Friday Faves: 2023 Movies & TV

Welcome to The Enthusiast, a newsletter for those who fall in love with everything and everyone. Every week(ish) I send love notes about the people, places and things I'm loving, from the latest in pop culture to random esoteric ephemera–all personally vetted and highly recommended by yours truly.

On Fridays, we talk about faves–so here are the movies and TV I loved from 2023, since I kind of missed the whole "end of year wrap-up" window that closed two months ago... 😬 Let's go!

Favorite Movie of 2023 (That Wasn't Barbie): Saltburn

Okay so, real talk: I’ve been a low-key Barry Keoghan stan since his incredible performance in the already-stacked and extremely stressful 2019 Chernobyl limited series. And this was *after* he creeped me out as a maladjusted little curse-casting twerp in the bizarre Killing of a Sacred Deer and before his Oscar-nominated turn as a slightly more well-adjusted but simple-minded and ill-fated twerp in The Banshees of Inisherin. He's also in woefully few episodes of Apple's new WWII aviation drama Masters of the Air, played an intriguing cameo in the most recent Batman movie, and was apparently in a Marvel movie, too? Regardless of all that, Saltburn is what you need to see to understand his weird lil' guy appeal.

And make no mistake: our boy Barry is absolutely the main reason you should see this movie. His ability to shift from sad sack loser to sexual blackmailer to unrepentant ender of legacies is a sight to behold, and his incredible physicality is one of the rawest and realest elements of his performance—yes, right down to his triumphant dance number at the end you may have heard about (not to mention the bathtub scene and the gravesite scene). The supporting cast is pretty great, too, but it’s the relentlessly snarky script and opulent design & cinematography that enhance Keoghan’s performance, again, with a tactile, visceral feel. 

Is Saltburn as good as Barbie? Absolutely not, but where Barbie was the emotional center of the 2023 cinematic universe, Saltburn could be its horny little satellite streaking across the screen to literally devour the rich in the most deliciously deviant ways. And I will never, ever watch Saltburn in the same room as my mother, thanks.

Runner Up: Bottoms

I took way too long to watch the delightfully queer teen sex comedy starring twenty-somethings (including The Bear's Golden Globe & Emmy award winner Ayo Edebri), but my life was all the more enriched and my face sore from laughing after. Strong Clueless vibes with a dash of Heathers darkness and a wholly modern sense of unhinged chaos, constant pottymouth dialogue and two loser lesbians who just want to feel up on some other girls in the name of women’s self-defense, thanks. Also: Marshawn Lynch is in it, as a teacher of all things, and he's GREAT. Be warned, though: this is another one to never watch with a parent in the room, too.

Favorite Series of 2023: Poker Face

I've already waxed rhapsodic about Beef and The Bear S2, and while I (surprisingly!) enjoyed The Last of Us, Poker Face was by far the most perfect confluence of writing, film craft, and incredible characters put to streaming in 2023. I am all the way here for the life-changing magic of Natasha Lyonne’s recent resurgence, and teaming her up with filmmaker & show creator Rian Johnson is clearly a match made in prestige dramedy procedural heaven. 

Lyonne’s quirky, bullshit-detecting drifter Charlie is the kind of character you can’t help but love and that you also kind of what to be when you grow up—who wouldn’t  want to be a smart-ass on the lam in shorts, cowboy boots, Lebowski sweaters, and aviator sunglasses, solving crimes and meting out ironic justice wherever she goes? (Okay, okay, maybe the whole getting chased across the southwest by casino gangsters bit might not be so fun...) Not only does Lyonne shine, but the roster of guest stars is some next level shit: Benjamin Bratt in hot pursuit! Chloe Sevigny as the dirty rockstar she’s always needed to be! Adrien Brody as the tacky casino scumbag we’ve always known him to be! Clea Duvall! Ron Perlman! Judith Light! Jameela Jamil! Tim Blake Nelson! Ellen Barkin! Charles Melton! Stephanie Hsu! S. Epatha Muh’fuckin Merkerson!!!

Poker Face was immediately (and rightfully) picked up for a second season, and while the gang in the writing room, there’s no word on when it will air—I’m guessing early 2025, given the level of detail and love put into every episode of the first season. And with Rian Johnson at the helm, you know it’s going to be smart, sneaky, and maybe even a little sensitive. The hubs & I have been fans since his 2005 debut Brick (2012’s Looper remains one of his favorite movies, and The Last Jedi as the only watchable installment of the modern Skywalker trilogy [ennealogy?] is a hill I will gladly die on), and we can’t wait to see where he and Lyonne take our intrepid investigator next.

Runner Up: Reservation Dogs S03

There's a reason Reservation Dogs appeared in the very first issue of The Enthusiast, all the way back in August 2022: it's one of the best shows I've watched in a very long time. Reservation Dogs ended with its third season in 2023–which means you can now stream the complete series, and I cannot impress enough upon you that you should go watch the whole thing in its entirety if you haven’t already. Like, I am literally begging you, for your own good and for the good of humanity: watch this show.

Grief, vengeance, evolving childhood friendships, absent vs. overbearing parents, finding your place in the world—all of it hits home in the final season without darkening the overall joyful tone of this show that demonstrates just how impactful and important it is to see Native voices telling Native stories. Not only do you begin to understand the uniqueness of their experience, but you can also feel the threads that connect us as human beings on this earth. Love, death, growth, family, friendship, modern life, mental health... There's truly something for everyone in Reservation Dogs, and everyone should experience it.

📺 Quick Links: Stuff to Watch

• 🤩 J.Lo dropped the visual companion to her new album This is Me...Now and you bet your ass I've already watched it in full and can't wait for part three of the saga, a documentary about the making of this magnum opus, dropping next week.
• 🕵🏻 The Millennial-ized reboot of Mr. & Mrs. Smith is already leading the pack for my 2024 faves–more on that, and Maya Erskine's wardrobe to come in the very near future!
• 👗 AppleTV's historical fashion drama The New Look dives into the necessity of creativity in dark times without shying away from Coco Chanel's Nazi connections. Claes Bang (last seen as The Prick in Bad Sisters) continues his streak of being evilly hot as her Nazi-associate lover.
• 🤣 Curb Your Enthusiasm has returned for its "final" season–I'll believe it when it happens–and our OG misanthrope king Larry is in full effect. Good LORD I hope he includes the 2021 Martha's Vineyard Dershowitz Affair somewhere this season, because that would be pretty, pretty, pret-tay great.
• 👀 While I have no desire to watch the latest installment of Ryan Murphy's Feud series, Chloe Sevigny is out here giving interviews with instantly iconic pull quotes like:

"Everybody’s in Lululemon and has a fucking dog and it’s driving me crazy. I’m sorry, dog lovers. There are too many of you."

Thus concludes this edition of The Enthusiast! Thank you for reading and if you're not already subscribed, you should sign up (it's free!). Be sure confirm via email link to receive it direct to your Inbox every week. If you're already a fan, forward this newsletter along to a friend and spread the love!

Subscribers get access to all previous posts AND the 2022 & 2023 Enthuasist Indices, with every single recommendation ever shared, organized neatly and specifically by category. Stay tuned for Sunday Stuff and part deux of 2023 Faves: Music Edition coming next Friday!

Yours in Love and Original IP,
LKH