Dysfunctional Families
Perhaps because it's something nearly all of us can relate to (apart from The Bradys), messed-up families have always been a popular subject for filmmakers in all genres. Whether you're playing it for laughs ('Arrested Development', 'Go For Zucker'), drama ('Kramer vs Kramer', 'Nil By Mouth'), or thrills ('The Quiet Family', 'Olivier, Olivier') the family dynamic is a deep well of ready-made love/hate relationships, seething resentments and hidden secrets. What more could a filmmaker, or a film-watcher, ask for!
Us (2019)
7.1/10
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heideck...
Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child. Haunted by a traumatic expe... Read more
Us (Blu-Ray) (2019)
7.1/10
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heideck...
Accompanied by her husband, son and daughter, Adelaide Wilson returns to the beachfront home where she grew up as a child. Haunted by a traumatic expe... Read more
Vigil / The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey / A State of Siege (1984)
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Bruce Lyons, Hamish McFarlane, Penelope Stewart, Frank Whitten, Bill Kerr, Fiona...
A Vincent Ward double feature. 'Vigil' (1984, 86 mins) Director Vincent Ward supplies a striking visual atmosphere in this rural melodrama about life... Read more
Volver (2006)
7.6/10
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lam...
Pedro Almodovar's 16th feature film stars Penelope Cruz as a hard-working janitor, supporting a daughter and a layabout husband in Madrid. Her own mo... Read more
Warm Spring (2002)
6.6/10
Director: Wulan Tana
Starring: Tian Chengren, Zhang Yan, Hao Yang, Yu Weijie
Directed by Wulan Tana this poignant drama is the tale of young orphan Xiao Hua, who after fleeing the clutches of an abusive foster parent, finds a s... Read more
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1996)
7.4/10
Director: Todd Solondz
Starring: Brendan Sexton Jr, Heather Matarazzo, Matthew Faber, Eric Mabius
This Sundance winner follows the travails of Dawn Weiner (Heather Matarazzo), the teen pariah who seems to invite the cruelties heaped upon her by cla... Read more
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
8.1/10
Director: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Anna Lee
This gothic psychological chiller from director Robert Aldrich stars Bette Davis as former child star Baby Jane Hudson, driven by jealousy and dementi... Read more
What's Cooking? (2000)
7.1/10
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Kyra Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard
A Jewish, Vietnamese, Latino and African-American family each assemble for their own version of the Thanksgiving holiday where conflicts quickly arise... Read more
When A Man Loves A Woman (1994)
6.6/10
Director: Luis Mandoki
Starring: Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Ellen Burstyn, Tina Majorino
Standout performances as Meg Ryan plays Andy Garcia's alcoholic wife. She gets help, but it takes its toll on their marriage. They try to pick up the... Read more
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
8.1/10
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
Based on Edward Albee's smash hit play; Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton star in the story of the love-hate relationship between a middle-aged prof... Read more