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With Thanksgiving upon us, let’s consider those memorable movie moments that capture family (and friends) around the dinner table or kitchen. When we all convene together like this, amazing things happen- and get said! Here are some great titles, old and new, that reflect this abiding truth.

One of the many lures of the film noir genre is its taut, no nonsense dialogue. There’s no room here for flowery speech, not when the bullets and fists are flying.

I’ve always appreciated how movies set on liners recreate a bygone era when travel could be calm and civilized. Other boat films may take us on-board a luxurious yacht, or show man pitted against the biggest and cruelest natural force on earth: the sea.

What makes a movie cool? Perhaps the better question might be: what is cool? To introduce our list of coolest movies, it seemed like a good idea to start by defining, well, coolness.

This time of year, it’s wonderful to spend time with loved ones we don’t often get to see, both friends and family. This welcome scenario still involves an unusual amount of “interrelating,” since there’s always so much catching up to do. To get a respite from all that stimulating talk, nothing beats a great, crowd-pleasing movie.

The cinema has given us many great gangster films, showcasing some of the nastiest, shiftiest, most venal criminals in the world. On paper, their deeds are rotten, maybe even murderous, putting innocent people at risk and defying the forces of law and order.  Yet very often, you still sympathize with these characters; you may even root for them. After all, usually their backs are up against the wall. You sense that poverty and dysfunction placed them on the wrong side of society. Born into the right circumstances, they coulda been contenders. You glimpse a trace of honor, even goodness in them. Whenever there’s talk of the greatest films ever made, gangster pictures always figure in. You know the usual suspects, but we’ve rounded up ten of varying ages that we think are... well, for the ages.

An opening scene of a movie is like a cinematic thermometer. You take a movie’s temperature by that first scene. It holds you, intrigues you, grabs you — or it doesn’t. Though it’s true that plenty of great movies take their time building up our involvement, obviously they can’t take too long. Then there are those others that start off with a bang. It’s this latter group we’re celebrating today. Here are fifteen of our favorite movie openers, covering seven decades of filmmaking:  

The most famous quotes have become worn down with repetition: “Here’s looking at you, kid” from “Casablanca” (1942); “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” from “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” from “All About Eve” (1950). Happily, there are plenty more delightful zingers to be found in dialogue from our best movies.

 Dads are sometimes manhandled in movies – depicted as absent, neglectful, or comically inept. They can be relegated to grim portrayals in films like “The Great Santini” (1979) or “This Boy’s Life” (1993), where fatherhood is all about intimidation.  Life with these fathers would make for a very disturbing Rockwell painting.        I think it’s patently unfair for a few movie Dads to cast a poor light on men that work hard to be affectionate, considerate, and above all, always there for the family. Like me. So, as Sunday is Dad’s day, let’s show him (or his memory) some love, respect, and affection. Just once, for your father, take his advice, thank your mother, chew with your mouth closed, stop making that face, finish your chores without any sass-back, and stick to one of these father-friendly films.