My 2023 in Movies/In Memorium

In terms of movies, this year has been a mixed bag with a little bit of everything.

Just like New

We get into the habit of watching most of the same movies year after year, usually when they’re associated with a holiday or a season. But in addition to the new movies I saw this year, I revisited some I hadn’t seen in ages so they almost felt brand new. It’s a pretty cool experience, especially when you don’t remember exactly what happens next and when you’re caught off guard, it’s a thrill.

With the upcoming Indiana Jones movie (more on that later), we’d revisited nearly all of the previous installments. The only one I missed was temple of doom, which my mom watched on the tv upstairs.
But despite how much I’d seen raiders of the lost ark, I can’t in good conscience remember if I’d seen it in its entirety. Usually we bring it to the shorehouse and watch it there but the amount of alcohol we consume (no more than 3 drinks including wine with dinner), I sometimes fall asleep during our nightly movie. So I was finally awake to see the whole movie and it was awesome.
Another new-ish movie experience- Angels and Demons based on the Dan brown novel. Sure, I remember some people die and who the bad guy was but it was fun being along for the ride and trying to piece together the puzzles with Robert Langdon.

Theatrical adventures

It was another year we only went to theaters a few times. Neither of them were Barbie-Heimer, although I recently saw Barbie on Cinemax (more on that later)


Avatar 2

-It’s sad, I kinda forgot I saw this in January, lol
-I knew this was going to be a LONG movie but I wish I knew going in that they weren’t going to beat the bad guy and won’t beat him for another several sequels. It’s so frustrating!


Mario

-easily my favorite theater experience this year in term of actual movies. They did a really good job interpreting the source material, made a fun story and sprinkled in all kinds of references that even casual fans like my sister and I could pick out


Guardians 3

-another great addition to the franchise and good way to tie off all the loose ends. Although knowing Marvel they’ll find some excuse to make more and do something to screw it up.

Indiana Jones

-unlike all the critics that tore this movie apart, I enjoyed this one. And if my mom, the lifelong Indiana jones fan, enjoyed it, that’s all that matters in the end

Barbie-Heimer and more

As of writing this, I finally saw Oppenheimer. It was maybe a little too long but it held my attention the whole way through. It was really well done. In case you haven't heard this advice yet, I'd highly recommend subtitles. The music does get a little intense and loud where you can't hear dialogue. But you'll catch more information when it's out there in front of you to read. 

The Barbie movie, I admittedly have mixed feelings about. I’m not saying it was bad or that I didn’t like it. It’s just a strange experience where a movie has no clear villain, their motivations are justified, and things don’t completely go back to normal in the end. Or that it was one big cliffhanger.

I’ve loved Margot Robbie since seeing her as Harley Quinn, so I hate it when her characters get screwed up or get put through the wringer through no fault of their own. “Amsterdam”, another movie I wanted to see because of her, was really disappointing because of how her character was essentially gaslit most of the movie. And I don't wanna talk about what they did to Taylor Swift in that movie- that was so not cool.


Christmas movies

Of course in December we watched a bunch of Hallmark movies. I tried to stay away from the typical ones all the cliches and memes are written about. Scott Wolf brought me to one that took place in Ireland and it was about him and his sister learning they have “royal” roots. (I think their mom was in line to be a lord or something and she gave it up for a normal life).

There were a couple other Christmas movies that were hits and misses.

“Light it up 2”- some people get really serious about their Christmas displays. The new family that moves into the neighborhood already obsessed with decorating puts them all to shame. And play mind games until they take over everything so they can do it “their” way.

“Christmas with the Campbells”- the only person more obnoxious than that reality show family was Brittany snow’s boyfriend, who a) broke up with her cuz photography “isn’t a real career” and b) comes back and keeps coming onto her despite the fact he broke up with her. Justin Long couldn’t even save this movie for me- but his phony Midwest accent was also a huge turnoff.
This is also another reminder- people hanging around with their exes’ parents like their family does not work. It was already bizarre in “she’s out of my league”. Here, it’s like the actors knew it was weird but shoved it down our throats anyway cuz it’s part of the plot.

The only point of levity between these two movies that got me to laugh- like, really laugh.
A Nickelback reference that had nothing to do with hating on them for no reason. It was random but I appreciated it.

On the flip side, Justin Long was in another Christmas movie without a phony accent and it had much better writing. There’s still that stupid cliche where someone has a secret to tell and a fallout happens cuz they can’t bring themselves to do it. But maybe because it also took place in Ireland, that made it somewhat magical and more enjoyable.

More of the mixed bag

The year got off to a strange start with The Menu and Everything Everywhere All at Once.
It was cool getting to see an Oscar movie before it won a bunch of awards but it’s a little too out there for me to revisit.
The Menu, on the other hand, has a lot of rewatching value. Once you get the gist of what’s going on, it’s mind blowing. But maybe I’m a masochist for coming back for extra helpings (pun not intended).

The Banshees of Inisherin, which was up for a bunch of Oscars and probably won zero. That was kinda funny. Definitely needed the subtitles cuz of the thick accents. It was a bizarre setup where Brenden Gleeson didn't want to be friends with Colin Farrell anymore because he's boring. And if he didn't leave him alone and stop talking to him, he'd make him pay. The way he does this, though... you have to see the movie. It's so ridiculous and nonsensical, but it made me laugh.

The Fabelmans- I think it was based on Steven Speilberg growing up and falling in love with filmmaking. You can definitely tell it was a passion project and it was really enjoyable. 

The Whale- I didn't think I'd watch this because the idea of someone gorging themselves to death isn't my idea of a good time. But Brendan Fraser won me over quickly. It's about him trying to mend his relationship with his daughter. She's a bundle of fun (heavy sarcasm implied). But the fact she wrote an angsty 3 lines and her dad picked up on the fact it was a haiku- that blew my mind. But it was an odd ending... the same person who directed Black Swan did this as well so that kinda makes sense. 

The Doors movie with Val Kilmer- it was kinda cool for the first hour or so. I have their debut album because my late aunt was a huge Jim Morrison fan and I recognized a lot of the songs. However, Oliver Stone can be pretty intense as a director. The movie felt like one extended drug trip and I was ready to sober up sooner than the movie did. As good as Val Kilmer was in the lead role, it turned me off how intense he portrayed Jim Morrison. I know a lot of geniuses have mood swings, but finding out that some of the stuff he did in the movie was fabricated to make things shocking- did not appreciate that.

And don't get me even started on all the nudity. I know it was the 60's but did ALL of the concert scenes need to include girls with no clothes randomly coming on stage? Absolutely not.

Magic Mike's Last Dance- the scene with him and Salma Hayek dancing together... super steamy. I can see why she has so many men in love with her. But it was kinda interesting seeing her as this ex-wife who's very spontaneous when it comes to her hobbies.

More of the Classics

Then as usual, TCM was a great education on the classics and some of the greats.
I saw my first Bruce Lee movie- Fists of Fury. Not that this hasn’t been said thousands of times already, but Bruce Lee is a certified badass. It’s just insane how many people he can take down with him when he’s motivated to do so.

I’d wanted to see “Guess who’s coming to dinner” for a while and it finally happened. Sidney Poitier did not disappoint- wow!
Every time I see him at work, I’m just in awe and it was cool to see him do a less serious role for a change. Also knowing this was Spencer Tracy’s last movie and he gave the speech at the end while Katherine Hepburn was fully aware of how much time he had left- again, wow.
This movie stirred out a lot of conversations about interracial relationships and such. But one thing a lot of people may have forgotten- this young couple had only known each other for a few weeks and she already wanted to get married. I know it was a different time but I feel like that’s a bigger reason to be skeptical.

The lead-in to “It Happened one Night” talked about how Clark Gable turned heads when he took his shirt off and apparently undershirt sales went down because of this movie. The man did not disappoint, haha.
I’d seen him a couple of times, none that left a huge impression. This certainly did.
And also the hitchhiking scene where Claudette Colbert showed leg— I’d seen this done several times in parodies and other media so it was cool to see where it all came from.

"Wuthering Heights" with Lawrence Olivier... I didn't like the book at all. Had trouble getting through and keeping my interest. But this will be the version I'll compare all future ones to. I showed Heathcliff in a slightly more glamorous light where I can definitely seen Catherine falling in love with him. Heck, I did. The dude was treated so poorly by her brother when they were kids, Heathcliff deserved happiness and her brother deserved everything he wound up getting. 
There was a funny quote one of the TCM people mentioned at the end from producer Sam Goldwyn: "I made Wuthering Heights, William Wyler only directed it". He was integral to a lot of the creative decisions, including the scene at the end where the ghosts of the two characters walk into the void together. I personally liked that ending, even if it only served to reinforce the falsehood that Heathcliff is a romantic character.
It was Bella's favorite book in Twilight; this version definitely helped me see the appeal of it. And how Edward has a lot of similarities to Heathcliff- not the kind of guy you should fall for, but you can't help but do exactly that. 

"Doctor Strangelove"- I think I saw that and "War Games" at some point this year, so it was really interesting seeing how one informed the other. 
Doctor Strangelove was a really good movie. It held my attention the whole way through and had a lot of good lines. The ending was just a little bizarre but I suppose that's what they were going for. 

I think the only TCM movie I saw that I didn't like was "The Philadelphia Story"... I didn't remember even watching it until I went through my list of movies. I think it was a night co-hosted by Greta Gerwig and movies that helped inspire what she did with Barbie. I think I fell asleep during it because it was boring. Then we get to the end and the lead, who's trying to get divorced from her husband cuz he's a jerk... they get back together! I didn't like him at all and didn't think he redeemed himself enough to earn her back.

Disney

I didn't see Wish, but I finally saw a few movies that got a lot of hype when they first came out.

Cruella was an interesting retelling of the villain's origin story. They sort of did the Maleficent treatment with her where they made her a sympathetic anti-hero. How she grew up on the street with Horace and Jasper and they form a partnership together while she tries to become a famous designer. Although I saw it with commercials, which made it a little too long. And it felt like another needless "killing off the parent" start of the movie. They fully explain what happens later in the movie and it's later used to get back at the true villain, but when it first happens, I was so ready to write off the movie for having derivative and lazy writing.

Onward was very charming for a few reasons. It took place in a world of elves and D&D creatures and I'm a sucker for mythology. And it was a lot of fun. The ending was somewhat of a letdown but I understand what they were going for.

Enchanto- I'm so glad I finally got to see this one. I just knew that "we don't talk about Bruno" was its hit song, but I didn't know the context behind it. Supposedly he has the power of prophecy and he saw something that the rest of the family didn't like. He started to doubt himself and went into hiding and everyone just forgot about him. 

On YouTube, I get recommended videos for all kinds of things. I've seen Disney come up a few times, but its this channel where therapists analyze certain aspects of characters. I just watched one on the gaslighting in "Tangled," how Mother Goethel treats Rapunzel. Some, they might be reading into a little too much, but they did make some good points. The suggested video for Enchanto had "Toxic Perfectionism" written across the thumbnail. That, they absolutely had right. If I get a chance to see it again, I'd like to write about it.

My one little critique is that the songs are sung way too fast so it's hard to understand what they're saying. 

In Memorium

I don't remember all of them but these were the ones I wrote down in my journaling apps as they happened

• Jeff Beck
• Lisa Marie Presley
• Burt Bacharach
• Raquel Welch
• Tom Sizemore
• Len Goodman
• Jerry Springer
• Gordon Lightfoot
• Tina Turner
• Tony Bennett
• Paul Reubens
• Jimmy Buffet
• Steve Harwell from Smash Mouth
• Michael Gambon
• Suzanne Somers
• Matthew Perry
• Henry Kissinger
• Rosalyn Carter
• Sandra Day O’Connor
• Norman Lear
• Andre Braugher

Lost a few legends this year, some I didn’t get to appreciate until much later in their lives. Norman Lear in particular. I didn’t grow up with his shows but after seeing them reenacted live on abc to show how relevant those stories still are… yeah he’ll most certainly be missed.
As a fan of dancing with the stars, Len Goodman had been on our tv pretty frequently. I had fallen out of love with the show in recent years, between Tyra Banks being a bad host and the lack of “stars”. But something about this season brought back that spark for me and I’m sure Len would’ve loved it.
If you haven’t seen the show’s tribute to him, I HIGHLY recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK2itAsB-8Y

It truly embodied what classic ballroom dancing was all about.

Michael Gambon- we lost another Dumbledore. I'll always consider Richard Harris the true Dumbledore because he best fit how the books described him. But Gambon did great as well. After finding the news, I immediately wanted to watch Prisoner of Azkaban when he made his debut in the role.

Most shocking passing easily goes to Matthew Perry. I’m still getting my head around that one… it’s been a long time since I’ve had that sensation of “this just doesn’t feel real.” And it still doesn’t.

Paul Reubens- I really didn’t grow up with peewee’s playhouse although I saw plenty of it during its shortlived syndication on adult swim. But it still kinda felt like losing a tiny bit of my childhood. I got the chance to see big adventure the other day. Not all of his humor is my cup of tea but there was some great comedic moments in there.

Music had its fair share of losses. 

I know nothing about Jeff Beck, but one of the guys on my favorite Prince podcast held him in high regard as one of the greatest musical acts ever. Along with Prince and Frank Zappa (someone else I know nothing about except for his song "Valley Girl").

Burt Bararch- I remember seeing him in the Austin Powers movies and mentoring American Idol contestants. He was a great guy with a lot of good credits to his name.

The dude from Smash Mouth- that one came out of nowhere and it was sad. I'd been sick of the song "All Star" forever... but there's no denying the impact he and that song made.

Tina Turner... dang, she lived a long life and made the most of it. 

Same goes for Tony Bennett. I'd only seen him sing a couple of times, most memorably on a special with Lady Gaga. I'll never forget that moment where he called out to her and she bent over with elation. Apparently it was the first time in ages he remembered her name- his Alzheimer's diagnosis had been that hard on him. But as a huge fan of hers, I'm so grateful to him for the musical partnership the two of them had. She was going through a difficult time before they met, so bad she might not have continued her musical career. But she came out of that dark time with a lifelong friend and even greater success. Not to mention some of my favorite songs of hers.

Two names that were almost on this list were Jeremy Renner and Jamie Foxx. And I’m so glad they’re both still with us.
Jeremy Renner and Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills started 2023 with a crazy one two punch. It was terrifying what both of them went through and it’s so good they’re both on the mend.

Non-Movie honorable mentions

These aren’t movies in the literal sense but I wanted to spotlight Taylor’s Eras Tour (which I saw in a movie theater) and the Michael Jackson Thriller 40 documentary (which was on showtime).
With the concert, I felt like I was in my glory. Not just because I knew almost every word to every song and seeing how they were being brought to life, but I got to share this with my mom and sister. I own all of her albums but since we don’t listen to current radio much anymore, they hadn’t experienced any new music from her since 1989 originally came out 10 years ago. Between that and the dancing with the stars night dedicated to her catalog, it’s been an amazing year to be a Swiftie.

The Michael Jackson documentary was really cool for a number of reasons. But what I got out of it the most was how dedicated he was to his vision. At most, I'd never been more than a casual fan who bought 2 of his best albums after his passing. But it was super cool hearing the demos for songs that would become the best pop songs ever put to tape. And also learning that the Thriller video was an idea he pushed for long after the album made its money. I thought of him as having this polite demeanor, but hearing him say how MTV videos early on were terrible and he wanted to do better... I couldn't help but agree but also, it blew my mind he'd have a bad word to say about anyone. And how spot-on he was with his vision for that video because it literally changed the music world.