Favourite Films of 2023: Part 1 – The Movies

I feel I say it every year, but damn 2023 was a great year for film. There are so many I liked that didn’t make the cut on these lists, even expanding them to 5 didn’t do it justice. And the Top 5? That was impossible to order. It’s fractions of fractions of fractions that separate #1 and #5.

Top 5 Overall

Past Lives

Picking my favourite films of the year is always built around one simple reaction: Does the film stay with me after I watch it? All top 5, and many more, did. But Past Lives… in a myriad of ways, Past Lives stuck with me the most. It explored this beautiful missed-chance love story that had me re-examine every possible missed chance in your own life. Writer/Director Celine Song crafts this beautiful decades long love story that just couldn’t work. The three main players, Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, and John Magaro put their hearts at the forefront of the story and all have scenes where they don’t say anything but their faces speak volumes. These are three of the finest performances you’ll see all year, in a story that is as beautiful as it is simple. It’s a damn near perfect film.

Poor Things

Poor Things is the surrealistic feminist acid trip Barbie was never going to be allowed to be. That’s not an unkind word against either film. Different approaches to similar themes is all (Heroine’s Journey of an artificial woman exploring exactly what it means to be and exist as a woman out in a world she’s been closed off from). Everything about it is weird and wild, from the costumes to the production design to the script is all gorgeously bizarre and I love every second of it. The only way this film works is the same with Yorgos Lanthimos’ other films: everyone has to be on board with just diving to the strange concoction of a film, and thankfully everyone does. Emma Stone is brilliant and cements her place as one of her generation’s finest performers. She deserves any award that comes her way this season. Strong supporting performances from Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef and Willem Dafoe highlight the film, as well as the various characters she encounters along the way.

Barbie

I was not prepared for how good Barbie was. Greta Gerwig and her partner/co-writer Noah Baumbach pack so much into the two hour film, but it never feels cluttered or bloated. The truly and entirely understood everything they needed to say, wanted to say, and most importantly how to say it. It wasn’t always subtle, but it was never heavy handed. The emotional journey Margot Robbie goes on is magnificent, and she plays it so well. There’s a quirkiness to her performance that helps sell the overall surrealism of the film, and without her anchoring it, it could have felt a disorganised mess. Ryan Gosling stole the show. He understood the film they were making and went for it with all his heart. One of his best performances, and one of the best of the 21st century. I said what I said. America Fererra was fantastic, all the supporting Kens and Barbies were on point. There was a great surprise appearance I’d love to see get some awards season love, too. My wife can better speak to the commentary on the female experience than I can, but judging by her range of reactions, they nailed it. I can say its commentary on how damaging the patriarchy is to men as well as women is on point. Again, it knew precisely how to say everything it wanted to.

The Iron Claw

Heartbreaking tragedy and heartfelt performances highlight The Iron Claw. It’s such a beautifully told story that you can’t help but be drawn into the shared trauma of the Von Erichs. Zac Efron and Holt McCallany are particular standouts of the ensemble, with Efron weaving his heart into the script from his first scene. The wrestling is beautifully shot, and skillfully choreographed by a member of another great wrestling family, Chavo Guerrero, Jr.

Across the Spider-Verse is an absolutely beautiful film through and through. Exhilarating action, gorgeous animation, heartfelt narrative. And above all, it fully understands the Multiverse. It puts stakes on it. It’s not a catch-all gimmick. There is real meat in their approach to the multiverse, and it’s all the better for it. They managed the multiple threads with ease, and created absolutely beautiful arcs for everyone involved, on down to the tertiary characters.

Most Surprisingly Good

Cocaine Bear

Cocaine Bear is exactly the movie it presents itself as, and has a hell of a lot of fun being that. It only works with everyone on board for the absurdity, and absolutely everyone is. Never a wink or a nod, just everybody going for it. It’s not perfect, but I’m having a hard time finding anything really, truly wrong with it. It’s superb in its absurdity.

Best Comedy

Best Drama

Best Action

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Best Horror

Best Animated

Best Superhero

The Rest

These films are worth a watch, but they didn’t quite land in any of the above categories because 2023 was just a really good movie year. I still wanted to give them a shoutout and recommendation.