Léon, The Professional, whatever you want to call it: this is a quintessential mid 90’s action thriller. Written and directed by cinéma du look director Luc Besson, the film follows Léon, a cleaner (aka hitman) who lives a solitary life in New York City. When his next door neighbors are murdered during a DEA raid, Léon takes in their 12-year old daughter, Mathilde, who survived the onslaught while grocery shopping. Now bound together, the unlikely duo strike up a father-daughter relationship that causes the hardened and stoic Léon to open up while Mathilde learns just how dangerous the world is. The cast is small but effective: Jean Reno’s performance is subtle, bringing a warmth to a character that is, ultimately, a killer; Natalie Portman walks onto the field swinging in what is her feature film debut; and Gary Oldman is as chilling as you would expect a man of many masks to be.