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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.

Oscar season is now upon us, as the year’s prize-worthiest fare begins its annual rollout to theaters in time for the holidays, sliding in just under the wire for nomination eligibility.  It is never too soon to start handicapping the contenders in the acting category, so we have compiled a handy reference guide to some of the types of roles that Academy pops for year after year. Once one starts to look for them, it becomes easy to spot future winners. Many of the performances in the upcoming raft of releases will be jaw-dropping.

Movies with similar titles often show up next to each other on the shelf, or line up in a search, but are usually very different animals—animals you don’t want to get mixed up.