The Slept-On Movie Night Kit

Slept-On Cinema presents

The Slept-On Movie Night Kit

10 movies critics got wrong, a spoiler-free thing to look for in each, and a drink to pour while you watch. No guilty pleasures. Just pleasures.

Scores below are Rotten Tomatoes critics / audience as discussed on the show. Every pick is a movie we actually defended on the podcast, so you can hear the full argument after the credits.

1. The Net (1995)

RT 40 / 44. A freelance programmer's identity gets erased, and the movie was ahead of its time on identity theft and the internet. It opened the same day as Waterworld and never got its due. Sandra Bullock carries it.
Look for: a pizza ordered online in 1995, and how a thriller about the early internet now plays as a 90s time capsule.
Read the full defense

2. Anaconda (1997)

RT 37 / 24. A tight 90-minute creature feature with Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson and a gleefully over-the-top Jon Voight. It beat Liar Liar at the box office and then spawned sequels.
Look for: Voight's glares, backwards waterfalls, and Ice Cube winking at his own career.
Pour: a "snake bite", half beer and half hard cider with a dab of blackberry brandy.
Read the full defense

3. Over the Top (1987)

RT 32 / 49. Stallone as a trucker who arm-wrestles his way back into his son's life. It is pure, sincere 80s power with real arm-wrestling footage from a staged 18-hour Vegas tournament.
Look for: the mud flaps, the slow-motion grunting, and how many times the title gets said out loud.
Pour: a boilermaker.
Read the full defense

4. Timecop (1994)

RT 45 / 36. Van Damme polices time travel in a movie that was #1 for two weekends and became his biggest hit. Ron Silver's scheming senator is a genuine treat.
Look for: the opening Civil War gold heist and the roof fight.
Pour: the Time Warp, two scotches with Cherry Heering and Cynar.
Read the full defense

5. Hard to Kill (1990)

RT 33 / 47. The quintessential early-90s action movie. It is exactly what a Seagal film promises: lazy-cool aikido, quotable dialogue and 90 tight minutes. It opened #1 in February 1990.
Look for: the rolling hubcap and the strangely perfect throwaway lines.
Pour: champagne, or Miller High Life, "the champagne of beers."
Read the full defense

6. Drive Angry (2011)

RT 47 / 37. A full-throttle grindhouse Nicolas Cage vengeance movie with everything turned up to 11. It was built for 3D and a loud room, and it delivers exactly what the poster promises.
Look for: the tiny character names in the credits and a very particular pair of cowboy boots.
Pour: a cold beer out of the biggest novelty cup you own.
Read the full defense

7. Wishmaster (1997)

RT 25 / 39. A horror love letter directed by a legendary makeup-effects artist, so its $5 million budget looks much bigger. Practical gore, Andrew Divoff's charming Djinn, and a horror-icon cameo roll call.
Look for: who shows up in the cameos. Pause when you spot one.
Pour: a gin and tonic, ideally one with a blue gin.
Read the full defense

8. Congo (1995)

RT 24 / 29. A stuffed-to-the-brim jungle adventure with Stan Winston gorilla suits, a diamond laser gun and a character-actor cast that keeps going. It opened #1 and made about $81 million on a roughly $50 million budget.
Look for: Bruce Campbell, Joe Don Baker and Delroy Lindo.
Pour: one martini.
Read the full defense

9. Alien 3 (1992)

RT 44 / 46. David Fincher's first feature, a lean, wet, dread-soaked prison-planet horror film made under heavy studio meddling. Judged against two all-time classics, it never had a chance. Standing alone, it is excellent.
Look for: the opening credits and the drinking-bird Easter egg.
Pour: a Guinness, or black coffee if you want it zero-proof.
Read the full defense

10. Predator 2 (1990)

RT 36 / 44. A sweaty Los Angeles sequel that just goes for it: Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Bill Paxton, practical Stan Winston effects and a finale that escalates three times.
Look for: how often the heat gets mentioned, and the third act's three escalations.
Pour: an El Scorpio (mezcal, lime, agave, muddled avocado) or an ice-cold pilsner.
Read the full defense

Want zero-proof? Every drink above works with sparkling water, a tonic with citrus, or a black coffee. The movie does the heavy lifting.

Keep going

No guilty pleasures. Just pleasures.
— GrobeStreet & Stan Steamer