Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

[7] It's best to go into The Rise of Skywalker knowing that this third Star Wars trilogy has never had a strong guiding hand. It's not the result of a carefully premeditated creative effort. Creator George Lucas was not there…
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

[7] The impending apocalypse of Terminator and Terminator 2 Judgment Day was averted, but you can't stop technological 'progress'. Enter Terminator: Dark Fate, a direct sequel to the second film (ignoring two or three films in-between) that sets up a…
Ad Astra (2019)

Ad Astra (2019)

[6] Writer/director James Gray (The Lost City of Z) sends Brad Pitt into space in this film that takes place in the not-too-distant future. Pitt's mission is discover if his long-lost father (Tommy Lee Jones) is the culprit behind attacks…
Valhalla Rising (2009)

Valhalla Rising (2009)

[7] Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives) serves up this meditative drama about a mute, one-eyed, pagan strong man (Hannibal's Mads Mikkelsen) who fights for the entertainment of his Norse captors way back around the year 1000 AD. He…
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

[6] When it was William Shatner's turn to spearhead a Star Trek movie, he wanted it to be about a search for God in which God turned out to be the Devil. The studio let him have his way, and…
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

[8] After dealing with the death and resurrection of Spock in the previous two films, director Leonard Nimoy was given free reign with the fourth entry in the Star Trek franchise. Nimoy decided it was time for the series to…
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

[5] First Blood is a terrific action movie because, as absurd as it gets toward its conclusion, it's rooted in solid drama and with great verisimilitude. This sequel, cowritten by Sylvester Stallone and James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar), and directed by…
The Edge (1997)

The Edge (1997)

[7] Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, and Harold Perrineau survive a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness where they have to rely on each other for survival against the elements and a bloodthirsty kodiak bear who follows them everywhere they go.…
Easy Rider (1969)

Easy Rider (1969)

[7] Dennis Hopper co-writes, directs, and stars in this counter-culture cornerstone about two hippies (Hopper and Peter Fonda) who embark on a cross-country motorcycle road trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans, trying to figure out how to live their…
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

[7] Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, jumps into the director's chair for The Search for Spock, which picks up immediately after the events of The Wrath of Khan. When Kirk (William Shatner) learns that Spock's soul has been transferred to McCoy…