My Top Ten Movies of 2023

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

2. Cat Person

3. Asteroid City

4. Saltburn

5. In the Land of Saints and Sinners

6. Sanctuary

7. Haunting in Venice

8. Poor Things

=9. Dungeons and Dragons  

=9. The Crime is Mine

10. Guardians of the Galaxy 3

And just missing out...

Napoleon

The Critic

Caravaggio

Oppenheimer

Hello Dankness

Babylon

Blackberry

My Cat's Top Ten Movies of 2023

1. Asteroid City - saw it twice at the cinema. Loved it - the story, the acting, the charming visuals.

2. Oppenheimer - three hours passed so quickly, visually brilliant, fascinating story, not only of the genius of these scientists, but the evolution of their understanding and consciences in relation to the dangers of nuclear power, and the 'cancel culture' of the 1950s McCarthy era

3. Killers of the Flower Moon - sobering, disturbing, but brilliantly told and acted

4. Linoleum - independent, beautifully moving, whimsical film

5. Tetris - saw this on streaming due to very limited cinema release - love the game, and loved this intriguing story of the development of the game

6. A Man Called Otto - great cast, heart- warming story of loss, grief, resilience, community, told with humour and sensitivity - also best cat actor

7. Babylon - loved the fast moving scenes of hedonism, audacity and entrepreneurialism, in this depiction of early Hollywood, and the impact of the evolution from the silent era to the talkies

8. Marcel the Shell With Shoes - super cute, philosophical tale of loss, grief and community - snail version of A Man Called Otto, but with less grumpiness

9. Blackberry - cannot get enough of these films about 1980s / 1990s evolution of the digital age - enjoyed the vibe

10. Dumb Money - based on the true story of the GameStop buying frenzy - a wild ride

Honourable mentions

11. Poor Things - Emma Stone is brilliant, and whilst I think that Lily Gladstone should win best actress for Killers of the Flower Moon, Emma would be my next choice. Joyful and hilarious story about sexual awakening, with dark references to social and gender inequality, animal experimentation and the evolution of medical science

12. Renfield -- Nicholas Hoult and Nicholas Cage are both brilliant in this amusing version of Dracula in the modern era

13. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - superb documentary about activism against the Sackler family's production of Oxycontin and denial of its addictiveness, and the damage this caused - this was also well covered in the fictional streaming series Dopesick with Michael Keaton

14. Hello Dankness - 

My Cat's Top Ten TV Picks for 2023

=1. Succession - the final season :( enthralling and brilliantly acted by the ensemble cast

=1. Slow Horses - Jackson Lamb is the wittiest character on screen

2. Murders in the Building - fun, and great New York scenery

3. Utopia - cannot get enough of this ABC satire on the public service; it is so accurate

4. The Great - final season, not quite as funny as the earlier seasons, but still brilliant

5. The Marvellous Mrs Maisel - also the last season - again, not quite as entertaining as earlier seasons, but still enjoyable

6. Rogue Heroes - hilarious and tragic story of the emergence of the SAS in World War II, including characters based on the actual original SAS members

7. Good Omen (season 2)  David Tenant and Michael Sheen are always great together - if you haven't watched it, try their COVID lockdown series Staged

8. Fargo - still watching the latest season, superb so far

9. Ghosts - also, and sadly, the final season... I'll miss these characters, Robin, Pat...

10. What We Do in the Shadows - amusing take on vampires in the modern era

Honourable mentions

11. Boston Strangler - gripping

12. Miracle Workers - End of Time - best of all the seasons so far - loved the references to the Terminator series, etc

13. Happy Valley - final season also, moving and tragic

14. Annika - Nicola Walker (also brilliant in the crime series The Unforgotten) breaking the fourth wall

Favourite TV of 2023

Here are my highlights from a year of viewing.

=10. Doctor Who

=10. Fargo

9. Platonic

8. Colin from Accounts

7. Good Omens

6. Poker Face

5. Succession

4. Only Murders in the Building

3. The Great

2. Slow Horses

1. Silo

My Cat's Top Ten TV Treats of 2022

 

Stranger Things

Set in the 1980s - roller skating, Kate Bush, love the recreation of the ear

The Afterparty

A lot of fun, using various genres, to tell the story of a murder from various perspectives

Russian Doll

Brilliant again. 

Only Murders in the Building

Love the scenes in New York, engaging characters

The Marvellous Mrs Maisel

Set in New York, funny, inspiring characters

Slow Horses

Surprising.  Gary Oldman is superb.  Great plot.

Dopesick

Brilliant drama about the opiod crisis in America.  Michael Keaton is impressive. 

The Great

Hilarious

Staged

David Tenant and Michael Sheen are hilarious

Five Days at Memorial

Drama based on a true story of a hospital, abandoned by authorities, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans

Favourite TV of 2022

 After wasting countless hours staring at my tv screen, I'm eminently qualified to rate my favourite shows of the year. 

1. Severance

2. Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power 

3. The Sandman

4. Stranger Things

5. The White Lotus

6. Slow Horses

7. Irma Vep

8. From

9. For All Mankind

10. Archive 81

And just missing out on the top ten:

The Outlaws

Five Days in Memorial

House of the Dragon

The Peripheral

Wednesday

The Staircase

My Top Ten Movies of the Year

In reverse order: 

10. The Road Dance - moving Scottish historical drama, set a century ago

9. Bodies Bodies Bodies - clever murder whodunnit, slightly ahead of Glass Onion

8. Farewell Mr Haffmann - German WWII drama about betrayal and loyalty

7. The Northman - Viking epic

6. Emily - Brontë's life story

5. Top Gun Maverick - despite Tom Cruise

4. The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour - poignant Aussie comedy, set in a garage in suburbia

3. The Banshees of Inisherin - loses marks for the fate of the donkey 

2. Living - Bill Nighy in 1950s British bureaucracy

1. Liquorice Pizza - I must rewatch this 70s coming of age drama/comedy set in LA

And my honourable mentions in random order:

Benedetta

The Grey Man

Thor Love and Thunder

Bullet Train

Psycho

Frenzy

Bassandream

See How They Run

My Cat's Top Ten Movies of 2022

As is the end-of-year tradition, here are my cat's favourite films of the past 12 months. Note that this list used to be compiled to be submitted to the SBS Movie Show (with David and Margaret), as part of their viewers' top ten list. But with the demise of that show, the list lives on.

The Lonely Spirits Variety Hour – unexpected Australian joy 

Bullet Train – hilarious action The King’s Men – excellent fun scenes with Rasputin and goats

Everything Everywhere All at Once – unexpected but excellent performance from Jamie-Lee Curtis, funny, complex

The Banshees of Inisherin – hilarious, tragic, beautiful scenery

Amsterdam – loved the first half, second half not so much, as the story doesn’t maintain the same level of interest, but great casting

White Noise – hilarious, stream of consciousness 

Belli Ciao – hilarious Italian film 

Kompromat – brilliantly suspenseful

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – Nicholas Cage at his hilarious finest

Lost Illusions – great story, costumes, period piece, and  satirical commentary on the media that is as true today as it was for the era depicted

And some honourable mentions:

Fire of Love – documentary on a couple studying volcanos, romantic, visually brilliant

Spencer  - under-rated

The Drover’s Wife – feminist take on Australia’s colonial, racist past

Freaks Out – funny and surprising

Navalny – compelling documentary 

Emily – moody period piece