Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) - I was hesitant after the Scorsese snoozefest that was THE IRISHMAN (me: 5/10) ... but it's an interesting story, well told. I planned on a 2-nighter, but apart from a pee break it was a comfortable all-in-one-viewing for me. A solid if unspectacular 8/10.

It looks great on the big screen, is obviously high budget, and with some good Scorsese fluorishes, wide sets, roaming cameras, loads of extras. Sadly, Casino it is not (which is his Goodfellas-surpassing masterpiece ... bite me!)

Weirdly, there were a couple of too-abrupt edits, and I've still got this bad habit of noticing when those reverse-angle shots don't quite align. Really takes me out of the film, as did a couple of lip-sync dialogue changes.

I knew nothing of the story, so it's interesting to read up afterwards - both the history, and the evolution of the screenplay. (I blurred the IMDB tagline, as even that would have spoiled it for me).

It's been some time since Scorsese made a great film (and spoiler - it isn't Casino) but what impressed me most about this one is, despite its excessive length that I took in at one sitting, it didn't drag at all. I'd agree with 'solid if unspectacular'.

The Fabelmans (2022) - was looking forward to this but sadly it was sooooo over-hyped. It's Spielberg, so there's lots to enjoy, but considering it's a semi-autobio, you don't actually learn much of the craft of film-making, and the most interesting character is not actually SS but rather his mum('s mental health). When we reach high school at the half-way point, we're given below-par Grange Hill scenes of melodrama. A generous 7/10

Past Lives (2023) - another victim of over-hype ... 94% Metacritic! It's certainly pretty good, but nothing really special. The lead Greta Lee is very good (and gorgeous 💜) but the story relies too much on a single idea (OK OK, we get it!) and remains overly simplistic imo ('richly complex' it is not!). And despite being an A24 production, it was played very straight without anything unexpected. We did enjoy it, but still somehow ended up disappointed. A solid 7/10

The Whale (2022) - OK, now we're talking ! I usually agree more with the Metactitics rather than the IMDB site rating, but this time I think the critics got it wrong. Obviously this is in-your-face, but avoids being overly sentimental, the sense of claustrophobia really works, surprisingly funny in places, and the acting is good (apart from 1 clunky character - miscast?).
Suffers a bit from being too play-like (you will know what I mean) but we liked the ending, which is always a big plus. A solid 8/10

The Father (2020) - finally got round to watching his, and ... wow! This completely blew us away, not least because it subverts expectations and was nothing like we expected. It goes without saying that the acting is superb (so long as you don't mind Coleman being Coleman) - it sucks you in and doesn't let go (till about 10 mins from the end). Can't say much without spoilers, but there's the added bonus of really opening your eyes to getting older.

Currently on Channel 4 (record and FF over ads) - highly recommended, 10/10.

The ending of The Whale made me laugh out loud, unintentional hilarity which elevated an otherwise alright but overrated film. I couldn't stand his daughter and her 'this is what teenagers are like' theatrical rages. The actress playing her is called Sadie Sink, which is quite apt, given what she almost did to the film.

The Father's a cracker, and I normally wouldn't watch a film with that subject matter.

^ yep, I can understand what you mean about the Whale's ending, but I took it as intentionally funny and uplifting, so that really helped.
Sadie Sink plays a major character in Stranger Things - I had seen criticism of her ott hamming, but again it somehow worked for me, and the snark remained believable (my wife thought she was too nasty though). If anything, I would criticise the less believable monologue from the lad.

Father - same, and that's why it took us so long to get round to watching.

The Killer (2023) - this ticked so many boxes for me, but somehow ended up being less than the sum of its parts.

✅ Fincher + Fassbender

✅ NiN + The Smiths (I found distracting!)

✅ Paris-based assassin

It's very well-made and acted, but the pacing seems off - starts off slow, peaks in the middle, ends weakly. But it sucked me in and kept me on edge throughout. The biggest disappointment was the lack of surprises - we've seen it all before, and there were hardly any cinematic fluorishes (despite being based on a French comicbook). In fact, the opening montage credits (which are spoiler-free, unlike MI) were by far the most visually interesting ... if only they'd kept that up! (I even went back for a re-watch ... very cool.) A generous 8/10.

Leave the World Behind (2023) - I wanted to enjoy this, but it's more a film to appreciate for doing things differently rather than for doing them effectively. It creates a hyper-real world, with the atmosphere of a horror film, a sense of unease and dread, and not knowing if you should be chuckling. It all works pretty well till half way through, then you get the usual jumps in logic, and characters doing unrealistic things. Ho hum.

With a bit more effort, if could have been very good, but we're left with a muddled and disappointing 6/10