While most of us are probably a little too addicted to our screens for TV binging, movie streaming, and video gaming, it's also true that their entertaining diversions help us stay sane in the mad, mad, mad, mad world in which we live. With that in mind, we've gathered some of the stories from the pages of the Inlander that helped us contextualize the highs and lows on the big and small screens.
- Any discussion of pop culture in 2023 must include the phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. The release of both Barbie and Oppenheimer on July 21 had people flooding cineplexes once again. The pizzaz of Barbie led it to easily be the top box office earner of 2023, while folks also turned out enough to make Oppenheimer's period drama a top 5 box office hit of the year (Christopher Nolan's brand is strong).
Our Barbie review highlighted its vibrant visuals and subversive nature (editor's note: the star ranking is way too low!), while we also suggested some pitches for other Mattel movies that will assuredly be made in Barbie's wake.
For Oppenheimer, we examined the fascinating career of star Cillian Murphy and our review recognized the quality filmmaking but took issue with the muddled courtroom drama the movie becomes.
- The other most unavoidable pop culture entity of the year was one Ms. Taylor Swift. Those who weren't able to catch the pop superstar's blockbuster Eras Tour in person flooded theaters when the concert film version of the show hit the big screen.
- The biggest story in local movie news was undoubtedly the release of Dreamin' Wild, the biopic about the unlikely success of Fruitland's Donnie and Joe Emerson decades after home recording an album on the family farm. We caught up with Donnie and Nancy Emerson to dig into what it's like having your life portrayed on the silver screen, and also highlighted the familial heart of the film in our review.
- The year marked a huge anniversary for Spokane film lovers — the Spokane-set romcom Benny & Joon turned 30. In addition to packed screenings at the Garland, the community celebrated with everything from museum displays to special boba tea drinks. (In other anniversary news, we waxed nostalgic about Talking Heads' classic concert film Stop Making Sense and George Lucas' pre-Star Wars hit American Graffiti.)
- We headed out to Airway Heights to check out Studio A, the new massive double soundstage facility that's already been used to shoot TV shows and sci-fi movies with much more to come on the horizon: Hopefully injecting new life into the Spokane film production industry.
- While it didn't end up capturing the Game of the Year Award (that went to Baldur's Gate 3), there's no denying that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the most hyped video game of 2023. And as our review can attest... it fully delivered.
- Spokane's own Sydney Sweeney took futher steps on her potential path to being a bona fide A-lister, starring in the raunchy romcom Anyone But You (in theaters now) and taking a dramatic role playing the titular character in Reality, the HBO film about classified documents leaker Reality Winner.
- Thanks to good buzz, Gonzaga grad Rob Grabow was able to take The Year of the Dog, his small independent film about addiction and the compassion of animals, to big screens across the country.
- The start of the year saw the coronation of one of the more improbable Oscar titans - Everything Everywhere All at Once. We wrestled with why the film resonated so deeply in our hyper-digital ADD age.
- Another Oscar standout - All Quiet on the Western Front - led to a reflection on if we've fully entered an era of war movie fatigue.
- Hollywood's new obsession with multiverse movies became ever more clear, which isn't exactly a wonderful thing (though Across the Spider-Verse still rules).
- Spokane International Film Fest once again offered up a diverse palate of cinema that one simply cannot find at the multiplexes. (We also trekked over to Seattle to see some standouts at Seattle International Film Fest.)
- While the Scream franchise now looks DOA - with Scream 7's stars and directors departing in droves after the studio fired Melissa Barrera for speaking out against Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza - we can still remember the good times via our extensive breakdown of which of the horror franchise's boyfriends are most murderable.
- We ventured down to Vegas to see if the Sphere will be the future of cinema. (Spoiler: Probably not.)
- You will probably not read anything intentionally dumber in 2023 than when we reviewed the smash hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie as if it were 1993's tremendously awful Super Mario Bros.
- It should go without saying that our critics reviewed a ton of movies.
Some highlights?
Past Lives, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Killers of the Flower Moon, Anatomy of a Fall, Maestro, The Boy and the Heron, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Suzume, Eileen, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Bottoms, Godzilla Minus One, Priscilla, The Royal Hotel, Dumb Money, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.
Some lowlights?
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Fast X, Mafia Mamma, Jesus Revolution, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Next Goal Wins, The Little Mermaid, Gran Turismo, Wonka, The Creator, The Boys in the Boat.
- In big - and ongoing - local news, the Garland Theater has been sold to real estate developer Jordan Tampien. The theater will close at the start of 2024, but hopefully will be open again by February or March. Keep reading the Inlander for more updates to the story of the Garland's future as they develop...
- And, of course, our film reviewing crew shared their personal Top 10 lists to highlight the best films of 2023. Check 'em out. Maybe you'll find a cinematic gem you missed.
