A look back at a year that gave us everything from pregnant Riri at the Super Bowl to Barbenheimer, let’s look back at all the moments we enjoyed during our girl dinners.

The last time I wrote a year-in-review, it was about the year 2019. I talked about how awful the year was and mentioned how 2020 could not get any worse. Since then, we’ve had a pandemic, a nationwide quarantine, this crime against music, a president impeached twice, an insurrection at the Capitol Building, some devastating blows to civil rights, Kanye went full Nazi, and we’re a few decisions away from World War 3. So I guess I was a bit wrong about how things couldn’t get worse, but at least Fazoli’s came back.

Best Sports Moment of the Year

This past year we had the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, the Nuggets won the NBA Finals, I won our long-running fantasy football championship (not going to talk about this past weekend though,) and someone probably won the World Series for baseball. None of this matters. Your Orlando Magic are 19-12, top 4ish in the Eastern Conference, and have two cornerstones in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. These two have the capabilities to become perennial all-stars for years to come, and best of all, their games complement each other. They are three-level scorers, and they are super young.

The future is bright in the “City Beautiful,” the NBA has been put on notice. Orlando is just one pure shooter away from being a true threat for an NBA title. True fans have waited a long time for this. Finally, we’re closer to titles than we are to tanking.

Best TV Shows of the Year

We’re going to do this Mount Rushmore style, meaning we’re going with a top 4. I do want to give a special shoutout to Party Down, which was revivified after its unceremonious cancellation in 2010. It wasn’t perfect, but it was so great to see my favorite catering crew back together.

4. Survivor (CBS/Paramount+)

First in the Thomas Jefferson spot on Rushmore is my dream scenario of my 30’s, Survivor. Seasons 44 and 45 came out this year. The “New Era” has had its ups and downs, but these two seasons were in the upper echelon of the 40’s. Season 44 featured a trio of underdogs banding together, and flipping the game resulting in the super likable Yam Yam winning the million. Much more important is Season 45, which FINALLY brought back The Survivor Auction. Few things on TV are as satisfying as watching hungry people vibrate at a higher frequency from spending 200 dollars on French Fries and a Coke.

3. The Last of US (HBO/Max)

In George Washington’s spot, we have a dandy of a show about a mushroom apocalypse. I’m talking about the best-ever video game adaptation, until Fallout, HBO’s “The Last of Us.” Even though this was 90% a true-to-form recreation, some moments were truly great. Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey (see below)

travel across a destroyed US populated by mushroom zombies, to try and create a cure for this fungal infection. The truly special moment of this season came in the third episode titled “Long, Long Time” a bottle episode about Bill and Frank. Bill is a cantankerous survivalist played by Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson. We instantly see Bill as a unique character, because his life is clearly better in the post-apocalypse world. Frank, played by Murray Bartlett of The White Lotus, falls into one of Bill’s traps, and they fall in love. Over the course of the episode, we see the two live and end their lives in a beautiful and heartbreaking way. Peak television.

2. The Bear S2 (FX/Hulu) Always a crisp 30ish minutes, the sophomore season of a show about a 5 star chef rescuing his brother’s sandwich shop improved upon perfection and takes the Abraham Lincoln spot on Rushmore. The middle of the season felt kind of like an anthology series, as we took deep dives into individual characters lives. Episodes 4 and 7 show us how Marcus and Richie improve their crafts by learning from 2 absolute masters. Both featured great guest appearances, and episode gave us this gem.

Then there’s episode 6. Which is the antithesis of the previous mentioned pair above. S2E6: Fishes featured a myriad of guest stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, Sarah Paulson, Gillian Jacobs, and Jon Bernthal join our regulars for a Christmas dinner. This hour plus “special” reminded me so much of my own family that I had to pause it 3 times to get through it (my sister had to take anxiety meds, so it wasn’t just me). This might be the single best episode of television this year.

1. Succession (HBO/Max)

They landed the plane. I always wondered why this was a comparison for long running TV shows, and it finally clicked on my flight back from D.C. the other day. It doesn’t matter how well the flight went, if the plane crashes at the end. Succession was 4 perfect seasons from start to finish. Every actor was magnificent. The ending perfectly reflected the message of the show. This might be the best TV series ever.

Movies of the Year

I’ve been back and forth with copying the Rushmore format vs. a more fluid list here where I drop blurbs about movies I’ve liked this year. For those wondering (literally no one) here’s my Letterboxd list of the 169 movies I’ve watched for the first time so far this year. There are 6 movies I haven’t seen yet that I need to complete my year: Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers, The Iron Claw, Godzilla Minus One, and American Fiction. The following 10 movies are pretty much in this order:

10. Theater Camp

This year had a lot of solid comedies, even a slight return of the R-rated adult comedy, but Theater Camp was my favorite of the bunch. A simple story combining kids acting and dancing, adults taking things way too seriously, and the little guy triumphing over the man was the perfect desert to follow the meal that was Barbenheimer.

9. Infinity Pool

A rich couple is on vacation, and things get weird. This is typically a good enough premise for me to be engaged, but this movie featured the murdering of clones as punishment, and a group of rich tourists going on a crime spree to celebrate this loophole in a third-world country. It was the best kind of fucked up, and was a brilliant commentary on the rich.

8. Saltburn

A poor kid gaslights, gatekeeps, and girlbosses his way to the top in this movie that is classified as a “black comedy psychological drama.” I promise it makes sense if you watch it. Tik Tok is ablaze focusing on Barry Keoghan’s acting and how hot Jacob Elordi is, but Rosamund Pike is from another galaxy with her level of sass in this movie. She is perfect.

7. Cobweb

The third movie that came out Barbenheimer weekend was seen by very few, but loved by me. It rips from start to finish, and features some of the creepiest stuff I’ve seen in a long time. Great bone-breaking, throat-slashing, people poisoning fun. This is the 2nd and final time a Cleopatra Coleman (Infinity Pool) movie has made an appearance on this list, but Rebel Moon will not be on here despite how scorching hot she is.

6. Beau Is Afraid

Ari Aster is probably my favorite working director right now. This movie is part anxiety attack, part bad shroom trip, and part bawdy comedy. It’s a visual masterpiece and features two of the funniest sight gags I’ve ever seen.

5. Across the Spiderverse

Even though we may soon look back at 2023 as the year that burst the superhero bubble, Spiderverse was magnificent. Superhero comics typically put the impossible on display, and there’s no better way to display the impossible than through an animated movie. The voice acting was top-tier, and I was in awe of the visual artistry throughout. I genuinely can’t wait for the sequel.

4. The Killer

David Fincher. Revenge. Assassin. These three things are everything I need from a movie, and The Killer only adds to the awesomeness as we follow Michael Fassbender around the globe on a killing spree. Somehow this movie made me want to do yoga and listen to The Smiths, but not become an assassin though.

3. Barbie

Oh man. Working at a movie theater during the Barbenheimer weekend was so much fun. There was so much pink, it was great to see so many people in the theaters. As far as the movie goes, it was a great mix of funny and heartwarming. It was a great message to women, and if you remove the Will Ferrell plot line it’s a perfect movie. Loved the soundtrack. Can’t wait to see how this movie is treated by the Academy. Oh and Margot Robbie is perfect.

2. Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan DOES 👏🏼NOT 👏🏼 MISS👏🏼. This movie is an absolute masterpiece. The trinity test made my jaw drop. I loved every second of this 3 hour behemoth of a film. This one may finally get Nolan a well-deserved Oscar. There’s a heist-esque “get the crew together” montage that was electric. Niels Bohr being rescued was somehow so heartfelt (we love our electron clouds) that a few people cheered. Ultimately this was a tale of mutually assured destruction that reflected the Cold War. It was brilliant, oh and also there was Florence Pugh. PERFECTION.

1. Past Lives

This is the best movie of 2023. I hope it wins best picture. This is a simple movie starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro about love. We learn about In-Yun, which is a beautiful idea about how our relationships today are based on experiences derived from our…Past Lives. This movie is building towards the Lee and Yoo falling back in love after being separated when one left Korea, and right when you think it’s going to be the typical cookie-cutter romantic movie ending, they twist it and have the best finish to a movie like this I’ve ever seen. I cried, and craziest of all, I did the whitest thing possible. I clapped at the end of the movie.

4 Things I’m Looking Forward to in 2024

The picture above is crazy in retrospect. The Class of 2020 never even got their graduation. The Magic have been bad until now. The election of 2024 is going to be just as chaotic. Maybe 2024 will be more normal, or maybe this is just the new normal.

4. A return to normalcy with the Election of 2024. I hope Trump doesn’t win, and I hope his band of MAGA-Fascists and blatant racists die lose all political power. HOPE.

3. I’d like to start my masters. Probably won’t but it’s a goal.

2. 2024 might be an epic movie year. The writer/actor strike bumped things back like Dune 2 and The Bikeriders, but also we have a shortlist of: Furiosa, Gladiator 2, Twister 2, Deadpool 3, Civil War, Argylle, and most importantly…The Movie Critic, which could quite possible be Quentin Tarantino’s last movie ever. We are back!

1. This will be the year I audition for survivor. I’ve already recorded a bit of the tape. I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been. This is the year.