Scandal (1950)

No, this has nothing to do with the 2010s TV series. This is an Akira Kurosawa film from the same year as Rashômon, which would explain why it gets overshadowed.

Somewhat famous painter Ichiro Aoye (Toshirō Mifune) and more famous singer Miyako Saijo (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) happen to stay at the same hotel, and they engage in friendly conversation on a balcony. Alas, it looks juicy enough for photojournalists to spin a tryst tale. Aoye threatens a lawsuit, but Saijo would rather keep quiet and wait for the whole thing to blow over. Editor Asai (Shinichi Himori) believes that Amour magazine will be most profitable doubling down on its false version of events. Aoye hires the first lawyer to approach him, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), despite the latter having nowhere near the repute of the defense. Hiruta does sympathize, but he can hardly resist Asai waving money at him to take a dive....

Blind Chance (1987)

I don't recall ever learning about this movie before. It may have been recommended based on political controversy: The Polish government suppressed its release for six years, and part of it is still censored with a caption to indicate as much. I sure wasn't tempted by the Netflix description, which seemed way too vague and, in fact, illogical ("three diametrically opposite points of view"?). Regardless, the picture's popularity, including Martin Scorsese's endorsement, held promise.

Young man Witek (Bogusław Linda) has just lost his father and dropped out of med school, but those event have little bearing on the rest of the plot. From the moment he starts running for a departing train for whatever reason, we are treated to three alternate timelines based on what he may do next, particularly with regard to a stranger in his path. Each timeline sees him take a different political stance (communist, anticommunist, or neither) and a different love interest, two of them his exes.

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

I had rejected this option once before, but a Meetup group was set to discuss it. You can tell it's a small group, because they rescheduled when I couldn't get the disc as soon as estimated. I made a point to wait until the day of our session to watch so the details would stay fresh in my mind. Let's hope I remember enough of the discussion now.

In 1902, much of a large Gullah/Geechee family prepares to move from what is best known as St. Simons Island, Georgia, to the mainland for better opportunities. Among other things, this includes a visit from relatives who have already been away for quite a while, and it shows, especially with the Christian convert (Kaycee Moore). The old matriarch (Cora Lee Day) is too traditional to leave, and her grandson (Adisa Anderson) has trouble deciding.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Given how much I loved the first Doctor Strange outing, it would take an extraordinary misfire for his next eponymous feature not to be worth my while. This one is only moderately popular, probably below average for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (that term seems inadequate now), but hey, that didn't stop me from liking X-Men: Apocalypse.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been having a glum but quiet time in New York when he and Wong (Benedict Wong) suddenly have to fight a giant demon targeting teen America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who can open portals between alternate universes but manages to do so only when terrified. Noting signs that a witch summoned the demon, Strange seeks support from his old comrade-in-arms, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), now finally going by "the Scarlet Witch." Alas, she's the summoner. She wants to absorb Chavez's power through a method that would kill Chavez, just to try to be happy in a more promising universe with the option of moving again as needed. Strange can't abide that, but Maximoff is too powerful for him to take on alone. The answer may lie in another universe....

Starman (1984)

It took a gradual buildup of information trickling to me over the years to get me interested in this flick. Moderately good reception. The mid-'80s. Sci-fi. Romance. Jeff Bridges, with an Oscar nod. John Carpenter. Eventually, I got tired of seeing the title without knowing the rest.

Paranoid officials fire missiles at an alien ship, which crash-lands in the Wisconsin wilderness. The one alien aboard (Jeff Bridges) enters the nearest house, finds photos and DNA of a dead man, and assumes the man's shape, accidentally freaking out the man's widow, Jenny (Karen Allen). He strong-arms Jenny into helping him travel to Barrington Crater, site of a previous ET visit, within three days. It's not just the hostile government that worries him; apparently, something in the atmosphere is toxic to him, or else he's missing something vital. Jenny initially tries to escape her kidnapper but develops sympathy and eventually...well, see a hint in my first paragraph.