12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
Depression-era legend of conscientious coach Luke Wilson relocating family to take over Texas orphanage team, sees success on sporting field and changed attitudes. Despite convincing cast, familiar story beats and unconvincing staging lacks energy and never allows drama to build.
13 Minutes (2021)
Various melodramatic strands rather schematically encompass contemporary social concerns, including immigration and abortion, before tornado wipes away community. Without stylistic identity, events feel stitched together before jitterily effective storm and wasteland aftermath.
13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
Solid wartime thrills framed by portentous voice over that proclaims fact-based background of hardened James Cagney's spy training, before following undercover mission to France in days leading up to Allied invasion. Facing cold double-agent Richard Conte, studied tension builds to heroic sacrifice.
100 Rifles (1969)
Handsomely mounted production features impressively scaled action yet misses cohesive narrative and characters to secure empathy beyond the superficial. Casual Jim Brown is after affable bandit Burt Reynolds and fiery Raquel Welch, finding himself at the center of revolution. Snappy Jerry Goldsmith score.
1408 (2007)
Cynical writer John Cusack buries grief and creativity to chronicle phony paranormal claims, until Samuel L Jackson's New York hotel soon questions reality of vengeful spirits and own sanity. Effective Stephen King adaptation, made with convincing style, minor thrills lack emotional and conclusive heft.
1917 (2019)
Seamless technical virtuosity packs visceral punch as British soldiers George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman race across battle ravaged French landscape to prevent doomed assault over the trenches. Compulsive viewing with fierce visuals though little lasting emotion.
1922 (2017)
Bracing, studied design and framing adds considerably to the developing sense of dread as Thomas Jane's blunt farmer confesses to murder and gradually unravels. Intelligent, enveloping use of sound and music, with naturalism transforming to the grisly and the abstract.
1941 (1979)
Exhilarating and exhausting, embracing a manic, epic sensibility to unfurl chaos of a paranoid Los Angeles under rumors of Japanese attack. Even when comedy falters, densely choreographed storytelling and diverting cast provide delirious energy amid gorgeous use of miniatures.
2 Yötä Aamuun (2 Nights Till Morning) (2016)
Two-hander sets up observational romantic drama told with wry style and evolves with fresh intelligence as designer Marie-Josée Croze gets stuck in Lithuania with DJ Mikko Nousiainen. Generously played, character and emotion genuinely resolved.
2:22 (2017)
Visuals are sharp and elegant while the mystery of repetition and historical echoes are suggestive and diverting with anguished air traffic controller Michiel Huisman trying to decipher the meaning. However, increasingly obtuse plot developments rapidly diffuse tension and sense.
20segi Sonyeo (20th Century Girl) (2022)
With an endearing cast and affectionate 1999 setting, energetic tale of young love sees enthusiastic Kim You-Jung mistake identity of best friend's affection with inevitable comic and romantic confusion. Emotional rush leads to quietly moving conclusion.
2012 (2009)
As governments and wealthy build protective Himalayan arks, global apocalypse throws earthquakes, erupting volcanoes and tsunamis to test struggling writer John Cusack in saving estranged wife Amanda Peet and kids. Overblown visual effects pummel story and characters with giddy relish and little sense.
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
Extravagantly designed and vigorously staged, mystery and adventure suitably conjured as mythical sea monster is revealed as fantastical submersible commanded by imperious, despairing James Mason. Set piece driven narrative held together by solid cast.
21 Days (1940)
Slight melodrama, with black sheep of the family Laurence Olivier accidentally killing needy Vivian Leigh's blackmailing husband. Guilt is delayed when prospective judge, and brother, Leslie Banks helps. Only moderately involving with isolated scenes delivering impact.
21 Jump Street (2012)
With a whipsmart energy as affectionate as it is satiric, improbable, incompetent cop duo Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are assigned undercover to bust high school drug ring. Raucous humor and spirited, appealing cast complete inventively dumb package. Enormously enjoyable.
22 Jump Street (2014)
Essentially repeating first film's formula, double-act of neurotic Jonah Hill and unaffected Channing Tatum amps up the meta inside jokes and creatively coarse stupidity, this time sending the two cops undercover at college. Though it flags, maintains barrage of jokes and visuals peppered with comic detail.
23 Paces To Baker Street (1956)
Smooth widescreen visuals match leisurely paced mystery as blind, depressed playwright Van Johnson overhears suspicious conversation in London pub and sets out to prevent potential crime. Hopeful ex Vera Miles and seductive Leigh Harline score help maintain involvement.
24 Hours To Live (2017)
Visually polished, slickly designed action sequences, empty-headed story mechanics as assassin is revived from the dead and seeks revenge. Ethan Hawke struggles to provide emotional core to redemptive arc in welter of explosive violence and whiplash chases.
28 Days Later (2002)
Waking from coma, Cillian Murphy faces fever-dream of desolate London after virus has transformed population to consuming zombies. Blistering thrills punctuate search for survivors and sanctuary as grungy visual aesthetic echoes violent collapse of structured society and sense of humanity.
3:10 To Yuma (1957)
Charles Lawton's gleaming, atmospheric photography and sense of framing is just as vital to elevating the tension as Glenn Ford and Van Heflin's verbal sparring. With its noirish, psychological foundation, the carefully calibrated narrative leads to an explosive and ambiguous finale.
The 39 Steps (1935)
Told with flair and an infectious sense of fun, prototype chase thriller with enough sly wit and narrative twists to propel innocent Robert Donat and irritable Madeleine Carroll from London to Scotland and back. Unflagging pace combines with striking visuals.
The 39 Steps (1959)
Polished, anonymous retread makes minor variations to original adaptation and relies on easy appeal of Kenneth More, accentuating lighthearted tone that strips away suspense. Attractive location photography, without visual identity. Taina Elg is a reluctant accomplice.
42 (2013)
Chadwick Boseman conjures up the charismatic contradictions and conviction in the face of prejudice and racism in a sturdily constructed Jackie Robinson biopic that presses the right emotional buttons. Harrison Ford provides able support. The detail is provocative and moving.
49th Parallel (1941)
German U-boat survivors attempt to survive the rugged expanse of Canada and its diverse people, a tense epic with well cast stars providing depth to a series of speeches that interrupt the fast-moving narrative. Ralph Vaughan Williams delivers a rousing score.
5 To 7 (2014)
A smart, winning combination of American and European flavors and feelings, as aspiring New York writer Anton Yelchin embarks on a doomed affair with French diplomat's wife Bérénice Marlohe. The humor is gentle, the conversation intelligent, the emotion earned.
52 Pick-Up (1986)
Grungy, seedy blackmail and revenge melodrama piles on brutality as narrative twists Roy Scheider into clutches of depraved John Glover whose threat to expose affair soon spirals into murder. Wickedly exploitive and enjoyable, blunt staging and visuals maintain dark rhythm.
The 5th Wave (2016)
Teen survivors fight off continuing alien attacks in a decimated world where adults turn out to be part of the infiltration. Production and cast are attractive, yet the narrative has no impetus and feels like an extended setup for part two. Glum and humourless.
6 Underground (2019)
Two hours of trailer visuals in search of a real narrative as Ryan Reynolds leads an anonymous band seeking redemption and revenge. The rich production values are undeniable, explosions and violence non-stop, empathy and involvement empty. Some glossy thrills break through.
65 (2023)
Admirable in uncluttered setup of intense space visitor Adam Driver crash landing on earth in dinosaur era, visuals and action never embraces crazed potential until race against time as meteors conjure extinction. Spirited, open Ariana Greenblatt provides sharp emotional core.
7 beonbangui Seonmool (Miracle in Cell No. 7) (2013)
Wild tonal shifts eventually work manipulative spell as fanciful narrative sees mentally disabled Ryu Seung-ryong wrongly convicted and imprisoned until young daughter Kal So-won is smuggled inside. Testing comedy, acute emotion, fine support cast of inmates prove effective.
7 Kwang Gu (Sector 7) (2011)
Strikingly designed visuals unfortunately highlight artifice rather than creating immersive atmosphere as crew on remote oil rig face attack from gooey creature out of the depths. Non-stop action after 30 minutes of setup, though performances and style are forced.
7 Women (1966)
Expansive setting of remote 1930s China condenses melodrama to tight design of Margaret Leighton's Christian mission as disruption of practical doctor Anne Bancroft and violent Mongol attack engulfs bleak, personal hardships. Fine cast endure cruel sacrifice to bitter, cynical end.
The 7th Dawn (1964)
Stubbornly uneven approach features comrades in war now epitomizing Malayan Emergency under austere British rule - William Holden's cynical landowner, Capucine's independent schoolteacher, and Tetsurō Tamba's communist insurgent. Atmospheric locations aid bursts of effective action.
8 Million Ways To Die (1986)
Unstable ex-cop Jeff Bridges collapses into noirish, alcohol descent before seeking redemption with revenge on snarling Andy Garcia and saving damaged Roseanna Arquette. Patchy action relies on character detail and sympathetic performances to maintain intensity.