Month: November 2023

The 105 Best Feature Films of 2023

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By Andrew Buckner

*All of the feature films included herein are done so based on the criteria of an official theatrical or premiere streaming release date in the U.S.A. of 2023.*

105. Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls

Director: Andrew Bowser

104. The Boys in the Boat

Director: George Clooney

103. The Inventor

Director: Jim Capobianco

102. Milli Vanilli

Director: Luke Korem

101. American Symphony

Director: Matthew Heineman

100. May December

Director: Todd Haynes

99. Dream Scenario

Director: Kristoffer Borgli

98. Silent Night

Director: John Woo

97. Sly

Director: Thom Zimny

96. Shelter in Solitude

Director: Vibeke Musaya

95. Rub

Director: Christopher Fox

94. Candy Land

Director: John Swab

93. Bloodthirst

Director: Michael Su

92. Resurrected

Director: Egor Baranov

91. Brooklyn 45

Director: Ted Geoghegan

90. Good Boy

Director: Viljar Boe

89. The Devil on Trial 

Director: Chris Holt

88. Unwelcome

Director: Jon Wright

87. Ferrari

Director: Michael Mann

86. Thanksgiving

Director: Eli Roth

85. Unicorn Wars

Director: Alberto Vazquez

84. John Wick: Chapter 4

Director: Chad Stahelski

83. Sharksploitation

Director: Stephen Scarlata

82. Dicks: The Musical

Director: Larry Charles

81. Living

Director: Oliver Hermanus

80. Sakra

Directors: Kai-Wai Kam, Donnie Yen 

79. Slotherhouse

Director: Matthew Goodhue

78. Blackberry

Director: Matt Johnson

77. Godzilla Minus One

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

76. King on Screen

Director: Daphne Baiwir

75. Totally Killer

Director: Nahnatchka Khan

74. Suitable Flesh

Director: Joe Lynch

73. Shin Kamen Rider

Director: Hideaki Anno

72. Huesera: The Bone Woman

Director: Michelle Garza Cervera

71. The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Director: Bomani J. Story

70. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Director: Aitch Alberto

69. V/H/S/85

Directors: David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson, Gigi Saul Guerrero

68. Air

Director: Ben Affleck

67. A Man Called Otto

Director: Marc Forster

66. Inside

Director: Vasilis Katsoupis

65. Bottoms

Director: Emma Seligman

64. A Haunting in Venice

Director: Kenneth Branagh

63. Beneath Us All

Director: Harley Wallen

62. One Bullet to Bedlam

Director: Eric Hand

61. Pinball: The Man Who Changed the Game

Directors: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg

60. Infinity Pool

Director: Brandon Cronenberg

59. The Last Voyage of the Demeter

Director: Andre Ovredal

58. Birth/ Rebirth

Director: Laura Moss

57. No One Will Save You

Director: Brian Duffield

56. When Evil Lurks

Director: Demian Rugna

55. Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part 1

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

54. Shin Ultraman 

Director: Shinji Higuchi

53. Hell House LLC. Origins: The Carmichael Manor

Director: Stephen Cognetti 

52. Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva

Director: Dutch Marich

51. Saw X

Director: Kevin Greutert

50. Back to the Drive-in

Director: April Wright

49. Saltburn

Directors: Emerald Fennell

48. Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story

Directors: Christopher Griffiths, Gary Smart

47. Napoleon

Director: Ridley Scott 

46. Barbie

Director: Greta Gerwig

45. The Killer

Director: David Fincher

44. Priscilla

Director: Sofia Coppola

43. Chevalier

Director: Stephen Williams

42. Wham!

Director: Chris Smith

41. Past Lives

Director: Celine Song

40. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Director: Davis Guggenheim

39. Sam Now

Director: Reed Harkness

38. Sanctuary

Director: Zachary Wigon

37. Smoking Causes Coughing

Director: Quentin Dupieux

36. The Blackening 

Director: Tim Story

35. The Raker House

Director: John Covert

34. The Quiet Girl

Director: Colm Bairead

33. Suzume

Director: Makoto Shinkai

32. Evil Dead Rise

Director: Lee Cronin

31. EO

Director: Jerzy Skolimowski

30. Malum

Director: Anthony DiBlasi

29. Lola

Director: Andrew Legge

28. Polite Society

Director: Nida Manzoor

27. Asteroid City

Director: Wes Anderson

26. A Thousand and One

Director: A. V. Rockwell

25. El Conde

Director: Pablo Larrain

24. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig

23. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

Director: William Friedkin 

22. The Outwaters

Director: Robbie Banfitch

21. Sisu

Director: Jalmari Helander

20. Enys Men

Director: Mark Jenkin

19. Skinamarink 

Director: Kyle Edward Ball

18. Living With Chucky

Director: Kyra Elise Gardner 

17. Toga

Director: Shaun Rose

16. The Color Purple

Director: Blitz Bazawule

15. Divinity

Director: Eddie Alcazar

14. The Boy and the Heron

Director: Hayao Mayazaki

13. The Wheel of Heaven

Director: Joe Badon

12. The Eternal Memory

Director: Maite Alberdi

11. Anatomy of a Fall

Director: Justine Triet

10. Filmmakers for the Prosecution

Director: Jean-Christophe Klotz

9. Gods of Mexico 

Director: Helmut Dosantos 

8. A House Made of Splinters

Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont 

7. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Director: Laura Poitras

6. The Holdovers

Director: Alexander Payne

5. Beau is Afraid 

Director: Ari Aster

4. Killers of the Flower Moon

Director: Martin Scorsese

3. Holy Spider

Director: Ali Abbasi

2. Oppenheimer

Director: Christopher Nolan

1. Poor Things

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Runners-up:

Cocaine Bear

Director: Elizabeth Banks

The Conference

Director: Patrik Eklund

The Creator

Director: Gareth Edwards

A Good Person

Director: Zach Braff

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

Director: Guy Ritchie

Influencer

Director: Kurtis David Harder

The Iron Claw

Director: Sean Durkin

Knock at the Cabin

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Leave the World Behind

Director: Sam Esmail

Maestro

Director: Bradley Cooper

M3GAN

Director: Gerard Johnstone

Missing 

Directors: Nicholas D. Johnson, Will Merrick

Of an Age

Director: Goran Stolevski

Paint

Director: Brit McAdams

R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town

Director: Peter Lepeniotis

Sister Death

Director: Paco Plaza

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Directors: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears

They Cloned Tyrone

Director: Juel Taylor

Wonka

Director: Paul King

The 25 Best Books of 2023

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By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the books in this list are done so based on the criteria of an original publication date of 2023.*

25. Ghost Riders in the Sky and Other Lines

by Laughton J. Collins, Jr.

24. Don’t Fear the Reaper

by Stephen Graham Jones

23. Holly 

by Stephen King

22. Dead Mountain: A Nora Kelly Novel

by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

21. Making Nothing at the Age of 20

by Rolfe Kanefsky

20. The House at the End of the World

by Dean Koontz

19. The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder

by Douglas Preston

18. 40 Cult Movies: From Alice, Sweet Alice to Zombies of Mora Tau

by Jon Towlson

17. The Beast You Are: Stories

by Paul G. Tremblay

16. Mothered

by Zoje Stage

15. The Shards

by Bret Easton Ellis

14. The Donut Legion 

by Joe R. Lansdale

13. Feast

by Ina Carino

12. All That’s Grotesque & Fancy Like 

by Jennifer J. Prescott

11. Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World

by Naomi Klein

10. Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will

by Robert M. Sapolsky

9. Not Forever, But For Now 

by Chuck Palahniuk

8. Looking Glass Sound

by Catriona Ward

7. Becoming the Boogeyman

by Richard Chizmar

6. How to Sell a Haunted House

by Grady Hendrix

5. Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing

by Abigail Thomas

4. 50 Movies Made: Lessons Learned on a Filmmaker’s Journey

by Jared Cohn

3. The Creative Act: A Way of Being

by Rick Rubin 

2. Poverty, by America

by Matthew Desmond 

1. The Curse of the Marquis de Sade: A Notorious Scoundrel, a Mythical Manuscript, and the Biggest Scandal in Literary History 

by Joel Warner

Runner-up:

After Death

by Dean Koontz

Bridge

by Lauren Beukes

The Only One Left: A Novel

by Riley Sager

The 35 Best Albums/ EPs of 2023

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By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the albums/ EPs on this list are done so based on the criteria of an original release date of 2023. *

35. Faith is a Rock

by MIKE, Wiki, The Alchemist

34. Tortures of the Damned

by Mr. Hyde

33. The Aux

by Blockhead

32. Integrated Tech Solutions

by Aesop Rock

31. Some Like it Hot (EP)

by Wynne

30. JFKLAX (EP)

by Kxng Crooked, Joell Ortiz

29. Blood on Da X

by Onyx

28. Tech N9ne Presents: NNUTTHOWZE – Signaling the Siqly (EP)

by Tech N9ne, Zkeircrow, and Phlaque

27. Michael

by Killer Mike

26. To What End

by Oddisee

25. MellowLOvation Music

by Rittz

24. College Park

by Logic

23. The Patience

by Mick Jenkins 

22. Dear California (EP)

by Crooked I

21. HGG2

by Bizarre, Foul Mouth

20. Won’t He Do It!

by Conway the Machine

19. And Then You Pray for Me

by Westside Gunn

18. So Many Realities Exist Simultaneously

by Atmosphere

17. Bliss

by Tech N9ne

16. Magic 2

by Nas

15. To See a Sunset

by Kotah the Friend, Statik Selektah 

14. In the Beginning (Vol. 3)

by Madlib, Declaime 

13. Anthology II (Movie Themes 1976-1988)

by John Carpenter

12. Round Trip

by Statik Selektah

11. Sardines

by Apollo Brown, Planet Asia

10. Period.

by Paradime

9. The Mind of a Saint

by Skyzoo

8. Maps

by Billy Woods, Kenny Segal 

7. Goon Mode

by Snowgoons, Lingo, Ayok

6. God’s Carpenter

by Chino XL, Stu Bangas

5. Liberation 2

by Talib Kweli, Madlib

4. Vedic Vape Room

by Killah Priest

3. Glorious Game

by Black Thought, El Michels Affair

2. Magic 3

by Nas

1. New Blue Sun

by Andre 3000

Runners-up:

Blockbusta

by Busta Rhymes

The Curse of the Inevitable III: Pieces of My Pain

by Lloyd Banks

Flying High, Pt. 2

by The Alchemist

A Gradual Decline in Morality

by Kim Dracula

Halloween Havoc IV: The 72nd Hr

by Lloyd Banks

Illdren

by King Iso

18159 Stout

by Bizarre

The Spoken Word

by Jason Henderson

Voir Dire

by Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist

World Take Over

by Onyx

The 21 Best Short Films of 2023

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By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the short films on this list are done so based based on the criteria of an original release date in the U.S. of 2023.*

21. “Rewriting Mallory”

Director: Emerson Adams

20. “The Ratcatcher”

Director: Wes Anderson

19. “Clean Up Duty”

Director: Christopher Di Nunzio

18. “Disregard”

Director: Mike Messier

17. “Cascade”

Director: Thomas Angeletti 

16. “Mantid” 

Director: Krista Michaels 

15. “Ivalu” 

Directors: Anders Walter, Pipaluk K. Jorgensen

14. “Poison”

Director: Wes Anderson 

13. “The Swan”

Director: Wes Anderson

12. “Many Keys – The Heartbreak Monologue”

Director: Mike Messier

11. “Captcha”

Director: Andy Fleming

10. “Sisyphus Unbound”

Director: Ryan Fleming

9. “Soul Mates”

Director: Michelle Tomlinson

8. “The Devil on Derby Street”

Director: Luke St. Germaine 

7. “Mrs. Halloway”

Director: Connor Morley

6. “Strange Way of Life”

Director: Pedro Almodovar

5. “The Locked Door”

Director: Richard Griffin

4. “The Wonderful Story of Henry sugar”

Director: Wes Anderson 

3. “The Ground Beyond”

Director: Jeremy Arruda 

2. “The Hatchling”

Director: Tim Cimiano

1. ”After”

Director: Thomas Angeletti

Runners-up:

“Fields”

Director: Charlene Wango

“Rise”

Director: Nisha Ganatra

“Soul Mates” (2023) – (Short Film Review)

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By Andrew Buckner

Rating: ***** out of *****.

“Soul Mates” (2023), from director Michelle Tomlinson and screenwriter and co-star Jim Sea, is a gentle, honest, clear-eyed contemplation of the undying nature of love. The 12-minute short drama is an intimate character study that admirably takes a remarkably grounded approach to the ambitious concept at its core. Such a notion, which is briefly discussed early on but only fully showcased in an uplifting and touching manner that doesn’t defy the credible and sensitive nature of the piece in its extended concluding sequence, is as thought-provoking as it is heartwarming. Keeping in mind the perfect symmetry of strong, straightforward storytelling, sharply developed leads, and the underlying emotional intensity resonating from every frame of this exercise, such a climactic bit makes this compact four-course cinematic meal evermore brilliant.

The narrative revolves around Sean and Abby (Sea and Kristine Isom, respectively).  After Sean imparts the news of a fatal sickness he just received upon Abby that only gives him six months to live, the couple decide to catch up on all the places they wanted to visit and things they have wanted to do in this lifetime. Before making these long standing dreams a reality, Sean and Abby have a conversation. It is one which presents a chance for eternal happiness amid Sean’s recent heartbreaking diagnosis. When Nigel and Poppy (Josh Horton and Sydney Carvill) meet one another in the climactic stretches of the outing and an all-too-familiar discourse blooms among the duo, Sean and Abby’s conviction in trying times is reaffirmed. 

From this powerful springboard, the undertaking heightens its impact with a small, but well chosen, cast. All of whom memorably deliver in their individual roles. Chief among these presentations are the turns from Sea and Isom. They are as genuine, candid, and relatable as they are vulnerable. The energetic portrayals from Horton and Carvill, along with Ian A. Hudson as Jaime, are just as finely tuned. The often fleeting, knowing, and occasionally cryptic dialogue Sea offers these fictional entities, like the intelligent and superbly crafted script itself, is so impressively delivered that it further elevates the already high quality of these depictions.

Moreover, the overall guidance of the endeavor from Tomlinson is terrific. There are enough flashes of style for the composition to be both commendable and visually striking. Still, these elements don’t intrude upon the most pivotal aspect of the attempt: the tale itself. In particular, the deeply human personas who populate the confidently paced effort. 

Adding to the technical mastery found within Tomlinson’s latest configuration is the dazzling cinematography from Orlando Skidmore. Continually, the editing from Tom Ragan is just as noteworthy. The production design from Carma Harvey, set decoration from Jacqueline Harvey, makeup, sound, and visual effects are all top-notch. This can also be said of the soul-stirring music from Jason Wolf. Wolf’s sonic implementations splendidly punctuate the sentimental beats of the creation to phenomenal effect.  

Though the inclusion of Sean’s ailment to set forward the oft-utilized ticking clock motif is an overdone plot device, “Soul Mates” remains an invigorating, challenging, and endlessly engrossing configuration. Boosted by tried-and-true themes that are simultaneously timely and timeless, the venture plays beautifully upon the harp strings of the spirit. This is without ever manipulating it for its own gain. Quietly symbolic and philosophical, mature, and immersive, Tomlinson’s construction is one of the best films of its type this year.