It's pouring down rain outdoors, and you've got a free afternoon to loaf. Say you got a choice of movies to pick from. Which one do you grab first?

I'd be tempted to re-watch Key Largo if just for its foul weather atmospherics. Plus I believe Claire Trevor is terrific as Rocko's lush girlfriend.

Or if I was in a weird mood, I might opt for Hitchcock's The Birds. Even today seeing flocks of starlings freak me out. The only thing is I never understood the ending. I won't be a spoiler except to say I just didn't get it.

If I had a horror vibe going, I'd be tempted by any of the old Hammer films. Christopher Lee was spot on as Count Dracula. He holds the Guinness book world record for most the acting roles ever in films. Busy dude there.

Humor? Easy. Any of the Pink Panther titles.

Mushy films never rock my world. Maybe something gritty and mushy like the cop movie Sea of Love with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. The great crime author Richard Price wrote it, too.

None of these movies are new. Oh well. The rain brings out the nostalgia in me.

Enjoy the show.

By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"Unusual" and "vividly rendered."
Publishers Weekly