The King

Normally I only write about current films, the current year (2024) or last year (2023). I'm making an exception. And I think I will continue to make exceptions from here on in; if a film is great, it should end up on the Marquee. Right? So why have I travelled all the way back to 2019 to watch, "The King?" It was at the urging of Sam, my co-worker who has a love for period pieces - knights and horses and all things plague infested and medieval. I dislike period pieces. Any frilly lace or chainmail around someone's neck and I'm out. Westerns are about as far back as I am willing to go. I like contemporary dramas. After months of Sam's prodding I finally relented and watched "Seven Kings Must Die." I turned it off after half an hour. Sam conceded I needed to watch "The Last Kingdom" first. With great reluctance I threw on "The King" next. Bewitched; a one-eyed hag hunchback must have put a spell on me! I loved it. What's it all about? Timothée Chalamet plays Henry V, a reluctant king forced to take the throne after the death of his tyrannical father (Ben Mendelsohn). Henry goes to war against the French King's son (Robert Pattinson) and consults his good friend Falstaff (Joel Edgerton) for advice. That's the movie. It doesn't sound like much but the writing by director David Michôd and Joel Edgerton is so fabulous it completely won me over. I believe Joel Edgerton to be some sort of mad genius. And Timothée Chalamet - the kid has acting chops. However my favourite performance was by Robert Pattinson. Brilliant. Catch this medieval period piece streaming on Netflix. Trust me, Sam knows what he is talking about (wink). 

The Best Films of 2023

What a year! 2023 saw new music from the Beatles and The Rolling Stone - it was 2023! And the movies, wow! Canada 🍁, well done. So many great films this year. I watched 290 movies to bring you this list (about half were from 2023) - and I still haven't seen everything I want to. Here are my favourite 15 films and everything else which made the blog. It's got to be an "A+" to an "A-" to make it. Followed by the honourable mentions/guilty pleasures. Then we have the best of last year I only watched this year, followed by the worst and biggest disappointments of 2023. You can click the links for the full reviews. 

The Best 15 Films of 2023

1. Beau is Afraid

2. The Creator

3. Mob Land

4. Talk to Me

5. Leave the World Behind

6. American Fiction

7.  Poor Things

8. Joyland

9. The Killer

10. Riceboy Sleeps 🍁

11. Brother 🍁

12. Air

13. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

14. Cat Person

15. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

And here is everything else and none of these films would be a waste of your time (in no real order)

16.  Plane

17. Enter the Drag Dragon 🍁

18. Knock at the Cabin

19. Infinity Pool 🍁

20. I Like Movies 🍁

21. Smoking Causes Coughing

22. The Lost King

23. Evil Dead Rise

24. How to Blow Up a Pipeline 

25. The Covenant 

26. Blackberry 🍁

27. The Boogeyman

28. Reality 

29. Bones of Crows 🍁

30. Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella 🍁

31. The Flash

32. Lynch/Oz 

33. Oppenheimer

34. Barbie

35. Sympathy for the Devil

36. Shortcomings

37. Lola

38. Jules

39. Passages 

40. Birth/Rebirth

41. Fair Play

42. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person 🍁

43. The Holdovers

44. She Came to Me

45. Dream Scenario 

46. Dumb Money

47. Godzilla Minus One

48. Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire

49. Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis

50. How to Have Sex

Honouralbe Mentions/Guilty Pleasures

Horror Films:

Megan - the best dancing killer doll movie every made

Renfield - Nic Cage is great in this one, would love to see him get a best supporting nomination

The Nun II - full confession, I thought it was great (almost blog worthy - definitely an honourable mention on the Marquee). This one gets my blessing.  

Dark Nature - 🍁Canadian horror film. Reminiscent of  "The Descent." You might need therapy after this one. 

Influencer - Take a selfie in Thailand, this one is a boat ride of fun

Slotherhouse - a killer sloth in a sorority - the jokes move quickly

Appendage - reminded me of Malignant - a basket case of fun! 

Totally Killer - Back to the Future meets Scream

The Exorcist: Believer - I loved the first 2/3 of this film. A somewhat disappointing third act caused it to just miss getting a full entry on the Marquee.   

Action Films

The Equalizer 3 - I loved this series, better than the 2nd, almost as good as the first

Gran Turismo - the best underdog sports film about car racing this year

Dramas/Drama-Thriller:

Hunger - reminiscent of films like "Chef," "Burnt," and "The Menu," this Thai film looks amazing but left me hungry for a little more- catch it on Netflix  

Dreamin' Wild - Casey Affleck stars as a man finding musical fame 30 years later (think "Sugar Man")

Punch - New Zealand boxing movie staring Tim Roth

Sanctuary - be submissive and let this fun drama dominate your time for 90 minutes - it's a love story

The Passenger (2023) -  Kyle Gallner's performance was so outstanding for me. Similar to  Sympathy for the Devil (also this year). 

Priscilla - Almost got a full blog entry. I thought the performances of Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi were both fantastic. People said it was boring - I was glued to it. 

Documentaries: 

Still - Catch this on Apple+ documentary about Michael J. Fox.

Once Upon a Time in Uganda - This documentary is about Isaac Nabwana making action movies in the slums of Uganda. So great!

Sly - Catch the documentary on the life of Sylvester Stallone (writer, actor, director, painter) - amazing. 

Satan Wants You 🍁 - This documentary on the Satanic Panic of the 1980s is as fascinating as it is bananas. 

The Mission - the story of American missionary John Chau as he tried to bring Jesus to the people of Sentinel Island. It didn't go so well! 

Great Films of 2022 I only watched in 2023

1. All Quiet on the Western Front - this would have made my top ten of last year. The soundtrack! 

2. Turn Every Page - The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

3. To Leslie

4. REVIVAL69: The Concert that Rocked the World 🍁

Worst Films of 2023

1. Cocaine Bear - there was 10 minute of fun, the rest was rather dull, like cocaine itself.

2. Skinamarink - stare up at the corner of your ceiling for 90 minutes, that's the movie 

3. Enys Men - throw this one down a well

4. The Black Demon - Bad, bad shark movie

5. Showing Up - Don't show up

6. Asteroid City - Wes Anderson, please stick to animated movies

7. Joy Ride - Looking for a funny Asian comedy, this isn't it. Watch Shortcomings instead.  

8. Don't Look Away - Look away

9. The Adults - grow up and write something worth watching

Biggest Disappointments of 2023

1. Killers of the Flower Moon - It's not that bad but it's way, way too long. I wanted to love it and didn't. Hence it lands on this list for being one of the most disappointing films of the year

2. Napoleon - another film which I didn't hate but was hoping to love and didn't. Meh. 

3. May December - didn't care for it at all. Not funny. Not interesting. I expect much more from Todd Haynes 

4. John Wick 4 - endless gunfire ballet where you care about nothing and no one. More fun to watch your friend play video games.

5. Ferrari - Through the forensic analysis of the crash it was determined that a lack of dramatic tension, boring car races, and not a single character to care about were the factors responsible for the catastrophic accident, which is this film.

American Fiction

As a writer, I always have a soft spot for stories about writers. Writing is hard - and I don't mean to be a whiny bitch about it but it is. To put your full heart and soul into making something which you believe to be great and have it receive little or no attention, well that can be tough. I'm white as Canadian snow. There is no such thing as an authentic white voice - at least not that I'm aware of. There is language used in literary circles of "authentic" black voices - this is problematic for  Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) who is the lead protagonist in "American Fiction." Monk, who has a doctorate in English Lit, wants to be just a writer, not a black writer, but recognized as a great writer for the writing alone. His latest novel is languishing with his literary agent; multiple publishing houses have passed on his new manuscript. Monk, with an ailing mother, medical bills piling up, gets drunk and turns out joke manuscript, his version of an "authentic" black novel. He gives it to his agent and it is immediately picked up and hailed as a masterpiece. Writer, director, Cord Jefferson has created a wickedly smart and touching film. It's "Tootsie" meets "Sideways," the Spike Lee version. I loved it and it's one of the year's brightest, funniest, and moving movies of the year. Catch this in theatres or on streaming when available. Or grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff. 

Poor Things

A feminist version of Frankenstein. I think yes. And the dialogue, so very pleasing - a kind of Yoda like Shakespearean seesaw. Yes, yes. No ordinary film at all, this was. A wonderous wowing. Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a woman brought back from the dead with an infant brain by her mad scientist father, God (Willem Dafoe). Bella is a child in an adult body (Think "Big," "Edward Scissorhands," "13 Going on 30," etc.) and grows exponentially smarter, learning fine motor skills, language, and human anatomy. Bella soon discovers her vagina and the pleasures it can bestow. Before Bella marries God's assistant, she goes off to explore the world with scallywag Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), to discover, sex, food, the injustices of the world, and the cruelty of many men. "Poor Things" is a raunchy and wild comedic ride and I loved every minute of it. From the opening and closing credits, the sets, the costumes, the music, this film is overflowing in artistry. The costumes are something of a hybrid from "The Hungry Games," "Moulin Rouge!" and "Brazil" - shoulder pads from the 80s, on steroids. The set pieces are art nouveau architecture soaked in pastel colouring out of the Florida Keys. Then the MUSIC! Oh wow. Not since last year's "All Quiet on the Western Front" have I heard something so original. Director Yorgos Lanthimos has sewn these pieces together to give us a monstrously great film, one of the year's best. Catch it now in theatres.     

How to Have Sex

Molly Manning Walker has written and directed her first feature length film, "How to Have Sex" and it's brilliant (as the British like to say). "How to Have Sex" is a candid slice of contemporary adolescence, about three young girls who have gone on vacation to Greece for a week of drinking, drugs, and sex. Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays Tara, is determined to lose her virginity. What a performance - it's Oscar worthy but the film is too small and sadly Mia McKenna-Bruce will be overlooked. Mia McKenna-Bruce is a name to watch out for. "How to Have Sex" reminded me of "Aftersun," "Sundown," and "American Honey," to name a few recent films which share a gritty realism, an almost documentary style of candor. The authenticity of these characters speaks to the excellence of the writing and the wonderful performances of the entire cast. This is a modern snapshot of British youth. These kids felt real to me. Their choices and behaviours might, at times, make you uncomfortable. This is life. I look forward to seeing what Molly Manning Walker does next. Catch this one on streaming services or at a rep cinema near you. Or grab a copy from your local video store. In Ottawa that would be Movies 'N' Stuff.   

Cat Person

“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” - Margaret Atwood

This quote is at the start of "Cat Person," a film directed by Susanna Fogel. It stars Emilia Jones as Margot, a college sophomore who works the popcorn stand at the local rep cinema. She meets older man Robert (Nicholas Braun - you may know him a cousin Greg from TV's "Succession") and they start a texting relationship followed by, well, something more. This movie is straight up smart. It's uncomfortably realistic at times. I'm sure it will open up all kinds of conversations about male/female power dynamics, social norms, and a shift in perception about romantic male movie leads, in particularly, Harrison Ford. Last year I showed my twenty something niece, "Blade Runner" for the first time. When Harrison Ford gets all aggressively kissy face with Sean Young, my niece was somewhat horrified. I wasn't expecting her reaction. I had never given a whole lot of thought about that scene before until I watched it with her (and I have seen "Blade Runner" over thirty times). This very scene is brought up in "Cat Person." The movie isn't just about male/female power relations - it plays with movie thriller tropes. I just loved everything about it. Catch this feminist thriller movie now on streaming platforms. 

Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis

I'm a Gen-Xer. I grew up in the 80s but I loved the music of the 60s and 70s. In my day, we had records. Album cover art was just that, it was ART. The album covers were part of the reason you bought the record. "Squaring the Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis" is the fascinating documentary about Hipgnosis, a record design company and its two founders, Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powel. They are the creative geniuses behind the covers of some of the world's most iconic rock albums of all time: Pink Floyd, Wings, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and many, many more. There are interviews with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, and many others. If you every wanted to know how these album covers came to be, this documentary is the answer and boy did I find it captivating. It's also the story of the relationship between Po and Strom and how these two would work together. Their story is one of artists, visionaries, and collaborators as they worked with these legendary musical artists. At the end, I found myself rather emotional about their partnership - always a good sign for me. Catch this absolutely wonderful documentary on streaming platforms.