After a long hiatus, I have returned to give my annual Top 10 films of the year list. Outside just being busy with life and a cross state move, the biggest reason it took me so long to get this list solidified is due to the gluttony of exciting and wonderful films released in 2023. Before putting my word out there, I had to be sure I gave every contender a view to be considered. I’ve seen every movie currently nominated for Best Picture, along with the less celebrated gems. Let’s get into it!

#10 – The Zone of Interest

At least 5 different films were considered for the #10 spot, just barely missing the list, and frankly any of them deserve to be here. Ultimately, I’m going with what I would say is the most unique cinematic experience of the year; The Zone of Interest. Jonathan Glazer’s 4th feature film this century is almost too difficult to put into words.

Base level, the loose story follows the mundane domestic life of a Nazi Commander and his family during the Holocaust. This particular Nazi is responsible for creating and overseeing the atrocities of the Auschwitz camps, all while his family lives in bliss on the other side of the wall. Glazer shoots the action Big Brother style, with the actors living out their characters lives, unsure even where the cameras are at times. The monsters on screen turn a blind eye to the death and decay around them, but the sound design and subtle background imagery brings the audience to a point of mortification. The ending will leave you harrowed and breathless.

#9 – The Killer

Michael Fassbender, steps out of his race car to team up David Fincher, adapting a French graphic novel about a contract killer. This sounded like an absolute home run before we saw a single frame. The Killer totally is that home run, but not in the ways one would expect. Subverting expectations, you could almost call this movie the anti-thesis of the meticulous, self serious, anti-capitalist figures found in Fight Club.

The titular character is in a near constant state explaining to the audience his thought process, why he’s the best, and why he’s dressed up as a German tourist. His words make you believe he’s the most calculated and dangerous man on the planet, but his actions show you he’s an unserious fuck up that’s just going with the flow. Every adjective in the book you could throw at this story; hilarious, intense, romantic, disgusting, beautiful. It’s a David Fincher film so pretty much business as usual here. Any frame could be put up in a museum. Long live the king.

#8 – May/December

This little fucked up piece of psycho, sexual, black dramedy Americana stuck in my head for weeks after seeing it on release. Todd Haynes’ May December aims to tackle the way that pop culture media and Hollywood love to exploit the stories/lives of real people. Julianne Moore & Charles Melton play a controversial couple that got together when he was 14 years old and she was in her 30’s. 25 years, a stint in jail, and many children later, the couple are still together today. Natalie Portman plays an actress hoping to spend some time with the couple in preparation of playing Moore’s character in a movie. The tone twists are all over the place with this one in the best of ways with some truly knockout performances. Melton was robbed of receiving a Best Supporting Actor nomination. This one reminds me a lot of last years Tár, a glowing comparison if you ask me.

#7 – Barbie

There’s nothing new I can add to the conversation about the top grossing live action film of the year. Greta Gerwig IS the giant directorial superstar we all thought she was. Margot Robbie is a powerhouse producer and one of the few true movie stars we’ve had come out of the last 15 years. Ryan Gosling is the under utilized comedy gem of the film industry. Physical studio sets are 1000% better than anything a green screen will give you. The best original soundtrack of the year by 100 miles. Barbie is arguably the most entertaining movie released in 2023, and I can’t tell you how much joy it brings me to see a comedy of all things take over the cultural zeitgeist.

#6 – Godzilla Minus One

Toho Studios once again putting the American Godzilla productions to shame. I say this without hyperbole but Godzilla Minus One may have more emotion and drama than the majority, if not all, of the prestige awards pictures of this year. Produced for a staggeringly low budget of $15 million, the visual effects and sets look better than anything the major studios are spending $200+ million on. This is truly a remarkable achievement in cinema.

Taking place during/post the end of WW2, our story follows a failed kamikaze pilot who survived an unknown Godzilla attack right before he was about to take off. He returns home to the aftermath of US bombing related disaster, with his family and town killed. He takes in a strange woman taking care of a random baby she found in the streets. They form a makeshift family that will warm your heart. When the kaiju Godzilla returns to destroy Tokyo, our disturbed guilt heavy hero must stand up and take action. If you didn’t get a chance to catch it during it’s record setting run in North America, I highly recommend you seek it out once available at home.

#5 – Past Lives

Hell of a directorial debut for Celine Song. Past Lives was the talk of the town at the 2023 Sundance Film festival while I was there. I was not fortunate enough to see it at the festival but I was sure to seek it out the moment it hit theaters in the US. 2 childhood Korean friends are broken up at 12 years old when Nora and her family immigrate to North America. Despite the separation, their strong feelings for each other continue for decades onward. We see the characters connect at 12, 24, and 36 years old each having a new perspective and way of life with each check in. I won’t go into further details as you should see it fresh for your first time. It’s reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy, only it’s all told in one stellar film. Nominated for Best Picture, in less competitive years I could see Past Lives take the main prize.

#4 – Poor Things

Emma Stone gives the most daring performance of the year in Poor Things, and I’m feeling very confident it will nab her a 2nd Oscar for Best Lead Actress. I couldn’t be happier for the worlds most famous and treasured Phoenix Suns fan! Her re-team with the great Yorgos Lanthimos is perverse and insane, yet beautiful in every way, despite the subject matter. This is essentially a hyper sexual, psychedelic, futuristic take on Frankenstein. Stone sheds it all both figuratively and literally, to bring the most genuine and hilarious performance of a woman with the mind of a newborn child.

Mark Ruffalo is having a blast doing some actual acting for once in what feels like an eternity. The story and sets take the twists and turns that only Yorgos could provide. Poor Things tackles all the atrocities of men, and you can imagine what that looks like in a borderline X rated film. Despite this, it oozes with beauty, art, humor, and inspiration. Note: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH YOUR FAMILY!!

#3 – Oppenheimer

Despite recognizing some of the complaints that people have had towards his work over the years, I have always been a day-one-die-hard Christopher Nolan fan. This is something I’ve taken an immense amount of shit for since I can remember. With this, it brings me great pleasure to say with great certainty that Oppenheimer WILL WIN Best Picture and Best Picture at the Academy Awards this coming March, along with a litany of technical awards. It’s a long overdue legacy award for the man that literally changed the game of the Oscars after he wasn’t recognized back in 2009.

It helps that Oppenheimer is an exceptionally great film. In particular, the IMAX 70mm experience is on the Mount Rushmore of the format. That is a cinematic experience I will truly never forget, pushing IMAX to all new levels of what it can achieve narratively speaking. At home, I’m pleased to say the film holds up extremely well. Despite being a 3 hour historical drama, this thing moves and slaps at every corner with a stacked cast and jaw dropping visuals from the master, Hoyte van Hoytema. This is a studio masterpiece that will be spun for years to come in households across the world.

#2 – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Every once in a while be it sports, art, technology etc, something comes around that you witness and think: “boy things are never going to be the same again.” That’s how I felt with 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was the most astounding thing I’d seen at that point, and animation has truly not been the same since with every studio trying desperately to emulate what they did on that picture. Somehow, someway, the filmmakers made a sequel that I’d describe as The Empire Strikes Back of our time.

My jaw was on the floor from start to finish the first time I saw it, and every time since. In short, I believe this film is the greatest achievement in the history of animation. It will be studied in art classes around the world for the next 100 years. We’ve been living through super hero fatigue with constant garbage outputs in the genre the last couple years. All the more impressive this work of true art was brought to us. I can’t wait to see how the trilogy ends, they’ve set quite the bar.

#1 – Killers of the Flower Moon

The G.O.A.T. Martin Scorsese links up with his 2 all time muses, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, to make an epic, harrowing, and wholly original adaptation of the famous Non-Fiction novel. Killers of the Flower Moon the book frames the true story of mass murder on the Osage tribe by greedy white men around the creation of the F.B.I. Scorsese’s take focuses on the malicious men conducting these atrocities, and the inspirational victims of the Osage Nation.

Leo sheds his typical persona to play the ugly village idiot that must carry out his Uncles bidding by marrying a wealthy Native woman, and slowly killing her family to collect their fortune. De Niro is in his bag here showing that he can still give an Oscar worthy performance if he needs to, and boy does he excel here as the slime ball evil mastermind. Lily Gladstone is somehow still the standout performance here, potentially giving my girl Emma Stone a run for her money. I was not familiar with Lily’s work before this, but post Killers, she’s someone to keep on your radar.

You don’t feel the 3 and a half hours throughout, which is good because I’ve watched the film 3 times since its release a few months back. Like many other movies on this list, if not for how stacked this year was, I have no doubt this one would take the Oscar gold for Best Picture in a different year. Despite the unlikelihood of it winning, I’ll take solace in that we got one more masterpiece from the legend Martin Scorsese before he retires here soon.

Not seeing one of your favorites of 2023 on the list? Not to worry! The 2nd annual Reelies Awards is coming right around the corner!