Awards – My Top 20 Films of 2023

So far, in our awards, we have looked at Action, Animation, Best of Australia & New Zealand, Cinematography, Costumes, Emotion, Fun, Music, Tension, and Worldbuilding.

However, in this last entry into our Best of 2023 awards, we crown our Best Film of 2023.

All films are subjective, so our list might look completely different from yours. Of the 121 films we reviewed last year, 113 had their Australian Theatrical/Streaming Release in 2023. This is the list we draw our entries from, and you can see the complete list of movies HERE.

Much like last year’s list, we have had many staggered releases towards the end of the year in Australia. So we may have films here that were released in 2022 for you but 2023 for us, and there may be some omissions here because we won’t get those films until later in 2024, which is why you won’t see The Holdovers on this list (it will be on the 2024 list)

Highly CommendedAsteroid City, Crater, John Wick: Chapter 4, M3GAN, Nimona, Sweet As & They Cloned Tyrone

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s dive into the first entry in our list of Best Films of 2023.

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Tension That Kept You On The Edge Of Your Seat In 2023!

Well, we have looked at Emotion and swung wildly across the spectrum to Fun, and now we are completing that trifecta by looking at Tension. Tension is one of the most challenging facets of filmmaking because it requires the script, direction, acting, and editing to all work in tandem to evoke the perfect pace. If just one part of that group misses, then an essential part of the film falls apart.

In 2023, we continued to see some excellent use of tension to build mystery, to be the harbinger of the coming dread, or even to tick the clock of inevitability.   

Our Highly Commended in 2023 are Five Nights at Freddy’s, Killers of the Flower Moon, Knock at the Cabin, M3GAN, The Nun II & Saltburn
Our Best TV Tension in 2023 are Deadloch: Season 1, Doctor Who: 2023 Specials, The Last of Us: Season 1, Poker Face: Season 1 & Silo: Season 1

So, without further ado, these moments of tension kept us on the edge of our seats in 2023. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

And the Nominees are

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Explosions, Guns, and Punches, Oh My. The Best Action of 2023

A good action sequence is genuinely impressive to watch, as it can be as expansive as explosions crashing across the screen or more intimate, like a duel between two people. This gives the best action scenes such a range, and in 2023, we were given some unique spectacles.

For me, the best action scenes excel in every element, whether that be live actions, special effects, digital effects, or animation, and bring every facet to shine. It is also the category that looks at some of the department’s people don’t often fully understand, like stunt coordination or the 2nd unit.

2023 was the year of action. From personal punch-ups to climatic brawls, we got it all and more.

Our Highly Commended in 2023 are Bring Him To Me, Extraction 2, Godzilla Minus One,  Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant & The Killer

Our Best TV Action in 2023 are Ahsoka: Season 1, The Last of Us: Season 1, Letterkenny: Season 12, The Night Agent: Season 1 & Twisted Metal: Season 1

So, without further ado, these are the moments of action that awed us in 2023. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers for the films in question.

The Nominees Are –

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The Killer – Movie Review

TL;DR – It is an odd but compelling film where we dive into the mind of a professional killer when everything falls apart.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The Killer sets up his shot.

The Killer Review

A revenge film can be a challenging beast to pull off. Because if you don’t work on making the motivations land, then you just have a slasher flick. However, what if you had a cold, distant killer taking on interesting characters, and you can pull that off thematically? Well, that is the film that we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, it is a quiet morning in Paris as The Killer (Michael Fassbender) waits for The Target (Endre Hules) in a cold and gloomy room. He waxes philosophically as he sits there waiting. He has one job, to kill his target, and he does not care who it is as long as he is paid. But what happens when, at the last second, someone gets in the way of your target, and your whole reputation disappears instantly? How many redundancies did you really plan? Are they enough? And are you prepared for the coming storm?

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