RZA 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 RZA-whose latest project "Nobody 2" releases in theaters tomorrow.  

RZA's Filmography Ranked:

15.Mr. Right (C)

14.Minions: The Rise of Gru (C+)

13.G.I. Joe: Retaliation (B-)

12.A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (B-)

11.The Dead Don't Die (B-)

10.Repo Men (B)

9.The Man with the Iron Fists (B)

8.Brick Mansions (B)

7.Due Date (B)

6.Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samauri (B)

5.Problemista (B)

4.Funny People (B+)

3.Nobody (A-)

2.American Gangster (A-)

1.Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (A)

Top Dog: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

A note perfect parody of the artist-commissioned music documentaries that were trendy in the early 2010's (Katy Perry: Part of Me, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, ) along with being one of the only times that a project has properly utilized the immense comedic gifts of Tim Meadows, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a relentlessly hilarious piece of work that holds up beautifully on repeat watches. I really hope that this won't end up being the last time The Lonely Island gets a chance to make a movie together.

Bottom Feeder: Mr. Right (2016)

Shortly before Max Landis was exiled to the hole he belongs in, the most baffling misfire of his writing career was released into the world. Mr. Right pairs a great premise (a romcom about a cheery woman who unknowingly starts dating a prolific assassin and is forced to go on the run with him after they end up in the crosshairs of one of his old targets) with a likable pair of leads (Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick) and yet, the movie just never quite comes together. The genre-mixing is a bit clunky, the jokes aren't all that funny most of the time and the chemistry between Rockwell and Kendrick just isn't strong enough to sell this whirlwind story.  

Most Underrated: Funny People (2009)

Funny People is a movie that I hadn't thought much about over the last 15 years until I rewatched last month ahead of doing a piece on Adam Sandler to coincide with the release of Happy Gilmore 2. Now, I'm writing about it for the 2nd time in the last 3 weeks. Man, the movies are something else! While it's a more flawed film than the beloved pair of features (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) that kicked off Judd Apatow's directorial career, Funny People is still a very funny, deeply human movie that features one of the finest performances Sandler has ever given. It also marked the first time that the world was introduced to the scene-stealing gifts of Aubrey Plaza, which certain people would argue is the true enduring legacy of Funny People (I'm certain people).         

Most Overrated: None

Initially, I put A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas here. Then, I quickly realized that was ridiculous as pretty much nobody fawns over this movie and my primary gripes with it lie in the completely different realm of crushing disappointment (what can I say, I loved the first two Harold and Kumar movies when I was a teenager). Anyways, there's no real replacement for it in RZA's relatively small filmography as I love American Gangster and Nobody and feel Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samauri is a really unique movie that is completely worthy of its cult status.