Top 10 Films of 2023

There are a lot of positives and negatives to look back on in 2023 when it comes to cinema, both industry wise and personally.

Of course, Hollywood had a big dent in the year with two strikes (which I did support, for what it is worth), While they have thankfully ended, we will probably feel the fall out of them in this upcoming year (and possibly into 2025). Looking back at the amount of films I have seen (just shy of 80, which is more than I have done in previous years), I saw nearly 90 percent of them (whether in theater or streaming) by myself. It would really be nice to have my friends and family have a better schedule for me, but such is life.

At least one close friend of mine (along with commenters online) have said the year has been bad overall with the quality of movies. If they are referring to simply big studio releases (especially that of Marvel), I can understand. Yet if one just were to spend the time to look, they would find out this was a truly brilliant year for film: the best since 2019.

As is standard, I can’t see all movies, so the following are notable films I did not get to see in time:

• Beau is Afraid
• Bottoms
• Fallen Leaves
• Ferrari
• Leave the World Behind
• No Hard Feelings
• Poor Things
• STILL: A Michael J. Fox movie
• They Cloned Tyrone
• Wonka

Then there are the 22 honorable mentions (many represented in the photo above), able to make not one, but TWO solid top ten lists with two bonuses!

• Afire
• Air
• American Fiction
• American Symphony (one of the only truly great docs I saw this past year)
• Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret (seriously, how great was Rachel McAdams?)
• Barbie (SUBLIME!)
• Blackberry
• The Boy and the Heron
• The Color Purple
• The Creator
• Godzilla Minus One (the best monster movie in a long time)
• The Iron Claw (Zac Efron is really underrated as an actor)
• The Killer
• Love at First Sight (a film I am still doing all I can to convince my little sister to see)
• Maestro
• No one will save you
• Rye Lane
• Saltburn
• Showing Up
• Society of the Snow
• Talk to Me
• A Thousand and One

Finally, while I never had an experience quite like seeing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (not just the past year but any year), I remember that more as an experience than a movie. Therefore, it gets its own special honorable mention.

All that said, here are my top ten of 2023 (and where to see them)

10.

Along with some of the films mentioned above, the year had some good thrills with the likes of John Wick: Chapter 4 and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part 1.

Even so, one much smaller film from earlier in the year, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, was just as heart pounding despite its lack of recognition (at least compared to bigger releases). 

The film’s plot is basically in the title, as a group of environmentalists gather together for their own individual reasons to, you know, blow up a pipeline. Regardless of your political leanings, the filmmaking cannot be ignored. It reminded me greatly of that impeccable French thriller The Wages of Fear from 1953. Add in a great cast and it’s unconventional narrative and you have a true hidden gem. (Currently on Hulu)

9.

If forced to, I would pick the first spider-verse film, but that is not at all to take away from the sequel.

What Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse does is what all great sequels do: truly expand on the source material of its predecessor. 

Gloriously animated and well acted by a stellar voice cast (most notably Oscar Issac), the film is the true exception of a superhero film in a year where all other super hero films (although I did like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem) failed. A true saving grace. (Currently on Netflix)

8.

Bad weather almost stopped me from getting to see The Zone of Interest, but I am glad I managed to at the last second. 

The film is based on real life Nazi Rudolf Hoss, who ran the concentration camp at Auschwitz. The film does not center on the atrocities he and others under his command committed, but on his family life. Yes, almost every Nazi (save for a few like Oskar Schindler) was evil, but this film manages to almost make them seem somewhat human. For a film about one of the darkest times in the history of humanity, it is gorgeously shot. (Currently in select theaters)

7.

No 2023 release was rewatched quicker by me than Todd Haynes’ May December.

It’s all the more astonishing when you look at the subject matter (an actress studying the role of an older woman who had a sexual relationship with a middle schooler) from the outside. From the inside, there are far more layers yet to be uncovered.

As expected, the performances from Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are top notch, but the stand out is Charles Melton as the troubled soul who grew up way too fast. (Currently on Netflix)

6.

While I rewatched my number seven film quicker than any other film, no other film was rewatched by me in total than Theater Camp.

Would this be here if I weren’t bit by the theater bug as a kid as well as volunteer at summer camps? I don’t know but so what? This is a me pick.

No other film this year had me laugh as hard and nod in agreement at the same time. I only wish the ending song “Camp isn’t home” was on the shortlist for best original song at the Oscars. If you have even the slightest knowledge/background in theater, see this. Thank me later. (Currently on Hulu)

5.

From one feel good film to another, perhaps Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers secret weapon is it’s predictability.

Drawing similarities to films like Dead Poets Society and Scent of a Woman, the film is not so much that we know how it will go and end but that it is the best way for it to go. Don’t be surprised if this becomes a classic around the holiday seasons in the future.

You can’t imagine anyone else in these roles. Giamatti has not been this good in a long time, Randolph will almost certainly win an Oscar, and what a miracle find it was in newcomer Dominic Sessa. (Currently on Peacock)

4.

I have yet to see The Taste of Things, the film that France has submitted as their film to hopefully be nominated for best international feature at the Academy Award (countries are only allowed to submit one film). While I am sure it is a great film, it still baffles me that they did not pick Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall. 

One can see the actual anatomy of the screenplay (which was just recently awarded the Golden Globe), as this film is clearly, meticulously constructed around the death of a husband and spends the rest of the time to see whether or not his wife (Sandra Huller, who was also in The Zone of Interest) is guilty or not. 

While the best actress category is very competitive this year, it would truly warm my heart if Huller gets in. What is not getting as much attention is young Milo Machado-Graner, giving the best child performance of the year as her blind son. Or the dog, in one of the most heart stopping scenes a canine has ever been in. (Currently available to rent on Amazon)

3.

No other film director has been as synonymous with the 21st century as Christopher Nolan.

Ever since Memento over two decades ago, he soon became one of those directors that, by name alone, could sell a movie.

Everyone will have their preference as to his best film, but Oppenheimer is certainly in the conversation. A technical marvel to say the least, all the actors in the film bring all they have to the table (especially Cillian Murphy and RDJ, who are sure to be nominated for the film).

It definitely took me more than one viewing to truly understand all that was happening, but this is far from the only great movie that needs that to happen (think of JFK, which is a true spiritual cousin to this film).

As of now, the film is the front runner for the Oscars, and Nolan’s chance of finally getting his Best Director win is so certain he may as well just bring in the sheets. (Currently available to rent on Amazon)

2.

Speaking of great directors.

2023 had a lot of older men making movies in their twilight years, from Hayao Miyazaki (The Boy and the Heron) to Michael Mann (Ferrari) to Ridley Scott (Napoleon). Yet the one who showed his mastery of film the most is the legend that is Martin Scorsese in Killers of the Flower Moon.

Easily the longest film on my list, I never once felt the film dragged, because Scorsese definitely knows how to set the pace for the audience, even in a story about a terrible time in our country’s history. 

All should be praised here regardless of what side of the camera they worked on. Behind the camera (besides Scorsese) you have his frequent legendary editor Thelma Schoonmaker, the eye popping cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, and the last score done by the late Robbie Robertson.

As for those in the front, you have the likes of Leonardo Dicaprio and Robert De Niro, two of the best actors of their respected generations (if not the best), yet they are being upstaged when sharing the screen with the uncanny Lily Gladstone, giving what is most likely the best performance of the year. (Currently available to rent on Apple TV)

1.

Honestly, if it were any other year, numbers 2-5 could have been my pick as the best of the year. 

That said, no film hit me on a more personal note than Celine Strong’s film debut, Past Lives. Centering on two souls who once shared a “date” as kids, they meet up as adults and see where they now stand in their lives (I won’t say more, because the less about the film you know, the better.)

The subject matter in this film is always rich material if done right, and boy, does this film do that and more. All the actors (especially Greta Lee, another hopeful Oscar contender) are enthralling. The only downside? While it does look like it will get at least a few Oscar nominations, I am coming to terms that it probably won’t win any (I obviously hope I’m wrong). Still, for what it is worth, in a year truly copious with stellar films, this one stands on top. (Currently available to rent on Amazon)