No love for Godzilla Minus One? A wrenching snapshot of postwar Japanese angst plus vivid monster effects, made on a comparative shoestring, and hugely successful.
Ty, I’m forever entertained by your writing alone as I read this entire list thoroughly. And it’s a win-win that you are giving such helpful tips for movies I’m looking forward to seeing, or have seen and you nailed the description so I REMEMBERED I’ve seen it (oh, the aging brain), and ones I haven’t heard of yet. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Perfect Days is on the top of my list for best films of 2023. The film I really didn’t think was great this year was The Zone of Interest. The effusive praise from some critics baffles me.
We just watched a film from someone’s best of list that you didn’t mention and was definitely not on our radar, Fremont. It’s a small gem. An Afghan refugee woman, who had been a translator for the U.S. in Afghanistan, navigates her own refugee community and the strange world she’s landed in, desperate for a dream (her words). It has something by of the deadpan and narrative style of Jarmusch and Kaurismaki films.
A wonderful list--really, the year was full of powerful, original filmmaking, when you push past the Hollywood Marvel blockbusters that dominate the multiplexes. I, too, adored "Poor Things"--it's such a fresh spin on the Frankenstein story, full of wonder and wonderful imagery/acting/production design/sound/etc. It blew me away. I plan to see several of the films you highlighted as they roll into Boston theaters.
By the way, it would be interesting to get your take on some of the newest Boston theaters--the AMC Causeway (formerly the ArcLight) and the Alamo Drafthouse (formerly ICON). We don't have to go to the Boston Common to see films in Boston!
Wonderful writing! I do so enjoy film critics who are both deeply knowledgeable AND are not afraid to express their LOVE of good movies. I would put you and Richard Brody and of course Roger Ebert in that class.
Great list! I’m eager to check out several of the films you mention that I haven’t seen yet (starting with Perfect Days). But I most wanted to say, I really like your description of Poor Things as “splendidly rational”. My own thought after watching the movie was that it’s a perfect Enlightenment fable, precisely picking up on its very rational structure.
As usual the writing is is unsurpassed. I am so glad you included Anatomy of a Fall and Holdovers; A Thousand And One is on my list. Barbie? Unwatchable. Godland? Yech.
We have eleven films in common on our top 20 list, including my top 2 films of 2023 (Past Lives and American Fiction). Regarding Fiction and whether one should give a shit if the laughing White folks are clueless, I wrote a piece about exactly that after I spoke with a few other Black critics at TIFF. That piece run soon, and not at the Globe. You didn't miss anything by skipping FERRARI, except for Penelope Cruz playing Al Pacino with a wig on and the laughing fit you would have had when Ferrari's mother quotes WALK HARD and says "The wrong kid died!" (BTW, FERRARI was my 200th article for your beloved Boston rag.) And the only thing you missed in THE IRON CLAW is Aaron Dean Eisenberg's excellent cameo as Ric Flair.
Ben is mad at you for not including AIR. So much for you ever being able to go to Dunkin' again.
Thanks for reminding me to watch Kokomo City before we vote next week. See you then.
Exquisite newsletter. It will take me a while to work though it since I'm still enjoying your podcast with Hunter Harris. BUT, I had a comment, and I left strange comments going back through six months looking for something. Here's the problem - "the last thing you want is some Mopey Morty of an aging entertainment journalist" - this is unnecessary, unkind, and untrue. You need to refresh/update your mental browser. You are a wonderful example of a human at a certain age who has taken the BIG plunge into life. You have deep experience, knowledge, come out of legacy media to build something new and vital for yourself. Your Zen Buddhism journey deeply informs your writing. Your willingness to seek out young people in your field, rather than sit back and snipe, is crucial to how we all need to shape our lives. I love your interaction with Hunter Harris, especially your laughter at how funny The Phantom Thread is, and am looking forward to the podcast about Sarah Polley's films (have I got that right? I forget who it is with.)
Lovely year-end summary and perhaps you will consider morphing into the voice, ala Thomas Paine, of the New England secessionists should the unthinkable happen?
Please don’t apologize. Your “7th year of our Dark Lord” really hit hard. This is our reality. And I love to hear you express your views not just your opinions on entertainment. Been reading you since the Boston globe days.
No love for Godzilla Minus One? A wrenching snapshot of postwar Japanese angst plus vivid monster effects, made on a comparative shoestring, and hugely successful.
Ty, I’m forever entertained by your writing alone as I read this entire list thoroughly. And it’s a win-win that you are giving such helpful tips for movies I’m looking forward to seeing, or have seen and you nailed the description so I REMEMBERED I’ve seen it (oh, the aging brain), and ones I haven’t heard of yet. Thank you and Happy New Year!
Perfect Days is on the top of my list for best films of 2023. The film I really didn’t think was great this year was The Zone of Interest. The effusive praise from some critics baffles me.
We just watched a film from someone’s best of list that you didn’t mention and was definitely not on our radar, Fremont. It’s a small gem. An Afghan refugee woman, who had been a translator for the U.S. in Afghanistan, navigates her own refugee community and the strange world she’s landed in, desperate for a dream (her words). It has something by of the deadpan and narrative style of Jarmusch and Kaurismaki films.
A wonderful list--really, the year was full of powerful, original filmmaking, when you push past the Hollywood Marvel blockbusters that dominate the multiplexes. I, too, adored "Poor Things"--it's such a fresh spin on the Frankenstein story, full of wonder and wonderful imagery/acting/production design/sound/etc. It blew me away. I plan to see several of the films you highlighted as they roll into Boston theaters.
By the way, it would be interesting to get your take on some of the newest Boston theaters--the AMC Causeway (formerly the ArcLight) and the Alamo Drafthouse (formerly ICON). We don't have to go to the Boston Common to see films in Boston!
Wonderful writing! I do so enjoy film critics who are both deeply knowledgeable AND are not afraid to express their LOVE of good movies. I would put you and Richard Brody and of course Roger Ebert in that class.
Great list! I’m eager to check out several of the films you mention that I haven’t seen yet (starting with Perfect Days). But I most wanted to say, I really like your description of Poor Things as “splendidly rational”. My own thought after watching the movie was that it’s a perfect Enlightenment fable, precisely picking up on its very rational structure.
Sigh. "Beau Is Afraid" got no ❤️LUV❤️ from anyone.
But it was absolutely _my_ favorite 2023 film.
As usual the writing is is unsurpassed. I am so glad you included Anatomy of a Fall and Holdovers; A Thousand And One is on my list. Barbie? Unwatchable. Godland? Yech.
Great list. I was right with you up until Barbie. :)
We have eleven films in common on our top 20 list, including my top 2 films of 2023 (Past Lives and American Fiction). Regarding Fiction and whether one should give a shit if the laughing White folks are clueless, I wrote a piece about exactly that after I spoke with a few other Black critics at TIFF. That piece run soon, and not at the Globe. You didn't miss anything by skipping FERRARI, except for Penelope Cruz playing Al Pacino with a wig on and the laughing fit you would have had when Ferrari's mother quotes WALK HARD and says "The wrong kid died!" (BTW, FERRARI was my 200th article for your beloved Boston rag.) And the only thing you missed in THE IRON CLAW is Aaron Dean Eisenberg's excellent cameo as Ric Flair.
Ben is mad at you for not including AIR. So much for you ever being able to go to Dunkin' again.
Thanks for reminding me to watch Kokomo City before we vote next week. See you then.
Thanks for your columns/reviews. They have been a tonic during 2023. Happy(ish) 2024?
Exquisite newsletter. It will take me a while to work though it since I'm still enjoying your podcast with Hunter Harris. BUT, I had a comment, and I left strange comments going back through six months looking for something. Here's the problem - "the last thing you want is some Mopey Morty of an aging entertainment journalist" - this is unnecessary, unkind, and untrue. You need to refresh/update your mental browser. You are a wonderful example of a human at a certain age who has taken the BIG plunge into life. You have deep experience, knowledge, come out of legacy media to build something new and vital for yourself. Your Zen Buddhism journey deeply informs your writing. Your willingness to seek out young people in your field, rather than sit back and snipe, is crucial to how we all need to shape our lives. I love your interaction with Hunter Harris, especially your laughter at how funny The Phantom Thread is, and am looking forward to the podcast about Sarah Polley's films (have I got that right? I forget who it is with.)
Lovely year-end summary and perhaps you will consider morphing into the voice, ala Thomas Paine, of the New England secessionists should the unthinkable happen?
What about TORI AND LOKITA?
Please don’t apologize. Your “7th year of our Dark Lord” really hit hard. This is our reality. And I love to hear you express your views not just your opinions on entertainment. Been reading you since the Boston globe days.