Les Miserables (1978)

Woodcutter Jean Valjean is sentenced to five years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. After many failed escape attempts, which adds more time to his sentence, Jean does eventually succeed, and after being welcomed in by a kind bishop repents his criminal ways. But always on his trail is the cold, unrelenting Police Inspector Javert that will not give up until he has captured Valjean. One of the best adaptations of Les Mis; engaging and moving, with great performances all around. Most especially Perkins, who is supberb as the merciless, never bending Javert. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Starring Richard Jordan, Anthony Perkins, Cyril Cusack, Claude Dauphin, John Gielgud, Ian Holm 8/10 Unrated

The Flowers of War (2011)

The time is December 1937. Nanjing, China is bombed by Japan. An American mortician named John Miller is sent to Winchester Cathedral, a convent for Catholic girls to bury their head priest Father Ingleman. While there, prostitutes from the red-light district come to seek refuge inside the church, where the leader Yu Mo asks John to help them escape out of Nanjing. So John poses as a priest to protect them and the girls of the convent from the Japanese soldiers, while fixing up an old truck so they can leave China. Brutally violent, emotionally heartbreaking and powerful, Flowers of War is one film that will stay with you long after it's over. Christan Bale gives a sensational performance. Starring Christan Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi and Cao Kefan  8/10 Rated R

JFK (1991)

It's New Orleans, November 22, 1963. The assassination of the President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy is shown on television. New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison and his team begin to investigate possible suspects who may have been part of a conspiracy to kill the president; including private pilot David Ferrie, alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby who killed Oswald. With an all-star cast, this is a very intriguing film about a very significant time that impacted America. It was adapted by director Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar from the books On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison and Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs. Starring Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Joe Pesci, Brian Doyle-Murray, Donald Sutherland, John Candy, Sissy Spacek, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Wayne Knight, Vincent D'Onofrio 8/10