#22: Hundreds of Beavers (2022)

What is there to say? I was dubious that this would work, but it really really does. A live-action freaking looney tunes cartoon. Huge props to the madmen and madwomen who pulled this off somehow.

#21: Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Pretty rad giant nuclear lizard movie that is actually a meditation about grief and regret. Yeah really, and it works on both levels too – not sure how they pulled that off.

#20 Machete (2010)

Total compromise rating. Watching this movie was absolutely one of the top 10 experiences of my entire damn year, but, you know, it’s not like it’s actually a good movie or anything. Even with the knowledge that it was always intended as a B-movie (or like a D-movie) and with all the winking knowledge of that fact, it’s not well acted or choreographed or anything. Robert Rodriguez knows how to direct an action scene of course but the true appeal is just how much damn fun this thing is – ludicrously evil bad guys, everyone knows how to kick some ass, ridiculous action…I mean look at that picture! Recommended for anyone with a good sense of humor who is looking to have a good time.

#19: Resolution (2012)

The scariest mind-f**k of a movie that primarily takes place as two dudes talking in a cabin. This is Benson’s and Moorehead’s first feature film and they were apparently warped from the beginning. Arguably set in the same universe as their fantastic The Endless, this starts out a little tense and then goes waaaaayyyy more tense, and then goes completely nutso, but in a very satisfying way.

#18: The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Fantastic modern western with lights-out performances from our hero (Stone), her faithful helper (Crowe), the nefarious villain (Hackman – not quite Little Bill levels of evil but still a real sonofabitch), and the kid sidekick (DiCaprio). And the whole thing has real stakes and backstory and everything! Rootin’ *and* tootin!

#17: Longlegs (2024)

Why is it that so much of the completely original stuff in movies these days is in horror? Osgood Perkins, who I previously knew from writing and directing the criminally underrated (by me) Blackcoat’s Daughter and the spooky I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, dishes up something truly spooky and crazy and not really like anything else. More, please.

Up Next: I’m a Leader, I’m a Winner, and I’m Cleaner, Because I’m Awesome (Part III)

#28: Twister (1996)

I have no idea why it took me so long to finally see this extremely fun movie! I deliberately was not seeing Titanic for a long time, I’m more or less still deliberately holding out on Home Alone and Lion King more or less as a bit, and I had to wait to be in the right mood before seeing a lot of other movies. But I have loved Helen Hunt since Mad About You the effects were rightly renowned, and the cast is fantastic (Paxton! Elwes! Hoffman! Ruck!). I’m sure thatI’m the last guy on this, but if you haven’t seen it in a while give it a revisit!

#27: The Commuter (2018)

Liam Neesons rides a very particular set of trains….ok, no, come on, that joke is way too old. This isn’t exactly original but it’s just extremely well done. Neeson knows exactly what to do in these movies and he delivers, Vera Farmiga makes everything that she’s in better, and this is even an early Florence Pugh role! What’s not to like?

#26: Scream (2022)

The meta reboot! Shockingly good with plenty of silly twists and turns and stabbings and more stabbings and talking about stabbings and talking about the Stab movies, etc etc. Ortega suffers from Main Character Syndrome but everybody else is interesting and fun, especially my boy Jack Quaid (although I can only think of him as Boimler now).

#25: American Fiction (2023)

I really really want to see the filmed adaptation of the book (and the scene when he comes up with the title is fantastic). Biting but also extremely funny. Takes the time to make a number of extremely valid points while also allowing everyone to laugh without actually losing the depth of the very real issues. Obviously Jeremy Wright is terrific. Unfortunately loses the thread just a little at the end which keeps it out of the top ten.

#24: Poor Things (2023)

Emma Stone: A+

Art Design: A+

Costuming: A+

Script: ???

Well worth it just for looking at and boy did Stone deserve that Oscar, but aside from that I’m not entirely sure what the point of the movie was? That doesn’t have to be disqualifying or anything…but was this about free will? Maybe? It mostly kind of felt like stuff was just happening because it was happening. But boy was it fun to look at and watch her do her thing.

#23: Self Reliance (2023)

This silly little movie has the audacity to take the stupid premise absolutely seriously (I mean seriously while being a comedy, don’t get crazy on me). But, like, thinking it completely through, trying to figure out the loopholes and the exploits, test running various strategies…just really good stuff. And of course extra points for Anna Kendrick, I mean, duh, that’s just math.

Up Next: I’m a Leader, I’m a Winner, and I’m Cleaner, Because I’m Awesome (Part II)

#33: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Pretty high up there on the list of things that sounded like I definitely didn’t need them but turned out to be a lot of fun. Great Taylor-Joy performance, and the continuation of the world-building is extremely high quality, but this suffers somewhat by being appreciably less batshit crazy than Fury Road. Sad lack of bald dudes playing guitar on the top of monster trucks blasting metal from 100-foot speakers.

#32: Panic Room (2002)

Just an incredibly tightly plotted movie. Tim Grierson always says that the scripwriter’s rule is to always give your characters 5 extra IQ points, and that approach really pays off here – everyone is very smart (aside from Leto whose chaos is needed to get things to spiral and, you know, it’s Jared Leto). It’s impossible to tell which kid actors will go on to have careers into adulthood, but let’s just say that Kristin Stewart becoming a star is one of the least surprising outcomes after watching this.

#31: Oddity (2024)

Excellent old school creep fest horror. Lots of “wait what is happening right now” combined with “oh crap in what way is this going to go horribly horribly wrong?” Lots of delightful spookums!

#30: The Killer (2023)

Pretty great – an assassin who appears to be meticulously prepared but is actually something of a screwup (who never realizes that fact and indeed keeps up an internal monologue about how professional he is). Really entertaining watch, possibly even better the second time through when you know that a lot of The Killer’s act is bullshit. Oh! And the entire soundtrack is The Smiths, which is pretty great.

#29: Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Jamie Lee Curtis is great, but in no sense was she better in Everything Everywhere than Lily Gladstone was in this. A true epic in scope and it knows it, indeed it luxuriates in it. Some movies I feel like I need to advocate for (or against), some I feel like I have an insight into, and then there are some like this – you know if you’re going to like this movie already and most likely you’ve seen it already if you are inclined to do so.

Up Next: I’m a Winner, I’m a Leader, and I’m Cleaner, ‘Cuz I’m Awesome (Part I)

#39: Safe House (2012)

Classic much better than it had to be movie. Obviously Denzel elevates everything he’s in, but Reynolds is very good too. This is from before he got all super successful from Deadpooling it up so he’s actual acting here (for appropriate levels of action-movie acting).

This puts a spin on the standard “how will these disparate people work together” by having them actively work against each other for most of the movie, which is fun.

#38: May December (2023)

Just the right level of seriousness plus ludicrousness. I know this got a lot of crap for not fully embracing either direction, but this was entirely on my wavelength. Obviously they should make movies just for me. Anyway, Portman gets major points for sending up her image and Moore and Melton give excellent performances. I thought this was super fun, although of course I still want to watch the TV movie.

#37: Cuckoo (2024)

The first hour is a nearly-perfect folk-horror mystery setup that is only like anything else in extremely broad strokes. And you all know that I can’t resist Dan Stevens as a weirdo bad guy, especially with hit little wooden flute. It goes a bit off the rails in the final third but I would watch the first hour again right now.

#36: The Family Plan (2023)

Mark Walhberg thought he had left his past as a master assassin behind him to start a family, but uh-oh, looks like that past is now catching up to him! What an original concept!!

Amazingly, there is still some life left in the idea it seems because this is really quite funny as well as having solid action and even dramatic payoffs. Pole vaulting!

#35: Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

So it’s exactly as stupid as you might think, but also really well put together? Like, totally juvenile at its core but also nicely 80s romantic and silly and somehow, against all odds, the time travel stuff holds together? I mean, it’s stupid, but it’s fun and kind of sweet in its way, and it all works.

I had to gear myself up to watch this because I was afraid it would be kind of horrible, but shockingly it all worked! Now I just need another 10 years or so to get ready to try to sequel….

#34: Promising Young Woman (2020)

Quite a banger of a film, in the tradition of both a revenge fantasy and also one where you wonder if you should really be rooting for her to keep avenging, no matter how much her victims deserve it. Perfect ending too. The feel good film of 2020!

Up Next: Well Good For You, I Guess You’re Gettin’ Everything You Want (Part IV)

#45: The Assignment (1997)

Extremely capable spy thriller in the old-school style. Sutherland and Kingsley are of course incredible, and Aiden Quinn is solid in a dual role as both the hero and the villain. It’s that last part that drags the movie down just a little bit – the entire plot hinges (this is not a spoiler, it’s really the entire scaffolding that the plot is built on) on this random guy happening to look like Carlos the Jackal. Like under heavy surveillance, looking perfectly like him. Enough that it took me out of the film a little bit, which is too bad given how good it was in execution of the stupid premise. (I understand this was allegedly based on a true story but come on).

#44: Caddo Lake (2024)

I am a sucker for a lot of things, but high up in the rankings are creepy mysteries that just might be explainable and….um….the specific way that this mystery gets explained? I don’t want to give anything away because this is another one (like They Cloned Tyrone) that I think nobody saw but that I really enjoyed and would recommend.

#43: Manhunter (1986)

The far superior film adaptation of Red Dragon, this one emphasizes the characters’ emotional internalities and is much the better for it. William Patterson gives the second-best on-screen Will Graham (apologies but TV’s Hannibal reigns supreme) as a totally fucked-up tortured genius – you really feel all of his pain in putting himself in the place of these psychopaths. Also, Brian Cox makes for a highly compelling Lechter – not as good as Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, but better than, say, Hopkins in Hannibal.

#42: Revenge (2017)

So, like, content warning about the….uhhhhh….inciting event, and even beyond that this is a campy, er, revenge thriller, but it’s sooooo well done and the guys are sooooo terrible and deserving of revenge, it’s a great “yeah, fuck that dude uppppp!” watch. If you’re not interested in seeing that type of thing I totally get it, but if you’re wavering at all this is the best possible example of the type.

#41: Spy Game (2001)

Redford. Pitt. Spy movie. Why did it take me this long to watch this?

A fun little game I like to play is imagining which of Redford’s spy characters are older versions of which prior spy characters. Is there a world where this guy is the older, jaded, more experienced version of Joe Turner from Three Days of the Condor?

#40: Rebel Ridge (2024)

This could have been kind of a disaster but Aaron Pierre is going to be a star – a star I tell you! Seriously though, he’s really great in this.

The plot about corrupt police and the non-violence de-escalation expert is a bit on the nose, as is the…..uhhhh….heroic rescue from the good police at the end, which, um, kind of throws the whole messaging off for the movie? There is a limited range for a movie like this, but it’s absolutely right at the top end.

Up Next: So Good For You, I Guess You’re Gettin’ Everything You Want (Part III)

#51: Ender’s Game (2013)

A little fascist for comfort these days to be honest, but whether it’s due to good filmmaking or my lingering love of the book from when I was a kid, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I have to wonder what a filmed version of Speaker for the Dead would be like. I kept unconsciously comparing this to Starship Troopers, which is really not fair to either one of them, but this is much more comfortable to watch.

#50: Immaculate (2024)

Sydney Sweeney plays a devout nun….and things happen, as you may have guessed from the image above. Reasonably conventional horror/suspense thriller with some obvious forebears but Sweeney is really good and this gets bumped way the heck up for the perfect ending.

#49: The MEG (2018)

It’s difficult for a movie like this to walk the line between taking itself serious enough to make you care about what happens to the characters while still being able to acknowledge the ludicrousness of the whole premise so you’re not sitting there yelling “C’mon!” at the screen. The MEG pretty much nails this, helped massively by the perfect lead performance for this kind of movie by Jason Statham. Just don’t tell the movie about the square-cube law.

#48: Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Silly but mostly in a fun way. Amazingly they really do all manage to sell the dialogue even with importing it to semi-modern times (maybe truly modern 1996 I guess). And it has all of the good features of being a Baz Luhrmann joint with very few of the tedious ones. Of course it helps to have an incredible cast. Even the really ludicrous parts left me smiling just because they were really selling them.

#47: The Fall Guy (2024)

This movie answers the eternal question: what would it be like if professional stunt men could actually do all of those dangerous stunt in real life with no wires or nets or anything else. Seriously, apparently being a stunt man is essentially like having super powers.

Anyway, this is lots of fun but it’s all the attitude and the performances – the script is not as good as the vibes, but the vibes are great and it’s good fun. Honestly, I have no idea why Other Tom thinks he’s so much better than this movie. Damn shame, really.

#46: They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

You gotta read the sign above to really get a sense for this movie. It’s some kind of weird combination of “Repo Man,” “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” and “Get Out” maybe? This got absolutely no press but I am so happy I found this when it came out on Netflix. In many ways this is just a slightly better version of Fall Guy in that they are largely trying for the same kind of thing and this one holds together a bit more and the little bits that make it all work are just a little better.

Seriously though, presuming you’ve never heard of this since the algorithm promoted it for like 4 seconds, go find this and give it a watch. It’s a good time, and Joe-Bob would recommend it.

Up Next: Well Good For You, I Guess You’re Gettin’ Everything You Want (Part II)

#57: Scream VI (2023)

Nice continuation of the reboot of the series, playing like crazy off all the sequel tropes. I enjoyed the museum of all the prior crimes, which would be really sick in a world where the Ghostface Killer(s) were mass murderers. I missed a lot of the prior sequels but 1, 2, this one, and the one that hasn’t been seen on the list yet are all quality.

#56: His House (2020)

Somehow combines the stark (and terrible) realities of the modern refugee experience, the long-reaching after-effects of trauma, and a solid ghost story. You’re never sure quite who to trust, which also fits the overall themes. Just really well done.

#55: Sightseers (2012)

Juuuuuuuust this side of too sick and depraved. Okay, actually it’s actually a bit over the line. Ben Wheatley, man, dude is sick. This isn’t close to his masterpiece Kill List, presumably because he also wrote that one and only directed this, but still. This is rather British, so be forewarned….you know, if that would turn your off of this more than the murders.

#54: Dune: Part Two (2024)

Honestly kind of underwhelming? I mean, yes, the sand worms were incredible and the scenery and set design is great, but….I dunno, it felt a little hollow? Perhaps it’s because Austin Butler’s Feyd was just SO MUCH more interesting than Chalamet’s something-of-a-cypher Maud’Dib? In a way I almost want more of David Lynch’s atrocity to have made it into this one.

#53: The Death of Stalin (2017)

Really good but less overtly funny than I was expecting – more of a “huh, yeah, that’s actually pretty dead on” than a gut-buster. Definitely the right call to not bother with Russian or accents.

#52: Non-Stop (2014)

Man when did Liam become the reliable action star guy? Was it immediately after Taken? Or was it gradually and then all at once suddenly?

Anyway, this is big fun with a nice “who can you actually trust” vein running through it. I’m not giving away anything to say that you never really know who to trust, but they handle it very well and many good performances.

Up Next: Well Good For You, I Guess You’re Gettin’ Everything You Want (Part I)

#63: Civil War (2024)

Okay, look, I know that they did it on purpose because they wanted the movie to actually be about being a war photographer (for some goddamn reason), but this is just so goddamn insane. A Texas/California alliance? What??? And all those Midwest states aligning with the East Coast? The hell? (Also I guess Alaska and Hawaii are “loyalist”?)

Anyway, the movie itself was pretty good but honestly I kept trying to work out the politics behind it and it was a mess there. Dunst is good but the script doesn’t really do her any favors. The big standout was Plemons, even though he really only has one scene. That guy can do quietly menacing realllllll good.

#62: The Beekeeper (2024)

About as good as an action (ahem) Bee-movie can, um….bee? Not trying to be anything that it isn’t, some good action scenes, Statham is always up for a good time. Thankfully they don’t go very deep into the whole beekeeper mythology, and there is definitely righteousness in the scummy bad guys being taken down here.

#61: Fast Charlie (2023)

Pierce Brosnan as an aging mob enforcer out for revenge? Sign me up, please. Doesn’t really nail the ending but the ride is more than fun enough to make it worthwhile.

#60: 2 Guns (2013)

Nothing really here aside from the charisma and affability of Denzel and Wahlberg….but they have a lot of charisma and affability, so this is a pretty fun watch. I do enjoy movies where good people are just set loose to have a good time (or at least when quality filmmakers make a movie using talented people that give that impression).

#59: Syriana (2005)

Very good but suffers from a bit too much plot – it has the feel of a very intricate jigsaw puzzle and it takes a lot of the humanity away from things as there isn’t much time to get much into most of the characters. The exception being Clooney but is doing some of his best work here, even if I tend to actually enjoy him more as looser characters like Danny Ocean.

#58: The Final Girls (2015)

I don’t know how I missed this since it plays right into a bunch of things I like a whole lot. It’s not as bad as having totally whiffed on Cabin in the Woods for a few years but still. This isn’t particularly well executed, but it’s silly and they are having fun with it and the concept is entirely my jam. I mean, it’s not better than Syriana or something, you’d have to be crazy to suggest something like that, but a very enjoyable watch.

Up Next: Don’t Give Up, I Know You Can Make It Good (Part III)

So we’ve made it to the portion of the list where I genuinely liked the movies. Hooray!

#69: Milli Vanilli (2023)

Interesting documentary about a fairly sad story when you get right down to it. These guys didn’t so much perpetrate a fraud as they were dragged along by the album into a pre-made setup, and when it all inevitably came crashing down they were left alone and vilified without support. Having said that, they really aren’t very talented when it comes to it – the scenes of them singing unassisted are pretty horrid. Sorry, guys.

#68: Run All Night (2015)

Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills….and it’s playing guys like this. There is enough extra goodness in the performances here – Ed Harris as the bad guy always elevates the material, but at the end of the day this is just a solid example of a movie you’ve seen many times before. Keep your expectations mild and you’ll be pleased.

#67: Mean Girls (2024)

Renee Rapp kills it, but this is a strange property all the way. Very devoted to the original but with songs inserted, but then marketed as though it was just a straight remake instead of a musical. I can’t remember a single one of the songs now, and I like musicals. But it’s a solid version of the movie with some updates and great performances and I had a good time watching it.

#66: Monkey Man (2024)

No, not the strange Robbie Williams biopic, this was Dev Patel’s wrestling / action / thriller where he disguises himself with a monkey mask while trying to bring down the corrupt regime. I do love myself a nice one-man-wrecking-crew revenge tale, and there are some good action scenes even if the overall plot doesn’t make just a ton of sense.

#65: The Marvels (2023)

Speaking of movies that don’t make just a ton of sense….

The cast is great, especially Iman Vellani and Brie Larson, and I very much appreciated the focus on having fun, but this project still suffers from being made while the studio was trying to pivot from Multiverse Mania, everything-is-tied-together mega stories and being unable to lower the stakes once the universe was threatened however many movies ago.

#64: The Instigators (2024)

There is a lot to like in this film but there is a bit too much going on for it to spend enough time developing any one part of it deep enough for it to be any more compelling. I think the idea of quasi-kidnapping the therapist sounded like a better idea in the writer’s room that it played on the screen – they really should’ve just dropped it (and thus had more time for the heist, the setup, or the relationship between the guys, or a bunch of other stuff.

Up Next: Don’t Give Up, I Know You Can Make It Good (Part II)

#74: Sympathy for the Devil (2023)

Cage at his most “hoo-ah!” Pacino impression, but this is better than you would expect just from that set-up. It’s normally difficult to have too much suspense when it’s just two guys in a car for most of the run time but they fill it up well.

#73: Slash / Back (2022)

The alien stuff is kind of silly but the friendship among the girls and the portrayal of the town as a whole is fascinating. Sometimes you just need a genre overlay to get people (myself definitely included) that they would otherwise never consider watching. My understanding is that the girls are all non-professional actors, which is amazing.

#72: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2024)

With one highly notable exception, I am not normally a concert film kind of guy, which is probably why this is ranked so low. The actual concert experience was utterly fantastic and I could rave about it at length – just as a display of physical and athletic prowess, 3+ non-stop hours of singing, dancing, costume changes, and all of it is amazing. I assume she trained for the tour by singing her entire catalogue while running on a fast-moving treadmill or something.

Anyway, this is a lot of fun and very well done and of course you always end up with a favorite dancer to watch (Kameron Saunders stan all the way) but like almost all concert films it doesn’t have a story feel to it like a true movie should. Still damn fun to watch though.

#71: Alphaville: une etrange aventure de Lenny Caution (1965)

Jean-Luc Goddard’s take on a dystopian sci-fi noir thriller about science vs emotion. Much more interesting than it is engaging. I’m certain that there are theses out there that you could read about it if you want a take.

#70: Trap (2024)

Josh Hartnett embracing his good boy looks while playing actual hidden creeps underneath is pretty great, and he is awesome at it here. The first two thirds is good wholesome silly fun – it’s all terribly ludicrous – a special unscheduled daytime concert from an international superstar, he just happens to run into the very specific people in this mega-arena who can give him the information he needs, he happens to overhear important details in conversations that are taking place in open corridors for no reason.

But enough of that, it’s fine, you just shouldn’t try to take it too seriously. That’s really not a problem. The problem is that the last third is pretty bad – Night’s kid makes a pretty solid pop star diva, but she is not nearly good enough of an actress to have the plot hinge on her.

Look story short – assuming we’re not going to get another Sixth Sense out of him, more like this from Night would be great. Mostly silly fun and great performance from Hartnett.

Up Next: Don’t Give Up, I Know You Can Make It Good (Part I)