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agentnico · 5 months

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Top 10 BEST Movies of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all partied hard and are now surviving a dreadful hangover by sitting with your family or friends and enjoying a well deserved marathon of Lord of the Rings. 2023 - what a year! In the movie biz alone there were those little minor events known as the strikes of the actors and writers. Just when we thought COVID was over and stopped affecting releases, these strikes were like “errr no, actually..!”. To be fair, the way the streaming services were underpaying their actors and the studios enforcing AI so much into the media, it was good that these artists stood up for themselves and showed it to the man so to speak! Anyway, we’re not here to talk Hollywood politics, but to celebrate all the quality filmmaking that was exhibited this past year. I’d say in all honesty this year felt weaker compared to 2022. To be fair last year gave us Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and of course the legendary RRR, so the bar was high for 2023. That being said, I still enjoyed some solid films, so let’s rank my Top 10 favourite movies of 2023, but first some honourable mentions…

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Evil Dead Rise - one heck of a gore fest, and the best opening title card of the year hands down!

Past Lives - a simple yet brutally honest love story.

The Boy and the Heron - Wanna hear Robert Pattinson sound like not Robert Pattinson?!

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.

Barbie - I’m Just Ken…need I say more??

Wonka - Timmy makes for a good Willy.

Right, with that, let’s get into the actual fun stuff - The Top 10 Best Movies of 2023!…

10) GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT - The least Guy Ritchie film Guy Ritchie has ever directed and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Away with the rough East End and grizzly jokes, and instead what we have is a very reserved and straight-faced war thriller. Honestly I was so surprised with how much I was engaged and invested in The Covenant - it is a thrilling pulse-racing story of survival that adds to the dread that elements of it are true to many people’s reality. Truly, this is a well-made movie!

9) TETRIS - You hear of a movie titled Tetris and one has to wonder if we have another Emoji Movie on our hands, where we get little tetra shaped characters goofing about in some animated mathematics world trying to force an unfunny joke upon our poor heads. Luckily that’s not the case, as instead this is a behind-the-scenes look at the legal drama behind the ownership of the game rights, and though that may not sound that fun, the movie is surprisingly very entertaining with some visual pixel tricks, a great soundtrack, delightful nostalgia, a fast-paced ante-upping narrative set in the backdrop of the Soviet Union and an adorable Taron Egerton in the middle of it all. Honestly, I’m shocked at how much I digged the Tetris movie!

8) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 - Marvel is evidently in a rut, but a rare bright spark in recent memory was the final instalment of James Gunn’s take on the fun dysfunctional space family. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is a wonderful ride, bringing lots of great humour, character dynamics and emotion, and gets you hooked on a feeling…one last time. Oh, and Gunn finally managed to properly show Nathan Fillion’s face in a Marvel movie, and that in itself is a win!

7) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE - Tom Cruise - what a guy! I mean yes he’s a Scientologist, has a constant death wish by breaking his ankles on film sets and also guilty of jumping on Oprah’s sofa like a monkey, but my my is he a charmer! You guys know the drill with these Mission Impossible movies - Tom Cruise throws his body around like a potato fearing not for his life nor broken limbs, but you have to respect the man for wanting to give the audience their tickets’ worth of entertainment, and Dead Reckoning not disappoint! There’s never a dull moment, the action is constantly inventive and exciting, and honestly with how consistent the quality of these films are, I say keep ‘em coming, Cruise-man!

6) DREAM SCENARIO - Anyone who knows me knows how much I love me some Nicolas Cage! The guy’s an acting legend, and he’s had it rough a decade ago when he got stuck paying off hi tax money and starring in crappy B-movies, but recently he’s been on a hot streak of great original content, and Dream Scenario adds to that. I love this idea of a random dude suddenly appearing in people’s dreams for absolutely no reason. It’s so rare to have a new original conception in a film in our day and age, and the execution here is great. As a bonus, the movie features possibly the best fart joke in the history of the cinema.

5) OPPENHEIMER - On one had this is probably the most “well-made” movie of 2023 cinematically speaking. Christopher Nolan does not hold back in using his typical non-linear way of storytelling, with the film weaving narratives and different time periods seamlessly as it explores the profound depths of a man who’s actions altered the world’s trajectory forever, for better or worse. It’s an incredible historical piece of cinema, and the movie gets extra points for the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but the reason this film is not higher on the list is due to the fact that I believe it is overrated. Cause every single person raved about how bloody amazing this thing was, I became tired of the positivity. Yeah, I know, I’m being a Scrooge but what you gonna do about it?? Oppenheimer is stuck at No. 5!

4) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - When a movie forces you to stay in the cinema for over 3 hours, it better be one epic film, as your man here was straining his bladder to health threatening levels. However this is a Martin Scorsese picture, as such this is event cinema! And this one may be up there with one of his best. Killers of the Flower Moon is a major saga of greed, murder, corruption and despair, told through the eyes of a filmmaker who somehow is still managing to mature more as a director even though he’s already over 80 years of age.

3) THE HOLDOVERS - The Holdovers is very much a vibes movie. It has that old-timey retro feel to it from how it is shot to make it look like it’s from the 70s (reminiscent of John Hughes films and Dead Poets Society). You also have the constant snow falling and the Christmas music just really delivers that cozy winter feel. It’s a wholesome Christmas movie through and through. Paul Giamatti gives a career-best performance and the writing is absolutely stellar, as such The Holdovers is destined to become a holiday classic.

2) BEAU IS AFRAID - A. 3-hour long anxiety attack that A24 spent $30 million to produce. For a movie studio to spill out such a massive amount of cash on a completely original IP that is divisively out-there and wild is such a unique thing to happen in Hollywood in this day and age, that like the film or not this act needs to be applauded. It just so happens that Beau Is Afraid is batshit bonkers and truly an act of madness, yet one that I will forever cherish. I bet David Lynch had the biggest hard-on when he watched this movie - you betcha!

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, put simply, brilliant! It’s everything that made Into the Spider-Verse great dialled up to 1000%, and the result is honestly fantastic. Look, I watch a lot of movies. And yeah, movies are great and I love them deeply. But in watching so many films I have in a way lost that magic of being in awe every time I go to the cinema. Cliches and repetitiveness in films stick out like sore thumbs. However with Across the Spider-Verse I felt like a kid again, purely stunned in amazement at every single frame, engaged with the characters and story-line, not knowing where it will go next. Like I cannot reiterate how much fun I had watching this movie! The animation is phenomenal, the narrative so rich, a pulse-throbbing music score (I even have Pemberton’s score on vinyl now just cause I love it so much!) superb character development and so many fun and unexpected twists and turns. Across the Spider-Verse is THE movie of 2023 for me and I believe this is the first time ever an animation took a top spot on my list. Here’s hoping Part 3 of the Spider-Verse saga will play out like The Return of the King!

There you have it - my favourite films of 2023. Naturally I don’t expect my list to be the same as yours, so don’t go throwing a tantrum if I missed out a movie you loved. Or do throw a tantrum, see if I care. But also don’t, cause like we’re all friends here, right? Right??!

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oceancentury · 5 months

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My Top 10 ‘original’ posts of 2023.

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thatsrightice · 8 months

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F-14 FUN FACT OF THE DAY #1

When it came to tracking the flight hours of a given aircraft, the F-14 Tomcat had only one single megabyte of storage capacity.

#FFFOTD #10/4/2023 #should i make this a thing?#F-14 FUN FACT OF THE DAY #or is it FFFFOTD cause F-Fourteen Fun Fact of the Day????#I like planes #airplane history!#F-14 Tomcat #Top Gun #won’t be daily but I’ll try :)#Source: Lloyd Bozo Abel - former F-14 Tomcat pilot #and liaison between the US Navy and the Top Gun movie people #he also flew in the movie #Specific Source: Fighter Pilot Podcast episode called something like Former TOPGUN Instructors React to Top Gun Maverick

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radishprincesss · 5 months

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my top 10 of 2023 <3

add me on letterboxd:

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takow · 5 months

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LETS FUCKING GO ANATOMIE D'UNE CHUTE (anatomy of a fall for my english speaking mutuals) WON NOT ONE BUT TWO GOLDEN GLOBES ! I LOVED THAT MOVIE !

#anatomie d'une chute #anatomy of a fall #me ranting #golden globes #one of my favorite movies from 2023 #i preferred it over barbie #loved barbie but it just felt empty #but nothing tops across the spiderverse #that's my fave movie that came out this decade ngl #and in my all time top 10

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marklikely · 9 months

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sorry ive tried to avoid being a hater for no reason like . hating on stuff just bc i resent its popularity rather than actually genuinely disliking it. i try to avoid doing that now. but can the eras tour please just end already so i never ever have to hear about it again ever.

#its bad enough it keeps popping up on all my social media feeds but now that stupid movie is completely dominating my movie app #so im like can i get tickets to see a movie this week and its like sure but only if you scroll past like 5 taylor swift ads. is that ok #yes the movie isnt out for over a month but we're still going to keep it parked right at the top. in front of the movies that ARE playing r #also when i went to the showtimes screen it just. automatically took me to the showings for oct 13th bc thats when her movie is out #not. showings for this week. which it always used to do by default. no. showings for 10/13 for her movie #like omfg i know its not a big deal but i am so sick of hearing about this tour already #so for it to be adding this many minor nuisances & obstructions to me going to the movies this week is just like. go awayyyyy #like twice as frustrating as it would have already been -_- maybe more.#avpost #me: can i see a different movie please #theaters: see taylor swift? buy the taylor swift popcorn bucket? oops you almost saw showtimes for the movie you wanted #not to worry we replaced those with the showtimes for taylor swift. which you obviously want to see.#we are going to shove this extremely average pop musician down your fucking throat for the entirety of 2023 is that okay.#beyonce is currently also on tour. the highest grossing tour of all time. and i dont hear abt it even a quarter as much as i hear abt eras.#so like. no this is not in correlation to her popularity its too fucking much. please leav me alone.

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missholson · 5 months

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2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 218 notes - Feb 16 2023

2. 49 notes - Mar 3 2023

3. 36 notes - Jun 9 2023

4. 21 notes - Mar 24 2023

5. 15 notes - Aug 11 2023

6. 14 notes - Aug 10 2023

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10. 10 notes - Aug 31 2023

Created by TumblrTop10

#tumblrtop10 #tumblr top 10 #raquel welch #kill your darlings #favorite movie meme #laulu tulipunaisesta kukasta #the song of a scarlet flower #ralph bates #taste the blood of dracula #the horror of frankenstein #john ireland #rawhide #so year 2023 was top ralph #<3 #raquel no 1 warms my heart #own post

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thefilmsnob · 14 days

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Glen Coco's Top 10 Films of 2023

Hello, lovely reader. I had a really well-written intro about blockbusters and art house films, but the more I read it, the more I doubted its validity, and after spending hours writing the rest of this article, I couldn’t be bothered to do research to support it. And it’s already $&@%ing May 2024.

ANYWHO! 2023 was a great year for movies and you’ll also have a great time reading about my picks for the top 10 films of 2023...after the runners-up and the standard bonus track...there’s always a bonus track.

RUNNERS-UP

-Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

-Bottoms

-The Holdovers

-Nyad

-Past Lives

#10b. (Bonus Track) The Zone of Interest

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Starring: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller

A film that's not exactly easy to recommend, The Zone of Interest follows Rudolf Höss, commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII, and wife Hedwig, living with their five children on a property adjacent to the camp. And like the fence that divides the family's idyllic home from the very horrors of the camp which they enable, I'm still divided about the ethics of this production. Yet, there's no denying Glazer's boldness and craft, using simple yet crisp framing, mundane dialogue, sparse music and an aura of indifference to juxtapose the family's living conditions with those within the camp, whose faint sounds of screams, gunfire and hellish machinery may as well be the the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves to their ears. It's a rare film that's undeniably disturbing yet bereft of explicit violence, nudity or even harsh language, omissions that accentuate the chilling nonchalance of evil on display. What remains, especially the quietly profound finale, will surely stay with you and, considering the implications, it should.

#10. Maestro

Director: Bradley Cooper

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper

Maestro follows the familiar biopic template about brilliant artists who excel professionally but struggle personally, yet writer/director/producer/star(!) Bradley Cooper has crafted a richer, more stately product than so many other paint-by-number biographies. Having already showcased his film making prowess with 2018's A Star is Born, a film that also explored the complex relationship among love, artistry and stardom, Cooper continues this analysis with his examination of iconic composer Leonard Bernstein. In the process, he stages some breathtaking scenes, especially one involving a heated argument between Cooper's Bernstein and wife, Felicia (Carey Mulligan), that's devoid of cuts and full of passion, or another in a grand cathedral where Bernstein triumphantly conducts his orchestra like a force of nature, sweat dripping down his feverish visage. Primarily, though, this is a vehicle for two sensational performances from Cooper and Mulligan who capture an enticingly complicated and fraught relationship in the shadow of a legendary career.

#9. Beau Is Afraid

Director: Ari Aster

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix

Wikipedia describes Beau Is Afraid as a 'surrealist tragicomedy horror film', so, if nothing else, it's...different. Some may find Ari Aster's film insufferable, but if you view it as one big, absurd metaphor for crippling anxiety (GAD, specifically) and familial guilt, it becomes a mesmerizing fever dream of a journey that will resonate with anxious people in general but also with certain ethno-religious groups who are inclined to satirize themselves (think Seinfeld and Curb). Here, Joaquin Phoenix plays Beau, a meek, neurotic soul, living alone in a dingy apartment on an impossibly dangerous street overrun with miscreants he must avoid at every turn just to go to the corner store. Sadly, he must travel farther than 50 feet to bury his mother while facing utterly bizarre threats and situations along the way, even venturing into a fantasy world made of felt at one point, concluding with one of the most outlandish yet oddly perfect endings you'll ever see. It's not quite on the level of Aster's milestone achievements Hereditary and Midsommar, but it's unquestionably original and a further sign of the film maker's boundless potential.

#8. Asteroid City

Director: Wes Anderson

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, about a dozen other actors you'll recognize

My description of Wes Anderson changes with every film he releases, oscillating between 'insufferable' and 'genius'. With Asteroid City, I lean toward the latter. His latest film is more fun and inviting, less fussy and pretentious. That's surprising for a film whose plot involves a retro-futuristic 1950s in which we're shown a documentary about the production of a play called 'Asteroid City', which actually is presented like a film and forms the majority of the narrative. The black & white, box-screened documentary contrasts the widescreen, brightly coloured 'play', which features a youth astronomy convention held in the titular desert town and the stories of its equally colourful attendees. It's a tad convoluted, but the final product is a visual and structural wonder, every scene composed of delectable sets filled with objects meticulously arranged and photographed to appear at once realistic and fantastical. And, though ample attention is placed on aesthetics, there’s plenty of room for the surprisingly touching story. Anderson also concocts one of the zaniest scenes you'll see, involving a surprise guest that, inexplicably...works.

#7. The Killer

Director: David Fincher

Starring: Michael Fassbender

On its surface, The Killer might seem unoriginal, superficial or repetitive, with the stereotypical soulless assassin routinely taking out one target after another. But, this deliberately crafted film from David Fincher challenges these perceptions in two major ways, one obvious, the other delightfully subtle. The first occurs at the end of the opening act in which Michael Fassbender’s Killer stakes out a hotel room, awaiting his target while describing the life of an assassin and his routine like an art in chilly voice-over, enlivening an otherwise inert sequence. But, when the time comes to take the shot…he misses. This is where the Killer goes into survival mode, hunting down his associates before they can get to him and 'clean up his mess'. What once seemed like a straightforward survival story, however, slowly reveals itself as an assassin's quest to prove to his employers that he is, indeed, the elite killer they hired. Fassbender’s deft performance is invaluable to this development within a broader story about humans' insatiable need for purpose.

#6. Air

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck

There's a quirky trend lately of making films based on popular products like Barbie dolls, Cheetos, Tetris, Pop-Tarts and, in the case of Air, Air Jordan sneakers. And, although the origins of a shoe may not seem like prime material for a feature length film, the result is both fascinating and exhilarating. It may also feel strange cheering for a corporate giant like Nike and one of its executives (Matt Damon) as if they were underdogs, but the veteran Damon, alongside co-star and director Ben Affleck, sells us on his effort to sign Michael Jordan as Nike’s new spokesman and save their basketball shoe division. Affleck wisely keeps the tone light, but the characters’ endeavors are still gripping as is the dialogue from this superb cast; they make shoes sound riveting, in the same way The Big Short did for credit default swaps. This is exemplified in the climactic negotiation between Damon’s character and Jordan’s mother, played by Viola Davis, who’s fiercely protective of her son's interests. Sure, capitalism drives this story, but scenes like this, a battle of wits and emotions between two acting greats alongside their industrious counterparts, remind us there are still human beings amidst all the bar graphs and quarterly reports.

#5. Poor Things

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Starring: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef

Director Yorgos Lanthimos has become one of the most unique cinematic voices of a generation. With Poor Things, his latest curiosity, he recalls elements of Frankenstein, breathing new life into those ideas to tell a modernized story about Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), who's resurrected by the eccentric Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), replacing her brain with that of her fetus, creating a woman with an infant's mind. Within Lanthimos's wondrous re-imagining of the Victorian Era, Bella embarks on a journey to discover both the world at large and herself. As she travels from London to Lisbon, Alexandria to Paris, she's confounded by this augmented world's beauty--its unique colours, textures and geometry-- but also its cruelty, all facets that help form her character. These elements are produced with vivid digital and practical effects to create a dream-like, absurdist environment like something out of a children's book, ensuring the audience shares in Bella's astonishment. Stone's performance is equally astonishing, depicting a metamorphosis from awkward, naive, dependent child to assertive, autonomous, curious young woman, combating the pettiness and insecurities of overbearing men in the process. It's an empowering story as effective as the striking costumes, sets, score and every other element that floods our senses.

#4. Anatomy of a Fall

Director: Justine Triet

Starring: Sandra Hüller, Milo Machado-Graner

Anatomy of a Fall might seem like a conventional legal drama and therefore easy to overlook. The premise is simple: a boy (Milo Machado-Graner) finds his father dead below the attic window of their family’s French chalet. Sandra, (Sandra Hüller), the boy’s mother, is the prime suspect considering her turbulent relationship with the husband and the fact she was the only other person home. We see the responses to the death, the investigation and the trial while questioning if it was a murder, suicide or accident. It’s a basic procedural, but the execution by director Justine Triet and her incredible cast elevates this story immensely. Through the enthralling dialogue and gradual revelations, we learn things when the characters do; the audience isn’t omniscient like with similar films, even after the verdict. It’s also decidedly non-sensational which paradoxically piques our interest even more in this story that mirrors reality and a solid but imperfect legal system. Hüller’s performance is crucially ambiguous; there're no winks or telling looks at the audience. Essentially a prestige version of Law & Order, this is one of the strongest legal dramas you’ll see, demanding and earning your complete attention.

#3. Killers of the Flower Moon

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro

At 81, the legendary Martin Scorsese is still churning out masterpieces like his historical epic Killers of the Flower Moon. With its grand scope, sweeping cinematography, heartbreaking but essential story and an eclectic score that infuses a variety of genres with Native American sounds, this is pure cinema. The criticized 206 minute runtime is necessary to do justice to the injustice suffered by the once prosperous Osage Nation at the hands of ingratiated white folks through a calculated, systematic and prolonged series of heinous acts. In 1920s Oklahoma, the despicable William Hale (Robert De Niro) instructs his nephew (Leonardo DiCaprio) to marry an Osage girl, Mollie, (Lily Gladstone) in order to inherit her wealth, and also kill her family members to maximize the payout. Scorsese's go-to leads give appropriately slimy performances, especially De Niro, but they don't overshadow the tragedy orchestrated by greedy, duplicitous, small men. The Osage people and their rich culture remain in the spotlight, especially Mollie who exudes a quiet dignity and stoicism, transcending the typical victim plot device. You may know how this story ends, but its presentation is completely unexpected with an inspired denouement that summarizes the unforgivably lenient consequences for those complicit in this very American nightmare.

#2. Oppenheimer

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Matt Damon, and the rest of Hollywood

Following his rare misfire, the loud and grinding Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s back in top form with Oppenheimer, a perfectly balanced film that showcases his many strengths as he tempers his occasional indulgences and somehow turns a scientist’s biopic into a blockbuster that’s gained a Marvel-sized audience. That’s partly due to his propulsive style that pushes the story forward at a brisk pace despite the three-hour runtime, as well as his signature sharp cuts, short scenes, temporal shifts and layered narrative strands. But, it’s also due to a doomsday scenario not unlike those in comic book films, except grounded in reality and, thus, scarier. Specifically, it examines the man responsible for that potential scenario, J. Robert Oppenheimer: ‘Father of the Atomic Bomb’, played in a rare leading role by the underrated Cillian Murphy who crafts a complex portrait of a man whose ambition was often at odds with his conscience, a man who had to live with decisions that resulted in so much death in WWII and quite possibly beyond. Complicating the story and adding to its urgency are several tense hearings that underline the political ramifications of these actions and the motives behind some of the most important decisions in history. Yet, wisely, no one’s portrayed as simply good or evil, certainly not Oppenheimer; life’s too ambiguous for that. Essentially, the film is people talking in nondescript rooms, but with such a stellar cast realizing Nolan's singular vision, it's as exciting as any Avengers flick—hell, it even features Robert Downey Jr giving his career best!

#1. Barbie

Director: Greta Gerwig

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera

This may surprise people since I don't include many comedies on these lists nor box office juggernauts; if you look back at my last two #1s, you'll understand. But, Barbie isn’t just a cultural phenomenon, it’s truly an extraordinary film. It says a lot about writer/director Greta Gerwig that my favourite movie of the year isn't even my favourite movie she's made. It also says a lot that she's turned a plastic doll into a coherent and wildly entertaining feature length story with sympathetic characters and profound themes, whose opening sequence alone defies expectations of what this film could be.

Possessing otherworldly beauty and exceptional acting skills, Margot Robbie is a no-brainer for the role of Stereotypical Barbie who lives in a hot pink utopian society where the Barbies, composed of various races, body types and gender identities, hold all positions of power while the Kens, including a priceless Ryan Gosling as Beach Ken, chill at the beach and try to woo the ladies. This occurs on a meticulously constructed set, built on a solid foundation of whimsy and completed mostly with stunning practical effects in place of tempting CGI, resembling a colourful diorama, at once fantastical and tactile just like the toys that inspired it. However, Barbie's sudden preoccupations with mortality lead her on a quest into the real world to find the girl who's controlling her and it’s around this point when the story shows it has more on its mind than just brand promotion, exploring a myriad of social issues with the same fervor used to entertain. Without tying up everything in a neat package, Gerwig's story has feminist underpinnings but a kind that is sympathetic to male struggles as well, even though the patriarchy and bro culture are rightly judged via the impressionable air head, Ken. There's even an admirable amount of criticism toward Mattel. We’re not only treated to hilarious, candy-coated entertainment but a smart film for adults that kids will also enjoy and whose insight will benefit both.

At the center is Robbie, whose role is deceptively complex, requiring an actor with more than just beauty to be at once effervescent and existentially preoccupied. Both her performance and the story are capped off with one final word that recalls—fittingly—the final word uttered by Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut, appropriate considering Barbie begins with an explicit reference to another Stanley Kubrick masterpiece. It’s a word that Robbie announces with aplomb when it would otherwise be whispered with embarrassment; a word she wields like a weapon, charging forward into a new life in the name of unapologetic femininity.

#top 10 films 2023 #2023 #movie review #movie list

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theconnoisseurreviews · 3 months

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youtube

I rank the 2024 Best Picture Nominees

Follow me on my various social media sites @AwesomearnoldK

Or My Tumblr @theconnoisseurreviews

#oscars #oscars 2024 #academy awards #film review #movie review #the connoisseur #youtube #tiktok #2023 film #top 10 #ranking #best picture #Oppenheimer #barbie

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mylifeincinema · 4 months

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My Best of 2023: My Top 10 Films!

Finally! It’s time for My Top 10 Films of 2023! 2023 was another weird year for me in terms of film. As usual, I had a few I championed, but, yet again, a lot of the big guns didn't land the way I'd expected or hoped. As a quick reminder - My Top 10 Films isn’t necessarily a list of the ‘best’, or ‘my favorite’, but rather a mix of the two that takes both sides of the A&E into as equal consideration as humanly possible. Definitely keep that in mind, especially the fact that how re-watchable each film is weighs in significantly. So, in terms of all that, this list nails my 2023.

First, here are some Honorable Mentions (in no real order), most of which spent at least a little time in the Top 10: Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest (which really deserves that 10 spot, but it's about as far from re-watchable as it gets); David Fincher's The Killer; Sofia Coppola's Priscilla; Kelly Fremon Craig's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.; and Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One. Any of these could easily claim that 10 spot on another day. As for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon? Sorry, y'all, but it barely cracked my Top 20. No matter how incredibly well-made it was, it was still a solid hour too long. And worst of all, it felt it!

Okay, without further ado, here they are…

My Top 10 Films of 2023!!

10. Danny & Michael Philippou's Talk to Me

Damn. This was fantastic. I’m still really pissed I missed it in cinemas. Such a super creepy, perfectly executed premise fueled by surprisingly good performances and genuinely terrifying moments, throughout. I especially love that it never heavily relies on jump-scares and just how brutal these spirits get. The desperation and hopelessness of the third act is just the cherry on top.

9. Greta Gerwig's Barbie

Hilarious. Bold. Heartwarming. And not at all subtle. Margot is perfection, which doesn’t always work in the film’s favor, but it knows and acknowledges that, and becomes more interesting by doing so. Gosling is hilarious and interesting and delivers one of the most absurdly audacious performances of the year. Gerwig’s vision, here, is dazzling not only in its use of practical effects, but also its brazen approach to the film’s message.

8. Christopher McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1

Tom Cruise is out here doing the important work in a time when said important work is more essential than ever. This is a big-screen spectacle of an action film with exciting fights and chases and stunts that get more and more impressive, wild and outlandish throughout. As to be expected from the franchise, the cast all deliver rock-solid performances, and McQuarrie’s work behind the camera is every bit as good as Fallout, despite Fallout still probably being the better of the two films, overall. The plot, action, and editing here are all perfectly intense, working beautifully together to create a truly jaw-dropping piece of action cinema. Once again Cruise and friends prove decisively that popcorn flicks can be art, too, folks. Big, loud, crazy, fun art. So damn good.

7. James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3

Loved it. Every single moment is earned. The needle drops get better and better and build up to a joyous, cathartic, downright amazing moment at the end. James Gunn directs the hell out of his pitch-perfect script, allowing these characters to evolve in a manner as interesting as it is entertaining as it is organic. The Winter Soldier is still the best single film in the MCU, but this trilogy is its heart and soul. Finally… Cosmo is such a Good Dog.

6. Wes Anderson's Asteroid City

There’s good reason why Wes Anderson is one of my very favorite living directors. Asteroid City is a fine example of pretty much all of them. It’s visually stunning (How the f*ck did that production design not get nominated?!) , superbly acted, and written with as much quirky humor as it is raw emotion as it is perfectly balanced existentialism. I may still not quite be fully sold on the framing device, but all-in-all, this is a purely Andersonian oddity, and I loved every minute of it. Plus, I really want to be friends with that roadrunner.

5. Alexander Payne's The Holdovers

Genuinely hilarious and sneakily heartfelt. The tender moments play out so naturally that they pack an emotional wallop, then the brilliant Paul Giamatti or Da'Vine Joy Randolph lets out a perfectly delivered line that’ll absolutely floor you. And I just love the look of it, every single piece of this film looks and feels like it’s straight out of the ‘70s. So good. Probably my favorite Payne?

4. Yorgos Lanthimos' Poor Things

Despite being significantly overlong, Lanthimos' Poor Things is still just so damn good. I hate that Emma Stone’s odds are going down, as she delivers what will likely remain a favorite ‘til the end of the decade. Mark Ruffalo is also a blast, and is very much the upset I'm hoping for most come March 10. I honestly didn’t think he still had a performance like this in him. Dafoe is magnificently weird, and every time he graced the screen was a treat. Yorgos went off, here. This is probably his best work yet. It’s also one of the most visually interesting films of the year. I absolutely loved how this movie was shot. And it’s very easily better than the book. So, y’know, there’ that too.

3. Dos Santos, Powers & Thompson's Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

A masterful amalgamation of animation styles, narrative ideas and next-level voice performances. As visually breathtaking as it is emotionally ambitious as it is structurally exciting and entertaining. This is the exact type of comic book movie that still has me excited for comic book movies.

2. Wes Anderson's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar & Three More

I'm kinda cheating, here, as this is technically a collection four individually released short films, and not the originally planned anthology feature. But I don't care. These are all fantastic; masterclasses in adaptation, blocking, production design and acting, the lot of 'em. I want so badly for Wes Anderson to just adapt Dahl's entire bibliography. Head HERE for my full thoughts.

And The Best Film of 2023 is…

1. Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer

A truly staggering achievement. As ambitious and bold a biopic as we’ve gotten in a very long time. Nolan understands the mechanics of this man and his story in a way that's so philosophically nuanced, and directs scene-after-scene of characters discussing physics and politics in a that makes it edge-of-your-seat shit.

Thank you for reading!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

More of My Best of 2023...

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randomrichards · 4 months

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TOP 10 BEST MOVIES OF 2023

10) BEYOND UTOPIA

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Sometimes real life can be scarier than fiction, especially when it comes to tyrannical countries like North Korea as highlighted by the gripping documentary Beyond Utopia. Drawing from real footage, director Madeliene Gavin brings us into a North Korean’ family’s fleeing the country, a Pastor working to get them to safety and a human rights activist’s desperate attempt to save her son.

Gavin gives us a glimpse into the living conditions locals are subjected to in North Korea. You see the propaganda used to demonized “Western Countries” and manipulate its citizens. The Government’s attempt to glamorize their country’s contradicted by the hidden footage of citizens digging through wreckage for any scraps. That pales in comparison to footage of prisoners being tortured.

All of this makes you pray for the family as they stumble across forests in complete darkness with no certainty, they will make it to safety. Thankfully, they have an ally in Pastor Seungeun Kim. Through his non-profit organization Caleb Mission, Kim works hard to ensure the family gets to safety.

Gavin portrays not only the external struggle to escape but also the internal struggle. Even though they’re fleeing the country, the family still believes the anti-US propaganda taught to them. As defector/activist Hyeonseo Lee says “Imagine, waking up one day and realizing that you were born on a completely different planet.” But Lee embodies the hope that they can be deprogrammed.

Beyond Utopia keeps you on the edge of your seat.

9) THE BOY AND THE HERON

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Hayao Miyazaki once again comes out of retirement to create an animated feature destined to become a classic.

The Boy and the Heron highlights Miyazaki’s strength as a visual storyteller. He brings the same creative fantasy ideas that made Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke. This time, he brings us an alternate world of anthropomorphic parakeets, marshmallow like spirits and the titular shape shifting Heron (Masaki Suba in Japanese, unrecognizable Robert Pattinson in English).

As always, Miyazaki and his animation crew lure us into fantasy through their dazzling animation. The Heron’s transformation is animated with slow detail, revealing one human feature at a time. That same detail goes toward the environments, which are animated with rich attention to detail. Whether it’s protagonist Mahito’s (Soma Santoki in Japanese, Luca Padovan in English) home, the underground library or the Gateway to the other side, every background is enchanting.

Miyazaki also has a knack for creating memorable characters. Mahito is not a bland boy hero but a troubled teen repressing his grief over his mother’s death. It gets to a point where he hurts himself with a rock. His personal life along has some engaging characters including his lovingly protective father (Takuya Kimura in Japanese: Christian Bale in English) and a group of nosy old women. And then there’s the Heron, a complicated untrustworthy character with uncertain motivations (at the start of the film at least) or a pyrokinetic girl (Yoshino Kimura in Japanese, Gemma Chan in English).

The film isn’t perfect. Miyazaki takes his sweet time before he gets to the plot, which may turn off some audience members not used to Miyazaki’s structure. The internal logic of the fantasy elements may be difficult to comprehend. Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped many moviegoers from enjoying the film.

At the core of the film is the lessons Miyazaki draws from the classic Japanese children’s book How do you Live? I won’t give too much away. I will say that the journey Mahito gives him an important lesson on accepting tragedy and how to move on with his life.

The Boy and the Heron delivers the enchanting fantasy that has made Hayao Miyazaki’s films so beloved.

8) GODZILLA MINUS ONE

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Godzilla’s film history is quite strange. The iconic Kaiju began as an allegory for the nuclear bomb, bringing destruction and death to innocent people. Then it’s flip flopped between being a source of destruction and being a saviour of humanity while fighting/teaming up with other Kaijus. Now writer/director Takashi Yamazaki takes Godzilla back to its original source material with his surprise hit Godzilla Minus One. This time Yamazaki uses the iconic kaiju as an allegory for World War 2’s aftermath. Taking the place in postwar, the film focuses on a small group of former soldier and locals forced to take on Godzilla as it brings destruction to Japanese towns already devastated by the war.

Yamazaki delivers all the destruction you’d expect from a Godzilla movie, with one gripping action scene after another. One notable standout is a scene where a tugboat tries to get away from Godzilla. Yamazaki draws the original film acknowledging innocents lost and homes destroyed in Godzilla’s wake. He also gives Godzilla regenerative powers to add more stakes.

A frequent problem with most Godzilla movies is the human characters. With rare exceptions, their story arcs are never as interesting as the Kaiju fight scenes. The Monarch-verse is most notable, with the most interesting characters being killed off too early. Yamazaki breaks that cycle by paralleling the Godzilla elements with a realistic depiction of Postwar Japan. The result is a full cast of complex, relatable characters whose struggles to find a life within the wreckage makes the human stories as compelling as the action scenes.

At the centre of the storyline is Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot wracked with guilt for surviving the war and failing to save a crew from Godzilla. Kamiki gives a compelling performance as a man coming to terms with survivor’s guilt. He’s surrounded by an array of engaging characters including Koichi’s minesweeping crew and his embattled neighbour Sumiko (Sakura Ando). Even if you take out Godzilla, their struggles to pick up the pieces of their devastated homes are still incredibly engaging. Through it all is a surprising message about the importance of life.

Godzilla Minus One became a surprise box office hit alongside The Boy and the Heron and both are very deserving.

7) FALLEN LEAVES

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After a single date, Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) accidentally loses his date’s (Alma Poysti) phone number. To make matters worse, he doesn’t even remember her name. This sounds like a premise for a classic romantic comedy but, Aki Kaurismaki is not the type of writer/director who makes Hollywood romantic comedies. In fact, Fallen Leaves couldn’t be more different than said romantic comedies.

Kaurismaki brings his trademark style to create a deglamorized romantic comedy. While other romantic comedies star matinee idols whose characters have posh lifestyles and comfortable jobs, the leads in Kaurismaki’s films are middle aged, downtrodden folks working minimum wage labour. His date Ansa is a supermarket clerk who sorts recyclable plastic. Holappa is a construction worker who can’t keep a job due to his alcoholism. Plus, they live in run down apartments.

While other romantic comedies are filmed in glamorous locations shot with bright colours, Kaurismaki ‘s characters live in a world of run down apartments and seedy bars shot with muted colours. He also shoots at a distance as the leads stare off into sad sack space.

This may sound depressing, but underneath the droll look hides some serendipitous hope and dry humour. In a classic romantic comedy movie, Holappa spends evenings waiting by the movie theatre in hopes of finding Ansa. The journey also forces Holappa to confront his alcoholism. There’s also a delightful karaoke scene involving “Mambo Italiano.”

Kaurismaki’s films have a unique sense of hope. While most films try to reassure the audience that these characters will escape their poor circumstances, Kaurismaki has faith in his character’s ability to endure their circumstances. For Fallen Leaves, he assures the audience that they don’t need a fancy condominium or grand gestures to earn romance. At the film’s core is a belief that middle aged store clerks and construction workers are as deserving of love as the Ryan Goslings and Chris Evans of the world.

6) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

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Martin Scorsese stares into the abyss that is American History with Killers of the Flower Moon, a biopic about the atrocious Osage Murders and the conspiracy behind it.

A lesser filmmaker would have gone the safe, white saviour direction by making it a crime drama centered on the agents investigating the murders. But Scorsese has always been a filmmaker who examined humanity’s dark side. So, he centres his film on an accomplice; Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), war veteran who marries indigenous local Mollie (Lily Gladstone) whom his uncle William Hale (Robert De Niro) schemes to steal her fortune by murdering her family. While Ernest was worst in real life than portrayed in the movie, Scorsese and DiCaprio still makes a bold move in portraying Ernest as dimwitted moral weakling; a man repressing some guilt but is too easily manipulated to make the right decision.

De Niro delivers another masterful performance as the ultimate cinematic villain. He puts on a front of sympathetic ally for the Osage community but underneath his gentlemanly demeanor, he is a greedy, manipulative psychopath. The way he casually justifies his atrocious murder plot is disturbing. Just as disturbing is how many local authority figures were in on Hale’s plot as Scorsese and co-writer Eric Roth bringing hints through Ernest and William’s interactions. The normalization of white supremacy becomes disturbingly clear in one scene of Klan members marching in a parade.

But the key to the film is Mollie, who serves as a reminder of the human cost of Hale’s evil plot. As one family member after another is killed, Gladstone makes us feel Mollie’s pain. But through her ordeal, Gladstone maintains a sense of dignity for Mollie. It would have been appreciated if there was more of Mollie’s and the Osage people’s perspective. But again, Scorsese is more interested in people’s capacity for evil.

This film plays like a crime drama, but underneath the western demeanor is a horror film about a racist system designed to murder a group of people for the crime of striking it rich while Indigenous.

5) PAST LIVES

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Writer/Director Celine Song begins her directorial debut with a distant shot of Nora (Greta Lee), her husband Arthur (John Magaro) and her estranged best friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) conversing at a bar. We don’t hear what they’re talking about, but we do hear unseen strangers gossiping about the protagonists. We hear them assume that Nora and Hae are a couple since they’re conversing the most while Arthur seems to sit by himself. Just from this scene, Past Lives has us under its spell.

At the core of the film is Nora’s relationship with Hae Sung. We first see them as childhood friends in South Korea before Nora’s family moves to North America. Decades later, Nora and Hae Sung reunite via video chats. Their lives have taken different paths with Nora becoming a happily married playwright in New York while Hae Sung has stayed in Korea to become an engineer. In their meetings together, Nora and Hae Sung rekindle the special bond they had.

Most films with this premise centre would lead to Nora and Hae Sung ending up back together in the end (usually after a series of misunderstandings). But Song isn’t here to make a Hollywood romance. Instead, she’s created a mature drama about two people reconciling with the circumstances that led them in different directions. In their conversations, Nora and Hae Sung ponder over the circumstances outside of and within their control that led them to the lives they had now. This leads them to face the dilemma of whether either can leave their current life behind and live together.

The performances achieve the balancing act of being both grounded and engaging. Yoo makes an excellent romantic lead delivering excellent chemistry with Lee. Magaro also deserves credit for his performance as the other man who allows Nora to figure her situation out while secretly hoping he doesn’t lose her in the process. But it’s Lee who makes this move, letting the audience in on Nora’s inner turmoil.

Celine Song’s career has taken a fascinating turn from a staff writer for The Wheel of Time to creating a haunting romantic drama about accepting the paths you’ve left behind.

4) THE HOLDOVERS

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Alexander Payne is an expert in finding comedy in misery. He certainly has lot of misery to work with in The Holdovers, a bittersweet dramedy about Scrooge-like history professor (Paul Giamatti) forced to watch over a rebellious student (Dominic Sessa) abandoned by his parents at their boarding school on Christmas.

This film feels like a time capsule from the 1970s with vintage looking camera work by Eigil Bryld’s cinematography making the snowy background pop. David Hemingson’s screenplay itself feels like the kind of dramedy that would have been made by Mike Nichols or Hal Ashby with its dry comedic focus on character’s inner turmoil over social expectations.

The strength of Payne’s direction is how he makes us feel for the characters even when we’re laughing at their circumstances. Professor Paul Hunham (Giamatti) certainly comes off as a total stick in the mud when he forces the students left behind to continue their schoolwork during the Christmas holidays, but you come to realize this is his way of finding a sense of order as the world changes around him. His student Angus Tully (Sessa) may constantly be at odds with Hunham, and yet he’s the only student passing Hunham’s class. Cook Mary Lamb (Da’vine Joy Randolph) has a tough time opening up after her son’s death. As the film progresses, they start to open to each other, gaining a better understanding of each other’s struggles and force each other out of their comfort zones. Thankfully, Hemingson avoids the shmaltzy ending in favour of a bittersweet ending.

Of course, none of this would work without the cast. A lesser actors would have made Hundham and Angus unpleasant jerks. Thankfully, Giamatti brings a world weariness and masterful comedic timing to Hundham that allows us to empathize with him. Sessa shows a lot of potential in this role, bringing out the pain underneath the snarky energy. But it’s Randolph who gives the film its heart as Mary uses her job to avoid confronting her grief.

In a time that makes many people feel lonely, Payne has created a Christmas movie that celebrates unlikely human connections that empathy can create.

3) OPPENHEIMER

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Nolan’s always been that rare filmmaker with the ambition to combine non-linear structures with labyrinth plotting while still being accessible to a moviegoer. Only Christopher Nolan could get away with making a 3 hour biopic about the theoretical physicist and then intertwin it with a courtroom drama about the senator who launched a smear campaign against him. If that wasn’t enough, he also shot half of it in black and white while making the whole movie on film. Not only does that but makes it a major event that results in a blockbuster. That is the miracle that is Oppenheimer, a compelling character study of the man who called himself the destroyer of worlds.

Half of the film follows J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy)’s journey from an arrogant Oxford student to the man racing against time to create the atom bomb to a physicist torn by the consequences of his action. In the process, we see many moments in Oppenheimer’s life including his attempted poisoning of a professor, his conversation with Albert Einstein (Bill Conti), his complicated relationship with his wife (Emily Blunt) and an interrogation by Roger Robb (Jason Clarke) just to name a few. And through it all, Nolan and Murphy reveal the many layers of this intelligent but conflicted man.

Oppenheimer’s story is intercut Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), a senator who led a secret smear campaign against Oppenheimer over an apparent slight. While Oppenheimer’s section plays like a character study, Strauss’s storyline plays like a political courtroom drama of the 1960s complete with black and white cinematography. This serves as the central structure for the film as Nolan and editor Jennifer Lame intercuts between Strauss’s plotline and moments in Oppenheimer’s life. Downey Jr. truly shines in this performance as he reveals the deep seeded pettiness under Strauss’s polite demeanor.

Nolan balances these storylines with an intricate attention to detail that keeps the film engaging from beginning to end. He also surrounds Murphy and Downey Jr with an endless calvacade of stars including Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek and Gary OIdman just to name a few.

Of course, Nolan is known to avoid CGI whenever he can in favour of practical effects and he certainly keeps this principle with the testing of the atomic bomb, leading to a hauntingly beautiful scene.

Oppenheimer shines as bright as that atomic bomb, delivering an ambitious and haunting look at a man forced to live with creating a means of destroying the world he was trying to save.

2) POOR THINGS

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Yorgos Lathimos closed out 2023 with one of the year’s horniest films. What are the odds it would be a Frankenstein-like satirical epic called Poor Things?

From the moment she is resurrected with a baby’s brain, Bella Baxter (Emma Stone) regards life’s pleasures like a kid in a candy store. And involves sex (even becoming an escort at one point). Meanwhile, many of the men try to seduce Bella only to be driven nuts by her lack of social etiquette and cluelessness. And through it all, Lanthimos mocks and interrogates the ideas of social norms with a Bunuel-esque satirical tone.

Poor Things serves as Lanthimos’ most visually stunning movie. He sets most of the first act in black and white, mostly in mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter’s (Willem Dafoe) home. The setting resembles the kind of prim European settings of Luis Bunuel. It’s when Bella is taken away by playboy gambler Duncan Wedderburn (scene-stealing Mark Ruffalo) that the settings truly pop with grand buildings and neon-coloured skies that look like they came out of a Terry Gilliam.

Lanthimos uses these grand sets to sneak in Bunuel-like satire mocking social mores, class systems and patriarchy. Watching the film, I kept being reminded of a film trope that infantilized women that you see from the likes of Lolita, Leeloo from the Fifth Element and most Marilyn Monroe Characters.[1] Some men in Bella’s life seemed to be attracted to (or want to take advantage of) her childlike innocence. But Lanthimos and Stone push the childlike behaviour to its furthest conclusion forcing the men to put up with Bella’s temper tantrums and social cluelessness. That behaviour causes Duncan to become hilariously unhinged as she destroys his life.

It's easy for a maverick filmmaker to find their style restricted when given a bigger budget. Thankfully, Lanthimos maintains his boundary pushing satire even on the most epic stage.

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

One can only image the pressure of making a sequel to an animated feature as groundbreaking and beloved as Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. Making a sequel already comes with its own challenge with the arduous task of expanding on the pervious material without becoming repetitive or losing the original’s appeal. It’s made more challenging when the first film changed the game of animated film. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse not only meets the challenge head on but has elevated the franchise to create another action packed, side-splitting masterpiece.

Writers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have long demonstrated a mastery with comedic storytelling through Clone High, 21 Jump Street and the Lego Movie. Even apart, they create unforgettable works with Lord co-writing Into the Spider-Verse with Rodney Rothman and Miller creating the criminally underrated series The Afterparty. All this work highlights their mastery of parodying genre tropes while creating compelling storytelling starring unforgettable characters. Joined by co-writer Dave Callaham, Lord and Miller take their boldness a step further by centering the first 15 minutes entirely on Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen/the Ghost Spider/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld). Her story arc would make an excellent movie on its own as she finds herself targeted by her father George Stacy (Shea Whigham), who blames Spider-Gwen for the death of her universe’s Peter Parker (Jack Quaid), not realizing that she and Gwen are the same person. And yet the writing trio manages to make this a compelling story while meshing it with the rest of Miles’ (Shameik Moore) storyline. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson also deserve credit for keeping the story focused while delivering pitch perfect entertainment from start to finish.

They all managed to do this while introducing an endless array of memorable characters from the damn near perfect Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India (Karan Soni) to snarky hologram Lyla (Greta Lee). Even the cameos are unforgettable with he likes of a live action Prowler (Donald Glover), Cowboy Spiderman called Web Slinger and even a Spider-Rex. But the most notable standouts are the villains. Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaacs) starts out like an authoritarian who wants to maintain the status quo. But we come to understand his misguided need to maintain canonical events. And then there’s the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). He starts the film as a walking punchline but as he discovers his ability to travel across universes, he becomes an intimidating threat. And Kudos to the writers for turning a throwaway sight gag from the previous film into a character motivation.

Just as memorable are the gags, which come fast and furious in a variety of forms from easter eggs to one liner. You have Ben Reilly’s (Andy Sandberg) overdramatic moodiness, Pavitr’s calling out Miles over “Chai Tea” or Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk (Daniel Kaluuya) contradictory philosophy (“I don’t believe in consistency”). They work with every actor bouncing off each other with effortless timing.

And then there’s glorious animation. Directors Dos Santos, Powers, and Thompson along with their animators apply a variety of animation styles for each universe. They use a watercolor style that drips across Spider-Gwen’s universe. Spider-Punk is animated with a collage-like art style. There’s even a Lego universe animated by a 14-year-old. The directors and animators manage to keep a perfect balance of style and substance by using stylizations to enhance the story while delivering some awe-inspiring action scenes. That and the animation is so gorgeous that it must deserves to be in a theatre.

The writers and directors keep all the style grounded with parents and child relationships serving as the emotional core of the film. Miguel’s grief over the loss of his daughter unintentionally causes the destruction of a universe. Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) begins his responsibility as a father to Mayday who has inherited his powers. Of course, at the centre of it all is Mile’s and Gwen’s relationship with their parents. Miles need to hide his Spider-identity puts a strain on his relationship with his parents, forcing to face the dilemma of whether to reveal his identity. Unfortunately, Gwen’s story is more devastating when she’s forced to confront her father about her superhero identity.

Unfortunately, testimonies from former animators recently revealed Lord and Miller had led to a toxic work environment for the animators, forcing them to work 11 hours a day for 7 days a week, even overruling the directors. Consider this review a celebration for the directors and the animators. Hopefully, conditions are much better for the animators of the third film. This praise goes out to those animators who made this masterpiece work.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

ANATOMY OF A FALL

When her husband is found dead in front of their cabin, writer Sandra Voyter (Sandra Huller) finds herself charged with murder. We follow Sandra through a traumatic ordeal as every private problem is brought to the public eye and every little detail is scrutinized to make her look guilty. Huller gives a powerful performance as a grieving woman left with the painful task of proving her innocence.

BARBIE

In a summer overwrought with superhero movies and sequels, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie blew up the movie theatres like a pink-coloured supernova. About every element made this movie special from the colourful set pieces to the surprising commentary on the patriarchal society and performative feminism. Margot Robbie shines as a stereotypical barbie going through an existential crisis. Ryan Gosling steals the film as a childlike Ken desperate for Barbie’s attention.

It's not a perfect movie. It’s solution to undoing the Patriarchy is more of a first step than an actual solution.[2] The subplot with the Mattel businessmen gets resolved too easily. Beyond this, it’s still an entertaining movie.

STOP MAKING SENSE

The main reason this one’s not on the list is because this is a reissue of a 1984 concert movie. But it’s hard to leave out one of the greatest concert movies of all time.

Late director Jonathan Demme and David Byrne structured a Talking Heads concert in a unique and engaging manner. They start with a minimalist design by having David Byrne perform “Psycho Killer” alone on a barren stage with only a guitar and a boom box. Byrne manages to hook the audience with such a bare minimum. Then each band member appears on stage after each song. Before long, the one-man show becomes a New Wave orchestra complete with chorus girls, an array of keyboards and three giant screens.

Every band member is on their A game, bringing a lot of energy to all the songs. And let’s not forget Byrne’s iconic giant suit.

[1] Here’s a video that does a better job explaining this trope than I could.

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[2] To be fair, this message could be meant for the younger audience.

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