THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

  I realize that it's been a while since I posted anything. If you're one of the valiant few who read my posts, first of all I thank you; second of all, life has a way of infusing chaos and I just wasn't as diligent with writing. That doesn't mean I didn't see any movies this year, because your boy certainly did. As the year winds down, there are still a host of new films I want to see that I haven't got around to seeing and probably won't before the year is out (like Poor Things, Dream Scenario , and many more), but from what I saw, 2023 had its fair share of winners. As always, I present to you my list of favorites; movies that I found moving, expertly made, memorable, surprising, and all-around awesome. This isn't a "best of" list, but merely my "favorites," so without wasting any more of your time, here we go... 10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 The best live-action Marvel movie of the year without question, James Gunn's mast...

  It's that lovely time of year, once again, where the movies of 2022 will be celebrated in grand fashion. It's taken me some time, but I've finally nailed down my predictions for who will take home the gold! 2022 offered up some really great movie-going experiences, and memorable performances. There are categories this year that I think are sure locks for winning, and others that are as tight as can be. It's going to be a fun night to see how it all shakes out. Well, without further adieu, here are my picks: *Update: Selections in BLUE are my correct predictions, with selections in RED as my incorrect predictions. I was pretty good this year! BEST PICTURE ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN ELVIS EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE THE FABELMANS TÁR TOP GUN: MAVERICK TRIANGLE OF SADNESS WOMEN TALKING THE OPTIMIST'S PICK: EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE BEST DIRECTOR BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, Martin McDonagh EVERYTHING EV...

Knock at the Cabin is the newest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan, and from the moment of its announcement, I was already in. I'm a huge fan of M. Night; those who know me know that the man is easily one of my favorite filmmakers to date. The guy takes big swings with his projects, not all of them landing, but the attempts are respectable and worth checking out every time. The thing that I probably love most about his work is that most of them are original pieces. It's when he adapts other works that they can sometimes feel off. I haven't read (yet) Paul Tremblay's novel The Cabin at the End of the World , which this film is based on, so I can't yet speak to whether this adaptation follows suit with Shyamalan's other adaptations. What I can say though, having seen the film, is that this movie is a great reminder why so many fell in love with his movies earlier in his career...because it's really good. Briefly, the story centers around a family o...