Men In Black

In addition to being uniquely and necessarily a creature of the second half of the 1990s, quite possibly the best popcorn movie of that half-decade.

Men in Black is the rare breed of a sci-fi blockbuster that film audiences don't really get the opportunity to see anymore in theaters.

Men in Black is the wryest, sharpest, most entertaining special effects film in recent memory, a simultaneous participant and mocking parody of the more-bang-for-your-buck behemoth genre.

[Director Barry Sonnenfeld] establishes the premise in the wildly entertaining first 45 minutes and then glides along for the rest of the film on the strength of a poker-faced comic sensibility.

What makes this wildly imaginative setup so much fun is the contrast between the deadpan gruffness of Jones and Torn, and the spectacularly strange environment in which they work.