And so we arrive at the first movie milestone within a year that couldn’t possibly live up to the cinematic majesty of 2022… could it?
Nah, it couldn’t. But maybe?
Though 2023 perhaps opened with a bit of a stutter after the dust settled from the customary late-Australian Oscar buzz period, by mid-April we are in the thick of a release schedule that has already delivered surprises and quality in equal measure. I know I’ve missed one or two word-of-mouth gems so far and you can be sure I will catch up on them by year’s end, but here’s my first batch of ten (you could argue it’s technically nine) new-release films for 2023:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
“Thinner plot than Ritchie’s best, but riotously fun character banter.”
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
“Destined to be called “not that bad” in five years.”
Creed III
“Replaces Rocky with two magnetic newcomers and pointedly anime-esque fights.”
Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village!
“Barely counts as a movie, but it sure is pretty.”
65
“Oh hey, that’s the score this deserves out of 100.”
John Wick: Chapter 4
“Somehow this franchise is still delivering! Your move, Dead Reckoning.”
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
“Six times better than it has any right to be.”
Tetris
“Bullet–paced insanity; most entertaining thing on AppleTV+ since Lasso.”
AIR
“Director–Affleck hasn’t missed yet, and every actor brings it.”
The Super Mario Bros Movie
Vagrant Rant 