Overrated!: 17 movies that I found bloated, pretentious, simply overrated and/or outright bad, yet received critical acclaim. (In no particular order)

1. Les Miserables (Tom Hooper, 2012)
2. Frozen (Chris Buck, 2013)
3. Liar Liar (Tom Shadyac, 1997)
4. An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981)
5. Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989)
6. The Road (John Hillcoat, 2009)
7. Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears, 1988)
8. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)
9. All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)
10. Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015)
11. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
12. Flirting With Disaster (David O. Russell, 1996)
13. Black Robe (Bruce Beresford, 1991)
14. Lincoln (Steven Spielberg, 2012)
15. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves, 2014)
16. Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, 2013)-- I hate this movie. It's a special effects show and nothing more. It has next to no plot, dialogue, or even writing. A very small, disingenuous effort at conveying emotion is made by referencing Sandra Bullock's character's daughter left back on Earth, and even that is forced. It is an amazing visual spectacle, but other than that, it is an empty carapace of a movie.

Criminally Underrated!: 52 favorites that I feel were unfairly maligned (either by critics or audience) or misunderstood, in no particular order. (Note that all of these movies are 4-5 stars in my opinion)

1. Election (Alexander Payne, 1999)

2. Submarine (Richard Ayoade, 2010)

3. True Romance (Tony Scott, 1993)

4. Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green, 2008)

5. Raising Arizona (The Coen Brothers, 1987)

6. Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004)

7. Rob Zombie's debut and Sophomore efforts: House of 1,000 Corpses The Devil's Rejects Halloween (2003, 2005, and 2007)

8. Blue Ruin (Jeremy Saulnier, 2013)

9. Goon (Michael Dowse, 2011)

10. House of the Devil (Ti West, 2009)

11. Starry Eyes (Kevin Kolsch/Dennis Widmyer, 2014)

12. John Wick (Chad Stahelski, 2014)

13. 21 Jump Street (Phil Lord/Christopher Miller, 2012)

14. American Ultra (Nima Nourizadeh, 2015)

15. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999)

16. Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik, 2012)

17. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011)

18. Adam Wingard's The Guest (2014) and You're Next (2013)

19. Burn After Reading (The Coen Brothers, 2008)

20. A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006)

21. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Lorene Scafaria, 2012)

22. Scream 2, 3, and 4 (Wes Craven, 1997, 2000, 2011)

23. The Double (Richard Ayoade, 2013)

24. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)

25. World's Greatest Dad and God Bless America (Bobcat Goldthwait, 2008 and 2011)

26. The Serpent and the Rainbow (Wes Craven, 1988)

27. Frailty (Bill Paxton, 2001)

28. Bernie (Richard Linklater, 2011)

29. Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)

30. Shoot 'Em Up (Michael Davis, 2007)

31. Trick 'r Treat (Michael Dougherty, 2007)

32. Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010)

33. The Guard (John Michael McDonagh, 2011)

34. In A World (Lake Bell, 2013)

35. Mean Creek (Jacob Aaron Estes, 2004)

36. Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)

37. We're The Millers (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2013)

38. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)

39. Step Brothers (Adam McKay, 2008)

40. It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014)

41. Cabin In the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2012)

42. Gattacca (Andrew Niccol, 1997)

43. The Mist (Frank Darabont, 2007)

44. Red Dragon (Brett Ratner, 2002)

45. The World's End (Edgar Wright, 2013)

46. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)

47. Super (James Gunn, 2010)

48. Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010)

49. Hostel (Eli Roth, 2005)

50. Adventureland (Greg Mottola, 2009)
51. Only God Forgives (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2013)
52. The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011)

American Ultra Review

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh

Written by Max Landis

Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, 

Connie Britton, John Leguizamo, 

and Topher Grace

         
Most people will watch this and think “that was weird” or “that was a trip”. The brilliance of American Ultra that it is not merely a trip. Sure, it’s a delirious, comedic action movie that is admittedly “trippy” often. But suprisingly, it maintains a balance between that funny, trippy action/stoner/spy/comedy conglomerate and grounded drama. The latter entails the portrayal of the floundering relationship of Mike and Phoebe, two best friends and lovers languishing in young adult malaise, who also happen to be stoners. That may sound like the typical sappy subplot that is thrown in to almost every action movie— the one that mostly ends up coming across as forced or is ignored in the end. But it totally works. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart have some of the most compelling chemistry I’ve seen recently. “Whoa there, Jacob, that’s quite a statement! Surely you aren’t telling me Kristen Stewart can act?”. Hey, come here— I got something to tell you. You’re goddamned right. She is great. She works well, and she has been for some years now. Forget her Twilight missteps. I digress… This balance of batshit dark comedy and tender, meaningful drama is rarely delivered in movies these days. Filmmakers try and often fail. Blending genres is very difficult; American Ultra’s success in this regard is one of its greatest achievements. Despite its self-consciously over-the-top and/or raunchy moments, that balance is seamless. This movie does what other (much loved by myself) action-comedies that subvert their genres (Shoot ‘Em Up, Crank, Kingsman, etc.) did not, which is to be more than the sum of its parts, and it is therefore better than those. I never thought I would say that a film in the same vein as Kingsman is better than it, but it’s happened.

Best Line: Phoebe: Okay, so just lead me through this one more time. Just so I'm clear. 

Mike Howell: Um, I hit him with a spoon and his lungs exploded. 

Rating: 5/5

Reccomendability: 5/5

Legend

5: See it now! (Amazing/Classic)

4: Very good. I would recommend it readily.

3: Good/ inconsistently great..

2: Not good/needlessly squandered potential/terrible but had one great part/etc.

1: Walk away and forget about this one/so goddamned bad it’s awesome.