2023

10. Boy Kills World 🔪 

“Bill Skarsgård commits bloody martial-arts mayhem as a deaf warrior trained by a mysterious shaman (The Raid’s Yayan Ruhian) to topple a far-flung dystopia in Moritz Mohr’s loony debut feature.”

The Skarsgård's pick their projects well, and I feel like this will either be a riot of a watch with its quirky comedy, and bloody action - or a complete stinker. Either way, it has my attention! 

9. La Chimera 🇮🇹 

“Led by a revelatory Josh O’Connor, and supported by Isabella Rossellini and Alba Rohrwacher, Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera is a dream-like romp through Italy’s archaeological and cinematic past.”

This is giving me Satoshi Kon Paprika (2006) fever dream vibes, and as someone who has only seen Josh O'Connor through his Crown (Netflix) days, I'm curious where his acting career will take him next. 

8. A Normal Family 🍽️ 

“In the latest from Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho, adapted from Herman Koch’s international bestseller The Dinner, tragedy strikes when two brothers who do not share the same beliefs accidentally discover a dreadful secret.”

Director Hur Jin-ho does a fantastic job of creating atmosphere, so what better story for him to helm than a snowballing act of parental protection. It also helps this has Sol Kyung-gu, one of the best actors we have, who always manages to deliver a captivating performance.  

7. Fair Play 💰 

“A Wall Street for the #MeToo era, writer-director Chloe Domont’s feature debut is a finance drama set in the merciless milieu of hedge fund managers.”

This is a film I've been impatiently waiting to watch after I missed it at Sundance. It's a high stake relationship drama, fueled by the greed of wall street.

Also shoutout to Alden Ehrenreich, who looks to shake off the cobwebs from Solo: A Star Wars Story, reigniting his career with a strong showing in Oppenheimer, and what seems to be a powerhouse performance in Fair Play. 

6. The Promised Land 🇩🇰 

“In this reteaming of the star and director of A Royal Affair, Mads Mikkelsen displays his mettle as a former soldier trying to tame Jutland in 18th-century Denmark.”

Mads Mikkelsen in a historical-drama? Say less. 

5. 100 Yards 🥋 

“Two bitter rivals (Jacky Heung and Andy On) duel for stewardship of a wushu academy, in this cool and calculated martial arts caper from Xu Haofeng (The Sword Identity, The Final Master).”

The best wushu films play like an aggressive form of ballet with a grace, finesse, and artistry - telling more than the story being shown on screen. Even at their worst, wushu films always deliver some level of entertainment. 

4. All the Lights We Cannot See 📻 

“The story of Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.”

It's been a while since I've seen a sweeping melodrama with the scale of All the Lights We Cannot See. I'm ready to be swept. 

3. Mimang 🌹 

“Kim Taeyang’s feature debut, shot over four years, follows a man and a woman who meet by chance and stroll through Seoul’s changing streets.”

Past Lives stole my heart this year, and this feels like its cut from the same cloth.
If we're lucky, it is - and we'll be all the better for it.

2. Concrete Utopia 🏢 

“In the opening moments of Um Tae-hwa’s riveting new disaster epic, an earthquake renders much of Seoul a smouldering ruin. But as survivors begin efforts to restore order, it seems the real calamity has only just begun.”

With Park Seo-joon and Lee Byung-hun leading the way, South Korea seems to be confident in Concrete Utopia, submitting it for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Oscars.

I'm a fan of stories where the foundation of a society crumbles, forcing them to find a way to work together to rebuild or build a new structure, to help support the needs of the masses.

From the psychological aspects, to the philospical - this is a must watch. 

1. The Boy and the Heron 🦢 

“Already acclaimed as a masterpiece in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki’s new film begins as a simple story of loss and love, and rises to become a staggering work of imagination.”

Who knows if this is actually Hayao Miyazaki’s last film, but what I do know is the world could use Studio Ghibli's magic right now, and it selling out as fast as it did proves that.