Nothing else to say
In the past month, I found myself doing something I never imagined I would do in my time on this planet:
I started watching Hallmark movies.
My first was Holiday Road, followed by titles such as Christmas with a Kiss, On the 12th date of Christmas, A Biltmore Christmas, Norwegian Holiday, and Christmas on Cherry Lane. Much of this was “pressure” from my insistent (and wonderfully amazing) cousin Monroe.
Sometimes, it is hard for us to remember what it was like seeing a superhero movie where we knew very little about them going into it.
When this happens, it makes the film more intriguing, such as the original Iron Man (2008) and first Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), films that were massive successes regardless if you knew the source material or not. It also helped that (at the time of release) the characters were not entirely in the first class for their creator’s. In the case of Blue Beetle, the DC character is barely in the third class of characters, but that is not entirely a bad thing.
Admittedly, I was not planning on doing a report of the first half of 2023, but obligation did kick in, so here we are.
It has always been no secret that the first half of a calendar year is not as strong as the second half, but that is not the fault of the films that are actually good.
With that in mind, here is a brief look back at what we have gotten so far this year…
Streaming on Hulu, Rye Lane is a brisk 82 minute flick full of 21st century heart and laughs. I truly would not mind if this film lasted a little longer.
I never read the book, but I can only imagine this was a breath of fresh air to those who grew up adoring Judy Blume’s classic Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret. Abby Ryder Fortson is a true gem, and this is honestly the best I have seen Rachel McAdams in years.
A tie between Air and Blackberry, both equally enthralling films in their own right.
Despite its run time and refusal to give us time to breath, John Wick: Chapter 4 did bring a fitting end to an action saga in the likes of which we have not seen before.
While not a horrible film, you don’t end this franchise with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. You end it the way it always should have ended: with Indy and company riding off into the sunset after the last crusade.
As memorable as Jack Black was as Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, no villain has made a better lasting impact than that of Jonathan Majors’ Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Here is hoping all works out for him in his personal life that he can stay on the MCU roster.
Duh.
I mean, no offense to the other films that fit this description, but come on: ain’t no way it would not be Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
I know what you are thinking: “Mark, The Flash was not animated!”
True, but it may as well have been, because that is how horrendous the CGI was.
Between this and Nefarious, I am struggling over which is the worst of the year so far.
While other films like How to Blow Up a Pipeline were spine tingling in its own way, nothing stole my breath like Past Lives. Believe the hype you have been hearing about the film: It is that good.
Until recently, I had that unbearable feeling that all maestro movie goers get: that they are agreeing too much with other critics.
Nowadays, all one has to do is go to Rotten Tomatoes and/or Meta Critic and see where one stands against one’s peers. As of late, it seems I have been agreeing with most people on the taste of recent movies. Now comes The Flash, which is sitting at 67% on the tomatometer. That it gives me a chance to disagree with the tomatometer is one of the few positives of the film I can think of.
Nothing else to say