Best of 2023

Scott Hardie | December 16, 2023
Our annual Best Movies ballot has returned. Looking back, I feel lucky to have seen so many good films this year, more than any recent year in memory, and I'm curious what kind of movie-going year it has been for you. Even if you don't feel like writing full reviews, terse one-sentence takes are fine, and they can sometimes be more fun to read than the longer comments. :-)

If you don't feel like making your votes official, what were some good movies you'll name here?

And have you enjoyed any TV shows, music, books, games, or other media this year?

Scott Hardie | December 16, 2023
I rarely review short films in Thorough Movie Reviews because it feels strange to spend longer writing about them than it takes to watch them, but I did see three new shorts of wildly varying quality this year: Rogue Not Quite One is the latest embarrassingly bad Disney+ short that blends the Simpsons with some other Disney-owned property and in the process reminds you of how vastly better and more inspired both franchises used to feel. Piece of Cake is a heartfelt independent that accomplishes a lot with its technical limitations. And my favorite short came totally out of left field: Two decades after Amelie, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet released La véritable histoire d'Amélie Poulain, the hilarious "true story" that remixes footage from the original film to reveal what was *really* happening in that seemingly innocent light-hearted comedy the whole time. I have no clue what inspired it but I love it.