FEARLESS (1993)A man survives a plane crash, but can he survive life afterwards?

Architect Max Klein (Jeff Bridges), one of the few survivors of a terrible air crash and dubbed by the media “The Good Samaritan” for having led others to safety, has emerged feeling godlike and invulnerable. Disconnected from his wife (Isabella Rosselini) and son, he feels close only to another survivor, Carla (Rosie Perez), a young mother immobilized with grief and guilt over the death of her infant son. Their struggle to survive the survival is intricately set up in the first 111 minutes of the film; the final 10 pays it all off: in flashback, as Max lies suffocating from an allergic reaction to a strawberry, we see him moments before the crash walking in slow-motion through the rapidly descending plane, comforting terrified passengers with a smile, a nod, a few words. He then takes the seat next to a frightened young boy who is traveling alone, assuring him all will be well. This exquisite final sequence, its masterfully edited visuals perfectly underscored by a passage from Gorecki’s painfully beautiful “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs,” culminates with Max’s jolt back to breath and sanity.

SHUTTER (2004)Shudder!

Until its final scene, SHUTTER is a mostly predictable, albeit pretty good, revenge tale about a professional photographer and his new bride who, after accidentally hitting a woman with their car, discover mysterious shadows in their photos. You’ll spot most of the scary moments a mile away, but the film’s closing image, the ghost’s revenge on the last of three characters, will haunt you. I promise.

ANGELS IN AMERICA (2003):"A Gay Fantasia on National Themes"

This Mike Nichols-directed HBO film based on Tony Kushner’s prize-winning play is an astonishing mix of philosophy, politics, and gay soap opera. Various plotlines weave around a gay couple, Prior (Justin Kirk) and Louis (Ben Shenkman), whose relationship crumbles when Prior contracts AIDS and starts having fever-fueled religious visions of an angel (Emma Thompson) proclaiming Prior to be a prophet. Unable to cope, Louis flees and starts a relationship with Joe (Patrick Wilson), a closeted Mormon who works for Roy Cohn (Al Pacino), the venomous right-wing lawyer notorious for his ruthless behind-the-scenes machinations and gay-bashing, himself deeply closeted. Other characters include Joe’s depressed and hallucinating wife (Mary Louise Parker) and stern but open-minded mother (Meryl Streep), a caustic drag queen/nurse (Jeffrey Wright) friends with both Prior and Louis, and the gloating ghost of Ethel Rosenberg (also Streep), whose conviction of spying and subsequent execution, and her husband’s, resulted from Cohn’s prosecution. Be prepared: ANGELS is a complex, dialogue-heavy tale that requires rapt attention and perhaps a second viewing to fully appreciate its breadth and depth. For me, it was a moving experience worth it every minute of the six hours.

TIN MEN (1987)Tin-acious salesmen

In the early ’60s, Baltimore is the epicenter of the aluminum-siding business, and the men who sell the stuff  (“tin men”) care about basically two things in life: making sales (legal and otherwise) and owning the latest model Cadillac. Two of these guys (Danny DeVito and Richard Dreyfus, perfectly cast), who work at competing companies, have a minor collision (Dreyfus’ Caddy is fresh off the lot with 1/16th of a mile on it!). This triggers a major war of one-upmanship starting with DeVito busting out Dreyfus’ car windows and quickly escalating to Dreyfus seducing DeVito’s beautiful, bored wife (Barbara Hershey). Written and directed by Barry Levinson, TIN MEN is both funny and poignant. Watch for several of Levinson’s signature coffee shop scenes replete with hilarious dialogue, and check out these quotes from the movie.