The Blues Brothers

Far too long but appropriately iconic. SNL brothers on mission from God flee Nazis, Cowboys and Princess Leia in this oddball epic. Contains two feature length car-wreck scenes, not to mention musical numbers from an army of Jazz cameos such as James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Steven Spielberg.

The Punisher

Thomas Jane punishes Travolta for killing his family and aging so well. He becomes anti-Batman and delivers brilliantly cruel punishment to… well, everyone. He encounters an apartment occupied by a punk, an obese comedian, and a supermodel, but leaves to go on a killing rampage that ends with satisfying cheese.

Event Horizon

Clever sci-fi thriller that borrows conceptually from Solaris and stylistically from Hellraiser. Fishburne and Isaacs make good additions to Alien crew, but Neill’s Jack Torrance is underwhelming. Brilliant set design, Stargate excluded, and effects that beg for 3-D distract from a plot that occasionally tries too hard to wax philosophic.

Independence Day

Emmerich’s first and best version of Earth’s destruction. Combines horror shocks, dramatic beats, clever quips, and exhilarating action to form a film that is ultimately very satisfying. Even Pullman and Quaid manage to deliver in this seminal invasion film that marked the action movie hand off from Goldblum to Smith.

Vanishing on 7th Street

Clever premise for another philosophical endeavor from machinist Anderson. Opening is brilliantly crafted, but the scares quickly become redundant flickers. Falls apart in the second act and gets darker still in the third as the subtext is stated overtly, and the universe logic changes. Ends in A&E’s walking horse shot.

Trick 'r Treat

If the occasional scares aren’t distracting enough to prevent you from piecing together the jigsaw plot, then the laughable cheesiness will. A perfect slasher opening paves the onramp for a highway of scatterbrained Halloween mediocrity that breaks new ground only in its willingness to kill kids. Scariest element: Cox’s nose.

Red State

Smith’s foray into horror is as unusual as one might expect. The premise is terrifying but quickly transforms into a formulaic Christian Hostel. But don’t worry, the torture porn quickly transforms into something infinitely stranger, and culminates in what could be a study on existentialism. Parks’ performance makes evil recreational.

Paul

Shaun and Fuzz team up again but without Wright everything goes wrong. The jokes fall flat, the plot is convoluted, and the character’s are mostly un-sympathetic. Kristen Wiig and the animating team responsible for CGI-ET are the films only saving graces. This Pineapple Express Encounter is less super than bad.