Call it the dark side of Home Alone as 12-year-old Aaron (newcomer Jesse Bradford does himself proud) is forced to survive by his wits in a St. Louis transient hotel during the Depression. With his mother (Lisa Eichhorn) hospitalized and his salesman father (Jeroen Krabbe) on the road, Aaron struggles to mask his fears of abandonment. The strain nearly kills him.

Based on a memoir by A.E. Hotchner, King of the Hill is another wild-card choice for writer-director Steven Soderbergh following sex, lies, and videotape and Kafka. He stays alert to Aaron's humor and resiliency under pressure. The richly atmospheric film pierces the heart without ever begging for sympathy.

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.