Golda (2024.35, Cheap , Uninspiring)
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Golda is a movie with some strong points, but struggles to find a real story to tell. (2*)
Drama
Napoleon (2024.32, Stunning , But Bad)
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Napoleon is visually stunning but fails to tell an emotionally engaging and understandable story. (1.5*)
The Creator (2024.31, Pale , Not Good )
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The Creator is a disappointing science fiction movie that could have had a great story but instead gets lost in the special effects. (2.5*)
Godzilla Minus One (2024.29, Lots-of-fun Smash )
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Godzilla Minus One is a monster movie but it is also a surprisingly good personal drama that tells us much about Japanese national character. (4*)
The Boy and the Heron (2024.28, Interesting , Spirit )
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The Boy and the Heron is beautifully crafted, but the musings of a man contemplating the end of his life and what it means to him. Not for everybody. (3.5*)
Robot Dreams (2024.27, Simple , Just OK )
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Robot Dreams is an animated film with no humans and no dialog that conveys feelings of emotional connection but is mostly concerned with cute and fun imagery. (3.5*)
May December (2024.26, Uncomfortable , Emotionally Rich )
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May December will leave you very uncomfortable, but that is precisely why you should see it. (4*)
Rustin (2024.25, Ordinary , Pale )
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Bayard Rustin almost single-handedly organized the 1963 March on Washington is, however, a very ordinary biopic. Watch it for Domingo’s performance, or don’t watch it at all (3*)
The Color Purple (2024.24, Disappointing , Rookie )
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The Color Purple might work as a TV mini series, but the shifts in tone means that it works OK as a musical but not as a drama. (3*)
The Teachers’ Lounge (2024.18, Uneven , Edge -y)
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The Teachers’ Lounge is an uneven film about a German middle school teacher caught in a web of increasing misunderstandings and uncertainty. (3*)
Io Capitano (2024.17, Not Good , Lost )
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Io Capitano is a harrowing tale of two teenage boys, attempting to immigrate to Italy from Senegal. While the story had promise, the movie lacks purpose and fails to define a consistent tone. (2*)
Perfect Days (2024.16, Graceful , Simple )
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Perfect Days will appeal to older generations who look for simpler, easier times and marvel in the way light filters through tree tops (komorebi) (4*)
Society of the Snow (2024.15, Uncomfortable , Value )
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Society of the Snow is a very difficult film to watch, but it is probably an essential one. It effectively makes you ask what you would do when faced with these choices. (4.5*)
Nimona (2024.13, Good , Little-Known )
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Nimona may not be the best in animation, but it tells an important message about gender identity. (3.5*)
Oppenheimer (2024.11, Astonishing , Full )
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Oppenheimer is an epic film that rewards the hard work required of the viewer. A full exploration of a man, physics, politics, and movie making. (5*)
Poor Things (2024.10, Beautiful , Sex )
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Poor Things, the story of a baby’s mind in an adult woman’s body, is probably the most bizarre movie I’ve ever seen. It is also one of the best. (5*)
The Zone of Interest (2024.9, Disturbing , Truth )
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The Zone of Interest is more than just a story of evil. But the film’s best characteristics are damaged by extraneous scenes. (3.5*)
The Holdovers (2024.8, Fine , Funny)
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In The Holdovers, three people, rife with their own problems, spend Christmas break, 1970, with each other. It is funny and emotional. And it’s a Christmas Movie. (3.5*)
Past Lives (2024.7, Simple, Love)
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Past LIves tells the story of three characters in a whirlwind of fond memories, painful regrets, and doubts of self-worth. A simple and tightly emotional story, but not one you will long remember (3.5*)
American Fiction (2024.6, Engaging , Savvy )
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American Fiction is about racial stereotyping cast as a delicious comedy and moving drama. It is also, I think, a story about its own creation. (4*)
Anatomy of a Fall (2024.5, Puzzling , Murder ?)
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An accident? A suicide? Or was it murder? Anatomy of a Fall will keep you oscillating between the possibilities even past the end. (4*)
Nyad (2024.3, Disappointing , Tank )
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Despite great acting by Bening and Foster, Nyad fails to develop sympathetic characters and an interesting story. (3*)
Maestro (2024.2, Powerful , Solid )
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Maestro is a well told story of a romance between two individuals over decades and how it developed in the shadow of fame. (4.5*)
Killers of the Flower Moon (2024.1, Exceptional, Murder )
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Killers of the Flower Moon is an exceptional and powerful movie about the Osage Native American murders of the 1920s, but it’s just too long! (4*)
2023 Oscar Drama Films
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An overview of all of 2023’s Oscar-nominated movies, focusing on drama films. This is the last review essay of the 2023 Oscar year
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Marked Down (3*)
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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is, ultimately, a Hallmark Christmas movie with the bonus of wonderful costumes and terrific acting from Lesley Manville. (3*)
Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths: Not for Everyone (3.5*)
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Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is long, complex, statement of a man in multiple transitions. The film will reward viewers who have the time and patience to watch it more than once. (3.5*)
Empire of Light – Frugal and Pale (2.5*)
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Empire of Light is a visual and sonic delight but leaves you empty. It portrays a May – November romance, set in a 1980s coastal movie theater. Needs much more chemistry between the characters and with the audience.
Tell It Like a Woman – Seven Strong Shorts (3.5*)
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Tell It Like a Woman is a compendium of seven shorts, all written and directed by women and featuring women as the main characters. It is not a typical “movie” but has important messages. (3.5*)
Aftersun – Critics Cheer, Viewers Marked Down (2.5*)
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Aftersun is, for most viewers, a rather boring but sensitive story of a young father and his 11-year-old daughter on vacation at a beach resort in Turkey. surreptitiously woven into this story is another, more tragic tale – but good luck to the casual viewer trying to find it.
Causeway – Acting Bonus with Frugal Script and Directing (2.5*)
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Causeway has some terrific acting but the script and direction just don’t cut it. (2.5*)
RRR – Fun-Loving Indian Super-Humans (4*)
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RRR is an over-the-top action movie in the Bollywood tradition. With CGI, action, humor, song, dance, and history, it is just three hours of fun. (4*)
To Leslie – Woozy / Boozy / Mediocre (3*)
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To Leslie showcases a terrific performance by Andrea Riseborough. Unfortunately, its treatment of addiction and substance abuse does not rise to her performance level. (3*)