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This is my annual post about the new films I saw over the prior year. Here's a link to last year's list if you want to work backwards through my choices over time. I made the following point last year and it remains true thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:I saw all of these films at home rather than at my local multiplex. I think the last movie I saw in the cinema was Little Women in December 2019. On Long Island. I vividly recall the experience and miss it dearly. This first group of films is excellent. There are Oscar nominations to be found here:Tier IThe Worst Person in the WorldThe Banshees of InisherinThe OutfitGlass OnionKimiElvisThe FalloutThe Worst Person in the World was nominated for an Oscar (foreign film) last year, but it was not widely released in the US until February 2022, so I'm counting it as a current-year film. It was great. Obviously, it is subtitled, but you get some terrific scenes from Oslo, a lovely city that I have not visited in 25ish years. If the young female star Renate Reinsve can work in English, she'll start appearing in major Hollywood films soon. The Banshees of Inisherin is quirky, funny (at times), and ultimately kind of sad. It's a "tragicomedy" and perhaps typically Irish. The setting is beautiful, but the story of the end of a friendship quickly captures the audiences's focus. The film made me want to have a pint of Guinness with some old friends, most of whom are scattered all over the country. I see them too rarely. Top-notch film-making here. The Outfit seemed more like a play than a film, but it was a really well-done staged production about crime. Kimi featured a similarly claustrophobic production scale, but that was a key element of the plot. It embraced the isolation of the pandemic and made an entertaining movie from it.Glass Onion is funny, fairly clever, and thoroughly engaging. As the clues are ticked off in the end, I felt dumb for missing so many of them. It's perhaps better than Knives Out, which I loved. Elvis is very flashy and entertaining, but it doesn't reveal quite enough about Col. Tom Parker, a major character in the film. Fortunately, the film devotes much more attention to the vibrant Elvis rather than the last few years of drug-induced decline. I've seen reports on the internet that a MUCH longer version could be forthcoming. It's already long. The Fallout is about student reactions to school gun violence. It was powerful, I thought. Tier IIUnbearable Weight of Massive TalentEmily the Criminal What We Leave Behind (doc) NopeAthena (French)Don't Worry DarlingThe Nic Cage film (Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) will leave you thinking about watching Paddington 2. So far my wife and I have resisted the urge.Emily the Criminal is a very good modern crime story, told from the perspective of the desperate criminal. Aubrey Plaza is good in the role and you worry about her safety at times. You almost always worry about her decisions. I wouldn't be surprised if What We Leave Behind is included in the nominations for best documentary. It's a very good film about people who live in both the US and Mexico, though the main character is clearly most rooted in the latter. Nope is not quite as good as the two prior Jordan Peele films, but it has its own virtues. We watched it Halloween weekend and the scares are fairly modest. The French film Athena is about the relationship between migrants and the police/military. It was very good, though the style is a bit over-the-top at times. It reminded me of Guy Richie's early work. Don't Worry Darling has a flawed storyline, but its virtues make up for it. The overall message is worth the effort and the visual style is simply remarkable. Tier IIIThe BatmanThe Lost CityDogHustleTop Gun: MaverickEverything Everywhere All At OnceThis next set includes films that have their virtues, but I found them to be fairly seriously flawed. The Batman was not outstanding, but it was fine. My students highly recommended it, so I guess it found its intended audience. These comic turns for Sandra Bulloch (The Lost City) and Adam Sander (Hustle), plus Channing Tatum (Lost City and Dog) and Queen Latifah (Hustle), respectively, were fairly predictable entertainment vehicles that relied upon the appeal of the main actors. Lost City seemed like a lesser version of the old Romancing the Stone films and Hustle employs the standard sports film plot about the underdog who achieves some success thanks to grit, determination, and hard work. Dog was a surprisingly good film about PTSD. Top Gun had its moments, but it was a popcorn flick with a forgettable plot. I'm not a big fan of martial arts and the sci-fi element in Everything Everywhere made for a strange combination. At least to me. Tier IVThor: Love and Thunder Dr. Strange: Multiverse MadnessI watched these in December while my spouse was visiting her father. Neither is particularly good -- I'm not sure why Disney and Marvel keep making these films. Actually, I know why they to it -- to make a lot of money. Why do people keep watching them? I viewed them because I'm teaching the film class in spring 2023 and my students seem to see all of them. 
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I didn't watch that many 2023 movies this year, particularly through October. However, I did sign up for Letterboxd and have been writing brief reviews there. It obviously serves to log all the films I've seen, not merely those released in 2023. It appears I watched 86 films in 2023; thus, the list of new films below reflects only a small portion of my total movie viewing. As longtime readers know, this is an annual list and here is a link to last year's post if you want to work backwards through my viewing experiences. Films from this first set will probably receive award nominations, or at least deserve strong consideration.Leave the World BehindMay DecemberScrapperMaster GardenerAre You There God? It's Me, MargaretShowing UpI doubt Leave the World Behind is the best picture of 2023, but I think it is outstanding and am certain to see it again -- and will strongly consider it for viewing in my class on Global Politics Through Film. Amidst all the paranoia are some interesting reactions to uncertainty, threats, cyber-terror, and ecological catastrophe. May December is an interesting film with strong acting performances and both subtle and unsubtle messages. At least the filmmaker had something of potential importance to say.Scrapper is sort of a British version of The Florida Project, though I think the young girl lead actor is older in this film. The story is interesting, there are some funny moments, and the human connections seem real. Master Gardener was one of the stranger movies I've seen in awhile and the romantic connection that the title character ultimately forms is unpredictable, but believable.  Joel Egerton is a talented actor that I also saw this year in The Stranger. He plays very complex characters in both films. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (based on the Judy Blume book) was entertaining, despite the fact that I was likely not the target audience. Kathy Bates steals her scenes, which are often hilarious. Showing Up is a character study with a thin plot and terrific acting performances. The artists in the film are friends and family who inspire and infuriate one another, depending upon the moment. In the end they seem to be able to live with that dichotomy even if some are particularly gifted and have talent that "shows up" others. My spouse and I are big fans of director Kelly Reichardt. Check out her other films, perhaps beginning with First Cow or Wendy and Lucy. We saw Certain Women a few weeks prior to seeing Showing Up.  These films were quite good and might receive award consideration:SharperThe KillerThey Cloned TyroneRealityBarbieThe Pez Outlaw (documentary)Sharper is a pretty good crime film with con-man (woman) vibes. The Killer is well-executed, but ultimately the story is a basic revenge plot for an unsympathetic character. It lacks heft. They Cloned Tyrone isn't really a comedy, despite Jamie Foxx's performance, but it is entertaining and fairly clever at times. Reality was interesting and based on a true story, but the true story felt a little thin for a feature film. Everyone saw Barbie, right? I liked it, more or less, but there are significant shortcomings inherent in the source material. This film's success proves that Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling have enough star power (and talent), and Greta Gerwig sufficient directing skill, to make an entertaining film out of almost nothing substantial.  I would have liked to see those 3 remake something like The Pez Outlaw as a feature film, rather than a small documentary. Bet that would be interesting. It's a fun tale on its own. These were less interesting to me:Asteroid CityNo Hard FeelingsIndiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyAsteroid City is an interesting visual experience, but Wes Anderson's mannered style becomes a bit tedious in this mediocre film. In all honesty, I didn't think that much of Wes Anderson's previous film, The French Dispatch, and wonder if he's trying a bit too hard to be quirky at the expense of story-telling. Keep in mind that I loved Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel. I also saw his short The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar this fall and found it merely OK. Jennifer Lawrence is always worth watching, and there's much of her to see in No Hard Feelings (you probably read about the beach scene even if you didn't see the movie), but this is not a particularly funny comedy. Maybe it would have been better in a theater. Nothing in Indiana Jones seemed particularly novel, but I guess it was worth using the IP for one last payday. I kind of wish the character Jones had been handled more like James Bond, with younger actors portraying him after a few films with more frequent releases. An adventuresome archaeologist is a great premise, but they could have used more creativity reflecting on the world. I'm obviously missing a large number of highly rated films from 2023 and plan to see them through 2024 (and beyond). I used to provide a list (and I still might) of top-rated films that I have not yet seen, but I didn't do it last year and no one complained. 
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This is my annual post about the new films I saw over the prior year. Here's a link to last year's list if you want to work backwards through my choices over time. I made the following point last year and it remains true thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:I saw nearly all of these films at home rather than at my local multiplex. I think the last movie I saw in the cinema was Little Women in December 2019. On Long Island. I vividly recall the experience and miss it dearly. This first group of films is excellent. All that were eligible last year (the top 5) were nominated for Oscars and were worthy of those nominations. The 2020 Oscar competition allowed for films released early in 2021 to be eligible for consideration, which explains why they are included here. As for the "new" crop of 2021 films, I found Limbo to be excellent with a potent political (and humanistic) message about the duty to care for refugees. Power of the Dog is a novel western in that it addresses themes not ordinarily present in the genre. Tier INomadlandJudas and the Black MessiahThe FatherOne Night in MiamiQuo Vadis, Aida?LimboPower of the DogThese next films were also entertaining, but they were clearly a notch below the selections in the top tier. CODA is earning a lot of awards buzz and may well be worth it. I found it to have predictable "movie of the week" themes, but it is very well done and it reveals a bit of the world unfamiliar to most of us. King Richard was also well done, but it relies upon a number of sport film tropes that will be familiar to viewers. Shiva Baby was very hard to watch at times, with extremely awkward situations and an atonal soundtrack. It may make your skin crawl, but it is smart. See Rams. I really wanted to like Don't Look Up and I very much appreciated its message about science, but I think it may have been overly ambitious with its attacks on media and celebrity culture. It wasn't as funny as it should have been despite the all-star cast and production team. By contrast, I Care a Lot is excellent social satire that is quite well written and funny. Its targets are not as ambitious. Tier III Care A LotKing RichardQuiet Place IIRamsCODANo Sudden MovesDon't Look UpNo Time to DieShiva BabyRiders of JusticeTogether TogetherThe White TigerWorthI also saw these new films in 2021:Tier IIIThe Kid DetectivePlan BOh, also, I saw a few new documentaries in 2021. Summer of Soul was one of the best movies of the year and should earn an Oscar nomination. A Glitch in the Matrix was not worth my time -- or yours. I enjoyed 227 by the same director and they have a similar odd take on pop culture. But no, skip it. Summer of SoulSome Kind of Heaven Derek DelGaudio's in & of Itself A Glitch in the MatrixI almost forgot to add a list of Films of 2021 I still plan to see:About Endlessness, Akilla's Escape, All is Forgiven, Amusement Park, Anne at 13,000 ft, Assassins, Atlantis, Azor, Beginning, Belfast, Belushi, Bergman Island, Card Counter, Censor, The Climb, C'mon C'mon, Come From Away, Come True, Concrete Cowboy, The Courier, Cowboys, Cruella, The Disciple, The Dig, Dream Horse, Dune Part One, First Wave, FTA, Green Knight, Hearts and Bones, Holler, Hope, Human Factor, Human Voice, Identifying Features, I'm Your Man, Inheritance, Karen Dalton, Keep an Eye Out, Killing of Two Lovers, Land, Lapsis, Licorice Pizza, Little Fish, Lost Daughter, Mass, Mitchells vs. The Machines, Memoria, MLK/FBI, Mogul Mowgli, Night of the Kings, Nobody,  Outside Story, Oxygen, Passing, Pieces of a Woman, Pig, The Reason I Jump, Red Rocket, The Rescue, Ride or Die, Rocks, Rose Plays Julie, Saint Maud, Saint-Narcisse, Shadow in the Cloud, Slow Machine, Souvenir Part II, Spencer, Stowaway, Supernova, This Is Not a Burial It's a Resurrection, tick, tick...Boom!, Tina, Tragedy of Macbeth, Truffle Hunters, Two of Us, Undergods, Undine, The Vigil, White Lie, Wild Indian, World to Come, Yellow Rose, Zola. And these are Films of 2020 I still need to see:All In: The Fight for Democracy, Babyteeth, Bacurau, Banana Split, The Beach House, Beanpole, Beats, Bloody Nose Empty Pockets, City Hall, Color out of Space, Come as You Are, David Byrne's American Utopia, Donut King, End of Sentence, Ghost of Peter Sellers,  Half of It, Herself, How to Build a Girl, Lost Girls, Madre, Mangrove, Martin Eden, Miss Juneteenth, Mr. Jones, My Darling Vivian, The Nest, Ordinary Love, Place of No Words, The Platform, Possessor, Premature, Proxima, Relic, the Rental, Selah and the Spades, She Dies Tomorrow, Social Dilemma, Sorry We Missed You, Spaceship Earth, Straight Up, Sugar Daddy, The Surrogate, True History of the Kelly Gang, The Truth, Vitalina Varela, Wander Darkly, The Whistlers, A White, White Day, White Riot.
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Thanks to the case of COVID that I'm still combatting, I've spent many evenings these past two weeks watching films I missed over the past few years -- with an emphasis on genre films that my spouse does not like all that much, including science fiction, overly violent action movies, and disaster films. She's again been away fulfilling a family obligation. These are the films I watched, ranked in order of my liking, with a few comments:Dune (2021) (HBO Max)This was far and away the best film I saw during the two weeks, but it is not without some significant flaws. I read the novel back in the late 1970s or early 1980s and saw the earlier filmed version not long after it was available on cable after a theatrical run. This version of the film told a compelling story with a clear narrative. I recall that the prior film sort of failed at that, but it's been many years since I saw it. Still, this movie's pacing is kind of slow and the plot turns on a betrayal that is not very well explained. I will watch the next one. Midnight Sky (2020) (Netflix)Ultimately, this film is a disaster film more than a science fiction film. If it didn't star George Clooney it would probably be a lot less watchable. The film makes some strange narrative choices -- relying upon a good number of flashbacks to Clooney's youth and showing some "normal" day-to-day activity on a long-haul space mission. Not all of the threads weave together into a coherent narrative. I mean, ultimately, what was the purpose of this film? It was mostly entertaining, in its way, but the writing could have used a few tweaks. The Old Guard (2020) (Netflix)The premise of this film is interesting -- imagine a small group of people who cannot be killed. Indeed, their wounds miraculously heal in a very short amount of time. This superpower gives them the ability to live for centuries and combat whatever foes they decide to identify. Charlize Theron is the main character (and leader of the fighting force), but she isn't given much to say that is all that interesting. Apparently this is based on a comic book and it has that feel. I kept thinking that someone who has read the comics would have a much better idea of these characters and their relationships. Without that knowledge, the film fails to connect on some level. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) (Netflix)If you ever wondered what happened to Jesse after the Breaking Bad series ended, then this film provides some answers. It was good to see some of the original stars make appearances in this film (often in flashback), but I didn't think it was as well-written (or well-paced) as an average episode of the original series. Better Call Saul is generally also better. It is worth your time and maybe should be a bit higher on this list. The Outfit (1973) (HBO Max)This film obviously isn't a recent release, but I had not seen it even though I've read a lot of Richard Stark's (Donald Westlake's) Parker novels. Those books are terrific, generally, and they work because the main character is basically a super-efficient criminal who nonetheless often runs into bad luck. The life of crime he selects is not easy. This film is not especially loyal to the original book and Robert Duvall did not make a very good Parker. And in this film he's named Earl Macklin. Greenland (2020) (HBO Max)At several points during the film I thought about ending my viewing. The story is clunky, featuring an "extinction-level" event for the planet, but focusing on the survival efforts of one family. The three members of the family are racing for shelter in a secret government bunker, but they become separated across Georgia and Tennessee thanks to a series of unfortunate events. One of these characters is a small child and the ongoing disaster is playing havoc with communications. Their reunion is all-too-easily achieved, frankly, even as it causes the father character to steal a car, fight for his life, and .... make peace with his father-in-law because of a prior act of adultery? The script is kind of a mess. 
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Hacker: Hauptsache Kapuzenpulli. – Gemeinfrei-ähnlich freigegeben durch unsplash.com Richard PattersonWas hat die Darstellung von Hackern im deutschen Film und Fernsehen eigentlich mit der echten Welt zu tun? Und welche Klischees werden in Hackerfilmen bedient? Diesen Fragen widmet sich Buchautor William Mahan im Gespräch mit Caspar Clemens Mierau, Constanze Kurz und Marcus Richter. Wir sprechen insbesondere über die Filme "23", "Who am I" und "The Billion Dollar Code".

The graphic below identifies the top 25 films from 2023 that critics ranked on their end-of-year "best of" lists. The full list goes to 100 and if you are interested in seeing it, I'm sourcing the list from a different website this year. The methodology for compilation is ostensibly the same. Here's the detail:Films are sorted by the percentage of lists they are included on.* This is typically the same as sorting by number of lists included, but can vary when films make lists across multiple years.  For example, if one film makes 10 lists in a year with 100 lists available, it's ranking will be higher than a film that makes 15 lists when 200 lists are available.  The times a film appears at the top of a list is used as a tie-breaker.*punctuation errors corrected Basically, this is an annual best films comment that I'm posting for 2023. This is the post about the best films of 2022. Below this graphic, you'll find my rankings of these films (by tiers) with a list of the ones I still need to see. As I watch them over time, I'll edit the post but note the changes with yellow highlighting.  This "best of" comment is distinct from both the annual post on "films of 2023," which is my end-of-year musing about all the films I saw in a calendar year and my annual Oscar post. Top-tier films. These are very serious Oscar contenders:Killers of the Flower MoonOppenheimerPast LivesAmerican FictionThe HoldoversMay DecemberI've seen all but May December since the new year, which means they were not on the December list for 2023. The top 4 5 on this are excellent and are well worth your time. Warning: Oppenheimer is exceptional, but it is both very long and about a subject that I have studied off-and-on since the 1980s. Your interest may vary from mine.  Incidentally, I joined Letterboxd last October and you can find  my brief reviews of films there. I think I backfilled for all of 2023 and most of the films used in my political science course. Second-tier films. These are very good and may garner Oscar support:Maestro Showing UpBarbieMaestro was well-made and well-acted, but I wasn't nearly as interested in this story as I was in the stories from the first-tier of films. I didn't find Bernstein's life especially interesting.  The 2 films after Maestro were both calendar year 2023 viewings. Honestly I thought about putting Barbie in the following tier. Third-tier films. These are entertaining but flawed films:The KillerAre You There God? It's Me, MargaretAsteroid CityAgain, nothing new here yet. My spouse and I are trying to find time to see the Oscar nominated movies. Fourth-tier films. I found these to be disappointing and do not recommend (if necessary, could remain blank):N/AFilms yet to see (16 of 25 as of today):AfireAll of Us StrangersAnatomy of a FallThe Boy and the HeronFallen LeavesGodzilla Minus OneJohn Wick: Chapter 4PassagesPoor ThingsPriscillaSaltburnSpider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseThe Zone of InterestGlancing through the rest of the top 100, I've seen the following films already and rank them roughly in this order:Tar (tier 1, a remnant from last year's list for some critic)Fair Play (tier 2 or 3)They Cloned Tyrone (tier 2 or 3)Reality (tier 2 or 3)Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I (Tier 4 material)

Below, I have posted the annual list produced by Metacritic that reflects an aggregation of about 300 "Top 10" film lists produced by critics this past year. Every year, I note this list to keep track of what I've seen and to provide my own tiered rankings of the films. I will ultimately add some comments especially if I've updated my rankings from my prior post on new films that I managed to see in 2021. Generally, I post this list in February (just to be sure the rankings are final) and I'll have typically seen about half of them -- thanks partly to a concerted effort in the new year to see them. I'm behind schedule this year, as discussed below. FILMS MENTIONED ON MOST CRITIC TOP 10 LISTS - 2022Movie and Metascore# 1st Place# 2nd Place# OtherPoints181 Everything Everywhere All at Once441978248287 The Banshees of Inisherin1827100.5208.5392 Tar241790196495 Aftersun211574.5167.5577 Nope81286.5134.5678 Top Gun: Maverick12973127784 The Fabelmans13470117884 Decision to Leave8468.5100.5983 RRR8455.587.51085 EO4738.564.51190 All the Beauty and the Bloodshed2447.561.51281 Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery2443.557.51367 Crimes of the Future7624571479 Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio3142531579 Women Talking3631521672 The Batman2237.547.51764 Elvis0439471891 Saint Omer5227461974 Bones and All4519.541.52091 No Bears3324392180 Marcel the Shell With Shoes On2130.538.52286 Happening2226362378 After Yang2224.534.52483 Turning Red0130322580 The Eternal Daughter1224.531.581 Benediction1224.531.52790 Hit the Road3119.530.52863 Triangle of Sadness2024302960 Babylon2218.528.53077 The Woman King122128Because we include some foreign publications, it is possible for a few titles to repeat from last year's list due to differences in USA and overseas release dates.I have seen a few of these films to-date, but have plenty to go (22 of 30 listed). As I watch them, I'll highlight changes. Tier 1 These are top-notch Oscar-worthy films.The Banshees of Inishiren TárTriangle of SadnessThe FabelmansGlass Onion: A Knives Out MysteryElvisHit the RoadThe newcomer here is Spielberg's autobiographical film, The Fabelmans. It is excellent and I highly recommend it. The acting is first-rate. Cate Blanchett is fabulous in Tár and the film is worth your time. Tier 2 These are very good films, but with some flaws. Some of them likely will have received Oscar nominations. AftersunBabylonNopeThe Woman KingMarcel the Shell With Shoes OnThis tier is surprisingly empty. I suspect that many of the remaining movies will fit in here, but I have no idea yet. Update: Babylon is an over-the-top, overlong, zany, surreal, and thoroughly watchable spectacle. Yet, I did not regret the 3 hour investment of time and mentally compared it to Pulp Fiction on several occasions. The Woman King is a very different kind film, obviously, but I liked it and would recommend it. Tier 3 These are good films, but with more flaws.The BatmanTop Gun: MaverickEverything Everywhere All at OnceI'm sticking to my opinion from December that none of these movies can be described as "very good," let alone great. I realize that there could be some Academy Award winners involved in the film-making, but that doesn't mean that I have to like the movies. They are well made and include some good performances.I typically don't need lower tiers for this list because it is allegedly comprised of the very best movies of the year -- at least according to film critics. Here's the alphabetical list of the 22 films that I have not yet seen:After YangAll the Beauty and the BloodshedBenedictionBones and AllCrimes of the FutureDecision to LeaveEOThe Eternal DaughterGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio HappeningNo BearsRRRSaint OmerTurning RedWomen Talking
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Below, find the annual list produced by Metacritic that reflects an aggregation of over 300 "Top 10" film critic lists for the year. Every year, I note this list to keep track of what I've seen and to provide my own tiered rankings of the films. I might add some comments especially if I've updated my rankings from my prior post on new films that I managed to see in 2021. Generally, I post this list in February (just to be sure the rankings are final) and I'll have typically seen about half of them -- thanks partly to a concerted effort in the new year to see them. FILMS MENTIONED ON MOST CRITIC TOP 10 LISTS - 2021Movie and Metascore# 1st Place# 2nd Place# OtherPoints189 The Power of the Dog3123118.5257.5291 Drive My Car232389.5204.5390 Licorice Pizza202186188474 Dune121267.5127.5585 West Side Story10766110685 The Green Knight71166.5109.5796 Summer of Soul10561.5101.5890 The Worst Person in the World81251.599.5982 Pig7557.588.51094 Petite Maman8644801191 Memoria11729761275 Titane6349731374 The French Dispatch3447.564.51486 The Lost Daughter6239.561.51575 Red Rocket2343.555.51690 The Souvenir Part II2537.553.51775 CODA5331521875 Belfast9220.551.51977 The Card Counter0638.550.576 Spencer3139.550.52182 C'mon C'mon2338502281 The Mitchells vs. The Machines4331492386 Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy5327.548.52491 Flee2233432567 Annette3228412688 Parallel Mothers1233402785 Passing0039.539.52874 tick, tick...BOOM!0529392974 Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn3420373087 The Tragedy of Macbeth3024.533.5Because we include some foreign publications, it is possible for a few titles to repeat from last year's list due to differences in USA and overseas release dates. I have seen a few of these films to-date, but have plenty to go (22 of 30 listed). As I watch them, I'll highlight changes. Tier 1 These are top-notch Oscar-worthy films.BelfastThe Worst Person in the World The Power of the DogSummer of SoulLicorice PizzaPassingObviously, I would have selected Belfast over CODA for Best Picture. Summer of Soul was really entertaining and Licorice Pizza was fun. See The Worst Person in the World. Tier 2 These are very good films, but with some flaws. Some of them have received Oscar nominations. C'mon C'mon Red Rocket The French DispatchThe Lost DaughterCODAThe Card CounterPig (Hulu)Dune (HBO Max)The Mitchells vs. The Machines (Netflix)Flee (Hulu)SpencerThe Tragedy of MacbethDrive My Car C'mon C'mon features a terrific kid actor and a solid performance by Joaquin Phoenix. And a Gaby Hoffman sighting. Red Rocket director Sean Baker makes really good films -- this one is about someone from the Boogie Nights porn scene returning to Texas in unexplained poverty. Bad decisions prevail, but character choices are limited by their context. The Card Counter turned out to be an Iraq film, which I didn't realize before viewing it. It's difficult to watch at times. Viewers likely expect to see a gambler succeeding (or failing) with life-altering consequences. Here, you get that, but also Abu Ghraib flashbacks. Frankly, the order of the first 6 of these Tier 2 films could be altered on any given day. Tier 3 These are likely good films, but with more flaws.The Green KnightNone so far.I typically don't need lower tiers for this list because it is comprised of the very best movies of the year -- at least according to film critics. Here's the alphabetical list of the 22 films that I have not yet seen (with some streaming info added):Annette (Prime)Bad Luck Banging or Loony PornMemoria (Kanopy)Parallel MothersPetite MamanThe Souvenir Part IItick, tick..BOOM! (Netflix)TitaneWest Side Story (HBO Max)Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
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Unexpectedly, I've been home this past week instead of vacationing. I'm spending my evenings watching films I missed over the past few years -- with an emphasis on genre films that my spouse does not like all that much, including science fiction, animated features, superhero films, overly violent action movies, and horror. She's away fulfilling a family obligation. These are the films I watched, ranked in order of my liking, with a few comments:The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021) (Netflix)Yes, it feels a bit like The Incredibles, but it is very well done and funny despite the fact that the story takes place during a robot/AI apocalypse. It was nominated for the 2022 Oscar in the animated category, but did not win. Consider this great line of dialogue from the Mark Zuckerberg-type character: "It's almost like stealing people's data and giving it to a hyper-intelligent AI as part of an unregulated tech monopoly was a bad thing." I laughed a lot. Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel (2009) (HBO Max)This was pretty funny and fairly entertaining. I almost always like Chris O'Dowd films and Anna Faris is charismatic here. Most of the film takes place in a bar and involves three nerdy friends who drink beer and talk about time travel and potential films they might make. Keep in mind that these are their dreams and ambitions because on-screen they are portrayed as losers. O'Dowd's character, for example, loses his job in the first few minutes of the story. It is a solid addition to the time travel genre even as it pokes some fun at the idea. Oblivion (2013) (HBO Max)This science fiction film didn't really register on my radar when it came out, but it was worth watching. It is set post-apocalypse and virtually all the planet's humans are dead. There are some interesting plot twists and the story does not feature too many mindless fight scenes with big explosions. Still, Tom Cruise action films often seem a bit off-kilter to me, particularly when they reveal him to be romantically involved with women nearly 20 years younger than he is. Also, he's a fairly small guy for an action hero (5'7" tall?).Gerald's Game (2017) (Netflix)This film was apparently based on a Stephen King story, though I haven't read it. If you know anything about the movie you probably know the premise. A couple trying to repair their marriage attempts to add a bit of spice to their relationship by venturing out into the middle of nowhere to have an adventurous tryst. Shortly upon arrival, the wife puts on her sexy new slip, the husband strips to his boxer briefs, handcuffs his spouse to the bedposts, starts pretending to be someone else (to her dismay), and then soon has a fatal heart attack. A lot of the story seems to happen in the woman's imagination as she struggles to survive and escape. Some of what she imagines may be real -- it is King, right? I found it watchable, but a big notch or two below the top movies above. Suicide Squad (2021) (HBO Max)So, basically, this is the plot of the Dirty Dozen, but the villains are cartoonish figures with superpowers (or merely incredible killing ability) and there's a space alien component. Does this count as a spoiler? The giant bad guy at the end walks a lot like the Stay Puft marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. Margot Robbie and Idris Elba make this watchable, and the occasional comic dialogue also helps. It's not a terrible movie, but I wasn't the target audience, apparently. Wheelman (2017) (Netflix)I read a book a few years ago with virtually the same title, but the plot was a bit different despite some broad similarities. The credits said this film was written by the director. Virtually all the action takes place inside one of two vehicles and most of the dialogue is between the driver and people we don't see on the other end of telephone calls. In that way, it is similar to the film Locke from nearly a decade ago. It mostly held my interest, but it is not a top-tier film. Some of the conversations seem redundant, there are lots of threats bandied about over the phone, and almost all of the action involves driving, which is only so interesting. At least to me. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) (Netflix)This film was also nominated for an Oscar for animated film (2021) and did not win. I was expecting it to have the humor of Wallace and Grommit, but Nick Park seemed minimally involved here and it shows. The story is about an infant space alien who lands in the countryside and is befriended by Shaun the Sheep. The humans are not especially smart, the dog is the butt of many jokes, and the sheep are the stars. It just wasn't very funny or even all that fun to watch. How did it earn a 79 on Metacritic? 
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Inflation rates have come down since their peak in mid-2022. Does the Federal Reserve need to continue its inflation-fighting ways, keeping interest rates high? Anil Ari, Carlos Mulas-Granados, Victor Mylonas, Lev Ratnovski, and WeiZhao of the IMF look to historical and international experience in “One Hundred Inflation Shocks: Seven Stylized Facts” (September 2023, WP/23/190). As … Continue reading Lessons from Fighting 100 Inflations Since the 1970s
The post Lessons from Fighting 100 Inflations Since the 1970s first appeared on Conversable Economist.

During the 1970s, AEI produced major studies on government regulation, fiscal and monetary policy, private pensions, health care, and elections and polls, to name just a few areas.
The post From the AEI Archives: Growing Influence in the 1970s appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI.

A 1970s public service announcement offers tips for avoiding the coronavirus.

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