For the fifth time in the history of the podcast, Team Vintage Sand returns to one of its most popular formats: the Hidden Gems episode. As we did in episodes 11, 30, 40, and 53, Michael, John and I each choose one film to discuss that we feel has been underappreciated and overlooked by the madding crowd yearning to see anything besides a prequel, sequel, spinoff, or reboot. And while the episode features three films that could not be more different from one another, the one thing that they do have in common is that they are definitely movies made for grown-up sensibilities. Michael kicks things off by taking us back three decades to Nobody’s Fool, a film written and directed by the great Robert Benton and featuring one of Paul Newman’s best performances, which is saying something. Benton’s script, as well as a ridiculously good cast featuring Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, a young Philip Seymour Hoffman and, in her final performance, the matchless Jessica Tandy, remind us of how unfortunate it was that this film, while not exactly overlooked, got lost in the Oscar tsunami that was Forrest Gump. I once again focus on an imperfect but powerful and prescient film, in this case Cary Joji Fukunaga’s low-budget debut from 2009 Sin Nombre. Fukunaga tells the story of a young man from Chiapas and a young woman traveling with her uncle and father from Honduras who meet on the treacherous and often terrifying train ride through Mexico to the American border. A decade and a half before the dehumanization of people like Willy and Sayra became government policy, Fukunaga spares us nothing in showing us the humanity, resilience, strength, and decency of these people and why they feel compelled to make this almost suicidal journey just in the remote hope of finding a better life. Finally, John shines the spotlight on City Island, a sweet and gentle comedy from 2009 featuring Andy Garcia and Juliana Margulies as the parents of a family living in the titular unique and lovely section of the Bronx. The father, Vince, played by a charmingly understated Garcia, is a corrections officer with dreams of becoming the next Marlon Brando, and is taking an acting class (and eventually going to an audition) without telling anyone. But that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the secrets this family is keeping from one another. Featuring supporting performances by old pros like Alan Arkin (as Vince’s acting teacher who hates pauses) and Emily Mortimer as a friend he makes in the class who may have secrets of her own, the film is a lovely slice of life that contrasts its uniquely placid setting with the universally complicated dynamics of family and of wrestling with both one’s past and one’s dreams. So please enjoy, go see the many great films that are playing in theaters as the year comes to a close, and have a peaceful and restful holiday!