Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Wish it had stuck with the opening credits’ simple cheesy fun formula of 80s music and jets flying around at sunset because other stuff like the dialogue (that opening bar scene introducing the aviators is excruciatingly long) and the romance (just, who cares?) is not done very well and interrupts any good flow garnered by the training sequences. That said, the emotion- and action-packed third act (“What were you thinking?” “You told me *not* to think!”) is pretty perfect with a Porsche on top.

6

9 (2009)

A rag doll that awakens in a postapocalyptic future holds the key to humanity’s salvation. (IMDb)

The initial lack of story and character backgrounds is appropriate for the film’s shocking post-apocalyptic world (the “machine” is a compelling threat), as we’re dropped into the desolate setting as naive as our protagonist; the exposition to follow is mostly tasteful (save for the scientist’s heavy-handed yet still insufficient final explanation) and the characters that develop feel shallow but natural. Most significantly though, the animation and action set pieces are consistently fantastic.

7.5/10 (Really Good)