The past year was one where I didn’t see as many films as usual and that meant missing out on a few releases.
For better or for worse, these included pictures such as “The Flash” and “Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny,” among others. I still saw plenty of flicks, though, and as usual, some of them were a chore to sit through.
Here are the roughest films that were released in 2023 that I experienced.
This film was “Rebel Moon – Part One,” so a Part Two is surely on the way. Netflix can keep it, one was enough.
“Rebel Moon,” directed by Zack Snyder, unsurprisingly starts on a moon. More specifically, it’s a remote moon populated by small farming villages. One of those villages is where Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former soldier, is residing for a more peaceful life.
That life is upended, though, when a ship from the militaristic galactic empire arrives and demands the villagers produce rations for its army as its in the midst of a conflict with rebels. With a threat of violence if the demand is not met, a village farmer partners with Kora to find warriors throughout the galaxy to defend the community.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ is a soulless sci-fi slog”
When director Yorgos Lanthimos makes a film, you can usually expect it will make a person laugh, think and be taken aback. “Poor Things” is another example, and it’s also pretty damn good.
Willem Dafoe portrays scientist and surgeon Dr. Godwin Baxter in the film. Early on in the movie, we learn that the latest experiment by Dr. Baxter, a sort of Frankenstein-like mad scientist, was the resurrection of a young woman who had jumped off a bridge.
To do so, Baxter utilizes a brain that he recovered from the baby that the woman was pregnant with and calls the revived being Bella (Emma Stone). The experiment results in Bella getting a crash course in living, as her intelligence rapidly develops while she’s learning about life experiences and the world around her.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Poor Things’ is positively weird and wonderful”
At last, we have come to the final chapter in the DCEU.
“The Lost Kingdom,” takes place few years after Aquaman, AKA Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), became king of Atlantis and prevented a war between the ocean and surface worlds. Now a husband to Mera (Amber Heard) and father to a baby son, Arthur is trying to find a good balance between being a monarch and a dad.
At the same time, a threat emerges in the form of an old enemy, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen). After losing to Arthur in part 1, Manta is out for revenge and plans to do so with an evil trident. To stop the villain, Arthur partners with his brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who he defeated for the throne.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Aquaman’ sequel is generic superhero CGI slop”
Production issues nearly sidelined this film. Thank goodness it was revived and released on Netflix.
“Nimona” is set in a kingdom where the past meets the future. While the kingdom has all the makings of a medieval state in function, the movie is set in a high-tech world, with knights using hovercraft and advance technology.
The movie centers on one such knight, Ballister (Riz Ahmed), who finds himself framed for killing the queen of the kingdom. He meets an unlikely ally, though, in an unruly shapeshifter named Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has been shunned by the society at large for her abilities.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Nimona’ is an awesome animated adventure”
Sometimes you want so badly to enjoy a movie, and it just doesn’t work out. Enter “All of Us Strangers.”
The character Adam (Andrew Scott) is at the center of this U.K.-based drama. A writer who resides in London, Adam is in a melancholy state at the start of the film as he finds himself reflecting on the death of his parents who passed away when he was young.
When visiting his childhood home one day, though, by unexplained circumstances, Adam sees his parents as they were just before they died. As he’s reconnecting with his parents, he also meets a new resident in his apartment building who he starts a relationship with.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Inconsistencies causes ‘All of us Strangers’ to struggle”
The mind of Hayao Miyazaki continues to be a wonderfully mystical place.
He’s shared some more of his magical vision with his latest animated fantasy feature, “The Boy and the Heron.” The film, set during World War II, centers on a pre-teen boy, Mahito, who is struggling mentally and emotionally after the death of his mother in a fire.
The film picks up with the protagonist’s father recently getting remarried to the sister of his late wife, Mahito’s aunt Natsuko. Mahito is resistant to moving on and accepting the new reality, but when he discovers a path to a magical world, he’s thrust into an adventure where he has to learn to live and trust again, as well as embrace his family.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Boy and the Heron’ is a fine film about healing”
Everyone has to start somewhere, even great chocolatiers like Willard Wilbur Wonka.
The latest film to feature the candy-maker shows that start, with the character being portrayed by Timothée Chalamet. After having traveled the world to discover new flavors, a young Wonka arrives in a European port town known for its Galeries Gourmet district, where the world’s top candy stores are located.
Hoping to join the elite status, Wonka sets out to sell his chocolate in the area, but he soon learns that the other owners see him as a threat and are dead set on stopping his career. To make matters worse, he becomes majorly indebted to a pair of innkeepers. The silver lining, though, is the situation leads him to meeting others who are willing to help him with both problems.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Wonka’ prequel has plenty of magic and whimsey”
Bradley Cooper has returned to the directing chair and once again put together a film revolving around a musician.
Unlike “A Star is Born,” though, his latest picture is about a real person. “Maestro” is a biographical film about Leonard Bernstein, who Cooper also portrays. Bernstein had an illustrious career as a composer and conductor in various capacities, including film and orchestras.
While the movie covers his professional background, though, the movie is much more centered on his relationship with his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein (Carey Mulligan). The film shows how they became a couple and how their marriage was strained by Leonard’s work and his affairs.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While not a masterpiece, ‘Maestro’ remains a strong biopic”
Meeting Nicolas Cage would probably be a cool experience, but having it be during a dream could be a bit much if it’s anything like this film.
That’s the situation many people have to go through in the movie “Dream Scenario,” though, where Cage plays Paul, a man who ends up appearing in random peoples’ dreams. A college professor, Paul’s appearances in dreams begin with his own family, then to his students, followed by the general populace.
Paul has been struggling lately, not able to move his career forward, so at first he welcomes the new popularity. However, it begins to be an overwhelming experience. Additionally, while he at first did nothing in the dreams, people who see Paul in their sleep begin having terrifying nightmares, which turns him into an antagonist for many.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Dream Scenario’ is wonderfully creative and comedic”
Matthew Liedke on Film 