This is a best friends dramedy disguised as a sports movie. Kurt Russell and Robin Williams are obviously great, and carry the film despite its lackluster setup. There are some fun moments but for the most part it’s a by-the-numbers buddy drama with a healthy heaping helping of comedy all throughout.
Closest comparison: It’s like Tommy Boy by way of Friday Night Lights.
Setting: Small Town Drama
Plot: Sports
Tone: Dramedy
This is a straightforward detective movie with all the quaintness of the era. The story isn’t the kind that the audience can solve as they watch, but its adventure is fun to watch as the characters go through it. It is only a slightly more interesting story than its contemporary peers, but with a runtime of only about an hour it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Riverside Murder crossed with Tintin.
Setting: Crime
Plot: Detective
Tone: Adventure
What is there to say about Jurassic Park? It’s a timeless classic. Almost all of the special effects are practical and flawless, and the few CGI shots hold up surprisingly well. The tone impeccably rides the line between pop horror and family adventure with aplomb. The plot, dialog, delivery, and cinematography are each so masterfully crafted that almost every scene is culturally iconic.
Closest comparison: It’s like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by way of The Lost World (1960).
Setting: Exploration
Plot: Horror
Tone: Adventure
This is another straightforward murder mystery, uninspired and ploddingly mundane. It has a few fun side characters but a sudden, forced romantic plot beat without the requisite subplot lead-up. The mystery is not so much discovered as revealed, with the killer being caught not by deduction but by catching him in the act.
Closest comparison: It’s like the Kennel Murder Case by way of Mystery of the 13th Guest.
Setting: Mystery
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Mystery
This film noir flew under the radar despite being directed by the legendary Ridley Scott. It’s got a fun, gritty feel without actually portraying the scum that seems like it might lurk around every corner. The main character is hard-boiled and almost likable despite himself. The setting is almost a character unto itself, and the movie showcases the surreptitious Japanese underground instead of relying on its few action setpieces. This is a great entry into the genre, and it’s a shame that it’s been relegated to obscurity.
Closest comparison: It’s like a small scale ‘The Untouchables’ by way of Blade Runner.
Setting: Modern Noir
Plot: Buddy Cop
Tone: Cyberpunk
This is a high concept, low budget campfest that doesn’t have the wherewithal to pull it off. The plot is too weak to be interesting, the sets are almost as bad as the costumes. Even the lead actors don’t have the requisite on-screen chemistry to make it enjoyable. On paper, this movie is a bargain bin Indiana Jones, but in practice it’s a boring pablum that doesn’t even have the decency to be so bad that it’s funny.
Closest comparison: It’s like Indiana Jones made by The Asylum.
Setting: Adventure
Plot: Adventure
Tone: Adventure
This movie is a deconstruction of the pop horror genre, but also succeeds at being its own solid entry into the pop horror genre. All of the less palatable aspects of movies like this are significantly improved by having characters directly critique them, though not as satisfyingly as they could have. It’s a great return to ‘90s form and the horror movie genre would do well to head in this direction. And while it’s cleverly executed it stops just short of turning the whole premise on its head, as it was poised to do, but leaves just enough wiggle room for fan theorists to have some fun with it.
Content warning: lots of blood, brief female nudity
Closest comparison: It’s like The Last Action Hero for horror movies.
Setting: Horror
Plot: Sci-Fi
Tone: Comedy Horror
This is a tense escape room film with a few gruesome deaths. Its superb acting and story far outweigh its very low budget, which will keep cynics guessing what turns the plot will take. As with many sci-fi movies there is a lot of speculation among the characters as to what exactly is going on, and although there are plenty of ambiguities left unanswered at the end for the most part it’s a smart and satisfying conclusion.
Content warning: brief gore
Closest comparison: It’s like Saw (2004) by way of Primer.
Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Escape Room
Tone: Horror
This comedy is a straightforward goofball heist movie, complete with Peter Sellers doing multiple accents and a “why the heck not” ending. It’s a fun, often nonsensical cops-and-robbers romp through London, each character as incompetent as the next. There’s not a whole lot of silliness, surprisingly, despite its goofball tone, so the overall effect is a bit dry and stilted. It would have done better to go all in on the gimmick, but as it is it’s just pretty good.
Closest comparison: It’s like the Pink Panther (1963) by way of Funeral in Berlin.
Setting: Crime
Plot: Heist
Tone: Comedy
This movie is an instant classic, and rightly so. It is the epitome of a complex plot made simple, its cinematography is jaw-dropping, its special effects seamless. It somehow manages to deliver a strong sci-fi story and a tender romantic tragedy without losing any of the running pace or pure excitement of the adventure it’s all wrapped up in. The high-concept fabric of the film is enough to keep your mind soaring but its immaculate stakes keep the story grounded and powerful. It’s an unparalleled masterpiece and a must-watch.
Closest comparison: It’s like Existenz, but well-made.
Setting: Adventure
Plot: Cerebral Sci-Fi
Tone: Action Adventure
This is a classic action movie that doesn’t quite stand up to its own hype. It has a fun aesthetic and a playfully wacky premise, but it ultimately just sort of plods along until it’s over. There aren’t as many quips and setpieces as its contemporaries, and apart from Kurt Russell and Ernest Borgnine there aren’t any interesting or even memorable characters. The sleaze dampens the fun and the grit overshadows the adventure, but it’s still an enjoyable ‘80s action romp.
Closest comparison: It’s like Big Trouble in Little China by way of Judge Dredd (1995).
Setting: Sci-fi Dystopia
Plot: Rescue Adventure
Tone: ‘80s Action
This is another Errol Flynn adventure movie, and holds up about as well as you’d expect. It’s a sweeping adventure with swordplay, romance, and a comical grin. The film’s story is much more sluggish than its peers, ending up with minimal swashbuckling and rope-swinging and filling the gaps with obvious and dry intrigue. You could do a whole lot worse than this, but it pales in comparison to Robin Hood and Captain Blood.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Adventures of Robin Hood by way of Captain Blood.
Setting: Globetrotting Adventure
Plot: Romantic Adventure
Tone: Comedy Adventure
This movie is pointless as a mystery and useless as a suspense film. All of the relevant information is provided too late for the audience to solve the mystery and early on the film makes it clear that it’s not playing fair. The twists and turns of the plot are often not even possible, let alone plausible, and the audience is left to simply take for granted everything that appears on screen. The acting is fine, but certainly a product of its time. This movie is a mostly unoffensive waste of time.
Closest comparison: It’s just another ‘mystery’ in the vein of The Cat and the Canary and The Riverside Murder.
Setting: Mystery
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Drama
This movie is a good example of what happens when a thriller gets bogged down with exposition. The tension loses its snap, the action is too little and too spaced out to be a main draw, and the unsubstantive characters make the main plot twist equally uninteresting. It has a good idea at the base of it, which makes it all the more disappointing when the delivery is botched.
Closest comparison: It’s like Pineapple Express by way of the Borne Identity.
Setting: Rural Drama
Plot: Secret Agent
Tone: Tragedy
This is a smart, well-executed heist movie. It’s constantly letting the audience know that it’s going to pull a fast one at the end, but keeps them guessing who and when and how. The top tier actor list does not disappoint, bringing the rich characters to life with a smooth aggressiveness that makes full use of their considerable talents. The pacing would normally be considered slow-burn, but there’s enough to think about at all times that the pauses instead become room to think and let the plot breathe a little. Ultimately it thinks it’s a bit more clever than it actually is and it takes too long to wrap up in the third act, but those are small criticisms for such a unique and well thought out story.
Closest comparison: It’s like Heist (2001) mixed with Silence of the Lambs, but with drama and intrigue in place of psychological horror.
Setting: Detective
Plot: Heist
Tone: Drama
This movie is an all-around decent representation of the ‘30s mystery genre. It’s equally about the investigation and keeping the story moving along, but the mystery and characters get somewhat pushed aside. There’s enough of an interesting case to keep the audience entertained for the duration, but it’s not compelling enough to be memorable after the credits roll.
Closest comparison: It’s a run-of-the-mill suit-and-tie mystery like any other
Setting: Drama
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Drama
This movie is a well-conceived murder comedy, complete with double-meaning conversations and dead body shell game. But the tone is solidly that ‘40s and ‘50s family television fodder, keeping it from being macabre and instead settling on a light-hearted sit-com aesthetic. It’s got all the heart and optimism of the era, along with a sincerity that will strike many modern audiences as cheesy. This film is good old fashioned family fare, but at the end of the day there’s not enough to make it stand out from the pack.
Closest comparison: It’s like Weekend at Bernie’s by way of The Andy Griffith Show.
Setting: American Drama
Plot: Murder Mystery
Tone: Family Sit-Com
This is an intellectual sci-fi piece more interested in tense mood than meaningful dialog. Captivating acting keeps the audience riveted, and moments of gorgeous cinematography give breathing time in between the implication-heavy scenes. It’s more paranoid than profound, but it’s still fascinating in its own right.
Content warning: female nudity
Closest comparison: It’s like Jurassic Park by way of Moon.
Setting: Tech Sci-Fi
Plot: Existential Sci-Fi
Tone: Slow-burn thriller
This movie is a fairly straightforward heist plot that mistakes quirk for substance. It’s bright and colorful, with ‘70s European fashion sensibilities that I found amateurishly garish but may appeal more to others. The narrative is the standard plan-snag-resolution heist fare that here lacks the audience-character buy-in that is a prerequisite of the genre. Peter Ustinov is very good, but the rest of the cast is more mundane than the fanfare of the setting and cinematography can sustain. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t offer anything above average.
Closest comparison: It’s like Rififi by way of Roman Holiday.
Setting: Vacation
Plot: Heist
Tone: Euro Comedy
This movie is a strange, confusing attempt at multiple genres, below average for Michael Crichton. It’s a film about scientists where the main interpersonal conflict boils down to “he said she said” drama, that all doesn’t end up mattering in the end. A recurring theme is characters getting into a deadly situation and shouting “Help me! Do something!” over and over while everyone else sits around not doing anything. Bizarrely enough, this happens just as often the other way around, and the characters detach the audience from the narrative in a very damaging way. Although it has an interesting sci-fi concept it overstays its welcome and fails to flush out its runtime with an interesting, and by the end even a workable, plot.
Closest comparison: It’s like a worse version of Underwater by way of a much tamer Event Horizon.
Setting: Deep Sea Adventure
Plot: Sci-Fi Thriller
Tone: Disaster
