Tarun Upaday.

Off Duty / Movies

Movies worth your time.

I keep coming back to these films. Most involve a hard problem, a person under pressure, or an idea the film refuses to simplify. Each one has rewarded another viewing.

The ten

  1. 1. Arrival

    Quiet, patient science fiction. The film gives its idea room to unfold, and the ending changes everything that came before it. I didn't see it coming.

  2. 2. Interstellar

    Nolan goes very big and earns it. Hans Zimmer's score carries a lot of the emotion. See it on the largest screen you can find.

  3. 3. Moneyball

    I am not much of a baseball-movie person. This one is about trusting your judgment before everyone else can see the evidence. Brad Pitt was better than I expected.

  4. 4. The Martian

    I read Andy Weir's book first and expected the film to disappoint me. It didn't. Watching someone solve one problem after another is satisfying, and the film is much funnier than I remembered.

  5. 5. Spirited Away

    I came to Miyazaki late. Images from this film have stayed with me for years. It trusts the audience to live with some mystery.

  6. 6. Oppenheimer

    Three hours that move quickly. The tribunal sequence is superb, and the shifting structure works. Watch it in IMAX if you can.

  7. 7. Ex Machina

    Three people in a house, and every conversation changes the balance of power. The film is uncomfortable because its questions have no easy answer.

  8. 8. The Grand Budapest Hotel

    This is the Wes Anderson film where the style, jokes, and story all work for me. The sadness underneath it arrives quietly.

  9. 9. Blade Runner 2049

    A rare sequel that adds something to the original. It is slow, beautiful, and comfortable leaving questions open. Roger Deakins's cinematography alone is worth the time.

  10. 10. Whiplash

    I finished the last twenty minutes and immediately watched them again. The film never settles whether the achievement was worth the cost. J.K. Simmons is terrifying.

Five more worth the time

  1. 11. Apollo 13

    “Work the problem.” It is hard to beat a film about capable people staying calm and doing their jobs.

  2. 12. Contact

    Arrival before Arrival. Jodie Foster is excellent, and the film takes its premise seriously all the way through.

  3. 13. Dr. Strangelove

    I expected it to feel dated. The jokes about institutional stupidity and bureaucratic inertia still land.

  4. 14. The Hunt for Red October

    Very little happens for the first hour, yet the film never feels slow. Sean Connery works in a role that should not work. The chess match is enough.

  5. 15. Inception

    I have watched it three times, and the structure still holds together. The ending is the right one.

On the to-watch shelf

The Prestige and Dune, Parts One and Two.

Updated September 2026.