THE BEST Movies

The area along Wacker Drive near State Street is one of Chicago’s most architecturally significant and iconic locales. Perhaps that’s why Hollywood loves to destroy it over and over again. The A.V. Club looks at some of the many movies which made a mess of the place.

Clint Eastwood directed this retelling of the tragic story of the security guard who went from being lauded as a hero to being treated as a terrorist after the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. If ever there was a cautionary tale for irresponsible journalism, it’s this.

How do you shoot an action film in a single shot, in real time? That was Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes’ (Skyfall, American Beauty) challenge for 1917, a WWI drama that takes audiences into the trenches alongside two British soldiers on a mission to save a battalion from walking into a deadly trap. In theaters 12/2019.

The Royal Ocean Film Society tips its hat to how animated films depict food in this wonderful supercut. There’s Garden of Words‘ mouth-watering kitchen scenes, Wallace and Gromit’s simple toast, Spirited Away‘s disgusting feast and more.

There’s a four-note melody which has found its way into numerous films, often at a moment when a character dies, or is in grave peril. Vox explores the origins of this ominous music, known as Dies Irae, which dates back to the 13th century.

Editor ThorC1138 managed to find scenes from 100 different films in which a character spoke a different number between 1 and 100, then cut them together into a multi-movie countdown. We were really hoping for a rocket lift-off or a big explosion at the end.

vsual. offers this series of abstract prints, each of which features a timeline of color throughout a visually notable film. Choose from horizontal line, concentric circle, or varying width line designs, and movies like 28 Days Later, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and 12 Angry Men. The ones based on animated films are particularly vibrant.

Film essayist Now You See It looks back at the end of the 20th century, and how many of the movies of 1999 seemed to have a consistent theme running through many of them. He dubbed it “The Year of the Cubicle Movie,” with films like Office Space, Fight Club, and The Matrix leading up his theory.

(PG-13) Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes return to the roles that put them on the map, with this politically incorrect sequel that goes completely meta by setting its main characters on a quest to prevent the comic book movie about Bluntman and Chronic from being rebooted by greedy Hollywood producers.

(PG-13: Language) Jean wanted to try out his new basketball. Instead, he ends up taking us on a tour through his star-studded neighborhood, filled with the likes of Brick Tamland, The Dude and Superman. A silly short by Collectif HOTU.

Editor The Unusual Suspect diced up bits and pieces from 156 different movies in order to replicate the vocals from one of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time – Mambo No. 5 by Lou Bega, replacing the names of his female conquests with those of various movie characters.

Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine and Chloë Sevigny lead off a fantastic cast in this drama about a couple who get pulled over by a cop on their first date, and end up being responsible for the officer’s death – but was it a criminal act or self-defense? Drops 11/27/19, just in time for Oscar season.

(Spoilers) If you’ve never seen Rango, drop what you’re doing and stream it now. It’s honestly one of our favorite animated movies ever. Film essayist Josh Keefe looks at Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp’s underappreciated western, and how its genre-bending and aesthetic imperfections helped make it so damned great.

Now You See It points out how great sound design in movies doesn’t just mean creating realistic or believable sounds. The right sound reflects or amplifies a character, the emotion behind a scene, and even the theme of the movie itself.

Now grown up, Dan Torrance is still haunted by that year he spent at the Overlook Hotel, and retains his psychic abilities. He meets a young girl who also has “the shining”, which makes her a target of a cult who feeds on gifted children. Ewan MacGregor stars in this adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining.

For its list of the 10 best movie cars, Drivetribe chose only cars that were either custom-made from the ground up or ones so heavily modified that they’re practically new models. So you won’t find the DeLorean or the Ecto-1 here, making it a more esoteric roundup.

Brad Pitt stars as an astronaut who pursued his career because he idolized his father, who left on a mission to Neptune to discover extraterrestrial life and has not come back. Now the son is tasked to search for his father, but not for a peaceful reunion. Premieres 9/20/19.

Horror visionary Guillermo del Toro presents a summer flick based on the eponymous books of Alvin Schwartz. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is set in 1968, where a group of teenagers find a book filled with horror stories written by an abused girl.

Netflix’s documentary is about a wildly popular Brazilian TV show host. Wallace Souza claimed he started an anti-crime show to help people. He would go on to parlay his show’s popularity to become a politician. But investigations allege that he was more criminal than savior.

In Pixar’s Onward, the world of fantasy creatures has become modern and urbanized. Two elf brothers – voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt – find themselves embarking on a quest to discover magic in their mundane world. Premieres 3/6/20.

Matt Damon stars as Carroll Shelby, and Christian Bale plays race car driver Ken Miles in director James Mangold’s (Walk the Line, Logan) true story about how two upstarts took on massive obstacles to go up against Enzo Ferrari’s dominant team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.

Lessons from the Screenplay points out the strengths of Minority Report. The film makes exposition dramatic by adding conflict, makes the sci-fi parts believable by adding a personal stake, and makes the world more than just a setting by making it the antagonist.

(Gore) Sylvester Stallone writes and stars as John Rambo yet again in the fifth installment of the action series. While the teaser makes it look like an extreme version of Home Alone, Rambo: Last Blood apparently sees our hero journeying to Mexico to rescue a friend’s daughter.

A dress in a London department store ruins the life of anyone who wears it. A literally killer dress? Sounds like the makings of a B-movie, but if the indie masters at A24 picked it up, it must mean it’s a winner.

We prefer seeing movies in their purest form, without 3D, meal service, or other distractions. But over the years, movie studios and theaters have attempted other gimmicks to draw viewers in. The Royal Ocean Film Society explores a some silly and superfluous movie add-ons, including Smell-O-Vision and the terrifying EMERGO!

Set after 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Dark Fate sees Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprise their roles as Sarah Connor and the T-800. Along with a soldier from the future, they try to protect a hybrid Terminator from a new T-1000. Directed by Tim Miller (Deadpool) and premieres 11/1/19.