Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023) Film Review A-
We also discover, in a beautifully acted scene by McAdams, who steals the picture, that Barbara is estranged from her devoutly Christian parents.
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Category: 2023
The Delinquents (2023) Borges Anyone? A
With its labyrinthine structure, discursive storyline, and exploration of themes such as duality, reality, identity, and the nature of time, the movie is reminiscent of the great Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges
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Eileen (2023) Hits All the Right Buttons A
Oldroyd pulls out all the stops and the three actresses complement one another so perfectly that we end up savoring 2023’s best scene.
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Fallen Leaves (2023) Is An Affair to Remember A+
The leads are just about perfect, and the film is enlivened at every turn by the director’s usual penchant for deadpan humor.
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Godland (2023) Hlynur Pálmason’s Masterpiece A+
Pálmason, his cinematographer (Maria von Hausswolff), and his composer (Alex Zhang Hungtai) evoke colonial memories reminiscent of films like “Black Robe”.
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How to Have Sex (2023) Mia McKenna-Bruce shines in Manning Walker’s debut A-
“How to Have Sex” follows three teenage girls on vacation in Greece. Mia McKenna-Bruce delivers a heartbreaking performance as Tara. One of 2023’s best.
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Maestro (2023) Bradley Cooper’s Vain Impersonation of a Vain Man. B+
Leaving out vast chunks of the great conductor’s life, Cooper gives a vain impersonation of a vain man while Carey Mulligan takes the acting honors.
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The Road Dog (2023) Road Movie Meets Stand-Up B+
Doug Stanhope is “The Road Dog” of the title in writer/director Greg Glienna’s inspired blend of the road movie and stand-up comedy.
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Saltburn (2023) Emerald Fennell’s Sophomore Triumph A
Fennell’s writing and directing are brilliantly inventive, with humor, tragedy, and horror mixing perfectly. She gets immense support from her cinematographer, Linus Sandgren, whose work here is truly breathtaking.
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Shortcomings (2023) An Asian-American Comedy. B+
Min, playing a dislikeable character, manages to make Ben, if not exactly likable, then certainly sympathetic. Both Sherry Cola and Debby Ryan are superb.
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Sick of Myself (2023) Film Review B+
If you can take moments of extreme gore and disfigurement – it succeeds more as a horror movie than as a piece of social satire – you could do worse.
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You Can Live Forever (2023) Film Review A-
Laporte is tremendous in portraying a complex character who appears to have an “escape” but really doesn’t. It’s a heartbreaking performance.
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