Beau is Afraid (2023)

Beau lives in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety. (Same, Beau, same.)

Without going into specifics, he is drawn into anxious-driven journey inspired by the likes of Kaufman and Lynch. If you're paranoid, this movie will fuck with you deeply. It's three hours of a neverending hellscape, but the humor is so sharp and the directions so unpredictable, it manages to ensure your safe journey home. There is a looming darkness hovering over it that encapsulates that feeling of dread so well. I found myself holding my breath during certain scenes for no reason at all, while other scenes are cemented in my brain for life. Joaquin's performance contains so many subtle moments of brilliance which for some reason were not recognized by the awards committee. This film is palpable for no other reason than he is such a compelling actor. The whole thing feels like a fever dream and I'm just delighted there are still filmmakers willing to go there, knowing it will alienate 90% of its audience.

My pick for the best film of 2023, and I'm fairly confident I won't see anything this arresting again anytime soon. It's really fucking sad how much I identify with this character.

5 I'm sorry, thank you, sorry out of 5

Wolfs (2024)

Two lone wolf professional "fixers" have to temporarily put aside their differences and work together in order to rid a crime scene of evidence. Things unexpectedly get more complicated, as they do, with humorous bickering throughout. The whole thing plays out over one night and kind of reminded me of After Hours in its execution, especially in regards to its eerie soundtrack. It's a charming, capably handled crime thriller with two actors at the top of their game, but a number of nagging plot holes unfortunately prevent this from getting a stronger recommendation.

3 smooth operators out of 5

Note: What's depressing about this movie is that it was meant to get a wide theatrical release, but they pulled the plug a few weeks early and sent it direct to streaming instead, because apparently these guys aren't considered bankable enough stars anymore. How fucking old do you feel right now?

INSIDE OUT [2015]

Disney/Pixar collaborations have always been good at making great films for both children & adults but never have they ever been as successful as they are with directors Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen's Inside Out.
It's set inside the mind of a young maturing girl where her leading emotions are personified into five colorful characters who work overtime to ease her into living in a new city.  The film works as a vibrantly enthusiastic children's film, filled with all sorts of wacky hijinks and instantly likeable characters that are sure to sell all sorts of plushies.  As for the adults, it's a brilliantly imaginative and deeply emotional study of the brain and how it all works, as it travels through the motions, thoughts, feelings, memories and just about anything you can hide up there.  As complicated as it is, it balances out the story to never feel like it's talking down to the children or dumbing it down for the adults and to say the least, how they went about it left me completely dumbfounded.  This instant classic had me laughing, crying and feeling everything in between.  

5 pizza delivery bears out of 5

Stargate (1994)

SG is often billed as an action movie, but the Emmerich style explosions aren't as heavy-handed as they’d eventually become. Instead, it’s a sci-fi drama that draws a line from ancient Egyptian mythology to modern day military exploration. The plot is so full of holes that it’s like a giant sand sieve, but it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of it.
James Spader is engaging and believable (even if his leaps of logic aren't) as the linguist with a bad case of dweeb. With the exception of Kurt Russell's flat top (it’s like a plateau) and some occasional CGI the film looks almost as good today as it did in ’94.

3 reactivations out of 5

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION [2006]

Chris Guest & company gather together once more for the Academy Award season satirical film For Your Consideration.

It takes some nasty jab at the way Hollywood & the entertainment business runs but I think a lot of the humour is lost on the average viewer with too many "in the biz" jokes and whatnot.  Catherine O'Hara shines here as the insecure and manic actress on the verge of hysterics.  For some reason Guest decides to drop the mockumentary style he's so good at and it hurts the ab-libbed humour a bit.  Beyond it's many shortcomings, FYC is still wickedly funnier than most inane thoughtless comedies today.

3½ Jezebels out of 5

ARGO [2012]

With two great films under his director's belt, Ben Affleck proves that he didn't just get lucky with the old school styled thriller Argo.  Based on the events of the Canadian Caper, Affleck wisely decides to lighten the mood a  bit compared to his previous films with some dark humour while never sacrificing the tension he does so well at building up.  Acting more like a thriller from the era the story takes place in, Argo hits you with story & character development rather than flashy, loud edits and sound.
It's get some of it's facts wrong but in the end it doesn't matter, as it keeps you gripped to your seat with excitement and intrigue.

4  "argo fuck yourselves" out of 5

THE VISITOR [2008]

Much like Thomas McCarthy's previous film, The Station Agent, The Visitor sneaks up on you, then floors you with it's thoughtful and emotional impact.

The story focuses on a lonely man who is introduced to the world of playing music at a late age and then the horrors of racial identity in a post-911 New York.

Richard Jenkins and Hiam Abass give in absolutely compelling performances that demand recognition.  It follows an obvious formula but McCarthy has a knack for evading all the cliches along the way and never comes off as phony schmaltz.

4 kick ass jam sessions out of 5

A Serious Man (2009)

There's no one who knows how to find the funny in the horrible quite like the Coen brothers. They're unafraid of putting the characters in A Serious Man through the wringer, but the film never feels bleak or depressing the way it might in other films. Instead, the film is heartfelt in its horribleness, and humorous no matter what happens.

This isn't one of the Coen brothers' best. The dialogue isn't as sharp as I'd expect from them, and not all of the film's non-sequiturs work for me. However, even a so-so movie from the Coens is pretty swell, and the powerful performance from Michael Stuhlbarg makes it even better. It isn't a must-see, but it's worth your time.

3 members of the airplane out of 5.

CLIFFORD [1994]

Clifford is a delightfully twisted, yet harmless, little comedy starring Martin Short as a demented 10 year old boy bent on visiting a dinosaur amusement park and he puts his uncle (Charles Grodin) through hell to get him there.
It may not be a classic comedy that anybody will remember but it packs enough laugh out loud moments, courtesy of Short's amusingly deranged performance, to guarantee a fun weeknight in.
All in all, it's really kinda mostly odd and not for everybody, unless you too are a little bit off your rocker.

3 The Richard Kinds out of 5

Cars 2 (2011)

Cars is unpopular with Pixar fans for a number of reasons, but for me, its biggest flaw was the way its characters moved. Nearly all of Pixar's films are a master class in animation choreography. Just the tiniest things, like the way characters walk,  leaves me enraptured. Cars don't have the range of motion that toys, monsters, or humans controlled by rats do, which made the first Cars pretty visually dull (for a Pixar film).

The second movie lacks the sweetness of the first film, but the choreography issue has been fixed wonderfully. The opening chase scene was perfectly executed, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. It could've been great if it'd only focused on the spy plot. It seemed like no one had any idea what to do with Lightning McQueen, and his scenes felt like an interruption. There's too much Mater, but I genuinely smiled at some of the moments between him and Finn McMissile. Considering how much I loathe him, that's saying something. I blame Michael Caine.

2.5 surprisingly bloodthirsty automobiles out of 5.

TOY STORY 3 (2010)

Pixar hits the jackpot again with near perfection.
3rd chapters usually walk in a little worn out and ready to be put down. Not Toy Story. It retains freshness like you kept it in the box.
Ned Beatty steals the show.
Humor, action and warmth are so perfectly timed.

4 Hidden Totoro's out of 5