Some Films I Enjoyed in 2023
I don’t think 2023 was a great year for films. NOW, this may be my fault as I feel like I spent so much of the year out of the country I didn’t spend my usual inordinate amount of time in the QFT, (which, needless to say, continues to be the world’s best cinema). It speaks volumes that my film of the year isn’t technically released until next year. Still, for anyone interested, here are the ten best new releases I saw this year in the order I saw them, alongside my movie of the year. I’ve included the tiny little review I wrote at the time for each film. Here’s hoping 2024’s a better year at the cinema. I’m already excited about Poor Things, Priscilla and American Fiction.
Film of the Year : The Zone of Interest - “You’re not going to see a better or more timely film this year. I left the cinema an hour ago and my head is still there.”
Ten Films I Really Enjoyed in the Order I Watched Them:
White Noise - “You did good Noah Baumbach. Even with Adam Driver in the mix you have not made a hash of this beloved thing. The Hitler v. Elvis scene is epic and the precocious children are spot on. Thank you. Ironically filled with hope for the year ahead now.”
Tár. “The performances are impeccable and almost conceal the flaws in the script. It’s tight as anything in the first half, becomes increasingly heavy-handed in the second half and is cheapened by the final scene. Another good movie that could’ve been really great if the director had a little more faith in the audience’s ability to read between the lines and knew how to lift the pot off the stove when it comes to the boil. The last fifteen minutes or so is utterly unnecessary.”
Women Talking. “You did a impeccable job with this Sarah Polley. I knew you would.”
Hello Bookstore. “This was one of the nicest 90 minutes of my year so far. It’s kind and gentle and full of humanity and so so so many books. Gorgeous stuff.”
Asteroid City. “I know we’re all supposed to have outgrown Wes Anderson or some such nonsense but I really enjoyed this one. It’s such a beautiful thing to look at. Everyone’s perfectly cast and so much of it made me think of Kurt Vonnegut - the aliens, the staging of story as artifice, the playful rewriting of American history. I even liked Tom Hanks and I don’t usually care for Tom Hanks.”
Face Down; The Disappearance of Thomas Niedermayer. “Heartbreaking proof, if proof were needed that the trauma associated with the conflict keeps resonating from one generation to the next.”
Past Lives. “This is very sweet, like a Korean version of a 90s John Cusack movie. It will also lead you to believe that writers’ residencies are full of attractive, single, functional men…. They are not.”
May December. “These are the stone cold roles Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore were born to play. This had me glued from the first scene. It’s such a controlled portrait of people unravelling.”
The Eternal Daughter. “Johanna Hogg is the best. This is so beautifully done: slow, measured, haunting and disturbing without even the slightest hint of a jump scare.”
Maestro. “Performances are superb. Music is phenomenal. Didn’t quite land emotionally but still well worth two hours of your time.”