By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
Well, this was something of an unusual year at the movies. 2023 saw a major portion of film productions put on hold for much of the year due to the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes. As a result, it felt like a lean year. Still, I’ve done my best to name some films that have really stood out in my mind as exceptional.
If you appreciate action, my number 10 pick should satisfy. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros.) is another excellent chapter in the Mad Max saga. For me, it falls somewhere in the middle of the series (under Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior and Mad Max: Fury Road), but it’s still a visually striking, creative and wildly entertaining action picture, offering more thrills than almost anything else released this year. We see the early years of the Furiosa character as she is kidnapped by a gang of maniacs and an amusingly less-than-competent warlord. After escaping their clutches, she has to pretend to be a boy and spend years working her way up as a respected warrior. Those looking for more action pictures would be advised that the underrated The Fall Guy is a good film as well.
My number nine is Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix). It’s a stop-motion animated feature that finds villainous penguin Feathers McGraw from the 1993 Oscar-winning short The Wrong Trousers seeking revenge on an English inventor and his clever pooch for foiling his attempted heist of a valuable diamond. While it takes a bit of time to really get cooking, this is a phenomenal family feature filled with endless visual and verbal puns (that are actually funny), as well as a genuinely thrilling climax. My 3-year-old happened to see me watching a preview copy and now regularly begs to see it.
I can also confirm the film gets stronger and stronger with repeat viewings. There are more jokes hidden in the background that you might not see the first time around. And if you’re looking for more animated fare with a more adult edge, the Australian Memoir of a Snail (IFC Films) is another that slowly draws you in and manages to deliver a strong emotional punch.
Eight is another quirky little film you may have missed. Thelma (Magnolia Pictures) is an independent comedy/drama that stuck with me longer than I expected. June Squibb plays a 93-year-old senior who falls victim to a phone scam involving her grandson. Furious at being taken advantage of, she decides to find those responsible and demand her money back.
The performances are actually very strong, with Richard Roundtree also standing out as an acquaintance who leaves his assisted living facility to help in the quest. The film is funny and tense, as those responsible for the crime do ultimately threaten her life. It also succeeds in showing how the elderly can be unfairly patronized and mistreated by others.
I’m Still Here (Sony Pictures Classics) is number seven on my list. This incredible, Portuguese-language Brazilian biopic tells the story of Eunice Paiva, wife of ex-federal deputy and now engineer Rubens Paiva. One day, officials from the fascist government take Eunice and Rubens from their family for “questioning,” calling them potential threats to the country. Both are tortured for days.
While Eunice is eventually released, Rubens is ultimately never seen again. The wife does her best to care for her children, but is still considered a suspect. The family bank account is frozen and they become social pariahs as the protagonist attempts to find out what happened to her husband.
It’s a harrowing movie and the lead performance from Fernanda Torres is incredible. Actually, there are several impressive international entries this year, among them the heartfelt Icelandic drama Touch (Focus Features) and Woody Allen’s French-language dark comedy/thriller Coup de Chance (MPI Media), which is gorgeously shot and equal parts amusing and tense.
Moving down the list to six, Anora (Neon) is a very strong dark comedy/drama about a young sex trade worker in Brooklyn who meets the son of a Russian oligarch. After a whirlwind romance, the two get hitched, much to the chagrin of the 21-year-old’s parents, who want to have the marriage annulled. Admittedly, the first act is a bit long as the two kids fall for each other, party and travel around, but once the new husband’s godfather and henchman appear, the movie jolts to life and doesn’t let up. The story veers in several unexpected and fascinating directions and lead actress Mikey Madison puts a memorable stamp on her character.
September 5 (Paramount Pictures) is, appropriately enough, my number five selection. This is a remarkably interesting drama that details the 1972 Hostage Crisis in Munich, Germany from a completely unique perspective. The film’s Swiss director chooses not to go into politics, but instead focuses on the ABC Wide World of Sports team who covered the breaking story.
Told entirely from their perspective, the international group start their day expecting to capture various sporting events. They ultimately decide to use their “live-feed” equipment to capture the crisis. Along the way, the group must make breakneck decisions about how to shoot the event, what to do if violence occurs in front of the camera, and deal with other conflicts. It’s fast-paced and the story is remarkable, given that a sports team covered a major news event that kept over 900 million viewers glued to their seats and ultimately changed news broadcasting forever.
Another picture that doesn’t miss a beat and moves very efficiently is the comedy/drama A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures). My number four feature stars Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed) and Kieran Culkin (who seems a lock for a Best Supporting Actor nomination) as cousins whose late grandmother has left them funds to visit her homeland in Poland.
The somewhat estranged pair arrive in Warsaw and join a tour group. When the more outgoing of the pair begins to exert his influence on others, the other cousin has to deal with the fall-out and their strained relationship. Anyone who has ever felt like second-fiddle to another family member of a similar age will find the story relatable and the bittersweet tone deeply affecting.
Sing Sing (A24) is a gripping drama inspired by the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at the Sing Sing penitentiary. The story follows a theater group made up of various inmates and hones in on one individual who has been locked away for a crime he didn’t commit. He uses the program as an outlet and is the main face of the show, but faces difficulties when an upstart inmate gets the lead in their latest production. The protagonist must also deal with parole hearings and other problematic life events that cause him incredible stress.
Lead Colman Domingo is phenomenal (and a frontrunner for Best Actor at the Academy Awards) in the film, which also shows the harshness of life behind bars and the impact the program makes in giving convicts a form of escape and hope for the future.
My number two choice will be something of a love-it-or-hate-it experience for most viewers. The Brutalist (A24) is a 3-hour-and-35-minute epic (with an added 15-minute intermission) about a Hungarian immigrant arriving in the U.S. at the end of World War II. Separated from his family, the talented architect tries to make a living any way he can in America. First, he stays with a cousin who has successfully integrated himself into the culture. As the story unfolds, the figure tries to make it work, but finds it a cruel place.
Many around him are more than eager to either dismiss, or take advantage of his talents (both figuratively and literally). It’s highly critical of the U.S. and won’t be for everyone, but this reviewer was drawn into the story and didn’t find the excessive running time to be an issue. It features incredible performances by Adrien Brody and a memorable supporting turn from Guy Pierce.
And here is my favorite of the year. While it’s a blockbuster, Dune: Part 2 (Warner Bros.) really is something special. Director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve took what was considered a nearly unfilmable novel and made it all look easy. Part 1 was exceptional, and this chapter is every bit as spectacular, if not even better.
The continuing story, spread over years, is effortlessly clear and contains dozens of characters who are all distinctive. There isn’t a solitary element of the movie that doesn’t work perfectly. Battle scenes are brilliantly staged, as well as being uniquely crafted, and the movie crafts great drama about the trials of being a leader and difficult choices one must make to keep the peace. The fact that most wanted to see the story continue after the finale is only another sign of it being a complete success. It’s another great film that deserves accolades.
More movies I enjoyed this year include the better-than-expected sequels Alien: Romulus and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as well as the biopic Better Man and coming-of-age tale Didi. Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2 is a solid drama, while Nickel Boys features a powerful message and great photography. And the dynamic Jude Law/Nicholas Hoult film The Order effectively tells the story of an FBI agent hunting down a white supremacist group leader.
So, while it may not have been an all-time great, there were some superb pictures over the past 12 months. Here’s hoping that 2025 delivers even more wonderful stuff.
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