Looking back years from now, I think 2023 will be remembered similarly to how people remember 2007 and 2019. It was an incredible year for cinema, and it was therefore incredibly hard to cut this list down to only ten (with one honorable mention). Some of the films that almost made it onto the list, but came up just short, include All of Us Strangers, Fallen Leaves, The Promised Land, Infinity Pool, and La Chimera. It’s wild to think that even though I really loved Barbie, it wouldn’t even have found its way into a top twenty for the year — that’s how good of a year for film 2023 was.
Continue reading “Top Ten Films of 2023 | Flashback”Tag: anatomy of a fall
11th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2023

I know. I didn’t just forget which year we’re in. We’re about to say goodbye to 2024, and here I am with a list of the very best films, shows, and whatnot from 2023? That’s certainly a choice, right? Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve been pretty busy this year, and I, around summer time, felt like I might as well wait until I had seen the two or three films that I felt I had to watch before publishing my lists for 2023. It kind of makes sense, right? If it’s already late, then I might as well make sure the choices are bulletproof, you know? Anyhow, here we are, and I’m going to be running you through all of my winners in a single post. Some awards have been canned (e.g. poster, trailer), other fresh ones have been added (e.g. stunts). It’ll take some time, but stick with me here. Oh, and look on the bright side, this way the wait between the 2023 and 2024 lists won’t be all that long. Anyway, let’s get to it (and happy holidays!).
Continue reading “11th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2023”Christopher Nolan’s Coronation Had Kenergy | 96th Oscars Recap and Review

Last night, Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 96th edition of the Academy Awards on a night where awards prognosticators felt most of the big awards were already spoken for beforehand. However, conventional prognosticating wisdom did not always win out, as the presenters read out the winners of the Academy’s 23 categories. The early frontrunner and expected Best Picture winner Oppenheimer did, indeed, become the biggest winner of the night with seven total Oscars including wins that saw shatteringly good work from Robert Downey, Jr. and Cillian Murphy earn them their first ‘Little Golden Men.’ Hollywood’s safest bet and — as I liked to call him last night on social media — the ‘Crown Prince of Cinema,’ Christopher Nolan, had his grand coronation as Steven Spielberg passed the baton, awarded him with the Best Director award, and gave him a big hug. For many, that is what the night will be remembered for — i.e. the triumph of the immensely popular biopic and Christopher Nolan who, as some will undoubtedly perceive it, went toe-to-toe with Barbie and came out of the explosion that was ‘Barbenheimer’ with 7 golden statuettes in tow. Indeed, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a hugely deserving winner of all of the awards that the cast and crew went home with (including Best Picture, which was announced in a relatively confusing way by film-legend Al Pacino), but that’s not all the 96th edition of the Academy Awards should be remembered for.
Continue reading “Christopher Nolan’s Coronation Had Kenergy | 96th Oscars Recap and Review”Who Will Win? – Final Predictions | 96th Oscars
To paraphrase one of Hollywood’s all-time best awards hosts, it is a wonderful day for Oscar! Oscar, Oscar — who will win? In quite a few categories tonight, it seems we already know. But there are some genuine close calls this year with actress, costuming, and production design being particularly interesting. Read on below to find out which films I think will be the big winners tonight, where we all expect Christopher Nolan to be crowned for his achievements as the safest bet in Hollywood when it comes to visionary modern directors.
Continue reading “Who Will Win? – Final Predictions | 96th Oscars”IFSCA Awards 2023-2024 | Winners
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.
Continue reading “IFSCA Awards 2023-2024 | Winners”IFSCA Awards 2023-2024 | Nominations

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.
Continue reading “IFSCA Awards 2023-2024 | Nominations”Anatomy of a Fall (2023) | REVIEW

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).
Continue reading “Anatomy of a Fall (2023) | REVIEW”Nominations Predictions | 96th Academy Awards
Tomorrow, AMPAS is announcing its list of nominees for the upcoming 96th Academy Awards. So, now is the time to fill in your final Oscars nominations predictions! Below you’ll see what I’m predicting along with a few comments here and there. The choices are ranked from either one to five or one to ten based on how confident I am that something is getting nominated with 1 being the most confident.
Continue reading “Nominations Predictions | 96th Academy Awards”



