I think people often come to a list like this to see whether they agree with it or not. The list in our heads is always the right list and the list we are reading is wrong on how much it makes different choices. On this level, we disagree very much.
However, I love this list and I love your writing about these films and why they mean so much to you. Whether it is on the personal level or your response to a new insight or great technique your thinking about these films is very clear and while we may disagree, you make me want to watch your top ten choices again, to revel in your insights on each of these films. My own opinion is that the best thing a critic can do is stoke a love for film and an eagerness to sample different movies. You absolutely achieve this here!
It speaks to the quality of the year that there are so many great films to choose from for our top choices.
P.S. Past Lives is a great number one and Flowers of the Killer Moon is an absolute masterpiece that will resonate with anyone who sees it far into the future---it should be more widely available--Criterion come to the rescue!! Also I had not thought about the critique of Hollywood angle hurting May December's reception. You're probably at least partially right about why that movie didn't get a bigger reception.
Thanks for the thoughtful response to this and the kind words! Glad that you enjoyed the list, but more importantly, I am glad that it made you eager to revisit some of the films on the list. That is above all my goal anytime I write something. The really fun thing about movies is that 100 people could watch the same 20 films and then rank them entirely different. That makes movies so fun.
Agree completely about your thoughts on what the best thing a critic can do is. That is why it frustrates me when people disagree with others rankings or opinions because they are different from their own and they bash movies that others love. For me, I could care less what other people like and enjoy - I just want to know why they like what they like. Was there something in the film that they resonated with or saw that I didn't necessarily notice? That is the fun part about the collective element of cinema. We get to all learn and pick up on things from the experiences of others.
The last thing I ever want to do is bash a film that someone else loves - if I don't like it, I will say so and say what I didn't think worked about it, but someone else may think completely different and that is totally okay. I want my site to be a platform where I champion the movies I love, not bash movies that others love. As many films as I see, I do feel that I have a responsibility to warn people when something may not be worth their time, but other than that I don't want to poor gasoline on an already poor movie. I ultimately want movies to succeed and for movies to succeed people have to be interested and I think the best way for people to be interested is to watch quality films. Thus why I try to promote those.
What were some of your favorites from 2023? So glad that you loved Past Lives and Killers of the Flower Moon.
I was fortunate to see Zone of Interest in December, I thought it was an amazing film (and the banality of evil theme is one that strongly resonates with me) it’s not perfect but it lingers in my mind powerfully. I would probably rank Flowers of the Killer Moon as my number 1 followed by Zone of Interest, Past Lives is definitely 3 or 4, I was quite fond of Poor Things, Showing Up was great.
Thanks for your kind response, I definitely look forward to catching up on your past reviews and reading your future reviews. You are on a short list of film critics that I seek out for their insights.
I didn't have the opportunity to see Zone of Interest until well into 2024, but had I seen it by the time I put together this list, it 100% would have been in my top 5. Incredibly powerful movie.
Thanks for reading! Make sure to tell any fellow friends/family that enjoy cinema to check out the site as well.
I think people often come to a list like this to see whether they agree with it or not. The list in our heads is always the right list and the list we are reading is wrong on how much it makes different choices. On this level, we disagree very much.
However, I love this list and I love your writing about these films and why they mean so much to you. Whether it is on the personal level or your response to a new insight or great technique your thinking about these films is very clear and while we may disagree, you make me want to watch your top ten choices again, to revel in your insights on each of these films. My own opinion is that the best thing a critic can do is stoke a love for film and an eagerness to sample different movies. You absolutely achieve this here!
It speaks to the quality of the year that there are so many great films to choose from for our top choices.
P.S. Past Lives is a great number one and Flowers of the Killer Moon is an absolute masterpiece that will resonate with anyone who sees it far into the future---it should be more widely available--Criterion come to the rescue!! Also I had not thought about the critique of Hollywood angle hurting May December's reception. You're probably at least partially right about why that movie didn't get a bigger reception.
Thanks for the thoughtful response to this and the kind words! Glad that you enjoyed the list, but more importantly, I am glad that it made you eager to revisit some of the films on the list. That is above all my goal anytime I write something. The really fun thing about movies is that 100 people could watch the same 20 films and then rank them entirely different. That makes movies so fun.
Agree completely about your thoughts on what the best thing a critic can do is. That is why it frustrates me when people disagree with others rankings or opinions because they are different from their own and they bash movies that others love. For me, I could care less what other people like and enjoy - I just want to know why they like what they like. Was there something in the film that they resonated with or saw that I didn't necessarily notice? That is the fun part about the collective element of cinema. We get to all learn and pick up on things from the experiences of others.
The last thing I ever want to do is bash a film that someone else loves - if I don't like it, I will say so and say what I didn't think worked about it, but someone else may think completely different and that is totally okay. I want my site to be a platform where I champion the movies I love, not bash movies that others love. As many films as I see, I do feel that I have a responsibility to warn people when something may not be worth their time, but other than that I don't want to poor gasoline on an already poor movie. I ultimately want movies to succeed and for movies to succeed people have to be interested and I think the best way for people to be interested is to watch quality films. Thus why I try to promote those.
What were some of your favorites from 2023? So glad that you loved Past Lives and Killers of the Flower Moon.
I was fortunate to see Zone of Interest in December, I thought it was an amazing film (and the banality of evil theme is one that strongly resonates with me) it’s not perfect but it lingers in my mind powerfully. I would probably rank Flowers of the Killer Moon as my number 1 followed by Zone of Interest, Past Lives is definitely 3 or 4, I was quite fond of Poor Things, Showing Up was great.
Thanks for your kind response, I definitely look forward to catching up on your past reviews and reading your future reviews. You are on a short list of film critics that I seek out for their insights.
I didn't have the opportunity to see Zone of Interest until well into 2024, but had I seen it by the time I put together this list, it 100% would have been in my top 5. Incredibly powerful movie.
Thanks for reading! Make sure to tell any fellow friends/family that enjoy cinema to check out the site as well.
Definitely will be spreading the word.
Not the worst list I've ever seen, but certainly not the best.