Abt Must-Haves, Inspired By The Best Movies of 2023

For some, the biggest events of the year could be a professional championship sports game or a huge music festival. But for film lovers, the biggest events of the year begin in just two days. That's right, we're talking about film awards season! Now that we've rung in the new year, it's time for award shows to take over our televisions once again. Film lovers, that means it's time to start planning your watch parties and celebrating the best movies of 2023. Here's our shorthand award show schedule to help get you started (both TV & film included):

While 2023 was not necessarily a breeze for the film industry, the movies that audiences enjoyed were still fantastic and worth honoring. So, to celebrate the beginning of film awards season, we're providing you with plenty of product recommendations perfect for the movies. We will, of course, provide a high-quality TV to watch your favorite ceremonies on, but we'll play a bit of movie matchmaker too. Keep reading to learn what the best movies of 2023 were (according to notable film guilds) and what products we're pairing with them!

Film awards season comes with its own glitz and glamour. With the designer clothes, flashing lights, grand stages and beautiful musical performances, you'll want to take it all in with the highest definition. In that case, the Sony A95L 77" 4K TV has your back. This TV features a QD-OLED screen, which provides the purest OLED black, high brightness and the widest-ever palette of hues and shades. The display uses a Cognitive Processor XR™ to bring the most natural, realistic colors and dynamic contrast. You can also get access to all the channels broadcasting your favorite award shows through Google TV™. Even if the channel feed isn't the best quality, the XR 4K Upscaling will enhance all content to near 4K resolution.

Maestro, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper, is a biopic focusing on the career and marriage of Leonard Bernstein, renowned American composer and conductor. One half of the film is emotional, dramatic scenes focusing on the highs and lows of his relationship with actress Felicia Montealegre. The other half, however, focuses on Bernstein composing one of the most important musical pieces of his career, Mass. There are also several scenes featuring some of his most famous works, including scores for On The Town, Candide, On The Waterfront and West Side Story.

This film appeals to fans of musical theater and general music lovers all around, so we've paired it with the Denon Premium Belt-driven Hi-Fi Turntable. Turntables provide analog sound with a warmth not easily replicated by CD players or wireless streaming. Records offer lossless compression, so when you spin an album on this Denon table, it will sound much closer to the original music in studio than any MP3 file could. If given a choice, we're sure a music expert like Bernstein would prefer vinyl. In fact, look out for the scene where his family plays "The Clapping Song" on an old 45 RPM record.

Past Lives, written and directed by Celine Song, is a romantic drama following two childhood friends and the course of their relationship over 24 years. The film examines how love often lingers and how humans come together, grow apart, change and stay the same. Set in South Korea, the main characters Hae Sung and Na Young meet at age 12 and begin an innocent romance. When Na Young and her family move to Canada, though, the pair ultimately lose contact and move on with their lives. Twelve years later, the two find each other on social media and reconnect, getting to know each other all over again via daily video calls. This is why we're pairing Past Lives with the Logitech Brio 100 1080 HD Webcam.

This Logitech webcam features Full HD 1080p resolution, so your image will appear clearer than ever when calling family and friends. Even if you're in a darker environment, the RightLight function will boost your brightness by 50% so you always look your best. If you want to customize the visual settings even further, just take advantage of the easy-to-use Logi Options+ app. Luckily, you'll also sound as good as you look thanks to the convenient, built-in microphone. Whenever your calls end and you're away from your computer, the Logitech Brio has an integrated shutter that provides the utmost privacy. With the Logitech Brio, you'll be able to maintain current friendships or rekindle old flames. Just watch Past Lives for the proof!

American Fiction, written by Cord Jefferson in his directorial debut, is based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. The film focuses on black writer, Thelonious "Monk" Ellison, a jaded novelist whose writing career has been at a standstill. Lately, he has grown frustrated with the trendy but stereotypical "Black novels" that have been taking over the book industry. As a joke, he writes a bizarre, stereotypical "Black novel" himself under a pseudonym and submits it for possible publication. When the book actually gains several lofty offers and worldwide fame, he's off on a journey he had never anticipated. As this film is all about writing novels, we've paired American Fiction with the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2.

This Microsoft laptop is ideal for writers for various reasons. The most basic is the comfortable keyboard, allowing you to type for longer periods. In fact, this device boasts a battery life of 16 hours, so you can draft and create most of the day. It also provides multiple writing tools to help you with story progress, including OneDrive for cloud storage and Microsoft Word. The latest version of Word even comes with an AI-powered Copilot function, which can make edits and give you suggestions as you type. This laptop almost acts as a 2-in-1 device, thanks to the touchscreen. If you prefer writing by hand, just fold your device to transform it into a tablet and use the Surface Pen to brainstorm.

Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, is a comedy film based on the famous Mattel doll. This movie follows Barbie as she navigates her glamorous and perfectly pink world... until she begins having an existential crisis. Her newfound self-awareness forces her to leave home and explore the Real World with her sidekick, Ken. To return to the status quo, she must find the girl who's been playing with her and "fix" her problems. But what she doesn't know is that this adventure, her future encounters and the lessons she learns will forever change her plastic life. As expected from a style icon like Barbie, she wears anywhere from 30 to 40 different outfits throughout the film. And this doesn't even include her various accessories! With that said, to pair with Barbie, we've chosen the Gucci Narrow Pink Cat Eye Sunglasses.

These sunglasses are an ideal accessory for lovers of fashion looking to capture the style and spirit of Barbie herself. The cat eye shape was most popular in the 1950s and 60s, giving this pair a truly retro feel. Fun fact: Barbie was first introduced to the toy market in 1959. While bright pink is Barbie's signature color, the specific hue of these sunglasses is lighter and softer. You can more easily pair them with a wide selection of outfits and they will still act as a dynamic statement piece. On the temples of the sunglasses is the classic Gucci logo in gold, cushioned by stars to capture the essence of Hollywood. Combining the celebrity and glitz of Hollywood with the feminine pink is what makes these Gucci shades a perfect investment for all Barbie fans.

The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne, focuses on Paul, a curmudgeonly classics professor at New England boarding school, Barton Academy, in 1970. Note: Classics is a subject that covers Roman, Greek and Latin history and philosophy. Most of the students and staff at the school dislike Paul because of his stern manner, bad attitude and harsh grading style. When he's assigned to chaperone a group of students when they have nowhere to go during Christmas break, the holidays get tainted with a grim mood. Eventually, most of the boys desperately find alternate plans and leave Barton... all except one: the intelligent troublemaker Angus Tully. As Paul and Angus are forced to spend time together, along with the school cook, Mary, the three form an unlikely bond and learn several transformative lessons.

In The Holdovers, there are scenes of both Paul and Angus reading books, as they both consider themselves intellectuals. Paul even gifts a copy of his favorite book, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, to Angus for Christmas. To match this boarding school aesthetic and the love of literature, we've chosen the Four Hands Irondale Collection Ivy Bookcase And Ladder. The antique design of this bookcase was inspired by the libraries of the 1940s. The reclaimed pine, iron details and old-school ladder add to the vintage look of the shelves. This Four Hands product is guaranteed to be a statement piece in any home library or office, especially if you're a well-read classics professor.

Spider-Man: Across The Spiderverse, directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, is an animated superhero story based on the classic comic and the sequel to Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse. The film focuses on Miles Morales, a teenager living in New York City, who becomes Spider-Man after being bitten by a radioactive spider that gives him superpowers. In the first film, the creation of an evil weapon opens doors to parallel worlds, introducing Miles to multiple spider men and women who are the heroes of their own universes. While Into The Spiderverse ends with Miles and the others saving the day, this sequel catapults Miles into the "multiverse" where he meets hundreds of spider-people and members of the "Spider Society". As he fights to defeat the newest villain, The Spot, Miles must also protect the spider-people's existence and prevent the multiverse from possible collapse.

Pairing Across The Spiderverse with our Sony PlayStation 5 & Spider-Man 2 bundle was an obvious choice. The PlayStation 5 is the newest and hottest gaming console on the market. The Spider-Man 2 game is exclusive to it, and has received critical acclaim since its release in October 2023. In this game, you can seamlessly switch between playing original Spider-Man Peter Parker and Spiderverse's Miles Morales. Jump and swing through New York boroughs, adventure through different storylines and explore epic new powers. Fight against famous villains like Venom, Kraven the Hunter and Lizard as they attempt to destroy the city. Reunite with beloved characters like MJ, Norman and Harry Osborn, Miles' mom Rio and his friends Ganke and Hailey. You can even try on the iconic symbiote suit to access new abilities!

If we featured your favorite movie of 2023 in our recommendations, we hope you enjoyed our unique pairings. The home entertainment experts here at Abt are more than ready for film awards season to begin. Are you? Check out our curated list of binge-watching gear to continue enhancing your awards ceremony experience at home. If you have a film from the past year you're rooting for, drop a comment below! We'd love to hear your personal "best movies of 2023" before the awards season ends.