The best guest verses of 2023

, but healthier (or at least that's what we tell ourselves) because you're cutting down on screen time while still being entertained. It's so wholesome you might as well be shopping for produce at a farmer's market. You are happy.

entertainment industry had a weird year. Faced with evolving technologies and outdated studio systems, actors and writers united for a strike that ran for nearly four months. It’s a symptom of a much larger problem, challenging the current streaming system which produces hundreds of TV shows a year.

Oppenheimer”).During the simultaneous Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes, the sagging box office was boosted, like NFL ratings and the economy of East Rutherford, New Jersey, by Taylor Swift.Marvel Studios, which used to be the surest thing in Hollywood, began to underperform (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”) and then downright flop (“The Marvels”).And DC was revealed to actually stand for Dud Central, with all of the studio’s comic-book films of 2023 (“Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “The Flash” and “Blue Beetle”) turning out to be financial failures.In a win for Gen Z, studio execs determined Zendaya’s star wattage is so huge now that two of her movies — “Dune: Part 2” and “Challengers” — were delayed a year due to the strikes, so she can promote them to her hoards of fans. And baby boomers were dinged by the big-time tanking of the nostalgic “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” starring a now 81-year-old Harrison Ford who schlepped around New York and Europe.Despite all the madness — and a sea of schlock — some excellent films hit theaters this year.

Hollywood trends may come and go, but horror? Horror never slumps. While the end-of-year narratives for 2023 may be overshadowed by questions of technology and corporate shenanigans – a word chosen for The Playlist’s audience of all ages – this was still a very impressive year for horror.

tickets are passes to unforgettable experiences.And, if you waited until the eleventh hour (let’s be honest, we did too), seats and general admission passes make great last-minute gifts for the Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce fans in your life.That’s where we come in.Our team compiled a list of games, shows and theatrical productions for the dedicated live events fans on your list. We hope these recommendations will make them laugh out loud, hold their breath through game-winning plays, or lose their voice singing along with their favorite artist.

In another timeline, in another universe, this might just be Gael Garcia Bernal’s moment. On the shortlist of contemporary actors more than deserving of that first Oscar nomination, his window for his acclaimed performance in “Cassandro” appears to be closing.

Faith Fanzine on X/Twitter today (December 18), with various other news sources reporting that the artist passed away overnight.“Faith are saddened to hear that Amp Fiddler has passed away. The king of the new era of Detroit Soul. RIP,” the zine wrote.“Our thoughts are with his family friends and all the musicians and producers who knew him.”Faith are saddened to hear that Amp Fiddler has passed away.

When it comes to beauty products, it's like navigating a whirlwind of launches and daily drops - a bit overwhelming, right? We get it. With a million things to consider - your skin type, your beauty goals and oh, let's not forget the budget, making a decision always feels like venturing into uncharted territory. But guess what? We've got your back! Picture this: a squad of beauty experts ready to spill the tea on the absolute must-haves from the past 12 months.

“Wellness”Nathan Hill (Knopf)At turns (darkly) hilarious and heartbreaking, this 624-page novel from the author of “The Nix” skewers Gen X cynicism, self-care devotion, cancel culture and aspirational wealth — with a brutal breakdown of how Boomers fall for conspiracy theories online. Jack and Elizabeth fall in and out of love, raise a difficult child and strive, often begrudgingly, to climb the corporate and social ladder, in gentrified Chicago, until the suburban dream starts to look more like a nightmare.“The Berry Pickers“Amanda Peters (Catapult)In July of 1962, a Mi’kmaq family arrives in Maine from Nova Scotia to pick berries for the summer. Weeks later, their youngest child, Ruthie, vanishes.

We don’t know about you, but we love a good Christmas tradition or two. Whether it’s decorating your tree together or watching the same film religiously on Christmas Eve, there’s nothing better to help get you in the festive spirit, and if there’s one tradition we can firmly get behind it’s matching Christmas pyjamas.

RuPaul’s Drag Race is almost here! In advance of the series comeback, World of Wonder and MTV have unveiled the all-star lineup of the celebrities who will be judging the queens, choosing who wins and who will have to lip-sync for their lives.The sixteenth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race is set to premiere on January 5 on MTV, its new home. As the 14 new queens get ready to introduce themselves to the world and to battle it out in notoriously fierce competition, the stakes are as high as they’ve ever been.

EXCLUSIVE: Judy Greer (White House Plumbers) and Pete Holmes (Crashing) have entered production in Winnipeg on The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, an inspirational comedy that The Chosen’s Dallas Jenkins is helming for Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Anne Hathaway appeared on the latest “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and called it “lucky” that her iteration of the “Barbie” movie never got off the ground considering the phenomenon that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” became over the summer. Back in July 2017, Hathaway was announced as the star of Sony’s “Barbie” movie. Comedian Amy Schumer was originally cast, but Hathaway took over the role after Schumer departed.

Boygenius have reflected on the moment that Dave Grohl joined them on stage to perform one of their tracks, saying that “he’s the best”.The conversation arose during a new interview with NME, in celebration of the trio’s recent album ‘The Record’ being named the best album of the year.During the interview, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker looked back at when Foo Fighters legend Dave Grohl joined them on stage earlier this year to play the drums for them as they performed the song ‘Satanist’.Taking place at the Hollywood Bowl on October 31, the former Nirvana drummer sat behind the kit wearing all black and facepaint, while the trio played their set dressed as The Father, Son and Holy Ghost in celebration of Halloween.“I made friends with Dave backstage at a Billie Eilish show. He’s the coolest guy ever,” Bridgers told NME about how the collaboration arose.

After seeing his acclaimed Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See secure a Golden Globe nomination on Monday morning, director-EP Shawn Levy spoke with Deadline about his forthcoming Deadpool threequel and Stranger Things‘ final season, as well as his work on the aforementioned historical drama.

The New York Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review may have anointed Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” the top film of 2023, but the Best Coast, er, West Coast has a different view. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association selected Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” as their Best Film of 2023.

What To Watch. This week’s column is different; as we near the end of the year, we’ve compiled our seven favorite movies of 2023 and how to watch them.‘Society of the Snow’ is Spain’s Oscar entry, exploring the true story of a horrifying plane crashAriana DeBose plays an astronaut in new Sci-Fi film set on spaceMartin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is based on the conspiracy behind the 1920’s murders of the Osage Nation, a tribe that were labeled as the richest people on Earth after the oil boom in America. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, two of Scorsese’s most frequent collaborators, and explores topics that he’s well versed in.

Variety’s two chief film critics agree that Christopher Nolan’s portrait of the man behind the Manhattan Project is one for the ages — a “Lawrence of Arabia”-level feat about a turning point in human history, as seen through the haunted blue eyes of one of our finest actors. At the same time, some of the year’s best movies flew under the radar. Consider this a guide to the top cinematic achievements, large and small, whether shot on Imax cameras or hand-drawn by an artisanal French couple.

The New York Film Critics Circle anointed “Killers of the Flower Moon” as their Best Film of 2023 and now the National Board of Review has revealed their top pick, and, surprise, it’s also Martin Scorsese’s latest. Scorsese was also named Best Director and Lily Gladstone Best Actress by the New York City-based cinephile organization.

A home cook from has had his spaghetti bolognese judged the best in Britain by TV chefs The Hairy Bikers. And it might be down to a special and perhaps unexpected ingredient Jonathan Wood adds to his take on this much-loved classic.