Daniel's Top Ten Eleven Movies of 2023!
I saw 162 2023 movies this year. (This does not include the 2022 movies I saw in theaters in 2023; a not very important extinction that I totally think is important and not at all confusing, right?). Streaming helped a bit, but I'm glad to say that most of these were seen in theaters. There were an array of original and interesting films this year. And a lot of that originality put these films at the top. (Full list of movies I saw at the bottom.)
Here they are, in no particular order.
Sanctuary - This was one of the first great films I saw in 2023 and I can't believe it's not getting the accolades it should be. Firstly, it has two of the best acting performances I've seen on film, by Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, two incredibly underrated actors who are going to go far. Last year, I gave Chris props for On the Count of Three. He's great in everything he does. I first saw Qualley giving a pitch-perfect performance portraying Ann Reinking in the mini-series Fosse/Verdon. They both also appear in this year's Poor Things.. The film is set in one location and could rightfully have been a play, but still felt larger than life on the big screen. The script is full of twist and turns & will have you guessing until the end, while enjoying the performances until you get there.
Nimnoa - Nimona is a fantastical and original story in a time of dragons and magic. It tells a story of acceptance, not only of others, but of oneself. It's imaginative and subverts many tropes of animated stories. It's also incredibly queer. And like some other animated films, it knows how to do queer characters justice.
Barbie - This could have been a disaster. In lesser hands, it would have been a dumb advertisement for a brand named toy. Instead, Greta Gerwig wrote and directed a fun, original, thought-provoking and poignant film with believable characters and an interesting and thorough plot. The film provided lots of laughs, some great music and some truly wonderful performances - some that, no matter how ridiculous they got, stayed completely true to their characters.
Talk to Me - One of my favorite horror movie lesser-known tropes is when the movie itself doesn't question its universe's circumstances. Are ghosts real? Omg, what's happening? It's such a waste of time! Talk to Me accepts its fate early on and instead just has fun with the concept, while still taking its characters on a journey of exploration, danger & figuring out how to get out of it. It's a fun ride through the film & a wholly original concept.
Fair Play - I can't believe I have two movies on my list that exudes heterosexual 'men vs women' drama, but here we are. Sometimes I surprise myself. Or maybe it's that these films surprised me. Fair Play is a roller coaster from start to finish with two great leads who play a variety of emotions, sometimes in the same scene. It's smarty written, well-paced & has you on the edge until the end.
Rustin - A black gay American icon who I barely knew anything about. I was glad to see this film at newfest with a queer crowd. It's a remarkable story of a man who fights despite seemingly everyone trying to get in his way. Colman Domingo does Oscar winning work here, as Rustin and I really hope he does well in awards season. It's an inspiring story of a person who deserved more than he got.
American Fiction - Jeffrey Wright is amazing in everything he does, but here, he's just phenomenal in an exceptionally layered performance. The film has a lot to say, and it says it well - not by preaching, but by exploring the ideas it presents. Having a (usually) half-naked Sterling K. Brown playing a late-stage coming-out Gay was also an inspired choice.
Dream Scenario - Talk about original. This is Nick Cage, not only at his zaniest, but also at his most sincere. It's a film that throws you into an insane scenario right away and holds fast until the end. It's a mystery that doesn't need to be solved. The tension and drama (and comedy) builds from the characters being put in an outrageous situation.
Origin - Origin brought up concepts, ideas and comparisons I'd never really considered and like American Fiction, presented them in a way that forced the characters to explore, rather than tell. Ava DuVernay adapted the book and chose to also include the narrative of the author. This was an inspired choice, as the author's journey & experience helped shape her ideas. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor was magnificent in the lead role, and had a great supporting cast including Niecy Nash & Jon Bernthal.
All of Us Strangers - I went back and forth in including this on my list because, well, I hated the ending. But I won't get into that, because the rest of the film is absolutely one of the most beautiful narratives I've seen in film in a long time with everything I needed from the dialogue. It's a fantasy that deals with grief, regrets and the opportunity to fix the impossible. Andrew Scott's nuanced performance is moving as he deals with his grief and fantasy with child-like curiosity mixed with the slight hardness of experience.
May December - This one's here for the performances. You already knew Natalie Portman & Julianne Moore were incredible performers. This is no exception. Here, they create two hateful & terrible characters who are convinced they're good and righteous people. That's hard to pull off. I was pleasantly surprised with Charles Melton as well. Not only his performance, but how the script gave agency and growth to a character who could have easily been written off as one-note, especially when up against two power-house performers like Portman & Moore.
Honorable Mentions:
Monster - An incredible story of the rigors of adolescence, especially when you might be "different". The film also expertly demonstrates how perspective can begin to lead to understanding.
M3gan - Fun, smart & scary, three things you want from a horror flick.
Sick of Myself - I haven't seen a complete and total breakdown of a character since Black Mirror's Nosedive episode.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Smart, nerve-wracking & fast-paced.
Biosphere - This film will have you yelling WTF more than American Dreams while rooting for its flawed characters.
Bottoms - Hilarious - a raunchy gay teen comedy that pulls no punches.
Scrapper - Good character-driven dramedy with bright & bold personalities. 1 of 3 things I've seen Harris Dickinson in this year and definitely his best.
Here's some awards:
List of actors who made me hate their characters (in a good way?)
Teyana Taylor - A Thousand and One
Kristine Kujath Thorp - Sick of Myself
Franz Rowgoski - Passages
Any of the men but especially Mark Ruffalo - Poor Things
Alden Ehrenreich - Fair Play
Any of the men - The Color Purple
All Movies this year named after a brand:
Air 👟
Tetris 🎮
Barbie 👱♀️
Blackberry 📵
Ferrari 🚗
Dungeons & Dragons 🐉
More awards listed next to entries below:
Here's all the 2023 movies I saw this year.
1. M3gan - Best reason for gay Halloween
2. The Pale Blue Eye
3. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #*%!: Movie written by a guy you'd never want to meet at a bar to discuss anything with
4. Skinamarink: Worst movie making you stare at a ceiling for almost 2 hours
5. Plane - Best movie with a somewhat misleading title. (Seriously, most of the movie is not on a plane!)
6. Sick: Best movie to come out of covid.
7. Alice, Darling
8. Missing
9. Infinity Pool - Best use of the name Jaaaaaaaames
10. Knock at the Cabin - Most flawed premise
11. Ant-Man, the 3rd one
12. Of An Age
13. Emily
14. Cocaine Bear
15. Creed III - Biggest waste of homo-eroticism.
16. Scream, the 6th one
17. Five Devils
18. John Wick, the 4th one
19. Inside
20. Tetris
21. Smoking Causes Coughing
22. Enys Men
23. Kill Boksoon
24. Dungeons & Dragons
25. A Thousand and One
26. The Magician’s Elephant
27. The Boston Strangler
28. The Strays
29. Air
30. Renfield
31. The Offering
32. Beau is Afraid - Most panic-attack-inducing movie.
33. Sick of Myself
34. How to Blow Up a Pipeline
35. Evil Dead Rise - Goriest Horror
36. Chevalier
37. Are You There God? It’s me, your cousin Marvin, God
38. Guardians of the Galaxy, the third one
39. Sisu - Best movie about a guy kicking na$i ass
40. L’immensita
41. Blackberry
42. Clock
43. Still
44. Alone at Night
45. The Starling Girl
46. Sanctuary
47. Moon Garden
48. The Little Mermaid
49. We Might as Well Be Dead
50. Your Hurt My Feelings - Realest relationship hurdle.
51. The Boogeyman
52. Tin & Tina
53. Past Lives
54. Across The Spider-Verse
55. The Blackening - Funniest horror
56. Elemental
57. Rye Lane
58. Asteroid City
59. Indiana Jones, the 5th one
60. Nimona
61. Run, Rabbit, Run
62. Eldorado
63. Every Body - Best documentary not currently on the shortlist for Oscar nominees
64. Joy Ride
65. 65 (I did not plan this.)
66. Biosphere
67. Insidious – the 5th one?
68. Wham!
69. Super Mario Brothers
70. Theater Camp - Funniest movie about/by/for theater people.
71. Bird Box, the 2nd one in Barcelona - Most unnecessary sequel (and there were a lot of them.)
72. Mission Impossible, the last one, part one - Best action sequence. (The train, omg.)
73. Final Cut
74. The Covenant
75. Barbie
76. They Cloned Tyrone
77. Oppenheimer
78. Afire
79. Talk to Me - Best Horror of the Year
80. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
81. The Haunted Mansion
82. Passages - Most satisfying ending
83. Shortcomings
84. Red, White & Royal Blue - Most Hallmark adaptation
85. Last Voyage of the Demeter
86. Landscape with an Invisible Hand -Winner of the "Well that 3rd act just fell apart" award
87. Bottoms
88. Scrapper
89. birth/rebirth
90. Perpetrator
91. Nun 2 Soon
92. You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
93. Killer Book Club
94. Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Adaptation that might have been better as a mini-series award.
95. A Haunting in Venice
96. El Conde
97. The Deepest Breath
98. Cassandro
99. It Lives Inside
100. No One Will Save You - Surprise hit horror of the year
101. Saw X
102. The Creator
103. Totally Killer
104. Exorcist: Belieber
105. Fair Play
106. The Origin of Evil
107. Dicks: The Musical - The "what did I just watch" award
108. Rustin
109. Little Richard
110. Cobweb
111. Slotherhouse - Wasted potential award.
112. The Conference
113. Anatomy of a Fall
114. A Deadly Invitation
115. Killers of the Flower Moon
116. Five Nights at Freddy’s - The 'too many ideas, poor execution' award.
117. Priscilla
118. Hermana Muerte
119. The Holdovers - Critics love this pretentious shit award.
120. Silver Dollar Road
121. Fingernails
122. Radical
123. Nyad
124. The Marvels
125. Perfect Days
126. Dream Scenario - Best use of Nick Cage award
127. The Killer
128. Next Goal Wins
129. Saltburn
130. Thanksgiving
131. May December
132. Fallen Leaves
133. Hunger Games, the 5th one
134. The Boy & The Heron
135. Stamped from the Beginning
136. Maestro
137. Paradise
138. Monster
139. Wish
140. Gozilla Minus One
141. Four Daughters
142. Eileen
143. Quiz Lady
144. American Symphony - Most pretentious doc
145. Poor Things - Best Actress (Emma Stone) in a problematic movie
146. Origin
147. The Peasants -Weirdest reason for wanting to animate a movie.
148. Leave the World Behind
149. The Taste of Things - It's just cooking for like 2 hours. This is not an award. I just-
150. Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
151. American Fiction
152. The Zone of Interest - Ten minutes of this would have been enough Award.
153. 20 Days in Mariupol
154. Wonka
155. Society of the Snow - Necessary remake of an originally white-washed film Award
156. All of us Strangers
157. The Iron Claw - The "Misery pump" award
158. Godland
159. Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy
160. The Teachers Lounge
161. The Color Purple
162. Ferrari
