Posters via IMDb
At the start of the New Year, I sought to make a resolution I could actually uphold. I thought about my interests and set out to create a reasonable goal for me to accomplish. My goal was to watch 50 new films in 2023. New, in this case, meant films that I had never fully seen. That goal may seem low to some and high to others, but I chose this number to give myself a reasonable expectation while also making sure I was consistent. So far July has been my biggest movie month while I’ve slowed down in the fall. Despite this, I have two months left and I am going to hit 50.
I have seen 32 new movies so far this year. Check out my rankings for Nos. 32-21 and Nos. 20-11. Without further ado, here are my top 10 rankings for films I’ve seen in 2023:
Spoilers ahead
No. 10 – “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” – 9/10
This may sound like a broken record, but these films keep getting better and better. It’s as if Tom Cruise personally reads every viewer’s dislike of the previous film and completely fixes it in the next one. Director Christopher McQuarrie brought major juice to the action scenes in his entrance to the franchise. McQuarrie’s working relationship with Tom Cruise started with 2012’s “Jack Reacher” and blossomed into their most recent collaboration, “Top Gun: Maverick”. Just like he later did in “Top Gun”, McQuarrie straps cameras to all sorts of fast-moving vehicles in “Rogue Nation.” These camera angles make the viewer feel as though they are Ethan Hunt on a high-speed motorcycle chase. This film had scenes that made my jaw drop to the floor and others where I cheered out loud. It’s somehow even bigger and better than the previous films. Oh, and Tom Cruise actually hung outside of a real plane taking off.
No. 9 – “Minority Report” – 9/10
If you haven’t been able to tell, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise have been my top guys this year. This continues in a film I love, “Minority Report.” This is noticeably a Spielberg film in the best way possible. The camera is always in motion and the scenes are exceptionally blocked. Tom Cruise delivers a strong performance as the lead. The CGI and graphics looked clearly outdated, but that ended up aiding in creating the film’s visual tone. Every aspect of this film is expertly crafted and with Spielberg nailing down the technical aspects, the story has a place to flourish. This film had me glued to the screen. Spielberg is amazing.
No. 8 – “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” – 9.5/10
What “Dead Reckoning” does is show that fate is not decided through the most preparation, but through pure will. Ethan Hunt writes his own fate, not according to any calculation, but by the belief that he will accomplish his mission no matter what. This ultimately defeats and fools, if only momentarily in this film, The Entity and Gabriel and sets up an epic showdown in the following part two. Read my whole review here.
No. 7 – “The Banshees of Inisherin” – 9.5/10
“The Banshees of Inisherin” utilizes every aspect of the film form and medium. The cinematography was gorgeous, with uses of natural light and land. Nothing is wasted and each scene is meaningful. The dialogue jumps off the screen and is witty, heartbreaking and honest. Writer and director Martin McDonagh’s simple plot explores relevant themes of life. What is friendship? Be nice or be remembered? Are friends only friends because they live close to each other? The performances by Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Kerry Condon are incredible. Condon steals every scene she’s in. Farrell and Gleeson’s dynamic relationship made me feel like they have actually lived on an island together for years. This film is as grand, and as seemingly isolated, as the island they live on.
No. 6 – “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” – 9.5/10
“Fallout” and “Rogue Nation” feel like a part one and two. This film picks up with the same villain as “Rogue Nation” but with a plot even more nefarious. Henry Cavill and Angela Bassett were great additions to the cast that also featured excellent performances by the main squad. The story itself felt a bit too similar to “Ghost Protocol”, but was different enough in many other areas to avoid feeling like the same film. The cinematography was the best in the franchise. The helicopters battling over the mountains and lakes of Kashmir is one of my favorite sequences in any movie I’ve ever seen. This film continues a franchise that constantly pushes the boundaries for what can be captured on film. From jumping from 30,000 feet in the air to speeding through tight valleys with a helicopter, “Fallout” does not disappoint.
No. 5 – “Interstellar” – 9.5/10
Losing and wasting time is a terrible feeling. It can be annoying to waste 20 minutes in traffic or to wait for the previews to finish before the movie starts. What is worse is realizing your time with the people you love has been wasted. “Interstellar” spans galaxies and decades, but reminds us of very simple things that everyone deals with daily. Our choices are the way we choose to spend the finite amount of time we are given. There is a constant chase to get more time, but we can never achieve it, thus making time our most elusive resource. The film’s pacing was a bit too fast to start the film but settled in nicely throughout the runtime. Every detail is precise, but that’s what you get from one of the best to ever do it. Read my full review of “Interstellar” here.
No. 4 – “Barbie” – 10/10
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie blew away all expectations I had for “Barbie.” Ryan Gosling said it was the best script he’d ever read and he might be right. The script hit all the right beats and was funny, sarcastic and quippy, but most importantly delivered a strong message in a way that could not be mistaken. I love how simple the core of the story was; Swap traditional gender roles and teach patriarchy to inanimate objects to show how ridiculous our reality is. This was also the best theater experience of my life. I’ve never felt an audience, including myself, feel so engaged with what they were seeing on screen. A culture shifter.
No. 3 – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” – 10/10
“Across the Spider-Verse” expands on everything accomplished with “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” The animation was somehow taken to another level. I loved the competing styles of each Spider-Verse and how distinctly different they were from each other. The story of Miles Morales was expanded and felt extremely satisfying. Its two-and-a-half-hour runtime never felt bloated to me. Afterward, I felt I could watch the whole third film and still be perfectly engaged. The ending was a great cliffhanger and felt like a natural stopping point. It all combined to be one of, if not the best, superhero film ever made. This film rocked, just like Hobie.
No. 2 – “Se7en” – 10/10
There is not a comfortable moment in this film. The tone captured by David Fincher is one of endless despair and a complete loss of hope, something “The Batman” similarly captures years later. The last half of the film is terrifying. There is a slow burn to the way Fincher unravels the story. You feel the ending coming, but refuse to believe that someone could act in such a way. From the first scene to the last, this was a flawless thriller. It pushes the audience as far as it pushes David Mills.
No. 1 – “Oppenheimer” – 10/10
Christopher Nolan crafted an emotional journey through the life of one of the most important men of all time. The filmmaking carried a sense of power and weight. This feeling was obvious during the atomic bomb scenes, but even more prevalent in the consequences weighing upon Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy became my favorite actor with his performance. His ability to tell so much with his eyes elevated the entire movie. The scenes of Oppenheimer simply staring became the scenes that said the most about him. The audience could feel the dread and fear without hearing a single word. This was another top theater experience for me. The theater was dead silent and walked out in practical silence. “Oppenheimer” delivered and became my top film of 2023 so far.
SZNS MAG 