The Year-End Reflections of 2023

 

2023 has been an insane year and definitely one that I wouldn’t forget as well as things I would like to forget as it was crazy. Notably as the rise of inflation which has angered my mother while she had lost one of her jobs a few months ago mainly because its owner didn’t want to run two dry cleaners as it was too much for him. Fortunately, she still has a job with one of those cleaners as well as another as things aren’t too bad. Still, the year saw a lot of bad shit happening as well as a lot of deaths and all sorts of shit. It’s been fucking insane and honestly, let’s hope it ends quicker and hope the New Year is much better.

In the year of 2023, I saw a total of 278 films in 161 first-timers and 117 re-watches with 67 first-timers being films directed/co-directed by women as part of the 52 Films by Women pledge and thirteen theatrical viewings all being first-timers. Not a bad year though it was down from the previous year due to the fact that I have a niece and nephew to watch over and they’ve been all over the house. Plus, there was also financial difficulties that prevented me from renting or seeing films though it was the year that I finally ended my time with cable TV as that is gone for good. There weren’t a lot of first-timers from the past that I saw which is why there won’t be a list because there’s so little great films pre-2015 that I saw. Still, one of the highlights of the year has been my Blind Spot Series as here is the final ranking for that series:

1. Eight Hours Don't Make a Day

2. Tetsuo the Iron Man

3. La Chinoise

4. Buck and the Preacher

5. La Haine

6. Kiki's Delivery Service

7. One-Eyed Jacks

8. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

9. The Seduction of Mimi

10. Polyester

11. The Quiet Man

12. India Song

The year was a big deal towards late in the year as it marked the return of the Auteurs series where I went back to my first essay on Sofia Coppola where I expanded and updated as it got me back into finally finishing the essay on Kelly Reichardt that began in 2019 but was stopped because of my dad’s passing then COVID and writer’s block. With the completion of the Reichardt essay, I’ve already prepped work on the next two essays in both J.C. Chandor and Michael Mann respectively with David Lean to follow later in the year and a new subject in Damien Chazelle.

Before I close this piece, the recent passing of Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers and Tom Wilkinson as there has been a lot of people that has passed so here is a farewell to those who have passed as we will never forget them



Well, that is all to say for 2023. It’s been a wild year where the Atlanta Braves had a good year until the playoffs where we were burned out while the Hawks and United did fine. Let’s hope 2024 is a better year for all of these teams. Until then, this is thevoid99 signing off…

© thevoid99 2023