Another list done!

 So, what did I think of Empire's top 20 films of 2023?

This is the first year I've completed Empire's list before The Guardian's and it's so much less of a slog - no, I don't agree with all of their choices but there were very few that I just didn't understand how they made the cut.

Looking first at those films that make both lists, we have seven films (down from eleven in 2022) which feels pretty low considering The Guardian has fifty films on their list. I'd say all of these were "good" films and worthy of their place on the lists, but not all of them were particularly enjoyable - length was a particular problem, with four of them being over 2.5 hours long. I have to mention Past Lives first because it came top of both lists - I thought it was a very decent film with a lot going for it, it maybe a little lacking in story. Anatomy Of A Fall and Marcel The Shell With Shoes On were easily my favourites, with Oppenheimer getting a special mention for being a pretty watchable three hour film (which is a rarity for me these days). I'm also going to give Killers Of The Flower Moon a "special" mention for having a decent story to tell but hiding it an utterly unwatchable 3.5 hours.

Of the thirteen films The Guardian didn't have, I think there are three unforgivable omissions - Are You There God? It's Me Margaret was utterly charming and featured an incredible central performance, Barbie should have been included for its cultural significance (and it's also very well done) and Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse has such incredible animation I just don't understand how they excluded it. To be fair to The Guardian, they gave Barbie four stars and the others five stars in their reviews so I guess they just forgot about them at the year-end because of all the GREAT foreign language films they'd seen.

Looking at the rest of the films The Guardian excluded, I'd particularly recommend Women Talking (5* in The Guardian), Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 (3* - but I thought it was fun), Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves (3* - ditto), Talk To Me (4* - very decent horror) and How To Have Sex (5*) - all the rest were decent (although I wasn't entirely convinced by Pearl), so check out the write-ups!

Summing the rankings across both lists, the top five with the lowest totals were Anatomy Of A Fall (25), Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (24), Tár (8), Killers Of The Flower Moon (5) and Past Lives (2) - it was surprising that Oppenheimer didn't make the top five given it was #3 for Empire, but The Guardian had it at #32. If I had to pick one film off the list, I think I'd go for Marcel The Shell With Shoes On - it's really well shot, surreal (but in a way that makes sense) and utterly, utterly charming. Having said I'd only choose one, I think Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse also has to get a name-check for the dazzling animation and levels of invention on display - it's a simply incredible film.

I do plan to work my way through the rest of The Guardian's list, but given I've only made it to #21 (which I'm struggling with) and I'm also doing the 2024 lists, I'm not expecting to get through it any time soon - I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me!

#1 - A fine film, but was it really the best?
#20 (Empire 2024) - Surprisingly entertaining