C H A P T E R L I N K S :
• BEST MOVIES: 2023
• BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2023
• BEST TV: 2023
• BEST RESTORATION
• C R I T E R I O N
• This will often spotlight directors for special merit.
But Auteur Theory is a shoebox; films are a collaborative effort with everyone involved.
• Because of varied global distribution, films from 2022 are listed in parenthesis.
• The author reviews creative media by personal discretion, and recieves no compensation from copyright owners.
Bigger here.
B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 2 3
T H I N K
• POOR THINGS (Ireland/UK/US) ⇧
A constructed woman reconstructs herself the way she wants.
In this visionary and revisionist interpolation of “Frankenstein”, a Victorian woman evolves through a second life from child mind to person. Her picaresque journey questions all the restrictions that society tries to place on her.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos (DOGTOOTH, THE LOBSTER) abridges Gray’s epistolary book into a feminist allegory dismantling oppression, which glides along merrily on a breathless pace, surreal imagery, and the riveting Emma Stone. The blunt poetry of her shrewd dialogue will make you rewind to quote it.
Also read:
Shelley’s “Frankenstein” (1818)
See also:
Lynch’s THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980); Branagh’s FRANKENSTEIN (1994); Garland’s EX MACHINA (2015)
Snapshots of the pivotal moments in a young Mississippi delta woman's life.
Writer/director Raven Jackson's film will take your breath away.
The contender for best-shot and most soulful film of the year is the one nobody knows. It is a mosaic of memories, told in languidly hopscotch order, that flows fluid as a dream. Mack's story is as warmly human as the golden light dappling the swamp forests around her. The camera lives in her breathing range, reflects her thoughts, holds each long moment with the zen of being. It is rustic poetry about how we recollect the vivid highs of family, love, life turns, and nature.
The impressionist indie achieves its intimacy from Jomo Fray's cinematography, caressing the joys/pains of life: riding in flatbeds down dusty backroads, laughing on chipping porches, crying when it's all that can be done, loving the rain in balmy marshlands, swirling the river silt through fingers, and holding the longest and most resonant hugs in cinema history.
The Osage tribe struck black gold in 1920s Oklahoma, but then the greedy came to take it.
This is a true story. It exposes how the oil industry stole control of Oklahoma tribal wells for their power; infers how this was connected to the nearby 1921 Tulsa race massacre; and how the FBI was created to address the crime. It speaks just as much to now, and how justice is still deferred for Native Americans by corruption.
This is a solid movie told well and worth the time. That said, it focuses too much on DiCapprio’s character while underserving Lily Gladstone, and a reversal would have been more interesting and powerful. Martin Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker wrestled with the long running time for years; another option might be to issue an extended mini-series on premium cable, as Luhrman and Tarantino have done, allowing more balanced depth to Gladstone and her Osage family.
See also:
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007); ‘The Spirit Of Crazy Horse’ (doc, 1990)
• RUSTIN ⇧
Bayard Rustin organized the 1963 March On Washington, the Woodstock of civil rights.
The major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement fought each other as much as their oppressors, delaying progress. Ostracized for being Gay, Rustin forced the factions together by sheer force of charm and steel to stage the largest peaceful protest ever, and changed America for the better.
This finely observed biopic, starring Colman Domingo and an all-star cast, gives him the proper due he has always deserved.
See also:
the essential documentary series, ‘Eyes On The Prize’ (1986); SELMA (2014); I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (doc', 2016)
• WAR PONY (2022) ⇧
The struggling lives of two Lakota youths on the contemporary reservation.
Co-directors Riley Keouch and Gina Gammell’s blunt film, based on true events, reveals the harsh squalor that ruins Native American lives. A young man (Jojo Bapteise Whiting) hustles every angle trying to get forward, while an abused pre-teen (Ladrainian Crazy Thunder) ends up homeless and dealing drugs. Bleak but clear-eyed, the film is an appeal for equity and agency.
See also:
SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME (2015)
• MAESTRO
A bio-pic of the celebrated composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein.
The public Bernstein was America’s premier conductor and acclaimed composer. In private, his marriage was in turmoil through his flagrant affairs and omnivorous persona.
Director/co-writer/star Bradley Cooper frames a pared focus of that life into a gripping drama through period film stocks, dramatic chutzpah, and the tenacious duende of Carey Mulligan (SHE SAID) as his life-partner and foil, Felicia Montealegre.
See also:
WEST SIDE STORY (1960, and 2021); TAR (2022)
• PRISCILLA
Don't be cruel to a heart that's true.
If Baz Luhrmann's ELVIS (2022) was an Opera (Remix), then Sofia Coppola's counter-melody is a prom psalm. Gentle and pensive, it is exactly what it should be: a teen girl's fairy tale romance come true and the painful realities that followed, told with sober grace in insular snapshots. A lovely and perceptive film infused by the depth of Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi's spot-on performances.
See also:
Watch as a double-feature with ELVIS (2022)
Two African teens trying to immigrate into Belgium are beset by bureaucracy and criminals.
The Dardenne brothers’ subtle expose of the plight of African immigrants looks like an artful doc’, plays like a terse thriller, touches like a confession.
The reality comes from the unaffected performances of amateurs Pablo Schils (Tori, 11) and Mbundu Joely (Lokita, 16) whose human bond offsets all of the cold indifference of office drones and street thugs misguiding their future.
See also:
HIS HOUSE (UK/US, 2020)
• EARTH MAMA ⇧
A pregnant woman tries to earn her kids back from foster care.
Savanah Leaf’s quiet debut reads like diary, hewing as close to its subject as clothing. While the cast has a few big name actors supporting, it’s newcomer lead Tia Nomore who carries the movie completely with her natural performance. You’re rooting for her the whole way as she fends through agencies, advice, courses, missteps, and decisions. Contemplative, poignant, human.
• HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE (2022)
Protesting Climate Change, a loose group of activists concoct a symbolic blow against an oil conglomerate.
The only eco-terrorists in the world are corporations destroying nature, who bounce-blame protestors as ‘eco-terrorists’.
Based on Andreas Malm’s nonfiction essay book, co-writer and star Ariela Barer steers a thought experiment exploring the complexity of possible physical activism against stagnant corporate powers. Where is the line between being too helpless from inaction, to going too far in becoming as immoral as your oppressor?
See also:
THE EAST (2013); NIGHT MOVES (2013)
At 60, Diana Nyad decides to re-attempt her youthful quest to swim from Cuba to Florida.
In 1978, 28-year-old champion swimmer Nyad nearly succeeded in swimming from Havana to Key West, but was undone by bad logistics.
In 2010 she decided to try again. This is an intimate character drama as well as a thrilling sports flick, gaining its power from Annette Bening and Jodie Foster portraying the radiant friendship at the core of Nyad’s confidence to beat the odds. A rousing triumph in every way.
• ANATOMY OF A FALL (France) ⇧
A death at a chalet home leads into a murder trial.
A woman is held up to suspicion from every angle after being accused of murder. An emotional drama as riveting as a thriller which keeps you guessing all the way.
Justine Triet’s excellent film handily won the Palme d’Or and the Golden Globe for screenplay. It pinions on the complex performance of Sandra Hüller, while stealthily examining her examiners: the assumptions inherent in gauging personal lives and female suspects projected by prosecutors, witnesses, the press, and the audience.
• SAINT OMER (France, 2022)
A Senegalese law student goes on trial for letting her baby die.
Alice Diop's thoughtful feature debut almost plays as a counterpoint to ANATOMY OF A FALL; if that film tracks subjective interpretations that resolve into an objective clarity, this one lays out objective facts that leave you questioning everything revealed. Who is true, what is real, how much is our reflection? It thrives in the space between a Bresson film's monastic distance and a Bergman film's spiritual pensiveness.
Two South Korean kids become separated a world apart. As adults, what is the bond holding them together?
As a Korean man and a woman raised in New York reconnect in communication, they are conflicted about their connection as people.
Celine Song’s gentle and resonant film channels personal experience as it straddles the divide/bridge between Seoul and NYC. Greta Lee (‘Russian Doll’) breaks out fully as the personable lead.
See also:
Fei’s SPRING IN A SMALL TOWN (China, 1948); Duras and Resnais’ HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR (France/Japan, 1959); Wong’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (Hong Kong, 2000)
• SHORTCOMINGS ⇧
Is everyone in Ben’s life advancing on, or just escaping him?
In Berkeley, the cynical Ben pretends to aspire while resting comfortably in a rut. As his circle and stability come apart, he has to face change within himself.
Adrian Tomine’s astute graphic novel was the perfect blueprint for an indie comedy, and his collab’ with director Randall Park nails it. Hilarious, canny, quotable, this all-star affair breezily captures the crafty book while ornamenting it.
See also:
ANNIE HALL (1977); PARIS, 13th DISTRICT (France, 2021)
• SHOWING UP (2022)
A reclusive sculptor begins to stir as she tends an injured bird.
After family trauma, Lizzy (Michelle Williams) has become as immobile as her contorted figurines. Kelly Reichhardt’s zen dramedy watches her seriocomic chrysalis as patiently as a time-lapse doc. Along the way, it follows the mercurial spirits at the art school with a remarkable sensitivity for understanding how their creative processes work.
A prosperous woman during Pinochet’s dictatorship begins to see the plight of the oppressed.
The rich don’t know the lives their success treads on, or pretend they don’t. Carmen has seen things she can’t turn away from which undermine her comfort bubble, and are leading her somewhere uncertain.
Manuela Martelli, with co-writer Alejandra Moffat, unveils the military dictatorship sidelong through the class divide it is built on, as elite lives begin to intersect with the oppressed.
See also:
Costa-Gavras’ MISSING (1982); 'The Trials Of Henry Kissinger' (doc', 2002); NO (Chile/France/US, 2012)
• EL CONDE (Chile) ⇧
What if Pinochet was a literal vampire?
Larrain’s black comedy satirizes real life Fascistic demons through the metaphor of a B/W horror film. As wicked and unsparing as Bunuel, the artful ride is most valuable for its grilling of all despots and the idiot masses that continually enable them.
See also:
Dreyer’s THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (France, 1928); Bunuel’s THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL (Mexico, 1962)
Abused all her life in the early-1900’s American South, Celie looks for deliverance.
There’s a tricky balance for this musical version: song in service of story. Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning 1982 book covers a long span with a shrewd eye and razor tongue. The 1985 film’s power lay in translating the urgent ache of the plot and dialogue faithfully with visceral impact.
This film adapts the 2005 stage musical, where the structure personifies the inner struggle of various women through songs. The ensemble approach rewards with a series of great showstoppers, but pulls focus off of Celie while streamlining the dialogue and plot. It's a compromise with richochet rewards.
It still works and everyone should see it. It’s beautifully shot, the cast is spot on (especially Taraji P. Henson as Shug), every song is rousing or moving, and it still makes you cry each of the ways. That said, maybe the book and first film are the full dramatic experience, and this is like an interesting remix album.
Also read:
If Alice Walkers "The Color Purple" (1982) twines the post-Slavery experience of the American South and Africa back together, her ambitious cosmopolitan sequel "The Temple Of My Familiar" (1989) expands this into tying the world together.
See also:
‘The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman’ (1974); THE COLOR PURPLE (1985)
Also:
• CHEVALIER (2022)
The true story of the Caribbean who became a celebrated 18th Century Classical composer.
A good film about a neglected musician who deserves deeper appreciation, though crafted a bit slick and conventional.
See also:
Forman’s AMADEUS (1984); MOZART’S SISTER (France, 2010)
Short film:
Two cowboys are secretly tied to each other.
Bored with retirement, Almodóvar keeps coming back strong. Here, less is more in a 30-minute short film starring Pablo Pascal and Ethan Hawke that strips the Western script for something more daring and soulful.
See also:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)
S M I L E
• BARBIE ⇧
Barbie wakes up from the gender shams and consumer bubble to become a full person. And you can too!
The Barbie doll used to be shorthand for everything conformist, manufactured, and phony, often viewed as femininity standards enforced by misogynists. But if you grew up playing with her, maybe your outlook was tempered by your own experience instead.
Greta Gerwig (LADY BIRD) handily does the impossible by transforming the plastic totem into a feminist signifier. With day-glo aplomb and jaunty humor, she ridicules enforced gender roles and programmed attitudes in the real world, creating a metaphor for personal liberation. And America Ferrara’s speech should be required viewing in every school in the nation.
Note: ‘She-Hulk, Attorney At Law’ did much of this a year before with all of the sharp satire but little of the due acclaim, because incels. It’s still excellent, for any laggers.
Also read:
“Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women” (1991) and “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man“ (1999), by Susan Faludi
See also:
TOY STORY 2 (1999)
In 1970, a young girl navigates puberty and existence.
Until 1970, it was impossible to deal realistically in YA books with the changes young girls go through. Judy Blume’s charming bestseller swept that aside with wit and honesty, helping decades of anxious teens deal with puberty in healthy and positive ways.
This letter-perfect adaptation is all-wins, a warm and hilarious coming-of-age romp with a vibrant cast. Mom (Rachel McAdams) is kind, Gram (Kathy Bates) is irrepressible, and Abby Ryder Fortson (everyone’s favorite daughter from the first two ANT-MAN movies) should be a star from now on. A good time that makes you feel great.
• THEATER CAMP
This may be the final curtain at the summer camp for theater kids.
Every summer, kids converge on a holiday camp that teaches them all aspects of creating and presenting a theater show, from rigging to singing. But is the tradition about to end from mismanagement?
Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s indie mockumentary is a careening rickshaw of guffaws. The crack improv troupe is killing it warts and all, and the kids astound with their comic timing and musical skills.
See also:
WAITING FOR GUFFMAN (1996)
• RYE LANE (England, 2022) ⇧
Two London hipsters hook up and discover that they are quirky humans.
A Rom-Com that antidotes Rom-Coms. Dropkicking the slick, Raine Allen-Miller’s savvy debut celebrates how awkward, down-home, goofy, confusing, and surprising that dating can be, even when you didn’t think you were.
• POLITE SOCIETY (England) ⇧
Two British-Pakistani sisters pratfall into a James Bond adventure.
Nida Manzoor, fresh off the success of her comedy sitcom ‘We Are Lady Parts’, gives us a funny bonding picture wrapped in a spy spoof. It’s especially astute at tracing Pakistani traditions within current British life.
See also:
'Ms. Marvel' (2022)
Everyone congregates in the desert town for the UFO convention, including some drop-ins.
Wes Andeerson's films are always enjoyable for their wit and style. Maybe the panoramic staging in Kodachrome colors entranced me most this time, but the story is a fun rollick with a formidable cast.
Also read:
Chris Ware’s ‘Acme Novelty Library’ comics
See also:
Tati's MON ONCLE (France, 1958); Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH (2021)
Short films:
• The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar ⇧
• The Rat Catcher
• The Swan
• Poison
Wes Anderson’s four short films adapting short stories by Roald Dahl.
Dahl is renowned for all-ages books like "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory", "James And The Giant Peach", "Matilda", and "The BFG". If those fun works were laced with sharpness, his adult works were a scalpel.
The wonder here is the staging of them: the famed ensemble quotes the entire text of a short story as dioramic staging revolves all around their actions in real time. Inspired backdrops and clever transitions support stellar turns by Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, and Dev Patel. A theatrical delight that challenges how films can tell stories.
See also:
Melies’ THE DIABOLIC TENANT (France, 1909); KWAIDAN (Japan, 1964)
• AMANDA (Italy)
A friendless rich girl alienates everyone.
Carolina Cavalli's deadpan comedy follows a no-fit Twenty, who's abrasive manner pushes all away, in her push to find a friend. What could have been another cringe-binge is leavened by star Benedetta Porcaroli's balance of earnestness against the obnoxious. There are many laughs and insights along the way building up into the wind-up.
D R E A M
• INDIANA JONES And The Dial Of Destiny ⇧
The sage adventurer may have discovered the key to time itself.
The cleverness of James Mangold’s reverent film is in the duality of bringing Indy’s life full circle while bringing the audience’s lifelong experience of the character along with it.
There’s also the fact that it is a sharply crafted adventure with the wisecracking Phoebe Waller-Bridge. A splendid time is guaranteed for all.
See also:
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
He has every reason to hate the sentient android girl he has to protect.
This cyberpunk parable was the brilliant film of the summer that everyone missed. Catch up to the worth.
Set 100 years after the US entered into the Vietnam War, (director of ROGUE ONE) Gareth Edwards’ allegory roasts military imperialism that disregards all life -organic or synthetic- purely for power. Couched within is a moving story of human bonding, and a questioning of our bias against lifeforms outside ourselves. The contemplation of Nationalism and AI is timely and timeless.
See also:
the LONE WOLF AND CUB films (Japan, 1970s); BLADE RUNNER (1982); ELYSIUM (2013)
• THE ARTIFICE GIRL (2022) ⇧
Who is the girl on the screen?
Less spoilers, the better. This indie film proves less can be best with a handful of actors, a captivating premise, some serious smarts, and resonant twists.
See also:
MARJORIE PRIME (2017)
A musical prequel to the classic 1971 film.
I’m going to say the straight truth: the 1971 film is far better than Dahl’s 1964 book. It does so by streamlining the sprawl, focusing the moral message, mixing in copious literature quips,> and spotlighting the sly host with the delectable casting of Gene Wilder.
(Dahl didn’t understand this, and wrote an inferior sequel in spite.)
Tim Burton attempted to counter-adapt this sideways pretty well in 2005 (‘adapting the book’, while still quietly homaging the first film). Paul King’s (the PADDINGTON films) prequel to the first film is a clear labor of love, from the attention to story details and Dahl themes to the lavish set pieces and spritely musical numbers. Timothee Chalamet holds it together with bright charm as the young Wonka, and newcomer Calah Lane embodies the requisite moral heart. Does it match the ’71 film? Motley assortment. Will you have a fine time all the way? Scrumptiously.
See also:
THE 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T (1953); MATILDA The Musical (2022)
• THE LITTLE MERMAID ⇧
Arielle wants a life beyond constrictions out in the bigger world.
Disney has been remaking their classic animateds as live-action films. Niki Caro’s MULAN (undermined by the 2020 pandemic) deeply improved on the 1998 version, and so does this.
While the 1989 classic relaunched Disney’s fortunes, it’s full of period flaws and attitudes that don’t hold well. The new film, as personified by the ebullient Halle Bailey, puts the best fin forward in every way: expansive, sensitive, inclusive, re-inventive, gladsome. Immerse yourself.
See also:
THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989)
• APORIA
When tragedy strikes, maybe there is a do-over.
But if you could do it all over again, should you? This gripping indie thriller is also a finely wrought character drama, led by the conflicted Judy Greer.
See also:
PRIMER (2004)
The famed action-moviemaker may have one more real adventure in her.
A no-budget wonder filmed with local friends that scores like any blockbuster. Martika Ramirez Escobar’s always amusing debut feature does so on the charm of its senior star, theater actor Sheila Francisco, and its curveball script mashing up the real world with the reel world.
• THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE (Chile, 2022)
As all the provincial animals start to die, a long-lost woman reappears out of the river.
Although she died twenty years ago, a mother (Mia Maestro) reappears unchanged by time. As she begins to appear to her family members, all of their dysfunction since her death starts to surface, paralleled by imbalances in the natural world around them. This softly magic realist drama co-written and directed by Francisca Alegría is an interesting allegory about reflection and renewal.
See also:
TEOREMA (1968); BELOVED (1998)
Also:
• THEY CLONED TYRONE
After he died, he woke up the next morning.
John Boyega stars in a satire of how inner city communities are manipulated by The Man. The political outlook can be coloring-book but the points are incisive enough, and it’s a lot of fun.
See also:
ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011); ‘Black Lightning’, Season One (2018)
N I G H T M A R E
• ATTACHMENT (Denmark, 2022) ⇧
The troubled Jewish woman may need an exorcism.
This low-key indie film is already interesting as a budding romantic encounter and terse family drama. It’s supplementally fascinating ushering in Kabbalah rituals as events ramp up into crisis.
See also:
THE POSSESSION (2012)
E N I G M A
The sleuth Poirot may be up against evil itself.
In the third new film, Christie’s fastidious sherlock confronts the supernatural. Pitched perhaps too hard as a horror film in the trailers, it is actually a stylish suspense thriller exuberant in its tasteful craft. Kenneth Branagh wrings every inch of creepy atmosphere out of Venice along with operatic flourishes from his star cast, including Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey.
See also:
WHAT LIES BENEATH (2000); MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (2017); DEATH ON THE NILE (2022)
Who’s angling who to get that inheritance?
A cutting satire about greed told in nonlinear chapters, each upending your perception of what’s being done by who and why. An all-star cast (with new breakout Brianna Middleton) twines more twists than a hawser rope.
See also:
HOUSE OF GAMES (1987)
• THE ORIGIN OF EVIL (Canada-France, 2022) ⇧
A woman discovers her rich father and his venomous family.
A working-class drudge is ushered into a pit of vipers in this thriller and class exam. Who are any of these people behind their social masks?
See also:
PURPLE NOON (France, 1960)
She wants something more than her nowhere life.
A young woman in small town oblivion is sparked by a new person, and then everything changes. This film is a prism which fascinates at every angle; is it a wry dramedy, a coming-of-age, a first romance, a family drama? Yes, and then there's a turning point at full throttle. Quietly great, with fine performances by Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, and Anne Hathaway.
• THE NIGHT OF THE 12th (France, 2022)
When a provincial woman is killed, the investigation unravels the town.
Based loosely on a true story, framed akin to a reality doc’, this procedural mystery tacitly questions our perceptions and obsessions in attempting to achieve closure after tragedy.
Two people in a room, and something’s going on.
She’s there in the fancy hotel suite to interview for a corporate job. From there, events become a fluid duel of wits and roles that interrogate control itself. Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott hypnotize in an intimate tryst as dramatic as a stage play.
See also:
SLEUTH (England, 1972); Russell's CRIMES OF PASSION (Unrated version, 1984)
• THE ROYAL HOTEL ⇧
Taking odd jobs for their tourism, two women reach a dangerous cul-de-sac in the Aussie outback.
Gleeson’s true documentary HOTEL COOLGARDIE (2016) exposed a desert bar for how its sexist excesses became dangerous. Kitty Green's film interpretation is a steady psychological drama that thrums like a Hitchcock thriller, dissecting toxic masculinity in both lenses. Julia Garner and the versatile Jessica Henwick excel as the tourist friends caught in the middle.
See also:
THE ASSISTANT (2019)
• THE BOSTON STRANGLER
In the mid-'60s, Boston was under seige by a serial killer.
A gripping true-life thriller, focusing proper spotlight on the two female journalists who bucked the system to expose serial murders of women that the police were ignoring.
Also:
• THE KILLER
The assassin is targeted.
David Fincher and Michael Fassbender should be a slam-dunk. This revenge film often feels too familiar and unintentionally comic, but it’s still generally effective.
See also:
many other Revenge and Assassin movies
G R A P H I C
I M A G E S
bigger here
• GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Vol. 3 ⇧
A superb finale to the space comedy series, both touching and grandiose.
The running joke of the series is how the galactic saviors are immature, still blurty as High School. This finale ushers them into stages of maturity to advance onward.
The gravitas starts with the heartbreaking backstory of Rocket, a bio-engineered raccoon whose life has been pain. By extension, this deeply moving critique of animal testing condemns the cold brutality of the military industrial complex, with a corporate villain misusing science to distort and destroy life.
These heavy themes swing on the sinew of the group’s patented slapstick, absurdism, and quips. The vitality of the trilogy has been that it is ‘Arrested Development’ in outer space. The balancing of the fun with the profound is what transforms the finale into such a wholly satisfying apex.
See also:
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932); WATERSHIP DOWN (1978)
Small-time heroes hit the big time.
The two shrinking heroes are often dismissed with callous sizeism. The reality is that they are the gateway to a vast under-universe beyond meager comprehensions.
If the first two films were family comedies grounded in a familiar city, the finale dives deep into a mind-boggling alternate universe. Visionary imagination tends to leave trad critics and pedestrian viewers behind, while rewarding audiences hungry for true creativity. This is a rich thrill-ride in every right way. Later, haters.
(Cut to: trad critics and awards boards recoiling into the safety of Eurocentric historicals, Class soaps, and angsty indies.
ANT-MAN: Ha, banality!)
See also:
FANTASTIC VOYAGE (1966)
• THE MARVELS ⇧
Three women protect the universe while expanding it.
"Feminist Empowerment Movie Doxed By Anti-Marvel Press." There, your tabloid headline is fixed.
Never mind the trolls, here’s the triumph. With astounding economy, this enthused cruise makes all the right moves. From the free-for-all switching-places action sequence (condensing everyone together immediately), to the Bollywood musical planet, to the pro-refugees analogy, to the Flirkin flips, to the positive representation of Islam, to the super-empowerment of diverse women (bisexual, Pakistani, African-American). Marvelous every minute.
Which brings us to the journalistic truth: this is just as much a feminist empowerment movie as BARBIE, and far more imaginative. 30 and print it.
See also:
CAPTAIN MARVEL (2019); 'WandaVision' (2021); 'Ms. Marvel' (2022)
A R T F L I X
Removed from the War to the countryside, the orphan boy finds a secret world.
Some may fixate to how it compares to what the legendary Miyazaki has done before, but the payoff lies in the innovations he hasn’t done before: the wildly Expressionistic fire sequences (more akin to his late partner, Takahata); the subtle CG atmospheric layerings (reflections, light, architecture); the ramifications of time contemplated by the seasoned master (lineage, sequence, possibility); and a hallucinatory dream story almost Dada in its spirit of freeform abandon.
See also:
SPIRITED AWAY (Japan, 2001)
Gwen introduces Miles to the vast alternate universes of Spider-powered people.
The first film was a major leap forward, an emotional story told with boldly innovative craft. Amazing all, this follow-up is even better.
This single movie is several brilliant animation films in one. Using new painterly tech, it stuns with finely-crafted sequences in styles like watercolor, pencil, or pen-and-ink; swinging out into graffiti bombs, benday dot comics, legos, and punk xerography; swiveling its journey from intimate confessionals to balletic action scenes to an infinite Bollywood world. It continually deepens the emotional depth of its leads, even while introducing a vast array of Spider variants in an escalation of fantastical grandeur.
And it’s only the middle hinge of the trilogy, yet as grand as any finale.
See also:
SPIDER-MAN: No Way Home (2021); DOCTOR STRANGE And The Multiverse Of Madness (2020)
When Fire Met Water.
Let’s be clear: Pixar makes movies for adults who remember the wonder of childhood; other animation studios pump out formula clatter which they strobe at kids. Opposites.
Like SOUL, TURNING RED, and LUCA, this is a fun ride with impeccable design craft, unique characters, and a rousing story. Anyone dismissing this level of quality is just a hack or a fool.
• RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN ⇧
High School can be a slippery slope when you’re pretending to be like everyone else (pretending to be like everyone else).
Dreamworks Animation can often be too clatter/clutter. Even their trailers are all sass and tympani.
In a promising turn, this winning spree parallels all the claymation charm of Aardman (WALLACE AND GROMMIT, CHICKEN RUN) with the wily stories and fine craft of Pixar. It understands teens and their potential with great warmth and playful wit. Lana Condor and Jane Fonda (!) are ace amongst lots of inspired spectacle and goofy goings-on.
See also:
THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023)
• CHICKEN RUN: Dawn Of The Nugget
Chickens of the world, unite!
The return of Aardman Animations itself! If CHICKEN RUN (2000) spoofed the grimy fascism of Orwell's "Animal Farm", this lovely sequel goofs on the sleek consumerism of Huxley's "Brave New World". Amazing stop-motion animation, beautiful forest sets and Mod-era Bond villain lairs, gentle humor, and welcome jolts of absurdism abound.
• SUZUME (Japan, 2022) ⇧
She opens the magic door to a surreal world that might destroy ours.
CoMix Wave Films specializes in Fantasy/Romances like YOUR NAME (2016) and WEATHERING WITH YOU (2019). They really go all out here with the Studio Ghibli homages in this schoolgirl-meets-Fantasy epic. Check out all of their smart films.
See also:
Stuido Ghibli's WHISPER OF THE HEART (Japan, 1995) and HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (Japan, 2004)
• NIMONA
The disgraced knight gains an impossible ally.
Corruption has shut the champion out, but his combustable accomplice may be a worse problem. Based on the graphic novel by ND Stephenson ('Lumberjanes'), this Netflix Animation frolic coin-flips the scrip on knights, kingdoms, dragons, and legends. Riz Ahmed and Chloe Grace Moretz have a comical blast as the odd couple.
The anxieties surrounding Tokyo earthquakes affect certain people in unexpected ways.
A separating couple, an office drone, a missing cat, and the mysterious Frog cross paths as their lives take surreal turns. This is clearly a labor of love for Pierre Földes, who adapts/directs/scores/voices an array of Haruki Murakami short stories into one interlacing narrative.
This mature animated film captures the literate, subtly erotic, dreamy, and quietly magic realist tenor of the famed author's work, using natural performances and a shifting mix of animation styles. Smart craft.
See also:
Linklater's WAKING LIFE (US, 2001); Scorsese's AFTER HOURS (US, 1986); Lynch's MULHOLLAND DRIVE (US, 2001)
B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 2 3
The Queen of 1970s TV ran a progressive entertainment empire with MTM Productions.
• THE PIGEON TUNNEL
The former spy and spy novelist ‘John le Carré’ is as cagey as his works during Errol Morris’ interviews.
• THE LEAGUE ⇧
The breadth and impact of the Negro Leagues, before integration.
• LYNCH/OZ ⇧
Anthology chapters of filmmaker essays connecting THE WIZARD OF OZ to David Lynch’s work.
▶ TWIN PEAKS: Its Influence on 30 Years of Film, TV, and Music!, with 5 Music Players!
He was the King Of Rock’n’Roll, and he was first to tell you himself.
▶ LITTLE RICHARD: The Voice of Rock and His Disciples, with 2 piano-smashing Music Players!
• SQUARING THE CIRCLE: The Story Of Hipgnosis ⇧
The design firm Hipgnosis created many of the best Rock album covers of all time.
• FIGHT THE POWER: How Hip-Hop Changed The World ⇧
Chuck D (Public Enemy) traces the roots and branches of Rap.
• Planet Sex, with Cara Delevingne
The model/actor tours many aspects of sensual expression around the world.
Bigger here.
B E S T
T V :
2 0 2 3
N E W S
• The Rachel Maddow Show
• LAST WEEK with John Oliver
• PBS NewsHour
• PBS FRONTLINE
• THE DAILY SHOW ⇧
D R A M A
A perfect end to the trilogy.
Sally Wainwright ('Last Tango In Halifax', 'Gentleman Jack') played for the long and won. After setting everything up in Season 1 (2014) and Season 2 (2016), the creator/showrunner waited seven years for one key actor to get older before finishing the family saga with Season 3.
The total result is an 18-episode novel in three parts hailed by everyone. The supurb Sarah Lancashire returns as the haunted cop who is desperate to protect her family from the criminal who destroyed her daughter. Under unrelenting pressure, will the strain make her cross the line?
Note: HBO/Warners should take the worldwide acclaim for this finale as the cue to let Wainwright finish 'Gentleman Jack', as well.
See also:
KES (England, 1969)
Belfast cops are stymied in preventing local crimes by a covert agenda from intelligence operatives.
Three novice officers negotiate their way daily through a minefield of jaded vets, officer in-fighting, hostile citizens, post-IRA fallout, local thugs, old biases, and red tape. Funny, edgy, relevant, and ultimately moving.
And Richard Dormer’s ('Game Of Thrones', 'Fortitude') best role, to boot.
See also:
'Hill Street Blues' (1981-’87)
• Slow Horses 3 ⇧
The MI5 castaways at Slough House are forced to protect MI5 from itself.
Each season (based on Mick Herron’s book series) is great, but this may be the best yet. Gary Oldman clearly enjoys himself as the rude wretch who runs the rejects, a group proving the match of anything thrown at them. Sope Dirisu is mesmerizing here as the enigmatic catalyst for an espionage agency war.
She has a new life as a new person. She won’t be taken back.
The Coen Brothers film FARGO (1996) has been expanded out in anthology form by Noah Hawley (‘Legion’), each season with a different cast and era.
Set in 2019, this season is a barbed referendum on modern American Fascism, from the dead-hearted rich (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to the cowboy survivalists (Jon Hamm). The ringer caught between is a nebbish suburban Mom (Juno Temple) whom no one should have crossed.
• Poker Face 1 ⇧
Columbo redux.
Natasha Lyonne (‘Russian Doll’) is on a roll. Her loving tribute to ‘70s HowCatchEms brings in modern culture, guff, and edge. Imagine Stevie Nicks in a '69 Barracuda on the lam cross-country, solving like Columbo and mouthing like Jackie Mason. Get in the car!
• Perry Mason 2
The gritty origin years of the world’s most famous lawyer.
Taking all its tone and style from CHINATOWN (1974), this edgy Noir wraps up its finale season.
The jaded English professor may be the logjam of his own life, and those around him.
After 'Better Call Saul', Bob Odenkirk cruised right into his latest win with this adaptation of Russo’s book "Straight Man" (1997). In this small campus satire, Hank thinks everyone is holding him back, but is the last to know it’s the reverse.
• Dark Winds 2 ⇧
Leaphorn and Chee investigate crimes on the Navaho reservation.
The early-‘70s was a crisis crux for Native Americans: emboldened by the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement (AIM) stood up against land theft, until the FBI were sent in to destroy them.
This show adapts the popular mystery books by Tony Hillerman. It is always good but it could be great. The creators should try harder, using that critical revolutionary era to critique how the Feds, land barons, and oppression are still ongoing. That was the peak time and this is the prime time again to say it. Still, it’s a wonderful cast -especially Jessica Matten, Deanna Tauschi Allison, the return of '70s stalwart A Martinez, and the ubiquitous Zahn McClarnon- and every representation of tribal life is invaluable.
Note: They should also be scoring it with the boldly activist songs of the Native American Rock band Redbone.: "Judgment Day", "Bad News Ain't No News At All", "Niji Trance", "Jerico", "Power (Prelude To A Means)", etc.
Also:
• Lupin (France) 3
Inspired by the literary bandit, a modern man pulls heists for justice.
Lupin was a gentleman thief in early-1900s short stories. This breezy series’ main allure is the elaborate heists the lead pulls off throughout modern Paris.
The crime author at an Iceland retreat believes a guest’s death is murder.
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij (creators of the late and lamented 'The Oa') return to craft a Christie Whodunit for the cyber age. Emma Corin ('The Crown', LADY CHATTERLY'S LOVER) is enthralling as the young hacker trying to thread present dangers, with an intense backstory catching up from behind.
See also:
Mann’s MANHUNTER (1986); Johnson’s GLASS ONION (2022)
• Daisy Jones And The Six ⇧
The alternate universe of Stevie and Lindsey.
The English blues band Fleetwood Mac reinvented itself to spectacular success in 1975 bringing in an American couple, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. By 1977, the fissuring of both couples in the band perversely fueled their zillion-selling masterpiece, "Rumours".
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fiction book "Daisy Jones And The Six" (2019) told an elseworlds take based on this situation. The TV mini-series pulls off the impossible: an astoundingly on-point recreation of the 1970s Rock scene, and a crack soundtrack album that stands startlingly well near "Rumours" itself. Riley Keough (as close to Rock royalty as one can get) and Sam Claflin are entrancing as the couple, and fine singers to boot.
See also:
Fleetwood Mac, "Fleetwood Mac" (1975); Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours" (1977); Fleetwood Mac, "Tusk" (1979); ‘Daisy And The Six’ / (Blake Mills), "Aurora" (2023)
The mysterious nun takes on the AI running the world.
Creators Damon Lindelof ('Lost', 'The Leftovers') and Tara Hernandez don’t even care what you think, they’re going to throw every crazy idea out there and you’ll like it. This surreal screwball comedy upends clerics, spies, revolts, secret societies, rodeos, relics, Excalibur, and big bads faster than you can say it’s a mad mad mad mad.
• American Born Chinese ⇧
The new kid at school says "Monkey King" legends are true.
Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel gets the deluxe screen treatment, including the three lead actors of the Oscar-winning EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE no less (in separated roles). This show does an admirable job translating the satiric cartoons of the book into believable live-action characters portrayed with healthy sensitivity and representation. It’s also full of action and very funny.
• Great Expectations
An alternate reading of the Dickens classic.
This revision of the journey of Pip may not go all the ways that you expect. The omnipresent Olivia Colman revels in her gothic spin on the ruined Miss Havisham.
See also:
Lean's GREAT EXPECTATIONS (England, 1946)
The brilliant chemist is shut out of academia, so she subverts the system through a popular cooking show.
That’s remarkably parallel to how the general media shut down THE MARVELS at every turn, and yet Brie Larson still triumphed with "Lessons In Chemistry". It’s as if smart feminist craft wins anyway by any means necessary.
Bonnie Garmus’ 2022 book was fast-tracked into a mini-series adaptation, and couldn’t be any more timely with its timeless takedown of misogyny, anti-intellectualism, racism, and the indifferent who allow it. (It also references "Great Expectations" a lot.) It is hilarious and heartbreaking by constant turns, and crucial to watch. Ingest heartily.
• Funny Woman ⇧
In 1964 Swinging London, the aspiring movie actor breaks out in a TV sitcom.
Gemma Arterton is always great regardless. Flipping off the mainstream, she chooses indie projects that mean something to her. This light satire of sexism in Mod-era television unleashes her madcap side, hamming it up like a cross between Lucille Ball and Rita Tushingham.
• Archie: The Man Who Became Cary Grant
Archie Leach looks back on his life as the world’s greatest leading man.
Jason Isaacs makes a surprisingly canny Cary Grant, at times simply becoming him. This film, based on his wife Dyan Cannon’s memoir, is notably sensitive to the harsh circumstances that forged Archie’s path to inventing his celluloid self, the conflicting anxieties that followed, and the transforming revelation later.
D R E A M
After a pandemic ravages the world, a man and teen girl brave the dystopian badlands.
The 2013 video game earned a cult following and wide acclaim for its stirring characters, considered narrative, and mature tone. The live-action adaptation minds and mines all of this with absolute fidelity, pleasing the hardcores and the newcomers alike.
This could have been another 'Walking Dead' retread. Instead, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s survival trek across ruined American cities and frontiers, while fending against a weaponized nature, unrolls like a catharsis for our post-pandemic shock.
• Silo 1 ⇧
The underground silo complex is humanity’s last hope, but the Sheriff uncovers something wrong.
Adapting the first book of Howley’s "Silo" trilogy, this hypnotic mystery series only gets greater and deeper as it goes. Rebecca Ferguson is reliably terrific as the lower-depths toiler sorting her path through the corruption and classism of an all-star cast, learning far more than she should about the greater secrets of the silo itself.
See also:
OUTLAND (1981)
• STAR TREK: Picard 3 ⇧
A rousing reunion and finale for the ‘Next Generation’ crew.
The 'Next Generation' crew went out pretty well with the underrated NEMESIS film (2002). They are served much better here, in which all the build of Picard’s solo adventures dovetail into a full-bore reiteration of all the best aspects of his original posse.
• STAR TREK: Strange New Worlds 2 ⇧
The innovative prequel to 'The Original Series'.
Let’s cut the pretense. SNW pitches itself as a prequel, but all of us know that it is really a modern reimagining of 'The Original Series' with god budgets and movie scope. (It’s the Kelvin reboot films without the drawn-out delays.) And that’s perfectly fine.
Most of us waited all our lives for just such a thing, and no one is complaining. So as the series continues to expand what could have happened in the late-’60s with what is capable now, I drop all concerns about visual continuity and poached firsts and luxuriate in the sparkling scripts, character build, longer lengths, stadium sets, and smorgasbord of genre styles. A cross-over with the animated 'Lower Decks'?! A Musical sing-along?! All hail yeah!
• STAR TREK: Lower Decks 4 ⇧
The most subversive while reverential series.
The crew are essentially fans of ‘Star Trek’ who actually live in it. No Trek spoof over the years has done as much to challenge every aspect of the shows with such rude hilarity, or any tribute done as much to revere those very things. Always heady while heedless.
And Tawny Newsome is the MVP of the UFP.
• The Mandalorian 3
Perhaps 'The Mandalorians' now, as all ragtag factions come together to reclaim their lost world.
The series began as Jon Favreau’s take on Space Westerns with a lone ranger. It has evolved into Dave Filoni’s animateds resolving their narratives in live-action. (Cue factionalist debates in 3-2-1...) These are both interesting, but there’s a feeling that the hero got forgotten in his own show. Still worth every minute.
• Ahsoka 1 ⇧
The life-action follow-up to the animated ‘Rebels’, led by jedi Ahsoka Tano.
Filoni’s maturity as a live-action filmmaker came into focus here. Its initial steadiness hits stride in the middle, becoming a stately epic exploring (literally) places that STAR WARS has never gone before: far space, the origin of The Force, and the afterlife. The live cast are perfect realizations of their animated characters, and Rosario Dawson is sublime as the adult Ahsoka.
• STAR WARS: Visions 2 ⇧
An animated anthology made by international creators.
The first season of non-canon experimental shorts was created by various Japanese animation houses. This season expands globally to include chapters from Spain, Ireland, Chile, England (Aardman), South Korea, France, India, Japan, and South Africa/Ireland. The final one, "Aau’s Song", about the adorable bunny hero on her quest, is so brilliant it should be an ongoing series.
• Black Mirror 6
Dark allegories sway more toward black comedy.
After the bleakness of recent years, Charlie Brooker had to take a break from his cautionary anthology. He returned with a lighter lilt that lets the series expand in tone and impact.
• The Wheel Of Time 2 ⇧
The quest to unleash/avert The Dragon Reborn reaches a critical peak.
The first season interpreted Robert Jordan’s Fantasy book series on an impressively grand scale, with sweeping vistas, progressive casting, and political schemes. (Then THE RINGS OF POWER came out, crushing all with its unmatchable magnitude.)
But the previous was only place-setting. The second season rallies everything into tight focus with complex intrigue, brutal plot turns, and a truly epic and pulse-pounding season finale.
• Outlander 7.1 ⇧
Ominous portent hangs over both the past and the future for the Frasiers.
Evidently the seventh book was so big that they are splitting it into two seasons’ worth of episodes. Maybe the previous season was too truncated, maybe this will be too long, maybe I should shut up and just enjoy a great show doing fine work.
That said, this quietly Fantasy show set now in the dawn of the American Revolution always plays to its strengths: a progressive outlook on history built on character, suspense, and compassion. Also fights and lust.
• Good Omens 2
The angel and the demon work together to fend off Hell’s invasion.
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett meant to do a sequel to their 1990 book. Now that plot will become the third and final season for the live-action series, with this second as a middle hinge setting it up. If this affair feels more like a budget interlude, perhaps a 'Doctor Who'-lloween special, that’s okay: the chemistry of stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen is contagious, and this Beelzebub hubbub is a joyride with Jon Hamm at his funniest.
• Doctor Who, 4 Specials
3 Anniversary Specials, plus a Christmas Special.
For the 60th Anniversary of 'DOCTOR WHO', the new/original showrunner Russel T. Davies pulled a stunt. While we were expecting the transition from one Doctor to another, we suddenly received the return of a previous -the dervish David Tennant- for three mysterious episodes. In the Dickensian Christmas special that followed, the actual new Doctor debuted in the charismatic form of Ncuti Gatwa. Rules were shattered and minds were blown.
A N I M A T I O N
The cyberpunk thrill ride goes for absolute glory at the end.
This series was already a first-rate cyber-thriller picking up the baton from THE MATRIX. But then...
The last two finale episodes are like a third season compressed, pulling off impossibly ambitious leaps forward, and ending on a grand scale that would make 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY proud.
A mysterious orphan paves a trail of vengeance.
Mizu arrives in 17th century Edo with a sword forged from a fallen asteroid and a list of names to eradicate.
Amber Noizumi and Michael Green’s revenge saga stuns on every level: the rich character story; the elaborate action sequences (and overboard hyper-violence); the nuanced voice cast (Maya Erskine, Kenneth Branagh, George Takei); and, most of all, the exquisite craft of it all, from Kurosawa framing to character design to the painterly style.
See also:
COME DRINK WITH ME (Hong Kong, 1966); LADY SNOWBLOOD (Japan, 1973)
Survivors of a spaceship disaster try to withstand a surreal paradise world.
If Moebius had done his own animated story, it would be this. It may be the most imaginative feast frame-to-frame that you’re likely to see this year.
The mysterious story is compelling enough, as separate castaways struggle for survival and rescue. But the world itself is the star, a limitless rotation of astonishing landscapes, mind-melting creatures, and unsettling bizarrities. Come for the story, stay for the shock.
• Adventure Time: Fionna And Cake 1 ⇧
At last, the origin and full spotlight on the new AT stars.
The annual appearances of the alternate heroes Fionna and Cake on the original series were treated as a fanfic daydream. Except that all of us wanted the real thing.
The new show completely reinvents the old show in length, depth, and visual style. It is a bold leap forward in time, character, and possibility. And Fionna and Cake are real. The best just got better.
• Hilda 3 ⇧
The finale season of Trolberg’s restless explorer.
Based on Luke Pearson’s illustrated books, the adventure comedy brings everything full circle, with family connections, mysteries solved, and a truly surprising secret origin. A classic show for all-ages.
Note: The standalone feature film, HILDA And The Mountain King (2021), is meant to be watched between seasons 2 and 3.
• Scott Pilgrim Takes Over 1 ⇧
An all-new alternate story rethinking the graphic novels.
1 • An alternate universe telling, done in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s actual art style.
2 • The series reunites the entire cast of the 2010 live-action film to reprise all of their characters’ voices!
3 • Surprises and metatext galore.
4 • 1-2-3-4!
See also:
SCOTT PILGRIM Vs. THE WORLD (2010)
• Futurama 8.1
Back! For the second time! Halfway!
Good news, everybody is back and doing what they did before except that time has actually passed and so commentary and legacy and laughs.
H E R O E S
An astounding finale season that literally redefines everything.
In the Marvel comics, Loki is a prismatic personality who continually shifts forms and outlooks (akin to Coyote from Native American tales). Taking that cue, this sharp series uses the Multiverse to show the trickster other ways of seeing and being. How he ultimately chooses to express is as game-changing as it is spectacular.
This show can’t be hailed enough for its excellent craft. It is a direct heir to Noah Hawley's revolutionary 'Legion' series, more than other MCU shows: it is a perfect balance of style and substance, with its Kubrick cinematography, Moebius sets, literate scripts and whipsmart repartee, global cast, and gleeful perversity. (Special shout-out to Ke Huy Quan this season.)
See also:
'Legion' (2017-’19)
• What If…? 2 ⇧
What if key events in the MCU movies had gone a very different path?
Besides showing us the windows into the Multiverse, the series introduces diverse new characters who could become important in the live-action productions. This season brought us the new character Kahhori, a Mohawk sorcerer voiced by Devery Jacobs ('Reservation Dogs', 'Echo').
There is also the unparalleled craft. The vehicle designs alone in the Sakaar drag race (S02 /E04) are so intricate and elaborate that it took an extra season to finish the episode. Plus there’s the august array of voice stars (Cate Blanchett! Rachel Weisz!).
C O M E D Y
The finale season of the smartest and most ambitious television comedy of all.
You might find shows that have moments as grand as a tentpole musical, whacky as a burlesque, poignant as a stage play, conscious as the headlines, visually fluid as a sky drone, snappier than a Paris runway. But they wouldn’t all be the same one doing these at the same time.
From start to finish, 'Mrs. Maisel' was everything and more, and always the best. Thank you to showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino and stars Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein for setting the bat too high for everyone else.
See also:
Lenny Bruce; Joan Rivers; Neil Simon;
'I Love Lucy' (1951-’57); AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951); MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982)
The finale of the young troupe on the Rez.
Showrunner Sterlin Harjo and an all-Indigenous team brought us the best dramedy/anthology/freeform Native American breakthrough yet made. Always funny, acute, flabbergasting, insightful. And a sterling cast, from reverend vets (Graham Green, Wes Studi, Gary Farmer, Ethan Hawke) to beaming tenderfoots (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor).
And Lily Gladstone too, before everyone heard of her.
• I’m A Virgo 1 ⇧
Two guardians hide their 13-foot-tall son from a hostile world.
Boots Riley (of the Conscious Rap band, The Coup) surprised everyone with his breakthrough comedy film SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (2018), a cult smash with a decided bent.
That was prelude. This aspirant satire takes on everything head-on at turbo peel: Oakland, absurdism, superheroes, bias, and Capitalism itself. You’ll laugh, you’ll think.
Bigger in scope, yet focused to the nth.
It starts with a death at a packed Broadway auditorium and just gets grander from there, even as it gets more sinuous and inward. Paul Rudd cheerfully chews the drapes as a jerk and Meryl Streep unwinds like a puzzle box. So much win.
• The Muppets Mayhem 1 ⇧
After all these years, Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem try to make their first album.
The fun of this show is how it gets everything right: Muppets; a love of all Rock history; a parody of behind-the-music docs; a tribute to The Beatles a la 'Get Back'; a saaviness to adapt/spoof current trends. Lilly Singh shines as the upbeat manager and human foil.
See also:
'The Muppet Show' (1976-’81); THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979); 'The Jim Henson Hour' (1989)
B E S T
R E S T O R A T I O N
Classic Films are the timeless canon from which all movies expand. They are essential to be seen, and should be enjoyed at their best.
Here are some of the most important film restorations released on disc this year.
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN;
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
• THREE AGES
(US, 1923)
Buster Keaton / Edward F. Cline • (Masters Of Cinema)
• PANDORA’S BOX (Germany, 1929)
G.W. Pabst • (Masters Of Cinema)
• Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers: FREAKS (1932) / THE UNKNOWN (1927) / THE MYSTIC (1925)
Tod Browning • 4k (Criterion)
• IMITATION OF LIFE (US, 1934)
John M. Stahl • 4k Blu-Ray (Universal)
• THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (US, 1935)
James Whale • 4k (Distributor)
• SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (US, 1937)
six Directors • 4k (Disney)
• THE RULES OF THE GAME (France, 1939)
Jean Renoir • 4k (Criterion)
THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI;
ROPE
• THE MALTESE FALCON (US, 1941)
John Huston • 4k UHD (Warner)
• MILDRED PIERCE (US, 1945)
Michael Curtiz • 4k Blu-Ray (Criterion)
• THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (US, 1945)
Orson Welles • 4k (Kino Lorber)
• ROPE (US, 1948)
Alfred Hitchcock • 4k UHD (Universal)
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS;
THE RED BALLOON
• ROMAN HOLIDAY (US/Italy, 1953)
William Wyler • 4k UHD (Paramount)
• THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (US, 1953)
Byron Haskin • 4k UHD (Paramount)
• THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (US, 1955)
Charles Laughton • 4k UHD (Kino Lorber)
• REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (US, 1955)
Nicholas Ray • 4k UHD (Warner)
• THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (US, 1956)
Alfred Hitchcock • 4k (Universal)
• THE RED BALLOON + Five Other Shorts (France, 1956)
Albert Lamorisse • 4k (Criterion)
• THE SEVENTH SEAL (Sweden, 1957)
Ingmar Bergman • 4k (Criterion)
COOL HAND LUKE;
ROMEO AND JULIET
• THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (US, 1960)
John Sturges • 4k (Shout! Select)
• THE TRIAL (France/Italy/Yugoslavia, 1962)
Orson Welles • 4k (Criterion)
• COOL HAND LUKE (US, 1967)
Stuart Rosenberg • 4k UHD (Warner)
• ROMEO AND JULIET (England, 1968)
Franco Zeffirelli • 4k (Criterion)
• TEOREMA (England, 1968)
Piero Paulo Pasolini • 4k (Criterion)
• ROSEMARY’S BABY (US, 1968)
Roman Polanski • 4k (Paramount)
AMERICAN GRAFFITI;
SERPICO
• WALKABOUT (England/Australia, 1971)
Nicolas Roeg • 4k (Criterion)
• THE LAST PICTURE SHOW + Texasville (US, 1971)
Peter Bogdanovich • 4k (Criterion)
• DUEL (US, 1971)
Steven Spielberg • 4k (Universal)
• THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE (France, 1972)
Luis Bunuel • 4k (Studio Canal)
• THE STING (US, 1973)
George Roy Hill • 4k (Universal)
• AMERICAN GRAFFITI (US, 1973)
George Lucas • 4k (Universal)
• SERPICO (US, 1973)
Sidnet Lumet • 4k UHD (Kino Lorber)
• MEAN STREETS (US, 1973)
Martin Scorsese • 4k (Criterion)
THE EXORCIST;
3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR
• ENTER THE DRAGON (Hong Kong, 1973)
Robert Clouse • 4k Blu-Ray (Warner)
• THE EXORCIST 50th Anniversary Edition (US, 1973)
William Friedkin • 4k (Warner)
• DON’T LOOK NOW (England, 1973)
Nicolas Roeg • 4k (Criterion)
• 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR (US, 1975)
Sidney Pollack • 4k (Kino Lorber)
• MARATHON MAN (US, 1976)
John Schlesinger • 4k (Kino Lorber)
• THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (US, 1976)
Nicolas Roeg • 4k Blu-Ray (Lionsgate)
THE COLOR PURPLE;
WINGS OF DESIRE
• GLORIA (US, 1980)
John Cassavetes • 4k (Kino Lorber)
• TIME BANDITS (England, 1981)
Terry Gilliam • 4k (Criterion)
• RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (US, 1981)
Steven Spielberg • 4k UHD (Paramount)
• AFTER HOURS (US, 1985)
Martin Scorsese • 4k (Criterion)
• WITNESS (US, 1985)
Peter Wier • 4k (Arrow Video)
• THE COLOR PURPLE (US, 1985)
Steven Spielberg • 4k (Warner)
• WINGS OF DESIRE (W. Germany, 1987)
Wim Wenders • 4k (Criterion)
• THE PRINCESS BRIDE (US, 1987)
Rob Reiner • 4k (Criterion)
• LA BAMBA (US, 1987)
Luis Valdez • 4k (Criterion)
• HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE (US, 1987)
Akira Kurosawa • 4k (Criterion)
SCHINDLER’S LIST;
INLAND EMPIRE
• Akira Kurosawa’s DREAMS (Japan, 1990)
Director • 4k (Distributor)
• THELMA AND LOUISE (US, 1991)
Ridley Scott • 4k (Criterion)
• JFK (US, 1991)
Oliver Stone • 4k (Shout! Factory)
• SCHINDLER’S LIST (US, 1993)
Steven Spielberg • 4k (Universal)
• FARGO (US, 1996)
Coen Brothers • 4k (Shout! Factory)
• THE OTHERS (UK/Chile, 2001)
Alejandro Amenabar • 4k (Criterion)
• INLAND EMPIRE (US, 2006)
David Lynch • 4k (Criterion)
• CLOVERFIELD (US, 2008)
Matt Reeves • 4k Blu-Ray (Paramount)
• KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (US, 2016)
Travis Knight • 4k UHD (Shout! Factory)
• NO BEARS (Iran, 2022)
Jafar Panahi • 4k (Criterion)
• Del Toro’s PINOCCHIO (US, 2022)
Guilermo Del Toro • 4k (Criterion)
C R I T E R I O N
CITIZEN KANE (1941);
BLACK NARCISSUS (1947);
LATE SPRING (1949);
GATE OF HELL (1953);
HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR (1959)
Netflix is like the flashy dance club of streaming entertainment, but The Criterion Channel is for the deep cuts of real culture.
It needs to be said. Netflix and Amazon Prime and Hulu impress with their glossy New Now, and they do have many current gems, but they generally lack heritage classics. All width and little depth. That's all fun, but how long can you chew gum for supper? At some point, when you crave for a more well-rounded diet of substance that sustains your mind and soul, there's only one place to get serious about learning full-quality cinema... The Canon Of Great Films That Actually Matter.
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967);
THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES (1969);
WOODSTOCK (1970);
TOUKI BOUKI (1973);
WATERSHIP DOWN (1978)
While other streaming sites are High School, The Criterion Channel is Oxford.
The Criterion Channel film-streaming site is the best cinema from around the world and every decade since film began, along with new indie films and acclaimed documentaries. Plus, Criterion is the vanguard in restoring great films to a precision standard of picture and sound that matches the present. Restored classics now look better than the day they were struck. If you've watched Mark Cousins' "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" documentary series as a primer >, this site is the true library to expand your enjoyment into the most essential film classics. Every fine film we appreciate now branches directly from the roots of these timeless works of cinematic art, whether it's a romance, period piece, character drama, guerilla handheld, Rock film, style fest, rebel indie, or avant garde. Get the whole picture.
Later for sugar, next for substance. Subscribe today.
BLUE VELVET (1986);
BEFORE SUNRISE (1995);
INFERNAL AFFAIRS (2002);
THE TREE OF LIFE (2011);
NEPTUNE FROST (2021)
(also explore: Fandor, Filmatique, Mubi, Turner Classic Movies, Kanopy, Filmhub, IndiePix, IndieFlix, Ovid, BFI Player (UK), OpenCulture)
© 2024 Tym Stevens
See also:
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• BEST MUSIC: 2011
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• BEST MUSIC: 2000-2010
• BEST COMICS: 2000-2010
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