Choices do not necessarily reflect my tastes entirely. I am programming for two, and need to take that into account. 
Good choice. I’d forgotten about that film, and neither of us has seen it.
Strong disagree - A River Runs Through It is a gem.
mmm
Not Hud, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean or The Hudsucker Proxy? For shame, sir, for shame!
(I kid; Newman has so many good performances that it’s hard to distill down to a narrow list.)
Stranger
I would lump The Right Stuff and Apollo 13 together as “highly fictionalized recounting of real events”. Gravity is a pretty film but it’s kind of nonsensical and somewhat fantastical, whereas The Martian actually tries to be grounded in the reality of dealing with survival and abandonment in space (at least until the final act, and with some significant conceits that planetary scientists and engineers would object to). Maybe pair it with Moon, or perhaps Countdown or Marooned if older movies are acceptable.
Stranger
Noir
Murder My Sweet (1944)
Gilda (1946)
The Killers (1946)
Out of the Past (1947)
D.O.A. (1949)
Night and the City (1950)
The Big Combo (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Michael Powell/The Archers
The Spy in Black (1939)
Contraband (1940)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Carol Reed
Night Train to Munich (1940)
Odd Man Out (1947)
The Fallen Idol (1948)
The Third Man (1949)
Outcast of the Islands (1951)
Our Man in Havana (1959)
Wes Anderson month
John Hughes month
Great Race month:
- It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World
- Rat Race
- Cannonball Run
- Around the World in 80 Days
Rock Movies:
- This Is Spinal Tap!
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Help!
- Almost Famous
BTW when I was reading your OP the first thing that came to mind was Deep Blue Sea. I am a big scaredy cat and even I thought this movie was funny.
What an awesome structure for flowing through actors! I’d move Ocean’s 11 to the end, since there are so many points to pivot to. Maybe a Julia Robert’s month to get an actress?
There’s a movie called The Abominable Dr. Phibes that might fit on one of your offbeat horror playlists. Vincent Price plays a mad genius (he plays a pipe organ, for crying out loud) seeking revenge on the medical team who failed to save his wife after a car accident. He starts killing them in ways that are inspired by the biblical plagues in Egypt. I wouldn’t call it a spoof, but it’s very stylish and a bit tongue-in-cheek.
Hmm, how about a “mad genius who plays a pipe organ” month?
Clooney also did a version of Solaris in 2002. I haven’t seen that version, but I understand that stuff goes wrong in space.
How about a month of
The Right Stuff
Apollo 13
The Martian
2001: A Space Odyssey
in that order, each movie getting farther from Earth.
How about a month of sports movies?
Hoosiers
Bull Durham
Rudy or Remember the Titans
Miracle (2004)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Phantom of the Paradise
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
I don’t recall a pipe organ in Phantom, but the mad genius (Winslow Leach) does play piano and keyboards. Close enough?
As for 20,000 Leagues, it’s hard to say whether Captain Nemo is a mad genius, but he’s undoubtedly a genius. And he’s equipped the Nautilus with a pipe organ that he can and does play.
I was thinking of The Pink Panther Strikes Again.
How about an evening of movies with the word “Rise” in the title?
For comedy horror I recommend Shaun of the Dead
Brian
The Great Race has both a great race and an evil genius who plays a pipe organ.
Another great race is in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.
Dunno if you’d call Eaten Alive a comedy, but I sure laughed my ass off watching it. And, it has Carolyn Jones in a bit part.
I suppose you could call Big Man Japan a “light-hearted” monster movie, but I think “pretty darn weird” is probably more accurate.
I like it, but let’s add Mystery Men.
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone - lots of great ideas.
Cheers!