Promising Young Woman (2020)

Promising Young Woman (2020)

[8] Carey Mulligan (Shame, Never Let Me Go) is equal parts sympathetic and terrifying in writer/director Emerald Fennell's psychological thriller Promising Young Woman. Mulligan stars as Cassandra, a medical school dropout whose life was derailed after the sexual assault of…
Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011)

[5] Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) picks up the directing reigns for the fourth Mission: Impossible movie and delivers an entry on par with the series' mediocre track record. This time around Cruise and yet another new ensemble…
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965)

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965)

[6] In this thriller from Britain's Hammer Films, a woman is held against her will by her late fiancĂ©e's mother, a creepy religious zealot who aims to purify her soul to ensure her son's spirit gets into Heaven. Tallulah Bankhead…
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969)

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969)

[6] Geraldine Page (Oscar-winner for The Trip to Bountiful) chews the scenery in a delightfully villainous performance in What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, one of the 'hag horror' movies that popped up in the wake of 1962's What Ever…
The Thing (1982)

The Thing (1982)

[10] This movie does two things extraordinarily well. It transports me and it terrifies me. Before anything scary even happens, director John Carpenter (Assault on Precinct 13, Starman) succeeds in creating an atmosphere of mystery and suspense that locks me…
Bring Her Back (2025)

Bring Her Back (2025)

[8] After the death of their father, a brother and sister (Billy Barratt and Sora Wong) are placed in foster care with a disturbingly odd woman (The Shape of Water's Sally Hawkins) who has sinister plans for them. Barratt suspects…
Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

[5] Tom Cruise makes his Mission: Impossible franchise a trilogy with this installment directed by J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Super 8). This time out, Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) plays the villain, an arms dealer looking to acquire a mysterious, presumably…
One Battle After Another (2025)

One Battle After Another (2025)

[3] It's possible I'll see this movie again in the future and understand it better. I have to assume this is possible, because I love several other Paul Thomas Anderson movies, including Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and…
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

[6] Keanu Reeves (Speed, The Matrix) stars as Klaatu, an alien visiting Earth to assess whether humanity deserves to live or die in this remake of the 1951 atomic-age classic. Humanity's potential for atomic annihilation takes a more ecological bent…
Dante’s Peak (1997)

Dante’s Peak (1997)

[8] Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye) and Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2) star in this old-fashioned disaster flick about a volcano that's about to wipe a small town off the map. Brosnan plays a volcanologist who, in Jaws-like fashion, warns the town of…