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At Oscar time, when all the top contenders are vying for votes and recognition, I always think about the great movies that haven't received the same degree of attention.

1998 was a banner year for movies of all types and sizes. Though the gargantuan “Armageddon” led the pack at the box office, there were many other smaller, wonderful films that did not force us to witness the end of civilization as we know it.

“There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan.”

With warmer weather, our thoughts naturally turn to travel. We recall past excursions that helped form us and fantasize about adventures yet to come. Since Homer penned “The Odyssey” in the eighth century B.C., journeys have inspired a wealth of literature and art. Often a mission or quest is involved, though it may not be a conscious one. Quite often, voyages of discovery only reveal themselves after the fact.

With Martin Luther King’s birthday past us, and Black History month coming up, the time is right to celebrate those invaluable films that shed light on the black community’s long struggle for equal rights in this country.

Eventually, there comes a point in the holiday festivities when the guys need to get away from the tinsel, lights, and pastries on doilies. Sometimes, they just need to crack open a beer and crowd around a high-testosterone movie. This list of manly titles cuts to the chase.

“Dying is easy, comedy-that’s hard.”

Here are ten key movies that revive the old-fashioned concept of romantic love — the only thing, as another bard put it, that there’s just too little of...