Welcome to the 2023 SiftPop.com Sifties!
This year, the SiftPop writers came together to nominate five movies for Best Visual Experience. Since two of the major pieces that work together to create a complete cinematic experience are a film’s visuals and audio, we thought it would be important to highlight them for our Siftie awards.
Perhaps no 2023 film nails the visual aesthetic it tries to achieve better than Barbie. Usually, when discussing the best-looking features of the year, saying something looks “fake” would be an insult. Here, it’s part of the charm. In Barbie Land, creating a world where both the characters and places feel like life-size versions of what theatergoers may have had in their bedroom in their younger years is done with an exquisite eye for detail. Everything from the sets, to the props, to the costuming is pure perfection. So committed was the team behind the film’s aesthetic to this cause that they literally caused an international paint shortage for their desired shade of pink. The result is no less stunning than a more “traditionally” lauded visual spectacle. Margot Robbie gets bonus points for committing to the bit of dressing up in items from the Barbie wardrobe not only for the film, but on red carpets as well.
Oppenheimer’s visuals offer a level of restraint not seen by Christopher Nolan for quite some time. The dazzling shots of the New Mexico desert mixed in with the shots of fission and fusion reactions make for an outstanding display. In particular, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience to see everyone’s reaction to the bomb going off for the first time at the Trinity Test. That power, coupled with the sound, is a spectacle that gives so many of the characters, along with the audience, so many mixed emotions. On one end, it signifies the power of science and collaboration. On the other, it moves the world to a doomsday scenario that brings everything closer to destruction. Nolan and his crew could have made the bomb bigger, but he let the character’s reactions speak for themselves. In addition, not showing the bomb going off in Japan leaves the visuals in the imagination of the audience. The only assistance they get though is during the scene in the gymnasium when everyone is celebrating the accomplishment of creating the bomb. Oppenheimer is a visual, storytelling masterclass from beginning to end.
Yorgos Lanthimos movies have always been known for their meticulous visuals, whether it be their production design, cinematography, or color palette, and Poor Things fits right in, in the sense that it has meticulous visuals. But it’s meticulous in a different way than Lanthimos’ other movies — this time, when it’s not in black and white, its colors pop, and its cinematic eye is more whimsical than we’re used to. It gets inside the mind of its main character, Bella, to create a world full of wonder and amazement. The sets have a slightly altered, off-kilter Victorian look, and the effervescent costumes add to the visual experience as well. And that’s not even to mention the makeup and prosthetics, especially on Willem Dafoe’s Dr. Godwin Baxter, who was experimented on from a very young age and has a unique, sectioned face — the kind you don’t see every day. Add on the fish eye lens, which Lanthimos carries over from The Favourite, and every little detail about the film is a delight to behold.
Another great example of “no movie should cost $200 million and look as bad as X” (where “X” could be replaced by anything from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania to the latest Indiana Jones), Godzilla Minus One came and showed us several things: Firstly, how to make an excellent Godzilla movie; secondly, how to pay homage to the original film from 1954 (!!!) regarding the monster design, and simply improve upon it here and there. The CGI looks amazing; the destruction is as real as it can get without actually going out there and destroying some Japanese cities; but most importantly, there are several excellent Godzilla aspects, like the blue charge before the nuclear breath. Like the fact this Godzilla had a texture to her (his? its?) skin, and it wasn’t “smooth” — it looks scaly. All of it looks great, while costing around $15 million! Not $150 million, you read that correctly. It is up to us as moviegoers to hold Hollywood to higher standards, because movies can get done and look cool, slick, and believable. You just need to spend less on the actors, and give the CGI artists more time and money. Godzilla Minus One is a visual treat; if you can, a cinema visit is strongly recommended.
In 2018, the world of animation was irrevocably shaken by the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film pushed the boundaries of the medium by perfectly mixing a slick comic book style with the scope afforded by a feature length studio production. It seemed like the genre had hit a peak, and it could be decades before something landed with this impact again. And then Sony Animation Studios went and completely outdid themselves with the sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Miles and company jump from dimension to dimension as they unravel the mysteries of the multiverse. Each world has a completely distinct color palette and art style that feel alive, and compliment the story in truly inventive ways, from Gwen’s home world working as a mood ring to convey the unspoken feelings between her and her estranged father, to Pavitr Prabhakar’s hometown of Mumbattan, which seamlessly blends Manhattan and Mumbai into one breathtaking sight. These worlds are also populated by an equally ambitious slew of Spider-People, some perfectly translated from fan-favorite panels of the comics, and others hand-crafted for the film by the genius creative team. It is hard to imagine that a visual spectacle of this scale can be upstaged, but this project’s existence is confirmation that the sky is the limit for these animators.
Make sure to check out the previous 2023 Sifties winners, and don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the winner of Best Narrative Experience!
You can also listen to the SiftPop writers’ top five movies of the year on the SiftPop Writers’ Room Podcast!