The Best Movies of 2023

2023 is officially over and now it is time for my picks for the best movies of 2023. 2023 was a truly great year for cinema. Theaters were packed, we got great movies from great directors, saw new filmmakers emerge, and for me personally, I had an absolute blast. As I mentioned in my Best Director of 2023 piece, this year was loaded with films from some of my all-time favorite filmmakers; Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Michael Mann, Hayao Miyazaki, David Fincher, M. Night Shyamalan, Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Ari Aster, Kelly Riechardt, Steven Soderbergh, and several other great filmmakers made excellent movies this year. We had a bunch of entertaining popcorn flicks made for the big screen like Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Creed III, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Wonka, Gran Turismo, and of course, Barbie. 2023 was also an impressively good year for animated movies, but a down year for comic book movies, though I don’t think anyone is complaining about that.

But it wasn’t without its hiccups. The first half of 2023 seemed like the first “normal” year following the COVID-19 outbreak and the fallout of that and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Until the writers’ and actors’ strike put Hollywood on hold for a few months while they negotiated a fair deal regarding streaming and A.I. This did cause some movies to push their release dates to 2024, most notably Denis Villeneuve’s hotly anticipated Dune: Part Two, and it prevented actors from promoting their films during this time, which caused some films to underperform at the box office. They eventually agreed and the 2023 movie year finished as strong as ever.

I saw 175 films in 2023, a little lower than previous years, but still a good amount. There were several movies I missed for one reason or another, like Ridley Scott’s Napolean, Ava Duvernay’s Origin (though I’ll be catching that when it gets a wide release in January), Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings, and a slew of documentaries and foreign films. I wish I could have seen them all, but I am only one man.

I will first list my Honorable Mentions, ten films that I really liked but just missed the cut. Then, you will get my top ten(ish) movies of 2023 with further analysis as to why I ranked them the best.

Here are my picks for the best movies of 2023.

 

Honorable Mention

Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)

• Wes Anderson’s latest is an immaculately made sci-fi comedy about accepting the unknown.

BlackBerry (Matt Johnson)

• The rise and fall of one of the biggest cellphone companies ever features an insanely good performance by Glenn Howerton.

Creed III (Michael B. Jordan)

• Michael B. Jordan made his directorial debut in this hard-hitting sequel about legacy and family.

Ferrari (Michael Mann)

• Michael Mann returned to the big screen for a stirring film about car pioneer Enzo Ferrari.

Godzilla Minus One (Takashi Yamazaki)

• The best Godzilla has ever looked on screen.

The Killer (David Fincher)

• Michael Fassbender is excellent in David Fincher’s slick, funny, meta film.

Knock at the Cabin (M. Night Shyamalan)

• M. Night Shyamalan keeps his streak of good movies going with this chilling apocalyptic thriller featuring the best performance of Dave Bautista’s career.

May/December (Todd Haynes)

• Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, and Charles Melton are sublime in Todd Haynes’s melodrama about perception.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Christopher McQuarrie)

• The latest entry in the iconic spy franchise finds Tom Cruise fighting artificial intelligence and riding a motorcycle off a cliff. It’s awesome.

The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)

• Jonathan Glazer’s haunting portrayal of a family of Nazis living on the outskirts of Auschwitz.

 

And now, the best movies of 2023.

 

10 – The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki)/The First Slam Dunk (Takehiko Inoue)

Am I cheating by having a tie at number ten? Maybe, but it’s my list and I can do what I want. 2023 was a great year for animated movies and a great year for Asian cinema, and these two Japanese animated films represent the greatness of both.

The Boy and the Heron was animation master Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in a decade, yet he did not miss a step, making a beautiful coming-of-age movie about accepting and coping with loss, all while taking us into a weird, beautiful fantasy world. The little-seen The First Slam Dunk is an exciting look at the relationship of a high school basketball team during one of their big games. The animation in both films is astonishing and the films are filmed with exciting set pieces and deep emotion.

9 – The Iron Claw (Sean Durkin)

One of the toughest film-going experiences I had in 2023 came from Sean Durkin’s harrowing The Iron Claw. This is a brutal, heart-wrenching film about the Von Erich wrestling family and shows their rise in the wrestling world and the tragic falls that came with it. Zac Efron gives the performance of his life as Kevin Von Erich, the oldest of the four Von Erich brothers who must cope with all the tragedy around him despite being emotionally sheltered by his hard-nosed father (Holt McCallany).

If you’ve never heard of the Von Erichs and their story, The Iron Claw will serve as an American sports tragedy. If you’ve heard of the Von Erichs and know what happened to them, you’ll be rewarded with a gripping and tragic look at a cursed family and a dissection of brotherhood and toxic masculinity. Either way, you’re watching the best film from one of the most underrated directors working today.

8 – Air (Ben Affleck)

Air tells the story of Nike’s pursuit of basketball icon Michael Jordan in 1984. With the Jordan brand bringing in billions of dollars a year and is one of the most popular brands in the world, know how this story ultimately ends. But like all great sports movies, it isn’t how the movie ends, it’s about the journey we took to get there. From a debut screenplay by Alex Convery, Air hits classic sports movie tropes while also featuring smart, fast dialog. It’s an inspirational, rousing film about putting yourself on the line for what you believe in and never giving up on yourself, even when all hope seems lost. The talented ensemble led by Matt Damon brings the script to life, along with Ben Affleck’s swift, efficient, and energetic direction. He embeds us in 1984 culture by utilizing authentic costumes, sets, and great needle drops.

Much like the film’s star athlete, Air is greatness on every level.

7 – Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)

Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning drama is a top-tier courtroom drama and as gripping as movies got in 2023. Sandra Hüller gives the best performance by any actor in 2023 as Sandra, a woman suspected of murdering her husband and their blind son (Milo Machado Graner, a stunning debut) being the only key witness.

Triet doesn’t spoon-feed us anything. There are long takes and extended sequences in the French courtroom as Sandra and her son are being grilled on the stand about the events of the day and what they believe happened. The dialog moves at rapid speed, revealing more about the characters and events, twisting our minds as to what we think happened. Triet doesn’t give anything away and by the end of the film, you still have a million questions about the case and what happened. Anatomy of a Fall is a captivating and remarkable film.

6 – The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)

Alexander Payne’s first film since 2017 can be ranked as one of the best in his filmography. Paul Giamatti would be my choice for Best Actor in 2023 as he gives the best performance of his career as Paul Hunham, a tough, cranky teacher at an isolated prep school who ends up having to watch over one of his students (Dominic Sessa, a revelation) at the school because he can’t go home. They are joined by the school’s cafeteria administrator Mary Lamb (Oscar-bound Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

Wonderfully written by David Hemingson, The Holdovers is a perfect blend of comedy and drama while also filled with interesting and complex characters. Payne’s choice to make the film look like it was ripped from the 1970s was a smart choice that gave the film a unique look and made the harsh cold in the film feel even harsher. The trio of Giamatti, Randolph, and Sessa all have perfect chemistry and Giamatti’s physical acting in the film was the funniest thing I saw in a movie in 2023.

5 – Past Lives (Celine Song)

Celine Song made the directorial debut of the year with Past Lives, a movie about connection, love, and realizing your growth as a person. The film looks at Nora and Hae Sung, two childhood friends who are separated from each other when Nora’s parents move to America from South Korea. They lose contact and both move on with their lives until twenty years later when Hae Sung visits New York for a weekend and the two reconnect.

Greta Lee and Teo Yoo are magnificent as adult Nora and Hae Sung, and Joe Magaro gives one of the great unsung performances of 2023 as Nora’s boyfriend. Song’s delicate direction and the swooning score by Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen make your heart swell. Past Lives is a movie I have not stopped thinking about since I saw it back in June and a movie that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

4 – John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chad Stahelski)

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a stunning piece of action filmmaking. A non-stop barrage of bullets, blood, and mayhem over a nearly three-hour-long runtime. What elevates it to be one of the best action movies of the decade and one of the best films of 2023 is the immaculate filmmaking throughout. This is director Chad Stahelski’s best directorial effort to date, and you see how much he has grown as a filmmaker since the first John Wick nearly a decade ago. The action sequences are crisper and more hard-hitting. The cinematography by Dan Lausten is the best of the year. The colors, lighting, and movement during the action sequences give the film a distinct look. The editing is fast and efficient, and the set pieces are stunning.

And at the center of it all is star Keanu Reeves, in the performance of a lifetime as our battered hero. Though only saying a few words throughout the film, Reeves gives a performance like that of a skilled dancer. You never feel like he is counting his steps trying to hit his spot. He flows naturally through each scene and makes them feel natural. It is an amazing piece of physical acting.

3 – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson)

The biggest and best sequel of 2023 was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, a rousing sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The sequel finds Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) getting launched into the Spider-Verse and meeting several other Spider-People who protect the existence of all timelines. However, Miles begins to clash with these Spider-People, particularly their leader (voiced by Oscar Isaac), when he tries to stop a future event from happening and must redefine what it means to be a hero.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a game-changer. The animation in the film, in which they used six different styles of animation throughout the film, is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The film is one of the longest animated movies I have ever seen and one of the biggest animated films ever made in terms of scale and scope. It questions the conventions and tropes of superhero movies and, like all great superhero movie sequels, it’s bigger, bolder, and has more emotion than the first film. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a revolutionary film.

2 – Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)

The latest Martin Scorsese film finds the director looking at the American tragedy of the serial murders of the oil-rich Osage tribe in 1920s Oklahoma. The film follows Earnest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), a war veteran who marries Molly (an outstanding Lily Gladstone) a pure-blood Osage. While seemingly happy, Burkhart starts to take cues from his uncle William ‘King’ Hale (Robert De Niro, his best performance in years) and sets forth a plan to funnel the Osage oil money to his family.

Like all Scorsese films, Killers of the Flower Moon is filmmaking on the highest level. The cinematography, score, editing by the legendary Thelma Schoonmaker, and direction by Scorsese are exemplary and the story is brought to life by the pitch-perfect cast. Scorsese shows us once again that America is rooted in blood, evil, and greed and is run by evil men. It’s a chilling, heartbreaking American tragedy, and another stunning epic from arguably the greatest director to ever get behind the camera.

1 – Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)

Oppenheimer has been my number one movie since I saw it back in July and while 2023 was an incredibly strong year for films, it only gets better with every watch. This is Christopher Nolan firing on all cylinders. He made a movie about a tortured genius and the consequences of man’s actions. He made a biopic as only he could but giving us dueling storylines and plot lines from different character perspectives that miraculously come together seamlessly by the end. He made the most epic movie of 2023, utilizing IMAX cameras and 70mm film to accentuate the grand landscapes and highlight how big and important the events of the film are. Even the scenes that feature Oppenheimer or Strauss being interrogated in small rooms feel epic, something no other filmmaker working today could make happen. It is a technical marvel on every level, with top-notch cinematography, editing, costumes, visual effects, and the best score of the year. Nolan’s screenplay is the best of his career both in its structuring and the dialog and is brought to life by the most stacked ensemble of the year, led by career-best Cillian Murphy and a slew of great supporting performances from the likes of Emily Blunt, Josh Hartnett, David Krumholtz, Jason Clarke, and an unbelievable Robert Downey Jr.

Oppenheimer is a towering masterpiece that has the potential to go down as Nolan’s finest hour as a filmmaker. It is the best movie of 2023 and, as of this writing, the best movie of the 2020s.

 

 

So long, 2023. It’s been one hell of a year.

 

 

 

 

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