Teo Yoo and Greta Lee in PAST LIVES (Screenshot from the trailer) — PHOTO: A24.
On March 1st or 2nd depending on your time zone, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA / @IFSCritics on Twitter), of which I am a voting member, announced their full list of winners for their awards, which, in this case, celebrated the best in film for 2023. The most nominated films of the year were indeed the wonderful behemoth duo of Barbie and Oppenheimer, and, indeed, one of these films won the most awards here. However, there was another critical darling that took the top award. Below you can read the full list of winning films, performers, artists, and filmmakers.
Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in DUNE: PART TWO — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve — Screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts.
I don’t know if I’ve ever told this story before, but I have this vivid memory where — when I was probably around the age of ten — I looked up at my mother and asked her a question. I had either just seen The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, or else it was about to come out and I knew it was going to be the last film in the trilogy. With a note of sadness in my voice, I looked up at my mother and asked her something along the lines of “What happens after the Lord of the Rings? Will we ever get anything as good as that ever again?” You have to understand that in those early 2000s, we were being treated to fantasy filmmaking of the highest order with Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations, while Sam Raimi was hard at work on Spider-Man 2 following the success of the first one, and after George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, we all knew that there was only a single film left in the so-called prequel trilogy. At the age of ten, I was blown away by what I was seeing, but I could also see an end to what we were getting. I wasn’t quite sure if this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of perfect storm for fantasy and blockbuster filmmaking or not. Of course, in the years to come, Hollywood would go on to shovel dozens upon dozens of films with similar aims down our collective pop culture gullet, in an attempt to recapture what was so addicting and marvelous about Jackson, Raimi, and Lucas’ films. Hollywood, we must admit, often failed to recapture that. Now, it’s not like the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Spider-Man is dead and buried — not by a long shot — but there is an argument to be made that none of those franchises have ever been afforded the same level of creative freedom for its principal filmmakers as was the case back then. So, what did my mother say? Well, with generosity and kindness in her voice, she assured me that, of course, major motion pictures with that sense of scale, scope, and artistry were not going away for good. She assured me that I had so much more to look forward to. My mother was right. Every so often something comes along that both feels like a throwback to the days when creative freedom was to be expected for filmmakers but which also feels like the perfect utilization of modern sensibilities and technical mastery. Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic science-fiction novel Dune is the perfect modern example of that. I feel so lucky. Now more than twenty years after my mother reassured me about the future of filmmaking — though perhaps not in as many words as I put it above — I have had the wonderful opportunity to watch Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Parts One and Two in theaters with my mother, and both times the French-Canadian filmmaker has managed to both transport us to another world full of fantasy and science-fiction wonders, but also remind us — both mother and son in love with film’s transportive power — of the kind of storytelling that we love with all of our hearts.
Pool party at Rudolf Höss’ compound right next to Auschwitz in THE ZONE OF INTEREST — PHOTO: A24
Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin) — Screenplay by Jonathan Glazer.
The other day, I overheard someone claim that she didn’t need to watch or read the news and that she shouldn’t be expected to. The memory of that remark came back to me after I saw The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer’s BAFTA-winning German-language World War Two historical drama about evil, complicity, wilful ignorance, what is happening just outside our borders, and the walls that we create and construct for ourselves as a means to hide from the meanness, ugliness, and cruelty of the world. Now, I definitely don’t mean to compare an ignorant remark from someone that I just overheard with a Nazi commandant and his family, who are the principal characters of The Zone of Interest, but that person’s insistence on not keeping themselves informed reminded me of just how many people make a choice not to engage with politics and world events even at a time of great injustice in the world (e.g. the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the Israel-Hamas war). The Zone of Interest is a film about Nazis going about their day with ease, talking about mass genocide as if it is statistics, and turning a blind eye to what is happening in the concentration camp next door. But it also holds a mirror up to the modern day to remind us to stay informed, as well as to stay vigilant and look out for the kind of evil that may be happening around us. It also is a disturbing and clear-eyed fly-on-the-wall-esque example of the complexities of historical perspectives that we are afraid to try to understand. The film highlights how evil seeps into the games children play when their world is surrounded by cruelty, and how easy it is for some people to commit monstrous acts thoughtlessly. It is an extraordinary film, but also one that will be testing for a lot of people — not because of its visuals but because of the images its soundscape conjures up in your head and for how untraditional Glazer’s approach is.
Cillian Murphy is outstanding as the titular theoretical physicist in Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER — PHOTO: Universal Pictures.
On February 21st, 2024, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA / @IFSCritics on Twitter), of which I am a voting member, announced their full list of nominations for the ongoing 2023-2024 awards season. Like any other film critics association, their awards celebrate the best films of the past year. The ultimate winners will be announced on March 1st, 2024, which is in just a few days. Below you can read the full list of nominated films, performers, artists, and filmmakers.
Photographer Evgeniy Maloletka picks his way through the aftermath of a Russian attack in Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022. From 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
Directed by Mstyslav Chernov.
Ever since I first saw Mstyslav Chernov’s on-the-ground documentary 20 Days in Mariupol in early January, I have been unable to shake it. Sure, one might argue that the reason for that is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is still very much ongoing and is all over the news every single day. While it is true that I am already constantly thinking about the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and I would be even if I hadn’t seen this documentary, the haunting images of Chernov’s film echo inside of my head whenever I think about the cost of life in Ukraine. Mstyslav Chernov’s documentary, which chronicles the twenty days that Chernov and his colleagues were on the ground covering the Russian invasion in the city of Mariupol, is the kind of film you don’t forget, but it is also the kind of film that you absolutely mustn’t look away from — it is vital that you watch this.
(L-R) Sydney Sweeney, Dakota Johnson, and Isabela Merced on the poster for MADAME WEB — PHOTO: Sony Pictures.
Directed by S.J. Clarkson — Screenplay by Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker, and S. J. Clarkson — Story by Kerem Sanga, Matt Sazama, and Burk Sharpless.
If Avengers: Endgame represented the absolute zenith of the 21st-century golden age of the Hollywood superhero movie craze — which was, in a sense, kickstarted in 2008 by Jon Favreau and Christopher Nolan — then I think it would be fair to say that this current moment could be the trend’s nadir. At the very least, this is undoubtedly one of its lowest points. Warner Bros.’s DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is sleeping with the fishes after the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, as Warner is preparing a clean reboot. The once always consistently good Marvel Studios — and their Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) — is struggling in the post-Endgame era, as the existence of Disney+ has led them to wrongly focus on quantity over quality (though some hope exists that they may have learned the error of their ways in time to properly course correct). Meanwhile, Sony and their half-in/half-out relationship with Marvel Studios and their MCU have led to a series of Spider-Man-related spin-offs that are, at best, superfluous curiosities and, at worst, ill-conceived cash-grabs. Credit where credit is due, Sony did create some of the most beloved superhero films of the early 2000s under the direction of Sam Raimi, their animated Spider-Man films are universally beloved, and whenever they’ve teamed up with Marvel Studios on a Spider-Man film, it has led to a final product that fans and the vast majority of critics agree is quite good. But, for some reason, Sony has struggled to cross the finish line without having to limp across it each and every time it has come to their live-action Spider-Man spin-off films. This was already apparent with both of their Venom films (Fleischer’s Venom and Serkis’ Venom: Let There Be Carnage) and it was impossible to deny with Morbius. Unfortunately, S.J. Clarkson’s Madame Web doesn’t change that downward trajectory for live-action Spider-Man spin-offs. Madame Web feels disconnected and desperate.
(L-R) Samuel Theis, Sandra Hüller, and Milo Machado Grenier in ANATOMY OF A FALL — PHOTO: mk2 Films.
Directed by Justine Triet — Screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari.
When the nominations for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards were announced a lot of noise was made about the Best Director category seeing as Barbie’s Greta Gerwig was left out (though she was still nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay). As someone who was concerned that the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences would nominate an all-male lineup for Best Director, I wasn’t as annoyed about Gerwig not getting in because I was busy being filled with relief over the fact that a female director did get in — it wasn’t another disappointing all-male line-up. That female nominee was Justine Triet, the French filmmaker behind 2023’s Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall (original title: Anatomie d’une chute). Anatomy of a Fall got a total of five Oscar nominations and deservedly so. Here is a fascinating and gripping courtroom film with shockingly good acting from child actors, adult actors, and even a dog, who ended up winning the Palm Dog Award for best performance by a canine (yes, that’s a real thing — and this dog definitely deserves it).
Shailene Woodley and Jack Whitehall as Elaine and Charles, plus their identical android doubles in Ant Hines and Casper Christensen’s ROBOTS. — PHOTO: NEON.
Directed by Ant Hines and Casper Christensen — Screenplay by Ant Hines and Casper Christensen.
Based on Robert Sheckley’s 1973 short story titled The Robot Who Looked Like Me, Ant Hines and Casper Christensen’s Robots is set in America in 2032 at a time when humanlike robots are used as servants and for labor work. The film follows Charles (played by Jack Whitehall), a womanizer, and Elaine (played by Shailene Woodley), a gold-digger, both of whom illegally make use of identical android doubles of themselves to make their lives easier so that the womanizer only has to sleep with women without having to date them (which his robot does), whereas the gold-digger can profit off the men while her robot sleeps with the men. However, when their respective robots meet, fall in love, and decide to run away together and frame their human counterparts for mass murder, Charles and Elaine must team up to clear things up and get their lives back.
Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche as mother and daughter in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s THE TRUTH — PHOTO: GAGA / LE PACTE.
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda — Screenplay by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The first of his films not to be set in Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth follows Fabienne Dangeville (played by Catherine Deneuve), an extremely famous French actress, as she welcomes her daughter, Lumir (played by Juliette Binoche), her son-in-law, Hank (played by Ethan Hawke), and her grandddagther, Charlotte (played by Clémentine Grenier), into her home while she’s about to release her memoir and shoot a science-fiction film. Fabienne’s selective memory, the fabricated stories in her memoir, and a talented co-star inspire Lumir to confront her mother about their relationship, as well as their memory of a certain family friend.
Iman Vellani’s charming performance as ‘Kamala Khan’ is easily the best part of Nia DaCosta’s THE MARVELS. — PHOTO: Laura Radford / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) — Screenplay by Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik.
Something feels off about retitling the sequel to a billion-dollar hit like Captain Marvel into ’The Marvels.’ While I get that part of the idea is that two characters in this film are both called ‘Marvel’ — Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel — had it been almost any other major character like, say, Iron Man who teamed up with someone of a similar name like, say, Ironheart, then it almost definitely would’ve stuck by the Iron Man title because of how popular his films are and because of how relatively unknown the secondary character is (even if, like with The Marvels, it were team-up film). After all, you’ll want to stick to the title of the character making you a lot of money. So, why has Marvel Studios abandoned its principal character in the title? Perhaps it’s because a toxic vocal minority of the fanbase had been review-bombing the first film and because said vocal minority has insisted on making the internet a tough place to be a fan of the character. Once upon a time, fandoms were largely regarded as good and uplifting groups of people, but now toxic vocal minorities have ruined it for everyone. Now, I’m not saying that not calling it Captain Marvel 2 is the main reason for this sequel wildly underperforming at the box office (there are a bunch of reasons such as genre fatigue, sexism, and unfortunate release timing as it falls in the middle of industry strikes), but ever since that title was announced I have been disappointed that they didn’t stick to the name of their principal character in the film. I desperately wanted them to underscore their support of the character and, especially, the actress portraying the character.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 