2023: Best and Worst of the Year Awards
It’s that time of year again — that time for the year to be over! I can only hope that 2024 will be filled with as many great movies, TV shows, and video games as this past one was, because when it came to all three categories 2023 really delivered. Let’s take a look at some of the best (and worst) from the past 12 months.
MOVIES
I watched a lot of movies in 2023, but many of them weren’t originally released this past year. As such, I needed to determine whether or not to include non-2023 movies in this post.
Ultimately, I think of this article as more of a look back at all of the media I’ve reviewed on the What Jeff Watched website, and not just 2023-only awards. After all, I didn’t see all of the movies released this year (or even half of them) so it wouldn’t be fair to name a “Best Movie” winner there. As luck would have it though, I did watch all of the movies featured on this site in 2023, so when it comes to handing out an award for “Movies Jeff Watched in 2023,” I’m perfectly qualified.
In last year’s version of this article, I brought up that I rated only two movies over all of 2022 a score higher than an 8/10, and I didn’t give a single movie a perfect score. This year was quite different. In part because of the series that I’m working on, Reviewing the Best Movies Ever Made, I’ve watched a lot of great films in 2023.
When it comes to movies written up since January 2023, 14 films have rated an 8.5/10 or better. I also awarded three 10/10s – the first movies to achieve perfect scores on this website.
Best Recent Movie: Aftersun
Released in 2022, Aftersun is a beautiful emotional exploration about how we try to reconcile how we remember a period of time and what we were feeling then with what was actually going on in the mind of someone else. The movie centers on Sophie, now an adult, as she thinks back to a trip she took with her father when she was 11 years old. Though I don’t think this is a movie everyone will enjoy, it’s a finely crafted work of art and a fantastic feature-length directorial debut from Charlotte Wells.
“Reviewing the Best Movies Ever Made” Perfect Scores: The Shawshank Redemption & Schindler’s List
The two top scoring movies in my series on watching the best reviewed films ever were actually released within a year of one another (1993/94). Both are perfect films that feel timeless, though they’re sort of on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as the “enjoyability” factor is concerned.
The Shawshank Redemption is a crowd-pleasing tale of redemption. While part of the story of Schindler’s List is also about how a man redeems himself, its subject matter makes it a difficult and painful watch. That’s not to say that it’s not still fantastically done. While I still have several more films in the series to review, these have been the best of the bunch so far.
Best Horror Movie: The Babadook
I watched a lot of newer horror movies and re-watched a good amount of horror classics in 2023. While my favorite recent horror movie was 2022’s The Menu, 2014’s The Babadook reigned supreme as the best movie in the genre written up on What Jeff Watched. This is the rare horror film that boasts an excellent story in addition to holding up as genuinely scary.
Worst Overall Movie: Beau Travail
Who would’ve thought that my absolute least favorite film would come from the Best Movies Ever Made series? Beau Travail is a pretentious, artsy French mess and a slog of a film. I don’t think I could be paid enough to sit through this disaster again.
Worst Recent Release: Sharper & Luther: The Fallen Son (Tie)
It’s a tie between two streaming juggernauts, Apple and Netflix, for who gets to take home the prize of worst 2023 release. Both these stinkers are movies that believe they’re lightyears better than they actually are; these stylized “thrillers” are filled with plot holes and twists that don’t make sense.
Most Disappointing Movie: Raging Bull
Sure, a lot of films scored lower than this one, but Raging Bull was probably the film I was most disappointed in. There are a lot of problematic elements of this movie that make it not hold up at all today. If you want a boxing movie, just watch Rocky. If you want a Martin Scorsese movie, watch Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, or The Departed. Skip this one.
TELEVISION
I watched a lot of very solid TV shows in 2023 that I’d definitely recommend. There was only one show that was truly fantastic.
Best Overall Show: A Small Light
This National Geographic 10-episode series tells the true story of Miep Gies, a woman who played a major role hiding the Frank Family in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. This is definitely one of the best shows that I’ve seen in recent years. While it’s not an easy watch for obvious reasons, A Small Light is definitely a worthwhile and important one.
Best Ongoing Show: Silo
This was a really hard category for me as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and From are both also great ongoing shows. When it comes to what I’d be most excited for when another season comes out though, Silo squeaks out the win. It’s a very different type of science fiction show with an engrossing mystery at the heart of it.
Most Pleasantly Surprising Show: The Last Kingdom
The entire five season run of The Last Kingdom is currently on Netflix and it’s one of the most bingeable shows I’ve ever watched. This is a largely fun, feel-good show that’s incredibly consistent throughout all its seasons.
Worst Show: You (Season 1)
I’m always on the lookout for shows with more than one season to watch, and I don’t mind the occasional guilty pleasure-type series. Unfortunately, You is devoid of pleasure with a nonsensical plot and totally unlikeable characters.
VIDEO GAMES
This year, I decided to start writing video game reviews on What Jeff Watched, and I couldn’t have picked a better time to do so. 2023 might have been the best year for me in terms of just how good the games I played were, as I completed a handful of game on my favorite console, the Nintendo Switch.
Note that there will be no worst game of the year award. I have a five hour rule where if I don’t enjoy a game after five hours, I stop playing it totally!
Best Overall Game: Sea of Stars
I was never a huge fan of the 16-bit art style in games before playing Sea of Stars. My opinion definitely changed over my playthrough of what I believe is the best game of the year. The look of Sea of Stars adds a certain charm and heartfelt feel to a fantastic RPG, complete with an interesting turn-based combat system and an emotional, great story.
Runner-Up: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
While I also enjoyed Hogwarts Legacy and Super Mario RPG, Tears of the Kingdom edged out those titles. Tears of the Kingdom is an open-world masterpiece. I’m not sure there’s another game out there I could play for over 120 hours and feel like I’ve still got more to accomplish.