With the start of 2024 already underway, many people such as myself are taking the time to reflect on our lives during 2023. The year was filled to the brim with big changes; good friends; good memories; and most importantly, good movies. 2023 was bound to be a banger year for cinema with the summer of Barbenheimer alone, but theaters stayed well-packed until the very end. Movies are back!
Creating this list was the feat of a lifetime for me. Honestly, I originally chose this concept as an easy-breezy-beautiful article to start the winter quarter with, but this plan has backfired on me, as I have spent a culmination of around 6 hours just deciding what movies I want on the list. So as you examine, please remember that this list is subject to change both in order and content. Also please remember that I am sensitive and if you disagree with my opinion you have to keep that to yourself because my feelings will get hurt.
#1. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse
I have been waiting incredibly impatiently for this installment in the Spiderverse for years, and its arrival absolutely did not disappoint. The animation is (unsurprisingly) jaw dropping, and the characters (new and old) are all compelling and interesting. If I had to pick on critique, I wish that it was a neater ending, but the ambiguity earns me a third film, so who am I to complain? Was this objectively the best movie of the year? Maybe not, but it is my best movie of the year, and I will defend its honor through and through.
#2. Killers of the Flower Moon
I don’t think that there are good enough words to properly sum up how phenomenal this movie actually is. I felt just about every emotion that humans have experienced in just three and a half hours. Lily Gladstone has maybe one of the best performances I have ever seen, and she just won a Golden Globe for it. If you haven’t already, find a way to see this. It is so incredibly worth your time.
#3. The Boy and the Heron
As an adamant Ghibli fan, watching the last piece of Miyazaki’s work is incredibly bittersweet. I saw this on one of the final days of 2023, and it felt like saying goodbye to a friend. As always, the Ghibli studio has created imagery and characters who all so charming (My personal favorite being the Warawara), and a story so immersive that you feel like you are exploring the world yourself.
#4. The Holdovers
For anyone who finds themselves frequently saying, “they just don’t make movies like this anymore!” anytime they watch a film from before the 80’s, this one is for you. (I am guilty of wishing for a revival of the vintage film aesthetic, you are not alone.) This is the first Christmas film from the past few years that has truly embodied Christmas to me. It’s warm, it’s got heart, it’s funny, and every performance is stellar. As an added bonus, both my mom and dad gave it the stamp of approval! That’s huge!
#5. Bottoms
This movie was huge for queer girls who liked Marina and the Diamonds in middle school. I saw it first with my brother, and then immediately made my best friends see it with me as well. The absurdity of the world the characters live in is so incredibly funny. It’s so fun to get to see queer women on the big screen who are weird and off-putting, but also endearing and relatable. Also, they play Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” in its entirety, which should speak for itself.
#6. Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One
This summer, my brother and I watched through every Mission Impossible movie in preparation for the release of this one and the series became instant favorites for us. While it has now been months since I viewed this, getting to see it in the theater after a month of tv screens was a revelation! As odd as he may be, Tom Cruise is in a stellar era with the Top Gun revival and continuing this series.
#7. Asteroid City
Wes Anderson has such an unstoppable mind! I can’t say that I followed everything perfectly, nor can I say that I believe it to be his best work, but it was the first of his films I got to see in theaters. Every second is steeped in pure Anderson-ian quirkiness, and I think that this color palette in particular is very conducive to his style.
#8. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
I never read the Judy Blume book when I was younger, but I feel confident in saying that this film does it justice. Watching as an adult woman, I found it so strange that these girls were praying for their periods, but I realized I was just the same when I was a pre-teen. The sense of desperation for womanhood while in the prime of your childhood I think is something most girls can see themselves in. All around a very good hearted story about family, adolescence, and friendship.
#9. Barbie
Every day I wake up and thank Greta Gerwig for her contributions to cinema. While this was not my favorite of her films (Little Women and Ladybird are always duking it out for that position) I loved it just as much as everyone else seems to. It’s not the perfect piece of feminist media, but its fun and refreshing, and it has made such an impact on so many people. I think that it is a fantastic testament on what it is to be a woman.
#10. Talk to Me
I love me some horror films, and this one was freaky. Unfortunately, some of the shock factor that I think really lends itself to the anxiety of the film is gone upon rewatches, but it is still plenty terrifying. I found out after watching that the creators are very famous on Youtube, and while I don’t watch them, its really cool that they completed a passion project so successfully! I’m excited to see what they create in the future.
Honorable Mentions
I felt wrong and dirty leaving some of these off of this list, so I want to give a few more films that I adored, but didn’t make it to the end of my eliminations. Wonka was a lovely addition to Paul King’s filmography. Poor Things made me so uncomfortable, but also very magical at the same time. I saw No Hard Feelings alone in a theater full of couples, which I think was a beautiful reflection of the loneliness at the movies core. May December I only just got around to on a recommendation, and I am still reeling in its impact. And Anatomy of a Fall taught me not only that people listen to P.I.M.P. (instrumental version), but that French court is bonkers.
Here’s to 2023 cinema, may 2024 be just as prosperous!