my 2023 wrapped
octavia's favorites from the year
this is a list of all the movies, music and pop culture i loved this year. separated by new (2023) and old (<2022)
a couple of things before we start - i think we should all look at these lists as an individual’s standouts for the year. there’s been too much discourse online like ‘oh why didn’t you include this album’ or ‘ew a marvel movie’ but i think the beauty of pop culture is that in an ideal world - everyone’s lists should be different and unique. everyone’s year was different and projects can resonate differently for everyone.
Now, keep in mind that I did not watch enough of new 2023 TV to make a list and there’s several anticipated releases for me that I haven’t watched yet like The Boy and the Heron, Poor Things, etc.
THE NEW
Movies
Polite Society, dir. Nida Manzoor
Action comedy is a genre I think too many people don’t get right. I feel like they’ve replaced the rom-com for the go-to cheap & easy studio movie. However, this film presents something so NEEDED, fun, and a genre mashup galore that works excellently all around. At the heart of it is the love between two sisters which keeps the plot grounded. There’s a bit of Hong Kong action, classic Bollywood dances, even a little western in there as well. I think its a fantastic teen action movie and overall a great diverse addition to the coming of age genre. I also just felt very seen in my own relationship with my younger sister.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, dir. Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers
Everyone’s talked about this one so much and as a ‘Miles is MY Spiderman girlie’ what more can I say. The tackling of ‘canon event’ is such a great concept for his Spider-Man journey. It feels like a direct call out to comic fans who’ve been trying to undermine Miles’ status as Spider-Man, the ones who just can’t get the message of these movies is that anyone can be under the mask. My major point I want to argue is to everyone who says this movie is ‘half’ a film. 1. YOU’RE WRONG! 2. It would be like saying Empire Strikes Back is half a film.
I think what trips people up is the perspective shift. Last film, it was strictly Miles’ POV. This film we see Miles and Gwen given almost equal amount of time storywise. Gwen is still learning to let people in from what we saw in Spider-Verse 1. In this film, we see her fear ends up hurting her relationship with Miles. By the end of the movie, I think that her arc is more followed through from the first movie til now which makes it feel more round circle and complete in comparison to Miles. However, Miles still develops in this film, learning about being an ‘anomaly’ and choosing to do things in his own way. His journey is encapsulated by his mother telling him to “never let anyone feel like he doesn’t belong.” I still feel like we got a complete story from beginning to end, and the ending on a cliffhanger/high note signifies the both of them taking what they’ve learned from this movie to move forward.
Rye Lane, dir. Raine Allen Miller
For my favorite of the year, it had to be Rye Lane. Rom-coms & romance drama movies are a newer genre for me to love & discover. I’m still recovering from the ‘not like other girls’ effect in my teen years. Just in general, I tend to be picky with the two genres. Sometimes I love the classic ones and sometimes they’re just not my thing. If there was a movie to represent what I do love about a rom-com that was so important to me this year, it was Rye Lane.
I am fan of the British humor. The film embraces a very lover girl energy that I’ve been embracing for this year. It’s rare to see two amazing dark-skinned leads in the romance genre, it gave me so much hope to see a black WLW rom-com on this level one day. I especially love that this is a film where the events take over one day, one of my favorite tropes and it just makes that electrified chemistry even more addicting to see. I really loved the lunch scene with the exes, represents everything unique that I loved about this film.
Honorable Mentions
Talk to Me
The Blackening
They Cloned Tyrone
Bottoms
May December
Music
The Hills - Rachel Chinouriri (s)
Hills is another representation of my middle school emo coming out. This song especially I love her vocal delivery & the lyrics. It’s basically about being homesick and my interpretation of like imposter syndrome. I love finding more black women in rock and Rachel is just one of the many that I listened to this year. I really think in the next years we’re going to see a major rock renaissance in the mainstream which I’m totally here for.
GUTS - Olivia Rodrigo (a)
Now I loved SOUR, Olivia came out swinging. But the songs that I personally loved the most were the ones that embraced that pop-punk sound. Now, imagine my surprise when I cut on GUTS and this album turned out to be this Y2K pop-punk, soft grunge, Alanis Morrisette creation. Olivia’s lyrics really hits hard to me, it really speaks to the fears & hopes of my generation. It definitely heals my inner teen, high school me would have LOVED this album. Olivia is truly here to stay as a pop icon. Overall, I think this album just took what I really loved on SOUR and turned it up to 10 and I definitely would love to see this one on tour. My favorite song is Pretty isn’t Pretty and others are Get Him Back, Lacy, All-American Bitch, and Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl.
Jaguar II - Victoria Monet (a)
Victoria has been such an underappreciated, small gem in the music world for a while now. I think she’s been black famous for a minute but Jaguar II I think is the start to her really making it in the mainstream world. On My Mama was such a great song, a great tribute to 2000s southern culture and the ATL music scene at the time. It was addicting and easily my song of the summer. The album is a genre exploration within R&B and also sticking to the 70s roots of a lot of Victoria’s music. I mean the Earth, Wind and Fire collab is a pure example of this. I honestly can’t even tell you my favorite track because each song has been on my rotation constantly this year. Smoke is definitely up there for most overplayed because of course its the go-to smoke session song. One of the things that’s bonded me and my college friends has been Jaguar I so being able to see her on tour this year was a highlight and I can’t wait for more Victoria in the future.
Honorable Mentions
Bewitched - Laufey (a)
MORE - The Warning (s)
Unreal Unearth - Hozier (a)
Age of Pleasure - Janelle Monae (a)
Can I Call You Rose - Thee Sacred Souls (s)
THE OLD
Movies
12 Angry Men, dir. Sidney Lumet
I watched this one at the beginning of the year so the exact details I definitely haven’t remembered it all. However, this was my first black & white movie of the year, its what encouraged me to get a Criterion subscription. I love a one location based episode or movie, I think it just breeds innovation and creativity in a project. It’s also just the best way to create tension when all your characters are stuck together in one place.
12 Angry Men is honestly one of the best examples of the trope. I also think its a great movie to watch now given the current political climate. Writing this, there’s definitely a commentary of McCarthyism and lynch mob mentality in all three of these picks so don’t know what that says about where my mind has been this year haha.
The Thing, dir. John Carpenter
October, I spent a lot of time exploring the horror genre. Along with Romance, horror has been a new genre for me in the past 5 years. With this movie I definitely went in skeptical. I’ve heard about the VFX being renounced but I didn’t think it would age well. See Monster movies are a finnicky thing with me. I associate monster movies with B-list movies that show on Sy-Fy like Mega Piranha or Anaconda 3 that my parents LOVED when I was growing up. However, the Thing is nothing like that at all.
It’s honestly this slightly sci-fi, whodunit story that slowly just unravels the characters as time progresses. I remember watching it and saying ‘if this has an ambigious ending, this will be 10/10’ and it got to that last scene and i audibly cheered. Movies are always a great reflection of society’s thoughts at a time and I think horror and sci-fi/fantasy are great genres to explore our fears and political worries especially. The practical effects prove to have definitely aged well. I would love to see big budget films balance practical & VFX more in today’s industry.
Odds and Ends, dir. Michelle Parkerson
If you don’t know about the Criterion Collection, its one of the best streaming services that’s actually worth your money. They have a great selection of indie, global, and student films out there, all the auteur filmmakers love the app. It’s also great if you love director’s commentaries, behind-the-scenes stuff. I would not be able to really channel my ever-growing relationship with film if it weren’t for this app.
Which is what lead me to my number 1 pick this year, Odds and Ends, a student film from 1993. This is an AMBITIOUS project, with a limited budget tackling an Afro-futurist world in the future where a space race war is occurring. The political themes it captures, a WLW relationship for the lead, and showcasing even in the future the black community still has to deal with diaspora war was done so effectively. This film is just the perfect example of if i were to make movies, this is the kind of stuff I would like to make. I absolutely loved it and I think this film also speaks to state of American film for Black & POC voices. Imagine what this director could do with a bigger budget and team backing them up.
Honorable Mentions
The Craft
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Punks
Roman Holiday
Lego Batman Movie (not 1st time, just forgot how perfect of a Batman movie it is)
Music
Avatar: the Last Airbender (Musical Score) - Jeremy Zuckerman (a)
If you know me this shouldn’t be surprising, Avatar is my favorite tv series of all time. I could rewatch it any time of day and its music is easily one of my favorite scores ever. I watched a video with the composer, Jeremy Zuckerman, and his journey of re-recording the soundtrack. He talked about the resources he had during its initial airing to get the cultural instruments the show needed. He mentioned the album is a mashup of the original files and the re-recording but personally it sounds completely the same as it does on the show. I don’t hear the difference at all. If you’re any type of band nerd/instrumental person, love hearing this as ambiance in the background when I’m working or doing chores.
I Don’t Wanna Be the Last to Know - Shelmar (s)
I went through a big soul, funk, 70s R&B phase in my music listening this year. Isley Brothers, Luther Vandross, etc. I blame Victoria Monet’s album. If I had to single out one song as like my favorite on this journey, it would be this song. It just represents everything I love in music. It feels like the bare minimum to celebrate in a song but like it has verses, pre-chorus, a BRIDGE, and a FADE OUT ah so classic. I’m not one those oldheads that just hates on newer music but one music trend I especially dislike is the normalization of 2 minute songs, that’s not really an issue for 70s music. I love the instrumentation of this era of music, I love psychedelic sounds especially the funky piano and synths, the way they build and layer in this song. If you decide check this one out and it sounds familiar, you may also know the song that sampled this one - Bring It All To Me - Blaque feat NSYNC (really just JC if we’re being honest)
3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul (a)
This album easily takes the number 1 older album for me because De La Soul is one of my favorite rap groups. Their music wasn’t on streaming until THIS YEAR making this overdue. Its truly a hippie rap album, if the album art didn’t give it away. It has this surrealist, rap jazz sound with clever sample uses and my personal favorites are: Me, Myself and I, Jenifa Taught Me, Change in Speak, and obviously The Magic Number. When the latter got used in Spider-Man: No Way Home, I knew that would be the push to get it on streaming and they deserve it. It’s such a classic, RIP to Trugoy the Dove, one of the members who passed away this year.
Honorable Mentions
Baby Be Mine - Michael Jackson (s)
B’Day - Beyonce (a)
Never Too Much - Luther Vandross (a)
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder (a)
Other Favorites of the Year
Baldur’s Gate 3
From the moment I heard about this one, I knew it would be GOTY. This game is such a great testament to what true game development should be. A creative vision that took years to come to fruition and a dedication to the fans that many triple A gaming companies should learn from. I absolutely the customization, the gameplay is so fun to explore & figure out your playing style, with great narrative storytelling done at its finest. I was looking for a gateway into Dungeons & Dragons and this was SO it for me.
Smosh
The very last thing I loved this year which represents my peak zillennial side at its finest. When it comes to Youtube, Smosh was one of the first Youtubers I ever subscribed to. I’ve kept up with them through the Games & Pit channel primarily throughout the years. However, Anthony and Ian coming back together this year seems to have invigorated a new spark in the entire company making this such a great year to be a fan of them. I also have to shout-out to all the crew who were there with Ian before, they went through some rough spots with the people who owned Smosh before Rhett & Link so super excited they were own it once again! I think its hard to find a ensemble cast on Youtube where everyone really carries. So big love to Shayne, Damien, Amanda, Jackie (sad to see her leave), Courtney, and Araysha, and Chanse - you’re doing great!
I hope you all enjoyed this end of year list, hopefully next year I do better about watching more new TV but I find keeping up with streaming TV so overwhelming.
I’m super excited to continue posting on here and hope everyone is enjoying what they read!
Make sure to follow me on my socials and see you all in the New Year!