(This article is part of our Best of 2023 series.)
We are so back! Back like never before. I’m excited to announce that 2023 was an awesome year for movies (at least I thought it was). Every level of the industry brought their A-game.
Superhero fatigue appears to have fully set in in a meaningful way. We are no longer beholden to the endless conveyer belt of IP sludge being the only way for studios to make money. Interesting stories by captivating filmmakers are capturing the attention of audience members everywhere.
A 3-hour biopic about people in rooms talking made over $1 Billion worldwide. Two Japanese films spent a significant number of weeks in the US Box Office Top 5.
There was a lot that made this year special. I’ve tried to sum it up in the following list of my top twelve films of the year. As it’s impossible to stay completely objective when ranking films, I’m staying away from saying these are the “best” films of 2023. On the flip side, because this is not a wholly subjective ranking, I’m avoiding using the terminology of my “favorite” films of 2023.
Either way, the following movies are a representative sample of the movies that spoke to me the most and offer the best examples of cinema’s highest highs in 2023:
12. The Holdovers
Dominic Sessa has the best breakout performance of the year. Going toe to toe with someone as talented as Paul Giamatti is no easy task, and Sessa is more than up for the challenge. Alexander Payne’s stated mission with The Holdovers was to make a movie that feels like it was unearthed from a time capsule from the 1970s. Between the film’s sensibilities, aesthetic, and overall vibes, Payne certainly achieved his goal in what is a promising return to form for him.
11. Asteroid City
Every passing Wes Anderson movie gets quickly passed off as just “the most Wes Anderson thing Wes Anderson has ever made” and not considered much beyond that. However, like 2021’s The French Dispatch, Asteroid City represents another step toward continued growth in Anderson’s films. The emotional weight is ever-present. The aesthetic is so much more than a cheap trick. It serves the narrative; and the narrative reinforces the aesthetic. Anderson reaches a new level of cinematic harmony in this film, and I can’t wait to see where he takes things next.
10. The Killer
I was sold at Michael Fassbender plays a hitman who exclusively listens to The Smiths. Any movie will immediately be made better by “Bigmouth Strikes Again”, “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”, and “This Charming Man” needle drops. The beauty of The Killer is that it’s an efficient and effective genre film made by a master of said genre (thank you David Fincher), that can also take on a host of a zillion different readings. My only reading is that Michael Fassbender looks sweet as hell wearing a Hawaiian shirt/bucket hat combo getting ready for his next kill.
9. May December
Not since Tropic Thunder has Hollywood provided us with such a hilarious takedown of the profession of acting. How parasitic and exploitative it can be. May December is a slightly bizarre and quizzically haunting exploration of how we all perform our roles. Sometimes, it’s a literal acting performance, like Natalie Portman’s character, Elizabeth. However, many times it’s performing as being some semblance of normal, like Julianne Moore and Charles Melton’s characters, Gracie and Joe. Todd Haynes dials up the uneasiness just enough to make this both an enjoyable and thought-provoking watch.
8. Poor Things
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone are quickly becoming the hottest director-actor collaborators since Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio or Bong Joon-ho and Song Kang-ho. Their team up for Poor Things is nothing short of spectacular. Only Emma Stone can bring the character of Bella to life. And only Yorgos can direct with the oddball energy needed to make this movie digestible (I know this sounds oxymoronic, but just trust me). There are definitely sequences that will leave you scratching your head. But more often than not, there are sequences that will blow you away.
7. Godzilla Minus One
In a year full of pleasant surprises, Godzilla Minus One may have been the biggest surprise. I can’t remember a single Godzilla movie that has as much emotional depth to it. At times I was so wrapped up in the drama of the humanity, that I would forget I was watching a Godzilla movie. Then the score would kick in, Godzilla would show up, and I’d sit up in my seat to witness the next great set piece. There’s a lovely harmony between the monster spectacle and the grounded drama that makes Godzilla Minus One the best cinematic tightrope balancing act of the year.
6. The Iron Claw
Zac Efron, I was not familiar with your game. It’s a pleasure to watch someone – who is by all accounts as nice as Efron is – reach such heights in their craft. The role of Kevin Von Erich in The Iron Claw almost feels like the role he was born to play. His ability to both give in to defeat and simultaneously display incredible resolve is nothing short of spectacular. His physicality matches his emotionality and vice versa. Director Sean Durkin navigates a narrative with treacherous terrain with as much grace as he can. Realizing the pinnacle of sports entertainment takes a toll on those willing to reach it. The Iron Claw is a wonderful meditation on how that plays out.
5. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
I know it ends on a cliffhanger, but I can’t help but be enamored with Tom Cruise’s continued dedication to the craft of entertaining audiences. Much like the Ethan Hunt character, Cruise has to will those around him to greater heights. He is our only hope. If he doesn’t jump that motorcycle off that cliff, awful things will happen. At least, that’s what he thinks. Personally, I’m fine with allowing him to think those things, because I cannot wait to see what insane stunt he attempts to pull off next in the name of keeping in-theater entertainment alive.
4. Past Lives
Past Lives felt like a necessary breath of fresh air in a cinematic era defined by the multi-verse. It grounded our obsession with parallel universes and alternate timelines in ways that were surely unintentional but nevertheless impactful. Celine Song’s directorial debut proves that she has an eye for the little moments. It’s those little moments that carry the most weight in this film (like is often true in real life). It’s a beautiful story, whose core thematics are universally understood no matter how uniquely personal they may feel.
3. Rye Lane
This is one of the best rom-coms I’ve seen in quite some time. It’s incredibly charming. The cinematography pops with color and a palpable radiance. The leads are charming, and their chemistry is vibrant. The pace of action is breezy but not rushed. It’s got just about everything one can ask for in a rom-com. First time director Raine Allen-Miller clearly has the goods and it’ll be a treat to see what she cooks up in the future.
2. Barbie
It’s the biggest movie of the year for a reason. It kicks so much ass. Greta Gerwig is cementing herself as one of the great directors of her time. The ability to make an IP driven movie within the studio system, but still retain the artistic integrity to bump up against said system and make the film that she needed to make is the most impressive feat in cinema this year. Ryan Gosling’s Ken is unironically one of the strongest performances of the year. However, his acting choices are just a few among the many inspired artistic choices happening in this movie – from the set design to the original music, to the screenplay, and everything in between. It’s massive achievement and I can’t sing its praises enough.
1. Killers of the Flower Moon
Marty is still the best director working. I’ve marveled at how he’s approached the stages of his career. Each movie feels slightly more intentional than the last. Every choice is as deliberate as he’s ever been. Killers of the Flower Moon is his referendum on not only his entire career, but of cinema as a whole. Killers reaches a level of introspection I never thought imaginable in a film. It does ask a lot of audience members, but I think taking the time to sit with this movie has been nothing but a positive experience for me. I’ve been waiting the last few years for a movie to come around and truly shake me. Killers of the Flower Moon is that movie I’ve been waiting for.
This has been the hardest top 10 for me to compile in years. It was so hard, I ended up making a top 12. Of the over 30 movies that I saw this, almost half of them could have a strong case made for why they deserve to be on this list (the case is that I enjoyed them thoroughly). This also excludes the 10 plus films from 2023 that are still sitting in my watchlist hoping to be plucked next for viewing pleasure.
2023 gives me hope for what we might see from Hollywood and cinema as a whole going forward. So many great new actors and directors made names for themselves this year. Legends of the game are poised to return with exciting new projects. Movies are rad! And we are being reminded of this year after year. What a time to be alive!
Anyway, that’s enough rambling from me. Let me know what you think of my list in the comments. What did I rank too high? What are my egregious omissions? Is there anything that I actually got right?
