Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
This weekend, Sam Raimi’s thriller Send Help, starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien, hits theaters. You can read Megan’s review here. By all accounts, McAdams is clearly having fun with the role, which feels like the perfect excuse to celebrate the woman I share a birthday with and once bought tea for during my first trip to Telluride in 2015.
McAdams broke through in the mid-2000s with a trio of films that instantly embedded her as a pop culture icon: Mean Girls, The Notebook, and Wedding Crashers. She has built a career defined by range and smart choices, moving between sharp comedy, romantic drama, studio filmmaking, and prestige work. Her Oscar nominated performance in Spotlight as a relentless and empathetic Boston Globe investigative reporter distilled the qualities that have always set her apart: intelligence, emotional clarity, and a grounded humanity that elevates everything around her.
10. A Most Wanted Man (2014)
9. Wedding Crashers (2005)
8. Game Night (2018)
7. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (2023)
6. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
5. About Time (2013)
4. Midnight in Paris (2011)
3. The Notebook (2004)
2. Mean Girls (2004)
1. Spotlight (2015)
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