10. GODZILLA MINUS ONE

Never in a million years did I think a film about Godzilla – the popular prehistoric monster that debuted in the 1950s and has tormented movie screens ever since – would find way into one of my top ten lists, but in 2023 Godzilla Minus One became the best monster movie in years.  Taking place at the end of WWII, Godzilla Minus One tells the story of a Japanese kamikaze soldier determined to save mankind from the invincible beast.  But, take my word for it, the story doesn’t really matter.  Rather, sit back and enjoy the larger-than-life visuals and special effects on the big screen, which were far more magical than anything in Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, or any other blockbuster from the past year.

9. BARBIE

Say what you will about its politics, but there’s no denying that Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is way better than it has any right to be.  The film, which along with Super Mario Bros. will likely begin a trend of bringing toys to the big screen, is one of the most colorful and original films of the year, as it follows the popular Mattel doll out of Barbieland and into Venice Beach.  Unlike Gerwig’s previous two films (Lady Bird and Little Women), Barbie is a film full of flaws, just like its lead character.  But also just like Gerwig’s version of Barbie, the film is strong, bold, original and funny.  And more importantly, during a time when cinemas are struggling, it’s billion-dollar box office haul might make it the most important film of the year.

8. OPPENHEIMER

When Oppenheimer is paired with Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, one can’t help to wonder why the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan and not in Germany, but that’s missing the point of Christopher Nolan’s grandeur opus all together.  After all, the film that will likely finally earn Christopher Nolan an Oscar is really an anti-war film.  It tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a man who is so arrogant that he keeps that initial from his first name.  It’s that arrogance that made him the grandfather of the atomic bomb, a creation that led to a lifetime of grief and regret.  Oppenheimer, which has been praised as the best film of the year by countless organizations and critics, is a film that’s so easy to appreciate.  Nolan is a master of the craft, and this is his most ambitious project.  But it’s also a film that’s easier to appreciate than to enjoy, because of its ferocious editing and minimal dialogue.  Still, one can’t deny that this may be the most perfectly crafted film of Nolan’s career.

7. POOR THINGS

Yorgos Lanthimos’s wildly original Poor Things has a lot to unpack; it also has a lot of “jumping,” as Bella Baxter would put it.  Lanthimos has never shied away from the daring, but Emma Stone’s performance as a lady who is brought back to life after given the brain of a baby is both risky and masterful; it would be a travesty if she didn’t win an Oscar for her performance.  Poor Things is a challenging film to place appropriately on a top ten list.  It deserves to rank high for its gorgeous sets, unique cinematography, imaginative screenplay, and for how it captures the worldly views of both children and adults.  At first glance, it appears that Poor Things has everything.  It wasn’t until midway through the movie when Bella mentions that Dr. Godwin Baxter doesn’t believe humans have souls that I realized that’s exactly what’s missing from Lathimos’s film.  Poor Things is masterfully made, but it lacks the heart that many of the best movies of 2023 had.  Fortunately, it makes up for it with its creativity and positive message, as it reminds us to view the world not as a routine bore, but rather as the magnificent enchanted planet that is overflowing with daily delights.

6. PAST LIVES

Celine Song’s Past Lives feels like the Korean cousin of Before Sunset, as it tells the story of childhood friends who are reconnected who are reconnected via Facebook despite the fact that they opportunity at a relationship has passed.  Nora, who is now married to a Caucasian American named Arthur, agrees to meet Hae Sung, first by video calls and later in person.  Past Lives captures a love triangle unlike any other in recent memory.  It’s a film that understands it’s possible to love more than one person, and recognizes that one may wonder what might have been, even if they are in a happy marriage.  Alongside Marriage Story, Past Lives is one of the few recent films that perfectly captures the beauty and struggles of a relationship, and proves there’s nothing harder than love.

5. ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET.

Being a teenager is no easy task, but making a movie that captures the challenges of the middle school years seems to be even more difficult, based on how few movies seem to get the challenges right.  Fortunately, Judy Blume and Kelly Fremon Craig have a gift for bringing the struggles to the big screen.  Are You There God?  It’s Me, Margaret. understands the insecurities and struggles as it tells the story of Margaret Simon, an 11-year-old girl who is forced to go to a new school when her family moves from New York to New Jersey.  But it also understands that we still have some of those same challenges when we’re adults, as Margaret’s mom, played wonderfully by Rachel McAdams, also fears letting others down.  Craig, who also directed the incredibly underrated The Edge of Seventeen, has a gift for capturing all of the feels of childhood.  Are You There God?  It’s Me, Margaret. is the most underrated movie of the year, and one of the few that feel rewatchable.

4. THE HOLDOVERS

Many movies today could easily be classified as the “penis cancer” of entertainment, at least that’s how Paul Hunham would likely describe them.  The cranky private school teacher who is played to perfection by Paul Giamatti has been assigned to babysit the students who are unable to get away during Christmas break of 1970, and he’s simply not in the best of moods.  Hunham is cranky but he’s also misunderstood, which seems to be how director Alexander Payne views himself.  Payne, who was prominently accused during the #MeToo era, has made his best movie since The Descendants by telling the story of a bitter old teacher who refuses to give into his morals to help his career, and finds the unlikeliest of friends in a problematic student who has nowhere to go for the holidays.  The Holdovers, which takes place in the early 1970s also feels like it was made in that era – and any modern movie that brings back a sliver of the movie magic we saw in the ‘70s deserves a spot on my top ten list.

3. THE ZONE OF INTEREST

A year ago, I returned home from a vacation to find that a stray bullet had pierced through my house.  The following months – and even sometimes today – the sound of fireworks can have me ducking for cover.  The fact that the constant gunshots from a nearby concentration camp has no impact on the Höss family – the wealthy Nazi family that is the focus of The Zone of Interest – shows just how psychopathic they are.  By now you have probably deducted that Jonathan Glazer’s haunting Zone of Interest is the feel-bad movie of the year by a longshot – even in a year where so many movies were dark buzz kills.  But that’s also the point.  Glazer’s film – possibly more than any other movie released in 2023 – makes you wonder “how could all those Nazi soldiers live with themselves and their decisions,” and it even makes you realize that we’ve also turned a deaf ear towards plenty of pointless wars that our country has been responsible for.  But it’s also a film that reminds us that there’s so much beauty in the world too, from flowing rivers to blooming flowers that can wash out the evils of the world.  The Zone of Interest isn’t a fun watch, but it’s by far the most important and powerful work of Glazer’s career, and of 2023.

2. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

Killers of the Flower Moon begins – at least at the AMC theater I was at – with a thank you message from Martin Scorsese.  The short message is completely unnecessary, and arguably the only wasted minutes of the film’s 3 ½ hour runtime.  After all, if there’s anyone who deserves a thoughtful; thank you, it’s Scorsese himself, as no director has ever done more for cinema.  From his contributions towards preserving classic cinema, to making a slew of classics himself, Scorsese has been the most consistent director of the last fifty years.  And Killers of the Flower Moon ranks alongside some of his better works.  It tells the story of the Osage Indian murders that took place in the early 20^th Century, which was driven by money and greed and ended by a Federal Bureau investigation.  Once again, Scorsese teams up with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, but it’s Lily Gladstone who really shines.  Their star power, along with Scorsese brilliant direction, never makes Killers of the Flower Moon feel long, a feat that so many shorter films are unable to avoid.  Scorsese may not get the thanks that he deserves from the Oscars, but naming Killer of the Flower Moon as one of the two best films of 2023 is my way of saying thanks to the master of cinema.

1. AMERICAN FICTION

Is it safe to poke fun at woke culture yet?  If it’s done so as brilliantly as Cord Jefferson does in his debut film, the answer clearly is yes.  In American Fiction, the funniest comedy I’ve seen in years, Jeffrey Wright plays an intelligent and acclaimed black author who writes an exploitative trash novel as a joke, only to have it bring him fortune and fame, and even a few coveted awards.  And American Fiction may just win some awards itself, if there is any justice in the world.  After all, Jefferson, who previously wrote several episodes of Master of None and The Good Place turns in the most creative and original screenplay in recent memory, which pairs well with a very confident directorial debut.  At one point in American Fiction, the judges of a lust after book award claim that it’s silly to award art when it’s all so subjective.  Movies are the same, but I feel like it’d also be silly for me to award any other film with the top spot on my list, when American Fiction was the most enjoyable time I had at the movies this past year.