One of John Cusack’s earliest films, this is the heartwarming story of how an unmotivated loser manages to date a beautiful, popular and intelligent woman for reasons only made possible by the magic of cinema. His friends provide moral support, mostly in the form of teasing him and putting down his efforts. What makes the film most enjoyable (and I don’t doubt one of the reasons it helped to launch Cusack to stardom) is his boyish and charming persona. A great watch if you’re into the whole romantic comedy thing and need something from the 80’s.

One of those films that relies on a certain element of magic to tell its story. None of the characters in the film itself really know whether this magic actually exists, so it’s left up to the imagination of the viewer. Incidentally, it was on the set of this film that Susan Sarandon met Tim Robbins, who would later become her real-life husband. Sarandon plays what essentially amounts to a “groupie” of a local minor league baseball team called the Durham Bulls. Since players ship in and ship out frequently in the minors, Annie Savoy (Sarandon) has made a habit of choosing one of the players on the team each season as her lover. During this season in particular, she finds herself torn between rookie Ebby “Nuke” LaRoosh (Robbins) and veteran player “Crash” Davis (Kevin Costner). A unique storyline with engaging characters makes this a decent romance flick to watch. I gave it a demotion to 2.5 on the scale of flames though, because Susan Sarandon plays the biggest slut-bag in the world in this movie.

A film with a lot to say about our social norms and the conditioning we undergo as part of society. Taking place in the 1950’s, it has an even stronger message to deliver in facing issues such as interracial relationships and homosexuality. Pretty jarring, I have to say. This is not a movie that allows you to feel comfortable, nor is it one with a storybook ending. Watch it if you like films that elicit conversation and make you think, but stay away if you can’t handle very intense situations dealing with these kinds of topics.

Another fun, violent and quite eccentric film from the Coen Brothers, Raising Arizona finds Nicholas Cage playing the same deadpan chump character he always plays. This time, he’s a redneck who has a certain penchant for finding trouble. Unfortunately he’s usually too stupid to get himself out of it again. When he and his police officer wife (played by Holly Hunter) can’t have children themselves, they decide to steal someone else’s baby. Hilarity, violence, and crime ensue. You’ll want to go along for the ride with this four on our flamescale.

A thrilling chase into the potential dangers of technology. This film had a lightning-fast pace and plenty of Shia LaBeouf, whose name is really difficult to spell, acting like a paranoid freak. And rightly so, I might add. The twist-and-turn plot was adventurous and exciting, but I still didn’t feel like it offered anything solid that I hadn’t seen before, for some reason. Conspiracy theories and government plots to control the masses are fairly common in films these days, so while I enjoyed this one I wouldn’t say it was totally new and uncovered ground. Having achieved a 3.5 on our scale, it’s definitely worth a watch.