Top 10 Films of 2023

Greetings, Movie Fans!

All of the lead up has finally come to an end, and now it's time for the List of Champions! 

The best way I can describe this list every year is that these are the 10 films that were the most deeply engrained in my mind after seeing them. To be clear, these are not necessary films of technical prestige, though they are certainly not lacking in that department in any way. I'll leave that (begrudgingly) up to the Academy. 

I feel that 2023 had an awesome range of different surprises from different genres, and I can only hope that 2024 will be anywhere in the ballpark. In my opinion, it's been a special year!

Alright, without any further delay, here are my Top 10 Films of 2023!

10. "AIR"

When it comes to Ben Affleck as a director, I've been a fan since the word "GO". "Gone Baby Gone" back in 2007 did sneak up on me as a film I was interested in, but didn't really know he had directed it until I had started watching it. Clearly taking some inspiration from the likes of Martin Scorsese, "Gone Baby Gone" was a gritty thriller that left you feeling dirty by the end. Of course, his follow-ups with the "The Town" (2010) and "Argo" (2012) need no introductions, and while "Live by Night" in 2017 had production troubles and some apparent off-set issues in Affleck's personal life, it still was a serviceable drama even if it didn't reach the heights of the previous two. 

While all of those films are good-to-excellent, I believe "AIR" might be his most impressive feat to date. Think about it - it's a film about the creation of the Air Jordan basketball shoe that Nike went all in on back in the 1980s, or face collapse under the weight of the Adidas empire. I don't think you even have to be a basketball fan in this day and age to know exactly how this movie ends, and yet it was still fucking awesome. There's part of me that can't help but think that should be impossible, but Affleck has stricken again. He also is one of the stars of the film, but this time takes a bit of a secondary role behind Matt Damon and Jason Bateman, whom bring their reliable balance of humor and drama as seamlessly as always. It's an excellent film that deserves to be recognized as one of the year's best.

9. "Polite Society"

Speaking of pleasant surprises, I don't think I even knew that "Polite Society" existed until I stumbled across its trailer on YouTube by accident. Thank goodness for that, because in a world where the action comedy genre has been stumbling and bumbling in its own mediocrity for roughly the last decade with few exceptions, "Polite Society" waltzes confidently into the room behind the direction of Nida Manzoor (her first full-length feature), and completely blows the roof off the joint in spectacular fashion. 

I know this is speaking in broad terms, but to me, disliking a movie like "Polite Society" must be in service of also disliking fun. Priya Kansara as Ria "The Fury" Khan, and her sister Lena (Ritu Arya) are so damn infectiously good that I couldn't stop smiling even during the more serious bits of the plot. On that subject, the story strikes a balance between familiar and fresh as Ria, a teenager aspiring to be a professional stunt double, has to do battle with both her disapproving parents and her own sister whom is willingly walking into an arranged relationship against her better nature with a man Ria sees as shady. As implied previously, without getting into spoilers, action and hilarity ensues. 

"Polite Society" feels like lightning in a bottle given all the new talent at hand, and whether this crew ends up working together again or not, I'll definitely be following them from here to see what else they have in store!

8. "The Holdovers"

Seriously, this surge of great Christmas movies is starting to get a little scary. "The Holdovers" in 2023, "Violent Night" in 2022, "A Boy Called Christmas" in 2021, "Klaus" a few years before that, and it goes on from there. Christmas was supposed to be the time I get to make fun of movies, what the actual Hell is happening??

In all seriousness, though, this is one example of many of why Alexander Payne is a great director and Paul Giamatti is a brilliant, yet somehow still underrated actor. Payne has consistent sensibilities, sure, but I'm pretty sure someone could throw a dart at a dartboard with different roles on it, tell Giamatti to "Go do that!", and he'd blow everybody off their feet. In "The Holdovers", Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a cranky boarding school teacher charged with caring for students who can't go home over Christmas break, and is frankly fine with that because he has a sadistic sense of humor when it comes to underperforming students, and he couldn't care less about the holidays. Dominic Sessa as Angus is the student needing to be looked after and whom makes it a point to make Hunham's life miserable, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph is Mary Lamb, the cafeteria manager who also is there during the ride and gets sucked into the antics of the other two. 

If you've seen a Payne movie before, or a holiday movie before for that matter, it won't take long for you to figure out where things are likely going to from there, and the whole experience was simply wonderful. Everybody in front of and behind the camera brings their A-game and makes it look so easy that the 133 minute runtime just evaporates. I know I plan to buy this one and make it a staple each each December. It's really that good.

7. "Barbie"

I don't think there's really anything more I can possibly say about "Barbie" and the film culture landmark it just left in its wake that has been left unsaid. This type of film really needed to be a perfect storm, and Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrara, and a bright cast of supporting characters were that Perfect Storm. I am still frankly in awe of all the ways a project like this could have been a complete and utter disaster, and yet they managed to stick a impressive landing on the first try! The performances, the set pieces, the nostalgia, the humor, the self-awareness, the cinematography, the direction - all of it just worked so damn well. 

I would like to take a moment to give the extra props to Gerwig. She has proven herself a true artist as a director, and considering that a stack of her previous films have hit the awards circuit time after time, it's no wonder that "Barbie" looked like a cake walk when all was said and done. I honestly can't say enough good things about it.

6. "Nimona"

Yep! Of all the outstanding animated films that came out in 2023, I had to put emphasis on "Nimona". Even if I hadn't loved it to this level, I think I would have been trumpeting it somewhere with just how close it became to be unforgivably scrapped by a bunch of idiot studios who couldn't be bothered to see it for what it was. Scoff at me if you want, but thank you, Netflix! Now, give us a bluray, please.

Honestly, "Nimona" appeals to so many of my own preferences, I don't think I could try to count them all. Between being futuristic but also a bit medieval, a creative animation palette courtesy of Blue Sky initially, a high-energy, metal and chaos-loving lead played flawlessly by Chloe Grace Moretz, the yin to her yang, Ballister Boldheart, played also flawlessly by Riz Ahmed, and while I shouldn't need to bring this up at all because it shouldn't fucking matter in the slightest - yes - it also features a nice LGBT romance that most major animation studios don't have the balls to stand behind. What a shock. 

One could say that the story is a little too easy to pick up on since part of is a mystery, but considering what all happens after the mystery is solved makes said mystery hardly the focal point of what's actually happening in the movie and what is has to say. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane directed a Hell of a feature here, and I hope it gets the audience it deserves over time. 

5. "When Evil Lurks"

I don't know what this says about me as a person, but when a film is sold as "off-putting" or "disturbing", I don't take that as much as a lure as I do as a challenge. I haven't seen all the horror movies of the dark underground, probably not even close, but I've seen enough to not be easily shifted by gore, demons, or gore as a result of demons. This isn't a spoiler, but within the first five minutes of the film, a body and its entrails are scattered across the ground, and my thought was "Cool." I guess what I'm saying is that it takes a lot to get me to squirm, and "When Evil Lurks" didn't really make me squirm either, but it did have pretty much everything else that I could possibly want in a horror film! 

Director Demian Rugna has crafted a superbly balanced, possession-ish, infection-ish, occult-ish project about how average people would handle an apocalypse at the hands of Hell. I think what I enjoyed the most about "When Evil Lurks" outside the impressive visuals, costume and makeup design, and gradually increasing dark atmosphere, is just how normal the characters were. We've all seen it before in many a horror movie where the leads are either way too good at escaping dire situations, or entirely too dumb. Pedro and Jaime in "Lurks" are a bit of both. They have faith, determination, and courage, but are also quick to make mistakes under pressure that make their situation far worse than it needed to be. Tempting as it would be to shout at them through the screen, part of you realizes that it has to be that way. 

I don't want to go much deeper in fear of spoilers, because "When Evil Lurks" truly is a fully immersive experience with near-perfect pacing. I saw some great horror films last year, and this one truly stood tall.

4. "Missing"

A spiritual sequel to 2018's "Searching" (my #1 film from that year), "Missing" is directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, who served as editors to the aforementioned "Searching", and once again continue to show how a film like this that would often be considered a gimmick has some true storytelling power. I admit I was a bit skeptical when I had first learned of this film being released, because so often when a new idea comes along and is successful, a cheaper, more direct-to-DVD sequel is soon to follow. Seeing that Aneesh Chaganty did not return to direct (though he did share producing duties), and a whole new cast of mostly unknowns, I was worried it fall well short of the graces of "Searching". 

Thankfully, those fears were completely unsound as "Missing" was another fantastic dramatic thriller. Wow, I cannot even imagine the level of skill and patience it takes to make a film around this type of visual storytelling, but for the second time now, it dug its hooks into me and never let me go once. Particular applause needs to go to Storm Reid  as June Allen, because she carries the bulk of this film on her back, and she did such an impeccable job. She has to emote not only through various video apps, but also through typing, and twist after twist after twist. Needless to say, she had me eating out of her palm the entire time. I love films that make me grip the cushions of my couch and even quicken my pulse, and "Missing" accomplished that and then some. Whether it's this one or both, make sure to check these two movies out. You won't be sorry!

3. "Society of the Snow"

Talk about getting into the running in the last possible minute. I watched "Society of the Snow" only a week ago on Netflix and was so transfixed by it that, not only did I need to get it on my Top 10, but I needed to place it highly. I mentioned how this list of films are here because they're going to be engrained in my mind for a long time, and I still haven't stopped thinking about "Society of the Snow". 

This isn't the first film adaptation about the true events surrounding a rugby team and various others whose plane crashed in the Andes Mountains back in 1972, though it is the first one that I've seen. I shouldn't be surprised by the film's high quality given that it's directed by J.A. Bayona. He's had some misses here and there, but I've known his work since his debut back in 2007 with "The Orphanage", and that's a horror film I still adore to this day. I would also love to see some behind the scenes of how he made "Snow". Obviously there was some special effects going on, especially during the crash and some of the action scenes, but the rest looked so authentic that it made me feel cold. Keep in mind, this crash happened during the roughest months of the year up in the Andes. There's blizzards, avalanches, subzero temperatures - it was brutal, and this film captured all of it magnificently. 

As much of a curmudgeon that I am sometimes, especially towards humanity, "Snow" really filled me with that sense of compassion and wanting to cheer these people on. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and it will take take your breath completely away at times. This is absolutely a must see!

2. "Oppenheimer"

Much like "Barbie", there isn't a whole lot I can say about "Oppenheimer" that hasn't been said already, and I don't have any deviations or hot takes that are going to go against the grain here. This is (to date) Christopher Nolan's masterpiece. I've seen him do some pretty cool shit through "The Dark Knight" trilogy, "The Prestige", "Inception", and "Dunkirk" - and those just feel like a warm up now to his true potential that was on full display in "Oppenheimer". The screenplay, the editing, the practical effects, the astonishingly enormous cast whom all left a memorable fingerprint on the film whether they were in it for 5 minutes or 150 minutes, the score, the direction, and so on and so on. 

2023 was a great year for stories we pretty much know a bulk about, like "Oppenheimer" and "AIR", and still managed to be completed entranced by them. That is the work of true artists and visionaries, and like I mentioned before in previous lists, it's movies like "Oppenheimer" that make me love movies as deeply as I do. 

And now, the moment this has all been leading up to! Next is the film that hit just about every emotion I have in me, and made both my adult self and inner child shed tears of joy:

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1. "Godzilla Minus One"

It's taking every fiber of my being not to turn this into one long love letter to Godzilla, Toho Studios, and the rest, but that will have to wait for another time. It's hard for me to ever relent to the idea of calling a movie perfect or near-perfect, but I think I'm going to have to let go of those inner inhibitions, because by my estimation, "Godzilla Minus One" is as close to a perfect movie as I'm likely going to see, and I do mean any movie, not just monster movies. Director Takashi Yamazaki should be so proud of this tremendous feature he has made. 

I've been one of the lucky ones who was exposed to Godzilla early in life, and I was the kid who loved monsters and dinosaurs, so it was an easy win. There are still so many Godzilla movies I have yet to see from Japan, and I'm hoping to fix that during 2024 and 2025 so I can get a better appreciation of Toho's evolution over the years that led them to making what may be considered their crowning achievement in "Minus One", outside say maybe the 1950s original. I do love the American versions as well. I'm still a defender of the 1998 Emmerich version, and the three (almost 4) that have come out from Legendary the past decade are goofy to be sure, but they are a good balance to the more serious faire that comes from Japan. 

What has set "Minus One" apart from any other Godzilla film that I've seen to date is that not only was Godzilla's design the most impressive adaptation that I've seen yet by a long shot, but I've never been this enveloped in the human story before. Honestly, the whole cast brings something individually the table that sticks with me and are so vital to the progression of the plot that one misstep might have undone everything. It's a pretty odd and special feeling to be super amped when Godzilla comes on screen, but also have an inner voice go "Could you not?? My boy Koichi over here is just trying to get his life together. Leave him alone!" There were also some (potentially) new twists to Godzilla that I didn't see coming and hadn't seen previously that were both terrifying and exciting. I hope to see more of that in the future!

I knew as soon as I saw "Godzilla Minus One" that it was going to be my favorite of the year. I sat in silence after it was over. Those around me at the theater sat in silence after it was over. Once a minute or two passed, applause broke out. That isn't just a movie, it's an experience, and I'll never forget it.

Thank you for reading and checking out ALL of my 2023 film lists this year! Cheers to 2024!

The Honorable Mentions of 2023

Greetings, Movie Fans!

Now it's time to get into the good stuff! Color me surprised how 2023 ended up being what I consider to be a pretty stellar year for movies, and trust me, it was desperately needed after about a three year slump between 2020 and 2022. For a few of those years, it was hard to find enough movies to fill a Top 10, no less have an Honorable Mentions roster. As for 2023, this is the largest stack of Honorable Mentions I've had in an age, and the Top 10 for the year was pretty tough to put together from all the choices.

While the Top 10 will be last one I post for obvious reasons, I wanted to take some time to shine a light on films that I loved from last year that, if the competition hadn't been so stiff, would have likely made the Top 10 in their own right. 

There's a decent pile to get through here, so I will keep it short and sweet (maybe).

Here are my Honorable Mention films from 2023, in no particular order:

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem"

I don't think it would be fair to say that this is the TMNT movie "I've been waiting my whole life for" or anything, as I still have a strong affinity towards the live action Turtles from the 90s, and while my expectations were pretty low at the time, I found the animated "TMNT" from 2007 to be far more enjoyable than I predicted. I've still largely ignored the live action films from the 2010s that have Michael Bay's stink all over them, because life is too short. Still, I couldn't help but love pretty much everything "Mutant Mayhem" had to offer. I know there was some criticism about it having too much comedy in it, but to that I say "Fuck It", because there's already an abundance of seriousness in cinema. The cast absolutely nailed the essence of the characters with a modern twist, a bulk of the jokes landed, and "Mutant Mayhem" is yet another new animated release showing some pretty impressive innovation in style. Perhaps Disney should take some notes. 

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie"

If this ends up being the crowning achievement for Illumination Studios for the rest of time, I'm totally fine with that. Granted, I wanted "Super Mario Bros." to be an hour longer and I am completely open to sequels and spin-offs from Nintendo, because holy shit, could you imagine all the potential gold?? While geared towards a younger crowd, the animation was absolutely stunning in this picture, the cast couldn't have been much more perfect if it tried, and my inner child was smiling nostalgically from ear-to-ear. Case closed.

"Evil Dead Rise"

When I went to see "Evil Dead Rise" in the theater back in April, I thought for sure when it ended that it was going to be my pick for the best horror film of the year, and it still would be Top 5 for sure, but 2023 boasted a better horror selection than I anticipated. Regardless, "Rise" has everything that I love about the series to date: Tongue-in-cheek humor, strong performances from a lesser known cast, and copious amounts of blood and body horror. Raimi and Campbell - keep 'em coming, lads!

"Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3"

For as much as I have enjoyed the MCU, particularly through the Thanos saga, even I have to admit that while I'm not experiencing what most are calling "fatigue", the whole project feels incredibly awkward right now due Covid completely fucking up the schedule, and Disney not handling that all-too-well. This latest installment of "Guardians" almost feels like a misfit in a mix of new avenues and names that don't appear to have a clear path to where they're going with all the cast and crew changes going on. If I can tune all that out, though, "Vol. 3" was a pretty superb ending to the trilogy. I wouldn't say it matches the heights of the first one, but I do feel it had quite a bit more to offer than "Vol. 2". Being one of my favorite sections of the MCU to date, it was hard to say goodbye to this crew, but in the end, I suppose bittersweet is a good thing.

"Elemental"

It feels like it's been a minute since the last time I truly loved a Pixar movie. To be clear, I like all of them, and I don't feel there are any bad films in the catalog. Some are great and some are excellent, and there are some that are, in modesty, just good. I don't know if I can say I love "Elemental", but it is Pixar's best film since "Soul", and there are many aspects of the film that I did love. First and foremost, the animation is gorgeous, which is par for the course for Pixar, but in the case of "Elemental", it was in the minor details that the shine came through. There are a few scenes that gave me that good old fashioned jaw-drop reaction. Don't get me wrong, the characters are solid, the actors performing them are also amicable, and the story is fine, I'm just getting to the point where I'm itching for Pixar to pivot and try something new. Either way, it's still a keeper!

"Sisu"

I don't care how old I get and how many of this type of film comes out during that time, there's always going to be something incredibly arousing about unflinchingly graphic carnage at the expense of Nazis. 

Go ahead, please tell me how that's in poor taste. 

This latest entry in the saga introduces the myth of a being called "Sisu", and how an aging gold-digger who is simply trying to exist in his own little bubble at the closing days of World War II gets stumbled across by a group of fleeing Nazis. They decide this guy would be fun to fuck with, only to find out he's kinda really good at killin'. That's pretty much all there is and all there needs to be. If you like watching Nazis getting justice the bloody and violent way, "Sisu" will satisfy all your needs!

"SAW X"

"SAW" - love it. "SAW II" - love it. "SAW III" - love it. "SAW IV" - love it (the ice blocks, cmon!!!). "SAW V" - kinda sucks. "SAW VI" - love it. "SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER" - really sucks. "JIGSAW" - meh. "SPIRAL" - I appreciated the direction it went. 

Ten movies, holy shit. To me, that's both impressive, and also a bit sad in that I haven't really loved a "SAW" movie since 2009. While I was incredibly stoked to hear that Tobin Bell was going to make a big return in "SAW X", I couldn't help but be skeptical when I heard it was a pseudo-sequel squeezed between the first two movies. I guess it has to make sense for those who know why, but it made me wonder what the Think Tank really had to offer. Turns out, it had plenty! I'm pretty sure Tobin was in this film more than the other 9 combined, which was far overdue in my opinion, and the writing was shockingly strong in this entry. The traps were decent, not the best, but it honestly didn't bother me much because of how character-driven "X" was. It definitely revitalized my love for the series, and Hell Yeah, bring on "XI"! 

"The Boogeyman"

I actually don't want to say much about "The Boogeyman" because it was one of the true horror gems of 2023 in how criminally underrated it was with mainstream audiences. I know my expectations were low going in, and I shouldn't ignore that playing a part, but I was truly impressed with the atmosphere, suspense, the monster, the use of light play, and the list goes on. Just go see it and keep an open mind. It's on Hulu the last I checked.

"Totally Killer" 

I can't imagine I'm the only one noticing this lately, but horror comedies have been kicking some serious ass over last decade or so. Of course, I'm not suggesting they're all Gold Standard. "It's a Wonderful Knife", for instance, was a letdown. While calling "Totally Killer" horror is generous, it is a riff on 80s slasher movies in the same way "Freaky" was a few years ago, and I loved the shit out of that movie. With "Killer", the gimmick isn't a body swap, but a time leap whilst maintaining modern sensibilities, and I have to say it's another winner! Kiernan Shipka carries a bulk of the load, and her comedic timing was sharp. The writing was also well-suited to the vibe, with a bulk of the jokes landing pretty squarely on the target. I hope it'll get a physical release later on. 

"The Burial"

Imagine my surprise when I entered "The Burial" thinking it was going to be a pretty straightforward legal drama, and have it turn out to be a colorful, energetic comedy in a lot of respects. There is drama in it, to be sure, and while I clearly didn't know the backstory of Willie E. Gary and Jeremiah O'Keefe (played masterfully by Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones) nor can I speak to the film's accuracy even now, "The Burial" was so much fun to watch. It almost feels like a call back to films of the same stripe from the 90s and 00s that don't get made as much these days. If you're a fan at all of these type of procedural films, check it out, it's well worth the watch!

"The Killer"

David Fucking Fincher. That's it. That's all. The day his name doesn't get on my Honorable Mentions list at minimum is the day I've seen it all and I can retire from existence. Okay, "Mank" was kinda-sorta close to not making it, but I still ended up having too much appreciation for it as a passion project to knock it down. 

I'll admit that I was completely on-board with Michael Fassbender when he first broke onto the scene, but then with the more I saw, the less range I noticed. However, leave it to Fincher to work that to both of their advantages, as the "Killer" lead was written perfectly for Fassbender's style and showed a precise, yet decently flawed contract killer that I found to be an interesting twist on the genre. Oh, and by the way, is it possible to talk about "The Killer" without completely geeking over how ball-bustingly satisfying the Second Act fight scene was? No? I didn't think so. 

"The Killer" likely doesn't land in my Top 5 for Fincher (a tough lot to crack), but it still gave me the sustenance to sustain me until his next film, or, pssst, more "Mindhunter", dammit!

"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"

Okay, okay, please put the pitchforks away! I know "Across" is in virtually every Top 10 list imaginable, and it showing up here is not me suggesting it's undeserving of that praise. I've loved both the Miles Morales movies so far, and I can't wait for more. That's also why this one in particular isn't on my Top 10 - the movie doesn't technically end. Yes, I could rank it higher on its own merits, but try as I might, I can't get my brain to work that way. I have to see "Across" and "Beyond" as a single entity, and since I can't do that yet, I reserved my Top 10 for other films that aren't under the same circumstances. Look, the animation once again is barrier-smashing, the screenplay is incredible, and the cast is perfect. If you haven't seen it, shame on you. Does that help? 

"Leo"

In 2023, I didn't have an animated musical starring Adam Sandler and Bill Burr as a classroom iguana and turtle on my Bingo card, and I certainly didn't have said combination being really good on my Bingo card, either, but here we are. Don't misunderstand me, you're not getting the likes of a "Lion King" or "Hamilton" in terms of musical chops from "Leo", but the songs are effective enough in the moments they serve, and the film offers up plenty of heart mixed with the tongue-in-cheek comedic honesty of the two leads. Whether you're a fan of him or not, I for one am glad that it appears Sandler still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.

"The Creator"

Gareth Edwards seems to be one of those directors that makes films that are good enough to be engaging, and even memorable in some ways, but somehow never really break into the stratosphere of greatness. I like "Godzilla" (2014), I like "Rogue One", and I also like "The Creator". I can appreciate how one of the biggest talking points about it has been "How the fuck did he pull this off with only $80 million dollars, and how are $250 million dollar films looking like shit lately in comparison?", but on the other hand, the downside is that "The Creator" sparks more curiosity with that than the content of the film itself. To be sure, the visuals are splendid, John David Washington does a solid job in the lead, and the story is something I'm always up to see. I didn't walk away disappointed, but I did wish it had more charisma to strongly separate it from the rest of the pack. 

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter"

Oh, Universal, you really fucked up on this one. "Demeter" has flaws for sure, and they're pretty easy to spot, especially with the (CGI) portrayal of Dracula in some scenes, but this was a compelling horror-drama from the start, and it should have gotten far more love than it received. Troubled production aside, Andre Ovredal did a great job saving this film from almost certain doom, and of course he did, "The Autopsy of Jane Doe" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" don't need introductions. Not to mention Corey Hawkins and Liam Cunningham breathe tons of human emotion and life into an adaption of one, yes, one chapter of Bram Stoker's "Dracula". When it hits streaming, definitely give it a chance!

"Maestro"

If this film doesn't win heaps of awards for Best Makeup Effects, I won't know what to think anymore. The End.

Okay, but seriously, Bradley Cooper directs this movie with an abundance of ambition and energy, and with it being a biographical film about Leonard Bernstein, whom had more life than 2 hours can possibly cram in, I can and should only say so much. Just know that Cooper and Mulligan are excellent in their roles, the mix of color and black/white cinematography was pure eye candy, and like I mentioned before, the makeup details are nothing short of art. "Maestro" definitely deserves all the praise it's been getting.

Still with me? I told you it was a long list this year! It's a good problem to have, I promise.

Last, but not least:

"Past Lives"

In a world full of cotton candy rom-coms and romantic dramas that like to dive headfirst into fantasies about long lost loves, Director Celine Song and "Past Lives" dare to say, "Screw that, time for some real world shit". I can safely say this is not the type of romance that is going to pander to the stereotypes of the genre, and that it may lose some votes from the crowd that prefers the peppy and toe-tapping gloss of most romance films, but there's a reason why it's getting accolades that it is getting in the awards circuit - Celine Song, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magara understood the assignment and crushed it. The film is a remarkably grounded slow-burn, and by the end, it dealt a few gut punches that felt more real than anything I've seen in the genre for a long while. Full applause from me!



Thank you for checking out and reading my Honorable Mentions from 2023!

Next Up: The reigning champions - "Top 10 Films of 2023"

Top 5 Most Disappointing Films of 2023

Greetings, Movie Fans!

I've gone through the mindset of this list before, so I won't spend a ton of time on it, but I've never been one to make a Top 5 or Top 10 Worst Films of the Year list. It's not that I have anything against them, in fact I'm sure it's fun to rag on movies that just didn't sit right with me. I think it's more because, as I've gotten older, if I come across a film I can't seem to digest, I don't really have much to say outside maybe the first 5 minutes after it ends. 

"Huh. Well, that's 2 hours I'm not getting back. Moving on..."

Besides, I find movies that are "disappointing" more enveloping because I had high hopes for them, but for one reason or another, they went way off track or fell short enough of the mark that it left me a bit sad on the inside. Disappointing films live in my head rent-free for much longer than I want them to. There typically aren't too many of those during a calendar year, so I opt to do 5 instead of 10

I said I wasn't going to take too long introducing the list, and here I am rambling again.

Ahem.

Without further delay, here are my Top 5 Most Disappointing Films of 2023:

5. "Run Rabbit Run"

One guaranteed ticket on the Disappointment Train is to have a promising promise, and have the execution of that premise cut short for reasons I still don't understand. "Run Rabbit Run" should have had satisfying atmosphere TO SPARE. Who doesn't love a story about a creepy kid and a mom hanging on by a thread at the end of her rope? Of course those types of plots are somewhat common, but it shouldn't matter if the aforementioned execution is on point. I'm not sure if Director Daina Reid had more in mind and the film was cut short for time, or if the vision was really that lackluster, but for some reason, the film could not be bothered to allow the audience to bask in the glow of anything. I lost count how many times I was really starting to dig a particular set piece with my little cup of horror hope starting to fill up, only for the scenes to abruptly end. What's worse is all that jumping around felt to me as if it was trying to rush to the Big Reveal just so it could show how clever the film thought it was. The trouble is that nothing is earned when that happens, and by the time the climax came to fruition, I couldn't be paid to give a rat's ass. 

I am glad to say the rent on "Run Rabbit Run" is starting to expire in my head as even the better scenes of the movie are starting fade from memory. Oh, Sweet Mercy.

4. "The Son"

Hugh Jackman and Anthony Hopkins. I see those two sharing the marquee, and the Intrigue Dial goes up a few hundred notches. Also, what's that, you say? "The Son" was directed by Florian Zeller, the same director as "The Father" that gave Anthony his recent Oscar win? Well, then, turn that dial just a few hundred notches more while you're at it!

In seriousness, I knew going in that "The Son" was getting panned left and right by the time it hit Netflix, with most complaints being that it was a poor attempt to adapt a theatre play. I suppose I should have found that odd, because it was Zeller's original play. Oh well. Jackman and Hopkins, what could go wrong? Turns out that plenty can. First off, Hopkins is only in the movie for 5 minutes. As if that weren't deflating enough, those five minutes where he is having a spiteful conversation with Jackman were by far the best minutes of the movie, and I could argue one of the only good parts. 5 minutes out of 2 hours - ouchies. 

I'm not sure how to put my finger on it, but it's sad for me to say that I think this was not the right material for Hugh Jackman to play in. We're supposed to feel empathy for him because his son has issues up the wall and down again, and his dad (Hopkins) is a giant prick. Those things combined should be enough, but the behavior of Jackman's character, and his portrayal of said behaviors made it next to impossible for me to feel empathy. Not to mention the whole screenplay was uneven as Hell. I could never find a comfortable place in it to enjoy. 

No worries, Mr. Zeller. "The Father" still exists, and for that, I forgive you.

3. "Insidious: The Red Door" 

I'm about as unapologetic a fan of the "Insidious" series that one will meet, at least in my social circle. Whereas "The Conjuring" series had two solid entries then proceeded to entirely fuck all the way off with miserable prequel after miserable prequel (and boring second sequel), "Insidious" previous to 2023 was four entries in, each one strong on its own merits, in my humble opinion. Oddly enough, I felt for the longest time that the first one was still the weakest of the bunch after losing its edge halfway through, and even then, it's a pretty solid horror flick. Outside of James Wan's direction, the cast has really been quite exceptional all the way through, including but not limited to, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Leigh Whannell, and Angus Sampson, all of whom came together with some rather impressive chemistry to aid the scares. 

The reason I mention them is because where I think "The Red Door" suffered the most was a big lack in that cast. Byrne, Shye, Whannell, and Sampson are barely in it. Wilson and Ty Simpkins carry a majority of this film, and to be clear, they don't do a bad job at all (Wilson also made his directorial debut here), but I could never shake the feeling of who and what all was missing after having been through four previous films with them all in what's supposed to be the "final installment". "The Red Door", by design, also felt like extremely familiar territory as it revisits many events from the first film, and unfortunately, most of the events were from the second half of the first film. Needless to say, the tension and atmosphere were loyally the same to a fault. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike "The Red Door". In fact, I own it, so that I can do an "Insidious" marathon one of these days. I'm not sure what it is about horror "final chapters", but they never really do live up to the rest of the series. Maybe the filmmakers try too hard, or not hard enough? 

2. "Wish"

"Wish" found itself squarely on this list due to perhaps a fault of my own. I bought into the damn hype, and I suppose I should know better, especially since Disney's output since Covid has been more miss than hit, or in their realm, average. I don't think there's a word that can describe a disappointing Disney property quite like the word "average", and sadly, average is exactly what "Wish" turned out to be. 

I admit, I was sucked into the return to a classic premise of the magical kingdom with a magical ruler whom turns out to be a magical douchecanoe with a half-decent singing voice, because wouldn't that be so fitting for Disney Studio's 100th birthday? Disney even had the balls to show a bunch of classic Disney characters during the end credits, and I had to stop to ask myself why they were so proud of this movie? They did at least try some every-so-slightly different animation techniques to make it look more hand-drawn like the old days, but outside of that, a bulk of the characters and songs were mostly forgettable. I know it's hard to go up against the likes of "Encanto" and "Moana", but everything about "Wish" felt thrown together. It's a shame, but hey, "Moana 2" and "Inside Out 2" this year should give me some hope? Maybe? Please?

Finally, my pick for Most Disappointing Film of the Year goes to...

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1. "Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor"

I still consider the first "Hell House LLC" to be not only one of the best horror surprises I came across in all of the 2010s, but it is still hands down for my money the best found footage horror film, period. It somehow took a tired gimmick and made it fresh again in a documentary approach that worked. Yes, some of it - okay a lot of it - was tongue-in-cheek, but it managed to capture a truly eerie vibe for what was supposed to be a roadside haunted house attraction. The two sequels are amusing if nothing else, though they do take a hard right turn into goofy cheese with none of the eerie vibe. 

"The Carmichael Manor" serves as a prequel to the first, if the way-too-fucking-long title wasn't obvious enough, and it came to me as a surprise. I only found out about it a short month before its release on Shudder during Halloween. I usually don't mind a prequel if it can make itself intriguing enough to justify its existence, and for some reason, I had a really powerful magnetism towards wanting to know more behind the evil revealed in the first "Hell House". As seems to be a case with a bulk of prequels nowadays, that turned out to be a mistake in judgment on my part. Granted, my OCD was going to make me watch anyway, but "Origins" was oozing with missed opportunities. 

For starters, Carmichael Manor was a pretty impressive set piece, and practically none of it was used outside of two or three rooms. Next, and I don't mean to be rude as it may not have been her fault, but Bridget Rose Perrota as the lead character, Margot, was damn near insufferable. Picture the frantic energy of a gerbil after it digests the contents of 5 or 500 Pixie Sticks, give it an adult human voice, and you might come close to capturing the essence of Margot. Lastly, brief spoiler warning though it shouldn't be because they're on the fucking poster art, the scares were based entirely around the clowns from the haunted house. Hey, if one isn't a fan of clowns, I'm sure that's perfectly serviceable for horror entertainment, but since I'm speaking for myself only and I'm not bothered by clowns, I couldn't help but be let down by this. To be sure, they were really cool and creepy in the first "Hell House", but they were also spare in that movie. In "Origins", they're around all the damn time, and if I'm being frank, they weren't utilized worth a shit. 

A bouncing red ball rolling down a dark hallway and you're telling me there's a clown on the other side...get the entire fuck out, my friend, you must be joking.

Honestly, the film hints at a much more interesting premise about the origins of the cult leader that supposedly has everything to do with the unrest at "Hell House", but "Origins" thought clowns would be better. It seems the film was a hit, so maybe we'll get another origins film, and unlike "The Conjuring", maybe we'll get a good one. I'm not willing to bet my clown cash on it, though.

Thank you for checking out my latest list!

Next Up: 2023 Honorable Mentions

Top 10 First Time Watches of 2023

Greetings, Movie Fans!

Another year gone, and another list of favorites on the way. Four lists to be exact.

This first Top 10 list of 2023 is for the films that I saw for the first time in 2023, and were released prior to that year. There were plenty of films to choose from that pleasantly surprised me, and I figure why not open myself to scrutiny as to the how and why it's taken me this long to see some of these gems.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

10. "The Wave" (2015)

There have been plenty of disaster films post-1990s released from Hollywood and abroad, but none have really captured that genre quite as well as the films during that decade. Most mainstream disaster movies have used technological improvements and bigger budgets to make the disaster genre about as ridiculous and enormous as possible, and while that's not a bad thing by default, it does make me nostalgic for simpler times. "The Wave" finds an excellent balance of both a simpler premise and making it look incredible in terms of special effects. Kristoffer Joner also does an amicable job selling the plot as the lead scientist trying to save a small town community in Norway of an impeding avalanche that's going to cause a massive tidal wave. It doesn't do anything new with story structure - you have the build up, the event, and the aftermath. What makes "The Wave" refreshing, however, is that it sticks that landing in every aspect. Any disaster movie that can give me white knuckles and make me forget I'm watching a film is a winner every time!

9. "The Dark" (2005)

Admittedly, I hadn't heard of this little horror film from the UK until I had stumbled across it on Amazon Prime during my 2023 October horror marathon. Starring Maria Bello and Sean Bean as a married couple, "The Dark" takes place on a coastal countryside property in Wales that slowly reveals itself to be the previous home of a potential cult leader, and it soon is revealed that there is much more at play than religious fervor. If anyone has read my movie writings in the past, one of the musts for me when it comes to horror is atmosphere, and I found myself absolutely hooked by the darker themes of "The Dark", no pun intended. It certainly doesn't move at a breakneck pace, but I think that's what I loved about it in addition to all its well-placed creepiness. Of all the films I watched last October, it really was this one that stuck with me the most, and I certainly look forward to giving it another turn.

8. "Mona Lisa" (1986)

There's a long list of actors whom I make a point to see as much of their filmography as I possibly can, and as luck would have it, not mention one of the big draws I had to "Mona Lisa", two of those actors are both in this film - Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine. Caine's on screen presence speaks for itself and can elevate any film to greater heights whether the film itself is good or not. I feel Hoskins has that same ability, and one thing he does incredible well is his seamless transitions from roughneck to tenderhearted. These transitions are smooth as butter in his role here as George, an ex-con fresh out of prison trying to make a new start for himself that will allow him to be closer to his daughter. One of first said jobs lands him as a bodyguard for a high-class prostitute, who treats him well enough and he begins to think he has feelings for her. Of course, it's never that simple, as her boss and the crowd he runs with are not quite as easy to get along with. The result is an engaging comedy-romance-action-drama that quickly ranks as one of my favorite Bob Hoskins films to date (below "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"). 

7. "The Eyes of My Mother" (2016)

I didn't know much about "The Eyes of My Mother" when I decided to watch it over Christmas break, so as a result, I didn't have much in terms of expectations. I had heard some positive word-of-mouth on social media off and on, but that was extent of my knowledge. I'm glad to say that any reservations I may have had were completely blown away with the first few minutes of this film. First of all, the black and white cinematography is gorgeous in all aspects, and in some scenes, it's haunting spare. Director Nicholas Pesce made excellent use of shadows to really draw the audience in to Francisca, and the plot of how she was keeping a captor in her barn, whom so happens to be the same man who years before had brutally murdered her mother when Francisca was young. The film is quite short at 77 minutes, so I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I will say this film is an excellent example of how trauma at an impressionable age can really, well, fuck up a person. Kika Magalhaes as Francisca has to pretty much carry this film on her back, and she does incredible job of doing just that. I consider this film highly recommended for fans of slow-burning horror.

6. "The Ninth Configuration" (1980)

I assume most know by now the history of "Ninth Configuration" and how it was meant to be part of "The Exorcist" trilogy before that not at all happening. It's a shame, because this film, and really any film, can do better than what did become "The Exorcist II", and that's being polite. Regardless, while perhaps underappreciated in its time, "The Ninth Configuration" stands up incredibly well on its own. What starts out as a dark comedy of sorts quickly transcends into something much more suspenseful and melancholy. At a glance, it's really a play on mental health, especially in terms of post-war PTSD and what can happen when a mixed bag of those individuals come together in a castle for treatment. To say anymore about it would really do it a disservice, because going in blind and just letting it come to you in full as it is made me appreciate it far more than if I had tried to watch trailers or any other bits beforehand. William Peter Blatty knocks it out with his direction, and the large cast led by Stacy Keach and Jason Miller takes us for a ride with both often hilarious highs and sobering lows. It's not an easy one to find, but if you can get your hands on it, it's well worth the price of admission!

5. "Two Mules for Sister Sara" (1970)

I'm fairly certain that I watched more Westerns in 2023 than I had all the previous years of my life combined. I had watched "How the West Was Won", the Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher westerns from Criterion, "Johnny Guitar", and a handful of Clint Eastwood westerns from the 1970s. All of them were honestly pretty great in their own right, but the one that stands tall the most for me was "Two Mules for Sister Sara." Not only was the film well-made, but it's easily the most fun I've ever had watching a Western. Don't get me wrong, "Unforgiven" will likely always be my all-time favorite, but while that one is more serious in tone, generally speaking, Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine were an absolute blast together in this film with some sharp chemistry to boot. If I'm being honest, MacLaine effortlessly steals the show with every scene that she's in, and while Eastwood does what he does best in managing the action scenes (which feature excellent choreography for the time) and offering prickly one-liners, it's MacLaine that brings the levity, and to say that I adored her in the film is an understatement. It's one of the few Westerns that I can safely say I'll revisit often.

4. "Betty Blue" (1986)

I'm sure I am not alone in the belief that the longer a movie gets, the harder it has to work to earn its stripes. I can only think of about two other three-hour romantic-dramas that I've liked in the past, those being "Titanic" and "Blue is the Warmest Color", and now I can say there's a third I've liked, in fact, Loved, and that's "Betty Blue".  I think what impressed me the most about his film is that it was wise in its use of its runtime. The two main characters (and lovers), Zorg and Betty, are introduced to the audience without any backstory, and it never takes the time to do that at any point. Essentially, the characters and the audience are complete strangers to each other, and the acting by Jean-Hugues Anglade and Beatrice Dalle is so charismatic that I was completely hooked for the ride. What I also loved is that Director Jean-Jacques Beineix never meanders in a certain tone for too long. Yes, there's love, romance, sex, and comedy, but there's also some darker turns in terms of deep depression and mental instability, and I could never really tell when those turns were going to happen, which certainly passed the time. The film is three hours, but it felt like two, and sometimes that's the best compliment I can give a longer film!

3. "Shortbus" (2006)

I saw "Shortbus" back in January of 2023, so I can scarcely remember how I even learned about it. I want to say I read an article somewhere that listed films with the most risqué sex scenes, and let me tell you, they were not mislabeling this film. I can't recommend "Shortbus" enough, but it is definitely not a fit for many appetites. There is full nudity and sex all over the place in this movie, and my understanding is that the intercourse scenes were not simulations - they really went for it. That being said, what made me curious outside of a film that pushes the envelope, is I understood the story to be top-notch, and I completely agree with that. There are many characters introduced in this film, though it mainly focuses on two couples - one comprising of a man and woman, and one of two men - as they're going through different intersections of their lives and relationships when it comes to their respective sexualities. Of course, there's passion involved, but also challenging emotions that threaten to turn everything about their relationships upside down. The film is bright, colorful,  and even contains some musical numbers. It almost defies genre labels. I wasn't sure what I was going to get at first, but over a year later, I still remember the film vividly, and that's one reason I gave it one of my highest scores of the year out of every film I watched in 2023.

2. "After Life" (1998)

I feel like I owe great thanks to the Criterion Collection for exposing me to this one, or else I may have continued to miss a film I'm sure I'll be referring to as Beloved in the years to come. I tend to trust my gut when it comes to movies, and mine leapt at "After Life" as soon as I read the brief synopsis about how the film takes place in a version of Purgatory, where the dead are told that neither Heaven nor Hell exists, and that their afterlife will be eternally spent in a recreated memory of their choosing that meant the most to them. Some of the dead choose something from adulthood, some from their childhood, and some couldn't choose at all, mostly due to regret. Right off the bat, what this film did so well was staying grounded. It would have been easy as can be to turn this idea into something over-the-top and made of pure sugar, but it never once crosses that line. There's cheer in the film, bittersweetness, and also some sadness depending on the deceased person being interviewed for their memory's recreation. I also appreciated how while you get to see the beginnings of the scenes being recreated, the film forces you to use your imagination more often than not, and I found that to be more engaging by far than if they had just handed everything over to the audience in a neat little bow. It's truly beautiful on a tear-jerking level. 

As much as I loved these nine films, there truly was one that just towered above the rest. It was the type of film that reminded why I love movies as much as I do, and said film was...

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1. "The Handmaiden" (2016)

Holy shit, did I love this film! I'm actually really pissed off at myself for taking seven years to finally see it. I think it honestly checks off every box that I have - great directing, gorgeous cinematography, well-written, top-tier acting across the board, and the list goes on. It's a drama that has romance, mystery, and a surprising amount of comedy that caught me off-guard in the best way. Sure, one could make the argument that the twist(s) can be seen coming long before they arrive on screen, and I'll admit to some truth to that, but that's the great thing about a movie like "The Handmaiden" - it really doesn't matter in the end. The film is still so well-crafted that it still unfolds in a way that is incredibly satisfying, and I for one would have been okay if it kept going for another two hours. Really the entire cast crushes it all the way through, but I have to give special praise to the two leads, Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri. They have masterful chemistry with each other, but even more impressively, great chemistry with the supporting cast as well, which is critical for a film like this to work as well as it does. If I had seen this back in 2016, there's little-to-no doubt in my mind that I would have crowned it #1 at the time, and 2016 was a pretty decent year in its own right. "The Handmaiden" is a stunner, and I give it the highest recommendation!

Thank you for checking out my first Top list of 2023! 

Next up: "Top 5 Most Disappointing Films of 2023"

MrMoviesETC Reviews: "Skinamarink" (2023)

MRMOVIESETC REVIEWS:

"Skinamarink" (2023)

Unless you’ve had your head so far up your ass that you can taste the hair on your head on the back of your tongue, you have likely noticed that “Skinamarink” has been the talk of the horror town for the last month. Directed by Kyle Edward Bell on a shoestring budget of $15,000, “Skinamarink” came about via an audience participation project on Bell’s YouTube page where he asked his viewers to submit to him some of their most memorable nightmares in film form, and garnered the idea for “Skinamarink” from the film using some of the most common identities from each nightmare. In case you were wondering what this film was about - not spoiler - wink wink, nudge nudge.

As it turns out, and given the marketing for “Skinamarink”, not all-too-surprisingly, there’s not much I can say about the film itself in terms of its own description. A bulk of the film relies upon copy and paste editing, a mix of intrusive and subtle sounds, the occasional muffled voice of two children, movement of objects by forces off-camera, and shadow and light play. If you’ve read the synopsis either online or on Shudder, you get the basic idea - two young children wake up to find that their father is missing, and as they stay awake watching television trying to piece that mystery together, there’s a possibly nefarious entity in the house attempting to antagonize them. All while this is happening, the film is attempting to beg the question of the audience - is it all real or imagination? 

Well, you can draw your own conclusions on that one, but I have a few questions I can pose instead:

Is the film any good?

From an appreciative and execution standpoint - yes, I do feel it was a pretty good film.

Is the film scary?

It’s complicated.

In the traditional sense of the word “scary”, I would have to say that it wasn’t scary for me, personally. I didn’t have at any point a sense of fear or dread. However, is there a “but’ in there? Yes, there absolutely is a “but” in there. While I didn’t feel a sense of fear, what I did feel, at times in heightened levels, was anxiety. It took me nearly by surprise, probably because I wasn’t paying close attention at first, but before I knew it, my heart rate had elevated significantly, my palms were sweaty, and my right leg was doing the constant bounce-bounce-bounce thing it always does when I’m anxious or nervous. I know exactly why I was feeling this way, but I don’t find it appropriate to divulge here because the viewing experience may be so vastly different for each individual, and for anybody that might read this, I don’t want to taint how it’s received. 

It was also after I came to grips with the anxiety that I was feeling that I began to appreciate the genius of the film’s concept, as inadvertent as it may have been. The way I absorbed the idea of “Skinamarink” was that it is a portrayal of nightmares, and given the process that was done to conceive it, that would make logical sense. My nightmares generally aren’t scary, but are instead, anxious. I get a feeling of claustrophobia and tingling, and an all-around sensation that I’m about to be crushed. I have to say that once that feeling started kicking in while watching “Skinamarink”, I found I didn’t give the slightest shit about the kids or the entity. All I cared about was how the contrasting elements that were rather brilliantly orchestrated in the surrounding environments of the house near and away from the two kids gave me the uncomfortable sensation of being underwater with no oxygen mask. I don’t know if that’s both a compliment and a criticism in the same breath, but either way, it’s a takeaway I’ve not had with a film in so long that I fail to remember what would have given something similar before. 

On that note, seeing as I didn’t give a single damn about the kids and their plight after a certain point in the movie, the aggravating presence triggering my anxiousness did come to a full stop with about 20 minutes left in the movie, and it was then I started feeling detached from it all. Sure, for some the big climax will be shiver-worthy, but for me it didn’t amount to much more than a hangover after the good buzz had evaporated. That being the case, it’s not likely a film I’m going to watch again, or at least not for quite some time, because I will feel that letdown coming.

To sign off on this one, no, I don’t think “Skinamarink” is an arthouse masterpiece or so off-the-wall creative that it’ll stand alone against the past, present, and future. What it certainly is, though, from where I stand, is a very well-made project crafted from a fun online tactic, and a project that does genuinely show that millions upon millions of dollars in budget CANNOT buy you a good movie, nor can it buy the courage to present such a thing without said bigger budget. It’s already garnered plenty of love and dislike, but I’m willing to bet no matter which way your pendulum swings, you will remember it.

“Skinamarink”: 8/10