Rick also lives next door to director Roman Polanski and his new wife, the beautiful Sharon Tate. Where the plot, over two hours, takes the audience is quite an event-filled, nostalgic trip. This film centers on the changing landscape of old Hollywood and its intersection with a very disenchanted hippie population. Its aging stars are being devalued, just like the dried paint on nearby weathered billboards. Yet, these two tired journeymen, because of their friendship, just might make it through the meat grinder.

Columbia Pics, Bone Film Group, Heyday Films,
Visiona Romantica; Sony Pictures Releasing

His past. Our future.

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKlellen, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Panquin, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Evan Peters

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"What if, whatever we do can't be changed? What if Raven will kill Trask anyway? What if that is who she is?" – Hank McCoy

Why watch this? This time travel film is a brilliant chance to get the old and new casts together one time.

Plot Summary: In a bleak future where mutants face extinction from relentless Sentinel robots, the X-Men devise a plan to send Wolverine back in time. His mission is to prevent a pivotal event in 1973 that sparks the Sentinel program and a war that decimates both mutants and the humans who help them. To succeed, Wolverine must unite the younger Professor X and Magneto, convince Raven Darkhölme (aka the shape-shifting Mystique) to alter her actions, and ultimately change the course of history to secure a future where mutants and humans can coexist.

Marvel Ent. Group, The Donner's Co.,
Bad Hat Harry Prod., Dune Ent., Ingenious Film
Partners; 20th Century Fox

In our time no foreign army has ever occupied American soil. Until now.

Starring: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Ron O'Neal, William Smith, Powers Boothe

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"I don't know. Two toughest kids on the block, I guess. Sooner or later, they're gonna fight." – Col. Andy Tanner, when asked who started the war

Why watch this? ... it's World War III, and this time on American soil. It could happen.

Plot Summary: In an alternate 1980s, the United States is invaded by the Soviet Union and its allies. When a small Colorado town is occupied, a group of high school students escapes to the mountains. They form a guerrilla resistance force called the Wolverines, fighting back against the invading forces to defend their home and country.

United Artists, Valkyrie Films; MGM/UA
Entertainment Co.

Power. Grace. Wisdom. Wonder.

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Saïd Taghmaoui

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I'm going, Mother. I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost. If no one else will defend the world from Ares, then I must. I have to go." - Diana Prince

Why watch this? It's more than a great super-hero film... Diana is a superb role model.

Plot Summary: Princess Diana, raised on the hidden island of Themyscira, trains as an Amazonian warrior. When an American pilot crashes on her shores during World War I, he reveals a devastating conflict consuming the outside world. Convinced she can stop the war and believing the god Ares is responsible, Diana leaves her home to join the fight, discovering her true heroic destiny.

DC Films, RatPac-Dune Ent., Atlas Ent.,
Cruel and Unusual Films; Warner Bros.

You'll believe a man can fly.

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Glen Ford, Valerie Perrine

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"There's a strong streak of good in you, Superman. But then nobody's perfect... almost nobody." – Lex Luthor

Why watch this? It's like Superman walked out of a comic book and onto the screen.

Plot Summary: Born on the doomed planet Krypton, infant Kal-El is sent to Earth by his scientist father, Jor-El, and is discovered and raised by the kind Kents. As an adult, Clark Kent moves to Metropolis, taking a job as a reporter while secretly using his superhuman abilities to fight crime as Superman. This brings him into conflict with criminal mastermind Lex Luthor, who hatches a scheme that threatens the lives of many and challenges the burgeoning hero.

Dovemead Ltd., International Film Prod.; Warner Bros.

Someone's killing our super heroes.

Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Matt Frewer

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I have witnessed events so tiny and so fast they can hardly be said to have occurred at all. But you, Adrian, you're just a man. The world's smartest man poses no more threat to me than does its smartest termite." – Dr. Manhattan

Why watch this? Snyder films are so stylistically unique, and this one is remarkable.

Plot Summary: Set in an alternate 1985 at the height of the Cold War, the film opens with the murder of a former costumed hero known as The Comedian. This event prompts the vigilante Rorschach, who is still actively fighting crime, to investigate a potential conspiracy targeting other former superheroes. As Rorschach reconnects with his former masked allies, they uncover a much larger and darker plot that could have catastrophic consequences.

Paramount Pictures, Legendary Pictures, DC Ent.,
Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin Prod., Cruel and
Unusual Films; Warner Bros. Pictures

It's the story of a man, a woman, and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble.

Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer (voice), Joanna Cassidy, Kathleen Turner (voice)

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way." – Jessica Rabbit

Why watch this? ... to watch, in awe, the genius it took to intertwine humans and cartoons into the same celluloid space.

Plot Summary: In 1947 Los Angeles, where cartoons and humans coexist, a private detective who loathes toons takes a case involving a rabbit toon star accused of murder. As the detective investigates, he uncovers a complex conspiracy that threatens the existence of Toontown, the animated metropolis where toons reside.

Touchstone Pics, Amblin Ent., Silver Screen
Partners III; Buena Vista Pictures Dist.

A chase through time -- to catch Jack the Ripper!

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen, Charles Cioffi, Patti D'Arbanville, Kent Williams, Joseph Maher, Corey Feldman

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"We don't belong here? On the contrary, Herbert. I belong here completely and utterly. I'm home."- Jack the Ripper, on being transported to New York City, 1979

Why watch this? As a fan of The Time Machine (1960), this takes things one more horrifying step.

Plot Summary: English writer H.G. Wells, having invented a functional time machine, finds himself chasing notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper through time. Jack has escaped to the year 1979 in Wells' own creation. Upon arriving in a future he did not anticipate, Wells encounters a woman named Amy Robbins and enlists her help in his pursuit of the infamous murderer, now turned loose in San Francisco.

Orion Pictures; Warner Bros.

1997. New York City is now a maximum security prison. Breaking out is impossible. Breaking in is insane.

Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Are you crazy? Nobody gets to meet the Duke. You meet him once and then you're dead!" - Cabbie

Why watch this? Kurt Russell is so dope in that eye-patch!

Plot Summary: In a crime-ridden future of 1997, Manhattan Island is walled off and transformed into a maximum-security prison for the United States' worst criminals. When Air Force One is hijacked and crashes within the prison walls, the President of the United States becomes a hostage. Ex-soldier and criminal Snake Plissken is offered a pardon if he can retrieve the President from the dangerous environment within 24 hours.

Int'l Film Investors, Goldcrest Films Int'l,
City Films; AVCO Embassy Pictures

The world will never be the same once you've seen it through the eyes of Forrest Gump.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, Haley Joel Osment

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #14 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Forrest Gump

"Stupid is as stupid does." - Forrest Gump

Why watch this? There is something to be said for seeing a story through the eyes of the unsophisticated.

Plot Summary: This epic story follows the incredible and often serendipitous life of a kind-hearted but slow-witted man from Alabama. He recounts his experiences, which intertwine with significant historical events and figures of the 20th century, to strangers at a bus stop. Throughout his extraordinary journey, his only constant desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Jenny.

The Tisch Company; Paramount Pictures

He was never in time for his classes... He wasn't in time for dinner...
Then one day he wasn't in his time at all.

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Tom Wilson, Claudia Wells, Marc McClure, James Tolkan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it." - Marty McFly, after lighting up the prom with some guitar licks by Eddie Van Halen

Why watch this? When Marty meets his parents, back in the 1950's, the fun really begins.

Plot Summary: Marty McFly is a teenager who travels back to 1955 using a time machine built by his friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown. He accidentally prevents his parents from meeting and falling in love, putting his own future existence at risk. Marty must ensure his parents get together and find a way to return to his own time.

Amblin Entertainment; Universal Pictures

The most loved Christmas film of all time!

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Ward Bond, Frank Faylen, Gloria Grahame

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #11 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of It's a Wonderful Life

"Strange isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" - Clarence the angel

Why watch this? ... You're kidding, right? This holiday classic is so much more than that.

Plot Summary: This holiday classic follows George Bailey, a man who has always put the needs of his small town and its residents before his own ambitions. Through a series of selfless acts, he inadvertently creates a life that, despite its challenges, has a profound impact on those around him. When faced with a crisis that pushes him to his breaking point, an unexpected intervention shows him the true value of his existence and the indelible mark he has made on his community.

Liberty Films; RKO Radio Pictures

Hunted... haunted... wanted... like beasts of prey!

Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowell, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison, Lou Wagner, Woodrow Parfrey

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #9 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of Planet of the Apes

"Man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supply in the forest, then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated, the better." – Doctor Zaius

Why watch this? ... it's compelling through-out, but the last scene makes it a legend.

Plot Summary: An astronaut crew crash-lands on a mysterious planet in the distant future, where they discover a highly evolved society of apes has become the dominant species, enslaving primitive humans. As the lone surviving spaceman navigates this new world and seeks to prove his intelligence to his captors, he uncovers the shocking truth about the planet's identity and past.

APJAC Productions; 20th Century Fox