Pop Culture Pick: My Favourite Films & TV In 2023
Here are the shows and movies I loved this year...
Welcome to Pop Culture Pick, a catch-all for subjects I want to highlight outside of the usual weekly Weekend Watch columns. In this edition, I detail my favourite pop culture fun of 2023. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite and Threads/Instagram: @jammerwhite
2023 is about to be over, and it’s been quite the year for film and TV. So, I thought I’d take a wander down 12 months’ worth of memory lane and figure out what I enjoyed. Note: these entries are not presented in any numerical order, as I chose not to rank them that way.
I hope your 2023 was a good one –– or at least manageable, and if you find something here you missed, use it as a resource for shows and movies to catch up on…
Image Credit: Universal International Pictures
The Holdovers
One of my favourite films of the year arrived late in it, but is now sitting happily on my annual Festive Films Watch List alongside the likes of Scrooged and The Muppet Christmas Carol. Alexander Payne’s latest, his long-awaited reunion with Sideways star Paul Giamatti, is a charming, witty and emotional three-hander (for the most part) between Giamatti as principled, reviled New England prep school tutor Paul Hunham, smart, troubled student Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa) and snarky, grieving school head cook Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). The unlikely trio is stuck together at Barton School over the Christmas holidays and what occurs is a slow thawing between Hunham and Tully as Lamb helps them both figure out a path forward.
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Barbie
The year’s biggest film, and one that has landed on many a critic’s list. So, if you’re rolling your eyes at its appearance on mine, deal with it. Barbie has scored at the box office and received all that acclaim because it is, quite simply, brilliant. Both an entirely wacky comedy in which Ryan Gosling’s endlessly frustrated Ken ends up trying to take over Barbieland with a philosophy based upon the patriarchy he’s learned about in the real world, and horses and a sharp satirical look at the many indignities women are forced to endure, this is a winner with Margot Robbie shining in the title role. Greta Gerwig (directing and co-writing with Noah Baumbach) fashions a film that works on so many levels and is consistently entertaining. Here’s what I wrote back in July and I stand by it all.
Image Credit: Hulu
The Bear: Fishes/Forks
Much as with Barbie, The Bear’s second season has won plenty of praise and places on end-of-the-year lists. And the two episodes I’ve spotlighted were my two favourites, because of the sheer level of craft and character work on display. A rare entry that I didn’t write up for the column, Season 2 showed just how a series can evolve when the creative team and cast truly figure out what works after the first run of episodes. This year’s stories were more experimental and dove into some single-character stories (of which Forks, in which Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie is sent to intern at an upscale restaurant, where he finds real growth and accomplishment, not to mention a cameo from Olivia Colman as the head chef, is a prime example) while also offering bigger cast showcases (flashback Fishes, set at a family Christmas gathering is probably the best of those). Taken as a whole season, it’s a triumph.
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves
Though it might not have plundered a lot of box office treasure, this comedically-skewing take on the long-running role-playing game was adored by those who clicked with its vibe. And that number most certainly includes me. Writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein trod a careful path between faithfully portraying the fantasy world (and, to a degree, the experience of playing in it) and having a lot of silly fun with the tropes, and the result is something special that I hope more people discover and embrace. The likes of Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant, Chloe Coleman and Regé-Jean Page play their roles perfectly, finding the same balance of adventure and anarchy. And let’s be honest –– any movie that can manage exposition by invoking the spirit of Monty Python in a scene where the heroes interrogate corpses for information is a winner in my book.
Image Credit: Disney+
Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Sylvester McCoy might be my Doctor (it was my peak Doctor Who time, people, and I regret nothing), but I have nothing but respect and affection for the relaunched show ever since Russell T. Davies got his ridiculously talented mitts on it and brought it back to screens in 2005. Since then, my attention to the show has waxed and waned, but I was certainly intrigued to see what a returning Davies would do for his next run on the series, especially since Doctor Who finally has the sort of budget it needs thanks to a deal with Disney (which also makes it a heck of a lot easier to watch here in the States). And it didn’t disappoint –– the 60th anniversary specials, which saw David Tennant back for a different regeneration of The Doctor alongside Catherine Tate as Donna Noble –– were fantastic, unique and full of the sort of different stories that the show can do so well. I’m now also adding in the Christmas Special, the first for a few years, which gave 15th Doctor Ncuti Gatwa, who made a joyful debut in the final of the three 60th anniversary shows, his chance to properly take the controls of the TARDIS. Filled with heart, humour and, yes, goblins, it was so good to have Who back at Christmas. I will definitely be watching the next series, launching in the spring.
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Wonka
Wonka was a surprise for me, though I really shouldn’t have worried at all. I’m fully team Paddington, so the notion that co-writer/director Paul King would bring the same sensibility to a prequel story of how it went for Willy Wonka in his early days making chocolate was one that drew mixed emotions from me. I was onboard for King’s storytelling style, heart and charm, but I’m also a big fan of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (in book form) and the 1971 film adaptation. I also wondered whether a prequel would work and/or was necessary. The answer? Wonderfully to the first and yes for the second. If not entirely necessary, this is at least one that justifies its existence in a hundred different ways. Timothée Chalamet was a great choice for the lead, bringing bags of charisma, and the rest of the cast is pitch perfect too. The songs, by Neil Hannon, are sprightly and memorable, while the movie as a whole feels like it’s been crafted to perfection. Wonka himself would be happy to have made it.
Image Credit: Sony Pictures
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse represented one of those game-changing films that you just knew would end up having an impact on the industry and the medium, and we’ve certainly seen an evolution in American animation since. It also marked itself as something that would be very, very tough to follow directly. Yet producer/writers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, plus co-writer Dave Callaham, directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson and the entire team behind this one was more than up to the challenge. Across The Spider-Verse, the first of two planned sequels, is a dazzling feast for the senses, making you aware from the first sequence that the people behind the movie are not messing around. And the ending will leave you fascinated to see more while satisfied with the story told. Which, after all, is surely the point. And while the second sequel, Beyond The Spider-Verse is without a release date at the time of writing, on the evidence of this it promises to be worth the wait.
Image Credit: NBC Universal
Poker Face
To be filed under the title of “two great tastes that taste great together”, Poker Face represents the collaboration between Rian Johnson, whose work I’ve enjoyed since he arrived on the cine-scene with Brick back in 2005 and Natasha Lyonne, who has been in so many movies and TV series that I’ve consumed for much longer, but really seemed to break out by co-creating and starring in Russian Doll. Their mixed intellects and talents have led to the story of Charlie Cale (Lyonne), who is blessed/cursed with the ability to know when people are lying and, after that gets her in trouble with the owner of the casino where she works, she hits the road and encounters various people who have committed crimes. And, in Columbo style, she figures out whodunnit. As the audience, we’re always one step ahead, seeing the build-up to her arriving in each small town, but the pleasure is in seeing how she works the case. It’ll be back for a second season, and I’m truly happy about that.
Image Credit: Amazon/MGM
American Fiction
American Fiction was something of a surprise –– though I’d heard good things about it following a festival run, I hadn’t had a chance to see anything, even a trailer. Which, given that my job involves reporting on movie news, was a shock. In the case of Cord Jefferson’s film, it was a delightful oe, meaning I got to experience Jeffrey Wright’s outstanding lead performance fresh. And it’s not just Wright –– there is such a quality ensemble on display here, but perhaps my favourite person beyond the leading man is Sterling K. Brown. I’ve loved his dramatic work, but his comedic turn here is one for the ages. The story of an intellectual author frustrated when other Black creatives are leaning into “street” portrayals of his culture, which white liberal publishers are lapping up, it follows what happens when he creates his own fictional ex-con persona and crafts a book of the same type, which goes on to attract plenty of attention. It’s satirical, smart and very funny, with a lot to say about how the world works.
Image Credit: Focus Features
Polite Society
I already knew that Nida Manzoor was talented –– her music/comedy/drama series We Are Lady Parts (find it on All4 in the UK and Hulu in the States). But Polite Society is an audacious first film, blending stunts that the teams from The Matrix or John Wick would have been proud to contribute and a zippy style inspired by Edgar Wright with real emotion and a fun sibling dynamic all flavoured with culture and parental disappointment. Polite Society is stuffed full of relatable characters, impressive action and entertaining needle drops. Manzoor has a cast boasting rising stars and established character types and it’s so welcome to see a film about (in this case) a Pakistani family that isn’t all about traditions or immigrant struggles. Instead, Manzoor finds a fresh way into a comedy drama such as this.
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