I haven't gone to the cinema in 3 years now, a part of me cannot believe that I am writing this; going to the movies has one of my favourite activities since I was 8 years old. I stopped going in 2020 when it was suddenly required to wear an anti-covid attire to the cinema while practising 'social distancing' – that part I would have been quite happy to implement, I like sitting alone in the theater :D. For some reason, I haven't made it back to the cinema ever since; maybe the absolute rubbish that comes out of Hollywood (I was always into Indie films to be honest) and the ridiculous price one has to pay nowadays just to sit in a dark room have been enough to keep me away. I thought I would try it this year but never did.
Combined that with the fact that I cancelled my subscription to Netflix in 2020 as well as my mum finally cancelling her subscription with Amazon last year, 2023 was not very prolific in the film and series department.
Films:
The Savages - The premise of this film hit close to home. I thought it was a candidly acted film which injected lightheartedness to a subject which is often seen as heavy.
The Assassination Of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford - I didn't know anything about this film before viewing it; I learned a lot about Jesse James's story both thanks to the movie and the researching which came from having my curiosity picked. Very enjoyable experience.
Shifty - It won't make it in my all-time favourites, but it was ok. The acting was good.
Fences - I originally saw Fences at the cinema, and I was very moved by the execution of adapting a play to the silver screen – I think it was very well adapted, I was not aware it was a play beforehand, but definitely felt like I was watching a play. It was nice to revisit the film. One of Denzel's best.
The Damned United - A lovely surprise. I'm not into football, yet it was very entertaining to watch and learn about a subject I had no great interest for previously. Very good film.
Cutting Class - This film is so bad it's just too good lol. I watched this with my mum on New Year's Eve after a quick search on YouTube for something to watch. I thought I had seen most American 80's teen/B-movies, I was wrong. Personally, I think the whole thing was meant to be awful: bad writing, bad acting, just bad everything so that it could become the cult film of bad films :D. If you haven't seen it, check it out just for kicks (it stars a very young and over-excited Brad Pitt. The other funny thing is that it was uploaded under the name Cutting Glass, or maybe this was also purposely done.
Series:
Again, not having Netflix nor Amazon has completely altered my screen time (for the better to be honest) and the only series I remember seeing this year is not even from 2023.
Nine Perfect Strangers - It kept me involved, it was suspenseful enough. I thought it was well done.
I also watched a fair bit of comedy; after working in a comedy club for 5 years in NYC I was unwilling and unable to watch comedy as entertainment for a while there. It's been a joyful addition to my days now and again.
Documentaries:
I love mythology, especially Greek mythology, and I watched a lot of documentaries about Greek and Norse mythology this year.
So many documentaries to list – it's pretty much all I watch.
One stood out: I watched a beautifully made and incredibly fascinating four-part documentary about the Portuguese explorer Magellan on "Arte documentaire". I never knew his story, but I felt deeply inspired and moved by his and its crew's adventures out on the sea. HIghly recommend.