FB Awards: Movie Posters of the Year

by Nathaniel R

It's that time again! I'm going to do the Film Bitch Awards a little differently this year and give them each their own article... all 40ish categories. At least that's the plan over the next month but we'll see. First up, movie posters of the year. The state of movie posters in general is dire, many often looking more like an AI generated collage of faces with sizes proportioned by legal contracts and no consideration of visual appeal. But, gripes aside, there are always bright spots. Honorable mentions to this list include the upside down "don't get lost" teaser for Saltburn,  the retro-painted poster  of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Oppenheimer 's literally explosive biography. 

Herewith 12 favourite movie posters of the year in not very particular order...

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Halfway Mark 3: Fav Performances of 2023 (thus far)

by Nathaniel R 

Teyana Taylor (A Thousand and One), Greta Lee (Past Lives), Nicolas Cage (Renfield), Chris Messina (Air), and Scarlett Johansson (Asteroid City)

We already discussed gay cinema of 2023 and favourite movies (thus far) in general. Now let's talk the magical gift of acting. Herewith a handy cheatsheet of favourite film performances (and why we love them) from the first six months of 2023 so we don't forget them later on in the year-end glut. Although will we have a year-end glut this year? Hollywood has come to a standstill throwing the futures of the year end releases into question as no actors will be available to promote their work. This is a small problem in the grand scheme of things -- fair pay and treatment is more important than the timing of any batch of releases -- but it could make for a strange year in cinema (and tv, too).

The halfway lists are generally our way of taking stock of the year. Consider it "intermission". Some of these performances won't factor into our own Film Bitch Awards at years end but that's no reason not to love on them right now...

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Halfway Mark Pt 2: Fav Films & Craft Achievements (Thus Far)

by Nathaniel R

The Best of 2023 Thus Far: Spider-Verse, Of An Age, Are You There God?, Past Lives, Joyland, and Asteroid City

Somehow it's mid July so it's time to survey the first half of the cinematic year. We worry for Hollywood given the writer's strike and the possibilities of a tepid fall/winter slate (the big titles people are most looking forward to are this very month -- Barbie and Oppenheimer). But regardless we take stock every year at this time, no matter what the future might hold. The following list honors only films released between January 1st and June 30th, 2023. It's our way of insuring we keep track of early favourites so that we don't fall victim to the dread recency bias that generally makes awards-giving bodies look forgetful and lazy.  The followlng lists are all in alpha order as its too soon for preferential ballots. Obviously we'd love to hear your own 'thus far' ballots in the comments. (We'll do the acting honors tomorrow).

Okay here we go...

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HCA's MidSeason Awards

by Nathaniel R

Hello readers. Can you believe we're halfway through 2023? We feel like it's barely started (probably because we live by such an Oscar season calendar) but it's already time to assess the first half of 2023's cinematic output. A few members of The Film Experience belong to The Hollywood Critics Association. The HCA does a midseason awards in several categories and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was the big winner taking three prizes. The nominees and winners are after the jump with a few comments. That said, I won't comment too very much right now since my own "halfway mark" articles are coming next weekend (trying to cram in 10 more movies - yikes), so the opinions can wait for that...

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Year in Review: Nathaniel's 'Multiversal' Top Ten List & Personal Prizes

by Nathaniel R

Multiverses were the hot trend in mainstream cinema this year with the MCU banking its whole future on the appeal of mirror dimensions and alternate timelines. If you take the trend less franchise-literal, it was even more omnipresent. Multiple films asked us to consider alternate realities, ahistorical timelines, and the multiplicity of identity through the power of both storytelling and our own imagination. It's through this broad prism that I present my take on the year's best films.

I hope you enjoy though it always bears repeating that "Best" is necessarily subjective; We each occupy our own universes when it comes to these matters. Before the top ten, a bakers dozen of honorable mentions...

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