There are a lot of movies out right now in the ether that you can choose from, but sometimes, it’s just so hard to pick which ones are worth your time.
Luckily, we’ve watched a lot of movies lately and have picked out five films that you can check out right now that are absolutely worth spending time with as temperatures get colder and being indoors to watch a movie sounds more and more appealing for a night out (or in).
Let’s check out five of these films, which range from the king of all monsters to the scariest puppet around.
Godzilla Minus One
This one is a breathtaking blockbuster filmmaking, chocked full of tragedy, terror and awe. The Godzilla movie has kind of become a campy brouhaha, veering away of the majesty of Gareth Edwards’ film and the sociopolitical ramifications of the 1950s original.
This one combines those two films with the most compelling human story we’ve gotten in a monster movie in some time, and Takashi Yamazaki pulls from Hayao Miyazaki, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Christopher Nolan to craft a gut-punch spectacle that tears at your heart and blows your mind. It’s the best companion to Oppenheimer we’ll get anytime soon, as Godzilla returns to his metaphorical horror as an allegory for the bomb.
It’s hard in this day and age to really wow with blockbuster entertainment these days, given how meta-focused, corporate and passionless our tentpole films have become. This is a jolt in the spine, the kind of cerebral crowd-pleaser with real stakes and some big action sequences that bring in the goosebumps.
I don’t say this lightly: this is the best monster movie since Cloverfield and one of the best blockbusters of the century; just blown away by what is accomplished here.
Where to Watch: Theaters
The Killer
This is probably the closest David Fincher will ever get to making one of those Fabelman-esque autobiographies, as he picks at the brilliant procedure that’s marked his filmography.
Is the filmmaker in his bag here, hammering out baseballs during a home run derby? Sure. Although, that’s kind of why it’s so intriguing, as Fincher studies why people like him are so mercilessly dedicated to their own craft. This is about the lunacy of compulsion and the crushing expectation of perfection in filmmaking as much as it zaps the rigor out of the killer’s mythos.
Michael Fassbender is so perfectly attuned with what Fincher wants to do here, down to the droll confidence of the self-serious narration to the robotic mechanisms of his work. There’s a deep desire here to splash a cold bucket of water on creative arrogance, the brash instinct we all have that we hung the moon and stars and could never, ever fudge up something so routine.
Well, Fincher seems to be telling on himself a bit, humbling himself to the process and the inescapable margin for error that plagues the species. However, he’s also having much more fun with that notion than he ever has in his career, as he’s embracing the weirdo side that eats just the insides the McDonald’s breakfast sandwich, listens to the same band over and over again to get into the rhythm and, well, does 70-plus versions of the same take because it’s got to be a perfect shot… even if, you know, you’re going to miss every now and again no matter how hard you try.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
The sheer thrill of seeing both the Chicken Run chickens and Kenan & Kel back in action after all these years … aw hell I’m an easy mark.
Really, though, Aardman just knocked this one out of the henhouse. Sure, it moves a little fast, but it’s the perfect sequel to a movie that really didn’t need a sequel, if that makes sense. It expands on the ideas and emotional developments of the first film while throwing in some fun wrinkles and ratcheting up the dark underbelly of Mrs. Tweedy’s plots.
The action just stuns like it did in the first film, as Aardman remains one of the few collectives who can stage this kind of moving sequence packed with so many clever jokes and such ingenious ways of getting from A to B. No wonder Steven Spielberg wanted them at DreamWorks way back when.
I was around seven when the first movie came out, and it really did a number on me. I’m 31 with this one, and I’m very pleased at how this one really did just throw me right back into it all. This is the Toy Story 2 to Chicken Run’s Toy Story, down to the very clear, delightful homages to Toy Story 2 that make that parallel for you. I loved this one. Babs forever!
Bonus: Chicken Run
On one hand, the Toy Story of stop-motion animation. It’s an absolute masterpiece. On the other hand, how did the Tweedys not notice the chickens were wearing clothes and jewelry?
Watch the original Chicken Run and the new film (Dec. 15) on Netflix.
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life
I’m not sure this style of documentary would work for everyone, but it sure as heck works for Albert Brooks. I could’ve watched this for 5 hours.
Where to Watch: Max
Saw X
John Kramer: antihero is so, so much more interesting than anything this franchise has done in eons. Tobin Bell is spectacular here, and there are genuine stakes in the Saw world where Billy the Puppet is far, far less intimidating than the dastardly corporate swindlers who prey on the weak.
This is the kind of reset the Saw films needed, as watching people get stuck in a Jigsaw trap becomes much easier to stomach if you could argue that they’re the ones who put themselves there in the first place. This is easily the best Saw film since the original. I got a little emotional there at the end during a fiercely unexpected moment where Kramer is squarely a moral center, and that’s not something I had on my cinematic Bingo card this year.
Where to Watch: Premium video on demand
