Predator

Predator (1987) – The 1980s’ most well-muscled action film conquers on the strengths of a strong setting, genuine suspense, an excellent creature, and a well-handled, high-testosterone cast; the script’s got some clumsy moments, but the many memorable lines more than make up for that flaw. 7

How to Marry a Millionaire

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) – It’s trying to get by on star power, costuming, and shots of New York—all of which it has in spades—but this film is clumsy, tiresome (you about root against Bacall, and oh, God, that interminable symphonic intro), and badly contrived, with obvious (and dated) humor; it might also be noteworthy for pioneering the use of CinemaScope (bugs and all) and the knife it used to stab feminism in the face. 4 

eXistenZ

eXistenZ (1999) – Male enhancement jokes aside, this one plays with the usual VR puzzles but tends well toward the obvious; the film has a good cast and interesting art design, but the plotting is weak and it’s not entirely clear how much of the wooden acting, bad dialogue, and pacing issues are intentional and how much are unintentional, and on the balance, the film can be hard to care about; and you know, eXistenZ itself doesn’t really seem like much of a game, honestly. 5

Double Wedding

Double Wedding (1937) – It’s got good work from the leads and from John Beal, plus some snappy dialogue, but with an extremely thin and completely contrived story and a borderline-painful slapstick finale, this is easily one of the weakest of the many Powell–Loy pairings. 5

Knightriders

Knightriders (1981) – This is an interesting change of pace for Romero: motorcycle jousting is cool, but this movie is significantly overlong—you could cut thirty minutes of motorbike shots and campfire soul-searching with no real loss; it can get pretty corny, especially during the final third, which meanders loosely through Arthurian parallels, but the good character focus makes it immersive and it feels fundamentally genuine (mostly). 6

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld (1936) – This is a wildly extravagant film (yes, the running time is rather extravagant, too), and though it’s loaded with clichés, it’s worthwhile if only for the spectacle; the acting is a mixed bag: Powell does a good job, although he only ever plays one type of character, Rainer is over the top, Loy doesn’t do much, and you could probably play a drinking game with Frank Morgan’s guffawing. 6

Krull

Krull (1983) – With an incohesive, maguffin-riddled damsel plot, clunking dialogue, a bizarre amalgamation of grimness and cheese, an utter lack of respect for its characters, and lethargic battle scenes (Horner’s overblown score tries its damnedest to propel the pace, but you’ve never seen this much standing around), this is absolutely not a good film; nevertheless, it is not unentertaining, and there’s a lot to like, including great art design, some fantastic sets, a number of cool moments, and Liam Neeson. 6

Trancers

Trancers (1984) – It’s got a sweet ’80s sci-fi style and a peculiar sense of humor that mostly works, but the acting, action choreography, direction, and writing can be decidedly second-rate at times (this is a B-movie, after all); the real problem, though, is the sluggish pacing and a by-the-numbers plot that’s just not very interesting. 5

I Love You Again

I Love You Again (1940) – Wow, this is a super-rickety premise even by screwball comedy standards (and it isn’t the least bit believable), but Powell and Loy carry it along nicely with their good performances and outstanding chemistry. 6