We are so back. 2023 has felt like a blockbuster year for movies. There were goodies and surprise treats coming out as far back as January and continuing well into December. Despite some noticeable flops, the year proved a major success for mid-budget films and artistic experiments. Hardly any of my most anticipated films for the year cracked my Top Ten and I’m happy to see it. 2023 surprised me in a lot of ways, let’s take a look at some of my favorites for the year.
Honorable Mentions
Barbie
This film dominated my Spotify wrapped and was huge win for Greta Gerwig and humanity.
Blue Beetle
2023 saw the release of some of the worst superhero movies ever. Yet, there were a few silver linings in the mix. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 actually holds a spot higher than Blue Beetle on my rankings, I’d like to shoutout this underdog. This became one of my favorite origin flicks almost instantly, its so populated with style and heart and is so visually cool that it whips almost everything Marvel and DC have done lately.
John Wick: Chapter 4
John Wick did not die at the end of this movie and you cannot convince me otherwise. In this essay I will…
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
I love it when David Dastmalchian (not pictured) plays a weird little freak.
Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part I
This title is obnoxious, I’ll give you that. This film was my most anticipated flick of the year. While it didn’t end up being my absolute fave, it was a blast. I loved how differently they approached this film compared to the previous two. It’s a lot more cynical and I’m especially fond of how it utilizes action as its comic relief to that tension. There’s a much different feel to it than McQ’s other two M:I films. While I prefer the predecessors in an overall ranking, I adore what’s being done here all the same.
Contenders I Have Yet to See
- Napoleon
- Saltburn
- The Color Purple
- American Fiction
10. Anyone But You
I had no expectation of this coming anywhere near my top ten list. Anything But You proves that sticking to the recipe can work really well when you have all the right ingredients. This adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is instantly one of my favorite romcoms. It’s funny, its really heartfelt, and its surprisingly well shot. There’s no surprising twists or unexpected reinventions, just a classic story told extremely well. This movie feels like comfort food for fans of the studio romcom. It also proves once again that Glen Powell is a star.
9. Poor Things
This movie isn’t for everyone. Yorgos Lanthimos isn’t the kind of guy who’s ever going to have Spielberg level appeal, but I think he’s on his way to becoming the next generation’s Wes Anderson of sorts. Poor Things is so him, but it feels like a big step forward from the realistic fiction of The Favourite. This is a world uniquely created by Lanthimos and it comes to life beautifully. At the same time this film is dirty, raunchy, and really provocative in its own way.
Emma Stone gives a really smart performance that manages to convey the entirety of human growth, throw in a lot of physical comedy, and strike fear in the hearts of all men in her path. I’m a huge Mark Ruffalo fan and I think he also delivers one of his best performances here. He’s acting off-kilter and without the reserve his roles usually come with. He is especially interesting to me because this performance is such a radical leap for him.
8. Creed III
This film came out at the last possible moment one could enjoy it. The downfall of Jonathan Majors will certainly taint its legacy, but it hadn’t arrived in time to curb this film’s success. Michael B Jordan takes the franchise into a new era both on screen and behind the camera. Creed III feels the least like any other Rocky movie and it is the first to feel definitively like it belongs to Adonis Creed.
Stallone is missed, but Creed III is a stellar example of what the future of both this franchise and its star can be. The film humanizes its antagonist and its conflict in a way that hasn’t been seen in a long time. The boxing feels fresh and the new ideas thrown into the ring are nothing short of captivating.
7. Killers of the Flower Moon
This was one of the two films from my most anticipated list to crack the top ten. I think this is one of Scorsese’s best and it belongs on the Mount Rushmore of period epics. Killers of the Flower Moon is a film that zips through its three hour runtime as it throws you headfirst into tragedy, heartbreak, and deception.
Scorsese finds an unexpected entryway into a story that is unfortunately lost to most of the modern recollection of the era. He tells it through striking cinematography, impeccable set design, and a cadre of award winning performances from its biggest stars and its most vibrant newcomers.
6. Anatomy of a Fall
A strong case could be made that this film offers not only the best child actor performance of all time, but the best canine performance as well. Anatomy of a Fall asks a lot of its principle actors and they deliver in a dialogue heavy film that feels just as kinetic as a wandering bullet. This courtroom drama has many twists and turns that don’t ever overtly deliver their answers.
This film is captivating in the way that it explores the breakdown of a marriage, of careers, and the damage that the fallout creates in its wake. If you were weary of a foreign language film, try this one out.
5. Godzilla Minus One
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when trying to find a new use for it. Godzilla Minus One succeeds where most American adaptations have failed because it trusts the footsteps carved by the 1954 original. This film finds new corners of Post-War Japan for the atomic monster to grapple with. It returns the beast to his vile lizard-brain roots, and entrusts its real tension to its human characters.
Godzilla Minus One has much to say about honor, political handcuffing, and the consequences of total war. It is a visually breathtaking update on a classic story and well-worn character. It ends with one of the most tightly constructed epic battles I’ve ever seen, earning a place in conversation with the likes of Helm’s Deep and the Pelennor Fields.
4. The Holdovers
This film was an instant classic. Its an unpolite and inconsiderate adaptation of all the warm and fuzzy beats that classic Christmas movies give you. It is intentionally rough around the edges and less palatable in the grimy way that independent film evolved into in the 1970s. It feels like a true creation of its era, not just a story set within a certain time frame.
The Holdovers is one of the least jokey, most hilarious movies I saw all year. This movie’s comedy comes from its characters and they ways that they continually surprise and frustrate each other. It’s a heartwarming film about what it takes to get to know someone and the cost it incurs to truly be there for them.
3. Air
Not in a million years would I have ever pegged a sports movie to land in my top three. Air got me so hyped that I immediately went home and ran two miles for the first time in months. This film hits you the same way the classic Rocky flicks do. It is a fist in the air kind of high that I walked out of it with.
Air finds an particularly non-athletic angle into the branding and inspiration of the athlete’s athlete. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have created what might possibly be the ultimate Dad movie. It’s a breezy, smart alec, and funny exploration into one of the most profitable sports partnerships of all time and a rousing dive into part of what makes Michael Jordan Michael Jordan.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The final film to make the leap from most anticipated to favorite. Across the Spider-Verse does the impossible, making Into the Spider-Verse feel tame. This film is such a bold leap forward not just in diversifying what animation can look and feel like, but in storytelling within the superhero genre. Miles Morales soars in his sophomore outing, diving headfirst into the heart of Spider-Man’s legacy and what the character means to so many people.
Across the Spider-Verse finds meaningful ways to expand its already substantial cast of characters and explores the potential of the multiverse. Rather than retreading well worn beats, the film finds new ways to interpret and dissect the mythos while moving its returning characters forward. This film is nothing short of a triumph.
1. Oppenheimer
I’m not a huge Christopher Nolan fan. I like his works but before this year I had yet to love them. I expected Oppenheimer to be fine, an interesting retelling of a figure I knew only from the vicinity. I was not prepared for this film to pack as hard of a punch as it did, not just retelling but picking apart and redressing the greatest triumphs and defeats of one of history’s most prolific scientific minds.
This movie is a masterpiece, a flawless exercise in filmmaking from one of our most high profile directors. Nolan packs so much into this movie and yet it has not felt like a three hour film any of the three times I’ve seen it. There’s a kinetic energy to its pacing that no other biopic has ever managed to match. It’s breezed along by performances from nearly every interesting actor still working. Robert Downey Jr returns in a way that most audiences haven’t seen him in twenty years. Up and comers like Alden Ehrenreich go toe to toe with veterans and deliver rousing performances despite just being guys talking in rooms. Oppenheimer is the apex of what blockbuster filmmaking can and should be and it has been a joy to watch it succeed so much.
Full Ranking
Collin Willis 