With the Oscars quickly approaching, I wanted to write about a few of my favorite movies of 2023. It was a year when my AMC A-List was put to good use. The year when Barbie and Oppenheimer swept the nation and brought back the summer blockbuster. It was just plain fun to be at the theater again! Not to mention all of the wonderful indie releases this year. Please enjoy this video I made highlighting 2023 in film! (I don’t own any of this, so credit to all of the filmmakers/production companies. This is purely a compilation for entertainment!)
Before I get into my favorites of 2023, I want to give out some awards that the Oscars don’t recognize. Every year we see the same categories “Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture.” It’s time to get a little more creative with these.
Best Title: Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.
You may be thinking, isn’t it just called The Covenant? I’m sorry to tell you that you’d be wrong. If you went up to a movie theater employee and said, “One ticket to the Covenant.” They would say, “Please put some respect on Guy Ritchie’s name because this is his Covenant.” You may also be thinking, “I’ve never in my life heard of Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.” That is a valid thought because it was in the theater for about a week and a half. Anyway, I love it when a director puts his name in the title. It’s kind of amazing. Especially considering this movie has such a serious subject matter.
Best Snoopy Cameos: Maestro
The competition was stiff this year. Everyone wants Snoopy to appear in their movies. Duh, he’s Snoopy. Bradley Cooper realized that his movie needed not one Snoopy appearance, but two. Why not make one of those appearances be a giant Snoopy Thanksgiving Day parade balloon in the background of an argument scene? Ironically, it’s the second time Snoopy is referenced in 5 minutes. Perhaps Leonard Bernstein was a Snoopy enthusiast?
Best Career Renaissance: Josh Hartnett
If you know me, you know I’ve been predicting a Josh Hartnett renaissance every year for a long time. “It’s only a matter of time! He’ll be back very soon!” (I’ve said since 2011.) Well, guess who was right after 12 years? That’s right, Josh Hartnett decided to prove to the world he is still acting in a major way. He was in a Guy Ritchie movie. Not Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, but Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerrer. (Yes, that is a real movie and not a 30 Rock sketch.) He was also in Oppenheimer. In my opinion, he was the most underrated actor in Oppenheimer. Robert Downey Jr. wishes he could wear glasses like Josh Hartnett does. Love a good career comeback.
Best Dog Performance: Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall
The Oscars should recognize animal performers but they don’t because they are not cool. Anyway, Snoop (played in real life by Messi the border collie) plays a guide dog for Daniel in Anatomy of a Fall. Not since Uggie in The Artist have I seen a dog performance so convincing. This dog gives a better performance than some of the actors I saw this year. He plays an integral role in the movie and sells every second of his screen time.
Best Usage of Large Hats: Killers of the Flower Moon
This was a very tough category to pick one winner. There were many nominees including Wonka, Oppenheimer, and Napoleon. 2023 was the year of the big hat. This meme was working overtime. However, the massive hats were firing on all cylinders in Killers of the Flower Moon. Jesse Plemmons could have won the award for his character alone. He is referred to as “the man with the hat.” So there you go. Interesting article about the hats in the movie here!
Best American Actor Utilizing a British Accent to Portray a French Emperor: Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon
Joaquin pretty much had this one locked in. Not much stiff competition this year in the French Emperor category. Napoleon was a very odd movie with shaky history but his partial British/American line delivery of “You think you’re so great because you have BOATS” is really what won him the award.
Thank you for reading through the awards. That was fun and I hope the tradition can continue. I’m open to more categories if anyone has ideas! Alright, without further ado, here are my top movies of the year. I liked a lot of movies this year but there were 6 that landed in the top.
6. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
This is potentially the most underrated mainstream release of the year. After The Edge of Seventeen, Kelly Freemon Craig continues her streak of exceptional coming-of-age stories filled with heart and humor. Rachel McAdams gives one of the best performances of 2023 as Margaret’s mother, Barbara. Are You There God is based on Judy Bloom’s best-selling novel of the same name. It paints a realistically awkward portrayal of adolescence through the lens of 12-year-old Margaret. What makes the film so wonderful is its intergenerational depiction of Margaret, her mother Barbara, and her grandmother Sylvia connecting at varying life stages. Newcomer Abby Ryder Fortson is a wonderful lead in a film that depends on her convincing performance. This is a wonderfully honest film that women everywhere can relate to in some way.
5. Anatomy of a Fall
Anatomy of a Fall begins with the mysterious death of Samuel. As the viewer, we don’t know if he committed suicide, accidentally fell to his death, or a more sinister option - he was murdered by his wife Sandra (Sandra Huller). The film plays with the audience’s perception of Sandra and her marriage. What do we know of these people? Was Sandra capable of murder? With each passing scene our opinions change.
Anatomy of a Fall took home the prestigious Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and deservedly so. The enthralling French drama challenges the viewer. It’s like Gone Girl meets Marriage Story, a courtroom drama that unfolds with the perfect level of suspense. The courtroom sequences showcase an absurd lack of justice in the French courtroom and disturbing levels of misogyny at play. Even with those aspects, I went back and forth on my opinions of Sandra’s guilt or innocence.
Ultimately, director Justine Triet crafts a film that excels on so many levels. She keeps just enough information from the viewer and we are left with a tension that can’t be ignored until the final moments.
The film is fantastically written and a brilliant look at perception, familial breakdown, and the tabloidization of true crime.
4. Past Lives
Celine Song’s Past Lives is a beautiful look at life, love, and the paths we take. It follows Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), childhood friends who reconnect twenty years after Nora leaves South Korea for America. The film explores their lives as Nora ends up in New York City and Hae Sung is hesitant to leave South Korea. Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro give fantastic performances throughout the film showcasing three complex individuals trying to navigate a deeply difficult situation. There are so many questions looming through the film like, what could be? What might happen? Is it meant to be? But life is often filled with “what if” questions that never get answered. Distance and time are not on Nora and Hae Sung’s side and it may be that they were lucky to know each other in their past life in South Korea.
3. Barbie
Hi Barbie! Did you dress up and attend the Barbie premiere in your finest pink outfit? I did and it was maybe the most fun I’ve ever had in a movie theater. Did you have a Barbie birthday party? I might have. What a blast of a movie! Greta Gerwig has a way of writing and directing women’s stories in such a beautiful, honest, and fun way. Gerwig tackles a lot of ground in Barbie yet it all works together in a product that is funny, fresh, and emotional at times. The film is a satire of 1950s musicals, a hilarious look at the Barbie brand, and a love letter to mothers and daughters.
Margot Robbie showcases a wonderful portrayal of a doll caught up in perfection attempting to find her true purpose. She portrays the iconic doll with an exuberant joy that’s infectious. As the film progresses to the real world, Robbie captures the many fears and complex emotions that come along with being a woman. Gone is the picture-perfect world of Barbie. A new, complex world has arrived. Ryan Gosling’s Ken is hysterical with an emphasis on horses, the patriarchy, and Matchbox 20. But he’s just Ken.
Barbie is a fabulous film that I will revisit many times in the future.
2. The Holdovers
Well on its way to becoming a new holiday classic, The Holdovers is a masterclass in character development. While staying at Barton Academy for the holiday season, the grouchy Mr. Hunham, angsty student Angus, and grief-stricken chef Mary all try to make it through Christmas together.
The Holdovers ‘70s aesthetic is cozy and nostalgic and its characters are people you truly care about. In many ways, it’s a coming-of-age film for Angus, Mary, and Paul - an impressive feat considering two of the characters are already adults. The film’s depiction of grief and depression - a common thread that binds them - is striking in its realism.
The Holdovers is not all sad though! It has plenty of humor and heart. The film balances that line in such an impressive way.
Performances by Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa (in his first acting role!), and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are wonderful across the board. The chemistry between the three is lovely to watch unfold. They are a very unlikely trio but you can’t help root for them.
The Holdovers is a wonderful film filled with humor, heart, and healing. I cannot recommend it enough.
1. Killers of the Flower Moon
Adapted from David Grann’s novel of the same name, Killers of the Flower Moon is certainly not an easy watch but it is a memorable one. The film serves as an indictment of depraved colonization and a devastatingly tragic ode to the Osage nation. This is a three-and-a-half-hour western showcasing a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions.
After oil was discovered on Osage land, people far and wide came knocking, making the Osage some of the richest people in the country. Despite their newfound wealth, strange sicknesses, mysterious shootings, and suicides were killing the tribe members one by one. Mollie (Lily Gladstone), an Osage woman impacted from every side, was at the center of the tragedy. The murders tore apart her family, neighbors, and closest friends.
Instead of following the novel’s mystery structure, director Martin Scorsese shows us the perpetrators in the first act. It’s deeply disturbing to see the murderers rationalize their twisted behavior as they live amongst the tribe.
Scorsese depicts a land steeped in vibrant Osage culture. When Native ceremonies are performed, cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto lights up the screen with vibrant color and life. By the third act, as the Osage disappear, the color is drained out of the film to signify the loss and devastation. The life has been drained out of the land.
This is a stacked cast with Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Jesse Plemmons, and Brendan Fraser all showing up in significant roles. But it is Lily Gladstone who is the MVP of the film as Mollie Burkheart. She is quiet, but commanding. There are sequences where her face conveys a range of powerful emotions (grief, anger, rage, and shock) without saying a single word. Gladstone’s performance shines a light on a resilient woman who should be remembered.
Led by exceptional direction and fantastic performances, Killers of the Flower Moon recounts a devastating chapter of history in one of the year’s best and most significant films.
That does it for my best-of-2023 list. What were your favorite movies and moments in 2023?