Reviews of Movies, TV shows & metro Detroit Restaurants

Short movie & TV show reviews and metro Detroit restaurant reviews

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Reviews & Ratings for the 2023 Oscar Best Picture Nominees

 


I have seen all of the Best Picture nominees and I liked most of them. But two of these movies I did not like, which is rare for me for the most recent Best Picture nominees. I’m puzzled as to why one of these is such a critical darling and why the other one was nominated at all. Here are my quick thoughts and ratings for each. They are in order of my most favorite to least favorite.


Top Gun: Maverick (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1745960)


I’ve seen Top Gun: Maverick three times already, including twice in a movie theater and I love this movie. I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t already been said about this movie as it’s pretty awesome. The REAL (aka...NOT CGI) visual effects were incredible. It’s also a great story and better than the original Top Gun, which rarely happens with sequels. I would have loved to have seen this movie with my late brother Steve who was a huge Top Gun fan as we saw the original together in a theater with my other brother Brian when it came out in 1986. Top Gun: Maverick was the best movie I saw in 2022...9.5/10 stars.


The Fabelmans (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14208870)


The Fabelmans is another movie that I actually saw twice in a movie theater. It’s a wonderful story about young Steven Spielberg (aka, Sammy Fabelman) growing up, loving & making movies, dealing with a turbulent family life, and putting up with anti-Semitism in school. I loved The Fabelmans...9.0/10 stars.


Avatar: The Way of Water (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630029)


I walked out of Avatar: The Way of Water (which I watched in 3D) and said “Big Jim did it again!”. Like the first Avatar, this movie is a technical masterpiece and visually incredible. I also think it has a better story than the original along with better performances. I truly enjoyed this movie...9.0/10 stars.


The Banshees of Inisherin (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11813216)


The Banshees of Inisherin is a really good fecking movie. The performances are fantastic and it’s got some very funny moments. The humor is a bit dark at times, but it’s enjoyable. The dramatic elements are truly dramatic as well and the mixture of humor & drama is spot on...8.5/10 stars.


Tár (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14444726)


Tár is a very well-made movie with a great performance by Cate Blanchett at the center of it. It’s an unconventional look at how awful a person can be regardless of gender or political affiliation. When I walked out of it, I knew I liked it, but I didn’t know how much. After thinking about it and listening to a great “The Big Picture” podcast about it, I decided that I really liked it (especially the ending)...8.5/10 stars.


All Quiet on the Western Front (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016150)


All Quiet on the Western Front is an intense & brutal war movie. As Americans, we don’t get to see war depicted from the enemy’s perspective and this movie shows that war sucked just as much for German soldiers as it did for the Allied soldiers. The production & sound design are both top notch too and I wish I’d have seen it in a movie theater instead of on Netflix...8.0/10 stars.


Women Talking (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13669038)


The title of Women Talking says it all as that’s exactly what this movie is. And while that may sound boring to some, it was quite compelling to me. Another movie that is carried by some tremendous performances, especially from Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, and Ben Whishaw, essentially the only man in the movie. I definitely liked this movie...8.0/10 stars.


Elvis (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3704428)


I’ve said to a handful of people that once you get through what I call “The Baz Luhrmann bullshit”, Elvis is a pretty good movie. Austin Butler’s performance and a chance to listen to some awesome Elvis songs alone make it worth watching...7.5/10 stars.


Triangle of Sadness (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7322224)


All I am going to say about this movie is that it’s too long, too ridiculous, and flat out obnoxious. I really couldn’t wait for it to end...3.0/10 stars.


Everything Everywhere All at Once (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474)


I think it’s safe to say that I hated this movie. It’s a total farce and way too over the top. It does have a good cast and I was happy to see Ke Huy Quan in a movie again as I think the last movie I remember him in was The Goonies. This movie is a critical darling for some reason and my reaction to that is, in the immortal words of Josh Baskin in Big, “I don’t get it”. I’ll be pissed if this wins Best Picture...2.0/10 stars.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the movie suggestions so now I know what to watch!