[Editorial] Top 10 Movies Of 2023 (Or Top 15, Actually)

I am finally caught up with all the movies, just a week before the Academy Awards. So now I'm ready to name and recommend my Top 10 movies of 2023.

But first, I really need to honour another 5 movies that didn't make the list and I wished they could have. These are smaller movies that not many have seen but should.

In descending order then.

15. Leave The World Behind (8.5/10)

The only horror movie in the list, with a sense of M. Night Shyamalan style of movie-making, I was surprised at how engaging this movie was.

14. Theater Camp (8.5/10)

This little movie that nobody saw had laughter in abundance and entertained to no end, with a great cast that made the movie feel like a documentary.

13. Flora And Son (8.5/10)

John Carney is back and working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt who brought his A-game in charisma. A couple of great songs as usual with a story that pulled at the heart-strings, too.

12. Full River Red (8.5/10)

Zhang Yi Mou with a full-blown mystery-comedy but set just a few years after the death of China's legendary Yue Fei; so using that as a backdrop as we see a small group of rebels trying to overthrow 

11. American Fiction (8.5/10)

An intelligent comedy that is making fun of America's current state of mind with a brilliant and contained performance by Jeffrey Wright.

And now for the Top 10, and I just realized this year I have given out more 9/10s than any other year. It really was a great year for quality movies.

10. Barbie (8.5/10)

This movie was pure entertainment and fun at its finest. And what a great performance by both leads to create characters that people will remember forever.

9. The Movie Emperor (8.5/10)

Chinese movies have never (I haven't seen too many Chinese movies of late but I'll just stick to what I'm saying here) looked like this. And, Andy Lau has never delivered a performance like this one. This movie was just hilarious and I haven't laughed this loud and this many times in a cinema for a long time.

8. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 3 (8.5/10)

This is the only MCU movie that has made me cry more times than Avengers: Endgame. And this franchise will also go down as one of my favourite trilogies. James Gunn showed us he really knew what he was doing and always had an end in sight with a very coherent story throughout the trilogy.

7. May December (9/10)

Never has there been a movie to create such awkward scenarios and be as gripping as this, and credit goes to both lead actresses for brilliant performances that were just not good enough to enter the final Academy Awards nomination list.

6. The Iron Claw (9/10)

This movie is the most heartbreaking from this list for 2023. And another great performance that just didn't make the nomination list for Zac Efron. I would also contend that this cast should have been nominated for Best Ensemble by the SAG AFTRA.

5. Air (9/10)

Maybe it came out too early in the year? This should have been in the Best Movie / Best Ensemble category with all-around great performances. And what great direction as well by Ben Affleck, with a movie about Michael Jordan but we never really saw Michael Jordan.

4. The Holdovers (9/10)

This was Alexander Payne being at his best and bringing out Paul Giamatti with another career best. I could not look away from the screen even though there were no highs and lows here, but another all-round great performances by the small cast.

3. Anatomy Of A Fall (9/10)

I didn't know the name Sandra Huller before this year but now I do; because I saw her in three different movies this year and she was great in all of them no matter big or small her roles were. The most intense dialogue this year goes to the dining table scene.

2. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (9/10)

This sequel was even better than the original, and the original was already great. But the way this universe expanded, it really did put the MCU to shame. Plenty more great characters in this one to fall in love with, and what a great way to have inclusion without ever being that sense of the word. This is what storytelling should be.

1. Oppenheimer (9.5/10)

When you want to talk about career best, this movie boasted Christopher Nolan-best, a Cillian Murphy-best, and a Robert Downey Jr.-best. Running for three hours long and never once a dull frame, this movie is just close to perfection.