The 2023 Keeping it Reelies

Hey all! Sadly, nothing super interesting came out in January to discuss, so instead, I am going to give you all my personal award choices for the films of 2023. And because the Oscars are in March, I will not be the last to do so. Some of these categories are irregular, but that’s just to spice things up. Enjoy!

Surprise Film of the Year

I want to give a shoutout to some movies that I did not expect to be good, so here are my surprise films of the year. The nominees are:Poor Things, The Iron Claw, Missing, Saw X, No Hard Feelings

And the winner is…Saw X! While this is not the best film of the nominees, coming from a dying franchise, it is the one that exceeded my expectations the most. Congratulations!

Sequel of The Year

This category is dedicated to all those movies that successfully continued their film franchise. The nominees are: Saw X, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, Evil Dead Rise, Spider-Man ATSV

And the winner is… Spider-Man ATSV! One of my top three films of the year, Across the Spider-Verse both masterfully built on the first Spider-Verse film and set the franchise up for a phenomenal finish.

Most Visually Appealing Film

This past year saw many movies with gorgeous set designs and magical fictional universes, both live-action and animated; these visuals don’t get appreciated nearly enough. The nominees are: Nimona, Asteroid City, Spider-Man ATSV, Poor Things, Barbie

And the winner is… Asteroid City! A movie that somehow masters bringing the set of a play to reality in a cartoonish way,Asteroid City brilliantly captures historical performance art, westerns, and sci-fi media all in one.

Best Horror Film

Countless horror mega-franchises released new films this past year to go alongside fresh scary movies. In all, 2023 was a good year for horror. The nominees are: Saw X, Knock at the Cabin, Talk to Me, Missing, Evil Dead Rise

And the winner is… Talk to Me! One of the most jaw-dropping, unsettling, wild experiences of a horror film I’ve ever had the privilege of viewing,Talk to Me is not only the best horror movie of the year, but is also one of 2023’s best movies in general.

Best Actor/Actress

A more conventional award, this selection will give credit to the lead performance that did the most to heighten a film this past year. The nominees are: Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers), Margot Robbie (Barbie), Emma Stone (Poor Things), Zac Efron (The Iron Claw), Ryunosuke Kamiki (Godzilla Minus One)

And the winner is… Paul Giamatti for The Holdovers! In putting deep thought into these nominees and the others on the shortlist, I found that The Holdovers minus Giamatti would’ve suffered more than any other movie losing their lead actor.

Best Supporting Actor/Actress

A category to pair with the last, this award will give credit to the performance that managed to stand out the most in a minor role. The nominees are: Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things), DaVine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), Ryan Gosling (Barbie), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)

And the winner is… Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon!My first thought after watching this new Scorsese flick was that Gladstone’s character should have been the protagonist. Not only does it make sense in telling an honest story, but Gladstone does such a phenomenal job of playing this tragic character. The one true standout of this movie.

Best Picture

And finally, we’ve arrived at Best Picture. This section is represented by the top films that made 2023 such a beautiful year for cinema. The nominees are:Godzilla Minus One, Talk to Me, Spider-Man ATSV, The Holdovers, Poor Things

And the winner is… The Holdovers! A film completely deserving of the love it’s been getting at real, major award shows. Led by memorable performances and a touching script,The Holdovers epitomizes why I love movies – it just feels like pure artistic expression.

But in the Best Picture nominees, there’s also an animated film, a foreign film, a horror film and a fantasy-comedy. What a diverse year for moves! Here’s to 2024 hopefully being as strong.

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss The Keeping it Reel Podcast dropping every Wednesdays on The Seeker YouTube and all other major platforms.