The Gold Rush (1925) - 4/5

Charlie Chaplin is known for his comedy, but this movie throws in a more multi-faceted underlying story to build on. It’s not all-out comedy, but instead layers in the laughs to balance the story. Where The Kid (1921) is often too realistic to be funny, here the premise is exotic enough to provide the separation for the audience that is necessary to comedy. It feels more like a stage play than most movies almost 100 years later, but less like a stage play than many of its contemporaries, and is a very good example of Chaplin’s work.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Kid (1921) but less dour and with better comedy.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Exploration
Tone: Comedy/Drama

Free Fire - 2/5

This move is just a long shootout, with enough setup to know the characters and what’s going on. It keeps you guessing initially about when the fight will start, and for the most part the action is pretty cool. It sticks to a more gritty realism tone than many other movies of this genre, but that only makes the more unbelievable aspects jarring when they come up. And instead of weaving the narrative into a cohesive surprise turn or diatribe against gun running, it basically just ends.

Closest comparison: It’s like the shootouts from The Salton Sea without the context of story or a satisfying ending.

Setting: Crime
Plot: Action
Tone: Action

Dawn of the Dead (2004) - 3/5

This movie has all the zombie tropes, from the rag-tag group holed up in a mall to the zombie hordes mindlessly wandering around or beating down the doors. There are plenty of bone-crunching and flesh-ripping deaths for fans of the genre, delivered with visceral special effects, but nothing can save the dearth of relatable, well-written characters. Zombie movies live and die on the interpersonal drama of the survivors and this movie forgot to make the audience want them to survive at all, with two exceptions that aren’t enough to carry the story along.

Content warning: gore (obviously), female nudity

Closest comparison: It’s a flashier, shallower remake of the 1978 classic.

Setting: Zombie
Plot: Zombie
Tone: Zombie

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - 3/5

This movie is the quintessential happy-go-lucky entry into the surge of rebellious teenager movies that were pervasive at the time. It’s goofy and fun with an aloof, almost bizarre plot that has sequestered it solidly into the ‘cult classic’ category. It has all the low-fi heart of an indie movie combined with the eventual star power of Keanu Reeves and George Carlin. Even though the version of time travel used here hilariously makes no sense, it’s all in service to the over-the-top screwball comedy and the whole thing comes together in an excellent way.

Closest comparison: It’s like Back to the Future by way of Wayne’s World.

Setting: Time travel
Plot: Sci-Fi Comedy
Tone: Comedy

Invader ZIM: Enter the Florpus (Netflix) - 4/5

This movie is basically a long episode for the original show and feels a lot like just another episode, which is impressive given the 18 year time difference in production. For those unfamiliar with the show will probably be lost, because the movie doesn’t really try to explain what’s been going on apart from a few expositionary jokes. It has a strange sense of humor with a bizarre art style and often gross super-antics, but if that’s what you’re looking for then this movie delivers in spades.

Closest comparison: It’s the rivalry of Step Brothers with the strange artistic sensibilities of something like Spongebob Squarepants and the manic energy of The Lego Movie (2014).

Setting: Sci-Fi Action
Plot: One-up-manship
Tone: Bizarre Comedy

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - 4/5

This is one of those movies that is really good and I can’t recommend it. It’s too brutal, too heavy, and too real for most people to enjoy, but it’s so viscerally poignant that if you can stomach the content you owe it to yourself to watch. It’s another ‘crying for the state of the world’-type films, not the action-style prison break movies that make up the rest of this sub-genre, and it’s executed in a somber brutal realism that shows the deep respect the filmmakers have for the subject matter.

Content warning: abortion, brutal violence

Closest comparison: It’s like Wind River, but for abortion instead of sexual assault.

Setting: Crime / Prison
Plot: Hard Times / Action
Tone: Slow Burn / Brutal

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

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) - 3/5

This second installment in the “Fast and the Furious” series is more colorful than the first one, and trades its down-to-earth friend-circle-based drama for buddy-cop shenanigans. It’s a bit more lighthearted fun than the first and correspondingly over-the-top, introducing boats to the mix. On the whole, it’s basically more of the same, but that’s not entirely a bad thing.

Closest comparison: It’s like Lethal Weapon, but with cars.

Setting: Underground Crime
Plot: Buddy Cop
Tone: Action

The Fast and The Furious (2001) - 3/5

This is one of those movies that is made for its cool factor, prioritizing fun over narrative and all those petty concerns about the morality of grand theft. A lot of this movie revolves around buying into the central relationships, but the movie does a good job of making everything seem cool and larger than life so that the audience is just along for the ride. The surrogate family drama is couched in all of the gratuitous shots of cars and girls you would expect, landing on a time-tested foundation of style over substance.

Closest comparison: It’s like Point Break (1991), but with cars.

Setting: Underground Crime
Plot: Crime Drama
Tone: Action

Foreign Correspondent (1940) - 4/5

This movie is a rollicking adventure of espionage set at the start World War II. Of course, it was also filmed at the start of World War II so everything has a deeper meaning; to the audience at the time as a call to action, and for those afterward as a tangible snapshot of its time. It looks great because of the dynamic scenes and cinematography, which of course Hitchcock is known for, and this is an exemplary addition to his repertoire. More investigation of espionage than many of its run-and-gun contemporaries, this movie focuses on the human element and tense civilian life while still managing to incorporate both high-flung adventure and the prescient, practical problem of civic duty.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Third Man, The 39 Steps, and North by Northwest.

Setting: Spy
Plot: Detective
Tone: Adventure

A Most Violent Year (2014) - 2/5

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the idea behind this movie, and the acting and cinematography are excellent. It’s just too slow to end up with little to no point justifying its existence. The stakes are always murkily abstract and the main characters don’t even seem to know how to accomplish them. Each potential solution is introduced almost immediately before being resolved, so the whole movie seems like its treading water.

Closest comparison: It’s like Wall Street (1987) by way of Inside Llewyn Davis.

Setting: Business Drama
Plot: Difficult Times
Tone: Slow Burn Drama

Three Days of the Condor - 3/5

This movie is a slow burn thriller, with a solid central premise and an endearing performance from Robert Redford who sells the everyman nature of his character caught up in all of the deep state goings-on. Unfortunately, the slow burn is too slow for the level of story and audience engagement, and the narrative is over reliant on technology for its solution, which is now very dated. Still, it’s fun to see a thriller that’s not reliant on action but sticks to its main principles throughout the runtime while still delivering an enjoyable, interesting story.

Closest comparison: It’s like a slower, more dated Mission Impossible (1996)

Setting: Spy
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Occasional Action

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix) - 2/5

This show starts off strong, very quirky but also very enjoyable for everyone who enjoys some depressing catastrophes in their humor. Unfortunately the scenarios keep getting more and more unbelievable and, while true to the books, they are just too far out there to work as a show. Of course the production values are incredible, with Neil Patrick Harris and Patrick Warburton stealing every scene they’re in and everyone else delivering good or great performances as well. Eventually the narrative goes off the rails and once the writers start weaving extreme political beliefs into the core narrative it all comes to a shuddering halt.

Closest comparison: It’s like Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by way of The Upside Of Anger.

Setting: Tragedy
Plot: Tragedy
Tone: Comedy

Murder Mystery (Netflix, 2019) - 3/5

This movie is much better than many of Adam Sandler’s previous attempts at relationship cringe comedy. The cringe takes a back seat to better comedy and there are plenty of other funny moments to focus on instead. The mystery is about at the level of a good TV episode and serves to moves the plot along, but eagle-eyed viewers trying to solve the case before the end will be disappointed with eleventh-hour information reveals that are crucial to the solution. Still, it’s told well and a fun time if you just go along for the ride.

Closest comparison: It’s like an Adam Sandler comedy made out of an Agatha Christie mystery.

Setting: Adventure
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Comedy

Megamind - 3/5

This movie has the difficult task of trying to reverse the hero-villain roles and, although it makes a few large tonal inconsistencies with who the audience is supposed to be rooting fort, for the most part the film makers pull it off very well. The irresistibly funny banter helps to gloss over some of the more confusing story elements that play out on screen. Will Farrell and Tina Fey are great together, not to mention the several times the plot takes a surprising, unexpected, but very much appreciated twists and turns. And the very clever attention to detail that gets layered into the fabric of the story, from eye color to dress color to subtly rehydrating trash doing triple duty in a narrative capacity, really stands out among an otherwise run-of-the-mill animated comedy.

Closest comparison: It’s the studio that made Monsters vs. Aliens taking a shot at the more subtle and complex Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs market.

Setting: Super Hero
Plot: Romantic Drama
Tone: Comedy Action

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - 4/5

Sure, this movie is dumb, but it’s so much fun I can’t give it just a 3/5. The action is big and cool, one setpiece after another with awesome fights and stunts and just enough plot to get you from one to the next. It seems intent on going bigger than everybody else, upping Marvel’s two mid- and post-credits scene ante with four of their own. There are lots of awesome slow-mo stunts that are impressive even in a world of CGI because of how gorgeous and colorful the whole movie is.

Closest comparison: It’s the Mission Impossible II of the Fast and Furious franchise, in all the best ways.

Setting: Action Adventure
Plot: Action Thriller
Tone: Action Comedy

Miller's Crossing - 5/5

This is the kind of movie that you have to pay close attention to, because if you miss a line you very well may be lost for the rest of the run time. But because of the intricate nature of the backstabbing mafia plot the dialogue makes the audience pay just as close attention as the characters, constantly wondering what is doublespeak, and where each person’s loyalties truly lie. Most movies and shows try to accomplish this with invented drama but here it’s all mechanical, reliant on tangible necessities not fabricated strife. The Coen Brothers are in top form here, with dialogue so rich they had to tone it down in future movies to appeal to a wider audience.

Closest comparison: It’s like The Godfather that’s not trying to win an Oscar, with two mobs for the price of one.

Setting: Gangster
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Drama

Revenger (Netflix) - 2/5

This movie tries to hide the huge spaces between the mediocre action by covering them with a weak, uninteresting plot. The ‘people stuck on an island’ survival themes are undercut by the fact that they keep getting airdrops of supplies. The ‘one good person in a sea of evil’ is undercut but they whole tribe of anti-heroes. Everything this movie purports to have going for it, it undercuts with a less interesting version than promised. Even fans of martial arts B-movies are going to be disappointed, and that’s saying a lot.

Closest comparison: It’s like a cheap knock-off version of The Raid: Redemption or Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior.

Setting: Survival
Plot: Cop Adventure
Tone: Action Drama

The Killing (1956) - 3/5

This is a solid entry into the 50’s heist genre, but nothing more. It’s clever enough, well-acted enough, intriguing enough, and it all amounts to a perfectly fine movie. Unfortunately, by-the-numbers isn’t the same as ‘great’, so it settles in at ‘good’.

Closest comparison: It’s like Asphalt Jungle six years later.

Setting: Crime
Plot: Heist
Tone: Heist

Whisper of the Heart - 3/5

This is a slower, more tranquil movie than most Studio Ghibli films, but that pairs well with the hyper accurate day-to-day nuance captured in the animation. It’s directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, not Hayao Miyazaki, so it’s less fantastical than My Neighbor Totoro and more of a realistic coming-of-age tale like From Up On Poppy Hill. It’s just a lot of fun to see a few slices of everyday life in ‘90s Japan with enough of a trickle of a plot to keep everything moving.

Closest comparison: It’s more From Up On Poppy Hill than The Cat Returns

Setting: Coming of Age
Plot: Coming of Age
Tone: Tranquil