#FF23 Tetris is a decent, if somewhat compressed take, on the legal drama and backstabbing to get the rights for the game.

The cast are fine and the direction functional enough, without being interesting. It's a little too neat in places, but a perfectly fine watch.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 10, 2023

#FF23 Air tells the story of the marketing drama behind getting Michael Jordan to sign with Nike.

The cast are fine, but everyone is well within their comfort zone. Similarly, Affleck as director turns in a solid enough movie, with nothing particularly flashy on camera.

Fine.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 10, 2023

#FF23 Operation Fortune is a silly, slightly under budget action film.

There are some decent sequences and big, silly performances (and some that don't quite work). The plotting is a bit of a mess to get between set pieces, but that's fine.

Forgettable but fun.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 10, 2023

#FF23 Shazam: Fury Of The Gods is a weaker continuation of the original.

There's no subtext (Billy's feelings are regularly stated), uneven pacing, and an eye-rolling ending made of pure fan service.

The action is fun enough, there are a few funny moments. Popcorn fodder.

Meh.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 16, 2023

#FF23 Assassin Club is a slog of a film.

The dialogue is absolutely leaden, the action is badly cut so as to be illegible, and the plot makes no sense. Noomi Rapace appears to be in a different movie. Sam Neill deserves better.

An action film with bad action is one to skip.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 16, 2023

#FF23 Ghosted is a light-hearted spy film, with a nonsense plot that is pretty poorly cobbled together.

There are repeated jokes about the tension between the two leads, but there is none. The music cues are genuinely terrible

There are worse things to watch but it's meh to bad

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) May 8, 2023

#FF23 Creed 3 is typical of the franchise: the ups and downs of fighting someone stronger, rising to the challenge, and succeeding in some way.

The cast are all solid, the plot is predictable, and everything is watchable. The visual flair in the last act is cringeworthy.

Fine.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) March 12, 2023

#FF23 65 treats it's somewhat ridiculous premise (space man crash lands on a dinosaur filled Earth) with an even tone: serious without being dour, not as a gag.

The runtime feels right, and Driver holds it together well enough. You'll see every twist coming but won't mind.

Okay

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) March 12, 2023

#FF23 The Boston Strangler is a reasonable enough take on the reporting around the eponymous killer.

Both Knightley and Coon are solid as the journalists tracking down leads. It looks fine, but very generic: tealy/orange-tinged period drama.

Nothing special, but decent enough.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) March 19, 2023

#FF23 John Wick: Chapter 4 is exactly what you want in an action film.

It's a little too long, but is otherwise excellent: some of the best action and stunts in cinema, shot clearly and inventively, with a bunch of performers showing off what they can do.

Really good fun.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 2, 2023

#FF23 Infinity Pool is creeping body horror with something to say about predatorial tourism.

Goth and Skarsgård are both fully committed to their weird roles, delivering an unease that slowly ramps up. The pacing is a bit off and it doesn't get as weird as it might.

Pretty good

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 2, 2023

#FF23 Women Talking is disarmingly calm, for the most part, despite the horrific impetus.

A quiet conversation for 90 or so minutes, with some excellent performances from the entire cast. Despite the one major location, it remains grounded and never feels stagey.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) April 2, 2023

#FF23 The Whale is a real mix.

Fraser is excellent in a layered performance, that is empathetic. The rest of the characters are underwritten to the point of being one note, or have bizarrely, contrived arcs. Works well in moments, but falls apart as a whole.

Meh.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 5, 2023

#FF23 Bank Of Dave is about a man trying to create a bank to help working class people.

While the fish-out-of-water jokes are tired and the romantic subplot forced, the whole thing works as a feel-good, light, underdog story. It won't win any awards, but it's easy and solid.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 13, 2023

#FF23 All Quiet On The Western Front is a protracted look at the horrors of war, and the loss of innocence.

It treads no new ground, but it covers the ground it does spectacularly and devastatingly. It makes trench warfare personal and tense, with some horrifying moments.

Great

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 13, 2023

#FF23 Knock At The Cabin sees Shyamalan back on form with a small, contained horror thriller that lingers in psychological doubts.

Batista is excellent as a gentle but terrifying force, delivering an apocalyptic premise. The end is heavy-handed, but the rest works well.

Good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 13, 2023

#FF23 Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania is the blandest Marvel film in a while.

Jonathan Majors is great in his role, but the film itself is all world-building and no interesting plot or ideas. It lacks the humour and originality of the previous films.

Boring and disappointing.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 26, 2023

#FF23 Sharper does so well for a lot of its runtime, and then squanders it in the ending.

You'll see most of the cons coming, but they're executed well. The cast are excellent and make it work, but the last act requires them to become very stupid. Doesn't work.

Okay.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 26, 2023

#FF23 Cocaine Bear is everything I expected it to be.

The title does most of the work: a comedic horror about a black bear finding quite a lot of coke and going on a rampage. It's over-the-top, fun, a bit silly, and a bit gory. Easy watching.

Enjoyable.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 26, 2023

#FF23 The Pale Blue Eye is a decent enough thriller, following a bizarre crime and threads that don't quite match up.

The last act doesn't work, and is on the long side, but the rest is solid enough. The leads put in good performances selling the faux-supernatural elements

Okay

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 22, 2023

#FF23 Empire Of Light is a love letter to the cinema experience, the racism of the 80s, mental health issues...

Its biggest problem is that it has way too many plot threads. Colman and Ward are both very good, but nothing gets a chance to breath. No subtlety either.

Fine.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 22, 2023

#FF23 Tár is an excellent film styled as a biopic of a masterful, but deeply flawed, conductor.

Blanchett puts in an incredible performance, even by her own standards, with direction to match. The oner at Julliard is jaw dropping. Worth every minute of the lengthy runtime

Great

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 22, 2023

#FF23 Babylon is a mess of a movie.

There are fun, big, extended sequences, and solid moments throughout, but nothing holds together. The cast are having fun, and it's an interesting period, but there's no real story here.

There might be a film in here if you cut an hour.

Skip

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 22, 2023

#FF23 M3GAN is probably exactly what you expect if you've seen a trailer.

A fun, light horror about an increasingly dangerous doll, like Child's Play. It's entertaining, well made, and more than a bit silly. Williams does well in finding the right tone.

Fun.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 29, 2023

#FF23 The Fabelmans is a light biopic of Spielberg's barely-disguised upbringing.

The cast are excellent, particularly Monaghan as the artistic, flighty mother. Throughout we see the awe Sammy does in the world of film, but without much weight.

Okay, but toothless.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) January 29, 2023

#FF23 Aftersun follows a father and daughter on a 90s holiday.

Its true marvel is there's no dark narrative drama. It just shows an honest slice of a relationship, with great, naturalistic performances. It captures the feel of a home movie, intercutting DV footage.

Very good.

— Gary Fleming (@garyfleming) February 5, 2023