Alfred Molina 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 Alfred Molina-whose latest projects "The Instigators" and "Harold and the Purple Crayon" release in theaters today ("The Instigators" will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on August 9th). 

Alfred Molina's Filmography Ranked:

18.Message from the King (D-)

17.Abduction (D)

16.The Pink Panther 2 (C-)

15.The Truth About Emmanuel (C)

14.The Secret in Their Eyes (C)

13.Rango (C)

12.Identity (C+)

11.DC League of Superpets (B-)

10.Don't Let Go (B-)

9.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (B-)

8.Boogie Nights (B-)

7.Frida (B-)

6.Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (B)

5.Monsters University (B)

4.Spider-Man: No Way Home (B)

3.Promising Young Woman (A-)

2.Spider-Man 2 (A-)

1.Raiders of the Lost Ark (A)

Top Dog: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

It's been 43 years since the launch of Raiders of the Lost Ark and it remains the gold standard for rollicking adventure films. The setpieces are spectacular, Steven Spielberg directs with an infectious wide-eyed glee and Harrison Ford's mix of charisma and vulnerability makes Indiana Jones one of the most fascinating, likable heroes in cinema history.  

Bottom Feeder: Message from the King (2017)

There's not some kind of master blueprint to make good B-movies. The people that have pulled off this tricky feat over the years have all followed their own path to achieve schlock nirvana. The team behind Message from the King went in the opposite direction by providing a nearly step-by-step tutorial on how NOT to do it. This revenge thriller led by the late Chadwick Boseman and a deep supporting cast including Luke Evans, Tersea Palmer and Molina gets absolutely nothing right. The revenge plot is convoluted and full of corny, questionable melodramatic flourishes. All of the action is chopped up to shit. The tone is extremely serious. Not even a single member of the aforementioned cast feels like they were casted correctly for their respective roles. If I were to make a list of worst movies of the past decade, this would easily be among the top 10.        

Most Underrated: Monsters University (2013)

Monsters University repeatedly gets singled out as a Pixar low point, and I just don't believe it's fair damn it! Does it have the highest aspirations in the world as a college-set prequel to Monsters Inc.? No. Does it "need" to exist? Also, no. But it's a sweet, funny movie that does a good job of exploring the origins of Mike Wazowski and Sully's enduring friendship.   

Most Overrated: Boogie Nights (1997)

Some stellar performances and great scenes don't make a great movie. Case in point: Boogie Nights. Paul Thomas Anderson's widely celebrated breakout feature squanders its effective elements (particularly the performances of Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds and Don Cheadle) with meandering pacing that regularly undermines the power of the electricity, shock value and tragedy that sits at the core of its story.