2023 Wrap-Up Reviews

2023 WRAP-UP REVIEWS! 

By Nico Beland

 

Doing something a little different this year since so many new movies were released over the Christmas holiday. Instead of trying to devote each film to a full review and because I’m seeing all these back-to-back, I’ve decided to give a few new releases some shorter, condensed reviews that are more in-depth than my one sentence mini-reviews, let’s get started! 

 

POOR THINGS: 

Movie Review: **** out of 4

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

Emma Stone in Poor Things

 

Poor Things is the new film from director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Favourite) and stars Emma Stone (Zombieland 1 and 2, La La Land, Cruella) as Bella Baxter, a woman who’s brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe-Spider-Man, The Lighthouse, The Northman). Bella is eager to learn and hungry for the worldliness she is lacking. 

So, she runs off with a slick and debauched lawyer known as Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo-Shutter Island, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spotlight) on a lifechanging adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her stand for equality and liberation. 

This is one of the most ambitious and gleefully bizarre films of the year and this is the same year that gave us Beau is Afraid and Saltburn…and I loved every minute. I always appreciate when a film isn’t afraid to step into surreal and unusual territory that most mainstream movies would steer as far away from it as possible especially when it’s done extremely well like in this.

It is definitely not a movie for everyone and I can see a lot of people being turned off by its strangeness, but even if it isn’t winning you over, I’d be baffled if someone got nothing out of it. 

The production design is dazzling from the building architectures to the backgrounds reminiscent of a stage play, it casts this otherworldly atmosphere that lingers throughout the film. Yorgos Lanthimos is a master with his camera and scene staging as he crafts this unsettling and intoxicating experience with tons of fish-eye lenses, absurd situations, and ominous musical score by Jerskin Fendrix accompanying the scenes that sounds like the composer was drunk when he was creating the film’s music. 

Emma Stone is absolutely brilliant as Bella and gives probably her best performance of her career as this grown woman with the brain of an infant. She puts her all in this role and is 100% convincing in her voice, expressions, and mannerisms, but you do see the character evolve over the course of the film while still retaining what made her bizarrely endearing to begin with. 

Mark Ruffalo is also a huge standout and a return to the non-MCU, practically antagonistic Mark Ruffalo performance as this sleezy man who becomes obsessed with Bella and over the course of the movie views her as some sort of monster that’s ruining his life, he plays the part spectacularly and delivers some of the funniest lines. 

Willem Dafoe is also perfectly cast as the scientist that created Bella as if he’s ripped straight out of a classic Universal Monster or Frankenstein movie. To the point where I now want to see a remake of Frankenstein where he’s Dr. Frankenstein because he fits the mad scientist role almost as much as he did as the Green Goblin. 

This movie will not win everyone over, but it will certainly be discussed for years to come, it’s an unapologetically strange oddity with phenomenal performances, stunning cinematography, and bold storytelling that utilizes humor to get its themes across. Whether you’re onboard or as braindead as Bella, this is one cinematic experience you’ll never forget. 

 

 

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT: 

Movie Review: *** out of 4

MGM

Joel Edgerton and the titular boys in The Boys in the Boat

 

The Boys in the Boat is the new film directed by George Clooney (Ocean’s trilogy, Leatherheads, Gravity) and based on the novel of the same name by Daniel James Brown which in turn was based on the true story of the 1936 University of Washington rowing team and how they took home for gold at the Olympics in Berlin. It follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world including Nazi Germany. 

The film stars Callum Turner (Green Room, Fantastic Beasts 2 and 3, The Capture) as UW rower Joe Rantz, Joel Edgerton (Star Wars: Episodes II and III, Boy Erased, Thirteen Lives) as rowing coach Al Ulbrickson, Peter Guinness (Alien 3, Sleepy Hollow, Zack Snyder’s Justice League) as boatbuilder George Pocock, and James Wolk (Mad Men, For a Good Time, Call…, Watchmen) as Harvard University coach Thomas Bolles. 

This film doesn’t really break any new grounds in terms of how to tell a sports biopic and it hits just about every beat you’d expect from a movie like this, but it has an uplifting story, endearing characters, and overall solid craftsmanship from Clooney to make it a worthy viewing. I feel like a lot of the hype surrounding this movie is both because it’s a local story based in Seattle and that people are just genuinely happy that this story is finally on the screen which after seeing it, yes it is definitely worth telling on film. 

A University of Washington rowing team going up against the Germans at the Olympics during World War II and beating them, doesn’t that make you want to stand up and cheer by reading that premise? The movie itself may not be perfect, but the story certainly is inspirational. 

The characters are very compelling even though not every one of them gets a lot of development, each team member has their own unique personality and charisma to make you care about them. Easily the one with the most development is Joe Rantz who was abandoned by his family and left to fend for himself at a young age, it’s a legitimately heartbreaking past which makes it all the more uplifting when he and his team win the race. 

The boat race sequences are exhilarating and very well-edited with tons of sweeping long-takes of the boats racing on the water and intense close-ups of the people rowing. I never thought you’d be able to make boat rowing as gripping as Rush or Ford v. Ferrari, but Clooney found a way. 

It isn’t perfect and often too reminiscent of other sports biopic, but when you have an engaging story, likable characters, and the product itself is well-made, I don’t think most people care that much about its flaws. It’s a celebration of when Seattle dominated the Olympics and took home the gold. 

 

FERRARI: 

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

NEON AND STX FILMS

Adam Driver in Ferrari

 

Ferrari is the latest film from Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral, Public Enemies) and stars Adam Driver (Star Warsfranchise, BlacKkKlansman, Marriage Story) as Enzo Ferrari, the real-life founder of car manufacturer Ferrari S.p.A.. The film follows Ferrari’s personal and professional struggles during the summer of 1957 as the company he and his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz-Blow, Volver, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) started ten years prior is facing bankruptcy and the tragic death of their son is impacting their marriage. 

Ferrari wagers all in a roll of the dice on one race, the infamous 1,000-mile race across Italy known as the 1957 Mille Miglia. 

The film also stars Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars, Dumb Money) as Lina Lardi, Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Method, Enemy, Belle) as Linda Christian, Gabriel Leone (Hidden Truths, Dom) as Alfonso de Portago, Jack O’Connell (300: Rise of an Empire, Unbroken, Money Monster) as Peter Collins, and Patrick Dempsey (Scream 3, Enchanted 1 and 2, Thanksgiving) as Piero Taruffi. 

This is a powerful and captivating experience that grabs you and never lets go from the opening crash to one of the most horrific and heartbreaking scenes I’ve seen in a movie towards the end. I was able to handle the bizarre and gory moments of Poor Things, but this one sequence near the end of Ferrari was so shocking and terrifying that it actually got a verbal reaction out of me in the theater. 

Michael Mann has really outdone himself with this movie after the rather disappointing Blackhat from 2015 as he crafts a riveting and thoroughly fascinating biopic about one specific event in this person’s life rather than trying to condense their entire life into a film. The drama is very effective particularly in scenes involving Driver and Cruz, you understand the struggles both people are going through and because everything that’s happening to them is quite real and the performances are so great, you easily get attached to their characters. 

Adam Driver gives a stellar performance as Enzo Ferrari who is almost unrecognizable until he opens his mouth. He delivers this dry, stoic performance without it ever coming off as lazy and robotic while still delivering genuine emotion, he’s also a much more convincing Italian here than in House of Gucci. 

The real standout is Penelope Cruz as his wife, she has the majority of emotional highlights throughout the film and gives a thoroughly passionate, sometimes funny, and fearless performance as Laura that absolutely deserves a Best Supporting Actress nomination. 

The movie also has some of the most intense racing sequences I’ve seen a while and are phenomenally edited. Lots of shaky close-ups of drivers’ hands on the wheel, pulling levers, or feet on the pedals, POV shots of the racetrack, and incredibly staged crashes, I haven’t seen racing this gripping since probably Ron Howard’s Rush. 

Even without Ford going up against them, Ferrari is a compelling biopic that deserves to be seen on a large screen with incredible sound. But even without the spectacle, its powerful story and characters are the ones truly behind the wheel. 

 

THE IRON CLAW: 

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

Zac Efron in The Iron Claw

 

The Iron Claw is written and directed by Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Nest) is his third directorial effort and stars Zac Efron (High School Musical trilogy, Neighbors 1 and 2, The Greatest Showman) as real-life professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich. The film chronicles the life of Kevin and the Von Erich family whose members mostly consist of wrestlers or people with a wrestling past because of their domineering father, Fritz Von Erich (Holt McCallany-Fight Club, Three Kings, Nightmare Alley) and through tragedy and triumph, Kevin and his brothers, Kerry (Jeremy Allen White-Twelve, Shameless, The Bear), Mike (Newcomer, Stanley Simons), and David (Harris Dickinson-Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, See How They Run, Triangle of Sadness) seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports. 

The film also stars Maura Tierney (Liar Liar, Baby Mama, Twisters) as the brothers’ mother Doris Von Erich and Lily James (Downton Abbey, Cinderella (2015), Baby Driver) as Kevin’s wife Pam Adkisson. 

I’m no wrestling expert nor did I know anything about the Von Erich brothers going into it, but this movie hits hard on an emotional level and makes me want to read more about them. The main theme of the film is loss and how you cope with it, given the subject matter that makes perfect sense. 

You really do feel the brotherly love these guys have for each other throughout the film which makes it all the more tragic when one of them loses their life to something horrible (Not a spoiler!). Every time one of the brothers dies tragically you don’t just see it happen, you feel the loss emotionally as well and it is genuinely heartbreaking because of their strong bond. 

It isn’t just intense wrestling and heavy themes as there are glimmers of hope that Zac Efron’s Kevin sees in the form of his wife as she keeps Kevin in the land of living even during such sorrows. 

There’s also the whole debate on whether the dad was the actual cause of the brothers taking their own lives due to his strict expectations from his children. It is hard to say whether or not it was the entire reason, but the evidence is there.

He also crafts this unhealthy parental relationship with his sons as he often determines who his favorite is while telling them that it can change. But to be fair, his motives are a little understandable because he missed his shot at winning the championship when he was younger and wresting and now he’s trying to reclaim that chance through his sons. 

They could have easily made the dad an unredeemable monster that the sons hated, but it turns out they actually loved their dad a lot and wanted to live up to his expectations as best they could. While it may not be a genuinely wholesome family dynamic, the love of the family is still there. 

Zac Efron gives probably the best performance I’ve ever seen from him, I’ve liked him in other things before, but nothing comes close to his commitment and the emotional weight he brings as Kevin Von Erich. His performance here really shows off his capabilities as a strong dramatic actor and I would not be surprised if it earned himself a Best Actornomination. 

The Iron Claw is a hard-hitting, but also thought-provoking and heartfelt biopic that celebrates one of the biggest families in wrestling history. With its powerful story, excellent performances by the cast, and depictions of heavy real-life subject matter, it makes a truly effective grand slam on your emotions. 

 

MIGRATION: 

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Mack Mallard and his family of ducks in Illumination’s Migration

 

Migration is Illumination’s latest animated feature after their massive success with The Super Mario Bros. Movie earlier this year and follows a family of ducks embarking on an incredible adventure to migrate from New England to the magical land of Jamaica. Leading the flock is Mack Mallard (voiced by Kumail Nanjiani-Silicon Valley, The Big Sick, Men in Black: International), the anxious husband of the daring and quick-witted, Pam (voiced by Elizabeth Banks-Spider-Man trilogy, Pitch Perfect trilogy, The Lego Movie 1 and 2) and father of confident son, Dax and innocent but lovable daughter, Gwen (voiced by newcomers Casper Jennings and Tresi Gazal) with their uncle, Dan (voiced by Danny DeVito-Matilda, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Jumanji: The Next Level) and the aggressive leader of a pigeon gang named Chump (voiced by Awkwafina-The Farewell, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Little Mermaid(2023) who is apparently being type-casted for providing the voices for annoying talking bird characters) also coming along for the journey.

The film also features the voices of Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele, Hotel Transylvania franchise, The Super Mario Bros. Movie) as a Scarlet macaw named Delroy, Carol Kane (Hester Street, Dog Day Afternoon, Annie Hall) as a heron named Erin, David Mitchell (Magicians, Gun Shy, Greed) as an American Pekin known as GooGoo, and Isabela Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight, Instant Family, Dora and the Lost City of Gold) as Kim. 

Despite having the immensely-talented Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine, The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales…) as the director, this is one of the most average animated features for kids I’ve seen since…Trolls Band Together and Wish last month! But unlike something like Wish which had me baffled that one of the most innovative and imaginative film studios of all time could put out something so uninspired, I don’t feel upset about Illumination putting out a serviceable and safe animated feature that doesn’t challenge its audience because that’s kind of their shtick, Despicable Me notwithstanding. 

It's the kind of movie I categorize as an “iPad Movie” where a parent would put this on their tablet for their little kids to watch maybe on a long car ride to keep them distracted and entertained for a solid hour and a half and it does the job fine enough. 

There really isn’t anything bad about this movie, but like other Illumination projects such as The Secret Life of Pets 2and Sing 2, it doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression once it ends. The plot is standard and often predictable, most of the characters are pretty generic and don’t really stand-out much, and most the comedy consists of easy kid jokes. 

There are some funny moments here, the little sister saying “I’m sorry you can’t have babies with her” in response to her brother’s shy conversation with his love interest got a chuckle out of me, the entire scene with the heron is pretty great, and there’s this whole sequence involving a hilariously intense and intimidating chef in a restaurant that’s probably the funniest bit in the film.

But then, the movie decided it needed a villain to stretch out the runtime and guess who becomes the film’s main antagonist? This character would have been fine as a side character for that one sequence involving great visual gags and well-timed slapstick, but they decided to shoehorn him into the second and third acts as a primary villain. 

If they were trying to make him the duck equivalent of Mrs. Tweedy from Chicken Run, then they really missed the point of that because she was a fully fleshed-out and defined character. This is a slapstick character best suited for a small supporting role in one scene of the movie while the rest of the film should have been focused on the ducks’ quest. 

With that said, the animation is pretty especially with the backgrounds and the flying scenes are well put together and look great on the big screen so I can at least appreciate it on a technical aspect as well as solid voice acting from its cast and for the handful of jokes that made me laugh. It’s a harmless animated film that only very young kids will get the most out of, anyone over the age of ten would be better off watching something else. 

 

THE COLOR PURPLE: 

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks in The Color Purple (2023)

 

The Color Purple is a musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s classic novel and re-imagining of the 1985 Steven Spielberg film of the same name and tells the story of the livelong struggles of an African-American woman named Celie (Fantasia Barrino who portrayed Celie in The Color Purple stage musical and was previously played by Whoopi Goldberg in the original film) living in the South during the early 1900s. She faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. 

The film is directed by Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo, Black is King) with Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Lincoln), Oprah Winfrey (The Butler, Selma, A Wrinkle in Time), and Quincy Jones who brought the original movie version returning as producers. It also features Taraji P. Henson (Think Like a Man, Hidden Figures, What Men Want) as Shug, Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black, Girls, Peacemaker) as Sofia, Colman Domingo (Lincoln, 42, Rustin) as Albert “Mister” Johnson who was originally played by Danny Glover, H.E.R. (Yes Day, Beauty and the Beast: A 30^th Celebration) as Squeak, Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, BlacKkKlansman, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) as Harpo, and Halle Bailey (Last Holiday, Grown-ish, The Little Mermaid (2023)) as Nettie. 

I didn’t know what to expect with a musical based on this story, but I was quite impressed by the results after it ended. While I felt the 1985 Spielberg version handled the subject matter better since it was a drama rather than a musical, this is an example of a second adaptation that retains the core elements of the original story and crafts something new out of the same plot points. 

It hits all the same beats as the original film while also expanding on certain plot elements that were either rushed or trimmed down in the Spielberg film. So, there isn’t much surprise in terms of its narrative where the performances and musical numbers are the things that anchor the film. 

It’s hard to imagine someone topping Whoopi Goldberg’s legendary breakout role from the 1985 movie, but Fantasia Barrino does an incredible job capturing the spirit of Celie’s character without feeling like a rehash. She is just as endearing as Goldberg’s performance and you want to see her get through the rough life she has, plus her singing voice is the stuff of legends and deserves recognition. 

Colman Domingo who I’ve already raved about in Rustin is a standout as he fills Danny Glover’s shoes as Celie’s despicable and abusive husband, Mister. Like Glover in the original, he does a great job making the audience hate him and want to see him get his comeuppance, but I also like how he goes through an interesting arc throughout the story that wasn’t as explored much in the first adaptation. 

Honestly, the entire cast knocks it out of the park whether stage performers or Hollywood film stars. Just about every one of them is memorable even the ones with limited screen-time. 

The musical numbers are bursting with energy and passion with catchy songs, impressive choreography, and appealing production design. The best way I can describe it is like La La Land and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story in the 1900s-40s, the songs and dances do a wonderful job breathing life into the film. 

As mentioned before, I thought the story’s themes were more impactful in the original movie, but this is still an incredibly faithful adaptation with plenty of reasons to enjoy it on its own merits. It proved to me that not only could a musical film version of a story like this be done, but also have it be done extremely well without it ever feeling like a lesser version.