The best films of the year were pictures that looked unflinchingly at structures of power and splashed cold water in the face of both past and present lack of accountability. But also there were pulpy pleasures to be had astride a giant iridescent seahorse, cackle-worthy pitch black satires and even a sweet 70’s style morsel that makes you remember that sometimes they make ‘em like they used to. Here are my top 20 films of 2023.
20. Mushrooms – Pawel Boroski
Mushrooms is a testament to how interesting a story can get with just three characters walking in the woods. It is a gorgeous, poetic and sad film but I found it very powerful.
19. Stop-Motion – Robert Morgan
Aisling Franciosi is brilliant in this Aronofsky-esque spiral into madness. Stop-Motion is a hallucinogenic nightmare with some of the yuckiest images ever. I loved it.
18. Evil Dead Rise – Lee Cronin
EDR is a worthy entry to the Evil Dead cannon. The cold open was the best part of the film but the audience I saw it with gasped and laughed all the way through and that’s what we hope for.
17. Holy Spider – Ali Abbasi
Chilling, cold-blooded cinema.
16. The Holdovers – Alexander Payne
A typically terrific Paul Giamatti leads this bittersweet snow flurry of a film. Basically a folk song posing as a movie, The Holdovers takes us back in time & tells a story of sympathy & love & it works really well.
15. The Boy & The Heron – Hayao Miyazaki
You don’t have to save the world, but you can save a little piece of it.
14. Barbie – Greta Gerwig
Camp, thy have a new champion, and her name is Barbie.
13. Ferrari – Michael Mann
Pretty cool & even funny until that one scene. I love the scenes with Cruz & the Bank manager. Mann’s best film in ages.
12. Smoking Causes Coughing – Quentin Dupieux
Damn. This movie is so funny and I never knew where it was going.
11. Four’s A Crowd – Alex de La Iglesia
So Romantic! Spanish Larry David & Spanish Jason Momoa are a hoot. This movie is another comedy this year that kept me on the edge of my seat.
10. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse – Joaquin Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Might have been number one film of the year if it weren’t half a movie. Utterly brilliant filmmaking. Spider Punk is the coolest.
9. The Killer – David Fincher
Fincher is back baby! Best hand to hand fight in a while, & Tilda brings it as always. It’s a bit rushed, but leaves you breathless.
8. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – James Wan
Just balls to the wall pulp fun that hits the ground (er, sea) running, ( ahem, swimming?) and lands as an exemplary entertainment. The plot is inane to be sure but the thrills in design details, kinetic action sequences and electro epic score are a bountiful harvest.
7. Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
Barbie for the Wednesday kids.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – James Gunn
Really emotional storytelling. Rocket is my favorite character in the MCU so, this was so satisfying. Can’t wait to see Gunn tackle the Man of Steel.
5. Oppenheimer- Christopher Nolan
Pure cinema, dancing through time and space.
4. Godzilla Minus One – Takashi Yamazaki
Powerful genre storytelling with a heart. The best Kaiju film ever.
3. Eileen – William Oldroyd
A chilly thriller with a mean streak, Eileen delivers the goods. William Oldroyd establishes himself once again as a master of time and place and tone.
2. Killers of The Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
Only a master in his late years with a star such a Leo and a “studio” such as apple could make a $200 million dollar indictment of 20th century US history. As important a film as any made in the last decade.
1. Infinity Pool – Brandon Cronenberg
The best of the new wave of “eat the rich” satires, Infinity Pool has ice in its veins as it relieves its characters of any accountability just as their real world counterparts find ways to squirm out of reproach. Cronenberg is at the top of the game. Long live the new flesh.
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