435 Best Thrilling Movies to Watch (Page 27)

After the critical and commercial success of Concrete Utopia, it makes sense for Lotte Entertainment to turn it into a franchise. Badland Hunters is a more action-focused spinoff, with that dystopian world looking like a wild, wild Seoul and Ma Dong-seok as its lone ranger. Compared to its predecessor, the commentary is scant, the plot is thin, and the only thing that connects it is the apartment. But even with the B-movie mad scientist plot, long-time stunt coordinator Heo Myung-haeng makes his directorial debut wildly entertaining, with solid action that doesn’t depend too much on CGI. Human reptiles aside, Badland Hunters is just so fun to watch.

Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction

Actor: Ahn Ji-hye, Ahn Seong-bong, Hong Yi-joo, Jang Young-nam, Jeong Gi-seop, Jung Young-ju, Kim Young-sun, Lee Han-joo, Lee Hee-jun, Lee Jun-young, Ma Dong-seok, Park Hyo-joon, Park Ji-hoon, Roh Jeong-eui, Seong Byeong-suk

Director: Heo Myeong-haeng

Rating: R

Mystery films and whodunits have placed the rich and powerful in their crosshairs for generations now, and Murder Mubarak proudly follows in that tradition through a tried and tested formula. So while there isn't anything particularly surprising here, the film nails the tone it needs, smartly placing the focus away from the central crime and poking fun at the entire ecosystem of privilege and ego that gets revealed in its wake. Unfortunately, the movie also doesn't sustain this momentum till the end, as it abruptly stumbles toward its inevitable revelations without giving itself time to let the consequences breathe. When it's all over, it actually feels like we don't know many of these individual characters any better than the overall situation they're in.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Aashim Gulati, Brijendra Kala, Deven Bhojani, Dimple Kapadia, Grusha Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Purnendu Bhattacharya, Sanjay Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, Suhail Nayyar, Tara Alisha Berry, Tisca Chopra, Varun Mitra, Vijay Varma

Director: Homi Adajania

When it wants to be, City Hunter is a fun neon-lit buddy cop comedy that giddily and at times gorily takes us through the seedy underbelly of Tokyo. Leading man Ryo is charismatic, the perfect blend of cool and comedic, while leading woman Kaori is just as adept and charming. The film is also as fast-paced and seamless as you’d want any action-packed movie to be. The only problem City Hunter has is that, despite being a modern adaptation of the iconic ‘80s manga, it’s still stuck in a different century. The very first scene we get is that of Ryo ogling a woman’s breasts, which pretty much dictates the tone of the rest of the film. It’s all horniness and objectification—endless jokes at the expense of its female characters—which is a shame since Kaori is a badass lead. I’m not suggesting Ryo should magically transform into a woke and respectable man, scrubbed of all personality, just that the filmmakers should retain a smidge of control and refrain from fully surrendering to the character’s POV.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama

Actor: Asuka Hanamura, Ayame Misaki, Chase Kim, Fumino Kimura, Isao Hashizume, Masanobu Ando, Misato Morita, Moemi Katayama, Ryohei Suzuki, Stephanie Wong, Takaya Sakoda, Tetta Sugimoto, Yuuki Luna

Director: Yuichi Satoh

Rating: R

What seems like The Good Mother's biggest asset is actually its downfall. Yes, the three main actors (Swank, Cooke, and Jack Reynor as the civil servant son, Toby) are all good at what they do, but they're incapable of resuscitating a script that's never truly come to life. These casting choices, obviously made to give some clout to a very mediocre project, feel even more disappointing because the disconnect between actor and character is way too big. For example, Swank is not the alcoholic, fed-up mother we need her to be in this case, and its hard to see this as something else than a derogatory take on her previous more tender and glam roles. Director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte's Sundance-winning As You Are carried a whiff of fresh air, The Good Mother is drained out of all its energy, avoiding reflective depth at all costs, not to mention skirting around the ambivalences of motherhood. 

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Dilone, Hilary Swank, Hopper Penn, Jack Reynor, Karen Aldridge, Larry Fessenden, Laurent Rejto, Norm Lewis, Olivia Cooke

Director: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Rating: R

Pushing an already extreme activity even further beyond its limits, Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold have became the world champions of speed climbing—a variation of the sport that places much greater importance on direct competition over communing with nature. It's fascinating to hear what drives Steck and Arnold to courting death like this, and to see how their vastly different backgrounds and processes have still made them equals in the field. The documentary eventually runs out of ideas, however, as it clumsily shifts tones leading into its last third, and concludes abruptly without much synthesis of everything that had come before. It's still a worthwhile adventure whether or not one is into climbing; it's just disappointing that this story of such a unique rivalry settles into a more generic rhythm by the end.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Documentary

Actor: Dani Arnold, Ueli Steck

Director: Götz Werner, Nicholas de Taranto

Rating: PG-13

With phone scams becoming more elaborate, it’s easy to understand and empathize with the wrath Jason Statham as The Beekeeper has when his elderly friend gets drained out of her entire life savings. It’s thrilling to see him punch his way into the scammers’ headquarters and burn the whole place to the ground. And when director David Ayer uses his extra hour to dial up the low stakes tech scheme into a nationwide scandal that implicates the entire U.S. government, it’s ludicrous, sure, but it’s somehow wildly entertaining. That being said, your mileage of the film highly depends on your tolerance for randomly dropped bee facts and silly bee puns, but The Beekeeper isn’t a terrible choice to watch.

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Adam Basil, Arian Nik, Bharat Mistri, Bobby Naderi, Dan Li, David Witts, Derek Siow, Don Gilet, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Enzo Cilenti, Georgia Goodman, Jason Statham, Jay Rincon, Jemma Redgrave, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Cohen, Josh Hutcherson, Kevin Golding, Kojo Attah, Martin Gordon, Megan Le, Michael Epp, Minnie Driver, Peter Brooke, Phil Hodges, Phylicia Rashād, Rebecca Hazlewood, Reza Diako, Rocci Williams, Sophia Feliciano, Sunny Dhillon, Taylor James, Valentina Novakovic

Director: David Ayer

Rating: R

Not to be confused with the old racist Disney movie, Song of the South is a carefully crafted historical epic based on the classic Vietnamese novel. Set in 1940s Vietnam, French colonial rule hangs over the main story, with the young An searching for his father after a tragic loss. It’s beautifully shot, capturing South Vietnam’s culture in ethereal countryscapes, blatantly nationalistic moments, and excellently choreographed fight sequences. Huynh Hao Khang also depicts An with a charm and charisma that makes his journey the most interesting to watch. However, his journey meanders halfway through, with each change in travel companion unsteadily shifting the tone of the film. Song of the South is an intriguing watch, but the structure, humor, and the CGI distracts from the poignancy of the original novel’s story.

Genre: Drama, Family, War

Actor: Công Ninh, Hồng Ánh, Mai Tài Phến, Trấn Thành, Tuấn Trần, Tuyền Mập

Director: Nguyễn Quang Dũng

Between the film’s non-existent marketing and Hollywood's ongoing writers' strike, I knew not to expect much from Heart of Stone, Netflix’s latest direct-to-streaming outing. And sure enough, the spy thriller proved to be a mediocre watch. The plot is facile and generic, another one of those attempts at justifying AI and government data breaches. The acting is subpar, which is expected from the ever-stoic Gal Gadot. About the only good thing you can say about it is that it has entertaining action sequences. Gadot is precise and terrifying, a stunt wonder made for the genre. Now if only the acting matched the action, then maybe the film wouldn’t feel as plain and wooden. 

Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Alia Bhatt, Archie Madekwe, BD Wong, Enzo Cilenti, Gal Gadot, Giulia Innocenti, Glenn Close, Jamie Dornan, Jing Lusi, Joe Reisig, Jon Kortajarena, Jónas Alfreð Birkisson, Luca Fiamenghi, Mark Ivanir, Matthias Schweighöfer, Neran Persaud, Paul Ready, Roy Sampson, Sophie Okonedo, Thomas Arnold

Director: Tom Harper

Rating: PG-13

Fairly atmospheric, visually creepy, and with a unique premise, A Thousand Days had the potential to be a downright terrifying Indonesian horror film. There’s something here about how rich families are willing to sacrifice impoverished young women in order to save one of their own, especially with the way the Atmojo family hasn’t given the full job details to the three girls in this film. There’s something here as well about how various Indonesian ethnic groups treat each other. However, the way the film arranged its scenes, as well as the film’s casting, fails to match the terror of the original Twitter thread that inspired the film. These choices take away some of the scariness that would have made Sewu Dino totally terrifying.

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Actor: Agla Artalidia, Gisellma Firmansyah, Givina Lukita, Karina Suwandi, Marthino Lio, Mikha Tambayong, Pritt Timothy, Rio Dewanto

Director: Kimo Stamboel