[Film] Favourite film of 2023

[The Clamp]

Not seen as many as I would normally this year due to giving up my Limitless card and work factors but after careful consideration, I’m giving “Reality” the coveted title of my favourite film this year.

Yours? More than one? Anything you’d recommend as exceptional? …

Reality depicts the true story of the interview conducted by the FBI of (the implausibly named) Reality Winner. An agent at the NSA who leaked documents pertaining to the Russian Influence over the 2016 Presidential Election.

The script is taken verbatim from the recordings of the ad-hoc and frankly chilling interview the FBI conducted.

Sidney Sweeney is fantastic.

 

[dazzer6666]

Anything but Wonka. Dragged to see this absolute TOSH as part of a family outing last week. Bah humbug etc.

 

[Acker79]

I've been trawling through some best of 2023 film lists. Anatomy of a Fall, Zone of Interest, Oppenheimer, Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse, Past Lives, Killers of the Flower Moon, Passages, The Boy and the Heron appear on the most lists, Barbie, All of Us Strangers, Are You There God It's Me Margaret, The Holdovers, May December, Poor Things and You Hurt My Feelings, also appeared on quite a few lists.

Some of the lists were US based, so some haven't come out here, or only been on at festivals (I saw Poor Things and ll of Us Strangers at the Cinecity festival, but they are officially released in the UK next month). Reality has made a few of the lists (Time Out, Vanity Fair, Vulture), but I've not seen it yet.


I will need to look back over the films I've watched this year to give my choice, but I rarey have one favourite.

 

[Badger Boy]

I think the best film has been A Man Called Otto.

The best movie, for me, has been Guardians of the Galaxy 3 because of the animal abuse theme which was horrible but really well done in a superhero setting.

 

[Easy 10]

Probably SISU I think. Brilliantly bonkers.

 

[The Lemming Stomper]

.

Godzilla Minus One...

Absolutely brilliant

 

[Weststander]

Oppenheimer.

 

[The Clamp]

Probably SISU I think. Brilliantly bonkers.

Yeah, I really enjoyed that too.

 

[The Clamp]

.

Godzilla Minus One...

Absolutely brilliant

Looking forward to watching this.

 

[The Clamp]

I've been trawling through some best of 2023 film lists. Anatomy of a Fall, Zone of Interest, Oppenheimer, Spider-Man Across the Spider-verse, Past Lives, Killers of the Flower Moon, Passages, The Boy and the Heron appear on the most lists, Barbie, All of Us Strangers, Are You There God It's Me Margaret, The Holdovers, May December, Poor Things and You Hurt My Feelings, also appeared on quite a few lists.

Some of the lists were US based, so some haven't come out here, or only been on at festivals (I saw Poor Things and ll of Us Strangers at the Cinecity festival, but they are officially released in the UK next month). Reality has made a few of the lists (Time Out, Vanity Fair, Vulture), but I've not seen it yet.


I will need to look back over the films I've watched this year to give my choice, but I rarey have one favourite.

The Holdovers looks good. And as always, I’ll be following up some more of your recommendations.

 

[Acker79]

And as always, I’ll be following up some more of your recommendations.

Eep. Pressure.

To be honest, I've looked over both my cinema visits for the year, and my general film watching for the year, and there aren't any new films that have excited me to the point I'd enthusiastically recommend any of them. At best it's a recommendation with caution that I may have been in the right mood or that it's fine while watching, but won't change your life.

Oppenheimer and Barbie was a fun double-bill, well received, but they don't really need help getting attention.

Superhero Movies
I'm in the minority when it comes to The Marvels. It was my favourite non-Spidey MCU movie since Avengers Endgame, but it was one of, if not the lest successful MCU movie. Partly hampered by the hollywood strikes, which prevented the stars promoting it, but I think critics weren't too kind about it, either. I think a lot of this applies to The Flash, too (except, DC rather than Marvel). I enjoyed it way more than I should have, and it was not well received.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was a fun movie that probably passed by without many waves, but was actually quite good. It seemed to be inspired somewhat by the Spider-Verse animation (not identical, but didn't stick to traditional animation). Charismatic, joyful voice cast giving it a lot of life. Speaking of Spider-verse, I did enjoy the Across the Spider-Verse film, but had forgotten it was a 'part one' story, so was a little frustrated as it came to an end without a real conclusion.

Sequels/Remakes (Non-Comic Book)
I thought Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning part 1 did a great job of giving us "half" the story in a way that felt like a complete story, and was more of the high quality stunt work surrounded by a story that works well enough to justify the stunts. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Sngbirds and Snakes was flawed, especially if you watched the original series of films, but it was still fun, helped by some good music (old mountain-style country/blue grass, so miught not be eveyone's taste).

Godzilla Minus One was good, but I think I prefer Shin Godzilla. Dungeons and Dragons: Honour among theives was better than it had any right to be.

Saw X was one of the better films in the franchise. Re-centring on Jigsaw, a prequel of sorts (which ignores he is 20 years older than he was when he made the film this fits before, like totally ignores it, doing nothing to de-age him)

Original Movies
I enjoyed Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, but haven't gone back to it since watching. Rye Lane was cute, and appears on a few end of year lists, but again, it's been on Disney+ for a few months and I've not gone back to re-watch it. I really enjoyed Bottoms, a modern, gay, female spin on the teen sex comedy that goes violently nuts in the finale.

Polite Society was a fun film, but is a bit silly and jumps around genre a bit. Scrapper was a sweet film, but I think it was more adding to the evidence of Harris Dickinson actually being a decent actor rather than necessarily being a must see film. Saltburn was fun, but not as good, for me, as Promising Young Woman,.

As I mentioned above, I did get to see advance screenings of Poor Things, which I really enjoyed, but something about it made me feel like it wasn't going to be the big success it may have been thought of early in production (Emma Stone reteaming with Yorgos Lanthimos to follow up the award winning The Favourite). All of Us Strangers was another preview I watched, that I enjoyed enough, but it felt just like a standard decent movie, not sure it deserved teh round of applause it received.

Streaming/TV
May December is appearing on a lot of lists, it was on Sky, it was good, but largely uneventful.

Older films - I finally got around to watching 'The Red Shoes' which was a fun film. I think the problem with watching classic movies for the first time after all these years is I've experienced a lot of films that have been inspired by or are derivative of them, so they lack a certain freshness so maybe don't hit as hard as they would have otherwise. Haxan was an intriguing watch. I watched a film from 1945 called Dead of Night about a man who meets up with a group of people, and the events play out like they did in his dream - with each of them telling a spooky story. One of them was a young teenage Truly Scrumptious (from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang).

A lot of my streaming watches are horror inflected, if not outright horror. I watched the found footage horroe 'Hell House LLC' series - three films telling a particular story of a house being used for a halloween haunted house event, where it turns out the house is haunted, and the fight to destroy the curse, then a fourth which goes to another haunted house that was home to one of the person who went on to be one of the ghosts haunting Hell House, also revealing a bigger story to the family from the original haunted house, suggesting more spin-off movies.

I saw a documentary about a guy who, when he was 18 and still in high school, wrote and directed a film about a group of friends, including one horror aficionado, in a holiday home on the lake being attacked, with lots of rules of horror movie talks and a self awareness not previously seen in horror movies. A range if events conspired to stop the film succeeding, but it eventually made its way into the hands of Wes Craven, who then went on to make Scream. The film that was the subject of the documentary, There's Nothing Out There was available on Mubi, so I gave that a watch.

Slotherhouse was silly fun about a kille sloth at a sorority house. Influencer about a social media influencer an unhinged young woman attacking social media influencers who come to her exotic remote locale to film content.

Honourable mentions for Sisu, John Wick 4, Pearl, Strange Way of Life (a short film), The Blackening,

 

[Chicken Run]

Not seen as many as I would normally this year due to giving up my Limitless card and work factors but after careful consideration, I’m giving “Reality” the coveted title of my favourite film this year.

Yours? More than one? Anything you’d recommend as exceptional? …

Reality depicts the true story of the interview conducted by the FBI of (the implausibly named) Reality Winner. An agent at the NSA who leaked documents pertaining to the Russian Influence over the 2016 Presidential Election.

The script is taken verbatim from the recordings of the ad-hoc and frankly chilling interview the FBI conducted.

Sidney Sweeney is fantastic.

Maverick followed by The Equaliser 3

 

[Acker79]

I decided to try to watch some of the films I've not seen that are on the best of 2023 lists I looked at. There are a few obscurer ones that I've discovered are available on BFI Player. To that end I earlier watched Rodeo. A French film (debut film from the director) that follows a fiercely independent young woman who falls in with a gang of urban bike riders, who steal and repurpose rich people's bikes. Watching at home, I didn't devoted as much attention as I would have in the cinema, but still enjoyed it enough. It had a strong feel of American Honey. I think if you liked that, you'd probably enjoy Rodeo.

 

[Acker79]

Just also got through Godland. Didn't hold my attention that well, but lots of beautiful vista. A young priest travels from late 19th Century Denmark to Iceland to start a new church there following the displacement of some locals following a volcano eruption. As he gets closer the journey changes him and he strays from his path.

I followed that up with The Beasts. A film about a french couple living in a Spanish village where their opposition to a windfarm causes disagreements with the locals. Lots of tension, and the story goes in a way you might not expect if you don't know the true story it is based on. Then has a bit of a dip toward the end, but overall was probably my favourite of the three I watched today.

These are both on the BFI player, too.

 

[dangull]

The Whale
I wasn't sure I would like this because it was about an obese man trying to connect with his estranged daughter and other issues. Doesn't sound interesing, but I found out why the film was Oscar nominated. A tough watch but worth it in the end.

 

[The Clamp]

Maverick followed by The Equaliser 3

Enjoyed both of those. Especially E3.

 

[Taybha]

Sisu,the only film in 2023 I've watched more than once.

 

[Acker79]

Continuing to watch some more of the films from the various best of 2023 lists, it's been a non-fiction day.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (BBC iplayer). Tells the story of the life of artist/photographer Nam Goldin and her efforts (along with P.A.I.N.) to hold the Sackler family to account for the opioid crisis in the US. That was really interesting. Does leave you a little frustrated that the Sackler family didn't suffer more consequences for their part in things.

The Deepest Breath (Netflix). Tells the story of free diver Alessia Zecchini and free diver-turned safety diver Stephen Keenan. Really tense because there is a foreboding sense of doom hanging over the story, and at times uncomfortable (one of the issues with free diving is blacking out as your brain shuts down, and it seems to be a common occurrence, and seeing several divers throughout the film and their haunting eyes as they are revived is quite something).

Happer's Comet (Amazon Prime).This is a short film (62mins). It's a 'mosaic' of night time activities in a small town, meant to show the isolation of its inhabitants. It's like a narrator-less nature film, where you're just observing things. No dialogue, just people doing mundane things. It's relaxing, but not sure if it's particularly good.

 

[Acker79]

I've watched a few more since last weekend.

Infinity Pool (Sky) - Eh body horror from Brandon "Son of David" Cronenberg.
Huesera: The Bone Woman (Shudder) - Decent mexican body horror about women, motherhood and choice
How To Have Sex (Mubi) - Indie Brit movie following three girls on a club 18-30-type holiday, between college and University. Eh. Probably speaks more to a young female audience.

Nimona (Netflix) - Animation based on a graphic novel. A futuristic knight is framed for the murder of the Queen and has to team with a monster to clear his name. Chloe Grace Moretz voices the monster and Riz Ahmed voices the knight. If I had seen this last year I would have probably listed it among my favourites of the year. It was so fun, and while the basic story is nothing unusual, the way it's told, the jokes etc, were all great.

 

[dannyboy]

Probably The Creator for me . love a sci fi and it looks stunning . The Holdovers was good . Nice story , amusingly told.
talk to me was a great horror and i really enjoyed No one will save you a home invasion story about a girl living alone except the invaders are aliens!!