A Fistful of Dollars (1964)- Last edition of Netlfix Picks I featured Once Upon a Time in the West. Now, I include the first of the Dollars Trilogy films, A Fistful of Dollars. It’s easy to take for granted what masterful director Sergio Leone did with this first film, but audiences around the world had never seen anything like it. A loose remake of the Akira Kurosawa classic Yojimbo, an outlaw walks into a town with two rival gangs fighting over control it. What follows is a satirical and subversive take on the American western. Leone’s tools include irreverent morally compromised heroes, over the top violence, and occasional parody. Leone hasn’t yet perfected his formula, but you feel his brilliance in every frame. Clint Eastwood’s first turn as ‘the Man with No Name’ is already undeniably classic, and his screen presence is like few other performances in cinema history. Hugely enjoyable, I love this film.

The King's Speech (2010) - While we’re in the throes of Oscar season, why not return to a best picture winner of a few years past? The King’s Speech defeated the (much better film) The Social Network and went on to become a blockbuster in its own right. Like Black Swan from the year before, it’s one of the few contemporary art house films to accumulate a massive global box office, making 400 million worldwide. Some have written The King’s Speech off as Oscar bait, but it’s a brutally unfair prognosis. The King’s Speech is delightful, and, despite the distracting and pretentious Dutch framing, is a singularly accessible period drama. Colin Firth grounds the film, and he’s an emotional powerhouse. It’s funny, too