Previous Rankings
#171-183
#151-170
#131-150
WINDFALL is a pretty simple movie, but a killer trio of Jason Segel, Lily Collins, and Jesse Plemons do some heavy lifting to keep it afloat. I actually enjoyed FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE (review). There were some flashes of the magic that made the original series so good. If we get a fourth and fifth, I do have some hope that the prequel series can end on a high note. Kevin Hart is a bit more restrained than normal in THE MAN FROM TORONTO (review) which is a good thing. He and Woody Harrelson have great chemistry, and provide a good amount of fun. Just don’t think about the plot set up too much; it will all fall apart quickly. I love murder mysteries, so DEATH ON THE NILE (review) is right up my alley. Sure it’s not great, but for my money, you have to really take a huge dump to mess up a murder mystery. Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne are great in the THE GOOD NURSE, and they help overcome some of the stumbles in the story.
ALL MY FRIENDS HATE ME leans hard into the cringe, social awkwardness humor. If that works for you, this should be gold. But if not, it could be a slog to get through. STRANGE WORLD (review) has some cool world building and fun characters, but the story is too muddled and gets too caught up in its perceived messaging. WHITE NOISE is interesting. I’m not quite sure how good it actually is, but I mostly enjoyed whatever it was. Greta Gerwig is an amazing writer and director, but she doesn’t get enough mainstream acknowledgement for her acting. THE ADAM PROJECT features a more family-friendly Ryan Reynolds, but it’s still in the same ballpark as usual. Falls victim to some of the usual time-travel pitfalls, but it’s still solidly entertaining. SPIN ME ROUND has its fair share of story problems, but it also has a top-notch Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza, so it can’t be all bad.
Did you like the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie? Whatever your answer is to that question, your answer will be the same for SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2, which I actually found marginally more fun. THE 355 (review) is about as generic an action spy thriller as you’ll find. But that’s a pretty decent baseline, and a dynamite cast at least makes it enjoyable in the moment, even though you’ll probably forget about it as soon as the end credits roll. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING is pretty much just Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba talking about and debating love. There are worse ways to spend two hours. MEN, wtf mate? Emily Watson is fantastic in GOD’S CREATURES, fully examining the lengths a mother will go to her son.
THE FORGIVEN echoes a common theme from several movies this year: tries to take aim at poignant social commentary, but never quite reaches the heights it aspires to. But a movie starring Jessica Chastain and Ralph Fiennes can be only so bad. Disappointed in KIMI given that Stephen Soderbergh directed it. Zoe Kravitz is doing everything she can to keep it above water, but I just don’t care about seeing Covid in movies as a central theme. SIGNIFICANT OTHER has some cool and creative ideas, but doesn’t fully seem to know what to do with those ideas. HELLRAISER has some gnarly kills and Odessa A’Zion gives a better performance than you might normally expect from a movie like this, but there’s not much beyond those two facets. SPIDERHEAD (review) has some interesting ideas, but like Significant Other, it doesn’t really know what to do with those ideas. Even with a high-concept idea, most of what transpires felt entirely too expected. But at least Christ Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett are all terrific here.
