Horror
Rod Lott
If they can’t afford megawattage spectacle, filmmakers still can stand out by putting comparatively fresh twists on well-established concepts. Three new indie horror efforts do just that.

Thriller
Rod Lott
What's going on with John Cusack? His last two films have gone straight to DVD: The Factory and now The Numbers Station.

Documentary
Rod Lott
As director Deborah Anderson states at the beginning of her documentary, Aroused is not a story about pornography, but about women. For half of its 69-minute running time (deliberate?), I believed her.

Thriller
Rod Lott
You can keep Coming Home, Forrest Gump and Born on the Fourth of July, multiple Oscar winners all. For my money, the seminal disabled-Vietnam-vet film is 1977's Rolling Thunder.

Horror
Rod Lott
Japan's Sadako 3D purports to be the final chapter of the Ringu films (remade as The Ring on these shores). If you believe this is truly the end, you're adorable in your gullibility. Even the movie's final moments contradict any semblance of closure.

Sci-Fi
Rod Lott
Thanks to examples like The Others and Sinister, moviegoers know that whenever a kids' crayon drawing pops up, it's never a good sign for the protagonists. Add Dark Skies to that list.

Horror
Rod Lott
One of at least four werewolf films to be released in 1981, The Howling remains a distant second to John Landis' An American Werewolf in London, but only because Joe Dante wasn't able to enjoy the competition's deep coffers. Sacrilege alert: I find Dante's to be the better movie.

Drama
Rod Lott
James William Guercio has one of the finest track records in cinema history, because each and every film he directed not only has been great, but became a cult classic. It is titled 1973's Electra Glide in Blue.

Comedy
Rod Lott
Hate not Identity Thief, as so many have for its ridiculous, unbelievable, utterly preposterous plot. Accept that it's a big-budget screwball comedy and you may find yourself — gasp! — enjoying it.

Horror
Rod Lott
It speaks to the strength of The Burning’s reputation among cult-film fans that what’s most memorable about the 1981 slasher is not that it was written by the Weinstein brothers, nor that it represents early appearances of the likes of Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter and Fisher Stevens. It’s that its Cropsy is just a damned good villain.

Action
Rod Lott
Right down to the dramatic shot of the cast members walking in a single row toward the camera, the title sequence for Fast & Furious 6 feels every bit like that of a TV series. It’s only natural, given how episodic this entry is — all it lacks is the “Special Guest Star” credit. (But on that note, don’t leave as soon as it ends.)

Drama
Rod Lott
Renoir
7:30 Thursday, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through June 2
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
415 Couch
okcmoa.com
236-3100
$6-$8

Television series
Rod Lott
There's no way to discuss the seventh and penultimate season of Showtime's hit Dexter without acknowledging how the previous year ended. Therefore, if you haven't finished the sixth season, stop reading now. You've got work to do.

Thriller
Rod Lott
As Simon Lam gets older, he gets better. The veteran actor has appeared in such in seminal HK action films of the 1990s as Once Upon a Time in China (opposite Jet Li) and Bullet in the Head (directed by John Woo); in the aughts, he graced audience and critical favorites Election and Ip Man.

Western
Rod Lott
Lee Van Cleef enjoyed a secondary career in Italy cranking out spaghetti Westerns, with little regard to quality. However, 1972’s Grand Duel — aka The Big Showdown — is deserving of its Grand label. No wonder Quentin Tarantino borrowed its sweeping theme song by Luis Bacalov for Kill Bill; you'll recognize it in two notes.