Author: Mark A. Lester

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4 1/2 Stars

Air (2023)

From the ages of 9-13, my closet was flooded with shoes. 

I can’t recall why I had so many shoes as a kid (being a small kid mean having a small shoe size, so I assume they were cheap), but I am sure I had some form of Air Jordans (most likely a hand me down): I do distinctly remember the dunking MJ silhouette. Did I think they would make me a better basketball player? Perhaps (I was never good at the sport), but there was no denying the fact that it would increase my cool factor in the class room (especially since I grew up in the Chicago suburbs.)

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Movies

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

There is no tiptoeing around the fact that I never played a single game of DnD in my life. The popularity of it seemed to have peaked just before I was born in the eighties, and I never got around to it.

 The closest I remember getting was playing a DnD type game with friends (“this is your character”, roll the dice to see what happens, etc), but all I remember of that was my character name was Squiggy.

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3 Stars

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

It was only a month or two ago that I finally forced myself into watching the John Wick films. A little late to the party, I know, but such is life.

In that time, I was glad to see what a lot of people were (re)discovering: that Keanu Reeves is one of the down right coolest dudes to grace cinema in many a decade. The first flick took it’s rather simple premise (retired hitman goes on rampage after losing the one thing that was left of a normal life, his dog) and elevated it in the second film, which I feel is the strongest of the four. The third one, though filled with interesting set pieces and action (including Casablanca of all places), started to dive a little too much into the ridiculous by the end. I know it is a movie, but when someone is shot twice off of a building and survives…well, now it is getting a little too silly.

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"Top Tens", and others Movies

My predictions for the 95th Academy Awards

Welp, here we go again. I am coming in at the 11th hour, but my predictions are ready. Sadly, I did not get to seeing all I wanted to in time, but such is life.

True, last year I lucked out in going 21/23 (my best to date), but perhaps I am being too modest in saying you should take that with a grain of salt. The only true prediction I know for sure is that Will Smith won’t be there.

Note: As always, I know nothing about the idea of betting odds or anything, so don’t come yelling at me if you lose money.

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3 1/2 Stars

Cocaine Bear (2023)

Not since Snakes on a Plane has a movie’s premise been so wrapped in it’s title more so than Cocaine Bear.

As someone who has never used cocaine (and never plans to), all of my “experiences” with cocaine (or other drugs for that matter) have been through media (though, if I am to believe old rumors, some in my high school graduating class may know something about these endeavors).

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3 Stars

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania (2023)

It wasn’t until after viewing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania that I realized we are already into Phase 5 of the MCU. 

Admittedly, the films of Phase Four have not been the best of the now thirty plus film series (and multiple TV shows). While I admit to not being the biggest of fans of the first two Ant-Man films (I am up for giving the first film a retry), launching the third film as the start of the new Phase seems daring in a sense, as if to make the public know there is still more quality left to milk out (and since we still have yet to see the MCU versions of the Fantastic Four and X-Men, there is no sign of this train stopping anytime soon). 

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4 1/2 Stars Movies

Fancy Dance (2023)

(Note: The movie Fancy Dance is one of two virtual tickets I managed to buy for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.)

It is rather refreshing in a way when a film title refers to more than one thing.

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"Top Tens", and others Movies

Top Ten Films of 2022

Like my 2021 list, I rounded out the number of films I saw in 2022 at about 70 films. Unlike 2021 (or the last few years, for that matter), this year is not a top 20.

I’ve always been vocal in saying there are no bad movie years, but 2022 was a tad dull when compared to the likes of 2021 (and certainly to the juggernaut that was the 2019 movie year). 

This also could factor into something that hasn’t happened to me in sometime: I did not get to rewatch any movies on my list (save one). That is more on me than the movies themselves (I did watch some more TV this past year than previously, and while not a movie, I can’t stop praising the amazing Andor.)

As always, I had my share of blindspots, so movies you won’t see on here include:

  • All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
  • Babylon
  • Barbarian
  • The Black Phone
  • Close
  • Devotion
  • EO
  • Living
  • A Man Called Otto
  • No Bears
  • Pearl
  • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
  • X

Finally, the honorable mentions

Now for the top ten, which begins on the frontlines.

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"Top Tens", and others Movies

Top 10 Worst films of 2022

Two weeks ago, I was experiencing back pain that I was more than likely sure were kidney stones. While the pain was not as severe as it had been in the past, it lasted enough days for me to double check with the doctor. Well, turns out it wasn’t a kidney stone…it was two.

My friend Peter said it best: “You are one stone away from an Infinity Gauntlet”.

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4 Stars

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

After 2009’s Avatar became the highest grossing movie worldwide (Avengers: Endgame did overcome it for a bit, but a rerelease just pushed Avatar back into first place), Cameron wasted little time in working on the second film (he is hoping to make a total of five).

Unlike the MCU movies, Cameron does not seem to feel any pressure with release dates. It also helps when it is reported how much of a perfectionist he is. Now, thirteen years later, we get to see if Cameron is able to live up to the hype with Avatar: The Way of Water.

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