Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.9
One of my favorite action sleeper hits. Costner and Cook have fantastic chemistry as the mentor/mentee in the murderous arts. Costner does a great job of portraying the struggle of leading a double life while also exuding a calm coolness almost the entire time. The twist at the end always elicits a cheer from yours truly. It blew my mind the first time I watched it.
6.1
In a story arch as unlikely as the “50 shades” trilogy, our main character Kim goes from nymphomaniac to professional assassin in the blink of an eye, with little to no explanation. This may also be the only film I’ve ever seen other than “Old School” (you’re my boy, blue!) where an elderly man is killed simply by the power of a nice pair.
The soundtrack had me in stitches as it never matched what was going on on screen. The acting was laughable. But it was an entertaining hour and a half, I’ll give it that. A thank you to “Cinema Speculation” for this odd rabbit hole to travel down.
A much better variety this year than I had expected or remembered when going back through the archives to compile this list. I’m loving the trend of new studios emerging with diverse content that isn’t necessarily continuation of tentpole franchises. I feel like we’re emerging from that era into a new frontier of cinema once again where “new” and “different” is the name of the game. We are due for this every 20 years or so phenomenon to occur.
Without further adieu, my top 12 movies of this year… cheers to what looks to be a great 2023!
Top Gun: Maverick
Violent Night
The Fableman’s
Spider-Man: No Way Home
X
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Terrifier 2
Smile
Barbarian
The Menu
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
7.1
In one word: Chaotic… or long.
Throughout, this film is gorgeous. For that, I will not fault it. The first hour is superb. After that, it feels every second of the 3+ hour runtime and gets WEIRD. If you have a weak stomach, or a back injury that prevents you from sitting for long periods of time, this is not the move. I’m amazed they skated by with the R rating.
Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie are exquisite. The entire supporting cast is full of rockstars and amazing cameos. The music and cinematography are to die for. It’s just the strange structure and poor pacing that kill it in the end.
Oscar bait gone too far… much like the scene of an elephant defecating on a man. I shit you not. (Rimshot)
7.2
Not too much, not too little. Just right.
In the spirit of “no good deed goes unpunished,” this poor guy saves an asshat’s life, only to have said action cause a ripple effect resulting in his proposal being thwarted. Only to then be wooed by the baking prowess of Zoey Deutch. (Is there anything she can’t do?) She dumps the zero, and gets with the hero in the end. Both learn that someone you met yesterday can be better for you than someone you’ve known for years. Well done, Amazon! Netflix better look out, they’re gunning for the rom-com kingdom.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 