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1. Terrence Malick’s Ambition Scope is never a problem that Terrence Malick has lacked. His films are genuinely unique to the filmmaker himself, and one of his bestowed gifts is his clairvoyance. The reason why so many of his films become acclaimed long after their initial release is that Malick doesn’t concern himself with contemporary tastes or styles, at least to any significant degree. In the case ofThe Tree of Life, his forward-thinking manner and his shunning of contemporary tastes is a reminder of Malick’s perfectly formed intent when going to work on a new picture....

The Expanse Is Truly Epic in Scale There aren’t many TV series—whether sci-fi or whatever else—that can boast the kind of scale thatThe Expansehas. Despite its sci-fi flavor,The Expansehas more in common with sprawling shows likeGame of ThronesandThe WirethanThe Mandalorian. It starts off small, of course, as we follow a rogue band of lovable misfits who are initially forced together but soon realize that they have a great bond with one another....

The Sopranos: Leading Performances To this day, even as audiences swoon over the antics of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White, it has to be said that nobody has created a character that yet touches what James Gandolfini did with Tony Soprano. He is TV’s original anti-hero, the mob boss that left the suit behind and made bowling shirts cool. What Gandolfini presented to the audience was a wholly three-dimensional person, a person who struggled to maintain his business affairs and his family obligations....

Why the Terminator Movies Went Downhill James Cameron’s departure from theTerminatorfranchise killed the narrative momentum he’d been building with the first two films. The manner of his sudden exit meant that he couldn’t return even if he’d wanted to, and the result was a huge hit: one of the greatest sci-fi filmmakers of all time was no longer able to have any input as to wherehisstory should go with future films....

1. The Tom Cruise Brand As far as acting range and reach, Tom Cruise’s most difficult roles came earlier in his career. These days, he takes on less-challenging roles that don’t demand much acting reach, but he also makes a clear effort to elevate the entire scope of whatever he’s making to new heights. InTop Gun: Maverick—a film that, at first, sounded so out of touch with modern cinema that it confused many industry experts as to why it was being produced in the first place—Tom Cruise best showcased the brand that his name has become in cinema....