The Top 25 Movies of 2023

Even with the writers and actors going on strike late in the year, 2023 seemed to be a return to relative normalcy in the movie world compared to the COVID-stunted years before it. The number of movies released in theaters inched closer to where they were in pre-COVID times, with only 17 fewer wide releases than there were in 2019. The box office continued its gradual recovery as well, topping $9 billion domestic in 2023 (albeit still 20% less than the $11.4 billion earned in 2019).

2023 was certainly highlighted by its summer "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, which made the movie world the center of pop culture for a brief, wonderful moment. Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" and Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" made a staggering $2.4 billion combined worldwide, spawning an extremely lively discourse that, thanks to the Oscars, continues into 2024 and beyond.

There were also a ton of highly anticipated releases from well-known masters in 2023, including Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, Sofia Coppola, David Fincher, Yorgos Lanthimos, Hayao Miyazaki, Alexander Payne, Todd Haynes, Ridley Scott, and Ari Aster, just to name a few.

All that being said, 2023 was a very exciting year to go to the movies; so much so, that there are quite a few very good movies that couldn't crack this year-end list. Read on to see The Filmologist's top 25 movies of 2023, which includes big Hollywood releases, some franchise fare, and plenty of independent and non-English language movies.

No. 25 - The Boy and the Heron

I would never have guessed that the ludicrously anticipated (and possibly final) movie from Studio Ghibli's legendary master Hayao Miyazaki would have placed anywhere but the top one or two spots in the year-end rankings. But here we are!

Despite being distinctly beautiful (as all Miyazaki movies are) and once again playing in a more adult, dark fantasy sandbox that I prefer, the allegorical/symbolic elements get packed into such a density that they overwhelm any emotional connection, making for an intellectually fascinating but somewhat unrewarding experience.

That being said, it's satisfying to know that he did things on his own terms until the end, never compromising on his vision, his values, or his commitment to hand-drawn animation. We are lucky to have his art in the world.

The Filmologist's full review of "The Boy and the Heron".

No. 24 - Fallen Leaves

"Fallen Leaves" follows the same beats as many romcoms: a lonely man and woman are isolated in their worlds of sadness, they eventually meet via random happenstance, they fall hard for each other, their respective personal issues threaten to break them up, but they eventually come to an understanding that makes them stronger. It's pretty conventional from a narrative perspective, but the movie's quirky aesthetic, perfect deadpan humor, and emotional relatability result in an extremely rewarding viewing experience.

Fans of the Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki will recognize these things as his usual style (this is his 20th movie after all), but "Fallen Leaves" is a particularly successful distillation of the auteur's usual interests, mainly a Helsinki setting, a minimalistic style with very little camera movement, extremely droll dialogue, and relationships presented in a very plain, almost non-romantic way. It can certainly be an acquired taste; think of an even drier Wes Anderson.

All that being said, "Fallen Leaves" is very funny and very clever, often using songs, colors, and visual gags to express what the characters have a hard time saying out loud. There might not be any doubt that the couple will end up together in the end, but it's an extremely pleasurable journey to get there.

No. 23 - Saltburn

There seems to be quite a word-of-mouth phenomenon going on in early 2024 with "Saltburn"; I have heard so many people talking about it almost everywhere I go, including on the train, at the barbershop, and amongst friends who don't generally don't watch many movies. It probably helps that it became available to stream on Amazon Prime, but it's likely become something to talk about around the water cooler thanks to its absolutely batshit content.

Written and directed by Emerald Fennell (responsibile for 2020's Oscar-nominated "Promising Young Woman"), "Saltburn" tells the story of scholarship student Oliver (played by Barry Keoghan) struggling to fit in with the upper crust society types that populate Oxford University. Oliver becomes obsessed with a rich and good-looking classmate who takes a sympathetic shine to Oliver, eventually inviting Oliver to spend the summer at his family estate, populated by his eccentric family members. There are quite a few...memorable scenes that follow, sure to make you avert your eyes in disbelief while you pick your jaw up off the floor.

I think many critics got this one wrong, expecting it to be some kind of serious, profound statement on class instead of embracing it for the rollicking piece of campy entertainment that it is. I'm not sure if it's because Fennell's last movie was a Best Picture nominee or what, but she seemed to suffer from some pretty unfair expectations here. I happened to have a great time watching it (and it seems like many others did as well), and I was more than happy to squirm around while watching and excitedly talk about it with friends afterwards.

No. 22 - Nimona

I don't think I would've guessed Netflix's animated feature "Nimona" would end up in this top 25 list right after I was finished watching it, but it lodged its way into my brain the more time went on, becoming increasingly impressive the more you consider its many qualities. It seems like many others agree, as it was recently nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's Oscars.

Based on the 2015 graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson, the movie features the voice of Chloë Grace Moretz as Nimona, a hyper shapeshifter bouncing around a fantasy world influenced by the Middle Ages. Nimona's shapeshifting powers are frightening to the townsfolk who see her as a "monster," a label that Nimona starts to believe about herself. She forms an uneasy alliance with Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a once-celebrated knight who is on the run after being framed for the murder of the queen. They go on a series of adventures to clear Ballister's name.

The adventure is great fun and the animation is beautiful, if not a little manic, but the movie also serves as an allegory of the trans experience, with Nimona being "othered" by society and viewed as villainous due to the gift she was born with. One example: after Nimona saves the life of a small child, the child recoils in horror at her being a shapeshifter. The usually energetic Nimona is crushed. “They grow up believing that they can be a hero if they drive a sword into the heart of anything different…and I’m the monster?” she wonders. “I don’t know what’s scarier. The fact that everyone in this kingdom wants to run a sword through my heart or that sometimes I just wanna let ‘em.”

It's an incredibly sincere and thoughtful movie with lovable characters, all wrapped up in a uniquely designed animated package, worthy of the Oscar I hope it gets.

No. 21 - Ferrari

Micahel Mann ("Heat," "Ali," "The Insider") has spent over 40 years making movies about flawed men chasing greatness, which makes him the perfect person to tackle the life of Enzo Ferrari, the Italian founder of the famous car manufacturer. Based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsport journalist Brock Yates, the movie features Adam Driver as the man himself, surrounded by an amusingly non-Italian cast including Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley.

Unlike Ridley Scott's much-less-successful "Napoleon," Mann wisely focuses in on a tiny sliver of time instead of trying to cover a long lifespan, using clever dialogue to fill in some of the details from Ferrari's younger days. We mostly get the buildup to 1957's Mille Miglia, an open road, endurance-based race lasting one thousand miles. Enzo prepares his team for this particularly important race, as it came at a time when the company was near bankruptcy.

Driver plays Ferrari as a cool, calm, calculating figure that is tough to really get to know (much like the real man), but still has moments of humanization that work to great effect. He struggles to maintain a relationship with his wife and business partner (Cruz), while he spends more and more time with his mistress (Woodley) and his illegitimate son. All of these tensions threaten to boil over simultaneously, while Ferrari does his best to maintain his aura of control.

It's a very classic, straight-forward, they-don't-make-them-like-this-anymore drama that doesn't require any knowledge of cars or racing, wonderfully executed by Mann and brilliantly performed by Driver and Cruz (in particular), who constantly raises the temperature that Driver is always trying to cool down. Some of the accent work may have dulled the movie's award season shine, but it's still an extremely accomplished and heart-racing story that proves the 81 year-old Mann still has it.

No. 20 - Evil Does Not Exist

Ryusuke Hamaguchi burst onto the international scene in 2022 with "Drive My Car," a three-hour opus that took home the Oscar for Best International Feature. The Japanese director wasted no time making his next movie, "Evil Does Not Exist," which, even at a comparatively brief 106 minutes, is another quiet and glacially-paced drama that may test the limits of those who aren't willing to watch even a moment of people silently standing around smoking or thoughtfully driving around the countryside.

Most of the movie seems to be a fairly simple cautionary tale of corporations flexing their muscles to bully small town folks and despoil their beautiful environment. And it is that: a Tokyo company has bought up swathes of land in and around a small rural village, hoping to turn them into "glamping" sites for city tourists. The villagers are concerned these sites will damage their water supply, as they repeatedly tell the two company shills that come into town to try and convince the village leaders.

Things get murky as the two company reps slowly start to side with the villagers, made uncomfortable by the company's shoddy plans and won over by the villagers quiet determination. There isn't a lot of dialogue, but this sparsity seems to give each spoken line incredible weight and importance. The village's handyman, Takumi (Hitoshi Omika), is almost a mythic figure, respected by everyone and packing a metric ton of intimidation into each quiet drag of his cigarette.

Hamaguchi patiently shows you the minutae of the village's everyday workings, giving you an appreciation for what stands to be lost. The ending is fairly sudden and slightly open for interpretation (which is even more jarring considering how quiet the movie is until that point), but it's still a powerful experience for those willing to lose themselves in the woods for a while.

No. 19 - Fremont

Babak Jalali's "Fremont" manages to operate in several different modes in the course of its 92-minute runtime and is successful in every one of them. It is all at once an emotionally affecting immigrant story, a bone-dry indie comedy, and a tender romcom, all captured in glorious black and white. Bolstered by an impressive lead performance by real-life Afghan refugee (and first-time actor) Anaita Wali Zada, "Fremont" is a tender and satisfying crowd pleaser that wraps you up in a gentle hug that lasts long after the credits roll.

Donya (Zada) is an Afghan refugee who served as a translator for the United States Army during the war. She spends her time working at a fortune cookie factory and struggling to sleep in her tiny twin bed. She forces her way in to see psychiatrist Dr. Anthony (Gregg Turkington) in order to get a prescription for sleeping pills, and through the course of their mostly one-sided conversations (Dr. Anthony would prefer to talk about the many virtues of White Fang), we learn that Donya is struggling with loneliness, unable to open herself up to others due to her survivor's guilt. How can she enjoy a life of love and happiness when her family and so many others still live in a country plagued by war? Even her hopes of bonding with other Afghan refugees in her apartment building are met with difficulties, as many view her as a traitor for working for the U.S. Army. Her life is spent in quiet solitude, going back and forth to work, getting her meals, and watching soap operas with a nosy old man who runs a local restaurant, and staring at the ceiling in her apartment, not regretting the move to this strange new country but not quite able to move on either.

It's a quiet mood piece and character study that moves slowly but develops feelings in the viewer like an oncoming front of gentle summer rain. Beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and thoughtfully considered, it's catnip to those who are fans of movies like Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson" (2016) and Kogonada's "Columbus" (2017).

The Filmologist's full review of "Fremont".

No. 18 - Knock at the Cabin

Shyamalan hive, unite! Memesters online will forever jab at M. Night for being "the twist guy," but that kind of lazy commentary only continues to encourage people to take for granted how good he really is at telling unique high-concept stories, building suspense, and creating memorable images.

In "Knock at the Cabin," a family of three (including dads Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge, and the adorable Kristen Cui) are vacationing at a remote cabin, but they are suddenly held hostage by four strangers (led by the hulking Dave Bautista) who very strongly suggest that the family needs to sacrifice one of their own to avert the apocalypse.

For the most part, that's all there really is to the movie. As Bautista's crew slowly reveals their true aims, the tension just keeps building and building to almost unbearable levels. It's a true home invasion thriller shot in style by Robet Eggers' usual cinematographer Jarin Blaschke ("The Northman," "The Lighthouse") at a lovely single cabin location that was built specifically for this movie. Blaschke utilizes a lot of close-ups (particularly of Batista) to startling effectiveness; the viewer's eyes can't help but search the invaders' faces for any sign or clue that they are telling the truth. Bautista is truly impressive, as his character's calm and gentle demeanor is offset by his physically intimidating stature, creating a truly unpredictable antagonist.

The ending, as always, is a topic of conversation. Shyamalan changed the ending from the book the movie is adapted from (The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay), which is always going to upset people. Not having any relationship with the book, I thought the ending was very effective, but it's certainly something that will have you in heated debate with your friends.

The Filmologist's full review of "Knock at the Cabin".

No. 17 - Poor Things

Given my love for Yorgos Lanthimos' previous works ("The Lobster," "The Favourite," "Dogtooth"), I was expecting "Poor Things" to be in my top five of the year, so its placement here at #17 reflects my slight disappointment. It's certainly another delightfully wild swing from a uniquely weird director. A Frankenstein-esque doctor (Willem Dafoe) replaces a recently deceased woman's brain with that of her unborn fetus, resulting in her having an infant's mind. Bella is a new soul in a grown-up woman's body (Emma Stone), rapidly going through the stages of development from an innocent, bratty child to an intelligent, mature adult, attracting all kinds of strange people into her orbit along the way.

If that already sounds strange, know that the movie itself is even stranger, full of Lanthimos' trademark dry humor, dazzingly surreal visuals, and a metric fuckton of graphic sex scenes. Once Bella ventures out into the world, it's a whirlwind of madcap adventures, philosophical conversation, and a barrage of dick jokes. Mark Ruffalo is wonderfully unhinged as the pathetically debauched lawyer who falls for Bella and attempts to show her the world, even as Bella quickly develops beyond his grasp.

It's all a bit much, and at two-and-a-half hours, it can feel like it's repeating itself at times; how many sex scenes are too many sex scenes? It kind of feels like the points Lanthimos wants to make are drilled home a little too far. That being said, it's full of laughs and splendidly deranged performances (possibly Emma Stone's best), and there's certainly nothing else like it. Lanthimos is one of the world's most clever and unique directors, and any new project from him is appointment viewing.

No. 16 - Afire

Anyone who has ever spent a good chunk of time creating art is likely very familiar with the fear that comes from the moment when their completely interior creation is finally seen and judged by an exterior audience. Even just the anticipation of an audience reaction is enough to make an artist question everything. You might think that sharing your work with a close friend or loved one can provide some kind of safety buffer, but often their reactions can be even more devastating than those of a stranger.

These fears, and how they can often painfully expose other parts of an artist's life, are central to Christian Petzold's wonderful 10th feature, "Afire", the latest in a string of consistently excellent movies from the German director.

While some might balk at the thought of a movie about the nature of art that spends the majority of its time following a sad artist guy, Petzold manages to turn enough tricks to put you under his spell, leaving you with plenty of ideas to chew on. It's a moving and often profound piece of work that further solidifies Petzold as one of world cinema's most consistently excellent directors.

The Filmolgist's full review of "Afire".

No. 15 - The Killer

David Fincher is a director well known for his meticulousness, often frustrating cast and crew with his desire to keep shooting takes until he feels he's gotten it right. Therefore, it's easy to identify the subtext in Fincher's newest movie, "The Killer," which starts off with a 20-minute sequence of a professional assassin (Michael Fassbender) slowly and methodically planning out his hit on a man in a building across a Parisian street. He stakes out the surrounding scene for days, getting to know the movements of every person who frequents the area, carefully considering things from every angle, making sure he has accounted for every eventuality, leaving nothing to chance. When the moment to pull the trigger finally arrives, a sudden movement unexpectedly causes him to miss, ruining days of painstaking preparation. You can almost hear Fassbender (as Fincher) exasperatedly yelling "Cut!" for the 100th time, annoyed at an outside force keeping him from perfection.

It's a fascinating effort from a singular director late in his career, not so dissimilar to Wes Anderson's "Asteroid City," in which another popular and distinct director examines his own work ethic and style. It may end up being polarizing due to the expectations of Fincher's fans, but it's a delightfully twisted and fabulously entertaining piece of work from a legendary artist still operating at the height of his powers.

The Filmologist's full review of "The Killer".

No. 14 - The Holdovers

Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers" is a movie so old-fashioned in its tone and contruction that it feels refreshingly new again. Filmed with a completely realized 1970s aesthetic, the movie follows a grouchy classics professor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England boarding school who is forced to look after a handful of students with nowhere else to go during the Christmas holidays. These students, the holdovers, are dismayed when the seemingly joyless professor forces them to study and exercise during the entire break. One of these students, a particularly moody troublemaker (Dominic Sessa) on the verge of expulsion, is contantly butting heads with the professor, creating a tense atmosphere on the cold and mostly empty campus.

There aren't many narrative surprises here, but there is great joy to be had in the character interactions. The professor gradually gets to know the troublemaking student, and the two eventually form a rather charming bond. The university's cafeteria manager (Da'Vine Joy Randolph) is the other member of the little group, and these three characters' lives influence each other in heartwarming and tear-inducing ways.

Alexander Payne ("Sideways," "Election") has made a long career out of creating memorable and goofy characters that walk the line between admirable and mockable, and "The Holdovers" might be his finest work. Giamatti, Sessa and Randolph are each outstanding, and do a lot of great work to create very human characters that are easy to root for. The lessons learned aren't necessarily anything new, but it still feels good to learn them in a way that's so comfortably familiar.

No. 13 - Beau is Afraid

Ari Aster's "Beau is Afraid" is easily the film world's most polarizing topic of discussion in 2023. For a good month or two after the movie's release, nowhere was safe from lengthy thinkpieces, best-ever or worst-ever proclaimations, and incredulous tweets about the supposed ego of a director who spent his critical and budgetary goodwill on a three-hour gonzo piece of surrealism.

Now that the dust has settled a bit, I would bet that the critical consensus is going to swing largely in the positive direction, because there is just so much to like about the movie.

Aster ("Hereditary," "Midsommar") seems to use "Beau is Afraid" as a direct response to people who have suggested that he seek out some kind of therapy. Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is an extremely anxious adult man living alone in a dangerous part of a big city, afraid to even go outside. He is seemingly terrified of his mother, a famous businesswoman, and confides to his therapist that he feels both guilty and resentful of disappointing her. After his plans to visit her fall apart, he receives some upsetting news and must get to his mother's house as quickly as possible.

What happens next is a bizarre odyssey composed of a series of increasingly absurd disasters, accurately described by Aster himself as "a Jewish Lord of the Rings, but Beau's just going to his mom's house." Along the way, Beau encounters two kindly suburban parents (Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan) and their unhinged teenage daughter (Kylie Rogers), an off-the-grid theater troupe that lives in the forest, and a variety of other crazy characters, either real or imagined. The story also bounces back and forth between flashbacks of key moments from a young Beau's life with his younger mother (Zoe Lister-Jones), including a cruise on which he meets his first (and possibly only) love, Elaine, with whom he promises to remain virgins until they meet again as adults.

Aster may never again get the kind of budget or media attention that "Beau Is Afraid" has received, and I admire his willingness to take the biggest swing possible. There were times it felt like he was too in love with his material to make further edits (an early cut had it at four hours), but it's hard to blame him when each scene is begging to be rewatched and dissected for meaning.

It's a therapy session brought to life like some kind of Frankenstein. Even if Aster isn't really okay, he's at least turned his trauma into strangely relatable and fiercely compelling art that demands to be seen.

The Filmologist's full review of "Beau is Afraid".

No. 12 - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Celebrated author Judy Blume rejected many offers to adapt her most well-known book, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," since its publication in 1970. Blume had just about given up on an adaptation ever happening when, in 2016, she was completely taken with Kelly Fremon Craig's remarkable directorial debut, "The Edge of Seventeen," which may be one of the best possible examples if you're looking for a movie about young people where the characters actually talk and feel like real young people. Not long after that movie's release, Blume sold the film rights for her book to Fremon Craig and producer James L. Brooks, leading to a fierce studio bidding war that was eventually won by Lionsgate. It may have been a long wait to see her work on the big screen, but her patient selectivity seems to have paid off big time; Blume herself has gleefully called the adaptation "better than the book."

It's high praise that is absolutely earned, as Fremon Craig and her talented cast and crew have created a real rarity -- a heartwarming and refreshingly frank coming-of-age story that feels genuine and relatable to people of all ages.

The Filmologist's full review of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret."

No. 11 - All of Us Strangers

"All of Us Strangers" gives you the impression that something otherworldly is happening from the first scene. As you struggle to get your bearings throughout the movie's first 30 minutes, you can't help but feel that something isn't quite right, like you're walking through a dream. Even though the story itself is very much grounded in the reality of very relatable human relationship dynamics, the feeling that something supernatural is happening persists throughout, accented by the hazy lighting and seemingly floating backgrounds. This uncanny atmosphere can be a little offputting, but somehow it all comes together to give the story an extra emotional punch.

Andrew Haigh ("Lean on Pete," HBO's Looking) tells a story of a one-night stand that grows into something more, as a lonely screenwriter (Andrew Scott) meets a drunk neighbor (Paul Mescal) in their quiet tower block in London. The two start to feel (figuratively and literally) like they are the only ones in the world, spending more time together and slowly exposing their vulnerabilities.

Scott's character also begins to visit his unoccupied childhood home, kicking off a series of scenes where he holds conversations with what might be the ghosts of his parents. These dialogues are profound and emotionally gripping; the parents realize they are dead, and they use the opportunity to say all the things they never got to say (or wish they had). It's very likely a wish-fulfillment fantasy concocted by Scott's writer character, but the melancholic confessions are heartbreakingly sad and universal to those of us who have strained relationships with their parents (particularly within an LGBTQ context).

Reality is blurred even further when Scott's character invites his new lover to his childhood home to visit his ghost parents, kicking off a final act full of tragic revelations that will have you using up the vast majority of a Kleenex box. It's a mood piece full of pure feeling, with knockout performances from Scott and Mescal. This is as close as you can get to getting your family together for a group therapy session, and the movie is often as effectively overwhelming as that sounds.

No. 10 - Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is a whole lot of movie, even for three hours, and even though the length can be felt at times, it also simultaneously doesn't feel like enough. Nolan tries to cram so many things into one package that it can be tempting to say that maybe some should've been either cut or expanded on. I hate to even suggest that this could've made an even more incredible prestige television series (sorry Mr. Nolan), but the truth is that there is so much interesting and thought-provoking material here that you'll want to leave the theater and keep learning more details about the things that you saw. That is certainly to the movie's great credit, but it also speaks to the difficulty of making a satisfying and coherent narrative about all the things the movie wants to talk about.

Ultimately, it's a more than worthy attempt and a highly engaging affair that will only benefit from repeated viewings. Nolan repeatedly has characters tell you that Oppenheimer might be the most important person who has ever lived. Appropriately, he has created a stunningly accomplished and larger-than-life interrogation that will be talked about for years to come.

The Filmologist's full review of "Oppenheimer".

No. 9 - Showing Up

If you've ever been part of a small, local arts community, this is the movie for you. Kelly Reichardt, director of "First Cow" (The Filmologist's favorite movie of 2020), has made a love letter to all of those people who dedicate so much of their time to toiling away at their chosen craft, where the only recognition they are likely to ever get is from the small group of people within their own community. For all of you sculptors and potters, knitters and painters, musicians and woodworkers, "Showing Up" is about continuing to show up and do the thing you love, even if it's just for yourself.

The movie follows Lizzy (Michelle Williams), a sculptor and arts administrator at a Portland arts college, who toils relentlessly making clay sculptures of women in joyful or anguished movements. She constantly spars with her landlord and artistic rival, Jo (Hong Chau), who seems to have things come to her a lot easier than Lizzy. Much of the movie is Lizzy interacting with or hiding from other folks in the local arts community; Lizzy is a gruff introvert who cares quite a great deal, but can't seem to get out of her own head.

Like in most Reichardt movies, not a lot really happens, but it's all about how effortlessly she creates a world full of very real characters, revealing simple truths. Even though Reichardt is a critical darling, she has never been a box office success, and it's hard not to see this movie being about herself at least a little bit, dealing with the difficulties of making her art while still remembering the joys of creation that keep her showing up.

No. 8 - Asteroid City

Even if you're not familiar with the works of Wes Anderson, you probably still have a pretty good idea of what his movies look like. His visual style is so distinctive and well-known that it's inspired a wave of parody videos on social media channels that show people doing mundane things in Anderson's signature aesthetic, which famously includes perfectly symmetrical shots, washed out pastels, vintage clothing, and handmade props.

Because Anderson spends so much time carefully composing the visual elements of his movies, he is often accused of putting style over substance, a claim I find to be tremendously off base. All of his movies take care to tell stories full of emotion, even if that emotion isn't always front and center. His strongest works, like "The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," and "Moonrise Kingdom," can be downright powerful.

"Asteroid City" probably isn't going to change many people's opinions of Anderson's work, as it contains all of the things we've come to expect: Anderson's signature visual palette (incredibly clean, even when set in the middle of a desert), an immaculately constructed set full of perfectly-fonted signs and whimsical props, and a ridiculously large collection of A-list Hollywood actors exchanging quips in the same deadpan manner. Set in a retro-futuristic version of the 1950s, the story follows a group of various characters who converge for a Junior Stargazer convention in a small fictional desert town, where they are soon quarantined after the sudden appearance of a UFO.

The narrative structure might be the most complex that Anderson has attempted, starting with a documentary-style program (hosted by Bryan Cranston) that introduces and then shows a televised version of the fictional play "Asteroid City" while also regularly mixing in "real life" scenes of the lives of the actors within the televised play. It can take a bit for the viewer to find their bearings in all of this post-modern architecture, and it might be next to impossible to suss out all of the character connections after only one viewing. This might already sound like a lot of work for the viewer (and it is), but it's essential to understanding what Anderson is trying to say; if you don't engage with it, the movie isn't going to feel like it's saying much, and you'll have to get by with enjoying the usual visual beauty and fun character interactions. It's a risky gambit by Anderson, as it's asking the viewer to connect emotionally with the feelings of a character that is acting in a movie within a movie.

The Filmologist's full review of "Asteroid City."

No. 7 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

In my more cynical moments, I wonder if I watch entirely too many mediocre-to-bad movies in an attempt to keep up with all of the new releases that come out in a given year. The more I watch, the less I seem capable of being genuinely impressed by anything, of being truly moved or even completely absorbed by what I'm seeing on the screen. It feels like there are no surprises, nothing new being said, nothing noticeable about the execution. That goes double (or even triple) for superhero movies, a genre that has left me colder and colder over time, even though I continue to watch them all like an idiot.

And then, every once in a while, a minor miracle.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an extremely rare unicorn: a big-budget sequel (!) of an animated superhero movie (!!) that is so good that I spent the entire time grinning and giggling like a child, shedding tears and getting chills. If the first Spider-Verse movie is one of the best superhero movies of all time, the sequel is just as good, if not better. It's a non-stop, jam-packed, sensory overload of a movie with characters that are easy to care about and animation that pushes beyond anything we've ever seen before. It may seem like everything being written already about this movie is hyperbole, but I'm here to tell you otherwise: this is the real deal.

The Filmologist's full review of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."

No. 6 - May December

Any new movie from Todd Haynes ("Carol," "Safe") is an event, and his latest, a darkly comic melodrama for the Netflix streaming service, is another fascinating and thought-provoking work in the director's catalogue. Loosely inspired by the Mary Kay Letourneau scandal back in 1997, it tells the story of a well-known actress (Natalie Portman) who travels to meet and study the life of the controversial woman (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film; a woman infamous for her 23-year-long relationship with her husband (Charles Melton), which began when she was 34 and he was only 13 years old.

The story takes place many years after the initial scandal; Moore's character (Gracie) is out of jail and is trying to live a quiet life in her small hometown with her now-adult man and their three children. Gracie agrees to give the actress access to their lives in the hope that she portrays her in a good light; the rest of the family is suspicious, assuming the movie will be a hit job, and the actress is only there to judge and make fun of them.

Haynes expertly challenges the viewer's perception of each woman, as Gracie often appears to be incredibly airheaded and naive, only to be ruthlessly calculating moments later. Portman's actress character seems nice enough at first but is eventually revealed to have her own struggles and dark past, and we are forced to reevaluate her multiple times. And then there's Charles Melton as Joe Yoo, who somehow steals the show from Portman and Moore. Joe Yoo is still very young, and as his children approach their teenage years, he starts to realize how much of his youth was stolen from him by being in a high-profile relationship with a much, much older woman.

It's a difficult subject to make a movie about, but Haynes manages to play with the viewer's moral judgment without making a definitive stand about any of these people. It's unsettling, confusing, funny, and often heartbreaking, all led by three actors putting in career work.

No. 5 - Barbie

Odds are that 99.9 percent of the people reading this blurb have seen "Barbie" (at least once), talked to friends and family about "Barbie," engaged in online debate about "Barbie," and have thus formed a very firm stance about what they think about "Barbie." I can only say that I had an incredible time seeing "Barbie" in the theater, and thought it was just about as good on rewatch. "Barbie" is a very, very good movie with a smart script, talented performances, fun songs and set design, and is way better than it has any right to be, considering it's a movie based on a line of toy dolls.

Greta Gerwig's $1.5 billion box office smash hit was the talk of 2023, encouraging large groups of people to dress in pink and head to the movie theaters. It's also a rare example of a movie that pervades the worldwide pop culture consciousness and is actually really good. Greta Gerwig and Ryan Gosling give unreasonably brilliant performances as two dolls that escape the matriarchal Barbieland populated by multiple versions of Barbie and Ken into the patriarchy of our cruel real world, learning hard lessons, hitting the beach, and glorifying horses along the way.

It's also full of valuable lessons for both women and men (even if some of the latter didn't seem to realize that), and something that you can feel good about showing to young girls. It's also incredibly funny, with tons of laugh-out-loud jokes and visual gags. It's hard to see "Barbie" as anything other than a massive success story.

No. 4 - Anatomy of a Fall

Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” is kind of this year's "Tár": a long, serious, intelligently written, critically adored, adult drama featuring a knockout central lead performance from an elite actress. It's also an incredibly accessible thriller for fans of legal dramas, murder mysteries, and relationship analysis. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and it's well represented at this year's Oscars. It's also absolutely worth the hype, and then some.

Sandra Hüller gives a performance only rivaled in 2023 by herself (see movie No. 3 below) as Sandra, a novelist living in a beautiful French mountain chalet with her husband, their visually impaired son, Daniel, and his guide-dog, Snoop. Daniel returns home from a walk to find his father dead below his attic window, his mother the only witness to what really happened. Did he fall out accidentally, or was he pushed?

What follows is a completely absorbing two-and-a-half hour dissection of a failing marriage, as the crime-scene investigators and courtroom prosecutors turn over every rock possible to figure out the truth. There is, of course, the central question of whether or not Sandra murdered her husband, but the real meat of the story is an interrogation of how couples fail to communicate and the disasterous effects it can have on a family.

Never resorting to melodrama, Trier has made a movie that feels like literature in all the best ways, asking deep questions and allowing the audience to try and make their own answers.

No. 3 - The Zone of Interest

Earlier this year, my wife and I visited the Dachau concentration camp memorial site in Germany. We were a little surprised by how many homes were in the immediate area, including several fairly large older houses that were situated quite literally right up against the outer wall of the camp. We couldn't believe anyone would choose to live in such a place; surely they were aware of what was going on right in their backyard. What kind of person would be happy to spend time there, much less raise a family and go about their regular day-to-day, all with some of the worst atrocities in human history taking place just yards away from their kitchen?

It sounds like acclaimed director Jonathan Glazer had the exact same thoughts while visiting Auschwitz, as he was particularly affected by the residence of the commandant Rudolf Höss (who was also Block leader in the similarly organized Dachau camp prior to his time in Auschwitz). The Höss residence (which still stands and currently has people living in it) is a luxurious villa with a backyard pool and garden, all bordered by a large wall in the corner of the camp. Glazer was inspired to work with the Auschwitz Museum and obtain permission to access their archives, examining testimonies provided by people who had been employed in the Höss household to put together an image of what life would have been like for the individuals that lived there.

Glazer eventually turned that research into "The Zone of Interest," one of the more uniquely chilling Holocaust dramas that you'll ever see. The movie serves as a kind of biopic of Höss (played by Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) as they try to build their dream lives with their family in the same gorgeous villa that borders Auschwitz. Glazer makes the decision not to show any violence or even anything at all from within the camp itself, but its presence is still felt in every frame. The large camp wall topped with barbed wire lurks in the background as the children play in the garden. The smoke and firelight from the crematoria linger through every window of the house. Most haunting is the movie's tremendous sound design, always there under every scene: the shuffling of boots, screamed commands of wardens, occassional blasts of gunfire, and periodic piercing screams never allow you to forget exactly where you are. It's an extraordinary choice that lets the viewer's imagination create horrifying images that never appear on the screen.

The Filmologist's full review of "The Zone of Interest."

No. 2 - Monster

"Monster" is a movie of three parts, in which your perception of what the movie is changes each time. At first, it's a tragedy about a single mother trying to raise a troubled child who appears to have been abused by a teacher at school. The story then shifts to the teacher's point of view, completely upending what you thought had really happened, before flipping things once again in the final act, told from the child's point of view. It's a fascinatingly morphing narrative that constantly keeps you guessing as to who the "monster" really is.

This is Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's sixteenth movie, and the first not written by himself since 1995. The screenplay, written by Yuji Sakamoto, won Best Screenplay (as well as the Queer Palm) at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, is an incredibly clever nesting doll of a narrative, expertly brought to life by Kore-ada's skills in showing how children must navigate the world that their parents thrust them into.

There is a lot of joy to be found in slowly figuring out who did what and why, and for the most part there are answers provided, but much like "May December," the movie challenges you to question your own judgment of the characters, and realize that reality can be vastly different for each person. The teacher is easily written off within the first 20 minutes as an uncaring creep, but as the story unfolds, your attitudes shift and change with each revelation, even as you can see how other characters will forever only see him as the creep.

Ultimately, the story is about the relationship between two children, which I won't spoil here, but the final act is so deeply rewarding and profoundly moving, with so many little details coming together perfectly in the end in an immensely satisfying way. It's possibly Kore-ada's ("Shoplifters," "Brokers") best work, which is really saying something. This is likely the least seen movie on this list, and I would highly encourage everyone to check it out.

No. 1 - Past Lives

Ever since my first viewing in the spring of 2023, whenever anyone asked me what my favorite movie of the year was so far, I said "Past Lives" without hesitation. That remained the case for the rest of the year, and it's an easy pick to top this list.

It's human nature to look back on the past and wonder what our lives may have been like if we had done certain things differently. No matter how well things are going for us, we still can't help but think the grass might have been greener (or at least a different shade of green) had we just taken a different path. The exploration of this kind of melancholic regret has been the basis for some of the best movies of the past few decades, including "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "In the Mood for Love," and Richard Linklater's "Before Trilogy." It may even explain our current fascination with the multiverse; what better way to explore the infinite roads left untraveled?"

Celine Song's debut feature, "Past Lives," is an incredibly powerful entry into this wistful genre, effortlessly transporting the viewer into a state of self-reflection. Greta Lee and Hae Sung are note-perfect as two people who can't seem to escape the gravitational pull of each other, despite living on different continents, being apart for decades, and even getting married to other people.

The movie repeatedly interrogates the Korean concept of "In-Yun", which states that if you meet someone, no matter how briefly, it means you also met in a past life, and lovers are people who have met over and over again in their past lives. It raises the question of whether or not two people are fated to be together. This concept is used expertly in one of those devastatingly perfect final scenes that will stay with you forever. It's an incredibly assured first feature from Song, and one I can only hope is recognized with major awards at the Oscars.

The Filmologist's full review of "Past Lives."