When director Ridley Scott teamed with novelist Cormac McCarthy on The Counselor, expectations ran high, given McCarthy's earlier success with No Country For Old Men. The film instead underperformed at the U.S. box office, failing to recoup its budget, and drew weak reviews, scoring 34 percent with critics on Rotten Tomatoes alongside an even lower audience score.

Over time the picture has gained a more favourable reputation. On Letterboxd, more than 8,000 users have rated it four stars or higher, and many now describe it as an essential piece of modern cinema. The slow, theatrical cartel thriller features Michael Fassbender as an attorney who makes a deal with a Mexican cartel, with Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem in supporting roles, and its dialogue is dense and philosophical, which critics initially found an awkward fit for the screen.S1

Scott dedicated the film to his younger brother Tony, who died by suicide in 2012, and McCarthy remained on set for almost the entire production. Among the film's most quoted lines is one spoken late in the story by Ruben Blades as the cartel boss Jefe, who warns the counselor: "Actions create consequences which produce new worlds, and they're all different." Commentators argue the line captures the logic of the thriller genre itself, in which rash decisions and greed open up new and darker worlds.S1

Forty years after its release, Tony Scott's Top Gun is also being cited as a defining product of the 1980s. Its maximalist style, with sunset-lit scenes, a loud soundtrack, leather jackets and an overt American patriotism framed by vague Cold War politics, makes it emblematic of the decade, even if it is not regarded as the era's best film.S2

Its most famous line comes early, as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise, and his wingman "Goose," played by Anthony Edwards, walk to their jets after a rival, Iceman, wins yet another contest. Maverick replies "I feel the need..." and Goose completes it with "The need... for speed!" The exchange, delivered with a cheesy flourish, establishes Maverick's reckless character, which the academy and military see as a liability even as his results are strong.S2