Top 25 Movies of 2023

Intro:

What a great year at the movies! Best since 2019, if you ask me! I always try to get my best-of list out before the Oscars air, wondering whether my friends and loved ones will bother watching the broadcast, but so many high profile movies were nominated this year that people may actually tune in! Anyway, here are my favorite movies from 2023, starting with my honorable mentions (paired by theme):

Honorable Mentions:

Wes Anderson’s Short Films - Not feature-length, but together, a stunning accomplishment

They Cloned Tyrone/No One Will Save You - Excellent sci-fi streamers out of nowhere

Scream 6/Evil Dead Rise - Late-in-franchise horror sequels that continue to rock

Saltburn/Priscilla - Vibes movies about tiny people caught in Jacob Elordi’s massive orbit

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves/Maestro - IYKYK

No Hard Feelings/You Hurt My Feelings - Comedies about feelings!

The Killer/John Wick 4 - Assassins on a rampage with mixed results

Suzume/Nimona - GREAT year in animation! More coming on the list proper.

Blackberry/Air - Biopics about Capitalism and the personalities that perpetuate it

Blue Beetle/The Marvels - A genre in decline released these charming but imperfect entries

Knock at the Cabin/Leave the World Behind - It’s the end of the world as we know it

Infinity Poole/Thanksgiving - Body horror auteurs, old and new, releasing bangers

How to Blow Up a Pipeline/Dream Scenario - Absolutely nothing in common

Top 25:

25. Rye Lane (9/10) Hulu

What if romantic comedy but young, British, and heavily indebted to the style and tone of both Linklater and Edgar Wright?!?

24. Bottoms (9/10) Amazon Prime

The emerging class of film-school-grad-improv-trained writers/actors/directors/comediennes taking young Hollywood by storm (Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott, Emma Seligman, Molly Gordon) came together this year to enrich our lives through two of my favorite comedies. Of the two, Bottoms is so loose and chaotic that I wasn’t sure I was really connecting with it until the pieces came together in the final act. So absurd, so fun. So, so gay! I adored. 

23. Talk to Me (9/10) VOD

Another A24 indie horror masterpiece for the ages! With a lot to enjoy in the moment, and even more to chew on afterwards. 

22. Beau is Afraid (9/10) Showtime

It’s hard to say anything coherent or salient about this Freudian anxiety nightmare. Unlike Talk to Me, I wasn’t sure while watching whether I was enjoying anything about Ari Aster’s latest and longest project, but like Talk to Me, I’ve since delighted in mulling over its images, themes and ideas. Just a truly, truly unique cinematic experience from one of our emerging masters in weird cinema.

21. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (9/10) Disney+

If the MCU really is on the way out (time will tell), this may turn out to be its final great movie. And it is great. James Gunn brings all the heart and humor to his final Guardians installment, and it’s every bit as delightful, visually stunning and heartfelt as its predecessors. What a trilogy!

20. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem (9/10) Amazon Prime, Paramount+

Every couple years the Oscars absolutely whiffs it on the Best Animated Feature category by snubbing one of the most undeniable animated achievements of its year. The Lego Movie. The Lego BATMAN Movie. This year it’s Mutant Mayhem, an absolute delight for longtime TMNT fans and newcomers alike. Is it the best TMNT movie? Absolutely, and it’s not even that close.

19. Theater Camp (9/10) Hulu

The other entry (with Bottoms) in the young-comedienne canon this year is Molly Gordon’s co-directorial debut, the Christopher Guest-inspired Theater Camp. This mockumentary comedy will ring especially true for former theater kids, but I genuinely believe anyone could appreciate the talented young ensemble (Gordon, Ben Platt, Ayo Edibiri, Noah Galvin, Jimmy Tatro) and their absurdly serious approach to summer camp and local community theater. 

18. Godzilla Minus One (9.5/10) VOD

If you like the American Godzilla movies but wish there were any emotional stakes at all, and that Godzilla was actually scary, look no further than Minus One! Also, prepare yourself for a gutting exploration of survivors’ guilt and the devastation of war on whole nations. Plus, Godzilla goes RAAAWR!

*5 minutes in: why are there humans on my screen? I wanna see Godzilla!

2 hours in: f*ck Godzilla, I would die for any one of these humans

17. May December (9.5/10) Netflix

If you struggle with movies that seem to adopt a cavalier attitude toward age gap relationships (Licorice Pizza etc), and desire something with a clearer moral stance on the topic, Todd Haynes’ May December may actually be right up your alley. Not-so-loosely based on the Mary Kay Letoureau scandal of the mid-90s, May December takes an unflinching look at how child-predation extended into lifelong marriage can psychologically impact the victim for life. Add to that stylish direction, a devilishly campy tone and three absolute powerhouse performances at the center (Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Riverdale’s Charles Melton), and May December is an eminently watchable and surprisingly thrilling melodrama.

16. American Fiction (9.5/10) VOD

Satire is hard to do well, especially film. If it’s too subtle, you risk the audience taking away the wrong lessons (Fight Club, American Psycho). If it’s not subtle enough, it comes across ham-fisted or as preaching to the choir (anything Adam McCay has made post-Big Short). Movies about race, too, must walk a fine line in our continually fraught cultural climate. For my money, Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction strikes just the right balance in every direction. It’s funny, biting, with compelling human stakes and excellent performances. I think most folks would get something out of this, whether they’re tired of America’s persistent marginalization of black voices, or exhausted by the disingenuous corporate virtue signaling that seldom if ever leads to any lasting change. Also so funny!

15. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (9.5/10) Starz

Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a sophisticated work of adaptation that expands on the themes and story of the original to include more of Margaret’s mother’s perspective, played here by the ever-brilliant Rachel McAdams. This creates a more mature and balanced story that can appeal to all ages, with heartbreaking sincerity and a refreshingly honest depiction of the youthful search for spirituality.

14. Anatomy of a Fall (9.5/10) VOD

I’m not married, and Anatomy of a Fall almost makes me grateful for the fact. What if the elements of a troubled marriage, all the terse remarks, screaming matches and seething resentments, all became evidence in a murder trial? What if that trial was held in the judicial wild west of France? All these questions and more are answered in Justine Triet’s absolutely nail-biting courtroom thriller, deservedly nominated for multiple top awards at this year’s Oscars.

13. Showing Up (9.5/10) Showtime

Kelly Reichardt is not everyone’s cup of tea, with such a methodical and meticulous approach to storytelling that calling some of her films slow would not be totally unwarranted. And this year’s Showing Up might be the apotheosis of that tendency. Showing Up isn’t exactly plot-forward, centering as it does on a curmudgeonly artist (Michelle Williams), her Portland art community, a pigeon she’s trying to nurse back to health, and the art show she plans to host by story’s end. But you know what? That’s ok! Because you know what isn’t always exciting? Making art! That’s right, Reichard’s latest collaboration with Michelle Williams is about how art, like love, and life, is about showing up, whether or not it’s always exciting or sexy or inspiring. You just show up! That’s the whole thing! You show up, do your scales, practice your sculpting, write your pages, and hope and pray that you’ll be a worthy vessel once creation strikes. That’s why Showing Up is, I believe, one of the great movie titles ever, along with Being There and How Do You Live?

12. Poor Things (9.5/10) Hulu

It’s wild how Poor Things, a psychosexual Frankenstein story in which Emma Stone plays a baby in an adult body for a decent chunk of its runtime and Willem Dafoe burps bubbles, may be Yorgos Lanthimos’ most accessible movie. Sure it’s raunchy, and weird, but it’s also hilarious, captivating, and as well acted as anything this year (any other year I’d love for Stone to win her second Oscar for this). Plus, I’m not a production design aficionado by nature, but the sets in this movie are stunning. Colorful, anachronistic, steampunk influenced. The production design takes the story out of time and into its own science fantasy world. Absolutely stunning.

11. Zone of Interest (9.5/10) VOD

Some movies are fun, or funny. Others are touching, or heartwarming. Some stories give their audiences hope for a better future. Others inspire us to make the most of our short lives. Zone of Interest does none of these things. Rather, it is an experience that will chill your bones and churn your stomach. It will confront you with the banality of evil in a way you’ve probably never imagined possible. It will force you to reckon with the horrors of the Holocaust and the rot of the human soul without ever showing you anything graphic or explicit. What you will hear, on the other hand, will change you. This one is not for the faint of heart. But it’s also not like anything you’ve ever seen, nor will likely ever see.

10. Past Lives (9.5/10) Showtime

What could have been? It’s a haunting question, particularly pertaining to matters of the heart. How many of us lose time wondering what our lives might have been, or who we might have become, if only for a single different choice, or a different partner at the right time. Celine Song’s Past Lives explores these ideas with sensitivity, curiosity, and a certain poetry. It’s a story full of longing, and a climactic release you may not see coming, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll feel it. Oh, you’ll feel it.

9. The Holdovers (9.5/10) Peacock

Alexander Payne’s latest is a first-rate throwback to 70s dramedies a la Hal Ashby, a first-rate Christmas movie (of which there are relatively few; fight me), and a first-rate movie about being an educator. I understand the critique that The Holdovers might feel a bit toothless for a Payne feature, but I actually love when acidic filmmakers churn out something more sentimental. Like, when a Payne or Baumbach or Coen can find a little sweetness in life, it feels more hard-won and meaningful. Also, Paul Giamatti’s a 🐐 and Dominic Sessa’s a 🌟

8. The Iron Claw (9.5/10) VOD

Director Sean Durkin doesn’t seem to make movies just for the sake of it. He takes his time, and appears to only invest his energy and resources into projects that suit his sensibilities. This has led to a certain scarcity of output, but it’s also ensured that his legacy is only impacted by his handful of masterpiece-caliber films. His latest, The Iron Claw, shares the occasional horror aesthetics and emotional brutality of his first two features (2011’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and 2020’s The Nest), but what sets it apart is its surprisingly tender heart. This may owe to Durkin’s documented love for the world of local wrestling, the inherently tragic nature of the story at the film’s center, or the heart-on-sleeve performance of its absolutely stellar lead Zac Efron. Whatever the reason, The Iron Claw is a towering achievement in empathetic storytelling, a touching ode to family, and a devastating reminder that Western masculinity is a prison. And to some, a life sentence.

7. Asteroid City (10/10) Amazon Prime

Despite his meticulous (verging on compulsive) style, Anderson’s latest feels like a story told by someone with their heart and mind wide open. Asteroid City may be esoteric in concept and structure, with layers of story and high-minded philosophical interests, but for my money it’s also Anderson’s most accessible in humor and tone. In fact, it boasts some of my biggest laughs of the year, some of the most of-the-moment political concerns, and at least half a dozen absolutely transcendent performances from frequent Anderson collaborators (Jason Schwartzmann, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Jeffrey Wright) and newcomers (Tom Hanks, Maya Hawke, and Scarlett Johansson in her live action Anderson debut) alike. Sadly, Anderson’s latest was left out of the conversation come Oscar season, but I have a feeling time will be kind to it. 

6. The Boy and the Heron (10/10) Max

It feels like an act of mercy for Miyazaki to come out of retirement, after such a fitting swan song in 2013’s The Wind Rises, if only to leave us with a tender bit of parting wisdom. A balm for our chaotic, death-soaked world, in which we understandably scramble to answer the rhetorical question at this film’s center: How do you live? *gestures at everything* HOW DO YOU LIVE?!? No easy answers, either. Just a story. A story about a boy swimming in grief after the senseless death of his mother. About a world of enchantment beckoning to a child whose world had lost its own. A world of liminality, mystery, absurdity, beauty and terror. A world not entirely unlike our own. How do you live? You just do. You remember that those you’ve lost never stop guiding you. You make choices. You keep the doors of your heart open when it’d be easier to close them. You make room for the new while leaving space for the old. You trust there is still time to be surprised, that grace may find you again even after long seasons of disenchantment. You live. You have to. And you get to.

5. Oppenheimer (10/10) VOD

I was one of the tens of thousands of Barbenheimer adherents with tickets for the two films’ joint opening weekend, and like many others, my loyalties leaned slightly in one direction over the other. Christopher Nolan is undeniably one of our great living auteurs, with more than a couple 5/5 star masterpieces under his belt, but I’d be lying to say I was more excited for a 3-hour, partially black-and-white, historical biopic than I was for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Hell, I’d be lying if I said that I was equally excited. If anything, Oppenheimer had a much steeper hill to climb for me, but boy did it transcend all expectations. Indeed, it may not be my very favorite movie of the year, but I’ll be thrilled when Oppenheimer sweeps at the Oscars and wins Nolan his long-awaited laurels. It also might be my absolute favorite of his films, with its philosophical heft, moral thorniness, excellent ensemble and INSANE practical visuals. I’m just so glad we live in a world where both films buoyed each other into shared success. Movies are back, baby!

4. Barbie (10/10) Max

Gerwig’s Barbie is the best and funniest studio comedy I’ve seen in years, which ALSO manages to function as a potent portrayal of existential crisis (even faith crisis?). It showcases Margot Robbie giving a deeply soulful dramatic performance, Ryan Gosling in one of the best comedic performances I’ve ever seen, AND America Ferrera as an unexpected and delightful standout. Gerwig, Robbie & co. accomplished all this while ALSO creating a fully-realized world around these characters that absolutely sparkles, with decadent painted landscapes, killer production design, and waves of genuine color in place of the CGI blandness we’ve come to expect. Also, as others have mentioned, imagine having grown up with this movie?! An honest, unsubtle but somehow nuanced refutation of the patriarchal exploitation of women? Some naive part of me believes this could actually move the needle over time. Perhaps be a little pink spark of goodness in a sea of excrement. We’ll see. In any case, my girl Greta DOES NOT MISS.

*Tag yourself I'm DEFINITELY Allan

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (10/10) Netflix

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse utterly changed the cinematic animation landscape, directly influencing all the best animations to have premiered since (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, This Year’s TMNT: Mutant Mayhem). And for its originality, charm and style, it made a modest splash at the box office. This year’s sequel, on the other hand, landed with the weight it sorely deserved, becoming a colossal worldwide box office smash and absolute critical juggernaut. Across the Spider-Verse carried over everything that made its predecessor so stellar, and even managed to double down on the painterly sets and landscapes of its CGI world. As with all the best animated films, it proved that animation is cinema, after all. It also has Spider-Man. Many Spider-people, in fact. A perfect film. 

2. Killers of the Flower Moon (10/10) Apple TV+

There has been discourse aplenty around Martin Scorsese’s colossal, epic exploration of wealth, treachery and the local genocide of the Osage people in 1920’s Oklahoma. Is it too long? Does it center the wrong voices? Is it too sympathetic to its white protagonist? Was this Scorsese’s story to tell in the first place? I think these are fair questions (albeit some more than others), but I don’t think any one of them ultimately diminishes what is one of the great works in the career of one of our greatest living storytellers. From certain angles one imagines why Scorsese was attracted to the material, since organized crime is one of his perennial fascinations, but what truly oozes from his 3.5 hour opus is a desire to reckon with America’s sins. Why are we the way we are? Is there any saving us? How do we atone for the crimes of our past, and whose stories need told to begin the healing? At the end of the day, I am grateful that such an industry giant went out of his way to foreground the wounds of our past which continue to plague or present. After all, the killing of Indigenous women is still rampant, but too often goes unreported, and uninvestigated when reported. I’m also grateful that he brought us one of the greatest performances I’ve seen in years from Lily Gladstone, an undeniable talent who has been underserved by a still-racist film industry.

1. All of Us Strangers (10/10) Hulu

There was a decent chance Killers of the Flower Moon would end the year in my top spot. But the last movie I saw this year, and one for which I'd waited all year, was Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers. I’ve seen all of Haigh’s film work, and have loved his gentle, unassuming style and naturalistic voice in pretty much every one of his movies. I’ve also loved his representations not just of queer physicality but of queer tenderness, queer connection, and queer romance. All of that is brought to bear on his latest feature, combining his uniquely Gen X gay experience with a story about grief, and the temptation to become lost in our memories while life passes us by. It’s about the hope that life can start again, but also a warning that we dare not wait. And it has some of the very best performances of the year from all 4 of its stars: Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. What a year for great acting! Geeze! Anyway, thanks for coming along on this journey as always. See you at the movies!