Welcome!

Of Mice and Men (1992): It captures the depth and tragedy of the novel with great performances, particularly by Malkovich.

GRADE: A-

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019): When you think about it the film has little to no real plot, but it’s still a fascinating examination of 60’s Hollywood and a rather satisfying twist on the Manson family murders.

GRADE: B+

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): The film is a painfully accurate look into the mistreatment of the mentally ill told through the eyes of a brilliant character brought to life with one of Nicholson’s best performances.

GRADE: A+

The Outsiders (1983): It's a solid adaptation of an excellent novel. The film doesn't always feel as cohesive as it could've been, but the cast is great at capturing the mood  that Hinton was going for. 

GRADE: B

Overlord (2018): Overlord is like a B movie on steroids, with the budget and talents of a full-on, gore-filled war extravaganza. Because of that, the story doesn't differentiate itself much from other war films, of course with the exception of the sci-fi elements.

GRADE: B-

Pan's Labyrinth (2006): A well directed fantasy drama that does a great job of blending the mysteries and horrors of fiction alongside their real life counterparts, making for some fantastic metaphorical storytelling. 

GRADE: A+

Paranormal Activity (2007): Certainly an inventive way to tell a ghost story, but it also limits what can be done to meet the runtime requirements of a feature film.

GRADE: B

Parasite (2019): Parasite boasts a brilliant, well directed screenplay that’s funny, suspenseful, and extremely thought-provoking. It’s full of subtle social commentary and depicts the struggle between the rich and poor with style.

GRADE: A

Paul (2011): Bateman and Hader provide a lot of great comic relief in a comedy that is otherwise full of too many cliched jokes about religion, sex, and anal probing aliens.

GRADE: B

The Perfection (2019): The Perfection is so original, which is quite rare in modern cinema. It's a bit over-the-top and contrived at times, but it works thanks to the unique way they decided to tell the story.

GRADE: B

Planet Terror (2007): Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino team up for a film that is so bombastic, so deranged that you can’t help but enjoy it. It's a testament to sci-fi horrors such "Doom," but this movie knows what it is and uses that to its advantage.

GRADE: B

Poltergeist (1982): It has scenes of real, visceral terror that even the mightiest of brain injuries wouldn’t erase them from my memory. Beyond the vivid imagery, it's also a storytelling inspiration to many modern horror films such as "The Conjuring."

GRADE: A

Poltergeist (2015): It would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that it takes all of the original’s best moments and recreates them almost precisely, which is some poor taste.

GRADE: C-

Predator (1987): Schwarzenegger is just as iconic as the monster that’s hunting him in this immersive creature feature thriller. In terms of jaw-dropping action, McTiernan knows what he's doing.

GRADE: B+

Predator 2 (1990): Although it has its moments, the sequel often feels like a copy and pasted clone from the first film, taking shape in an urban city rather than in the jungle.

GRADE: D+

Predators (2010): Predators is a very contained story, only slightly exploring more Predator lore. It’s still a vast improvement over Predator 2, with lots of enjoyable action sequences to compensate for its lack of gripping characters.

GRADE: C+

The Predator (2018): The Predator is a sloppy, incoherent mess, with enough comedy to rival Marvel’s blockbusters. It doesn’t help that it sports a bland script with paper-thin characters with nothing better to do than spout raunchy jokes and cheesy one-liners.

GRADE: D+

Pulp Fiction (1994): This Tarantino classic proves that there are infinitely innovative ways to tell stories while brilliantly blending genres. 

GRADE: A+

Pumpkinhead (1988): It has Stan Winston’s incredible creature effects, but it lacks the emotional punch that a story like this should have. Pumpkinhead is by no means a great movie, but it often gets overshadowed by other 80's classics with just as many flaws.

GRADE: B-

The Purge (2013): It takes a really cool “what if” concept and instead becomes a very reserved story about a basic home invasion. I would've liked to have seen more of how the purge affects s neighborhood or society as a whole, and from the perspective of more interesting characters. 

GRADE: D+

The First Purge (2018): Instead of exploring how the purge came to be, this feels like just another purge film. Because of that, it has virtually no entertainment value.

GRADE: D-

A Quiet Place (2018): A tense, gripping horror thriller that also doubles masterfully as a story about a family trying to make amends for past mistakes in a world gone mad.

GRADE: A

Rango (2011): Rango brings its characters to life with spectacular special effects for a rather enjoyable animal adventure.

GRADE: A-

Ratatouille (2007): It’s a gleefully bizarre story with a lot of entertainment for all ages. Unique premises like this are perfect for crafting quality animated films.

GRADE: A+

Ready or Not (2019): A dark comedy full of dark, disposable violence that has its moments, but ultimately could’ve made better use of its unique premise.

GRADE: C+

Ready Player One (2018): I’m sorry, but not even the plethora of lovely pop-culture references can save this from being a hollow adaptation of the much better book. This is one of Spielberg's few critical flops.

GRADE: C

The Ring (2002): What makes The Ring work is its sharp direction and delightfully creepy imagery. It is, after all a somewhat generic plot.

GRADE: B-

The Ritual (2017): The story is all too familiar, but The Ritual does effectively build atmosphere and create a general sense of unease.

GRADE: B-

Room (2015): It’s an emotionally powerful journey that starts with one of the simplest premises to ever result in such a masterpiece.

GRADE: A

Sausage Party (2016): Unless you enjoy nonstop crude jokes about sex and drugs, you’ll probably find this film to be dull, boring, and immature.

GRADE: D+

Saw (2004): It has an emptiness to it, not to mention the lack of good acting and over reliance on gore.

GRADE: C

Scary Movie (2000): Scary Movie is nothing more than a stylized, over-the-top comedy that for some reason thinks an infinite number of sex jokes makes it a good film. Besides the occasional well crafted laugh, it's a dull sit.

GRADE: C

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019): To give credit where due, this film was scarier than I thought it would be. It’s simple and predictable, but has some nice performances and genuinely frightening little stories to keep you up at night.

GRADE: B-

Scooby-Doo (2002): Consistently juvenile and less kid friendly than the original television series, Scooby Doo falters far more often than not.

GRADE: C

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004): It’s a step up from its predecessor, but still suffers from a lot of the same problems. It feels just as tonally off and has just as much immaturity. 

GRADE: C

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010): It’s not the most well-rounded story, but on a visual and comedic level Scott Pilgrim succeeds in being an entertaining film.

GRADE: B

Scream (1996): The way it takes stabs at its own genre is brilliant, and to be fair it isn’t lacking in truly frightening scares.

GRADE: A-

Scream 2 (1997): It’s half as scary, but compensated for that by delving deep into the effects of the original’s events on the characters and how they choose to move forward.

GRADE: B+

Scream 3 (2000): Scream 3 is a stale retread of the previous 2 films with less inventiveness, which basically makes it exactly what it attempts to mock.

GRADE: C-

Scream 4 (2011): It would be difficult to make this film not feel like a modernized retread, but if I were judging it just as that, Scre4m manages to check most of the boxes with precision.

GRADE: B

The Shallows (2016): A surprisingly entertaining shark thriller that makes the most of its simple premise.

GRADE: B

Shazam (2019): Shazam is funny, creative, and self aware. Sometimes, it leans too heavily into the comedy and campiness, but it does try something new which makes for an entertaining ride.

GRADE: B

The Shining (1980): A genuinely frightening suspense thriller with some iconic imagery and delightfully ambiguous supernatural implications.

GRADE: A

Shooter (2007): Mark Wahlberg has starred in many a bad action movie, and this one is no masterpiece, but it is consistently entertaining and explosively fast-paced.

GRADE: B-

Shrek (2001): Shrek leans heavily into crude, childish humor, but it has enough fairy tales and charm to overcome its conventions.

GRADE: B+

Shrek 2 (2004): The second outing is just as funny and it has a compelling story to keep all audiences engaged.

GRADE: A-

Shrek the Third (2007): Despite a lot of subplots that don’t work at all, this sequel is still a bit of fun.

GRADE: C+

Signs (2002): This is my favorite of Shyamalan’s films. It blends fantastic themes such as grief and faith with the overall direction and feel of a horror thriller.

GRADE: B+

The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Truly an engaging story from start to finish. Hannibal Lector remains an iconic cannibal psychopath for good reason.

GRADE: A+

Silent Hill (2006): As far as video game adaptations go, it’s not awful. But Silent Hill falls victim to its own cheapness, lack of tension, and absurdly muddled story.

GRADE: C

Silent Hill: Revelation (2012): The writing, particularly the dialogue, is laughably bad. The only redeeming quality this film has is the mannequin spider.

GRADE: F

Snakes on a Plane (2006): Sam Jackson carries an otherwise dull horror comedy that takes itself a little too seriously for its own good.

GRADE: C

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010): The story is so run of the mill that it doesn’t do its source material justice, nor does it become interesting enough to be its own thing.

GRADE: C

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Homecoming elevates the web-spewing hero to new levels, choosing to brilliantly follow the struggles of Peter Parker as he balances school, saving lives, and being a teenager.

GRADE: A-

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019): The action is bigger, the emotions are stronger, and it sets Peter Parker up as a worthy successor to Iron Man.

GRADE: B+

Spirited Away (2001): Truly one of the most engaging animated films I’ve ever seen. On a technical level, there’s so much great imagery and the excellent story only enhances that.

GRADE: A+

Split (2016): Sure, the performances are praiseworthy. The problem with Split is that it’s really not that interesting beyond its obvious exploitation of mental illness as a source of monstrosity and apparently... super heroes? Regardless, the execution is far less appealing than the concept.

GRADE: C+

Starship Troopers (1997): This is pure cheese on every level, knowing when to take itself seriously and when to be just a really fun bug hunt.

GRADE: C+

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999): It has redeeming qualities such as the pod racing, Darth Maul, and John Williams’ amazing score, but this Star Wars prequel is still a boring slog with far too many nonsensical missteps.

GRADE: C-

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002): Attack of the Clones seems to favor mediocre CGI lightsaber battles over dramatic story telling, falling flat from the same boring flaws of its predecessor.

GRADE: D+

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005): A prequel finale that feels as though it is racing against time to tie off its plethora of loose end plot lines, while still having some fun along the way.

GRADE: B

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977): It’s one of those classics that makes you feel like you’re in its universe, standing right next to the very likable characters.

GRADE: A

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980): The second film in the saga is as intelligent as it’s predecessor, and helps to make this fictional universe even more tangible.

GRADE: A+

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983): I honestly think this would be as great as the first two if it didn’t spend so much down time teaching us Ewok culture.

GRADE: B

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015): This film reinvigorated the saga with some much needed intrigue and entertaining action. It also resurrects the best cast members from the originals as well as introducing new, strong lead characters.

GRADE: A

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017): This is a fine example of how subverting audience expectations can backfire. While I respect what Rian Johnson was going for, some of these changes make no sense. But on the bright side his film becomes bold, unpredictable, and is gorgeously shot. If it weren’t for the Canto Bite storyline, I would’ve appreciated it more.

GRADE: B

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019): Star Wars has always been a big world. J.J. Abrams’ conclusion to the Skywalker saga tries its best to tribute It’s predecessors at the expense of some of the intrigue and imagination that this trilogy had set up. Because of that it feels like this world has shrunken. At the same time, I would recommend it to longtime fans just to get closure on this muddled trilogy.

GRADE: C

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016): Even though many it’s characters were paper-thin, this is a story that I think was worth telling, with a conclusion that is as heart-wrenching as it is epic.

GRADE: B

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018): The film has its moments, but why is there even a movie about Han Solo without Harrison Ford in it? It feels like a senseless attempt to “world build,” but it doesn’t have the spark of the main event Star Wars films.

GRADE: C

The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018): Even with its moments of suspense, the film finds itself running in circles as soon as the killings begin.

GRADE: D+

Suicide Squad (2016): An inconsistent, sloppy film that certainly could’ve been worse without the likes of Will Smith and Margot Robbie, but it’s still an absolute mess otherwise.

GRADE: D+

Superbad (2007): An all around great cast makes for some of the best high school shenanigans put on the big screen in quite some time.

GRADE: B+

Tangled (2010): Disney continues to reinvent classic fairy tales with lots of life and Tangled is no exception. It's funny, fast-paced, and surprisingly moving.

GRADE: A

The Terminator (1984): One of the best sci-fi thrillers ever made, The Terminator features iconic characters and a terrifyingly deadly machine that sparked the rest of the franchise.

GRADE: A+

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991): A very worthy sequel that avoids many of the many sequel sins, while still being able to make necessary callbacks to move the story forward.

GRADE: A+

Terminator Salvation (2009): While it has its moments and certainly has the most unique story of the franchise, the execution is sloppy and fails to justify reason to exist.

GRADE: D+

Terminator Genisys (2015): It feels like wacky, bonkers fan-fiction, which is occasionally fun. That doesn't make it a good film though, because as a whole it feels like a total cash grab.

GRADE: C-

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019): The first half had me concerned, and I found myself quite bored. Luckily, once Schwarzenegger and Hamilton pop up it really picks up the pace and becomes a bit better. Very mediocre, but better than the previous three.

GRADE: C+

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): Is it as great as many other horror classics? No. But it is a stellar example of an influential 70’s low budget thriller that gets the adrenaline pumping.

GRADE: B-

The Thing (1982): The movie has some of the best practical creature effects in the history of cinema, which really helps elevate the suspense. Everything else from Kurt Russell's acting to John Carpenter's score enhances the whole experience.

GRADE: A+

The Thing (2011): Because of this prequel’s lack of characterization and impressive practical effects that made the original so effective, it comes off as a weak rehash of the same story with a very disconnected, convoluted connection to its successor.

GRADE: C

Thor (2011): The scenes on Earth are generally fun and more light-hearted than the Lord of the Rings-esque Asgardian setting in which the film spends much of its time.

GRADE: B-

Thor: The Dark World (2013): A bland, lifeless sequel that didn't learn from the mistakes of its predecessors. In fact, it only amplifies them.

GRADE: C

Thor: Ragnarok (2017): It’s the funniest film in the MCU, almost to a fault. But it also deals with serious themes such as grief, loss, and discovering who you are.

GRADE: A

Toy Story (1995): One of Pixar's most endearing stories that most certainly could keep any kid entertained while also telling a compelling story that viewers of all ages can appreciate.

GRADE: A+

Toy Story 2 (1999): Toy Story 2 takes the story in a new, interesting direction that makes great use of the iconic characters.

GRADE: A

Toy Story 3 (2010): A surprisingly thoughtful sequel, Toy Story 3 continues Pixar's signature franchise’s creative run.

GRADE: A

Transformers (2007): Michael Bay quickly establishes the tone he’s going for, with plenty of dog sex, objectification of women, and clunky-edited action sequences. This doesn’t feel like the film that kids who love the action figures would want to see.

GRADE: C

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): It’s clear that this is a franchise that has no clear purpose other than to make money off of those innocent enough to realize how uninspired it is.

GRADE: D+

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Once again, the visual effects are impressive, but why does that matter when the rest of the film is nonsensical.

GRADE: C-

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014): Another lazy, pointless sequel with even less fun action than its predecessors.

GRADE: D+

Transformers: The Last Knight (2017): As if the Transformers movies needed to get any dumber and less interesting. Here's to hoping this is the last one.

GRADE: D

Tremors (1990): Tremors is a perfect example of a creative, yet simple film that blends sci fi, comedy, and horror expertly. This is something that is so difficult to replicate nowadays.

GRADE: A-

Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996): Aftershocks has the laughs and scares of the first, but after the creatures evolve it ironically devolves into your typical creature feature thriller. It's solid enough for a straight to DVD sequel, but not something that'll win you over if you didn't like the first one.

GRADE: C+

Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001): Instead of reinventing the wheel, Tremors 3 is just more of the same. It once again tries to reach new ground, but the characters are much less interesting this time around, and the worms that once made the original so entertaining are less effective and brought to life with cheap CGI.

GRADE: D+

Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004): An interesting concept that is ruined by the film’s constant attempt to reenact the tropes of the original, with little new to offer.

GRADE: D-

Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015): As much as I love Jamie Kennedy, his character was completely wasted to add corny jokes. I wanted to like it, being that it feels like a modernized reboot of the franchise, but it just kind of pandered around with dull humor and bigger, africanized CGI worms.

GRADE: C-

Tremors 6: A Cold Day in Hell (2018): The dialogue and characters are awful, even for a direct-to-dvd sequel. This is the first Tremors film that I utterly despise. It's just completely nonsensical.

GRADE: F

The Truman Show (1998): It takes an extremely inventive premise and uses the dramatic talents of Jim Carrey to heighten its messages about our expectations of modern television.

GRADE: B+

Truth or Dare (2018): It fails to generate a single moment of suspense and struggles to make its narrative interesting because of the dull, abrasive characters. This is easily one of Blumhouse's biggest failures.

GRADE: F

The Turning (2020): The Turning actually builds some intrigue in the first act, but soon devolves into the conventional horror formula with no atmosphere and a horribly abrupt ending.

GRADE: D

Tusk (2014): It winds up feeling like one of those torture porn flops that only keeps audiences engaged with over the top gore and shocks.

GRADE: D+

Under the Skin (2013): Under the Skin gets under your skin when it comes to bizarre sci-fi tropes but it also has a deeper meaning about finding identity.

GRADE: A-

Underwater (2020): Underwater’s sharp direction, incredible production design, and vibrant cast carry what is otherwise a pretty straight forward horror-thriller. From a subjective standpoint, I suppose I'd rather them avoid going too deep into the characters because it would detract from what we came to the movie for.

GRADE: B-

Unicorn Store (2017): It's quirky, bizarre, and entertaining as long as you know what you're in for. At the very least it has a transparent message that hits home.

GRADE: B-

Unsane (2018): Unsane has the perfect atmosphere to make use of this sort of unorthodox cinematography, which Soderbergh utilizes to create the distinct sense of unease. While it's not inherently original or shocking, it's still wildly entertaining thanks to Claire Foy's strong performance. 

GRADE: B

Up (2009): Up is another phenomenal story form PIXAR with more heart than most dramas made for adults. 

GRADE: A

Us (2019): It’s very suspenseful and at times, funny, and I appreciate the deep themes that Peele has incorporated into it. For me, the problem with Us is that the exposition-heavy third act kills the tension and doesn’t really make any sense. Ambiguity is a good thing in horror, but only if it doesn't defy logic in every way.

GRADE: B-

War of the Worlds (2005): It doesn’t leave a lasting impression the way that most Spielberg films do, but it still has all of the fast-paced action sequences and undeniable dread that the source material portrayed. This is, after all, a story that has been done to death and this film is still easily above average.

GRADE: B-

Wedding Crashers (2005): Although Wedding Crashers occasionally leans a bit too far into the “melodramatic romance” that it seems to be making fun of, it’s also full of consistently hilarious jokes courtesy of Wilson and Vaughn. Their chemistry is incredible.

GRADE: B

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013): Scorsese has never made a film that isn't thought-provoking. The Wolf of Wall Street is certainly no exception, and was for the most part fiendishly engaging.

GRADE: B+

The Wolverine (2013): It's a very standard X-Men film in the screenplay department, but it's satisfying to see a Wolverine-centric movie with a lot of high energy, kick-ass action.

GRADE: B

The Woman in Black (2012): It falters a bit in the third act, but Daniel Radcliffe provides an engaging performance in this spooky tale with plenty of creepy imagery and well crafted suspense, avoiding many of the typical horror conventions.

GRADE: B-

Wonder Woman (2017): Wonder Woman is beautifully shot, relevant, and most importantly, inspiring. Gal Gadot totally owns the role, and although the film presents a villain that feels shoehorned into the third act, it doesn't detract much from the excellence that comes before it.

GRADE: A-

World War Z (2013): The sheer spectacle of the action sequences makes up for a somewhat inconsistent narrative and I must say that the final act had all of the suspense of a good zombie film.

GRADE: B-

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009): Jackman’s talent as the titular character isn’t enough to carry a film with a dull plot, cringeworthy dialogue, and laughable special effects.

GRADE: D

X-Men: First Class (2011): With powerful messages and a thoughtful story, First Class allows its cast’s wonderful performances to elevate an equally great script.

GRADE: B

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): It takes the best elements of the other X-Men films, both new and old, and creates a bold spectacle in innovative storytelling.

GRADE: A-

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016): How did a film like this manage to be boring? Its titular villain is one for the comic book record books, but the on-screen iteration is much less intimidating let alone compelling.

GRADE: C

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019): Dark Phoenix is never a boring film, but a weak conclusion to Fox’s franchise with many strange character changes and mediocre action sequences. There comes a point where you need to not overthink how muddled the X-Men timeline has become for the sake of your brain.

GRADE: C

Zombieland (2009): Zombieland is a surprisingly funny and self-aware zombie thriller with a talented cast and all of the satisfying gore fans could want.

GRADE: B+