Would love to hear everyone's list of best movies and books of the past year.
Choices do NOT need to be from those released or published in 2023, but rather the best of what you experienced in 2023.
Example: I watched a 75 year old movie last night ("The Red Shoes") that will linger in my memory for quite some time, I'm sure. I'd never seen it before, but it was at the top of many directors' "best ever" lists. Now I can see why.
Aaand go.
@mcfate Now I do, but I'd never seen it until last night. 🙂
And on that topic, I am SO stoked to have The Criterion Channel now. There are weeks and weeks of amazing movies in my future.
Do "Yojimbo" or "Hara-Kiri" or maybe "Alphaville" next.
I didn’t see many movies this year, but I must say that Oppenheimer was at the top of the list for sheer acting brilliance. Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey, Jr gave tour de force performances.
I was surprised to see Downey in that part... but he nailed it, of course.
@codeWhisperer: I read Sowell's "Knowledge and Decisions" (revised edition), and it was a good read. I don't tend to agree with him ideologically, but he is right more often than he's not when it comes to a lot of the physics of human/cultural behavior. Also, Riley Sager's "The Only One Left" is pretty good. Sophie Hannah's Poirot novel, "The Monogram Murders", is legit perfectly Poirot/Christie, and it's not an aping or a pastiche. It's pitch-perfect.
@codeWhisperer my #bestof2023 is a TV show, The Boys. My then 17 y/o suggested it. While I’m super hero’d out it’s reality based what if made for an amusing binge.
my best of TV would have to be The Bear
so well written!
The Peripheral and Slow Horses were also very good
@tgraph52 @CanisPundit
I also really enjoy The Bear, but I absolutely cannot watch it late at night. The pacing of the dialog makes me so anxious that I can't sleep for some time. 😃
I remember seeing the very first episode and thinking... I can't keep up with this. It's just too much!
@tgraph52 @codeWhisperer The Bear is almost The Sydney Show; her character is interesting enough to be the lead.
@CanisPundit @tgraph52
100% agree.
Some fiction books I liked were "Fingersmith", "The Changeling", "Cold Skin", "The Kaiju Preservation Society", "In the Miso Soup", and "Three Parts Dead".
Flicks --
"Oppenheimer"
"Barbie"
"Leave The World Behind"
Books --
Belton "Putin's People"
Naomi K "Doppelganger"
Levitsky/Ziblatt "Tyranny/Minority"
Morgenson "Plunderers"
Polakow-Suransky "Unspoken Alliance"
@InUnfunky @codeWhisperer
I have a hold at the library for Doppelganger. Is it any good?
I have a love/hate relationship with Naomi and especially that book. Yes, you must read it. After you read it, let's chat. 🤓
@anniecoughlin @InUnfunky
I've not seen it yet, but it's on my list.
some movies I liked -
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
The Quiet Girl
Flora and Son
Nimona
Bones of Crows
Jason Isbell, Running with Our Eyes Closed
A Thousand and One
John Wick 4
Guillermo del Toros Pinocchio
Living
Raymond & Ray
The Year of the Dog
Three Thousand Years of Longing
Where the Crawdads Sing
The Gray Man
The Sea Beast
Brian and Charles
I watch a lot of movies. I could go on. 🍿 😎
@tgraph52 Thanks! I'll be checking some of these out.
Great thread! Just put several books into my hold queue at the library.
My big reading discovery this year was the novels of Elizabeth Strout, especially her Lucy Barton novels. Really changed my outlook on personal resiliency and relationships.
- My Name is Lucy Barton
- Oh, William (maybe my favorite)
- Lucy By The Sea
@codeWhisperer The novel that impacted me the most in 2023: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel
Grabbed me right at the start and did not let go. Great writing.
@yadayadayada It's on my list (read Station Eleven previously and enjoyed it)
@codeWhisperer
"The Red Shoes" is a classic, but you already know that.