Matt writes: For our final Ebert Club newsletter of 2023, we are presenting the films selected by our writers at RogerEbert.com, including yours truly, as the year's best. You can read each of our individual lists here, though the film that topped our combined list was also the one that took home the Best Picture prize from the Chicago Film Critics Association: Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon." Here is what our critic Glenn Kenny wrote about it:
Martin Scorsese’s monumental adaptation of David Grann’s non-fiction bestseller contains a bounty of viewing pleasures, but in the main it is something like an anti-entertainment. For the first two hours or so of its 206-minute running time, Scorsese forges a form of slow cinema. The machinations and sins of Ernest Burkhart and William “King” Hale (Scorsese stalwarts Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro) are laid out in studious and merciless detail, and often conveyed in static-camera tableaux that evoke not just Griffith and DeMille but Straub and Huillet. The crimes against the Osage Nation members who were the rightful owners of oil-rich Oklahoma land are committed in practically plain sight, and with almost droning repetition. Why isn’t anybody doing anything? Well, yes, that’s a good question.
Whether you think Scorsese is making you uncomfortable in order to contend with man’s inhumanity to man or to make you undergo a form of white guilt depends on where your head is at, and your response might not be the one you’d prefer. It’s all about the perspectives the filmmaker chooses. Lily Gladstone’s performance as Mollie is a sonata of stillness and indignation—“No investigation,” a reprise repeated in voiceover early in the film, is said with her voice—and Mollie’s kiss-off of Ernest is the greatest of its kind since Alida Valli walked away from Joseph Cotten in “The Third Man.” But while in “The Third Man,” the viewer gets to digest the look of utter disdain on Valli’s face as she walks on by, here we don't have the option of sharing any kind of satisfaction or vindication with Mollie. Here, as all through the movie, form serves function. Because Mollie isn't merely walking away from Ernest but from us. We are obliged to sit with Ernest in his befuddlement, and with the subsequent knowledge that this criminal will, in real life, die a free man, as will his mentor in murder.
Trailers
The Promised Land (2024). Directed by Nikolaj Arcel. Written by Nikolaj Arcel and Anders Thomas Jensen (based on the book by Ida Jessen). Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Amanda Collin, Gustav Lindh. Synopsis: The story of Ludvig Kahlen who pursued his lifelong dream: To make the heath bring him wealth and honor. Debuts in the US on February 2nd, 2024.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024). Directed by Rose Glass. Written by Rose Glass and Weronika Tofilska. Starring Kristen Stewart, Jena Malone, Ed Harris. Synopsis: A romance fueled by ego, desire and the American Dream. Debuts in the US on March 8th, 2024.
Spaceman (2024). Directed by Johan Renck. Written by Colby Day (based on the book by Jaroslav Kalfar). Starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano. Synopsis: Jakub Procházka, orphaned as a boy and raised in the Czech countryside by his grandparents, overcomes his odds to become the country's first astronaut. Debuts on Netflix on March 1st, 2024.
Miller's Girl (2024). Written and directed by Jade Halley Bartlett. Starring Martin Freeman, Jenna Ortega, Bashir Salahuddin. Synopsis: A creative writing assignment yields complex results between a teacher and his talented student. Debuts in the US on January 26th, 2024.
The Kitchen (2024). Directed by Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares. Written by Daniel Kaluuya and Joe Murtagh. Starring Kano, Hope Ikpoku Jnr, Henry Lawfull. Synopsis: In a dystopian future London where all social housing has been eliminated, Izi and Benji fight to navigate the world as residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to abandon their home. Debuts on Netflix on January 19th, 2024.
The Regime (2024). Created by Will Tracy. Starring Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts. Synopsis: An authoritarian regime is about to unravel. Follows a story of one year within the walls of its palace. US release date is TBA.
The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024). Written and directed by Kobi Libii. Starring Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan. Synopsis: Aren is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance. Debuts in the US on March 22nd, 2024.
Housekeeping for Beginners (2024). Written and directed by Goran Stolevski. Starring Samson Selim, Mia Mustafi, Dzada Selim. Synopsis: A queer woman is forced to raise her partner's daughter who herself doesn't want to be a mother. US release date is TBA.
Expats (2024). Created by Lulu Wang. Starring Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo. Synopsis: A look at the personal and professional lives of a tight-knit group of expatriates living in Hong Kong. Debuts on Prime Video on January 26th, 2024.
He Went That Way (2024). Directed by Jeffrey Darling. Written by Evan M. Wiener. Starring Jacob Elordi, Patrick J. Adams, Zachary Quinto. Synopsis: A journey of curious tensions and bonds between two and at times three interesting characters all on their own path. Debuts in the US on January 12th, 2024.
American Star (2024). Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego. Written by Nacho Faerna. Starring Ian McShane, Thomas Kretschmann, Nora Arnezeder. Synopsis: An assassin on a final assignment in Fuerteventura, to kill a man he has never met. When his target is delayed, he finds himself drawn to the island, people and a ghostly shipwreck. Debuts in the US on January 26th, 2024.
The Three Musketeers—Part II: Milady (2024). Directed by Martin Bourboulon. Written by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière (based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas). Starring François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Eva Green. Synopsis: D'Artagnan is forced to join forces with Milady to save Constance, who was kidnapped before his eyes. But as war is declared and Athos, Porthos and Aramis have already joined the front, a secret from the past shatters old alliances. US release date is TBA.
The Bikeriders (2024). Written and directed by Jeff Nichols. Starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer. Synopsis: Follows the rise of a midwestern motorcycle club as it evolves over the course of a decade - from a gathering place for local outsiders into a more sinister gang, threatening the original group's way of life. Debuts in the US on June 21st, 2024.
IF (2024). Written and directed by John Krasinski. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell, John Krasinski. Synopsis: A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. Debuts in the US on May 17th, 2024.
Dune: Part Two (2024). Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Written by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (based on the novel by Frank Herbert). Starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh. Synopsis: Paul Atreides unites with Chani and the Fremen while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Debuts in the US on March 1st, 2024.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024). Directed by Mark Molloy. Written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten (based on characters created by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr.). Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton. Synopsis: Detective Axel Foley finds himself drawn back to the opulent environs of Beverly Hills to investigate the untimely demise of a long-time confidant. US release date is TBA.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024). Directed by Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Stine. Written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. Starring Jack Black, Viola Davis, Awkwafina. Synopsis: After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm. Debuts in the US on March 8th, 2024.
Civil War (2024). Written and directed by Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Jesse Plemons. Synopsis: In the near future, a team of journalists travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating civil war that has engulfed the entire nation. Debuts in the US on April 26th, 2024.
The Great Performances of 2023
Matt writes: In our annual Great Performances feature, I joined my colleagues in writing about a particular actor whose work I found extraordinary: namely Abby Ryder Fortson, whose portrayal of the title role in Kelly Fremon Craig's masterful Judy Blume adaptation, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." was my favorite performance of 2023.
Chaz Ebert's Top 10(-ish) Films of 2023
Matt writes: RogerEbert.com publisher Chaz Ebert unveiled her own picks for the year's best films in a Top 10(-ish) list that actually contained nineteen films, beginning with a three-way tie for the #1 spot: Cord Jefferson's "American Fiction," Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Ava DuVernay's soon-to-be-released "Origin." You can view the trailers for each of her picks here.
Free Movies
My Dear Secretary (1948). Written and directed by Charles Martin. Starring Kirk Douglas, Laraine Day, Keenan Wynn. Synopsis: A romance novelist appoints a would-be writer as his secretary. Although she is initially dismayed by his work ethic and playboy attitude, they begin to fall in love.
Watch "My Dear Secretary"
Home Town Story (1951). Written and directed by Arthur Pierson. Starring Jeffrey Lynn, Donald Crisp, Marilyn Monroe. Synopsis: After failing to be re-elected, politician Blake Washburn returns home and becomes editor of the local newspaper. When he notices the influence the paper has on the public, he uses it to appeal to potential voters in the next election.
Watch "Home Town Story"
A Dangerous Summer (1982). Directed by Quentin Masters. Written by Quentin Masters and David Ambrose. Starring Tom Skerritt, Ian Gilmour, Giselle Morgan. Synopsis: When a crummy hotel burns down in Australia, the American co-owner tries to find out whether or not the fire was deliberately set or just an accident.
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