Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2023
It’s been a great year for movies. All the hubbub about the ‘worst films of the year’ list that Variety put out is making a lot of noise, so I’d like to fire back with a Top 20 of the year list. There are so many to choose from, just look at the thirty movie posters above, all of which I’d consider very good films, great films, and even a few masterpieces. This is not a year to point out the worst, but rather one in which we should highlight the surplus of quality films released. Without further ado, here’s my ranked top twenty of 2023:
- Fancy Dance
A criminally underseen indie film in which Lily Gladstone gives another memorable performance playing a resident of the Seneca–Cayuga Nation Reservation searching for her missing sister.
All of Us Strangers yanks at our heartstrings. It’s a fantastical romantic drama about grief and loneliness, but with a few of the most heartfelt scenes you’ll see this year.
- John Wick: Chapter Four
With a story structure and tone reminiscent of Sergio Leone’s epic spaghetti westerns, chapter four of the John Wick series features not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE breathtaking action set pieces. When stunts and fight choreography are this perfect, the more the merrier.
- The Boy and the Heron
The Boy and the Heron is an amalgamation of Hayao Miyazaki’s imagination and artistry. It’s a feast for the eyes and ears, taking us on a journey of generational, metaphysical, and cosmic proportions.
- Godzilla Minus One
Japanese films are making a big impact with US audiences this year (see #17 above and an honorable mention below), but none bigger than Godzilla Minus One, a throwback franchise reset with memorable human characters and even more memorable visuals (and music score).
- May December
Appropriately melodramatic to mirror the ripped-from-the-headlines plot, May December is a dramatic playground for Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and a stellar Charles Melton.
I mean, this movie dominated pop culture for months. It was all the fun, wit, and energy we hesitantly hoped it would be.
- Dream Scenario
As high concepts go, this one is a doozy. People around the world start seeing a random college professor in their dreams!? This is the type of satirical dark comedy we should get more of, and Nicolas Cage is terrific.
Beyond Utopia is this year’s “how did they do that” documentary, capturing migrants escaping from North Korea via a perilous journey across multiple countries, shot by the family and guides themselves.
- The Killer
“Stick to your plan. Anticipate, don’t improvise. Trust no one. Never yield an advantage. Fight only the battle you’re paid to fight.”
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel era —it masterfully moves a story forward while doubling down on the world-building, the characters’ emotional arcs, and the already-high level of brilliant animation.
- They Cloned Tyrone
A mid-year directorial debut that had its streaming release drowned out by Barbenheimmer mayhem. They Cloned Tyrone is a sci-fi social satire with a ‘70s vibe and a sharp script.
American Fiction is another intelligent satire from a debut feature filmmaker. American Fiction lambasts white audiences and criticizes the cycle of Black representation in mass media and popular entertainment. Jeffrey Wright is finally getting the attention he deserves.
- Anatomy of a Fall
The first of two Sandra Hüller films on the list, Anatomy of a Fall is a thought-provoking thriller turned courtroom drama. It seeps with ideas on perspectives, truth, and artistic freedom. And, is that really how the French courts operate?!
Scorsese makes all the right decisions in adapting David Grann’s book, turning the focus away from the FBI and onto the central relationship between Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie (Lily Gladstone). Again, it’s Scorsese —need I say more?
The Trinity Test is the most intense sequence captured on film this year, and yet the hours of narrative surrounding it move with a steady pace and solid performances. Aside from the technical marvel of what director Christopher Nolan achieves, the loud discourse around it proves that Oppenheimer is as thought-provoking and its subject.
- Past Lives
Another directorial debut! Celine Song’s Past Lives is a masterclass in subtleties. It’s a film that begs for multiple viewings, not to understand the story better, but to soak in how Song’s direction and script capture the fragility and unpredictability of our journeys through life. It has the most perfect ending of the year.
Like sipping on a hot cocoa while bundled up by a warm fire on a wintry evening, The Holdovers is the feel-good (Christmas) movie of the year. The trio of Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph combines heartwarming friendship with a coming-of-age tale in the most splendid manner.
It’s Frankenstein, but also Alice in Wonderland. It’s a drama, but also hysterical. Poor Things is bizarre, sexy, vibrant, and truly unique. There’s no other film this year to compare it to — maybe Barbie, in all honesty — but from its art direction to its performances, everything about it feels like Yorgos Lanthimos put all his artistic vision on screen.
This is the film that has lingered in my mind the longest. Jonathan Glazer’s masterpiece revels in its naturalism and exactness as a way to haunt and terrify the audience. As Holocaust films go, this one is as unique as they come, and the gut-wrenching finish drives home a warning on how society faces atrocities of the past, in the present, and in the future.
Honorable mentions:
Yes, even with twenty ranked films, there were still others that nearly cracked the list:
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Asteroid City
Fallen Leaves
Godland
Joy Ride
Maestro
Monster
Priscilla
Showing Up
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
