#John Hsu

[deluls]

Have you forgotten or are you scared of remembering?

DETENTION (2019) dir. John Hsu

[screenzealots]

"Dead Talents Society"

An absurdly clever, refreshingly inventive blend of horror, comedy, and heartfelt drama that breathes new life into the ghost story genre.

Co-writer and director John Hsu’s “Dead Talents Society” is a refreshingly inventive blend of horror, comedy, and heartfelt drama that breathes new life into the ghost story genre. With its clever twist on traditional horror tropes and a vibrant exploration of East Asian folklore, the film emerges as a wildly inventive, imaginative, bloody, and fun celebration of both the supernatural and the…

[dijeh]

Detention, John Hsu (2019)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

NYT: Harris Campaign’s Legal Team Takes Shape as Election Battles Heat Up

Nick Corasantini at NYT:

Amid threats of certification battles and mass voter challenges, Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign has assembled an expansive senior legal team that will oversee hundreds of lawyers and thousands of volunteers in a sprawling operation designed to be a bulwark against what Democrats expect to be an aggressive Republican effort to challenge voters, rules and, possibly, the results of the 2024 election.

The legal apparatus within the Harris campaign will oversee multiple aspects of the election program, including voter protection, recounts and general election litigation, and it is adding Marc Elias, one of the party’s top election lawyers, to focus on potential recounts. The legal group is headed by Bob Bauer, who served as personal counsel to President Biden for years, and Dana Remus, the general counsel to the 2020 Biden campaign, and also includes Maury Riggan, the general counsel for the Harris campaign. Josh Hsu, formerly from the vice president’s office, will join the team, and Vanita Gupta, a former director of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a top Biden Justice Department official, is an informal adviser. The campaign will also lean on the top lawyers at three prominent law firms — Seth Waxman, Donald Verrilli and John Devaney — to handle litigation, and deploy local counsel to eight battleground states and four other states of interest.

Mr. Elias, who has had tensions with Mr. Bauer and other Democratic lawyers in the past, will also bring lawyers from his growing firm, Elias Law Group. He has also previously worked for Ms. Harris, serving as general counsel for her primary campaign in 2020. Ms. Remus said in a statement that the legal team had been working “uninterrupted over the last four years, building strategic plans in key states, adding more talent and capacity, and preparing for all possible scenarios.” “This year, like in 2020, we have the nation’s finest lawyers at the table, ready to work together tirelessly to ensure our election will be free, fair and secure — and to ensure that all eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots, knowing their votes will be counted,” Ms. Remus said.

The origins of the effort date back to July 2020, when Walter Dellinger, a former acting solicitor general, called top officials on Mr. Biden’s legal team saying they needed to create “something we’ve never created before,” because the Trump campaign and its allies were beginning to bring cases and lay the groundwork for litigation. With the lessons of 2020 still fresh in Democrats’ minds, Harris advisers claim that the legal team is about 10 times the size of the 2020 operation. The expansive new Democratic legal team, and the opposing group at the Republican National Committee, is a reflection of the legal arms race that is the new reality of American elections since Mr. Trump’s election victory in 2016. The battle over whose votes count — not just how many votes are counted — has become central to modern presidential campaigns.

[...] Democrats have been highlighting recent wins in many of the court battles as part of their effort to get ahead of voting issues. In Nevada, a judge dismissed a lawsuit in July filed by Republicans challenging a state law that allows ballots arriving up to four days after Election Day to be counted. In Mississippi, a judge rejected a similar challenge from Republicans that ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive five days later should not be counted. And in June, a federal judge rejected an argument from Republicans that voter rolls in Nevada had significant inconsistencies, finding that the R.N.C. and the voter who filed the lawsuit did not have legal standing. Core to the Democratic legal effort is the party’s voter protection program, which operates as both a traditional assistance program to voters as well as the eyes and ears of the legal team to help counter any false claims of fraud or malfeasance.

Helmed by Meredith Horton, the program is focused on eight battleground states (Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire) as well as four states of interest (Florida, Virginia, Minnesota and Maine). The program has more than 100 staff members across those 12 states, they said, buttressed by hundreds more volunteers and thousands of poll monitors recruited by the party. “This program is one that we are building to meet this moment,” Ms. Horton said in an interview, calling it the largest of its kind in Democratic presidential campaign history.

The New York Times reports that the Kamala Harris campaign’s legal team has begun to form in anticipation for post-Election Day battles akin to 2020.

[manicpixiedepressedwitch]

3rd annual academy museum gala round up pt1

[theycallme-thejackal]

Countdown to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 5

S04E04: Interesting People on Christopher Street

[lunarcovehq]

LEYLA SELVI (BURCU OZBERK) IS LOOKING FOR…

Connection: Criminal from Her Past

Suggested Name: UTP

Age Range: UTP

Species: UTP

Suggested FCs: UTP, but some suggestions are Paulina Chavez, Regé Jean Page, Zorzo Natharuetai, Berk Cankat, Bie Thassapak Hsu, Bruna Marquezine, Deniz Can Aktaş, Jacob Elordi, John Harlan Kim, Josie Totah etc.

Connection Description:

Your character is someone Leyla knew from her crime days. In terms of what crime they were involved in, we'd ask that its not the same crime as the other characters we have in the dash, so if it could be one of the following that would be great- gang member (no latinx fcs or black fcs for this to avoid any harmful stereotypes), drugs (no latinx fcs or black fcs for this as well to avoid any harmful stereotypes), pyramid schemes, gambling, hacking, getaway driver for another group of criminals, white collar crime etc.

They could have been another runaway like Leyla and bonded over this fact/formed a friendship of sorts before they inevitably parted ways for one reason or another or-

Leyla used to have a tendency to sleep around, so they could have had a fling or a fairly short lived relationship to which they grew tired of Leyla or left for a reason or another (Leyla could have even ended up robbing them on the way out - we could plot it out). They haven't seen each over since, but they would have stumbled into Lunar Cove and bumped into the Crime Family who have been living in this small town of Rhode Island having left the life of crime behind them.

Leyla is in a serious relationship now with a Lawyer named Ken and runs the local coffee shop appearing to be living a seemingly normal life, while your character would still be an active criminal and would like find the crime fam attempting to be law abiding citizens to be humorous at best and are counting down the days since you don't think it will last.

Please be sure to contact the player before applying:

Becca is available for DMs on @cantfightmoonlight!

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Rush Hour 3-Film Collection It has Rush Hour 1998 , Rush Hour 2 (2001) , and Rush Hour 3 (2007)

[gbhbl]

Horror Movie Review: The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1973)

Professor Van Helsing heads off to China on a lecture tour, only to join forces with a local family when he gets caught up in a battle between good and evil after a gang of sword-wielding vampires rise from the grave.

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (Chinese: 七金屍) is a 1974 martial arts horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker. The final movie in the Dracula series. In Transylvania in 1804, a lone figure makes his way through the countryside. He enters the towering Castle Dracula, where he summons Count Dracula. The figure announces, in his own language, that his name is Kah, a Taoist monk. And the high…

[macrolit]

The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

As voted on by 503 novelists, nonfiction writers, poets, critics and other book lovers — with a little help from the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

NYT Article.

*************

Q: How many of the 100 have you read? Q: Which ones did you love/hate? Q: What's missing?

Here's the full list.

100. Tree of Smoke, Denis Johnson 99. How to Be Both, Ali Smith 98. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett 97. Men We Reaped, Jesmyn Ward 96. Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, Saidiya Hartman 95. Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel 94. On Beauty, Zadie Smith 93. Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel 92. The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante 91. The Human Stain, Philip Roth 90. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen 89. The Return, Hisham Matar 88. The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis 87. Detransition, Baby, Torrey Peters 86. Frederick Douglass, David W. Blight 85. Pastoralia, George Saunders 84. The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee 83. When We Cease to Understand the World, Benjamin Labutat 82. Hurricane Season, Fernanda Melchor 81. Pulphead, John Jeremiah Sullivan 80. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante 79. A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin 78. Septology, Jon Fosse 77. An American Marriage, Tayari Jones 76. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin 75. Exit West, Mohsin Hamid 74. Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout 73. The Passage of Power, Robert Caro 72. Secondhand Time, Svetlana Alexievich 71. The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen 70. All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward P. Jones 69. The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander 68. The Friend, Sigrid Nunez 67. Far From the Tree, Andrew Solomon 66. We the Animals, Justin Torres 65. The Plot Against America, Philip Roth 64. The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai 63. Veronica, Mary Gaitskill 62. 10:04, Ben Lerner 61. Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver 60. Heavy, Kiese Laymon 59. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides 58. Stay True, Hua Hsu 57. Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich 56. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner 55. The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright 54. Tenth of December, George Saunders 53. Runaway, Alice Munro 52. Train Dreams, Denis Johnson 51. Life After Life, Kate Atkinson 50. Trust, Hernan Diaz 49. The Vegetarian, Han Kang 48. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi 47. A Mercy, Toni Morrison 46. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt 45. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson 44. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin 43. Postwar, Tony Judt 42. A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James 41. Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan 40. H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald 39. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan 38. The Savage Detectives, Roberto Balano 37. The Years, Annie Ernaux 36. Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates 35. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel 34. Citizen, Claudia Rankine 33. Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward 32. The Lines of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst 31. White Teeth, Zadie Smith 30. Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward 29. The Last Samurai, Helen DeWitt 28. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell 27. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 26. Atonement, Ian McEwan 25. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc 24. The Overstory, Richard Powers 23. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage, Alice Munro 22. Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo 21. Evicted, Matthew Desmond 20. Erasure, Percival Everett 19. Say Nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe 18. Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders 17. The Sellout, Paul Beatty 16. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon 15. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee 14. Outline, Rachel Cusk 13. The Road, Cormac McCarthy 12. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion 11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz 10. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson 9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro 8. Austerlitz, W.G. Sebald 7. The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead 6. 2666, Roberto Bolano 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 4. The Known World, Edward P. Jones 3. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel 2. The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson 1. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

[awardseason]

Oscars 2023 — Winners

Best Picture “All Quiet on the Western Front” “Avatar: The Way of Water” “The Banshees of Inisherin” “Elvis” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — WINNER “The Fabelmans” “TÁR” “Top Gun: Maverick” “Triangle of Sadness” “Women Talking”

Best Director Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) — WINNER Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) Todd Field (“TÁR”) Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Best Actress Cate Blanchett (“TÁR”) Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”) Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) — WINNER

Best Actor Austin Butler (“Elvis”) Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) — WINNER Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) Bill Nighy (“Living”)

Best Supporting Actress Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) Hong Chau (“The Whale”) Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) — WINNER

Best Supporting Actor Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”) Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) — WINNER

Best International Feature Film “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Edward Berger, Germany) — WINNER “Argentina, 1985” (Santiago Mitre, Argentina) “Close” (Lukas Dhont, Belgium) “EO” (Poland) “The Quiet Girl” (Ireland)

Best Adapted Screenplay Edward Berger, Ian Stokell, and Lesley Paterson (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) Rian Johnson (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”) Kazuo Ishiguro (“Living”) Ehren Kruger, Christopher McQuarrie, and Eric Warren Singer (“Top Gun: Maverick”) Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”) — WINNER

Best Original Screenplay Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) — WINNER Todd Field (“TÁR”) Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Best Animated Feature “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” — WINNER “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”  “Turning Red”  “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”  “The Sea Beast” 

Best Cinematography James Friend (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) — WINNER Darius Khondji (“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”) Mandy Walker (“Elvis”) Roger Deakins (“Empire of Light”) Florian Hoffmeister (“Tár”)

Best Visual Effects “Avatar: The Way of Water” — WINNER “All Quiet on the Western Front” “The Batman” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” “Top Gun: Maverick”

Best Editing “Elvis”  “Everything Everywhere All at Once”— WINNER “Top Gun: Maverick”  “TÁR”  “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Best Production Design “Avatar: The Way of Water” “All Quiet on the Western Front” — WINNER “Babylon”  “Elvis” “The Fabelmans”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling “Elvis”  “The Batman”  “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”  “All Quiet on the Western Front” “The Whale” — WINNER

Best Costume Design “Elvis” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Ruth E. Carter) — WINNER “Everything Everywhere All at Once”  “Babylon”  “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”

Best Sound “Top Gun: Maverick” — WINNER “Elvis”  “Avatar: The Way of Water”  “All Quiet on the Western Front”  “The Batman”

Best Original Song “Hold My Hand” — Lady Gaga (“Top Gun: Maverick”) “Lift Me Up”— Rihanna (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) “Naatu Naatu”— Kaala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj (“RRR”) — WINNER “Applause”— Diane Warren (“Tell It Like a Woman”) “This Is a Life”— David Byrne, Ryan Lott, and Mitski (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Original Score Justin Hurwitz (“Babylon”) John Williams (“The Fabelmans”) Volker Bertelmann (“All Quiet on the Western Front”) — WINNER Carter Burwell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) Son Lux (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Documentary Feature “All That Breathes” “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” “Fire of Love” “A House Made of Splinters” “Navalny” — WINNER

Best Documentary Short Subject “The Elephant Whisperers” — WINNER “Haulout” “How Do You Measure a Year?” “The Martha Mitchell Effect” “Stranger at the Gate”

Best Live Action Short “An Irish Goodbye” — WINNER “Ivalu” “Le Pupille” “Night Ride” “The Red Suitcase”

Best Animated Short “The Flying Sailor” “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” — WINNER “Ice Merchants” “My Year of Dicks” “An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”

[dalekofchaos]

Mortal Kombat fancast(new)

Simu Liu as Liu Kang

Glenn Powell as Johnny Cage

Charlize Theron as Sonya Blade

Ken Watanabe as Raiden

Henry Golding as Sub-Zero/Noob Saibot/Bi-Han

Andrew Koji as Scorpion

Manu Benett as Kano

Rory McCann as Goro

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as SHang Tsung(Old, WHO ELSE???)

Tony Leung as Shang Tsung(Young)

Bill Skarsgard as Reptile

Iko Uwais as Kung Lao

Aldis Hodge as Jackson "Jax" Briggs

Elodie Yung as Kitana/Milenena

Zoe Saldana as Jade

Harry Shum Jr. as Sub-Zero/Kuai-Liang

Justin H. Min as Smoke

Brian Tee as Sektor

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Cyrax

Scott Adkins as Baraka

Conan Stevens as Kintaro

Dave Bautista as Shao Kahn

Eugene Brave Rock as Nightwolf

John Cena as Stryker

Jon Bernthal as Kabal

Michelle Yeoh as Sindel

Jade Cargill as Sheeva

Nathan Jones as Motaro

Doug Jones as Ermac

Because of Tumblr's stupid 30 picture limit, I cannot add more pictures, so here’s the rest.

Larry Lam as Rain

Jonathan Patrick Foo as Chameleon

Karen Fukuhara as Khameleon

Jet Li as Fujin

Sonoya Mizuno as Sareena

Brenda Song as Kia

Javicia Leslie as Jataaka

Anna Diop as Tanya

Jai Courtney as Jarek

Karl Urban as Reiko

Mads Mikkelsen as Shinnok

Hoon Lee as Quan Chi

Benedict Wong as Bo Rai Cho

Lewis Tan as Kenshi

Yvonne Chapman as Li Mei

Emma Myers as Frost

Peter Mensah as Drahmin

Derek Mears as Moloch

Charles Melton as Mavado

Ron Yuan as Hsu Hao

Alexandra Daddario as Nitara

Gordon Liu as Shujinko

Constance Wu as Ashrah

Donnie Yen as Hotaru

Daniel Wu as Dairou

Mahershala Ali as Darrius

Matt Smith as Havik

Dominic Sherwood as Kobra

Kristen Stewart as Kira

Tony Todd as Onaga

Ian McKellen as Argus

Eva Green as Delia

Tom Hardy as Taven

Mark Strong as Daegon

Ron Pearlman as Blaze

Jessica Henwick as Skarlet

Milly Alcock as Cassie Cage

Delainey Hayles as Jacqui Briggs

Mackenyu as Takeda Takahashi

Ludi Lin as Kung Jin

Winston Duke as Kotal Kahn

Tao Okamoto as D’Vorah

Jensen Ackles as Erron Black

Dafne Keen and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Ferra/Torr

Tony Jaa as Tremor

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Geras

Emily Blunt as Cetrion

Tilda Swinton as Kronika

[callmearcturus]

you talked about who you would cast to direct a hypothetical ktowl series, but who would you cast? :3

hell's fucking bells what a question

since KTOWL lives in my head also as a novel that i might write someday (idk if its worth it tbh, original work just doesn't seem to bring in anything so it's hard to commit to the work needed for it all)

This is probably recency bias but for Dave/Ezra I know immediately, I would love Xelia Mendes-Jones if they were willing. They're a lil taller than I imagined for Dave/Ezra, but I adore their eyes and their voice.

I think for Kanaya/Vaer'Dia, I would love to put Indira Varma in cool alien prosthetics and makeup. I've loved her for SO LONG and her voice is pitch perfect.

Rose/Leah ("Sophia") is so hard, I want someone I know who can be a heartless ice queen but also mired in self-delusion and also an alcoholic, I think Alicia Vikander could do it. She's too old but this is dream casting, let's just say age doesn't matter okay.

in the reverse, for Jane/Cassandra "Cash" Doe, I would want an older Stephanie Hsu because I feel like the dry cold humor she has is a very good fit

Roxy is difficult bc in the spinoff she's being really reimagined into a character named Naota. I would like Rina Sawayama bc she was incredible in John Wick Chapter 4.

okay you might be wonder "who the fuck could play Abraxas" and literally the only fucking person I can think of who has the raw fucking charisma necessary, who I can imagine as consummate actor neon-infused omniglot lunatic Jake/Sasha Lambros is Sacha Dhawan. Like HONESTLY if you can imagine anyone else with the right build and the gravity well of charisma, I would LOVE to know.

there are two people I cannot fucking place for the life of me, and it's Karkat/Zhro and Dirk/Pirah.

Karkat/Zhro is so fucking hard because I need someone who you could put a bunch of fun alien prosthetics on, who is fucking built like they got cantalopes for biceps, but have an indefatigable kindness in them. I have gone through so many mental options and come up fucking dry.

for Dirk/Pirah, it's the physicality. I can fudge imperfect faces and voices, but the way he moves is 90% of the character. I need someone built like a rapier who moves like a murderous gymnast. And I just don't fucking KNOW.

anyway this took literally hours, anon, hope you're happy lmao.

[eesirachs]

what are your thoughts on theology and climate change issues? any book recommendations on that?

ecotheology centers god's creative genesaic movement, and it matters. in my work, this means making visible animacy, sacrificial/levitical bodies, and the bodyscape's extension into and across materiality, in the ancient near east. so i recommend, in particular, neumann's handbook of senses in ane, freud's totem and taboo, adegbite's life under the baobab tree, shellenberg's sounding sensory profiles in the ane, kim's bodies, embodiment and theology of the hb , and hsu's expression of emotions in ancient egypt and mesopotamia.

but it's more likely you want christian ecotheology, or contemporary ecotheology. sally mcfague, ursula goodenough, ibrahim abdul-matin, s. lily mendoza and george zachariah, mary evelyn tucker and john grim, melanie harris

[01432853]

The Symbol of Anguish.

Detention (2019) dir. John Hsu

[joeygoeshollywood]

My 25 Favorite Films of 2023

It's that time of year again! Here are my top 25 films of 2023.

25. Joy Ride

Following in the footsteps of Bridesmaids and Girls Trip, Joy Ride offers some of the biggest laughs of 2023 proving once again women can be just as raunchy as men. The cast includes up-and-comers Ashley Park, Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, and a scene-stealing breakthrough performance from Sherry Cola. Joy Ride marks a strong debut from writer-director Adele Lim.

24. Theater Camp

Anyone who had aspirations of becoming an actor can relate to Theater Camp, a mockumentary about the staff of a theater camp struggling to keep it afloat. Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, and Noah Galvin lead both behind and in front of the camera in this superb comedy that will leave you singing from the rooftops.

23. A Thousand and One

A Thousand and One is a heartbreaking indie film about a mother's desperate effort to form a bond with her estranged son by kidnapping him from the foster care system following her stint in prison. Teyana Taylor packs an emotional punch with her crushing performance with the help of A.V. Rockwell in her feature debut as a writer-director.

22. Thanksgiving

Eli Roth's filmography in horror is a mixed record, but his latest flick Thanksgiving may be his best work yet. Not only is it a solid slasher with great over-the-top killings, its brilliantly hilarious. In a time where horror franchises can be tiresome, Thanksgiving is one that could call for a second or third helping.

21. Somewhere in Queens

TV icon Ray Romano makes his feature directorial debut in the family comedy Somewhere in Queens. He stars as the father of a promising high school basketball player who goes through perhaps desperate means to assure he lands a college scholarship. Joined by the wonderful Laurie Metcalf, Somewhere in Queens has plenty of laughs as well as plenty of heart.

20. Dream Scenario

The remarkable comeback of Nicolas Cage continues with his brilliant performance in Dream Scenario, a dark fantasy horror comedy in which he plays a college professor who inexplicably starts appearing in everyone's dreams, sparking a national phenomenon that will ultimately take a personal toll. Cage balances the absurdity of the situation his character is in with emotional heft that comes with it. This marks Norwegian filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli's first English-language film and based on how well-executed Dream Scenario is, hopefully it won't be his last.

19. The Covenant

Guy Ritchie's latest The Covenant is a heart-pounding war film based on the true story of Sgt. John Kinley's rescue effort of his Afghan interpreter Ahmed. Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim make a perfect duo in this dramatic, suspenseful film that may be Ritchie's strongest work to date.

18. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Judy Blume's 1970 adolescent classic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. finally made its way to the big screen this year in the heartwarming coming-of-age tale of a girl's awkward journey from childhood to adulthood as well as the complexities that come from being an interfaith household. Abby Ryder Fortson shines as the titular Margaret in an outstanding performance not often seen from child actors. Also, we need more Rachel McAdams.

17. BlackBerry

Arguably the biggest surprise of 2023, BlackBerry offers some of the best laughs in the comedic retelling of the rise and fall of the iconic BlackBerry device. BlackBerry is a showcase of talent of its star Jay Baruchel, Matt Johnson (who also directed and co-wrote the film), and Glenn Howerton of It's Always Sunny fame, easily giving one of the best on-screen performances of the entire year.

16. You Hurt My Feelings

Writer-director Nicole Holofcener reunites with her Enough Said star Julia Louis-Dreyfus with You Hurt My Feelings, which centers a turbulent chapter in a couple's marriage after a novelist overhears her husband mocking her latest book. The dramedy examines the thought-provoking nuances of how fully honest one actually should be with their spouse (the answer may surprise you!). The greatest strength from Holofcener's latest is how its humor comes naturally from the reality of relationships.

15. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Mission: Impossible does the unthinkable in Hollywood: keeping a franchise in top-notch shape. Dead Reckoning Part One, the whopping *seventh* installment of the Ethan Hunt saga, delivers on a compelling plot and incredible action sequences, all of which is cemented by the star power of Tom Cruise, who has carried this spy franchise for nearly 20 years. There have been hints that Dead Reckoning may be the beginning of the end for Mission: Impossible, and if that's the case, it's going out with a bang.

14. Talk to Me

The best horror movie of 2023, Talk to Me is a chilling film about a group of teenager's ill-fated decision of doing a viral challenge of interacting with the dead, only to mistakenly leave the portal open between the living and the spirit world. What makes Talk to Me work is the family drama at the core of the film and the powerful performance from its troubled heroine Sophie Wilde.

13. Sisu

Inglorious Basterds meets Mad Max: Fury Road meets John Wick, Sisu is a WWII-era revenge action flick about a gold prospector's quest to retrieve the gold that was stolen from him from a group of Nazis. Full of brutal, bloody fight sequences with a twisted sense of humor, Sisu is one helluva ride.

12. Creed III

Creed III is a throwback to the era where Hollywood blockbusters were able to provide complete satisfaction. The latest installment of the Rocky spin-off franchise marked the strong directorial debut of its star Michael B. Jordan and also may have sadly marked the final film of the incredibly talented Jonathan Majors, whose recent assault conviction may be a knockout punch to an otherwise booming career.

11. May December

Often having vibes of a soap opera, Todd Haynes' May December is a compelling and at times disturbing film of an actress (played by Natalie Portman) who shadows the woman she's depicting in a film (played by Julianne Moore) famous for her 90s love affair with a then 13-year-old, who later became her husband. Despite the powerhouse performances from the two Oscar winners, the film really belongs to rising star Charles Melton, whose character finally comes to grips with the trauma he unknowingly endured as a child. And Melton's performance is among 2023's best.

10. Anatomy of a Fall

We don't often get great courtroom dramatic thrillers these days which is why Anatomy of a Fall really stands out. German actress Sandra Hüller gives a breakthrough performance as a wife and mother who becomes the prime suspect in what authorities believe is the murder of her husband, who had fallen to his death from the attic window. With plenty of twists and turns, Anatomy of a Fall will keep viewers guessing throughout.

9. Maestro

Not only does Bradley Cooper give the performance of his career, he has also shown his ability to direct is no fluke. Maestro, a biopic that spotlights the personal drama of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein, is a beautifully-shot, well-acted film that solidifies Cooper as one of Hollywood's newest talented filmmakers.

8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

One would assume that a Spider-Man cartoon would solely be geared towards children but Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is such a sophisticated film between its complex plot and the remarkable animation that are a continuation from its 2018 Into the Spider-Verse predecessor. Between a strong voice cast, an amazing score and a brilliant cliffhanger, Across the Spider-Verse was the shining gem of the many superhero duds 2023 had to offer.

7. Killers of the Flower Moon

At 81-years-old, legendary director Martin Scorsese hasn't lost his step with Killers of the Flower Moon, his best film in at least a decade. The crime drama is based on a true story on the 1920s murders of members of Osage Nation and its ties to the marriage Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Kyle, played by the reliably gifted Leonardo DiCaprio and powerful newcomer Lily Gladstone.

6. Saltburn

Following her strong debut with 2020's Promising Young Woman, filmmaker Emerald Fennell makes a valiant return with her twisted comedic psychological drama Saltburn, which surrounds an Oxford student who is quickly embraced by the wealthy family of a classmate and the jarring fallout as a result. Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Irisherin, Dunkirk) proves he's more than capable of being the leading man and is joined by rich ensemble including Rosamund Pike, Jacob Elordi, Richard E. Grant and Carey Mulligan. With stunning visuals and some of the most shocking things you'll see onscreen in 2023, Saltburn is a stirring work of art.

5. The Holdovers

It's been a long time since a new Christmas movie can live up to beloved holiday classics and Alexander Payne makes the closest effort with The Holdovers, a 1970-set dramedy about a miserable teacher at a boys academy who is stuck essentially babysitting the "holdover" students who didn't go home for the holidays. Joining the always-brilliant Paul Giamatti is newcomer Dominic Sessa as his troublesome student and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who gives a powerful Oscar-worthy performance as the cook mourning over the loss of her son. The Holdovers is the perfect film to warm your heart over the holidays this year and every year going forward.

4. Past Lives

Perhaps one of the more unsung heroes of 2023 cinema, Past Lives is a touching story about love and what if. Greta Lee stars in a breakout role as a married woman who rekindles a relationship with a childhood friend from South Korea but rather than going down the typical "will they, won't they" or "love triangle" paths this film easily could've taken, Past Lives delves into the emotional complexities with such tenderness that only writer/director Celine Song could've told (the film is semi-autobiographical).

3. Oppenheimer

If anyone knows how to make a biopic an epic, it's Christopher Nolan. Oppenheimer is essentially two films rolled into one- a tick-tock thriller about the creation of the atomic bomb as well as a political drama that J. Robert Oppenheimer endured. Cillian Murphy gives the performance of his career and leads a gigantic ensemble cast in a film that despite its 3-hour running time goes by fast. And while Barbie may have won the box office battle, Oppenheimer certain won the war in more ways than one.

2. Polite Society

Polite Society is a brilliant action comedy following an aspiring stuntwoman who believes her sister is marrying into a sinister family. In the style of a Tarantino movie, up-and-coming filmmaker Nida Manzoor makes a strong feature debut that is the epitome of a fun popcorn movie, which have been in short supply in recent years.

Poor Things

Yorgos Lanthimos has quickly risen as of the strongest filmmakers of this generation, proving so once again with his latest film Poor Things. Emma Stone gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a woman brought back to life who embarks on a journey of self-discovery and autonomy and is accompanied by an excellent supporting cast. Like a modern-day Tim Burton, Lanthimos was able to create a mesmerizing universe with incredible production design, a whimsical music score, and stunning cinematography. Going to the movies is meant to be an escape, and Poor Things perfectly encapsulates that.