The end of 2023 has come, and it has been yet another phenomenal year for movies. With the historic WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and the Barbenheimer double feature, 2023 has been unforgettable. Here are my ten favorite movies of the year.
Honorable Mentions: Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve), The Color Purple, Fair Play, Red, White & Royal Blue, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Maestro, John Wick: Chapter 4, Missing, The Flash, Air, Oppenheimer
10. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
One of the more underrated movies of the year, this coming-of-age story is based on a famous novel by Judy Blume. This film offers a wonderful, layered look at early womanhood with bras, periods, and first kisses. Abby Ryder Fortson gives a superb performance as Margaret, a young girl at a complicated stage in her life. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a feel-good movie that also has some powerful religious themes at the center of it. Rachel McAdams’s supporting performance as Barbara is organic, tragic, and emotional in all the best ways. Writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) proves to be a remarkable talent again.
9. Past Lives
Past Lives is a stunning directorial debut from Celine Song. She crafts a masterful love story surrounding two childhood lovers separated at a young age, reconnecting later in life. It’s a gorgeously shot movie that captures the essence of New York City while telling a soulful tale about fate and destiny. It leaves you pondering what your life would have been like if you had made one different decision and what all the people in your life would have meant to you in another life. Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro are wonderful. It’s a film I knew I would love right when I saw the trailer, and I’m glad it impressed me as much as I expected.
8. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
I had high expectations for this movie. The previous film in the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, is one of my all-time favorite films. I went in not expecting it to be better than that film, and although it isn’t, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is action cinema of the highest caliber. In the seventh movie of this long-running franchise, Tom Cruise continues to impress with his practical stunts and commitment to memorable, thrilling chases and fights. He gets paired up with series newcomer Hayley Atwell, who plays off of Cruise perfectly and gets you rooting for her character’s journey. That motorcycle cliff jump might be one of the best stunts ever put on the big screen.
7. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
This was another sequel that I knew would be great but was cautiously worried about. The first Spider-Verse movie was such a phenomenal game-changer that the odds a sequel could top that were low. And yet, here we are, with Miles Morales’s story blowing every other superhero movie out of the water. This film uses animation to the peak of its power with jaw-dropping sequences rooted in beautiful imagery and human emotion. The scenes Gwen Stacy has with her father are some of the most heartwrenching moments in a film this year. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is emotional and thrilling and leaves you begging for more in the best possible way.
6. Monster (怪物)
Of all the picks on this list, Monster may be the most obscure. This is a Japanese drama movie directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, director of Shoplifters and Broker. It won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes Film Festival this year, and rightfully so. This is one of the most ingenious stories of the year. It tells the same events from the perspectives of three different characters, showing multiple sides of the same story. The truth behind every little event is peeled back layer by layer through the language of visuals, creating an interactive, emotionally powerful experience. Not many have seen this film, but it’s one of the most well-written movies of 2023.
5. Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0)
If you thought it was absurd that the seventh movie of the Mission: Impossible series would be one of the best, imagine my shock when the 37th Godzilla movie blew me away. The story of the giant lizard terrorizing Japan has been done extensively in film, but this iteration of it might be the best we’ve gotten. Godzilla Minus One is mind-blowing. It’s a testament to the fact that human characters are the backbone that makes a disaster movie work. It’s a thematically rich kaiju film set in postwar Japan. You care about every character, you feel for this society trying to rebuild, and instead of rooting for Godzilla, you feel dread every time he shows up. Takashi Yamazaki was the right person to direct this movie, and his skill shines through in every frame.
4. Gran Turismo
I may be the only critic to include Gran Turismo on his end-of-year list. However, I stand by the fact that this is one of the best movies of the year. A total surprise, I found myself gripping my seat the entire time I watched this film. It’s a formulaic sports movie, but it’s a sports movie done perfectly. The stakes get higher at every turn as we have a story so preposterous that it’s incredible that it really happened. It’s a story about a gamer-turned-racer that manages to be thrilling and surprisingly emotional. A scene between Archie Madekwe and Djimon Hounsou had me in tears. Did I expect to cry at Gran Turismo? No, but that is a testament to just how fantastic this movie is.
3. All of Us Strangers
All of Us Strangers left me speechless. I was an emotional wreck for most of the movie, but then the final half hour is where I cried. Andrew Haigh created a film that truly feels like an unforgettable experience. I knew going in that this would be a love story between Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott’s characters, but I was not expecting the deep, beautifully written story between the protagonist and his parents. It really shakes you to your core as you realize what the movie is about and where it is leading. For that, it left me on a perfect note.
2. The Iron Claw
Writer/director Sean Durkin tells the true story of the Von Erichs, a family of wrestlers whose lives take a few tragic turns. The Iron Claw is the most devastating movie of 2023. It features career-best work from Zac Efron, who plays Kevin Von Erich perfectly. It’s a moving, tragic story of a family pushed to the brink by a strict father. The film explores toxic masculinity and deconstructs it as the family goes through unimaginable struggles. The performances are strong, and the latter half of the film may tear you to pieces.
1. Barbie
The only movie of the year to become my personality is Barbie. Director Greta Gerwig outdid herself with this hilarious, heartfelt movie. While a film like this runs the risk of being a feature-length toy commercial, this movie knows exactly how to have fun with the premise. It celebrates the legacy of Barbie dolls while sending it up, too. Margot Robbie is pitch-perfect as Barbie, but Ryan Gosling steals the show as Ken. It features a fantastic soundtrack with the greatest musical number of the year with Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken.” It knows when to take itself seriously and when not to. Barbie embraces layered themes of femininity and masculinity through a script that had me in stitches and made me tear up in its final moments.
