One Battle After Another remains my favorite movie of the year. Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s superb black and white love letter to the French New Wave, is my second favorite. And now I have a third…

The Lost Bus is an Apple Original by Paul Greengrass, who directed the equally amazing, far too unheralded United 93 back in 2006 about the September 11th plane, and the same description of that movie can be said about this one: They are thrillers that actually thrill.

As a “fire movie”, it’s better than The Towering Inferno, Backdraft, or any other attempt at the genre I’ve seen. Greengrass’ signature style is a clipped, handheld realism and bevy of unknown actors to give the film a pronounced documentary feel that is wall-to-wall engaging. Kevin McKay’s courageous rescue of a busload of school kids during the tragic Paradise, CA fire also comes with the best Matthew McConaughey role he’s had in years. A no-nonsense, down-on-his luck working guy at odds with his bus dispatcher boss and estranged, high-maintenance family, McKay finds redemption when the wildfire spreads so fast he’s the only driver left in the fleet who can take the job. McConaughey’s desperate optimism and fear drive him to heroics, but there are no cliches here, none of the drama is forced, and the emotional release in the film’s final act feels absolutely earned.

It’s shocking that McConaughey didn’t receive a Best Actor nomination for this, and even more shocking the film received only one—for special effects. As a study in working class people and the nearly impossible tasks done by first responders, it’s a marvel, and the action builds and builds and never lets up. I imagine Greengrass used actual Paradise fire footage here and there, but if he did, it’s practically seamless. The Lost Bus is a realistic white-knuckle ride, and reminds us what good, moral humans are capable of every day.