MOVIES

“Barbie“

The surprise of the year. The script was smart and funny and dug deeper than any viewer had a right to expect. Margot Robbie was the perfect Barbie. But the best thing about “Barbie”? Ryan Gosling’s performance as Ken. Ryan, you are more than Kenough.

— Kristina Dorsey

“Oppenheimer”

This should have been an unworkable project — so much material, so much science that viewers aren’t likely to understand — but Christopher Nolan made it into one of the best films of the year. Even at three hours, it never felt laggy. An Oscar-worthy Cillian Murphy led a top-notch cast.

— Kristina Dorsey

“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret”

This movie did its source material proud. The Judy Blume book is a touchstone for middle-school girls, and writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig translated it all so perfectly to the screen. Special shout-out to Groton native Kate MacCluggage, who did wonders with her scenes as the mother of one of Margaret’s friends.

— Kristina Dorsey

“The Causeway”

Lynsey (Jennifer Lawrence) suffers an IED-induced traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan, and heads home to recover in New Orleans. She meets one-legged mechanic James (Brian Tyree Henry) and the unlikely pair bond if only to combat their respective trauma and loneliness. It sounds like a Hallmark formula, but the weight of despair is great and relies on extraordinary performances.

— Rick Koster

“Stop Making Sense“

This was the year of the concert film. We know that Taylor and Beyonce both turned out great, audience-pleasing movies, but I want to put in a good word about the re-release of this 1984 Talking Heads concert flick. Don’t go expecting the kind of elaborate costumes and set pieces that Taylor and Beyonce rolled out. This is old-school rock, and “Stop Making Sense” is all about the joy that the performers, especially David Byrne, take in the music.

— Kristina Dorsey

“Living”

Career public works employee Mr. Williams, wonderfully portrayed by Bill Nighy, gets a terminal illness and, after a lifetime of Kafkaesque civil servantry, becomes committed to the creation of a ghetto playground for children. Based on Kurosawa’s “Ikiru,” the film’s stuffy British middle-class setting is an interesting twist that works in emotional ways.

— Rick Koster

“Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One”

The most pulse-pounding collection of action scenes in a 2023 release. The best sequence was the final one, where two characters try to climb up a train as each locomotive car slowly (and then more quickly) drops over the edge of a bridge into an impossibly deep gorge. I’ll be there for Part Two.

— Kristina Dorsey

“Facing Nolan“

This documentary about the life and career of Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan is so humanizing and comprehensive that it should appeal to folks who perhaps aren’t interested in the sport — but perhaps will.

— Rick Koster

“Thanksgiving”

Wait! Did this idiot really just include a holiday slasher film on a year-end best-of list? Why, yes, I did. Now that postmodern horror films have been spun inside-out and reimagined in dozens of ways, this old-style tale of a maddened murderer, clad in a Pilgrim hat and with a serious sense of vengeance, is better than a post-feast slice of pie.

— Rick Koster

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TV

“Poker Face”

Peacock

I was jazzed to watch this show because I had just seen “Russian Doll” on Netflix, a criminally underrated time-jump joy ride starring Natasha Lyonne, the star of Peacock’s signature series, and the show itself is worth the $6 a month or whatever it is just to stream Peacock. There is a new ensemble cast in every episode, which gives it kind of a “mini-movie” feel. Lyonne as Charlie Cale is the constant. Her superpower is that she can tell when people are lying.

– Owen Poole

“Black Bird”

Apple+

A six-part miniseries, based on a true story, about an imprisoned young drug dealer/gun runner offered freedom and a pardon IF he can build trust with an enigmatic murderer/possible serial killer and learn secrets about the apocryphal murderer’s burial ground. Paul Walter Hauser, cast as the fiend, should just go ahead and have his name carved on all the trophies for the upcoming awards season. A career-making portrayal of a truly evil but creepily human villain.

– Rick Koster

“The Irrational”

NBC

Welcome back, Jesse L. Martin! Our one-time Det. Ed Green on “Law & Order” brings his charisma to bear on this new procedural. He plays a behavioral scientist who gets called in on FBI cases because he understands that, while humans are irrational, there are usually patterns of behavior that he can see.

– Kristina Dorsey

“The Bear”

FX

I loved the first season of “The Bear,” but the second season put it over the top as one of the best shows around. It’s as fast, loud and in your face as ever, but the character arcs are developed more, and the Christmas episode should go down in TV history as one of the best stand-alone single episodes ever. I still haven’t gotten over it quite yet.

— Owen Poole

“Dark Winds” Season Two

AMC+

This crime series, based on the immortal Jim Chee/Joe Leaphorn novels by the late Tony Hillerman, and curated for TV by George RR Martin and Robert Redford, is a dark, haunting and yet redemptive series set on New Mexico’s Navajo Reservation in the late 1960s. It’s an eye-opening and magnetic look at a culture we know too little about.

– Rick Koster

“Mystic Christmas”

Hallmark

The movies that Connecticut’s own Synthetic Cinema International makes in our region keep getting better. This Hallmark holiday film was also special in that it showcased all things Mystic with such enthusiasm and specificity. And the acting and writing for “Mystic Christmas” made for a spritely, fun offering. In particular, Jessy Schram, as the show’s heroine, was Jennifer Aniston-like in her ability to bring humor and personality to every line of dialogue.

– Kristina Dorsey

“Bosch: Legacy” Season Two

Given that novelist Michael Connelly has written and continues to write the perpetually excellent Harry Bosch series, there’s no reason to expect this enthralling and intensely fascinating show to ever end. Credit an entire cast and production team, and particularly Titus Welliver in the title role.

– Rick Koster

“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”

Nat Geo

The indomitable Bear Grylls had a new cast of superstars to scare the bejesus out of this season. Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch were among the celebs getting the full Grylls treatment, and it was fascinating to see how they handled the hardships. Good on them for taking the leap, both literally and metaphorically.

– Kristina Dorsey

“Dancing with the Stars”

ABC

You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I missed “Dancing with the Stars” when it scampered off to streaming. This season, it was back on ABC, and it had arguably one of its most enjoyable seasons.

– Kristina Dorsey