Fast X

Continuing the franchise's love of defying the laws of physics, Fast X is the first part to the finale of the series. Dom and his team are targeted by Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes, the son of the main villain from Fast Five, who manages to be one step ahead as he frames them for an attack in the Vatican and plans to humiliate and make them suffer before he kills them. While Justin Lin stays as a cowriter with Dan Mazaeu, he left as the director due to Vin Diesel's over controlling nature and in his place came in Louis Leterrier. The script is pretty much what the franchise has always been with over the top plots, out of nowhere twists, and everything relating to cars. However, Leterrier does give his own unique stamp with his much more frenetic action scenes that stand out more thanks to expert editing, good cinematography, and strong effects, whether practical or CG. The cast, as always, all give strong performances including newcomers Brie Larson, Daniela Melchoir, and Alan Ritchson. But if anyone is absolute having a blast is Jason Momoa hamming it up in one of the most fun villain portrayals of all time. While there's nothing that new in Fast X, the more elaborate action scenes and the villain's charismatic presence, more than makes up for it. Over all: 80%

2023 top list so far:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

2. Air

3. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

4. Creed III

5. John Wick: Chapter 4

6. Scream VI

7. M3GAN

8. Cocaine Bear

9. Knock at the Cabin

10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

11. Renfield

12. Fast X

13. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

14. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Swan songs don't come as more emotional than with James Gunn's final MCU outing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After Rocket is attacked by Adam Warlock, the Guardians must find a code related to his creation in order to heal him. They, alongside the alternate timeline version of Gamora, have to contend with the corporation that created Rocket, including its founder the High Evolutionary. Meanwhile, as Rocket clings between life and death, flashbacks to his past reveal his tragic origins and his connection with the Evolutionary. While Gunn continues to have as much fun and energy as the two previous entries, often a bit too much, there's a sense of brutality and honesty that gives it a more dramatic sense. Rocket's origins and much of the High Evolutionary's motivations have a lot of parallels to how cruel animal testing can be and the corruption of large scale corporations. The flashbacks are just as important as the main story, introducing other animals that Rocket befriended and all leading to how he became a loner who has a hard time trusting others after the High Evolutionary killed them. While the returning cast all shine, Bradley Cooper delivers the most not only as the present Rocket but the younger version as well, making it so gripping and tragic. Zoe Saldaña may be reprising her role of Gamora again, but she does it differently due to being from another timeline. While Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn all return in spectacular fashion. Newcomers Will Poulter as Adam and Chukwudi Iwuji as the Evolutionary are great additions thanks to their charm and menace. But much like with the younger Rocket, the best performances come from the other animals that Rocket befriends voiced by Linda Cardellini, Asim Chaudhry, and Mikaela Hoover. While a few recent entries in the MCU have had problems with their cinematography and effects, not only is there a good mix of practical and digital effects but Henry Braham does a stellar job with how the movie is photographed. Thanks to Gunn's keen eye for action scenes and love of music, you get some incredibly stellar set pieces, edited seamlessly by Fred Raskin and Greg D'Auria, with either phenomenal songs from the 90s and 2000s or John Murphy's rousing score. With the members of the team going their separate ways at the end, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not only sees the end of an era for the MCU but in a way that is highly satisfying. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

2. Air

3. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

4. Creed III

5. John Wick: Chapter 4

6. Scream VI

7. M3GAN

8. Cocaine Bear

9. Knock at the Cabin

10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

11. Renfield

12. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

13. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Evil Dead Rise

Evil Dead Rise continues to prove how strong of a franchise Evil Dead is with its fifth film, and the first entry since Ash vs Evil Dead ended in 2018. Unlike the usual setting of most of the past films taking place in a cabin in the middle of the woods, this one mainly takes place in a dilapidated apartment complex in Los Angeles. Centering on the residents of the very top floor, things start to go wrong when one of them finds a strange book and recordings from the 1920s underneath the basement parking lot after an earthquake uncovered them. Upon the recordings reading the contents of the book aloud, the Deadites are once again unleashed, praying on the top floor residents when the elevators, stairs, and fire escape are inaccessible. You'd think that after four films and a show that lasted three seasons, that this franchise that began back in 1981 and deals with incredibly bloody and over the top violence. gore, and death would get stale but you'd be wrong. Original creator and director Sam Raimi and original star Bruce Campbell are still involved in this one so at least it's an assurance that the same vision is kept. Especially with Campbell providing a lot of the kill sound effects himself and briefly being heard a bit in the recordings. Director and writer Lee Cronin injects a mixture of the typical Raimi and his own style that fits smoothly while giving us some unique aspects that the franchise hasn't done before. The writing for the characters all manage to let us connect with them and the unique setting is handled perfectly. Dave Garbett's cinematography is astounding and helps elevate the horror, enhanced even further by Stephen McKeon's score. All the while the effects and the makeup, especially for near the end of the movie, prove that the Deadites are still as terrifying as they were in the early '80s. But, all of that wouldn't matter if the cast chosen for this movie didn't give as strong a performance as needed. Fortunately, everyone in here is phenomenal with Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland having a strong chemistry as siblings while the kids of one of the siblings are played to perfection by Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and child actress Nell Fisher who surprisingly manages to be the strongest out of all of them. It's rare for a franchise, let alone a horror based one, to have lasted so long with all of its entries being so acclaimed, and Evil Dead Rise is a testament to why this is one of those rare ones. Over all: 100%

2023 top list so far:

1. Air

2. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

3. Creed III

4. John Wick: Chapter 4

5. Evil Dead Rise

6. Scream VI

7. M3GAN

8. Cocaine Bear

9. Knock at the Cabin

10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

11. Renfield

12. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

13. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania