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Ava DuVernay guides Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor to an career best performance in Origin

Multiple awarding film auteur Ava DuVernay reunites with Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor for the harrowing biographical drama Origin from Neon film. DuVernay also pens the film’s screenplay, which adapts Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Isabel Wilkerson (Ellis-Taylor) has just become the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, and fans are clamoring for another book following the success of her first novel, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration.

Reviews & Dunn Ten Best Movies of 2023

Yesterday, I gave my worst of 2023, so now, let’s review my favorite movies of 2023. These films have outstanding craftsmanship, groundbreaking performances, and thought-provoking narratives. While every movie here won’t get Oscar gold, they are the ones I enjoyed most in 2023.

Reviews & Dunn Ten Worst Movies of 2023

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe I’m four years into my passion for film criticism. If you know me, you know that one of my quirks is that I usually find one thing I like in a movie. However, there’s always an exception to the rule.

The Boys in The Boat plays it overly safe as a crowd pleaser

Academy Award winner George Clooney ventures into the world of sports for his latest directorial effort, The Boys in The Boat from MGM. Mark L. Smith pens the film’s screenplay, an adaption of the same-titled New York Times bestselling nonfiction novel by Daniel James Brown.

Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s chemistry saves Anyone But You

Following his successful modernization of “The Scarlett Letter” with Easy A in 2010, director Will Gluck modernizes another literary classic in his latest film, Anyone but You. Gluck collaborates with Ilana Wolpert for a loose adaption of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado about Nothing.”

Wonka is a whimsical prequel

Warner Bros enlists talented director Paul King to take viewers back to the world of chocolate in Wonka. King penned the screenplay with Simon Farnaby from his idea, which tells of the origin story of Willy Wonka, who we all know was first introduced in the 1964 novel, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl, which later received two film adaptations.

Alexander Payne delivers an enjoyable holiday dramedy with The Holdovers

Director Alexander Payne reunites with acclaimed actor Paul Giamatti for his latest film, The Holdovers from Focus Features. David Hemingson pens the film’s screenplay. Paul Hunham (Giamatti), a highly critical and ill-tempered instructor, is assigned to stay on campus during the Christmas break at a New England prep school. He supervises a small group of students who need a place to go during the holiday season.

John Woo cuts the dialogue to deliver the action in Silent Night

Following a two-decade hiatus from Hollywood, the iconic action director John Woo makes his return teaming up with the producers of the John Wick franchise for Silent Night from Lionsgate. Robert Archer pens the screenplay for the film, which features limited spoken dialogue.

Eccentric director Yorgos Lanthimos reunites with Oscar winner Emma Stone for the enjoyable Poor Things

While the male cast members, such as Ruffalo and Dafoe, do a commendable job of delivering their usual quips, some viewers may have reservations about Jerrod Carmichael’s portrayal of Harry Astley and his brief arc in the movie. One of the greatest strengths of Poor Things is its ability to strike a perfect balance between an absolutist and investigative approach to understanding humanity. The director achieves this through the skillful use of style, which seamlessly integrates organic variations and elicits laughter, highlighting the talent of both Lanthimos and Stone.

Breakwater drowns in clichés

Following a twenty-five-year hiatus, James Rowe returns to the world of writing and directing in Breakwater from Vertical. The simplistic plot revolves around Dovey, a young and vulnerable ex-convict played by Darren Mann, who is manipulated by his prison mentor, Ray Childress, portrayed by Dermot Mulroney. Ray’s cunning nature leads him to ask Dovey to break his parole and do him a favor. The favor is to track down Ray’s estranged daughter, Eve, played by Alyssa Goss, who lives in another state.

Overlong runtime doesn’t hinder Hunger Games prequel

Director Francis Lawrence returns to helm the latest installment in the iconic Hunger Games franchise, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, produced by Lionsgate. Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt pen the film’s screenplay, and it serves as an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.