- Women talking
One of the first films I watched in 2023, this film stars a who’s who of talented actresses and is directed by actress Sarah Polley. It tells the story of a group of Mennonite women coming together to discuss how they will proceed in the face of horrific systemic abuse at the hands of the men in the community. They have one night to decide whether to forgive, fight or leave. Essentially a long discussion interspersed with flashbacks both confronting and upsetting, and moments of tenderness and reflection, it is a stunningly austere film that in the wrong hands would have come off as overly cerebral…stagey….boring, but with these actresses and this film-maker we are gifted with a film that kept me enthralled, tense and close to tears. Ultimately galvanizing and enriching, it is also profoundly moving and quietly devastating. A marvel.
2. Knock at the cabin
I love M. Night Shyamalan movies, I dig the look of them, the camera angles he uses, the studied way his characters talk, the way everything feels portentous, the strong sense of character and story he imbues into every film. I love that his films always feel like HIS films, distinguishable from other directors with their own aesthetic and vision. This story of a family given an impossible choice to make whilst vacationing in the lakeside cabin from the title, is wrenching, thought provoking, sincere and quite beautiful in the end. I saw it twice and cried both times. I thought about this one for a long time afterwards – the prices we are willing to pay for our loved ones, the difficulty intertwined with choice, and are humans worth saving?
3. Barbie
More than a pop culture phenomenon, this movie came out at just the right time with just the right message. Synopsis – Barbie in the real world; but as the many MANY of us who saw it know, it was about so much more than that. Tackling themes such as toxic masculinity, capitalism, feminism, misogyny, self-esteem and gender politics; this movie got away with dialogue I don’t think would have been acceptable in a studio picture only a few short years ago. America Ferrera’s speech about how hard it is to be a woman was revolutionary, and made me want to cry and laugh and applaud all at once. Ken (perfectly realised by Ryan Gosling) has his own crisis of identity when he realises he doesn’t know his real self at all – something many men struggle with in their lack of introspection and resistance to change. Margot Robbie is fantastic and bolstered by an outstanding performance by Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie. The songs are brilliant too. Cannot recommend Kenough.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy 3
A blockbuster with an ethical conscience and the guts to say the quiet part out loud? Unthinkable! And yet, this is the second film in my list with these qualities (Barbie being the other).
This film rounds out the GOTG saga with a fitting farewell whilst also telling the tale of Rockets backstory, and what a heartwrenching backstory it is. As a former victim of vivisection, this side of his life is thoroughly explored and rightfully condemned before we find a satisfying conclusion and a kind send-off for all the major players.
Before I watched this with my friend Emily, I was warned that animal lovers would be horrified. I think that these kinds of warnings didn’t understand what animal lovers actually want. I want people to see what happens to animals in laboratories, I want people to be outraged and disgusted and change their habits; and if it takes a movie like this about a cgi raccoon to help push that agenda, then I am all for it.
5. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning part 1
These films are always (with the exception of a rubbish part 2) quality, with everything from the direction to the acting to the location shooting and twisty stories all well above other action film offerings. There’s an assumption of intelligence in its audience that I enjoy but they pack in some laughs and friendly banter too. Does the ‘crew working on a caper together’ thing in ways that would make the Fast and the Furious films green with envy. Not to mention the stunts! The stunts pulled off in these films are legendary and that is a status that’s well deserved as they are truly jaw-dropping, even more so when you realise Tom Cruise did them himself. The only issue I have with these films is that I can never remember which film is which – eg is it the 4th or 5th film with that fight on the clifftop? Is it the 3rd or the 4th film where they scaled a skyscraper? However, this is a small quibble because really, who cares? They’re all good (except 2 – avoid!) and if sometimes the intricacies of the plots are interchangable I really don’t care. Bring on part 2!
6. Cocaine Bear
Sounded unbearably stupid when I first heard about it but ended up being one of the best rides you could have at the movies all year. The perfectly realised 80s setting helped, the willingness to go as far as they could with regards to graphic attacks took it to new heights and then the cast of fantastic character actors brought it home. This has a wicked sense of humour, cool soundtrack and a star-studded cast of actors giving it their all. A total blast from start to finish.
7. A Good Person
Florence Pugh excels in this wrenching drama about grief and moving past and living with having made a terrible mistake. Pugh’s character Alison plummets into suicidal ideation, depression and drug addiction but though the film is heavy it is never dishonest about how hard it is to work though these things. Indeed, 21-year-old-suicidal-me felt very seen by this movie. Oh and Morgan freeman is great too. Be warned – you will cry.
8. Horror in the High Desert Minerva
A sequel to the low budget found footage ‘Horror in the High Desert’ that so impressed me back in 2021. With its open eerie landscapes and a strong sense of reality (reinforced by naturalistic performances and a story that stays within the realms of possibility) its easy to put yourself in the shoes of the protagonists. This one manages to expand on and amplify the mythology behind the desert disappearances with new information and new characters to get to know. It’s also really really scary.
9. Talk to Me
We Aussies have an enviable history of great horrors to be proud of. Personally, I believe it’s one of our strongest genres and while not every one is a winner, our ratio of awesome horror movies in relation to how many are made makes us the world’s best horror makers. Talk to me continues that grand tradition in being original, unpredictable, brave and real. Set in Adelaide, this is a quintessential Australian film down to the familiar suburban streets and the colloquial speech; it’s that authenticity which makes the horror so much more effective. This is a horror movie that in lesser hands would have been a far more pedestrian affair, and the fact that it was made by filmmakers in their big screen debut is astounding.
10. The Flash
One of the few movies I saw more than once at the cinema this year, I know this received less than stellar reviews but for the life of me I honestly cannot understand why. I got exactly what it promised me – a fun irreverent comic book story that was a blast from start to finish and even afforded me a few tears at the end, it did the multiverse schtick far better than recent attempts (Doctor Strange I’m looking at you!) and didn’t rely on an encyclopedic knowledge of an entire comic book back catalogue to hit its story beats, the appearance of old favourites reprising previous ‘batty’ roles was a welcome dose of nostalgia, and despite his personal issues Ezra Miller did a great job playing two versions of the character of Barry that were clearly and easily distinguishable from each other (and the differences made sense within the story too). There is so much here to enjoy and admire.
I, and the people I saw this with, enjoyed the heck out of it and it’s probably my second favourite comic book movie of all time now.
11. Sick
A good old fashioned 90s style horror, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun this was. A cast of little-knowns give their all to this twist on a cabin in the woods slasher that has a little something political to say too. Well acted, propulsive action, some inventive kills, tension by the bucketload and a few laughs too. Seek it out!
12. Together
A two-hander featuring great performances by the ever-reliable James McAvoy and Sharon Hogan as a ‘shaky relationship’ couple forced to spend more time together when locked-down during the covid days. It’s a slice of life how it was back then in 2020 – paranoia, fear, watching the numbers grow and people dying; to witness how the forced isolation time impacts their relationship, their child and the people in their life is fascinating and surprisingly compelling given its one-house setting. Heavily improvised and featuring sequences spoken direct to camera in a mockumentary style, this was full of levity, pain and acceptance.
13. The Stranger
The parents of real-life murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe apparently tried to have this one banned, so close as it is to the hellish experiences they lived through at the loss of their child. As it stands this is quite a dark and brooding Aussie thriller about a troubled policeman attempting to catch a possible child-killer, that manages to make you feel uncomfortable and uneasy in equal measure. Joel Edgerton wrote, directed and starred in this and gives a great performance, but it’s Sean Harris with his tics and nervous, skittering eyes and raspy, whispery voice that you will take to your nightmares.
14. Demon 79
A black mirror episode, this may be the first time I’ve included a ‘tv show’ in my best movie list, but I felt it was worth bending the rules for (in fact, all the episodes in this season are pretty great). Essentially a slasher movie set in the 70s, this one drips with acerbic wit and that nostalgic aesthetic that we miss from the slashers of old. This tells the story of wallflower Nida (Anjana Vasan – excellent) who is given an ultimatum by a demon (Paapa Essiedu – also amazing and very funny) that may doom or save both the planet and herself. Setting the action against a backdrop of rising racial tension is a master stroke in giving us a sense of place and adds texture to a more familiar story.
15. The Covenant
Guy Ritchie makes a rousing movie about American military obligations to the local people of Afghanistan who risked everything to assist them. Jake Gyllenhaal, back on form after the execrable ‘Ambulance’ plays John Kinley, a man determined to pay back the lifesaving efforts of his interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim) despite the lack of urgency and outright disinterest of American authorities in supposed positions of support.
16. Wonka
An absolutely delightful confection of a movie with its heart firmly on its sleeve. Takes nary a misstep bar the lack of truly memorable and earworm-worthy songs. Timothee Chalamet continues to impress in his run of perfect performances, though Hugh Grant’s Oompa Loompa very nearly steals the show.
17. Saltburn
Barry Keoghan is always always great, this needs to be said upfront, and he deserves all the awards for this performance, as does Rosamund Pike. That said, this is a wickedly delicious film that sometimes veers too far in an attempt to be shocking but still manages to tell a decent story even with all the titillation. The less known heading into this one, the better.
Honorable mentions: Fingernails – engrossing and softly subversive tale about love, When I Consume You – heartbreaking horror about addiction and the legacy of abuse, Something in the Dirt – an unsettling, Lovecraftian-lite scifi buddy movie, Attachment – lesbian possession horror from Denmark.
Disappointments: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – too many plot holes, too much suspension of disbelief, waaaay too long, Oppenheimer – tedious and self-important, this manages to make a dynamic real-life story like watching paint dry (and I’m tired of female characters being used as plot devices), John wick 4 – truly highlights Keanu’s supreme lack of acting talent and is another overlong and self important movie.
Dishonorable mentions – 2023 was the year of chaotic experimental horrors and Skinamarink and The Outwaters head this charge like a pair of wet crayons. If you enjoy endless scratchy footage of blank walls or empty desert overlaid with indecipherable but unbearably annoying mutterings, then these are the films for you! Both are punishing endurance tests with little to no pay-off.
Worst film of the year – Terrifier 2, if there is a better example of how far we have plummeted when it comes to apathy and lack of humanity, then I don’t want to see it
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