Ultimately, it's tough to call just who is the finer actor, or bigger star. Personally, I give the edge to De Niro.

Not only can Michael Caine deliver the acting goods with the right vehicles, but off the set he also exhibits a refreshing common sense about the film business itself.

What we call "the road movie" represents a direct descendant of Homer's enduring, universal epic. Delving into this sub-genre, I was astonished at how many of our finest pictures actually fall into this category.

Surveying the historical span of filmmaking, the use of original music appears more prevalent from the dawn of sound through the 1970s -- or perhaps it's just that the scores themselves were more memorable over this period.