October 27, 2023
With Halloween on the calendar next week, we’re ready to move from Spooky Season to Award Season. The big surprise at the box office this month was that horror wasn’t the winner – no, it was the global superstar who released a concert film that has earned well over $100 million in ticket sales (so far). More on that in a minute.
One of the bigger disappointments of the year, The Exorcist: Believer, was not a success with critics or fans, who largely stayed away. I thought the movie was decent. I liked certain aspects, but was confounded by some choices in the story. I kept thinking throughout the movie that if you’re going to put “The Exorcist” in your title and create a film that is connected to a masterpiece, it’s an incredibly high bar that I don’t think anyone could jump over. You can rent the new installment at home, but I would just rewatch the original if you are looking for one more scary movie this month. I was fortunate to see it in a theater a few weeks ago and it is still incredible after 50 years. The other big horror release this month was Saw X, which I also found to be decent, but not worth seeking out unless you are a Saw franchise completist. If you are, you might want to seek professional help. Let’s move on to some movies I liked a little more.
This Month’s Highlights
Queen of the Box Office – Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Film
I’m sure you’ll be shocked (shocked!) to read that I thought this experience was fantastic. I’m self-aware and in the bag for (practically) anything Taylor does musically (as I listen to her new version of 1989 that was released today). Yes, the film is not as great as seeing the concert in person, but there are so many things you miss from the live show that the film captures, like Taylor’s interactions with her dancers, her knowing looks to the crowd, and her intensity through every single number throughout the three-hour show. Which brings up a good point – this is a long film to sit through in a theater, and in my theater it was LOUD (which was fine with me). If you are a fan of Taylor, you will love it. If you are just a casual listener of her music and want to see what all of the fuss is about, you might enjoy it more from the comfort of your home, likely available early next year. Me? I was enthralled by the audio quality and the footage, which may have set the record for most drone camera shots in the history of cinema. I’ve written enough words about Taylor over the last few years, so I’ll leave my review in simple terms: 10/10. No notes. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Film is now playing in theaters.
A Pleasant Surprise – The Burial
Usually if a movie with big-name stars who haven’t done much lately drops straight to a streaming service, my antenna goes up, and not in a good way. Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx? Great actors, but not exactly at the height of their popularity. Could this be a cash-grab film that’s weak on story and character development? On the contrary, The Burial was a very good movie based on a true story from the early 1990s.
Jones plays the owner of a funeral home chain in Mississippi who is forced to sell part of his business due to financial troubles. After coming to terms with a large corporation, they go back on their word, and he hires an attorney to sue for damages. Enter Jamie Foxx as flamboyant attorney Willie Gary, known for his impressive winning ways at fighting for the little man against powerful companies. Foxx plays the role in an over-the-top manner that I found distracting at first, but his performance quickly won me over. Jones is as good as ever, playing the everyman just trying to provide for his family’s future. If you are looking for a nice crowd-pleasing film to stream on a Friday night, look no further than The Burial, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
The Breakout Hit from Sundance – Fair Play
Netflix made a big splash at this year’s Sundance Film Festival by plunking down $20 million for the business relationship drama Fair Play. While the festival was nine months ago, the film only made its way to our screens this past month. Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton) and Alden Ehrenreich (coming off a strong supporting performance in Oppenheimer) play a couple who work at a cutthroat hedge fund, keeping their relationship a secret from their co-workers. As the film opens, they become engaged, but their happiness is short-lived when she receives a promotion that he desperately wanted. Jealousy ensues in a story that reverses the typical gender roles we usually see in a film like this.
The two leads are very good as the tension ratchets up and director Chloe Domont (who also wrote the script) does an excellent job of keeping us guessing as to how the plot will unfold, although it’s hard to see a good outcome here. One minor quibble – I found some of the office scenes a bit over the top. Granted, I never worked at a hedge fund, but I spent enough of my life in office settings to spot exaggeration when I see it. Fair Play has been marketed in some circles as an “erotic thriller,” however, if you are in my age demographic, don’t be fooled. This is not Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction, but Fair Play does have a few steamy scenes and some thriller elements. Despite the genre label confusion, it is still a very good movie and might be an interesting watch with your significant other to compare your viewpoints from each character’s perspective. Fair Play is now streaming on Netflix.
The Master is Back – Killers of the Flower Moon
In a word – brilliant. Martin Scorsese returns with his first film since 2019’s The Irishman, reuniting with Robert De Niro for the tenth time and Leonardo DiCaprio for the sixth time in the exceptional adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 true-crime book Killers of the Flower Moon. Much will be made of the 3 ½ hour runtime and how movies are too long now. I don’t care. Scorsese is 80 years old and is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Let him do whatever the hell he wants. People sit on their couch and binge watch hours of television all the time. You can handle 3 ½ hours from the master. If you want to wait until it’s available at home, that’s fine – it will be later this year. But having come from the theater today to see the film in glorious IMAX, I can confirm that it is worth the investment. Let’s discuss why.
At the center of Killers is three powerhouse performances that will surely earn Oscar nominations, and maybe one win. DiCaprio stars as Ernest Burkhart, a dimwitted man who returns home from World War I to live with his uncle, William Hale, played by De Niro. Hale is a power broker in the Oklahoma community inhabited by the Osage tribe of Native Americans. They have become incredibly wealthy following the discovery of oil on their land, although their control over their money is subject to arcane laws and regulations, leaving the Osage wealthy but powerless. Burkhart soon meets Molly Kyle (portrayed by Lily Gladstone), whose family has significant land rights, and they fall in love. We also learn about a pattern of Osage murders in the community for several years, including members of Molly’s family, with the goal of stealing their land rights.
There are so many compliments I can make about Killers, starting with the fact that I think it is now my favorite movie of the year, barely surpassing Oppenheimer. Scorsese once again puts his talents on display – casting, production design, camera movement, and partnering with his frequent collaborator, Robbie Robertson, to construct a beautiful score. I wasn’t bothered by the runtime and I think that was helped by a score that is propulsive at times, keeping the film moving forward through the action and the drama. Sadly, this is the last time we will hear Robertson’s work on screen as he passed away a few months ago.
Another impressive aspect of Killers is the choice by Scorsese to modify the focus of the story for the film. Grann’s book was largely centered on the investigation by the FBI (which was still in its infancy at the time). The initial script for the film was similar to that structure, but Scorsese decided to change it to focus more on the Osage tribe and the relationship between Molly and Ernest, with the investigation pushed to the latter third of the movie. Jesse Plemons plays the lead FBI agent and doesn’t show up until two hours into the film. While the crimes against the Osage were brutal and horrifying to watch, spending so much time with them in the story results in a more powerful outcome.
I’ll finish my gushing with a few words about the three lead performances. DiCaprio is once again amazing and I wonder if we are now taking for granted just how brilliant of an actor he can be. He plays the lead character, but not a leading man. Ernest is not a good person and this could not have been an easy role for someone with Leo’s star power to master, but he makes it look easy. I was also impressed with De Niro, who (other than The Irishman) hasn’t been this great onscreen in over a decade. But the true revelation here is Gladstone, in a star-making performance. She plays Molly with tenderness and fierceness, as a woman determined to learn what happened to her family members, slowly beginning to wonder if her husband is involved. Her main competition for Best Actress looks to be Emma Stone in Poor Things (coming in December), but Gladstone is my pick right now – it’s a phenomenal performance. When we wrap up 2023 in a few months, it’s clear that this film will be on the short list of best of the year. Killers of the Flower Moon is now playing in theaters and will stream on Apple TV+ in the next few months.
Coming Attractions
Dream Scenario – I was lucky enough to see this one during my recent trip to the Philadelphia Film Festival. I went full psycho mode this year and saw more movies that I care to admit over the course of my four days in the city of brotherly love. It was another fantastic experience, especially reconnecting with a few people that I met last year, sharing our thoughts on films we saw over the weekend, and other great movies from this year. My two favorites from my trip are coming out in December, so I will share my thoughts on those films next month. But another big title I saw this weekend featured the hardest-working actor in Hollywood, Nicholas Cage, playing a college professor with a peculiar problem.
Paul Matthews is your average family man – married, two teenagers who make fun of him, a steady job, but frustrated that he never accomplished his dream of publishing his book. Then he suddenly becomes the most famous person on the planet. How? Well, Paul starts appearing in people’s dreams. Not just his daughter – his students, colleagues, random people from across the world start seeing Paul just showing up in their dreams, not really doing anything. He’s just…..there. No one can explain the phenomenon and he soon relishes in his fame, thinking it will open doors to his publishing goals. But things turn sour when his dream counterpart starts terrifying people in their dreams, causing the real Paul to become a social pariah. Dream Scenario has a very interesting premise that has effective commentary on cancel culture and with Cage at the top of his game, most of the movie works very well. I wasn’t thrilled with the film’s resolution – the person I saw it with put it perfectly, “They didn’t nail the dismount.” That being said, if you like Cage and are willing to explore a wacky “Charlie Kaufman-esque” plot, then I recommend seeing it. Dream Scenario premieres in theaters on November 10th.
The next several movies are on my short list for November and I’ll share my thoughts in detail next month. If you are interested in films that will be on Oscar voters’ shortlists, check these ones out.
Priscilla – Writer-director Sofia Coppola has adapted the memoir of Priscilla Presley into this look at the early days of her relationship with Elvis. Regardless of how you felt about last year’s Elvis from director Baz Luhrmann, this is a very different kind of movie, not only because of the focal character, but in the style. Coppola, who has directed some wonderful pictures (including Lost in Translation, for which she won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar), has a more subdued style in her filmmaking technique than Luhrmann. Cailey Spaeney plays Priscilla with Euphoria star Jacob Elordi playing Elvis. Early reviews have been positive. Priscilla premieres in theaters on November 3rd.
Nyad – Annette Bening and Jodie Foster have been receiving strong Oscar buzz for their performances in the true story of swimmer Diana Nyad, best known for her record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida in 2013. Bening plays the titular character, whose swimming records have come under scrutiny over the years, and Foster plays her trainer and long-time friend. It will be interesting to see if the controversy about Nyad’s record impacts the awards chances for Bening and Foster later this year. One other important Oscar note – this film’s directors (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin) won the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award for 2018’s excellent Free Solo. Nyad premieres November 3rd on Netflix.
The Holdovers – Academy darling Alexander Payne is back with his first film since 2017’s Downsizing, the only misfire of his directorial career. I actually liked the movie, but it was unpopular with critics and fans. Payne’s previous three films were all nominated for Best Picture and The Holdovers is on the short list of this year’s contenders. He reunites with Paul Giamatti, the star of 2004’s hysterical Sideways, who plays a cranky private school teacher stuck watching the students who stayed on campus during the holiday break. While overseeing them, he bonds with a troubled student dealing with the loss of a parent. The Holdovers might be a little schmaltzy, but I heard good things about it from people who saw it in Philadelphia last weekend. The Holdovers is playing in limited theaters now and will have a wide release on November 10th.
Saltburn – It’s hard to have a hotter start than writer-director Emerald Fennell did with her 2020 feature film debut, Promising Young Woman. The picture was a critical hit, earning five Oscar nominations (albeit in the film-starved COVID year), with Fennell winning for her screenplay. She is back with her second feature, Saltburn, a psychological thriller starring Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) as a young man who becomes attached to his wealthy school friend played by Jacob Elordi (his second big film this month, along with Priscilla). They spend the summer at the affluent family’s estate Saltburn, where things apparently get pretty weird, based on early reviews of the movie. I’ve read that audience reactions to Saltburn will likely be divisive, similar to the response to Promising Young Woman, a movie I liked a lot. There have also been comparisons to The Talented Mr. Ripley for Fennell’s new film, which makes me eager to see this one soon. Saltburn will premiere in theaters on November 17th.
The Killer – Three years after directing his passion project started by his late father (Mank, about the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Citizen Kane), David Fincher is back in his wheelhouse. The Killer is an adaptation of a graphic novel with Michael Fassbender starring as a contract assassin. I am purposely trying to avoid any information about this movie as Fincher is one of my favorite directors, so I want to go in with a clean palette. Early reviews have been positive – maybe not his greatest (hard to do that), but certainly very good. The Killer will be streaming on Netflix on November 10th.
Napoleon – The man just doesn’t stop working. Ridley Scott is about to turn 86, but that hasn’t slowed him down from pursuing his passion. After 2021’s House of Gucci (pretty good) and The Last Duel (excellent, but seen by hardly anyone), Scott is back with a sweeping epic about the French emperor. Joaquin Phoenix reunites with his Gladiator director to play the titular character, with Vanessa Kirby starring as his wife Josephine. I saw the trailer for Napoleon today (looks fantastic), but the full film hasn’t screened at a festival or for critics yet. So, we don’t know a lot about it, other than Scott has already committed to releasing a 4 ½ hour director’s cut on Apple TV+ after the standard-length film’s theatrical run. God bless Sir Ridley, who is now working on the sequel to Gladiator with an all-star cast. Let’s hope the actors’ strike ends quickly so they can get back to filming. Napoleon premieres in theaters on November 22nd, with a streaming release on Apple TV+ likely later this year.
That’s all for this month’s report. I’ll be back next month with more highlights from the movie world. Thanks for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe below.
Hi Steve this was a great read!