All Recommended Movies
Showing reviews of movies that I broadly recommend. Those I've seen a bunch may not have text reviews. Each review is scored on my 4-point rating system.
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*
- this is my first logged watch, but I had seen the movie before. - 🍿 - watched in a theater.
- 🔎 / 🎃 / 🎭 / ☀️ / 🎄 / 💸 - Member of a collection.
- 🥇 / 🥈 / 🥉 - Favorite of the Year honoree.
Ruthless People
(1986)A delightful comedy of errors with a blast of an 80s cast. Fun to see ZAZ write/direct something with a single plot running through it.
Spider-Man 2
(2004)Does psychologically unstable yet relatable villains better than any other superhero film.
Spider-Man
(2002)Campy and fun, with a great cast and pretty decent story. Always a blast.
Maid in Manhattan
(2002)Cute concept and some nice social commentary, but felt fairly formulaic otherwise
Miracle on 34th Street
(1947)Incredibly charming. Nicely paced, great cast, touching story. Captures the Christmas spirit better than any other
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
(2009)Tense and well acted. Fun inside look to the way NYC trains work. Heavy action, but keeps it moving. Could have maybe done more with the characters (and thinks about it) but it still works as a mostly-action outing.
Airplane!
(1980)Tight, funny, and densely packed with classic gags. Some of the references don't resonate today and a few of the jokes are bumpier than I remembered. But, it has such a good nature that I couldn't help but grin the whole time.
Zero Hour!
(1957)Cheesy and contrived, but has good bones. Occasionally tense, some goofy lines, and generally good performances. It's remarkable how much of Airplane! came straight from this.
My Old Ass
(2024)Surprisingly touching. Mixed drama and comedy well. Good performances out of a young cast. Had low expectations, but really enjoyed it.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)Watched with the director's commentary podcast, which was fun! Annoying to keep in sync manually, but had some good bonus trivia.
The Emperor's New Groove
(2000)Timeless, clever, silly, and delightful as always.
A Haunting in Venice
(2023)Well acted, atmospheric. Definitely creepy, with cool lighting and cinematography. Story was pretty good but I'm not sure the solve was fair.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
(2010)Perfect mix of gory, funny, and heartfelt. One of the all-time classics of this genre. Tudyk is top-notch as always!
The Final Girls
(2015)A cute premise paired with a good cast and some fun killings. Does a good job playing with the summer camp slasher genre and exploring what it’s like to be in a movie. Light and fun!
Knock at the Cabin
(2023)A small "bottle" movie with surprisingly little blood for its subject matter. Tense, interesting, and mysterious. Great performances all around.
Lilo & Stitch
(2002)Beautifully Hawaiian movie. Hits pretty hard emotionally, but does a good job peppering in jokes to not make the whole thing too heavy.
A Perfect Getaway
(2009)A pretty perfect movie to kick off a honeymoon in hawaii. Keeps you on your toes even if it doesn't totally deliver on its premise. Great performances out of Zahn and Olyphant
The Adjustment Bureau
(2011)A neat concept that doesn’t quite deliver on its potential. Strong cast though.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)Better than I remembered. Great cast and a good number of layers
Bodies Bodies Bodies
(2022)Gripping pace but unlikable characters. A sort of interesting plot, but didn't do it for me. Very cool lighting though!
Inside Out 2
(2024)Cute extension of the original's concept. I liked the literal emotional complexity on this one
A fun behind-the-scenes. A ton of detail and work went into this thing. If only the movie were better!
Sweet Home Alabama
(2002)Cute story with a good supporting cast. Comfort food, basically.
Deadpool & Wolverine
(2024)I enjoyed the heck out of this one. Though the actual plot and villain don't bring a lot to the table, it never forgets to have fun. I'm not sure it would stand on its own if you'd never seen any other marvel things, it rewards that familiarity with great payoffs. It was great to see Hugh Jackman back in the saddle. The dialogue was funny and the references right up my alley, but YMMV. More than any other recent Marvel movie, it feels like it understands what makes these franchises worth watching.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
(2014)Probably the best X-Men movie. Great emotional payoffs building on an entire franchise. Always fun seeing the ensemble cast together.
X2
(2003)I like the plot and acting a little less than the first one, but it’s fun to see budget and care put behind the franchise.
Game Night
(2018)A fun romp that's ultimately about marriage, and that's very sweet. Snappy writing and cinematography that punches way above its weight
X-Men
(2000)A little dry and the sets don’t all look great, but the casting is top-notch and the story has some high points. A good way to start off a franchise
Crazy Rich Asians
(2018)Hit me harder than normal. The emotional climax does a great job with the family drama.
X-Men: First Class
(2011)Does many things that make prequel movies fun. Lots of nods to the franchise as a whole, too.
Hit Man
(2024)Liked it more than I thought I would. Charismatic cast and a fun premise, plus some fun face acting.
Pretty hokey, but it was earnest. It’s fun seeing 1960s SF and Vicky liked how many whales there were. I’m not totally onboard with the emotional climax being 100% whale noises, but it was a good watch overall.
So good hearted, which paves over any other issues (of which there are few)
Holes
(2003)Stacked cast, tight screenplay, and a good story. Truly an all-timer.
Big Fat Liar
(2002)A fun plot and some stellar performances make this a great watch.
Chicago
(2003)Packed cast, great music, and somec cool staging help this stand the test of time.
Really holds up in its pacing and writing. Good ensemble and lots of slow moments let it not hit you over the head with action (like some later movies).
In the Heights
(2021)Some cute intertwined love stories, big spectacles, and great music pull the whole thing together. Great cast too. Big summer vibes.
The pacing and CGI really hold up, as do the sense of fun about the whole thing. Action is good, writing is snappy, world is well-developed. A fitting start to the franchise.
The Philadelphia Story
(1941)Stellar cast and a fast-moving plot make help this movie stay pretty fun throughout. Bits of it are dated in interesting ways, but that’s what you get.
Pocahontas
(1995)Drop-dead gorgeous and a great soundtrack. Story is what it is and there’s not much of a supporting cast, but it holds up more than I remembered.
The Accountant
(2016)Stacked cast and a surprisngly compelling story. Decent action and intrigue (if a bit predictable). Nice to have an atypical protagonist.
Shrek
(2001)Holds up remarkably well. Great jokes, decent animation, fun references. The full package.
Well cast and paced. Was like 10% less fun than I wanted, but it's still a good time. The plot is weirdly straightforward and conflicts are easily resolved. Also the chatacters lack any emotional depth or background. It was also missing his characteristic flair, weirdly.
Crocodile Dundee
(1986)Light and charming; not a bad watch but doesn’t say a lot. It’s mostly a sillly thing about how out of place he is, but he sells it.
Titanic
(2023)Sort of knew what was coming, but the movie did a good job humanizing the disaster and exploring the social implecations of the whole thing. Glad I finally saw it.
The Big Year
(2011)A fun concept reasonably presented. Felt a little light on actual plot resolution, but it's a fun watch if you like birds.
Not Another Teen Movie
(2001)Pretty dumb, but I love the layers of parody at play. They really pack in the references and cameos.
Mean Girls
(2024)A tasteful update to a classic. Music was fun but not especially memorable. All of the cast was super funny though.
Carries the trademarked Wes Anderson flair and tells a cute story with a great cast and set design.
Has some pretty dumb bits, but also some fun one. a decent follow-up to a goat
Probably her best yet - jokes are tight, strikes the right chords, kept it fresh.
The Holdovers
(2023)A sweet exploration of the relationship between a boy and a teacher. Small cast goes a long way.
Great examination of what makes a rivalry and how it's differentiated from enemies. And there's a lot of great Michigan history in this one, which is fun.
The Departed
(2006)Ran a little long, but was a pretty gripping drama. Unbelievable cast, twists and turns, quite a ride.
Come from Away
(2021)Absolutely spectacular. The staging adds a lot to the show and the music and stories are superbly presented. There’s a lot going on but there’s a lot of heart. I was a mess at the end. Beautifully done.
The Menu
(2022)It was unhinged, but I sort of loved it. At some points it felt twisted for twisted's sake, but there was clearly thought put into every bit of the staging and story.
American Fiction
(2024)Great mix of acerbic, funny, and heartfelt. I really like it as a reaction to the past few years of american media/culture.
Whiplash
(2014)Extremely intense. Unbelievable performance out of Simmons. The examination of ambition and perfection is interesting, but all the characters come off as assholes who didn’t learn anything. Maybe that's "leaving it up to the viewer", but it left me with a sour taste. Definitely earned its intensity badge though.
Anyone But You
(2023)Extremely cute movie. Charismatic cast and some great comedy. You could tell they were having a good time on that set and it shines through. Light and fun, top to bottom.
Valentine's Day
(2010)I’m a sucker for a stacked ensemble and I just love how this shows so many versions of love.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
(2015)Great cast and a well-paced plot keeps this spy thriller moving nicely.
Mean Girls
(2004)Held up much better than I thought it would. Not all the jokes still land (or are worth making), but its message is largely there. Great script overall and some inspired casting.
The Road to El Dorado
(2000)Is really just one of my favorite movies. Soundtrack jams, characters are fun, villains rock. It’s the complete package.
Family Switch
(2023)Funny movie, but not actually very christmasmy. A worthy add to the pantheon of Body Swap movies.
The Holiday
(2006)A great movie about finding and losing love. Stellar cast, decent pacing, very fun vibes.
No Hard Feelings
(2023)I’m shocked at how much I liked this one. It managed to be funny, touching, and everything inbetween. It struck that balance incredibly well, knowing exactly what it was every step of the way.
Elf
(2003)A stellar cast and a genuinely nice message really do cement this as a modern classic.
Pretty silly, but it's a fun format. I also like how you can actually solve the mystery. Everyone seemed like they were having fun.
Meet Me in St. Louis
(1945)Bits of it were very funny and a lot of the songs felt out of place. Nice, in an old-timey way.
Falling for Christmas
(2022)Great as far as stupid christmas movies go. Cast is nice, Lohan seems like she’s doing well, scenery is pretty. A worthy dumb watch.
Stellar music and a star-studded lineup make this a delightful Christmas watch
Sort of shockingly touching. Fun little watch, and good music!
You've Got Mail
(1998)Still very charming! Funny what's still relevant (and what's not)
Enemy of the State
(1998)Tense and twisted. Maybe too many chase / action scenes. But, remarkably prescient- I would have sworn it was a post 9/11 movie.
WALL·E
(2008)Does so much with so little, dialogue wise. Delightful story and hopeful messaging.
The Devil Wears Prada
(2006)There’s a lot of layers here, but it’s ultimately a good movie. Interesting pull between friends and career, plus I learned a bit about fashion.
Aladdin
(2019)Probably the strongest of the live-action remakes. It’s interesting - the parts of it that were new from the original were great. It’s a worse musical, you can’t replicate that. But it expanded the world and characters very effectively. Glad we watched it.
Aladdin
(1992)Really holds up. Great art, songs, and plot (more complex and twisty than I remembered). Robin Williams steals the show, but could be a little much for some of his scenes. Easily a top-tier movie though.
Still hard to sympathize with Steve Martin, but it’s a little easier to enjoy the comedy of errors this time around. Plus, one of the rare Thanksgiving movies.
Beauty and the Beast
(2017)Did the most expansion of any of the other Disney remakes we’ve watched so far. It was largely good - fleshing out the world, places, and characters. The CGI was… competent, but not pleasant to look at. Great cast but worse music (which is to be expected).
Beauty and the Beast
(1991)Still gorgeously animated and heartfelt. Music is good, jokes land, the works. I can see why it’s remained such a classic.
The Little Mermaid
(1989)Interestingly worse than I remember. The animation is rough, closer to "Rescuers Down Under" than it is to "Lion King". The sotry is a little dated and the characters are pretty shallow. Great music and villians though.
Fun little concert. They do the music from the movie and some other songs too. Some fun dancing and great costumes.
Ready or Not
(2019)Absolute delight. Gross, tense, exciting, game-related. The works.
The Babysitter
(2017)Light and stupid, but a fun take on a slasher movie. Writing felt like the weak point, but it was weirdly charming.
The Addams Family
(1991)Creepy, yet extremely charming. Great performances bring new life to a classic family. Some absolutely knock out jokes, too.
Sleepy Hollow
(1999)Suitably Halloween-y. Great cast, decent plot, lots of beheadings.
Happy Death Day
(2017)Low budget and fairly simple, but fun. Good time loop, decently spooky.
The Breakfast Club
(1985)Interestingly timeless, despite how dated parts of it are.
The Lion King 1½
(2004)Not a showstopper, but it’s a pretty fun retelling of the story.
Barbie
(2023)Super funny. A great mix of parody (of like, society itself?) and actual adventure. Manages to be both light and heavy all at the same time. Stellar cast, too.
Too long, but had a good cast and some decent action. Fun continuation of a long-running series.
Great parody, consistently funny, stellar cameos. Light, but nice.
Se7en
(1995)Tense, creepy, gross, and well acted. There's a lot going on, and while I did like it, I'm not sure what exactly it was trying to say
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007)no additional notes, see rating
no additional notes, see rating
How to Train Your Dragon 2
(2014)Cheesier than the first, but a generally good time
How to Train Your Dragon
(2010)Animation was worse than I remembered and some of the jokes are a little flat, but the heart is there.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981)Watching this twice in two weeks was probably a mistake. Really beats you over the head with the action.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(2023)Super great up until the part where it didn't have an ending
no additional notes, see rating
The Sandlot
(1993)Saccharine, but captures the essence of a summer with the boys wonderfully.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(2023)Surprisingly heartfelt. Felt more serious and gross than the others and it was better for it.
Better than I remembered. Pays off some emotional things they’ve been setting up for a while.
Aged surprisingly well. A great swashbucking adventure.
Strange World
(2022)Light and a little predictable, but colorful and interesting.
Spirited Away: Live on Stage
(2023)Really cool to see how they translate a cartoon to the stage. The effects were great and the art direction inspired.
Spirited Away
(2001)Scarier than I remembered, but a very charming story throughout.
Bullet Train
(2022)Extremely fun. Great cast and motion- felt like an old Guy Ritchie movie. Superb top to bottom.
The Italian Job
(2003)Most of the jokes didn’t age well, but the heist itself is good and it’s a great cast.
Oliver & Company
(1988)Great music and cast. Decent story and nice art. Scary for a G rating, but very charming.
Great cast, cute worldbuilding, saccharine plot and light story moments, but a nice outing.
History of the World: Part I
(1981)Inconsistent, but it certainly landed some of its jokes (and showed its age)
The Court Jester
(1955)Extremely silly throughout. Lots of great jokes and choreo. Very fun.
Limitless
(2011)Sort of doofy, but a decent action flick. Dumb presime, but a fun watch.
Magic Mike XXL
(2015)Huge improvement on the first. Fun, cute, great ensemble. Cute message, too. Lighter on the story, but that’s not bad.
Magic Mike
(2012)Had a fun vibe, but veered into more serious drama, and that wasn’t fun. Maybe just a case of missed expectations, but I wish it had just been fun.
The Lost City
(2022)Great setup that the rest of the movie couldn’t quite deliver on, but it was decently fun throughout.
King Kong
(2005)Long, with a lengthy middle, but overall good. A few too many threads, but does a good job making Kong sympathetic. Great cast, too.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
(2018)Cuter than I remember. Stellar cast, decent music. They certainly look like they’re having a good time.
Valentine's Day
(2010)Still very cute. Interesting how perspectives change over time.
The Bad Guys
(2022)Great heist movie, suitably twisty, great cast, delightful animation.
High School Musical
(2006)Cheesy, but charming. I can see why it was so popular. A lot of songs hold up, even it the jokes and characterizations don’t, so much.
Anastasia
(1997)There’s a great family story buried in a boring adventure movie.
Star Trek Into Darkness
(2013)Ultimately lacks the charm of the first one. More if "just an action movie" with a great cast.
Violent Night
(2022)Extremely gory, but had a surprising amount of heart. Great themeing and performances. Enjoyed the heck out of it.
Love Actually
(2003)It hoenstly grew on me. Each of the stories winds its way through love in a novel path. Heartfelt in the right ways. A little dated with some jokes, but it pulls it off.
A Castle for Christmas
(2021)Remarkably charming. Strong supporting cast. Throwaway plot, but I was engaged.
Has a consistently decent cast and cute enough storylines. They’re dumb, but they’re fun. Vanessa Hudgens crushes it.
Spirited
(2022)Very charming. Like most of Ryan Reynolds movies, his charm carries a lot of it. Great cast too though, and the music was catchy.
Klaus
(2019)Absolutely stellar. Charming characters, great art direction. Some odd musical choices, but the whole thing was great.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(2022)Did the modern marvel ring of Tons of Characters, but they did a nice job with Chadwick and the themes of death and vengeance.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
(2022)Delightfully twisted mystery. Stacked cast and music. Cool setting. Definitely a "Last of Shiela" vibe. Great follow up to Knives Out.
Sherlock Holmes
(2009)Decent plot, great cast, bad sound balance. Fun overall though.
He's Just Not That Into You
(2009)Great cast, pretty cheesy, some genuinely funny bits. Dated in interesting ways, but overall very thoughtful.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
(2022)Totally unhinged, but such a blast. Great cast and jokes.
V for Vendetta
(2005)He's a little more cringey romantic than I remembered, but still definitely worth a watch.
Enola Holmes 2
(2022)Cute sequel. Did its job- expanded the universe, built on the characters. Good mystery, great cast.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
(2010)A strong entrant to "movies that are equal parts gory and hysterical". Strong leading performances and a great premise deliver a great movie that's full of heart.
A step up from her others. Flowed well. Pretty funny
RRR
(2022)Extreme stylistic spectacle. Long, but paced well. Wild set pieces throughout. Consistently over the top. What a blast.
Clue
(1985)One of my favorites. Irreverent, slapstick, and boasting a superb ensemble. There's something new to catch in every viewing!
The Bob's Burgers Movie
(2022)Extremely charming. Glad they had time and money for more detailed animation, looked great. Really great to see what they can do with this ensemble we've grown to love.
Werewolf by Night
(2022)Atmospheric, fun, tense in the right ways. A good watch.
Dude writes a great set. Heartfelt and hilarious all at once.
Hocus Pocus 2
(2022)Improved on pieces of the original, worse in others. Correctly focused more on the witches this time around. Had its charms, but fell flat in a few places.
Thor: Love and Thunder
(2022)Great vibes, cinematography, and cast. The plot felt a little... formulaic? Had the same beats as most action movies, especially Marvel. Good watch and is ultimately touching, but felt a little too well-trod.
Logan Lucky
(2017)Superb cast, decent heist. Good vibes, but I could have used a little more from it.
Enchanted
(2007)Silly and charming. Music is fine, but cast is great. Sort of funny to see how unhinged a disney princess running around the real world would be.
Vengeance
(2022)Interestingly touching. Showcased a small story in a big world. Had vibes of A Very Fatal Murder, which I dug. Fun cast, too.
Lightyear
(2022)Surprisingly charming! Well placed and a pretty interesting story.
Unhinged, but touching and delightful. One of his best.
Gunpowder Milkshake
(2021)Great production and cast. Story was _fine_, but I enjoyed it overall.
The Gray Man
(2022)Great cast, fine plot, nonstop action (some of which was good). Could have used more breathing room.
Contact
(1997)One of my favorites. I love the intersection of religion, science, and politics that feels as fresh today as it did in the 90s. Stellar ensemble cast and examination of our place in the universe.
no additional notes, see rating
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
(2007)no additional notes, see rating
Expands on the world created in the first. Feel grand, epic, and rewarding. What a fun movie.
no additional notes, see rating
Big Sam Raimi energy. Mostly felt like a setup for other things, but stood on its own well enough. Stellar worldbuilding.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers
(2022)Forgettable plot, but great attention to detail and volume of Easter eggs. I had a fun time with how self-aware it was!
Sonic the Hedgehog
(2020)Childish, but generally charming. Some of the support cast is superb, others are more forgettable.
The Dark Knight Rises
(2012)Was a little less consistent than its predecessors, but wrapped everything up very nicely. Fitting end to the trilogy.
Batman Begins
(2005)Cheesy in interesting ways, but awesome is most others. A product of its time, but totally holds up.
Moulin Rouge!
(2001)Visually stunning and fun music, but overly long and some weird dramatic frame rate issues.
The Goonies
(1985)A little hokier / more frantic than I remembered, but it's got a great cast and a lot of heart