2023 was a great movie year. Until it wasn’t…
When I first started writing about movies in 2017, we were enjoying one of the best film years in a very long time. According to some, it had been a whole decade. 2007 delivered on multiple fronts — introducing us to a frightening villain (and hair cut) in Javier Bardem’s portrayal of No Country For Old Men’s Anton Chigur, rats posing as chefs (in Ratatouille) and possibly the pinnacle of the raunch com in Superbad and Knocked Up.
I’m partial to 2022 myself, where we could collectively and confidently say, “movies are back” with thrill rides like Top Gun Maverick and unlikely Best Picture winner, Everything, Everywhere All At Once.
2017 will always be a special movie year for me because it was the year I was introduced to classics like Rear Window and All About Eve and also when rising filmmakers debuted exciting projects like Jordan Peele with Get Out and Greta Gerwig with Lady Bird (which I saw at my first-ever film festival at which Greta herself attended!)
Others have written ad nauseam about the best movie years so I won’t spill too much ink about that here. But I tend to agree with the lists found here and here.
A year in movies is a good temperature check on where we are at as a society and more broadly, the world, so it was no surprise to see hard hitting documentaries like Time and Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology surface in the cultural conversation in 2020 and with streaming hitting its pinnacle around the same time, quiet Indie darlings like The Father and Nomadland rose to the top of the heap and even went on to win Best Picture.
2023 is no different. The first half of the year held some of my favorite movie-going experiences in a very long time with hits like John Wick chapter 4, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Oppenheimer and of course, Barbie. But once again, for reasons completely out of audiences hands, the movie landscape experienced a big shift half way through the year with the WGA and SAG strikes. With highly anticipated releases like Dune Part 2 getting pushed to 2024, the fall movie-going season has been less than thrilling.
August and September tend to be dry movie months with the transition from summer blockbuster to awards season makes its awkward shift, but to go from feast to famine has been disappointing.
It still holds that it’s been a strong movie year and while the SAG strike still rages, writers are finally back to work after reaching a deal with the studios. If you’re looking for a few hidden gems that have been trickling onto streamers and VOD, here are a few of my favorites while we wait for things to pick back up in movie theaters.
The too-real coming of age story.
Based on the Judy Blume novel, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret is a coming of age story from Kelly Fremon Craig that expertly balances heart-wrenching, cringe-worthy and all too relatable.
After a strong debut with The Edge of Seventeen, it was good to see Craig behind the camera again. With memorable performances from Kathy Bates, Rachel McAdams, and Abby Ryder Fortson, it embodies all of the sweet and sour aspects of growing up and does justice to Blume’s most beloved work. Check it out on VOD.
The uncomfy comedy.
You don’t have to be a theater kid to enjoy this deliciously absurd comedy from Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman. I don’t know if I’ve laughed and squirmed in equal measure as often as I did while watching this movie. It’s an endearing reminder of the importance of belonging. You can catch it on Hulu where it’s currently streaming.
The non-sporty sports movie
A bad version of this movie would have been a three hour “womb to tomb” biopic of Michael Jordan. Watch the Last Dance if you want to watch something about Jordan’s career.
Watch Air if you want to enjoy a wholly predictable and wholly charming story about how the Air Jordan shoe defined a generation. You can be into Air Jordans and not be into basketball and you can be into this movie and not be into sports. You can stream Air on Amazon Prime.
The cheesy action flick nestled in a sister love story
I saw Polite Society pop up on several critics’ “best of” lists coming out of Sundance in January and my interest was immediately piqued. A young Indian girl aspiring to be a stunt double while trying to save her sister from a bad relationship? I’m into it. You should be too. You can stream Polite Society on Peacock.