2023 Movies
My Top Picks
Oppenheimer - An interesting film on an important topic, my only gripe with it is that the non-linear storytelling is a little annoying at times.
Strays - At the end of the year, this was the only film I loved enough to watch twice. It stayed with me. I think it was what we needed in 2023.
M3GAN - I assumed this would just be a "Chucky" style film but if had great concepts, more sci-fi than horror.
Notable Mentions ("Surprise" Films)
Oppenheimer - I was really worried about watching this 3 hour film in one sitting but it kept me watching
Barbie - Who would have thought. Barbie, a movie that I wasn't even interested in seeing - and yet it's great.
Strays - I'd never even heard of this film but it turned out to be incredibly funny.
Gran Turismo - Not something I would have watched except for the words "based on a true story". As it turned out, it was excellent.
Blue Beetle - This was not on my list to see but it was a much better superhero film than the "big films" of 2023.
Flash, The - I really wasn't looking forward to this. I love the Grant Gustin TV series and I don't like Ezra Miller as a person (or his interpretation of the flash). I was fully prepared to hate this film but about half an hour into it , it got better. He's still a terrible flash, with a drab Iris but the other characters in the film made it better.
Cocaine Bear - This was terribly funny.
Shazam! Fury of the Gods - This got some terrible ratings and as a result I wasn't looking forward to it. It was better than expected. Not heaps better, but a bit better.
Wonka - After Johnny Depp's awful film, I wasn't expecting much but this was like a breath of fresh air.
Elemental - Sure, this is Pixar, so it's expected to be a sure thing but it didn't do very well at the box office. It should have. It's very good.
Pope's Exorcist, The - Unexpectedly good for most of the film, then it gets a little silly at the end.
Last Voyage of the Demeter, The - This ended up being reasonably gopd.
The Biggest Disappointments
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Words fail me in describing how bad this film was. The first and last 5 minutes was fine but everything else inbetween was pure drivel.
Boogeyman, The - Monster design was fine but it would have been better with a story.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part 1 - Nothing wrong with this, just not as good as some of the previous entries.
Renfield - Funnier than expected but nothing to write home about.
Exorcist: Believer - Exorcist sequels are always disappointing but I'd dared to hope with this one. A great first couple of thirds and a disappointing ending.
All the films I've seen at the Cinemas in 2023
Films from 2023 that I saw on the "small screen"
What's Left to See from 2023?
Boldfaced Films are what I'm most looking forward to. An asterisk * means that I've acquired the film but haven't gotten around to watching.
65 *
80 for Brady
About My Father
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret *
Asteroid City
Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter
Champions
Chevalier
Color Purple, The
Creed III *
Detective Knight: Independence
Distant
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves *
Equalizer 3, The *
Fast X *
Good Person, A
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Haunted Mansion *
Haunting in Venice, A *
Heart of a Lion
House Party
Infinity Pool
Jesus Revolution
Life Upside Down
Little Mermaid, The
Love Again
Magic Mike's Last Dance
Marlowe
Migration
Missing
Moving On
Next Goal Wins
No Hard Feelings
Old Way, The
On a Wing and a Prayer
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
Paint
Polite Society
Rebel Moon - Part 1
Saw X *
Scream VI *
Sharper
Shotgun Wedding *
Son, The
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse *
Spinning Gold
Super Mario Bros. Movie, The *
Sweetwater
Teen Wolf: The Movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Tetris *
They Listen
Thousand and One, A
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
Trolls 3 *
True Love
Underdogs, The
When You Finish Saving the World
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey
You People
Your Place or Mine