Welcome to my review of film in 2023.
If you want to see my top 30 films of the year and skip my other musings feel free to scroll down. As ever though I will share some stats about my year and some other thoughts.
The Stats
Personally I had a rollercoaster of a year and my numbers are a little all over the place. They are certainly down on my usual film watching numbers.
- Total Films Watched – 154
- Cinema Views – 75
- Home Views (Streamed or Physical Media) – 79
- How many were “New To Me” as a first time watch – 112
Only five of my top films this year did not get a cinema release. So whilst my cinema numbers are way down it is still either my preferred way to watch films or the best films will always find their way onto the big screen. Or perhaps a little of both.
If you think I missed anything amazing as a result please let me know in the comments.
Feature Articles This Year
I only managed to get two new feature articles out this year and unfortunately neither was a Director Retrospective. Plus of course I have my TV review of the year which I posted yesterday.
Mission: Impossible – Ranked – This ended up being one of my most popular articles this year and I had a lot of fun writing this one as I love the Mission films. It also put me in perfect position for the latest instalment that arrived this summer.
Are You Summer Blockbuster Ready? – Although virtually no one read this one I enjoyed putting it together. It was a fun look at how many blockbuster summer movies are sequels and how many hours of film watching you would need to put into being up to date with the story before heading into the cinema for the next instalment.
2023 – Year In Review – Television – You can read about what TV shows I thought were the best this year. Although as ever for me this was what I watched this year rather than what came out this year.
Next year I hope to put out a few more different articles. Lets see how it pans out.
Most Popular Articles
I always find this part of the year super fun. Which articles that I wrote this year were the most read?
It looks like Barbenheimer really did capture the mood taking the top and third spot. Although I am glad to see my love for all things Wes Anderson has taken it to number two. And maybe I should do some more ranked articles based on the Mission series finding its way to the fifth most read article on my site.
My Films Of The Year
If you want to read my original reviews for any of these just click on the title to be taken directly to it.
- Oppenheimer – A masterpiece from a great filmmaker. A fantastic ensemble cast with two wonderful lead performances in a summer blockbuster that engages your mind.
- Killers Of The Flower Moon – A masterpiece from a great filmmaker. Scorsese’s latest epic features three extraordinary lead performances in his revisionist western.
- Asteroid City – A masterpiece from a great filmmaker. I love Wes Anderson movies and this one is no exception. In any other year it would probably take top spot.
- Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse – The animated feature of the year. The superhero feature of the year. And a sequel that gives us the promise of possibly the greatest superhero trilogy ever made. Fingers crossed for the third instalment.
- Barbie – My most watched film this year. Ryan Gosling’s Ken is a superb comedy creation whilst his song and dance routines here must be considered in the best scenes of the year.
- Tar – Cate Blanchett is exceptional (and should have won the Best Actress Oscar in 2023 in my opinion) in this film about a fictional conductor that feels like a biopic such is the level of realism on display.
- Past Lives – An achingly sad and beautiful film about the idea that people’s souls can be connected across lives. The final scene is one of the best shot this year and I guarantee this film will touch you.
- The Killer (2023) – A film that stayed with me for quite some time. A story about the many versus the few and why the many can never reach the heights of the few even if they dedicate their entire body and soul into the effort. Or just an assassin trying to tie up some loose ends depending on how you see it.
- John Wick: Chapter 4 – An all time great of an action movie. Keanu Reeves latest iconic character reaches the pinnacle of godlike dealer of revenge. Whilst the Dragon’s Breath Shotgun sequence is another contender for scene of the year.
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One – Ethan Hunt and his team find themselves on yet another Impossible Mission featuring some phenomenal action sequences culminating in a motorcycle jump onto a moving train.
- Godzilla Minus One – The best Kaiju movie in quite some time. Some really good effects work and a film that focuses on the original metaphor of Godzilla.
- Wonka – A wonderful movie and musical. Timothee Chalamet is really just brilliant as Willy Wonka and the songs were played for quite some time afterwards in my household.
- Babylon – A modern day Singin’ In The Rain that focuses a little more on the debauched and seedy than the comedy and romance.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – A really wonderful comic book movie that is the new benchmark for Turtles Film action.
- May December – I thought about this film for days after watching it. Featuring three brilliant performances and with a script so good that you are left wondering the exact motivations of all those involved.
- The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023) & The Three Musketeers: Milady (2023) – A little bit of a cheat here from me, but these two films were shot back to back and ultimately are one large story. The new benchmark for The Three Musketeers and a pair of wonderful action movies.
- Maestro – The second film in my top twenty about a conductor but this time it is an actual biopic. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan are superb as Leonard Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre. Fun fact, in the fictional film Tar at number six it is mentioned that she is a student of Bernstein’s.
- The Fabelmans – Steven Spielberg’s ode to cinema and his parents is a lovingly crafted and beautiful film filled with many perfectly pitched performances.
- The Whale – Darren Aronofsky explores his favourite subjects of religion, estranged daughters and fathers and love. All whilst Brendan Fraser gives an Oscar winning performance.
- No One Will Save You – The biggest surprise of the year as a young woman attempts to fend off an intruder into her home… which just so happens to be an alien. An almost entirely wordless fantastic Sci-Fi action movie.
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves – This one on the other hand was probably one of the most fun movies this year. Hugh Grant’s villain is just wonderful whilst a cameo from Bradley Cooper is also particularly hilarious.
- Rye Lane – An 82 minute perfectly crafted romantic comedy. The chemistry and connection between the two leads is palpable.
- Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 – The completion of a trilogy and an end of an era. This does a fantastic job of representing friendship and love whilst being very funny.
- Creed III – The Creed films really have been of a high quality and this one features two brilliant performances and a striking visual style.
- Evil Dead Rise – An absolute corker of a horror movie. The opening titles still stick with me and it is just so tense and fits in perfectly with the series.
- Talk To Me – The 2nd best horror movie of the year with the sort of horror movie ending that will leave you with a big grin.
- The Creator – A science fiction epic that looks wonderful and creates an intriguing world. But perhaps struggled to put across the human story. Still a big swing well worth a watch.
- The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar & Other Tales – Wes Anderson is on the list again! 4 Short Films that I have collected under one banner. These sit alongside Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox as perfect adaptations of Roald Dahl.
- The Marvels – Forget about the naysayers who say the MCU is dead. This was just so much fun and the relationship between the three leads was a joy to watch.
- Empire Of Light – A beautiful film about the magic of cinema set in a cinema. I think my experiences of working in a cinema as a teenager may give me an inclination to enjoy this more than most but I really did have a good time.
Amazingly the top six films in my Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2023 feature in my top ten films of the year and fill all five of the top slots! How about that for some sort of selection bias.
Another thing I think worthwhile shouting out about this year is the exceptional scores from Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross’ who delivered the soundscapes for Empire of Light, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mutant Mayhem and The Killer. I have listened to these quite a few times this year along with the Wonka soundtrack of course.
There we go then, I hope you have enjoyed some of these films or this points you to a film that you find yourself loving. Let me know if I have missed your favourite.
And if you have not already taken a look here are my Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2024 – lets hope some of these are spectacular.
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 