Category Archives: 2023 Movie Reviews

The Color Purple (2023)

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I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about The Color Purple. I do like musicals, but I had never seen the original Color Purple (I intended to watch the 1985 film, but did not get around to it) so it was a crapshoot.

I loved this.

The performances of the actors in this movie was utterly amazing across the board. Fantasia Barrino is heartbreaking and powerful as Celie. Colman Domingo as Mister, the cruel husband of Celie, made me hate him. Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, the singer who got away and returned. 

But the standout of all was Danielle Brooks as Sofia. Every minute she was on screen, you could not take your eyes off of her. Her character saw every level of emotion and you could see the moments that weighed on her. Some of the things that happened to Sofia in this movie were devastating to me, as I gasped a few times. I see no way that Danielle Brooks does not receive an Academy Award nomination for this performance.

The music was very engaging and entertaining. Admittedly, I do not think there are many of the songs that are hits to listen to, but as a group of songs in a musical, they are outstanding. I was nodding my head and tapping my feet throughout the film. There may be a couple of times when the song felt like it was out of place from the emotional beat that was happening on the screen, but there were not enough of those moments to cause a problem for me.

I will admit that there were some times when I was not sure what was happening or who certain people were. For me, the transitions were not handled the best in this movie. I wondered about the passage of time because we got years listed on the screen, but the characters did not seem to have the years showing on their faces. 

However, there were so many emotional beats to the story that it had me in tears a couple of times. I was engaged with the characters and what was happening to them and I was rooting so hard for them to get what they deserved after so much tumult.

Director Blitz Bazawule brought a great eye to the shots across the runtime of the movie. Between both the dramatic sections and the musical routines, everything flowed beautifully. There was one moment of editing that the film went from black and white into color so seamlessly that it was an epic edit.

I did enjoy this musical version of The Color Purple, and I am actually pleased that I did not watch the 1985 movie prior to this because I was unsure what was coming and it made the experience all the more thrilling.

4.75 stars

Maestro

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Maestro was one of the films that I have not had a chance to see in theaters, but I knew it was coming to Netflix. It has a lot of Oscar buzz about it.

I have to say that I found the two lead performances, Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre, electric and amazing. Both should be contenders for an Oscar, if not some of the leading choices.

However, I found the movie itself to be fairly boring.

The film looked great. I particularly enjoyed looking at the black and white section of the film when they were in the past. Bradley Cooper did a spectacular job directing this, but I just found the film lacking in a story that engaged me for most of the movie. Late in the film with Felicia dealing with cancer, the film started to pick up for me in the story department. 

Unfortunately, even with the positives that were here, I just did not enjoy this movie much. I found it dull. There are two brilliant acting performance though and if that is enough for you, then you will enjoy Maestro. I wanted more.

2.75 stars

Doctor Who Special 4

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The fourth and final Disney + special featuring The Doctor is a Christmas special and features the brand new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, who appeared in Doctor Who Special 3: The Giggle. 

The other major event that occurs in this special is that there is a new companion for the Doctor is introduced. Ruby, played by Millie Gibson, has become the new companion.

By the way, this special confirms that the word “Mavity” is now canon.

Ncuti Gatwa is very charming as the Doctor and he is extremely likeable. I think they have found a very strong actor to follow David Tennant.

As for Millie Gibson, I will withhold my judgment. She was fine here, but she really does have large shoes to fill.

Looks like Dr. Who is coming to Disney + in 2024 and I may actually check it out.

3.85 stars

Leo

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When I started the animated film Leo on Netflix, I did not know it was an Adam Sandler vehicle. Sandler is not one of my favorite actors, to be honest. It seems as if most of his films are the same stupid, immature jokes and he plays the same basic character in all of them. Still, he has had some moments of excellence such as Rare Gems. It wasn’t too long into Leo that I recognized his voice work.

In this movie, Sandler gives his voice to the lizard named Leo. Turned out that all of the animals could speak. Leo, along with Squirtle (Bill Barr), were classroom pets in a 5th grade class. When Leo starts being taken home with the students, he starts talking to them, telling each that he could only speak to them and that they were special.

There are some funny moments. The film does a good job of avoiding the immature humor that I associate with Sandler. There are some heart-warming moments through as well. 

I was surprised that it turned out to be a musical. Most of the songs were catchy and some were clever lyrically. There was nothing very serious, but fun matching the film.

As I said, this was fun and enjoyable. It certainly could have been much worse. There were some childish moments, but nothing that made me cringe as an adult. 

3.75 stars

Nimona

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I am trying to catch up on some of the Netflix films that have come out in 2023 now that the year is coming to an end. I have a couple of animated films to kick off today. 

Starting off, I watched Nimona, which I had heard could be one of the nominated Oscar movies this year. I can see why.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, “When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister has been trained to destroy. But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona’s the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to… just wreak serious havoc.“

The relationship between Ballister and Nimona is the strength behind this movie. They have such a wonderful connection and their lives intersected beautifully.

The animation of the movie was gorgeous, creating a great visual storytelling part of the film. The design of Nimona and her shapeshifting abilities are creative and original. Then, every time you think the story was going in a specific direction, it went differently. 

Riz Ahmed and Chloë Grace Moretz do a wonderful job creating their characters and building the connection between them. It is because of the connection that they build in the first part of the movie. 

The message of the movie was fairly straightforward though there is another theme that is more subtle too.

Nimona was an excellent animated movie that is available on Netflix. It is certainly worth the time to watch.

4.4 stars

Nyad

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I don’t know why it took me this long to watch this movie.

Nyad is a biopic of Diana Nyad, the marathon swimmer who wanted to become the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. She had attempted the swim when she was 28 years old, only to fail. She then tried again, starting when she was 60 years old.

Nyad was portrayed in the film by Annette Bening, who did a remarkable job in the physical role. Nyad was accompanied by her long time friend Bonnie Stoll, played here by Jodie Foster. The film was not just a film of staying the course and never giving up, but it was also one of friendship and the trials between friends.

Bening and Foster were amazing in their roles. The whole cast did a great job, but Bening and Foster were on screen all the time and brought so much energy and ferociousness to their work, you could believe that they both were fighting for that last chance to reach their dreams.

Rhys Ifans deserves recognition too for his role as John Bartlett, the chief navigator for the mission. 

The story was one of amazing dogged determination, a woman who did not want to give up and how that determination affected, often negatively, those people around her. The stretch of the film where Nyad’s crew were dropping out on her because they were afraid she was going to die doing this was exceptional. 

Bening was not afraid to show the warts of Diana Nyad and to make her look selfish and paint her in a negative way. She felt like a real person and not just the ‘force of nature’ that they described her as several times.

I am very pleased that I finally got a chance to watch this on Netflix and I would recommend anyone who likes the reaching for the stars type of sport movie watch it as well. Either way, there are two performances that should be considered come Oscar nomination time.

4.3 stars

American Symphony

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Jon Batiste was the band director on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. Last year he won five Grammys including Album of the Year.

Meanwhile, his life partner (and eventual wife) Suleika Jaouad learned that her leukemia had returned. 

This documentary was truly emotional and showed such a powerful love between the two, counter-balanced with the love of the music. American Symphony gives a look at the creative process and the energy brought about by love and courage illustrating how much it can do to save a person.

Matthew Heineman, director, created an intimate picture of this relationship and the pain and power of positivity that both Jon and Suleika provide. 

This documentary is currently available on Netflix. If you are a music fan, or if you want to see a beautiful love story, I would recommend that you give this impressively personal documentary a try.

4.5 stars

Rebel Moon: Part One-A Child of Fire

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Zack Snyder is bad in just about the most Zack Snyder-like Star Wars wannabe movie on Netflix today. You should read that last line in slow motion to celebrate this movie because there is a TON of slo-mo in Rebel Moon.

According to IMDB, “When a peaceful settlement on the edge of a distant moon finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors – outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.“

This film was surprisingly boring for much of the run time. And then there was some slo-mo. Kora went out to recruit a band of characters to help protect the village in a very Seven Samurai inspiration. One problem? None of these new characters were very interesting or more than a one-dimensional archetype.

The dialogue was poorly written, and there was so much exposition when dealing with these characters. It makes this so much more dull than it needed to be. 

Typically A Zack Snyder movie looks great. This one looks great at times. It also looks badly. It is such a mishmash of special effects that you do not expect from such as visual of a director as Zack Snyder. 

The villains of this movie are basically Nazis in space. There is no nuance to any of these villains. 

There is some interesting world building in the film, but the execution of presenting it was really weak. 

This was not a good film. I am not sure if the next part of the movie will be better or just a lot of the same.

1 star

Poor Things

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Oh boy.

This one is out there.

A pregnant young woman (Emma Stone) jumps off a bridge only to have a bizarre scientist (Willem Dafoe) use a experimental procedure to resurrect her into a whole new, childlike being. The woman, Bella, began learning about the world as a child may, but inside the body of a grown woman.

Be warned. Anyone who may be offended by sex scenes in a movie… get ready. There are tons of these in this film. Many of the scenes are just jaw-dropping, but, strangely enough, have an innocent feel to them.

Emma Stone is spectacular with this offbeat, weird character. Willem Dafoe is always great, and he brings his a-game here beneath a bunch of prosthetics. Mark Ruffalo is unbelievable as the annoying lawyer whom Bella runs off with (sort of). The acting is special among the whole cast, but these three stand out specifically.

The story is about as original as you are going to get. Original and bizarre. I was definitely seeing a correlation between Poor Things and another classic story, that I even think might be connected closer than one might think. No spoilers, but I do believe there is a connection.

Watching Bella develop across the film was fascinating, and I was really enjoying the character progression. Seeing the men that were drawn to her was again somewhat humorous and horrifying at the same time.

As I said earlier, there are some shocking scenes in the movie between Emma Stone and the multiple men in her life. 

Poor Things is unlike any movie you have seen and it stands out with some amazing acting and oddball energy.

4 stars

Migration

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I was not excited to see Migration. I was not much of a fan of the trailers and so I had been unsure if I was even going to it. I decided to give it a try anyway.

It was fine.

Honestly, I do think the best bits were in the trailers, but it had enough good feelings about the film, with some positive messages about family and growing up that it was worth the watch. 

A family of ducks try to convince their overprotective father that they should leave the safety of their pond and fly south to Jamaica for the winter. 

There were some dull moments on the predictable adventure, but there were some highlights too. The stop off with the herons (the duck eating machines) and the conflict with the Chef were moments that were fun. 

The film looked great and the voice cast was solid. Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Danny DeVito, Keegan Michael-Key, Awkwafina, Carole Kane, and David Mitchell provided some excellent voice work. 

The best parts of the film included the flying scenes through the clouds. Those were beautifully animated.

This was decent. I actually liked it more as it moved on through the film, with it winning me over as I kept watching. It is not going to be a long time memorable film, but it gives families a decent time watching a movie together. It is okay.

3.1 stars

The Iron Claw

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As a pro wrestling fan, the story of the Von Erich family was one that I was very familiar with so when I heard that there was going to be a movie called The Iron Claw that told the story of their family, well I was anxious to see it. I saw it today and it was special.

The film was centered around Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) and his career as a pro wrestler. He worked in the ring with his brothers David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). They were all under the sight of their overbearing father Fritz (Holt McCallany). Kevin spoke about the “Von Erich Curse” and we see how tragedy would strike this family over the years.

This was an amazing film. Zac Efron’s performance was sensational. He went through so much emotional trauma with the loss of his brothers and he portrayed it perfectly. I kept thinking about how much Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White looked like the Von Erichs they were playing, but Efron did not necessarily look like Kevin Von Erich. He did not have to because he embraced that character in more than just a visual style. 

That is not to say that Dickinson and White only looked like David and Kerry. They both did a spectacular job in their roles, in particularly White, who, as Kerry Von Erich, faced his share of obstacles. 

It was fun watching other actors playing many of the wrestlers of the time such as Harley Race, the Fabulous Freebirds, Gino Hernandez, Bruiser Brody, and The Sheik. I have to admit that I was not a fan of the portrayal of Ric Flair in the film. It felt way too much like an imitation instead of a performance. 

The film was very heavy. It was difficult to watch at times because I knew a lot of what was going to happen because I lived through much of this in real time.

Interestingly enough, there was a fifth Von Erich brother, Chris, who was left out of the film for narrative reasons. Apparently, the youngest Von Erich from the film, Mike, was kind of a blend of the real Chris and Mike.

Maura Tierney played the mother of the boys and the wife of Fritz, Doris. Lily James starred as girlfriend and eventual wife of Kevin, Pam. Both women held their own in the testosterone-filled film and built humanity into the story.

This was a powerful, painful and emotional movie of a real life series of tragedies that devastated millions of fans and the remaining family members.

4.8 stars

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

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The DCEU comes to a close. 

The long delayed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom finally came out as the final installment before James Gunn’s films start coming out in 2025.

I had the bar set really low for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and, unfortunately, it seems as if the film stumbled over it.

There was nothing obnoxiously unwatchable about the movie. It just wasn’t very good and there were plenty of times where it was actively stupid. I found much of the first act or so boring. The third act was the typical DC CGI fest and it was really predictable. 

Jason Momoa still does a decent job as Arthur Curry, but I am not sure that a lot of the humor worked well. Momoa and Patrick Wilson’s chemistry was okay, but it did feel like a poor-man’s version of Thor and Loki. Amber Heard’s presence felt awkward because of her outside situations. 

CGI was a mishmash. Some moments it was pretty good. I’d say the background with the settings were always beautiful. However, some of the action and the evil villain from the past was not good. When that green Groot-like looking thing showed up, I got real Paralax from Green Lantern vibes. I almost laughed at the character the first time he appeared.

There were several things that did not make sense, but I can’t go into these without spoiling. One thing from the third act involving Randall Park that I just could not get past.

I also spent a lot of time watching their hair flitter in the water but nothing else happened. No bubbles from the mouth. No other things floating. I was distracted by Momoa’s hair every time he was supposed to be underwater.

This was just not very good and it sent the DCEU sputtering off into the night. Bring on James Gunn’s new DCU.

2.2 stars

Leave the World Behind

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I have had this on my queue over at Netflix for several weeks now, but I had not gotten around to watch it. Leave the World Behind, the new apocalyptic film with a cast of A list celebrities, was almost two and a half hours long which tempered my anticipation.

I have also heard a couple of contradictory opinions on the film. It seemed as if the film was divisive for audience members, some unhappy with the ending, others finding it to be really good.

So with more time now that I am on winter break, I pulled up my Netflix account and gave it a try.

Amanda (Julia Roberts) and Clay (Ethan Hawke) decide one day, out of the blue, to take their two kids, Archie (Charlie Evans) and Rose (Farrah Mackenzie), on a vacation. Amanda rented a beach house and whisked her family off.

However, they are not long in the house before the owner of the house G.H. (Mahershala Ali) and his daughter Ruth (Myha’la) arrived in the night with a story about a blackout. G.H. hoped that they could stay in the house that night and figure out what to do in the morning.

Amanda was very distrusting, feeling uncomfortable with G.H. and Rose, and Rose had the same kind of snippy attitude leading to some awkwardness between the two families.

The longer they stayed together, the worse the situation seemed to become. 

The film is absolutely a slow burn as things developed at a leisurely pace, which may have been to the detriment of the film for some. A slow burn does not bother me though as I got a chance to get to know these characters. 

Admittedly, several of these characters were not very likable. Julia Roberts, in particular, played Amanda as a brutally unlikable person. Myha’la had the same level of unlikableness. There were times when the pair of them were hard to watch because of their attitudes.

However, these traits that could be considered negative by some really built the tension and the anxiety of the situation and the mystery of what exactly was going on in the world outside the beach house was compelling and filled the characters with dread. There were two scenes, played at the same time, one, involving Kevin Bacon and, the other, some animals that was just about as tense of a scene as I have seen in a movie this year.

The elephant in the room is the ending. Of course, I am not spoiling the ending, but I need to address it. The ending did not bother me at all. I did not find it to be problematic, though I do understand why some viewers may be irritated by it. It is the same type of trouble some people had with the ending of LOST. I loved the ending of LOST, so clearly that is not an issue for me.

The film is well acted, tense and slow story that keeps you in a state of confusion over what is happening, and does an exceptional job of providing suspense at the end of the build up. It is long, but I found it compelling.

3.9 stars

Wonka

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I was not looking forward to this movie. I love the original film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Gene Wilder is the perfect actor for the role. I hated the Johnny Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film and it felt as if nobody needed or wanted more of this. 

So when they announced a prequel featuring Timothée Chalamet as Wonka, I did not find it to be something to anticipate. However, I really enjoyed Wonka after seeing it this morning.

We start with Willy Wonka arriving on a ship, preparing to become a great chocolate maker. Unfortunately for him, he spent through his money in the first song and had no place to spend the night. He was brought to a place by Bleacher (Tom David) run by his companion, Mrs. Scrubitt (Olivia Colman). They seemed kind, but wanted Wonka to sign a contract, one with plenty of fine print. Wonka was warned by a young girl named Noodle (Calah Lane) to read the fine print, but Wonka did not know how to read. He signed and it turned out to include charges for just about everything.

When his chocolate selling was disrupted by a chocolate cartel and the police chief (Keegan-Michael Key), Wonka discovered he owed Scrubitt a lot of money and had to work it off as an indentured servant.

I found the music of the film to be extremely enjoyable and catchy. My favorite song was probably “Scrub Scrub” but they were all very engaging.

Timothée Chalamet was very good as Willy Wonka, bringing a kindness and a sugary sweet disposition to Wonka. It was clear that there was more going on with the character and Chalamet’s performance brought that out. 

However, my biggest criticism with the way Chalamet was presented as Wonka was the original Wonka, as played by Gene Wilder, had a definite amount of sinister aspects to him. You believed that Wonka would be just as happy letting those kids fall into his furnaces or be tortured by stretching or juicing. The manner in which Wonka was presented as barely caring when terrible things happened to the kids made that performance so deeper. There is no way that this Wonka would allow a child to fall into his chocolate river and get sucked up the tube. Maybe you could say that he was still heading toward that, but I was hoping to see some darkness inside of this version of Wonka, and there was none there.

Still, I found the story to be fun, the music to be great and the overall acting was very enjoyable. The film looked good with some beautiful imagery and some powerful moments. 

Some of the side characters and the villains felt too cartoonish to really matter, but there was a really great relationship between Wonka and Noodle, which led to to some emotional moments as the story moved on. 

I am not sure how I feel about Hugh Grant as the Oompa-Loompa. He had some moments, but I am not sure if his inclusion was worthwhile. His song was very funny though as it takes a bit of a twist from the original film with the use of the Oompa-Loompas.

I was thoroughly entertained by Wonka and my criticisms were not that major as to throw off my enjoyment of the film. It was better than I anticipated, even if it were lacking a little darkness in the soul of Wonka.

4.1 stars

May December

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A major Academy Award potential film has been on Netflix for a week or so and I have just had the time to get to it. May December is an unsettling, awkward film based loosely on a true story.

According to IMDB, “Middle aged Gracie (Julianne Moore) lives a happy, well settled life with her husband [Joe (Charles Melton)]. Some years ago she was involved in an unsavory scandal but for her it is all in the past. Movie actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) is on a visit to this home and she is on a mission. This visit is a part of her preparation to play the role of Gracie in a movie being made. As she goes about talking to the family members Gracie wonders whether Elizabeth will uncover some secrets from her past and will some skeletons be revealed.“

Gracie, as an adult, had an affair with 13-year old Joe, and she spent years in prison for statutory rape. However, they stayed together in a relationship and had children.

There was a definite ick factor going on with this story.

Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman were both outstanding as the two main women of the film. Charles Melton was also very good as Joe, the younger man who was not sure what his relationship was.

I will say that the ending was a little questionable for me. I was not expecting the ending and it through off my entire thought process of the film. That is not a bad thing in the end.

3.6 stars