10 movies you should see

1. John Carpenter's "The Thing" is the director's best work, a thrilling take on the Howard Hawks' "we're in it together so let's work together" storyline. But instead of pulling together as a group in danger, as in the 1951 version produced by Hawks, this modern collection of individuals quickly fractures and falls apart. However, that concept is truer to the original idea of The Thing, which was based on a John Campbell short story.

2. "King Rat" is a dark, cynical World War II prison story with a twist. The hero, played by George Segal, is a louse. It's a great role for Segal and he's up to it and the movie definitely catches the flavor of the James Clavell novel it was based on.

3. "Kanal" is a great war film made in the 1960s in Poland. It's about the final days of the ghetto resistance as the Nazis hunt down the few remaining rebels, most of whom who have fled into Warsaw's sewer system. Tough, brutal filmmaking.

4. Hammer Films was in its death throes n the early 1970s when the company released the atmospheric and exciting "Vampire Circus." It flopped, which is a shame because it's a great looking film with some first rate scare scenes.

5. Michael Caine is at his coolest as Harry Palmer in "The Ipcress File," a mid-1960s espionage thriller made with style and wit. Two sequels followed but neither came close to the sharp edged "File."

6. For a classic film "Night of the Hunter" remains unknown to a lot of fans. Robert Mitchum plays the psychotic "preacher" who terrorizes an old lady and two young kids in the rural South. He's after hidden money and willing to do anything to get it. Charles Laughton directed from a script by James Agee.

7. Director Walter Hill made a string of very cool movies in the late 1970s. One of the best, though least appreciated, was "Southern Comfort." Set in bayou country, the film oozes atmosphere, in part because of the terrific Ry Cooder score. There's a ton of action and Keith Carradine and Powers Booth are great as the "heroes."

8. "The Big Sky" is an old fashioned outdoors adventure with a rollicking Kirk Douglas playing a mountain man on an expedition into the Great West. It's fanciful and larger-than-life and makes for grand adventure. It's the kind of movie that if I saw it as a kid I would immediately set up my tent and plan on camping out. In fact, I still would.

9. 'A Mighty Wind" and "First in Show" are great ensemble comedies, but Chris Guest's "Waiting for Guffman" is just as good. Fred Willard and Parker Posey stand out in a wonderful cast and the laughs come regularly.

10. "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" works on several levels ... as a classic end-of-the-world sci fi tale and as a cool newspaper movie. It's more subtle than you might expect thanks to slick direction by veteran Val Guest. This flick rarely is mentioned by genre fans. Their loss.