#a reckoning of flowers

[hcdragonwrites]

Blossoms (a tidbit from my book)

Art by @neurocosmical - characters belong to me

So I was inspired to share a scene that comes up later in my books - one when Dominicus begins to realize something completely impossible for him- not after the damage that had occurred the first time. It is just a glimpse of what I am working on and I was encouraged to share it by the lovely friends I have. It is just a draft- so everything is subject to addition or subtraction but the essence of it won’t change. 💜🥺 I hope y’all like it

Dominicus took one look in the long wall length mirror that hung upon his wall and scowled. His orange eyes narrowed in disgust as he reached up to his antlered head. Upon one of the curving points a great mess of lichen and moss grew, dripping down like gossamer green lace. Dominicus gave a yank and the green life was torn from his antlers. He tossed it into the marbled sink, the green sharp against the white.

Soft mage light illuminated the blue framework of the bathroom, revealing a structure that, in itself, looked organic in nature. Silver branches of stone lined and cut through the blue and grey of the mountain stone. As another vicious ripping sound echoed in the bathroom, Dominicus tossed more green- and silver ichor dripped from the spot patch on his point.

Dominicus, Lord of Bones was one of the ruling Aspects, a being that upheld and governed the world beyond mere politics. He grumbled at his reflection in the mirror, the four eyes flashing in annoyance. Dominicus reached up again with another claw and ripped the lichen out. It went flying.

This won’t do! He looked like he had gotten his head stuck in a thicket and had pulled the rest of the green with him. The great Lord of Bones, The Harbinger, Bringer of Death and Calamity of Souls (as many of his titles claimed him to be doom and gloom), could not be seen with the soft growth and mossy patches growing from his body.

“Of all the days for my body to rebel.” He hissed. This would be difficult and painful to pull off. He had never grown this much in one night- had never dropped his guard to allow such feeling to swell in him and cause his dysfunction to show. Dominicus was the Harbinger - a veritable God of Death, if mortal standards could apply to Imbrians. He could not go into Echo, the capital, with his antlers velveted in moss.

Dominicus tsked as his mood turned more and more sour. He had meetings to go to, connections to make, and other Lords on the Obsidian Council to meet. He had no time for gentle pruning and sprucing. If the other Lords could see me…

Grimfire and Stardust if Pheon caught a glimpse of him-

A knock came from the door making the Lord pause.

“Dominicus ?”

Oh no.

Dominicus I’ve brought your Tea for you.”

A prickling began, an itching sensation. Dominick’s looked back in the mirror- and swore.

Oh no.

The spots the Lord of Bones had just ripped off, had torn and thrown like wet paper, had repopulated in little lichen tufts.

“Dominicus?” The door opened, and the Lord wanted to roar. But he wouldn’t. Couldn’t.

For if he did, Dominicus would have the urge to defang and tear his antlers off. Because the little human that walked through the door with such an upturned and worried face, had somehow gained his affection.

Which meant he couldn’t roar or swagger or threaten his way out of this embarrassment.

“I heard you cry out and-“ Asphodels eyes became wide as saucers, her face blanching. “Dominicus! Your horns!”

“It is quite fine, Asphodel.” He grumbled, feeling the flush beneath his skin begin to spread. His ears flattened to his head, spines along his back clattering beneath his robes in disharmony. “A normal dysfunction I sometimes go through.”

“But … your bleeding.” Kindness- it was kindness he saw in his eyes and the great Lord felt his skin give a shudder.

“Just a scratch. Nothing to worry about.”Dominicus turned back to the mirror, a lip curling in both anger and embarrassment. He wished he could down his Antlers in acid. Maybe then I wouldn’t be caught in such embarrassing circumstances. Asphodel didn’t leave though. Instead she stepped forward. And stepped again.

“I have to get it off- GRIMFIRE! That STINGS.” He snarled softly, keeping much of his anger in check as he flung another growth down. He had learned quickly that his anger could startle her. Dominicus didn’t get angry often- but he did play the cold menace, leaning into the rumours and gossip that he was cold, calculating and every hungry.

Hands touched his arm and he looked down onto the small mortal.

“Bend your head down.” She asked.

“Why?”

“I can help you.” She motioned to the tools on his countet that he had forgotten in his shocked and embarrassed state. “If you must remove them- let me do it.”

“Um… how should I - ah yes.” She crossed her legs on the floor and patted the silver lined stone with a hand. She thinks me a dog? I should be insulted. Instead he felt all a flutter. Even as he tried to be cold, Dominicus was thawing in the simple presence of this tiny little flower.

“Settle your head here I’ll be able to reach it fine then” Asphodel smiled up at him, a flash of white and bright joy.

Fire and destruction, she will be the ruin of me. Dominicus felt his heart run and race as he bent his great frame down and settled it tentatively beside her. Asphodel walked up, gathering the tools he had abandoned in his anger. A pair of shears and a little knife were gathered up as she began tending him.

Dominicus watched. Ever since coming to Imera, his home, this little human had been so strange. At first he had been watching out of curiosity. No one came to the house of Imera, to the Court of Death (as the lords liked to snicker about), willingly. Zinnia had made the girl cook and then had brought her dripping and covered in juice from the broth to serve him. Zinnia had hoped this would have tripped and ticked the Lord to devour the soul of this mortal- and regain some of his lost power. Without stars to eat and cosmos to feed from, he had been slowly waning in strength and power. Zinnia did not understand that Dominicus could hear the souls as they died, could feel their fear as no Lord could, as they were sniffed out.

So of course he had refused. He had hopped to send Asphodel away, back to that frozen waste that these mortals came from. Instead she had snatched his robbed sleeve and begged to remain in service. Dominic us had never had anyone willingly hold or seek his touch. He was feared, a render of worlds. But she had sought his hand, his attention, even if it was only for a job.

Of course he couldn’t say no to her. And now look where they were. She was gently trimming, meticulously pulling the velveted lichen and moss from its home. When the cuts drew blood she staunched it with the sleeve of her tunic, staining it silver.

She shouldn’t use the good moonsilks. We have the swabs to use- Dominicus watched her continue dabbing with her shirt and felt his irritation from the moss antlers turn to playful teasing.

“Flower you have ruined your shirt.”

“Oh! Let me—“ she made to move. But he tapped her leg with one claw, motioning for her to continue.

“It’s alright. I’ll replace it. Just be more mindful in the future.” He chuckled “You’ve costed me a small trove of clothes in the past month.”

Dominicus watched her cheeks rise in Color and felt his body warm. A tingling and soft warmth started in his Antlers and Asphodel gave a great “oh!”

“A flower! I’ve never seen you grow a flower.”

No. That was impossible.

“Dominicus.”

“Yes.” He didn’t ask it as a question. He was too frozen- terrified of the reality that was coming to life before him

Asphodel brushed a hand over the antlers, the fingers cupping the growth that had appeared. It felt nothing like the moss and lichen he was used to.

“This suits you so much better then bare antlers.”

Dominicus rose suddenly, startling himself and her in the process.

“Thank you for the Tea, Asphodel. I can tend to the rest myself.” He kept his voice even even though fear bubbled in his throat. Please no please no please no please no-

“Oh- I’m sorry-“

“You did not do anything.” The fault was all on him.

Him and his stupid heart.

As she left the bathroom and he closed and flipped the lock on the door, The Lord turned back to the mirror. There sitting on one of the branching curves was a very fine and very white blossom. It hadn’t bloomed, hadn’t begun to flood with color like the last one did.

A blossom. A bloom. It only meant one thing.

He was in love.

[hcdragonwrites]

Me right now staring at the blank page in front of me

[marejadilla]

June Stratton, "Hickory Reckoning", oil, plaster, gold leaf on panel. B.1959 Honolulu, Hawaii, now residing in Savannah Georgia. Fictitious super hero who protects those who have been harmed. Robert Lange Studios.

[in-tua-deep]

Every household should have local gods or general entities I think

Mine are these two little cat statues I found I the woods behind my house when I was like 11

If anyone wants to share their local house deities please do ;3c

[saym0-0]

errmm :/

drawing tmagp gerry but i was never a tma girly so idk how to draw him lol

[mylifeincinema]

My Best of 2023: Posters

My Best of 2023 is a series of annual lists in which I pick the best of the best from 2023, all leading up to my official picks for My Top 10 Films of 2023.

My Top 10 11 Posters of 2023!

I'm just gonna let these speak for themselves. I'm kinda wild about the Top 5, but the rest are still all shades of great.

Note: As always, these picks have nothing to do with my thoughts or the quality of the films, only the posters themselves and how they sold the films to me.

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

Next Up: Assorted (Animated Feature, Foreign Film, Editing, Screenplay, Etc.).

More of My Best of 2023...

[morelikesin]

So this is love.

Mm-mm-hmm

So this is love...

So this is what makes life divine.

References below 💕

I love using my dolls for reference they're just so perfect 🥹🤧

I drew this originally for Valentine's Day a few years ago, but my style and tastes have changed since then - so I decided to revise this piece for this Valentine's Day because I've always really loved it 🩷🥺

[angronsjewelbeetle]

This was originally a piece of self-insert art but I thought this was cute. Post-Nails Angy being a goof. With FRECKLES.

[agentnico]

Top 10 BEST Movies of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all partied hard and are now surviving a dreadful hangover by sitting with your family or friends and enjoying a well deserved marathon of Lord of the Rings. 2023 - what a year! In the movie biz alone there were those little minor events known as the strikes of the actors and writers. Just when we thought COVID was over and stopped affecting releases, these strikes were like “errr no, actually..!”. To be fair, the way the streaming services were underpaying their actors and the studios enforcing AI so much into the media, it was good that these artists stood up for themselves and showed it to the man so to speak! Anyway, we’re not here to talk Hollywood politics, but to celebrate all the quality filmmaking that was exhibited this past year. I’d say in all honesty this year felt weaker compared to 2022. To be fair last year gave us Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and of course the legendary RRR, so the bar was high for 2023. That being said, I still enjoyed some solid films, so let’s rank my Top 10 favourite movies of 2023, but first some honourable mentions…

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Evil Dead Rise - one heck of a gore fest, and the best opening title card of the year hands down!

Past Lives - a simple yet brutally honest love story.

The Boy and the Heron - Wanna hear Robert Pattinson sound like not Robert Pattinson?!

Guy Richie’s The Covenant - The least Guy Ritchie film Guy Ritchie directed.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl are a match made in heaven.

Barbie - I’m Just Ken…need I say more??

Wonka - Timmy makes for a good Willy.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - A solid Marvel entry - a rarity these days.

Tetris - Gosh those tetrominos really get ya!

Right, with that, let’s get into the actual fun stuff - The Top 10 Best Movies of 2023!…

10) MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING - PART ONE - Tom Cruise - what a guy! I mean yes he’s a Scientologist, has a constant death wish by breaking his ankles on film sets and also guilty of jumping on Oprah’s sofa like a monkey, but my my is he a charmer! You guys know the drill with these Mission Impossible movies - Tom Cruise throws his body around like a potato fearing not for his life nor broken limbs, but you have to respect the man for wanting to give the audience their tickets’ worth of entertainment, and Dead Reckoning not disappoint! There’s never a dull moment, the action is constantly inventive and exciting, and honestly with how consistent the quality of these films are, I say keep ‘em coming, Cruise-man!

9) DREAM SCENARIO - Anyone who knows me knows how much I love me some Nicolas Cage! The guy’s an acting legend, and he’s had it rough a decade ago when he got stuck paying off hi tax money and starring in crappy B-movies, but recently he’s been on a hot streak of great original content, and Dream Scenario adds to that. I love this idea of a random dude suddenly appearing in people’s dreams for absolutely no reason. It’s so rare to have a new original conception in a film in our day and age, and the execution here is great. As a bonus, the movie features possibly the best fart joke in the history of the cinema.

8) FALLEN LEAVES - This features the deadest karaoke ever - the Finns sure know how to party!! Also bonus points for featuring an out-of-left-field reference to Jim Jarmusch’s zombie flick The Dead Don’t Die, which by no means is a great film, but the fact that the director of Fallen Leaves knows about such obscure pieces of cinema only reiterates the fact that he gets cinema. Which in this case is a straightforward romantic love story, but one that I instantly connected with. Reminded me of Compartment No. 6.

7) OPPENHEIMER - On one had this is probably the most “well-made” movie of 2023 cinematically speaking. Christopher Nolan does not hold back in using his typical non-linear way of storytelling, with the film weaving narratives and different time periods seamlessly as it explores the profound depths of a man who’s actions altered the world’s trajectory forever, for better or worse. It’s an incredible historical piece of cinema, and the movie gets extra points for the whole ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon, but the reason this film is not higher on the list is due to the fact that I believe it is overrated. Cause every single person raved about how bloody amazing this thing was, I became tired of the positivity. Yeah, I know, I’m being a Scrooge but what you gonna do about it?? Oppenheimer is stuck at No. 5!

6) ROBOT DREAMS - I’m sorry to go vulgar on this occasion, but my-my was I shipping this dog and it’s robot to absolutely fudge each others brains out!! Yet the movie happens to do the funny thing of being the biggest cockblock ever….. and that’s the best thing it could have done. Simplistic cartoon-network style animation made beautiful by an earnest story, accompanied by the delightful sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire.

5) KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - When a movie forces you to stay in the cinema for over 3 hours, it better be one epic film, as your man here was straining his bladder to health threatening levels. However this is a Martin Scorsese picture, as such this is event cinema! And this one may be up there with one of his best. Killers of the Flower Moon is a major saga of greed, murder, corruption and despair, told through the eyes of a filmmaker who somehow is still managing to mature more as a director even though he’s already over 80 years of age.

4) THE HOLDOVERS - The Holdovers is very much a vibes movie. It has that old-timey retro feel to it from how it is shot to make it look like it’s from the 70s (reminiscent of John Hughes films and Dead Poets Society). You also have the constant snow falling and the Christmas music just really delivers that cozy winter feel. It’s a wholesome Christmas movie through and through. Paul Giamatti gives a career-best performance and the writing is absolutely stellar, as such The Holdovers is destined to become a holiday classic.

3) BEAU IS AFRAID - A 3-hour long anxiety attack that A24 spent $30 million to produce. For a movie studio to spill out such a massive amount of cash on a completely original IP that is divisively out-there and wild is such a unique thing to happen in Hollywood in this day and age, that like the film or not this act needs to be applauded. It just so happens that Beau Is Afraid is batshit bonkers and truly an act of madness, yet one that I will forever cherish. I bet David Lynch had the biggest hard-on when he watched this movie - you betcha!

2) PERFECT DAYS - Essentially plays out like a live-action remake of WALL-E from the director of Paris, Texas. Honestly this is such a sweet and delightful film about a toilet cleaner doing his thang, and somehow inspired me to want to clean toilets myself. A beautiful piece of independent cinema that appreciates the little things, and truly embraces the ideology of stopping to smell the roses.

1) SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is, put simply, brilliant! It’s everything that made Into the Spider-Verse great dialled up to 1000%, and the result is honestly fantastic. Look, I watch a lot of movies. And yeah, movies are great and I love them deeply. But in watching so many films I have in a way lost that magic of being in awe every time I go to the cinema. Cliches and repetitiveness in films stick out like sore thumbs. However with Across the Spider-Verse I felt like a kid again, purely stunned in amazement at every single frame, engaged with the characters and story-line, not knowing where it will go next. Like I cannot reiterate how much fun I had watching this movie! The animation is phenomenal, the narrative so rich, a pulse-throbbing music score (I even have Pemberton’s score on vinyl now just cause I love it so much!) superb character development and so many fun and unexpected twists and turns. Across the Spider-Verse is THE movie of 2023 for me and I believe this is the first time ever an animation took a top spot on my list. Here’s hoping Part 3 of the Spider-Verse saga will play out like The Return of the King!

There you have it - my favourite films of 2023. Naturally I don’t expect my list to be the same as yours, so don’t go throwing a tantrum if I missed out a movie you loved. Or do throw a tantrum, see if I care. But also don’t, cause like we’re all friends here, right? Right??!

[hcdragonwrites]

NO WRITING BUT HAVE ANOTHER BOY!

This boy was brought to life with the help of my dear friend @rabiezabite 💜

Ahem here is another one of my Boys from my book- meet Pheon, the Lord of Air. He is the most pompous, preposterous lord of Imbrians court.

Some Lore drop: there are Seven Lords of Imbrian, that terrible other world that most of the book takes place in, and each lord has a title tied to a respective power. With Pheon, the youngest of them, is the most flashy, flirty creature in the courts. He’s an artist and loves to host parties, show off his wealth, and boat about his special ‘living’ sculptures.

[hcdragonwrites]

REBLOG here because THESE ARE MY BABIES

Very cool very swag art piece i did for my dear friend @hcdragoncat. I'm!!! Really proud of how it came out, im crying. It was a lot of fun to work on gWAH

[holyguardian]

While I daydream about it being quiet enough for me to do some writing, as a fellow at home fringe-length-maintenance kind of gal, I wanted to "please consider" the dashboard where Aerith has chopped off an awkward length and angle of her own hair and comes barreling to your muse begging them to fix it.

[flygonscales]

I’m going to uni soon, and I’m gonna miss these absolute goobers (left is Donna Noble (named by my sister), right is Buffy (named by me)). Such good girls, so friendly (although they do keep knocking over their water, cause they are silly birds)

[jettyfisher]

Symbolism for my Hunter, Destiny - Purple | Forget Me Not | Rabbit | Pawn | Public Void by Penelope Scott | Pride

[ranvwoop]

I'm playing oc-ified ranbutler in a thing And I love him so dearly. he's fully built for stealth but his heart beats as loud as a wardens even though he's invisible because he's so nervous. he has a condition

[crowdvscritic]

behind the scenes // ST. LOUIS FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION AWARDS (2023)

The winners have been revealed! The St. Louis Film Critics Association has announced its picks for the most outstanding filmmaking in 24 categories. Like all of the Nobel Prize winners in Barbie, they all worked hard for and deserve the recognition. 

If you’re interested in the mechanics of how critics’ voting works , I recently provided a behind-the-scenes look at last year’s voting with a more logistical view. (Read it here or just keep scrolling to the next post if you’re on the home page of Crowd vs. Critic.) For this year's behind-the-scenes look, I’ll be sharing more about why I chose my nominations and how I decided on final voting. Of note, I had not seen every film that ended up being nominated before I submitted my nominations ballot, so if you’re wondering why I ignored Anatomy of a Fall, Bottoms, Evil Dead Rise, The Holdovers, Godzilla Minus One, Knock at the Cabin, Menus Plaisirs - Les Troisgros, Perfect Days, Poor Things, Robot Dreams, Skinamarink, Talk to Me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, or The Zone of Interest, the simple reason is that there are only 24 hours in a day!

Unlike awards shows, I’m starting with the big kahuna: Best Picture! The SLFCA decided to up this category’s number of nominations to 10 from 5, and you’ll keep seeing these 10 titles in my voting:

Priscilla - My favorite Sofia Coppola movie since 2006’s Marie Antoinette. It just missed a lot of nominations, which I suspect is because too few in the group had seen it, but those who had seen it ranked it highly. Unfortunately, every critic in the group only has 24 hours in a day!

Air - I rewatched this just before submitting my nominations, and it still rules! Based on chatter from my colleagues, I suspected the first six films on my list didn't have a ton of support across our group, which is why I ranked them higher. As you can see, my suspicion was correct since none of them made the final cut

BlackBerry - Another film that just missed nominations by a few votes, including Glenn Howerton’s performance as a most terrorizing boss

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. - My first notable theater cry this year

Asteroid City - The 4th of 7 movies in my top 10 that were released before October—a rarity! I’ve been thinking about all of them for months since their release, which tells me it's not just Awards Season hyping them up in my mind

The Iron Claw - This is the most recent viewing to make my list, and it's also the one that made me cry the most

Past Lives - I ultimately ended up voting for Past Lives because its simple elegance moved me so much that it has stayed with me since seeing it in June

Barbie - The funniest movie of the year and one with big ideas...aka the heart of Crowd vs. Critic!

Oppenheimer - Practically eligible in every category—what wasn’t well-done here?

Killers of the Flower Moon - The same note as Oppenheimer, which is to say, no notes! I correctly assumed Past Lives, Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Killers of the Flower Moon would earn nominations without ranking them at the top of my noms, which was why I ranked them low even though I think they are all outstanding

Also on my long list: Creed III, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, The Killer, You Hurt My Feelings

Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor are two categories I never wavered on how I would vote. Lily Gladstone and Ryan Gosling put performances for the ages on the screen this year! I also wanted to recognize the incredible year Jason Schwartzman has had between Asteroid City, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. His lead role in Asteroid seemed like the best bet for widespread support, but basically every time he breathed in The Hunger Games, I laughed.

More actors on my long list: Matt Damon, Air; Scarlett Johansson, Asteroid City; Anthony Hopkins, Freud’s Last Session; Florence Pugh, A Good Person; Jason Schwartzman, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes; Zac Efron, The Iron Claw; Michael Fassbender, The Killer; Carey Mulligan, Maestro; Jessica Chastain, Memory; Jodie Foster, Nyad; Teo Yoo, Past Lives; Colman Domingo, Rustin; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, You Hurt My Feelings 

These categories are always difficult for me to pin down. For Ensemble, is it about the breadth of performers and the number of familiar people I am happy to see? For Director, is it the size of the production and the level of difficulty the shoot appeared to have? Those are all factors, but I think it comes down to weaknesses being nigh invisible in both categories. For example, in The Iron Claw, it was difficult to identify which actor stood out the most because they worked so well in tandem. In Past Lives, the camera work, performances, and writing aligned perfectly to support its theme in every moment. Barbie ended up being my final vote in both categories because Greta Gerwig's vision of Barbie Land was inspired and every member of the huge cast found a moment to shine.

More directors on my long list: Ben Affleck, Air; Matt Johnson, BlackBerry; Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw; David Fincher, The Killer; Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon; Bradley Cooper, Maestro; Todd Haynes, May December

More ensembles on my long list: American Fiction, The Boys in the Boat, The Color Purple, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Leave the World Behind, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Which stories felt clever, sharp, and authentic to the human experience? Which felt fresh with a unique point of view? Which created moments I've never seen before onscreen? Which explored its ideas with honesty, empathy, and thoroughness? It’s no coincidence 8 of these screenplay 10 nominations align with my picks for Best Film.

More screenplays on my long list: American Fiction, The Boys in the Boat, Freud’s Last Session, A Good Person, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, The Iron Claw, The Killer, May December, Memory, Oppenheimer, Polite Society, You Hurt My Feelings

There’s no such thing as objectivity in criticism, but it really goes out the window when looking at these focused categories. Animated and Documentary films aren’t as plentiful as live-action narrative films, and I’m not naturally drawn to Horror and International films as much as other genres, though I’m trying to grow in those areas. (Seeing Cocaine Bear, Renfield, and A Haunting in Venice in theaters felt like big risks for me!) Not including My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 on my ballot would have felt dishonest since I saw it three times in theaters, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is one of the most fun theatrical experiences I’ve had in years. Perhaps my most unpopular vote this year was for Elemental over Spider-Verse—I'm one of the few people who liked but didn’t love that sequel.

More genre films on my long list: Cocaine Bear (Comedy), The Covenant (Action), The Equalizer 3 (Action), Extraction II (Action), Gran Turismo (Action), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Action, Comedy), A Haunting in Venice (Horror), The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Action), Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Action), Kandahar (Action), The Meg 2: The Trench (Action), Polite Society (Comedy), Renfield (Comedy), You Are So Not Invited to My Bar Mitzvah (Comedy), You Hurt My Feelings (Comedy)

In many ways, Stunts and Visual Effects are extensions of the Action Film category, with a few exceptions. The Iron Claw is a drama with insane wrestling stunts, and Polite Society is an action-comedy that centered on the art of stunt work.

More stunts on my long list: Creed III, Extraction II, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Kandahar, Sisu

More VFX on my long list: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, M3GAN

This is where my Spotify Top 100 comes in handy. The Air, Barbie, BlackBerry, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Priscilla soundtracks all charted for me this year, which made those votes no-brainers. Asteroid City, Creed III, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Past Lives all had soundtracks I spent time with as well, and May December’s score almost acts like a narrator, adding comedic and dramatic punch when needed.

More music on my long list: Creed III, A Good Person, The Iron Claw, The Killer, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leave the World Behind, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Wish

These come down to wow(!) factor, and the categories were some of the hardest to rank. I voted for Priscilla for Costume Design in the final round because I hoped that movie would win something, but to be honest, I adored the costumes in Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon, too. Same with Production Design: I picked Asteroid City, but it's a three-way tie between Asteroid City, Barbie, and Killers for me.

More editing on my long list: Barbie, BlackBerry, The Iron Claw, Leave the World Behind, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Missing, Oppenheimer

More cinematography on my long list: The Iron Claw, John Wick: Chapter 4, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leave the World Behind, May December

More costumes on my long list: Asteroid City, The Boys in the Boat, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Oppenheimer

More production design on my long list: The Boys in the Boat, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The Iron Claw, The Killer, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Sisu

I saved Best Scene for last when picking my nominations since I'm better at remembering how a movie makes feel as a whole than its scenes. I started thinking through my favorite movies of the year, and these moments were the ones that left the biggest impressions (more wow factor!). Barbie’s scene of tricking the Kens made me laugh so hard I cried, but I happily voted for America Ferrera’s monologue in the end since it just made me cry, period.

More scenes on my long list: Killers of the Flower Moon, lots of choices!, Maestro, lots of choices!, May December, hot dogs; Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, the train falling; Past Lives, bar conversation

See more about the St. Louis Film Critics Association picks for 2023 at STLFilmCritics.org.