Rare Round-Up: Top 5 Movies of 2023

We’re almost there! 2024 lingers just around the corner and with that, as promised in last week’s Rare Round-Up, this week will present the best films of the year for us here at Rarewaves.

I wouldn’t want to deprive you of any news however, as I’d like to think that there are at least some of you who actually look forward to my exquisitely crafted pieces of entertainment news, keeping you up-to-date on the happenings of the visual and musical worlds.

For today’s news section, we will hark back to how the Round-Up was when it originally started- as short, snappy pieces of information that you can consume in seconds, or at least I’ll try… Evidently, I’m not very good at keeping things short.

This week saw the release of James Cameron’s magnum opus Titanic on 4K for the first time and the Doctor Who 60^th Anniversary Specials also came to home video (DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a lovely Steelbook). As for cinemas, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hit cinemas this week as did your chance to pre-order the film for viewing in your own home.

Arrow Video announced more January and February releases, with classic American and J-Horror leading the charge with the Ju-On/Grudge collection on Blu-ray (with the first film on 4K), the Psycho: “The Story Continues” collection comprised of Psycho II-IV on 4K and The Hellraiser collection on 4K. There are also classics of Italian crime and murder-mystery in Mario Bava’s giallo classic Blood and Black Lace on 4K as well as Enzo G. Castellari’s The Big Racket and The Heroin Busters in a two-movie Blu-ray set.

The Criterion Collection came fourth two new titles slated for UK release in the coming March. The first being 1939’s crime thriller The Roaring Twenties starring silver screen legends James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart along with Priscilla Lane. The second is Richard Linklater’s iconic 1993 coming-of-age tale Dazed and Confused, which acted as a launching pad for later stars including Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Mila Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg and Joey Lauren Adams.

Thank you for reading the news,

Now onto our top 5 movies of the year:

5. Barbie

Barbie has always been a cultural phenomenon and Greta Gerwig’s movie, just as the doll that inspired it, has been a topic of praise, criticism, and division. Evoking all sorts of discussion regarding its themes, the Margot Robbie-led tale of a fantastic plastic girl in a fantastic plastic world who is transported into our less fantastic real-world and faced with the realities of human life is hilarious and thought-provoking.

Receiving some criticism for its perhaps too heavy-handed approach to themes of feminism and criticism of patriarchy, there’s plenty of other themes on display here too- most notably existentialism. Lucy Ford of GQ noted that Barbie and Ken go on "opposite but equal" journeys of self-discovery, venturing from the matriarchal utopia that is Barbieland into the patriarchal “real world”, battling with free will and getting caught in omnipresent predetermined rules about where to go and how to act.

The film isn’t perfect but it doesn’t need to be. Regardless of one's personal feelings about it as a whole or its themes and its approach to them, it can’t be denied that it is eccentric, visually dazzling and has a lot to say.

4. Past Lives

Past Lives is the story of two people, Na-Young and Hae-sung who as teenagers, thought they were destined to be together; only to be taken in different directions by life and subsequently lose contact. They reconnect years later via Facebook and then Skype as their faces beam with excitement and past teen-love as they ponder the question: Should they be together, or are they just looking through the rose-coloured glasses of their childhood?

What follows is a story of what could have been, and perhaps what could be still, as Hae-sung flies to New York, where Na-Young’s (Now going by her Anglicised name Nora) family immigrated to when she was a teenager, which is what caused the two to lose touch. Nora is now married to an American man called Arthur and the resurfacing of Hae-sung brings to light insecurities and reflection on their marriage.

Past Lives falls into the same category of such character-driven romantic and/or relationship-centric outings Before Midnight, In the Mood for Love, The Farewell and A Tokyo Story. It deals with love, loss, acceptance, identity and the question of whether memories should remain just that. A noticeable visual metaphor used by director Cline Song throughout is the separation of the two on-screen whether by a train pole or the camera pivoting between them as opposed to being on-screen at the same time, or the fact that the film’s title appears as two words separated by a great space.

Past Lives is truly profound, and an exceptional debut for Celine Song.

3. Suzume

In the same year as Hayao Miyazaki’s return to the director's chair with The Boy and the Heron, Makoto Shinkai hit yet another home run (following Weathering with You and Your Name) with fantastical adventure Suzume.

Following 17-year-old Suzume playing the part of Japan’s own Pandora as she opens a door that launches all kinds of evils out into the land of the rising sun. The film is visually thrilling, emotionally impactful, terrifying, and hilarious.

Sharing themes with similar otherworldly stories, Suzume at times feels familiar but also completely different. The story is set up quickly, allowing for ample time for it to unfold at a comfortable pace. Early on, the film is great at building quiet tension without unnecessary loud bangs or even an ominous soundtrack.

Speaking of the soundtrack, whilst it may not have been needed to aid the suspenseful moments, it certainly aids the scale of it all. For their third collaboration with Makoto Shinkai, RADWIMPS have again elevated an already great film to new heights.

As far as anime films go, or even animated films in general, this is up there with the best of them.

2. Oppenheimer

Adapted from the over-700-page novel American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, filmic mastermind Christopher Nolan leads this biopic about “the most important f******g thing to ever happen in the history of the world.”

Labelling Oppenheimer as simply a biopic does this cinematic triumph a harsh injustice. Oppenheimer is indeed a biopic but also, as envisioned by Nolan himself: a thriller, a heist film, and a courtroom drama. Likened to Frankenstein’s Monster by Wendy Ide of The Guardian, Oppenheimer is the story of a man’s creation that stretches to horrors beyond his control, and the subsequent guilt that burdens him. Cillian Murphy’s impossibly haunted face as the father of the atomic bomb puts the Irish actor’s icey blue eyes to their most impactful use and he is backed by a who’s who of the finest actors working today.

The achievement here is truly massive and Christopher Nolan takes the tragic story of a tragic man and turns it into a phenomenon worthy of praise on all levels.

1. Killers of the Flower Moon

Another true story, Killers of the Flower Moon by the great Martin Scorsese tells the story of the infamous Oklahoma Osage murders during the early 20^th century.

Collaborating with Scorsese mainstays Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, this near-four-hour-long tale of love, betrayal, and greed is as epic in scale as it is rich in character depth. The film’s Apple TV production allows the story to blossom at a very deliberate pace unobstructed by big studio time restrictions.

As great a trio and as great separately as Scorsese, DiCaprio and DeNiro are, the undeniable star and breakout of this film is Lily Gladstone. A performance that has earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, film critic Justin Chang described it as “setting off emotional reverberations with a barely cracked smile than some performers manage in an entire monologue.”

It’s been said that perhaps this would’ve worked better as a 4-part series, and maybe so, but the small screen would do it a gross injustice.

Tell us your favourite movie of the year!

Be sure to check back next week for our top 5 albums of the year!