ain't no man better than me. On account of there's no man around here that ain't old, or full o' mischief

Four powerhouse movies that would be fun to debate.

Call Northside 777 (1948) - "Chicago reporter P.J. McNeal re-opens a ten-year-old murder case."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's Jimmy Stewart. That's an automatic win, right?
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 76% Audience: 73%

notable quote: "Pieces never make the wrong picture—maybe you're looking at them from the wrong angle."
story: smarty-pants reporter gets a tip from his down-to-earth editor, setting him off on a story that results in framed, innocent men being freed from prison
costumes, hair & makeup: wonderful, classic stuff
acting: Lee J. Cobb (editor Brian Kelly) is phenomenal in this role. I would watch it just for his performance.

intangibles: it seems like it ought to be tense, but like all Stewart movies it's more talky (so. very. talky). I like him well enough (it's probably a crime not to) but I have to wonder what somebody like Humphrey Bogart or ... I don't know, George Clooney?, may have done with this role. Less talk, more action. Oooh, maybe Gene Kelly. A little talk, a little tap. Hmm. 
overall: recommended with some hard-to-explain reservations

The Towering Inferno (1974) - "At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's a wild, weird movie that gets to me on several levels
IMDB: 7.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 69% Audience: 72%

notable quote: "Son of a bitch gave us an impossible job!"
story: skyscraper has been well designed but improperly constructed using ineffective materials, rendering it susceptible to fire. Tragedy strikes the night of the opening gala.
visuals: almost too realistic
acting: this is generally considered a Steve McQueen (Chief O'Halloran) film, but for me it's really about Paul Newman as Doug Roberts, the architect and all-around good guy

intangibles: definitely worth seeing, albeit not exactly 'entertaining'
Academy Award winner:

• Best Cinematography

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Song
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Supporting Actor—Fred Astaire (Harlee Claiborne)

• Best Art Direction—Set Decoration

• Best Sound

• Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
overall: recommended

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - "A writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation when he decides to get married. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I'd seen it a while ago but couldn't recall the premise
AFI: 100 Years...100 Laughs (2000) #30

IMDB: 8.0/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 81% Audience: 92%

notable quote: "I cannot pull myself together without a drink!"
visuals: pretty dark
costumes, hair & makeup: nothing too notable

intangibles: "Oh, Mortimer" multiplied by a thousand - that is the script. Once you notice it, you can't un-notice it. Cary Grant's good movies are quite good. The ones that I'm not wild about ... good gravy.
overall: recommended only because everyone else in the world seems to like it. I must be missing that gene

Cold Mountain (2013) - "In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' friends
I watched it because: I like Jude Law (W.P. Inman)
IMDB: 7.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 71% Audience: 77%

notable quote: "'This doesn't come out right. If it were enough to stand, without the words.'

'It is. It is.'

'Look at the sky now. What color is it? Or the way a hawk flies. Or, you wake up and your ribs are bruised, thinking so hard on somebody. What do you call that?'"
story: the IMDB description, above, only starts to explain it. There is something beautiful, ethereal, gritty, awful, spiritual... about this film. The Revenant plus Gone with the Wind plus Fried Green Tomatoes.
visuals: gorgeous, evocative, and heartbreaking
costumes, hair & makeup: phenomenal, both at home and in the war
acting: Law is great. Nicole Kidman (Ada Monroe) is really good. Renée Zellweger (Ruby Thewes) is outstanding. Hers is one of the best performances I have ever seen on film.

intangibles: I thought it was wonderful, terribly sad, and very memorable
Academy Award winner:
• Best Supporting Actress--Zellweger
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor--Law

• Best Cinematography

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Score

• Best Music, Original Song--T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello

• Best Music, Original Song--Sting
overall: highly recommended

[the title quotation is from Cold Mountain]