"2009"

It can be hard to come up with activities that satisfy and entertain everyone. That favorite family board game may get old after awhile. Once again, great, timeless movies can help.

Advances in gay rights have been hard-won, and there's still much work ahead, but Sunday presents an opportunity to embrace all the progress to-date. It’s a day for Pride.    

How best to describe the impact of Fred Astaire on film? Apart from his undeniable charm and way with a song, Astaire fundamentally changed the way dance was portrayed on film. Utilizing extended takes, Astaire- whether solo or with mainstay partners Ginger Rogers and Cyd Charisse- performed uninterrupted, intricate dance sequences that kept audiences captivated for decades. It’s hard to believe that after his first Hollywood screen test, the casting director (who must have been drunk) famously wrote, “Balding. Can’t act. Can dance a little.”

Beyond the tragic loss of George Floyd, for me the saddest part of this past week is realizing how little progress we’ve made on racial inequality since the founding of the Civil Rights movement well over half a century ago. 

Until those bright, active days return, outstanding international films can help satisfy that yearning for far-off places. Below are ten special Netflix titles that should satisfy your itch to travel the world.

I remember my first sighting of Bruce Willis in a TV series called “Moonlighting”  back in 1985. I liked him right away, and I knew a lot of other people did too. Part of what creates a star is the degree to which an audience identifies with his or her essential character. Watching Willis (with hair!) play the wisecracking private eye David Addison, I had a moment of recognition.  I actually felt I’d met this guy. I even saw a bit of myself in him.

Today, the name Jennifer Jones is largely lost to history, but in her prime, this raven-haired beauty was one of Hollywood’s most bankable female stars. And her personal story may be more dramatic than any of her movies.

Joel McCrea was always clear-eyed about his place in the Hollywood firmament. He once said that he got offered the comedies that Cary Grant passed on, and the Westerns Gary Cooper rejected.