The Curse (2023) is Making Me Feel Very Uncomfortable! A+
Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s brilliant “The Curse” brings out the masochist in me. Thanks to the genius of Emma Stone, it’s essential viewing
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Category: Ratings: Movies and Television
Beyond Utopia (2023) is one of the Best Documentaries of Recent Years A+
Director/Editor Madeleine Gavin masterfully combines these two storylines with some astonishing insights into what it’s like to live in North Korea
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Last Call (2023): A Serial Killer Preys on Gay Men in New York A+
Caronna gives these five men back their dignity, something they were stripped of when they became victims of a horrific crime.
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Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol (2023): Citizens Under Fire A+
Mstyslav Chernov’s masterful documentary chronicles the period he spent in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol when Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces attacked it.
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The Dropout (2022) Limited Series Review A+
Amanda Seyfried is simply amazing. She gets Holmes’s uncomfortable stare and that otherworldly voice. But we also get Holmes as a real person.
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The Staircase (2022) Limited Series Review A+
The result: compulsive viewing for seven out of the eight episodes. Colin Firth is spellbinding. Toni Collette is equally superb.
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The White Lotus (2021) – Limited Series Review A+
The action then unfolds in flashback…. Olivia and Paula instantly become the series’ Greek Chorus; the best-friend-duo from hell.
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Mrs. America (2020) – Mini Series Review A+
Blanchett then slowly hangs up the phone and returns, defeated, to the kitchen. In un hommage à Akerman, the camera frames her in medium shot.
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Enlightened (2011) – TV Series Review A+
Laura Dern is a card-carrying liberal from Riverside. who wants to do good in this world but gets sidetracked by some deep personality flaws
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Beef (2023) The Netflix/A24 Production is Worth Savoring A
Created by Lee Sung Jin, the series boasts a wonderful script and spectacular turns by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as the central characters.
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Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) (2023) A
Photographer/filmmaker Anton Corbijn has directed a hugely enjoyable documentary about Hipgnosis, the duo who revolutionized the album cover as an art form.
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Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022) A
Evan Peters, Josh Braaten (young Jeffrey), Niecy Nash as nest-door-neighbor Glenda and a magnificent Richard Jenkins as Dahmer’s Father, all give stellar performances.
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BS High (2023). Greed and Exploitation in American High School Football A-
American high school/college football is one big exploitation racket that massively exploits the young men on whose backs the whole system rests.
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The Eternal Memory (2023) Shines. A-
Paulina’s optimism carries over to the audience – a film whose subject matter is inherently depressing is unexpectedly uplifting.
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Love and Death (2023) Elizabeth Olsen Asks “Is That All There Is?” A-
This is the superior version thanks to a spectacularly good Elizabeth Olsen as Montgomery, a housewife who has everything on the Baby Boom checklist.
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Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Prequel (2023) A-
It’s all just as delicious as the original two series with the two Lady Danbury’s taking all of the acting honors in their respective time periods.
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Donyale Luna: Supermodel (2023) B+
Known “the first Black supermodel”, she was the first African-American model to grace the cover of Vogue – shot by photographer David Bailey – in March 1966.
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Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate (2023) Netflix Documentary Review B+
Cantu introduces you to people that you may not have heard of before. And those that you have, like Ernst Rohm and Magnus Hirschfeld are discussed…
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Fellow Travelers (2023) The Way We Were with a Queer Twist B+
“Fellow Travelers” is “The Way We Were,” with Jewish being replaced by Queer, Redford by Bomer and Barbra by Bailey. It’s compulsively watchable, just not a classic.
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Errol Morris interviews John Le Carré in The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) B
Veteran documentary filmmaker Errol Morris’s documentary of David Cornwell, non-de-plum John le Carré, whose breakthrough novel “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” sold upwards of 15 million copies.
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Red, White & Royal Blue (2023). Even Texas Turns Over in Gay Romance! B
Nicholas Galitzine, as Prince Harry, gives a perfect performance. Utterly believable. He’s the ONLY reason to see this movie but he is reason enough!
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The Serpent Queen (2022) Review B
Catherine is now played by Samantha Morton who seems to have waited her whole life for this role. Every word, every gesture is savored
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What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2018) B-
The greatest movie critic of her generation. Pauline wrote the most incisive and respectful response. It was a gorgeous review of “Blade Runner”…
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About Dry Grasses (2023) A Triumph for Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan Rated A-
Dizar’s performance as Nuray, a woman who has lived through things that Samet can only imagine, takes over the film’s second and more impressive half.
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All of Us Strangers: The Best Movie Of 2023 A+
The direction of Haigh in this film is exceptional, creating an enthralling atmosphere that visually amazes the audience.
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Leonie Benesch is Sensational in The Teacher’s Lounge (2023) A
Thrilling edge-of-your-seat entertainment, all the while touching on such themes as racism, immigration, and freedom of speech.
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How to Have Sex (2023) Mia McKenna-Bruce shines in Manning Walker’s debut A-
Walker’s film follows three teenage girls on vacation in Greece. Mia McKenna-Bruce delivers a heartbreaking performance as Tara. One of the year’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 Holdovers (2023) Enjoyable and Paynless B
The film has three very good performances. Dominic Sessa is a real discovery, Da’Vine Joy Randolph says hello Oscar and Mr. Giamatti anchors the film.
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Bening and Foster Radiate Dyke Power in “Nyad” (2023). B
Both actresses are marvelous with Foster giving her best performance in decades.
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