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We’ve just returned from an extended stay in Italy, most of it spent in Rome. It was an unforgettable trip, with all the stars aligning. We experienced a heady mix of lovely weather, welcoming people, fabulous food and wine. With beauty and history around every corner, you could almost forget all the horror happening to the East.

Hard to believe, but it’s been five years since Netflix first aired “Five Came Back”, the Emmy-winning documentary that recounts how five top Hollywood directors used their cameras to help us achieve victory in World War 2. The names of these men should be familiar, as they made some of the best movies of their time: Frank Capra, John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, and George Stevens.

Each year around Oscar time, there’s a lot of speculation about which film will win Best Picture. From what I’ve read online, it appears that my own favorite, Ryasuke Hamaguchi’s brilliant drama “Drive My Car,” is a long shot for the top prize.

A couple of months back, we decided to subscribe to yet another streaming service, Disney+, just to experience Peter Jackson’s astonishing documentary series, “The Beatles: Get Back.” It was well worth it. Jackson’s revelatory work is a stunning achievement, revisiting a seismic moment when the cultural phenomenon known as the Beatles started to show some cracks — not in their music, but in their ability to stay together.

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.

Let me start by getting personal: watching Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” on the big screen was a profoundly moving experience for me. Just hearing that wondrous Bernstein/Sondheim score again brought a wave of emotion I wasn’t fully expecting. 

You may remember her as Rosanne Barr’s Granny on TV. Or perhaps the rotund former swimming champion who dives in on cue in 1972’s delightfully cheesy “The Poseidon Adventure.” 

Recently, someone mentioned a pirate movie, and to my own surprise, I realized I’d never weighed in on them — a serious oversight. Over a full century of cinema there have been many bad or indifferent pirate-themed films, and really only a few great ones — all the more reason to connect you to the best of what’s available.