What is the secret of Soylent Green?

Starring: Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotten, Brock Peters, Paula Kelly, Edward G. Robinson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I was there, I can prove it! When I was a kid, you could buy meat anywhere! Eggs they had, real butter! Not this... crap!" - Sol

Why watch this? This is a thought-provoking film about a possible, horrible, dystopian future.

Plot Summary: In an overpopulated and resource-depleted 2022, Detective Thorn investigates the seemingly routine murder of a powerful executive at the Soylent Corporation, which provides the world's dwindling food supply. As Thorn delves deeper into the investigation, he uncovers layers of powerful forces attempting to obstruct his efforts. Driven by a desire for truth in a world seemingly devoid of it, Thorn follows a trail that leads to a chilling and shocking secret.

Walter Seltzer, Russell Thacher;
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

An assassin on the loose. A president in danger. Only one man stands between them...

Starring: Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, Gary Cole, Fred Thompson, John Mahoney

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I have a rendezvous with death, and so does the President, and so do you, Frank, if you get too close to me." - Mitch Leary / James Carney / Booth

Why watch this? An excellent political thriller about the President's Secret Service detail.

Plot Summary: Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy, gets a chance at redemption when a former CIA assassin begins threatening the current President. The assassin, who uses the alias "Booth," engages Horrigan in a dangerous psychological game, taunting him with clues about his elaborate plot and exploiting Horrigan's past trauma. Despite skepticism from his superiors, Horrigan must race against time to prevent a presidential assassination.

Castle Rock Entertainment, Apple-Rose
Prod.; Columbia Pictures

A stiff drink. A little mascara. A lot of nerve. Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet empire.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Ned Beatty, Om Puri, Ken Stott, John Slattery, Terry Bozeman, Jud Taylor Hilary Angelo, Cyia Batten, Kirby Mitchell, Emily Blunt,

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"You mean to tell me that the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is to have the Afghans keep walking into machine gun fire 'til the Russians run out of bullets?" - Charlie Wilson

Why watch this? An all-star cast delivers a sharp-edged, intelligent film about how stuff gets done in Washington.

Plot Summary: In the 80's, Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson has a full plate. When not governing, he's making deals, usually involving sleazy characters, beautiful women, alcohol, and wealthy donors. Once such donor (and occasional love interest) is Houston socialite, Joanne Herring. Using her sway on Wilson, she wants the US to quietly intervene in the ongoing war between Russia and Afghanistan. She arranges a trip to that part of the world, where he meets with Pakistan's President, who rips the U.S. for not supporting their fight against Russia. They also visit a Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp and it's not pretty. Charlie, with help from CIA Operative Gust Avrakotos, decides to find hidden Congressional money to aid the Afghan people.

Relativity Media, Participant Prod.,
Playtone; Universal Pictures

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

The average person uses 10% of their brain capacity. Imagine what she could do with 100%.

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbaek, Analeigh Tipton

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I feel everything. Space, the air, the vibrations, the people, I can feel the gravity, I can feel the rotation of the Earth, the heat leaving my body, the blood in my veins. I can feel my brain. The deepest parts of my memory." – Lucy

Why watch this? This is excellent science fiction - it will engross you.

Plot Summary: Lucy is an American student in Taipei who finds herself forced into working as a drug mule for a dangerous drug lord, Mr. Jang. A synthetic, highly experimental drug is surgically implanted inside her abdomen for transport, but the package ruptures, leaking the potent chemical into her bloodstream. This accidental exposure begins to unlock extraordinary skills and abilities in Lucy, far beyond the typical 10% of brain use, and she embarks on a journey to understand and control her rapidly increasing mental capacity before her time runs out.

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production,
Canal+, Cine+; Universal Pictures

Your mind is the scene of the crime.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Building a dream from your memory is the easiest way of losing your grasp on what's real and what is a dream." - Cobb

Why watch this? It's plot is mind-bending. The cityscapes twisting within themselves is visually cool.

Plot Summary: Skilled thief, Dom Cobb, specializes in stealing information by entering people's dreams using a shared dream technology. He is tasked with the seemingly impossible job of planting an idea into a target's subconscious, rather than extracting one, a process called "inception". If he succeeds, his criminal history will be erased, allowing him to return home to his children, but a dangerous enemy from his past threatens to derail the mission.

Legendary Pictures, Syncopy;
Warner Bros. Pictures

A murdered wife. A one-armed man. An obsessed detective. The chase begins.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, Jeroen Krabbé, Daniel Roebuck, Tom Wood

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." - Dep. Marshall Sam Gerard

Why watch this? This is a well-done action thriller. Jones and Ford are excellent!

Plot Summary: Dr. Richard Kimble is a respected surgeon who finds his wife murdered in their home and claims the killer was a one-armed man. Despite his protests, he is convicted of the murder, but escapes from custody after a bus crash. As U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard leads a relentless manhunt, Kimble endeavors to prove his innocence by tracking down the true killer.

Kopelson Entertainment; Warner Bros.

No One Is Above The Law.

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Being right is not a bullet-proof vest, Freddy." - Figgs

Why watch this? This is Stallone's best performance since the original Rocky.

Plot Summary: The story centers around Freddy Heflin, the sheriff of Garrison, New Jersey, a seemingly peaceful town primarily inhabited by New York City police officers. As Freddy investigates a suspicious incident involving these officers, he uncovers a widespread conspiracy of corruption among his esteemed residents. This forces Freddy to confront a dangerous dilemma, choosing between his loyalty to the officers he admired and his oath to uphold the law.

Woods Entertainment; Miramax Films

Harrison Ford is the President of the United States, and he wants you off his plane.

Starring: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, William H. Macy, Wendy Crewson, Liesel Matthews, Paul Guilfoyle, Dean Stockwell

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Your national security advisor has just been executed. He's a very good negotiator. He bought you another half hour." - Ivan Korshunov

Why watch this? This superb film is at its best when Ford and Oldman go at it.

Plot Summary: A group of terrorists hijacks the presidential aircraft, Air Force One, demanding the release of their imprisoned leader. The President, initially believed to have escaped, secretly remains on board, fighting to protect his family and the other hostages. He races against time, battling the hijackers to regain control of the plane and thwart their plans.

Columbia Pics, Beacon Pics, Radiant Prod.;
Sony Pictures Releasing

What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you had not committed... yet?

Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, Neal McDonough, Peter Stormare

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Don't trust anyone. Just find the Minority Report." – Dr. Iris Henimen

Why watch this? This futuristic thriller is one of Spielberg's many masterpieces.

Plot Summary: In a future where a specialized police unit called PreCrime stops murderers before they can act, Chief John Anderton believes the system is flawless. However, one day he receives a prediction that he himself will commit a murder, leading him to question the system's infallibility. Now a fugitive from the very unit he led, Anderton must try to prove his innocence and uncover a possible conspiracy that could be behind his predicted crime.
 

Dad's Preview: Early on, Tom Cruise was just too cocky for me. This film made me an true fan. Set in a future, utopian Earth, the plot centers on a crime agency that arrests people for future crimes. The dreams of three telepathic triplets (kept in medically-induced comas), called "Pre-Cogs", are recorded and analyzed to predict future murders. The plot is uber-creative and Spielberg makes is exciting. Cruise's character is flawed and complex. It's engaging, fast-paced and full of surprises.

DreamWorks Pics, Amblin Entertainment,
Blue Tulip Prod.; 20th Century Fox

The original nightmare that threatened the world

Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"There's no emotion. None. Just the pretense of it. The words, the gesture, the tone of voice, everything else is the same, but not the feeling." - Wilma Lentz

Why watch this? It's truly terrifying to learn that the human race is being replaced.

Plot Summary: In a small town, a doctor notices a peculiar phenomenon: his patients believe their loved ones are impostors. What initially seems like mass hysteria soon reveals itself to be a sinister alien invasion where humans are replaced by emotionless duplicates grown from pods. As the truth unfolds, the doctor must desperately try to warn others before he too falls victim to the silent takeover.

Walter Wanger Prod.; Allied Artists Pictures

Are you ready to play?

Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, James Rebhorn, Deborah Kara Unger, Peter Donat, Carroll Baker, Amin Mueller-Stahl

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"Discovering the object of the game is the object of the game." – Daniel Schorr

Why watch this? ... to see the look on your face when you realize what is really going on.

Plot Summary: Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy and reclusive San Francisco investment banker, receives an unusual birthday gift from his estranged younger brother, Conrad. This gift is an opportunity to participate in a mysterious, customized game provided by a company called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). As Nicholas enters the game, the lines between reality and the staged events blur, leading to a series of increasingly intense and dangerous occurrences that challenge his carefully constructed life and understanding of what's truly happening around him.
 

Dad's Preview: I rented this and could not believe that there wasn't more buzz about it. It is a hell of a tense film with a brilliant plot. You will have to watch it more than once to catch everything. It serves as a cautionary tale for the modern day corporate executive - those who live their lives solely to serve the "company", at the expense of living their life and spending time with loved ones. Michael Douglas delivers another strong performance, but I was drawn to the mysterious Deborah Unger.

Propaganda Films; PolyGram Films

If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won't know what it's all about!
When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it!

Starring: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, James Gregory, Henry Silva, Leslie Parrish, John McGiver, Khigh Dheigh, James Edwards, Douglas Henderson, Albert Paulsen, Barry Kelley, Lloyd Corrigan, Madame Spivy, Reggie Nalder

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"I told them to build me an assassin. I wanted a killer from a world filled with killers and they chose you because they thought it would bind me closer to them." – Mrs. Iselin

Why watch this? This Frankenheimer thriller was certainly ahead of its time. I genuinely left me disturbed.

Plot Summary: The film opens in the Korean War with the capture of U.S. soldiers by Soviet/Chinese forces. Three days later the men return and are eventually sent back home. For their service, Sergeant Raymond Shaw receives the Medal of Honor, thanks to Captain Ben Marco's recommendation. Marco, and many of the men involved, however, are having horrible nightmares. In Marco's fever dreams he witnesses Shaw murder two fellow soldiers in front of communist military leaders. He convinces his superior office that something happened in Korea akin to brainwashing, and he feels that Shaw may be compromised.

M. C. Productions; United Artists

In heroes we trust.

Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, Hayley Atwell

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." - Steve Rogers

Why watch this? This is one of the best of the MCU movies - it's awesome on every level.

Plot Summary: A deadly new assassin, code named Winter Soldier, is causing a lot of problems. Cap enlists help from Black Widow and Falcon to stop him. Cap learns that the soldier is none other than his best friend, Bucky Barnes, who somehow has been turned into a killing machine. It will take all the heroes Cap can muster to rescue Barnes, un-brainwash him, and find out who is responsible.

Marvel Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pics

Protecting the earth from the scum of the universe

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub, Carel Struycken, Siobhan Fallon Hogan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"This definitely rates about a 9.0 on my weird-shit-o-meter." - Jay

Why watch this? Will Smith - man, can he carry a film when he's hot.

Plot Summary: James Edwards, an NYC cop, joins a secret organization known as Men in Black, which regulates the activity of aliens living disguised among humans. Alongside his new partner, the veteran Agent K, James (now Agent J) must investigate a series of strange incidents and stop a destructive plot by an intergalactic villain. They embark on a mission to recover a powerful energy source before the antagonist can use it to destroy the Earth.
 

Dad's Preview: I'm a sci-fi guy. I crave well-done science fiction on screen. Here we meet two agents, Jay and Kay (their real identities have been permanently removed), who work for a secret agency that tracks aliens who live on Earth, undetected. Most are benevolent, but not all. This film is packed with slimy aliens of all shapes/sizes, lots of action, a count-down to Earth's destruction, and the sexy Linda Fiorentino. Additionally, Vincent D'Onofrio's performance is amazing as Edgar/The Bug. This sci-fi goldmine is creative with lots of laughs and creatures from outer space.

Columbia Pictures, Amblin Ent., Parkes/MacDonald
 Prod.; Sony Pictures Releasing

What is the cost of lies?

Starring: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Adam Nagaitis, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, Robert Emms, Sam Troughton, Karl Davies, Michael Socha

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants, it doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask: What is the cost of lies?" - Valery Legasov

Why watch this? This incredible mini-series realistically explores one of the world's most terrifying disasters.

Plot Summary: Initially, the story details the event itself, and the aftermath, as clean-up crews quickly descend upon the smoldering reactor. Workers and civilians are immediately exposed to lethal doses of radiation. It's gut-wrenching. The Soviet government sends in renown chemist, Valery Legasov, and deputy chairman, Boris Shcherbina, to assess (and deal with) the situation. This historically-accurate accounting leads to the final episode that explains exactly what caused the explosion and immediate meltdown.

Sky UK, Sister Pictures, The Mighty Mint,
Word Games; HBO

The Truth Can Be Adjusted

Starring: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Michael O'Keefe, Danielle Skraastad, Wai Chan

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I'm not the guy you kill. I'm the guy you buy! Are you so f'ing blind that you don't even see what I am? I sold out Arthur for 80 grand. I'm your easiest problem and you're gonna kill me?" - Michael Clayton

Why watch this? This is another solid effort by Clooney. He's a master of understatement.

Plot Summary: Michael Clayton works as a "fixer" at a prestigious New York law firm, essentially cleaning up the messes made by the firm and its wealthy clients. He's called in when one of the firm's senior partners, Arthur Edens, has a breakdown during a multi-billion dollar class-action lawsuit against an agricultural conglomerate called U-North. As Clayton tries to manage the fallout from Edens' erratic behavior, he uncovers corruption and potential criminal wrongdoing surrounding the lawsuit, putting his own life at risk.

Samuels Media, Castle Rock Ent., Mirage Ent.,
Section Eight Prod.; Warner Bros. Pictures

Free your mind

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Juian Arahanga

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

DML Top 50 #19 - Dad's Full (Spoiler) Review and Deep Dive of The Matrix

"Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we are the cure." - Agent Smith to Morpheus, as he interrogates him

Why watch this? Conceptually, visually, creatively - this film set a new action sci-fi standard.

Plot Summary: A computer programmer named Thomas Anderson, known in the hacking underworld as Neo, feels that something is fundamentally wrong with his reality. He is contacted by the enigmatic Morpheus and Trinity, who offer him the chance to discover a shocking truth: that his world is actually a computer-generated simulation. Upon swallowing a red pill, Neo awakens in the desolate real world and begins a journey to free humanity from the machines that have enslaved them.

Village Roadshow Pictures, Grouch II Film
Partnership, Silver Pictures; Warner Bros.

The Master of Suspense presents a 2000-mile chase across America!

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Martin Landau, Leo G. Carroll, Edward Platt

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself slightly killed." - Roger Thornhill

Why watch this? Cary Grant is superb as a mistaken man forced to survive a nasty situation.

Plot Summary: Manhattan advertising executive Roger Thornhill is mistakenly identified as a government agent named George Kaplan by foreign spies. He is thrust into a dangerous world of intrigue, pursued across the country by the spies and the police who believe him to be a murderer. As he tries to unravel the mystery and clear his name, he encounters a beautiful, enigmatic woman whose allegiances are unclear.

Alfred Hitchcock; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Watch out! They get you while you're sleeping!

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Leonard Nimoy, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"I keep seeing these people, all recognizing each other. Something is passing between them all, some secret. It's a conspiracy, I know it." – Elizabeth Driscoll

Why watch this? The original 1956 film was creepy. This remake is downright terrifying.

Plot Summary: A San Francisco health inspector, Matthew Bennell, and his colleague Elizabeth Driscoll discover that residents are slowly being replaced by alien duplicates. These duplicates appear identical to the humans they replace but are devoid of emotion and empathy. As the alien takeover spreads throughout the city, Bennell and Driscoll, along with two friends, must attempt to survive and warn others of the impending global invasion.

Solofilm; United Artists

All the President's Men (1976), Director: Alan J. Pakula, rated PG

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are about to ask you a few questions.

Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook , Jason Robarbs, Ned Beatty

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ - perfect

"It leads everywhere. Get out your notebook. There's more." - Deep Throat

Why watch this? This explains Watergate in a very interesting and suspenseful manner.

Plot Summary: Two reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, are assigned to what initially seems like a minor break-in at the Democratic Party Headquarters in the Watergate complex. As they investigate, they uncover a much larger political conspiracy, tracing the trail of illegal activity higher and higher within the Nixon administration, despite obstacles and threats to their safety. Their persistent investigative journalism ultimately aims to reveal the truth about the Watergate scandal and its connections to those in power.

Wildwood Enterprises; Warner Bros.