I know how it is. You go to the video store to rent a flick, but all of the good new release blockbuster flicks are gone. You wander the aisles, looking for anything to rent. You wind up getting "Fletch" and "Weekend at Bernies" ... again. Sure, they're fine works of art, but want something different.

Well here ya go. Couldn't round down to ten, so here are all eleven.

The Lady Eve (1941) - Preston Sturges is a genius. Snappy screwball comedy with that Fonda guy and some chick named Stanwyck. Best dialogue ever written - and this was sixty years ago!!

Double Indemnity (1944) - Billy Wilder is a genius. And Fred MacMurray - anyone who's used to "My Three Sons" best beware. Barbara Stanwyck is amazing. The best noir ever.

Out of the Past (1947) - Classic film noir. Robert Mitchum. Kirk Douglas. And this dude who could be Ben Affleck's grandpa.

Sunset Blvd. (1950) - Wilder again. And no, it's not a musical. Dark film noir. No singing.

Mississippi Burning (1988) - Have Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe ever let you down before? Great drama, set in that creepy, creepy South.

Swimming With Sharks (1994) - Take my job at LEGO Media - multiple it by ten-million, and you get this Hollywood tale. When executives go bad ...

Beautiful Girls (1996) - From the writer of "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and "Con Air". Oh, wait, that sounds worse than it is. This flick put him on the map. (Plus he went to BU's College of Communication!)

Cats Don't Dance (1997) - Mark Dindal is a genius. One of the best non-Disney animated films ever.

The Love Bug (1997) - Peyton Reed is a geniu... well, not really. But Bruce Campbell, Alexandra Wentworth and John Hannah are awesome, and there's a touching cameo by Dean Jones.

Worlds Finest (1998) - Sold on video as "The Batman/Superman Movie". Several episodes of "The Batman/Superman Adventures" where the Joker teams up with Lex Luthor to kill Superman. Batman gets involved, of course, and, oh, Bruce Wayne falls in love with Lois Lane. This is what it's like when worlds collide. Classic.

The Iron Giant (1999) - Brad Bird is, you guessed it, a genius. Clever, kind, cute but not sappy. Again one of the best non-Disney animated films ever.

So go ahead and rent one or two of these this fall. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

- Josh Edwards