Happy New Year! There have been a lot of wonderful films in 2023, and still more great ones to come. Happy to share some thoughts with the following:
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
While I was really not a fan of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, this more than made up for it. Running at a brisk 39 minutes, there is plenty of charm and classic Wes Anderson joy to be found in this short film. Naturally quirky and entertaining performances from newcomers like Benedict Cumberbatch and Dev Patel have you quickly wondering why Anderson didn’t cast them in previous movies. While the other three short films that were released on Netflix weren’t nearly as good, I’m glad that we got to have a gem like this one to enjoy.
Grade: B+/81
Fallen Leaves
This film was such a delight to see. Described by some as a working class romance, I love how unapologetic this film was in depicting the depressing and monotonous lifestyle of lower-middle class Finnish people. The film actually kind of reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite with its dry sense of humor and deadpan delivery from the lead actors, but never once did it feel disingenuous or phony. I really enjoyed peeking into a life that I’m not overly familiar with, and the grounded humanity of the film made the romance feel all the more alive. I really hope that this film inspires more romantic comedies at this kind of speed, a little bit more low-key and less glamorous.
Grade: B+/82
The Boy and the Heron
Oh Boy, oh Boy. There is so much to say about The Boy and the Heron. Thinking about it still makes my head hurt. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest living filmmakers and his dedication to transporting us to wildly imaginative worlds is still a constant in his latest entry. While this film could be seen as a metaphor for his career, his relationship with Studio Ghibli, his relationship with his son, or the inner turmoil he has reckoning with his own ideas and legacy, no one can deny that this film has so much depth and so much of Miyazaki himself injected into the film. I can totally understand some being turned off by how confusing the film often gets, as I had many questions once the film ended. It wasn’t until I thought about it and read some other peoples thoughts online where I was able to get a better understanding of what Miyazaki was trying to say with this film. Even though I grew up watching his movies, I never truly got to appreciate Miyazaki’s work until the pandemic, when all of the films appeared on HBO Max. In fact, I even wrote a post on this blog ranking them and detailing my love for all his films. The Wind Rises was my least favorite Miyazaki film, and I was a bit sad that that was supposedly his last one before announcing his “retirement.” However, I’m happy with this one being his last, if it really is his last. This was also the first film of his that I got to see on the big screen, and in IMAX too. It was truly a treat to be whisked away into one of his worlds again.
Grade: B+/82
Monster
This was another fantastic film from family drama master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. As it is with most films I see, I go into them not really knowing what they’re about, and I am SO GLAD I had no idea what this film was about. I almost don’t even want to say anything about this film because talking about any of the major points would give away its unique storytelling structure. Yes, it has been done before, most famously by another Japanese film, but this one manages to make it its own and tell a heartwrenching story propelled by some really fantastic performances. This film kept me guessing until the very end and made putting the pieces together feel so rewarding. Between this, The Boy and the Heron, and Godzilla Minus One (which I still need to see), Japan’s had one heck of a year at the movies in 2023.
Grade: B+/81
The Delinquents
This film was advertised to me as a “slow burn heist.” That got me really interested and eager to see this film. Boy, they could not have been more wrong. This film was a painful slog to get through. The “heist” happens within the first ten minutes, and after that, it’s just 3 hours of meandering dialogue and “character development.” Everything just felt so self-important, but I could not get attached to any of the characters at all even with its grueling length. It’s a beautiful film, and the performances are fine, and even the premise itself is pretty fascinating. It was all the more disappointing that the film could not capitalize on its story, especially with its incredibly anticlimactic ending.
Grade: C/65
Flora and Son
John Carney carves out a pretty niche market for himself with music-based romance/dramas, and I’m all for it. I enjoyed Sing Street and thought Begin Again was even better. With Flora and Son, I think it’s his one of his weaker entries, particularly because I didn’t really enjoy any of the songs. It’s hard to truly love a music-based film if you can’t vibe with any of the songs. However, the perfomances are pretty decent and it gets all the familiar story beats that get you feeling warm and inspired. Also, how are people having perfectly lag-free conference calls in 1080p in the park? Does Dublin have incredible wifi or what??
Grade: B/76
Ferrari
I had some reasonably high expectations for this one since it’s Michael Mann, but unfortunately I don’t think this film was very good. The story is somewhat interesting and could have potentially been great if I bought into Adam Driver’s performance as Enzo Ferrari, but I’m not entirely sure he turns in a good performance here. Shailene Woodley was HORRIBLY miscast as well, who could not hold an Italian accent to save her life. The film shows signs of expert direction from Mann, which made this all the more of a frustrating watch. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this film was the absolutely atrocious CGI. The special effects used during some of the film’s most poignant scenes were absolutely laughable, which really took me out of the film. The racing scenes in the film were easily the best, but they were few and far inbetween. I wish we could’ve given my man a bit more of a budget, because I can’t remember the last time there was this big of a CGI blunder.
Grade: B-/71
Dream Scenario
This film being produced by Ari Aster made a lot of sense. This film was very similar in terms of tone to Beau is Afraid, if Beau was running at about 10% power. This film was much more tame and did not make the most of its interesting premise. Nicolas Cage has a bit more of a subdued performance all things considered, and really just left me longing for a proper Cage/Aster collaboration. Director Kristoffer Borgli gives a pretty decent try here, starting out strong until the third act kind of falls apart. The ending isn’t very satisfying, and there’s just nothing memorable apart from its overpromising story.
Grade: B-/72
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