3 Best Movies to Watch by M. Emmet Walsh

Staff & contributors
Based on the 1976 novel of the same name, Ordinary People is an emotionally wrought film about a family on the brink of collapse. Upon the tragic death of eldest son Buck, the youngest and now only son Conrad (Hutton) reluctantly enters psychiatric care while his mother, Beth (Mary Tyler Moore), tries to force things back to the way they were with overwhelming positivity. Keeping things together as best he can is the father Calvin (Donald Sutherland), who is battling demons of his own. Before films like Good Will Hunting and shows like 13 Reasons Why made tropes like “caring therapist” and “angsty teen” into the cliches they are now, it was films like Ordinary People that broke barriers and dared to put up a mirror to our stark realities. Things like grief and depression, as well as strained parenthood and unhappy families, were taboo back day in the day, so it was somewhat of a miracle that Ordinary People didn’t just talk about them openly, but started a discourse surrounding them that continues to this day.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam Baldwin, Basil Hoffman, Dinah Manoff, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth McGovern, Fredric Lehne, James B. Sikking, Judd Hirsch, M. Emmet Walsh, Mariclare Costello, Mary Tyler Moore, Quinn K. Redeker, Timothy Hutton

Director: Robert Redford

Rating: R

This is one of those movies people should watch without any prior knowledge. But if you must, it's about a small town priest (Brendan Gleeson) who is threatened with horrible events by a mysterious member of his perish. Dealing with the threat, the priest is also faced with both the various and never ending problems of his church as well as issues with his own family. Excruciatingly beautiful and extremely well-written.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Aidan Gillen, Anabel Sweeney, Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, David McSavage, David Pearse, David Wilmot, Declan Conlon, Domhnall Gleeson, Dylan Moran, Gary Lydon, Isaach De Bankolé, Isaach De Bankolé, Kelly Reilly, Killian Scott, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Marie-Josée Croze, Mark O'Halloran, Mícheál Óg Lane, Orla O'Rourke, Owen Sharpe, Pat Shortt

Director: John Michael McDonagh

Rating: R

Brothers is simply a bad film. The jokes are mediocre and the plot is thin, if not invisible. The only thing it has going for it is the cast, who, individually are great but together, in this film, are unbelievably unfunny. Except perhaps for Glenn Close, who seems to be the only one capable enough to sell her character. Everyone else is either over-the-top bad—you can count Marisa Tomei and Brendan Fraser in this category—or zero-effort bad—here you can include the leads. I can’t imagine anyone enjoying the experience of watching this movie, much less having the stomach to finish it. But maybe a few cinephiles who grew up adoring The Goonies or Tarzan will enjoy some of the references made. Otherwise, you’d do well to hide this movie from your homepage. If you can ask Prime Video to never recommend it to you ever again, even better.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Actor: Andrew Brodeur, Brendan Fraser, Devyn Dalton, Don Stallings, Glenn Close, Gralen Bryant Banks, Jennifer Landon, Jonathan Aidan Cockrell, Josh Brolin, Joshua Mikel, M. Emmet Walsh, Margo Moorer, Marisa Tomei, Matt Lewis, Nathan Hesse, Peter Dinklage, Suehyla El-Attar, Swift Rice, Taylor St. Clair, Taylour Paige, Ted Ferguson, William Tokarsky

Director: Max Barbakow

Rating: R