Greatest Archives

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)::rating::5::rating::5::rating::5

S omewhere in my youth, I decided that Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect movie. Since then, I've come back to it many times, and every rewatch brings the…

Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)::rating::4

L et's imagine Return of the Jedi as a standalone film, forced to stand on its own technical and storytelling merit. In that alternate universe, Jedi endures as a milestone achievement. …

Greatest Latest

A Complete Unknown (2024)::rating::4.5

A Complete Unknown succeeds in every way Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic resoundingly failed. Unlike that wrongheaded misfire, director James Mangold (who co-writes with Jay Cocks) realizes that no one…

Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980)::rating::5

I f the original Star Wars represented the potential of modern cinema, then The Empire Strikes Back is the wondrous payoff. Everything that made the first film a gloriously giddy romp gets improved…

Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (1977)::rating::5

W ith full confidence, I can now point to the exact moment I became a movie nerd. As Star Wars' famed opening crawl faded into the star field, and two warships…

Greatest The Archive The Podcast

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)::rating::4.5

W ith every rewatch, my thoughts on Return of the King grow a little more complex. On one hand, this is most thrilling film in the trilogy. It pays…

Greatest The Latest

Anora (2024)::rating::4.5

A nora is a throwback to the great American character studies of the 1970s. Many emotions and filmmaking genres meld into an impressively coherent story. By turns, this is a searing…

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)::rating::5

W ith this middle chapter, Peter Jackson's epic trilogy hits its stride. The Two Towers is darker, more suspenseful, and more richly textured than its predecessor. It's also more focused…

Feb 2025

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)::rating::4.5

P erhaps the biggest triumph of this movie is that it even exists at all. Tolkien's behemoth novels were so sweeping and ambitious, many readers swore they could never be…

Feb 2025