2023 might just be the year that cinemas found their mojo again. After a lethargic return following two heavily Covid affected years, July saw cinemas once again flooded with patrons, thanks largely to the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon. For the first time in years, sessions were being sold out left, right and centre at most cinemas for Barbie and Oppenheimer simultaneously. Since July there has been a noticeable increase in cinema attendance. Sadly, due to the Hollywood writer’s strike, the release of a number of highly anticipated films were pushed back to new 2024 dates, which would have been a further boon for the industry. 

Taking a look back at the 2023 releases, I’ll highlight my personal faves as well as some major disappointments and the films I’m most excited for in 2024. 


TOP 10

10. Of An Age

This incredible little coming of age story was one of my favourite Australian releases of the year. Set in the late 90’s in Melbourne, it’s the story of a young, gay Serbian-Australian, navigating his sexuality and the blossoming crush he has on his best friend’s brother. It’s a beautifully nostalgic trip, with such wonderful authenticity; a real gem. 

9. Air

The film that tells the story of how Nike revolutionised sports endorsements and made Michael Jordan one of the highest earning athletes today, despite having been retired for 20 years. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sports fan or not, this is still an interesting story that shaped an athlete’s earning potential. There aren’t too many Millennials in the western world that haven’t owned, or wanted to own a pair of Air Jordan’s (and if you were a bit pov like I was growing up in the 90’s, you were even happy if you were on the receiving end of a  hand-me-down pair that was on its fourth hand down), so this is a fun little exercise in nostalgia. 

8. Spoiler Alert

The tragic true story of Michael Ausiello and Kit Cowan’s relationship is moving, funny, devastating and uplifting all at the same time. This is one that was a solid gut-punch that had be bawling in the cinema, but that’s a true testament to the storytelling and performances of Jim Parsons, Ben Aldridge and Sally Field. Of the handful of films that got my emotions flowing this year, this one is right up there.

7. A Man Called Otto

Speaking of films that made me sob, this one takes the cake for the sheer number of tissues required for one sitting. Tom Hanks plays the titular curmudgeon who following the death of his wife, decides to end his life, until he is interrupted by a new neighbour who helps turn his outlook around. A wonderful performance by Hanks, and a moving story that gets you at every turn. 

6. A Good Person

Written and directed by Zach Braff (of Scrubs fame) and starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman, this was one that flew under the radar this year. Pugh plays the role of Allison, a shambolic mess who is struggling to deal with the guilt and grief following her involvement in a fatal car accident. The film is well written and perfectly acted, which isn’t surprising given the gravitas of both leads. 

5. One Life

I don’t know what my top film selections this year say about the year I’ve had, but once again a movie that brought on the tears is right at the pointy end of this list. One Life is the true story of Nicholas Winton (Anthony Hopkins) who helped extricate a great number of Jewish children from Prague before the outbreak of the second world war. Anthony Hopkins really is like a fine wine, just getting better and better with age, and paired perfectly Johnny Flynn as the older and younger versions of Winton respectively, they deliver a riveting snapshot into this tremendous, life-saving ordeal. 

4. Theatre Camp

Ben Platt and Molly Gordon are hilarious in the mockumentary style look into a downtrodden summer theatre camp, struggling to stay afloat. One of the funniest films of the year, and a real gem for anyone who had anything to do with a junior theatre/arts scene. There wasn’t much fanfare over this film’s release, but I couldn’t recommend checking it out any more highly especially now that it’s available to stream on Disney+. 

3. Oppenheimer

One half of the blockbusting phenomena, Oppenheimer certainly didn’t fail to deliver on hype. Christopher Nolan was back to his best in this triumphant directorial effort, detailing part of the life of the man responsible for the creation of the Atomic Bomb. Cillian Murphy was immense as J. Robert Oppenheimer, as was the supporting cast, most notably Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss. This was a truly remarkable cinematic feat, a true feast for the big screen. 

2. The Fabelmans

It seems like an eternity ago that this semi-autobiographical film of Steven Spielberg’s hit cinemas. This early January release was a favourite when I saw it, and it remained firmly entrenched at the top of the list for most of the year. I still think it was a huge mistake for Michelle Williams to nominate as a lead actress for the 2023 Academy Awards, where she was completely overshadowed by Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett. Her role was a supporting one and, in that category, she likely would have won, given the strength of her performance (as much as I did enjoy seeing Jamie Lee Curtis win). Williams was phenomenal as Mitzi Fabelman, the mother to our protagonist. For cinema lovers, The Fabelmans is a wonderful little (somewhat fictional) look into the life of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. 

1. Barbie

Some will agree with this selection, many will not; but one film in 2023 stood above all others in my view. The hype had built for many months, and by the time Greta Gerwig’s Barbie landed in cinemas, that hype had hit fever pitch. It’s always nerve-wracking heading into a film with such huge expectations, as often those expectations aren’t met. Thankfully in the case of this pink-filled extravaganza, expectations weren’t merely met, they were blown away. Fun-fact, Barbie is the ONLY film I have seen twice in the cinema upon its initial release. The love for this particular film probably comes down to a few factors for me; the first is (once again, a theme on this list) the pure nostalgia factor. As someone who grew up obsessed with their Barbie’s (many of which sadly turned into ‘weird Barbie’s’….and let’s not get into the fact that Ken was often having an affair with Action Man whilst Barbie pined over Pocahontas), this was a joyful trip down memory lane. The next factor is the messaging; sure, a lot of dudes hated it and thought it was ‘anti-man’, but that’s generally only from the ones that can’t differentiate between women empowering themselves and an attack on men. But the most important factor are the killer performances. Margot Robbie NAILED IT as Barbie. So perfectly nuanced with vulnerability, hopefulness and pure charisma, she embodied this creation so incredibly well. The supporting work from America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon were fantastic, however the real scene stealing performance (albeit an ironic twist in a film that is so female in its core) is that of Ryan Gosling as one of the many ‘Kens’. It would be so easy to write off his work as a comedic fluff, but it’s so much more. There is no other actor that could have displayed so many layers to a character that could easily be dislikeable but is one of the most essential parts to this dominant machine of a film. This is arguably Ryan Gosling’s greatest role, and that’s not meant to diminish any of his more ‘serious’ work, it’s a testament to everything he achieved in this film. The fact that as I’m writing this, I’m again stirred with excitement for Barbie is the very reason that it tops the list. For me, this film is pure joy on the screen. It’s the serotonin hit every person needs in a world that seems to be falling to shit more and more each day. We all need a bit of Barbie in our life. 

THE DISAPPOINTMENTS:

In order for a film to be a ‘disappointment’ there had to be some expectation that the film would be good to begin with; that’s why Asteroid City didn’t make the list as I hated Wes Anderson going in, and this film did nothing to change that. 

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Ok, I know what you’re thinking; ‘you didn’t actually expect that to be good did you?’. I want to be clear; I didn’t expect it to be a comedic triumph, and certainly didn’t expect to live up to the first film in its now three films. But good lord, I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I honestly don’t remember laughing at any point in the film. It was like it was written by AI and nobody bothered to proof check it, or even run an eye over it for coherency or cohesion. It was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. 

2. The Meg 2

Again, I want to reiterate that I wasn’t expecting Schindler’s List when I went in to watch this one, but as a fan of the man-eater/monster genre and someone who quite enjoyed the first film, this was a HUGE let down. The writing and acting were so deplorable that by about a third of the way through, I wanted every man, woman and child to be eaten by the beast just so I didn’t have to watch it anymore. The worst thing about it is that the bar for these types of films is so incredibly low, that to no even achieve watchability is actually astonishing. 

1. Dicks: The Musical

When you tell a big ole gay that there is a campy new musical movie coming out that is essentially a version of The Parent Trap with grown men as the parent swapping siblings and Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally as the parents…how could one not get 50 shades of a jazz-hands excited? Sadly I lasted about 20 minutes into this absolute disaster of a film. I would rather have a pap smear every day of my life than ever try to watch this steaming pile of horse shit again. I’m actually embarrassed for every single person that had any involvement in this production. 

AN UNEXPECTED GEM:

Talk To Me

Probably the best Australian horror film since Wolf Creek, this one crept onto the scene back in July and has been making waves ever since. A fantastically creepy, supernatural horror, Talk To Me is big on a jump scare, but does it so well, you don’t even mind. 

LOOKING AHEAD: 

2024 is already shaping up to be another quality year for films. Through some advanced screenings and early film-festival releases, I already have a few solid contenders for next year’s top 10 on my list. 

Of those I’ve already seen and can’t wait to tell you about with upcoming reviews, add these to your ‘must watch’ lists:


The Holdovers

Being released on January 11, this potential Oscar contender will find its fans. Paul Giamatti is at his best as a grumpy teacher at a prep school in 1970 who is tasked with looking after boarders who are not able to return to their families over Christmas. With a slight Dead Poets Society vibe, it’s a slow burn with some hearty payoff. 

Wicked Little Letters

Due for a March release, this Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley feature got a run recently as the closing night film for the British Film Festival. Based on a true story and set in the 1920’s, it’s about a conservative woman (Colman) in Littlehampton who receives obscenely vulgar letters in the mail. The blame is pointed directly at her free-spirited Irish immigrant neighbour (Buckley), but not everyone is convinced that she is to blame. Wicked Little Letters is hilarious and well fleshed out, definitely one that needs to be on the radar. 

Others I’m excited to see early in the New Year:

JANUARY
Mean Girls
The Boys In The Boat
The Color Purple
All Of Us Strangers

FEBRUARY
Argylle
May December
Force of Nature (The Dry 2)
Madame Web
Drive Away Dolls

MARCH
Dune: Part 2

For the sake of full disclosure: 

With the 2023 review, I’ve managed to see over 100 films either released in cinema or via streaming platforms in the calendar year. There have been a number of films on my watch list that I haven’t managed to see as yet, some of which may very well have replaced some of those on my top 10. Of my most anticipated films, these are those I haven’t yet seen:

1. Napoleon
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Aftersun
4. Poor Things
5. The Marvels