NIMONA
Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Beck Bennett, Lorraine Toussaint, Indya Moore, RuPaul Charles, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman (voices).
Dirs: Nick Bruno, Troy Quane.
Based on a graphic novel, a disgraced knight accused of murdering the Queen from a futuristic medieval kingdom-like world befriends a wise-cracking shapeshifter. I'm surprised that this is probably one of my favorite films of the year so far. From the fantastical world-building, the genuinely funny comedy, the fantastic voice-work and the beautiful animation, there's already lots to love. But the film manages to tackle some dark, heady and grown-up subject matter and themes without hitting you in the head with it and being preachy while still being appropriate for (older) kids. It takes the film to a whole other level of great storytelling. This is another Netflix animated triumph. Highly recommended.
Oscar Prospects: A strong contender for Animated Feature.
Grade: A-
The Official Review Thread of 2023
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anonymous1980
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY
Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Jones, Ethann Isidore, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Olivier Richters, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen.
Dir: James Mangold.
The latest installment of the Indiana Jones adventures has an older Dr. Jones being lured back into action by his goddaughter searching for the Antikythera, the titular Dial of Destiny and is being chased by Nazis again. As just a stand-alone film, I would say this is pretty much a solid, entertaining adventure movie. There are fun sequences and the actors are all game and all play their parts well (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in particular, is fantastic). But having seen the previous films, it is quite obvious that Spielberg's direction is what gives this franchise its extra oomph. Director James Mangold is a good filmmaker and he tries but to no avail. That said, this is a slightly better film than the fourth one script-wise and it is overall a fine piece of entertainment. But don't expect anything more.
Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects (maybe not for the de-aged Indy), Sound and Score.
Grade: B.
Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook, Toby Jones, Ethann Isidore, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Thomas Kretschmann, Olivier Richters, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen.
Dir: James Mangold.
The latest installment of the Indiana Jones adventures has an older Dr. Jones being lured back into action by his goddaughter searching for the Antikythera, the titular Dial of Destiny and is being chased by Nazis again. As just a stand-alone film, I would say this is pretty much a solid, entertaining adventure movie. There are fun sequences and the actors are all game and all play their parts well (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, in particular, is fantastic). But having seen the previous films, it is quite obvious that Spielberg's direction is what gives this franchise its extra oomph. Director James Mangold is a good filmmaker and he tries but to no avail. That said, this is a slightly better film than the fourth one script-wise and it is overall a fine piece of entertainment. But don't expect anything more.
Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects (maybe not for the de-aged Indy), Sound and Score.
Grade: B.
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Mister Tee
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
I don't know when I've been so irritated at the end of a movie I mostly liked as I was by Spider-Man: Across the Universe. I don't know if it was in the publicity and I somehow missed it, or if it's for some reason been kept a secret. Whichever, I'm happy to announce it here, to spare others who might be as irked as I: the movie DOESN'T end. It's frickin' Part 1. Just when I was thinking to myself, the movie should be coming together by now, but it keeps expanding -- in too many directions, I thought for the first time -- it came to a dead stop with "To Be Continued". I get annoyed when such a thing happens on a BBC mystery, but there I only have to wait a week for the denouement. This one's conclusion will be a year off, and the chances of my keeping all of it in my head till there are slender. It's not I'm constitutionally opposed to Part 1's; I accepted it with Dune. But, there, I was told upfront. Here, it was sprung as surprise, at least to me, and I was mortally pissed.
Since I've led with what I disliked about it, let me throw in I also had some problems with the sound. For much of the film, I felt like the decibel level was a bit low, enough I missed snatches of dialogue; had I been watching at home on TV, I'd have bumped it up several notches. I thought it might be just me -- a doctor had told me I might need to start thinking about my hearing fading, though this would have been a truly sudden loss. But a number of the people at AwardsWorthy had the same complaint, and they're nowhere near my age. So, I think it's an issue with the film.
Okay: complaints out of the way, I'll say I was otherwise largely taken with the film. There was the usual how-much-do-I-need-to-know-going-in? quandary (I initially wondered if the whole Spider Gwen/Peter Parker thing had been in the first film and I'd forgotten, but apparently not). But the whole thing, like most of the first film, was exceedingly well-conceived and mounted -- full of truly interesting plot lines and characters, so much wit that half of it's practically thrown away, and even some soulful stuff that made me briefly ponder if the comic book genre was more capable of genuine art than I'd supposed.
(My thought there was, if we can see the art in Hitchcock's entertainments, couldn't we do the same here? I finally came down in the negative -- in Hitchcock, the MacGuffin gets the plot rolling, and is largely an excuse for the human story he smuggles in; here, there are MacGuffins flooding the screen, rendering an imbalance with the human material. But the fact the movie got me even considering this was an achievement.)
And, oh yeah: the animation is freak-great. Like the recent Avatar, it's one giant visual feast end-to-end.
So, I understand the high praise. In many ways, I share in it. But I'm annoyed I have to wait for a second chapter (assuming it even ends there). And I can't make a final pronouncement on the story, because I don't know how it ends -- whether it would ever have come together in a satisfying way.
In educational system terms, the movie is promising, but, at this point, an Incomplete.
Since I've led with what I disliked about it, let me throw in I also had some problems with the sound. For much of the film, I felt like the decibel level was a bit low, enough I missed snatches of dialogue; had I been watching at home on TV, I'd have bumped it up several notches. I thought it might be just me -- a doctor had told me I might need to start thinking about my hearing fading, though this would have been a truly sudden loss. But a number of the people at AwardsWorthy had the same complaint, and they're nowhere near my age. So, I think it's an issue with the film.
Okay: complaints out of the way, I'll say I was otherwise largely taken with the film. There was the usual how-much-do-I-need-to-know-going-in? quandary (I initially wondered if the whole Spider Gwen/Peter Parker thing had been in the first film and I'd forgotten, but apparently not). But the whole thing, like most of the first film, was exceedingly well-conceived and mounted -- full of truly interesting plot lines and characters, so much wit that half of it's practically thrown away, and even some soulful stuff that made me briefly ponder if the comic book genre was more capable of genuine art than I'd supposed.
(My thought there was, if we can see the art in Hitchcock's entertainments, couldn't we do the same here? I finally came down in the negative -- in Hitchcock, the MacGuffin gets the plot rolling, and is largely an excuse for the human story he smuggles in; here, there are MacGuffins flooding the screen, rendering an imbalance with the human material. But the fact the movie got me even considering this was an achievement.)
And, oh yeah: the animation is freak-great. Like the recent Avatar, it's one giant visual feast end-to-end.
So, I understand the high praise. In many ways, I share in it. But I'm annoyed I have to wait for a second chapter (assuming it even ends there). And I can't make a final pronouncement on the story, because I don't know how it ends -- whether it would ever have come together in a satisfying way.
In educational system terms, the movie is promising, but, at this point, an Incomplete.
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
CHEVALIER
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Minnie Driver, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Alex Fitzalan, Sian Clifford, Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
Dir: Stephen Williams.
This is the biopic of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, French biracial classical composer who was a contemporary of Mozart and his triumphs and struggles as a black man making his way and making his name in the (white) French aristocracy just before the French Revolution. I have never heard of this musician until recently so this film is a fascinating look into the life of someone whose race made him almost lost to history. While it's well-crafted, it of course falls into the usual trappings of musical biopics and some of the dialogue feels a bit too modern for the era to the point where it's a little distracting. But Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives a fantastic performance in the title role (I hope this leads to more lead roles form him) and he's supported by a strong supporting cast including Samara Weaving. It may not break new ground but the fact that it highlights someone more people should know about makes this worth watching.
Oscar Prospects: Kelvin Harrison Jr. would make a good Best Actor candidate but I don't know if he'll survive the rest of the year. Production and Costume Design are possible.
Grade: B+
Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Minnie Driver, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Alex Fitzalan, Sian Clifford, Henry Lloyd-Hughes.
Dir: Stephen Williams.
This is the biopic of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint Georges, French biracial classical composer who was a contemporary of Mozart and his triumphs and struggles as a black man making his way and making his name in the (white) French aristocracy just before the French Revolution. I have never heard of this musician until recently so this film is a fascinating look into the life of someone whose race made him almost lost to history. While it's well-crafted, it of course falls into the usual trappings of musical biopics and some of the dialogue feels a bit too modern for the era to the point where it's a little distracting. But Kelvin Harrison Jr. gives a fantastic performance in the title role (I hope this leads to more lead roles form him) and he's supported by a strong supporting cast including Samara Weaving. It may not break new ground but the fact that it highlights someone more people should know about makes this worth watching.
Oscar Prospects: Kelvin Harrison Jr. would make a good Best Actor candidate but I don't know if he'll survive the rest of the year. Production and Costume Design are possible.
Grade: B+
Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
I think No Hard Feelings is lacking in one or two great comedic set-pieces but there's a lot of laughs (and tension) from the central conflict of Jennifer Lawrence trying to fuck this kid (for a car) but he's so awkward he makes it impossible. I've seen reviews complain that it plays it too safe, especially in the final stretch. I think there's a lot of truth to that. It definitely could've gone a little more risque and it's telling that the film's sole nude scene is used for non-sexual purposes (but hey, I enjoyed it). I think if it's guilty of anything it's dialing into its characters a little more than audiences might need in some regards. It's really less of a sex comedy and more of a dual coming-of-age two-hander. But considering all the crappy films I watched in the early 2000's where the same couldn't be said (Slackers, Saving Silverman, Tomcats), I wasn't bothered by that. Judd Apatow gets a lot of shit but providing a path forward for raunch studio comedies beyond that kind of ugliness is taken for granted. This is exactly the kind of career move that Jennifer Lawrence should be making. This is the first non-David O. Russell film I've seen that really taps into her brassy screwball energy. Also, I think she plays an exhausted Millennial very well. Andrew Barth Feldman is terrific in creating a believably and specifically awkward Zoomer who cannot navigate this kind of situation.
Not great but I had fun with it. The audience I saw it with did too.
I've read something else about the high performance of Asteroid City. Social media is helping it a lot. There are LOTS of images of Asteroid City being shared (especially that shot of Scarlett Johansson looking out the window) but this film arrives at the same time that a social media trend is going viral one where people turn their daily lives into a Wes Anderson film. It's basically "You'd better not [make your work, your home, your date] look like a Wes Anderson film." It's happening so much Wes Anderson has asked people to please stop sending him their clips.
Haven't seen Past Lives, but after your rave I can't wait.
Not great but I had fun with it. The audience I saw it with did too.
Well, Asteroid City is likely to come in at over $8 mil this weekend so I think collapse averted. He might be the Gen X Woody Allen. There's starting to be a mathematical formula for how well his movies will do. $25m seems to be the golden number, May-June seems to be the perfect release window, and he can bring in enough star power to stay afloat.Mister Tee wrote
By the end of this first wide weekend, Asteroid City -- which had not much better reviews than The French Dispatch -- will have matched the end gross of that former film. Barring complete collapse, it should get up in the range of Moonrise Kingdom, if not Grand Budapest Hotel.
At the same time, Past Lives, in limited release, will be very close to matching every prestige foreign-language title from the past half-dozen years except Parasite. The film has a ways to go with expansion, and seems likely to near if not cross the $10 million mark, which was a difficult chore even before COVID.
With very promising serious projects from Scorsese, Nolan, Fincher and Payne down the road, I feel like this year will either represent a comeback for quality cinema, or else be the twilight of the gods.
I've read something else about the high performance of Asteroid City. Social media is helping it a lot. There are LOTS of images of Asteroid City being shared (especially that shot of Scarlett Johansson looking out the window) but this film arrives at the same time that a social media trend is going viral one where people turn their daily lives into a Wes Anderson film. It's basically "You'd better not [make your work, your home, your date] look like a Wes Anderson film." It's happening so much Wes Anderson has asked people to please stop sending him their clips.
Haven't seen Past Lives, but after your rave I can't wait.
"How's the despair?"
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Mister Tee
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
We don't really have a spot for discussing box office, but it might be worth noting that, just now, it's starting to look possible the post-pandemic grown-up film drought has begin to abate.
By the end of this first wide weekend, Asteroid City -- which had not much better reviews than The French Dispatch -- will have matched the end gross of that former film. Barring complete collapse, it should get up in the range of Moonrise Kingdom, if not Grand Budapest Hotel.
At the same time, Past Lives, in limited release, will be very close to matching every prestige foreign-language title from the past half-dozen years except Parasite. The film has a ways to go with expansion, and seems likely to near if not cross the $10 million mark, which was a difficult chore even before COVID.
With very promising serious projects from Scorsese, Nolan, Fincher and Payne down the road, I feel like this year will either represent a comeback for quality cinema, or else be the twilight of the gods.
By the end of this first wide weekend, Asteroid City -- which had not much better reviews than The French Dispatch -- will have matched the end gross of that former film. Barring complete collapse, it should get up in the range of Moonrise Kingdom, if not Grand Budapest Hotel.
At the same time, Past Lives, in limited release, will be very close to matching every prestige foreign-language title from the past half-dozen years except Parasite. The film has a ways to go with expansion, and seems likely to near if not cross the $10 million mark, which was a difficult chore even before COVID.
With very promising serious projects from Scorsese, Nolan, Fincher and Payne down the road, I feel like this year will either represent a comeback for quality cinema, or else be the twilight of the gods.
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
NO HARD FEELINGS
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Ross-Bachrach, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj.
Dir: Gene Stupnitsky.
An UBER driver desperate to be able to keep her late mother's house is hired by a rich couple to "date" their shy, nerdy college-bound son. Hilarity ensues. There is a gem of an idea here and it could have been a good old-fashioned '80s style sex romp but the resulting film is kind of hit & miss. It has some funny and good moments thanks to the charm of its lead actors. Jennifer Lawrence is truly funny as the older woman and Andrew Barth Feldman should be launching a decent film career off this. They sell the film's premise and gives it its charm even if the screenplay fails them. All in all, it's fine but it won't be counted as a raunchy classic.
Oscar Prospects: None but Jennifer Lawrence might sneak in the Musical/Comedy Actress category at the Globes.
Grade: C+
HYPNOTIC
Cast: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fictner, Jackie Earle Haley, J.D. Pardo, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Hala Finley.
Dir: Robert Rodriguez.
A police detective dealing with the grief of his missing daughter faces off against a mysterious criminal who can hypnotize people into doing his bidding. I actually decided to see this film based almost solely on this premise. If they had stuck with this concept and premise, they may have gotten themselves a solid crime thriller. But as the film goes along, it introduces plot twists that totally change the premise and then introduces another one....to the point of ridiculousness. Ben Affleck sleepwalks through his role as if he's only there contractually. This is probably the least Robert Rodriguez-like film Robert Rodriguez has directed. Despite his name being all over it, it reeks of studio sheen and contains very little of his style. Yes, this is one of my least favorite films of the year so far.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Grade: D
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick, Natalie Morales, Scott MacArthur, Ebon Ross-Bachrach, Kyle Mooney, Hasan Minhaj.
Dir: Gene Stupnitsky.
An UBER driver desperate to be able to keep her late mother's house is hired by a rich couple to "date" their shy, nerdy college-bound son. Hilarity ensues. There is a gem of an idea here and it could have been a good old-fashioned '80s style sex romp but the resulting film is kind of hit & miss. It has some funny and good moments thanks to the charm of its lead actors. Jennifer Lawrence is truly funny as the older woman and Andrew Barth Feldman should be launching a decent film career off this. They sell the film's premise and gives it its charm even if the screenplay fails them. All in all, it's fine but it won't be counted as a raunchy classic.
Oscar Prospects: None but Jennifer Lawrence might sneak in the Musical/Comedy Actress category at the Globes.
Grade: C+
HYPNOTIC
Cast: Ben Affleck, Alice Braga, William Fictner, Jackie Earle Haley, J.D. Pardo, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Hala Finley.
Dir: Robert Rodriguez.
A police detective dealing with the grief of his missing daughter faces off against a mysterious criminal who can hypnotize people into doing his bidding. I actually decided to see this film based almost solely on this premise. If they had stuck with this concept and premise, they may have gotten themselves a solid crime thriller. But as the film goes along, it introduces plot twists that totally change the premise and then introduces another one....to the point of ridiculousness. Ben Affleck sleepwalks through his role as if he's only there contractually. This is probably the least Robert Rodriguez-like film Robert Rodriguez has directed. Despite his name being all over it, it reeks of studio sheen and contains very little of his style. Yes, this is one of my least favorite films of the year so far.
Oscar Prospects: None.
Grade: D
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
EXTRACTION 2
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Tornike Gogrichian, Idris Elba, Olga Kurylenko, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Daniel Bernhardt, Andro Japaridze.
Dir: Sam Hargrave.
The sequel to the 2020 Netflix action-thriller everyone watched while on lockdown has the black ops mercenary Tyler Rake rescuing his former sister-in-law and her two children who are imprisoned with her husband, a notorious Georgian gangster. The good news is that they took the scene that was great from the first film and pretty much increased it ten-fold. The long-take action sequences here are crazy, outrageous, visceral and very well-staged and genuinely exciting. I wish this is the gold standard of action sequences. The bad news is that the plot and the story is still a little meh but Chris Hemsworth sells it. Overall, this may not be the best film of the year but it's solid entertainment and you could do a lot worse that watch this on your Netflix.
Oscar Prospects: Again, I don't know if this is eligible but Editing, Sound and Visual Effects are strong.
Grade: B.
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Adam Bessa, Tornike Gogrichian, Idris Elba, Olga Kurylenko, Tinatin Dalakishvili, Daniel Bernhardt, Andro Japaridze.
Dir: Sam Hargrave.
The sequel to the 2020 Netflix action-thriller everyone watched while on lockdown has the black ops mercenary Tyler Rake rescuing his former sister-in-law and her two children who are imprisoned with her husband, a notorious Georgian gangster. The good news is that they took the scene that was great from the first film and pretty much increased it ten-fold. The long-take action sequences here are crazy, outrageous, visceral and very well-staged and genuinely exciting. I wish this is the gold standard of action sequences. The bad news is that the plot and the story is still a little meh but Chris Hemsworth sells it. Overall, this may not be the best film of the year but it's solid entertainment and you could do a lot worse that watch this on your Netflix.
Oscar Prospects: Again, I don't know if this is eligible but Editing, Sound and Visual Effects are strong.
Grade: B.
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
THE FLASH
Cast: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiersey Clemons, Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons.
Dir: Andy Muschietti.
The Flash discovers he can run so fast that he could time travel back in time so he decides to save his parents and thus igniting a butterfly effect that created a lot of multiverses. The long-delayed and VERY controversial film due to the troubled and problematic personal life of its lead actor is finally here. Usually, these things don't turn out to be great. The bad news is that, yes, this isn't great but the good news is it's not really awful either. It's a perfectly entertaining and perfectly fine superhero movie that will satisfy its target audience but won't win over any converts who are tired of the genre. We've seen elements in this film done better...even in this same year! But Ezra Miller does give a genuinely good performance and it's nice to see Michael Keaton as Batman again. Again, far from awful but far from great.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. Not even Visual Effects since a lot of critics have been complaining about it.
Grade: B.
ELEMENTAL
Cast: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shilla Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Catherine O'Hara, Mason Wertheimer (voices).
Dir: Peter Sohn.
A young woman who is Fire who comes from immigrant Fire family meets and falls in love with a young man who is Water. A lot of people have pointed out that the concept of this film is almost like someone's parody of a PIXAR film which anthropomorphizes inanimate objects only this time, it's the elements. But I have to say while in a sense that may be true, this film is a very well-realized, very beautifully animated piece of work. The world-building here is quite a feat. I'd love to find out how this world of the Elements work. Yes, the metaphor here is quite obvious. It is indeed about the immigrant experience as well as racism and xenophobia but it's done very well. The voice work here is great (I like that they cast mostly non-names here), I love Thomas Newman's score here too and there are some genuinely sweet and touching moments. It is easily the second best animated feature of the year.
Oscar Prospects: A strong contender for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Steal the Show").
Grade: A-
Cast: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiersey Clemons, Ben Affleck, Jeremy Irons.
Dir: Andy Muschietti.
The Flash discovers he can run so fast that he could time travel back in time so he decides to save his parents and thus igniting a butterfly effect that created a lot of multiverses. The long-delayed and VERY controversial film due to the troubled and problematic personal life of its lead actor is finally here. Usually, these things don't turn out to be great. The bad news is that, yes, this isn't great but the good news is it's not really awful either. It's a perfectly entertaining and perfectly fine superhero movie that will satisfy its target audience but won't win over any converts who are tired of the genre. We've seen elements in this film done better...even in this same year! But Ezra Miller does give a genuinely good performance and it's nice to see Michael Keaton as Batman again. Again, far from awful but far from great.
Oscar Prospects: Unlikely. Not even Visual Effects since a lot of critics have been complaining about it.
Grade: B.
ELEMENTAL
Cast: Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Ronnie del Carmen, Shilla Ommi, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Catherine O'Hara, Mason Wertheimer (voices).
Dir: Peter Sohn.
A young woman who is Fire who comes from immigrant Fire family meets and falls in love with a young man who is Water. A lot of people have pointed out that the concept of this film is almost like someone's parody of a PIXAR film which anthropomorphizes inanimate objects only this time, it's the elements. But I have to say while in a sense that may be true, this film is a very well-realized, very beautifully animated piece of work. The world-building here is quite a feat. I'd love to find out how this world of the Elements work. Yes, the metaphor here is quite obvious. It is indeed about the immigrant experience as well as racism and xenophobia but it's done very well. The voice work here is great (I like that they cast mostly non-names here), I love Thomas Newman's score here too and there are some genuinely sweet and touching moments. It is easily the second best animated feature of the year.
Oscar Prospects: A strong contender for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Steal the Show").
Grade: A-
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
REALITY
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton, Marchant Davis, Ben Elledge.
Dir: Tina Satter.
This film tells the true story of Reality Winner, a former intelligence specialist who leaked classified documents to the public. It tells its story through transcriptions of actual recordings of the search and interrogation in her house. This was a play before it became a film and while this film consists almost entirely of people just talking in a room, director Tina Satter manages to keep it cinematically dynamic but in subtle and non-distracting ways. Of course, the film hinges upon the performance of Sydney Sweeney who plays the titular character. She is fantastic. She keeps your attention every time she's on-screen and keeps you guessing as to what kind of person she is (regardless of whether you not you know the full story going in). I personally did not know the full story going in so I was more riveted. This is definitely one of the best films you can stream out there. Highly recommended.
Oscar Prospects: I don't know if this is eligible for Oscars or Emmys but either way Sydney Sweeney deserves consideration.
Grade: B+
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton, Marchant Davis, Ben Elledge.
Dir: Tina Satter.
This film tells the true story of Reality Winner, a former intelligence specialist who leaked classified documents to the public. It tells its story through transcriptions of actual recordings of the search and interrogation in her house. This was a play before it became a film and while this film consists almost entirely of people just talking in a room, director Tina Satter manages to keep it cinematically dynamic but in subtle and non-distracting ways. Of course, the film hinges upon the performance of Sydney Sweeney who plays the titular character. She is fantastic. She keeps your attention every time she's on-screen and keeps you guessing as to what kind of person she is (regardless of whether you not you know the full story going in). I personally did not know the full story going in so I was more riveted. This is definitely one of the best films you can stream out there. Highly recommended.
Oscar Prospects: I don't know if this is eligible for Oscars or Emmys but either way Sydney Sweeney deserves consideration.
Grade: B+
Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
I basically liked Across the Spider-Verse. It's a lot of movie and probably overlong (the climax and denouement in particular are distended) but also doesn't feel complete unto itself. It's mostly a blast, though.
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS
Cast: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Tobe Nwigwe, voices of Peter Cullen, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, MJ Rodriguez, Colman Domingo.
Dir: Steven Caple Jr.
The latest installment of the robots fighting franchise has the Autobots trying to stop the Terrorcons from giving a special key to Unicron who is a planet eating god or something. Yeah, I know. I had no plans to see this but I’m on an out of town trip and I had some time so why not…and it wasn’t bad. The action scenes are well staged and there’s none of that Michael Bay offensive nonsense that plagued most entries in this series. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback actually play interesting human characters. At the end of the day, it’s still slam bang robots fighting movie but this one’s at least entertaining and easily the second best of the series.
Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects and Sound are possible.
Grade: B
Cast: Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Luna Lauren Velez, Dean Scott Vazquez, Tobe Nwigwe, voices of Peter Cullen, Peter Dinklage, Pete Davidson, Michelle Yeoh, Liza Koshy, MJ Rodriguez, Colman Domingo.
Dir: Steven Caple Jr.
The latest installment of the robots fighting franchise has the Autobots trying to stop the Terrorcons from giving a special key to Unicron who is a planet eating god or something. Yeah, I know. I had no plans to see this but I’m on an out of town trip and I had some time so why not…and it wasn’t bad. The action scenes are well staged and there’s none of that Michael Bay offensive nonsense that plagued most entries in this series. Both Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback actually play interesting human characters. At the end of the day, it’s still slam bang robots fighting movie but this one’s at least entertaining and easily the second best of the series.
Oscar Prospects: Visual Effects and Sound are possible.
Grade: B
Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
BlackBerry is very good. It depicts that middle-space between success and failure that I find fascinating. I don't know if I would call it profound but it asks important questions. Mike Lazaridis' crew are an incredibly talented bunch who pioneer the communications market with the BlackBerry but if it wasn't for the cutthroat instincts of Jim Balsilie, they'd continue to be taken for a ride left and right. But it's because Mike loses his connection to what made that culture special (and becomes too much like Jim) that they eventually get overtaken by Apple. Or maybe it's just that Apple was magic in a bottle which is an almost impossible bar to clear in the first place and with these guys it was never going to happen. There are a few things that hold it back from Social Network territory (a movie it begs comparison to). It lacks appropriate gut punches here and there (final scene is killer though) and stays a bit too light. Glenn Howerton is great (although I see see Denis Reynolds); writer/director Matt Johnson just lacks something special as Mike's best friend Doug. He really is too goofy of a screwup. A different casting choice, I think, might have lent it a bit more gravity.
These barely count as quibbles. Worth a rental. I can already tell this is a film I'm going to be more and more fond of as the year carries on.
These barely count as quibbles. Worth a rental. I can already tell this is a film I'm going to be more and more fond of as the year carries on.
Last edited by Sabin on Thu Nov 02, 2023 1:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"How's the despair?"
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anonymous1980
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Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Mahershala Ali (voices).
Dirs: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, THE best comic book and superhero movie of the decade, has Spider-Man, Miles Morales going into the multi-verse again to face an enemy and various complications and consequences of meddling with the multi-verse. The superhero genre has been rightly criticized as becoming formulaic and stale lately but from time to time, a film like this pops up to remind us that this sub-genre is capable of being inventive and transcendent. This film is quite simply exhilarating. It's a truly fun ride full of twists and turns. There's laughs. It's moving. It's visually eye-popping. I love the manic animation. The voice cast is outstanding. This film is firing in all cylinders. It is over two hours which is quite long for an animated feature but I would sit through two more hours of this. I can't wait for the next one.
Oscar Prospects: Animated Feature is a shoo-in. Deserves nods for Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Sound, Score, Song and Visual Effects.
Grade: A.
Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Daniel Kaluuya, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Mahershala Ali (voices).
Dirs: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, THE best comic book and superhero movie of the decade, has Spider-Man, Miles Morales going into the multi-verse again to face an enemy and various complications and consequences of meddling with the multi-verse. The superhero genre has been rightly criticized as becoming formulaic and stale lately but from time to time, a film like this pops up to remind us that this sub-genre is capable of being inventive and transcendent. This film is quite simply exhilarating. It's a truly fun ride full of twists and turns. There's laughs. It's moving. It's visually eye-popping. I love the manic animation. The voice cast is outstanding. This film is firing in all cylinders. It is over two hours which is quite long for an animated feature but I would sit through two more hours of this. I can't wait for the next one.
Oscar Prospects: Animated Feature is a shoo-in. Deserves nods for Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Sound, Score, Song and Visual Effects.
Grade: A.
Re: The Official Review Thread of 2023
Editing my review a bit:
I had a terrific time watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It really is an incredible achievement in animation. There's a "so much movie" quality to it that recalls RRR and Everything Everywhere All At One in how it's always throwing things at you but it was always an immersive experience. Dazzling, an almost certain Oscar winner, and it gave me a feeling like fireworks going off in my brain. I don't know if it's going to be the best movie released during the summer but it's definitely going to be the best summer movie experience I have this summer. I think it does a good job of taking a misbegotten nerdy concept like the multiverse and finding dramatic conflicts. And once again, watching a movie like this, I'm not sure I ever need to see a live-action superhero film again. But it doesn't really tell a story like I need it to. Great sequels like The Empire Strikes Back, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, and The Lord of the Rings movies give a sense of closure. Across the Spider-Verse doesn't. It's just a big ol' "To Be Continued" that so many movies these days have. And while the first Spider-Verse movie backgrounds silly things like colliders and multiverses to tell the emotional journey that made Into the Spider-Verse such a cathartic experience (in Miles' leap of faith), this story foregrounds them a lot plus overloads on easter eggs for my taste.
That said, I don't want to dissuade anyone from checking it out. I only have one friend who watched Into the Spider-Verse and didn't much care for this one. Not a great film but I had a blast.
I had a terrific time watching Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. It really is an incredible achievement in animation. There's a "so much movie" quality to it that recalls RRR and Everything Everywhere All At One in how it's always throwing things at you but it was always an immersive experience. Dazzling, an almost certain Oscar winner, and it gave me a feeling like fireworks going off in my brain. I don't know if it's going to be the best movie released during the summer but it's definitely going to be the best summer movie experience I have this summer. I think it does a good job of taking a misbegotten nerdy concept like the multiverse and finding dramatic conflicts. And once again, watching a movie like this, I'm not sure I ever need to see a live-action superhero film again. But it doesn't really tell a story like I need it to. Great sequels like The Empire Strikes Back, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, and The Lord of the Rings movies give a sense of closure. Across the Spider-Verse doesn't. It's just a big ol' "To Be Continued" that so many movies these days have. And while the first Spider-Verse movie backgrounds silly things like colliders and multiverses to tell the emotional journey that made Into the Spider-Verse such a cathartic experience (in Miles' leap of faith), this story foregrounds them a lot plus overloads on easter eggs for my taste.
That said, I don't want to dissuade anyone from checking it out. I only have one friend who watched Into the Spider-Verse and didn't much care for this one. Not a great film but I had a blast.
Last edited by Sabin on Sat Jun 03, 2023 2:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"How's the despair?"