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crowdvscritic · 1 year

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round up // FEBRUARY + MARCH 23

February and March are strange months for a film enthusiast. One part of you is excited to start seeing new, star-studded studio movies on the big screen: 80 for Brady! Ant-Man and the Wasp! Cocaine Bear! Creed! But it’s also when the previous year’s films are wrapping their season with the final hurrah of a new, star-studded Oscars. In the case of Everything Everywhere All at Once, it means we spent a full year discussing and dissecting this year’s Best Picture winner! Much of this Round Up is dedicated to 2023 releases, though as always, you can find throwbacks to ‘30s, ’80s, and ‘00s flicks I missed till now, plus a few other media forms such as stage and page (as always, in a rough order of when I experienced them). But before we start building 2023’s Best Of lists, make sure you don’t miss these highlights from this year’s Oscars, which was a mostly refreshing return to (non-slappy) form:

Hugh Grant on the Red Champagne Carpet - Sometimes people refuse to play the game, and the result is glorious (Kudos to Ashley Graham for keeping her composure!)

Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue - While he’s not afraid to take some shots, he actually seems to be rooting for the movies and the Oscars to succeed, which is not something I can say for the last year’s trio of hosts

Ke Huy Quan wins Best Supporting Actor - Perhaps the best speech of the night

Jamie Lee Curtis wins Best Supporting Actress - If not him, then it’s this one

Navalny wins Best Documentary - If you want to get political in your acceptance, please refer to this well-executed speech

Jenny the Donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin!

A performance of “Naatu Naatu” from RRR - If you want to perform at the Oscars, please refer to this well-executed one from the RRR crew

Lady Gaga performs “Hold My Hand” - The gal never misses in finding new ways to innovate on her performances

Michelle Yeoh wins for Best Actress - Best Actress and best-dressed of the night

Now on to the Best of 2023 so far!

February + March Crowd-Pleasers

1. Cookies: The New Classics by Jesse Szewczyk (2021)

A co-worker gifted me this for Christmas, and not one recipe has been a dud yet. The book categorizes 100 creative cookie and cookie-adjacent recipes into Boozy, Chocolatey, Fruity, Nutty, Savory, Smoky, Spiced, and Tart chapters so you can find just what you want for each season. Many of them are not-too-difficult, and the photography is both beautiful and actually similar to what comes out of my oven. My favorite recipes so far include Berry Blast Marbled Sugar Cookies, Chewy Triple-Spiced Sugar Cookies, Chipotle Fudge Squares with Crunchy Raw Sugar, Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars, Lavender Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Salt-and-Vinegar Potato Chip Cookies.

2. 80 for Brady (2023)

Together the 5 leads have won 5 Oscars, 12 Emmys, 2 Grammys, 3 Tonys, and 7 Super Bowl rings, so even though the script is a corny underdog story about people who have not been underdogs in ages, 80 for Brady a feel-good winner. Read my full review for ZekeFilm.

3. Double Feature - ‘80s Comedies: Fletch (1985) + Troop Beverly Hills (1989)

In Fletch (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), Chevy Chase works as an undercover reporter who gets caught up in a conspiracy so complex and silly I couldn’t do it justice here. In Troop Beverly Hills (8.5/10 // 7/10), Shelley Long works as a troop leader for a knockoff Girl Scout Troop who gets up in cookie selling schemes so creative and silly I couldn’t do it justice here either. More fun from the best decade for Hollywood comedies!

4. Enough (2002)

A subgenre I’ve yet to tire of: thrillers about abused women getting the last word. (See also: Double Jeopardy with Ashley Judd and Sleeping With the Enemy with Julia Roberts.) Perhaps it was because my entire thought process in watching this was, “It’s on Netflix, why not?” but J. Lo’s take on the subgenre brought enough clever twists and empowering moments to become a surprising success. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10

5. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

The third Ant-Man reminds us Paul Rudd is one of the funniest actors alive and it’s kicking off Phase 5 of the MCU with the momentum missing from Phase 4. Read the triple-shot review I wrote with two other critics at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

6. Cocaine Bear (2023)

Cocaine Bear lives up to what you’d expect from its title, and like some of the most fun hits of the ‘80s and ‘90s, it’s all-in on the silly, one-note premise with no desire for sequels, spin-offs, or universes. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

7. M3GAN (2023)

I consider horror about creepy dolls off-limits, but M3GAN is hardly horror, and its doll is so over-the-top she’s hilarious. There’s a little bit of thoughtful commentary about our dependence on technology, but mostly it’s an excuse for pure entertainment. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10

8. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

I’ve always been cool on John Wick. In fact, I turned off the first one in the middle when I first tried it almost a decade ago because its violence felt gratuitous. But fourth time’s a charm? Maybe it’s because of its visual flair or perhaps it’s because it feels like director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves were going for broke, but this nearly-three hour epic won me over. The movie it most reminded me of? Singin’ in the Rain of all things. The fight choreography is as inventive and athletic as “Moses Supposes,” turning the action thriller into an art form. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

9. Your Place or Mine (2023)

Corny? Formulaic? Yes and yes. But Aline Brosh McKenna’s directorial debut delivers charm in spades, meaning it more than exceeds the Netflix rom-com average threshold (a low bar to be sure). Contrary to the buzz, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon make believable BFFs and a couple to root for. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

10. The Golden Girls (1985-92)

Every day I get closer to my true, spiritual age of 83, and after the silliness of 80 for Brady, I decided it was time to binge the silly-but-slightly-more-caustic The Golden Girls. Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia’s jokes and adventures in their Miami bungalow remind me of my days rooming with my college besties, and it gives me hope that one day I’ll get to experience something as joyful, messy, intimate, and, yes, silly as their friendship all over again.

February + March Critic Picks

1. HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style by Elizabeth Holmes (2020)

In September, I shared my appreciation for Elizabeth Holmes’s fashion and culture commentary in the wake of another Elizabeth’s passing. I received her coffee table-worthy book for Christmas, and her insight into how the Queen, Princess Diana, and at-time-of-publication Duchesses Kate and Meghan use their wardrobes to speak for causes and for themselves doesn’t disappoint. They have all become style icons not just because of their titles but because of their sartorial choices, and Holmes helps pinpoint why and how alongside a robust and beautiful collection of photography.

2. Triple Feature - Classic Screwball Rom-Coms: Libeled Lady (1936) + The Mad Miss Manton (1938) + The Palm Beach Story (1942)

In Libeled Lady (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10), Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell, and Spencer Tracy get mixed up in a love quadrangle when a socialite threatens to sue the paper for libel. In The Mad Miss Manton (8/10 // 8.5/10), Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda team up (against their wills) in proto-Legally Blonde style to solve a murder. And in The Palm Beach Story (8/10 // 8.5/10), Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea plan to divorce so they can marry wealthier people. Don’t worry—in spite of all the mixups and shenanigans, everybody ends up with just the right person in all three of these comedies.

3. Creed III (2023)

In the middle, I found myself thinking, “This is what Hollywood entertainment for adults should be!” Yes, there’s a place for 80 for Brady, Ant-Man, and Cocaine Bear, but Creed builds its stakes on character instead of gimmicks or elevator pitches. Read the full review I tag teamed with fellow ZekeFilm writer Erik Yates. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

4. To Kill a Mockingbird National Tour

Perhaps the highest praise possible for this show came from my TKAM-devotee mother: She has some nitpicks about the changes Aaron Sorkin made on Harper Lee’s novel, but she liked this better than her Broadway viewing. Since I am closer to a devotee of Sorkin than Lee, I found most of the updates thoughtful and fresh for a text that saturates our culture.

5. The Parallax View (1974)

A political thriller in the frame of a journalist uncovering a conspiracy? Hmm…Alan J. Pakula really has my number. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

6. Boston Strangler (2023)

Speaking of journalism thrillers, I’m not into true crime, but Queen Keira makes me to step outside my comfort zone. In her most exciting part in years, Knightley plays a reporter investigating a series of homicides at a third-rate Boston newspaper. She and Carrie Coon team up against workplace sexism and the strangler himself to get the truth out. It’s a real homage to Zodiac, but a solid one at that. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

7. A Good Person (2023)

If Garden State was Gen X coping with the reality that the American Dream couldn’t protect them from the pain their parents avoided in a pre-9/11 world, A Good Person is Millennials and Gen Z realizing the American Dream has betrayed them. Read my full review for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

8. Captain Blood (1935)

I had no idea when I fired up this Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland adventure it’s basically a prototype for Pirates of the Caribbean—what a treat! How do the action, sets, and special effects look better than most adventure films today? Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

9. Australia (2008)

And now I have watched all of Baz Luhrmann’s lush, extravagant, colorful canon. In prep for the Faraway Downs miniseries he is making with never-before-seen footage from this shoot, I finally checked out the Hugh Jackman/Nicole Kidman World War II epic. As usual for Baz, it’s a little shaggy, but it’s also part of what I love about him. Every movie feels like a realized vision of texture and emotion, and Australia is no exception. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

10. John Mayer Solo

Come for the heartbreaking tunes and stay for Mayer’s delightfully awkward banter between songs. At our show he performed a retrospective of his career on guitar on piano and debuted a new song. While I enjoy a razzle-dazzle show, he’s proof you don’t need to rely on gimmicks in an arena.

Also in February + March…

In preparation for the Oscars, I reviewed Best Picture nominee Triangle of Sadness (which I had previously recommended in my last Round Up, which is why it’s not listed above). Like Best Picture winner Parasite, part of the fun of Triangle of Sadness is its surprises, but if you want to get a preview, you can read my review for ZekeFilm.

Kyla and I also checked out the 1977 Best Picture nom The Turning Point, a ballet melodrama starring Anne Bancroft, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Shirley MacLaine in ep. 136. And in ep. 135, we watched classic TV medical shows Marcus Welby, M.D. and ER.

Photo credits: Cookies, HRH, To Kill a Mockingbird. John Mayer my own. All others IMDb.com.

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