The Golden Globes are now in the books and critics are critical of the host ( I thought he did okay).
I was not totally surprised that “Oppenheimer” had a sort of minor sweep going on in various areas. It was an important film and Christopher Nolan has been nominated six times and never won for Best Director, so perhaps it was “his” time.
I, however, feel that Martin Scorsese—given his prominence in the field and his iconic status—has also been passed over far too many times, especially in the category of Best Director at the Oscars. I think he has only won the Best Director award once (“The Departed”) and yet his films through the years are classics. He deserves better.
The films or television series that seemed to have mini runs were “Succession,” “Poor Things,” and “Oppenheimer,” but “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” had moments, as well.
The recipient that stays in my mind the most was the Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) from “The Holdovers.” I was pleased that she won, but she almost fell out of her dress (cleavage) while accepting her award, and I’m pretty sure that she thanked the wrong organization, as the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) fell from grace a year or so ago and the awards ceremony is now owned by Dick Clark Productions.
Seeing the nominated films and categories (they put in a new one for Box Office and a new one for stand-up comedians) made me compose my own Top Ten Films of 2023.
Let me first preface this list by saying that it is not in any particular order, but simply the films I enjoyed the most this year. (I hated “May/December,” so….). It’s pretty much alphabetical.
I think my two favorite discoveries were “Dream Sequential” and “Poor Things” because they were so extraordinarily original (and off-the-wall.)
Here is my list, in alphabetical order:“Air”
- “American Fiction”
- “Barbie”
- “Dream Sequential”
- “The Holdovers”
- “The Killer”
- “Killers of the Flower Moon”
- “Oppenheimer”
- “Poor Things”
- “Saltburn”
Director of “Dream Sequential.”
There is one documentary that I thoroughly enjoyed, and that is “The Disappearance of Shere Hite.” It isn’t a “movie” in the sense of the films on the list above, but it was quite well done and I enjoyed it a great deal. I also should explain that I alphabetized films that started with “The” by the important word (“Holdovers”).
I realize that there are other films that have made many lists, including “Maestro,” “May/December” and “Past Lives,” but no. Just no.
I have a few (I’m always late to the animated films) that I may wish to mention later, but I am giving you my list of the Ten Best or Ten Most Enjoyable. Most of them have reviews earlier on my blog, so enjoy.