Back to the Future (1985)
Robert Zemeckis’s enduring classic sees a teenager struggle with travelling back in time (as well as struggling with the Oedipal complex) after being transported to a confusing era, 30 years in the past—a time gap that suggests if this were made now, Marty McFly’s destination would be the ancient epoch of 1990 rather than 1955. It’s hard to pick favourites between this and its superb first sequel, involving a time leap forward to the distant future of 2015, and relishing its detailed depictions of a timeline in which Biff Tannen channels the grossness of Trump. Still, there’s a joy to the original that’s hard to top.
The Big Short (2015)
While best-known as an outright comedy director thanks to Anchorman, Talladega Nights and Step Brothers, here Adam McKay turns in a brutally succinct takedown of the American greed causing the Global Financial Crisis. McKay distills hugely complex subject matter down to digestible, Oscar-winning form, using every trick in the book—a stacked cast, dramatic heft, the blackest of comedy, Margot Robbie in a bubble bath—to land this true story’s punches, bringing into full view a mix of satirical skills, anti-establishment attitude, and interest in serious issues previously only hinted at on Saturday Night Live.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
An iconic late 90s slice of mainstream debauchery. Bored rich teens Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillipe) enter into a sexual wager which, if he’s successful, will see Kathryn let him “put it anywhere”. Did we mention they’re half-siblings? Controversial. Add a coke crucifix, strong Reece Witherspoon and Selma Blair performances, pashing practice, and a killer period soundtrack and you have something of a classic (Katie Parker has more on Cruel Intentions in this feature).
Death in Brunswick (1990)
Two all-time Kiwi legends team up for a pitch-black comedy that you shouldn’t be dissuaded from seeing just because it’s Australian. The great Sam Neill plays a chef and the great John Clarke his gravedigger mate, living in dingy 1990 Melbourne, and finding themselves mixed up in a classic wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time comic crime fiasco—involving an accidental death, improper body disposal, gangsters, and pretty much the whole lol-fueled nine yards.
The Endless
Trippy indie horror/sci-fi/drama follows two brothers (co-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) who make a return to the cult/commune they were part of as children. Discovering the remaining members don’t seem to have aged at all in the time they were away is only the tip of an iceberg of weirdness, which also includes tug-of-war with the sky, talk of “ascension” and other strange phenomena in this impressive low budget feature that wipes the floor with much better-resourced pics.
Get Duked! (2019)
This debut feature by music video director Ninan Doff (whose vids include Run the Jewels and The Chemical Brothers) is a black comedy set in the Scottish Highlands, following three problem students (and a nerdy fourth) trying to complete the Duke of Edinburgh award by navigating the wilderness as a team. The DoE award is better known here as the Hillary Award, but I’m not sure what Sir Ed’s opinion would be about either these hip hop-obsessed profane slackers or the landed gentry (led by a masked Eddie Izzard) who begin hunting them for sport. Plenty of laughs to be had as the mayhem piles up, especially from the local cops hunting this gang of “hip hop terrorists”.
The Green Knight
David Lowery’s darkly fantastical medieval tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a stylistic triumph, and one that packs an emotional punch alongside its sumptuous visuals and creative camerawork. Rewarding the patient viewer—especially one comfortable with a bare minimum of narrative hand-holding—Gawain’s journey takes him from little more than a loverboy lush to, well, an emotionally satisfying conclusion that you should best experience for yourself. Dev Patel is a great lead, caught in a predicament borne from a desperation to prove himself, with great supporting turns from the likes of Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Barry Keoghan among others—including the sickliest King Arthur and Queen Guinevere you’ll ever see in the form of Sean Harris and Kate Dickie.
Heathers
Meaner than Mean Girls, high school satire with a bit of John Waters’ view of white middle-class America, the biting Heathers is anchored by a Winona Ryder performance that balances the film’s bleak nihilism with genuine likability—tougher than it sounds. Opposite Ryder is Christian Slater’s OTT Jack Nicholson impersonation, the cast rounded out with spot-on supporting performances. Plot-wise, it’s a surprise some of this stuff ever made it to the screen, but Heathers is all the better for it. Rewatching (and re-quoting) ASAP.
Hotel Coolgardie (2016)
Pete Gleeson’s camera is one of many flies on the walls of the remote Australian mining town two Finnish tourists arrive in, sight unseen, to tend bar for a few months. After the shock of seeing them treated as “fresh meat” by the leering drunk male population subsides, the doco goes on to revel in a bit more than just showing wasted people in less than flattering moments. Not that the culture shock for either the film’s main subjects or the viewer ever truly wears off in the face of Aussie males’ consistently punishing levels of intoxication and sleaze. Their vernacular too, oh boy. “Fuck me dead” indeed.
Palm Springs
Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg play two strangers who hook up at a wedding only to somehow be stuck reliving the same day in this rom-com that flips the time-loop genre on its head. With little hope of breaking the loop, the pair start to embrace the nihilistic idea that nothing really matters—in what’s an enjoyable mix of silliness and seriousness, aided by two leads whose self-improvement we keep rooting for, even through their lowest ebbs.
Sound of Metal (2020)
A drama that doubles as a horror movie for musicians or those who spend too much time listening to them up loud, Oscar winner Sound of Metal is the gripping tale of a DIY scene drummer who loses his hearing. Riz Ahmed is phenomenal as a man dependent on music for his life, relationship, and the stability needed to stave off substance abuse—and as the Academy Awards recognised, it’s a success across the board, with six noms and deserved wins for Best Sound and Best Film Editing.
Step Brothers (2008)
Utterly ridiculous with completely committed performances, this comes as significantly lighter viewing than some of the other entries on this list. Ferrell and Reilly are a joy to behold as squabbling man-babies forced to get along when their respective parents get together, while Adam Scott is great as an asshole (and shines leading an a cappella rendition of Sweet Child O’ Mine remade by boxer Joseph Parker).
Suspiria (2018)
Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria is less a remake than a completely fresh take on Argento’s ballet-academy-run-by-witches premise. Deeply unsettling, with a grim Cold War backdrop, the 2018 version relishes sitting in unease, punctuated with stabs of bizarre choreography and body horror. Anchored capably by Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton, Guadagnino’s pic exits stage left in pulse-pounding fashion.
