Neon 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 indie distributor Neon-whose latest project "The Monkey" releases in theaters on Thursday. 

Neon's Filmography Ranked:

46.Fire of Love (C)

45.Ammonite (C)

44.Colossal (C)

43.Origin (C)

42.Borg vs. McEnroe (C)

41.Cuckoo (C+)

40.Gemini (C+)

39.Assassination Nation (B-)

38.Wild Rose (B-)

37.It Lives Inside (B-)

36.Ferrari (B-)

35.The Royal Hotel (B-)

34.Crimes of the Future (B-)

33.Presence (B-)

32.Triangle of Sadness (B-)

31.Beach Rats (B-)

30.Possessor (B-)

29.Pig (B-)

28.Immaculate (B-)

27.Self Reliance (B)

26.Flee (B)

25.Little Monsters (B)

24.Perfect Days (B)

23.How to Blow Up a Pipeline (B)

22.Bodied (B)

21.Eileen (B)

20.Revenge (B)

19.Longlegs (B)

18.The Worst Person in the World (B)

17.Little Woods (B)

16.Titane (B)

15.Luce (B)

14.Anatomy of a Fall (B)

13.Infinity Pool (B)

12.Big Time Adolescence (B+) 

11.Spencer (B+)

10.Three Identical Strangers (B+)

9.Sanctuary (B+)

8.Babes (B+)

7.Palm Springs (B+)

6.Pleasure (B+)

5.Parasite (A-)

4.The Beach Bum (A-)

3.I, Tonya (A)

2.Ingrid Goes West (A)

1.Anora (A)

Top Dog: Anora (2024)

This year's current Best Picture favorite tells a deeply human story about a Brooklyn stripper's (Mikey Madison) whirlwind fairy tale turned nightmare romance with the son of a Russian oligarch (Mark Eydelshteyn). In shakier hands, this could've been a thoroughly disjointed affair, but the assured ease in which writer/director Sean Baker and his cast spearheaded by the fearless, unstoppable force that is Madison navigate the abrupt drastic tonal shifts that this story takes allows it to be heart-achingly real every step of the way.  

Bottom Feeder: Fire of Love (2022)

There's a lot of potential for a fascinating documentary to be made about married French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft -who died in 1991 while documenting the eruption of Mount Unzen in Japan, Fire of Love just isn't it. Despite the inclusion of some impressive archival footage the Kraffts shot during their decades of studying volcanoes around the world, director Sarah Dosa tells their story in such a dry, plodding manner that it suppresses the power of the very clear love they had for each other and the work that ultimately cost them their lives.   

Most Underrated: Ingrid Goes West (2017)

Fun fact: Ingrid Goes West was the first film Neon ever acquired when they beat out the likes of A24 and Netflix in an auction for its distribution rights in the hours following its Sundance premiere 8 years ago. If you ask me at least, this was the first sign that Neon was going to become a rapidly ascending force in the independent film space. Matt Spicer's satire of the superficiality of influencer culture and how the illusion of perfection they put into the world helps breed toxicity among their followers is a deeply hilarious, clever film full of outstanding performances that has only gotten better with age as social media celebrities have continued to become more prevalent in the zeitgeist over the past 7 years.      

Most Overrated: Triangle of Sadness (2022)

How such a mild, obvious "eat the rich" satire ended up beguiling enough powerful movie industry figures worldwide to take him the Palm d'Or and earn a Best Picture nomination is completely baffling to me. There have been quite a few movies (The Menu, Saltburn, Infinity Pool, Glass Onion, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Hunt) released this decade alone that are full of funnier, sharper barbs than what Rueben Ostlund constructed here and many of them were able to hit their targets more consistently in a fraction of the time that it took Ostlund (147 minutes) to connect on 50-60% of his dart throws.