Once upon a time, I held dreams of becoming a film critic. Those quickly vanished, and I considered myself retired from the movie-takes business in 2020. But, when Weekly News colleague Stuart Foster expressed a desire for staff-written content for this very Lifestyle page, I saw it as fate. After all, with 2023 now in the rearview mirror, I have takes to share, having seen 36 movies released last year.
So, without further adieu, a list no one was asking for (except Stuart), my 10 favorite movies of 2023.
#10. “Blackberry”
A smart, funny look at the rise and fall of the cell-phone company that dominated the early aughts (until it didn’t). Glenn Howerton delivers one of the best performances of the year as Blackberry co-CEO Jim Balsillie, and Jay Baruchel headlines a strong supporting cast. “Blackberry” had to be one of the bigger surprises of the year for me.
#9. “The Holdovers”
Set at a prep school, “The Holdovers” follows a group of students who are forced to spend Christmas break at the school, under the supervision of Paul Giamatti’s cantankerous history teacher, Paul Hunham. “The Holdovers” is often hilarious, and features a bevy of laughs, but also a deep emotional core thanks to Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s performance as the school’s cook, Mary Lamb. Dominic Sessa also delivers a standout performance in his first-ever onscreen role as one of the students left behind.
#8. “Leave the World Behind”
Likely the most controversial selection of my entire list, “Leave the World Behind” is definitely not for everyone, but I found myself completely enraptured by this thriller, written and directed by Sam Esmail, and starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, and Myha’la. It’s difficult to describe what “Leave the World Behind” is actually about without ruining the movie, but I’ll say simply that it follows a family on vacation at a rental home as technology fails around them and two strangers arrive at their door. From there, it’s a gripping thrill ride that features a number of compelling set pieces. It’s streaming on Netflix now, and worth firing up.
#7. “The Zone of Interest”
It feels wrong to even describe “The Zone of Interest” as a movie, as it really feels as though you’re watching unearthed found footage throughout. The film follows the family of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, who live in a house in the shadow of the concentration camp. Director Jonathan Glazer spent nearly a decade making the film, and it shows. It’s a technical marvel, and deeply affecting as you watch a family go about their day-to-day life while countless people are murdered, essentially in their backyard. It’s a movie about what it’s not showing you, not necessarily what’s in the frame. Harrowing.
#6. “John Wick: Chapter 4”
One of the truly thrilling moviegoing experiences of the year. Keanu Reeves returns to star as the aggrieved ex-assassin on a mission of revenge. Chad Stahelski is in complete control of his craft, putting together the best fight sequences of the year. Certainly, 170 minutes is a whopping run time, but the expert filmmaking and Reeves’ onscreen gravity ensure that the audience is never bored.
#5. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
In “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt rides a motorcycle off a cliff and parachutes onto a moving train. Need I say more?
#4. “Poor Things”
“Poor Things” is not for everyone. But man, I had a great time with it. In a way, “Poor Things” achieves much of what “Barbie” attempted to, and the two movies certainly share some DNA. Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, a young woman experiencing the world around her for the first time. Director Yorgos Lanthimos guides us from a black-and-white home in London, to the candy-colored streets of Lisbon, to a snowy Paris as Baxter undergoes a journey of self-discovery. It’s uproariously funny and Stone is astounding in the lead role.
#3. “The Boy and the Heron”
2023 featured the return of many of cinema’s great masters, and “The Boy and the Heron” finds Hayao Miyazaki still at the top of his game. There is just nothing like the way a Studio Ghibli movie looks on the big screen, with hand-drawn frames that will take your breath away. In what may be his final film, Miyazaki reflects on his own life and still manages to weave in a fantastical world of his own creation. I found myself totally engrossed.
#2. “Oppenheimer”
The only movie of 2023 I saw more than once in movie theaters, I was completely bowled over by “Oppenheimer.” So much so, that I wound up seeing it three different times — and in two different states, driving to Providence, R.I. to see it in the IMAX 70-millimeter film director Christopher Nolan shot the film in. Nolan does some of the best work of his career here, and Cillian Murphy completely disappears into the role of the man known as the architect of the atomic bomb. Murphy isn’t the only standout in the cast, as Robert Downey Jr. delivers one of his best performances in years, finally free of the shackles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don’t be surprised if this takes home the top prize at this year’s Academy Awards.
#1. “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Martin Scorsese just doesn’t miss (except when he does). Here, he crafts a sweeping epic tale of the Osage murders in 1920s Oklahoma, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Though those men deliver standout performances here, Lily Gladstone outdoes them both as a wealthy Osage woman who marries DiCaprio’s character. Scorsese does not craft a mystery here — it’s very clear from almost the first frame what is going on, and lets us watch as the Osage are murdered and taken advantage of over and over again. The late Robbie Robertson, who himself had Indigenous roots, crafts an excellent score — his final work — and the only score I listened to after seeing the film. A whopping three and a half hours, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will stick with you long after you leave the theater, and in my mind, is in a tier of its own at the top of the year in film.