For this week's Weekly 10 I thought I would switch gears and bring you an opinion based list, rather than the fact based lists I have been doing.

One of my interests is classic/vintage movies. There seems to be an artistry that is part of these movies that you don't see in current movies. Artistry in the writing, and acting that sadly is hard to find today.

So if you are new to the classics, or just like a good movie, consider one of these 10 when thinking about which movie to see next.

These movies are in no particular order.

1. Ace In The Hole - 1951:

Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) is a driven and talented news reporter whose short temper and contempt for authority has gotten him fired from many of Americas best newspapers. Tatum finds himself broken down in Albuquerque and appeals to the local news paper editor Jacob Q. Boot (Porter Hall) for a job until he can scrape up enough money to get back to New York, or Chicago or some other big newspaper. Boot hires him but after a year Tatum roams around the newspaper office ranting over the lack of any news in the town.
Boot sends him and Photographer Herbie Cook (Robert Arthur) to Los Brios to cover the annual rattlesnake roundup, but on the way Tatum happens upon a real human interest story.

2. The Graduate - 1967:

Ben has recently graduated college, with his parents now expecting great things from him. At his "Homecoming" party, Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, has Ben drive her home, which leads to an affair between the two. The affair eventually ends, but comes back to haunt him when he finds himself falling for Elaine, Mrs. Robinson's daughter.

3. In The Heat Of The Night - 1967:

Virgil Tibbs is a Philadelphia Homicide detective home to see his mother in the rural south. He is arrested on general principles when a rich white man is found dead, and Tibbs' being Black is enough reason. When his identity is established, his boss offers his services to the small town sheriff who has little experience with murder investigations. As the two policemen learn how to work together, they begin to make progress on the crime

 4. China Syndrome - 1979:

While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, an opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicise the incident but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.

5. The Great Escape - 1963:

Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artist type prisoners of war are all put in an 'escape proof' camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the film is played for comedy as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use boats and trains and planes to get out of occupied Europe.

 6. Psycho - 1960:

Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam's California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man called Norman who seems to be dominated by his mother.

7. In Cold Blood - 1967:

Two young men are ineffectual individually, but when together become violent criminals. They break into a wealthy farmer's home only to find that there is nearly no money at the home and murder the entire family to avoid identification. The first part of the film details the search for them, the second, their trial and execution. Taken from the actual events chronicled by Truman Capote in his book.

8. On Golden Pond - 1981:

An aging couple Ethel and Norman Thayer ("Ethel Thayer, I almost didn't marry you cause it sounded like a lisp."), who spend each summer at their home on Golden Pond. They are visited by daughter Chelsea with her fiancé, where they drop off his rebelious son. The story explores the relationship, among other things the relationship that she had with her father growing up, as well as what can happen to a couple in the later years of a long marriage. Along the way, was a touching bond between the young boy and the old man.

9. East of Eden - 1955:

Cal Trask is a particularly unhappy young man. He sees himself as the black sheep of the family and is always competing with his brother Aron, who seems to be perfect in almost every way. Aron is also their father's favorite and Cal desperately wants his father's love and affection. It's the period leading up to America's entry into World War I and these are tumultuous times. After his father loses most of his fortune trying to ship refrigerated lettuce to New York, Cal decides to speculate on a crop of beans and makes a small fortune but he soon realizes that he can't buy his father's loves either. Cal's discovery that his mother is alive - he and Aron were told that she had died - and that she is a madam leads to a final, tragic result for all three of the Trask men.

10. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - 1967:

Joey Drayton brings her fiancé, Dr. John Prentice, home to sunny San Francisco to meet her affluent parents. Their liberal persuasions are now put to the test, for although the young man is an ideal choice (he's highly and internationally respected in the medical field, and he's impeccably mannered, handsome, well dressed and of a respectable California family), he's black. The film, which covers one busy day in the Drayton home, is essentially a drawing-room comedy, a series of cross-conversations between the young doctor and the girl's parents, and finally between all sets of parents and offspring. A simple dinner is extended to include the doctor's parents, who fly up from Los Angeles for the evening, and the crusty but benevolent old Irish priest, a friend of the family. Thus, the title of the film.

 So make some popcorn, cuddle up with your significant other or pet, and get lost in the world of fine films.