GIGANTIC (2009)

Brian Weathersby (Paul Dano) is a shy 28 year-old mattress salesman, youngest sons of grandparent-aged parents (veterans Ed Asner and Jane Alexander, both excellent). Unfulfilled by his work, he pursues his lifelong goal of adopting a Chinese baby. One day a young woman buys a mattress for her dad. Brian delivers it, and soon finds himself swept up in a romance with the lovely but quirky Harriet “Happy” Lolly (the extraordinary Zooey Deschanel). But to win her over, he must deal with their individual insecurities, plus her bearish and overbearing braggart of a father (John Goodman) with deep pockets, bad back and his daughter’s best interest at heart. When Brian gets the baby, Happy chickens out and breaks up with him. Do warm hearts trump cold feet? Find out for yourself in GIGANTIC, a funny, surreal love story about the anxiety and pressures that come when two people with crazy families collide unexpectedly and fall for each other.

CROSSING DELANCEY (1988) A funny movie about getting serious

Isabelle “Izzy” Grossman (Amy Irving) works for a chic New York bookstore uptown and pays frequent visits downtown to her down-to-earth grandmother Ida (Reizl Bozyk, the legendary Yiddish theatre star, in her only film role). Anxious for her granddaughter to settle down, Ida turns to the local marriage broker (Sylvia Miles). Although shocked and annoyed, Izzy allows the matchmaker to introduce her to Sam Posner (Peter Riegert), who sells pickles below Delancey Street. Believing him to be too working-class for her, Izzy sets her sights on a famous writer. But once Izzy discovers the real man inside each of these men, it’s the pickle vendor who turns out to be the kosher one. Irving and Riegert are a pairing made in Hollywood heaven, and every scene is a delight.

THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928)Silent but deadly powerful

This 1928 French masterpiece focuses a silent but unblinking lens on Joan’s trial (based on actual trial records), imprisonment, torture and execution. It’s shot predominately in close-ups of the alternately grim and mocking faces of judges and onlookers, and the sad, ravaged face of their defendant. I guarantee you will never forgt those faces. The doomed Joan is portrayed by Renée Jeanne Falconetti, giving what is regarded as one of the greatest performances ever recorded on film. The original edit, long thought to be lost in a fire, was miraculously found in perfect condition in 1981 in a Norwegian mental institution. Incredibly painful yet beautiful to watch. (Trivia note: This was Falconetti’s first and only film role.)