As an ardent moviegoer, I love watching a movie with absolutely no prior knowledge about it. Sometimes, I’ll even skip watching the trailer, soI can go into it completely blind. Experiencing a movie with no preconceived notions makes most films a surprise. However, sometimes you inevitably find out more about a movie beforehand, be it through trailers you watch in a movie theater or by word of mouth. Often they’re negative things, butmovies that exceed viewers' expectationsaren’t all that rare.
For example, after the disappointingBlack Widow, and with the Infinity Saga over, I had no hopes for a good MCU film again, but I lovedShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,one of thebest movies of Marvel’s Phase 4.Even when expectations aren’t stunningly low, people can still be surprised,which is howYuri! On Icebecame one of theanime of the past decade that surpassed expectations, despite no one harboring negative opinions before watching it. The pleasant shock of discovering a great movie accidentally sweetens the viewing experience.
Game Night
Cast
Written by Mark Perez and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Starring Jason Bateman, Billy Magnussen, Rachel McAdams, and Sharon Horgan, the 2018 Comedy sees a routine game night turn into a mystery when one of the regular members is kidnapped.
The newDungeons & Dragonsmovie is one of the most entertaining fantasy action thrillers in recent years, which is no surprise, given that it’s directed by the people who madeGame Night. The latter is an action comedy with a compelling mystery plotline. Decorated with wacky stunts and snappy one-liners, the story suddenly develops into a large-scale caper, without any warning or foreshadowing. From a karaoke dance by Rachel McAdams holding a gun to an egg-catching sequence edited to look like a single long take,Game Nighthas everything I consider entertaining.
The best part is the existence of a coherent emotional thread that pays off in a heartwarming scene at the end. It’s one of my favorite comedies ever, but I went into the film expecting much less.National Lampoon’s Vacationis one of the most iconic comedies of the 1980s and this director duo’s reboot of it fell flat despite starring Ed Helms and featuring legacy cameos. I was expectingGame Nightto be a similar letdown, but it was completely satisfying.
Happy Death Day
Happy Death Day is a horror-comedy film directed by Christopher Landon. Released in 2017, it follows college student Tree Gelbman, played by Jessica Rothe, who is forced to relive the day of her murder repeatedly until she can identify her killer and stop her death. The film blends elements of slasher horror with dark humor, creating a unique entry in the genre.
Before he made the highly successful latest entry in theScreamfranchise, Christopher Landon directed a two-part sci-fi rom-com slasher. The twoHappy Death Daymovies are very different in tone, and I absolutely prefer the direction Landon took with the first one. The balance of rom-com and slasher tropes is nearly perfect, the conventions of both genres working together to strengthen each other.It helps that Jessica Rothe has brilliant comic timing, skillfully selling every hilarious phenomenonwith her body language and witty delivery of punchlines.
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Time loop movies are often very formulaic; even with premises that are emotionally relevant to the central characters, it sometimes feels like if you’ve seen one of them, you’ve seen all of them. So, going into the film, I didn’t have the best expectations, especially because it became clear from the start that it was too comical to be a fear-instilling horror film. However, there’s a significant amount of gore, which is creatively designed to both elicit laughter and fear. This meticulously maintained balance between the multiple seemingly conflicting aspects is why I loveHappy Death Day.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes, released in 2009, features Robert Downey Jr. as the iconic detective and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson. This film follows the dynamic duo as they confront a formidable adversary and work to prevent a catastrophic scheme threatening the stability of England.
While it was released just a year afterIron Mancame out, I didn’t watch theSherlock Holmesmovie until well into the 2010s. By then, Robert Downey Jr. had become permanently attached to the persona of Tony Stark for many fans, including me. I was quite skeptical of theSherlock Holmesmovies because I adore the BBC’s modern take on the detective, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. I wasn’t sure the “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” energy would work for a character like Holmes, especially when set in the late 19th century.
But to my surprise,not only is Downey’s Sherlock markedly different from Tony (I should have had more faith in his acting range), but he’s quite appropriate in the role.The stylish editing in the fight sequences where he analyzes how he should hit his assailants mirrors Tony performing analysis alongside JARVIS. Holmes is rough with clients but has a suave demeanor at times, and Downey finds the perfect balance necessary to portray this, at timesbetter than Cumberbatch’s Sherlock. Downey’s chemistry with McAdams is the frosting on the cake.
The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad: Released in 2021, The Suicide Squad features supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, and Peacemaker, among others, as they join Task Force X. The team embarks on a mission on the enemy-held island of Corto Maltese under the direction of Amanda Waller in this entry of the DC Extended Universe.
Birds of Preyis one of my all-time favorite films. Fleshed-out female characters, attention to detail, ridiculous campy male villains, well-timed jokes, and an enthralling soundtrack all contribute to my enjoyment of the film. It also provided a refreshing change of pace for Robbie’s take on Harley Quinn, which is clearly distant from the horrible characterization in the DCEU’sSuicide Squadmovie. But, with a male director back at the helm, albeit James Gunn, and an overwhelmingly male ensemble, I was skeptical about the reboot.
However, much like withGuardians of the Galaxy, Gunn finds the perfect balance between action and comedy inThe Suicide Squad. The hilarious opening scene lives rent-free in my head because of how unexpected it is and how well it parodies the originalSuicide Squadmovie.Robbie’s Quinn gets her moment in a beautifully edited action sequence with floral effects that reflect the blend of traditional femininity and combat skillsthat define her. However, the best part is that Gunn manages to give every character an emotionally meaningful arc.
The Lego Batman Movie
The LEGO Batman Movie is a spin-off of 2014’s The LEGO Movie, which centers around the titular hero; where after another day in Gotham City goes wrong thanks to the Joker and other fellow DC villains, Batman tells the Joker he’s a pitiful villain, not worth his time and hurts his feelings. Wanting to prove himself to Batman and get his ultimate revenge, Joker concocts an idea that will require the Caped Crusader to learn how to give up the lone vigilante act and recruit the help of allies Robin and Batgirl.
Ask me today, andI’ll say everything is awesome withThe LEGO Batman Movie.But I didn’t always feel that way. As a fan of the character, I was on the fence about the idea of a comical take on Batma, especially the kind of absurdist comedy used inThe LEGO Movie. The particularly awkward brand of humor that’s somehow funny despite being on the nose also seemed like something that’d work only once. So, while I was interested in watching it because it was a LEGO movie, I didn’t have good expectations.
Comedy actor Will Arnett, famous for voicing BoJack Horseman, voices Batman inThe LEGO Batman Movie.
As a fan of Batman,The LEGO Batman Movieis one of the greatest adaptations ever, because it does something every fan of the character needs, whether they realize it or not. It parodies the live-action takes on the character for making him sound too grave, becoming too violent at times, and having no personality beyond being Batman, among other things. There’s nothing remotely serious about the film’s version of the character and that is its biggest strength. The comedy brings out the gimmicky nature of Batman, which I’ll adore and defend forever.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is a 2023 installment in the Transformers franchise where Optimus Prime and the Autobots join forces with the Maximals to counter a global threat. As Earth’s fate hangs in the balance, humans Noah and Elena aid the Transformers in a decisive battle to save humanity.
Christina Hodson wrote the firstTransformersfilm to be made since Michael Bay’s exit from the franchise.Bumblebee, starring Hailee Steinfeld, is a small-scale romantic thriller with a Transformer in it. The nature of the story compared to every otherTransformersfilm gives it the space to develop the characters and craft an emotional thread, making it personally compelling beyond the cool action and music.Transformers: Rise of the Beastssignaled a returnto the grand-scale storylines with multiple characters and deep lore. So, I was naturally skeptical about it.
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The joy of hearing Peter Cullen’s authoritative voice booming in a movie theater is itself a strong selling point, but there are many others. Anthony Ramos plays a scared but normal person, unlike the ever-hyper Sam Witwicky, who was too comical to ever take seriously. Secondly, the characters all have emotional involvement in the story. Thirdly,Pete Davidson as a Transformer is the saving gracethey needed all along. His impeccable comedic timing creates the perfect mix of action and comedy. Finally, the action is large-scale, but over-the-top explosions are minimal.
Venom
Venom is an action sci-fi movie that stars Tom Hardy as the titular Marvel anti-hero. When the Life Foundation begins experimenting on alien lifeforms they find on a comet that landed nearby, Investigative Journalist Eddie Brock begins to investigate them. When an infiltration goes wrong, Eddie finds that one of the aliens has bonded to him, forcing him to learn to live with his new uninvited host. Giving him superhuman powers, the two begin to work together to stop the rest of the symbiote’s invasive species.
On top of a tacky marketing campaign that couldn’t stop harping on howVenomwould be the darkest Marvel movie ever made, as if it was trying to convince itself more than its potential viewers, word-of-mouth limited my expectations ofVenom. Everyone who saw the film either hated it too, or else at least found it cringeworthy. The first time I watchedVenom(probably only because of Eminem’s song), I even fell asleep in the middle of it. I missed all therewatchable scenes of Tom Hardy as Venomthat time around.
Within six years, I came to love the character enough that I watchedVenom: The Last Dancein theaters on the day of its release. Ignoring the expectations Sony was trying to set, and instead, treating the comedy as intentional, turned it into a rom-com for me. These films never know what to do with the characters that aren’t Venom, or even how to resolve open storylines, but that’s alright.The chemistry between Venom and Tom Hardy’s Brock is so good, that being able to watch them bicker justifies sitting through any amount of mediocre filmmaking.
Saw X
Saw X is set between Saw and Saw II, following John Kramer as he seeks an experimental cancer treatment in Mexico. Discovering a fraudulent operation targeting vulnerable individuals, Kramer resumes his role as the infamous serial killer, using his lethal ingenuity to exact revenge on the con artists.
As a fan of gore, my favorite horror film franchise is perhapsSaw.It’s a difficult relationship to maintain, because not only do the later films not live up to the standards set by the firstSawmovie, but many are objectively bad. The only reason to keep watching the films is the violence.The Jigsaw traps get more innovative with time, and in this regard, some of the later films absolutely outdo the first one. But the sense of suspense is never recreated. So, I went intoSaw Xexpecting more of the same.
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Saw X delivers the most personal & bloodiest entry to date, easily making it the best Saw movie sequel & proving there’s still life in this franchise.
Perhaps some interesting traps, but otherwise, an unnecessarily complicated plot that only sets up more sequels, is what I thought I’d be getting. Instead, Jigsaw makes an appearance — his presence immediately elevates the film. The plot is not only relatively straightforward, there’s even an emotional reason for Jigsaw to get involved that ties into his earlier appearances without retconning them.Saw Xis perhaps the second-bestfilm in the franchise. The traps don’t disappoint either, as Jigsaw returns with some diabolical inventions.
John Wick
John Wick is a 2014 action thriller featuring Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman. The film follows John Wick as he emerges from retirement to avenge the loss inflicted by a group of gangsters, setting the stage for a relentless pursuit and exploration of a shadowy underworld.
It is admittedly hypocritical to take a stance about the concept or premise of an action film if you’re an ardent defender of theFast & Furiousfranchise. However, the very idea of someone going on a murderous rampage over a dead dog never appealed to me. It simply sounded like overkill, andI was convinced people were hyping upJohn Wickto be a cooler movie than it actually was.If not for FOMO whenJohn Wick: Parabellumwas released, I might never have watched it.
Today,John Wickis second only toDie Hardin my personal ranking of action thrillers. The slick dialogue, Keanu Reeves' suave fashion statements, the realistic stuntwork, and the beautiful cinematography all make it a must-watch. When Reeves runs around in his suit and shoots 50 men while also getting wounded and somehow stumbling to safety, all I can do is watch with my eyes glued to the screen. The protagonist is simply too charismatic and the world too hypnotic, hyping people up fortheJohn Wickspinoffafter the main series' conclusion.
1The VelociPastor (2017)
Directed By Brendan Steere
The VelociPastorhas the single greatest IMDb blurb of all time — after detailing a bunch of wacky concepts that shouldn’t work together, it ends with a two-word sentence: “And Ninjas.” That was reason enough for me to watch it, even though I had negative expectations. The film sounded like it’d either be too amateurish or simply get lost in trying to balance the bizarre number of genres it was trying to tackle and fall flat on its face. I watched it ironically to get some entertainment by laughing at the film.
Early on, when a car is hit with a cannonball, the screen simply shows an empty street with the words “VFX: Car on fire.” over it.
Not only do I understand whyThe VelociPastorhas a cult following, but I’m one of the people who’ll defend it against any criticism. As a zero-budget feature, it’s endlessly creative, toying with a plot so bizarre that you have to see it to believe it works. It’s set in a world that is just wacky enough for that to seem logical. The no-holds-barred attitude towards crafting an entertaining project makes it seem like a masterpiece.Goofy action like this works only if viewers suspend all disbelief, andThe VelociPastorrewards that effort.
