https://youtu.be/AVVO3Yat_Bw 5/10 Acclaimed worldwide surprise hit “Rise Roar Revolt” or “RRR” for short, writer/director S.S. Rajamouli’s movie is now Oscar nominated for Best Original Song with “Naatu Naatu”, meaning it was time for me to check it out, as I do with all Oscar nominated movies. From Telugu cinema AKA Tollywood, “RRR” certainly has strengths … Continue reading #1 VOD Film in 2023: Rise Roar Revolt (RRR)
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#5 Film in 2023: The Old Way
https://youtu.be/eWakq9qQ6Ik 1/10 As a general (and incredibly consistent) rule of thumb, any time you see “Saban Films” at the start of a movie, get ready for a horrible time or better yet…just turn off whatever you are watching and pick something else. I may be wrong but I don’t think there is one great Saban … Continue reading #5 Film in 2023: The Old Way
#4 Film in 2023: Broker
https://youtu.be/vm3B-fDc9Xw 7.5/10 From writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda comes the touching story of a woman who gives up her baby in a “baby box” where parents (usually mothers) can anonymously drop off their babies that they didn’t want to abort but also aren’t fit to raise. When the mother So-young (Ji-eun Lee) finds out that two men, … Continue reading #4 Film in 2023: Broker
#3 Film in 2023: Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
https://youtu.be/9tfemzaMkoU 5/10 Another year gone and another generic musical biopic to forget about in a few weeks. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” came out a whopping 15 years before this movie, lampooning the clichés of musical biopics but that film remains relevant all these years later as we get another run of the mill … Continue reading #3 Film in 2023: Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
#2 Film in 2023: The Pale Blue Eye
https://youtu.be/ddbL9jvg77w 8/10 Writer/director Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”, “Hostiles”, “Black Mass”) has been hit or miss in his filmography with not much in the way of consistency. His last movie, for example, 2021’s “Antlers”, (5/10) was extremely mediocre and Cooper’s weakest movie to date. Fast forward just one year (“Antlers” was delayed multiple times due to … Continue reading #2 Film in 2023: The Pale Blue Eye
Servant Season 1
https://youtu.be/N1cOR0sRRIw 8.5/10 Only the second Apple+ TV show I have watched, following the debut season of “Foundation”, “Servant” hails from Tony Basgallop with some help from M. Night Shyamalan. Before Shyamalan’s “Old” came out in 2021, I reviewed “Wayward Pines” since he directed some episodes of that show. Now as “Knock at the Cabin” is … Continue reading Servant Season 1
#2 Netflix Film in 2023: White Noise
https://youtu.be/SgwKZAMx_gM 3/10 From one of the most pretentious writer/directors in Hollywood, Noah Baumbach, comes his latest movie, an adaptation of the 1985 novel of the same name by Don DeLillo. To be fair, Baumbach’s last film, “Marriage Story” (9.5/10) was his masterpiece and in my humble opinion, the best film of 2019. However, “Marriage Story” … Continue reading #2 Netflix Film in 2023: White Noise
#1 Film in 2023: Devotion
https://youtu.be/-2qpKUExOnE 6/10 The true story of Jesse Brown, the first black aviator in US Navy history, “Devotion” is like a fighter pilot’s flight in the sense that it has its ups and downs and despite not being the best ride ever, it gets you where you need to go. I will start off with what … Continue reading #1 Film in 2023: Devotion
#141 Film in 2022: Babylon
https://youtu.be/t7HT83wkVss 7/10 My 4th most anticipated film of 2022 (which got bumped up to #2 since two films in front of it were pushed to 2023), “Babylon” hails from one of the best writer/directors working today; Damien Chazelle. “Whiplash” put him on the map, “La La Land” made him the youngest person to ever win … Continue reading #141 Film in 2022: Babylon
#140 Film in 2022: Empire of Light
https://youtu.be/HdMPTgYi-0w 6.5/10 Another film unfairly lambasted by the “critics” on Rotten Opinions, writer/director Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” may ill in comparison to some of his other films (“American Beauty”, “Skyfall”, “1917”) and have flaws, but there is a lot to admire, some brilliant performances and the top talent in all of Hollywood behind the … Continue reading #140 Film in 2022: Empire of Light