#67: Reptile (2023)

Just a really well-done mystery/crime procedural. I like a movie that knows how to use its assets and this is a great role for Benicio del Toro to seethe and brood and generally be indecipherable while suggesting multiple layers of hidden depths. And Justin Timberlake was born to play a nice looking shyster who isn’t half as smart as he thinks he is.

#66: Sunshine (2007)

I am a sucker for a good old moral dilemma that makes people go totally crazy-nuts under the stress. The movie is let down a bit by the somewhat rote ending, but the rest of the movie was full of fun tension with a feeling that almost anything could happen.

#65: M3GAN (2023)

Standard goofy fun. Chucky as an AI girl doll gone rogue. Nothing truly original or surprising but it does a good job hitting all the notes you would expect.

#64: Stowaway (2021)

It is well known that I’m a sucker for Anna Kendrick. The script does a solid job of addressing the fundamental dilemma here, even though the list of things that go wrong in order to make it as dire as they need it to be is pretty extensive. But if you can get past that and just accept it then it’s an interesting watch with excellent performances.

#63: Sharper (2023)

Everyone is playing everyone all the time, and they are all doing it well. So many schemes within schemes that you can never figure them all out, yet it all holds together at the end. Shamefully buried and lost on Apple+.

#62: Predestination (2021)

A big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.

Sarah Snook and Ethan Hawke elevate what could’ve been Heinlein gobbledygook (this was adapted – no idea how loosely – from one of his short stories) into a compelling tale.

Up Next: I Have Conquered Self-Doubt and Seized Personal Growth (Part III)

On to the good stuff! Everything from here on out is something I would recommend to most people. The fabled “Good Movies” grouping.

#73: The Persian Version (2023)

Just a lot of fun – not the absolute most innovative or original, but it was a tale well told with a highly enjoyable lead performance. There may even be dance numbers!

#72: A Haunting in Venice (2023)

In my opinion, the most successful of Branagh’s Agatha Christie adaptations. I would’ve preferred if they didn’t try to lean quite so hard on the mysticism since we all know that isn’t going to be the answer in a Christie story, but the atmosphere was fun and the mystery itself was enjoyable.

#71: Mirror (1975)

Possibly the limit of how depressing a movie I am capable of fully appreciating. We are obviously in the hands of a master here, and even without knowing very much about Russian history, which I think you need to completely connect to the story, I still felt the pull of the narrative.

#70: Sexy Beast (2000)

Much better than the Guy Ritchie gangster-off that I was expecting. It’s almost a slice-of-life character study until Ben Kingsley throws everything into the deep end. Surprise MVP is Amanda Redman’s Deedee.

#69: One Hour Photo (2002)

Another one that was somewhat different from its reputation. Williams’s character is in no way a good guy, but he’s more a damaged unstable person than a psychotic killer. But frankly it’s much more interesting this way. Dude is messsssssed up though.

#68: Going Varsity in Mariachi (2023)

So apparently this is a thing? Like for reals, they have a varsity and a JV and letter jackets and massive competitions and everything! Incredible look at small town living through the prism of the contests, and some really great music too. Really compelling.

Up Next: I Have Conquered Self-Doubt and Seized Personal Growth! (Part II)

Okay, I lied, turns out we’re still doing The Bear. I went to separate out the next group of movies, it turned out that some of them really didn’t merit being in the next group, so here we are then.

#80: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023)

I know I enjoyed this and I like the characters a lot but it took me a while to remember anything about the plot. But does it really matter? The incidentals were sufficiently enjoyable, and at least there was a better bag guy than Ego The Living Planet. (At least I think so? I don’t really remember much about the big bad beyond, you know, the animal experimentation.)

#79: The Sting (1973)

The caper flick’s caper flick, but honestly I appreciated it more on an intellectual level and just knowing its influence. Never really got into the plot too much – I wonder if it’s something about Redford for me – I never seem to really feel the internality of his characters. But yeah, this is still a lot of fun.

#78: Babylon (2022)

Man, that was A LOT. By no means a a great movie but man oh man is there so very much of it. Damn.

#77: John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

At this point the mythology is honestly more tiresome than fun – after the first one everyone wanted to know more about how the stupid coin system worked and what kind of system supported a world where every third person is a trained assassin. But we know that stuff now as much as we ever will and continuing to expand on it is just getting ridiculous.

So of course this just points out how great the fight scenes are that it still ranks this high even while I just find myself sighing at the meta-story.

#76: Case 39 (2009)

That poor innocent little girl, just look at her. Don’t you just want to protect her from whatever terrible things may be troubling her? Just keep her safe!

#75: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Is there anything original I could say about this at this point? It was fun!

#74: In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

Hee hee hee. HAHAHAHAHAHA! <giggles>

Up Next: A new category! For reals this time!

Three updates in four days? It’s almost enough to make one think we’ll actually get through this before 2025!

87: Cobweb (2023)

Standard horror setup of the little kid who just KNOWS that he can hear whispers in the walls and his seemingly-normal parents are gaslighting him. But then this takes one yowza of a left turn onto crazyville. Unfortunately it lingers a bit too long after the turn and ends up wearing out its welcome a little bit, but the whole thing had enough outrageousness to warrant a recommendation.

#86: The Killing (1956)

Kubrick’s first movie, and you can see here that the dude knows how to direct. Pretty straightforward plot but enjoyable to watch and there is tension in every scene. Extremely watchable.

#85:Willy’s Wonderland (2021)

The much, much better version of Five Nights at Freddy’s. Nic Cage is in “silent badass” mode against evil possessed animatronics. It’s a lot of fun, even though they do weigh it down a bit with too much backstory. While I appreciate living in a world where two of these movie can exist, it does make me sad that the far superior one was forgotten while the crappy one was a smashing success.

#84: Thirty Days of Night (2007)

Good solid action fun, but I can’t help but feel that they should’ve been able to do something more with “Vampires in Alaska at the time of year when the sun never rises.”

#83: Crawl (2019)

On the other hand, sometimes all you need is “woman trapped in basement with killer gator” and the rest takes care of itself.

#82: Missing (2023)

I think I just like this style of movie for some reason? I was big on Searching, Host was a hit for me, Unfriended was highly enjoyable. What a weird kind of movie to have a hidden preference for.

Anyway, this is no Searching because Searching had John Cho. But it’s a different enough mystery and really does its own thing (beyond the main conceit, obviously).

#81: Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

I generally don’t care for Pete Davidson, and I definitely can’t relate to those crazy kids and their casual drug use and the like. But for some reason I was totally on this film’s wavelength. I even liked the resolution that many people online were mad about. Just a fun watch.

Up Next: Finally a New Category! Hooray!

#93: The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

The kind of movie where you just sit back and let it happen. Truly goofy, no real sense of danger, just silly nonsense nicely executed.

#92: My Animal (2023)

Owing quite the debt to Ginger Snaps, this is the version of that story where the characters are much less self-assured. The story doesn’t explore the premise very far or do much that is particularly ambitious, but the film does a good job with what it wants to get done.

#91: Little Joe (2019)

A kinder, gentler Invasion of the Body Snatchers. All too believable too – kind of shocking that this was written and filmed before the global pandemic. The real villain isn’t just corporate greed, it’s the longing for personal accolades and promotions and everything else that comes with it.

#90: The Last Shift (2014)

But….that cult leader and his followers killed themselves…..ten years ago this very night!!!!! Nice, if not original, premise, although they don’t really go anywhere very deep with it. Great creepy atmospherics, especially on what I assume was a very low budget (single-location shoot, very small cast).

#89: The Pope’s Exorcist (2023)

Pure unhinged lunacy, led by Mr. Unhinged Lunacy himself, Russell Crowe. Takes itself exactly the right amount of seriously (none) and is goofy fun to watch. Mmmmmm…..Satan????

#88: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)

I believe I’m on record with not really getting movies that are actually about the Spanish Civil War (yes, this comes up more than you might think) so I know that there is a level that this is operating on that is not for me. But the choice to shoot this from the child’s perspective really helps sells the plot and makes it all feel pretty deep.

Up Next: Yes That’s Right More of We Can’t Operate at a Higher Level Without Consistency!

#99: Uncharted (2022)

Cute video-game movie that generally has a “Made for Netflix” feel to it. More or less yet another Indiana Jones ripoff, but it had the grace not to take itself too seriously and Tom Holland is always a good sport.

#98: The Go-Go’s (2020)

Really fun but not particularly revealing. Lots of focus on their punk beginnings which was enjoyable, but the big thing was the insight into the industry – apparently everyone ended up resenting Charlotte because her royalty checks were massively bigger than everyone else’s…because she wrote all the songs. I mean….that seems obvious? But I guess the others didn’t understand that?

Anyway, really interesting stuff for about 75% of it before it goes into the inevitable “we’re gonna make a comeback and be relevant again” stuff.

#97: The Crazies (2010)

Unusually decent “everyone is going totally nuts is the end of the world oh no what are we going to do” scenario. Having Tim Olyphant in the lead helps a lot, but the script is better than you would normally find. And some quality “I WILL KILL YOU” style performances.

#96: Don’t Look Now (1973)

Funky psychological…..horror? Does this qualify as horror? It’s not a thriller, no real action per se. Drama? I don’t know man. The initial part is intense and the back end is more funky than anything else. Deeply atmospheric, kind of dream logic I suppose.

I also think that having a little person as the psycho killer (sorry, spoiler for a movie that is 51 years old) is perhaps less inherently creepy than it was back then?

#95: Pearl (2022)

I guess I’m not entirely sure what Ti West is doing with this trilogy but it was fun enough to watch. Mia Goth plays a great unhinged lunatic? Left with something of a “why did I watch that?” feeling just because we already know this person is a murdering psycho and now we see that she’s…crazy. Ok. I am kind of looking forward to the ‘70s one just because I like that period better.

#94: Les Yeux Sans Visage (1960)

Genuinely creepy and scandalous at the time, even though it’s extremely mild by contemporary standards. A more interesting crazy person story, as Christiane slowly goes nuts from a combination of trauma, isolation, and constantly being told she has to be fixed as opposed to Pearl’s “that girl just ain’t right.”

Up Next: We Can’t Operate at a Higher Level Without Consistency (Part VI)

#105: The Silencing (2020)

So, good things first – this movie does a solid job of keeping you on your toes and for the most part the twists are sensible in retrospect (there is one glaring exception). Jaime Lannister does a pretty good “ok this guy has obviously seen some shit” although it’s not nearly as much fun as his Jaime. The plot is….well, I guess it’s fine. This is a fine example of a movie to put on Netflix in the background when you’re folding laundry or some such.

#104: Sorcerer (1977)

Suffered from unreasonably raised expectations. This film was unavailable for streaming for many moons and its reputation only grew during that time. Now that Criterion added it I can attest that it’s…fine. Maybe good even. But hardly the hidden classic it was made out to be. Solid cast, good premise, just….I dunno. If it hadn’t been built up so much I probably would’ve liked it more.

#103: The Vigil (2019)

Nice tiny-budget indie quasi-horror, good atmospherics, decent performances. Doesn’t have the highest aspirations but it hits the ones it has solidly. Nice and spooky.

#102: The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

I don’t want to say too much because this is a movie I recommend but boy could it have been better. The look and feel of it are tremendous and you feel like it’s going someplace really interesting, then the plot gets bogged down and sloppy and honestly kind of silly, but the performances by Blunt, Mackie, Slattery, and, yes, Damon are good enough to bring it back up.

#101: Evil Dead Rise (2023)

No real plot per se, despite halfhearted attempts to come up with one, but really excellent F/X and the typical extremely grim “yeah, normie humans don’t have a chance against this ancient evil” world view. Definitely need to be in the right mindset to appreciate it but if you don’t know what you’re getting with one of these by now, you only have yourself to blame.

#100: The Awful Truth (1937)

Ok, this is more on me than the movie. Generally a delightful slapstick trifle, I just couldn’t get past the core conceit of being a comedy about divorce. If the characters just talked to each other. …well, you’ve all heard this rant from me before I think.

Up Next: We Can’t Operate at a Higher Level Without Consistency (Part V)

#112: Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

The original avant-garde horror movie, I enjoyed it worthy of a much higher ranking but seeing as it’s all of 14 minutes long I couldn’t justify it being any higher than this. It still counts for the list though because it was on the Sight and Sound chart so it must be legit. Definitely some weird-ass sh*t. Super-impressive use of the reported $275 production budget.

#111: Urban Cowboy (1980)

Well done but honestly too depressing to be much fun. Travolta plays a terrible, terrible jerk that I think we’re supposed to feel sorry for. Meh, pass.

#110: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

For a movie over a hundred years old it holds up pretty well. But holding up pretty well is different from still being compelling. I can see how this would be revolutionary at the time but it’s more “oh look at the craftsmanship” now. Extremely cool set design and Dutch angles though.

#109: Of Mice and Men (1939)

I can still tend the rabbits George?

Man, I have been hearing stuff about that line for decades and now I finally get it. Good for me, man. Good for me.

Burgess Meredith is really tremendous, but most of the rest of the cast is acting in that old artificial way that takes me out of things. And I don’t know what was going on with the whole foreman’s wife plot.

#108: Petite Maman (2021)

A lot of people whose opinions I respect really loved this movie. And I kind of get it, it’s sweet but also melancholy in that A24 kind of way. I liked it, but it didn’t move me. (FYI one of the people in the above is the other one’s mom. It’s that kind of film.)

#107: Glitch: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia (2023)

How interesting you find this documentary is directly correlated to how often you made sure to be waiting by your phone for the game to start. They waited just long enough after the phenomenon for this to be a happy reminder of something that was fun back in the day. Have to admit that I’m still kind of surprised that Scott Rogowski couldn’t parlay this into some kind of long-term gig somewhere.

#106: The Outfit (2022)

Perfectly cromulent.

Up Next: We Can’t Operate at a Higher Level Without Consistency (Part IV)

And now we have the kinda meh movies that were elevated by good performances. I guess I would recommend these, but only on the assumption that you like the actors featured therein.

#120: Solace (2015)

The script is not good, but Hopkins and Ferrell are having a lot of fun and that makes it fun to watch, and even the third lead is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who is always great. Hopkins is some kind of bizarre psychic or something, and maybe Ferrell is too, I dunno, the plot is not memorable or particularly important.

#119: The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

Weird little murder mystery inexplicably featuring Edgar Allen Poe. The mystery was a bit overly complex but ultimately not bad, but it’s Christian Bale’s oddball performance as not-Poe that makes this Netflix Original worth seeing.

#118: Memory (2022)

Liam Neesons! I assume he just does these in his sleep. It’s possible that it has developed into some kind of condition that he wishes he could stop but he can’t. That would make this run of movies make more sense I guess. But somehow he never phones it in. In this one he has a special set of skills but also Alzheimer’s. <shrug>

#117: Hypnotic (2023)

Basically what you think of when you think “Made for Streaming Movie Starring Ben Affleck.” Ben is fine, the script could’ve used more attention, but the draw here is Alice Braga as the former partner. It’s solid, with a somewhat interesting quirk, just don’t think too hard about it.

#116: Stir of Echos (1999)

Kevin Bacon over-emotes (positive) as only Kevin Bacon can in this not-really-horror ghost revenge story. Really bizarre to see a very young Kathryn Erbe (Criminal Intent’s Det. Eames).

#115: Peppermint (2018)

Avenging Angel Jennifer Garner. Good in this but really pigeonholed into these action roles when she has better range than that.

#114: Come and Find Me (2016)

Aaron Paul and Annabelle Wallis have great chemistry, which is needed for a movie that really revolves around them and their relationship. But who is she, really……

#113: Faults (2014)

Somewhat cool triple-cross cult deprogramming, but the obvious hook for me was Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Loooooove me some Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Up Next: We Can’t Operate at a Higher Level Without Consistency (Part III)

So, should I spend a bunch of time apologizing for being so erratic this year, or just get to it? Oh….you….want an explanation….no, just getting to it, sorry.

These are the movies that got over the line. Everything from here on out I would generally recommend, with varying levels of enthusiasm of course. To use the crude vernacular, these are “good movies.”

#128 – Down Terrace (2010)

Your standard lower-class British crime family drama. Plotting was solid, acting was good. The most B- of B- recommendations.

#127 – Dio: Dreamers Never Die (2022)

Makes a pretty solid case for Ronnie James Dio as a foundational metal god. But he’s frankly just not that tremendously interesting? Solid documentary, great access, and I listened to a fair amount of this stuff in junior high so maybe more interesting to me than it would be in general.

#126 – Mirrors (2008)

Weirdly not scary horror movie that still had a creepy tone to it. Every mirror-based horror movie pales in comparison to Oculus.

#125 – The Drop (2014)

Standard hard loner with a heart of gold. See puppy above. Hardy plays it well though.

#124 – Bajocero (2021)

Ice Truck Breakout Heist!

#123 – The Blue Dahlia (1946)

Hard-boiled noir with a fabulous Veronica Lake performance, but just so slow and not in an about-to-boil-over good way. And yeah some troublesome gender dynamics.

#122 – Pianoforte (2023)

Surprisingly interesting documentary about a year of the Chopin contest in Vienna. Unfortunately the only really compelling character development was one contestant’s crippling breakdown under the pressure, which was not so fun to watch.

#121 – Radius (2017)

Great idea – everyone who comes within a certain, um, radius of our protagonist dies. No saving throw, that’s it. The movie does some decent exploration of the consequences – it doesn’t look good when, say, a curious police detective drops dead in your wake. The ending is a bit of a woo-woo hash for my taste but generally a solid flick.

Up Next: More of the Same! When will it be? Who Can Tell!