2023 Index: An A to Z for 2023!

These movies are like my babies now. They’re a part of me. I cared for them, spent valuable time and brain power on them, and as a new year prepares to dawn, I present them to you, in a neat little package, accompanied by all my thoughts for an entire year. I know, I can write a lot, and we’re all busy people, but if there’s one post you need to see every year, it’s this one. This is your guidebook, your one-stop-shop, for Today Junior – the Holy Bible, with links to all my reviews for 2023, plus additional bonus mini reviews for all the movies that I may not have even mentioned I’ve seen. This is also my precursor to my Favourite and Least Favourite lists to come, and see if you can figure out my future content by perusing this post. What movies didn’t I see this year that make for a crime against good sense? Where have I simply missed out? Let me know in the comments below. But in order to do that, you’re going to have to check out this list to confirm your answer. Enjoy!

2023 Index: An A to Z for 2023

A Good Person

2023 Reviews – A Good Person – Today Junior!

A Haunting in Venice

2023 Reviews – A Haunting in Venice – Today Junior!

A Man Named Otto

Let’s check in on Tom Hanks from early 2023 and see what he’s doing. On the surface, A Man Called Otto seems like a generic story better suited for the Lifetime Channel. And America’s Grandaddy is either miscast, or playing against type for a laugh, as this grumpy old man. But director Marc Forster is no schlub, so I’m ready to learn something more. I should clarify, to call something a Lifetime movie is to say the plot is common, that it practically tells itself and offers nothing new; but that doesn’t mean it can’t be told very well, and A Man Called Otto is high end. Otto (Tom Hanks) is a curmudgeon who sees no value in life since his wife passed away, and must learn to look outwardly again. It can be slow at moving plot in place when you know what’s going to happen – like the cat coming to live with Otto, or his friendly neighbours discovering his suicidal intentions. The lovely scenes with young Otto (Truman Hanks) are so sweet they’re almost too hard to handle, for this crusty bag of bones myself, but that is to say they’re effective. If anything, the biggest thing in this movie’s way is how long it is – there’s a lot of secondary characters to navigate, to waddle with to get to this movie’s main intention. But it’s fun; it’s fine, so long as you haven’t got anywhere else to be… Ultimately, this movie made me miss Walter Matthau – he would’ve lit this role a cinder! 3.5

Air

Early, I can smell the exposition. It may be a big call, but I reckon the movie only gains traction when Viola Davis enters the picture – we know that she can have tremendous drawing power, but it’s kind’ve a knock on the other established actors that I’m saying I had to wait for her. I didn’t get the feels for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon working together, like this was a Good Will Hunting anniversary, and with Affleck playing Nike founder Phil Knight, Air provides another example of a director also wanting to be the glitteriest thing in front of the camera as well, and that very rarely works for me. Considering the driving mission of the story – it’s not even like Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) had a unique vision; he saw the talent and knew the shoe business, providing the gift of the gab for Nike to grab their man. I suppose he knew Nike had to pool their money together in order to sign him, in fairness, but that’s really almost as revolutionary as it gets. Is it ever made crystal clear who Chris Tucker is playing? For a while, I pondered if he was just Sonny’s imaginary friend, and although that’s not the case, the movie sure works and is funnier if you go with it… It’s good to see Tucker again though too. I may seem like I’m laying into this movie harder than I need to, but with similar problems to Gran Turismo in my eyes, laboring a landmark true story with exposition, and including excessive needle-drops, Air turned me off through its screenplay and execution. An understanding of Micheal Jordan’s extraordinaire is the movie’s best asset, and the fella is never even in it. 3.0

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

2023 Reviews – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Today Junior!

Aftersun

2023 Reviews – Aftersun – Today Junior!

Babylon

2023 Reviews – Babylon – Today Junior!

Barbie

2023 Reviews – Barbie – Today Junior!

Beau Is Afraid

2023 Reviews – Beau Is Afraid – Today Junior!

Blue Beetle

2023 Reviews – Blue Beetle – Today Junior!

Boston Strangler

It’s brief, but I felt a real inspiration for how revolutionary these two female reporters were, for being the first to cover a crime so emotionally resonant with women – in one scene in particular, Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) and Jean Cole (Carrie Coon) don’t even realise they’re trailblazers, and the movie doesn’t ever play it like the future ripples are relevant either, which I admire. Boston Strangler contains a remarkable story, but it all hinges on how true it is – and from what I can gather, this is all pretty accurate to the actual case and infamous circumstances, and I love learning this stuff. Apparently, director Matt Ruskin interviewed Loretta and Jean’s children and colleagues, and read all their relevant newspaper articles, as he should, to capture the accuracy. The movie also presents well, with dour colouring; and at first, I couldn’t believe that the very British Keira Knightley would be walking us through the streets of old Boston, but she slips very comfortably into character and carries us along effortlessly. This is the sort of crime drama that would more likely be a miniseries these days, and I think it’s further a feather in this movie’s cap that it’s able to fit its source material into an engaging drama with a shorter run span. Of course, concerning newspaper revelations in the city of Boston, I’m reminded of Spotlight, but this procedural is closer aligned with She Said, which I also admired for its educational content, although this compares favourably. Worth a look. 4.0

Bottoms

I wish there was more movie! With a runtime of 91 minutes, I actually feel an extra scene of the girl’s club bonding, or just PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) shooting the shit, would’ve been beneficial to help better connect with these characters. I also did wonder if the movie had made a few bad moves, toying with these characterisations (with the level-headed Hazel (Ruby Cruz) suddenly making bombs, and the pessimistic Josie taking huge leaps with a juvie story without prompt), but it all smooths out, and I eventually realised that the only reason I was worried about these characterisations straying into not working is because they’re all pretty great. I might even give Bottoms the edge over Pitch Perfect for fleshing-out fresh members of a sudden group. Although, I also-also had moments where I couldn’t figure out if this movie is hilarious or obscene – it’s not always both, at the same time, which is like Family Guy is often going for. But I think what’s frazzling is that the comedy styling doesn’t come with a straightforward agenda, for it just is – and considering Bottoms follows a fairly standard rom/com story arch, it’s definitely its voice that makes it splendidly original. In a world where comedies aren’t always that great these days, I’d say Bottoms is one of the better ones. In every sense, it’s punchy. 3.5

Cocaine Bear

When this first began, I just thought, “it’s the closest thing to my beloved Rat Race that I can recall in ages” – comedic characters intersecting and coming to converge in one most promising place. Giving the characters little personality quirks, like Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) afraid to get his clothes dirty, or Bob (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) fretting about his new dog, really worked for me, and whilst the bear mightn’t have been on screen a whole lot at the time, there was the wonderful Margo Martindale, the toilet assault, and the children egging each other on to do drugs that really entertained me. The ambulance scene could be my favourite scene of the year – the epitome of horror and comedy, like I hear so much about. But then, I think the movie falls off a cliff, ironically at the cliffs, and the ending contains the generic claptrap that I may’ve expected from the start. I have an inkling that the movie’s ending got nuked in the editing room, because we see a tacky flashback to a character death that is incongruent with the rest of the movie’s pacing, and I know Officer Reba (Ayoola Smart) must arrive at the scene to eventually pass the dog over to Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), but she offers absolutely nothing. The movie is also too forceful about framing Keri Russell as a superhero just because she’s a Mum – Keri Russell is already cool, movie, tone it down a notch! It’s a shame I couldn’t discover a surprise cult masterpiece with Cocaine Bear but that ending left a completely sour taste in my mouth, much like booger-sugar. 3.0

Dumb Money

2023 Reviews – Dumb Money – Today Junior!

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

I can’t find much folly in what this movie is doing, I only wish it were funnier – there’s a few good setups and a lot of opportunity, that don’t extend themselves to satisfying payoffs, at least to my taste. It’s also a stretch to say I was emotionally invested in the character’s main goal of bringing back the dead, although the Inception-reminiscent acceptance of circumstances by the end is sweet… I think I’ve been spoiled by Game of Thrones and its methodic writing over the past 10 years (despite the last season, of course – I’m not a monster) so this fast-paced, poppy “nerd shit 😎” can feel like a derivative. I appreciated the dedication to the practical creature costumes in scenes they are shown though, yet found it humorously lazy that the writers have the characters use enchanted rocks to communicate on their mission, like the magic medieval equivalent of the Avengers’ invisible earpieces that are now a must in all modern action movies. I suppose the characters are cool enough (especially Holga (Michelle Rodrigeuz)), the enchanted abilities are intriguing, and the action scenes are sick – people enjoying Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves have a right to do so, and maybe I liked this movie a little more than I originally thought in spite of myself. This movie is very ‘Avengers actually, through some action poses and whatnot – except where Tony Stark had a Hulk, Chris Pine has an owlbear. 3.5

Elemental

2023 Reviews – Elemental – Today Junior!

Empire of Light

2023 Reviews – Empire of Light – Today Junior!

Foe

Initially, this was going to get the full review treatment – with Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal, how could it not?! But early reviews and word of mouth got the better of me, and I don’t usually let that happen, but a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes is resounding. And I tend to agree. A sci-fi premise with established actors usually spells the potential for pretension – I mean, Ronan made The Host ten years ago, before the adult accolades. And look, Foe has an interesting concept WHEN WE GET TO IT – it takes an hour to center ourselves in what’s going on. I had an inkling of the eventual reveal, but without enough evidence to anchor ourselves in, Foe is very boring. I actually started to question if I’d misread the beginning prologue that mentioned A.I. taking human work, because the movie never seems about that. Foe is a genuine struggle to get through, and if I weren’t a reviewer worth my salt, committed to experiencing the movie’s complete allotment of time, I would’ve very well started playing on my phone. Ronan’s performance is so confusing; she and Mescal don’t seem to have any chemistry, and while that might be part of the point, the movie is bending over backwards to show us how they bicker and love, which is not intriguing, but abrasive. If I hadn’t previously seen Ronan in Ladybird or Little Women, or Atonement, then I wouldn’t think her much of a performer (and that hurts me to feel). Her character is so meek without any obvious reason why, except for a straying impression that future women believe they’re more oppressed than ever 😪 As for the futuristic elements – firstly, the landscape is quite clearly Australia, so why couldn’t this be Australian? The story wouldn’t have suffered, for at least it would’ve added an alternative setting to the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind emotion that the movie is pushing, and I’m very confident that Ronan can do an Australian accent. But instead, we have two Irish, doing American, in Australia, and although the space wants to be dry and decrepit, it’s simply discombobulating – it drastically affected the world-building for me, and I’m reminded of Interstellar where a strong sense of a decaying Earth came through. Secondly, these characters are drinking wine, and utilising old technology like photographs, when you’d think technology might’ve evolved somewhat in the 30 years to come, and this rural household is hardly going without – hell, even a movie like Synchronic felt more substitutive in its reality than this. Yet, I do think I see the subtlety in Mescal’s performance that people were championing through Aftersun though, and although I hate to say it, Foe might be a movie that demands a rewatch just to study Ronan’s performance now that we know what’s going on in any given moment. Not me though, not this year; someone else can do that. 1.5

Gran Turismo

Oh jeez, way to butcher a great premise, and true story, with a subpar screenplay. When you see enough movies like I do, you can pick the patterns in dialogue; ones that are creative or natural and ones that are lazy. On premise alone, I thought Gran Turismo could be the Top Gun for a pastier demographic, but the participants in this elite video game contest are nearly just as cocky – I think the movie, produced by Sony who own PlayStation, had a conflict of interest; it can’t portray fanatical gamers as unshapely or overtly introverted, and it doesn’t ring true to me. Hey, I wasn’t there when this event took place, so I don’t know, but it doesn’t ring true to me. The movie acts like playing video games could’ve always led to a proper racing career, despite this being a first-time it ever happened, and it being an exclusive opportunity, so the main character’s father was always short-sighted – no. Also, so much of this movie happens five minutes before race time, it makes you wonder if these characters ever plan outside of that 🙄 These types of movies can land with a thud, where they’re not necessarily bad and not particularly good; the trajectory of the story is obvious from beginning to end and given precedent over characterisation, so it’s just two hours of waiting for the obvious to pan out. Positively, David Harbour is fantastic, and Orlando Bloom is a surprise inclusion. The ending is the most thrilling, but I’ve got to come back to that rudimental screenplay with constant and poorly placed exposition that keeps a true unlikely-hero story at arm’s length. It made me want to rewatch Hustle or Ford v Ferrari, or even The Queen’s Gambit, for that same uphill battle with an extra kick! 3.0

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Once I removed the stick from my butt by rewatching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and forgiving a few off beats for the wider achievement, I realised I must see Guardians’ 3 in cinemas. And it’s not only one of the most unique cinematic experiences available, but Guardians is one of the last links to the original MCU foundation. Again, I found the start of this movie somewhat clunky, and there are a couple story beats I may’ve replaced or tightened up, but the choice to delve into Rocket’s past was exactly where this movie needed to go, and I was appreciative for it. I even got a little choked up in a rampant final act that sets down some of our favourite characters in a heartfelt resting place. Whilst I don’t think Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is perfect, it does round out the series well to put Guardians in the top two-handfuls of trilogies, I think. I’m torn between a high 3.5 and a low 4.0, and will give this movie the benefit of the doubt for a first viewing. 4.0

Haunted Mansion

2023 Reviews – Haunted Mansion – Today Junior!

Infinity Pool

2023 Reviews – Infinity Pool – Today Junior!

John Wick: Chapter 4

2023 Reviews – John Wick: Chapter 4 – Today Junior!

Joy Ride

“When your chips are down, when your highs are low – joy ride (Joy Ride!)” – The Killers 🎶 I think I’ve realised that I like road-trip self-discovery movies just fine when the comedy is optional (Hollywood Stargirl is the comparison on my mind). Because my favourite parts about Joy Ride are the three main characters and their conflicts, soul-searching, and friendship. The comedy can be lame and pungently sexual, and ‘sexual’ quickly becomes smut – maybe it’s just not for me in the audience, and I can accept that. Dead Eye (Sabrina Wu) is trying to be some sort’ve Alan replicant from The Hangover, but she’s glitchy and needs some oil 😣 Truth be told, I never saw Rough Night or Girls Trip, which I take to be similarly styled movies, but I have now seen Joy Ride, and I didn’t hate it. Stephanie Hsu is going all out after bursting onto the stage a little unexpectedly, and quicker than intended, after Everything Everywhere All at Once – she can now be known as the new mother-of-dragons. The movie also boasts Ronny Chieng and Daniel Dae Kim; two of this guy’s favourite Asians. 3.0

Killers of the Flower Moon

2023 Reviews – Killers of the Flower Moon – Today Junior!

Knock at the Cabin

2023 Reviews – Knock at the Cabin – Today Junior!

Leave the World Behind

2023 Reviews – Leave the World Behind – Today Junior!

Living

Perhaps dudded by the fact that I didn’t see this movie amongst the enthusiasm of award season, at times I must describe this movie as a monotonal self-important bore. Old England is depicted as droll without any sense of humour or irony, and although the movie does well to set up Mr. Williams (Bill Nigh), it revels in his last-minute accomplishments too strongly for mine – I’m familiar with Norm Macdonald, and Chadwick Boseman, who did this recently in the real world, so it’s hardly all that revolutionary. The movie seems confused a couple of times by the length of time its own story has covered, with characters making familiar comment when they’ve only known each other for a few days. But Living’s non-linear choices of the second half do give it life, and the performances of Bill Nigh as Mr. Williams, and Aimee Lou Wood as Miss Margaret Harris, are fantastic. Nigh gives Mr. Williams a contemplative wispy cadence, good enough to earn him an Oscar nomination, it seems. The most beautiful thing about Living is its use of the Scottish ditty repeatedly throughout the film. 3.0

Love at First Sight

2023 Reviews – Love at First Sight – Today Junior!

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Say you’re off to watch Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile out loud. Go on, say it. As a grown man on my lonesome, it’s a real stop-and-think-about-your-life moment, and, as it turned out, not worth the crisis. The first red flag is how our hopeless hero kid is unrelatable. It seems the movie is going for some erratic loner charm like Freddy in Shazam! but I don’t make no sense of him. He’s a scaredy cat who wants a pet, and he grows in confidence overnight just because he finds a crocodile – okay, there’s a sentence I thought I’d never type. But then, when the mother, Katie (Constance Wu), does a complete 180 on the dangers of a domestic crocodile while he cooks her lunch, it’s one of the most unintentionally hilarious sequences of the year, and the resulting scenes make you consider that if Lyle was replaced by a satanic presence in this house, would the story be any different…? Maybe there’s some charm to be found in Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, but I’m not slotting its groove. I like Constance Wu, and I like Scoot McNairy, but unfortunately for them, the only actor this movie does anything for by my reckoning is Javier Bardem – I actually gained further respect for his scope, since he’s now played one of the world’s greatest villains, some charismatic dramatic leads, and this hammy children’s entertainer, all very well. Considering this young lad was also the lead in Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, a movie I hated too, I do wonder if Windslow Fegley and I will ever be on the same page 😬 I know, I had a pre-existing affinity for Clifford the Big Red Dog, but comparing the two live-action full-length features based on old and simple picture books, I’d like to say that Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is generic, dumb, and disappointing. For a musical, it reuses the same song, like, five times, and the plot can’t make up its mind on if it’s okay to force Lyle to sing or not. The movie is more on par with the snoozy The One and Only Ivan, and does anyone ever reminisce about that movie? Exactly. 1.5

Maestro

2023 Reviews – Maestro – Today Junior!

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

2023 Reviews – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Today Junior!

Missing

Searching, from 2018, was a very underrated movie, both for its concept and execution; John Cho received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination, and a Slice Award from me for his performance. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t make the time to rewatch the original again before this standalone sequel, just to be aware of what new approaches it takes to applications condensed to a computer screen – but I also did half-expect this movie to be very similar, only telling a different story. The movie takes some liberties, with the camera always on and facing June (Storm Reid) on her own computer, and through the many emotive video messages on Kevin’s (Ken Leung) dating profile; unless…do people actually do that these days? Send video messages on dating sites? I’m not technologically savvy, so I wouldn’t know. The movie also starts slowly, but I was totally invested once the “searching” gets underway. I was blown away by a big twist in the middle that I didn’t see coming – to do with an actress, and that’s all I’ll say, But then, I figured out the final twist around the time Kevin is found, and down goes the movie in flames. Let’s just say, I hadn’t really thought about it, but it was nice that in a diversely dominated movie, there was a white father character that was revered on some level by his mourning daughter. I thought the movie was using June’s relationship with her father as fuel to show how, in her grief, and general teenage moodiness, June was taking her mother for granted, and how now it was imperative to find her, to let her know that she is appreciated too; a “you never know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” type situation – I liked that. But then, of course, the white guy is evil, and it’s starting to get a little insulting – I’m tired of it. Race wars aside, the idea of a loved one coming back from the dead to betray you is hella dramatically clichéd too, and I was enjoying this movie’s mystery on a higher level before the Days of Our Lives nonsense comes in at the end. Through a bumper investigation, Missing was tracking to be on par with Searching, but the last third sunk my battleship. Positively, I’m happy for Ken Leung in his sweeter moments – he’s an actor that works well as a good dude or a villain, so it’s believable when the movie uses him to bounce between. Storm Reid is nice too, all grown up from A Wrinkle in Time. 2.5

M3GAN

As if the doll hasn’t been modelled off Elizabeth Olsen, just as Micheal Myer’s mask was made to resemble William Shatner, and Aladdin was likened to Tom Cruise! Movie producers, just admit it! There’s no shame in it, and the reason a movie would do that is because Olsen seems so lovely and wholesome in interviews, so imagining her as a petite robotic killing machine is perfect 🤩 Chucky might’ve ruled in the eighties, but say hello to M3GAN in the new roaring twenties, because this creepy creation has lasting power. I usually love it when a movie takes time setting up, but M3GAN is slow, man – pacing suffers in the first act, and it took a conscious effort from me to ignore the marketing that had me convinced that this would be a disposable silly January slasher. Yet, ultimately, I appreciated how the movie develops cause and effect, and the character of Gemma (Allison Williams) as well, who is understandable in her ignorance, potentially dooming mankind, and ruining children forever. I also like how this movie might hit on the same elements as something like Ex Machina and a potential A.I. apocalypse, but comes at it from the perspective of toys – for you never know who might manufacture a sentient nightmare without realising it, and this is possible. The movie has clear dedication to good themes around how technology is consumed, and I love the creativity within M3GAN, as she sings and can philosophize for herself. For as goofy as you can imagine this could’ve been, it’s no Short Circuit, and its development blossoms from a really interesting concept, whereby countless sequels will appreciate mining this rich foundation. On rewatch, I may have to skip over the opening act, not only because it’s slow, but because Gemma is forced to open a vintage collectable just to please the passive-aggressive counsellor, and by gosh it made me squirm – the horror! The horror! 😱 M3GAN has no real reason to be as concise or as entertaining as it is, other than the movie’s producers believed in damn good storytelling! 4.5

No Hard Feelings

Hearing about a Jennifer Lawrence nude scene pretty much conFIRMed for me that I’d be better off watching this movie sometime later at home. Not for any nefarious reasons… 😶 just that I wouldn’t have wanted to… laugh too loud, at the comedy, in front of all the other patrons, due to the comedy… Attractive ladies aside, the premise for No Hard Feelings didn’t look half bad, and it’s refreshing to get a raunchy rom-com these days when they used to be so commonplace. My first thoughts were around Jennifer Lawrence, and being too pretty for the role – sure, female comedians can be sexy, but my biases had me disbelieving that someone as witty and beautiful as Lawrence would never be starved of opportunities, like her character, Maddie. But I got over it, and I pushed that aside, because nobody can say that Lawrence isn’t an absolute treasure – THAT SCENE, woah, remarkable. Although, around the halfway mark, after Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) sings ‘Maneater’ at the fancy restaurant, the story and character motivations start swerving every which way, and the movie becomes reminiscent of something from the glut of romantic comedies from the late naughts that numbed the genre. No Hard Feelings – it’s a movie I’m glad I saw, but I wouldn’t rush to watch it again. 3.0

No One Will Save You

2023 Reviews – No One Will Save You – Today Junior!

Nyad

I came across a quote recently that read, “if you ever feel bad about yourself, just remember that if you were a fictional character, people would probably love you for all your flaws, and quirks, and mannerisms that you probably hate, so just remember that, okay.” Sure, Nyad is based off a true story, but you could certainly apply this sentiment to Annette Benning’s portrayal of Diana Nyad, easily. She is so self-centered, but you want her to succeed, and the movie does the little things early to setup a fragrant and unbalanced relationship between Nyad, and her enduring best friend Bonnie (Jodie Foster). When Benning and Foster unite to tell an inspirational tale, entailing the fight against mediocrity, then the world should pay attention. I really liked how this movie sliced in the real-world clips of Nyad and her accomplishments, whilst Benning’s depiction attempted her greatest mission yet. I’m not entirely sure if the sexual abuse element of Nyad’s past meshed together with the swim at hand as elegantly as a movie can do, but since Nyad went public with her past in real life, then I suppose it’s important to included it in a biopic about her life. I also found the amount of green-screen distracting and disappointing at times – but not for the hallucination scenes though; never the hallucination scenes 😂 Nyad is a good time well spent, among engaged veteran actresses, and a lovely story about friendship and twilight determination. 4.0

Old Dads

When I see a 17% critic score, and an 89% audience score, on Rotten Tomatoes, it makes me wonder on which side I’ll fall. In this type of scenario, it usually indicates that Old Dads will contain an edgy dry humour that I’ll respond to well; but a lot of this movie turns out to be Bill Burr relaying his stand-up routines, and while that’s always great, a movie needs a steady structure and an engaging story to guide it. I throw no shade on Burr, Bokeem Woodbine or Bobby Cannavale, but the plot sways to and fro, while the movie is at its best when it’s about being an old Dad, and the evolving parental landscape; and not so much about marital problems, or leaning so heavily on Burr’s anger issues. Being quite familiar with the comedy of Bill Burr, (so much so that I considered Burr the no.1 ranked comedian of the current day when Paper Tiger came out), I also think that what once made his personal outraged rants most relatable was that he was a blue-collar comedian, and not a character who was a longstanding successful businessman in the most awesome field of retro jersey manufacturing – what a dream come true. And so, it’s a bit more pathetic that Jack Kelly (Bill Burr) lets the entire world’s ignorance get the better of him, when he’s been kicking ass and has had the world by the nuts for many years. In my mind, I keep coming back to comparing this movie to Big Daddy, where while Adam Sandler was established as a funny dude, the movie comes to us story first, with Sandler’s comedic timing and characterisation punching it up, and not reliant on Sandler’s own personal comedy to make the movie watchable. In fact, even when Old Dads is tucking in on modern society, it often comes across as parody of the worst woke and soft takes that we have to offer, and surely the millennial world can’t be all THAT arrogant and ignorant, can it? … Please, God, no. I also think I’m just getting to a stage where any discussion for or against woke culture is tiresome – wokeism has run its race and been exposed. But I still love Bill Burr, and I had a couple laughs – my favourite scenes involve Mike (Bokeem Woodbine) giving young Travis (Justin Miles) the third degree on his use of… that word; and the movie having the balls later on to show Travis saying… that word 👏 2.5

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre

The Gentlemen walked like a duck, quacked like a duck, but it didn’t feel like a duck – and a duck, in this analogy, being the best of what a Guy Ritchie movie can offer. Therefore, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre wasn’t a must-see movie for me in 2023, but one I still wanted to catch up on at my leisure. And I thought it was pretty good. With a limited working knowledge of what the A-Team was actually like (all I’ve seen is that ill-received Liam Neeson movie, once 😄), this movie felt like what a light-hearted spy-team movie should be, made to be watched for a bit of fun, and similarly inspired. Critically, I would’ve liked to have seen more of Danny’s (Josh Harnett) personality, who is overshadowed somewhat, and the way the characters collect information to move the plot along seems way too easy nowadays due to the way the internet connects all technology. I love the scene that ends abruptly, cutting away from Sarah (Aubrey Plaza) about to triple down on what was an already poorly made joke. Plaza is a breeze, fitting well across from Statham, and I would be okay with seeing this special-ops team assemble again, albeit with a more death-defying mission, if I could have my way. 3.5

Oppenheimer

2023 Reviews – Oppenheimer – Today Junior!

Pearl

2023 Reviews – Pearl – Today Junior!

Peter Pan & Wendy

2023 Reviews – Peter Pan & Wendy – Today Junior!

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

2023 Reviews – Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Today Junior!

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire

2023 Reviews – Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire – Today Junior!

Renfield

I’ve realised I’m severely illiterate in vampire movies – I think growing up in a decade where vampires formed glittering love-triangles with werewolves and pale girls has dulled me to an entire genre. Renfield fits the bill with its quirk and style, and I like the main idea behind the story, whereby a measly servant must overcome his tyrannical overlord, learning how to live again in a new world; but I found every aspect of the plot, action, and performances wanting. I had to remind myself of Awkwafina’s wonderful track record, because it wasn’t long ago that I was thinking she was nailing every role she touched – Awkwafina was my favourite part of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings after all, yet it took me a little while to accept what she’s doing here. She’s still cast well enough, but I wish she’d gone for a few extra takes. Anywho, I’m sure Renfield still has potential for a cult following on the cards, despite my opinion. And I’m not sure if it’s purely Nic Cage’s presence, but this movie did remind me of Kick-Ass as well, although I loved every second of that movie from the first moment I saw it, where Renfield ended up leveling out around Gunpowder Milkshake based on my personal enjoyment. 2.5

Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical

2023 Reviews – Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical – Today Junior!

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

2023 Reviews – Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken – Today Junior!

Rustin

My year’s closing down, but I should backtrack and seek out Rustin, especially given the Golden Globes have marked it on my map. This is the story of the 1960s civil rights leader, Bayard Rustin, who worked alongside Martin Luther King to organise the largest peaceful protest in America’s history. But Rustin was a man left out of the spotlight at the time because it tracked poorly that he was a transparent homosexual. Colman Domingo often plays the coolest cats you’ll ever see, but channeling his swagger into a grumbly passive square doesn’t take nearly as long as it might to accept, as Colman Domingo is exquisite. Rustin boasts an extremely deep cast of veteran actors, and due to its thorough dialogue and script, even the likes of Chris Rock deserve his dues, playing Rustin’s stoic heel, when he is often amiss for me as an actor. If anything, Rustin does go on for a bit too long; and despite what they say, too much of a good thing is still good, but just not great. But I’m totally glad I saw Rustin, as it’s one of the best constructed movies of the year. You know what Rustin reminded me of most? Being the Ricardos. And that’s high praise, when you compare a wordy political screenplay to the work of Aaron Sorkin, who famously cut his teeth on The West Wing. But this shout-out goes to Duncan Lance Black and Julian Breece, and director George C. Wolfe, whom I was happy to discover also gave us Ma Rainy’s Black Bottom as well, for another African American gem. 4.5

Saltburn

2023 Reviews – Saltburn – Today Junior!

Sanctuary

This movie came and went in cinemas, but the trailer had me keen for the catch-up. Margaret Qualley is so beautiful, so it’s fair to say I was contented just spending half the movie coming to terms with that. I was surprised by how this premise is paired with a surreal score and splashy colour in scene transitions, like we are experiencing something transcendent akin to Alice in Wonderland – I didn’t expect that from a plot of sadomasochism. Yet, for the way the story bends and shifts around, revolving around a conflict of just two, Sanctuary is either never as intriguing as something like Malcolm & Marie or as sharp as something like The Banshees of Inisherin. But because the movie commences quite spectacularly, being upfront about the confrontational fantasy that comes by the world of dominatrix, you can spend the whole movie like Birdie from Glass Onion shouting, “what is reality?!” as well 😄 I like the ending the best, and due to that, the whimsical music throughout almost becomes more reminiscent of an old timey romance, although this love story has taken a sadistic route to get there. Look, Sanctuary is very interesting. It isn’t clean or clear cut, but it’s a sure alternative to a lot of movies out there, and I’ll wait to see if it resonates further in my brain. Malcolm & Marie, yes, but the movie is also like Good Luck to You, Leo Grande from recent years, with edge – the darker side of the same coin. Both Christopher Abbott and Qualley have great range to explore in their characters and are surely grateful for the opportunity that Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary provides. 3.5

Saw X

2023 Reviews – Saw X – Today Junior!

Scream VI

2023 Reviews – Scream VI – Today Junior!

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

2023 Reviews – Shazam! Fury of the Gods – Today Junior!

Sound of Freedom

A bit of media hoopla around Sound of Freedom only highlighted it on the movie map, and if companies like MSNBC and CNN had stayed quiet, it probably would’ve came and went for me. But I’ve been wanting to see what all the fuss was about, and Sound of Freedom doesn’t touch on anything a movie like Taken hasn’t already investigated, although this one comes with a heightened sense of realism. I thought the movie was competently made, although I found a nagging problem in the way the movie tries to be about the issue of child sex trafficking as a whole (which is most alarming), but also a personal mission to retrieve one little girl – I felt sorry for the children found along the way who weren’t the one Special Agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) was looking for, and therefore left behind. Similar to The Woman King, I hoped the movie would agree with me that these extras are people too, especially in these horrific situations 😔 On top of this, I know it’d be hard to go about depicting this, with child actors and whatnot, but the movie contains nothing on the psychological consequences for these children, for after they are rescued, they all seem immediately happy, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be the reality. Where have I sang the praises of Bill Camp before? He is genuinely one of my favourite character actors, and he gets a big chunky speech to make his own here, making the movie better just for having him in it. And it may sound petty, but the blonde dye job of our lead guy is so distracting 😄 And because he’s so often the tough, beleaguered cop, it’s quite startling in the scenes where he smiles too. Jim Caviezel is fine though, no doubt about it. I also like the relationship Ballard has with his superior officer, played by Kurt Fuller, where there’s a commendable level of respect, and Frost (Kurt Fuller) is basically funding a vigilante mission as far as he can. I spent the whole movie unaware that this was based on a true story, but the fact that it is, is all the more reason to be appalled by the unusual outcry against it. Because this is an important topic – perhaps even more important than most of the important topics we discuss in movies regularly day to day. Due to the nature of Sound of Freedom, it can be disturbing to watch, but grow up MSNBC and give the world it’s dues – of the news clips I’ve seen, they miss the forest through the trees to put a hit on QAnon, when this movie is only related by proxy at best. A special shoutout to WatchMojo, who are always a great place to start to find the rudimentary truth behind a biographical movie, and the biggest thing to jump out from their investigation for me was that this story is based on adult trafficking, and not solely child trafficking – I get the change-up for maximum emotional resonance, but I would’ve preferred the movie to be more accurate in its execution too. 2.5

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2023 Reviews – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Today Junior!

Spoiler Alert

It’s great to see Jim Parsons play an adult. After years excelling as the autistic petulant man-child on The Big Bang Theory, I’m proud to see Parsons be able to pick the roles he wants, and celebrate the man he truly is. Then when you see Micheal’s apartment (played by Jim Parsons), maybe I wrote to soon 😄 Look, I understand Parsons is not a traditional leading man, but accepting him in this role came easy for me, although I can see it being an unfortunate problem for some, especially considering some wonky de-aging for the beginning. But getting beyond that, I was desperate to check out this gay love story, after I was mean to Bros last year, and not all that kind to Supernova the year before – but Spoiler Alert is lovely. It’s careful and casual in portraying an evolving mature romance between two people, with Sally Field and Bill Irwin bolstering up the class of an already intelligent production. Oh, and I cannot not mention Ben Aldridge – he stood out for me in Knock at the Cabin, and his work here as Kit is ultra impressive. The childhood flashbacks depicted as a TV show was a quirky choice, but managed the light-heartedness and bittersweetness intended, much alike something Scrubs would do actually, and culminated in the movie’s unique take on the dramatic climax. I would put this movie in the same category as The Big Sick for my emotional resonance… and lo and behold, I find out that the two movies are directed by the same fellow, Micheal Showalter 😮 He’s got it going on! Spoiler Alert is a beautiful movie, with moments to make you laugh out loud, and a few to force a tear. Well done. 5.0

Talk to Me

2023 Reviews – Talk to Me – Today Junior!

Tár

2023 Reviews – Tár – Today Junior!

The Banshees of Inisherin

2023 Reviews – The Banshees of Inisherin – Today Junior!

The Creator

The Creator is exactly what I thought it looked like when I first saw the trailer – a tired plot held together with terrific design and excellent cinematography. After Godzilla (2014), and the editing required to rework Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, I think it’s now fair to say that director Gareth Edwards has a problem with pacing. I’ve seen methodically plodding sci-fi adventures before, but this one didn’t work for me at all. I spent the first half of the movie wondering if The Creator would ever be able to get its hands around some giant concepts it introduces – heaven, and its complicated international war involving the definition of life and genocide – but I’d given up before the movie’s full runtime. Plus, how do the Americans not know how those red-light bombs work? Why are the Americans planning to exterminate an entire population based on the perceived actions of a few? And A.I. monks? How can a robot child grow? And how can one eat ice-cream? Maybe this movie is just making too many leaps for my tiny little mind to calculate, or maybe it’s all a bit silly. Stylistically, there are some of the best of Blade Runner vibes to be found, but story-wise, as we follow a chosen one with a hidden past, guided by a father figure, I thought at times The Creator was as dumb as last year’s Firestarter, and that’s not a movie you want to evoke for comparison. I thought it was obvious that Maya (Gemma Chan) was the Nirmata too, and I thought the sacrificial ending gets more contrived by the second, but I was already checked out by then. Wholistically, I wouldn’t mind a movie being cliché, so long as it provides a bit of originality to the structure, but The Creator doesn’t pass my test. It’s all on a hiding to nothing. 2.0

The Fabelmans

2023 Reviews – The Fabelmans – Today Junior!

The Flash

2023 Reviews – The Flash – Today Junior!

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

2023 Reviews: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes – Today Junior!

The Killer

2023 Reviews – The Killer – Today Junior!

The Little Mermaid

2023 Reviews – The Little Mermaid – Today Junior!

The Machine

Oh, sweet Jesus. When this movie is trying to be serious, it comes off like a wet blanket – the identity crisis, the daughter stuff, and the father concerns are all great ideas, but they don’t land for me, which means that Mark Hamill is most often a dinkle on a donkle… which is bad. But even I must recognise the effort and amount of various cinematic styles that have gone into making The Machine. I respect the stick scene most, where Bert Kriescher has to pull a stick out of Irina’s leg (Iva Babić), and I was impressed by the stunt work that gives The Machine a John Wick ending, including Bert joining in on the fight scenes as well. Let’s face it, Bert Kriescher is not a great actor, but I wonder how much of that would’ve mattered if his characterisation had been sharper. I do think a level of disconnect that I feel with The Machine, as well as Old Dads, might have something to do with the podcast world, since we know so much about these guys, seemingly being real, so then they come across as false when they’re acting, or trying too hard to hit the laughs. Yet, I completely dig this movie’s concept – even more so than The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, although I ultimately wasn’t a fan of that movie either. I point to Bert’s characterisation, the movie’s direction, and editing, among the elements that turned me off The Machine. Iva Babić is very cool though. 2.0

The Marvels

2023 Reviews – The Marvels – Today Junior!

The Munsters

I go into this movie expecting sewerage water, after Rob Zombie’s The Munsters made quite a stinky splash when it dropped on international Netflix last year, while it’s taken until September of the following year for Australia to see this movie go straight to its pay TV cable channels. Watching The Munsters, I don’t really know what it is – I think it’s definitely deliberately hokey, to fit in line with the sixty’s television show, while the production value appears both cheap and cared for, like a bit of thought went into it. It come across like a filmed stage show, or a movie-length TV pilot, where the powers-that-be would tell the creators to tone down the Dutch angles, and pray for more technical stability in upcoming episodes. I would also assume that The Munsters is made with children in mind, or to be a movie young families can enjoy together; but it’s slow, and the comedy is hit-and-miss at my politest, even when aiming to be old hat. The hunchbacked Floop (Jorge Garcia) even says, ‘conceited much?’ as an insult, and I can’t remember when that was ever funny. Sheri Moon Zombie, an actress I’m not familiar with due to this being the first Rob Zombie movie I’ve ever seen, is terribly annoying as a caricature of Lily, by my estimation. And although I have a limited connection with The Munsters franchise, I always thought of Herman Munster as giving off laidback Dad energy, and not to be, actually, a haughty hack comedian, although, since this Herman Munster (Jeff Daniel Phillips) is younger and yet to have a family, perhaps he will learn to grow into some humility. I think, ultimately, The Munsters is a movie made for no one, but if it’s landed on the premier movie channel among other brand-new releases, then I will judge it so. While The Munsters is not at the level of Cats, where I’d heard it was bad and taking a chance on it filled me with bored regret, it’s still a peculiar waste of time. Not since Batman & Robin has so much harsh and upsetting multi-coloured lighting been used. 1.0

The Son

2023 Reviews – The Son – Today Junior!

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

2023 Reviews – The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Today Junior!

The Whale

2023 Reviews – The Whale – Today Junior!

Theater Camp

Suddenly, I think comedy is hard to do. You need to strike a balance, scene-to-scene, of which characters are the ones to laugh at, and which will be grounded in something human to relate to. If everyone is an idiot all the time, then it’s just silly. This movie is up against it, because it reminds me of the also somewhat improvised Summer Heights High, which hit on similar scenarios, and became an Australian phenomenon. Where Theater Camp is able to break free and stand apart is with a really strong ending for all its characters, although I wish this could’ve been an 8-part series where we could grow to love these characters for their final payoffs to truly land. But I suppose, not everything can be an 8-part series, now, can it? So, I’ll be happy writer/directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman got to make the movie they did 😊 I was also really interested to see what Molly Gordon had to offer as an actress outside of Booksmart, and she was good, but it would be wrong to single her out when it’s a combination of all the character actors, and direction, that manage a warmth and a charm by the end. 2.5

They Cloned Tyrone

2023 Reviews – They Cloned Tyrone – Today Junior!

Till

The movie is slow to get to the horrible event we don’t want to come, but all know is coming. If I’m being critical, the dialogue can be quite pedestrian in the buildup, but the movie gets points back for contrasting the cultural confidence Emmett Till (Jayln Hall) has gained at home, that he would never have managed down south. When the time comes, I thought it was bold for the movie to show us the body, but then snaps and claps all round because Mamie Till-Bradley’s (Danielle Deadwyler) decided to show the world! People need to see, and that’s why they put the results of smoking on cigarette packets! I was bawling in those funeral scenes, so proud of her for having the foresight and courage to put a face to the senseless murder; the ramifications of mere wolf-whistling and ‘racial hatred’. Perhaps I was too rash to judge the movie’s slow beginnings, because the context of Emmett’s time in Mississippi provides the spirit behind the misery and court case moving forward. The movie captures some great moments from John Douglas Thompson, Tosin Cole, Whoopi Goldberg, and the underrated consummate Frankie Faison. And isn’t it something that Goldberg appeared as the wife of Mamie’s investigator in Ghost of Mississippi, detailing the trail for when he was later shot in life – what a dark murderous past. There was discussion around Danielle Deadwyler as the unfortunate one to miss out on an Oscar nomination when Andrea Riseborough stormed in – she builds in her performance here to be indeed unlucky. I’ve been a fan of Deadwyler since The Harder They Fall. 4.0

To Leslie

Man, I can usually empathise with broken and downtrodden people, but the first hour deliberately makes Leslie very hard to like – she doesn’t endear herself to charity, that’s for sure. Why are movies so obsessed with spotlighting the worst of us, I wonder, when a person like Leslie is far removed from what any human being might strive to be? 🤔 This is not an uncommon story, probably not even told uncommonly, but you will ride with Leslie when her turning point comes, urging her not to drink – and the movie does well to dangle the suds in front of her, making us shaky in anticipation of the result. Great cast – it makes me smile to see Andre Royo in a good role post The Wire. Marc Maron is close to my MVP of last season, combining this with standout voicework in The Bad Guys and DC League of Super-Pets. Alison Janney is so in the pocket, yet again. And Andrea Riseborough – did she cut weight to play Leslie? If she were a man that would be subject to praise. Screw the Oscar’s ‘proper channels’ when the performance is this strong; it had to be recognised. 4.0

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

After a fantastic beginning in my youth, Transformers in 2007, the following movies dove this franchise off a cliff, until the reboot a few years ago, Bumblebee, was okay again. There seems to be a bigger push now to satiate the true fans of this IP, and while that’s great, I never grew up with the cartoon, so some of the lore and MacGuffins are hodgepodge gobbledygook to me 😄 Overall, I found this movie to be very safe. It’s clearly targeted to young kids, even though I’m sure the adults who were children of the 80s would be wanting a little more. I’m happy for Anthony Ramos, since he’s a charismatic fellow, but the movie can go out of its way to make him inoffensive, just like when Noah (Anthony Ramos) says he’s changed his mind about stealing a car when he’s already 90% through – you’re a good guy in a tough spot, we get it already. Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) is similarly innocent and oppressed. Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson) makes me grateful that the franchise invested so heavily in Bumblebee first, although I suppose it’s time to expand out to someone different. The movie sits somewhere between fine and lively for me, with its many CGI battles across a picturesque Peru. I do like the arch taken through the last two movies, where Optimus Prime has learned to value humans, instead of the movie treating it as a gentle given, like through Micheal Bay’s run. At the end of the day, this movie just made me sort’ve pissed that the Transformers community have seven movies now, while the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fans only have one 😩 But ooooh, that final twist 😮 We might get a crossover worth running our eye over. 3.0

Triangle of Sadness

2023 Reviews – Triangle of Sadness – Today Junior!

Trolls Band Together

2023 Reviews – Trolls Band Together – Today Junior!

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

There was a time where I didn’t know how or when I would ever see this movie, but when it popped up on Channel 10, free-to-air was relevant again – talk about nostalgia. My first thought with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is how we now have two funny bio-parodies, along with Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and I like that. But as the movie went on, I sure did wish for a true Weird Al story – without knowing it, sometimes I felt like I was left out of the jokes hinging on this movie’s antics. Yet, at the extremes, like the drug-fueled war-feud with Madonna, I see what the movie is going for, appreciate the effort, and support the idea, while just not being overly crazy about the end product. 2.5

White Men Can’t Jump

2023 Reviews – White Men Can’t Jump – Today Junior!

White Noise

2023 Reviews – White Noise – Today Junior!

Women Talking

2023 Reviews – Women Talking – Today Junior!

Wonka

2023 Reviews – Wonka – Today Junior!

65

The easy comparison to make here, is to After Earth… but this is so much better. This premise also dwarfs the action of Jurassic Park and makes Jurassic World look stupid, because this is dino-planet, babeh! Talk about putting our fairly competent protagonist through the ringer – Adam Driver is a Swiss Army knife for all the resourcefulness he has to rely on while constantly getting the ass beaten out of him. I enjoyed this movie quite a lot – I thought the simple CGI in space might turn me off, but I conclude that it was just different; so clean and smooth, compared to something like Star Wars, and not everyone can boast the budget of Disney. If I were to find a negative, it would be that sometimes our two humanoids understand each other far too effortlessly when there’s supposed to be a language barrier. But I could explain away that thing movies always do, where the monster, or dinosaurs, are established to be swift killing machines, but then slowly approach our heroes when they’re next to be chowder, because these dinosaurs must be looking at these humanoid creatures and wondering what the hell they are – will eating these foreign entities kill me like munching poisonous berries? Since I caught up with this movie late, I was clued in, but pretending I saw this movie in March be like, “I wOnDeR wHaT aRiAnA gReEnBlAtT hAs In StOrE fOr Us fOr ThE rEsT oF tHe YeAr?” 😄 4.0