Melissa Leo Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Melissa Leo-whose latest project "Passenger" opens in theaters on Thursday. 

Melissa Leo's Filmography Ranked:

19.Mr. Woodcock (D+)

18.King Ivory (C-)

17.Righteous Kill (C)

16.Guns Up (C)

15.The Equalizer 2 (C)

14.Red State (C)

13.Thunder Force (C+)

12.London Has Fallen (B-)

11.Charlie Countryman (B-)

10.The Equalizer 3 (B-)

9.The Equalizer (B-)

8.Olympus Has Fallen (B-)

7.Frozen River (B-)

6.Oblivion (B)

5.Snowden (B)

4.Flight (B+)

3.The Big Short (B+)

2.Prisoners (B+)

1.The Fighter (A)

Top Dog: The Fighter (2010)

The Fighter very much fits into the mold of a classic fact-based underdog sports drama as it details professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg)'s efforts to mount a comeback after a tumultuous string of events in and outside of the ring put his career on hold for a bit during the mid 90's. What elevates The Fighter beyond its familiar story/structure are some outstanding performances from its entire main cast (Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Leo are alongside Wahlberg at the top of the call sheet), compelling family drama and rousing boxing sequences that sell just how hard Ward had to work to get back into top form. 

Bottom Feeder: Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Craig Gillespie has gone onto have a nice career that's best defined by his genre versatility and ability to make the most out of whatever sized budget he has to work with. Gillespie's longevity in this unforgiving industry is made even more impressive by the fact that his directorial debut was the universally loathed comedy Mr. Woodcock. While the premise of a self-help author (Seann William Scott) returning to his Nebraska hometown to discover that his widowed mother (Susan Sarandon) is dating the gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) that tormented him as a kid isn't bad on paper, the bits that are mined from it are consistently groanworthy and all of the actors involved seem to be acutely aware that they're in a comedy that isn't working and basically just stoically read their lines until they're able to fuck off and enjoy the money they earned from the gig. 

Most Underrated: None

After a few minutes of internal debate, I couldn't justify picking any of Leo's films here. None of the under-the-radar films she's appeared in over the years are titles that I would go to bat for and all of the movies of hers that I really like (The Fighter, Prisoners, The Big Short, Flight) have their fair share of fans. A veteran Oscar-winning character actor getting the abstain treatment here is a real shock to me, and I'd be surprised if this phenomenon occurred again anytime soon.

Most Overrated: The Equalizer (2014)

This is pretty widely considered to be one of the best action movies of the 2010's. Personally, I don't even think that it's the best action vehicle that Denzel Washington and Antonie Fuqua made together during that decade. There are a couple of excellent elements to The Equalizer as Washington is in top form as the meticulous, even-keeled killing machine Robert McCall and the action beats deliver some unflinchingly brutality that makes them standout from their peers. Everything else surrounding these key pillars is pretty suspect as the pacing is pretty sluggish when the bodies aren't dropping, the script's efforts to build up McCall as something other than a highly skilled killer who thought his days of wielding a gun were over are pretty half-hearted and Marton Csokas is completely asleep at the wheel as the film's Russian mobster antagonist. Part of me wants to give this another whirl since it's so well-liked, but my similarly lukewarm thoughts on the sequels that were far from hated by audiences will continue to give me pause. 

Movie Review: Is God Is

Great movies slipping through the cracks of the Hollywood machine is something that's happened throughout my lifetime and almost certainly predates 1992. What makes this occurrence all the more tragic in the present day is that the video store/pay cable ecosystem that used to elevate the profile of titles that were ignored in theaters has been gutted and the odds of something breaking out on streaming are similar to those of winning the Powerball jackpot. With this in mind, I'm going to use my tiny platform to bang the drum for Alesha Harris' incendiary revenge thriller Is God Is-which was quietly released into 1,510 theaters this past weekend and never stood a chance of finding a sizable audience during such a busy stretch of the calendar. 

The revenge plot of Is God Is revolves around twin sisters Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson) who are summoned to their estranged mother's (Vivica A. Fox) home as she lies on her deathbed with simple instructions: Track down their abusive father (Sterling K. Brown) and kill him as payback for setting the three of them on fire before he walked out on the family roughly 20 years prior. After some initial reluctance to honor their mother's dying wish, the twins hit the road and attempt to locate their father by meeting with some other people that he was associated with in the years immediately following the incident (Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson). Eventually, they discover that he lives in a big house with a new wife (Janelle Monae) and twin sons (Xavier Mills, Justen Ross) and have to grapple with the high price that needs to be paid if they follow through on their plans to murder him. 

What makes Is God Is such a distinct take on the revenge story is that it never shies away from the messy reality of the situation Racine and Anaia find themselves in. Their father may be a serial abuser who has zero remorse and endless justifications for his actions (Brown does a stellar job of infusing the character with the kind of coldly menacing monster energy that can be found in terrifying abundance in our world), but this mission reveals a darkness in them that they never had to confront before and the blood that ends up on their hands as a result of them going down this violent path will stick with them for the rest of their days. The thing about being a child of an abuser that nobody wants to discuss is that those monstrous qualities are also in your DNA. Those traits may manifest in different ways, but that evil exists within them and there's no running away from it no matter how hard they try. Being unafraid to grapple with the thorniness of this paradox is an act of unflinching honesty and the weight of this painful truth informs the dynamic shift that occurs as the film progresses. Having a bond that was strengthened by love and being there for each other in the face of decades of facing trauma together be challenged by being in a situation where they're the ones inflicting pain that's similar to what they've faced onto others brings forth an unfathomable ugliness and how Young and Johnson navigate the moral complexity of going from being victims of violence to the ones carrying it out is the most impressive aspect of their powerhouse performances that ask them to run through an intense emotional gauntlet from start to finish. 

Remarkably, Is God Is originated as a stage production that was also written and directed by Harris. This story is so inherently cinematic in scope, look and feel that it's hard to conceive it being mounted in the confined space of a live theater. What makes the fluidity of its transition from stage to film even more impressive is that Harris had never worked as a writer or director on screen prior to this. Jumping into a new medium with such a strong overall clarity of vision-particularly once that is as emotionally and thematically dense as this-is a rare trait that speaks to how gifted Harris is as an artist. I don't know if Harris has any interest in making another film or quite frankly, will be able to secure the funding to do so given how little noise Is God Is is going to end up making at the box office (it'll be lucky to clear $5 mil domestic by the end of its run), but I'd run to watch any feature she was involved with in the future.  

Grade: A-
 

Andy Ritcher Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Andy Richter-whose latest project "Obsession" is in theaters today. 

Andy Richter's Filmography Ranked:

13.My Boss's Daughter (D)

12.Dr. Dolittle 2 (C-)

11.Big Trouble (C)

10.80 for Brady (C)

9.Semi-Pro (C+)

8.Scary Movie 2 (C+)

7.Madagascar (B-)

6.Blades of Glory (B-)

5.Elf (B)

4.Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (B+)

3.Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (B+)

2.Obsession (A-)

1.Pootie Tang (A)

Top Dog: Pootie Tang (2001)

Sine your pitty on the runny kine! Sepatown! Sadatay! Wahdahtah! These are the wise, immortal words of the legend known as Pootie Tang. The impact he's made through his work as a philanthropist, musician and crime fighter will never be properly measured and the world would be a much better place if there more people like Mr. Tang in it. 

Bottom Feeder: My Boss's Daughter (2003)

One of the most unsung staples of the 2000's were comedy movies that came out during the winter or late summer that just completely ate shit in their pursuit of laughs. My Boss's Daughter very well could be my personal favorite example of this long forgotten breed of movie as it's basically a series of loosely connected bits with a romantic subplot where absolutely nothing works. What make this misfire particularly disheartening is that was it directed by comedy legend David Zucker. How the guy behind Airplane!, The Naked Gun and Top Secret! managed to make something so brutally unfunny is one of those mysteries that will never produce an answer that makes any sense. 

Most Underrated: Pootie Tang (2001)

Blaxploitation spoof Pootie Tang is about as niche as comedy gets and its status as a minor cult classic among the people that stumbled upon it on home video or VOD following its disastrous theatrical run in the summer of 2001 proves that. I'm proud to be part of this small group that will champion this movie whenever the opportunity arises. There are honestly only about 15-20 movies that I've ever seen that have me laugh harder than Pootie Tang and one scene in particular is a surefire bet to make me cackle to the point where tears are streaming out of my eyes every single time I see it. Even in the far wackier creative climate of the early 2000's, it's hard to believe that a movie like this was able to secure funding from a major studio and I'd like to thank whoever at Paramount was responsible for greenlighting this for allowing a genuine miracle to happen on Earth. 

Most Overrated: Madagascar (2005)

Admittedly, including Madagascar here is kind of a stretch as it's not aspiring to be much more than a goofy movie for kids and it does a perfectly fine job of delivering on that front. However, it's pretty widely considered to be a classic in the 2000's animation space, and I just think it's too minor of a movie to have such high praise placed upon it.  

Some Thoughts on Obsession Since I Didn't Review It After I Saw It in March:

Does the horror genre have its next ascending star filmmaker in Curry Barker? Time will tell, but Obsession is a mighty promising sign that the 26-year-old that started out making sketch comedy videos on YouTube with his longtime creative partner Cooper Tomlinson-who also appears here in a key supporting role-under the name that's a bad idea is well on his way to becoming one of the genre's most exciting filmmakers. His first feature to play on the big screen (his 2024 feature debut Milk & Serial is available on YouTube) is a really well-constructed piece of work that does wonders with its simple premise revolving around an awkward "nice" guy's (Michael Johnston) wish for their longtime unrequited crush (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him going horribly wrong. Barker does an incredible job of walking a tonal tightrope that frequently switches between dark/cringe comedy and hardcore horror throughout while Johnston and Navarrette deeply commit to making this forced relationship feel nauseatingly uncomfortable from the very moment the wish is granted until it reaches its inevitable horrific conclusion. The story goes to some very twisted places (there are three scenes in particular that caused the sold-out festival crowd that I saw it with to go fucking bonkers) so I'd urge horror fans to check this out as soon as possible before the spoilers are shouted all over the internet rooftops. 

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Wide Receivers

 ()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

50.(+) Quentin Johnston (Chargers)

49.(+) Kayshon Boutte (Patriots)

48.(+) Rashid Shaheed (Seahawks)

47.(+) Luther Burden III (Bears)

46.(42) Josh Downs (Colts)

45.(18) Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars)

44.(+) Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers)

43.(+) Ricky Pearsall (49ers)

42.(+) Christian Watson (Packers)

41.(39) Deebo Samuel (Free Agent)

40.(+) Keenan Allen (Free Agent)

39.(25) Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)

38.(37) Jauan Jennings (Vikings)

37.(34) Khalil Shakir (Bills)

36.(+) Rome Odunze (Bears)

35.(+) Parker Washington (Jaguars)

34.(32) Ladd McConkey (Chargers)

33.(+) Wan'Dale Robinson (Titans)

32.(15) D.J. Moore (Bills)

31.(+) Romeo Doubs (Patriots)

30.(30) Michael Pittman Jr. (Steelers)

29.(31) Jakobi Meyers (Jaguars)

28.(46) Rashee Rice (Chiefs)

27.(16) D.K. Metcalf (Steelers)

26.(+) Michael Wilson (Cardinals)

25.(+) Tetairoa McMillan (Panthers)

24.(11) Mike Evans (49ers)

23.(35) Jameson Williams (Lions)

22.(47) Alec Pierce (Colts)

21.(27) Stefon Diggs (Free Agent)

20.(17) Davante Adams (Rams)

19.(20) DeVonta Smith (Eagles)

18.(28) Courtland Sutton (Broncos)

17.(14) Malik Nabers (Giants)

16.(13) Garrett Wilson (Jets)

15.(21) Jaylen Waddle (Broncos)

14.(10) Terry McLaurin (Commanders)

13.(12) Tee Higgins (Bengals)

12.(23) Chris Olave (Saints)

11.(19) Zay Flowers (Ravens)

10.(29) George Pickens (Cowboys)

9.(8) Drake London (Falcons)

8.(5) A.J. Brown (Eagles)

7.(9) Nico Collins (Texans)

6.(3) CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys)

5.(4) Amon-Ra St.Brown (Lions)

4.(22) Jaxson Smith-Njigba (Seahawks)

3.(1) Justin Jefferson (Vikings)

2.(6) Puka Nacua (Rams)

1.(2) Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals)

2026 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Running Backs

()=2025 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2025

50.(44) Ray Davis (Bills)

49.(38) Justice Hill (Ravens)

48.(+) Samjae Perine (Bengals)

47.(+) Sean Tucker (Buccaneers)

46.(42) Nick Chubb (Free Agent)

45.(12) Chuba Hubbard (Panthers)

44.(22) Brian Robinson Jr. (Falcons)

43.(+) Chris Rodriguez Jr. (Jaguars)

42.(19) Alvin Kamara (Saints)

41.(+) Woody Marks (Texans)

40.(+) R.J. Harvey (Broncos)

39.(14) Aaron Jones (Vikings)

38.(+) Quinshon Judkins (Browns)

37.(+) Ashton Jeanty (Raiders)

36.(+) Kyle Monangai (Bears)

35.(+) Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Commanders)

34.(+) Kimani Vidal (Chargers)

33.(28) Tyler Allgeier (Cardinals)

32.(43) Tyrone Tracy Jr. (Giants)

31.(+) Omarion Hampton (Chargers)

30.(+) Cam Skattebo (Giants)

29.(25) Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots)

28.(29) Jordan Mason (Vikings)

27.(+) Kenneth Gainwell (Buccaneers)

26.(27) Rico Dowdle (Steelers)

25.(16) Bucky Irving (Buccaneers)

24.(17) Tony Pollard (Titans)

23.(23) Rachaad White (Commanders)

22.(+) TreVeyon Henderson (Patriots)

21.(32) J.K. Dobbins (Broncos)

20.(+) Blake Corum (Rams)

19.(9) David Montgomery (Texans)

18.(30) Zach Charbonnet (Seahawks)

17.(40) Jaylen Warren (Steelers)

16.(36) Travis Etienne (Saints)

15.(18) Chase Brown (Bengals)

14.(47) Javonte Williams (Cowboys)

13.(24) Breece Hall (Jets)

12.(37) D'Andre Swift (Bears)

11.(1) Saquon Barkley (Eagles)

10.(5) Josh Jacobs (Packers)

9.(10) Kyren Williams (Rams)

8.(20) Kenneth Walker III (Chiefs)

7.(11) Jonathan Taylor (Colts)

6.(7) James Cook (Bills)

5.(3) Christian McCaffery (49ers)

4.(15) De'Von Achane (Dolphins)

3.(6) Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions)

2.(2) Derrick Henry (Ravens)

1.(4) Bijan Robinson (Falcons)

Movie Review: Mortal Kombat II

2021's Mortal Kombat-which was notable for being the first R-rated take on the legendary fighting game franchise-had two very common gripes from fans: 1. The titular tournament wasn't featured at all. 2.The main character (Lewis Tan's Cole Young) was an original creation for the movie who struggled to leave much of an impression when sharing the screen with MK's stable of iconic characters including Scorpion, Subzero and Sonya Blade. The creative team for the sequel Mortal Kombat II headed up by returning director Simon McQuoid and new screenwriter Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) listened to fan feedback and came up with a really groundbreaking solution: Break out the tournament and make fan favorite character Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) the protagonist.  This application of constructive criticism/olive branch fan service is exactly the remedy MKII needed to improve upon its predecessor.  

Structurally, Mortal Kombat II tests the limits of the definition of narrative storytelling. About 90% of the film is a breathless upchucking of frantic, CGI gore-soaked fights, quips that were collected off the cutting room of all three Deadpool movies and lore dumps about magic amulets that make fighters invincible and warning of the horrors that would fall upon the people of Earth if a tyrannical monster from another dimension were to win the latest edition of an interdimensional martial arts tournament where the losing contestants are typically killed in an over-the-top gruesome manner.  These smooth-brained shenanigans will drive certain viewers absolutely fucking insane as they chug along for a little under two hours until it reaches a conclusion that features wait for it... a tease for the next movie. 

For me, this particular configuration of a Mortal Kombat movie is pretty ideal. The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Mortal Kombat is a relentless stream of over-the-top fights and building a movie around this cornerstone of the game just feels right. Honestly, the only time I wasn't entertained was when they attempted to build an emotional core surrounding Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and her quest for revenge against big bad Shao Khan (Martyn Ford) for killing her father when she was a kid. Trying to establish even just a single somewhat substantial arc for one of these characters is just entirely antithetical to the rest of the movie that is built around things like Character X ripping Character Y's head off or Character A sparing the life of Character B to remind the viewer that they're one of the good guys, and it shows in the complete lack of heart that is put into this subplot. There was really no need to try to apply some half-assed personal stakes to a plot that basically boils down to "if Shao Khan wins the tournament, he will be free to enslave the Earth" and it's really hard to argue that it serves any purpose other than to than fill up the small bursts of dead air that exist between fights. Just let the cartoonish martial arts do the talking and leave the emotional resonance to movies that don't include spontaneous trips to Hell, a recently resurrected man melting goons with the laser eye that some corpse paint-covered wizard conjured up in a few seconds upon request and an avatar for Jean-Claude Van Damme helping save Earth from the brink of extinction. 

Assuming Mortal Kombat III gets greenlit, the path forward for this franchise could suddenly get murkier. Doubling down on the tournament/lore formula could swiftly erase the goodwill that was built up here and pivoting to a weightier story just doesn't make much sense for a franchise that is at its worst when its characters aren't trying to fight each other to the death. While there are certainly far worse outcomes than a fighting game adaptation peaking with something that's on the level of Mortal Kombat II, there's still some room for these movies to grow in terms of leaning into the inherent ridiculousness of this material and upping the creativity of the fight choreography in a world where the possibilities for combat fireworks are basically endless (more stuff on the level of the Kung Lao vs. Liu Kang fight in this installment would be awesome). A flawless victory is in sight, the people behind the controller just have to lock in and put the work into making it happen. 

Grade: B

Karl Urban Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Karl Urban-whose latest project "Mortal Kombat II" releases in theaters today.

Karl Urban's Filmography Ranked:

16.The Loft (D+)

15.Priest (C-)

14.The Chronicles of Riddick (C)

13.The Bourne Supremacy (C) 

12.The Bluff (B-)

11.Riddick (B-)

10.Star Trek Beyond (B-)

9.Doom (B-)

8.Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (B-)

7.Acts of Vengeance (B) 

6.Red (B)

5.Star Trek Into Darkness (B+)

4.The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (B+)

3.Dredd (B+)

2.Star Trek (A)

1.Thor: Ragnarok (A)

Top Dog: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Taika Waititi coming in and revitalizing Thor after The Dark World turned the Norse God into the MCU's biggest liability as a solo movie headliner is one of the best things that's ever happened in the history of this massive franchise. Ragnarok is a big, colorful blast of a movie that is unafraid to get weird and show off Chris Hemsworth's underutilized range by turning Thor into this magnetic goofball who is finally forced to be vulnerable as his home faces extinction from his estranged sister Hela (Cate Blanchett in a delightful scenery-chewing villain turn).

Bottom Feeder: The Loft (2015)

It would be very hard to find a throwback sleazeball thriller attempt that's as misguided as The Loft. Belgian director Erik Van Looy-who is remaking his own 2008 movie Loft in English!-establishes a bafflingly serious tone for a movie with a logline that basically amounts to "five friends find a dead woman in the luxury apartment that they all use for their extramarital affairs and have to figure out who is responsible for this unidentified corpse before the authorities are alerted", none of the actors save for Matthias Scohenaerts-who also appeared in the original-invest any energy into trying to sell the fractures in the group's dynamic that this heinous crime has exposed and the obligatory avalanche of plot twists that arrives in the final act is too clumsily deployed to provide the intended seismic reconfiguring of the lens that the preceding events are viewed through. 

Most Underrated: Dredd (2012)

Plan and simple, Dredd fucking tips. The bloody, slow motion-driven action sequences hit like a truck, the simple plotting and confined apartment complex setting keep the suspense at a very high level throughout and the interactions between Urban's stoic brute Judge Dredd and Lena Headey's cartoonishly evil drug lord Ma-Ma are consistently electrifying. I would be absolutely overjoyed if Urban finally got his longstanding wish to get a sequel off the ground.

Most Overrated: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Being on an island when it comes to Return of the King is one of the loneliest places you can ever find yourself in the world of movie takes. The reality is that I was very underwhelmed by this as a kid and that feeling has stuck with me as an adult. Padding out the runtime by tacking on nearly an hour of inert drama following the destruction of the ring adds a huge anticlimactic streak to what is supposed to be this soaring conclusion to an epic story. Looking back on it now, I'd argue that this creative choice proved to be a harbringer of what was to come with Peter Jackson's drawn-out adaptation of The Hobbit. Perhaps, a rewatch of the full trilogy would unlock something that I missed all of those years ago but for now, I remain firm in my belief that this is easily one of the most overrated movies I've ever watched.