Ethan Hawke

THE MOVIE MUSINGS’ FAVOURITE FILMS OF 2023


2023 was a mixed bag. I saw 186 films during the year.
There were a lot of old films, the oldest being made in 1931 (Frankenstein).
I finally got round to watching for the first time: Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948), Brook’s The Producers (1968), Levinson’s Diner (1982) and Kurosawa’s Ran (1985) and I loved them all (except for parts of Diner).

I saw Raging Bull in 4K at the cinema and there were a tonne of rewatches, highlights being Cape Fear (1991), J.S.A. Joint Security Area (2000), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Wages of Fear (1953), Angel Heart (1987), The Consequences of Love (2004), Memories of Murder (2003), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), State of Grace (1990), Kundun (1997) and I saw The Wicker Man-The Final Cut (1973) in December. All in all a top film watching year.

This year my top 17 came from South Korea, Japan, Denmark, France, Finland, Ireland and the U.K., Australia and America.

The list below is in no hierarchical order of quality or preference.
They are merely in the order that I saw them throughout the year.
Each of the films I loved for different reasons and this list reflects that.

So, here goes……..


JOHN WICK 4
In March 2023 I saw John Wick 4 at a screening on a huge screen at Event Cinemas, George St in Sydney that I had been kindly invited to by Studio Canal, the Australian distributors of the film and I had SO much fun. So much so, that when it was released proper a few weeks later I went to the cinema again to revisit the ride. And at 10 minutes shy of a 3 hour running time, that’s impressive.
So good, I saw it twice.
Check my review out HERE.


MONSTER
The latest film from Japanese director, Kore-eda Hirozaku is a film about the information we receive and how we fill in the blanks to end up with a conclusion that is wrong more than it is right.
I saw it at the Sydney Film Festival and loved it. I was a big fan of the director’s previous work, Shoplifters and this one was thought provoking and moving.
Monster is beautiful, tender and unfolds with skill and depth.


REALITY
Sydney Sweeney is a top actor. As Cassie in the excellent Euphoria she manages to display an insecurity and vulnerability that we rarely see so well played and in The White Lotus Season 1 she imbues Olivia, an entitled girl, a humanity that we would not have gotten from a lesser performer. She was nominated for both of these roles at the Emmys in 2022.
In 2023, she became the brand ambassador for everyone, made this indie film (Reality) based on a play, based on the transcript of the F.B.I. interrogation of the American Intelligence Agent, Reality Leigh Winner and a Christmas rom com that is doing well at the box office.
Here, she brings a layered take in a brilliant film about truth, deception and national security. 
This is a tense thriller that runs in at 82 minutes and takes you on a journey that unearths the feelings many have about national security and what the public should be aware of. Well worth a watch.
So good I saw it twice.


COBWEB
This was a joyous farce. A film about the making of a film within the film. One of my favourite actors Song Sang-ho stars as the director Kim who dreams that his recently finished film will become a masterpiece if only he can film the ending again to make it perfect. Comic absurdity follows as he tries to navigate 1970s South Korean Government Film censors, need and emotional actors, the studio head who hasn’t given him permission to film the extra days and his own (maybe justified) insecurities.
So good I saw it twice.
Read my review HERE.


TALK TO ME
The best, most original and entertaining horror film of 2023. Made by a couple of Australian brothers, Michael and Danny Philippou AKA YouTubers, Rakka Rakka.
This film about grief and the ‘other side’ was scary, well acted and became the horror film of the year. Check my review out HERE.


SISU
Visceral, satisfying and violent. An absolute romp. 
The killing of Nazis has never been so enjoyable.


SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
The sequel to the excellent Into the Spider-Verse brings us more, much more.
So. Many. Spider-Mens. And Women’s.
Smart, beautifully realised and maybe the best animated action film of the year.


BARBIE
I didn’t do a review of this because everyone has said EVERYTHING about it already. Brief thoughts; this film was so much more important than it seemed. A Barbie movie that very smartly and succinctly commented on feminism, the patriarchy and the status quo in a way that was never preachy, mean or lacking a massive sense of humour. Absolutely brilliant.
Maybe my favourite film of the year.
So good I saw it twice.


BOTTOMS
So much anarchic merriment. Two high school loser lesbians start a fight club to meet girls. The teen romp that we didn’t know we needed. Starring Rachel Sennott (who also co-wrote it) and Ayo Edibiri (so so good in The Bear, one of my favourite tv shows of the year), this film isn’t afraid to have heart and stupidity playing at the same time. Brilliant.


PAST LIVES
Greta Lee is wonderful. Here, she gets to play the lead in the best romantic film of the year directed by first timer, Celine Song, a film that bypasses all of the usual tropes and delivers an emotionally intelligent, honest take on a ‘could they’, ‘would they’, ‘should they’ romance.
So good I saw it twice.


TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM
I think I may have enjoyed this more than the Spider outing. But only just. I definitely laughed out loud a lot by myself in the cinema. The first Turtles film I have ever seen and the only one I need to. The voice cast has heaps of fun with the teen toitles this time actually played by teens and having actual chemistry that brings a massive heart to the film.
Jackie Chan has a blast as Splinter, Ayo Edibiri gives humour, comic timing and dimension to April O’ Neil and Ice Cube probably has the time of his life playing the villain, Superfly.
Hands down, the best needle drops of the year with M.O.P.’s Ante Up, De La Soul’s Eye Know, O.D.B.’s Shimmy Shimmy Ya and A Tribe Called Quest’s Can I Kick It?
Absolute quality.


ANATOMY OF A FALL
The best courtroom film we have seen for many years. This drama about the death of a father and husband at a chalet at the foot of the French alps that leads to the mother being accused of his murder is a masterclass in acting especially from Sandra Hüller, who is magnificent.


THE BOY AND THE HERON
When this was announced 5 years or so ago I bought the book, How Do You Live by Genzaburo Yoshino that it was going to be based on. The book is lovely and when I read that the film would be VERY loosely based on it, I was a touch disappointed but when I finally saw the film, I rejoiced. It is pure Miyazaki, his greatest hits and if it really is his final bow, it’s an incredible one.
Strange, beautiful, touching and magical. 


POOR THINGS
There are very few, if any, film-makers like Yorgos Lanthimos. He evokes Terry Gilliam’s set design and strangeness in this Emma Stone-athon. She is utterly fabulous and free in this strange Frankenstein-like tale of a young woman discovering the world and all its joys and despairs.
Who else out there would commit like Stone did? Willem Dafoe is an acting God, Facts!!!! and Mark Ruffallo gives the best man-child performance of many a year. Surreal and sublime.


GODZILLA MINUS ONE
The Zilla film I have been waiting for. Finally, they understood that the sight of Kaiju mashing up the town, city or world is nothing without the human, the acting and the heart elements.
Here, we get the Godzilla film we deserve. 


LEAVE THEM ALL BEHIND
This was a late contender as I only watched it on the 28th December and really wished that I had gone to the cinema to see it. Netflix only gave us a week to see int on the big screen, I think.
Hey Netflix. Not good enough!!! 
The film that brings ALL the conspiracy theories together and chills you to the bone. Written and directed by Mr Robot’s Sam Esmail this film is helped along by a great script, top actors; Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha’la and Kevin Bacon, and a wonderfully ominous and eerie musical score by Mac Quayle. Tension at its finest. Quality apocalyptic fare.


HOLY SPIDER
A serial killer film that is brutal, gritty, tense and has something to say about society.
Set in Mashhad, a holy city in Iran and based on an actual killer from the early 2000s, this takes you on an ugly journey directed by Ali Abbas, who directed the last two episodes of the excellent video game HBO adaptation of The Last of Us earlier in the year. 
Maybe a Holy Spider/Barbie double bill?????? Holy Barber, Batman.

And that’s the list. 2023 in a bag. I missed a few, I saw a few.
Let me know your favourites in the comments. It’d be lovely to hear from you other movie lovers.

Happy 2024. May it be filled with the best of movies, joy, happiness and creative satisfaction.

BLAZE (2018)


Blaze Foley lived a short and eventful life. He had heaps of talent but combine that with the self destructive gene many artists possess and success was beyond his reach.

Ethan Hawke directs this beautiful, tender portrait of an artist who didn’t reach the heights he may, like many others, have attained. In an interview Hawke talked about the desire to make a film about an artist who didn’t make it:

“One of the things about music biopics is that they’re always about Ray Charles or Johnny Cash or somebody who made it big, and the subtext of that is always that the making it big is what made their life story worth telling and the great mass of musicians that I’ve met and spent time with in my life have all been, you know almost universally met with indifference. That’s kind of the more normal story in the arts and I, in the back of my mind thought I’d love to make a music movie about a guy who didn’t make it, like that would be true to life. I’d like to see that movie and that intersected one night, I’ve been friends with Mr Dickey here for I don’t know 15 years or so and it was a couple of new years eves ago we were sitting around the fire and Ben started playing Clay Pigeons and the idea I said out loud you should play Blaze Foley in a movie and Ben laughed and I kind of….synapses in the back of my neck exploded and I was like I think I’m supposed to do that.”

This quote really stuck with me in the same way that the film did. It is a film that subtly takes a hold of you and doesn’t let go. I don’t listen to a lot of folk music, I appreciate it as I do all music but it’s never on my playlist so without a recommendation from my dear friend and fellow film lover, the very talented writer, Adam Nightingale, I may never have seen it. I do like Ethan Hawke though, I rate him as an actor and an artist who constantly makes interesting films and always seems to choose from the left of centre which is massively refreshing for a film star.


Let’s talk about Ben Dickey, who plays Blaze Foley in the film for a minute. His performance in this is deserving of all the awards. He is not an actor. I repeat he is not an actor. He is a musician which gives the film an authenticity most music bios lack. He is joined by another musician of massive note, Charlie Sexton who plays Blaze’s friend, real life singer songwriter, Townes Van Zandt. This is one of the main reasons the film hits another level of realism. Ben Dickey clearly has a charisma that shines through the screen and brings Blaze to life and his ability to show the pain is evident.

Blaze lived a short life but his songs touched many. The film opens with a quote by Willie Nelson: “There was a lot to ‘ol Blaze” and Willie recorded a cover of one of Blaze’s songs ‘If I Could only Fly’ with another musical legend Merle Haggard in 1987 so clearly this was an artist with talent and great songwriting skills.

Bring on more tales of the unsung artists. After all there are countless documentaries already out there about the famous and lauded. When I saw the Straight outta Compton film all I wanted to do afterwards was watch an actual documentary about the group to wash the taste of artifice out of my mouth. It wasn’t a bad film it just had too much Hallmark about it, as in the drama was too pointed, it lacked subtlety. This is the issue I usually have with biopics, we already know too much about the subject(s) and have already formed our opinions but if the subject is new to us we can approach the film with a blank slate. Many people love these biopics and I’m definitely not saying that they are wrong, merely that the average biopics are not really my lane.


There is a lovely swan song cameo from Kris Kristofferson playing Blaze’s father and cameos from three greats as the oilmen who sign Blaze to make music for them. Wyatt Russell is great as the the owner of the treehouse that Blaze and Sybil live in for a time but the heart of the film belongs to Alia Shawkat who play the love of Blaze’s life, Sybil Rosen (who incidentally plays her own mother in the film). The film is based on Sybil Rosen’s book ‘Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley. Alia gives a performance filled with love, longing, understanding, joy and pain and is wonderful, like Rosen, Shawkat really is the heart of this film.


I think it’s important to wave the flag for films that may have flown under the radar and that is why I’m doing a piece on this one.

See it now on Disney Plus.

Directed by Ethan Hawke

Starring: Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Charlie Sexton, Kris Kristofferson and Wyatt Russell.