2023 in Entertainment

[Nick]

With the year coming to an end, let's discuss the best (and also some of the worst) in entertainment this year's thread. This was a weak year for films once again for most of the year (granted I didn't see most of the awards contenders), TV had it's highs but it was a down year from 2022 imo, and the video game industry continued to dominate as next gen games finally arrived all year. We probably also can't mention 2023 without mention things that dominated the year like The Eras Tour, Labor Union Strikes, or Next-Gen Gaming (and the GTA6 trailer release). There's no set number that has to be per category as this will depend on your preference or how much you consumed. I'll start us out.

TV

• The Last Of Us
• The Bear
• Barry
• Succession
• American Born Chinese
• Poker Face
• Gen V
• Reservation Dogs
• Only Murders in the Building

Film

• Barbie
• MI: Dead Reckoning - Part One
• Spiderman: Across The Spiderverse
• Nimona
• Oppenheimer
• John Wick: Chapter 4
• Dumb Money
• Air

Video Games

• Alan Wake & Alan Wake 2 (I had never played the original before this year)
• Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Dead Space Remake
• Resident Evil 4 Remake (VR Mode is especially great)
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (sneaks in due to how fun the combat is and how beautiful of a location Pandora makes for an open-world game... it's way more than just blue people Far Cry)
• Asgard's Wrath 2

Note: I still haven't played quite a few of the big titles from 2023 like Spider-Man 2, Jedi: Survivor, or Baulder's Gate.

Biggest Disappointments (all entertainment)

• Redfall
• The MCU (Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, Secret Invasion, The Marvels)
• Rebel Moon
• Starfield
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
• The Mandalorian S3

 

[GA-MBIT]

Some highlights from my year, of exclusively stuff that came out in 2023.

_____________________________________
MOVIES

Liked:

• M3GAN
• Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse
• Barbie

Disliked:

• Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey (One of the worst films I've ever seen, let alone this year. Painfully dull and uninteresting. I was offered the ticket for free by a friend and I felt like I still wasted money)
• Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

_____________________________________
GAMES

Liked:

• Mario Kart 8 Booster Course Pass
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Played this effectively to completion, or about as far as I could get before I had to return to society. Looking back on my time with the game has led me to feel a good bit harsher towards it than I felt originally playing it. I think the fun of the game comes from the sense of discovery, but once all of the fog has lifted and the mysteries revealed, the game feels painfully empty, monotinous, and with way too much repeated content for me to feel fully good about it.)
• Pikmin 4 (Pikmin Sweep Pikmin Sweep Pikmin Sweep Pikmin Sweep Pikmin S)
• Street Fighter 6
• F-Zero 99

_____________________________________
MUSIC

Liked:

• Melanie Martinez - PORTALS
• PinkPantheress - Heaven knows
• Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (Just all of the anniversary stuff this year, Drumless Album included)
• Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS
• Paramore - This is Why

• Gorillaz - Cracker Island (I'm still figuring out my feelings on this one, positive or negative.)

 

[Viator]

giving a top 3 for this year is surprisingly easy and profound—excluding film.

Gaming
1: Final Fantasy XVI (Ben Starrs performance is radiating as Clive Rosfield; and the layers and depth that comes is phenomenal)
2: Cyberpunk 2077 - Phantom Liberty (The best single player expansion released this year. The best story written this year too in gaming. The expansion and overhauls lets the game shine in a way that has perfected the game)
3: Fortnite Racing (in the latest string of new content for Fortnite—Racing has completely sunken me in a way that I genuinely love. The most enjoyment I’ve had with this platform)

Honorable Mentions
- FFXIV 6.X
- Spider-Man Miles Morales
- Uncharted 4

Film
1: Oppenheimer (This is my favorite Nolan film. The exploration and characterization of Oppenheimer, and of his characterization during Trinity and after it is phenomenal. Murphy deserves an Oscar)
2: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (my favorite animated film of the year, it is an amazing and sublime film. This and Oppenheimer flip flop in the top two, and there is a reason for it).
3: Godzilla Minus One (shockingly on point immediately after impact, but Godzilla strikes a chord that I have to find a genuine respect for how much it made me feel and react. The entire Ginza sequence is the best moment of film this year in suspense, horror and fear that I love. It’s on par with the JJ reveal in NOPE last year.)

Honorable Mentions
- The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- Creed III (a fantastic debut for MBJ as a director)
- Killers of The Flower Moon
- Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3

TV
1: The Last of Us (a perfect adaptation. Druckmann and Mazin perfectly. This is the definition of adapting media to TV for gaming.)
2: Loki S2 (the best superhero TV show released in 2023, it does everything you want for a show to do in expanding what came before and gave some of the best performances in the MCU).
3: The Idol (wait—what the hell am I talking about? A show that is sleazy and trying to be edgy that fails to do what the show was marketed to do, alongside the production claims that occured? Why is this here? It’s due to examination and taking the time to digest and comprehend the good that the show does, that compels me to actually be more fond of it than people expect. Is it the best thing in TV? God no, but it’s better than you expect and gives some surprisingly detailed and complex performances (that is not Abel))

Honorable Mentions
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
- Invincible S2A
- Frieren

Music (in no order)
- Utopia (THANK GOD and K-Pop)
- The Idol (Like A God & Family)
- RAMD (the removal of the drums gives the album an entirely new perspective)
- Across The Spider-Verse (Hummingbird)
- Oppenheimer (Can You Hear The Music in particular)

 

[UNIrd]

Still haven't seen quite a bit but from what I have seen:

TV

• The Last of Us
• The Morning Show S3
• Muppets Mayhem
• Based on a True Story
• Jury Duty
• Survival of the Thickest
• The Super Models
• Succession
• The Other Two
• Only Murders in the Building

Film

• Scream 6
• Totally Killer
• Saltburn
• Theater Camp
• Bottoms
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
• Elemental

Music

• Victoria Monet - Jaguar II
• Tainy - DATA
• SG Lewis - AudioLust & HigherLove
• Doja Cat - Scarlet
• Kali Uchis - Red Moon In Venus
• Snakehips - never worry
• Aly & AJ - With Love From
• Paramore - This Is Why
• Kesha - Gag Order
• Trousdale - Out of My Mind
• Janelle Monte - The Age of Pleasure

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Five Things I Enjoyed in 2023

1. Here Lies Love - an incredible show built on irony that then melts away under the auspice of democracy and the power of the people. It is about the Filipino people and their power. Oh, and it's a disco musical on a dance floor with music by David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim. Tragically short run on Broadway, once it was announced the close I went back and saw it two more times.
   
   
   
   
2. Sleep No More - I finally got to see the definitive themed interactive experience in the world. It was unlike anything I've ever done, more akin to a story-driven HHN scare zone than a show, I ran through Scottish town centers, saw a rave, murder, spots being washed out, magic, agony, and Hecate eat a heart in front of me before spitting out a gold ring. The Manderly is calling us, and me, for one more showing before it closes at the end of February. Something was missing, and it was all over, I asked to myself is all there is?
   
3. Heartstopper Season 2 - A major high of queer art remains Heartstopper - a roadmap for relationships when the world wants to pretend you're already perverse. S2 ratchets up the tension a bit, from Charlie's anorexia to Nick's shitty brother, but still presents a positive role model for queer relationships and acceptance in the world. We need more Heartstoppers.
4. Viewfinder - The only game that stuck with me and made me think about it during work, a 1st person puzzler based around photographs and what lives in them. It's also a story about imagination and science, their limits, and how we need to work together to accomplish the impossible.
5. Barbie - *clap clap* A look into ideas and how adults deal with the real world, from infantilization of CEOs to mature themes of a Barbie doll, this movie is one of the biggest triumphs in art in years. This movie is a miracle it was made, full of the most heady concepts and cultural critique I've ever seen in a major blockbuster movie. Barbie saved cinema and I fully expect white straight men to not understand why, because they're mostly stupid.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

Gonna continue my tradition of listing things of different categories together!

#8--Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate. As I mentioned, this was a great tribute to possibly my most missed attraction of all time. I had kind of soured on HHN as an experience but albeit just for a night, this brought me back.

#7--Invincible S2A. Probably a spot lower than it would've been with a full season but what more can I say that hasn't already been said about this show? It's like an adult version of a Saturday morning cartoon.

#6--90 Day Fiancé (main and spin offs). My better half introduced me to this and while I'm probs late to the party, OMG, it's just pure comedy gold.

#5--Monsters: Unmasked. Great scare tactics, great sets, very long, rain effects...basically everything I could want in a haunted house and just makes me all the more hyped for Epic.

#4--Barbie. Holy hell, this movie is so stylistically unique in all aspects, how could I not love it? The crowd energy (or should I say Ken-ergy?) wasn't something I've felt at a theatre in a long time, and it made me appreciate cinema-going for its social value. Maybe I'm being naive but I think this movie should offer at least a glimmer of hope to those worried about cinema-going.

#3--Oppenheimer. A masterclass in cinematography, practical effects, acting and soundtrack. A riveting yet haunting reflection of the humanities and sciences. It does drag a teeny bit midway through, but the

Spoiler

test and victory speech

scenes had me on the edge of my seat and my jaw on the floor. I would be very happy if this won best picture.

#2--GotG3. A highly satisfying cap to my favorite MCU series. Dark, emotional and hilarious and all the right places and of course more amazing musical moments. (I will still never understand the hate for Vol. 2, which might be my favorite MCU movie period. Funny enough Vol. 1 might be my "least" favorite, but that says very little.)

#1--Across the Spider-Verse. I love Into, but Across takes everything great about it and cranks it up to 11. This is my favorite animated movie since Incredibles. Utter perfection (I do not agree with the notion that it feels like half a movie). Lord and Miller, take as much time as you need to stick the landing with Beyond.

 

[belloq87]

Here are my ten favorite films of the year...

 

[Nick]

This is a must watch:

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I don’t disagree with any submissions here.

However, not listed, Jury Duty. One of the smartest shows of the year, hilarious, consistent, and unique to US TV. The show gets a ton of praise but sometimes I think it needs even more!

 

[Legacy]

I don’t disagree with any submissions here.

However, not listed, Jury Duty. One of the smartest shows of the year, hilarious, consistent, and unique to US TV. The show gets a ton of praise but sometimes I think it needs even more!

Wasn’t Jury Duty basically the Joe Schmoe Show?

 

[Nick]

So as far as music goes, for me, it took me awhile what my year really consisted of. I'd actually say most of it didn't even come out this year. I'm in my 30's now and i'm an emo kid at heart that has recently rediscovered my love of the genre as i'm a sucker for a song with relatable and often "sad" songs that have a catchy melody attached.

I tried harder to look for a newer generation of those same bands. With that said, the top artists I discovered in 2023 are...

• State Champs
• Knox
• The Midnight
• Charlotte Sands

I feel like all are relatively underrated, but specifically Knox who's a newer artist. Here's one of my favorite songs from each:

 

[belloq87]

I tried harder to look for a newer generation of those same bands. With that said, the top artists I discovered in 2023 are...

• The Midnight

Nice call. I like The Midnight, as well.

 

[Nick]

Nice call. I like The Midnight, as well.

I wasn’t even looking for them in the slightest either. I went to a music festival and I was resting on the lawn in between acts I didn’t care much about (including The Midnight), but while sitting there I heard them playing and it was just a great vibe. Love how 80’s synthwave that they are. I was seeing The 1975 later that night and I couldn’t believe I stumbled onto a band that somehow had more sax solos than them.