Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter / journalist Mark Boal master a new form of filmmaking — confident, straight-forward dramatization — and Jessica Chastain is the steely head and heart behind the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden.

d: Kathryn Bigelow | imdb.com | trailer | Charlie Rose | Chastain

In the Loop (2009)

Based on the sound bites and cooked intelligence leading up to the Iraq war, the beautifully profane political satire skewers the U.S. and British governments. Peter Capaldi, playing a British press secretary, steals the show with the most inventive insults.

d: Armando Iannucci | imdb.com | trailer | The wall
Your swearing does not impress me.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

In a remake of the 1974 thriller, Denzel Washington plays the dispatcher in charge when John Travolta hijacks a subway train, demanding $10 million in an hour. Tony Scott’s direction can be distracting, but the performances are top-notch.

d: Tony Scott | imdb.com | trailer | Hostage | First one to go

Get Shorty (1995)

Director Barry Sonnenfeld’s smart, hip adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel zooms along, lampooning the movie business with periodic punches to the face. John Travolta is the ultra-cool Chili Palmer, a Miami mobster who wants to be a Hollywood producer.

d: Barry Sonnenfeld | imdb.com | trailer | I’m Ray Barboni.