Oscar - 4/5

This is a classic stage-style comedy in the guise of a 1920’s mobster movie. It starts off a bit slow and takes its time speeding up, but once it gets up to speed it sings. A romanticized version of the amiable cultural sensibilities of the time come through in the best way, creating palpable style and blending with its stage play ambience to produce an immensely enjoyable shell game of misunderstandings and marriage proposals gone awry. It’s pleasant and joyful, a welcome change of pace.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Importance of Being Earnest in the garb of Mickey Blue Eyes

Setting: Gangster
Plot: Comedy of Errors
Tone: Dramedy

Over the Garden Wall - 5/5

This is easily one of the greatest works of animation bar none, and an obvious 5/5. The music is beautifully melancholy, sometimes funny sometimes sombre in perfect step with the winding tone of the narrative. It’s firing on so many cylinders that the audience can thoroughly enjoy it at any level of analysis, from the funny jokes to the deeper themes to the meta analysis of the use of overarching structure for tension and payoff. This is an unparalleled masterpiece from start to finish and a must watch for anyone who likes a little spookiness in their stories.

Closest comparison: It’s like a cross between Nightmare Before Christmas and Adventure Time, but with an order of magnitude more depth.

Setting: Folk Tale
Plot: Wandering Adventure
Tone: Spooky Comedy

The Hunt for Red October - 5/5

This is far and away the best submarine movie, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s an exciting political thriller that never gets lost in a nerve-racking haze of ambiguity but instead keeps the audience constantly informed of the stakes while somehow maintaining the perfect level of tension. The music is epic and Soviet, equal parts symphonic and sinister. The characters are understated, and the actors are all giving some of the best performances of their careers. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a bar-none must-watch.

Closest Comparison: It’s like U-571 by way of The Manchurian Candidate.

Setting: Cold War
Plot: Political Thriller
Tone: Drama

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 - 4/5

This movie is a self-aware all-out parody that loves its over-the-top silliness and doesn’t hold back. The comedic timing, though somewhat subjective, is on point here and Emilio Estevez is in top form as the self-serious straight man along with Samuel L. Jackson being himself. The references to other films of the era are direct and overt, but the gags are broad enough to still be funny out of context. The gratuitous nudity scene typical of National Lampoon is not present in this movie, and the bedroom humor is all direct scene parody of its contemporary films. There’s a lot to like here and its short runtime doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Closest comparison: It’s like Lethal Weapon by way of Police Squad.

Setting: Buddy Cop
Plot: Buddy Cop
Tone: Screwball Comedy

The Cat Returns (2002) - 4/5

This movie is exactly the sort of adorable modern fairy tale we’ve come to expect from Studio Ghibli. It’s cute and funny, and has the lyrically anomalous pacing emblematic of the Ghibli line. It’s directed by Morita, but if you like Miyazaki movies and haven’t seen it, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

Closest comparison: It’s somewhere between Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and My Neighbor Totoro.

Setting: Fairy Tale/Modern
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Fairy Tale Adventure

Legend (1985) - 3/5

This movie is campy and covered in glitter, but it’s also kind of great. I mean, with Ridley Scott, Tom Cruise, Tim Curry, and Mia Sara in an ‘80s fantasy how can you go wrong? The location designs and most of the costume designs are outstanding, though the camera work is too cagey and claustrophobic to showcase them in as epic a fashion as, say, the Lord of the Rings. It has a fairy tale story that will seem too childish for adults, and a dark side that may be too scary for younger children. Still, Tim Curry’s performance and the devil horns he wears truly live up to the movie’s name.

Closest comparison: It’s like Indiana Jones by way of The Storyteller (1987).

Setting: 80’s Fantasy
Plot: Fairy Tale
Tone: Adventure