Vision Quest
An uneven coming of age story.
Flower Drum Song
This overlooked Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation hits (almost) all the right notes.
10 Items or Less
Too short to let the story and characters develop, too aimless for me to really care.
12 Angry Men
One of the best legal dramas, ever.
Bumblebee
As a movie, it’s pretty fun. Compared to its franchise peers, it’s practically a work of art.
Dear Dictator
A tragic waste of Michael Caine’s talent.
Frankenstein
This horror classic does not hold up.
Red Dawn
An inventive idea squandered by a muddied execution and poor acting.
The Bad News Bears
This movie movie about misfit kids on a sports team launched a thousand imitators, most of which are more fun.
The Bodyguard
Great songs, solid premise, disappointing everything else.
Election
A dark, character-driven, political comedy that is short on worthwhile characters.
Traffic
This film pairs complex narrative structure with stylistically pronounced visuals to create one of the best movies about the drug war out there.