Synopsis: "Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War follows smart-aleck Private Davis (Matthew Modine), quickly christened "Joker" by his foul-mouthed drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey), and pudgy Private Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), nicknamed "Gomer Pyle," as they endure the rigors of basic training. Though Pyle takes a frightening detour, Joker graduates to the Marine Corps and is sent to Vietnam as a journalist, covering -- and eventually participating in -- the bloody Battle of Hué."

Our Take: We would be lying if we said Full Metal Jacket was entirely consistent. Instead, the first half is a stunning depiction of life in basic training led by two outstanding performances from a young Vincent D’Onofrio and real-life drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey. The second half might feel more traditional, but Kubrick still maintains a level of control over the war genre seldom seen.

Synopsis: "A former assassin, known simply as The Bride (Uma Thurman), wakes from a coma four years after her jealous ex-lover Bill (David Carradine) attempts to murder her on her wedding day. Fueled by an insatiable desire for revenge, she vows to get even with every person who contributed to the loss of her unborn child, her entire wedding party, and four years of her life. After devising a hit list, The Bride sets off on her quest, enduring unspeakable injury and unscrupulous enemies."

Our Take: The Kill Bill series is Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to the Kung-fu genre but it is anything but traditional. Tarantino leaves his mark all over this film, creating a stylish, tense, and sometimes even thought-provoking revenge narrative.

Synopsis: Adaptation of the first of J.K. Rowling's popular children's novels about Harry Potter, a boy who learns on his eleventh birthday that he is the orphaned son of two powerful wizards and possesses unique magical powers of his own. He is summoned from his life as an unwanted child to become a student at Hogwarts, an English boarding school for wizards. There, he meets several friends who become his closest allies and help him discover the truth about his parents' mysterious deaths.

​

Our Take: One of the best young-adult adaptation in recent memory. If you’ve never seen the Harry Potter saga, we recommend setting a weekend aside and diving into the story. If you have seen the saga, we recommend revisiting our personal favorite: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

​

​

Synopsis: When revered Broadway director Julian Marsh (Warner Baxter) falls on hard times with both his health and his finances, he helms an ambitious musical as a final production before his retirement. His lead actress, Dorothy Brock (Bebe Daniels), is torn between two loves--the show's wealthy backer, Abner Dillon (Guy Kibbee), and the earnest but penniless actor Pat Denning (George Brent) --while aspiring young performer Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler) waits in the wings, hoping for her big break.

​

Our Take: MGM made a name for themselves in the 1930s by producing high budget musicals and no director was more associated with the genre than Busby Berkeley. 42nd Street is the quintessential classic musical and it oozes with Hollywood glamour.

​

​