2023 was a challenging year for many reasons, both personal and across the movie industry, but in the end it also gave us a number of quality films. Here’s a look back on the year that was and my countdown of the best movies of 2023.
…
Top Ten Movies of 2023 Read More »
Welcome back to the weird world of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos whose latest bizarre tale offers us Emma Stone as the reincarnated corpse of a woman with the brain of a baby brought back to life by mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Rechristened Bella, the restless young woman eventually desires to leave the confines of Victorian London heading out in the world with smitten scoundrel Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) despite the affections of Baxter’s assistant (Ramy Youssef) for her.
…
The latest from writer/director Hayao Miyazaki follows a familiar formula of a child dragged into an unusual and magical world. Based on experiences Miyazaki had as a child with loss, the film is a personal one for him with a message of striving to overcome grief and loss and the growth from childhood into adulthood by learning to unselfishly care for others.
…
The Boy and the Heron Read More »
Writer/director Celine Song‘s Past Lives examines the haunting touch of love across time and distance. After introducing us to 12 year-old best friends Na Young (Moon Seung-ah) and Hae Sung (Leem Seung-min) on the verge of something more, Na Young’s family leaves South Korea for the United States, and we skip forward 12 years where Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) reconnects with Na Young now Nora (Greta Lee) over the Internet. Living on opposite sides of the globe, the two find their connection in place although the inability to physically connect becomes eventually too great and leads to another 12 year gap where the now married Nora is visited by Hae Sung in New York City.
…
With nods to several Disney films, some more subtle than others, Wish is a blending of the look of Disney’s historical cel animation with that of CGI, and features many of the classic tropes of its fairy tales including opening and closing sequences involving the story springing from the pages of a book. Along the way we’ll also get talking animals, big musical numbers (which sport an obvious Broadway feel towards them making me suspect that show can’t be too far off), and themes of dreams, magic, wonder, and wishing upon a star.
…
