Best of 2023 – Supporting Actress

January 6, 2024 by Keith Garlington

And just like that another movie year has come and gone. I recently shared my Top 10 movies of 2023 (check it out HERE). That’s always a fun list to put together, but I also enjoy showing some love to the year’s very best performances. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing my favorites for each of the four major acting categories. So as I normally do, let’s kick it off with the absolutely jam-packed Supporting Actress category.

Honorable Mentions:

Penélope Cruz (“Ferrari”), Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Juliette Binoche (“The Taste of Things”), Vanessa Kirby (“Napoleon”), Julianne Moore (“May December”), Tilda Swinton (“The Killer”), Katrina Kaif (“Tiger 3”), Carrie Coon (“Boston Strangler”)

#5 – Haley Atwell (“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”)

In year packed with great supporting performances, it’s a shame that Haley Atwell seems to have been lost in the crowd. She’s a fun, feisty, and energetic addition to the action-packed Mission: Impossible franchise and was able to match star Tom Cruise scene for scene. I can’t wait to see what she brings to the upcoming Part Two.

#4 – Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”)

In a film absolutely loaded with great performances, one of the standouts was Emily Blunt as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer. It’s a complex role that sometimes requires her to be brittle while at other times calling on her to be strong as iron. Blunt manages it wonderfully, mixing delicacy with pure blunt force (no pun intended). She’s great.

#3 – Sandra Hüller (“The Zone of Interest”)

One of the coldest performances of the year came from the great Sandra Hüller in Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”. She plays the wife of a Nazi commander put in charge of Auschwitz during World War II. We watch as she spends her days in total indifference in and around her cozy villa just outside of the notorious death camp. It’s a bone-chilling turn from an actress who has had a great year.

#2 – Rachel McAdams (“Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret”)

I’m so happy to see that people haven’t forgotten about Rachel McAdams when putting together their lists. She is the heart and soul of a movie that turned out to be one of the year’s biggest surprises. McAdams never disappoints, but here she plays a woman quietly navigating her own pain to be the best mother she can be. It’s a beautifully authentic and heartfelt performance.

#1 – Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”)

Now heres a performance that grabbed me from the very first moment the actress appeared on screen. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is such a crucial presence in Alexander Payne’s outstanding dramedy “The Holdovers”. She has great comic timing and brings an emotional heft to her character. Even more, she’s instrumental in several legitimate ‘Scene of the Year’ contenders. Go ahead and give her the Oscar.

And that wraps up Supporting Actress. What are you thoughts on my picks? What would make your list? Let me know in the comments section below. Keep watching as I take on Supporting Actor next.

New on Home Video: “Butcher’s Crossing” Blu-ray Edition

January 5, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has brought to home video the striking new Western “Butcher’s Crossing”. The 2023 movie year was one full of surprises. Among them was this gritty and slow-burning thriller from director Gabe Polsky in his narrative feature film debut. The movie is anchored by a fascinating Nicolas Cage lead performance and features gorgeous cinematography and a throughly compelling story with an edge. Read my full review of the film HERE.

This Blu-ray edition of “Butcher’s Crossing” is out now and available to own. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

About the Film:

Year: 2023

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Director: Gabe Polsky

Screenwriter: Gabe Polsky & Liam Satre Meloy

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Fred Hechinger, Xander Berkeley, Rachel Keller, Jeremy Bobb, Paul Raci

Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (1996, Best Actor, “Leaving Las Vegas”) stars in a gritty story about buffalo hunters in the Old West. Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) has left Harvard to find adventure. He teams up with Miller (Cage), a mysterious frontiersman offering an unprecedented number of buffalo pelts in a secluded valley. Their crew must survive an arduous journey where the harsh elements will test everyone’s resolve, leaving their sanity on a knife’s edge.

REVIEW: “The Bricklayer” (2024)

January 5, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Between 1990 and 1993 Finnish filmmaker Renny Harlin directed back-to-back action-packed blockbuster hits “Die Hard 2” and “Cliffhanger”. In between the two films he produced the critically acclaimed award-winning indie “Rambling Rose”. Needless to say Harlin’s star was rising. But then came his 1995 pirate swashbuckler “Cutthroat Island”. It was a movie hampered by a troubled production that included several delays, numerous rewrites, friction on the set, and a budget that skyrocketed.

“Cutthroat Island” was a box office disaster and Harlin’s career took a hit as a result. To his credit, he has steadily worked since that unfortunate setback. Not on big budget or what you might call mainstream projects. But he’s still doing what he loves – making movies. His latest is “The Bricklayer”, an action thriller based on Paul Lindsay’s 2010 novel of the same name.

Written for the screen by Hanna Weg and Matt Johnson, “The Bricklayer” plays a lot like a prototypical spy flick but with an edge. It features secret agents, undercover missions, a rogue asset, a global conspiracy, and so on. But Harlin infuses his film with grittier action and much less spy movie gloss. It doesn’t cover the film’s noticeable blemishes, but it does make it reasonably entertaining for those with their expectations in the right place.

The film stars Aaron Eckhart, a talented veteran actor deserving of a lot better roles than he tends to get. Here he plays Steve Vail, a grizzled and understandably hardened CIA field agent who enjoys classical jazz and has a special affection for masonry. Despite being effective in the field, the disillusioned Vail has found himself persona non grata at the agency. That is until a certain event in Thessaloniki, Greece forces the CIA to come calling.

We learn that three international journalists have been murdered within a month, the latest being a German reporter who happens to be an outspoken critic of U.S. intelligence activities across the world. The murder gives rise to theories that the CIA is behind the killings. At CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, a young and devoted agent, Kate Bannon (Nina Dobrev) makes an alarming discovery when scouring over surveillance footage from Greece.

Kate identifies Victor Radek (Clifton Collins Jr.) among the images from a Thessaloniki metro station. Radek was a former covert CIA operative who went rogue before supposedly dying 18 months ago. His one-time handler and close friend was Steve Vail. Kate and her boss, Director O’Malley (Tim Blake Nelson) fly to Philadelphia and meet with Vail. Believing Radek is killing journalists and framing the CIA, O’Malley sends Vail and Kate on a non-sanctioned mission to track down and apprehend Vail’s old friend.

From there it almost appears that the story is going to lean on that well-worn dynamic between the gruff seasoned agent and the young inexperienced rookie. It’s certainly an element to the story and Eckhart and Dobrev sell it well. But thankfully it’s not something Harlin dwells on. Instead he whisks us away to a series of gorgeous Greek locales, introducing us to a number of key players along the way. Most are mere archetypes rather than well-rounded characters, yet they service the story well.

As for the story, it moves at a fairly rapid pace and holds your interest throughout. But all-in-all it’s a pretty conventional spy tale that’s helped along by a number of obvious conveniences. It’s also hampered by some glaringly corny dialogue (“I never do a job without my tools.” “Cryin’ is dyin’ kid.” Or “I was born on a Tuesday but not last Tuesday.”). Even more, the film’s central conflict doesn’t quite create a sense of peril nor does it raise the stakes to the degree needed for this kind of story.

As for the performances, Eckhart once again makes for a sturdy lead and Dobrev is a solid foil. Some of the supporting turns are a little shakier. I’m a huge Tim Blake Nelson fan, but his super-serious monotone delivery is borderline comical. As for Collins Jr., he makes for a serviceable but not especially interesting antagonist. He doesn’t quite bring gravitas or relay his character’s convictions in a compelling way.

Yet despite its flaws “The Bricklayer” remains a moderately fun spy film in large part due to Harlin’s propulsive direction and Eckhart’s vigorous lead performance. The action is exciting, highlighted by some well choreographed and intensely brutal fight sequences. And even though the script stumbles in spots, it’s entertaining enough and holds your attention. That may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but it’s more than I can say for some of the more heralded films from the last year. “The Bricklayer” releases January 5th in select theaters and on VOD.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

REVIEW: “No Hard Feelings” (2023)

January 4, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Of the many movies I watched in 2023 I’m not sure I saw one at odds with itself quite like “No Hard Feelings”. This tonally challenged cringe comedy from director Gene Stupnitsky can never seem to settle on what it wants to be. So much of its energy is spent being pointlessly crass as if desperately trying to earn the ‘raunchy comedy’ tag. But then it will almost randomly shift to a warm-hearted sentimental drama. Unfortunately for it (and us) the two mix together like water and oil.

Jennifer Lawrence plays 32-year-old Maddie Barker, an Uber driver and bartender living in the touristy and pricey Montauk, New York. Maddie is in a financial bind. Her car has been repossessed and she is in danger of losing the cozy house left to her by her late mother due to unpaid property taxes. She has three months to pay or she’ll lose her home. That’s when she spots and answers a rather odd posting on Craigslist.

**Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing**

Allison and Laird Becker (Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick) are secretly looking for a young woman to help bring their shy and socially awkward 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) “out of his shell”. Percy has never been on a date, doesn’t have a driver’s license, and spends most of his time in his room playing video games and practicing on his keyboard. He’s set to go to Princeton in the fall and his parents (for some bizarre reason) believe he needs to drink, party, and most importantly have sex to be ready for college. Brilliant. Whoever completes the “job” gets a Buick Regal as payment.

Desperately needing a car, Maddie takes their offer with little consideration or shame. She quickly begins putting together a plan to seduce the much younger Percy. The ickiness of the premise is hard to get by especially when the movie makes it the centerpiece for much of its humor. Of course when in skilled hands comedy can be used to critique. But “No Hard Feelings” doesn’t feel like it’s critiquing anything.

It takes a few mindless mishaps, but Maddie eventually finds herself growing fond of Percy. Never to the point of ruling out having sex with him, but fondness to some degree. Stupnitsky (who co-wrote the script with John Phillips) throw in a handful of scenes that put aside the unfunny nonsense and tease what the movie could have been. They show a more sympathetic side of Maddie as she realizes her own need to grow up and mature. Sadly there just isn’t enough of that which is a big reason the story’s nice and tidy ending doesn’t work.

“No Hard Feelings” gives us glimpses of heart. But it’s almost always snuffed out by the witless physical comedy or the lazy raunchy gags which often seem to come out of nowhere. And of course it’s hard to shake the film’s premise. It does nothing to challenge or inform. It opens up no conservations and offers no real critique. Instead I was left wondering if this movie would have ever been made if the gender roles were reversed. Would anyone green-light a film about a 32-year-old man tricking and seducing a withdrawn and inexperienced 19-year-old girl? That question offers more food for thought than anything we get in “No Hard Feelings”.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

New on Home Video: “The Holdovers” Collector’s Edition Blu-ray + DVD + Digital

January 3, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is bringing Alexander Payne’s extraordinary “The Holdovers” to home video in a terrific collector’s edition combo-pack. Sparked by two of the best performances of the year from Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, this funny yet heartfelt dramedy has deservedly received widespread acclaim and should remain a major player throughout awards season.

This Blu-ray collector’s edition of “The Holdovers”, including the film on standard DVD and Digital, released on January 2nd. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

About the Film:

Year: 2023

Runtime: 133 Minutes

Director: Alexander Payne

Screenwriter: David Hemingson

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Carrie Preston, Brady Hepner, Ian Dolley, Jim Kaplan, Michael Provost, Andrew Garman, Naheem Garcia, Stephen Thorne

Certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 96% and nominated for 8 Critics Choice Awards including Best Picture, “The Holdovers” delivers an expert balance of comedy and warmth.

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, “The Holdovers” follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

Special Features:

Alternate Ending – “Mary Continues On”
Deleted Scenes
- Introduction by Alexander Payne
- New Room
- Making a Scene
- The Road Back to Barton
- Ancient History
The Cast of THE HOLDOVERS – Sit down with the cast of THE HOLDOVERS, including Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and newcomer Dominic Sessa, while they discuss getting into the minds of their characters. Meet the boys of Barton and learn more about director Alexander Payne’s casting process.
Working with Alexander – Hear the cast and crew about their on-set experience working with acclaimed director Alexander Payne.

REVIEW: “He Went That Way” (2024)

January 3, 2024 by Keith Garlington

Jacob Elordi had quite the breakout year in 2023. First came his much talked about performance as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla”. Then came his role in Emerald Fennell’s try-hard disappointment “Saltburn”. Regardless of your thoughts on the movies, the 26-year-old Aussie took a major step up from his “Kissing Booth” features on Netflix and has positioned himself as one of the most interesting young talents in the business.

Elordi kicks of 2024 with yet another role that tests his range. He plays a serial killer in first-time director Jeffrey Darling’s “He Went That Way”, a true-crime thriller based on Conrad Hilberry’s 1987 nonfiction book “Luke Karamazov”. The film is built upon an inherently interesting premise and it certainly emphasizes Elordi’s magnetism. But it’s hindered by an inconsistent tone and a lack of emotional resonance which minimizes our connection to the characters and their stories despite being entertained by them.

Darling (who sadly died in a surfing accident in 2022) begins his movie with the tag “This really (mostly) happened.” Set along the infamous Route 66, the story takes place during the Summer of 1964. It’s a period marked by a shift in American culture – something eluded to in an early montage but never really followed up on. From there we’re introduced to Bobby (Elordi) a tall, handsome, and unhinged roamer dumping a dead body in Death Valley, California.

A scene or two later we meet a fidgety Pepto-guzzling animal trainer named Jim (Zachary Quinto) as he’s traveling Route 66 with some rather unusual cargo. Jim is transporting his pet chimpanzee named Spanky to Chicago for a “private engagement”. We learn Spanky was once a fairly big celebrity, known by many and frequently making appearances on television. But his fame has fizzled leaving Jim to take their act on the road.

While stopped at a gas station Jim sees Bobby hitchhiking and decides to offer him a ride. Bobby is on his way to Michigan where he has a girlfriend named Bonnie (or so he says). But it doesn’t take long before Bobby starts showing his poorly suppressed violent side. He brandishes his beloved Derringer and intimidates the considerably more unassertive Jim who suddenly finds himself on a road-trip across the Southwest with a young sociopath.

It’s easy to assume you know where the story is going. But Darling and writer Evan M. Wiener attempt to throw us a few curveballs. Most come in the strange relationship that forms between Jim and Bobby. The two begin warming up to each other in their own weird (and kinda twisted) ways. As they do, we’re fed tidbits of information about each of them although never enough to get a good grasp of who they are. The feelings and motivations that drive them are even more opaque, making it hard to have anything other than a surface-level connection to them.

Despite there being a flimsiness to their characters, the performances from Elordi and Quinto keep our attention and help elevate the material. But they can’t quite compensate for the lack of depth nor can they do much to steady the script’s uneven tone. There is some good tension from the grittier thriller side of the story and there are some amusing bits from the swings it takes at dark comedy. But the movie has the hard time balancing the two, leaving us often wondering what kind of movie Darling is going for. “He Went That Way” hits select theaters on January 5th.