Across the Movie-Verse, in 2023 Fashion
Before I list my ten favorite films of the year, I’ll give honorable mentions to Talk to Me, a terrifying and inventive horror film with great performances, the captivating Nimona, an animated film about chosen identity that’s well worth your time, and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, a wonderful concert film that serves as an electric time capsule of an artist at their populist peak.
The worst films I saw in 2023 include Totally Killer, The Creator, Hypnotic, Wonka and Family Switch. Here are ten of the best.
10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
The sequel to the groundbreaking Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse equals its predecessor in being a fun, visual wonder that is jam-packed with awe-inspiring animation, winning characters, and emotional depth.
9. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.
It’s a daunting task adapting a book beloved by generations of women. Remarkably, filmmaker Kelly Fremon Craig and a pitch-perfect cast including Abby Ryder Forston, Kathy Bates, and Rachel McAdams proved up to the task, creating a film that has the potential to be equally beloved by generations to come.
8. Dream Scenario
Finding himself being held responsible for actions that are out of his control, Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) becomes the man of your dreams, whether he likes it or not. Writer/Director Kristoffer Borgli’s inspired idea for a nightmarish story is benefitted all the more by one of Cage’s finest performances.
7. Saltburn
Writer/Director Emerald Fennell is two-for-two, following up her excellent film Promising Young Woman with Saltburn, an audacious freefall into avarice, manipulation, and caustic karaoke. The entire cast is aces, but I’ll shine a spotlight on Rosamund Pike’s exceptional, quietly hilarious work.
6. Past Lives
Therapist Carl Rogers famously stated that “What is most personal, is most universal.” Such is the case with first-time writer/director Celine Song’s film Past Lives. Inspired by events in her life as a South Korean immigrant, I found myself thinking I either knew people like these, or maybe I was one of them.
5. The Boy and the Heron
Acclaimed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s latest opus explores imagination, frustration, and loss. Gorgeous animation and dream logic bring to life Miyazaki’s dense, wonderous story that in part deals with the prospect of one leaving their life’s work behind for future generations.
4. Godzilla Minus One
A standalone period piece set in the 1940s, Godzilla Minus One returns the titular creature to his more serious, somber roots. I am as shocked as you may be to find a monster movie in my top five, but this one is something special indeed.
3. Anatomy of a Fall
A did-she or didn’t-she French murder mystery that turns into something much more complex, courtesy of a very smart screenplay, an incredible ensemble cast, riveting courtroom scenes, and of course, that blaring cover of 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P.
2. May December
May December not only examines how our vision of ourselves can be different from how others perceive us, it’s also about how we wantonly consume the real tragedies of others as simple, disposable entertainment. Todd Hayne’s best film is a meticulous melodrama with so many layers, so many different ways to read a scene, it’s sure to inspire careful reexamination for years to come.
1. Barbie
How did they ever make a film about Barbie? Ask Greta Gerwig. What could have been a crass toy commercial ended up being a whip-smart treatise on femininity, masculinity, mortality, and…horses. Gerwig’s joyous work behind the camera is felt in every scene, and her thoughtful script (co-written with Noah Baumbach) is a knockout. Gerwig’s film suggests that we are all Barbie girls living in a Barbie world, and that in the end we are all Kenough.