Written by Tyrone BruinsmaDishonorable Mentions: -Crocodile Swarm [Dir. Tyler-James] -The Dive [Dir. Maximilian Erlenwein] -The Flash [Dir. Andy Muschietti] -The Flood [Dir. Brandon Stagle] -Foe [Dir. Garth Davis] -Hunger Games - Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes [Dir. Francis Lawrence] -Lady Ballers [Dir. Jeremy Boreing] -The Marsh King's Daughter [Dir. Neil Burger] -The Pope's Exorcist [Dir. Julius Avery] -On a Wing and a Prayer [Dir. Sean McNamara] -Quasi [Dir. Kevin Heffernan] -Resident Evil: Death Island [Dir. Eiichirō Hasumi] -Retribution [Dir. Nimród Antal] -Robots [Dir. Ant Hines and Casper Christensen] -Shazam! Fury of the Gods [Dir. David F. Sandberg] -Shotgun Wedding [Dir. Jason Moore] -Spider-Man: Lotus [Dir. Gavin K. Jonop] -Wish [Dir. Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn] 10. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom [Dir. James Wan]The first Aquaman film was a dumb, but righteously fun and well-made epic...while its sequel is a massive disappointment. While all the pieces are there, the film lacks the imagination, spectacle or pure emotion of the first film. The numerous changes during shooting and editing are readily apparent as while action scenes are well done, their build up and placement are shoddy. Good effects, impressive visuals and solid performances are let down by weak writing, lacking villains with unused potential, insubstantial comedy and a general sense of boredom. Wan should've been able to make his intended version, but I'm wondering if that intended version was going to hold up from such a high bar. Out of 2023, Jason Mamoa was FAR more entertaining in Fast X. Also, I wish they had at LEAST one of the Batman scenes they shot. 9. Heart of Stone [Dir. Tom Harper]The same year Netflix released amazing films like Extraction 2, The Killer and Nimona-they trotted out another bland attempt at a blockbuster franchise. Despite a solid cast, good director and James Bond inspired opening; Heart of Stone is every bit as bland as the likes of Red Notice or The Old Guard. Each action scene is progressively less exciting, one actor is phoning it in and it just wasn't interesting. 8. Hypnotic [Dir. Robert Rodrigeuz] Action specialist Robert Rodriguez made a sci-fi action film with barely any action. While you'd hope the director of Desperado, Spy Kids, Sin City, Machete and Alita Battle Angel would recognize the action potential of Hypnotic; he sadly barely does anything with it. A sci-f script from the early 2000's dug up for 2023, it feels like every cliche Matrix rip-off you've seen over the last 20 years. Decent cast, some cool visuals, but no real soul behind it. 7. Freelance [Dir. Pierre Morel]This "action comedy" feels like someone took any generic action film and just slapped some unfunny "banter" and called it a day. Despite having a solid lead and supporting cast, this movie doesn't know what it is. It doesn't know if it's a romantic comedy, buddy comedy or parody of this premise. It takes its politics and action seriously while having bad SNL skits in between. The action is mostly competent (if boring) and while it's probably the best-looking film from Pierre Morel-it's another snoozer in his filmography after From Paris with Love, The Gunman and Peppermint. 6. Deep Fear [Dir. Marcus Adams]While this film looked promising, Deep Fear ended up being YET ANOTHER bad killer shark film that barely uses the sharks. A group of criminals forcing a diver to recover cocaine from a sunken boat in shark infest waters sounds like a good premise...and the films wastes it. Whether by happenstance or not, this has similarities to Cocaine Bear and is inferior to that movie. Awful acting, dialogue and sense of tension drag down solid cinematography and production values. It might not be offensively bad, but it's just boring. 5. The Expendables 4 [Dir. Scott Waugh]The Expendables franchise wavers in quality from bad to decent, but this is the absolute worst of the series. Small in scale, terrible CGI, awful directing and editing, with a truly boring script. While there's some mildly entertaining action towards the end-it feels like the film went from an ensemble piece to an ego film for Jason Statham who gets too much screentime. This franchise is supposed to be a send up of cheesy bad action films...but most of them just ARE bad action films. 4. Children of the Corn [Dir. Kurt Wimmer] It's not a good sign that this film was completed and shown at festivals in 2020, but not released until 2023. While I can't deduce if this film was the original story and vision Kurt Wimmer had, or was screwed over by producers over editing for a few years-this film is just broken. It's not scary, the CGI monster is silly and the entire film is an oxymoron. It's serious, yet overly serious. It explains too much, but not enough. The performances are either boring or camp. Feels too short, yet too long. While I can praise some kills, as well as our lead heroine and villainess who are trying...it's a complete creative misfire. 3. The Black Demon [Dir. Adrian Grünberg]The same year we got the goofy and fun Meg 2: The Trench, we got this absolutely horrible attempt at a Megalodon movie. An overly serious killer shark film that tries to add in supernatural elements and themes of environmental/economic decay: The Black Demon just fails to be scary or fun. This is the director's third film featuring sinister Latinos (after Get the Gringo and Rambo: Last Blood) and I'm starting to wonder why. It's not scary, fun, particularly well-made (thanks to bad CGI), has an unearned emotional climax and is just another bad killer shark film. 2. Dangerous Waters [Dir. John Barr]What could've been a modern updating of Dead Calm, instead turns into an absolute mess at attempting a psychological thriller. While I can praise the cinematography, production values and the late Ray Liotta's single scene (he passed away during filming), nearly everything else is a disaster. The good cinematography is undercut by bad editing which occasionally spoils scene geography, the established cast can't elevate a truly bad script with awful dialogue and bad pacing, is often boring as hell, and our strong heroine often acts as stupid as the eventual baddies. It's a laughable, baffling and uninspired mess that missed the 100 opportunities it had to be a better or fun film. 1. Sound of Freedom [Dir. Alejandro Monteverde]Ah yes, the film whose fans will say if you don't like it-you're automatically a pedophile...because that's totally not a cult mindset from QAnon morons. If you've had the displeasure of seeing this film discussed online, you'd know it has a creepy fanbase that insists you like it or you're a child predator. Sound of Freedom is cinematic propaganda made by QAnon cultists, about QAnon cultists, FOR QAnon cultists.
If you're not aware, QAnon is a Donald Trump death cult who believe that the orange Presidential failure was fighting a one-man war against child kidnapping/raping pedophiles who are all leftist, Hollywood, Jewish Satanists reptilians. No, I'm not making that up. This movie is "based" on Tim Ballard, a Latter Day Saints man who claims (without evidence) he and his organization saved millions of children from sex traffickers directly tied to those Leftist Jewish Satanist lizard people. However, considering he's now being investigated for sexual misconduct from his organization (as he would allegedly sexually take advantage of women pretending to be his wife on his fake raids) I think it's clear he's full of it. Sound of Freedom is a highly fictionalized "retelling" of this man's "story" where disgraced actor and QAnon cultist Jim Caviezel plays Tim trying to save children. Now, obviously-sex trafficking, child sex trafficking, human trafficking, child abuse and sexual abuse of ANY KIND is bad. I shouldn't HAVE to say that, but considering the movie's fans insist that not liking a film built on lies makes you part of the child eating Kabal-it's clear that these people have sacrificed braincells for blind faith in bad men. QAnon repeatedly has a track record of employing "save the children" to draw people to their cause, but it's all lies and emotional blackmail. Being against child trafficking is good, but using that cause to push for your death cult's commitment to the orange Nazi is NOT. Even if this was a completely fictious story, it would still suck because it's legitimate 100% textbook propaganda. As in, it follows the same process that Triumph of the Will and Birth of a Nation did. You could honestly use this as a good study in modern film propaganda. There's barely any dialogue to emphasize certain details (like naming one pedophile with a cliche Jewish name and dog-whistling the globalist threat QAnon promises), the cinematography and music are emotionally manipulative, the main character has no arc (he is the same person throughout the film) and the nebulous threat is both super dangerous and must be stopped, but easily able to be stopped. All the filmmaking is cliche, the performances are a snore, if WAY too overly serious to the point of self-parody and it doesn't even serve as some kind of tense or suspenseful thriller. It really is mythmaking grandstanding for Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel and others to live out their child saving fantasies. Considering most of the people who praised this either have a grudge against progressive politics, are prone to conspiratorial thought or already committing to the QAnon death cult...it's a clear red flag. This film is nothing more than making a palatable version of QAnon ideas, attempting to be subtle about its conspiratorial beliefs and smuggling it into theatres as a "real movie" rather than a nazi propaganda reel. if you're not QAnon and bought into this movie, bought the lies about "mainstream media trying to ban the film" or "only pedos hate this film"...then you either got scammed or have joined a cult minded conspiracy group bent on violence and incapable of second thought. Don't believe what someone just tells you to believe, ACTUALLY generate your own thoughts and be capable of differentiating biases, misinformation and grifters. Also the film's box office success is from a "pay it forward" cheating model that MOST right-wing creator use to cheat success. For all those complex reasons, morally repugnant existence (and rhetorical use) I deem Sound of Freedom as the WORST film of 2023.
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Written by Tyrone BruinsmaHonorable Mentions: -Air [Dir. Ben Affleck] -Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania [Dir. Peyton Reed] -Asteroid City [Dir. Wes Anderson] -Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham [Dir. Christopher Berkeley and Sam Liu] -Blue Beetle [Dir. Angel Manuel Soto] -The Boogeyman [Dir. Rob Savage] -Cocaine Bear [Dir. Elizabeth Banks] -The Color Purple [Dir. Blitz Bazawule] -The Covenant [Dir. Guy Ritchie] -The Creator [Dir. Gareth Edwards] -Creed 3 [Dir. Michael B. Jordon] -Craving [Dir. J. Horton] -Dark Harvest [Dir. David Slade] -Dracula: The Voyage of the Demeter (The Voyage of the Demeter) [Dir. André Øvredal] -Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves [Dir. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley] -Elemental [Dir. Peter Sohn] -Evil Dead Rise [Dir. Lee Cronin] -The Exorcist: Believer [Dir. David Gordon Green] -Extraction 2 [Dir. Sam Hargrave] -Fast X [Dir. Louis Leterrier] -Ferrari [Dir. Michael Mann] -Five Nights at Freddy's [Dir. Emma Tammi] -The Flash [Dir. Andy Muschietti] -The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse [Dir. Dan Olson] -A Haunting in Venice [Dir. Kenneth Branagh] -Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny [Dir. James Mangold] -Infinity Pool [Dir. Brandon Cronenberg] -John Wick: Chapter 4 [Dir. Chad Stahelski] -The Killer [Dir. David Fincher] -Knock at the Cabin [Dir. M. Night Shyamalan] -The Little Mermaid [Dir. Rob Marshall] -The Marvels [Dir. Nia DaCosta] -Meg 2: The Trench [Dir. Ben Wheatley] -M3gan (Unrated Edition) [Dir. Gerard Johnstone] -No One Will Save You [Dir. Brian Duffield] -Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre [Dir. Guy Ritchie] -Past Lives [Dir. Celine Song] -Pathaan [Dir. Siddharth Anand] -PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie [Dir. Cal Brunker] -Peter Pan and Wendy [Dir. David Lowery] -Plane [Dir. Jean-François Richet] -Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire [Dir. Zack Snyder] -Renfield [Dir. Chris McKay] -Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken [Dir. Kirk Demicco and Faryn Pearl] -Saw X [Dir. Kevin Greutert] -Shin Kamen Rider [Dir. Hideaki Anno] -Silent Night [Dir. John Woo] -Sisu [Dir. Jalmari Helander] -65 [Dir. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods] -Skinamarink [Dir. Kyle Edward Ball] -Society of the Snow [Dir. J. A. Bayona] -The Super Mario Bros. Movie [Dir. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic] -Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem [Dir. Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears] -This is Financial Advice [Dir. Dan Olson] -V/H/S/85 [Dir. David Bruckner, Scott Derrickson, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, Mike P. Nelson] -Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey [Dir. Rhys Frake-Waterfield] 20. Thanksgiving [Dir. Eli Roth]Eli Roth is the 21st century's exploitation master. Cabin Fever, Hostel, The Green Inferno and Knock Knock all showcase a love for classic extreme cinema of decade's past and Thanksgiving is his best film to date. Feeling like a mix between Scream and 1982's Pieces, Thanksgiving is a modern slasher classic with a solid cast, AMAZING kills and a capitalist/consumerism criticism similarly used in Hostel: Part 2. The film's narrative and visual execution is his cleanest to date, whilst the absolutely crazy and inventive gory kills are the set piece for this holiday table. 19. The Holdovers [Dir. Alexander Payne]It's been a LONG time since Alexander Payne made a Bonafide good film. The Holdovers is one of the best screenplays of the year, propelled by a truly amazing cast. It's a film set in the Christmas of 1970 where Paul Giamatti's teacher must oversee the students who couldn't return home that holiday, and it's thoroughly engaging. The cast is absolutely magnificent with Giamatti brilliant as ever and Da'Vine Joy Randolph earned that Oscar win. It's a cozy comedic drama with heart and a feeling of nostalgia...even if I have no nostalgic attachment to anything here. A new Christmas classic. 18. Talk to Me [Dir. Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou]From the duo who brought you hilarious YouTube videos of homes being smashed comes one of the best horror films in recent years. Feeling like a response to lesser supernatural horror movies, Talk to Me comes up with an inventive premise that's bolstered by great writing, a brilliant cast and electric filmmaking. Carrying so much emotion, energy, terror and skill-it easily became one of the standout, fan favorite horrors of 2023 alongside Five Nights at Freddy's and Megan. 17. The Iron Claw [Dir. Sean Durkin]Despite being a novice of professional wrestling and having no knowledge of this notorious family/era in the sport-I found The Iron Claw completely engrossing. While not 100% accurate, the parts it gets right are deservedly so and the drama is palpable. There's this clear tension and love in this sadly toxic and tragic family, mounting to heart wrenching events based on real events with societal and political backdrops. Zac Effron has never been better alongside a murderer's row of great actors, while Sean Durkin executes the narrative and visual storytelling to a tee. Even if you don't like wrestling, this is thoroughly worth watching. 16. Nimona [Dir. Nick Bruno and Troy Quane]Disney letting go of this film was one of the studio's dumbest moves. Nimona is a hilarious, clever, touching and action packed romp of a modern animated classic. In a sci-fi fantasy kingdom with corruption, a disgraced knight and the shapeshifting Nimona must put an end to it. The animation and art style is gorgeous, the voice cast are wonderful and despite its chaotic humor-it has a lot of heart. There's a reason this captured the hearts of minds of so many people this year. 15. Mars Express [Dir. Jérémie Périn]If you're a fan of Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell-Mars Express is definitely for you. A French animated film about a cybernetic conspiracy-the film delivers engaging characters, great action scenes and a lot of humanity at its core. The animation is genuinely excellent with use of vibrant colors, creativity and imagination on display-while letting the characters feel human and less like puppets. The story might be predictable to those familiar with the neo noir/cyberpunk genre-but it's a fun ride with welcome twists. 14. Dream Scenario [Dir. Kristoffer Borgli]A surrealist counterpart to 2022's Tar, Dream Scenario covers themes of unwanted stardom, collective societal perception and "cancel culture". Nicolas Cage does an amazing job in a solid cast of character actors, performing an incredibly strong script. The film is funny, sad, briefly scary and incredibly poignant. Its allegorical theme is very obvious and while Tar was a much darker, less sympathetic version of this story-Dream Scenario is much more sympathetic. Plus, the film's cinematography is subtle but incredibly well done. 13. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts [Dir. Steven Caple Jnr.]Following up from the masterful Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts managed to be an absolute blast. While I can identify some screenwriting "hey you're supposed to do this" points, it's just so much fun. It has some truly amazing action scenes, fun comedy, great human and transformer performances, and made me feel like a kid when I saw the first Transformers back in 2007. I know some fans were divided on this, but I don't care. The music, cinematography, vfx, action and whole package rocked. Can't wait to see more. 12. Beau is Afraid [Dir. Ari Aster]After making Hereditary and Midsommar, who'd of guessed Ari Aster would make a 3.5-hour dark comedy horror film about an anxiety riddled man going to see his mother? Beau is Afraid might not be Aster's best work as it's long, uneven and not 100% clear in its intentions-but it's a glorious unrestrained vision. Capturing the sensation of anxiety, it makes an epic out of an inconsequential situation thanks to an unusual scope and Joquin Phoenix's wonderful performance. Whether you see it as a commentary on the medical industry, nature of masculine heroes, or the relationship men develop between their mothers-it's a spectacle to behold. 11. Saltburn [Dir. Emerald Fennell]Emerald Fennell's follow up to Promising Young Woman made it clear what she is as a director and writer. She's essentially a millennial feminist successor to Alfred Hitchcock in making voyeuristic, erotic thrillers about societal predation. I won't spoil what Saltburn is about, as even two iconic works it emulates would be spoilers. But it's a film with a magnificent cast lead by the always amazing Barry Keoghan, has plenty of messed up scenes to drop your jaw over and was one of the best surprises of the year thanks to a smart screenplay. 10. Barbie [Dir. Greta Gerwig]Barbie is the pinnacle example of "You can make a good movie out of anything". Afterall, what has sounded worse than a movie about the Barbie Doll? Thanks to Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Noah Bombach and Ryan Golsing-2023's Barbie is a cultural phenomenon and deservedly so. It's a film that carries the meta-existential-comedy angle of The Lego Movie ands runs with it to interrogate Barbie's own existence. A wonderful look at femininity, toxic masculinity, existential dread, corporate cynicism and reinforcing "you can be anything", it's a modern classic for a reason. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were born to play these roles and carry them so well, thanks to a truly clever script and brilliant production design. I mean, this was the film that made women realize they should leave their toxic boyfriends and sent sad, angry little "men" on the internet into a diaper throwing tantrum for months-so you're doing the Lord's work Barbie. 9. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One [Dir. Christopher McQuarrie] I was worried Dead Reckoning wouldn't be able to keep up with the bar Mission Impossible had set after Fallout, but it did so well. Containing so many brilliant action scenes, cheeky narrative turns and excellent performances - I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit. This movie just moves like a rocket, gives you a variety of pulse pounding action beats and its characters get so much to do. I'm excited for the sequel, so don't disappoint us Tom. 8. American Fiction [Dir. Cord Jefferson]This is easily one of the best scripts of 2023 and best films of the decade. A comedy, drama, satire and earnest reflection of society-American Fiction is just a stellar work. Following a gifted, but unsuccessful writer Monk (played by Jeffrey Wright) who makes a parody of black urban media-the film discusses nuances of black media in relation to white audiences and actual black lives. The entire cast is magnificent, the filmmaking is creative, its thematic points potent and the human drama is touching. It's easily deserving of the title as a masterpiece of American fiction. 7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 [Dir. James Gunn]After being fired by DIsney thanks to online Neo Nazi trolls, tagged onto The Suicide Squad and being rehired, James Gunn made another masterpiece in his Guardians of the Galaxy series. The 3rd film gives you what the prior two films did-laughs, action, heart, tears and a killer soundtrack. Rocket Raccoon gets to be the full emotional core of the film, with Gunn making me cry over a CGI mammal played by Bradley Cooper. It's dark, funny, emotionally driven, has one of the best MCU action scenes and just rocks. I don't know what will happen next for the Guardians, but their 3-film journey has made them one of the best corners of the MCU for a reason. 6. The Zone of Interest [Dir. Jonathan Glazer]From the director of Sexy Beast and Under the Skin, Jonathan Glazer gives us one of the most haunting and emotionally mature takes on the Holocaust. From the perspective of a Nazi family whose father oversees Auschwitz, with 99% of the tragedy done off screen. The film is largely achieved through long shots, subtle details and amazing sound design to convey the tragedy, horror and banality of evil. It treats these characters scarily as people, not glorified entities or unrealistic monsters-just...human. And that's what makes this historical tragedy all the more horrifying. Also, Jonathan Glazer standing up for the victims of Gaza under the IDF is respectful. 5. Oppenheimer [Dir. Christopher Nolan] Oppenheimer feels like a film Christopher Nolan was destined to make. This 3-hour epic drama about the man and the politics which made the Atomic Bomb is deservedly one of the best and msot watched films of 2023. It's a film with one of the best assembled casts of all time, with Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jnr more than guaranteeing Oscars for this film. It's Nolan's most human film in just focusing on the man Oppenheimer was and the relationships around him more than war or action. The imminent bomb test is a spectacle of filmmaking and despite the runtime, moves like a dream thanks to amazing cinematography, editing and music. A deserved award winner, box office hit and global masterwork. 4. Anatomy of a Fall [Dir. Justien Triet]A legal drama that's more thrilling than most of the action films this year, Anatomy of a Fall is a near masterpiece of filmmaking. The intelligent and nuanced screenplay is completely engrossing, with procedural elements, social aspects and interlinking languages being utilized wonderfully. The performances are top notch, especially by Sandra Huller in an amazing lead performance. And while the filmmaking is not grandiose or spectacular, it's purposeful and emotionally driven for its characters and the story. Its set piece scene is easily one of the best 1-on-1 character arguments of all time. An absolute must see. 3. Lost in the Stars [Dir. Rui Cui and Xiang Liu]This Chinese mystery film is easily one of the best films of the decade. Calling back to the best of Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher, this story about a husband looking for his missing wife when a woman claiming to be her comes into his life is amazing. The acting is absolutely on point from the entire cast, the writing is some of the best of the year and the directing is fiercely perfect. This film understands that the best twisty narratives have a true emotional impact on the characters and audience-making this easily one of the best pieces of cinema in a long time. 2. Poor Things [Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos]From the director of Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Scared Deer and The Favorite comes a surrealist sex comedy riff on Frankenstein. Poor Things exists in an absurd, hilarious and dark world that emulates fairy tales, monster movies, classical paintings and a doll house aesthetic-yet feels lived in and tangible. Emma Stone gives her best performance ever in exploring this world alongside a brilliant supporting cast. It discusses gender roles, politics, philosophy and manages to be hilarious, life affirming and genius. The music, cinematography, production design, VFX and interlaced themes are masterful. Absolutely seek it out, it's a must watch. 1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse [Dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson] I love when I'm proven wrong. I had no interest in this film and thought it would just be more of the same. But no, Across the Spider-Verse lets Miles Morales and Gwen Stacey explore the multiverse to give us the best Spider-Man film of all time. Elevating the animation majesty of the original film, the movie still retains the energy, humor, soul and voice acting masterclass. It adds to this depth (and trans narrative coding) to Gwen Stacey and gives a very Spider-Man story for Miles in confronting the idea that heroes need tragic losses to BE heroes. It's action packed, a visual masterpiece of art in motion, incredibly funny and wears its massive heart on its sleeve to earn itself the title of Best Film of 2023.
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Tyrone BruinsmaThis is the Official Blog/Magazine for filmmaker, writer and content producer Tyrone Bruinsma Categories
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