Sean Penn as Spicoli, Cameron Crowe's undercover research, Amy Heckerling's first feature. The 9 reflects what those viewings have confirmed: the film is the founding document of the modern American teen comedy and one of the most influential teen films…
Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman as god-tier Hans Gruber, and one perfect Christmas Eve at Nakatomi Plaza. The rating is not negotiable.
Renny Harlin takes McClane to Dulles Airport on Christmas Eve for the twistiest entry in the franchise. The 8 reflects what the rewatch test has confirmed: the film is genuinely twisty, the action sequences land, the Christmas-Eve airport setting works,…
Jackson, John McTiernan returns to direct, Jeremy Irons as Hans Gruber's brother. It is the best Die Hard sequel and the closest the franchise ever came to matching the original.
The film is held back from a 9.5 or 10 by the studio's decision to cut the theatrical release to PG-13 and by the inevitable franchise-fatigue cost of being the fourth entry. Olyphant's Thomas Gabriel is the franchise's third great…
Tim Curry at the Plaza, the Pigeon Lady, and the rare sequel that surpasses a very good original. It is the rare sequel that is better than a very good original.
Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci fresh off Goodfellas, and Three Stooges traps wrapped around a John Hughes Christmas movie about loneliness. The film holds up better than it has any right to, given that it is essentially Three Stooges slapstick crossed…
The Dirty Dozen is the better-known cousin of The Devil's Brigade, released a year earlier in 1967 to massive box office success. This is going to be a different kind of review because the experience was different.
William Holden, Cliff Robertson, and the true story of the joint US-Canadian commando unit that earned a German nickname. The film tells the true story of the First Special Service Force, a joint American-Canadian commando unit assembled in 1942 to…
Wolfgang Petersen modernized the 1972 disaster classic. Same story, leaner runtime, no religion, upgraded effects.
Gene Hackman, Shelley Winters, and the founding document of 1970s disaster cinema. The Poseidon Adventure is the founding document of the 1970s disaster genre.
The cheerleading comedy filmed at the LA Arboretum. is funnier than its critical reception, with chemistry between leads carrying the film.
The craft notes in these reviews come from the same eye Richard Lowe brings to books. He has authored 113+ books and ghostwritten 54+ more across fiction, memoir, and nonfiction. If you want a book that respects the reader the way the best films do, start with a conversation.
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