8 Movies From the 2020s I Like Way More Than Everyone Else Does. Defend Them? Gladly.

Critics and audiences agreed on these. They agreed wrong. Every pick here gets a Guru's Take way above its movie.guru score, and I'll defend each one.

#1 got a 2.8 from everyone. I gave it an 8.6.

1. 8
   I.S.S. (2023)2.8

   A tight space standoff that never pretends to be bigger.

   Audiences beat just 5 percent of movies with it and gave it a C minus CinemaScore. Critics went 61 percent. On a reported $13.8M budget, I side with critics. My Take: 5.0.
2. 7
   Undertone (2025)4.0

   Undertone deserved more than a C CinemaScore shrug.

   Ian Tuason's horror pulled $20,001,151 domestic and 74 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, yet sits at 4.0. My 6.3 says the shruggers were scrolling during the quiet parts.
3. 6
   Die My Love (2025)4.2

   Lynne Ramsay made people uncomfortable on purpose. It worked.

   D+ CinemaScore, 4.2 movie.guru score, but a 72 Metacritic. Lawrence and Pattinson commit like rent is due. It's exhausting by design, and I'm giving it a 6.4.
4. 5
   Babygirl (2024)4.5

   Nicole Kidman's boldest swing deserved way better than this.

   Critics beat 71 percent of movies with it, audiences only 17. It still turned a reported $20M budget into $64,716,399 worldwide. Messy, tense, and Kidman never blinks. My Take: 6.9.
5. 4
   After the Hunt (2025)2.6

   Not good. Miles better than its 2.6, though.

   Reported $70 to 80M budget, $9,438,040 worldwide, C minus CinemaScore. Brutal. But Guadagnino stages arguments like boxing matches, and Andrew Garfield is clearly having a blast being smug. 4.9 from me.
6. 3
   Megalopolis (2024)2.3

   One wild flop beats a hundred safe sequels.

   Reported $120 to 136M budget, $14,448,190 worldwide, D+ CinemaScore. Coppola swung at the moon and hit a parking garage. My 4.6 is for the swing, not the landing.
7. 2
   Last Seen Alive (2022)2.3

   Gerard Butler dad rage is a renewable resource.

   13 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 2.3 movie.guru score. Meanwhile 36,848 IMDb voters landed on 5.7, exactly my Take. Sometimes you just want Butler squinting at strangers for an evening.
8. 1
   Ali G: Who Iz I? (2026)2.7

   Ali G: Who Iz I? is an 8.6. Not a typo.

   movie.guru score 2.8, Metacritic 37, $2,130,602 worldwide. Sacha Baron Cohen directing his old creation again is my exact brand of stupid. Everyone agreed it was bad. I regret nothing.

$731.46 says someone in the comments defends Megalopolis harder than I did and still trashes Ali G.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it