Welcome to the THIRTEENTH Annual Skinny!
Hello to all 3 of my readers!
It is time to take a look at 2023, henceforth known as “The Year That wasn’t too bad!”
The purpose of this blog is to review the films I see in the theater, as well as some tv stuff. I do this in the form of a skinny: very short blurbs, on each subject. Every year I do a recap, which is why you are here today. This is the “skinny” of 2023.
Before we get started, I have provided links to all 554 films I have seen in theaters by the end of 2023. It took quite a while to compile this list, referencing lists of movie releases and cross referencing it against my old journals and ticket stubs. This represents 37 years of film-going, and I am honored to share it with you.
- Part 1 (1987-1997)
- Part 2 (1998-1999)
- Part 3 (2000-2004)
- Part 4 (2005-2009)
- Part 5 (2010-2014)
- Part 6 (2015-2019)
- Part 7 (2020-2024)
Disclaimer: This is the place where I mention that I have not seen everything. I am not a professional reviewer and am only able to see a very small fraction of the major releases, never mind every indie movie that is the darling of film festivals. This is also not a list of the BEST films of the year. This is a subjective list of my personal favorites. My biases will influence my choices. Judge me accordingly.
I am happy to say that 2023 wasn’t all that bad. It is far from the best ever, but after 5 years of horseshit, things stopped sucking and got a bit better. Just a bit though. Let’s recap:
- 2018: Was laid off
- 2019: Almost died to an infection
- 2020: World got infected
- 2021: World still infected, shit show continues.
- 2022: Wife dumps me, life upended
- 2023…
I ended 2022 and started 2023 the same way: adjusting to life on my own. I dealt with lawyers, court dates, and the like as I navigated the legal world to finalize my divorce. I’m technically still married, but that is due to be finally filed in the coming weeks. While having my life destroyed was not fun, there have been a few bright spots so far in my recovery.
I started streaming on twitch in January, an endeavor I am thoroughly enjoying thus far. Long a viewer, I’ve often wanted to try my hand at it. It has not disappointed. Check me out if you are so inclined: Superponte.
If there was a theme to my 2023, it is the RETURN of the CONVENTION! While I’ve attended a few shows over the past decade, it was nothing compared to my travels as a younger man.
In March, I once again travelled to Boston for PAX East! I spent two days there and made some great memories. I was lucky enough to (briefly) meet Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P), Producer of Final Fantasy. This was a few months prior to the release of XVI so I was able to see his panel, with Koji Fox, for that new game. This show is a winner with me and my tickets are secured for 2024.
July saw my triumphant return, after 14 years, to California for San Diego Comic-Con International! Not having attended since 2009, it was amazing to be back in that space, soaking in the energy. I was quite the SDCC attendee back in the day. I attended eight times previously: 2000-01, 2003-06, and 2007-08. Many things have changed over the decades, but so much remains the same. 2023 was perhaps an anomaly in that respect. The writer/actor strikes severely impacted the media promotion at the show. The celebrities were non existent and the showrunners were not on hand to discuss the new projects. This created an atmosphere VERY reminiscent of 2000, when I first attended. Comics were front and center again. It was a blast. As usual, there is not enough time to do all I wanted, so I must attend again in 2024! haha. Tickets have been secured for my tenth SDCC.
September saw me hit ANOTHER Comic-Con! This time I flew down to Baltimore for one day at their show. I was actually pretty happy with this one. Comic centric, they had an amazing list of writers and artists in attendance. My Superman wedding album got a little more crowded as I filled in 5 more autographs. The only issue with Baltimore was transportation….
I worked out the budget and decided it was actually cheaper to fly down in the AM and fly home in the evening. This worked out fairly well as I took my 6am flight to Baltimore without a hitch. I had a nice breakfast and enjoyed the convention. Everything went to shit around 2PM when my flight home was cancelled due to storms. What followed was 23 hours of chaos as I tried to find transportation home. I tried other flights or cars, but it all fizzled out. At one point I was on a plane, about to taxi out on the runway when everything was grounded. I eventually found a 4am train to arrive back home at 1PM. That itself was an adventure. If I attend in the future, I shall just drive. Not worth saving 30 bucks.
I hit YET ANOTHER convention in November, this one closer to home: Rhode Island Comic-Con. Although it is only a few miles from my home, I’d never attended before. I may never attend again lol. Overcrowded, poorly organized, and over priced: even by convention standards. With Ticketmaster fees, it cost me about $80 for one day at the show. The celebrities were charging above their normal rates, and line coordination/wrangling was non existent. The only thing I spent money on was pizza for lunch. The one bright spot was hanging with my old friend and convention buddy Justin. I don’t see myself going to this show again.
Besides all that, I spent time with friends, had a decent time in my bowling league, attended some great Halloween and New Year’s parties, and made some amazing memories with people I care about. I call that a win. Let us now take a gander at the media consumed in 2023!
With twitch being a thing, I’m honestly not watching that many tv shows anymore, but I did watch some.
Disney had some decent stuff this year. I’m not caught up on the MCU material (but will be by the end of January 2024) but Secret Invasion was….ok. I was rather uninterested in much of it. I feel like this should have been the plot of Captain Marvel 2. Star Wars did not disappoint with Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka. I thought this season of Mando was a bit under the par of previous seasons, but I enjoyed it well enough. Ahsoka blew me away. Fantastic Star Wars.
Strange New Worlds Season 2 also tickled my sci-fi sweet spot. It continues to be some of my favorite modern Trek, even the musical episode. New Kirk is pretty good as well, but this wasn’t my favorite Trek of the year. Not even close.
Picard season 3 was phenomenal. This is what the show should have been from the start. Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the first two seasons, quite a bit, but this kicked it into high gear. The return of the Next Generation cast gave this the nostalgic boost the show needed. The set up for “Legacy” left me hungry for more. An excellent show.
I binged Only Murders in the Building season one and LOVED it! Martin and Short are hilarious as always but I was surprised by Selena Gomez. Great actress. I’ll be knocking back the later seasons next month.
What REALLY consumed me this year, the 2nd half at least, was Demon Slayer and One Piece. Demon Slayer is as impressive as the hype stated. Well animated, beautifully plotted and voice acted. Knowing that the live action One Piece was coming to Netflix, I decided to dip in my toes with the anime. I’ve finished the first 2 arcs, East Blue and Arabasta. I am hooked. This show is excellent. speaking of…
Wow. Netflix’s One Piece is easily the best live action adaptation of an anime, ever. Well written, well designed, and amazingly cast. Seriously, they could not have cast this show better. All of the actors embodied their animated counterparts. Outstanding show
These movies weren’t bad, but they weren’t my favorites. They were just OK. In order from highest rated to lowest:
- Cocaine Bear: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was ridiculous fun. (Review)
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie: I liked it. A memorable and FUN movie. (Review)
- Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania: Ok. It had its moments, but felt unfinished. (Review)
- D&D: Honor Among Thieves: Funny and entertaining. I’d watch another of these (Review)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: OK, not the best, but a good send off. (Review)
- The Marvels: Needed a rewrite. Ms Marvel, and family, stole the show. (Review)
- The Machine: I, unapologetically, like Bert Kreischer. Funny movie. (Review)
- The Flash: Man. I was hoping for a lot more here. Loved Keaton. (Review)
9: Creed 3 – I thought this was a great movie. It was tightly plotted and featured awesome performances from all of the cast. Stallone was missed, but Jordan did well here. (Review)
8: John Wick Chapter 4 – Keanu brings the John Wick story to a close (maybe). I enjoyed this more than #3. Fantastic action. (Review)
7: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – James Gunn brings his trilogy to a terrific close. I loved this movie. Emotional, moving, funny, with a memorable villain. Best MCU movie in recent years. (Review)
6: Across the Spider-Verse – Miles and Gwen return for this universe hopping adventure. Like the original: well written and voiced. The Animation was top notch. (Review)
5: Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan rarely misses for me. Fantastic film. Beautiful with top class acting. (Review)
4: Barbie – In the Oppenheimer show down, Barbie comes out ahead. This was near perfect. An outstanding approach to the character, witty, funny, and deservedly the pop culture movie of the year. (Review)
3: Suzume – Powerful, emotional, beautiful in image and story. This kicked off my anime binge of 2023. An excellent movie. (Review)
The final two films in this top 9 list were both 10/10 for me. It was a close decision, but I did put one movie ahead. Before we look at them, let’s take a peek at the unfortunate winner of the WORST film I’ve seen this year,
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – Man. I wanted to like this one more, but it just wasn’t there. At 4/10, its far from the worst movie I’ve ever seen, but it definitely fell short of the first film. (Review)
Now, time for the main event!
2: Godzilla Minus One – This was SO CLOSE to taking the top spot. Easily the best Godzilla film. The effects were outstanding. The music was perfect. The Cinematography beautiful. The acting was stellar, not just for a Godzilla movie, but for all movies. An amazing theatrical experience. I’ll be seeing it again in January for the B&W release. (Review)
1: The Holdovers – Perfect. Simply perfect. A thoughtful look at the lives of 3 people stuck at a New England boarding during Christmas break in the seventies. The music perfectly matched the film, but one of the standouts here, besides the writing and acting, is the cinematography. This looks and feels like a 1970’s movie. Not a movie set in the 70’s, but an honest to god incident where Alexander Payne somehow time travelled back to 1970 with the cast and shot a movie. It set the perfect tone. Paul Giamatti has a hell of an edge on the best actor Oscar this year. Dominic Sessa and Da’Vine Joy Randolph both supported him marvelously. Especially Randolph.
Easily my favorite movie of the year. (Review)
Well, that is all for 2023! I am writing this in mid-January and 2024 is shaping up to be an AWESOME year. The year my life moves on from the divorce, I go on adventures, and apparently lose a shit ton of weight! (already down 60lbs). More on that later….
SuperStuff 
speak now, or forever hold it