Search for 2023

Filters:
Sort by:
Origin

Ava DuVernay’s Origin functions both as a bio-pic of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson and an exploration of the philosophy underlying her best-selling book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Although the movie has a narrative ...

Run Time: 2:20
U.S. Release Date: 2024-01-19
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Adult Themes, Violence)
Genre: Drama
Director: Ava DuVernay
Cast: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, ...
Paint

In an attempt to say something positive about an otherwise disappointing movie, I’ll admit that it has a pretty good soundtrack, especially if ‘70s songs are your thing. As a pure comedy, Paint doesn’t work – it has a poor laugh-to-running...

Run Time: 1:36
U.S. Release Date: 2023-04-07
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Sexual Content, Drugs)
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Brit McAdams
Cast: Owen Wilson, Ciara Renee, Michaela Watkins, ...
Past Lives

This review could be considered to contain spoilers.Past Lives is quietly powerful – an understated examination of longing, connection, and unconsummated love. In the way it plays with concepts like fate and soul mates, it’s sort-of an anti-Sle...

Run Time: 1:45
U.S. Release Date: 2023-06-02
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Celine Song
Cast: Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Plane

Remember how Liam Neeson made it an annual tradition to release a cheesy action/thriller every January or February? Well, Neeson appears to have retired from that business leaving the door wide open for Gerard Butler to step through. Butler has th...

Run Time: 1:42
U.S. Home Release Date: 2023-03-28
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Intense Disaster Scenes)
Genre: Action
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Cast: Gerard Butler, Mike Colter, Daniella Pineda, ...
Poor Things

Is Poor Things a fantasy with comedic elements? Or perhaps, considering its Frankenstein underpinnings, a horror movie? Or maybe a drama that promotes feminist ideals and libertine philosophies? In reality, it may be all of those things…and more...

Run Time: 2:21
U.S. Release Date: 2023-12-08
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Nudity, Profanity)
Genre: Fantasy/Comedy
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, ...
Priscilla

To date, the various motion pictures presenting the story of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu’s love story have done so with a slant toward Elvis’ point-of-view. With Priscilla, writer/director Sofia Coppola has sought to flip the narrativ...

Run Time: 1:53
U.S. Release Date: 2023-11-03
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Drugs)
Genre: Drama
Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen, ...
Renfield

The last time Nicolas Cage bared his fangs – in 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss – his performance was widely criticized (and, in some circles, praised) for being outlandishly campy. Now, some 35 years later, Cage has channeled the same zany zeitgeis...

Run Time: 1:32
U.S. Release Date: 2023-04-14
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Profanity)
Genre: Horror/Comedy
Director: Chris McKay
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Nicolas Cage, Awkwafina, ...
Retribution

When it comes to the annual Liam Neeson cash-grab, I have learned to temper my expectations. A guilty pleasure would seem to be an attainable goal, although those instances have been more the exception than the rule lately. The problem is that Nee...

Run Time: 1:30
U.S. Release Date: 2023-08-25
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Nimrod Antal
Cast: Liam Neeson, Matthew Modine, Embeth Davidtz, ...

Random thoughts about 2023, including the Top 10.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is one of the most inconsequential big-screen cartoons to reach theaters this year. It’s also one of the most disappointing releases to come from Dreamworks Animation, the studio responsible for such beloved mode...

Run Time: 1:31
U.S. Release Date: 2023-06-30
MPAA Rating: "PG"
Genre: Animated
Director: Kirk DeMicco
Cast: Lana Condor, Toni Collette, Annie Murphy, ...