ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
2023 was a rather interesting year for movies and recently, I got to thinking about some of my favorites I was able to see throughout the year. Some of them you’ve seen reviews of here while some of them I ultimately ended up not writing reviews for due to whatever circumstances were going on at that time.
So I thought it would be fun to go back through the year and talk about some of the movies I enjoyed in 2023. Let’s jump in!
“Oppenheimer”
This Christopher Nolan-directed movie, which follows physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's early studies, his direction of the Manhattan Project during World War II, and his eventual fall from grace after his 1954 security hearing, was released in the late summer after me waiting basically a full year for its release. While I felt the movie was rather long, I felt the performances were absolutely amazing, particularly from leading man Cillian Murphy, and everyone who worked on the special effects crews deserves a huge round of applause for their work. As I said in my original review, much like Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” the music also does a great job helping set the scene and creating the tone, and there are moments where the music goes from being absolutely beautiful and sweet to neurotic and gut-wrenching, and the effect is dazzling. If you’re a fan of historical biopics, this was a good one to watch.
“The Little Mermaid”
I wasn’t able to watch this live-action remake in theaters, but I was later able to watch it when it dropped on Disney+ in the fall. For those who don’t know, the story follows a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him. While the original will always have a special place in my heart, I really enjoyed how there were some aspects and some of the characters more fleshed out with this adaptation (particularly Prince Eric), and I thought Halle Bailey made a wonderful Ariel. If you’re a fan of the original “The Little Mermaid” or any of the other Disney remakes, this was fun to watch.
“Elvis”
While this movie was actually released in 2022, I came across it on streaming not too long ago and ultimately ended up being very surprised by it. The movie chronicles the life of singer and actor Elvis Presley under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. While I thought the pacing was a little slow and could have used some tightening, I was very impressed by Austin Butler’s performance in the lead role and felt he totally deserved every nomination he received during the awards season. If you’re an Elvis fan, this is one you’ll definitely want to cue up.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Released in the early summer, this movie takes place takes place 16 months after the events after the first film and follows Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) as he goes on an adventure with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) across the multiverse, where he meets a new team known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O' Hara/Spider-Man 2099, (voiced by Oscar Isaac) but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat, the Spot (voiced by Jason Schwartzman), whose origins have a surprising tie to Miles. As I said in my original review, the animation throughout the movie is pure eye candy every single frame and the voice performances from the cast are also great, with particular praise needing to go to Hailee Steinfeld returning as Gwen Stacy and Shameik Moore returning as Miles Morales, among others. If you were a fan of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” this is one you’ll want to cue up.
“Maestro”
This movie is the most recent entry on this list and one of my most recent reviews here. The movie follows the relationship between Bernstein (Bradley Cooper, who also directs) and his wife Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), and this is a project I’d actually been following off and on throughout the past few years. The cast is great, particularly with Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan in the lead roles, and I really hope they get some awards love this season, because they both absolutely deserve it for their efforts. Music is also used wonderfully and very creatively throughout the entire movie, and the scene where Leonard is conducting Mahler's Resurrection Symphony at Ely Cathedral in England gave me straight goosebumps after watching it. I also liked how Cooper didn’t entirely shy away from showing Bernstein’s faults and made him more human. If you’re a fan of any of Leonard Bernstein’s work, or if you’re a musical geek like me, “Maestro” will be one to cue up on Netflix.
“Elemental”
Like “The Little Mermaid,” this was one I didn’t get to see in theaters but did get to see when it dropped on Disney+. The movie is set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature and follows fire element Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis) and water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), who spend time together in the city while trying to save a convenience store owned by Ember's father, Bernie. The animation throughout is absolutely amazing with all the different elements, and the voice acting throughout iso done so well. I also really liked how Ember and Wade’s relationship was portrayed more realistically than past Disney/Pixar films because they go on a legitimate date, they meet each other’s parents (which turns out somewhat awkwardly but still very sweet), and they have a few minor tense moments throughout. This movie absolutely deserved more love than what it got, and if you’re looking for a good animated film, “Elemental” is definitely one to cue up.
