The Movie Guy

While we prepare to vote for our 47^th president, Edward Berger’s well-cast and well-acted Vatican drama “Conclave” comes at a good time. As a political expose set like a mystery, “Conclave” isn’t a ‘who-done-it’ but a ‘who-done-it-to-whom.’

It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a body horror movie that didn’t have the Cronenberg name attached. That’s all changed with “The Substance,” a highly-stylized and frenetically-paced film from writer/director Coralie Fargeat that could easily make its mark as a midnight movie cult classic.

Despite an unnecessary subplot, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is better than your average sequel. The strength of Tim Burton’s style still holds your attention and returning cast members are saved rehashing ‘fan-favorite’ elements from the original film with a story that gives relevance and a couple of clever twists to what we’ve seen before.

It’s amazing how a likable lead can draw you into a movie but that’s exactly what Naomi Ackie does for “Blink Twice,” the psychological thriller/directorial debut of actress Zoe Kravitz. Not that “Blink Twice” needs Ackie’s help. However, with a third act that thrills more as satire than straight horror, it’s nice to have Ackie as your film’s anchor.

Though the strangeness of “Longlegs” may not suit everyone, director Osgood Perkins creates an impressively cold, stark landscape for his film about an FBI agent’s search for a serial killer. Getting Nic Cage to play your serial killer may seem like a coup, but Cage’s cuckoo is nothing new.

While it shows glimpses of the great movie it could have been, Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders” comes off as a collection of the best mob movie moments you can remember under the guise of a motorcycle gang’s movements.

The best thing about having a blog is telling people about a film that fell through the cracks, a critical darling that failed financially. Seeming to seal its fate with its original title of “Bastard” when it premiered at the Venice film festival last year, I’ll give this Danish devil its due. It’s a two-hour epic that completely got my attention and just became available to stream since its American debut in February: Denmark’s official entry into last year’s Oscars that naturally didn’t get nominated- “The Promised Land.” 

Spearheaded by strong acting leads and a syncopated club music score, “Challengers” revitalizes an old film style to become the freshest cinematic breeze this spring.

Despite the germ of a good idea and an eerie atmosphere, “Immaculate” misses its mark. Instead of a satisfying slow burn to a somewhat simple script, the film opts for a fiery finale that betrays its quiet, creepy horror movie make up.

With the Oscars being presented on Sunday, March 10^th, I like to focus on the films and performances that I found most memorable. In keeping with the tradition of the late Siskel & Ebert’s “If We Picked the Winners,” here are my standouts for 2023 using the nominees in the main Academy Award categories. While others try to second-guess Oscar politics with who ‘should win’ or ‘will win,’ I like to keep it simple. In case you missed any of them, these are the films and performances I’ll remember- simply put, these are the ones: