My 2023 Year In Film: A Letterboxd Recap
2023 was a pretty good film year for me. I watched 20 more films than in 2022, and according to Letterboxd, I spent 89.5 hours of the year watching movies, which is approximately 3.7 days. My viewing habits have improved tremendously since 2022.
My Letterboxd sats
Paramount Pictures
I have watched 45 films, which averages to about 3.8 films per month or 0.9 films per week. My most watched film was M3GAN, which I saw three times - once in theaters, once on Peacock, and once on a flight from Rome to New York. It was my top film of the year. Drama is my favorite genre; I watched 19 films in this category. Of the 45 films I watched, 43 were from the United States.
The theme for the year was quite interesting. My top movie theme was emotional and captivating fantasy storytelling, which I wouldn't have thought to describe most of the films I watched last year by this. Still, interestingly, that has been the only genre I have been reading lately.
Thirty-two films were not released in 2023, while I only watched 13 films released in 2023. Thirty-one of my movies were first-time watches, and the other 14 were rewatched.
It's not surprising that Adam Driver was my top actor, as I watched five of his films - Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker, Marriage Story, and 65. On the other hand, I was surprised to find that Michelle Rodriguez was my top actress, as I watched four of her films, including Fast X, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, The Fate of the Furious, and Furious 7.
Top director was a four-way tie between Greta Gerwig, Wes Anderson, Rian Johnson, and J.J Abrams.
month by month
January
Universal Pictures
I started the year by watching Rian Johnson’s murder mystery Knives Out just after midnight. Throughout the month, I watched Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Menu, The Woman King, The Power of the Dog, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and M3GAN. My top film from this month has to be M3GAN. I wouldn’t say I like horror movies, so I was apprehensive about this once but forced myself to see it in theaters and never would have thought it would end up as my top film of the year. I even wrote a post analyzing Gemma’s motives for creating M3GAN.
The Power of the Dog was a stand out this month. Although I am not a fan of Westerns, I did enjoy this story of masculinity within a masculine genre.
The Menu is a fascinating film that I had heard a lot of hype about. However, when I watched it for the first time, I did not understand or enjoy it. But I decided to give it another chance and watched it again on my flight from New York to Amsterdam. I finished it on my flight from Rome to New York, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. The message of the movie is dark but very well done.
February
20th Century Studios
As a Glee child and Frozen apologist, I became a fan of Jonathan Groff. So naturally, Knock at the Cabin was my first film of the month, and I followed this by watching Disobedience, The Devil Wears Prada, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, M3GAN, and Tully.
I can't believe it took me so long to finally watch The Devil Wears Prada. It's such a good movie, and I share a name with the character Andy. Meryl Streep's performance was excellent, and watching Andy search for a job hit a little too close to home.
Disobedience has been on my watch list since its release in 2017. While I enjoyed the storyline of religious trauma, I was caught off guard by the spit play scene, which no one had warned me about.
(Disclaimer: We do not kink shame in this house)
march
Sony Pictures
In March, I watched two movies on the same day that were quite different from each other. Although I'm not a fan of dinosaur movies, I decided to watch 65 at the theater because I love Adam Driver. Surprisingly, I liked it and even shed some tears at the end. Later that day, I revisited my all-time favorite movie, Tár, with my parents. They were curious about why I loved it and wanted to watch a film featuring Cate Blanchett. I rewatched Puss in Boots, The Menu, and M3GAN for the rest of the month.
April
Netflix
This month was calm as I rewatched Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Marriage Story.
may
Walt Disney Studios
Watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and sobbed.
June
Focus Features
June was an exciting month. I watched Where'd You Go, Bernadette (and developed a fascination with Antartica), and Ingrid Goes West for the first time. Later, I went to Disney World for Hollywood Studios After Hours and had a Star Wars marathon at Pop Century Resort. During my stay, I watched Revenge of the Sith, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker.
Near the end of the month, I watched Asteroid City, the first Wes Anderson film I have ever seen. Initially, I thought the film was just okay, but after watching it a second time later in the year, I loved it.
July
Warner Bros.
I watched a strange blend of movies in July, including Furious 7, Barbie, and The Fate of the Furious. Though I enjoyed Furious 7, I must admit that I liked The Fate of the Furious more. The action sequences were great, and the editing in all the Fast and Furious movies I have seen is superb.
Barbie is my second favorite film of the year. As I mentioned in my Barbie post, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie and the character of Ken. In all seriousness, this film turned me into a Ryan Gosling fan, and now I want to watch more of his movies.
September
Searchlight Pictures
During my first cruise, I discovered a channel that broadcasted various movies around the clock. I ended up watching Notes on a Scandal, Five Feet Apart, and We Bought a Zoo.
Going from Five Feet Apart, which was emotionally intense, to Notes on a Scandal, which had a VERY different subject matter, almost gave me whiplash.
October
Taylor Swift Productions
As a Taylor Swift fan, I took out a loan to watch Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters. I also saw the tour live in May (RIP my wallet) and plan to write a post about the film because it feels like an actual movie and, quite honestly, was the best concert I have ever seen.
I was 30,000 feet above the Atlantic on Halloween and watched Fast X, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Asteroid City. I enjoyed Fast X, but I may be biased because it was based in Rome and London, two places I had unexpectedly traveled to last year. I am also a sucker for a psychopathic and flamboyant villain.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was so much fun to watch. As a fan of Critical Role, I attended the Cast of Critical Role Panel at MCM Comic-Con London,
and also put in almost 40 hours into Baldur's Gate 3 at the time, so I was really looking forward to watching this film. I hope they make a sequel.
November
Walt Disney Studios
I only watched The Marvels in November, and I enjoyed it. Was it the best movie I have ever seen? No, but it was fun. There was a lot I did not like about it, but I thought the action sequences were very well done, and I like the character's dynamics with eachother. Also, when Kamala said, “Captain, oh Captain,” I related to her on a personal level.
December
A24
I ended the year watching films with…. very interesting subject matter. May December, Call Me by Your Name, The Kindergarten Teacher, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Lady Bird, Barbie, and Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour were my watches of the month.
When I watched May December, I didn’t know what it was about, and as I said in my post, I thought her husband was her son at first. Staying in the same out-of-pocket subject matter, I watched Call Me By Your Name for the first time since 2017 and sobbed at the end. Lady Bird was my favorite film of the month.
Looking Ahead
Overall, 2023 was a great film year for me. M3GAN and Barbie came out on top, while Quantuamania and Disobedience were some of my least favorite films.
2024 is looking interesting. I look forward to watching movies I missed in theaters last year, like Bottoms, and going to the theaters to see Love Lies Bleeding, Deadpool and Wolverine, Borderlands, and LEE.
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I'm Andrea, a travel content creator from NYC. If you are considering visiting the world's most sought-after travel destinations, need tips and recommendations, or are looking for the latest film reviews, you are in the right place. Join me as I share my passion for cinema and exploration.