This year, film enthusiasts were kept at the edges of their seats by captivating movies. These included some of BBC's top picks listed in its critique, like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness among other incredible international films.
Now, as the New Year approaches, we explore some films to watch in 2023.
Film and TV review website Rotten Tomatoes reports that the New Year "boasts a wealth of superhero titles, plenty of explosive action, some spine-tingling horror, and even a few throwbacks to franchises of old."
John Wick Chapter IV
This highly anticipated action thriller film is directed by Chad Stahelski, written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch and stars Keanu Reeves.
It is set be released in theatres on March 24.
"We do not know much about the film, except that John Wick is at war with- and possibly presumed dead by the High Table, and Stahelski has gone on record to say that there is a possibility that Chapter Four will not be a "happy ending" for its central character," Rotten Tomatoes notes.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
This American superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy. It is intended to be the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and is the 32nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The film stars multiple Hollywood bigwigs, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper,.
Esquire Magazine describes the film as one which "will see Peter Quill trying to bounce back after losing poor old Gamora at the end of Endgame."
"The early noises are that this one's likely to be a bit heavier than previous Guardians stuff, which would chime with the slightly more drear tone of Eternals and some of the other recent Marvel outings," Esquire reports.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Film website IMDB briefly describes this computer-animated fantasy adventure as a story of The Super Mario Bros. on their journey through the mushroom kingdom.
The movie opens on April 7, 2023, starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Charlie Day, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen and Keegan-Michael Key.
"This big-screen adaptation of the iconic Nintendo character and his friends is being produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination (Despicable Me) and the creator of Mario himself, Shigeru Miyamoto. Chris Pratt is voicing the famous Goomba-stomping plumber, who arrives in the Mushroom Kingdom and meets Keegan-Michael Key's Toad," Rotten Tomatoes notes.
The Little Mermaid
The story about a young, beautiful mermaid with an adventurous spirit moves from being a popular cartoon, to finally being adopted as a major film this coming year.
The American musical fantasy stars Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem, Daveed Diggs and Awkwafina.
It is set to be released on May 26, 2023.
IMDB describes the film; "A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch, to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
This one, along with other intriguing animations lined up this year, is great for the children.
The computer-animated superhero film is a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the "Spider-Verse".
Stars voicing the movie include Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya and Jason Schwartzman.
"Sure, multi-verses are all the rage now, but these animated Spider-Man movies were doing them before they were cool. For the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy have to team up again with a whole new team to stop a powerful new villain," Good Housekeeping, a lifestyle magazine reports in its piece on the top films for children this coming year.
These are just a few of the highly anticipated movies coming up in 2023. Other top picks include; Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Scream VI, Fast X, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Mummies.
