Sure, the first 3 years of the 2020's had their share of dazzling highlights, but 2023 was the first time that the movie industry had itself a truly special year during this decade. Watching movies in 2023 often felt like bearing witness to a series of small miracles that were so uniquely special that they almost didn't feel real. Several potentially melodramatic stories (All of Us Strangers, The Iron Claw, A Thousand and One) that could've gone wrong so easily in less capable hands ended up being emotional powerhouses. Greta Gerwig turned the most famous doll IP in the world into a multi-faceted masterpiece. Proudly bizarre dark comedies (Bottoms, Poor Things, Dream Scenario) found enthusiastic audiences against all odds. Movies that felt like they came from a bygone era in Hollywood in the best possible way (The Holdovers, Air, They Cloned Tyrone, No Hard Feelings, Anyone But You) showed up and reminded the powers that be that original films of all sizes and genres still have a place in the modern marketplace. Saltburn provided tremendous PR for Barry Keoghan's gift for playing weird little freaks and less tremendous PR for the act of taking a bath. All of these blessings will likely have to tide us movie lovers over for a while as we're starring down the barrel of what could prove to be a rather barren 2024 for reasons that probably don't need to be pointed out to anyone who wasn't in a coma from May-November 2023.
Below, you'll find a full ranking of every movie I saw in 2023 ranked from worst to best along with a whole host of awards and accolades for the films and individuals that made this year in film so special. Hope you enjoy.
Still Want/Need to Watch:
American Symphony
Black Ice
Blood and Gold
The Burial
Butcher's Crossing
Carmen
Cassandro
Cat Person
Concrete Utopia
The Deepest Breath
Divinity
El Conde
Enys Men
Every Body
Foe
Good Grief
Hidden Strike
Inside
It's a Wonderful Knife
Jawan
Little Richard: I Am Everything
The Marsh King's Daughter
Master Gardener
Memory
Monster
The Mother
My Animal
Nyad
Origin
Outlaw Johnny Black
Palm Trees and Power Lines
Perfect Days
The Persian Version
Pinball: The Man Who Changed the Game
Quasi
Radical
The Retirement Plan
Reptile
Scrapper
She Came to Me
Shin Kamen Rider
Shooting Stars
Sick of Myself
Sly
Society of the Snow
The Starling Girl
The Sweet East
Suitable Flesh
Sympathy for the Devil
The Teacher's Lounge
When Evil Lurks
When You Finish Saving the World
Your Lucky Day
The Zone of Interest
138.Fool's Paradise (D)
137.Your Place or Mine (D+)
136.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (D+)
135.Maestro (D+)
134.The Old Way (D+)
133.Hypnotic (C-)
132.Meg 2: The Trench (C-)
131.The Locksmith (C-)
130.Polite Society (C-)
129.Asteroid City (C-)
128.Candy Cane Lane (C-)
127.Murder Mystery 2 (C)
126.Flamin' Hot (C)
125.The Out-Laws (C)
124.The Flash (C)
123.White Men Can't Jump (C)
122.You Are So Not Invited to My Bat
Mitzvah (C)
121.Retribution (C)
120.Freelance (C)
119.Chevalier (C)
118.House Party (C)
117.Totally Killer (C)
116.Silent Night (C)
115.80 for Brady (C)
114.Sisu (C+)
113.Shotgun Wedding (C+)
112.Shortcomings (C+)
111.You People (C+)
110.Expend4ables (C+)
109.Pain Hustlers (C+)
108.The Super Mario Bros. Movie (C+)
107.65 (C+)
106.We Have a Ghost (B-)
105.Dicks: The Musical (B-)
104.Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (B-)
103.Elemental (B-)
102.Boston Strangler (B-)
101.Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of
Foggy Mountain (B-)
100.A Haunting in Venice (B-)
99.Godzilla Minus One (B-)
98.The Marvels (B-)
97.Rustin (B-)
96.Love at First Sight (B-)
95.Landscape with Invisible Hand (B-)
94.It Lives Inside (B-)
93.Shazam!: Fury of the Gods (B-)
92.Strays (B-)
91.Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (B-)
90.Ferrari (B-)
89.Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (B-)
88.To Catch a Killer (B-)
87.The Pope's Exorcist (B-)
86.The Machine (B-)
85.The Equalizer 3 (B-)
84.Sick (B-)
83.The Royal Hotel (B-)
82.Rebel Moon-Part One: A Child of Fire (B-)
81.Quiz Lady (B-)
80.The Creator (B-)
79.Napoleon (B-)
78.The Wrath of Becky (B-)
77.Champions (B-)
76.Plane (B-)
75.Somebody I Used to Know (B)
74.If You Were the Last (B)
73.Haunted Mansion (B)
72.BlackBerry (B)
71.Earth Mama (B)
70.Anyone But You (B)
69.Oppenheimer (B)
68.You Hurt My Feelings (B)
67.Kandahar (B)
66.Beau is Afraid (B)
65.The Blackening (B)
64.Dumb Money (B)
63.Blue Beetle (B)
62.Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (B)
61.The Boogeyman (B)
60.Joy Ride (B)
59.Knock at the Cabin (B)
58.Somewhere in Queens (B)
57.M3GAN (B)
56.How to Blow Up a Pipeline (B)
55.No One Will Save You (B)
54.Reality (B)
53.Next Goal Wins (B)
52.Nimona (B)
51.American Fiction (B)
50.Saw X (B)
49.Magic Mike's Last Dance (B)
48.Eileen (B)
47.Of an Age (B)
46.Renfield (B)
45.Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.(B)
44.Gran Turismo (B)
43.Fair Play (B)
42.Anatomy of a Fall (B)
41.Theater Camp (B)
40.Rye Lane (B)
39.Evil Dead Rise (B)
38.Infinity Pool (B)
37.They Cloned Tyrone (B)
36.Dream Scenario (B)
35.The Hunger Games: The Ballad of
Songbirds and Snakes (B)
34.Missing (B)
33.The Covenant (B)
32.Smoking Causes Coughing (B+)
31.Talk to Me (B+)
30.Wonka (B+)
29.Sanctuary (B+)
28.Fast X (B+)
27.Leave the World Behind (B+)
26.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant
Mayhem (B+)
25.Scream VI (B+)
24.Priscilla (B+)
23.Extraction 2 (B+)
22.Air (B+)
21.Cocaine Bear (B+)
20.No Hard Feelings (B+)
19.A Thousand and One (B+)
18.The Iron Claw (B+)
17.Thanksgiving (B+)
16.May December (B+)
15.Saltburn (B+)
14.Killers of the Flower Moon (B+)
13.Mission-Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part
One (B+)
12.Past Lives (B+)
11.Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among
Thieves (B+)
10.The Killer (A-)
9.Bottoms (A-)
8.Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (A-)
7.Creed III (A)
6.Poor Things (A)
5.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 (A)
4.The Holdovers (A)
3.Barbie (A)
2.All of Us Strangers (A)
1.John Wick: Chapter 4 (A)
Awards/Superlatives:
Best Picture: John Wick: Chapter 4
Best Director: Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 4
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Best Actress: Emma Stone, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actor: Charles Melton, May December
Best Supporting Actress: Julianne Moore, May December
Best Original Screenplay: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Adapted Screenplay: Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers
Best Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, Saltburn
Best Score: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Best Original Song: "Dance the Night" by Dua Lipa, Barbie
Best Editing: Kirk Baxter, The Killer
Best Visual Effects: The Creator
Best Sound: Mission-Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Documentary Feature: N/A (It dawned on me a few weeks back that I'd seen zero documentaries from 2023 and I just decided to keep it that way until after the Oscar nominations come out later this month)
Best International Feature: Smoking Causes Coughing
Best Villain: William King Hale (Robert De Niro), Killers of the Flower Moon
Worst Villain: General Zod (Michael Shannon), The Flash
Best Performance in a Bad Movie: (tie) Zoe Chao, Tig Nataro and Steve Zahn, Your Place or Mine
Worst Performance in a Good Movie: Dermot Mulroney, Scream VI
Best Piece of Overacting: Jason Momoa, Fast X
Worst Piece of Overacting: Bradley Cooper, Maestro
The 6th Annual "Carry a Movie On Your Back" Award Presented by Greg Jennings: Colman Domingo, Rustin
Best Action Sequence: "Arc de Triomphe Shootout", John Wick: Chapter 4
Worst Action Sequence: "Final Ant-Man vs. Kang Fight", Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Best Blockbuster: John Wick: Chapter 4
Worst Blockbuster: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Finest Hidden Indie Gem: A Thousand and One
Most Insufferable Indie Trash: Asteroid City
Best Theater Experience (Presentation): Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Dolby Cinema
Worst Theater Experience (Presentation): The Blackening
Best Theater Experience (Crowd): Barbie
Worst Theater Experience (Crowd): Oppenheimer
Sickest Theatrical Double Feature I Did: Priscilla/The Holdovers
Saddest Theatrical Double Feature I Did: Hypnotic/Fool's Paradise
Current Cultural Phenomenon That I Wish More People Had the Experience of Seeing in a Packed Theater Just to See/Hear People's Reactions in Real Time During and After the Movie: Saltburn
Funniest Theater Moment: A woman in the row behind me letting out a sound of sexual ecstasy when they showed a closeup of Jacob Elordi for the first time in Saltburn
The Single Shittiest VFX Work That's Appeared in a Modern Day Blockbuster: The Flash
Superhero Movie That Benefited Immensely From Simply Being a Competent, Formulaic Origin Story in a Year Where The Genre's Releases Mostly Consisted of Titles That Either Flat-Out Stunk or Were Undercut by Major Studio Interference: Blue Beetle
Best Use of "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne: Bottoms
Most Underrated Movies:
1.A Thousand and One
2.No Hard Feelings
3.Cocaine Bear
4.Sanctuary
5.They Cloned Tyrone
Most Overrated Movies:
1.Maestro
2.Asteroid City
3.Godzilla Minus One
4.Oppenheimer
5.BlackBerry
Biggest Surprises:
1.Thanksgiving
2.Missing
3.Evil Dead Rise
4.Saw X
5.No One Will Save You
Biggest Letdowns:
1.Hypnotic
2.Fool's Paradise
3.Silent Night
4.Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
5.Strays
Top Performances:
1.Charles Melton, May December
2.Emma Stone, Poor Things
3.Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
4.Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
5.Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
6.Zac Efron, The Iron Claw
7.Ryan Gosling, Barbie
8.Julianne Moore, May December
9.Greta Lee, Past Lives
10.Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers
Top Breakthrough Performances:
1.Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
2.Dominic Sessa, The Holdovers
3.Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
4.Tee Yoo, Past Lives
5.Milo Machado Graner, Anatomy of a Fall
6.Andrew Barth Feldman, No Hard Feelings
7.Sabrina Wu, Joy Ride
8.Marshawn Lynch, Bottoms
9.Abby Ryder Fortson, Are You There God?, It's Me Margaret.
10.Sophie Wilde, Talk to Me
Under-the-Radar Great Performances That I Didn't List Above:
1.Margaret Qualley, Sanctuary
2.Joaquin Phoenix, Beau is Afraid
3.Jennifer Lawrence, No Hard Feelings
4.John Magaro, Past Lives
5.Michael Fassbender, The Killer
6.Mia Goth, Infinity Pool
7.Ayo Edebiri, Bottoms
8.Molly Gordon, Theater Camp
9.Kaitlyn Dever, No One Will Save You
10.Rachel Zegler, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Top Acting Ensembles:
1.May December
2.The Holdovers
3.Poor Things
4.All of Us Strangers
5.Barbie
6.Past Lives
7.Killers of the Flower Moon
8.Saltburn
9.Bottoms
10.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3
Top Directorial Debuts:
1.Celine Song, Past Lives
2.Michael B. Jordan, Creed III
3.A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One
4.Danny and Michael Philippou, Talk to Me
5.Nick Johnson and Will Merrick, Missing
6.Juel Taylor, They Cloned Tyrone
7.Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane
8.Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, Theater Camp
9.Chloe Domont, Fair Play
10.Cord Jefferson, American Fiction
Top Cinematography:
1.Linus Sandgren, Saltburn
2.Robbie Ryan, Poor Things
3.Dan Laustsen, John Wick: Chapter 4
4.Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer
5.Jamie D. Ramsay, All of Us Strangers
6.Karim Hussain, Infinity Pool
7.Matthew Libatique, Maestro
8.Rodrigo Prieto, Killers of the Flower Moon
9.Chung-hoon Chung, Wonka
10.Haris Zambarloukos, A Haunting in Venice
Top Scores:
1.Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
2.Daniel Pemberton, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
3.Jerskin Fendrix, Poor Things
4.Robbie Robertson, Killers of the Flower Moon
5.Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer
6.Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Killer
7.Richard Reed Perry, Eileen
8.Mac Quayle, Leave the World Behind
9.Rupert Gregson-Williams, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
10.Leo Brienberg and Charli XCX, Bottoms
Top Movies I Hope to See in 2024:
1.Bad Boys 4
2.MaXXXine
3.Dune: Part Two
4.The Fall Guy
5.Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
6.Mickey 17
7.Argylle
8.Hit Man
9.Ballerina
10.Kind of Kindness
No comments:
Post a Comment