Furious 7

Furious 7 (2015) – Odds are you’re here for the ludicrous action silliness and you don’t care about the awful dialogue or the fact that this is little more a bunch of set pieces strung together amid an utterly nonsensical story; but the action sequences are well done (if physics-disregarding), and the film is entertaining (if you don’t miss half of it while rolling your eyes) in its way (how does Furious 8 top this, send them to space?)—I wanted more Johnson and more Jaa, though; that tribute to Paul Walker at the end would be super weird if you didn’t know he died in real life. 5

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty (1959) – Beautifully animated with great art design, it’s light on songs, but with an effective score, it’s very strong on atmosphere—not to mention loaded with dramatic irony—and the three fairies make for surprisingly effective protagonists (as indeed they are). 7

The World's End

The World’s End (2013) – Amusing and mostly entertaining but only occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, it lacks the spark of the previous Wright/Pegg/Frost collaborations, nor does it send up its genre with the same cutting creativity; the performances are good, but the ending is weak sauce. 6

RoboCop

RoboCop (1987) – It’s an extremely satisfying action movie and a vicious satire loaded with Christian imagery (Robocop himself is, if you will, a Christ for Reagan’s America); although there are some dodgy spots, the acting is mostly a plus (Weller and Smith are the highlights), but let’s be honest: ED-209 is a completely terrible product—seriously, it’s just the worst. 8

Hercules

Hercules (2014) – It’s an interesting take on the subject matter, although the story itself is extremely predictable and doesn’t try very hard; nevertheless, the film has a decent sense of humor, and as Hercules, Johnson, who proves more than a worthy successor to Schwarzenegger’s Conan, carries a film that mostly lacks human interest otherwise. 6

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises (2013) – It’s beautifully crafted, of course, and it takes an interesting and unusual approach to its sound effects, but it lacks tension, it’s a bit self-indulgent, the romance is saccharine, it doesn’t always flow well, and it jarringly refuses to engage its themes directly; the film sweeps the viewer up decently well nonetheless, but one hopes for better from Miyazaki, especially if he really is done. 6

Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Sunrise (1988) – First of all, wow, those leads—but this one’s got a lot of problems, including characters held at arm’s length from the viewers, a muddled and unfocused story, bad dialogue, the unspeakable dumbness of Michelle Pfeiffer’s character, and what is quite possibly the ’80s-est score of all time. 5

The Hobbit

The Hobbit (1977) – It cuts a lot of corners storywise—too many for its own good, in fact—but this is a charming little film that’s true to the spirit of the book; John Huston is an ideal Gandalf, and the soundtrack, headed by the warbly folk stylings of Glenn Yarbrough, is phenomenal. 7