2023 was a great year for film as there were many amazing movies released. My personal favorite was Great Gerwig’s Barbie. Not only does the movie have great casting, cinematography, and music, it has a powerful message. The movie’s message focuses on women’s empowerment, self-discovery, friendship and challenging gender stereotypes. America Ferrera who plays Gloria in the film gave a speech that touched the hearts of many women of all ages, in today’s society. The speech outlines the standards and expectations women and young girls are held to, and the challenges they face under the patriarchy. Besides the influential meaning behind the movie, the casting was iconic. Who else is better than Margot Robbie to play the timeless Barbie doll? Margot did a phenomenal job depicting the role and even played Barbie on the red carpet and in multiple interviews. Although many thought Ryan Gosling was too old to play Ken, he pulled it off effortlessly and even won A Critic’s Choice Award for his song, “I’m Just Ken”. Greta Gerwig made Barbie’s world come to life perfectly, which made women who were once Barbie loving, little girls happy. Barbie is a must-watch and it brought people from all over, to dress up in pink and sparkles to see the movies in theaters. Overall, I think Barbie deserves every award it achieves and the film will forever be historic.

In 2023, we saw that many new movies were released, with all different kinds of genres, plots and meanings. Although I personally saw many new movies this year, my absolute favorite was “Anyone but You”, which starred Sydney Sweeney, and Glen Powell.  “Anyone but You” was released on December 22nd, 2023, and was directed by Will Gluck. I absolutely loved and adored this movie. I thought that the casting was perfect, and the characters were portrayed so well. I thought that the emotion and acting was applied perfectly by their actors and actresses. The storyline truly grabbed my attention, and had me guessing and engaged the whole duration of the movie. The scenery and displays of the movie were also great, and tied into the plot extremely well. I thought that “Anyone but You” was a perfect display of a romantic comedy, and I think many people would enjoy and appreciate this movie just as much as I do!

Out of all of the movies I have seen in the movie theater during 2023, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was the best one. I really enjoyed this movie because I loved the other four Hunger Games movies and I thought this prequel was really good. It tied along so well with the other movies. I now understand why President Snow hates Katniss Everdeen. This movie was really great because the audience got to see President Snow’s life before he became the Capital’s president.  There were so many parallels between the prequel and the other Hunger Games movies that starred Jennifer Lawrence and I thought it was really cool that the producers did that. Although I would’ve liked to see the old cast in this movie, the cast of this one was still great! The songs that were sung in this movie by one of the main characters, Lucy, also made this movie really good. She also sang a song that Katniss sings in one of the old Hunger Games movies so the audience knows that Lucy’s legacy was carried down through the generations. Overall, this was my favorite movie I saw this year and I would definitely recommend that people watch this movie, especially if they enjoyed the other Hunger Games movies.

Coming into the last month of 2023, Anyone but You made quite the impact in box offices. This thrilling and enticing movie had everyone on the edge of their seats for this fiery romantic comedy, taking the audience back into the prime of rom-coms within the 2000s and early 2010s. Modeling after and using inspiration from such films as Easy A and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, this new movie puts this new teenage generation head over heels for the leads, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.

The song that made the movie not only popular but unforgettable was Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield, revisiting the song as a new modern rom-com classic and having fans sing and dance to the song all over social media. The song itself has made its own personal records in the music industry since the release of the movie. The movie itself also revisits the old theme of old Shakespearean love stories told in the modern sense, a lost practice brought back by the amazing director Will Gluck in this comedic setting. Between the electrifying chemistry of the two main leads of the movie, the amazing soundtrack, and the company and commentary of the surrounding cast, this movie has made a lasting impression of the cinematic magic released in 2023.

The Blue Beetle movie was released in 2023, starring Xolo Mariduena. This film is based off of the DC comics revolving around the character Jamie Reyes, also known as Blue Beetle. The main character, Jamie, gained possession of an alien technology, which is referred to as the scarab. As the movie progresses, the scarab binds to Jamie and he becomes the symbiotic host. With this newfound connection, Jamie is gifted powers and a suit that enables him with great strength and other capabilities. I found this movie to be my favorite out of 2023 because of the perfect casting. Each actor brought their characters to life and really conveyed the emotions expressed in the film. It was heartfelt combined with comedy and action. There were also real world issues seen in society today that tied in well with the storyline (such as sexism and mistreatment of the lower class). Overall, the plot was very interesting and detailed but delivered a powerful message about family. 

Out of the many movies I watched this year, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse easily wins to be my favorite. The amount of work put into this movie was outstanding. The character designs and artwork were beautiful and the voice acting was perfect with the amount of emotion in this movie, along with the inclusion of comedy. I loved how the sequel added a great cliffhanger for the next and last movie. The antagonists had great backstories, and explained a lot of why they have their reasons for going against the protagonist, especially, in my opinion, The Spot. The returns of characters from Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, specifically one, were nice to see too. The music in the film also put a nice touch to it. How the producers introduced new characters were creative as they were all different was pretty cool too. Everything about this movie made it worth seeing. 

For children all around the world, Barbie was a toy they grew up loving. Barbie could be anything, and do anything! Whether she was an astronaut, doctor, or flight attendant, the dolls never failed to prove to young girls that they are capable of everything. 

Released on July 21, 2023, the film automatically became a social sensation. The movie was placed in Barbie Land, where Barbie’s perfect life began to transform into human reality. Once she starts having human features and emotions, Barbie makes a trip to the Real World to find the root of her issues. 

Margot Robbie playing as Barbie and Ryan Gosling playing as Ken do a wonderful job of showing true emotion throughout the film. Margot has phenomenal performances while showing viewers the common stereotypes and struggles of women. Barbie went viral on all social media platforms, bringing tears to the audience’s eyes. 

Overall, this movie was filled with heartfelt, creative, and fun scenes. Barbie is surely a movie worth watching. 

2023 was a strong year for movies. Of all the movies I saw this year, my favorite movie was Barbie. The ‘Barbenheimer’ release was very anticipated; these two films took the world by storm, which was amplified by them sharing the same release date. Due to this, Barbie already had a fond place in my heart even before I saw the movie, but my love for it grew after I watched it. There are many things that I love about this movie, but what stands out the most is the love and care that went into the creation of it. The love that all the actors and the director, Greta Gerwig, put into the movie is apparent while watching. Everyone is fully committed to their roles and conveying their message to the audience. I also connected deeply with the content of the movie. Barbie’s story and the exploration of womanhood really resonated with me as a young woman growing up and starting to experience the world. On top of this, the soundtrack to the movie was great. It had a perfect balance of funny, catchy, and emotional songs. Overall, Barbie’s performances, story, and soundtrack made it my favorite movie of the year. 

My personal favorite, and choice for best movie of 2023 is the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Hunger Games is an iconic movie adaptation of the books written by Suzanne Collins. This movie franchise consists of 5 movies, The Hunger Games (2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay  Part 1 (2014), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay  Part 2 (2015) and the newest addition, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The Hunger Games follow the strugglesome story of a young girl, Katniss, in a dystopian and barbaric world. The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes, flips the perspective and displays a glimpse into the past of Coriolanus Snow, the main antagonist of the original movies. It is very difficult for a prequel to be just as good as its prior movies, however TBOSBAS exceeds expectations and is indubitably masterful. The movie does an excellent job at displaying the downfall of Snow while simultaneously manipulating the viewer into blissful unawareness. The movie seamlessly fades from a charismatic, noble, and romantic story to a ruthless and Barbic tale. In addition to the phenomenal plot, the acting, disposition and music choices were impeccable.

Among the many excellent movies of the year 2023, my personal pic for the best is Spiderman: Across the Spider Verse. From eye-popping visuals to its spectacular story, everything about this film made it great. This film isn’t your typical superhero or spiderman movie; it’s so much more. The film is more interpersonal than we typically see for superheroes and focuses heavily on the interconnections between characters and the traumas the characters have faced. There are many great interactions between characters that feel very genuine, especially between Miles and his parents. A large part of this film is really about the relationship between parents and children, especially as kids grow older and choose their own paths. This theme is well executed and makes for a very heartwarming story. 

The visuals, like in the 2019 preceding film Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, are colorful, bright, and very entertaining. The film utilizes a comic-esque animation style and contrasting colors to portray emotion that aids the story and dazzles the viewer with the stunning visuals. The animation is fluid when it needs to be but also utilizes comic still shots at perfect times in the film. The unique visual style helps this film stand out compared to most other mainstream animated films over the last decade or so. As a whole, both the emotion-provoking story and staggering visuals make this my #1 movie of 2023.