Jeff Goldblum

1986 · David Cronenberg · 95 min · Horror / Sci-Fi

David Cronenberg took a 1950s creature feature premise and turned it into one of the most emotionally devastating horror films ever made. Jeff Goldblum gives a career-defining performance as a brilliant man slowly losing everything that makes him human, and Geena Davis matches him beat for beat as the person forced to watch it happen. The practical effects still shock, but the film's real power comes from making you care deeply about someone before destroying them in front of you. A handful of pacing issues in the midsection and some underwritten supporting characters are minor complaints against a film that operates as both top-tier body horror and a genuine tragedy. This is the rare remake that completely eclipses its source material.

1996 · Roland Emmerich · 145 min · Sci-Fi / Action

Independence Day is the summer blockbuster in its purest 1990s form, a movie that blows up the White House in its trailer and spends two and a half hours earning the fireworks. Will Smith punches an alien into movie stardom, Jeff Goldblum stammers his way through saving the world, and Bill Pullman delivers a presidential speech that still gets quoted every July. The science is nonsense, the plot resolves via a laptop, and the cheese is applied by the shovel. Absolutely none of that has ever mattered to the millions who rewatch it annually on purpose.

2024 · 1 Season · Netflix · Dark Comedy, Fantasy

Kaos is an ambitious, wildly uneven reimagining of Greek mythology that lives and dies on Jeff Goldblum's magnetic performance as a paranoid Zeus. The show's irreverent tone and inventive world-building make for a refreshing take on well-worn myths, but its cancellation after one season means several promising storylines will never reach their intended payoff. It's a fun, frustrating ride that rewards viewers willing to accept the mess alongside the brilliance.