Year: 2023

December 25, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

There’s a lot to like about Bradley Cooper’s follow-up to his 2018 directorial debut “A Star Is Born.”

His latest feature showcases all the characteristics of a filmmaker on the rise with exceptional performances, dazzling cinematography and a methodical, relentless attention to detail that signals an emerging auteur in the making.

And yet, his second film, “Maestro,” an unconventional drama about the life of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein fails to fully succeed as a narrative as the sum of its wonderful parts don’t actually build to anything special.

From the film’s opening minutes, however, it’s clear that Cooper has a passion, almost borderline obsession with Bernstein’s eccentricities and his “Maestro” leaps off the screen with an opening sequence that sets the stage for something much greater than he actually achieves in the remainder of the film.

As a conductor and meticulous musician, Cooper’s Bernstein has a unique gravitas to elevate a moment musically in ways that few before him were capable of and this is clear from Cooper’s reverence to the man in his performance and the bold, distinctive means by which he showcases Bernstein’s immense talents on the podium.

The singular best moments of “Maestro” occur when they are the most musical, heartfelt, and demonstrative and a film that better balances Bernstein’s musical career with his personal life might have more fully captures Cooper’s true intent behind making the film.

The ways in which Cooper draws audiences in with a vintage Hollywood sense of theatrically both in performance and technical elements like cinematography and production design lead viewers towards a more narrowminded, introspective family drama that focuses on a couple whose love for one another is unquestioned, but the ways they interact with the outside world cause an inner tension that relentlessly bubbles underneath the surface.

“Maestro” doesn’t particularly shy away from Bernstein’s affairs with men, but Cooper paints this part of his life with such a broad brush that it’s unclear whether Bernstein’s sexuality was fluid or if his dalliances outside his marriage were a mere formality.

What becomes the core of the film – once audiences parse through a slog of disconnected vignettes – is the relationship Bernstein had with his wife, Felicia, wonderfully portrayed by Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan.

The ways she is able to portray Felicia’s awe of her husband that is slowly drained away until a devastating breaking point completely outshines any other character work in the entire film and though it often feels lost within the larger film, Mulligan leaps off the screen at a moment’s notice with emotional poignancy.

Netflix’s clear choice to campaign for awards considerations this winter, “Maestro” will likely be in line for a number of top awards despite its inconsistencies with a best picture nod and acting nominations for Cooper and Mulligan all but assured. The film’s technical elements should also receive wide acclaim with the masterful sound design perhaps the best shot of a guaranteed win.

A six-minute sequence in the film’s third act where Cooper highlights his dedication to Bernstein’s musical brilliance should lock voters and audiences alike in with a recreation of Bernstein’s conducting Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.

Cooper and cinematographer Matthew Libatique transport audiences to a different place in time with some scenes feeling like they were straight out of “Sunset Boulevard” with brilliantly stoic black-and-white imagery and the Mahler performance borders on documentary with just how lifelike and present audiences feel over the course of one song.

It’s moments like this and a magnetic early sequence where Bernstein gets notified that he is to conduct in New York for the first time on short notice that truly reflect the potential of Cooper as a powerhouse filmmaker.

A truly difficult watch due to its length and uneven narrative, “Maestro” steadies itself on standout lead performances, exceptional craft work and flashes of cinematic brilliance that make Cooper’s second drama something cinephiles should consider for a home viewing.

December 20, 2023 · Watch the trailer

Strange creatures from questionable backgrounds have often found to be rich tapestries for storytellers to weave tales around, especially for shock and horror value while a moral truth is hidden under the surface.

Characters like the vampire Count Dracula or Frankenstein and his monster have been staples in cinema for decades and a new variation on a seemingly classic psychology has emerged as a top piece of cinematic art in 2023 with an avantgarde twist from director Yorgos Lanthimos.

While the monster in those Mary Shelley stories is feared and reviled, Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter has a childlike ingenuity initially that allows audiences to fall in love with her as several characters do in the film and the ways in which she’s able to grow and change are a much deeper, introspective reflection on looking at the world from a new perspective.

Based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, “Poor Things” follows a young Victorian woman brought back to life by a peculiar and unorthodox surgeon as she finds her way in the world physically, emotionally, and morally.

Unquestionably, “Poor Things” is the most bizarre, transgressive, avantgarde piece of cinema to come out in several years and the ways that it will be demonstrably beloved and reviled by different parts of the moviegoing community will certainly make it one of the year’s most divisive films as well.

There is a radiance to Stone’s performance that evolves over the course of two hours as Bella truly comes alive, learning about the world in a free way that’s reflected in Stone’s evoking of Jodie Foster in “Nell” to transform into something much more complicated as Bella begins to realize her own humanity.

This pervades every part of Stone’s work from her intensely broad physicality, unnatural movements that set to define Bella’s early life and is also captured in the way that Stone changes Bella’s cadence, tone and affect in dialogue. There is no better muse for Lanthimos’ bizarre narrative than Stone, who seems to hit all the right beats at every moment.

The small, yet terrifically cast ensemble that surrounds her also relishes in the twisted comedy, especially Willem Dafoe as Bella’s bewildering, deformed father figure Godwin and an increasingly maniacal Mark Ruffalo, whose Duncan becomes obsessed with Bella to the point of his own insanity.

“Poor Things” views Bella as being completely free of societal restraints or norms, which allows her to explore the world with fresh eyes. To this end, there is a raw, unbridled sexuality to the film that Lanthimos and Stone never shy away from with nudity not being expressive or graphic, rather just a furtherance of Bella’s self-exploration.

The frequency and cavalier manner by which “Poor Things” showcases Bella’s awakening sexuality will certainly be off-putting for some audiences who will wrap the entire film in a bow of strange absurdities that don’t need to be celebrated or even made at all.

Additional viewings of “Poor Things” will likely reveal a grander plan for what Lanthimos’ narrative is really trying to say about femininity and society as a whole once the shock value of the film’s transgressions begins to wear off.

“Poor Things” is one of the year’s most strangely constructed films cinematically as a wonderful production design feels sculpted out of Bella’s mind pervading her worldview and how she sees society from a slightly off-kilter angle and the captivating cinematography from Robbie Ryan uses everything from wide angle to close up to fish-eye lenses to maintain and reinforce the oddities of Lanthimos’ narrative.

In a bizarre twist of fate, “Poor Things” seems to be among the major contenders for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards with Stone a likely lock to nab another Best Actress nomination and though it will be one of the year’s most heralded films, the divisiveness of Lanthimos’ work will leave it with far more nominations than actual wins.

While it may turn off as many moviegoers as it creates ardent fans, “Poor Things” is still one of 2023’s biggest cinematic achievements, showcasing a majestic turn from Stone, a true auteur in Lanthimos with an avantgarde expression and amazing craftsmanship that make “Poor Things” something worth seeking out in theaters.

December 18, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

There’s a lot of pressure taking on a role made famous by the likes of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp and the stumbling blocks therein can prove to be fatal for the success of a film and potentially the career of the actor filling those shoes.

Such is the daunting task faced by Timothée Chalamet as he undertakes the origin story of sorts for Roald Dahl’s classic character Willy Wonka in director Paul King’s “Wonka,” which debuted in theaters last weekend.

The film follows a young Wonka as he begins his chocolatier career, making his way to an unnamed European city that seems to be an amalgamation of London and Paris in order to test his mettle against the world’s finest chocolatiers only to find himself bamboozled and imprisoned by a local charlatan.

Incredibly distinctive from the 1971 “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and 2006’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Wonka” only works as well as it does because of King’s unique twist on the narrative that also further his specific directorial style he perfected with his quirky, charming children’s classics “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.”

There is a light, dry British humor and charm to “Wonka” that provides both broad slapstick chuckles, but wry wit as well sure to entertain both children and adults alike. The film also revels in a colorful and majestic production design masterfully shot by cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung and this allows “Wonka” to be a visual cavalcade of prim, proper, bespoke whizbangs and whatchamacallits for which the terrific ensemble cast can play around in.

At the core of the film, Chalamet showcases a lot of passion and emotion as Wonka, less cynical than either of the previous iterations. His wide-eyed wonder has a darling naivety and enthusiasm for making chocolate that becomes infectious over the course of the film.

While his singing is not the strongest, it works within the larger character and culminates in a terrifically emotional rendition of the song “Pure Imagination” originally sung by Wilder in 1971.

Chalamet excels in being effortlessly charming in an off-beat sort of way that feels quintessentially Wonka and the emotions he able to evoke truly work when paired with Sally Hawkins as Wonka’s mother and Calah Lane, who routinely steals scenes as Noodle, a young orphan who becomes an assistant of sorts to Wonka.

Much of “Wonka” relies on broad, dry and sometimes subtle humor that isn’t played for raucous laughter as much as it is a growing smile on audiences’ faces and the film is littered with smaller performances that bring King’s vision to life.

Keegan-Michael Key is the broadest of these efforts, eating up the screen both metaphorically and literally as a chocoholic police chief, while “Mr. Bean” star Rowan Atkinson is understatedly perfect as a cocoa-addicted pastor.

Oscar winner Olivia Colman teams with Tom Davis for a fun twist on the classic “Les Miserables” duo the Thénardiers as the owners of a laundromat Wonka is tricked into servitude for and Hugh Grant does far better than one could possibly expect from a green-screened, green-faced turn as the first Oompa Loompa that Wonka encounters on his adventures.

Family friendly movies for all ages seem to come out every month, but it’s become increasingly rare that a live-action children’s movie is released theatrically with most of those going straight to a streaming service as studios opt to corner the family market at the box office with animated features.

While its eccentricities and quirks may not astound every moviegoer, there’s still enough behind King’s vision and solid ensemble cast that makes “Wonka" the best option for a family trip to the movie theater this holiday season.

December 11, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

Movies nowadays try to bring out the biggest version of whatever scenario they are showcasing on screen.

If it’s a film about war, the battles are long, epic, and bombastic. If it’s a romantic drama, the gestures are immensely grand and unrealistic. As “Spinal Tap” might say, everything is always cranked up to an 11.

For director Sam Esmail’s first major film project after finding success with television’s “Mr. Robot,” his adaptation of the 2020 Rumaan Alan novel “Leave The World Behind” is exceptionally small for an apocalyptic time psychological thriller.

The film stars Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke as a couple who take their teenage kids on vacation to a suburban AIrBnB when a cyberattack knocks out all technology and forces the family to come face to face with two strangers and the potential of an ending world.

From an acting standpoint, the film is relatively straight forward with an ensemble cast that work better in tandem than individually.

Any film led by an A-lister with the talents of Roberts is certain to not lack solid character work and her Amanda is an ardent skeptic and cynic that perfectly offsets Hawke’s more casual, warm, inviting Clay and while it’s clear in the acting work that their characters are struggling in their marriage, scenes between the two have an effortless nature in them in helping to set up the construct of the film before they go off on their own journeys.

The singular best performance in “Leave The World Behind” comes from two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali as G.H., a stranger to the family who claims to be the homeowner of the rental property where they are staying.

While Ali has a natural charm and gravitas that makes him relatively easy to trust and engage with as a character, his quiet presence and demeanor help him shadow behind his eyes that G.H. knows more than he’s probably letting on to other characters, and to himself in a certain extend.

Where Esmail swings for the fences is in his visual iconography, achieved in tandem with director of photography Tod Campbell, taking traditional camera angles and make them slightly askew or completely unnatural in such a way that gives the entire film a pseudo-voyeuristic approach.

Campbell routinely spins the camera from off-kilter angles as the world spirals around the characters and the interesting visual geography of the large house the family rents is definitely maximized by both post-modern production design and the elaborately engaging cinematography.

“Leave The World Behind” is an intensely aggressive film to look at even without sound on and the ways in which Esmail is able to maintain a sense of geographic pace while presenting audiences with something new visually makes the otherwise straightforward tale especially mesmerizing.

Some of the cinematography has a top-down viewpoint that almost feels as if the camera is attached to a satellite orbiting the world of the film which helps accent the existential dread in the latter third of the film as the technological and societal implications of the film unfold.

And combined with a haunting, yet ever present soundtrack from composer Mac Quayle, “Leave The World Behind” is an increasingly strange, cerebral, and chilling examination of the depths of one’s humanity as their morality is put to the test.

For a film with this much star power and swing for the fences filmmaking to go relatively unnoticed in a small theatrical run before debuting this past weekend on Netflix, “Leave The World Behind” is a surprisingly underrated psychological thriller to plop in cinephiles’ laps this holiday season and well worth taking the chance on at home despite how terrifying the film’s broader implications might be.

December 4, 2023 · Watch the trailer

Ten, even fifteen years ago, a film based around the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal would have been overtly sexualized in such a bawdy and audacious way that viewers would have been totally repulsed or titillated by the beyond forbidden relationship.

Any tale about a mature woman who becomes pregnant by a pre-teenage boy is in and of itself risqué by the morally repulsive nature of the narrative. But director Todd Haynes, given enough time and a more objective purview, creates a strange and captivating twist on America’s first teacher-student sex scandal.

His latest film, “May December,” which released on Netflix this past weekend, tells a fictional tale like that of the Letourneau affair years after the scandal has subsided when an actress comes to Georgia to shadow the woman at the center of a pet store romance which led to her arrest for sleeping with a seventh grader.

In recent years, Natalie Portman has feasted on playing emotionally fragile characters and her turn as actress Elizabeth is no different. There is a calm, inquisitive tone to Portman’s performance that slowly turns to borderline obsessive compulsion to replicate her muse in every way and it’s only on repeat viewing that the small emotional, physical, and psychological things similarities come to full bear.

Conversely, Julianne Moore is the more bombastic, forward of the two female leads as disgraced Gracie, whose comfortability in the bubble she has created for herself seemingly begins to fracture under the renewed spotlight of having an actress come into her life.

Though each excels on their own, Portman and Moore are electric in tandem as their admiration slowly twists into disdain and Haynes does a masterful job of portraying this as each woman feels like the opposite side of the same coin, mimicking the other’s mannerisms, lisp, and rhythms in a cat-and-mouse dance of one-upmanship.

“May December” is truly about how both Elizabeth and Gracie are competing to be the character of the woman Gracie has believed herself to be and has showcased to the world for the past two decades. This is true both in the ways that the two get along at the beginning of the film as they size each other up and how they gradually turn things into a competition and pseudo-psychological power struggle for identity.

The blurring of lines between the two becomes demonstrably more intense and Elizabeth’s evolving relationship with Joe really unlocks the inner complexity of the narrative Haynes aspires to, which most audiences won’t understand on an initial viewing.

By far the most powerful moments in the film come when Portman and Moore are facing the camera straight on in a variety of intimate closeups meant to showcase them reflecting on themselves and/or each other in the mirror.

As “May December” ventures further into their nuanced struggle for identity, these scenes take on a more demonstrative, character and narrative focused life culminating in the film’s electric third act scene where Elizabeth recites a monologue from one of Gracie’s letters that shatters all preconceived notions about both women.

While audiences don’t see Moore in the scene, audiences can easily feel her presence in dialogue and the cerebral, almost monotonous way Portman delivers the monologue border the line between demented psychosis and rigid adherence to the persona her actress character is attempting to mold into.

Haynes truly shines in revealing the slow, nuanced ways Elizabeth and Gracie’s characters morph into one as if opposite forces coming together only to repel off in an even more drastic way.

While he’s rarely at the center of the film, Charles Melton perfectly takes on an increasingly complex burden as the now-grown Joe, whose early sexualization at the hands of Gracie has buried an emotional fragility he struggles to carry. In the film’s final act, Melton proves to be equally devastating as his more famous costars and handles Joe’s emerging self-awareness with a beautifully poignant melancholy.

“May December” is far from an easy watch both in narrative and the dryness of tone, which makes it a difficult sell to audiences, though its arrival on Netflix allows it to be well worth a chance for ardent cinephiles this winter.

November 27, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

How is it possible to make a film about an enigmatic, psychologically obsessive war general feel cinematic in a time where historical war dramas are not particularly well received?

Director Ridley Scott goes to great lengths to live up to the challenge with his latest feature, “Napoleon,” centered around the infamous general and French emperor whose compulsive personality let him to both greatness and eventual ruin over the course of several decades.

It’s a languid and yet masterfully made film that has exceptionally cinematic highs, stellar lead performances, and a somewhat confusing narrative and pace that unfamiliar with the history might struggle to take in all in one go.

At the center of everything is Joaquin Phoenix, one of Hollywood’s premiere chameleons, whose idiosyncrasies come to full bear as Napoleon and the strange psychology of Bonaparte as a character that is never fully understood by audiences somehow shines in his magnetic, devastating performance physically, emotionally, and tonally.

While there’s an off-kilter charm to his stoicism that helps draw viewers into what could otherwise has become a somewhat stuffy performance, Phoenix’s commitment and singular drive in the role is a manic, yet nuanced turn that is hard to take the eyes off and the dryness of his line delivery makes “Napoleon” at times one of the funniest films of the entire year.

Though the film is almost singularly about a single man vaulted to the highest stages of history with everyone else around being cannon fodder for his journey to the top, Napoleon’s personal obsession with his wife Josephine is a remarkable, alluring, and dramatic side-plot in Scott’s film that often overtakes the frame as Vanessa Kirby relishes every opportunity to challenge Phoenix in a battle of verbal and emotional wits.

The chemistry between the two is nothing short of electric given how much of a war odyssey “Napoleon” feels for much of its slightly bloated two-and-a-half hour run time and Phoenix is able to perfectly showcase how the separation of the two help directly lead to Bonaparte’s fall from grace.

One of the most astonishing aspects of “Napoleon” is the epic scale the film takes, first in navigating Bonaparte’s entire adult life from his rise to stardom as a commander in the battle of Toulon all the way through his many military campaigns as French emperor but also in the weight and gravity of massive battles as well.

Scott artfully and masterfully captures the grandiose chaos of battle with a cast of over 300 extras and showcases how Napoleon’s eccentricities made him uniquely capable of cerebrally navigating war and orchestrating French victory in a cavalier, almost pompous way.

But both in the script and in Phoenix’s performance, Napoleon’s confidence in his abilities is so absolute that it feels almost happenstance.

Both ardent cinephiles and history buffs might well replay each of the film’s many battles over and over again as Scott captures the battlefield like few other auteurs can.

There’s a dazzling awe that washes over the screen as Scott stages these medieval battle sequences in such a way that each feels unique and truly highlights the bold cinematography work of director of photography Dariusz Wolski.

“Napoleon” could be a secondary player come awards season given how strong the lead performances are, especially given that this is the first pairing of Phoenix and Scott since their Best Picture win two decades earlier for “Gladiator.” The likelihood, however, is somewhat marred given its middling release and Apple’s desire to push another film in its slate, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” much more heavily.

Giant war epics are best seen on the biggest screen available, with “Napoleon” being no exception, although the film is certainly worth a watch now or at home early next year with its inevitable release on AppleTV+.

November 17, 2023 · Watch the trailer

The fatigue is real.

It’s honestly getting tiresome to have to have the same discussion after each new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie comes out, but Disney continues to churn half-baked films out with reckless abandon and the results are less than ideal.

Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s difficult to make a film about the most unstoppable hero in their canon feel like it has stakes or the fact that audiences are tired of bigger upon bigger stories with middling special effects.

But director Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels” completely underwhelms in a season where audiences should be spending their money on incredible and original filmmaking.

Unable to truly figure out where to head next, Marvel studio head Kevin Feige has placed the future of his franchise in building new team-up experiences that require viewers to learn about characters in Disney+ miniseries which really makes casual moviegoing difficult.

Such is the case with “The Marvels,” a pseudo-sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel” where two of the three leads are relative unknowns unless audiences have already spent an entire season on “Wanda-Vision” to get the backstory on Monica Rambeau as well as a completely separate season on “Ms. Marvel” for context about Kamala Khan and her quirky family.

For bizarre storyline reasons created to cram together an unlikely team, “The Marvels” finds Captain Marvel, Rambeau and Khan having their cosmic powers entangled, which hinders their ability to save the universe from a vengeful Kree empire seeking to destroy everything Captain Marvel has ever called home.

With an Oscar winner like Brie Larson leading the way, “The Marvels” should be a film that has quality moments outside its action sequences, but the film is so unbalanced in its tone that it never really is able to connect with audiences as it wanders back and forth between being a fun, lighthearted mashup in the style of “Guardians of the Galaxy” but plays so heavily on its underdeveloped dramatic stakes that it’s difficult for anyone to just relax and enjoy the film.

To little surprise for those who have seen “Ms. Marvel,” Iman Vellani is by far the most entertaining part of the film as it’s clear throughout that both the actress and her Kamala Khan character are having the absolute best time. She brings a passion and energy to “The Marvels” that is desperately needed to breathe life into an otherwise lackluster feature.

The same cannot be said of Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau, a character struggling to find her footing as the undisputed third wheel of this trio and the awkwardness between her and Larson far exceeds the instability in their characters’ relationship.

Larson, to her credit, can handle the more lighthearted and dramatic elements of the film, but for whatever reason, she’s taken away from her best scene partner in the MCU as there isn’t any of the dynamic on-screen chemistry that audiences saw between her and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in the original “Captain Marvel.”

As is the case with most recent Marvel films, the action sequences languish due to relatively unoriginal and uninspired CGI work, which makes it difficult to root for the heroes when every action sequence feels the same.

Because the film will inevitably end up on Disney+ and the consequences of its storyline will certainly slowly play out over the next five years in other films and miniseries, there’s no immediate rush for even hardcore MCU fans to head to theaters to see “The Marvels” beyond a desire to avoid being spoiled about Easter eggs, cameos and teasers for future Marvel projects.

November 13, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

Isolation is a difficult and complex thing to perfectly showcase in cinema, but when done right, it can be a unique, engaging look at how being truly alone can affect a person’s psyche.

This can often lead to magnetic, singular performances like when audiences watched Tom Hanks talk to himself and a volleyball in “Cast Away” or how feeling anonymous and alone drove Robert DeNiro somewhat mad in “Taxi Driver.”

Celebrated auteur David Fincher looks at isolation from the unique perspective of a discreet, overly meticulous assassin with his latest Netflix film “The Killer,” which stars Michael Fassbender as a man on the run after a botched hit completely shatters his sense of normalcy and routine, sending him on an episodic chase for revenge and redemption.

Andrew Kevin Walker’s screenplay based on a French graphic novel series of the same name actually calls for Fassbender to give two demonstrably different performances in the same role as the titular killer.

The first is an almost monotone, dry, cynical, and yet somehow twistedly comedic effort narrating his character’s actions through internal monologue that constantly peppers the film with both content and an engaging look inside the fragility of an isolated man’s psyche.

But perhaps even more astonishing is the work Fassbender does in the moment in scenes outside of his prerecorded dialogue. His killer is almost entirely silent throughout the film as audiences are immersed in the stoic, brooding physicality of his performance and captivated by his sharp, piercing gaze that has a cold exterior to help showcase the façade his character is working under.

Most other characters in “The Killer” are largely superfluous and yet, both Charles Parnell’s character “The Lawyer” and Tilda Swinton as the expert have standout scenes that make the back half of Fincher’s film come alive from a storytelling and pacing perspective.

For a film called “The Killer,” it’s surprisingly lighter on action than one might expect though the violence is brutal and at the forefront. Fincher does a masterful job of making each sequence feel distinct and from a different era with a faux chase sequence reminiscent of “The French Connection” and a physical hand-to-hand combat scene being standout moments.

There’s also a terrific sense of care shown to systematically reveal how the hitman plans and executes his missions in plain sight with relative anonymity that could have been a separate, equally transfixing film on its own.

The meticulous nature of “The Killer” is wonderfully carried over into its filmmaking as every aspect of the movie is carefully and expertly chosen in such a way to make even this slow-burning thriller intentionally sharp and dramatic.

This is especially true of its sound design, which is revealing and haunting as background noises come at just the perfect time to make at home audiences feel like something is happening just outside their window while it’s also happening on screen. The rapturous way Fincher and his team use the music of classic indie rock band The Smiths to help set the hitman’s psyche is especially poignant.

Cinematically, “The Killer” is visually engaging in a very 1970s noir style and really allows for audiences to home in on the physicality of Fassbender’s performance. The camera moves and encircles him in much the same cold, cerebral way his hitman believes he operates in the film and Fincher creates this voyeuristic mindset for audiences that reflects the opening act where the hitman stakes out his kill.

While “The Killer” is perhaps too cerebral and cold for major awards season contention, a Fincher/Fassbender film could easily find its way on many end-of-year best of lists while Netflix throws their weight behind Bradley Cooper’s upcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic “Maestro.”

Certainly the best genre film to arrive in 2023, “The Killer” might not be every moviegoer’s cup of tea, but the brooding energy and vintage style of Fincher’s cinema makes it definitely something cinephiles should check out on the streaming service this winter.

November 6, 2023 · Watch the trailer

When you’re in a relationship with a larger-than-life figure, it’s easy to be lost in the shadows, to become an accessory or a small footnote in a much bigger story.

The power of celebrity really has a way of minimalizing, or almost infantilizing, the significant others of pop culture icons and diminishing their experiences.

Writer/director Sofia Coppola takes a beautiful, intimate look at one of the most famous of these “lost” significant others with her latest drama, “Priscilla,” based on the 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me” by Priscilla Presley.

The film, which debuted at the Venice International Film Festival this year, is an intoxicating, yet startling and revealing portrait of a young girl growing up in the face of stardom and overwhelmed by a confusing, yet charismatic personality.

“Priscilla” follows the 14-year-old title character as she meets the rock and roll icon while he is stationed with the U.S. Army in West Germany and their peculiar friendship turned blossoming romance and eventual marriage is wonderfully chronicled from her perspective with Elvis as a sort of ghostly figure constantly just out of reach.

While many filmgoers will focus on the revealing, yet somewhat bizarre portrayal of a rock icon, what really makes “Priscilla” a standout film is the captivating central performance from Cailee Spaeny as the titular Priscilla, spanning more than a decade of her life from wishful ingenue through confused love interest to a new wife and mother trying to stand up for herself within a largely one-sided relationship.

Spaeny is demure when she needs to be and never really explodes in the way that some dramas might have her, but Coppola and Spaeny work magically together to create a devastatingly internal, nuanced performance that reflects a lot of hope, wonder and sadness all at one time.

The uneven, imbalanced chemistry between Spaeny and “Euphoria” star Jacob Elordi as Elvis feels more intentional than anything else and is often masterfully reflected in the cinematography with Elordi using his significant height advantage to effectively have Elvis tower over Priscilla, creating a strange almost domineering presence that forces Spaeny’s Priscilla to shrink and internalize her feeling at the unspoken behest of a physical and charismatic superior.

Elordi has a difficult task as Elvis, especially when Austin Butler delivered such a magnetic performance last year playing the same character in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.”

It’s a terrific turn from the young actor that constantly walks the tightrope between innocent affection and something more unusual that makes Elvis come across somewhat predatorial or at best, a manipulative narcissist.

The film plays out as a two-hander and though audiences never get moments with Elvis alone as the entire movie is played out from Priscilla’s perspective, Elordi is able to develop a complex character that is sure to polarize viewers.

As with all of Coppola’s films, the production design of “Priscilla” is immaculate and has a distinctive, stoic 1960s time capsule look to it, both in its set dressing and hazy cinematography that gives the entire film a memory like a vintage record. While the soundtrack plays far less of Elvis’s music than one might expect, song selection is pitch perfect here especially in the film’s final moments with a surprising, yet poignant choice that truly encapsulates the complexity of Priscilla and Elvis’s relationship.

“Priscilla” is likely to be a fringe Oscar contender with its best chances rallying behind Spaeny’s win for Best Actress in Venice launching a campaign in the same category, although it could also be in line for noms in several technical categories especially production design and costuming.

Though it may make some ardent Elvis fans grimace at his strange depiction, Coppola’s unique and nuanced look at the woman behind one of the most iconic figures in American music history with a magnificent leading turn by Spaeny makes “Priscilla” a must see this awards season.

October 30, 2023 · Watch the official trailer

For decades, Martin Scorsese has been obsessed with the dichotomy between good and evil and the ways that he meticulously draws this out for audiences with slow-burn drama is quite unlike any other filmmaker.

It’s not just that he’s an auteur with a singular vision whose ability to perfectly capture a story in bold, cinematic ways that makes him one of, if not the greatest director of all time, but it’s in the unwavering consistency of his cinema from acting performances to production design and editing.

Without question, Scorsese is an absolute master at his art and with each passing film that could be his last, it’s important to remember just how spectacular and singular his vision is.

This is certainly the case with his latest film, yet another towering cinematic achievement.

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” based on a true story and the non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann, is an elongated, wildly stoic drama that follows a World War I veteran who comes to live on his uncle’s land in the Osage territories of 1920s Oklahoma only to fall in love with one of the local women and find himself embroiled in the middle of a plot to murder her family for oil rights.

Scorsese always gets the absolute best from his actors and in his sixth collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, “Flower Moon” has another remarkable turn from the veteran leading man who gruffs up his voice and demeanor just enough to harden his natural charm and charisma, making Ernest the perfect centerpiece of Scorsese’s film.

It’s clear throughout the performance that DiCaprio’s Ernest is often lost and unsure of himself, relying on his uncle and wife to guide his motives and actions. His almost blind devotion to both puts him in the middle of a quandary deciding what’s truly worth fighting for.

His chemistry opposite Lily Gladstone, while quiet, is intense and electric and it’s in part to his credit, but largely due to the magnetic turn from Gladstone, who in a very intentional way takes charge both of Mollie’s man and of the scenes between the two. It’s rare to have viewers’ gaze wander away from DiCaprio for such long times in movies, but Gladstone gives such a quietly audacious effort that it’s impossible not to take note.

While it seems unfathomable that Scorsese would not put longtime collaborator Robert DeNiro in a film that could be his final turn in the director’s chair, there is a true need for his presence throughout the film and “Flower Moon” takes advantage of every aspect of DeNiro’s innate ability to be both charming and underhanded at the same time with the ability to radiate warmth, understanding, and care on his face while readying the knife to stab someone in the back.

The mentor relationship between uncle and nephew works fantastically in “Flower Moon” as DiCaprio and DeNiro can emote so much more than what is going on within a scene and Scorsese’s mastery of the camera allows this to come alive in dynamic ways.

Although it is being released theatrically through Paramount, “Flower Moon” is the largest endeavor in the history of Apple as a studio and has always been projected to be its signature awards season player.

The film is certain to receive any number of nominations this awards season from best picture and director to acting nods for all three leading performances with Gladstone being a seemingly unstoppable frontrunner for best supporting actress as well as a slew of technical nominations.

More casual moviegoers may scoff at the film’s nearly three-and-a-half hour run time which feels especially languid in the first hour as Scorsese creates the world for which the violence and intrigue is to come.

This is a gangster movie where the villains aren’t always so clear, but “Flower Moon” has that same mentality in the latter stages of the film. Audiences that are resilient and can stay engage during the character development and world building at the beginning will be massively rewarded once things start to escalate.

It’s understandable that not every cinephile will want to make a trek to theaters for a film this long, especially when “Oppenheimer” has a much brisker pace.

Though whether it’s on the big screen or through Apple TV+ later in the holiday season, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is another absolute Scorsese masterpiece that is a can’t miss film.