As with every year, there's a lot I still haven't caught up on but it's still fun to document what I've enjoyed in 2023 regardless, especially since this was such a fantastic year for film, television and video games. Movies finally felt like they'd bounced back after the COVID slowdown and the Disney machine finally faltered, leading to more space for stylistic blockbusters like John Wick and original animation like The Boy and the Heron. As ever, the UK gets a lot of the awards season releases much later than the US, so I'm looking forward to getting around to those in 2024, including Poor Things and The Holdovers.
*- Indicates a non-2023 release date, and I've gone by the UK release calendar
Movies 🎥
Pictured above: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
(Still to watch: Killers of the Flower Moon, Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy and the Heron, Bottoms & Anyone But You!)
20. Rye Lane 💙 - A sweet, witty romantic comedy set in South London. Effortlessly stylish with charming leads. A great debut for director Raine Allen Miller.
19. Knock at the Cabin 🏚️ - M Night Shyamalan's newest film about a family taken hostage by armed strangers is an unlikely tonal mixture of tense, goofy, sincere and disturbing but it's still incredibly gripping. Despite its rushed ending, it's a tight little thriller with brilliant performances all around.
18. Broker 🎡 - No one does family dramas like Hirokazu Kore-eda. His ability to create warm, empathetic, gentle melodramas continues with Broker, a movie about two men who run an illegal baby adoption market, and the young mother who accompanies them on the journey to find her baby a home.
17. A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 🐍 - It was great to return to the world of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games with this prequel set 60 years before the original book. Tom Blythe runs away with the movie as a young Snow, and Rachel Zegler brings the story's musicality to life perfectly.
16. Wonka 🍬- Fans of Paddington rejoice because director Paul King's reimagining of Willy Wonka is just as sweet as all the delicious chocolates. I can see this becoming a new holiday favourite. Read my Letterboxd review here.
15. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 🐚 - A live-action/animation blend filmed in the style of a documentary about a little talking shell called Marcel. Possibly the cutest movie of the year, with some great comedy and a wholesome message.
14. Babylon 🎥 - If I had to judge this movie based solely on its strongest sequences, this would definitely be in my top ten movies of the year. A wild, messy, but beautiful ode to old Hollywood with a fantastic score by Justin Hurwitz, stunning visuals and a colourful performance by Margot Robbie.
13. The Fabelmans 🎞️ - Another ode to film-making comes in Spielberg's coming of age semi-autobiographical story that captures his tumultuous family life and also his humble beginnings in movie-making. A must for fans of his movies!
12. Barbie 🩷 - As someone who grew up obsessed with Barbie dolls and watched all the animated movies (Magic of Pegasus, Rapunzul and Fairytopia were my faves if you must know), Greta Gerwig's Barbie was a brilliant blend of nostalgia and modern humour. Ryan Gosling can do no wrong. Read my full review here.
11. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 🌠 - 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opened the floodgates for more experimentation and innovation within big budget animated movies. The sequel to Puss in Boots shifts towards a gorgeous blended 2D/3D style with plenty of witty humour too (the Jiminy Cricket bug that sounds like Jimmy Stewart is the best).
10. May December 🐛 - It's no surprise that Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore give great performances here, but it's Charles Melton's subtle performance as a victim of sexual abuse that really made this movie as impactful as it is. Read my Letterboxd review here.
9. Asteroid City 🛸 - In the year of our lord 2024, it is pointless to reiterate how sublimely crafted any Wes Anderson film is, but sue me because I just did. The pristine aesthetic is paired with an interesting meta spin on his signature nesting doll narrative structure and an all-star cast.
8. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret ✍️ - Director/writer Kelly Fremon Craig's next movie after 2016's Edge of Seventeen is another female coming-of-age story done to perfection. It's a warm, nostalgic film set in the '70s adapting Judy Blume's bestselling novel of the same name. Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams are standouts.
7. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 🏍️ - The latest entry in the franchise may have been overshadowed by COVID lockdowns and Barbenheimer - and the excellence of its own predecessor - but it's still comfortably one of the best action movies of the year. Each of these films is a cinematic event at this point, and the Tom Cruise/Christopher McQuarrie collaboration is blockbuster magic.
6. John Wick: Chapter 4 💥 - A movie to sit alongside Mad Max: Fury Road, Top Gun: Maverick and Mission Impossible: Fallout in terms of modern action blockbuster royalty. It's the bombastic third act that makes this the stuff of legend: the overhead long shot, Arc de Triomphe insanity and staircase sequences are absolutely brilliant. Read my Letterboxd review here.
5. Godzilla: Minus One 🌊 - One of the best surprises of 2023: it's a compelling Japanese World War 2 drama combined with a super satisfying 'defeat the monster' plot. The final thirty minutes are especially thrilling. Read my full review here.
4. Hit Man* 👓 (watched at LFF, wide release not until 2024) - Richard Linklater's darkly comedic romantic crime flick was right up my street, featuring a movie-star making lead performance by Glen Powell. Was brilliant with an audience, and my favourite theatrical experience of the year by far. Read my full review here.
3. Oppenheimer ⚛️ - Oppenheimer is a cinematic masterpiece in every way, and Christopher Nolan's most magnificent, haunting and powerful movie to date. Watch this sweep all the awards, and deservedly so. Read my full review here.
2. Past Lives 🧡 - A gentle yet devastating story about two childhood sweethearts who, in another life, may have been destined to be together. A beautiful movie in every way, where entire years of life are drawn out with a brief line or visual for the audience to fill in ourselves, and a delicate examining of what it's like to be an immigrant away from your home country.
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 🕷️ - One of the most visually spectacular movies ever made, without sacrificing its heart or humour. Far and away the best superhero movie of the year, with a brilliant cliff-hanger that still manages to be satisfying, and an all-timer score by Daniel Pemberton. Find my full review here.
Others I enjoyed (2023): Polite Society, Scream 6, They Cloned Tyrone, The Killer, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Nimona, Air, Creed 3, Scrapper, Missing, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, Saltburn, Dungeons & Dragons
Best first time watches: She Said*, Aftersun*, Decision to Leave*, Like Father Like Son*, Annihilation*, Chicago*, Last Night in Soho*, The Outfit*, Mass*, Akeelah and the Bee*, Lust Caution*, Sound of Metal*, The Handmaiden*, The Mist*
TV Shows 📺
Pictured above: Succession
10. Lockwood & Co💀 - Alongside Shadow and Bone, this may be the most disappointing fantasy show cancellation of late. The first season was an entertaining ride, featuring a trio of charming British teenagers fighting supernatural terrors.
9. Loki S2 🕰️ - I've become somewhat of a Marvel skeptic these days, but the Loki season finale somehow ended up being the best Marvel show finale by MILES, and also the best character ending for Loki Odinson? It's nice that these things can actually have some creativity and passion behind them, even if the plot is still a bit messy.
8. Ghosts S5 👻 - BBC's sitcom from the people behind Horrible Histories has been consistently brilliant, and the best comfort watch to revisit over and over. Its final season (devastating!!) was equally as good, including its bittersweet Christmas special finale.
7. Abbot Elementary S2 🎒- The show that reignited my love for American sitcoms. An improvement over the already consistently funny first season. The Halloween episode was my personal favourite featuring Baby Thanos wreaking havoc on the school.
6. The Devil's Plan 🧮 - Perhaps the best season of reality television I've ever watched (granted that's not many). This Korean reality/strategy gameshow features meticulously thought out challenges and a group of loveable, intelligent contestants.
5. Blue Eye Samurai 🥷🏽- Adult animated shows in the last couple of years have been incredible (Arcane! Invincible! Vox Machina!), and Blue Eye Samurai continues the trend with this slick revenge thriller rendered in a gorgeous art style and featuring a dare-I-say iconic lead character. Its exploration of morality, revenge and honour are just as engrossing as its brilliant fight sequences.
4. Poker Face 🗡️- From the mind of Rian Johnson- director and writer of Knives Out- Poker Face is a 'case of the week' style murder mystery centered around a woman with an uncanny ability to recognise when people are lying. And it's written and filmed with all the wit and style of Knives Out and Glass Onion. A show that felt designed for me.
3. The Bear S2 👨🍳- A season that gave us a horrifically intense, relentless Christmas episode but also the most uplifting, fist-pumping redemption arc for its most flawed character (and the best use of a Taylor Swift song I'm just saying...). No other show captures pure stress and chaos like this one, which is why it's even more impressive that it manages to be so soulful too.
2. The Last of Us 🏹 - I can't remember being so excited for any TV show, and somehow it met the hype. As devastating, beautiful and challenging as the original video game, while also adding more depth to its supporting characters and world. My tear ducts are not prepared for Season 2. Read my full analysis (because of course I analysed it) here.
1. Succession S4 📉 - The final season of Succession solidified its run as one of the best television shows ever made. A perfect blend between Shakespearean family drama and ridiculous, biting satire. Matthew MacFadyen and Kieran Culkin were my standouts this season, but everyone is perfection. Episode 3, Connor's Wedding, might be THE episode of 2023.
Also enjoyed: Star Wars: Visions, Doctor Who, Invincible (so far!), Percy Jackson (so far!), A Murder At the End of the World, The Legend of Vox Machina S2, Shadow and Bone S2, Silo, Gen V, Daisy Jones & the Six, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Beef, Jack Reacher, Modern Family*, New Girl*, Castlevania*, Maid*, Queer Eye*, For All Mankind*, Fargo*, Station 11*
Video Games 🎮
Pictured above: Gris
Spider-Man 2
Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
Hades*
Ghost of Tsushima*
Rollerdrome*
Gris*
Animal Crossing: New Horizon*
Music (Film Soundtracks I've Been Loving) 🎵
Pictured above: Loki Season 2
Daisy Jones & the Six's soundtrack was a lot of fun particularly 'The River' which was my top song of 2023; The Little Mermaid was a so-so movie but Halle Bailey is an undeniable star, and her voice is stunning; 'Nothing You Can Take From Me' and 'Pure as the Driven Snow' sung by Rachel Zegler in A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes are firm favourites on my playlist; Oppenheimer's encompassing score by Ludwig Goranssan is absolutely masterful; John Wick Chapter 4's original score by Le Castle Vania (as well as its songs) was on repeat for me throughout 2023; the Past Lives score by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen is beautiful, particularly the track 'See You' which is just heart-breaking; Natalie Holt's work on Loki ended on an absolute high, proving that the score was one of the best things about the show; Godzilla: Minus One's use of the original Godzilla theme was absolutely thrilling; Justin Hurwitz's collaboration with Damien Chazelle continued with Babylon and 'Voodoo Mama' is one of his best pieces; my favourite score of the year though has to be Daniel Pemberton's masterful, layered, bombastic work in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
You can find my Twitter thread running through some of my favourite tracks here.
Books I've Enjoyed 📖
Mistborn Trilogy* by Brandon Sanderson
Skeleton Crew* by Stephen King
Project Hail Mary* by Andy Weir
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab*
The Poppy War* by R.F Kuang
Thanks for reading! 2023 was my favourite year for movies since 2019, and the best for television in ages. I'm looking forward to what 2024 brings now, especially Dune: Part 2 in March!