Seven Psychopaths (2012)

The acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter (2005) and received a screenwriting nomination for his feature debut In Bruges (2008). With the terrific Seven Psychopaths he continues this mixture of crime and dark comedy, but this time he adds a layer of self-awareness, deconstructing both the writing process and the need for conflict (and/or violence) in writing. read more...

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The Hunt (2020)

Insanely gory, but also fiendishly funny, this clever dark satire takes an old, familiar scenario and uses it to boldly skewer both red and blue Americans, painting both behaviors as equally absurd. read more...

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• Boldness ▶ Bold, aggressive, unrepressed, cathartic or expressive actions
• Innocence ▶ Seasoned, Savvy, Streetwise

Dom Hemingway (2014)

Jude Law gives perhaps his best-ever performance here, as a character that feels everything intensely, from pleasure to rage and, finally, when nothing is left, to anguish. He's an absolutely rotten person, and perhaps even unredeemable, but his high moments inspire giddy laughter, and his low moments earn real sympathy. read more...

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Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

Billy Wilder's Kiss Me Stupid was one of the writer-director's most notorious efforts, raising the ire of the Catholic Church before its release. Dean Martin plays an alcoholic lounge singer named Dino who takes a detour through a small town and meets up with hopeful songwriter Ray Walston. Walston and his partner Cliff Osmond decide that if they can provide Dino with a woman for a night to keep him happy, they'll have a chance to sell one of their songs. They enlist Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak) to "play" Walston's wife for a night, but everything goes haywire and Dino ends up with Walston's real wife (Felicia Farr, Wilder's real-life wife). It doesn't make much sense, but Wilder's beautiful use of the black-and-white widescreen frame, dazzling casting and crisp pace make it an interesting oddity. read more...

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History of the World: Part I (1981)

When I was a kid, somewhere around age 14 or so, my parents went out for an evening and left my brother and I by ourselves, along with some friends. We flipped on the TV and were happy to discover that Mel Brooks' History of the World - Part I was on cable. We would not have been allowed to watch it under normal circumstances, so we were very excited. I stationed myself between the TV and the window so I could keep an eye on the driveway, lest my parents come home early. Watching the movie in this way, totally forbidden with the threat of getting caught at any second, made it a hugely exciting and memorable experience. By some happy stroke of luck, my parents did not come home until just a few minutes after the movie finished. For years afterward, my friends and I continued to quote lines from the film and laugh amongst ourselves. read more...

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