Talk to Me (2023): I braced myself for big scares and ruffled popcorn, but what I really got was trauma. Talk to Me doesn’t abuse cheap tricks to give you a fright, but rather unsettles with a solid set of visuals and exceptional sound design. This elevates the sometimes by-the-numbers possession story to one of the better horrors of recent years. My benchmark with this is how much a movie lingers in your mind after the screening and, well, TtM lingered all right. I’ll call it a must for genre lovers and a careful tread for anyone else. 8
Kokomo City (2023): This stylish documentary about the experiences of four black trans sex workers goes by in a jiff, but should leave some lasting impression. It’s flashy and trippy, unlike most things you might have seen, making up for when the stories of its protagonists seem dramatic. And just when you’ve thought to yourself that all the talk about the life and death nature of the profession are a bit much, reality hits hard and goes to show that it’s all realer than you are willing to believe. Perhaps it’s all more cursory than it could be, but Kokomo City is worth a watch. 7
Mediterraneo (1991): Academy Award winner for best Foreign Language film, Gabriele Salvatores proposes a feel-good story about a rag tag group of Italian army men stationed on a forgotten island during WW2. It’s a quaint movie, very much a product of its time, which emphasizes the diverging dreams and ambitions of men and the way in which these change once faced with reality. Definitely would not fare well if faced with the diversity and equality standards of our time either, but if you can forget about these for a moment and take Mediterraneo as a bit of a fairy tale, it should provide a good bout of escapism. 7
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023): Inside this garish reimagining of Prince Harry’s turmoil if only he had been gay, there’s a very traditional romcom with little to say beyond fluffy romcom things. Thankfully, the chemistry between leads Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine takes us far. I almost wish the movie had taken more chances and found personality beyond inclusivity, but it still kind of works just about well enough to fill a (very) lazy afternoon. 6
Strays (2023): You’d think that it’s hard to completely flop a movie starring four dogs – and it is. Which is why Strays isn’t a complete write-off, but it also falls short of being something really worthwhile. We follow scruffy little Reggie who desperately wants to return to his abusive human owner and he gets help to go back (and see the light) by three fellow doggos. Expect some crass jokes, some stereotypical jokes and not that many laughs. It’s all a bit amusing but never much more. 5
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