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Song of the Day #5,715: ‘Live That Way Forever’ – Richard Reed Parry and Little Scream

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2023
#9. The Iron Claw

My unwritten rule when it comes to biopics is the less familiar I am with the subject matter, the more likely I’ll enjoy the film.

My familiarity with professional wrestling basically starts with Hulk Hogan in Rock III and ends with Florence Pugh in Fighting with My Family, so the extraordinary true story of the Von Erich family was not on my radar.

Turns out it’s the perfect raw material for a heartbreaking, yet life-affirming, movie about pain and perseverance in and out of the ring.

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Song of the Day #5,714: ‘Eye For An Eye’ – Rina Sawayama

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2023
#10. John Wick: Chapter 4

This fourth installment in the John Wick franchise might just be the best pure action movie ever made. Director Chad Stahelski, a former stuntman who doubled Keanu Reeves in the Matrix films, crafted enough breathtaking set pieces for three blockbusters, then stuffed them all into this one as if it’s the last movie he’ll ever get to make.

While the action is certainly the biggest draw here, I’m equally astonished by the look of the film. This is the most gorgeous cinematography I saw all year — how it was passed over for an Oscar nomination is beyond me.

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Song of the Day #5,713: ‘Me, Myself and I’ – Beyoncé

The week of February 21, 2004, saw a few repeats at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: ‘Slow Jamz,’ by Twista feat. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; ‘Yeah!‘ by Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris; and ‘The Way You Move‘ by Outkast.

In the fourth spot that week was a rising star named Beyoncé, with the third single from her debut album Dangerously in Love. While the first two singles (‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’) reached #1, ‘Me, Myself and I’ stalled at #4.

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Song of the Day #5,712: ‘The Power of Love’ – Celine Dion

Throwing back to the week of February 19, 1994, we find Celine Dion atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Power of Love,’ a cover of Jennifer Rush’s hit from a decade before.

Rush co-wrote the song and released it on her eponymous 1984 debut. It was a minor hit in the U.S. but tore up the charts in the UK, becoming that regions biggest single of the year and ninth-biggest of the decade.

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Song of the Day #5,711: ‘Studying Gracie’ – Michel Legrand

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2023
#12. May December

Todd Haynes’ thinly veiled exploration of the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal is a darkly comic, but deeply sad, look at our fascination with celebrity and the complicated truths buried beneath the tabloid surfaces.

Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton form one of the year’s best trios — I’m still bummed none of them were Oscar-nominated. Each is doing something entirely different but it somehow all gels. Melton, in particular, bares the damaged soul of his character so completely that you feel guilty for enjoying the campy perfection of his co-stars.

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