Were these movies as astoundingly awesome as the tales in these comics? We may never know!

#39: Les Diaboliques (1955)

In the final frames of the movie, Henri-Georges Clouzot implores us not to reveal the ending, and I dare not fail to heed his warning in case any of you have not yet seen this masterpiece. Is this a ghost story, a murder gone wrong, a daring double-cross, a tale of guilt playing insidious tricks on the minds of wrongdoers? You keep guessing, and if perhaps you stumble upon the answer it just means that it was one of many possibilities to be considered.

#38: Dark Skies (2013)

Given generally poor reviews and largely ignored by audiences, this may my latest Hudson Hawk – something that I liked so much more than others that it may say something about me more than the movie. While the first half is shot and coded as a horror movie, it’s not exactly a secret that this is really about alien abductions. The real attraction for me is that it feels like what would be happening if there actually WAS an alien incursion happening. There is no random wise shaman who just happens to be the one person who knows how to solve everything (ok there is a game performance by the always-welcome J.K. Simmons as an alienologist, but it turns out that he doesn’t really know anything helpful). Like in Hereditary, sometime the story is just that you have no way to fight back and you’re just screwed.

#37: Magic Mike XXL (2015)

Just so fun and playful and silly; not only is there no real plot (“the guys go on a road trip for One Last Show before giving up and aging out into the real world”), the film scoffs at your silly idea that plot might even matter. The dance numbers are electric and eclectic – Danny Glover owns the house with a scene that is sexy, but not in the body-builder-gyrating manner of most of the other performance. The perfect amuse bouche after a long day.

#36: Power of the Dog (2021)

The landscape shots are almost as dramatic as the actions of the characters, and like the plot, consists of large flat plains with not much happening, punctuated by looming disruptive mountains. Cumberbatch is a right bastard, and much of the movie is spent trying to figure out if and how he will finally get the comeuppance he so richly deserves. There is a hint (director Jane Campion does not like to spell things out very much for her audiences, which is appreciated) that his Phil is despicable in part from thwarted ambitions in life and love, and his differing interactions with his brother and his brother’s new bride are interesting in that light. But the real contest of wills is between Phil and the step-son played by Kodi Smit-McPhee in a tightly-wound, super-watchable turn. Phil is so self-obsessed that when he deigns to take an interest in the kid, he never considers that letting him in might pose a threat.

Up Next: Still Eliminating Movies That I Loved! Augh!

I want that ribbon. And the hat, and the cat….

#43: The Battle of Algiers (1966)

The ultimate insurgency film, as the French completely misunderstand roughly everything about this and do absolutely the wrong thing at all turns (while continuing to be highly overconfident and righteous about it, even as the situation gets worse and worse). While the primary message is, to simply it a little, “war is hell” there is also definitely a viewpoint on the combatants (for example, when the Algerians bomb a cafe, there is not much footage other than an exterior or the windows blowing out; but when the French blow up a quarter, we see all the mothers and children going about their business first). The real triumph is the realism, though. Apparently the entire thing was shot on location in Algiers, using locals for the insurgents – I do wonder how they convinced them to do the riot clashes, that sure looked like people were getting mashed real good.

#42: Watcher (2022)

Everyone has had the feeling of just being out of place, and everyone sometimes feels like they’re being watched. Ideally it doesn’t happen together, and in a good world it definitely doesn’t involve the person who may or may not be watching you maybe also being a serial killer? Scream Queen* Maika Monroe gives a killer (ha!) performance of someone lost in plain sight as her not-totally-an-asshole-but-close boyfriend ignores her and speaks the local language (which she hasn’t yet learned) in social events. Which means that she has plenty of free time to wonder about that guy and what his deal is, and is he dangerous or not?

* Not really the right appellation, as she never really plays a traditional 80s horror Last Girl or any other normal damsel in distress, but she’s making quite the career in the horror genre.

#41: A Streetcar Named Desire (1952)

STELLLLLAAAAAAA!!!!

After decades of hearing jokes about this movie, I finally watched it and was shockingly blown away. Goddamn that Brando could act.

#40: Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe (2022)

Alright, I’m leaning into the bit some by putting this ahead of Streetcar, but I honestly do think that this is just a great movie and an even better experience. If you need me to justify or explain it, you’re not going to believe me, but I found it touching and even encouraging about the fate of this damn big blue marble while also being at least as ridiculous and immature as you would imagine.

Up Next: Oh Come On, I Have To Rank More Of These in the High Thirties?

Can I complain about them being underrated when I’m the one rating them?

So now we are really getting to the hard part. Every movie listed from here on out was beyond great – stuff that when I watched it I was thinking it was a top 10 movie for sure. I guess this is the problem with ranking movies in a year when you watch a ton of incredibly well-regarded ones on, like, “best movies of all time” lists. Anyway, all of these deserved better and in a normal year would have definitely been near the top…but wha’cha gonna do.

#48: Taxi Driver (1976)

A terrifying point-of-view look from a pathetic man, desperate to do anything to connect with other people in the way that seems so easy for everyone else around him, and hating them for his own inability to do so. Sounds pretty topical doesn’t it? Thankfully the movie doesn’t make you try to sympathize with or understand Bickle at all, but just from centering him in the movie you see how he acts and responds to things and….well, you wait for the bomb to go off. When it does it happens to take out a bunch of really, really terrible people but that is only a coincidence that the person he has fixated on at the time led to them.

#47: Modern Times (1936)

Delightful! As discussed previously, the Marx Brothers kind of left me flat and Buster Keaton turned me off entirely, but Chaplin – now there is my kind of genius! The god-tier slapstick combines with actual pathos to kind of blow my mind a little bit.

#46: Drive My Car (2021)

So engrossing, with so much going on but all of it fully captivating. I suspect that I would’ve benefitted from multiple viewings – I picked up on a fair amount of what was going on with the play mirroring what was happening in the character’s lives and the weird situation of the car and the driver and his wife’s voice and the varying relationships and histories, but I know that there was a lot more in there. I kind of what to watch it again right now.

#45: Chinatown (1974)

The ultimate noir – there are mysteries within riddles within enigmas, but like all good noir the true necessity is the feel of the thing. The dirty, grimy, seedy little underbelly of Los Angeles, the scheming and plotting that is almost pathetic in its low-stakes melodrama, and the general feeling of weary resignation that permeates everything. At least there’s a happy ending though.

#44: American Graffiti (1973)

I am assured by various somewhat trustworthy sources that yes, in fact, this is what high schoolers actually did in the late 50s and early 60s. Although I do wonder if I would’ve been in that scene if that was my time. Presumably not, to be honest. Maybe best case scenario I’m Dreyfuss’s Curt? But still, there is something nostalgic and refreshing and…well, ok, cool, about this movie. Of course, it’s also sad – obviously this era was lost and not just through the passage of time but by war and the loss of America’s innocence and whatnot. The film doesn’t dwell on this during its run but the grim post-credits “where are they now” hits pretty hard when 50% of the crew is dead within 3 years.

Up Next: More Movies That Should’ve Been Higher

#57: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Lean, brutal, and nasty but also beautiful in their way and dramaticly stylish, Leone is rarely (but wait for it) as good as he is here, with his favorite leading man in a nameless Clint Eastwood. Life is cheap but words are apparently expensive for at least two of this film’s main characters (Eli Wallach’s Tuco can ramble on so). The ingenious set up so that all three men need each other until they reach the end leads to an interminable three-way standoff that ends the only way it really ever could.

#56: Bottle Rocket (1996)

They’re all so young! Wes Anderson hadn’t fully come into his own, but what a cute little movie and a believable love story that I didn’t even see coming, and everything had much low stakes, even the ridiculous heist. Feels like just hanging out with your buds on a Sunday afternoon.

#55: Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

So difficult to put a movie that is fundamentally so visual into words. Peter O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence is both perfect and unknowable. Somehow pulling off the sheer charisma that let Lawrence assemble such a loyal massive force while also acknowledging (via a winking journalist looking for a hero to write about) how much of the historic Lawrence almost has to be exaggerated. I do wish that I could’ve seen the massive action pieces and the scenic vistas on the big screen.

#54: Office Space (1999)

Rightfully a classic. Shame on me for taking so long to watch it.

#53: Deep Water (2022)

BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! Was this movie “good” in a classic sense? Irrelevant, I say! Watching it was super fun, Ana de Armas was incredible, Afflack was at his most Afflackian, the dialogue, the whole *deal*….the snails! Why were there snails?!? Oh man this was great to watch.

#52: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

If not the original “greed drives men mad” picture then still probably among the best. These characters are sternly tested and I think it’s fair to say that they generally failed. “We don’t need no badges!”

#51: Thoroughbreds (2017)

Devilishly fun and cruel. I wonder whether this was always Lily’s (Anya Taylor-Joy) plan, or whether things just got out of hand and she ran with it. Writer / Director Cory Finley got crazy lucky with an insanely talented cast before they all became stars.

#50: Miller’s Crossing (1990)

A complicated, intricate plot, but not one that depends on everything going just so – something that is discovered, or perhaps uncovered, rather than one that leads you along. The characters are clearly stylized – this is a Coen Brothers movie after all – but I found a core of truth in all of them that was believable and compelling.

#49: Nashville (1975)

Frickin’ Altman, man. How many other directors could shoot a movie with not just 30+ developed characters, but that many co-leads, and make it so that no matter who is on the screen at any time you are still thinking about the others ones and what they are doing when they’re not being shown. And he manages to fix in a variety of themes and commentary while still showing his characters tenderness and hope. Even the most seemingly-ridiculous character has his moment, as he shockingly turns out to not be a hypocrite. Longish, but I could watch this again right now.

Up Next: Movies That Belong In a Top 10

#66: Prey (2022)

Classic triumph of exceeding expectations – I figured this would be a decent escapist action thing but Amber Midthunder really brings something and captivates the screen. What an unexpectedly deep performance and a weird (but very welcome!) direction for the freaking Predator movies to take.

#65: Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

I am such a sucker for Wes Anderson and his over-mannered twee culture pictures. This time he goes riiiiiiiight up to the line of being too much before pulling back just enough. The young actors are just right and the whole thing is just totally sweet and adorable. More like this and less French Dispatches please.

#64: Gattica (1997)

For whatever reason I got it into my head that this film had a bad reputation and I just never made it a priority to watch it, even with it being right in my wheelhouse. Solid writing, great performances, some twists that are unexpected while not needing to be big surprises to make the movie work. Well done and interesting to boot.

#63: MASH (1970)

I grew up watching the MASH TV show, so this was really strange for me. Where was Alan Alda? The show copied the tone and ethos of the movie so well that this almost felt like an extended episode. So there may be been just a bit of nostalgia in this ranking, but I also think (I think that this will blow your minds, so beware) that Altman knows what he’s doing. Everything ties together with the vignettes without doing the Northern Exposure thing that ham-fistedly shoves every plot into the same theme.

#62: The Belko Experiment (2016)

Definitely the most fun movie about coworkers forced to attack and kill each other that I saw this year, while still not completely underselling the actual pathos of such a situation. Also, John McGinley is of course excellent. I am informed that there is some manner of theme about modern work conditions and practices, but I must have missed that.

#61: The 400 Blows (1959)

Frickin’ GRIM, man. This poor freakin kid has no chance, never had a chance, and likely will never have a chance.

#60: The Last Duel (2021)

Jodie Comer, Adam Driver, and….Matt Damon? Like Keanu taking on Neo, Matt Damon was born to play the over-privileged lunkhead and it fits perfectly. Massively exceeded expectations.

#59: On the Waterfront (1954)

So, there’s knowing factually that young Marlon Brandon was an acting force then there’s actually experiencing it. Damn! The charisma jumps off the screen and throttles you into submission. Rest of the movie is pretty good too, but let’s not pretend what it’s all about.

#58: The Conversation (1974)

As mentioned previously, love those 70s thrillers! It’s not paranoia if you’re right, and boy are they out to get our protagonist. Great, great mystery with a few shockers and an all-time ending filled with all the lack of resolution that the 70s could give you. Don’t try to beat the system, man.

Up Next: The Last Chunk of Great Movies!

#76: All the President’s Men (1976)

What I wouldn’t give to believe that we still lived in a world where something like this might still be possible. Sigh.

#75: Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Compromise ranking – the principle actors are incredible, the scenery is gorgeous and the cinematography does it complete justice….and the script is questionable. Clearly it’s allegorical, but as I am just not up on the Irish Civil War I think a lot of it just went over my head. Had it not gone quite so far I could’ve stayed with it but <spoiler warning> chopping off his fingers when it prevents him from playing and then having the freaking donkey choke to death on one of the fingers….come on, man.

#74: The Last Picture Show (1971)

The kids in Ararene, Texas wouldn’t do anything to get out, but….well, what ya got? The town is clearly dying, kept alive (kind of) by the force of will of one kind man who has keep the diner and the movie theater going, for now at least. But there is no future here, and the characters alternate between trying to find their way out and trying to find a way to occupy their time while stuck there. More melancholy than fully depressing, this is a portrait of people with precious few choices, with no assurance that their tomorrow will be any better.

#73: Bullet Train (2022)

Self-consciously wacky, I thought it completely worked – the characters all had their silly quirks, but we are given enough of a chance to get to know them that we can care about their hijinks Quality disposable fun.

#72: Husters (2019)

Look, if J.Lo is going to put all that effort in to dance, she gets ranked at least this high. That’s not opinion, that’s just math. A classic “exceeded expectations” pick, especially with the much better script than I expected.

#71: Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Just a perfect performance by Gloria Swanson – she plays it broad, but it seems appropriate for a silent film star who had to tell the story entirely through gestures and expressions. She can be charming when she’s in the mood and funny and gregarious when she wants to draw someone in, but petty and small and biting when something turns on her or she gets defensive. One of the original tragic stories of the “true” hollywood.

#70: Emily the Criminal (2022)

Are we supposed to be rooting for Emily? On one hand, she is cut exactly zero breaks – taken advantage of by everyone in a system stacked against her, given very few ways to escape her circumstances and forced to do some unscrupulous things. On the other hand, she clearly has anger issues and let’s say its debatable how much her circumstances forced her down this path. Plaza embodies a believable woman on the verge, scrambling and scrambling to make it out with an eye on making it up.

#69: Host (2020)

Zoom is scary, dude! For whatever reason, these “everyone is on their computer” movies really worked for me this year – this does a solid job of making me believe why they would all stay on in the middle of all this.

#68: The Night House (2020)

Goes from weird to creepy to scary as heck. But it’s ok, nothing’s there.

#67: Blood Simple (1984)

I feel like you don’t need me to tell you that Blood Simple is great, but….dude, Blood Simple is great.

Up Next: More Great! Yay!

#86: Bridesmaids (2011)

Man, what a cast. Even the broadest humor, which normally doesn’t work for me, lands here because of the talent and ability on display. Aside from the female-centeredness of it, not particularly groundbreaking (other than that, Mrs. Lincoln….) but it tells its conventional story well and we have a lot of laughs along the way.

#85: In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Difficult to imagine how Poitier’s character manages to not beat the living hell out of all of these fools, although obviously the answer is that he would’ve been lynched. Just as enraging to watch as you think it is, the film provides a murder mystery to hang the plot on but that really doesn’t have much of anything to do with anything. Racist MF’s, man.

#84: Marathon Man (1976)

These 70s thrillers are just the best. Who is the biggest villain – the former Nazi mastaermind, the secretive government agents that may be working with him (or at least helping to hide him), the *other* criminal mastermind, our protagonist’s untrustworthy brother….? Ok, it’s the Nazi, I mean come on right? But the oppressive spirit of everyone being against you and the entire system being rigged is tangible.

#83: Gaslight (1944)

Angela Lansbury as the young maid! All the principals are great in this, although the apparently-mandatory meddling older dowager character was unnecessary and kind of annoying. A twist on the whodunnit into a howdhedoit, even knowing somewhat what was going on it was fascinating to watch it unfold.

#82: Erin Brockovich (2000)

Weird movie that is difficult to buttonhole. It’s mostly “little guy against the corrupt system” but also a little bit legal procedural, wacky underdog, and “it just takes a little grit and elbow grease.” Good performances and they did a great job of keeping everything just believable enough that it really took this woman to win this case (it helps that it was basically true).

#81: The Grifters (1990)

The Feel Good Movie of 1990!

#80: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Gripping portrayal of insanity, as Alec Guinness takes refuge in his pride to build the best damn bridge in the world….in the service of the Japanese forces keeping him and his men captive. There is a temptation to look at the relationship between him and the Japanese commandant as a battle of wills, but both of these are fundamentally broken men, slaves to forces that they cannot understand.

#79: Source Code (2011)

Where else can you go to find Source Code ranked in between Bridge on the River Kwai and Nosferatu the Vampyre??? Nowhere but here, baby!

I loved this little film – some of the twists are obvious, some are not, but Gyllenhall plays it straight and earnest and Monaghan gives her best performance. Tom-Bob says Check It Out!

#78: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Darkly beautiful and beautifully dark. Takes the idea of the vampire rather more seriously than is typical – the stylistic choices are hyperrealistic but not romantic – this is how evil happens; slowly at first then before you know it an entire town is dead.

#77: Rashomon (1950)

I love movies like this, and thus I adore this – the first of them all. Three (ok, maybe four, counting the medium’s conveyance for the fourth) people tell a story, but each experienced parts of the whole and had their own preconceptions and internal interpretations. No flashback is fully the truth, no narrator is reliable. What actually happened? Well, in reality we never truly know, so why should we here?

Up Next: More Greatness!

#94: Let Me In (2010)

Difficult to figure our how much credit to give this movie – I loved Let the Right One In, and this is virtually a shot-for-shot remake, but they get credit for great performances (Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moritz in particular) and they didn’t pull any punches, which is often the downfall of the US versions of overseas hits. And I really love the story.

#93: Blue Velvet (1986)

So like most Lynch it’s not so much about understanding the plot as it is connecting with the feel and spirit of the thing and ideally you just end up on something approaching the same wavelength. I mostly got there on this one – possibly because this is somehow one of Lynch’s more straightforward plots?

#92: M (1931)

Man, this is an ugly, ugly movie. I mean, there is a serial child murderer at the center, but everything else is also diseased and criminal and crumbling and nasty. There are no real good guys here, just measures of bad, all the way down to a literal criminal conspiracy being organized to take down our villain. I know it’s crazy trite to say, but I think the true villain in this film is German society circa 1931, which…..well, yeah, right?

#91: The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Given the title and the way that much of this is filmed, is it odd that this movie isn’t really about the Lisbon girls? Or at least not entirely about them – in part it’s about their bizarre and oppressive home life and the contradictory signals they get from their parents and from all other aspects of society. But the true theme is how the boys in the neighborhood react to these young women that they have idealized. You don’t get a real understanding of the girls or the depth of their issues, but it’s kind of the point that they are fundamentally unknowable.

#90: Army of Thieves (2021)

Prequel to Army of the Dead that has absolutely no need to be related to that movie in any way, except that Zack Snyder must have realized what he had in Matthias Schweighöfer, who provides an incredibly compelling and charismatic performance to center a ripping (if not particularly original) caper movie.

#89: It Happened One Night (1934)

The original screwball comedy? Gable is magnificent here, suave and debonair and just enough of a “not really a cad” to make it interesting. Just delightful.

#88: Last Christmas (2019)

Look, I know ok? But this movie was just fantastic and such a joy to watch. Is it really better than It Happened One Night? Well, this movie had at least eight versions of “Last Christmas” by Wham! in it, so you tell me.

#87: Mean Girls (2004)

It has never been easier to select a picture to represent a movie. Now witness the power of this fully armed and operational Lindsay Lohan.

Up Next: More Great Movies!

Listen to what comes out of the loudspeaker!

Obviously the categories here are not particularly meaningful, but I did try to break things up a little in a way that felt meaningful to me. Said differently, I have more faith that I liked the movies in this category more than the others than in the rankings within a category.

#103: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Very usual to see Pedro Pascal outacted but Cage is digging this in a big, big way. I don’t think the Cage-Talking-to-Cage stuff with his younger Valley Girls era self really added anything other than making it even more generally Cageriffic, but the spirit of fun permeated the whole experience. Classic example of a movie being more fun because it seems like everyone had fun making it.

#102: Armageddon (1998)

There is a reason that this silly little film became a ridiculously huge mega-hit and crowd favorite, and that reason is named Michael Bay. He does his thing his way, and while it’s not always my favorite thing (I will most assuredly never see, for example, any of the Transformers movies) when he can reign it in even just a little he makes the most watchable “stuff blows up real good” movies. Of course, it also helps that pretty much the entire cast is at the peak of their powers here, too.

#101: All About Eve (1950)

Ah, so that’s what the big deal was about Bette Davis. I had wondered about that.

Between the bitter “aging” (the character is 40! FORTY!!!) actress acting as mentor/ambassador to the seems-nice-but-actually-conniving Eve, the best moments of this compelling film were the 5-ish minutes when Marilyn Monroe was on screen, compelling all the light and attention. It was really great to watch this after having seen Some Like It Hot, which while it offered her a larger role really didn’t treat her with that much respect as an actress. Her dialogue here is compelling and perfectly delivered.

#100: Marrowbone (2017)

Exquisitely acted by a very strong cast, this puzzlebox mystery hidden inside a family drama packs a wallop.

#99: Moneyball (2011)

Yep, I finally saw the baseball movie. It was so, so good, although they so loaded the deck to make this an underdog nerd strategy story. It took over an hour to mention any of the existing star players that were on the team, and even that was glancing at best. But it was a baseball movie about the triumph of nerds; how am I not going to love that?

#98: O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)

Clooney at his most charming (non-Out of Sight division) and the Coen Brothers at their wittiest.

#97: The Wonder (2022)

The power of Florence Pugh, ladies and gentlemen. More than sufficient to turn a fairly by-the-numbers historical drama that kind of turns into something of a sappy weeper into an overall great film. I was extremely put off by the cloying “look, this is just a movie, let’s walk through the sets” opening and closing scenes though, what was the point of that? Did they think we might have been confused?

#96: Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Embraces the FUN side of being trapped in a mall surrounded by armies of the undead. I appreciated that they didn’t let us off the hook at any point about the chances of escape.

#95: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

“I know it’s hard to hear this, but your Dad and I had a long talk, and we agreed it would be best for all of us if you would just stop being who you are and doing the things you love.”

“Why is my innocent young child wearing that Devil’s Squeeze Box”

“I’m living the dream. I mean, to have twenty thousand people every night singing along to my words to other people’s music…”

“One day I’m going to be the best! Well, perhaps not technically the best, but arguably the most famous accordion player in an extremely specific genre of music! You’ll see!”

“Madonna Cicconi is still At Large.”

Up Next: More Greatness!

They’re good movies, Brent

#114: Enemy of the State (1998)

Ripping thriller – interesting plot, good action sequences, Will Smith is great at this, and really fun that they made it a de facto sequel to The Conversation.

#113: We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2022)

Extremely interesting and compelling movie, mis-marketed as a horror story. There is a lot going on for Casey and it is ingeniously not directly addressed, as we instead focus on the weird semi-misdirect of the social game and let the interesting stuff kind of percolate and develop in the background.

#112: The Deer Hunter (1978)

This is some grim shit right here, y’all. Slightly too melodramatic at points but still…..dayum.

#111: The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

Hooo-aww! This is not, in truth, something that I could say is a good movie, but it was a hell (ha!) of a lot of fun.

#110: I See You (2019)

Thinking about this movie I cannot figure out how they fit everything in – there is a LOT of plot going on here! But I never felt like I lost track or needed to keep notes. I think was this undeservedly buried.

#109: Searching (2018)

Huge surprise how good this was. Really interesting – I thought that the conceit would make it almost unwatchable but they did a great job drawing me in and keeping me on my toes.

#108: I Saw the Devil (2010)

Freaking brutal, man. South Korea knows how to do bleak.

#107: The Big Short (2015)

It’s a great story and they mostly even got it right!

#106: Donnie Brasco (1997)

Nice old-fashioned mobster story that would pretty much be unbelievable if not for the fact that it was based on a true* story.

* Ok, so it was based on a self-servingly mythologizing book by “Donnie” himself, but it was true enough for our purposes.

#105: Butterfly Kisses (2018)

Legit scary and a worthy use / deconstruction of the “found footage” horror trope going back to Blair Witch. I don’t want to say much more because I thought it was pretty cool and would like more people to see it.

#104: Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

I believe that the original is still my most-watched movie and this is every bit as watchable, modifying the formula just enough to make it more than a rerun. Openly jingoistic and pretty gross how the forced Kelly McGillis out for a considerably younger Jennifer Connelly (in a part that really wasn’t needed anyway – the real love affair is between Cruise and the planes), but damn if this doesn’t have you pumping your fist into the air.

Up Next: Great Movies!