Originally Posted 12/29/2022

Another year of movies done.  I did my end of the year wrap-up thoughts in my post for Philadelphia Film Critics Circle 2022 Winners

So I’ll just get on with the rankings, other than to clarify that technically Black Panther: Wakanda Forever should be #2, but Whitney Houston is just such a part of the music of my formative years that I pushed it ahead out of pure nostalgia…

#1 – EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE | A24 | Writer/Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

I was so mentally ready for this movie, as in the last month I rediscovered JJ Abrams FRINGE and have been Fringe Bingeing!  For those of you unfamiliar, it’s a Sci-Fi show from (2008-2013) about FBI agents who solve X-Files type cases, but rather than dealing with Aliens, the main through line story delves into a Parallel Universe, way before Marvel movies began giving us Multiverse storylines.

In addition, I’ve always told myself the reason things didn’t go as planned in this life is because in another life, I’m living large. I know a LeAnne Lindsay on another or other plane(s) has been living a life without fear and possessing gallons more ambition than I ever could muster. I don’t know why this gives me comfort, but it’s as if I can let myself off the hook by thinking, I did do things, just not here. These thoughts have been with me for many years and then one day I feel like I got proof. I have a chronic issue with my spleen often becoming enlarged.  I’m able to address the problem with acupuncture and have never (so far) needed an operation.  But one day I came back from a walk, took off my shirt and there was a thin horizontal cut across the area of my spleen. It was slightly bleeding like a scalpel incision had been made. Nothing had taken place while I was on my walk, didn’t go through any bushes, didn’t feel any pain, wasn’t even having a flare up. Eventually I chalked it up to the me in another Universe going under the knife for the same condition, perhaps she never believed in the benefits of acupuncture; and thru the Universal connection her scar somehow showed up on me, perhaps as a warning? 

For all these reasons and more is why I was completely and immediately pulled into the Daniels Everything, Everywhere All At Once.  Which starts off normally enough – Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is an overstretched first-generation Chinese immigrant who owns a laundromat with her sweet husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), who she pretty much ignores unless she’s bossing him to do some chore.  Their 20-someting daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) also feels unseen or heard by her critical mother and is struggling to make good decisions in her listless life – despite having a great girlfriend who seems to accept her unconditionally. A girlfriend, who is not invited to her grandfather’s (James Hong) party, celebrating the Chinese New Year, as Evelyn’s not ready to reveal Joy’s lesbian relationship to her old-world father.  But mainly Evelyn’s concentration is on preparing (poorly) for an IRS audit to be conducted by an awful looking, overzealous, IRS agent Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis), her best role in years!!!  It’s here in the IRS office that Evelyn first meets a Waymond, from another Universe who tells her she is the key to fighting a vast evil that threatens the entire multiverse.

Apparently, in all the other Universes Evelyn is awesome – a brainiac, a celebrity, a chef all possessing many accomplishments, but this Evelyn, as this Wayman informs her “you’re living your worst you”— meaning that every other possible Evelyn made more successful life choices. And yet, her failed existence is what’s needed to defeat this evil.

Collaborative filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as the Daniels (feature debut, “Swiss Army Man”, 2016) have created a high-octane, intriguingly conceptual, action spectacle and philosophical look at the nature of existence — layered on top of an emotional mother/daughter relationship story of generational trauma, all told through crazy humor, disgusting acts and imaginative sci-fi premises.

I’m not sure I’ve properly sold the brilliance of the film. I know it’s way too soon to make these types of assertions, but this could become my #1 film of 2022. { Post update: And as you can see, that prediction held true!}

Everything Everywhere Press Conference – click image to view on Youtube:

#2 – Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Sony Pictures Releasing | Director Kasi Lemmons | Screenplay Anthony McCarten

When you grow up in the late 80’s and early 90’s, like I did, Whitney Houston‘s music is a huge part of the soundtrack of your life. The recreation of so many iconic performances and the videos is why “I get so emotional baby” watching this music biopic. I didn’t care who I annoyed in the theater, I sung out loud to every song the entire movie and luckily there were others who joined me. There’s a true sense of joy, care, respect and triumph throughout the film even during the singer’s rough times.  Which I’m sure many critics will feel makes the movie too soft, that it goes too easy on Whitney. I haven’t wanted to read any reviews cause I don’t care about that.  I wanted to be in the presence of this iconic, megawatt talent again and relive the height of her fame when she just seemed absolutely perfect, and WHITNEY HOUSTON: I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY fulfills that need. Anthony McCarten has written a clean, believable, engaging screenplay without many flourishes.  It’s not creative like Rocketman or Elvis, both of which I very much enjoyed, but I don’t think imaginative storytelling techniques would work for a Whitney biopic. The script moves pretty swiftly through her formative years singing in the church and on stage at a Cabaret backing up her mother, Sissy Houston, played by Tamara Tunie, who will always be Jessica on As the World Turns for me. Quickly Whitney is getting her recording contract with Artista Record, headed by Clive Davis, played by the incomparable Stanley Tucci. I always like him, but he really reminds you of Clive Davis. And the actor playing Bobby Brown (Ashton Sanders) seems like a clone of the singer from the 90’s.  But of course, what brings the movie home is the talent of Naomi Ackie, a Cockney girl from East London whose most major roles, at least stateside, have been in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as ex-Stormtrooper Jannah, and as Lena Waithe‘s wife Alicia in the third season of Master of None. Ackie doesn’t look like Houston, not nearly as attractive, yet it was easy enough to look past this and see her manifest the spirit of Whitney; sadly something Jennifer Hudson was never actually able to do playing Aretha.

A good portion of the film centers on Whitney’s relationship with Robin Crawford (Nafessa Williams) they meet as teens in a playground where Whitney includes her middle name, Elizabeth, when Robin asks who she is. The two just hit it off immediately and eventually move in together.  Whitney’s parents realize it’s more than girlfriends/roommates between them, which is why they don’t have any love for Robin and try to play down their relationship as much as possible, as this is at the start of Whitney’s career.  Of course, if Whitney had come to her fame in this present age, she could have been an out lesbian and lived her life with Robin as her spouse, nobody would bat an eyelash anymore, in fact, it would probably be a boost to her career.  At any rate, the film depicts her as basically straight, but simply loved Robin, and why not experiment with sexual orientation when you’re young?  Sometimes I envy how fluid kids can be today, which for the most part, is accepted. Kasi Lemmons says she took a lot from Crawford’s book “A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston” to capture their relationship.  Although Whitney had a more casual, sporty side to her personality, it didn’t seem as though she was pining away for Robin, too afraid of her parents and the tabloids.  If Whitney had really wanted that life, I believe she would have made it happen, period.  

Because this is a loving and fitting tribute to a legend, we don’t see the years with Bobby from their infamous Reality TV show, where Whitney acted super ghetto. Or the Diane Sawyer interview. These could have been fun to see. But I get why it skips over those years going straight to rehab and Oprah comeback.

For me, it’s not always about what’s being lauded. How often do you see a movie that seems so perfectly well-crafted and yet leaves you cold. I care about engagement, and I was transfixed watching the reenactment of Whitney’s 1994 medley at the American Music Awards of “I Loves You Porgy”/”And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”/”I Have Nothing.”  It brought me to tears, which is why this is my second favorite movie of 2022.

#3 – BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER | Disney/Marvel | Writer/Director Ryan Coogler |Co-writer Joe Robert Cole

This definitely is the most thoughtful and intentionally aware film of the MCU. Its writer/director Ryan Coogler had his hands full – first he had to allow for audiences as well as cast /crew and Marvel family, proper time to mourn the passing of Chadwick Boseman and his portrayal of Black Panther, both in life and within the film – centering grief, without letting it take over.  He also had to take a vintage comicbook character, Namour (Sub-Mariner) (Tenoch Huerta) and his underworld domain, a form of Atlantis, and make it his own, give it cultural depth. In fact, the film is rich with a mix of cultures as there are 7 Languages spoken throughout the movie.  Then everyone said the women of “Black Panther” ruled the original movie; we were all so impressed with Shuri, (Letitia Wright) the Queen Mother Ramanda (Angela Bassett) Nakia, the spy (Lupita Nyong’o) The Dora Milaje, particularly General Okoye (Danai Gurira) but what happens when you actually have to base a movie around the female characters, does it hold up?  On top of all this, by naming the film Wakanda Forever, he had to make us remember how much we all were transported and transfixed with this amazing, self-sufficient, technologically advanced land, and bring back that sense of pride.   

Of course these concerns are in addition to the regular stuff – CGI, fight sequences, MCU cannon etc.. etc.. etc..  All I can say is Kudos to Coogler and his entire team. The looks, new character introductions, character motivations and trajectories, it’s all just damned impressive!  There’s a slight lull as we head into the 3^rd act, but that’s so minor considering everything we get!

The overall premise goes back to the importance of vibranium as a perfect power source. Every country on earth wants to get their hands on it, but Wakanda takes their protection of vibranium seriously and does not negotiate.  You can see it especially galls the other leaders that a country of black people would be the ones to control this rich resource.  They try to take it by force, but when this fails they find a scientist (Riri Williams/Ironheart Dominique Thorne) who’s created a machine that can detect vibranium elsewhere, that elsewhere turns out to be deep in the ocean. This gets the attention of Namor who presents Queen Ramanda and Shuri with a proposition.

What I love is when I’m sent the Production Notes for a movie.  Cause it’s always full of stuff I like to research anyway.  Here’s some quick tidbits:

Namor is among Marvel’s oldest characters, (Marvel Comics #1 in 1939) acting both as hero and villain in the years to follow. In this story, he represents Talokan, a hidden underwater civilization (based on Aztec traditions) The fictional world reflects how a real community might have changed and evolved over time, forced underwater and separated from the rest of their people and culture. The world of Talokan took nearly two years to develop. “We started at the very beginning,” says the production designer. “‘Where are they located? How did they get there? How did they survive?’

“Namor’s costumes reflect the tradition that he honors and the position he holds as king. We used a lot of kelp to make his headdress and his hand-woven cape. We added shells and beads—his look gives you a sense that he has traveled through time – Ruth Carter, Oscar Winning Costume Designer.

#4 – TÁR | Focus Features|Writer/Director Todd Field | Music by Hildur Guðnadóttir

There were technical difficulties at the first press screening of TÁR where we could hear it, but the screen was black.  They tried to fix it for 30-40 minutes and eventually we were dismissed, with our PR agent saying they would send details for a new date. But I didn’t think I wanted a new date, I knew the movie had a long 158 minute run time and in just listening without images, it seemed too dense, too insider, too intellectual.  However, I did attend the re-screening and now these things are some of what I love most about this film.  It’s feels so authentic, as if you are a fly on the wall of this classical-music world, it’s beauty, dedication, artistry, politics, precision.  One of my favorite critics for Variety, expresses it best:

“In “Tár,” Todd Field enmeshes us in a tautly unfolding narrative of quiet duplicity, corporate intrigue, and — ultimately — erotic obsession. Yet he does it so organically that for a while you don’t even realize you’re watching a “story.” But that’s what a great story is, right? It doesn’t hit you over the head with telegraphed arcs. It sneaks up on you, the way that life does. Field, working with the cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister, has shot “Tár” so that it looks like a documentary directed by Stanley Kubrick (who Field worked with on “Eyes Wide Shut,” back when he was an actor). The compositions are naturalistic in an imposing, ice-cool way, and what they express is the casual calculation with which Lydia monitors every facet of her existence” – Owen Gleiberman

Everyone has made a big deal out of the fact that it’s been 16 years since Field has directed his last film “Little Children”(2006) starring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson.  I know I saw it, and remember it getting awards season buzz, but little else.  I remember more his debut feature “In The Bedroom” (2001) with Marisa Tomei, but I need to revisit it again too. “Tár”, however, will be his tour de force. Due in great part to his lead, Cate Blanchett, for whom he wrote the character of Lydia Tár.   This is a character study, one of my favorite genres, delivering a fully multi-dimensional woman/man/artist who is as arrogantly toxic as she is intriguing, vulnerable, and understandable. 

One of the first scenes of the film is Lydia being interviewed at a large forum by Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker (playing himself) it’s the ideal setup for a character piece because the viewer is made to understand this woman’s accomplishments and the fact that she is at the epicenter of her career, there’s really no where for her to go, but down. Which ultimately is the crux of the film, a huge fall from grace – but for me, not one I was seeking for the character. Similarly with Blanchett’s other excellent role, that of a boozy socialite in Blue Jasmine, I found myself in this woman’s corner, despite her unflinching power games and predatory sexual desires – which are handled with ingenious suggestion. For instance, there’s a scene where a young woman is fangirling all over Lydia Tár – during the conversation Lydia admires her bag, which looked like a Birken. Later when we see Lydia back in Berlin and discover she has a wife, Sharon (Nina Hoss) and daughter; Sharon makes an off-hand observation, “Oh, you got a new bag”. Lydia doesn’t miss a beat in downplaying the acquisition, offering it to Sharon if she wants it. This is how we’re clued into the fact that she must not only have seduced the fan sexually, but beguiled her into giving up her Birken too. Truly, subtleties are a key factor Field employs throughout, which also feeds the haunting moments of the film. A couple weeks later we were sent a screener link, so I watched it again, picking up on more nuances, which I think will be the case with each viewing.

#5 – GOOD LUCK TO YOU LEO GRANDE | Searchlight|Director Sophie Hyde | Screenwriter Katy Brand

Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) is a 60 something retired schoolteacher and widow, who finds herself yearning for the one thing that has eluded her: a satisfying sexual experience. She was married for over 30 years, has 2 adult children, but the sex with her husband was always perfunctory at best. So she decides to hire a young sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack) and meets him in a hotel room.  She doesn’t want an older man, she wants someone young and hot, but at the same time, it’s embarrassing to be so much older, than this beautiful mixed-raced, sensual guy; making much of their first encounter very awkward. Leo tries to make her feel sexy with champagne, cooing her name, dancing, but none of it works. So they  eventually delve into deeper conversation to ease into things. 

The entire movie other than a few establishing shots, takes place in the hotel. In some ways, it has a stage play feel, but in no way to its detriment and there’s good movement as scenes take place all over the room with dancing and other physicalities.  But it’s the layers of their relationship formed over 3 sessions that’s so engaging and not all comically; there’s a lot to be said about motherhood, similar to films like The Lost Daughter & When You Finish Saving the World and discussion on the legalization of sex workers and much more.  I love a dialogue heavy movie of which this is.

Admittedly (this definitely falls under the heading of TMI) but my own nothing much to speak of sex life, drew me to the idea of this movie in the first place, and I’m intrigued by the results. I feel like being serviced by a professional would somehow seems more satisfying than a Tinder hookup. But I have no first hand knowledge of either.    SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FAVORITE!!!

#6- ELVIS | Warner Bros | Director Bazz Luhrmann| Co-written by Sam Bromell, Jeremy Doner, and Craig Pearce

Growing up if something was really white and kinda corny you can best believe I was into it. So I fell in love with the girl crazy, but clean-cut Elvis of the movies like Fun in Acapulco, Blue Hawaii, King Creole and Viva Las Vegas which is on my Letterboxd List of Movies I Can Watch Again and Again, but I didn’t realize this was all part of America’s censoring and taming of the young, rebel, hip swinging, black eyeliner wearing Elvis. The Elvis who grew up in an all-black neighborhood, revered gospel music, was good friends with the likes of B.B. King (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and other early Jazz/Blues musicians. I always assumed he heard their records and appropriated the sound, but it would seem he came by it naturally, due to his upbringing.  I didn’t even know that he had two choices – go to jail for indecency or join the military.  Why is America called “The Land of the Free” yet sh*% like this happened all the time, and still can happen if we’re not very vigilant.

In terms of Baz Luhrmann films, I’ve only seen Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby. I wrote a comparison between the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Luhrmann’s Leo DiCaprio version that became my most viewed posts for 5 years running.  I was in favor of the original; yet, I don’t hold that Baz Luhrmann’s just too much bias that most critics seem to have.  In fact, I’d like to praise him when it comes to his latest film Elvis, for giving the iconic crooner the razzle dazzle he and his life story deserves. And I’m not alone as it was given a 12 min standing O at the 75th Cannes Film Festival!

The film gets going with a bang of diamond-encrusted logos and spinning kaleidoscopic of Elvis and Vegas in frames with loud music and just a sense of the excitement that surrounded Elvis Presley in his heyday.  I like being brought into a movie of this nature this way, it prepares you for being taken on an entertaining ride and that’s what we get.  And yet, there are many scenes played out emotionally and fully. In NO WAY is the movie choppy or overly edited or too glitzy. It’s just the right touch of bling. And for the most part, after the opening scenes, it’s a linear story starting with Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) on the touring circuit with a good o’l boy singer Hank Snow (David Wenham). It’s Hank’s son, Jimmie Rodgers Snow (Kodi Smit-McPhee) that starts playing a record newly popular with the kids in town. They first tell him to shut it off, assuming the singer’s black, but when Jimmie apprises them of the fact that Elvis is white, you’d swear they CGI’d dollar signs in the Colonel’s eyes and off he goes to capture lightening in a bottle.

This is how Luhrmann and his team of writers decided to frame this story of Elvis Aaron Presley, through the eyes of his avuncular, manipulative, greedy, “snow-man” of a manager, Colonel Parker, who nobody ever really knew.  He speaks with an accent that seems like a mix of Dutch and German behind a practiced southern drawl.  He admits to being akin to a carnival barker and a spin doctor, yet Elvis trusts him with his life and livelihood practically his whole career.  Hanks is not right for this part, prosthetics, fat suit, accent, none of it is enough to convince you he ever should have been cast.  Thankfully, there is no better person suited to play Elvis than Austin Butler. It’s his movie to carry. The young actor does more than just nail Presley’s singing voice and stage presence; he goes far beyond an impersonator to a place of kinship.  Rami Malki was very good as Freddy Mercury, Taron Egerton did a fantastic job in Rocketman, Jennifer Hudson tried her best as Aretha Franklin, but Austin Butler puts them all to shame!

#7 – THE MENU | Searchlight Pictures | Director Mark Mylod | Writers Seth Reiss & Will Tracy

In what feels like a former lifetime now, I once intended to be a chef.  Upon graduating high school, I was accepted into a chef’s apprenticeship program, of which I did one semester; where I was pretty badly burned, had to roll 500 chicken cordon bleu, and came to the conclusion I hate working weekends, all of which and more, promptly ended my culinary dreams. When I started Tinsel & Tine, I had intentions of going to a movie and a restaurant in the same night and reviewing both in the same post. If there were tie-ins great, if not, fine. I just liked the idea of marrying food with film.  I followed that format exactly once :/  Then I said I’d focus in on films which hone in on food/dining/cooking – if there are 10 foodie films covered on this site, I’d be surprised.  But had I done what I set out to do, this movie, THE MENU would have been the culmination of the meeting between food and film!

It is stupendously written by Seth Reiss (Late Night with Seth Meyers) and Will Tracy a writer on SUCCESSION (which I still have to watch) who must have given his boss, Mark Mylod, Director/Producer SUCCESSION, first dibs. Mylod admits to never having been a foodie, yet felt the script just nailed the concept.  

What I love is how immersive it is. This is extensive real-life world building at its best. You know this place, this experience exists. A remote island restaurant known for its storytelling, molecular gastronomy, overseen by a celebrated chef – Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes), who charges $1,250 a head, should you be lucky enough to get a reservation.

And you can imagine the type of guests it would attract:  A wealthy, older married couple (Reed Birney & Judith Light) who no longer really have anything to say to each other, but they’re both so used to being comfortable in every sense of the word, they’d never change their status quo.

A has-been celebrity with a bloated ego and need to be recognized (John Leguizamo). Dining with his personal assistant (Aimee Carrero) who detests and feels a sort of kinship with her employer.

An obnoxious food critic, so in love with her own pseudo-intelligence and power, she reeks of it (Janet McTeer) dining with her editor who falls over himself to please and stroke her ego (Paul Adelstein).

A table full of Wall Street Bros, insufferably entitled, assuming the rules don’t apply to them as minions to the Angel Investor of the restaurant (Arturo Castro, Mark St. Cyr and Rob Yang).

And the young couple, on the surface it seems that he’s so overly obsessed with his epicurean pastime that he’s oblivious to anything and everyone else, except Chef.  She just seems like a relatively new girlfriend along for the ride to be accommodating.  (Nicholas Hoult & Anya Taylor-Joy).

Truly, being on the beautifully barren island of indigenous foods, having each preposterously, highfalutin course displayed and described in detail, along with the character-driven conversations at each table, seemed like the movie to me – one I was enjoying. But then it kicks into high gear as a black comedy and you’re really in for some surprises. And yet the film retains a sense of believability. What really works are the scenes between Taylor-Joy and Fiennes. These two are a recipe of unexpected flavors.  

However, as original as The Menu feels, it also has a lot in common with Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Triangle of Sadness, all three taking place on an island and making commentary about the ostentatiously privileged.  It also reminds me of TÁR (#4) another immersive, authentic feeling film. Both Lydia Tár and Julian Slowik are geniuses who have reached beyond the pinnacle of their careers, and seem to be self-sabotaging, in order to once again experience the thrill of climbing to the top.

#8 – NOPE | Universal Pictures | Writer/Director/Producer Jordan Peele

In watching and reading interviews with Jordan Peele, he says with NOPE that he wanted to hone in on Spectacle (definition: an event or scene regarded in terms of its visual impact) he seems to be looking at the negative impact of this display on society and yet admits that ironically, he wanted to create a “spectacle” that everyone would want to go see this summer in the theater; so there’s that. Personally, my brain is too overtaxed this week to sit and ponder on the meaning of this word and it’s affect on humanity, but in terms of the film, “Nope” is definitely visually striking.  Particularly those wide mountain shots both in broad daylight and starry nights, filmed in the Agua Dulce desert in northern Los Angeles County at the Firestone Ranch.

In the film this ranch is owned by a black family – Otis Haywood Sr., (Keith David) Otis “OJ” Haywood, Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald “Em” Haywood (Keke Palmer) they train horses for Hollywood movies and commercials.  The brother and sister dynamic is the crux of the film. Their relationship, like most brothers and sisters is antagonistic, yet bonded. They have completely different temperaments – OJ is so taciturn, and low-key, he’s all about duty and mainly communicates with those uniquely, sad, soulful Kaluuya eyes.  Em is all personality and bravado, full of dreams and schemes, but never over-the-top; she’s good at hyping the family biz, but has little to no interest in the actual day to day running of the ranch. 

After the initial incident, the majority of the film is build up, reminding me of Hitchcock’s The Birds where there’s a lot of atmosphere, a lot of visual cues and unhurried storytelling.  We meet Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun) who runs Jupiter’s Claim, a Western Theme park in the middle of the California desert. Park has been buying horses from OJ, but he also has a connection to the opening scene of a Chimpanzee TV star, who goes ape and viciously attacks his co-stars on set. Adding another theme throughout about man vs beast, which is interestingly layered.

Later we meet Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) he’s at techy guy who works at a Best Buys type store where Em & OJ go to buy surveillance equipment. Angel manages to insert himself into the goings on at the ranch. Then there’s the brooding, raspy, director guy, Antlers Hols (Michael Wincott) who adds a tremendous amount of flavor to what becomes operation getting the “Oprah Shot”. 

I’m not gonna describe the sci-fi UFO aspects of the film, I was glad I knew very little going in and don’t wanna spoil anything for others. Of course, we were all waiting for the title of the film to be a line in the film, and it doesn’t disappoint. Basically, I’d say with each film, Jordan Peele has proven himself to be a true auteur.

#9 – GLASS ONION: A Knives Out Mystery | Netflix | Writer/Director Rian Johnson

 As a filmmaker how coveted would it be to discover you’ve created a franchise?  I suppose it would depend on how much you love the world you’ve built. Well, Rian Johnson is more than fond of his knives out mystery verse and lead character Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) and if Glass Onion does half as well as 2019’s Knives Out (PhilaFCC Best Picture winner) then they’re both happy to keep the franchise going.

When it comes to movies and COVID what I’ve mainly seen so far is either the movie is steeped in it or ignores it all together.  Johnson decided to address it as the elephant in the room for a beat at the beginning and then cleverly shoots the elephant and rids the rest of the movie of this actuality.  We are introduced to the cast or rather soon to be suspects: Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson) a vacuous, self-centered music legend, with a fabulous wardrobe.  Her assistant Peg (Jessica Henwick), has the difficult job of keeping Birdie from being cancelled again on Twitter. Kathryn Hahn, whose career is super hot these days, plays Claire, a democratic politician. Duke Cody (Dave Bautista) is a Joe Rogan type influencer. Cody’s girlfriend Whiskey (Madelyn Cline) seems to be just a pretty face who looks hot in a bikini, but she’s much smarter than she looks (this is not a clue).  Lionel (Leslie Odom, Jr) is a brilliant scientist. Andie Brand is a corporate CEO (Janelle Monáe) who steals the movie, she’s so watchable.  And all of them revolve around Miles Bron (Edward Norton) a compilation of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and any other billionaire with too much excess and no sense of reality.

We’re introduced to them individually in their own worlds, but soon we have them all on Bron’s island for a little reunion, as all these characters know one another from their early days before their careers took off.  I won’t tell you why or how Benoit Blanc is on the island, but I do like that we get to see a bit of his home life too before going.

For me, Rian Johnson has done it again!  I enjoyed it almost as much as Knives Out, although it’s impossible to recapture the element of surprise I felt back then, realizing Johnson had modernized the Whodunit to so much good effect. For Glass Onion my expectations were already set. Knives Out was also a darker comedy; the mood and location for this one is much lighter with less layers, which is ironic that it doesn’t have as much to peel.  But in terms of staging, pacing, engagement it’s right up there with the original.

Got a chance to interview Rian Johnson during PFF31 in a roundtable with PFCC Members – LISTEN HERE

#10 – TRIANGLE OF SADNESS |Neon | Writer/Director Ruben Östlund |
Countries France, Germany, Sweden, UK & US

It’s impossible not to call this the projectile vomiting movie, although, there’s a lot more to it than that.  It’s a fun, social satire on class systems, gender-based assumptions and a reminder that money can’t solve every issue. But the sea sickness scenes are just priceless. A luxury yacht experiencing turbulent weather during the captain’s dinner has the passengers spewing from both ends.  My favorite, a middle-aged actress, Sunnyi Melles, being tossed around the bathroom floor of her estate room, hurling each time she swings back passed the toilet, had me crying.  I can’t remember when I’ve laughed so hard at something so disgusting 🤣

This is the Swedish writerdirector Ruben Östlund’s first English-language film, which won him a second Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival, the first being THE SQUARE (2017) which I never got around to seeing, even though it features one of my girl crushes, Elisabeth Moss.  I did see his film FORCE MAJEURE (2014) which was my introduction to the filmmaker during The Philadelphia Film Festival that year.  It’s a shame the American remake DOWNHILL starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Will Ferrell (which I saw at Sundance 2020) didn’t employ the kind of subtleties and restraint of the original, but then if it did, I guess it wouldn’t be Americanized.

Triangle of Sadness is told in 3 parts.  Sometimes this framing works really well, other times you feel like it ruins the momentum of a film. In this case, it’s a little of both.  There’s a scene in the beginning of the movie that introduces us to two of the characters, as this ultimately becomes an ensemble film.  The couple is made up of two young models, the female, Yaya (Charlbi Dean) is also an influencer, getting paid the big bucks to pretend she’s enjoying stuff on Instagram. The male, Carl (Harris Dickinson) isn’t as successful, still needing to audition for work. Yet, Yaya expects him to pick up the check for all their expensive dining.  This turns into an interesting discussion/argument. Yet, it doesn’t really fit smoothly into the rest of the film; which is at least 20 minutes too long. 

Side note: How sad is it that the actress/model Charlbi Dean died from a virus complication in real-life before this movie could be released!   RIP 😥

Tinsel & Tine’s Ranked
10 WORST MOVIES OF 2022

TINSEL & TINE FULL LETTERBOXD LIST
160 MOVIES RANKED BEST TO WORST FOR 2022

(See T&T #MiniMovieReviews for 10 Worst on Letterboxd)

TINSEL & TINE PAST YEARS BEST & WORST LISTS:

2021 Best & Worst List

2020 Best & Worst List | 2019 Best & Worst List | 2018 Best and Worst List |
2017 Best & Worst List | 2016 Best & Worst List | 2014 Best & Worst