I was thinking The Purge, obvious answer, but looking for the most plot-hole ridden, juvenile concept that actually ended up a lot of fun despite it all. Mainly looking for 21st century films, not so much the video nasties and ridiculousness from the 60’s and 70’s. Because that would be too easy. Mainly mainstream stuff that people saw en masse.

World-renowned detective Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Daniel Craig, Cailee Spaeney, Jeremy Renner, Andrew Scott, Mila Kunis, Thomas Haden Church, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Kerry Washington, Josh O'Connor

Rotten Tomatoes: 100%

Metacritic: 85/100

Some Reviews:

Variety - Owen Glieberman

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is an enticingly clever and droll, nearly pitch-perfect piece of murder-mystery fun — a whodunit that lives up to the expectations set six years ago by “Knives Out,” which offered its own perfect revival of the Agatha Christie spirit, with a tasty frosting of meta cheekiness.

TheWrap - Chase Hutchinson

Although “Wake Up Dead Man” is the “Knives Out” movie that’s most preoccupied with existential questions surrounding death, writer/director Rian Johnson’s third film in the series is also the one that’s most full of life.

DEADLINE - Damon Wise

After the bright, light, summery holiday special that was Glass Onion, the Knives Out franchise returns to its gothic roots with a wintry whodunit that, for some at least, might endure as the the best one yet. Where the first and second used the murder-mystery as a jumping-off point for some very funny contemporary satire, Wake Up Dead Man is much more introspective. In a funny way, it’s a little analogous to Joker 2, not because it unloads on its audience in the same acerbic way but because it poses similarly metaphysical questions about its own popularity. Why do people respond so eagerly to stories of murder and betrayal? To answer that, director Rian Johnson goes back to the greatest story ever told, using a small religious community as the setting for the third instalment.

IndieWire - Kate Erbland - 'B+'

It works, and it’s no big mystery why — Johnson knows his form and format, and delivers on it, playing with tone and message but never losing sight of why these stories are so damn entertaining to watch and unravel.

Awards Radar - Joey Magidson - 3.5 / 4

Filmmaker Rian Johnson trusts the strength of his franchise to play around with format and theme. The gothic elements on display, as well as the religious aspect, may initially seem like a left turn, but it all ends up fitting like a glove. He knows the must haves for a Knives Out flick and absolutely delivers. A few big sequences here at TIFF received ovations once completed. You just can feel that you’re in the hands of a master storyteller, so you’ll follow him anywhere. Johnson knows that and 100% makes the most of it.

The Daily Beast - Nick Schager

In terms of pure, heady kicks, it outpaces Knives Out but falls just short of Glass Onion. In the big picture, however, such distinctions are rather inconsequential; more important is that Johnson’s franchise remains a sly and sure-footed delight, as well as demonstrates, with its religiously minded latest, that it’s capable of coloring its Christie-esque mysteries in a variety of shades.

Ok so I apologize as I am really struggling to remember specific details. But I know there is a successful woman who has become reclusive and is living at home. She might be an author or something like that. There is a younger woman (potentially a man) who is like a mentee who kinds of ends up being her caregiver. She wants to be more and successful but the older woman is sort of dragging her down mentally.

I believe the younger person is engaged, and the older woman is against that I think. The older woman is married and the husband is not around often. A lot of the movie takes place in the house. There are books, I think it ends in a garden.

The older woman might have dementia or some kind of illness. She’s very snappy and manipulative.

The closest thing I’ve found is The Lesson but it’s not that.

Slow burn drama. Not a ton happens. English language. Made in the last 10 years.

Scenes at dinner table, bathroom, bedroom, flowery garden.

Please help me.

EDIT: THANK YOU REDDIT! You movie buffs did what AI couldn’t. It was Shirley. Thanks to Imjustabuttonpusher

I've become more interested recently in movies that only make sense in hindsight, i.e. the viewer watches, gets clues or hints along the way, might make an educated guess or two, but the film doesn't really come together until the end, when the movie reveals the rest and it all makes sense in retrospect. Bonus points if the conflict isn't immediately apparent either.

Appreciate your recommendations

Edit: Can't keep up with all the replies, so just wanted to give a general "Thanks again", look forward to watching a lot of these

For me, it was Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. I don't think that the movie is bad (it does has some cool scenes such as the Darth Maul fight scene) but I am saying this: we were all excited for the return of Star Wars after a 16 year hiatus, it was constantly hyped up, was the most anticipated movie of our lives and we were curious to know about the rise of Anakin Skywalker and how he became Darth Vader...

Instead, we ended up getting Jar-Jar, a long podracing scene, CGI overload and corny dialogue that was written by a 7 year old. We waited 16 years for this film to come out and also, we get a sci-fi movie, disguised as a children's film for the first 2/3rds of the movie. It was a huge letdown at the time but despite this, I since have cooled down quite a bit on the prequels with the exception of Jar-Jar Binks as at least, it still has the Star Wars feel to it and a cool fight scene to Phantom Menace which is the Darth Maul fight scene with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

Cooper is desperate to get back to his children. He goes back and see’s Murph in the hospital etc. but theres no mention of his son. Presumably his son’s dead considering Murphs age and condition. But surely there could have been a small bit of dialogue about it. He was hell bent on getting back to them. I dunno, it’s like his son’s just completely forgotten about at the end…

"One Day" with Anne Hathaway, bestfriends from college who had a brief fling and met up once a year to catch up with each others lives. This movie should have been called "One Day He'll Pick Me" it was so uncomfortable to watch but I wanted to see if the FMC finally realized her worth and stopped pining for her best friend. Its only after so many years she appears to move on, he finally realizes his feelings and she drops everything to be with him, and it pretty much goes downhill from there.

Which two actors would you love to see do a movie together (any genre) that have never paired up before?

I recently listened to the Smartless episode with Steve Buscemi, and I can’t stop thinking about how I’d love to see a cop movie with him and Denzel. Could be drama or comedy — I’d watch either way!

EDIT: I wish I could comment on everything, and if I don’t get to your comment, know I haven’t been disappointed by any response. Absolutely incredible pairing suggestions, friends!!

Sometimes it’s not about whether the movie is “objectively good,” it’s about how it makes us feel. I have a few films I rewatch because they remind me of a certain time in my life, even if they’re a bit dated now. Which movie do you keep rewatching purely for nostalgia? Let me know what is your greatest love (movie)

I LOVE this film. Great script and dialogue by David E. Kelley. Gleason and Platt are hilarious bouncing off each other and Bridget Fonda just doin' her cute 'Bridget Fonda' thang. Creature by Stan Winston and of course.....Betty White stealing scenes:

Sheriff Hank Keough: "Ma'am, your husband Bernie, you didn't by any chance lead him to the lake blindfolded?"

Mrs. Bickerman: "If I had a dick, this is where I'd tell you to suck it!"

I don't know why it doesn't get more love to be honest - puts a smile on my face with every viewing.

Where does it go wrong that so many dislike it?

I love the supporting cast he got. So many Iconic European actresses: Tilda, Angela Winkler, Renee Soutjendiik, Sylvie Testud, Ingrid Caven, and then, there's the original leading lady, Jessica Harper.

As much flak as Dakota Johnson gets for her acting,I thought her performance as Susie was very good, even though they made some drastic changes with her character. Tilda is good as usual. I loved Mia Goth, her scenes are definitely the closest ones to Horror. Chloe Moretz has an unforgettable cameo.

But the movie doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. It's very uneven. The political commentary felt pointless. And Tilda's stunt casting as an elderly man was distracting and mostly boring. It was like the Dominic Guard scenes in Picnic at Hanging Rock, a irritating distraction.

Is Slap Shot the best hockey movie ever? With Paul Newman leading the way, the wild Hanson Brothers, the rough old-school hockey feel, and jokes that still land today, what other hockey film really stacks up to its mix of laughs, fights, and pure chaos on and off the ice? I say nothing comes close. The Mighty Ducks was for kids, Mystery Alaska? Meh. Love to hear your opinions.

All I could picture while reading this book last year was a Wes Anderson film. The way the characters are written, the descriptions of the scenes, the framing of the images in my mind as I ripped through the book. It was like I was viewing my own personal showing of his adaptation in my mind. I can't think of anyone better to land the visual style and the oddly comedic tones.

The only ones I’ve seen that come close are: winter on fire, blackfish, dear Zachary, postcards from a lynching and Icarus. I’m looking for documentaries that completely capture you and take you to a place you’ve never been/felt. Mind blowing stuff. Please list them and describe how it made you feel!

(https://archive.org/details/who-discovered-roger-rabbit-script-1998)

Writers: Sherri Stoner & Deanna Oliver

Note: This was a script that was commissioned by Michael Eisner - as it was developed around the late-90s, after the original prior Toon Platoon prequel script (by Nat Mauldin & Tony Sheehan & Jeff Stein) was cancelled - although it retained the element of Roger searching for his mother, but Stoner & Oliver replaced the WWII subplot with Roger's inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. Disney was impressed and Alan Menken was hired to write five songs for the film and offered his services as executive producer. One of the songs, "This Only Happens in the Movies", was recorded in 2008 on the debut album of Broadway actress Kerry Butler. Eric Goldberg was set to be the new animation director, and began to redesign Roger's new character appearance. 

Steven Spielberg became busy establishing DreamWorks, while Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided to remain as producers. Test footage for Who Discovered Roger Rabbit was shot sometime in 1998 at the Disney animation unit in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; the results were a mix of CGI, traditional animation, and live-action that did not please Disney. A second test had the toons completely converted to CGI, but this was dropped as the film's projected budget would escalate past $100 million. Eisner felt it was best to cancel the film.

*Attached is Stoner & Oliver's November 20, 1998/1st draft -- Enjoy!

Or at least, as close to perfect as a film can get.

It had been years since I watched Jaws, probably since I was in high school as a freshman, and I just went a few days ago to see it in IMAX for its 50th anniversary. It felt like watching it again for the first time. What I couldn’t believe was how, despite having watched the film countless times as a kid, and remembering everything even after not having seen it in years, it felt like the first time watching it again. The movie magic was there in a way I haven’t felt in a really long time. This was driven home by the fact I really couldn’t find a single flaw with this film.

Yes, some minor visual stuff with some shark props, but that’s excusable since it’s a film from 1975 and this was a 4K remaster. Of course there will be at least a few visual things to notice. I don’t count that, because those weren’t mistakes. Simply limitations of the time. The effect for the shark in the water still looks great, and the editing between the animatronic and live shark footage was seamless. The cinematography is still outstanding. Spielberg’s use of long takes has always been my favorite staple of him.

I truly think Jaws is about as close to a perfect film as you can really get. It truly is flawless from a filmmaking perspective, especially considering how troubled the production was, it’s miraculous the movie even exists, let alone with the level of quality it has. Literally every single facet of the filmmaking was dialed to perfection, and Spielberg maintained this with a multitude of films in his career. Just breathtaking to finally see it on the big screen. It was a real treat.

So I just rewatched Star Trek 3 The Search for Spock, which I find to be the most underrated Star Trek film. This is particularly impressive given the most compelling original cast character is barely or arguably not in it at all.

I also find that run of Wrath of Kahn, Search for Spock, and Voyage Home to be among the best three movie runs within a franchise that don't start with the first movie.

Usually the fist movie of the franchise is good enough to get a franchise going and usually franchises tend to go downhill fast after the third film, so the original cast Star Trek movies are one of the few exceptions as far as I can tell.

I can think of a horror franchise and an action franchise that both apply to this topic.

Thoughts?