Over the course of 2023, I watched 464 movies for a whooping total of 805 hours or 33 days, and 163 of those movies were released in 2023. Over one hundred of the movies I saw were in a theater, the rest were either released straight to streaming, or I missed in theaters and had to catch up on streaming. Overall, I would say that it was a good year for movies, and the box office performed well. It reached over 9 billion dollars in the U.S, which is the goal for a good year in the movies, but there is some worry for next year, because of the writers’ strike, that there might not be as many movies, and thus less money, but that is the future’s problem. The only problem I have with my list this year is that three of my top ten films are from franchises, and I feel like independent original stories should rule the day. Let us talk about what movies made this year great! I will have my whole list attached, but I will write a brief snippet as to why I think my top ten movies are worth watching, and I highlighted some of my other favorites from the year as well, because you can still be an enjoyable watch, even if you do not get 4 stars or more.
1. Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse: I have spent a lot of time internally debating whether this should really be my number one movie, but I cannot think of any reasons for it not to be. It was the only film that I gave five stars this year, and it earned it. It is animated, but it is animated in a way that is unlike anything else. There are so many images that were just beautiful, none better than Miles and Gwen hanging upside down looking at New York. Even the times, when I thought the animation did not work, after looking at it long enough, I slowly started to love it. The story was also so propulsive, and it puts Miles in a tough spot, and on top of that it ends on a cliff hanger, the movie flew by so fast that I could not believe it was over. Also I still listen to the songs from the movie, and one of them was number one on my Spotify year end wrapped list, “Am I Dreaming.” This was also one of two movies that I went and saw twice in the theaters, and both times I paid extra money to see it in IMAX, and it was worth it. Streaming on Netflix now!
2. Past Lives: I really debated putting this one as number one for the year, when I think about this year, this movie will probably be the first that I think of. It was so emotionally potent, and I cannot remember the last film that broke my heart as much as this movie did. The performances were great, and what makes this so hard to believe is that this was the directorial debut by Celine Song. Portions of this were filmed in New York, and it was beautifully filmed. The last scene is what seals the deal, there is so much work that needs to be done to get to this point, but to land the plane as well as they did is masterful. It is not streaming anywhere yet, but I cannot recommend watching this enough.
3. Oppenheimer: This movie swept the nation, and its duel with Barbie, which did not make my top ten, helped to raise its awareness. It also helps that it was directed by Christopher Nolan, and he is one of the greatest directors working today, and without using any CGI, he told the story of the creation of the atomic bomb, but not only that, but he also waded into the heavier topic of how much this creation burdened Oppenheimer. The score in this movie helped to propel it forward, so even in the slower parts, the audience knew that it was building up to something. They had a whole hour of the film left, after the atomic bomb was dropped, and it kept the energy, which is hard to do. I also saw this in a packed IMAX theater, which is the only movie I have seen in a packed IMAX theater this year. Normally it is sparsely populated, so it was amazing to feel like I was a part of something at the movies instead of my normal relatively alone. The explosion scene in IMAX makes it all worth it, not even just for the visuals, but for the sound.
4. Anatomy of a Fall: This was a French film, and it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, which is not an easy feat, and it bodes well for the awards season, but for some reason, France did not submit this for best international feature. It follows a woman, who is charged with murdering her husband. As the viewer, we do not know the truth, we have to follow along with the trial, and we have to use the evidence that they presented to decide if she was innocent or not. There is a flashback of a marital fight, and the acting is phenomenal. The story drew me in completely, and it shows how truths can be bent so easily in the judicial system, it all comes down to what the jury believes, and that might not be what happened.
5. Evil Dead Rise: This might be my favorite movie of the year, and I am so glad that a horror movie made it into the top ten. I am not a fan of the original three Evil Dead movies, so I did not expect to like this movie, but I was so wrong. I loved it! It is the other film that I went and saw twice. Scary movies that have a great opening scene are my favorites, and when this one starts out in a cabin with a friend who is “sick,” and then it turns more sinister quickly, I was in, and then it did not fall off after that. They even connected the opening scene to end of the movie, even though they seemed totally disconnected. There is so much gore in this movie, and the injuries made me cringe multiple times. It really creates tension and has some serious scares, but it also made me laugh. They also create some cool shots, like the one through the peep hole in the apartment while carnage is happening in the hallway. There is still some of the light heartedness that people love from the original, but I enjoyed the way this looked and the way the story was told much more than the originals. There is a cheese grater, and someone chokes on an eyeball, need I say more!? It is streaming on Prime now.
6. John Wick Chapter 4: As far as action movies go, it would be hard to beat this one! It is almost three hours long, and it is nonstop! It picks up right where the third one left off, Wick has been excommunicado, and now everyone is out to get him. They go through Paris, and Wick leaves carnage in his wake. He kills so many people. This is some of the best action I have ever seen choreographed. They also do it in some great settings. All the Wick movies do a great job with using neon lights, and they use night clubs as well. This one brings in some new weapons, including exploding fire bullets, and they use a new camera angle that makes it look like a video game. It is almost three hours long with minimal dialogue, but it flies by and concludes with a duel after Wick climbs a never-ending staircase filled with enemies.
7. Killers of the Flower Moon: Martin Scorsese is largely looked upon as one of the greatest directors of all time, and he created another masterpiece, but this movie was incredibly long, and the subject matter was very dark. This made it hard to sit through and watch, and the run time was felt. It was filmed beautifully, and it did tell an important story. It also has some incredible performances, and many people are predicting Lily Gladstone will win best actress at the Oscar’s, but of the films in my top ten, this one was probably my least favorite, but that does not mean that it was not stellar.
8. BlackBerry: This one went under the radar, and it came out earlier in the year. It is the story of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry phone, and although it was made on a smaller scale, it is still a great watch. They filmed it with documentary cameras, so they take many close-up shots from far away, and they do an excellent job of creating emotion around the decisions in the movie. The characters are developed very well, and it is a great story about not settling, and finding out what happens, when you decide good is good enough instead of continuing to chase greatness.
9. Leave the World Behind: This is a Netflix film, and it came out about a month ago, so it is very accessible, so you should watch it immediately or after Across the Spiderverse. This is an apocalypse movie that feels all too real. A family takes a vacation just outside of New York city, and they are at a relatively secluded house, but then an oil tanker crashes ashore the beach they are on, their phones stop working, and the TV stops broadcasting, and slowly everything devolves around them. They create a tense story, and it generates some genuine fear. It is hard to decide who to trust, and what is real. It keeps you on your toes, and I could not take my eyes away from the screen. My only gripe with this film is their poorly CGIed animals.
10. Poor Things: After reviewing the list, this was the only film that I made a switch with on the top 10 list, it was originally eleventh, but after some consideration, I had to switch it. This was a completely original story, and it was so different than anything that I had ever seen before, that it deserves some love. It had some impeccable performances, albeit weird performances by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo. The setting although on Earth was bent to make it look other worldly at times, and the sky always looked amazing. I did not love the choice to start the movie out in black and white, but I think it was trying to show the world slowly opening to Emma Stone’s character as she slowly chased after what she wanted no matter what society did to try and persuade her otherwise. It was totally weird, but I could not help but fall in love, especially after the dance scene between Ruffalo and Stone.
11. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1
12. Maestro
13. The Covenant
14. When Evil Lurks
15. Creed III
16. Infinity Pool
17. The Wonderful World of Henry Sugar
18. Rye Lane
19. Barbie
20. Nimona
21. Kill Boksoon
22. Talk to Me
23. Hell House LLC Origins
24. The Holdovers
25. The Killer
26. Napoleon
27. Godzilla Minus One
28. Totally Killer
29. Saltburn
30. Priscilla
31. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mahem
32. How to Blow Up a Pipeline
33. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Chicken Nugget
34. Bottoms
35. You Hurt My Feelings
36. Are You There God? It’s Me Margret
37. The Creator
38. Asteroid City
39. Extraction 2
40. The Flash
41. The Blackening
42. Atom Eve
43. No Hard Feelings
44. Hunger Games: Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes
45. Iron Claw
46. Reality
47. Sharksploitation
48. Dumb Money
49. Ferrari
50. The Color Purple
51. Boys in the Boat
52. Air
53. Dream Scenario
54. May December
55. They Cloned Tyrone
56. Wild Life
57. The Equalizer 3
58. Scream VI
59. A Man Called Otto
60. Insidious: The Red Door
61. Family Switch
62. Knock at the Cabin
63. Polite Society
64. You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah
65. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
66. No One Will Save You
67. Flamin’ Hot
68. V/H/S 85
69. Anyone But You
70. Mafia Mama
71. The Marvels
72. Next Goal Wins
73. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
74. Wonka
75. Elemental
76. Paint
77. Missing
78. Super Mario Bros.
79. Shazam: Fury of the Gods
80. Chang Can Dunk
81. Joy Ride
82. Honor Society
83. Plane
84. Beau Is Afraid
85. Crater
86. White Men Can’t Jump
87. Sound of Freedom
88. Strays
89. The Boy and the Heron
90. Eileen
91. Transformers Rise of the Beasts
92. Brooklyn 45
93. About My Father
94. A Thousand and One
95. The Boogeyman
96. M3gan
97. Jules
98. Birth/Rebirth
99. Hypnotic
100. Magic Mike’s Last Dance
101. Sisu
102. 65
103. Big George Foreman
104. Saw X
105. Five Nights at Freddy’s
106. It Lives Inside
107. Thanksgiving
108. Rebel Moon
109. Wish
110. The Exorcist: Believer
111. The Meg 2
112. There’s Something Wrong with the Children
113. Inside
114. Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey
115. 80 for Brady
116. Leo
117. Blue Beatle
118. Night of the Hunted
119. The Machine
120. Dungeon’s and Dragons
121. Migration
122. Paw Patrol: Mighty Movie
123. The Last Voyage of the Demeter
124. Bad Things
125. What’s Love Got to Do With It?
126. The Sacrifice Game
127. Kandahar
128. Renfield
129. The Little Mermaid
130. The Communion Girl
131. Murder Mystery 2
132. Cocaine Bear
133. Blood Flower
134. The Pope’s Exorcist
135. Jason Isabell: Running with my Eyes Closed
136. Demon Slayer: To Swordsmith Village
137. The Sacrifice Game
138. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania
139. Shotgun Wedding
140. The Nun II
141. It’s a Wonderful Knife
142. The Mother
143. The Puppetman
144. Skinamarink
145. Nightmare
146. Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom
147. The Black Demon
148. Theater Camp
150. Children of the Corn
151. Fool’s Paradise
152. Haunted Mansion
153. Gray Matter
154. Fast X
155. House Party
156. Merry Little Batman
157. Silent Night
158. Perpetrator
159. The Tower
160. Consecration
161. Jurassic Ghost Town a Mass Murder Mystery
162. Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken
163. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Not last, but also not a movie or documentary)
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