LONE STAR, 1996

Half Western. Half mystery. Half family drama.

Directed by John Sayles.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT, 1943

It's womanizing -- Lubitsch style! As Don Ameche tries to explain his way into Hell upon his death, he can't help but like "the ladies."

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

CORRECTION:

An astute reader has brought it to my attention that Naomi Watts may not actually have a mandatory nudity clause in her standard contract. Overlooked Movie of the Day regrets the error.

21 GRAMS, 2003

Is it in all of Naomi Watts' contracts that she appear topless? Or in all of Sean Penn's contracts to portray a man with a torturted soul?

Directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu.

CHARADE, 1963

Audrey Hepburn's husband is murdered, but instead of grieving, she sets out with Cary Grant to figure out where the old man hid his stash.

Directed by Stanley Donen.

THE STATION AGENT, 2003

You know how it is when you want to play alone with your trains but you keep accidentally making friends.

Directed by Thomas McCarthy.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE, 1942

Once again, actors come to the rescue, using comedy to save the free world from the Nazis.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 2000

Forget about your Mount Vernon-dwelling, pointy-hatted president. It's much better than that.

Directed by David Gordon Green.

SPARTAN, 2004

Val Kilmer has really let himself go since playing this secret agent who searches for a kidnapped Veronica Mars (good thing she's cute) as the body count mounts around him.

Directed by David Mamet.

THE PAPER CHASE, 1973

Not really about paper. No big chase scene. But lots of drama about, um, law school.

Directed by James Bridges.

CITY LIGHTS, 1931

One of the saddest comedies. One of the best movies.

Directed by Charlie Chaplin.

FLOWER OF EVIL, 2003

Secrets wrapped in lies sprinkled with scandal tied with ambition served with a side of murder and topped with a smile.

Directed by Claude Chabrol.

THE BIG HEAT, 1953

A bomb and a pot of coffee serve as motivation in this oddly misogynistic gangster cop noir where being a woman around the hero seems to be the kiss of death.

Directed by Fritz Lang.

SWIMMING POOL, 2003

What do you get when you cross an uptight British writer with a teenage French sexpot? A little inspiration and a lot of casual toplessness.

Directed by Francois Ozon.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., 1928

The plot doesn't even matter. I get the same flutters in my stomach watching Buster Keaton do one of the most thrilling stunts captured on film as I do watching sharp shooters fling arrows at Toshiro Mifune.

Directed by Buster Keaton.

BEDAZZLED, 1967

If Faust and Arthur got together at a swingin' love-in ...

Directed by Stanley Donen.

THE LADY EVE, 1941

Barbara Stanwyck plays in one of the best poker scenes in the movies, as she tries to rescue the man she loves from the other man she loves.

Directed by Preston Sturges.

HEIST, 2001

Rebecca Pigeon is cast yet again as the sexy female lead. And yet, compared to Lindsay Crouse ...

Directed by David Mamet.

INSOMNIA, 1997

The first-time director did such a great job. Now, let's round up Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Academy-Award winner Hilary Swank and set the movie in Alaska so we can get rid of those pesky subtitles. Now you're talkin'!

Directed by Erik Skjoldbaerg.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, 1988

He's furry, lives in the woods behind the house, has giant teeth and is big enough to eat the children. But don't worry; he's friendly.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI, 1998

Not exactly Bogart and Bacall, but it's roughly the same Philip Marlowe story on pot and with rockin' supporting players.

Directed by Joel Coen.

ANATOMY OF A MURDER, 1959

A tale of rape, murder, courtroom theatrics and panties in Ishpeming, Michigan.

Directed by Otto Preminger.

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, 1946

The title has almost nothing to do with the movie, and the title character is the most boring character in the film. But I suppose "My Darling Wyatt" doesn't have the same ring to it.

Directed by John Ford.

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, 1944

Humphrey Bogart, in an exotic locale with a bar and a pianist, smokes a lot and eventually joins the Free French against the Vichy government with a beautiful woman in tow. A completely original plot!

Directed by Howard Hawks.

VELVET GOLDMINE, 1998

On the plus side: A bombastic Ewan McGregor and a killer soundtrack. On the negatory side: Christian Bale's hair and a limp Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Directed by Todd Haynes.

THE PLAYER, 1992

A Hollywood story about a Hollywood executive who gets caught up in a Hollywood plot of blackmail and murder. And, of course, it has a Hollywood ending.

Directed by Robert Altman.