Best of 2023: Writer’s picks for the year’s top movies, TV, music, books

MOST of us love to make lists, as well as read other people’s lists of their favourite hobbies and interests, as we all are part of this universal chain where we are linked to each other by our common interests and loves – and pet peeves too, of course!

Being creatures of habit, we usually make our own private lists of our personal favourite films, television series or movies, music and books that we have had the chance to watch, read and listen to over the past 12 months.

I am no different. I always love sharing my lists with family and friends.

So here goes, without further ado, my very personal list of the ‘10 Bests’ (in my humble opinion) in the world of films, television, music and books. I hope that it would also give you an opportunity to look for any of them either not on your list, or indeed you have never heard about.

Some of the titles may not strictly adhere to the 2023 release timeline, as there are some from a year or two back, but which I only manage to see, listen or read now.

Films (and respective directors):

1. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
2. Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)
3. Past Lives (Celine Song)
4. Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)
5. May December (Todd Haynes)
6. Maestro (Bradley Cooper)
7. Passages (Ira Sachs)
8. The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)
9. Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
10. Barbie (Greta Gerwig)

Also, the awards season is coming up, with the Golden Globes nominations having been announced on Dec 11, 2023, in which ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ get nine and eight nominations, respectively.

It must be mentioned that the voting body for the Golden Globes currently numbers 300 who represent 75 countries, ideally making it the most culturally-diverse major awards body.

The 81st Golden Globes Awards will be staged this Jan 8.

On the other hand, the Oscars’ nominations are selected by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.), comprising those who work within the film industry across various categories – from directors to actors to the technical crew. The Academy will announce the nominations for Oscars 2024 this Jan 23, with the awards night to be staged on March 10.

Television (and respective platforms):

1. Succession (HBO)
2. Yellowstone (Peacock)
3. The Crown (Netflix)
4. Slow Horses (Apple TV)
5. Planet Earth III (BBC One)
6. Painkiller (Netflix)
7. The Last of Us (HBO)
8. A Murder at the End of the World (FX)
9. Vigil (BBC One)
10. My People’s Journey (TVS)

It has been a really bumper year for television, made-for-TV movies, series and documentaries – I had to limit myself to just ‘10 Bests’, but could have easily filled up a favourite 25 or even 50 titles.

It is that great a year!

The first three titles were easy shoo-ins and I bet would land on many viewers’ binge-watch lists. That said, the really surprising sleeper hits were (for me at least) ‘Slow Horses’, ‘Vigil’ and ‘The Last of Us’.

Music (the artistes and albums):

1. Neil Young – Before & After
2. Bruce Springsteen – Only the Strong Survive
3. Lana Del Rey – Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
4. Taylor Swift – Midnights
5. Robbie Robertson – Sinematic
6. Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
7. Lucinda Williams – Stories from a Rock n Roll Heart
8. Sufjan Stevens – Javelin
9. Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
10. Jackson Browne – Walking Slow

Four of my all-time favourite musicians had new releases during the year, all proof of them still being very much at the top of their game – even after 45 studio albums, plus 12 live ones, for Neil Young; and over 140 million albums sold for ‘The Boss’!

Lana Del Rey and Brandi Carlile continue to produce really excellent self-penned songs; are both lyrical poets as well as having acute sense of melody and really feeling the pulse of our current times.

I consider Lana as the ‘female Leonard Cohen’ (though not as ‘wrist-slitting’ in her attitude) and Brandi, a future hybrid of Linda Ronstadt and Tanya Tucker.

Books (and respective authors):

1. ‘Taste: My Life Through Food’ by Stanley Tucci
2. ‘Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic’ by Barry Meier
3. ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’ by David Grann
4. ‘The Fraud’ by Zadie Smith
5. ‘The House of Doors’ by Tan Twan Eng
6. ‘Padungan: History & Humanity in a Heritage Precinct of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia’ by James S.L. Yong (with John Soo)
7. ‘Small Mercies’ by Dennis Lehane
8. ‘The Pandemic Century: A History of Global Contagion from the Spanish Flu to Covid-19’ by Mark Honigsbaum
9. ‘The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession’ by Michael Finkel
10. ‘Judgment at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia’ by Gary J. Bass

Yet another prolific year of good books on a wide range of subjects. My personal inclination of late has been a regained interest in history and biography.

Back when I was in my 30s and 40s, I was more into fiction, drama and the lighter topics on lesser meaningful subjects. However as one ages, one seeks for a more sombre and serious attitude towards life in general, and one’s taste in reading follows suit.

So you would notice that there are only three fiction titles in my list. Of the other seven, two were written by local Malaysian writers – one is the acclaimed Tan Twan Eng, a 51-year-old Penangite whose first novel was ‘The Gift of Rain’, published in 2007 to rave reviews globally; and his 2012 book ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’ was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and has been made into a Hollywood movie.

The other is from my good friend from Kuching, James SL Yong (with John Soo) and his superlative volume on the human history of Padungan, a heritage precinct in Sarawak, which he had done extensive research on for many years.

I cannot wait for him to publish his work-in-progress on Kuching’s infamous Kai Joo Lane next.

In conclusion, you dear readers would have noticed that my taste in movies and television, also in music and reading, covers a pretty wide range – call it eccentric or eclectic if you like, but together with a bunch of mainstream titles in all the lists, there are the oddballs as well as the extremely personal favourites.

I hope that for the ones you have never heard of, that you would try and give them a watch, a listen or a read.

We need not have to agree on our own individual tastes of course, but as for all those on my lists, they are all really worth the while.

May I wish you many happy hours of viewing, listening and reading; and as another year comes to a close, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a very happy, prosperous, safe and healthy New Year of 2024.

May the Almighty Lord continue to bless us all with peace, understanding and harmony.