Previous Rankings
#171-183
#151-170
#131-150
#111-130
UNCHARTED (review) often feels just like any other treasure hunting adventure type movie, but that genre is exactly my bag, so I’m in. Samara Weaving and Eugenio Derbez have solid chemistry in THE VALET (review) a standard-issue rom-com. DAY SHIFT is a quintessential Netflix movie. Big name name cast, a few moments where everything comes perfectly together in an otherwise generic action-horror-comedy. Karen Gillan’s deadpan delivery is pitch-perfect for the dark sci-fi comedy DUAL. BROS has humor and heart, but not enough of either to make it a truly great rom-com.
DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS is a fun change of speed for the superhero genre, boosted by a fantastic voice cast. BULLET TRAIN could have (should have?) been better, but is still a plenty fun action comedy. SPOILER ALERT is well-acted and has tons of heart and emotion, but relies too heavily on that aspect. SPEAK NO EVIL is fucked up, no doubt about it. But it was hyped up too much for me, so it didn’t hit me like it may have had I gone in completely blind. EMERGENCY is well-acted and has some poignant commentary on current social issues.
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (review) is a visual wonder with a very strong final act. But a meandering story and truly awful villains keep it in the “it’s pretty good” territory. ROGUE AGENT won’t blow you away, but it’s a fun little cat-and-mouse story. FISTFUL OF VENGEANCE stars Iko Uwais, Lewis Tan, and other great martial artist actors, so at least it has some killer fight scenes. Maybe my expectations were super low, but I was pleasantly surprised by ME TIME (review). Most shockingly, I actually really liked the messaging it was going for. I was ready to call DON’T WORRY DARLING one of the better movies of the year…right up until the final reveal. Holy cow did that torpedo this thing.
If you haven’t gotten the idea by now, I’m a sucker for a spy/secret agent story, so even though it might feel like you’ve seen THE GRAY MAN before with its familiar plotting and characters, I still had a fun time with it. NANNY is fine, but I struggle to see the near-masterpiece many others do. Maika Monroe continues to show she’s perfectly suited to the horror/thriller genre, but she doesn’t have all that great material to work with in WATCHER. Really liked the ending, though. Tim Roth is great in SUNDOWN, but the story is a little too simple and nihilistic. Idris Elba punches a lion in BEAST.
